"■vi;*.^- :■■■■■■'■•■;:' ^.v^ > ^ ..*ii' r*;"*^. >i*^^. ScctioD ^^-f^ THE ( N'"^*' Moral Philofopliefir VOL. III. Snperftition and Tyranny Inconfiftent with T H E O CRACY. Occafioned by the Reverend Dr. L e l a n d's Second Volume of T^he Divine Aiiilority of the Old and New T E s T AM E N T averted: AND THE Reverend Mr. Lowman's Differ tat ion on the Civil Governm^t of the Hebrev/s. T. ^^ -^ .^— By ""P H I L A L E r H E S. L O N D N: Printed for ■ ; and Sold by T. Cox, at the Lav.h under the Royal-E\chavge. MDCCXL. Where may be had, The Firft and Second 'V o l u m e . I t THE PREFACE. I Have very little to add, by Way of Preface, to this third and laft Volume; but juft to apprize the Reader of the Occafion of it, and what he may expedl from it. In entering upon this Controverfy, I had laid it down as a firft and fundamental Principle with me, that natural and revealed Religion are eflentially and fubjedtively the fame, and that they can only be diftingulflied by the different Ways or Means of convey- ing the fame Truths to the Mind ; which is either by Reafon and Argument, from the Nature of Things, and moral Fitnefs of Ac- tions, or in the Way of authoj'itative T'each- ing. When this Authority, is fuppofed to be divine and infallible, it is called Revelation. Thus the whole Bible^ or all the Works and Writings of the antient Hebrew and Jewi/h A 2 ' Authors, IV r/je PREFACE. Authors, both in the Old "fejiament and the New, whether hifcorical, moral, or prophe- tic, which has been coniidered and taught as ?.uthdritatively divine and infaUible, is vulgar- Iv called and accounted Revelatioji, In this popular Senfe, and common Acceptation, I have always ufed the Word, where-ever I have diftinguiflied Reafon from Revelation^ or natural from revealed Religion. But in this popular, vulgar Senfe of the Word, I have ileadily and uniformly afferted, and, I think^ evidently proved, that Revelation is not infaU liblc, or that thofe antient Hebrew and Jew-- ■fP: Hiilorians were never under any unerring Guidance of the Spirit^ or Holy Ghoji. But how far I have proved this , or what Proof the Gentlemen on the other Side have brought to the contrarv, is what I cannot determine for myfelf, but muft be left to the Judgment of the Reader. As my learned Adverfaries have alTume4 their own firft Principle of Scripture Infalli-- blVity as a Poftulatum, and argued upon it as granted, without Proof, I might have abfo- lutely rejedled it v/ithout farther Debate, lince they could have no Right to argue from a Principle which was not granted^ and which they ■The PREF ACE. v * they could not prove. But fince I found them refolved to put me to the Drudgery, contrary to all Right and Reafon, and all the Laws of Difpute, I have endeavoured, on thfeir Invitation and Call, to prove the Ne- gative againft them. But if I fliould hap- pen to have been miftaken In this, it cannot * prove them to be in the Right, unlefs they would aflume every Thing as true by Autho- rity, Prefcription, and PolTeflion, the contra- ry to which cannot be demonftrated. And this, indeed, is their common Way, not to think themfelves in the lea ft obliged to prove their own Principles, or to judge of Proba-^ bility on either Side, but to infift upon their • Right of Poffeffionj and uninterrupted Succef- Jion^ till they can be demonftratively forced out of it. The higheft Probability in the World can be of no Weight at all againft them, while there is but a bare Poflibility, that they may not be miftaken, though they can fay nothing for their being in the Right. If fupernatural Revelation contains Doc- trines and Principles of Pradlice, which were abfolutely above and beyond all Search and Inveftigation of human Reafon, it^is won- derful, that they fliould not be able to in- A 3 ftance vi The PREFACE. ftance in any one fuch Dodtrine which they dare abide by, and ftand to, and in which they are agreed ! And 'tis, I think, very ex- traordinary, that they fhould not be able to prove, in any one Inftance, that Dodtrines abfolutely above and beyond all Search and Inveftigation of Reafon, may be yet fubjefl: to the Judgment of Reafon, when once they are difcovered and propofed. They would not talk thus abfurdly in Matters of Eye-Jight, as they do of Vnderjlanding^ or pretend, that a Thing which is not the natural Objedl of Sight, may be perceived and judged of by Sight. But fuch Contradiftions we muft ex- pedl, while Authority is fubftituted for Rea- fon^ and every Man's own Opinion, or Senfe of Scripture confounded with Revelation and divine Authority. Were Mathematicians, Artificers, Mecha- nicians, and Profeffors of every Kind thus divided, and could not agree in any one common Principle relating to their own Sci- ence and Profeffions, I prefume no one would think they were all direded by the fame common, infallible Rule, or that they really knew any Thing of what they profeifed and talked The PREFACE. vii talked of. Their Pretence to an infallible Science, or infallible Rule of Ad:ion, would be looked upon with Contempt and Scorn ; and if they fhould plead, that their Mafters were all infpired, and had taught "them un- der an unerring Guidance, they might, per- haps, move Laughter, but could never gaia Profelytes. But thus facred is Nonfenfe, when big with Divinity. The Reverend Mr. Lowmmi^ in his Dif- fertatiofi on the Civil Government of the He- brews, has attempted to overthrow what I had offered relating to the firft Diftribution of Canaan^ and the exorbitant Power and Property of the Tribe of Levi^ or Spiritual- ty of that Nation. I have briefly replied to his Exceptions in the Conclufion, fo far as I thought neceflary and fufficient, in Jufti- iication of my own Account and Compu- tation. He aflumes as others had done be- fore him, the Theocratic Conftitution of M?- fes^ as a Poftulatum; for I cannot fee, that he has offered any Thing in Proof of it, unlefs it be the Authority of Mojes himfelf, which is the very Thing in Difpute. In a large Introduction, or Preliminary Difcourfe, ^ A 4 I viii The PREFACE. I have endeavoured to derive this Theocracy from its firft Rife and Original in Egypf^ where Jofeph had introduced and fettled the fame hereditary, oppreffive Priefthood, and the fame Sort of Tyranny in Church and State,^ two hundred Years before. And as Mofes was an Egyptian by Birth and Edu- cation, and thoroughly inftrudled in all the Laws, Religion, and Polity 'of Egypt ^ he founded his own Law and Priefthood upon the fame Plan. This is what I have at- tempted at leaft to prove, and for a clear Anfwer to which, I fhall look upon thi& Gentleman as accountable, fince he, and his Friends, feem to think, that he has fairly detected my Miftakes, and fet this whole Matter in a true Light. To conclude, I would have It confidered, that I never argue againft bare Poffibilities, where there is not ftridt Demonftration on one Side. Where Demonftration cannot be had, the greater Weight of Probability ought to determine us in a Judgment of Reafon. And keeping to this Rule, if the Gentlemen on the other Side of the Queftion have any Thing more to offer, I (hall be ready to con- fider The PREFACE. ix fider it. But, perhaps, after all, they may lind it neceflary to drop the Defence of po- litive Inftitutions, and fupernatural DoclrineSy which have been all human Invention, and to leave the eternal, immutable Religion of God and Nature to take its own Courfej which could fiot but univerfally prevail and Jake Place in the World, were it recom- mended and enforced by its own native Light and Evidence, and not fo much depreciated and undervalued by fome of the Spiritualty, who, it feems, 2XQ Jet for the Defe?ice of the Gojpel againft the Sufficiency and Availablc- nefs of moral Truth and Righteoufnefs with God* The Neceffity of Revelation, as prov- ed by Miracles, Prophecy, and fupernatural Fadts, is the common, popular Cry: But what that Revelation is, and what its pe- culiar Dodtrines and Duties are, which muft be .thus fupernaturally proved, and which could not otherwife have been known, or rationally aifented to, we are never like to be told i and yet, till they can agree upon fomething certain and determinate of this Kind, they will in vain labour to maintain . any real Diftindlion between natural and re- vealed Religion j for every impartial, confi- derate X The PREFACE. derate Man, who can but give himfelf Leave to think, muft foon come to fee, that all this Clamour and Outcry comes from no- thing elfe but implicit Faith, a ftrong Pre- fumption, and Zeal without Knowledge, ^ T II E THE contents: The INTRODUCTION, or Preli- minary Discourse. AN Accou7Jt of the antient Patriarchal ReUgio7u T'be Genius and figurative T'urn of their Language, The different Ways of God's appearing and fpeaking to the?n. An Hifiorical Account of the De- fcent of the Hebrew Shepherds into Egypt. Of their firft AdmiJJion^ and peaceable Set^ tlement there y their over-run7iing and en- flaving the whole Land^ and^ at lajly their Redu^ion^ SubjeBiony Expulfiony and fud-- deny precipitate Flighty which providential- ly prevejited their intended Slaughter and 'Dejirudlion by the Egyptians. A more par- ticular Confideration of the Miracles of Mo- it^ in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the Wildernefs, The firft Rife and Foundation of the Mofaic Theocracy y from the Jpiritual BlindnefSy Superfiitiony and Slavery y which Jofeph had introduced and fettled in Egypt two hundred Tears before, Mr, Shuckford'^ Accou7it of the antie?it Shepherdsy who were expelled and driven out of Egypt, cofifider- 3 , ^^> The C O N T E N T S. - edy and his Attempt to prove^ that they we?^e not the Ifraelites, but fome other un- known Nation^ examined and refuted, 'The obvious Inconjiftencies and Self -Contradic- tions of the Hebrew Hijiorian relating to this Matter are confdered. What we find in profane Authors about this Matter^ con- firmed by the Hebrew Account of it, as foon as that Hifiorian is made confiflent with him- felf The whole Account of this Matter^ from firfi to lafi^ Jhewn to be inconfiflent with the Claims and Pretenfions of Mofes Page 3 C H A P. I. The Author s IntroduBion and firfi Chapter are confidered and replied to^ and his falfe Pri7i- cipleSy and weak Evafio?tSy are farther re- futed and expofed. 121 CHAR II. His farther Accoufit of Miracles, as an Evi- dence of Truth, and Proof of Revelatio?i a- bove Reafon, farther confidered-, ajid his falfe Principles and Suppofitions concerning the natural Communic ability of fupernatural Truth, more largely refuted and expofed-y a?id all this applied to what he has offered in general, with RefpeB to the Miracles of Mo- les a7id of Jefis Chrifi 161 CHAP. The C O N T E N T S. CHAP. III. What had been offered concerning the carnal^ political Injiitution of the Law of Mofes ; the vain Pretence of a Covenant of Pecu-r liarity with that Nation \ the locals tutelar^ mediatorial Worjhip of the God of Ifraelj or the Angel Jehovah, as the Guardian ♦ God and Frotelior of that Nation only ; the abfiird and falfe Prcfe?ice of a divine Pro- mije and Oath for the Conquefl of Canaan, (It the End of four hundred Tears, and of what the Author has faid to fit afide the T^efiimo7iy of St. Paul againfl this carnal^ hlind^ and enflaving haw, are farther con- fidered, and the ArgU77ient of the Moral Philofopher, upon this Head, fully fupport- ed, a?id made good againft the Author s Ex-- ceptio?2S, Shifts, and Rvafions, in his fourth and fifth Chapters Page 207 C H A P. IV. What had been offered relating to the Extent and Jurifdi^lion ofi the Law of Moles, as reaching to outward ABiojis only-, the In- dulgence of human Sacrifices under that Law, and the Cafe of Abraham, vindicated and fupported againfi the Author s fiixth Chapter, What I had offered concerning the enormous Power ofi 'the Spiritualty or Le- vites, and their vafi JDi [proportion arid Share. the CONTENT S. Share of Property by that Law^ is fully "indicated againji ihe Author s weak and trifling Evaflons in his feventb Chapter Page 263 CHAP. V. Jl Vindication of what had been offered concern- i?ig the Urim and Thummim, as a prieflly^ falfe Oracle. The Ignorance^ Injuflice^ and revengeful Cruelty of this Oracle in the Cafe of the Benjamites. Prophecy 7io Proof of di- *ui72e Authority, The Charge which I had brought agaijtfl Samuel ^;2^ D2iViA fupport- ed and jiijiified. What the Author has of- fered to clear the Prophets from being the Authors and Promoters of the Civil Wars^ and Difradlions of the Kingdom^ confidered and refuted. His pretended Difference be- tween the Idolatry firfl introduced by Jero- boam, and afterward that which was brought in by Ahab expofed^ as abfui;-d and ridicu- lous,, a7id without the leafl Foundation, His falfe Account of the Religion of the antient Perfians evinced. The Weaknefs of his Pre- tence^ that the Ifraelites, or antient Jews, before the Perlian Captivity^ believed a Re- furreBion and future State,, is confidered^ and his pretended Proof of this foewn to be . groundlefs and frivolous. 298 CHAP. The C O N T E N T S. CHAP. VI. The Re/loration of the Kingdom to the Houje of David by a mighty Prince and Conqueror to arije out of that ^tock and Family^ was an efjential CharaBer of the Jewifh prophetic MeJ/iah', and that without this they could noty according to the Prophets^ have received or * believed iji any Perfon as their Mefjiah^ is farther proved ajid demonflrated againfl this Writer s frivolous Shifts and Evafons to get rid of it, . Tthat the Apoftles were not iyfallible^ or under any unerring GuidancCy proved as an evident Matter of FaB^ from their 'Differences and Divifions both in Faith and P rati ice -, this Author s weak and ground^ lefs Pretences to the contrary. A Vindicatio7t of what had been offered concerning the Gift of Tongues^ as an enthufiajiicy blind^ unedi- fyingy and ungovernable Spirit, A farther Account of the Evidence or Proof of Mira^ cles in the apofolic Age. The plain Marks of Impojlure and carnal Policy in the Law of Mofes jufiifcdy and fupported againft the Author s moji trifling Evafons, Page 321 The CONCLUSION, Confaini?7g fome Remarks and.Refexions on the Reverend Mr. Lowman*^ Account of the T^ik of Levi,' their Conjlitution^ Inter eft y Pro^ The C O N T E N T S. Troperty\ and Power 3 in njohich^ what I had offered relating to ^the vajily juperior Wealthy Power ^ and Property of this T'ribe, in Pro- portion to any other ^ or to the Nation in ge- 7ieral^ is Jiipported and jiiftijied againjl this Author s Jiippofed Computations and Proofs to the contrary. Page 339 Super- Superftltion and Tyranny Inconfiftcnt with THEOCRACY. BEING Some Remarks and Observations on a Book, Intitled^ A DISSERTATION on the Civil Government of the HEBREWS. In which, T'he true Defigns^ and Nature of their Government are explain d, T'he yu- Jlice^ Wijdom a?id Goodnefs of the Mosai- CAL Constitutions are vi?zdicated : In particular from fo7ne late^ unfair and falfe Mifreprefentatiom of them in the M O Ri\L PHILOSOPHER. B THE INTRODUCTION. TH E learned Defenders of Mofes always aflume as a Poftulatum, or take it as granted without Proof, that this Government was a Theocracyy and that Mofes had received every Word of his Law immediately from the Mouth of Jehovah himfelf, whole intimate Friend and Companion he was : He could talk with Jehovah Face to Face, he could be admitted at any Time into his Pre- fence, and make as free with him, as any Man could do with his Friend and Confidg^nt. Nay, he could often change the Purpofes of Jehovah^ and bring him into other Meafures, whenever he had refolved on, or declared any Thing again ft the peculiar People, Thefe learned Men having fuppofed this, and taken it as a firft Principle, no Difficul- B 2 tic^ 4 Superftition and Tyranny tics afterwards can ftand in their Way : Some of them may be artificially evaded, and the reft quite illpt over without any Notice, where no Evafions at all can be found or thought of The plaineft Marks and Ap- pearances in the World, of Defign, Artifice and Impofture, fuch as muft overthrow and fet afide the like Pretenfions in any other Go- vernment, cannot be of the leaft Force or Confequence again ft a Theocracy, / Thefe learned Men, then, have very fe- curely entrench'd and guarded themfelves a- gainft all Attacks from what Quarter foever. It is impoflible for any Man to argue againft them without arguing againft God, and difputing the Right of Jehovah in making a Law, that ought never to be copy'd, imita- ted or taken as a Model under any other Go- vernment. This, it feems, was the fole Work and legal Prerogative of Jehovah^ the tutelar,, oracular God of I/rael ; and tho' it may be marvelous in our Eyes, that can be no Ob- jedlion to the Truth, Reafonablenefs or Divi- nity of it, And if this (liould be above any Man's Comprehenfion, and beyond the ut- moft Stretch of his Fajth, or Capacity of his Aftent, that Man can be no Chriftian,, Thcfe Gentlemen having laid this Founda- tion of Chriftianity, and entrench'd themfelves under impregnable Darknefs, go on with in- vincible Reiblution to batter and deftroy all floral Reafon and Philofophy, But, I think, I I inconfiftcnt with Theocracy. 5 I have as good a Right to a Poftulatum as they, and fliall venture to demand one, which, I prefume, cannot be reafonably deny'd me ; and vs^hich is this, That no Book or Writing can prove itlelf, and ought not to be admit- ted upon its own Authority againft the plain- eft Marks and Appearances of Fraud, Arti- fice and Deception. If this be not admitted, ♦ it muft be impoffible to detect or fct alide any Scheme of Impofture, Superftition or faUe Rehgion in the World, which pretends to Revelation and Divine Authority. The Mohajnmedan Koran, the Perfian Zerduft, or any other Scheme of Impofture and falle Re- ligion, muft be receiv'd, and fubmitted to, where all the Powers of Prejudice, Educa- tion and riveted Habits are ftrong enough to fix and confirm them. A Man who governs and direfe himfelf upon this Principle, would be as true and good a Jew^ Mahometa?rov Ma- gian^ as he is a Chrijiian, had his Education and Prejudices happened to have given him that Turn. A Man in this Way would prove by invincible Reafon, venture his own Life upon it, and facrifice the Lives of all Infidels or Unbelievers, that Mofes^ Zoroafter^ or Mahofnety were true Prophets, fent from God to reveal his Will for the Salvation of Mankind, and that no Salvation or divine Favour could be obtain'd in any other Way. . \B -5 But 6 Superftition and Tyranny But before I proceed farther, I fhall here give a fhort Account of the firft Defcent of the Hebrew Shepherds into Egypt^ the Settlement they gain'd there, and the Confequences of it in their Departure and Expulfion after 210 Years. I fliall take this Account from the Hebrew Hiftorians themfelves, as they have it in their own Books, and then compare it a little with the Accounts given of it by pro- fane Authors. In the firft Defcent of thefe Hebrew Shep- herds into Egypty we find an extraordinary Providence, as their own Hiftorian relates it. A Hebrew Slave, named Jojeph^ having been fold into Egypt, was there bought, and taken into the Family of Pctlpbar^ Pharaoh's chief Steward : Here he fo far ingratiated himfelf with his Mafter, that he entrufted him with his v/hole Intereft, and made him the chief Manager and Diredior of all his Affairs. A- midft this Profperity and good Turn of For- tune, Potiphars Wife, and Jofeph's Miftrefs, fell in Love with him, and on his refufing her amorous Sollicitations, flie was fo highly provoked, that flie accufed him of an At- tempt to ravifh her, and got him committed a clofc Prifoner. This was the King's Prifon, or the Place where the State Prifoners were confined, and in Potipbars own Houfe, Ge?u xxxix. 20. xli. 10. During this Imprifon- ment, Jcjepb wrought himfelf as much into i the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 7 the Favour of the Keeper, or Mafter of the Prifon, as he had before in the Family at large ; for the Keeper of the Prifon commit- ted the whole Charge of all the Prifoners to Jofeph^ without taking any farther Care or Cognizance of therii himfelf, Chap, xxxix". 2i2, 23. Here, therefore, in the Governor's own Houfe, or under his Roof and Inlpec- ♦ tion, Jojeph had the fame Command and Authority over the Prifoners, as he had been entrufted with before in the Houfe and Fa- mily at large.. ,/•: ^ Here it may be proper to remark, thaV this Fotiphar^ Pharaoh's chief Steward, was an Eunuch ; but what an Eunuch fliould do with a Wife, or, fuppofing he had one, how {he fliould defile his Bed, or prove falfe to him, IS hard to Conceive : But be this as it will, it is plain, that this young Hebrew Politician had always Fortune on his Side. How long he continued in this fecond Poft of Honour, as Sub-Governor of the King's Prifon, is not fald; but it muft, probably, have been for fome Courfe of Years 5 for when he was fold into Egypt y he was but a Youth or a Lad j but when he was fent for to Court by Pha- ^ raoh^ he was thirty Years old. This rifing Favourite of Fortune difcovered very early his enterprizing Genius and afpiring Temper y and it v/as this boundlefs Ambition, and Third of Wealth and Dominion, which in- curred the Difpleafure of his Brethren, ma^de B 4 him 8 Superftition and Tyranny him infufferable in his Father's Houfe, and occafioned a Vaffalage, which turned up fo much to his Advantage, and to the Ruin of his own Country, as well as of Egypt. I pre- fume no Body will fay, that Jojeph was the firft or la ft Man, who has providentially fuc- ceeded as a bold Adventurer for Wealth and Dominion : But what Ufe he made of his good Fortune, and how much either his own Nation, or the Land of Egypt in which he had made his Fortune, gain'd by it, may de- ferve to be farther confidered, and, in this I fliall all along take the Hebraui Hiftorian for my Guide. After Jofeph had been for fomx confidera- ble Time in the King*s Prifon, and there gra- tify'd his Ambition and Thirft of Power fo far as that Station could afford, there hap- pened an Incident, which contributed to his farther Advancement, and raifed him to 'a Degree of Wealth and Power m Egypt ^ be- yond what his Imagination could ever have fuggefted, or his utmoft Ambition aim*d at, Pharaoh^ King of Egypt ^ having been fome V/ay or other difgufted with his chief Butler and Baker, fent both to the fame State Prifon, while "Jojeph^ under the Name and Notion of a Hebrew imprifoned Slave, hap- pened to have the fole Direction ^nd chief Authority there ; for the Keeper had left all \.Q his Care and Management, as has been obferv*d inconfiuent with Theocracy. 9 Qbferv'd already. Whether Jofepby daring this Confinement in the King's Prifon, and the great Power and Truft there committed to him, had not made up the Matter with his old Miftrels, is not faid, and I fhall pre- fume to determine nothing about it, as de- iigning to keep clofe to the Hebrew Hiftorian himielf, and to draw nothing into Conle- guence, but what mufl neceiTarily arile from the Text. B^^t Pharaoh, as I obferv'd, hav- ing committed his chief Butler and Baker to the fame Prifon, the Hebrew Servant and Sub-Governor could not be long unacquainted with them ; and Jofeph was a Man of too much Policy and Penetration not to make his own Ufe of it. After thefe State Prifoners had been fome Time under the Sub-Governor's Cuftody and Management, they both happened to dreani a Dream in one Night, which Jojeph inter- preted to them, that one of them, the chief Butler, (hould, within three Days, be reftor'd to his former Dignity and Otiicc, but the other, the Baker, fhould at the fame Time be taken out of Prifon, and hanged: This happened accordingly; but Jofeplj had en- gaged the Butler under a folemn Oath or Promife, that as foon as he fhould be reftored to his former Office, and Favour with the King, he ihould mention and recommend him to Pharaoh ; this the Butler promifed^ but it afterwards ffipt his Memory for tvv^ Years; 10 Superftition and Tyranny Years 3 for whatever Opinion this Cdurtief might have of yofeph^ while \k was iti Pri- fon, and under the Hebrew Politician's Com- mand, it feems, he had no fuch Regard tb him, or Expe6lations from him, as to have fet him much at Heart. Two Years after the Re-advancement of the chief Butler, Pharaoh himfelf had a Dream, which exceedingly perplexed him, and which none of his Aflrologers, Magicians, or wife Men, could interpret : This Anxiety and Di- ftrefs of the King determin'd the Officer to mention Jojephy and get him fent for, who had interpreted his own Dream, and that of the chief Baker, agreeable to the Event : It is pro- bable, that this Officer of the Houfhold having had an Acquaintance with Jofeph before, and knowing the enterprizing Genius, and vaft Ambition of the Man, had refolved never to have mentioned him, or brought hjm to Court, had not this Incident, and the great Perturbation the King was under, driven him to it at this Time. However, to excufe him- felf, and make the beft of the Matter,' he now laid the Blame on his own Memory, and pretended, that he had never once thought of the Hebrew^ or his Promife to him, from that Ti^ne to this, w^hich is hard- ly credible : But if he dreaded the Confe- quences of bringing fuch a Politician and ambitious Enterprizer to Court, and feared the Effeds of his ingratiating himfelf Vv^ith the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 1 1 the King, the Event fliew'd, that he was not miftaken in the Man ; for this Incident laid the Foundation of the Ruin of Egypt ^ and reduced the finoft, richeft, and freeft Coun- try then in the World, to a State of Mifery, Poverty, and Vaffalage : It proved the intire Overthrow of a free Conftitution, and intro- duced fuch an abfolute Power, both in (^hurch and State, as had never been known in the World before. The Story of Pharaoh's Dream, and of yofeph's Interpretation, is very well known, as related in Chap, xli. There was from thence to follow feven Years of great Plenty, and Abundance of all Sorts of Produce in Egypt^ and after that, (tv^n Years fucceffively of great Scarcity, Dearth, and Famine, both in Egypt, and Countries round about it. jfo-- jeph^ therefore, advifes Pharaoh to look out for a Man of Wifdom and Underftanding, and fet him overall tlieLand oi Egypt -y under this fupreme Infpeftor the King was to appoint Officers, that fhould gather in the fifth Part of the whole Produce during the feven plen- tiful Years, which were to be laid up in the King's Store-houfes or Granaries, to fupply the Land with Corn, when the feven Years of Dearth flioiild come on. This Advice ex- ceedingly pleafed the King,, and his whole Court, and they foon agreed that no Man could be found of fuch Wifdom and Under- ilanding, as jV^/*/:' hunfelf. And now the Hebrew 12 Superftition and Tyranny Hebrew Prophet and Politician had at once the whole Povver^ Force, and Diredlion of the Kingdom put into his Hands. Jhen Pha- raoh Jhid unto Jofeph, For a/much as God hath ffoewed thee all this, there is no Man of Under^ jlanding^ or of Wifdom, like unto thee, ^hou JI:alt be over mine Hoiije^ and at thy Word Jh all all my People be armed \ only on the 'Throne will I. be greater than thee. Moreover Pha- raoh faid to Jofeph, Behold^ I have Jet thee over all the Land of Egypt. A7id Pharaoh took off his Ring from his Hand^ and put it .upon Jofeph'^ Hand^ and arrayed him in Gar- ments of fine Liineyi^ and put a golden Chain upon his Neck, Again Pharaoh faid imto jofeph, / am Pharaoh, ayid without thee Jhall no Man lift up his Hand or his Foot in the La?id of Egypt. A72d Pharaoh ^^&/ Jofeph*^ Na?ne Zaphnath Paaneah, [the Expounder of Secrets] and he gave him to Wife Afenath, the 'Daughter of Poti-pherah, Prince [or Prieft] of On, Ver. 40 — ^45. Here it is evident, that Pharaoh had divefted himfelf of all re- gal Authority, and retained only the Name and Title of King -, for he had put the whole Force of the Kingdom, and the Nomination of all Offices and Places of Profit, Power, and Truft into Jofeph'^ Hands. And now the whole Land was in the Power, and at the full Dlfpofal of a Hebrew Stranger, who, a few Years before, had been fold into the Country, as a Slave. What Ufe he after- wards Inconfiftent with Theocracy. 13 wards made of this Power, and how he a(5^- cd, as the Father of the People, will foon appear. Jofeph, having received this unlimited Commiffion, went through all the Land of Egypt, appointed his own Officers, and fet- tled Store-houfes and Magazines for Corn in every City. So Jofeph gathered Wheat like tinto the Sand of the Sea for Multitude, out of Meafure, u72til he left nuvibering -, for it was without Number^ Ver. 49. As this kvQw Years Famine fpread not only in Egypt, but through all Countries, who were fupplied with Corn from Egypt, fo far as they could have any Communication, it is evident, that there was a Neceffity to fortify and garifon the Towns and Cities where the Corn was kept, and fecured in the King's Magazines and Granaries; without this Precaution, it had been impoffible to have prevented the £- gyptiam themfelves, as well as other Nations, from feizing the Corn, under fo general a Calamity, and fo fevere a Famine. The Egyp- tia?2S', certainly, would never have brought in tlieir whole Property in Money, Goods, Sheep, and Cattle, Lands of Inheritance, and, at laft, have fold themfelves, as perpetual Vaf- ials to the Crown, had not the Magazines and Store-houfes been flrongly fortify'd and guarded : And this, perhaps, is the lirft In-^ ftance of any fuch Fortreltes and Strong- holds, as it is the firft Inftance upon Pvccord of 14 Superftition and Tyranny of any fuch abfolute, arbitrary Power. What Jofeph found neceffary to enflave Egypt^ was afterwards found as neceffary to enflave other Countries, and for one Country to conquer and enflave another, after the great Empires arofe, and War and Deftrud:ion became the general Trade. Jofeph having thus made himfelf Ma- fter of Egypt^ had a good Opportunity of bringing down his Father and Brethren thi- ther, with their whole Families and Sub- ftance, of fettling them in the beft and rich- efl: Part of the Land, and difpofing among them the chief Places of Power and Profit in that rich and populous Country; and this he brought about without a War, and by the Commiflion and Authority of Pharaoh himfelf. As the Famine grew, and prevailed over all Lands, Jaakob was forced to fend his Sons into Egypt for Corn ; Jofeph prefently knew them, but they did not know him, and could not fpeak to Jiim without an Inter- preter: The Story of what pafl!ed between Jofeph and his Brethren, before he difcovered himfelf to them, is very movingly and pa- thetically told, and is, perhaps, one of the finefl Pieces of Dramatic Hifliory in the World. But at length he difcovered himfelf to them, and fent the King's own Coaches and Chariots to bring down his Father and Bre- thren, with their whole Patriarchy, Wives, Concubines, Servants, and Subflance, which mufl inconfiftent with Theocracy. 15 muft have been very numerous. For though, the Number of Souls which came down into Egypt^ incUiding Jofeph^ and his two Sons born in Egypt^ are laid to be feventy, it is evident, that thefe were only the Heads and Princes of the Tribes, without including their Servants, their Shepherds and Herdf- men, with their Children, Wives, and Con- cubines, which muft have been at leaft ten, or, more probably, thirty Times the Num- Ber. And, therefore, a whole Province, the Land of GoJJ:en, the fineft and richeft Part of the Lower Egypt ^ was affign'd them, to live feparate by themfelves, and in their own Way; which could not, furely, have been neceffary for feventy Souls, without any far- ther Property or Dependence ; for then a very fmall Town had been more than fufficient. jfaakoby with his whole Patriarchy, as be- fore-mentioned, being now come into Egypt^ yofeph acquainted Pharaoh with it, and took Part of his Brethren, five Men, and brought them into the King's Prefence. Upon Pha- raoh's ajfking them, what was their Trade, Bu- nefs or Profeffion, I'hy Servants^ fay they, are Shepherds^ both ive and our Fathers ; and they told the King, they were only come to fo- journ in Egypt for a Time, and juft under the prefent Neceffity, the Famine being then fo very fevere in Canaan^ that they had no Pafture for their Sheep, and therefore pray'd the King, that they might have a Settlement allow'd 1 6 Superftition and Tyranny allowed them in that Country : This was rea- dily granted, the beft and richeft Part of the Country was affign'd them, and Jojeph was ordered to make them Governors and Rulers in Egypty and beftow on them fuch Places, as he thought them moft capable of, or fit for. Chap, xlvii. i 7. It may be obferved here, that thefe He- brews, when they firft came into Egypt, af- fumed and took to themfelves the general Name and Diftindion of Shepherds, which cannot be fliewn, or any one Inftance given, of any other Nation, or Body of People, in the World. The Egyptians, Arabs, Fhceni- dans, Canaanites, and all other Nations, had Shepherds among them, or Men, whofe Bu- finefs it was to attend and feed their Sheep and Cattle ; but no other whole Community were ever known or diftinguiih'd by the ge- neral Name of Shepherds, as a Name adop- ted and aflumed by themfelves. The Plun- ders and Devaftations of the Shepherds in Egypt, their Coming in at firft peaceably and without Oppofition, their making themfelves Mailers of the Country, and their Expulfion at laft, after a long War, and many fharp Encounters, have been much talk'd of by pro- fane Authors, who have faid any Thing of the Egyptians -y efpeciaily, by their own Hiftorian Manethc. And great Pains have been taken by the moft learned Chriftian Critics and Hi- ftorians, to prove, that thofe Shepherds, fo famous inconliftent with Theocracy. 17 famous in the Egypticvi Hiftory, could not be our Hebrew Shepherds, or Ifraelites, But as foon as the Hebrew Hiftorian has been jufl fo far corrected, as to be made confiftent with himfelf, there will appear to be a perfedt Har- mony, and good Agreement betwixt him and all other profane Hiftory, and one may ferve to confirm and ftrengthen the other. But *more of this afterward: I fliall at prefent pur- fue the farther Account of the Matter, as the Hebrew Hiftorian himfelf has reprefented it. We have feen Jofeph, in the Beginning of his prime Miniftry, fecured in the fole Ma- r^agement of the Government, and put into Pofleflion of the whole military Force of the Kingdom; we have feen him, during the firft feven Years, acting his Part fo well, as to have laid in Corn enoup;h for the whole Land of Egypt, and the Countries about, for feven Years longer, and fortifying and guard- ing thofe Granaries and Store-Houfes fo well, that not a Grain of the Corn could after- wards be come at, or diftributed to the ne- cefiitous People, v/ithout his Leave, and up- on his own Terms ; v/e have feen him bring down his own Family and Nation into Egypt ^ and there fettling them in the very beft Part of the Country, where they were to be fup- plied with Corn, and all NecefTaries, at free Co ft, while the native "Egyptians were reduced to the laft Extremity, and muft either part with all, or peri Hi. AH this happened before C the i8 Superftition and Tyranny the End of the third Year of the Famine, which is the tenth Year of this Hebrew's Go- vernment. By the End of this Year, Jofeph the Hebrew Steward had drawn in all the Money in the Land of Egypt, and the Land oiCaiiaan, and laid it up in the King's Coffers, which were now his own, Chap, xlvii. 14. The next Year the Money being all exhauft- ed, and drawn in, he demanded all their live Stock, their Sheep and Cattle, Horfes and AfTes, as the Purchafe of their Lives one Year longer, v/hich was accordingly complied with, Ver. 15, 16, 17. This was the fourth Year of the Famine ; in the Beginning of the fifth Year, when they had parted with all their other Property, they came again to the generous humane Steward, and reprefented the growing Calamity and Diftrefs they were un- der : They told my Hebrew Lord, that fince he had had all their Money, and all their Flocks and Herds, there was nothing more left in the Sight of my Lord^ but their Bodies, and their Lands, both which they were will- ing to part with, and become Pharaoh'% Slaves and Vaflals for ever, rather than perifh with Famine. This generous Hebrew, who was now, it feems, the Father of the Egyptians, took them at their Word, and firft took Pof- feffion of all the Lands of Egypt for Pharaoh, who was now but a titular King -, and hav- ing done this, he removed the People from their former Habitations into the remoteft Ci- I ties inconfiftent with Theocracy, 19 ties and Parts of the Country, from one Side of Egypt to the other, which was a Sort of Exile in their own Country, and a great Ag- gravation of their Mifery after they had been flript of all their Property and Poffeffions, Ver. 19, 20, 21. But he did not now feize on the Priefts Lands, becaufe the Priejls had an ordinary or ftated Allowance from Pha- * raoh, a72d they did eat the Ordinary which Pha- raoh gave them^ wherefore they Jbld not their Lands^ Ver. 22. The Priefts did not now fell their Lands, becaufe they were otherwife provided for, and had no Need of it, or otherwife the Crown in this fifth Year might have taken too the Lands of the Priefts, as well as the reft. In the fixth Year of the Fa- mine, the People having nothing elfe to part with, fubmitted themfelves to be Pharaoh'^ Servants, or Vaffals, for ever : And now their Hebrew Lord, it being impoffible to reduce them lower, or make them more miferable, befides the Corn, which was abfolutely necef- fary to preferve Life, gave them Seed-Corn to fow their Land: But this not having been done till toward the End of the fixth Year, they could have no Produce or Subfiftence for themfelves, till near the End of the fe- venth and laft Year, which terminated . the Famine, Nov/ here we are let into the Secret how the Famine in Egypt came to laft fo long, and by what Means the Hebrew Prophet and C 2 . Land-- 20 Superftition and Tyranny Landlord, the great Tafk-Mafter of the EgyptiahSy was enabled to fulfil his own Pre- didions. For having at firft engrofs*d and monopoliz'd all the Corn, he was refolved, for fuch a Time, to give out no more of it, than what might be juft neceffary to fupport Life from Hand to Mouth, but to let the Egyptians have no Corn for Seed, till he had ftript them of all their Property, abfolutely enflav'd them, and exhaufted all his own Stores. They might have had Seed-Corn, fown their Lands, and raifed a frefh Supply fooner, as well as now, had their Landlord and Tafk-Mafter thought fit to have fufFered it. But this could not have anfwered the Politician's End in perfectly enflaving the People, and making himfelf Mafter of the Country. Some Time in this fixth Year, before the Egyptians had been allowed Seed-Corn, Jo^ Jeph had obtained a Decree, or Ordinance, from Pharaohy which made the Church- Lands unalienable, and irrefumable by the Crown; by v/hich Means the Priefthood in Egypt became hereditary, and independent of the Crown. In the fifth Year, when all the reft of the Lands were feiz*d to the Ufe of the Crown, the Priefts fold not their Lands, becaufe they were otherwife provided for, and had their ordinary or ftated Allowance from the King, as at Ver, 22. But at the End of the fixth, or Beginning of the feventh Year, whed inconfiftent with Theocracy. 21 when the public Stores and Granaries were well nigh exhaufted, and yet the Calamities ftill increafing, the Priefts Lands were not feiz'd, or taken too, becaiife they were not Pha- raoh'j, Ver. 26. Thefe Lands therefore had now been made unalienable, and hereditary, by an irreverfible Decree, or perpetual Grant from the Crown 3 or otherwife they muft * have been as much Pharaoh's, or as much in his Power as any of the reft. Pharaoh^ as had been obferv'd before, had given the High Prieft's Daughter to Jofeph, as his Wife, in the Beginning of his Preferments, and as one of the firft Inftances of his Favour. And now, upon the Strength of fuch an Alliance, he had managed Matters fo well, as to have divided the whole Power and Property of Egypt between the Church and the Crown, And this laid the Foundation of all the Super- ftition of Egypt, and of the vaft Power and Influence of the Priefts there in after Ages. For the Pricfthood now being hereditary, and the Priefts invefted with a vaft Property in Lands, independent of the Crown , this gave them an Opportunity and Power to work up the People into the higheft and grofleft De- grees of Superftjtion, and into an abfolute blind Obedience and Refignation to them- felves. For being now incredibly rich, and having all the Means of Knowledge and na- tural Experiments in their Power, they fet themfelves to the Study of Chymiftry, na- C 3 . tural 2 2 Superftition and Tyranny tural Magic, and occult experimental Philo- fophy ; all which they kept as deep Secrets, and facred Myfteries to themfelves, and made It all pafs with the ignorant enflaved Vulgar for Miracles, Revelation, Prophecy, and im- mediate divine Power ; and thus Egypt be- came the Mother and Nurfe of Superftition, and which, after the great Egyptian Empire arofe about Solomons Time, they fpread and propagated to all their conquer'd Nations. And this I take to have been the firft Rife and Foundation of the Mofaic Theocracy ; for Mofes afterward only formed and eftablifhed an independent Government and Kingdom of his^wn, upon the very fame Plan of Prieft- hood, which Jofeph had fettled in Egypt a- bove 2CO Years before. Any one muft fee, that Pharaoh having invited thefe Shepherds into the Country, giv- en the Men independent Settlement there, and put the whole Power and Difpofal of the Kingdom into their Hands, had hereby part- ed with an Authority and Truft that he could never refume, or bring to Account, without a general War, and fharp Conteft between the two oppofite Parties, the native Egyp- tians, and thefe Hebrew Shepherds^ who muft now be Competitors for the Government and Difpofal of the Kingdom. The Shepherds, by the King's Authority and Confent, had pofTefs'd themfelves of all the Fortreffes and Strong-Holds, which had been built in Gra- naries inconfiftent with Theocracy. 23 naries and Store-Houfes, the Governors and Officers of which had been named and ap-. pointed by Jojeph under the King's own Commiffion. How long this Harmony and good Under- ftanding between the Egyptians^ and their Hebrew Lords continued, or when the firft Struggle began, is a Matter which the Hebrew Hiftorian pafTes over in deep Silence. In the Courfe of 126 Years, or from the hSk Year of the Famine to the Birth of Mofes^ the Hiftorian mentions but two remarkable Incidents which happened in Egypt, The firft is, the Death of Jaakob, the Father of the Nation, 17 Years after the Defcent into Egypt, He was carried, we find, out oi Egypt ^ and buried in Canaan with his Wives, and his Father, Grandfather, and their Wives, in the Family Burying-PIace. This he had left in Charge on his Death-Bed, and was accord- ingly done, with the greateft Funeral Pomp and magnificent Mourning that ever had been known in Egypt ^ even for the beft of their own Kings. Jofepb was now ^y Years old, and though he had now the whole Power of the King- dom in his Hands, yet he was fo far wile enough to do nothing without confulting.the King, and obtaining his Gonfent, as h^ did in this magnificent Interment of his Father. yofeph lived after. this 53 Years, for he died at no. But how long afterwards he kept C 4 , his 24 Superftition and Tyranny his Interelt at Court, or how long the Egyp^ tiam remained ealy under the Hebrew "Go- vernment, is not faid. But this feems plain, that thofe Hebrews^ who had been made the Lords and Rulers of Egypt^ had loft all their Credit and Intereft at the Egyptian Court be- fore the Death of Jofeph. We have feen, that jaaJlob was carried into Canaan^ and in- terred there in the Family Burying-Place, with all the Pomp, Solemnity, and Power of Egypt. But when Jofeph died, he had only a private Interment, being embalmed, and laid up in a Cheft in Egypt ^ without any Solemnity of a public Mourning, or national Concern difcovered about it. Chap. 1. 26. While Jofeph kept his Intereft at Court, and his Hebrew Brethren the Shepherds w:ere in PoiTeffion of 'the chief Places of Power and Profit in the Kingdom, by a Commiffion from PA^r/?(5y6 himielf, we find no Talk, or the leaft Defign or Intention of their leaving Egypt ^ and fettling in Cj;;.^?^??. Not one \Vord of the Promife and Oath of God to Abraham^ Jfaac^ and Jaakob, of giving them the everlafiing peaceable PoiTeffion of that whole Land. Had this been any Part of the Defign, \-v\\\\q. Jofeph had the chief Go- vernment, and direded all Affairs at the'E- gyptian Court, and while this prime Minifter had the whole Power of Egypt at his Com- mand, that 7iot a Man could have lifted up hi ^ Hand or Foot witbout him y how eafily might he inconfiflent with Theocracy. 25 he have fettled his Nation in Caiiaan, while there could have been no Oppofition againft the whole Force of Egypt ? But it could not be yet known, but the Hebrews might at laft have conquered the Egyptians^ and have either enflaved them, or driven them quite out of the Land, and therefore it was not yet Time to talk of another Country, or tr^ump up any Pretence of a divine Right to Canaan, Befides, the Canaanites were not yet fettled in the Land ; but the inland moun- tainous Parts of the Country lay wafte, and uncultivated, and were not worth conquering. But Jofephj before he died, faw that there was no great Probability, or human Appear- ance, that the Hebrews fhould ever conquer Egypt y or gain any peaceable Settlement there. And, therefore, he let them know, that they muft go back again into Canaan^ and com- manded them to remove his Bones thither, whenever that fhould happen, which yet was not till 140, or 145 Years after his Time. It'feems very plain, that Abraham him- felf, the Father of this Hebrew Shepherd Nation, had no original Defign of fettling in Palejline, but rather aim'd at Egypt, When Ahrani came firfl into Palejime, he found it a very barren, defert Country, but little inhabited, and very fubjed: to Drought and Scarcity. Such a Dearth and Famine happened in Canaan foon after his Arrival there. God, when^ he call'd him out of ' ■ MeJbpO' 2 6 Superftition and Tyranny Mefipotamia^ had promifed him a rich and plentiful Country, and to make him a great Nation. But Paleftine feem*d a very unlikely Place, at this Time, for the Accomplifhment of fuch a Promife ; whereas Egypt was now the richeft and moft plentiful Kingdom in the World. And, as God had not yet named the Country where Abrajn, and his Pofterity, ftiould fettle, Egypt might feem to be the moft promifing Place. And, there- fore, Abram goes down with his Wife, Ser- vants, Flocks, Herds, and whole Subftance into Egypty with a Defign, as is evident, of fettling there. But doubting the Beauty of Sarah his Wife might tempt the Egyptians^ and create him fome Trouble there, fo as to occafion his Death for her Sake, or prevent his peaceable Settlement in that Country, he prevailed on her to deny her being his Wife, and to fay (lie was his Sifter. So fond was this Patriarch of Egypt^ fo well per- fuaded, that this was the Country God had given him, that he was ready to proftitute his own Wife, and facrifice her Chaftity, to fe- cure himfelf a Settlement there. The Event foon proved, that the Patriarch had been right enough in his Gueffes; for the Egyptians admired the Beauty of the Wo- man, and mentioned her to Pharaoh. But by fome Means or other, the Thing came known to Pharaoh before he 'had taken to this Hebreii) Woman, as his own Wife. Upon which inconfiftent with Theocracy. 27 . which the King fent for Ahram^ expoftulated the Matter with him, reprefented to him how great a Sin he had like to have drawn him into, and ordered the Servants to fend the Patriarch, with his Wife, Servants, Cat- tle, and all that he had, out of the Country. As this fhews the Craft and Defign of the Hebrew Patriarch, fo it equally difcovers the fkifl: Virtue, Honour, and Clemency of the Egyptian King, and is a plain Proof, that the Egyptians^ at this Time, were Worfliippers of the true God. The Reader will find this whole Story, as I have here reprefented it, in Gen, xii. Abram being thus driven out of Egypf^ and finding this was not the Country God had defigned for him, goes back again into Canaan ; fo the Land is here call'd, becaufe that was afterwards the Name of it, when the Canaanites came to fettle there. The Pa- triarch was now exceeding; rich in Flocks and Herds, Silver, Gold, numerous Servants, and all fhe Wealth of thofe Times. This Land of Falejline^ or Philijlia^ for that was the original Name of it, was now in a Manner open, and uninhabited, as to the inland -mountainous Parts of it, and the Plains of Jordan, which lay next to Arabia, And Abram and Lot having the whole Country before them, after feme Debate, feparated, Abram taking the Hills, and Lot the Plains. At this Time, the Plains, or Sea-Coads of the 2 8 Superftition and Tyranny the Mediterranean^ from Sidon to the River Sihor^ on the Borders of Egypt^ were inha- bited by the Sidonians and Philijlines, who were Merchants, and made the firft Settle- ments in this Part of AJia, Abram being now upon the Mountains of Palejline^ or Fhilifiia^ afterwards called the Amor tie Mountains, from the Canaanites^ God ordered him to look round, and furvey the whole Country then in View, from the River Jordan to the great Sea, and promifed to make of him a great Nation, and to fettle his Pofterity after him in the everlafting peaceable Pofleffion of that whole Land. This Promife was afterwards repeated feveral Times to Abraham^ and then to Ifaac and jaakob, abfolutely, and under an Oath, as the Hebrew Hiflorian aflures us. But the Truth of it may very well be doubted, fince no fuch Promife or Prophecy was ever made good ; and God muft have known very well, that be never intended any fuch Thing. And from what has been here obferved, and might have been farther infifted on, it is plain enough, that w^hatever was afterwards trumpt up about Canaan^ and a Conqueft and Settlement there, the real Defign of this Hcbre'ii> Nation, from firft to laft, was upon Egypt. Whoever will confider the Nature and Confequence of this Story, from firft to. laft, mail, I think, fee, that thefe Hebrew Patri- archs, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 29 archs, Abraham^ Ifaac, and Jaakob^ had ne- ver any original Defign of fettling in Pa- lejiincy and, by the jHi?^;r'Z£^ Hiftorian's own Account, when Abraham came from Mefopo- ta??2ia weflward, though God had promifed him a Country, yet he did not know what Country, whether Egypt, Canaan, or any o- ther. It appears very plainly, from what h%s been obferved, that Abraha?ns firft Attempt for a Setdement was in Egypt, and that he was driven out from thence, and forced to go back again into Cayiaan, But it is plain, that in his Return thither, he made no Provifion for a Settlement there, or ever defign'd it for his Pofterity: He built no Towns or Cities, nor cultivated any Lands more than was neceflary for Corn, and a pre- fent Supply. This was the Cafe of Jjaac and Jaakob afterward -, for though they were vaft- ly rich, and fuperior in Force or Power to any Nation or Colony, then in Cajiaaw, and though the whole Country was fo open and free to them, that they poffeffed and occupied as much as they pleafed of it for 290 Years; yet all this Time they made no Purchafes, attempted no Conquefts, nor difcovered the leaft Defign or Inclination of ever making it their own Country, or any fix'd, fetded Ha- bitation for themfelves and Pofterity. They. contented themfelves to be voluntary, free So- journers, while they might have been Maf- ters of the whole Country, had thev thought • I ' fic. 30 Superftition and Tyranny fit. But the inland Parts of Falejliiie not having been yet cultivated, or poflefled, ly- ing open, defer t, and very liable to Drought and Scarcity, it feems very plain, that thefe Hebrew Clans of ftrolling Shepherds, and Herdfmen, waited for a more favourable Op- portunity, till Providence fliould dired: them to fome Country or other, where Towns and Cities had been built, the Lands cultivated for them, and all the Conveniences of Life ready provided to their Hands, without any Labour, and, confequently, without any na- tural Right or Title of their own. And this happened at laft by a very lucky Incident for them, which brought them into a rich and plentiful Country, and made theiti Lords and Matters of it, after they had fuffered great Hardfhips, and many Droughts and Dearths in Canaan, which was a Land now not worth conquering, purchafing, or poflef- fing. How they came into Egypt^ and by what Means they were received, fuccoured, and advanced there, has been already related ; and this brings me back again to the fame Story. We have feen thefe Hebrews brought into Egypt^ and eftablifhing themfelves there, as Lords of the Kingdom, not only without Oppofition, but even by Invitation and Con- fent : We have feen them enflaving the vi^hole Nation, engroffing all Places of Truft, either for Power or Profit, and juft keeping the Egypttam inconfiilent with Theocracy. 31 Egyptians alive for itwtw Years together, with- out allowing them Seed-Corn, till all the He^ brew Stores were exhaufted, till the wretched enflav'd Nation had no Property left, and had no Money to bring in, no Flocks, Herds, Lands, or even their own Bodies to fell : We have feen too, that the great Credit and In- fluence of thefe Hebrew Shepherds in Egypt l^ad been loft before the Death of Jofeph. yaakob had been honoured with the moft public and magnificent Funeral, that ever had been before known 3 but Jopphy the Fa- ther and Deliverer of the Nation, was pri- vately interred, without any public Ceremo- ny, or Notice at all. How long after the Death of Jofeph the Egyptians remained un- der this Bondage and Ufurpation, and fub- mitted themfelves to their Hebrew Lords, is not faid. The Hebrew Hiftorian here Itips over 60 or 65 Years in Silence, and as a Pe- riod of Time not at all to his Purpofe ; and only lets us know, that after thefe Hebrew Shepherds, or the Children of Ifrael, were in^ creajed in Abundance^ and multiplied^ and were become exceedingly mighty -, fo that the whole Land was full of them y that then there ai'oje a new Ki?2g in Egypt, that biew not Jofeph. How long this was after the Death of fo- feph^ as the Hiftorian has not thought fit to mention it, cannot be exactly determined, whether it might be five, ten, or twenty Years : But this iieva King faid to his People, Behold. 3 2 Superftition and Tyranny Beholdy the People of the Children of Ifrael are greater and mightier than we; and he faid. Come let us deal wifely with iheni, left they mul- tiply^ and it come to pafs^ that if there be War^ they join themfelves with our Enemies^ ajtd fight againft us, and get them out OF THE Land. Hitherto the Hebrew Hiflorian had given us a fair Account, and thrown great Light upon profane Hiflory, how thefe eaflern Shepherds came firil into Egypt^ not only without Oppoiition, but feven by Invitation and Confent, and by what Means they fettled and eftablifhed themfelves there, and obtain- ed the great Strength and fole Management of the Nation, before the Egyptians appre- hended any Danger, and while they confi- dered them as the Fathers" and Deliverers of the Country. But after the Oppoiition and Straggle began between the Egyptians^ and thefe Shepherds, from this Time the Ac- count of Matters in Egypt^ as our Hiftoriari relates it, is very general and confufcd, in- confiftent with itfelf, and contradidory to' alf the Remains of profane Hiftcry, fo far as li relates to the Affairs and State of Egypt, One muft fuppofe, from the Credit of tha Hebrew Story, that after thefe eaflern Shep- herds had poflefs'd themfelves of all the chief Places of Strength, and Pofts of Power and Profit throughout the Kingdom, that the E-r gyptians conquered, fuppreffed, and enflaved them inconfiftent with Theocracy. 33 .them all at once, without a War, or any Oppofition made by the Ifraelifes. Thefe humble, tame Shepherds, in full Pofleffion as before, gave up their whole Power at De- mand, and on Content, without any Oppoli- tion or Struggle to maintain their Authority, without fupporting any Hopes they had ever conceived of eftablifhing themfelves in Egypt, This might look almoft incredible, at firft Sight j but purfuing the Matter a little far- ther, and comparing it with the Remains of profane Record ftili extant, will {hew plainly, that the whole Story Ims been difgaifsd, and mifreprefented by the Hebrew Author. From what has been above quoted, it is plain, that the Egyptians were in a very great Confternation, and under the utmoft Dread of the growing Power of thefe Shepherds, who were now become morey and mightier than they. And, therefore, they contrive a- mong themfelves, not how to exterminate and root them oat, to prevent farther Dan- ger of being intirely conquered and enflaved by them, but how to keep them there, left in Cafe of a foreign War, they ihoald join the Enemy, and get them out of the Country. And, therefore, to keep thefe Strangers for ever in Egypt under perpetual Slavery, .this Pharaoh^ King of Egypt, firft iilues out an Order to the Egyptian Midwives, ro kill every Hebrew Male Child in the Birth, whenever they (hould be caird to do that Office for the P , Hebrew 34 Superftition and Tyranny Hebrew Women. But it is not very proba- ble, that ever the Egyptian Midv^ives (hould be caird on this Occafion to the Hebrew Wo- men, or that the Hebrews had not Women enough of their own to deliver one another. But it is ftill more improbable, that tw^o Egyp- tian Midw^ives fliould deliver all the Hebrew Women in the Country, when they were fpread over all Egypt ^ and the whole Land was full of them. And yet we find, that this Or- der of the King of Egypt ^ was given only to two of the Egyptian Midwives, Shiphrab and Puah^ thus to deftroy all the Hebrew Males in the Birth, and fave the Females alive, Ex- od/u 15 21. But this Projedl not taking EfFedt, as it was impoffible it (hould do, the King iffues out a general Decree, which ex- tended to allr his Egyptian Subjeds, that they (hould drown every Hebrew Male Child in the River: But this Decree could never be put in Executkjn. From whence it is plain, that thefe Hebrews were yet too flrong for the Egyptians^ and could bid Defiance to their utmoft Efforts. However, 1 hope, it is evident, from thefe two Decrees, that the Defign of the Egyp- tians^ at this Time, was utterly to deftroy thefe Hebrews^ and root them out of the Land, and not to keep fuch a vaft Number of Slaves, who, in Cafe of foreign War, would be ready to join the Enemy, make an, intire abfolute Conqueft of the Land, and either exterminate inconfiftent with Theocracy 35 texterminate the Egyptians themfelves, or en- ilave them in their own Country. That this was what the Egyptians feared, is evident from the whole Story, as the Hebrew Author himfelf relates it. And we find, that not- withftanding all the Power and Policy of £- gypt^ to root out and deftroy thefe Shepherds, and rid the Country of fo dangerous and threatning an Enemy, the Hebrews were able to keep their Ground, and maintain them- felves in this Country for 80 Years after the Birth of M'jfes, How long before the Birth of Mofes this Struggle and Oppoiition between the Egyp- tians and Hebrews began, is not faid -, but it is highly probable, it muft have been for fome confiderable Courfe of Years, 30 or 40 at leaft. For, by this Time, the Egyptians had gained Ground upon their former Lords and Matters ; they had fubdued as many of them as lived in the open Country, and could not be received and proteded in the Strong- Holds and fortified Towns, which they had been at firft put into PoflefTion of by Con- fent, while they were regarded as the Saviours and Deliverers of the Country. It could have been nothing elfe, but thefe Fortreffes and Strong-Holds, to which they had a free Refort, and might be protected in Cafe of Need ; nothing elfe, I fay, could have hindered the Decrees to have been put in. Execution, which had doom'd all the D 2 ; Males 36 Superftition and Tyranny Males to Deftmdiion, as foon as born. But in Spite of thefe fevere Decrees, of all the Advantages hitherto gained in the open Coun- try, and all the Efforts of Egypt, now ftrug- gling for their antient Liberty and Indepen- dency, thefe Hebrew Shepherds, thus eftab- lifhed, maintained their Ground, and kept their Footing, for at leaft 80 Years longer; though, perhaps, this Decree of Pharaoh's, for the Deftrudion of all the Hebrew Male Children, might have been iffued out 15 or 20 Years before the Birth of Mofes. But, however that might be, it was certainly in Force then, and yet the Egyptians had not Power enough to put it in Execution. Amidfl this Oppofition and War between the Egyptians and Hebrews, Mojes is born, and was providentially preferved from drown- ing by Pharaoh's Daughter, and put to Nurfe to his own Mother; and, at a proper Age, or as foon as he came from Narfe, the Egyp^ tian Princefs took to him, and he was edu- cated and brought up for 40 Years at Pha- raohs Court, and thoroughly inftrudied in all the Wifdom and Learning of Egypt. During this Time, it does not appear, that MoJes himfelf had any Defigu of leaving £- gypt, or conducting his Nation into any other Country. He continued an Egyptian Cour- tier, and had gained high Reputation for his Learning and Skill in Magic. But what forced him at laft to fly out of Egypt, and feek inconfiftent with Theocracy. 37 feek Succour in another Country, was a mere Accident. In Vindication of a Hebrew^ he had murder'd an Egyptian, which Murder he thought to have concealed. But this hap- pening to be difcovered, and coming to Pha^ raoh\ Ear, he was much enraged at the Bar- barity of the Aft, and would have put the Murderer to Death. This obliged Mojh to fly the Country, into the Land of Midian, Here likewife he had very good Luck, for he married the Prince, or Prieft of Midians Daughter, where he was fed, fuccoured, and lived in great Credit and Reputation for 40 Years longer. All this Time Mofes feems to have had no Thoughts or Deiign of returning to Egypt, or bringing out his Countrymen from thence. The Affairs of the IJraelites^ or Hebrew Shepherds, were not yet grown defperate j but they might ftill conceive fome Hopes of gaining the Point of the Egyptians^ and fettling there. But now, when Mofe$ J)ad been out of Egypt full 40 Years, the Affairs of the IJraelites there were grown quite defperate. The Egyptians had fo far prevailed over them now, that if fome Way or other could not have been found out to bring them off, they muil have been all de- ftroy'd, and cut to Pieces there right.- See Exod, ii. throughout. Mofes now undertakes a defperate Enter- prize for the Deliverance of his Country, and . for eflablifhing a Kingdom of his own Na- D 3 tion. 38 Supciflition and Tyranny tion, in which the fupream Power fhould be lodged irrevocably, and for ever, in his own Tribe and Family. To this Purpofe he re- vives an antient Grant from God, to Abra^ ham^ IJhac, and Jaakob, in ^hich God had promifed, and fworn to fettle their Pofterity quietly and peaceably, in the Land of Ca^ naan^ as an everlafting Inheritance for them at the End of 400 Years, from the Birth of Ifaac ; at the End of thefe 400 Years, they were, upon the folemn Promife and Oath of God, to be put into the Poffeflion of the whole Land, fo far as -Abraham could fee, when he was upon one of the higheft Moun- tains of Paleftine, i. e. they were to inherit the Land, from the River Jordan to the great Sea, or Mediterranean^ in Breadth, and from Zidon, to the Borders of Egypt, in Length, This was the Promife and Oath from God, which Mojcs, as a Politician, fet out upon. But as God never made good this Promife and Oath, as they never were in PolTeffion of this whole Land, nor much above half of it ', and as they could never fet a Foot upon, or make themfelves Makers of any one Town in it, till 40 Years after the 400 Years of Promife were expir'd -, as all this is very clear and undeniable, it may reafonably be prefumed, that this was now only trumpt up to fcrve a Turn, and to animate the Peo- ple v/ith fUch a Refolution and Courage in the Conquefl, as fo ftrong a Security of Suc- cefs inconfiftent with Theocracy. 39 cefs might infpire them with. Mofes is con- fefledly the antienteft Writer we have now extant ; and, therefore, this Story of God's Promife and Oath to Abraham muft reft in- tirely on his Authority, who had a vifible In- tereft in reporting it, and getting it believed. But if the Event here did not prove the con- trary, I think it is impoffible, that any Event, in the World fhould ever prove a falfe Pro- phecy, or forged Commiffion. Mojh having received full Powers, and clear Credentials of his Commiffion from God, and Aaron, his Brother, being appoint- ed as his Prophet and Spokefman, they went to Pharaoh, and demanded the Dilrniffion of the Hebrews, and that they might be fuffered to depart out of the Land freely and peace- ably, without any Oppofition or Hindrance. But this being denied, the Hiftorian goes on to relate the Plagues which God brought up- on Egypt, and the Signs and Wonders wrought there by the Hands of Mofes and Aaron, The Reader will find the Story at large from the 5 th to the 14th Chapter of Exodus, The whole Story, as here related, might afford ample Matter for Criticifm, and would fcarce find Credit in any profane Hiftorian. But I Ihall only make a few general Remarks upon it, as prefuming the Hebrew Author might be no more infallible than other Hiftorians. And here it is obfervable, that Mofes wrought all thefe V/onders in Egypt by his conjuring D 4 Rod, 40 Superftition and Tyranny Rod, or magic Wand, in the fame Manner that the Egyptian Sorcerers plaid their magic Tricks, deluded the Ignorant, amazed Vul- gars, and pretended to a fupernatural, miracu^ lous Power. No one can imagine, or think it at all credible, that the Egyptians^ Priefts, and Sorcerers, could really turn a Rod into a Serpent, or aftually, and in Fadr, create a living Creature 5 that they could really turn all the Water of the River into Blood, or that they could produce Frogs de novo^ or bring them up immediately, and at Command, out of the River, fo as to cover the whole Coun- try, and fill the Houfes, by the Shaking of a Wand: To believe that thefe Things were really and actually done by the Egyptian Ma- gicians, and that they could do fuch Things by the Virtue of their magic Wands, or conr. juring Rods, i.s beyond all hunian Faith. And yet theie Sorcerers did thefe Things as much as Mofes himfelf, and for which we have the fame Authority of the Hebrew Hif- torian. And though Mofes went farther, and work'd more Wonders by his conjuring Rod, than they could by theirs, yet thjs can only prove, that he was a greater Mafler of the Art, but not that all vyas not owing to the fame magic Delufion. Jt may be obferved farther, that the Plagues here mentioned, as miraculoufly and almoft inftantaneoufly brought only by the fhaking or y/aving a Rod or Wand, have been aU \vays, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 41 ways, and are to this Day, the common Ca- lamities of Egypt^ as arifing from natural Caufes. Upon any extraordinary Inundation of the Nile^ when the Waters, in an exceffive Quantity, are left to ftagnate and putrify, in the remote inland Parts of the Country, and cannot be carried off into the Rivers; this Stagnation and Putrefaftion bred all Sorts of noxious Vermin, fo as to fill the Country with them, deftroy the Fruits of the Earth, and occafion the moft contagious Diftempers on Man and Beaft ; and fuch efpeeially, as the Hiftorian mentions, among thefe Egyp- tian Plagues. Our Hebrew Author indeed relates all this with fuch Circumftances, as xnuft make thofe Calamities look altogether fupernatural and miraculous, as if brought on by the immediate Hand and Power of God, without the Intervention of any natural Caufe at all. But this will be the lefs fur- prizing to any one who confiders, \}i\t'I[Iebrew Hiftorjans conftantly fpeak in the fame Air and Strain, by afcribing the moft common and natural Events to fupernatural Caufes, and immediate Interpofitions. They lived and wrote in Ages of great Ignorance and Darknefs, when the general Laws of God's Government, either in the natural, or moral World, were very little, or not all under- ftood : And they continually accommodate themfelves, in all their Writings, to the Igno- rance, Superftition, and grofs Apprehenfions 2 of 42 Superftidon and Tyranny of the Vulgar. Their Populace could be in- fluenced and governed by nothing but Mira- cles, Prodigies, Prophecy, Revelation, and other fuch like flrong Impreffions of fuper- natural Pov^ers. They knew nothing of the eternal, immutable Goodnefs, or intrinfick, unalterable Fitnefs of Actions, but had re- ceived even their moral Lslws, as pofitive In- ftitutions. And their Hiftorians accommo- dating themfelves to this vulgar Prejudice, if we fliould underfland and interpret them too literally, according to the Philofophy and Theology now prevailing, we muft conclude, that they had fcarce any fuch Thing as na1:u- ral Caufes, or common Providence among them ; but that every Thing relating to that Nation was brought about by Miracles, fu- pernatural Powers, and immediate, occafional Interpofitions,for many hundred Years together. But as God is always the fame, and his general Laws of Government the fame, both in the natural and moral Vv^orld, it is wonderful to find fo many learned Men, at this Time a- day, inverting all thofe general Laws of Na- ture and Providence, and ftruggling fo hard to bring us back again to the old Egypticut and Jewijh Ignorance and Superftition : But all the clearer Light of Truth, and more cer- tain Knowledge of the Laws of God and Providence in thefe modern Times, muft now, it feems, pafs only for Defign, Irreli- gion, and Infidelity, with thofe whole Bufi- nefs inconfiftent with Theocracy 43 nefs it is to take Care of our Souls, and di- rect us right in the Way to Salvation. The Birth and Education of Mofes^ and' his having been thoroughly inftrufted in all the Learning, Laws, Religion, and Policy of Egypt ^ for the firft 40 Years of his Life, will fufficiently account for the Conftitution of his own Lav/ and Manner of Government after- ^ ward. Natural Magic, or occult, experimen- tal Philofophy, had been carry*d at this Time in Egypt to a great Height. And in this, no Doubt, but Mofes^ with all the Advantages he had above others, muft have made great Im- provements, beyond what was commonly known to Priefts, Magicians, and wife Men in general. All fuch Knowledge in Egypt was fa- cred, and never to be divulged or difcovered to the profane, aftonifhed Vulgar. By this Means the Priefts maintained their Authority with the People, and imprefs'd them with a ftrong, indubitable Belief or Perfuafiort, that they were endu'd with fupernatural, miraculous, and divine Pov/ers ; and that they maintain- ed and kept up a free and intimate Inter- courfe and Communication with the Gods. They influenced and governed all publick Af- fairs, nothing of Confequence could be under- taken or refolved upon without them, and their Judgment and Decifions were taken and con- fidered as oracular, and the certain Decrees of Heaven. This 44 Superftition and Tyranny This was the Conftitution and State of Things under which Mofes had been born and brought up, and which he afterward far- ther improved by 40 Years Retirement, and with the additional Advantage of all the Knowledge and Experience in this Way, of another great Politician, the Prince and Prieft of Midian^ whofe Daughter he had married. Here it was, probably, in Midian^ that Mojes learned the Ufe of Letters, and the Art of writing in Books, and cutting or engraving in Stone. Thefe Arts the Jdumeans^ Midianites^ and Merchants of the Red Sea underftood in the Days of ypby who was confelTedly before Mofes, But it does not appear, that the E- ^yptians had the Ufe of Letters h early, or m feveral Ages. After all their Learning had been conceal'd and locked up in Hierogly- phics, which none but the Priefls could un- derfland. Mofes^ by all this Experience and Acquili- tions of Knowledge, both at Home and A- broad, muft needs have made the greateft Improvements in this Sort of occult Philo- Ibphy, on which all the Power and Intereft ot Princes and Priefls depended : He muft have pbfcrved, how neceffary and ufeful an Engine of popular Government it was, that the People fhould be ftrcngly imprefs'd with the Notion and Belief of their Governors having immediate, intimate Communication with the fnperior cceleftial Powers,, and their being inconfillent with Theocracy. 45 being the principal Favourites of Heaven. As^ this had been the Plan of Government in IBjgypt by which the People had been be- fooled and enflav'd, and kept in Subjedlion to the Church and Crown, the Hebrew Po- litician did not fail making his Advantage of it, when he came to form a Government of his own, in which the fupream Power was ^ to be eternally and immutably fix'd, and eftablifh'd, in his own Tribe and Family. Bat I muft now return to the Hiftory re- lating to the Plagues of Egypt ^ and the Man- ner of IJraeTs being delivered out of it. The turning the River into Blood, and filling the whole Land with Frogs, having had no EfFedt upon Pharaoh^ and the Egyptians^ fince their own Magicians could do the fame, a more terrible Judgment followed, by con- verting all the Duft of Egypt into Lice, Aaron Jlretched out his Hand with his Rody and Jmote the Dufi of the Earthy and Lice came upon Man, and upon Beaji-y all the Duji of the Earth was Lice throughout all the Land of Egypt, Chap. vili. 17. This v/as what the Magicians could not imitate, and therefore were forced ;o confefs it to be the Finger of God. But Pharaoh believed nothing of the Matter, and fdll rcfjfed to let the People go. Perhaps the King might not believe, that all the Duft in Egypt was really turned into Lice ; and had this been fo, how fhould his own Magicians create ajiy more Lice, when 46 Superftition and Tyranny when they had no Duft left, or Matter to make the Experiment upon, all being Lice before ? The next Plague was vaft Swarms of Flies, which infefted Man and Beaft, and filled all the Houfes of the Egyptians in one Day, while there was not a Fly in Gojhen, or that Part of the Country, where the Tfraelites dwelt. This had fuch an Effed upon Pha- raoh, that he would have fuifered them to have offered their Sacrifices in Egypt, where they were ; which they refafed to do, becaufe this would have been offering the Abomina- tion of the Egyptians before their Eyes, and then the Egyptia?is would rife upon them, and ftone them; and, therefore, they de- manded Leave to go out quietly, and without any Lett or Oppofition, for three Days, into the Wildernefs; which was not granted. It may be obferved here, that the Egyptians eat no Flefli, nor offered any Sacrifices of living Creatures; and, therefore, the Hebrews were deteftable to them, as Flel'h-eaters, and the Egyptians would never come near them, or fufter them to eat and drink at their Tables. This Plague of Flies being immediately remov'd by one Wave of the Wand upon Pi?^r^ci?'s Requeft to Mojes^ the King ftill per- fifted in his Obftinacy, and would not fuffer the People to depart in Peace, which brought another moft terrible Plague, a univerllil Mur- rain, which broke but the next Day upon all the inconfiftent Vv^ith Theocracy. 47 the Sheep, Cattle, Horfes, Affes, and Camels of Egypt, and which deftroy'd them all, while the Ifraelites in Go/Zv;/ loft not one. All the Cattle of Egypt died, but of the Cattle of the Children ^Ilrael died not one. Chap. ix. 6. But Pharaoh and the Egyptians were not yet convinced, that God was on the Side of Mofes and Aaron, or that they could carry ^ their People fafe out of the Land. The fixth Plague, which was inflidled the next Day, was a bliftering Scab, which broke the very next Morning, upon Man and Beaft, through- out all the Land of Egypt : The Malignity of this corrofive Scab was fo great, that the Sorcerers themf elves could not fiand before Mo- fes, becaufe of the Scabs, for the Scab was up^ on the Inchanters, and upon all the Egyptians, Chap. ix. II. It is here obfervable, that this Malignity fell upon Man and Beaft, though all the Beafts in Egypt, their Sheep, their Catde, Horfes, Affes, and Camels, had been deftroy'd but a Day or two before with the Murrain. But Pharaoh, and his Servants, not being yet convinced, a feventh Plague was fent a Day or two after, which was the moft dreadful Storm of Rain, Hail, and Thunder, that ever had been known: But of this the Egyptians feem to have had a whole Day's Warning. Yox.Mofes acquainting Pharaoh the Day before what would happen on the Morrow, advifes to fend and get in his Sheep, Catde, and all they had in the Field, 2 fiace 48 Superftition and Tyranny fince the Hail and Thunder would deftroy every Thing, both Man and Beaft, that fhould be found in the open Fields. Upon this Warning, fome of the Egyptians, fuch as feared the Lord among the Servants of Pha^ raohy made their Servants and Cattle take Shelter and Security in the Houfes : But fuch of them as minded not the Threatning left their Servants and Cattle in the Field, where they all perifhed. This is the third Time that all the Cattle and Beafts of Egypt were deftroy'd ; for they had all peri(h'd but a few Days before with the Murrain ; yet now, it feems, they had them again, and faved as many of them as they brought in out of the Fields, and had fecured in Houfes, before this terrible Tempeft arofe. Chap, ix. 18. to the End. The next Judgment was, the Plague of Grafshoppers, which Mofes threatned iliould be brought in the next Day, which fliould cover the whole Face of the Earth, fill all the Houfes of the Egyptians, and deftroy every Plant, Vegetable, and Blade of Grafs or Herbage of every Sort, which the Hail had left. This was accordingly done; but, as foon as Mofes had removed the Plague, which he could do at any Time, as eafily and as foon as he could inflid: it, the King hardened his Heart again, and went off from his Word. Upon this Plague of the Grafshoppers, Pharaoh icnt for Mojcs and Aaron inconfiftent with Theocracy 49 Aaron again, to know their whole and full Demands. And Pharaoh Jaid^ Go Jerve the Lord your God\ but who are they that Jljall go? Upon this they demanded to go out peaceably and unmolefted, with their Wives, Children, Flocks, Herds, and their whole Subftance, fo as to leave nothing behind them; but the King oi Egypt did not yet think him- ' felf reduced to any fuch Neceflity, and there- fore received their bold and infolent Demand with Contempt and Scorn : He bid them Go, you that are Men^ and ferve the Lord ; for that, faid he, was your Dejires^ or utmoft Demand hitherto. But Pharaoh told them^ that as to their going out of Egypt with their ^ Wives and Children, their Sheep and Cattle, their Bag and Baggages, and all that they had got in the Land, it fhould not be, and if they infilled on that, they might look to themfelves, for Evil was before them ; and then they were thru ft out from the Pretence of Pharaoh, This happened before the Plague of the Grafshoppers had been brought on, and when Mojes had only threatned it. But upon the King*s Obftinacy, and dealing fo roughly with Mofes, the Judgment was exe- cuted. For by a mighty ftrong Eaft-Windj which blew all that Night, and the next Day, the Grafshoppers were brought over the whole Land, and the Judgment executed, to the great Amazement and Terror of the Egyp- tians. The King nov/ faw his Miftake, and E , calling 50 Superftition and Tyranny calling in Hafte for the two Brothers, own*d his Sin, and promifed to grant them their own Terms and full Demands. Upon this Mofes^ by praying to the Lord, brought on a mighty ftrong Wejl-Wind^ which immediate- ly carried off all the Locnfts, or Grafshop- pers, and fwept them out of every Houle, and every Creek and Corner of the Land, into the Red Sea, But ftill Pharaoh'^ Heart was hardened, and he continued as obftinate as ever, as foon as the Plague was removed, and it could not be other wife, becaufe the Lord had hardened his Heart, But Pharaoh now relents a little, and would give them Leave to go out with their Wives, and Chil- dren, to ferve the Lord in the Wildernefs, only they fliould leave their Sheep and Cattle behind them : But Mojes and Aaro7t ftill perfifted on their full Demand, which fo eur raged the King, that he commanded them out of his Prelence, and forbid theiw, at their Peril, ever to fee his Face more. For all which, I muft refer the Reader to Exod, X. I, G?t\ The next and ninth Plague brought upon P'gypty was thick palpable Darknefs, which continued for three Days, during which Time no Man could rife out of his Seat, nor move from his Place, but the Egyptians were all pinn'd down like fo many Statues: But in the mean while, in the Province of (jQjJieny xvhere the Ifraelites were, it was very J - . . fair. « ...n M ■' ■ ■ ■ ■ * inconfiftent with Theocracy* 51 fair, clear Weather, and Xo Appearance of Darknefs at alls and tho' the Darknefs in this Cafe muft have come as near to them, as a boundary Stone between two Hundreds or Counties, yet they were not fenfible of it; nor had the Egyptians all this while any Power of lighting Fire or Candles, or moving out of their Place. For this muft be fuppofed, or the Credit of the Hiftorian muft be loft. Hitherto we find the Ifraelites had gain'd no Ground. After all thefe Plagues and De- monftrations of divine Power, Pharaoh and the Egyptians continued refolute, and were determined not to let thefe Hebrew Shepherds go with Confent, and under Safe-guard, out of the Land. They had offered them, at firft, that all the Males fhould go out, who were the only Plague they wanted to get rid of. And afterwards they would have let their Women and Children go with them, but now they rife upon their Demands. They would go with all their Flocks and Herds, and would not leave a Hoof behind them. I only deiire it may be taken Notice of here, that this was never granted them, as will appear by the tenth and laft Plague, which I am now to relate. All the other Plagues having taken no Ef- fedl, and the Ifraelites being flill more and more diftrefs'd, and brought to the laft Ex- tremity, the laft and finifhing Plague is now refolved on, and declared by Mojes an4 Aaron E 2 , to 5 2 Superflition and Tyranny to Pharaoh. All the Firft-born of Egypt were to pcrilli in one Night, from Pharaolo^ Houfe, to the meaneft Subjedt in the Land, Chap. xi. But, in the mean while, every Thing is contriv'd and ordered for a Flight; the Paflbver is inflituted, the whole People are -let know, that they are to leave the Land all together in the Dead of the Night, and without ftaying to conteft the Matter with the Egyptians any farther. They could not, by all the former Struggles and Appearances of God on their Side, obtain a Pafs or Safe- guard out oi Egypt', and, therefore/ now be- ing reduced to the laft Extremity, they muft take another Way for it. But this Judg- ment or Plague being executed, and all the Firft-born of Egypt flain in one Night, both of Man and Beaft, the grand Point was now gain'd ; and Pharaoh calFd Mofes and Aaron by Night, and allowed them to go off with their Wives, Children, Cattle, and their whole Subflance; nay, the Egyptians dreaded fo much what worfe Confequences might hap- pen, and that after the Firft-born all the reft might perifh, that they even thruft them out, and gave them whatever Gold, Silver, Jew^ els, or Ear-Rings they afk'd, only to get rid of them. How far the Hebrew Hiftorian here agrees with himfelf, or with any Remains of pro* fane Story, may be farther confidered after- wards. I fliall, at prefent, only remark what 3 ^s inconiiftent with Theocracy. 5 3 is own'd, and for which I have the Authority and Teftimony of the Hebrew Author him- felf. It is very plain then, from what Hes before us, that this Exodus of the IJraelites out of Egypty was fudden, and had been refolv'd upon in one Day, v/ithout giving Pharaoh ^ or his Servants, any Notice. They were all apprized of it juft before, that they could flay in Egypt no longer, and that they muft get off that very Night. They went off in the Dead of the Night, and with fuch a Diftrac- tion and Hurry, that they had not Time to leaven their Doughy to Jit at ^able^ or to ob^ ferve any of the common Formalities of Eat- ing and Drinking. This fudden and unex- pe<5led Flight gave them an Opportunity of gaining a Day or two's March on the Egyp- tianSy before they could get an Army ready to purfue them, which might give them t Chance of faving their Lives, and prevent their being all put to the Sword, where they were. That this was the Cafe, that they did not go off by Confent, but fled for their Lives, is very plain, from the Refolution of Pha* raohy to purfue them, and prevent, if pofll- ble, their Efcape. The Hebrew Author here fuggefts, and would have it believ'd, that the Defign of this Purfuit was to bring them back again, and rdftain them in the Country as Slaves, and not to put them^ to the Sword, and deftroy . E 3 them 54 Superflition and Tyranny them all at once, to prevent any farther Dan- ger from them. But in this the Hiftorian contradicts himfelf, and the Confequence of the Story, from firft to laft. For, *tis very plain, from what has been obferved from this Author, that the Egyptians, for at lea ft 8q Years paft, had concerted and aimed at exter- minating and deftroying all the Hebrew Males, becaufe they were grown too numer- ous and mighty, and, confequendy, might one Day or other conquer the Country, and either expel or enflave ih6 Egyptians, elpecial- ly if they fliould take an Opportunity of joining with a foreign Enemy. That this had been the Policy and concerted Defign of the Court of Egypt, from before the Birth of MofeSy is, I think, unqucftionable, from the Hebrew Hiftorian's ov/n Authority, Pha- raoh, before this fudden, unexpefted Flight, had forbid Mofes and Aaron his Prefence, re- folved never to give them another Audience, and told them, that Evil was before them^ and they might look to themfelves. From this Time, we may fee plainly, that the Deftrudion of the Hebrews, efpecially the Males, had been refolv'd upon ; and that Pharaoh thought he had it now \x\ his Power, and that they could have no human Appear- ance of efcaping. He could not imagine, that his own People, the Populace, or com- mon People of Egypt themfelves, would fa- vour their Efcape, and affift in getting them 2 off inconfiftent with Theocracy. 55 off before the Morning. And yet fo it was> whatever the Egyptians had fufFered from them, while they were in their full Power and Profperity, under the Adminiftration of Jojeph 'y though they had been then abfolutc- ly ruin'd, enflav'd, and ftript of all Property, even in Money, Goods, or Liberty, and made perpetual Vaffals to the Crown ; and though after this, thefe Hebrews^ not content with their firft Settlement in Gojloen^ had over-run every other Province of Egypt^ and the whole Land was full of them^ fo as to threaten an intire Conqueft of the Country: Yet now when the Government after a long Struggle had got the better of them, when they had drove them up into a fmall Part of their antient Set- tlement in Gofhen^ and when the Matter was come to fuch an Extremity, that they were all to be cut off, and deftroyed the very next Day ', natural Compaffion moved the Egypti- ans^ the common People^ to pity them, and to affift them in their Efcape all at once, and in the Middle or Dead of the Night. By this Means they might poiTibly gain a Day or two's March, before Pharaoh could get ready to purfue them with an Army ; and hereby, the Red Sea being near, and Mofes being tho- roughly acquainted with its Coaft, and with all the Avenues and Pafles among the Moun- tains, they might happen to fave themfelves, and avert the imminent Danger and impend- ing Deftrudtions. To this Purpofe the Egyp- E 4 tian 56 Superftition and Tyranny tian Populace hurried them, with all imagi- nable Hafte and Precipitation, and gave them Money, Jewels, Rings, and what was valuable, and eafily portable, to fupply them with fuch Neceflaries as they might want in their Journey, and before they could come to any certain fix'd Settlement. The Text fays, the Ifraelites bor^ rowed of the Egyptians Jewels of Gold, Sil- ver, Raiment, ^c. Some learned Men hav- ing miftaken the Senfe of this PafTage, have broken the Senfe of the Story, and given a wrong Notion of the Matter. The Hebrew Word Shaal^ which we render to borron&^ fignifies to aik, pray, or petition : It is the iame Word which is ufed PfaL ii. 8. AJk of me^ and I will give the Heathen for thy Lihe- ritame^ &c. Sheal ve ettenah. The true Senfe of the Paflage, therefore, is, that the Egyp-^ tian Populace, out of Pity and Compaffion, hurried them off as faft as they could, favour- ed and afiifted their Efcape in the Dead of the Night, and gave them what might be necef- iary, and. all that they could fupply them with in fuch an Exigence, that they might liot perifli in the Wildernefs, or want Nccef- f tries till they could come to fome Settlement, and make a better Provifion for themfelves ; And that thefe Hebre'ws^ notwithftanding all paft Injuries, had been kindly treated by the People, at their leaving Egypt ^ will be farther evident, from the great Fondnefs they often difcovered afterwards, to go back thither again, which inconfiftent with Theocracy 57 which MpfeSy with all his Art, had much a- do to prevent. But I (hall now fuppofe them miraculoufly pafs'd the Red Sea, with their Wives, Chil- dren, Flocks, Herds, &c. without leaving fo much as a Hoof behind them 5 that Pharaoh and his Hoft, the Strength and Flower of Egypt, had been all drowned in purfuing them, and that all the Sheep, Cattle, and '^ Beafts of Egypt, together with all the Corn, Grafs, and Fruits of the Earth had been de- ftroy'd juft before they came away. In this Cafe, furely Egypt, thus ruined, wafted, and depopulated, muft have been left a very un- defirable Country, and a more uncomfortable Habitation, than even the Wildernefs itfelf. And yet the very fame Day Month that Mojh had brought them out of Egypt, the whole Congregation of Ifrael, or Body of the Peo- ple, were all in an Uproar, clamouring, mu- tinying, and ready to ft:one their Deliverers, Mofes and Aaroti, for bringing them out of io, rich and plentiful a Country, where they had Bread and Fleih to full, into fo barren a Defert, where they had neither Bread nor Flefh, and had no other Profpedl, but to perifti with Famine. To filence this Mur- mur, and appeafe the enrag'd People, God now furniflies them miraculoufly with Man- na and Quails, which were to ferve them for Bread and Flefti, to keep them from perifliing in the Wildernefs^ ^ where they ccujd have no other 5 8 Superflition and Tyranny other Suflenance, and had nothing elfe to eat. The Account of this miraculous Prcfervation in the Defert, without any of the Bread or Flefh, of which they had Plenty in Egypt^ the Reader will find in Exodus xvi. through- out. I would here afk, what was now become of all thofe vaft Flocks and Herds of Sheep and Cattle which they brought out of Egypt with them, and of which they had not loft an Hoof, while all the Sheep and Cattle in £- gypt had been deftroy'd, and were perifh'd in the Plague ? Were all the Sheep and Cattle of the Ifraelites drown'd, together with Pharaoh and his Hoft, in the Red Sea, that they had now no Provifions, or Suftenance at all, but what they were miraculoufly fupply'd with ? Or could they think to mend the Matter much, by going back again into a Country, which they had left quite defolate and barren, without Sheep, Cattle, Grafs, Herbage, or a- ny Thing elfe? But this confirms what I had obferv'd before, that the Ifraelites did not at laft gain their Point ; that they did not go out of Egypt with all their Subftance, Flocks, and Herds; and that the kind Egyptian Po- pulace had hurry^d them out with the utmoft Precipitation, and furnifti'd them with what they could, juft for the prefent, to fave theni from the Slaughter and Deftrudlion then im- pending, and which had been refolv'd upon the very next Day, This inconfiftent with Theocracy. 59 This Murmuring for Bread and Flefti, and the miraculous Supply of Manna and Quails, to prevent a Famine, was in the Wildernefs of Si7i, Their next Incampment was at Re- phidim^ where they mutiny again, for want of Water. Wherefore^ fay they to Mofes^ hajl thou brought us out of Egypt to kill us^ and our Children^ and our Cattle, with Thirji? Exod. xvii. 3. And again, more fully, Numb, XX. 2, 3, 4, 5. And they ajfembled themfehes againji Mofes, and againji Aaron. And the People chod with Mofes, and fpake, faying^ Would to God we had perijhed when our Bre- thren died before the Lord. Why have ye thus brought the Congregation of the Lord into this Wildernefs, that both we, and our Cattle, jhouli die there. Wherefore now have ye made us to come out of Egypt, to bring us into this hor^ rid Place, which is no Place of Seed, nor Figs^ nor Vines, ?2or Pomegranates, neither is there here any Water, Here we fee, that they had changed their Condition much for the worfe; that Mojes had brought them out of a rich and plentiful Country, into a defolate, barren Wildernefs, where they wanted all the com- mon Neceffaries of Life; and that though they had been at laft forc*d to ferve the Egyp- tians, yet they had never been reduc'd to any great Extremity, or wanted any Thing there, till MoJes and Aaron attempted to bring them jout of the Land, upon fuch Terms as Pha- raoh^ 6o Superftition and Tyranny raohy and the Egyptian Court, were refolv^d never to grant. In the lafl Incampment, the People were all ready to perifli with Famine, as we havefeen: They had no Bread, nor FkJJj^ but what they were miraculoufly fupply'd with m Manna and ^{ails : They had, therefore, dien no Sheep, or Cattle ; no Flocks, or Herds ;, and, confe- quently, wifli'd themfelves back again at the FleJJ^Pots of Egypt. But now, it feems, they had their Flocks and Herds again, which were like to periili for want of Water : They could not, therefore, now complain for want of the conimon, ordinary Flefli, Beef and Mutton, though they had nothing of that Kind a Day before at Sin. But the Hebrew Author never regards any literal Truth, or Confiftency of Story : He was to relate no- thing but Miracles, as beft agreeing with the Temper and Genius of a People fo grofly ig- norant and fuperftitious, who could receive iand fwallow every Thing of that Kind. It will be allow'd, that even a Dramatick Writer, in all his Invention and poetic Ima- gry, ought to keep up the Appearance of Pro- bability ; and fo, no Doubt, did the Hebrew Hiflorian, with Regard to the People, for whom he wrote ; and to whom nothing was improbable, that was but fupernatural, ab- iurd, or contradidlory enough. As Mofes had miraculoufly fupply'd this People with Bread and Fleih, but a few Days ineonliftent with Theocracy. 6i Days before, when they had other wife pe- rifh'd with Famine, and had nothing to fub^ fill on, he now muft work another Miracle to fupply them with Water, when they muft otherwife have periflVd with Thirft. And here Mofes^ by ftfiking the Rock twice with his Rod, made Water gufli out of it in abun- dance, fufficient to fatisfy the People, and all their Cattle: This muft, doubdefs, at firft appear as great a Miracle to the Ifraelites^ as any that Mojes had hitherto wrought : And yet, by this ftupendous Work, Mofes and Aaron forfeited their Entrance into Canaan^ and had almoft loft all their Intereft and Reputation with the People. The Ifraelites^ while in Egypt^ had never feen any frefli Water Springs, or Water flowing out of the Rocks, to fupply the Rivers. They had all their Water, which fupply'd all the Cities and Towns of Egypt, by Caimls, cut from the Nile 5 but they knew nothing of the Ori- gin and Formation of Rivers, or that they arofe from a Concourfe of innumeraBle fmaller Streams and Rivulets derived from the inland Fountains, which ilTued out of the Rocks. Mofes and Aaron ^ therefore, had now a fair Opportunity of working a won- derful Miracle, and demonftrating the. di- vine, fupernatural Power and Virtue of their infpired Rod, or magic Wand. This was a good Shift for the Time, and anfvvered two very extraordinary Purpofes under the pre- lent 62 Superftition and Tyranny fent Exigence. In the firft Place, to quiet' the Tumult, and ftop the farther Rage of the People, in which the divine Millionaries might have been torn to Pieces ; and then, at the fame Time, to give a farther Demonftra- tion of their Miffion from God, and thereby ftrengthen their o'wn Authority, at leaft for the prefeitt. But the Credit of this Miracle could not laft long ; for, as the People were now brought into the mountainous Part of the Country, they muft foon find, that the Flowing of Water out of the Rocks, was not owing to any fupernatural Power, or Skill of Mojes^ or to any extraordinary Virtue of the Rod or Wand, by which they did fuch Won- ders ; but that this was the common Work of God and Nature, and that Mofes and Aaron could not afterwards, by the Virtue of their Rod, bring Water out of every Rock. 'Tis eafy to guefs, what an EfFed: this muft have had upon the People, and the Story af- terward plainly (hews it, for the Hiftoriau could not difguife it. The People were now come to the South End of the Amorite Mountains, which lay neareft to B^gypt. Here they attempted to penetrate into Canaan^ and to this Purpofe they had a pitch'd Battle with the Ainalekites, which lafted a whole Day, till Sun-fet: This Battle feems to have been very obftinate and bloody on both Sides ; fometimes the one pre- vailed and repulfed the Enemy, and fome- times; incoofiftent with Theocracy. 63 times the other. But the Hiftorian muft make a Miracle here too; for when Mofes held up his Hand, Ifrael prevailed -, but when he let it down^ Amalek prevailed. But when Mofes s Hands grew heavy, that he could hold them up no longer, they fat him upon a Stone, and Aaron and Hur^ one on one Side, and the other on the other Side, held up his Hands, till the Going down of the Sun. So Ifrael^ it feems, kept the Field, and difcom- fited Amalek, for which they made Rejoic- ings, and kept that Day in perpetual Remem- brance, vowing the utter Deftruftion of the Amalekites^ whenever they fliould have it in their Power, Exod. xvii. 8. to the End. But, it is plain, that Ifael, in this Battle, had no Reafon to boa ft 3 for, in fo long and bloody a Fight, their Lofs muft have been very confi- derable; though they kept the Field, as the Hebrew Hiftorian tells, yet they had been fo far di(heartened, that Mofes could never after- ward engage them in another Battle againft any Tribe of the Canaaiiites. The People now faw, that they wefe not to be put peace- ably into the Pofieffion of Canaan, and the Lord was not fo far with them, as to fettle them there in a miraculous Way. The 400 Years of the Promife, from the Birth of Jpac, or the 430, from the firft Promife made to Abraham in Mefopotamia, were now expired, and they had no prefent Profpeft of Canaan, after they had been brought 9ut Qi Egypt. Mojis, 64. Superilition and Tyranny" Mofss, therefore, was now forced to ftay in the Wilddrnefs ahnoft 40 Years longer, till that whole Generation was gone oft, and he had raifed up another better difciplined, more inured to Hardlhips, and that might not have fo ftrong a Dependance on a miraculous Con- queft, or imagine that the Lord, in Confe- quence of his Promife and. Oath io Abrahafn^ Ifaac^ and Jaakoby would do every Thing for them. Thus was this great Politician defeated in the Beginning of his Attempt, and never lived to fet a Foot on the promifed Land himfelf, though he out-lived the Pro- mifes, and his own Declarations upon them 40 Years. Mofes feem'd now to have been almoft at the End of his Politicks: He had failed in his firfl grand Attempt of penetrating into the Country j the People grew diffident of him, and he could fcarce make them believe any longer, that the Lord was with them. Under this Difficulty and Diftrefs, Jethro his Fa- ther-in-Law came to vifit him, and put him into a better Way of governing the People, and managing Affairs. He had hitherto taken the whole Weight of the Government upon himfelf, and the People had no other to refort to for Judgment, and Advice, in any Cafe: He advifed him to appoint proper Officers, and Judges, over diflind Bodies and Divifions of the People, who might eafe him, and take off the Weight of Bulinefs from him in all ordi- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 65 'ordinary Cafes, and that he might only be appeal'd to in the moft extraordinary Matters. This was certainly very good Advice, and ac- cordingly complied with j though the Lord, or Jehovah himfeif, had never put Mojes into this Way; but he had thought, that the fmalleft Matters, as well as the greateft, muft be determined by himfeif, as immediately » from the Lord; which was, doubtlefs, taking too much upon him, and going beyond his Abilities. The next Remove and Incampment of the Ifraelites was Sinai^ where Mofes gave the Law, and took a folemn Oath from all the People, which obliged both them, and their Pofterity, to perpetual Obedience. This Law was never to be altered by any future Change of Perfons, or Circumflances. They were to worfliip the God of Ifrael alone, or Mofes and Aaron s God, and not the God of any other Land or Country whatever. Mojes having given the Moral and Civil Laws, and taken a folemn Oath from the People, for perpetual Obedience, goes up a- gain into the Mount, and takes with him Aaron ^ and his Sons Nadab and Abihu^ with 70 of the Elders of Ijrael^ where they were to fee this national tutelar God, to whom they had been thus folemnly fworn. ^Imi 'went up Mofes and hdiXon^ Nadab and Ahxhu^ and feventy of the Riders of Ifrael. And tkey fa w the God of Ifrael, and under his Feet was, F as 66 Superftition and Tyranny as if were^ the Work of a Sapphire Stone, and as the very Heaven ivhen it is clear. And upon the Nobles of the Children of Ifrael he laid not his Hand [or did not hurt or puniih them] alfo they faw God, and did eat and drink. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Come up to me into the Mountain, and be there, and I will give thee I'ables of Stone, and the haw and the Commandments which I have written to teach them, Exod. xxiv. 9 12. This, furely, was the greateft Favour, to fee him who is abfolutely infinite and invifible, and to hear his Voice, as fenfible, local, and circumfcrip- tive, who from the neceifary Nature and Rea- fon of Things, neither has, or can poflibly havej any fuch fenfible Properties. But this, as well as the whole Story all along, makes it evident, that this God of Ifrael, or the God that Mofes and Aaron had made and provided for the People, was a local, tutelar, vifible, and audible God, and the God and Protedor of that Nation only, without any fuch Rela- tion to any other Nation or Country. This then could not be the God of Heaven and Earth, the infinite, omniprefent Creator, who, without Refped: of Perfons, has an equal Re- gard to all his Creatures, and who is the God and Rewarder of all fuch as diligently feek him, in one Nation or Country, as well as another. And 'tis certain, from all Hiftory, that the Knowledge and Worfliip of the true God never was confined to Ifrael^ whereas all inconfiftent with Theocracy. . 67 all the Superftition in the World came ori- ginally from them, fo far as any Records now extant can p;o. And I would here call upon all the Learned in this i\ge, to ihow me what Nation in the World ever received the true Religion, or the Woriiiip of the true God, from this Nation. But daring the 40 Days that Mofes ftald on the Mount, Aaron and the People had made a Calf, and afcribed their whole Deliverance to the Gods of ^gypt. And this, after they had feen all the Wonders of the Lord in ■Egypt, and at the Red Sea, depended abfo- lutely for now three Months on the God of Mofes, for a miraculous Supply of Bread, Flefh, and Water, when they had no natural Way or Means of Sabfiftence; and after the Chiefs and Heads of them had feen this true God, in all his Glory, and heard his Promife and Declaration to Mofes, that he would write all his Laws with his own Hand on Tables of Stone, and fend them down to the People, to be kept as a perpetual, facred Depofitum a- mong them. Yet after all this, they relapf- ed fuddenly, and within 40 Days of Mofss Stay on the Mount ; they relapfed, I fay, in- to the old Egyptia7i Idolatry, and v/ere not yet convinced, that the Gods of Egypt were not true Gods^ or that Mofes and Aaron had wrought any greater, or more real Miracle?, than the Egyptian Priefts and Magicians. And Aaron himfeif, at this Time, feems to F 2 have 68 Superftition and Tyranny have come very readily, and v^ithout Oppofi- tion, into the Sentiments of the Populace, and to have defpaired ever to have brought this People into Canaaii^ there to eftablifli a King- dom of their own ; for he made their God, and joined with them in the Cry of extolling the Gods of Egypt, as their true and real Deliverers. But, is it poffible, with any Ap- pearance of Probability, to join this Story with what the fame Author had related be- fore, concerning all the Demonftrations of Power in the God of Ifrael, fuperior to the Gods of Egypt? Is it conceivable, that this People fhould be more ftupid and brutifh than their Sheep and Cattle 5 or would not an Ox, or an Afs have more Senfe and Gratitude to- wards their Owner, Feeder, and Preferver? This might be faid, perhaps, in fome fpiri- tual Matters, and where the Interefts of the Soul, and another World, which are out of Sight, (hould be fet againft thofe of the Body, and the prefent fenfible Life. But here was no fuch Matter : They were not at all im- prefs'd with any Hopes, or Fears, of Good or Evil after Death : They could only judge of their prefent, temporal Intereft -, and upon this Score they thought they had no Reafon to thank Mofes, or to believe any Thing of his divine Miffion and Authority : They faw and felt, that Mojes had much worfted their Con- dition in thus enraging the Egyptians, and forcing them to flee for their Lives out of a rich inconliftcnt with Theocracy. 69 rich and plentiful Country, into fo barren and terrible a Wildernefs, where they could have now no Profpedl of ever gaining a better Set- tlement. They had found, by Experience, from their ill Succefs with the Amalekites^ that Mofes had promifed more than he could perform, that his pretended Oath of God to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jaakob, was not made good, though the Time was elapfed ; and, confequently, that the Lord was not fo inti- mate with, and favourable to Mofes, as he pretended. No Body can read this Story without drawing fuch Confequences from it, as the moft natural Senfe and Conftrudlion of fuch Events. The frequent Murmurlngs of the People in the Wildernefs, the great and grievous Hard- (bips they fuffered there for 40 Years toge- ther, the bloody Wars they were engaged in afterwards, from which they were fcarce ever free, the cruel, unnatural Work they were at laft fet upon, to gain any Settlement at all, and their eager Defire, and ftrong Inclination fo often difcovered, and breaking out in the Wildernefs, to go back again to Egypt, and to fubmit themfelves, and make the befl Terms they could with the Egyptians-, all this, and the whole Sequel and Conftrucliori of the Story (hew, that Mofes and Aaron had never received fo full and ample a Commiilion and Authority from God, as they pretended to 3 and that their own Ambition of forming F 3 and 70 Superfiition and Tyranny and eftablifliing a Kingdom of their own, in which the fupreme Power v/as to be for ever fettled and fecured, in their own Houfe and Family -, that this, I fay, had weigh'd more with them in fetting about fuch an Enter- prize, than the Good of the People. I think any one mufl: be convinced of this, who reads the whole Story, from firft to laft, with any Impartiality, and fo as to form his Judg- ment of it by the fame Rules of Criticifm and Interpretation, that he would think fit and reafonable in examining and judging of any other Hiftory, or Account of Things. But this cannot, I know, be admitted, where there is a flrong Prejudice and Prepoffeffion of Infpiration, Revelation, and immediate, pofitive, divine Authority. And yet this Pre- tence would be full as good in Favour of Zoroafter^ Mahomet^ or any other Pretender to Revelation above Reajbn. For this being once fuppofed, no Scheme of Superftition, or falfe Religion, can be ever brought to the Teft of Reafcn, or be judged of by it; but one Syilem of Pofitives may be prov'd by Miracles, Prophecies, and Revelations, as well as another. But not to follow the Hebrew Hiftorian any farther; the Sum of what has been hi- therto obferved is this : That thefe Hebrew, or Eaftern Shepherds, came firft into Egypf^ and gained a Settlement in the beft and rich- tft Part of the Country, not only without Oppo- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 71 Oppofition, but even by Invitation and Con- fent. That foon after they had been re- ceived and fettled there, they fo far ingra- tiated themfelves with the King and Court, as to obtain the principal Power, Government, and Direftion of the Kingdom, and reduce the Egyptians themfelves to a State of Depen- dence on them. That the ^gyptianSy m Procefs of Time, grew jealous of them, found them to be too numerous and mighty for them, and therefore contrived how to bring them dov^n, keep them under, and re- gain their antient Power and Liberty : That hereupon, in this Struggle and Oppofition, the Shepherds at firft prevailed, and not con- tent with their firft Settlement, fpread them- felves all over the Country, and threatened an intire Conqueft ; for, fays the Hebrew Hifto- rian, fpeaking of the Time about the Birth of MofeSy the whole Land was full of them. But after a long Conteft and Struggle on both Sides, the Egyptians at laft prevailed; they ' drove the Shepherds into that Part of the Country which they were firft poflfeflled of, they kept as many of them, as they could, to hard Labour, and ufed all pofllble Means to root them out, and deftroy them : They were driven, at laft, to the utmoft Extremity, and when Mofes undertook and attempted their Deliverance, inftead of mending the Matter, it ftill grew worfe and worfe with them ; and Matters were brought at length to F 4 fuch 72 Superftition and Tyranny fuch an Exigence, that their utter Deftruc- tion, in one Day, had been relbived upon 5 and had they not found Means to efcape by Flight, and hurry off all together in the Dead of the Night, they muft have been all put to the Sword. But by this fudden precipi- tate Flight, they gained a Day or two's March of the Egyptians, who purfued them with a great Army. But this Army being by fome extraordinary Providence fcattered and broken, the Shepherds efcaped iiife into the Deferts of Arabia, where after long Hardships and Suf- ferings, they gained at laft a Settlement in Canaan, by conquering and driving out the old Inhabitants, and taking Poffeffion of their Lands and Labours. This is the Hebrew Hiftorian's own Account of the Matter, when it comes to be freed from the dramatic, fifti- tious Circumftances, and poetic Lnages, with which he clogs, darkens, and confufes, fo as to render his Story incredible and inconfiftent. And this plain, natural Account is perfectly agreeable to all that Manetho, and other pro- fane Authors have left us concerning the Shep- herds in Egypt, the eafy Settlement they gain- ed there, the Con quells and Devaftations they afterwards made, and, at laft, their Expulfion out of the Country. Some very learned Men have taken great Pains to fhew, that the Shepherds mentioned by Manetho, and others from him, could not be the IJraelites^ or Hcbreiv Shepherds'^ tho* I they inconfiftent with Theocracy. 73 tliey have not been able to difcover any other Nation in the World, that ever diftinguilhed themfelves by this Name, or afliimed fuch a national Charafter, as thefe Hebrew Shepherds certainly did. And bating the Dramatifm and fictitious Reprefentations of the Hebrew Author, every natural and credible Part of the Story will agree exadtly with what we find in profane Authors relating to the Shep- herds, who were firft expelled out of Egypt after they had made themfelves almoft intire Matters of the whole Country. Jofephus could not deny, and is forced to own, that thefe moft antient Shepherds, who were driven out of Egypt after they had obtained a peaceable Settlement, and great Power there, were the Ifraelites^ his own Nation. Jofephus^ indeed, denies what Manetho, and the Heathen Writ- ers charge upon thefe Shepherds, that they were greatly fubjeCt to the Leprofy, Itch, Scabs, Lice, and all Sorts of the moft invete- rate and contagious FoulnefTes of the Skin ; and that their having over-run the Country, and infedled the Egyptians with thefe Mala- dies, v/as one great Reafon which induced the People of Egypty in general, at laft to take up Arms againft them, and drive them out of the Land. But the Reafons wfhich Jofephus offers againft this Calumny, as he thought it, inftead of - weakening, rather ftrengthen and confirm the Thing, as true in Fad. The great Care and Precaution which 74 Superilition and Tyranny which Mofes took in the Conftitution of his Law againfl all fuch cutaneous Foulneffes, and to prevent the fpreading them from fuch as were ah'eady infected, fliews, indeed, that they muft be more free from thefe Diftem- pers, and lefs Hable to Infedion, after thefe rigid Precepts came to be put in Execution, than thev had been before. But this cannot prove, that they did not come out of Egypt m this leprous, fcabby Condition, or that they had not infeded the Egyptians v/ith it, before they came out. It rather proves the contrary, that they had been extreamly Hable to thefe Difeafes, while they were under no Law, and no fufficient Care had been taken to prevent thofe natural Effedls of grofs Feeding, foul Living, Uncleanlinefs, and Naftinefs. If this be not fuppofed, no Reafon can be given fvir thofe fevere Precepts which obliged them to fjch frequent Waihings and Cleanf- ings, both of their Bodies and Cloaths, and abfolutely prohibiting fuch unclean, infeded Perfons from coming into Company, or join- ing with the Congregation, till they had been thoroughly healed and cleanfed. The Con- lequence of which v/as, that many were con- fined for their whole Lives, and never fuffer- cd to appear Abroad more, where the Foul- iiefs prov'd to be incurable. Nay, in Cafes of this Kind, which were known to be con- tageous, the Perfon infeded was obliged to give Notice of it, by crying out, I am un- clean, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 75 clean, unclean ; and he was not to approach any Body, or fufter any one to come near him. Thefe rigorous Precepts, to prevent cutaneous Foulneiles, or hinder their Spread- ing and Propagation from one Body to an- other made a great Part of the Law and Reli- gion of Mojes; and all the Precepts about Meats, clean and unclean, the fevere Prohi- * bitions againft fo much as touching any Thing that might foul and infedt them, and the ftrid: Injund:ions for frequent Wafhing and Cleanfing, which, on one Account or o- ther, they muft be obliged to feveral Times a Day ', I fay all this terminates in the general Law, and Neceffity of keeping themfelves clean , which {hews, that they were naturally a very fordid, nafty People, and that they had been very great Sufferers by it. And, indeed, after all thefe legal Guards and In- junctions againft it, and by way of Preven- tion, they were ftill extreamly liable to thefe cutaneous, infectious Diftempers, efpecially the Leprofy, as their Hiftory {hews all down. And this may ferve to vindicate Manetho^ and other Heathen Authors, who have made this Sort of Difeafes a diilinguiihing Charafte- riftic of thefe antient Shepherds in Egypt. One of the moft learned Men among the Moderns, and who has taken great Pains to fhew, that the antient Shepherds, who were expeird out of Egypt ^ could not be the Ifrae^ Jites^ or the Hebrew Shepherds, is the Rev. Mr. y6 Superftition and Tyraniiy Mr. Sbuckford, in the fecond Volume of his Chronology, or the Sacred and profane Hijlo^ 7y of the World connected, I muft own, that the World has been very much obliged, and is likely to be more fo, by the Labours of this learned Man ^ but I can by no Means fee the Force of his Argument, with Regard to the Shepherds in Egypt^ while he endeavours to fhifc it oif from the Ifraelites, or Hebrew Shepherds; and fhal), therefore, take the Li- berty of briefly examining what he has faid about it. The Author is forced, by the Concurrence of all Hiftory and Chronology, to make the Time of the Shepherds being in Egypt co- incident with that of the Ifraelites being there j and allows, that the Conquefts and Devafta- tions of thofe Shepherds in Egypt happened between the Times of the Death of Jofephy and Birth of Mofes, He is inclined to place the Beginning of thefe Wars and Deyafta- tions of the Shepherds, about 13 Years before the Birth of Mofes ; though for aqy Thing that can be concluded from his Reafonings, it might have been 20 or 30 Years earlier : But be this as it will, I fliall not difpute it with him, but confider the Account he gives of thefe Shepherds, and their firft coming into Egypt, and fettling there by Conqueft and Force of Arms. His Account of the Matter runs thus. '' In the fifth Year of Concharisy " whom Jofp/jus from Manetho cMsTimt^uSy '' and inconfiftent with Theocracy. 77 " and who, according to Syncellus, was the *' 2Cth King of the Land of "tanis, or Lower " E^vpt there came a numerous Army of « unknown People, and invaded Egypt on a « fudden; they over-ran both the Upper and " Lov^cv Egypt y fired Houfes and Cities, killed <* the Inhabitants, and made a terrible De- ** vaftation all the Land over; and having, " in a little Time, fubdued all before them, " they made one of their own Leaders their *' King whofe Name was Salatis, Salatts *' being made King, laid the Land under *' Tribute, made the antient Inhabitants of «' E^ypt his Slaves, garifon d fuch Towns as '' he thought proper all over the Country, ^' eftablifhed himlelf upon the Throne, and " fettled his People in the Land. Whence '' Salatis, and his Followers came, is only to " be conjeftur^d : They calVd themfelves the ** Pajtors, or Shepherds ^, they took particular ^' Care to fortify the eaftern Parts of Egypt, ^* and feem'd moft afraid of a Difturbance '^ from that Quarter. The Government of '' Eg\pt being thus fubverted, the Protedion " and Happinefs which the Ifraelites enjoy'd, " perifh'd with it. Salatis knew nothing of " Jofeph.nov did he regard any Eftablifli- " ment which Jofeph had fettled : He made '' his Way into Egypt with his Sv^ord, and he *' brought his People into the Land by Con- «' queft, in fuch a fvlanner, and upon fuch '' Terms, as he thought fit; and tht IJraehtes " vvere y8 Superftition and Tyranny " were a rich and increafing People, inha- " biting the very Parts which he thought *' proper to take the greateft. Care of, and *' he readily fufpedted, that if any Invafion " fhould happen from the Eaft, they would " join againft them ; he therefore took a " particular Care to keep them low." Con- neif, See, />. 233, 234. I think we have here a very remarkable In fiance hov/ far Preju- dice may corrupt and bribe a Man's Judg- ment 5 for I take this whole Account of the Matter to be an intire Mifreprefentation of all Hiftory, both facred and profane. The learn- ed Author was refolved, that the Hebrew Shep- herds fhould not be the People who over-ran and conquered Egypt^ though he knew not what to do with another Set of Shepherds there at the fame Time, nor from whence to fetch them. The facred Hiftorian affures us, that it was the Ifraelites^ or Hebrew Shep- herds, that had over-run the whole L'and, and that they were grown more and mightier than the Egyptiam, But this learned Author was in fuch Diftrefs on this Occafion, that he is forced to fuppofe and aflert, that it was not the Hebrew^ or Eaftern Shepherds, but fome other Nation of Shepherds that came into Egypt by Force of Arms, and fuddenly over-running the Land, conquered and en- flaved the Egyptians and Ifraelites too. And by this ftrange Conqueft, the Happinefe and Liberties of the native Egyptia?2S and Ifraelites^ I or inconiillent with Theocracy. 79 or Hebrew Shepherds too, periflVd both toge- ther under the Yoke of an imaginary Nation of Shepherds, that had been never known or heard of before. What the Author here fnp- pofes and afferts, that the Shepherds came firft into Egypt by Force of Arms, and fet- tled themfelves there by a previous Conqueft, is as contrary to Manetho, and to all profane Story, as it is to the facred Text. Ma?ietbo in- forms us, that God being angry with theNa-* tion, there came into Egypt a great Number of Strangers, an unknown People from the Eaft, who called themfelves Shepherds^ that came in at firft peaceably, and fettled in the Country without any Oppofition, or without Jlriking a Blow, That in fome Length of Time, not content with their original Settle- ment, they made War upon the Egyptians^ over-ran the whole Country, committed great Outrages and Devaftations, and made the Kings and People of Egypt tributary to them. That after a long War and Struggle between •the two Nations^ the Egyptians, at length, got the better of the Shepherd People, drove them out of one Fortrefs and Strong-Hold after another, and, at laft, had fhut them up in one large, ftrong Town, called Abaris, where they had a very numerous Garifon, or armed Force of 240,000 Men. • Here they had been clofcly block'd up, and rc- duc'd to great Extremity, and yet faved them- felves, at laft, by a fudden Fiight, and cfcapM the 8o Superftition and Tyranny the Fury of the Egyptians, who purfaed then'l with an Intent to have cut them all off. This is the Subftance, without Difguife, of what we have from Manetho, and other Heathen Writers, concerning thefe Shepherds. And how well this agrees with our Hebrew fa- cred Account of the Matter, as to the natu- tural Part of the Hiftory, we have feen al- ready. But it mufl be own'd, that the fu- pernatural Part of the Story, as related by the Hebrew Author, has no collateral Evidence, and nothing of it can be found in any pro- fane Records of Antiquity. And how far this may ftrengthen or w^eaken the miracu- lous Part of the Hebrew Story^ I muft leave to farther Confideration. But this we know, that the antient Heathen Writers were ex- ceedingly fond of recording Miracles and Prodigies of any Kind, where they had the lead Foundation for it, though only by Re- port ; but the Hebrew Books having been al- ways kept as a facred Depofitum among them- felves, could never be confider*d or examined by the moft antient profane Authors; and this I prefume is the Reafon, that we hear fo little of their Miracles and Prodigies from other Hands. The learned Author thinks it a ftrong Ar- gument in his Favour, that the King of E- gypt, who broke with the Ijraelifes^ and en- deavoured to fuppreis them, could not be one of the Pharaoh^^ or native Kings of Egypt^ 'but inconfiftent with Theocracy 8i but a Foreigner, becaufe he was a new King^ who knew not Jofeph. I believe fuch a Reafon was never thought of before, that a new King muft be a foreign King, and that this King too muft have been a Foreigner^ becaufe he knew not Jofeph. A new King, in common Speech, fignifies no more than another King, or a new Succeflbr. From the Time that yo-* feph was made Prime Minifter, to his Death, was 80 Years, during which there muft have been feveral fucceffive Reigns in Egypt, pro- bably three or four at leaft. How long Jo- feph , before his Death, might have retired from publick Bufinefs, and not be known at Court, is not faid; but it might have been for many Years. V/e find, that he died ob- fcurely, and had only a private Interment, without any publick Notice taken of it. And in our Author's own Account, there had been 52 Years from the Death of Jofeph, before this new King arofe, who did not know him; and, therefore, he need not have been a Fo- reigner, after a Succeffion of five or fix ordi- nary Reigns had pafs'd fince the Beginning of Jofeph'^ Miniftry, and full Power in Egypt. Befides, had it been to this learned Author's Purpofe, he might have obferv'd, that the Phrafe, not to know, often fignifies, not to own or approve ; of which he might have prgduc'd a great Number of In fiances. And then, it is certain, that this new King, who was now juft come to the Throne, did not a^pprove of G the 8 2 Superftition and Tyranny • the Meafures which Jofeph had taken^for enu flaving the Nation, and fubjedting the Egyp- tians to his Brethren the Shepherds. But after all, it is evident, from the Hebrew Author himfelf, that the Ifraelite Shepherds were all along oppofed, and at laft driven out, or forced to a fudden Flight by the Pharaoh' Sy or native Kings of Egypt. For when an Ethiopian, or any Foreigner reign'd in Egypt^ the Hebrew Hiftorians never give him the Ti- tle of Pharaohy but diftinguifh him by fome other Name. The Author is hard put to it, to give us fo much as his Gueffes, or Conjedlures, who this imaginary Nation of Shepherds fhould be, or from whence they fliould come, who had conquered Egypt, and both the Egyptiam and Ifraelites too ; and this at a Time, when Egypt was in ifs full Strength and Glory, in Hindi Friendfhip and Alliance with another powerful Nation then among them, and in full Poffeffion of all the Fortreffes and Strong- Holds which Jofeph had built for Magazines and Store-Houfes. But it happens very un- lucky for the Author, that in his own Ac- count the War-Struggle, or Oppofition be- tween the Egyptiafis and the Ifraelites was coincident with the very Time when he fupr pofes this new imaginary Nation of flroUing, fugitive Shepherds to have come in, Sword in Hand, and conquered and enflaved them both* But honv contrary foever it may be I. to inconfiftent with Theocracy. 83 to all Hiftory, both lacred and profane, the learned Author will venture to guefs, that this new upftart Nation of Shepherds we7^e the Horites, whom the Children of Efau had drove out of their own Country, /. e. Idu?nea, But is it credible, that a Company of poor Fugitives, who had been driven out of their own Country by a Force vaftly inferior to that of Egypt, fhouM now^, all at once, fall in upon Egypt Sword in Hand, and conquer the Egyptia?2S and IJraelites ? Or could thefe IIorit£s have been called Eaftern and unknown People, with Refpeft to Egypt, when they were their next Door Neighbours, and fitu- ated in the North ? Or does our learned Au- thor any where find, that the Hcritcs had ever pafs'd under the national Name and Cha- rafter of Shepherds, as the IJraelites certainly did ? But it would be only lofing Time, and abufing the Reader*s Patience, to fay any Thing more in Confutation of fo ftrange and extravagant a Suppofition as this. It appears then, after all the Labours of this Author, and other learned Men, to prove the contrary, that the Shepherds, fo famous in profane Hiftory, for their Conquefts and Devaftations in Egypt, could be no other than the Hebrew Shepherds, or IJraelites. No o- ther whole Community,, or Body of People in all Story, ever pafs'd under this national Character, or aflumed to themfelves any fuch general Denomination. All antient Chrono- G 2^ logy,. 84 Superftition and Tyranny logy, when rightly adjufted, muft make the Times coincident, and the natural Hiftory of the Fad:s on both Sides, abftrading from the fupernatural Dramatifm, will be perfectly con- liftent and agreeable. But the contrary, it feems, is maintained in Defence of Revela- tion y and it muft be own'd, that all Revela- tion above Reafon, or fupernatural Accounts of Things, came originally from the Hebrew Patriarchs, who, of all Men living, feem to have been moft ignorant of natural Cauies ; fuice they refolved every Thing that happened to them into Miracle and immediate Interpo- fition ; or at leaft their SuccefTors, who have left us the Memoirs of their Lives, have done this for them. But fo it is, that we have 110 Hiilory of thofe earlier Ages, till the grofleft Superftition, and the deepeft Cheats of Magic and Prieftcraft had been eftabliflVd in Egypt 'y or we have no Remains of Hiftory earlier than the Days of Mofes, who was an Egyptia?i by Birth and Education, and which ought to be confider'd by any one who would read his Hiftory with Underftanding. The gradual Progrefs of Super ftition and falfe Religion in rhe World, under the Pre- tence of Revelation and fupernatural Appear- ances, dcfcrves a ferious Enquiry. I ftiall be- ftow fom.e Pages upon this, though I am fenfible, that I (hall hereby irritate and provoke many learned Men, who would be now thought the moft zealous Sticklers for Reve-^ 2 latioJt^ inconfiftent with Theocracy. 8^ htion, as a Fountain and Source of Know- ledge above Reajon, This has been always the Pretence of artful, defigning Priefts and Politicians of all Ages, and in every Country, (o far as Hiftory can carry us. And a better Method of befooling and enflaving Mankind could never have been thought of, than this Claim of a Principle, and Source of Know- ledge, and Rule of Judgmeat, above and beyond all human Reafon. It is wonderful to obferve how far this No- tion of Revelation has prevail'd, and how much the Paffions of Men are irritated and difturbed, even in this inlightened Age, whea they find it doubted of, or difputed. To de- ny, or doubt of a Revelation above Reafon, is much the fame Thing as denying God, and Providence, and throwing off the whole Religion of Nature. Such a Notion of Re- velation has been fixed and radicated by Edu- cation, and ftrongly imprefs'd by all the Ig- norance and Artifice of Priefts, and ProfefTors of School- Divinity. The Crafty work upon the Simple^ and the Inter e/l of one is the Cb;/- fcience of the other. Thus Craft founded on Intereft, and Ignorance fupported by Craft, has been ever the Foundation and un- furmountable Strength of 2i fupernatural- Re- ligion, It feems plain, that the Hebrew Nation, from the very Beginning, or from Abrahams Tin\e, paid a mediatorial or fubordinate, mir G 3 ' nifterial 86 Superftition arjd Tyranny nifterial Wor(hip to Angeh. They confider'd them as the Prime-Minifters of Providence, to whom God had committed the Govern- ment of the World. Thefe Guardian An- gels, or Geniij had the Charge of King- doms, Provinces, Cities, Towns, and even of particular Perfons. They had a Com- miffion from God to blefs or curfe, to fave or deftroy, to reward or punifh, as they thought fit, fuch Nations, or particular Per- fons, as God had put under their Care, In- fpedion, and Jurifdidion ; and thus autho- rized by Jehovah, or the fupream Being, they became his immediate, commiffioned Minifir ters, Agents, and Reprefentatives 5 and no Good or Evil could be difpenfed to Men, but under their delegated Authority, Cognizance, and Direftion. And from hence it was na- tural and neceffary to pay them all that Ho-., niagCj Obedience, or Worfliip, which their high Stations, and the Authority committed to them by the kipream Governor required. And, therefore, they might be, invoked di- redtly for any Bleffing or Good which they had Authority to difpenfe, as a Minifter of State may be apply'd to, and petitioned im- mediately and directly for any Place, Plonour, or Privilege, which the King has given him the Grant and Difpolal of. I think it is very plain, that thfs Notion .(of God's governing Providence, and the Dif- penfation of Good or Evil to Mankind, by the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 87 the Mlniftration of Angels, made a very con- fiderable Part of the Religion and Theology of the moil: antient Hebrew Patriarchs j at leaft, if MoJeSy their after Hiftorian, did not niifreprefent them. And of this, to pafs over others, we have a' very clear and undeniable Inftance in Jaakob on his Death- Bed : While he is bleffing his Sons, and taking his Leave of them, he invokes both God and the Angel diflindtly and feparately ; yet both the one^and the other direcSlly and immediately. For tho' his Guardian-Angel did not then appear to him, yet he thought him always prefent, and a Witnefs to all his Aftions. Now Jaakob juft dying, and taking Leave of Jofeph^ and his Children, faid, The God before whom my Fathers Abraham and Jfaac did walk, the God who has fed me all my Life long, unto this Day, blefs thee. The Angel that hath delivered me from all Evil blefs the Children, ^c. Here it is very plain, that the Angel •had been Jaakob\ Guardian-Protedor and Deliverer through the whole Courfe of his Life, as well as the God, whofe Agent and Minifter he was. This Religion of Guardian-Angels, or lo- cal, tutelar Gods, adting by Commiffion from the fupream Being, is at. leaft as old d.^'Abra-* ham^ fo far as we can depend on the Cre- dit of their after Hiftorians of that Nation : And beyond this one cannot carry the Argu- ment from human Authority. The Lord, G 4' ' or 88 Superftition and Tyranny or Jehovah, firft appeared and fpoke to A^ hram in Mejbpofamia, at, or before the Death of his Father T'erah, He had now promifed to make of him a great and mighty Nation, and to give them a rich and plentiful Coun-^ try : But what Country that fhould be. A- f?ram was not yet apprized. Canaan was now a defolate, barren Country, and not likely to be the promifed Land, as I have fhewn already. But I only mention this from Gen. xii. as the firft Inftance of the fupream God, or Jeho- vah, appearing and converfing with Men: But this is plain, from the fame Chapter, that as foon as Abraham came fo far weftward as Palejline, and found a barren, defert Coun- try, he could not think this the Place defign'd him, where he found a great Scarcity and Famine on his firft Arrival. And, therefore, he went down, with his whole Subftance and Patriarchy, into Egypt, with a Defign to fet- tle there, as prefuming that muft be the pro- mifed Land. But concerning his Miftakp ^nd Difappointment here, I have fpoken be^ fore. But before Abrams Name was changed to Abraham^ the Appearances of Jjehovah to him, and converfing with him, feem to have been only in a Dream. And hitherto Abram^ Dreams are recorded. For juft before the great Promife was made to Abraham, the ^ Word of Jehovah came to Abrafn in a Vi- f:on, or Dream, by which he was encouraged nol inconfiftent with Theocracy 89 not to fear, fince he fhould certainly have a Son and Heir by Sarai his Wife, notwith- ftanding her great Age. But Sarats, Preg- nancy, the Birth oi Ifaac^ and the Inheritance of Canaan, had been yet only dream'd of. And even the great Promife of the peaceable Inheritance of Canaan^ after 400 Years, rec- koning from this Time, was given in a deep Sleep and Dream. And when the Sun went down^ there fell a heavy Sleep upon Abram, and lo a very fearful Darknefs fell upon him^ Then he, Jehovdi, faid to Abram, Know for a Surety, that thy Seed Jhall he a Stranger in a Land that is not theirs^ 400 Years, andjlmll Jerve theniy and they Jhall intreat them eviU Notwithflanding the Nation whom they Jhall Jirve will I judge j and afterward they Jloall come out with great SubJiance, At the fame Time while Abram was under this hea- vy Sleep, and fearful Darknefs, Jehovah made a Covenant with Abram, Jaying, Unto thy Seed have I given this Land, from the River of 'Egypt to the great River Euphrates: The Kenites, ajtd the Kenezites, and the Kadmo- nites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, the Amorites alfo, and the Ca- naanites, and the Gergafhites, and the Jebu- fites. I would refer the Reader for all this to Gen, XV. efpecially from Ver. 12. to the End of the Chapter. But all this was reprefented jto Abram in a Vifion, or Dream, under a ^eep Gloom, and fearful Darknefs. And 'tis well 90 Siiperftition and Tyranny well it may be excufed as a Dream, fince no- thing of it ever came to pafs relating to all, cr any of the Countries, they were to poffefs at the End of 400 Years. They never had much inore than one half of Palejiine and Pkcenicia, and nothing beyond that in Syria, and towards the Euphrates. Hitherto Abra- ham had only dreamed, and nothing but his Dreams are recorded, as the Event proved it to be all a Dream. But in the next. Chap, xvi. we have fomething of true Hiftory, or Matter of Fa6t, befides mere Dreams. Sarai finding herfelf barren, and having no more Hopes of a Child, gave her Maid Hagar to him, that he might have a Son, to be his Heir, froni her. When Hagar found flie had conceived, and fappofed her Son, if it proved one, muft be Heir, ftie defpifed her Miftrefs, and be- haved fo infolently to her, that Sarai made heavy Complaints io her Huiband of it, who gave her Leave to turn the Maid out of Doors. But the Angel of the Lord appeared to Ha^ ^^r,. whether in a Dream, or in Reality, is. not faid, and advifed her to return and hum- ble herfelf to her Miftrefs; which {lie did, and was. received into the Family again. And after this {lie vvus delivered of IJl^jnael, when Ahrarn was 86 Years old, and Sarai 76. In Chap, xvii. Jehovah appeared again to Abraniy renews the fame Covenant and Promife ^o hitii, promifes him a Son by Sarai,, and chaiiges the Name of Abram to Abraham, and inconfiftent with Theocracy. 9 1 and of Sarai to Sarah. And here we have an Account of a long Conference, and many Things that pafs'd between God and the Pa- triarch, for which I muft refer the Reader to the Chapter itfelf. Abraham was now 99, and Sarah 89 Years old, when their Names were changed. In Chap, xviii. we have an Account of Jehovah's appearing and talking to Abraham again ^ and as the Signal of his Prefence, Abraham faw three Men coming towards him, as he was fitting at his Tent- Door in the Heat of the Day. He ran to meet them, and then addreffes himfelf to Je- hovah, and to them. Aiid he faid, Loj^d^ if I have now found Favour in thy Sights go noty I pray thee, from thy Servant, Let a little Water, I pray you, be brought, and wajh your Feet, and reft your felves under the Tree, And I will bring a Morfel of Bread, that you 7nay comfort your Hearts-, afterward ye JJoall go your Way, for therefore are you come to your Servant ; and they faid. Do even as thou hajl faid. Upon this Abraham, with all poffible Speed, got ready an Entertainment for them, and provided an elegant Dinner, with Cakes of Flower, a tender good Calf, and Batter and Milk, which he fet. before them. While they were at Dinner, they aiked him for Sa- rah. Where is Sarah thy Wife ? And he an- fwered. Behold fie is in the Tent, And he [Jehovah] faid, I will certainly come again unto theCy according to Phe Time of Life-, and lo. 92 Superftition and Tyranny /(7, Sarah thy Wife Jhall have a Son^, and Sarah heard in the T^ent Door^ which was be- hind him [Jehovah.] I quote this for the Peculiarity of the Phrafeology, and to fhew how different it is from our Way of fpeak- ing and thinking now. The Names and Charad:ers of tlie three Men, and of Je- hovah, are here fo confounded and inter- changed, as if they were the fame Perfons, and what faid by the one, was fpoken by the other. After thefe three Men had dined, they rofe up, and went on in their Journey towards Sodom^ ^ndi Abraham brought them going Part of the Way. And the Lord J'aid^ Shall I hide from Abraham the Thing that I doy feeing that Abraham Jhall be indeed a great and mighty Nation^ and all the Nations cf the Earth fiall be bleffed in him ? And the Men turned thence^ and went toward Sodom ; but Abraham food yet before Jehovah. And here we have a particular Account of Abra- ham's Difcourfe and Expoftulation with Jeho- vah, when the Men were gone off. Abraham interceeds and intreats for Sodom^ that God would not flay the Righteous with the Wick- ed, fuppofing any confiderable Number of righteous Perfons {hould be found in it. In this Interceflion, Abraham brought down Je- hovah, from 50 to 10, and got a Promife, that the City Ihould not be deftroy'd, if only 20 righteous Perfons could be found in it: But no Righteous could be found there, but ' Lot. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 93 Loty his Wife, and two Daughters, who were faved by the Angels from the common Deftrucftion. It would be needlefs to purfue this Hebrew Phrafeology, or Manner of fpcaking and writing any farther. The fame Manner and Figure of Speech runs throughout their Writ- ings, from firft to laft. But what at firft had a very good moral Senfe and Conftruc- tion, and argued a pious and religious Trufl in, and Dependence on God and Providence, came afterward to be turned into Superfti- tion, Enthufiafm, and the moft unnatural and incredible Accounts of God and Provi- dence. This great Degeneracy, Inverfion of Nature, and grofs Corruption of Religion, happened afterward in Egypt, when Jofepb had eftablifhed an hereditary Priefthood there, endow'd with vaft Revenues in Lands, and made independent on the Crown. This grofs Superftition, Corruption of Religion, and moft unnatural, falfe Reprefentation of God and Providence, had been carry'd to the Height, and ftrongly imprefs'd upon all Ranks and Degrees of Men in Egypt ^ before the Days of Mofes. And Mofes himfelf had been brought up in all the occult Philofo- phy, and Magic Arts of the Egyptian Priefts and Sorcerers, and which he and Aaron^ in Confederacy afterward, found an Oppor- tunity of applying to their own Purpofes, and ambitious Views. But it cannot be fup- pofed. 94 Superftition and Tyranny pofed, that this great Degeneracy, Corrup- tion, and Inveriion of all Nature and Reli- gion happened fo early, as the Days of Abra- ham. Thofe moft antient holy Men, who lengthened out their Days beyond the com- mon Courfe of Nature, by a ftrift Virtue, Temperance, and an adtive, laborious Life, had no fuch ambitious Views as the Princes and Priefts of Egypt had in after Ages. They contented themfelves with what Providence allotted them, and with the lawful Fruits of their own Labour and Induftry, and laid no Schemes for enriching and aggrandizing them- ielves, by invading other Mens Property, and by the Conquefl, Devaftation, and Plunder of other Countries and Nations. - Abrahaniy in his Time, might eaiily have conquered the whole Land of Ca?2aa?i^ and driven out all the former Inhabitants then fettled in the Coun- try, had he thought fit ^ for he had a Force fuperior to any, or all of them. But he fought cmly a peaceable Settlement, where Providence fhould caft him. And this was the Character and Condudl of Ifaac and yaakob afterward, and of the Hebrews in Canaan^ for about 2co Years. In thefe firfl and pureft Ages, before Luxu- ry, Avarice, and Ambition had taken Place, Men lived with an intire, abfolute Truft in, and Reliance upon God, and carefully ob- ferved and recorded all the remarkable Inci- dents and Occurrences of divine Providence towards inconfident with Theocracy. 95 towards them, which they took and under- ftood as fo many Declarations, Monitions, and Inftrad:ions from God to them. Thus they confidered every great Occurrence, or remarkable Turn of Providence; and thus they fpoke of it by an Idiom and Phrafeology peculiar to their Language. Every Thing by which Providence fornifhed them with the Means of farther Information in Matters of great Importance, or afforded them an Op- portunity of obtaining a great Good, was the Voice and Direction of God to them. Thus God fpoke to them by Dreams, by the Death of Relations, by the accidental Entertainment and Lodgment of Strangers and Travellers, that brought them any Intelligence of great Moment, and who were therefore confidered and fpoken of as the Angels of the Lord, or Meffengers from God to them. In fhort, every extraordinary Turn of Providence, or Change of State and Circumftances, by which they were farther directed in their Life and Condud, was the Voice of God to them. And thus when they were fuddenly and ftrongly impreffed with any Thing of great Confequence, and which ferved to fix and form their Refolution for their future Con- dud: ; this v/as the Voice and Monition of God to them, and fo they confider and Ipeak of it in the Hebrew Dialed:. And this may ferve to explain the Language and Phrafeolo- gy of the Hebrew Hiflorian, and to reconcile his 96 Superftition an J Tyranny his Account of Things to Nature and Rca-* ion, as it {hews the great Piety of thofe an-- tient, holy Patriarchs, their intire Depen- dance upon God, as their Father, Preferver, Informer, and Director, and their ftridt Re- gard to all the Difpenfations of his Provi- dence towards them in the whole Courfe of their Lives. But though this Way of interpreting the Mind and Will of God to them, by the Dif- penfations of his Providence towards them in the moft remarkable Occurrences of their Lives, argued their firm Truft in, and ab- folute Dependance on him, a careful Scrutiny of their Lives and Adlions, and a flrid: Re- gard to God's providential Difpofal of them ; yet when they carried it too far, and made too hafty Conclufions of this Kind, it ran into Enthufiafm, and fometimes led them into Error. Of this we have a very remark- able Inftance in Abraham himfelf; he was ftrongly perfuaded, in his own Mind, that God would blefs and profper him in Ifaac^ and make of him a great Nation; he firmly believed, that as God was able, fo he would certainly raife his only Son and Heir again from the Dead, though he fhould fa- crifice him, and burn him to Afhes 3 and he had ftrongly wrought himfelf up into fuch a Perfuafion, that he concluded God, in Reali- ty, required it of him, and exped:ed it from him. Accordingly he- refolved upon it, as an inconfiftent with Theocraqy. 97 AO: of Obedience to God, and was juft upon the Point of putting it in Execution, had he not been providentially prevented. That A- braham did not commit this Fadl as to the outward overt Ad:, is a Matter of no Confe- quence, with Regard to the Morahty of the Ad:ioni If the Thing was good and praife- worthy, Abraham had as much the Merit and Glory of it, as if he had done it in Fad:, and as much the Blame if it was otherwife. But it is evident in Fad:, that Abraham had miftaken the Mind and Will of God in this Cafe, becaufe God prevented him in the Exe- cution. Nothing can be more abfurd, than to imagine, that God would command Abra^ ham a Thing not fit to be done, only to try what he would do, as if he did not know before, without any fuch Trial. We muft there- fore here fuppofe, either firft, that there are fome Circumftances omitted in this Story that might have fet it in a clearer Light y or elfe, that Abraham was under a Deluiion in this Cafe, and had wrought himfelf into a wrong Perfuafion, and miftook the Voice and Will of God to him; or laftly, that human Sacri- fices are agreeable to the Nature and Perfec- tions of God, and may be commanded. And this, indeed, how contrary foever to Nature and Reafon, is what Abraham fcerns to have believ'd, and been perfuaded of. And the Author of the Epiille to the Hebrews fuppofes the fame Thing, that Abraham^ Faith and H • Refolu- 98 Superftition and Tyranny Refolution upon it, were good and meritori- ous in this Cafe, and, confequently, that hu- man Sacrifices are agreeable to, or confident with the Nature and Perfe, was only a Tranflation of their old Latin Mafs-Book. So neceilliry it is, in all popular Changes of Religion, to keep up the Show and Appearance of the old, what- ever it might have been. And I can by no Means blame this as ill Policy, or cenfure any State or Government for it. The Priefts have always, and every where had the Govern- ment and Diredion of the People's Confcien- cess and the State can go no farther than they will let them. Church-Power, and a fpiritual Jurifdidicn over Confcience, having been veiled by Chrift and the Apoftles in the Minifters of the Gofpel, but very few States have ever dared to break in upon this Jtis Divinum, Mojes and Aaron^ for ought we know, were the two firft Politicians that ever claim'd this Authority by Revelation. And, therefore, I thought a little farther Enquiry about this, might ferve, infiar omnium^ to fet- tle all the reft. I {hall therefore here make one Suppofi- tion, which may be allowed, for Argument's Sake, Th2i\.MoJes2inA Aaron were mere world- ly Politicians, who had laid a Scheme in Con- federacy for aggrandizing their ov/n Tribe and Family. Upon this Suppofition, Ifay, the whole Conftitution^ and every Part of it, may be inconiiilcnt with Theocracy, ill be eafily accounted for, v/hen it cannot upon any other. Dean Frideaux^ in his Letter to the Deifts^ affix'd to his Life of Mahomet, has laid dowa a certain Criterion, or Rule of Judgment, whereby to deted: any Scheme of Impoflure, which may be advanced and eftablilhed un- der a Pretence of Religion, or a Revelation from God. He obferves, that any Scheme of mere human Policy, advanced under a Notion of divine Authority, muft deted: and difcover itfelf in the Frame, Texture, and Contrivance of the whole Plan ; that fome fecular, carnal Interefl of the Politician, and his principal Aim at Wealth and Dominion, muft always betray him, and expofe his ImpoC- ture. Upon this Principle and Rule of Judg- ment, the Dean proves very clearly, that Chrift and the Apoftles could not be Im- poftors, nor, confequently, their Religion any Impofture. Now I own this Principle and Rule of Judgment to be juft and right, and accordingly admit all that he has drawn from it : But then, 1 hope, he would give me Leave to try the Mofaic Conftitution by the fame Rule; and this is what I am refolv'd to do, whether the Gentlemen, in his Way of thinking, would give me Leave, or not ; and to this Purpofe, I muft beg Leave to make the following Obfervations. I. Upon this Suppolition, it is evident and obvious, at firft Sight, why all Idolatry, or any ti2 Superftition and Tyranny any Appearance or Tendency that Way ought to be punifhed with Death. For if the High Prieft himfelf had the fupream Power, the Command of the Oracle, and the decifive Judgment in all Cafes, upon the ultimate Ap- peal : If he was the local, tutelar, oracular God of Ijrael'y *tis very plain, that whatever tended to leflen his Revenues, to fink his Au- thority, or to fliew him the lead Difrefpe6t or Contempt, muft be a fundamental Breach of the Conftitution. And, therefore, had it not been made capital, no fuch Government could have long fabfifted. This is a very plain Reafon, why all their Tythes and legal Offer- ings (hould be Deodands, their defrauding the Prieft, or leffening his Revenues, robbing of God, or pouring Contempt on the local, ora- cular Jehovah, and why the Name Jehovah fhould be every where, throughout the whole Inftitution, put for Pricjl, When they wor- {hiped any other national, tutelar Gods, they defrauded their ov/n God of his legal Rights and Dues, and enriched other Priejh^ or o- ther GodSy while their own was left deftitute of the lawful Means of maintaining himfelf in the fame State and Grandeur. 2. From hence we fee the Reafon in hu- man Policy, why this Lav/ was made perpe- tual and unalterable, that no Icgiilative Power was to remain in the Kingdom for ever after, and no Change of Perfons or Circumftances to be confidered, or allowed under. this Law. All inconiiflent with Theocracy. 113 All other Magiftrates and civil Rulers, in all other States and Kingdoms, have found it neceflary, from Time to Time, to alter par- ticular Laws and Statutes, as Times and Cir- cumftances alter; and to make new Law^s, or alter or repeal the old, as the different emerg- ing Cafes and Situation of Affairs may re- quire. But had there been here any fuch Power or Liberty granted, no Doubt but the hurdenfome Law of the Priefthood would fbon have been altered, and the Nation would have freed themfelves from this iniufferable Yoke, by the very firfl Repeal, or new Law they had made. But as they could not do this, they had a perpetual Slavery and Vaffa- lage to their fpiritual Governors, intaird upon them as long as the Law fliould continue in Force. 3. Hence in human Policy, we fee the Reafon why the Levites had no Inheritance, or Part of the Country thrown all together like the other Tribes. They were to be dif- perfed all through the Country, and had more Cities and Lands given them in Propor- tion, than any other Tiibe; yet the Lord was to be their Inheritance : They were difpofed of all through the Country, to give them an Opportunity of inrpe<5ting the Affairs of every Family, to make proper Liiformation and Convictions in Cafe of any legal Forfeitures, and to take Care ^that Jehovah might not be cheated of his Due , and in the mean while, I wiih- 114 Superftition and Tyranny without any Labour orlnduftry of their own, they were to live richly upon the publick Gifts and Offerings, or fuch Perquifites as they might make from Connivance, or Hu(h- Money, where the Rigour of the Law could not be comply'd with. 4. From this Principle of human, carnal Policy, we may very clearly account for the ftrid Separation and rigid Boundaries that were made between this, and all other Na- tions, by the Law. They were not to eat or drink, or cohabit, or intermarry, or main- tain any friendly Intercourfe or Communica- tion with People of any other Nation or Re- ligion. They were taught to look upon all other Nations as abandoned, reprobate, ac- curfed of God ; and were made believe, that the true God, and the moft powerful God, was the God of Ifrael only ; that he was conftantly refident among them, and while they ferved this God, and had him to go in and out with them, and head their Ar- mies, no other Nation, or their Gods, would ever be able to ftand before them. Thus they were fettled in a national, conftitutio- nal Prejudice, Averfion, and Hatred to all other Nations, and in a ftrong, invincible Perfuafion, that the Lord of Hofts, the God of Ifrael^ or their God of War, would con- quer all other Gods, and drive out all Nations before them, at leaft the Canaanite Nations. This was certainly the bell Principle in hu- man inconfiftent with Theocracy. 115 inan Policy that could be imprefs'd or inftiird for a general Conqueft. This muft have carried a Nation in Conqueft fo far as the Power of Enthufiafm could go, which is vaftly great, and which Mofes feems to have underftood perfedly well. All this might be right enough in human Policy, but to take it in a religious View, nothing can be more abfurd or contradidory. Is it poffible, that this Nation fhould ever be a BlelTing to all other Nations, by carrying Fire and Sword through all the World about them, as they did in Canaan^ Or did they ever convince one Canaanite of their divine Right, or of the Juftice and Equity of their God, by put- ting them all to the Sword ? Had God ever intended this Nation to preferve and propa- gate the true Religion, or the Knowledge and Worftiip of the true God, no Doubt but he would have inftituted an Order of A- poftles and divine Miflionaries among them, that {hould have gone through the World, and preached the true God, and true Way of worftiiping him to all the heathen Nations, at the Hazard and Lofs of their Lives, and without any Views of Conqueft, and poffef- fing other Mens Properties. But we find nothing of this in the Inftitutions of Mofes : Nothing ftrongly inculcated and impreiTed upon the People, but the fupericr, invinci- ble Power of their God, and their Certain- ty of Conqueft, and of carrying Defolation I 2 and ii6 Supeiftlticn and Tyranny and Deftrudion before them, fo long as they kept clofe to their own Lord of Hofts, or God of War, and truly worfliiped him. 5. The grofs, external, and mere carnal E- gyptian Worfhip, inflituted by this Law, the vaft Expenfivenefs of it to the People, and exorbitant Profit of it to the Priefts, LeviUSy and fpiritual Government, can only be ac- counted for from human Policy, and cannot be reconciled to any Thing of true internal Religion. Egyptianifm before had been the fame Sort of Religion, as Popery has been fince, with all the Arts of Church-Power and Prieftcraft. Befides, the ftated legal Re- venues to the Sanctuary and holy Tribe, the occafional Fines and Forfeitures in Cleanfings and Purifications of one Sort or other, were innumerable, and cannot be reduced to any certain Computation. In every one of thefe there was a Deodand to be paid^ or Offering to the Pried ; and out of thefe the informing Levites muft have made good Perquifites, for favouring the Information, and not making the w^orft of the Cafe, or going to the Rigour of the Law. Here may, perhaps, be good Policy, but no Religion. 6. The carnal Indulgences to perfonal In- temperance, allow'd or left at Liberty under this Law, without any legal, civil Sanation, or Puniilmient, plainly prove it to have been a Scheme of mere carnal, worldly Policy, and that there could have been nothing of Religion, inconfiflent with Theocracy. 117 Religion, Revelation, or divine Inftitution in it. The Laws relating to Civil Right and Property, between Man and Man, were very juft and equitable, and much the fame that had been obferv'd in Egypt, by the Hebrew Patriarchs, before their going down thither, and by all wife States and governed Societies. But the Laws relating to the Priefthood, the * fupream Authority of the Nation, and the publick Revenues, were mod enormoufly ri- gid and fevere ; and, at the fame Time, I think the Indulgences given, or not reftrain'd by Law, to perfonal Intemperance, and pri- vate Debauchery, were fuch as plainly prove, that Mofes and Jaro7i had fomething elfe in View, befides Religion, and the true Worfhip of God. The numerous Exailions of the Law in Tithes, Offerings, Forfeitures, Gifts, and De- odands, of one Sort or other, were fo very great and exorbitant, that fome fenfual Indul- gences might feem neceflary to m^ake the Peo- ple the more eafy under their Burdens, and reconcile them to fuch a Government; and, therefore, no legal Penalty was provided a- gainfl an Excels in Wine, or Women. A Man might keep as many Wives or Concu- bines as he thought fit, and turn them off at Pleafure, to exchange them for. new, and gratify his Lull with the greater Variety : Nay, any Man rnight put his Wife to the Trial of Jealoufv, in which it would be ia I 3 ^ che 1 1 8 Superftition and Tyranny the Power, and at the Difcretion of the Prieft, either to fave or poifon her. This muft have put all the Wives in the Country into the Prieft^s Hands, who, upon this Trial, which was for Life and Death, were at the Prieft's Devotion. Had the Prieft himfelf been the guilty Perfon, or Per- fon fufpe6led, no Doubt but he would bring her off innocent : But if the Woman fhould have difoblig'd him in any Refpeft, or he had found fhe was not for his Purpofe, he might make the Draught or Dofe fatal to her. This Story the Reader will find in Numb, v. J I 2 I. and my farther Account of it, Mor, PhUofoph, Vol. II. p. 267 270. This would now found like a very odd Story in the Ears of Chriftian Women, and even though a Chriftian JewiJJj Prieft jfhould be at the Table, v/ho w^uld-bardiy be ever welcome there more: But this abfolute, de- fpotic Power in the Men, and abfolute De- pendance and Vaflalage of the Women, was^ once, it feems, the Law and Ordination of God. But the Chriftian Women may thank God, that this Revelation has been repealed by another Revelation. 7. But 'tis now high Time to put this Re- velation to a general Trial, with Regard to divine and kuman Authority, Every Body leems now to allow, that the Law of Mojh was only external, civil, and political. This is not only admitted, but warmly contended for inconfiftent with Theocracy. 119 for by fome late learned Writers. But yet they lay, that the Law was the Law, and immediate Inftitution of God, and that con- fequently Obedience to it was religious Obe- dience. I know no other Principle of Reli- gion, but that it is our Obedience to the Will and Law of God. If God ihould command us to worfliip him, or pray to him only in this, or that particular Pofture or Drefs, this Pofture or Drefs would immediately become a Part of that Religion : But had this Pofture or Drefs been left free, and at Choice, it could have been no more a Part of the Reli- gion, than a Part of the Man, In this Cafe even the leaft Circumftance as commanded and inftituted, muft be effential to the Re- ligion, and no Diftinftion can be made be- tween religious and civil Law under a The- ocracy, There is certainly a neceftary, eflen- tial Diftindlion between the real, internal Love of God, and our Neighbour, and the outward Modes and Forms of expreffing it, as much as there is between a Man's Heart, and his Clothes : But to make one as effential and neceffary as the other in Religion, might be thought exceedingly ridiculous. There could be no real Difference or Diftindtion between Law and Religion, or between human and divine Authority \inder a Theocracy, where God himfelf was the Lawgiver J and therefore it may be worth while to confider, how the Patrons of a bad, I 4 civil I 20 Superftition and Tyranny civil Conftitutlon, or national Polity, can juftify it under the Name or Notion of a Iheocracy, We will fuppofe and admit, that external, civil Obedience to moral Law, ought to be enforced by civil and temporal Sancftions ; an4 this I take to be the proper and only Province of human Authority. But then, ought not the internal Part of this Obedience, a right Temper and Difpofition of Mind, and Prin- ciple of Adiion, ought not this to be enforced by the proper Sandions of Religion, the Re- wards and Punifhments of another World ? Or had Mofes no Regard to a future State, pr to any internal, true Religion, provided he could but fecure an outward Conformity to his Law, and gain his Ends as a Politician ? Or will thefe learned Men fay, that the Doc- trine of the Immortality, and feparate, per- gonal Exiftence of human Souls, was not known fo early as the Days of Mofes, but was left to a farther Egyptian Difcovery after- ward? I hope they will fay no fuch Thing; for furely if no Body elfe at that Time had known any Thing of the Perfonality of fepa- rate Souls, or a future Refurrection of the Body, and Refloration of the fame Perfon, Mofes being fo intimate with God, muft have had it by Revelation. And if he underftood this, and did not communicate it in his Law, or make any Ufe of it to the Purpofes of real, internal Virtue, and true Religion, I cannot inconfiftent with Theocracy. 121 cannot fee how he can be juftify^d, either as a good Politician, or honell: Man. This leems to be as difficult a Phaenomenon in Re^ ligion as any Thing can be in Nature ; and, as I believe no other Sort of Philofophers in the World can do it, I muft leave the Solu- tion of it to our School Divines. From what has been faid, I might now leave the Reader to judge, whether the Mofaic * Conflitution can be juflify'd, either as a di- vine or human Inftitution, or as a right Scheme of Religiony or State Policy. And I might now leave this to the Judgment and Decifion of the Publick, was I never to fay any more: But having fome learned Men and late Writers to anfwer, I muft trouble the Reader a little farther in Defence of the Moral Philojbpher. CHAP. I. TH E Rev. Dr. Leland, in his fecond Volume of The divijie Authority of the Old and New Teftament afferted^ &cc. which he calls an Anfwer to the fecond Vo- lume of the Moral Philofopher, has done me fome peculiar Honours, which I thought ne- ceffary, with not much Lofs of Time, to acknowledge. He afTures his Reader in the Preface, that my having given myfelf the Name 122 Superllition and Tyranny Name of Phihicthes, and declaring that I had no other View, or Aim in Writing, but to ferve and promote the Catife of Truths Peace^ and Righteoujhefs, and to feparate the true Re- ligion from that Superfition which has always pj^ovd the Bane and Deftru5lion of it j that this Declaration of mine muft reft only upon my own Word and Authority, for otherwife no Man could ever have believed any fuch Thing. " If I. really intended to be an Ad- " vocate for Truth and Religion, I am cer- *' tainly one of the moft unhappy Advocates *' that ever appear'd, fince the Methods I *' make Ufe of are fit only to ferve Error and *^ Impofture, and are enough to difgrace the " beft Caufe in the World." I had declared, in my firft Volume, that if any Man made Reprizals upon me in this Controverfy, / would chearfuUy fiibmit to the keenefl Revenges of Truth and Reafon^ and be always ready to own the great Advantage and Honour of being thus conquered : And that if in attempting to ferve the Caife of Virtue and true Religion I had mifsd my Aim^ I had put it in the Power of my Adverfary by fetting me rights to lay me under the flrongefl Obligations of Gratitude and Refpecl. '' Dr. Leland en- '' deavoured to anfwer this Invitation of mine, *' and by detecting my Miftakes and Mifre- " prefentations, gave me an Opportunity of " red:ifying them: But this, inftead of en- *^ gaging my Acknowledgments, has only '' raifcd inconfiftent with Theocracy, i 23 *' raifed my Indignation ; and I feem refolv'd *' to let the World fee, what a dangerous " Thing it is to engage a Writer of my Im- « portance," Preface, p. 3. 4. 5- " Though " I abfolutely deny the Infallibility of the '' Hebrew Hiftorians, I adt as if I was my- " felf infallible, and have not had the Grace " to acknowledge, or retraft any one Error *' that he had convinced me of, though fe- *' veral of them are fo grofs, that 'tis .impof- " fible to defend them. When I am moft '' prefs'd, the Way I take to juftify my felf, " is to perfift in what I had advanced, and " affert it with greater Confidence than be- " fore ; at the fame Time afTuring my Read- '' er, that he [the Rev. Doftor] had not faid " one Word to the Purpofe. And to this " I ufually add, that all that was offered a- *' gainft me, was mere impertinent Decla- *' mation and Harangue; and then make a ^' fearful Outcry againft Syjlems and School " Dhinity, When I have nothing elfe to V fay in Anfwer to an Argument, it is but to '' call it Jyftematkal And the Doftor thinks " the World will acquit me from the Charge " of being a fyfiematical Writer my felf fince " it does not appear from any Thing I have " faid, that I have any confijlent Scheme of " Principles at all. The Reader is defired to " obferve, that though lallow myfelf an un- " bounded Liberty with the Characters of ^^ others, I am extreamly fenfible and tender I - of I 24 Supeiflition and Tyranny ^' of my own ; ,and tho* I complain heavily *' as if he had ufed me ill, he knows no In- " fiance in which he has done fo, except by " detefting my Mifreprefentations, laying *' open the Injuftice and FaKhood of my " Afperfions, and fliewing the Weaknefs of " my Reafonings. And this, he fays, he " had fufficient Reafon to do, and flmll have '' farther Occafion to do it again : And if this " fhould expofe me, it is what I have drawn " upon myfelf, and who can help it? He ^' has taken no particular Notice of my Pre- " face, becaufe this is only a Heap of loofe, " rambling Reflexions, on Superjlition^ the ** Cle?^gy^ fupernatural DoBrines^ the Proof *' from Miracles^ placing Religion upon Au- " thority, fpiritual Scholajiicifm, and biblical " Lifallibility : But thefe Things the learned *^ Dodor has already, or will farther confi- *^ der, fo far as is neceifary." This is an Ab- ftract, or rather Copy, mutatis mutandis^ of Dr. Lelands Preface, in which he boldly bids Defiance, and promifes fair. But how far he has made good his Word, what Errors of mine he has confuted, and fet afide, or what one Principle of his own he has fupported and fecured, I am now to examine and conlider. I had complain'd, and, I think, very juft- ly, that this Author continually ufed the Words Chriftianity, Infpiration, Revelation, (3c, without any lix'd, determinate Meaning, or inconfiftent with Theocracy. 125 or without once letting us know what the peculiar Dod:rines and Duties of this Reve- lation are, as diftind: from the Religion of Nature. Now here, inftead of removing the Difficulty, or taking off the Obiedion, he endeavours to lead his Reader into a Wood, and would fain make him believe, that I had ufed the Word Revehtion, in as doubtful and indeterminate a Senfe as he. But fuppofing ♦ this to have been fo, would my Obfcurity juftify his ? Or ought he not to have prov'd againft me, that there are fome peculiar Doc- trines and Duties of Revelation, which are above and beyond all Search, Invefligation, and Judgment of Reafon 5 Truths and Doc- trines, which could never have been difco- ver*d or known by any natural Ufe of Rea- fon, without fuch a Revelation ? This is what I have conftantly and confiftently deny'd, as the Author himfelf, and all the World muil know. And could this learned Dignitary have proved the contrary, his very Introduc- tion, or any one of his Chapters, might have faved him all the reft of his Labour. But after he had wrapt himfelf up in Clouds and Darknefs, he finds it now a very diffi- cult Matter to prove, that he had been ftill in^ the open, clear Light. I had conftantly and confiftently afferted, that natural and re- veal'd Religion are the fame, as to their Sub- jedl-Matter, or the Dodrines and Duties themfelves, and differ only in the different ^ I ' Way 126 Superftition and Tyranny Way and Manner of Conveyance and Teach- ing. And accordingly I never ufe the Word Revelation^ for any fuppofed Truth or Doc- trines above Reafon, but for fuch Do6trines of moral Truth and Redtitude, as Men re- ceive upon the real or fuppofed Authority of the Prophet or Teachen Here it is the Au- thority and Manner of Conveyance and Teaching, that gives it the Name of Revela- tion^ but its neceffary Foundation in Nature and Reafon makes it a true DoBrine^ and the Authority or Manner of Conveyance and Teaching cannot alter, or afFedt this. No- thing that is antecedently and neceffarily true in Nature and Reafon, can depend on Au- thority for the Truth of it, iince that very Authority itfelf muft depend on the fame Nature and Reafon of Things. The fame Truths or Doctrines may be received and ad^ her d to, either upon original, native Evi- dence, as founded in Nature and Reafon, or by Authority from others, without any other Reafon or Ground of Truth to thofe who thus take them upon Truft. There are few thinking, inquifitive Perfons, now among us, but know fomething of the Newtonian Phi- lofophy, and the Laws of Nature demon- ftrated by that great Philofopher; but the Ge- nerality receive it only upon Truft, and from the Authority of thofe whom they take to be proper Judges, and who can have no Inter- eft or Defign to deceive them. It muft be own^d^ inconfiftent with Theocracy. 127 own'd, that this Way of receiving Triith from Authority has its Ufe, and n:iay be of great Advantage to the Bulk of Mankind. But then it muft be allowed too, that this is a more imperfect Ground of Truth, and that they who take it in this Way, are more hable to Error and Deception. And, therefore, we find Religion itfelf has been always a very doubtful, difpu table Thing among thofe who ♦ thus take it from Authority, and upon Truft; whereas it is, and mufl: be always the fame Thing as founded in Nature and Reafon 5 and the common Pretence here of Revelation, and divine Authority, when Men go off from the moral Truth and Evidence, may ferve, in- deed, to divide and inflame Mankind, and anfwer the Purpofes of the feveral Heads and Leaders of Parties, but can never tend to clear up, and reconcile any Thing. I had ventured to guefs at our Author^s Notion of the true fotmd Faith ^ which he op- pofes to Infidelity \ and I imagin'd it might confift in a firm, indubitable Belief of the infallible Truth and Certainty of the whole biblical Hiftory, efpecially as to the fuperna- tural, miraculous Parts of it, where the Things are leaft probable, or credible in themfelves, and concerning which we muft be therefore moft liable to Error and Deception. But he ufTures me, for my Satisfadion , tliat he is not quite fo rigid as I might take him to be. " If any Man lliould be of Opinion, that 128 Superftitioh and Tyranny in fome Fadts related in the facred Writ- ings, there are Miftakes, whether owing to the Negligence of Tranfcribers, or even in fome fmailer Inftances, to Inadverten- ces, or Forgetfulnefs of the original Hifto- rians ; or if he ihould doubt of fome par- ticular Books belonging to the facred Ca- non ; though I fliould think him miftaken, yet if at the fame Time he believ'd the Fidelity of the facred Hiftorians, and the Truth and Certainty of all the main Facfts, whereby the Chriftian Revelation was at- tefted, and did accordingly receive the Dodrines and Laws there taught and en- join'd, as a Revelation fro7n God^ and, con- fequently, as of divine Authority ; I would be far from branding him as an Infidel^ or an Enemy to divine Revelation^'* p. 6, 7. The Reverend Doftor has here granted fome Things however, and, perhaps, more than he intended, and what we iliall foon find him retracting. He grants, that not only the Tranlcribers, but even the original Hifto- rians, might be miftaken in Jome Things, and that thele original Hiftorians, or their after Copiers, which we cannot now diftinguiih, may have given us fome whole Books, as of divine Authority, which really are not fo: But if they might have been miftaken in ma- ny Things, and even in the divine Authority of ^vhole Books, why might they not have been miftaken all along, and fubftituted hii- man inconfiftent with Theocracy. 1:29 man inftead of divi?ie Authority ? What Cri- terion or Rule of Judgment has our learned Divine in this Cafe, or how does h-^ know what Allowances he ought, or ough: o'^t to make? If this learned Author fhouid allow one Thing, one falfe Piece of Hifl:or/, or wrong Book clapt into the Canon, and ano- ther fhould allow other falfe Stories, or mif- taken divine Books, they might, at lajfl, be- * tween them, give up every Thing tliat is con- tended for, as I verily believe they have al- ready, though they fcarce ever grant any Thing, without refuming it again as foon as they have need of it. But as to fuch little Matters, this learned Divine would not infift upon them, provided a Man believed the Fide- lity of the Jacred Hiftorians, and all the main Fafts whereby the Revelation was attefted. But why might not a Man believe the Fidelity of thefe Hijiorians, without believing their Iii*. fallibility? They might be honeli and unde- ligning, and yet be very much miftaken, both with Regard to Facfts and Docflrines too; there might be a great deal o? Enthiijiafm 2indi Superftition, without any Thing of Impojiure, But what are thefe ?nain FaBs, and what is the Revelation that was proved and attefted by them? Did this Revelation confift in the Truth and Certainty of the Being of a God, of his moral Perfedtions, and oi his righteous Government and Judgment of the World? Or did thefe main FaSls prove the necelTary,- K demon- 130 Superftition and Tyranny demonftrable Doftrines and Obligations of moral Truth and Righteoufnefs, with Regard to God, our Neighbour, and ourfelves ? Thefe Dodtrines and Duties of moral Truth and Righteoufnefs are certainly more evident in themfelves, and in the Nature and Reafon of Things, than this Doctor's 7nai?i FaBs can ever be made by all the Teftimony in the World. But hovi^ever, though a Man fliould believe and pradife all thefe Dodtrines and Duties of moral Truth and Righteoufnefs, as they are founded in Nature and Reafon, in the moral Perfedions of God, and the Re- lation of Man to him, as his Creature and Subject 3 yet ftill this Reverend Dodtor would make no Scruple to brand him as an Infidel^ if he did not believe his main Fa5ls. 'Tis plain, therefore, in his own Account, that he ufes the Word Infidel as a Brandy and, confequently, as a Charadter highly immoral So dangerous a Thing it is to meddle in Con- troverfy with Men of this Tem-per, or to dif- pute FaBs with them, upon which they lay the whole Strefs and Weight of Religion ; but what Religion that is, which muft reft on tlie Credit of thefe 7nain FadJs, and v/hich „was not as evident in Nature and Reafon before, this dignify'd Divine has not yet thought fit to tell us, and, I believe, never will. I had call'd on him for his Proof of the infallible Truth and Certainty of his hiftorical Fads : I had deny'd all hiftorical Infallibility, I or inconfiftent with Theocracy. 131 or proper Certainty of Senfe, efpecially with Regard to fupernatural Appearances, in which we are mofl liable to Deception, by afcribing them to wrong Caufes, and when thefe Fads too are produced to prove a Religion or Re- velation above Reafon. Inftead of anfwering to any Thing of this, he goes on, for feveral Pages, as ufual, to harangue upon the Clear- neis and Evidence of the original Fadls, and the undoubted Credit and Veracity of the Hiftorians and firft Witneffes, who have handed them down to us. But he ought to have proved, had he been able, that thefe original Hiftorians and Witneffes might not as well be deceiv'd as other Men, or that they might not, through Ignorance or Prejudice, relate Things as fupernatural, which were not fo, but afcribed to wrong Caufes; or he (hould have proved, that we have now the Accounts of all thefe Things from the firft Eye and Ear- Witneffes, that the Stories have gained or loft nothing in tranfmitting, or that nothing was afterwards taken up with, and recorded only by Hearfay and Report by later Au- thors, when the Fads themfelves were out of Memory. This has certainly been often the Cafe in all other Hiftory -, and I know of no Promife from God, or any divine Security, that this Hiftory fliould be preferv d .more from Corruption, or trarifmitted purer to all future Ages, than any other antient Hiftory, . - k 2 But 132 Superftition and Tyranny But the great Hardfliip of the Cafe is ftill behind ; for when all thefe Fa6ls are fuppofed, or even granted, the Author knows not what Ufe to make of them, or what that Religion or Revelation is, which they were intended to prove, and which could not otherwife have been known. Here he ftill fticks in the Mire, and after all his Strugglings, can- not dilingage himfelf. He has a Religion founded in Se?2fe above Reajm, and had ra- ther truft to other Mens Eye-Sight, or to the moft diftant Reports of it, than to his own Underftanding. But what this Religion or Revelation is, we {hould be glad to know. I had urged, that if the Morality of the Scriptures be Revelation, all other Morality muft be Revelation -, and that we could have no more Reafon to believe one Hiftory to be a Matter of Revelation^ than any other Hifto- ry. " Bia it does not follow^ fays he, that if *' / believe the moral Dotlri?ies of Scripture " to be by divine Revelations, and the hifto- " rical Accounts of the extraordinary Fa6t$ " there contained, to have been written un- " der the unerring Guidance of the divine *' Spirit, that therefore I muft believe all Mo- *' rality, and all Hiftory, to be Revelation; *' except it can be proved, that I have the *' fame Reafon to believe all other Writ- " ers of Morals, or Dodlrines in Religion, " to have been extraordinarily infpired by " God, as I have to believe, that Mojes and " the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 133 ** the Prophets, orChrift and the Apoftles were *^ fo ; and that all other Hiftorians were un- " der a divine Guidance, as thofe who writ *^ the Accounts of the Fadts in the Law and " Gofpels," />. 10, 1 1. It is a Matter of no Confequence at all to me, what this Author believes in the Cafe, or what Reafons he may have for his Belief, which I cannot anfwer till he may be pleafed to offer them. But I have given my Reafons why I think, that neither Mofes, and the Prophets, nor even the Apof- tles themfelves, were infallible, or under any unerring Guidance; and when he has an- fwered thefe Reafons of mine, I {hall confi- der the Matter farther. As for Chrift him- felf, we have nothing at all written by him, but muft depend intirely on the Credit of his Difciples, who were very apt to miftake him, and continued, from firft to laft, under a ge- neral, grand Delufion, concerning the Nature of his Kingdom, and Defign of his Miffion. I think I have fufficiently proved this, and fhall be ready either to fupport or retrad: it, as Occafion may be offered. From Page 10, for ten or twelve Pages toge-? ther, the Author quotes feveral P^flages from me, in which I had fuppofed and argued, that natural and rcveal'd Religion are eflen^ tially and fubjediively the fame, and that the neceffary Doctrines and Duties pf both are the very fame. He grants this to be true in great Meafure, and that natural Religion, for K 3 the 134 Superftition and Tyranny the moft Part, is reveal'd Religion too. But ftill he has a Referve for fome Do(!^rines and Obligation's of great Neceflity and Importance, that are Matters of mere and pure Revelation, and that no Ufe or Exercife of Reafon could otherwiie iiave known or difcovered. Now I only want to know, what this pure Revela- tion is, which could never have been known or found out by any Ufe or Exercife of hu- man Reafon -, and what thofe particular re- veaFd Dodrines or Duties are, which this Revelation contains and enjoins, as of great Importance and Neceflity to our Salvation, and Acceptance with God. Here the Author is vifibly plunged, and the more he works himfelf, the fafter he feems to flick. I have faid nothing againft the Ufe of Teaching by Authority, provided the Authority itfelf be not firfl fuppofed, and taken as granted, and then made the fole Judge and Arbitrator of what is rational and fit to be done. But I deny, that any fenfible Appearances, let them be fupernatural, miraculous, or what they willj^ can prove an Authority fuperior to Reafon, or eftabliili any doftrinal Truths, of which Reafgn itfelf muft not be the ultimate Judge, as fuperior to, and independent of any mere authoritative Rule. I had obferved, that divine Authority, founded on human Authority, as its only Proof, muft be liable to all the Weaknefs, Uncertainty, and Defefts of fuch human 2 Autho- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 135 Authority ; and I muft own, that I thought this as clear and undeniable, as any Propoii- tion in Euclid. But our Author lays, that all the Strength of this lies wholly in the Obfcurity of ity and in jumbling T^hings together^ which are of difinB Confideration^ p. 22. Here he obferves, that it is one Thing to afk, what the original, genuine Proof of a divine Re- velation is, and another Queftion to afk, how we can know, or be afcertain'd, that any fuch original Proof had been really given. I know as well as he, that thefe are different Quefti- ons, and I never in the leaft confounded them. No Doubt but divine Authority in itfelf, and the Proof of it to us, are different Things j but then, I fay, the divine Authority, with Refpe<9: to us, can be no furer than the Proof of it, unlefs we could be infallibly affured of a divine Authority, without any Proof at all, or with only a fallible, precarious Proof; for this, as I faid, would be fuppofing the Conclufion ftronger than the Premifes, or the 5uperftrud:ure firmer and fecurer than the Foundation. For the Queftion here is not concerning divine Authority in itfelf, or ab- flrading from any Judgment to be formed a- bout it, but from the Authority already fup- pofed and granted, but only concerning the Proof of it, and, confequently, how far we may fafely depend on it. But I hope it will be granted, that I can depend on no Autho- rity beyond the Evidence, as appearing t-o me, K 4 and 136 Su perdition and Tyranny and that .confequently no Obligation can arife from it to me, that fliall be clearer or /Ironger than the Proof of its being really {uA an Authority: But if this Proof fhould be weak, fallible, and uncertain, the Authori- ty and Obligation itfelf muft be thus far fo to me. The Author fliifts and twifts himfelf upon this through feveral Pages, which yet FiAuft have been evident at firft Sight, to a Man of lefs Difcernment. It is upon the fame confuied Jumble of Things, as he pre- tends, that I charge him, that his Scheme ne- ceff^rlly leads to place the mofl important, or divine Truth upon the Foot of human, falli-. ble Authority, p. 24. It is very true^ that I had brought this Charge againii him, which I here do again 5 and let him get rid of it as well as he Cdn. It can fignify nothing to tell me, that he builds his whole Scheme upon infallible, divine Authority, \^diile he has no Foundation for that divine Authority, nor lor his original Fads, but fallible^ human Authority % and, therefore, mufi: leave him to jiiake the heft of fuch a bad Matter. The Author, in his firft Chapter, for ten or twelve Pages together, affedls to throw himfelf into great Doubts and Uncertainty about my Ivkaning. He had thoroughly confuted me fo far a3 he undti ftood me ; and where he did not do it effedlually, it w^as, becaufe he (Could not underftand me. He can hardly guefs what I mean by natural Relations of ' ■ ^ Things, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 137 Thirjgs, or the moral Fitnefs of Adlions, as founded in Nature and Reafon, and being the proper Evidence and Ground of Truth, antecedent to all Authority whatever. He cannot well undcrftand my Diftinftion be- tween Matters of Pveafon, and Matters of Faift, or between Principles and AcSions. He cannot conceive why Principles and Dodtrines of Reafon, as well as Fadts^ may not be e- qually received, known, and underftood by Authority ^ nay, by mere fallible, human Authority ; for this, in the Way he takes, is the only Medium of Proof, and the only Ground upon which he can reft his moft fa- cxt^^ divine Authority, The excellent and truly learned Dr. Samuel Clarke^ in his Book of na- tural and reveal'd Religion, having clearly prov'd, that there muft be an eternal, im- mutable Rule of Redtitude, natural Relation of Things, and moral Fitnefs of A. 89, that what is faid to have been done by the Sorcerers, muft ex- ceed any human, or created Power; but then he is perfiiaded^ that they did thefe 'Things only in Appearance, And why then might not the Miracles oi Mojes be done. only in Appear- ance ? The Hiftorian makes no Difference here between Reality and Appearance in one Cafe and 176 Superftition and Tyranny and the other; but on the contrary afferts, that the Sorcerers did fuch and fuch Things as well as Mo/es. But, fays our Author, p, 91. ^he amazing SucceJJion of Wonders that followed^ put it beyond all reafonable Doubty that his Miracles were real and incomparably grandy exceeding the Power of any Creature. But was it not incomparably grandy and ex- ceeding the Power of a?iy Creature^ to create and annihilate a Serpent, to turn all the Wa- ter of the Nile into Blood, and to bring vaft Shoals of Frogs out of the River at a Word of Command ? But fuppofing it all alike done only in Appearance, Mojes might be more fkilful, or better affifted, than the other Sor- cerers, and be able to go farther, and outdo them in their own Way. MofeSy we know, was fkiird in all the Wifdom and Learning of Egypt^ and by living forty Years a prime Favourite at Court, as the reputed Son of Pharaoh's Daughter, he muft have had Op- portunities and Advantages of acquiring a greater Skill and Dexterity in their natural Magic and occult Philofophy, than any of the common Sorcerers. But after all, that M?- fes wrought more and greater Wonders than the £^^/)//^;z Magicians, we muft depend upon the fole Credit of the Hebrew Hiftorian, who is vifibly partial on his own Side. But all the Remains of profane Hiftory relating to the moft antient Shepherds in Egypt^ reprefeiit this Matter quite otherwife, as we have leea already. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 177 akeady. And by the Hebrew Author's own Account, Pharaoh and his Minifters were not convinced to the very laft, that Mojes and Aaron had any divine Authority, or Com- miffion from God, to lead the People fafe, with all their Subftance, out of Egypt, The Hebrew Managers had been peremptorily for- bid the King's Sight and Prefence, and bid look to themfelves, for Evil was before them. *The Deftrudion of the People had been now vow*d and refolv'd upon, and had they not all flole off by Night, and made a fud- den, unexpected Flight to tiie Red Sea, they muft have been all put to the Sword the next Day. But after all this Show and Blaze of Mi- racles and Prodigies in the Hebrew Hiftorian, perhaps there might be nothing extraordina- ry or fupernatural in it. The Plagues here mentioned were common enough in Egypt y and they are often fubjefl: to much the fame Calamities to this Day. Contagious Difeafes upon Man and Beaft, the Over-running the Country with Vermin, and the Deftrudion of the Corn and Fruits of the Earth, tho' from natural Caufes, might give the IJraelites an Opportunity of efcaping, when the Egyp-- t'lam had other wife got them in their Power, and would have cut them all off. And fuch an extraordinary Providence and Concourfe of Calamities in Egypt, would afford the Hebrew Hiftorian a fufficient Occalion to re- N prefent 1^8 Superftition and Tyranny prefent it all as miraculous. 'Tis evident^ that thefe Hiftorians, all down, are very apt to alcribe the moft natural Events to fupernatural Caufes. They afted: to relate nothing but Miracles in Favour of their own Nation, as if that People had been all along the peculiar Care and Favourites of Heaven : And yet the whole Story, from firft to laft, in their own Account of it, proves the contrary ; for there never was a more unhappy People than they, or any Nation lefs favoured by God and Pro- vidence. To my afking, to what good End or Pur- pofe were thefe Miracles intended, fmce they were commonly wrought not for the Good, bat Deftruftion of Mankind ? The Author replies, " That the great End of Mojh's Mi- " racles was plainly this, to give Atteftation *^ to a moft excellent Law and Conftitution, *' eftablifhed for the moft wife and valua- " ble Purpofes, as I Jhewed^ fays he, largely " in my former Book, p. 94." But I think I haVe fully and unanfwerably fhew'd the contrary, and proved that this was a blind- ing, enflaving, tyrannical Conftitution, with Regard efpecially to its Sacrifices and Prieft- hood, founded upon the fame Principles of human bad Policy with the Laws and Prieft- hood of Egypt', and any Thing that this Author may farther offer in Defence of what he had fo largely fiewed m his former Book, I fhall confider in its Place. I think I have clearly inconfiflent witir Theocracy. 179 clearly proved in general, that there can be no Connexion at all between Power and "Truths and that Miracles and Infpiration, alone confi- dered, cannot prove or atteft the Truth of any Doftrines. The Defign of the Miracles in Egypt ^ as reprefented by the Hebrew Plif- torian himfelf, was to convince Pharaoh and his Servants or Minifters, that Mojes had a ^ Commiflion and Authority from God, to lead the Ifraelites peaceably and unmolefted out of the Land, with all their Goods and Subftance ; and to convince the People, that he had the fame divine Commiflion and Au- thority to conduft them fafe to, and fettle them peaceably in the Land of Canaan^ which God had promifed and fworn to their ^ Fathers four hundred Years before ; and that the Time fettled for the Accomplifliment of this Promife, Prophecy, and Oath, being now come, it was then to be made good : But neither of thefe Intentions, with Refpecft either to the Egyptia?is or Ifraelites, were at all anfwered, or obtained by thefe Miracles, and therefore God could never have had any fuch End or View in them, though Mo/es certainly had. And the remarkable Defeat of this Politician in all his Meafures after- wards, plainly (hews, that he either miftook his Commiflion, or gave a wrong Account of it. I had reprefented the bloody Conquefl: of Canaan^ as projefted by Mojes, and afterward N 2 executed i8o Superftition and Tyranny executed by 'Jojlma^ as inconfiftent with the Perfections of God, and a moft outragious Violation of the Law of Nature. But our Author, it feems, having fully confidered this Objedion before, in his Anfwer to Cbrif- tianity as old as the Creation^ does not think fit to fay much to it here ; but he tells me, p. 97. " That in order to make good my '' Argument, I muft fairly prove, that it is '' inconfiftent with the Idea of God, confi- *' der'd as the wife and righteous Governor of *' the World, to punifh a guilty Nation, even '^ to utter Deftrudion, for their execrable *' Wickednefss or, that if it be juft in him to '' do fo, he cannot commiffion another Na- "^ tion to be the Executioners of his juft Sen- *' tence againft them ; or, that in this Cafe " they ought not to execute fuch Commif- '' fions3 and that this alone will be fufficient to *' prove, that a Difpenfation was not from *' God, which was confirmed by fuch illult " trious Miracles, bearing all theCharadiers of " a divine Interpofition, and the Laws of " which were holy, juft, and pure, and of " an excellent Tendency/' This Writer has an excellent Knack at taking every Thing for granted, even where the contrary had been proved to him by Arguments, which he is not able to anfwer. I think I have proved, that Mojes had no fach divine Commiflion, that God had ]:iever promifed and fworn what he pretends and trumps up to ferve a Turn, and inconfiftent with Theocracy. i8i and that therefore the Whole muft have been a Forgery, and a mere Pretence for invading the Rights and Properties of others, and fa- crificing their Lives, in the moft cruel Man- ner, to the ambitious Avarice and Blood- thirftinefs of their Conquerors. When yoJJma had conquered the inland, mountainous Parts of the Country, by butchering and murder- ing the Inhabitants and lawful Pofleflbrs, he divided the whole Land by Lot, from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean^ Eaft and Weft, and from Zidon to the River of Egypt ^ North and South 5 all which, it feems, God had promifed and fworn to Abraham^ though they were never in Poffeffion of much more than one Half of it. Joflma here gave away what was none of his own, and what could never be got, and which therefore certainly God had never given. The Author like wife here afierts, and gives us his Word for it, that this Law was holy, juft, and pure, and had an excellent Tendency: He muft here include the ritual, ceremonial, or Levitical Law, or the Law relating to their Sacrifices and Prieft- hood ; and yet he is not able to (hew any one good End or Purpofe that this Law ever ferved, or could ferve. This, I think, may be fufficient to fhew, that there was no fuch divine Commiilion and Authority in Fad:. But to come home to his main Point: I fay, that the very Sup- pojition of fuch a Gommiffion, for fuch a Con- N 3 queft. 1 8 2 Superftition and Tyranny qiieft, is abfurd, inconfiftent, and contray to Nature and Realbn. It is one Thing to allc, what God may do by natural Caufes, and in a Way of abjblute Sovereignty, and another, what he may do by free, accountable Agents, in the Way of moral Governmejit. As the abfolute Sovereign and Proprietor of the World, no doubt but God may deftroy a whole Nation at once by Fire, Water, Plague, Sword, or Famine, even though they were not apparently more exe- crably loicked than other Nations; as the Ca-^ iiaanltes could not be wickeder than the Ifrae- lites themfelves. But with Regard to moral, free Agents, it cannot be doubted, but God will always govern them by the Law of natural Equity and Juftice, and upon the Rules and Principles of moral Reftitude. Had God in- tended to have deftroy'd the Canaanites for their execrable Wickedftefs, no doubt but he would have cut them off all together that had been equally guilty, and not have fhewn fuch Partiality and Refped of Perfons, as only to have deilroy'd the Sinners upon the Moun- tains, and fpared thofe in the Valleys. Be- iides, had God intended to have deftroyed and rooted out the Inhabitants of Palejiine for their Sins, when they had been ripe for fuch Vengeance, he would never have employed Inftruments not equal to the Work, or oblig- ed the IJraelites^ by a divine Commiffion and Authority, to make good a Promife and Oath inconfiftent with Theocracy. 183 Oath to Abraham, which he had not enabled them to execute. But the great Abfurdity is, that upon this Suppofition, God muft have a6ted inconfiftently with himfelf, and have given contradiftory and repugnant Laws. I take the Right of Self-Defence to be a clear and unexceptionable Law of Nature, which God has given to all Mankind, and imprefs'd fo ftrongly upon them, that they cannot refift it, where Life itfejf is defirable, or eligible. But it is here fuppofed, that God gave a pofitive Law to the IJraelites, authorizing them to deftroy all the Canaajiites, from the oldeft Man to the fucking Child, and at the feme Time continued the Canaanites under the na- tural, neceffary Law and Right of Self- Defence. But had God given any fuch pofi- tive Law and Authority to the Ifraelites, no doubt but he would have let the People of Pakjiine know it, and in fome authentic Way or other affured them, that he had given away their Country to Strangers and Foreigners j ^nd that if they did not leave the Land, and give up all their natural, lawful Poffef- fions, Rights, and Properties peaceably, and without Oppofition, they muft be all cut to Pieces, Men, Women, and Children. This would have laved a vaft Eftufion of innocent Blood (for I fuppofe the Lifants were inno- cent) and would have been perfedly agreea- ble to the Wifdom and Goodnels of God. But the Author/s Suppofition deftroys all Na- N 4 turc 184 Superflition and Tyranny ture and Reafon, fets the Almighty at Va- riance with himfelf, and makes him ad: the moft inconfiftent Part in the World, by eftablifliing contrary Laws without lufRcient- ly promulging them to the Parties concerned. I can hardly help pitying the Author, to find him under a Neceffity of maintaining fuch Abfurdities. But he is, it feems, the chofen, deputed Champion of the Caufe, and had rather, perhaps, give up every Thing elfe, than his imaginary Infallibility of thefe antient Hebrew Writings. I had urged, that the Miracles of Mojes^ fuppoling them real, could anfwer no good End ; becaufe the moral Law was fufficiently known before, and depended on a much fu- perior Evideoce, adequate to the Underfland- ings of all Mankind j and the ceremonial Law was fuch a blinding, enflaving Conftitu- tion and State of Things, as to be uncapa- ble of any Proof. In Anfwer to this, the Author, p, 106. thus argues, That as the fe- veral Nations of the Earth, at this Time, were fallen into the grollefi: Idolatry and moral Wick- ednefs, it could not furely be inconfiftent with the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God, to bring them out of it, and reftore them to the true Religion, by fuch an extraordinary Diipenfa- tion as this. This is the whole Senle and Force of what he offers, and to quote it par- ticularly and verbatim here would be too te- dious, as it contains nothing but Harangue inftead inconfiflent with Theocracy. 185 inftead of Argument. But the great Weak- nefs and Invalidity of what he here offers, is evident from hence, that this healing, reme- dying Law was never given to thole feveral Nations who had fallen into Idolatry, and who had loft the true Knowledge and Wor- ihip of God. It was given only to one fmall, particular Nation in a little Corner of the Earth : This Nation were obliged, by their ♦fundamental Law and Conftitution, to main- tain no Friendfhip, Intercourfe, or Commu- nication with any other Nation ; and, there- fore, furely, they could never fpread or pro- pagate the true Religion, or the right Know- ledge and Worfhip of God among them. And as to that particular Nation to whom it was given, it never anfwered the End of keep- ing them from Idolatry, or making them better or wifer than they were before -, and, therefore, furely, God could have no fuch Purpofe or Intention in it. And as to the ce- remonial Law relating to their Sacrifices, Priefthood, and Methods of expiating Sin, and atoning the Deity, I had faid a great deal to prove it a low, abjed, blinding, and tyranni- cal Conftitution and State of Things, unwor- thy of God, and perfedtly inconfiftent with that inward, fpiiitual Worfliip, which he can only accept and reward. But the Author, I prefume, does not think hinifelf concerned to anfwer this, becaufe he fays nothing to it but what 1 86 Superflition and Tyranny what is fo perfedly trifling and evafive, that I iliall not trouble the Reader with it. The Author comes next, p. 107. to confi- der what I had faid concerning the Miracles of Jefus Chrift -, and here it may be proper to premife two or three Things, to (horten the Argument, and avoid greater Prolixity in con- fidering the Author's particular Exceptions to what I had offered. I/?, then. It may be obferv'd, that Chrift's Commiffion, while he was living and acSing in the Flefli, extended only to the yewijh Nation, and beyond this he was not to exer- cife his Miniftry, either by himfelf or Difci- ples. Thus when Jefus chofe the twelve and the feventy, and fent them out to preach and teach among the Jews^ it was with a particular Injundtion not to go among the Ge?2tileSy or Profelytes of the Gate; nor to enter into any of the Cities of the SamarU tans; but to preach Repentance for the Re- miiTion of Sins in his Name to the Jews on- ly, and declare, that he was Jhit to the loft Sheep of the Houfe of Ifrael. Accordingly .we find the Miniftry of Chrift and the Apoftles confined intirely to the three Provinces of Pa^ lefttne, Judca, Samaria^ and Galilee^ where the jerufalem Hebrew was under ftood and fpoken. And though there were two large Countries, one to the North, and the other to the South, the Inhabitants of which had been circumcifed, and conformed themfelves 3 ^^ inconliftent with Theocracy. 187 to the whole Law of Mojis.-y yet we never find Chrift or any of his Apoftles preaching or teaching among them, becaufe the fame Language, the 'Jerufalem Hebrew^ was not un- derftood or fpoken by them : But one of them, the Iturea?js, fpoke the Syriac^ and the Idu- tneans Arabic. And as the Dilciples had been born and bred in Galilee, the pooreft Part of the Country, and in the loweft Way of Life, it cannot be fuppofed, that they ftould underftand any other Language, or that they ihould be able to read or write in their own Tongue. Thus when Peter and John^ the two chief and leading Apoftles, came to preach Jelus, as arifen from the Dead, the Priefts and Rulers were aftonifhed at their Boldnefs, that they fhould dare open- ly charge the whole Nation with having murdered their King, T)r Meffiah, and that there could be no poffible Salvation or Deli- verance for them, but by believing in this Je- fus^ and owning him as the Chrift, or Ki?2g of IJraeL And their Boldnefs in this was the more remarkable, as thefe Men were known to be dypxfjifJLccloi y.xi iS'ioolcciy perfectly ig- norant, illiterate Rufticks, or Men who had no Knowledge of Letters. Now all this was plainly a national Quarrel about the Meffiah or King, Reftorer or Deliverer of I/raely 3.nd in which no other Nation could hitherto be concerned. I do not here fay, that this great Prophet had no farther Defign or View than to 1 88 Superftition and Tyranny to this Nation only; but this, I fay, that while he lived he opened his Commiffion no farther, and his Difciples never underftood him otherwife. 2dly, It may therefore be farther obferved, that Chrift's own Apoflles and Difciples grofly mifunderftood and mifapply*d all that he fpoke to them in Parables and Allegories, about the Nature and Extent of his Kingdom, and De- iign of his Miffion. What he intended of a fpiritual Kingdom, and the Deliverance of Mankind in general from the Power and Cap- tivity of Sin and Satan, they underftood of a temporal Kingdom to be fet up and eftablilTi- cd at yerufalem, under his own Adminiftra- tion, and of the Deliverance of that Nation from their Captivity to the Romans, And this Miftake and Delufion they continued in, even after they had received the Holy Ghoft, that was to lead them into all Truth \ and when they came to believe him rifen from the Dead, and preached him as fuch, it was as the Jewifi Meffiah, the Chrift, King, and Saviour of IJrael\ and they expeded his fe- cond Coming very fpeedily, to fet up his Kingdom, and that they ihould live and reign with him in that very Generation, and before the Deceafe of fome who were then living. This is ^o very plain in all the Gof- pels, that it would be but wafting Time, and abufing the Reader's Patience, to quote the parti- cular Paflagcs for it. From this grofs Miftake of theirs. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 189 theirs, the Difciples, or Evangelifls them- felves, reprefent Jefus as acfling an inconfiftent Part, and talking of himfelf in a prevaricating Way. Sometimes they reprefent him as own- ing himfelf as the Meffiah, or as that Prince and national Deliverer who was to reftore the Kingdom, according to the Prophets -, and at other Times, they make him difclaim and difown any fuch Character and Pretenfion. *He fharply rebuked the Devil, whom he caft out, for declaring him as the Meffiah, or King of IJrael', and he ftridly charged all the Difeafed, the Blind, Sick and Lame, whom he cured, and who wxre reftored by the Pow- er and Virtue of this Faith in him, not to fpeak of, or mention him under his Name and Charadler ; and did all he could to pre- vent the Spreading of fuch a Notion and Re- port of him. The Truth of the Matter, therefore, feems to be this, that our Saviour all along, from firft to laft, difclaim'd the Meffiahfhip among them. But his own DiC- ciples and Followers could never be convinced to the contrary, but that he muft be the Perfon. They thought, that he might not yet find it feafcnable, or a proper Time, to declare for the Pvleffiahfliip openly ; but they did not doubt but Things would foon take another Turn 3 and, therefore, when he had been actually crucified, his Difciples abfo- lutely gave up all Hope in him, or farther Expedations from Jiira, We hoped this was the igo Superstition and Tyranny the Man who Jljould have faved Ifrael; but now their Hopes were all da{h*d, and the Thing was come to nothing. And is it credi- ble then, that Jefus fhould, while he lived, have plainly and exprefly told them, that he muft be crucified, and fhould rife again from the Dead on the third Day? Could they be fo perfectly ftupid or forgetful, as to have no Hope or Expedlation at all from fuch plain and repeated Declarations of his ? Nay, could this Thing be fo openly and pub- lickly known to the whole Nation, that the yewiJJj Priefts and Rulers went to the Gover- nor to demand a Guard to be fet over the Sepulchre, to prevent any Impofition or Cheat of this Kind, and yet not io much as fuf- peiled by his own Difciples, who looked up- on the firft Report of it as an idle T'ale? Nay, 'tis very plain, that the Difciples them- felves were not convinced of the certain indu- bitable Truth of the Fad:, from any Thing they had feen or heard of for forty Days to- gether. Jefus always appeared to them in Difguife, and never twice in the fame Like- nefs, or as the fame Perfon they had feen be- fore ; when they had feen and talked with him once or twice, they never knew him again by Sight ; at his firft Appearance they were always frightned, and thought they had feen a Spirit^ and never fufpedled it to be him till he was juft vaniihing, or till they had thought farther, and reflefted on the Matter, and then inconliftent with Theocracy, i g i then they concluded, that it muft have been fuch a Perfon. The Difciples, therefore, in this Cafe, were not as certain as any Man can be of any fenfible Fa^s^ which is what our Author ftill infifts on, and glories in, when- ever he is talking of Miracles and fupernatu- ral Fadls. But 'tis very plain, that the Difci- ples were not thoroughly convinced of the 'truth and Certainty of the Fad for the firft 'fifty Days after the Refurredion, nor did they ever preach, publilh, or declare Jefus to be rifen from the Dead, till the Conviclion they received by the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft upon about one hundred and twenty of them at Pentecoji, But having taken No- tice of this, and what Sort of Evidence it was, already, I (hall here fay no more of it, and fhould not, indeed, have faid fo much, had it not been to let this Author and others fee, that thefe Things have not fo ftrong and full an Evidence as Se?ije is capable of. And to carry our Affent or Belief of any Thing beyond the Evidence and Proof of it, is, I think, CreduHty, Enthufiafm, and implicit Faith. 3^/y. We may obferve farther, that Jefus Chrift, while he was living and converfing a- mong the JewSy and being himfelf a Jew^ was forced to accommodate himfelf, in great Meafure, to the national Temper, Genius, Prejudices, and PrepoflelTions of that People, with the greatefl Meeknefs, Patience, and Self. 192 Superftition and Tyranny Self-Denial ; he bore with fuch common Pre- judices and radicated Superftition among them, which he knew to be too deeply rooted and incurable : He had many Things to fay, even to his own Difciples, which they could not yet bear. Such Mifapprehenfions and Prejudices therefore, as he found invincible among them, he left to God and Providence, and the future Event of Things. Had he plainly and ex- plicitly declared to his Difciples and moft zealous Followers, that they were much mif- taken in him, that he was not the Man they took him for, that he was not that Prince of the Houfe of David^ and lineally defcended from him, who was to reftore the Kingdom, free them from the 'Roman Yoke, and eftablifli a fifth Monarchy, or univerfal Empire at 'Jerufalem : Had he declared this, I fay, plainly and exprefly, his own Difciples would have forfook him to a Man, and he could have done no Good at all among them. This muft have dafhed and defeated the whole Defign at once. On the other Hand, had he de- clared diredly and plainly for the Me/Tiahfliip and Kingdom, the Roma?2S muft have necelTarily taken Cognizance of it, and cut him off as a Rebel, Traitor, and Enemy to Ccrja?\ This was a very great Dilemma, and therefore the divine Prophet, though fent immediately from Godj found it neceifary not to declare openly aiid plainly either one Way or the other. When John Baptiji in Prifon fent two of his Difciples inconfiftciit with Theocracy. 193 Difciples to him for a pofitlve, categorical Anfwer, whether he was the Meffiah, or the Perfon expelled and promiled as the Dehverer and Reftorer of the Nation, or no, he gives no diredl Anfwer, but, Go and tell John what you fee and hear, the Dead are raijed, the Bli?2d ?rceive their Sight y the Lame walk, &cc. And from hence it was concluded, that he was really the Meffiah, or the promifed Re- *ftorer of the Jewifi Nation, though he did not yet care to own it. But this wad a grofs Miftake of John Baptt/l, who had firfl pro- claim'd him under this Character of Meffiah- fliip at Jordan, of his own Difciples, and other Follov/ers who had believed in him, and ad- hered to him as their national Meffiah. But the great Prophet himfelf had given no real Occafion for this, the Romans were fully fa- tisfy'd of it, and would have faved him if they could, and the Madnefs of thofe who would have fet him up as the King of I/rael, or the Meffiah of the Jrws, was made but a common Jeft, and treated with all the Contempt imaginable. Arid this prcfved the greateft Shock and Confufion to his own Dif- ciples, and drove them aim oft to their Wits End, as the Event evidendy ihews^ Such was the hard Fate of this great and holy Pro- phet, to be hated and defpifed by his Ene- mies, betray'd by one of his own Difciples, and miiunderftood and mifrepre fen ted by all the reft. And unhappy was it, in human O Judg- 1 94 Superftition and Tyranny Judgment, that fuch a Prophet, with his di- vine, irrefiftible Dodlrines, was fent to the Jews only, and that he did not appear among the Gentiles, who in all Probability would have given him a better Reception, as they did the Gofpel afterward, when it came to be preach'd in its Power and Purity by St. FauL This great Apoflle, and only Apoftle of the Gentiles, in preaching and publKhing the Re- ligion of God and Nature, made no Ufe of Miracles, either of his own Miracles, orthofe of Chrift himfelf j though in this Power of Miracles he was not inferior to the firft and chiefeft Apoftles, not excepting even Teter himfelf, as he alTures us in his Epiflle to the Galatians, He preached, indeed, the Refur- reftion of Jefus from the Dead, and the Power and Authority he had thereby received from God, as a Fadt which he thought fuffi- ciently attefted, though he had not been an Eye-Witnefs of it. But he did not confine Salvation to this Belief, as Peter had done. He appeals to Nature and Reafon for the Truth of Chrift's Doftrines, and declares, that every Man (hall be judged by the Law he had been under, whether the written Law of the Jews, or the common Law of Na- ture, as appearing in the Works of Creation, and written upon the Hearts of Men. And having premifed thus much, the Subftance of which I had urged before, I fliall now go ou with; the Author. -• ' From inconfiftent with Theocracy. 195 Prom the i07th to the 1 14th Page, the Au- thor takes fome Pains to prove, in Oppofi- tion to me, that Jefus Chrift wrought his Miracles as an Atteftation to the Truth of the Do&rines which he had then to teach and deUver to them, and not to prove his divine Authority as a true Prophet, and that he did not caft out Devils, and work Miracles by a diai)olical Power or Confederacy with the De- vil, which was the main Objedtion againft him. But I would afk this Writer, what ?2ew Dodlrines had Chrift to teach and deli- ver, which had not been abundantly proved before, in this Way of Miracles, by Mofes and the Prophets ? If he could tell us what Doctrines thofe Miracles were wrought to prove, and which the Jews did not believe before, he would folve the whole Difficulty. Chrift himfelf often declares, that he came not to teach or preach any new Dodtrines, or to introduce any new Religion. He appeals to Mofes and the Prophets, and to the Mira- cles wrought, or Evidence produced by them, for every Thing which he taught, or urged upon them. He declares, that he came not to deftroy or fet afide the Law, either in Whole or in Part; and he was..a thorongh Conformift himfelf even to the ceremonial Law, and taught others to do the fame : Only he attempted to revive the moral Lav/, and to reftore it to its true Ufe and Intention, and to throw off fuch extra-legal and fuper- O 2 ftitious f^6 Superftition and Tyranny ftitious Dodidnes and Ufages, which they had received by Tradition from their Elders, and which tended only to advance the Power and Intereft of the Priefts. If thefe Miracles, therefore, were intended to prove the Truth of all his Dodrines, they muft prove the continued Obligation of the ceremonial, as well as of the moral Law ; for Chrift himfelf pradlifed and taught both. And, confequent- ly, if the Miracles were intended as a Proof of Dodlrines, they muft prove the whole Scheme of yudaifm. And 'tis plain, that the Galilean Apoftles and Difciples underftood nothing elfe, who continued as ftrid: and ri- gid Jews, with Refped: to their Conformity to the whole Law, after the Death of Chrift^ as they had been before. "■ But this Author has intirely miftaken the Ufe and Intention of the Miracles, as quoted by the Evangelifts, which was to prove, that Jefus was their promifed Meffiah, or that Prince of the Houfe of David, and lineally defcended from him, who was to reftore the Kingdom, and deliver the Nation. 'Tis plain, from the Genealogies of Matthew and Luke^ that the Defign in them is to prove the Title of Jefus to the Crown, by his lineal Defcent, as the right Heir from ^Davidy though the irreconcilable Differences in thefe two Ac- counts Ihew plainly, that the Jews had kept no certain Records of their Genealogies after the Babylonia?!^ nor indeed, after the A(jyrian ' ^^d 'Capti- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 197 Captivity. But what is mofl furprizing is, that thofe very Evangelifts, who labour to prove his hereditary Right to the Kingdom, as hneally defcended from David^ affure us, at the fame Time, that he had no natural, human Defcent at all ; but that Mary con- ceived him by the Holy Gbojl, or immediate- Power of God, while flie was a pure Virgin. ^ And upon this Suppolition he was no more^ the Son of David^ than of Saul^ and no more of the Seed of Abraham^ than of Mel^ chizedek. And as two of the Evangelifls men-' tion nothing of this, fo there is no original" Proof or Evidence, but Mary\ own Word, while fhe lay under a ftrong Suipicion, and Jofeph had a Mind to put her away privately, without making her a publick Example. And this, it feems, he had certainly done, had not an Angel appeared and fpoke to him in a Dream, and told him, that what Mary faid was true. But that an Angel appeared and Ipoke to him in a Dream, can lignify no more than that he dreamed an Angel appeared and fpoke to him. I cannot pretend to fay, that this fupernatural Fad: was not true, or that the Thing is impoffible; but this, I think, I may be bold to fay, that the Evidence for it was not fo clear and ftrong as Senfe could make it, nor quite fo clear as might be -.ex- pedted to make fuch a Thing probable. It would doubtlefs have been more fatisfaftory, had there been fome other Witnefles to the O 3 Appear- 1 98 Superftition and Tyranny Appearance and Difcourfe of the Angel with her, that the Thing might not have depended on her fole Teftimony, who was the Perfon concerned, and whofe Reputation lay at Stake. But to return to the Argument: I think I have clearly and unanfwerably proved, that there can be no Connexion between Power and Truth ; and that maw^ fuch Afl:s of Pow- er, how extraordinary foever, can no more create or make any fuch Connexion than one. The Miracles could not be wrought to prove the Truth of any new DoClrines or new Re- ligion, which this Prophet was then introduc- ing among the Jews^ becaufe he difclaims a- ny fuch. But thefe Miracles are plainly pro- duced and urged by the Hiftorians to prove his prophetic Meffiahfhip, or Right to the Kingdom, in their national Senfe, which he had all along difclaim'd -, and though he was tried and put to Death for it, yet no fufficient Proof could be brought, and they were forced to fuborn WitnelTes for it. This his Re- nunciation of the Meffiahfhip or Kingdom to the very laft, and when he came to die, put his Difciples into the utmoft Dread and Confternation. They now faw they had been miftaken in, and joined a falfe Meffiah; upon which they abandoned him, gave up all farther Hope in him, and fled for their Lives. But inconfiftent with Theocracy. 199 But after all, that Miracles can be no Proof of Dodtrines, or divine Commiffion and Ap- probation of Perfons, we have Chrift's own Word and Declaration to vouch. For many in the laft Day will come and plead with him, that in his Name they had preached and prophefied, and caft out Devils, and done many wonderful Works, who yet will be re- ^ jefted, and fent off as Workers of Iniquity, Here had been great Miracles wrought, as Prophecy, cafting out Devils, healing Dif- cafes, ^c. which were all Works in them- felves, as having a natural, dired: Tendency to the Good of Mankind. And yet as the moral Character was wanting, they could make out no divine Commifllon or Approba- tion. The Prophets Elijah and Elijlja^ with- out pretending to prove any new Doctrines, wrought many Miracles, and, among others, raifed the Dead. Nay, the very Bones of Eli/ha^ after he had been dead and buried, recovered a dead Corpfe, and made him a living Man again, when the Body had been thrown into his Grave, 2 Ki72gs xiii. 2 1. This, perhaps, might be the firft Rife and Founda- tion of the divine Power and Virtue of the dead Saints, by which an infinite Number of the moft amazing Miracles were wrought all over Chrijlendom in the fourth Century, and for which we have the Teftimony of as great and celebrated Men for Learning and Piety, as the Church of Chrift had ever produced. O 4 But ?co Superllition and Tyranny But this was all Ignorance, Enthufiafm, or Impofture ; whereas there could have been no fuch Thing in the World two or three hun- dred Years before. I had urged, that Faith of Healing, or a flrong, invincible Perfuafion, that Jefus was the Meiliah or national Deliverer, was a Con- dition fine qua non thefe miraculous Cures were wrougfit, and that therefore the Strength of Faith, or natural Power of Imagination, might be the principal Caufe of fuch extraor- dinary Cures, of which we have a great ma- il v more modern In fiances : If thou believefi thou mayji he healed^ thy Faith has made thee "whok^ or be it ujtto thee according to thy Faith ^ being almoft the conftant Language and Ex- pretlion to thofc who had been, or were to be healed. But our Author Infills upon it, p, 114. That there were fome Exception? to this, where a perfonal Faith was not neceffary to the Cure. He therefore afks. Could the Cen- turions Faith heal his dying Servant'? Or c:ould the Ruler's Faith heal his Son, and that in an Inftant, and at a Diflance ? I an- iwer, no ; but the Servant and the Son knowing where the Prophet then was, and at what Time the Mafter and the Father would come up and fpea.k with him, and being firmly and invincibly perfuaded, that as foon as Jefus could be fpoke with they fliould be healed, their Faith and Imagination, tho' at a Diflance, might work as flrongly, and 3 have incanfiftcnt with Theocracy. 201 Kave the fame Effc6t, as if they had been perfonally prefent at the fame Time. And that the Power of Imagination and Strength of Perfuafion had a great Hand in thefe Mi^ racks, feems pretty plain in the Cafes or In- ftances of Peter and Paid, and the extraor- dinary Cures they wrought, without know- ing any Thing of the Matter themfelves. With Regard to Peter, T'hey brought the Sick ^into the Streets, and laid them in Beds and CoiicUs, that at leajl the Shadow of Peter, "when he came by, might JJ:adow fome of the?n. And of this Sort of Believers, there came Multitudes out of the Cities round about unto Jerufalem, bri?2ging fick Folks, and them who were 'vexed with unclean Spirits, who "were healed, Adls v. 15, 16. And thus when Paul was at Ephefus, God wrought no fmall Mira- cles by the Plands of Paul : So that from his Body were brought unto the Sick, Napkins and Handkerchiefs, and the Difeafes departed, and the evil Spirits went out of them. Ads xix. II, 12. Thefe, perhaps, are fome of the ftrongeft Inftances of Enthufiafm, and the Power of Imagination, that ever werq known. But here was no voluntary Agency or Con- currence of thofe Apoftles themfelves : They could caft out Devils, and heal all Manner of Difeafes, by a Shadow or Handkerchief, without knowing any Thing of the Matter. Surely here their Faith made them whole ! But the Author haying given up thefe mira- culous 20 2 Saperftition and Tyranny culous Cures, by the Power of Faith, or Force of Imagination, has nothing left but the Refurredtion Miracles, which are very few, and thefe not altogether indifputable, or> as clear as any fenjible Fu5l could be, s I had hitherto fuppofed the certain, indu-^ bitable Truth of the Fads themfelves, and upon that Suppofition, I think I had evi- dently proved, that thofe Miracles related of Chrift and the Apoftles, could have no fuch Intention, nor anfwer any fuch End, as this Author has affigned them : They could not be defigned to prove the Truth of any new Doctrines, or new Religion^ becaufe Chrift himfelf, and all his Difciples, were ftridt and thorough Jews^ according to the Law of MofeSy and never pretended to any other Re- ligion. It was only a Fadlion among Jews themfelves, and the only Queftion then was. Whether this Jefus was the Meffiah, the King of Ifrael^ or that Prince of the Houfe of Davidy who was to reftore the Kingdom, and deliver the Nation? Here the Galilean Difciples, and thofe that adhered to him, maintained the Affirmative ; and all the reft of the Nation ftood to the Negative, and reject- ed him under that Charad:er : But they did not rejeft him as a Prophet and Preacher of Righteoufnefs, and many of the Priefts and Rulers believed in him fo far. The whole Nation would have received him as a Pro- phet, as they had done John Baptijl^ had there inconfiftent with Theocracy. 203 there been no Pretenfions to the Meffiahfhip, or Kingdom : But his own Difciples had been the true Caufe and Occafion of all the Troubles and Confufion of that Time, and of bringing their Mafter to the Crofs, by their miftaken Notions of him, groundlefs Expeftations from him, and the falle Reports they fpread about him, as the Meffiah^ or King of IJraeL And, therefore, when Jefus was taken, and put upon his Examination and Trial, and had deny'd the Charge brought againft him, his Difciples all forfook him, and fled ; and, had they ftood it, and been brought to an Exa- mination themfelves, they muft have confefs'd, that they had always underftood and taken him for the Mefliah, or for that Perfon who had been foretold and promifed, and who was now fent to reftore the Kingdom, and deliver the Nation from their Subjedion to the Romans, And fuch Evidence muft nccef- farily have condemned him by the Roman Law j and Pilate^ in fuch a Cafe, could not have laboured to fave him. Now when Chrift's own Difciples were under fuch Miftakes and Mifapprehenlions concerning his true Charafter, the Nature of his Kingdom, and Defign of his Miffion; 'tis no Wonder, that they fliould mifreprefent Things, and give an inconfiftent Account of him. When he, in all his Parables and Al- legories relating to himfelf and his Kingdom, meant one Thing, and they underftood another, 'tig 204 Superftition and Tyranny 'tis impoffible there (liould have been any right Underftanding between them. But when the Difciples came afterward to believe in Jefus, and preach him openly, as rifen from the Dead, all their former Hopes and Expectations were reviv'd, and more ftrength- ned and confirmed than ever. He was now the Meffiah, the Reftorer of the Kingdom, and Deliverer of the Nation again, and was to come again from Heaven, and fet up his Kingdom among them in that very Genera- tion. And now they reprefent him as having plainly and exprefly declared all this, while he was living and converfing with them ; whereas 'tis plain, that they had never thought, or fo much as dream'd of his being to rife again from the Dead, at firft, when he had been crucified. But as foon as they came to be- lieve the Refurredtion, they refumed all the fame Mifapprehenfions of him, and made the fame wrong Conftrudion of what he had faid, as they had done before in his Life- Time. 'Tis very plain, that thefe Miracles, which made fo much Noife afterwards, were not generally believed or credited at that Time. His own Brethren did not believe the Reports of them : They did not receive him as the Meffiah while he lived, and he could work none of thofe unconteftable Miracles at Na^ zareth in his own Family, and among his Neighbours and Acquaintance, where he had been ineonfiftent with Theocrac5^ 205 been born, and brought up. His own Bre-^ thren rebuke and rally him, for keeping him- felf fo very clofe and private in fuch a remote Part of the Country, and for not appearing openly at Jerufalcjn^ and in the great Towns and Cities of Judea^ if he could do fuch mighty Works as had been rumoured of him. His Brethren Jaid unto bim^ Depaj't hence ^ and go into Judea^ that thy Difciples may jee thy Works which thou doejt ; for there is no Man that doth any T^hing fecretly^ when he himfclf Jeeketh to be famous. If thou doe ft thefe things ^ fiew thyfef to the World, John vii. 3, 4. This was a fmart Piece of Raillery, and fhews, that his own Brethren were now as much Unbelievers with Regard to the Meffiahfliip then talk'd of, as the Scribes, and Pharifees themfelves. Had this great Prophet and Reformer had a difcretionaiy Power of working Miracles in Proof of his Meffiahfliip, no Doubt but he would have chofen to work them chiefly up- on Unbelievers, and efpecially in the Sight and Prefence of fuch, as the moft efl-ec- tual Means for their Convidion and Conver- iion. Nay, he would have caft out all the Devils, and healed all the Difeafes in the Country : But yet we find the Cafe was quite otherwife; for when the unbelieving Scribef and Pharifees often urge hirri to fhew fome Signs, or work fome Miracle before them, he always refufes to gratify them, or to give them any 2o6 Superftition and Tyranny any fuch Convidlion^ None but Believers, or fuch as had a ftrong, invincible Perfua^ iion of his being the Meffiah and Reftorer of the Kingdom^ could receive the leaft Benefit from any of thofe Miracles. And this Faith was not only what Jefus could not, but like- wife what he would not give, had it been in his Power, fince we find, that he endeavour- ed all along, as much as poflible^ to fupprefs and bear it down, and quafh the Reports of it. This ftrong Perfuafionj therefore, con- cerning Jefus as the national Meffiah, was a Sort of over-bearing Enthufiafm, or Mad- nefs, which had feized the Difciples, and a great Part of the People, in and about Gali^ lee. And when the People were thus heated^ and wrought up to fuch a Temper, no Doubt but they were capable of being miraculoufly imprefs'd, and could even work Miracles up- on themfelves. And all this they would be fure to aggrandize, and make the moft of. But where there is thus any darling Party- Intereft to ftrengthen and confirm, there is not always the ftridteft Regard to Truth of Fads, efpecially where thofe Facfts are of an extraordinary Nature, and atteftcd only by the fame Party, Moft of this I had either urged or intimated before; and what our Author now offers againft it is fo very trifling and evafive, that I wonder hov^ he could prevail with himfelf to let it pafs for an An- fwer. What the Author has farther in this 3 Chapter, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 207 Chapter, is nothing but a theatrical Harangue upon the Clearnefs and Invincibility of the o- riginal Evidence, and the unexceptionable Way in which it has been convey'd and hand- ed down to US; as to which, at prcfent, I have nothing more to fay, and fhall therefore go on to his fourth Chapter, CHAP. III. THE Author here, in the Beginning of his fourth Chapter, complains, that I had taken no Notice of what he had offered in Defence of the Law of Mofes^ as a moft wife and excellent Conflitution, intend- ed for, and a<3:ually anfwering feveral great and valuable Purpofes. I muft profefs, that I did not willingly or defignedly overlook or pafs by any Argument of his to this Purpofe : But whatever I might have omitted in my fe- cond Volume, I hope the Reader will find fupply'd in this Defence of it. But if the Author {hould think otherwife, that he has fufficiently gained his Point already, that he i; may be filent for the future, and need fay no more as to the Argument from Miracles, and the Excellency of the Mofaic Conftitution, it will be as well, and we (hall both find our own Accounts in it. To 2o8 Siiperffition and Tyranny To my afking, How fliall we know or prove, that God did enter into a fpecial Rela- tion to that People ? Muft we take their own Words, or the proud fuperftitious Imagination of their own People for it ? The Author re- plies, /». 128. " That it is proved by the fame " Evidence by which the divine Authority of " the Law of Mofes is proved, w^hichwasinits *' very original Conftitution in the Nature of " a fpecial Covenant with that People, in " which God condefcended to enter into a " peculiar Relation to them, and eredled " them into a pecular Polity, for wife and " valuable Ends; and, confequently, it was *' confirmed by the Teflimony of God him- " felf, who, as has been already fliewn, did " in an extraordinary Manner bear Witnefs " to the divine Miffion of MoJeSy and the " divine Original and Authority of the Laws " he delivered in his Name." But muft we not take their own Words for all thi^, or does it not all depend upon the Infallibility of their own Hijiorians ? I have faid a great deal to {hew, from the Nature and Reafon of the Thing itfelf, that their Law, efpecially the ce- remonial Part of it, could not be a divine In- ftitution. And how does the Author prove the contrary, but by quoting their own TVordSy and urging their own Authority for it ? For I am fure, he has not anfwered or confuted any one Argument of mine s and this will farther appear, as we go along. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 209 I had proved from St. Paiil^ that the Abra^ hamic Covenant was perfed:ly diftind: from the Law of Mofes, that it fubfifted before the Law, and that the Terms or Conditions of it, as a Covenant of Righteoufnefs, muft extend to all Mankind, independent of Mofes and the Law. This is what I had evidently proved, and the Author, for any Thing I can fee, grants it. But, faith he, p, 129. Doth it fol- low from thence, that God never entered into any fpecial Relation to the People of Ifrael at all, nor eredled them into a peculiar Polity ? No, it does not follow from thence; but it plainly follows, that the Jewijh Nation were not a peculiar People, as the Seed of Abra- ham, or in Confequence of that Covenant and Promife from which they claimed -, and this St. Paul clearly proves, as Chrift himfelf had done before. But the Author w^ould here prove the Peculiarity of the Jewtjh Nation from the Law ; \vhereas they never pleaded the Law for this Privilege, but the Covenant of Promife, or Covenant of God with Abra- ham. They pretended to be ele(fled in Ab?^a- ham, and not in Mofes, The Law of Mofes was indeed peculiar to that Nation, and fo is every other national Law peculiar to thofe who are under it. The Law made this Na- tion the peculiar People of Mofes ^ but not the peculiar People of God. St. Paul, indeed, could not diredtly attack even the ceremonial Law ; had he exprefly deny*d its divine Au- P thority, 2IO Superftition and Tyranny thority, the "Jemos would have ftoned him. But as he reprefents it, as a carnal, blind- ing, enflaving, and infufFerable Scheme, and rejeded it in its literal, and only original Senfe, as inftituted by Mojes^ 'tis very plain, that he could not believe it to be of divine In- ftitution. . The Author had urged, that the Mofaic Conftitution or Law, was of great Advan- tage for keeping up the Knowledge and Worjlnp of the one true God in the World, To which I had replied. That this Law never anfvvered any fuch End, either with Refped: to that Nation, or any other. And the Author, fo far as I can fee, confutes this, by granting it: Only he obferves, that notwithftanding all the Degeneracy, Revolts, and Apoftafy of that Nation to Idolatry, there were ftill fome among them, who retained the Knowledge and Worfhip of the true God. And the fame may be faid of all other Nations, for God had never left himfelf v^ithout Witnefs of his eternal Power and Godhead. Amidft all the Idolatry and vulgar Superftition- of the Heathens, their Philofophers and Mora- lifts, and almoft all Men of a liberal Educa- tion among them, had as right Notions of God and Providence, as any of the Jews themfelves -, and they locked upon the vulgar Religion, as only a Piece of State-Policy, and as fuch only they outwardly comply *d with it. The Medes and Pcrfia?2S, two mighty Nations^ inconfiftent with Theocracy. 211 Nations, had always retained the Knowledge and Worfhip of one true God, which they never received from the Jews, And whatever it may be imagined that God had promifed to Abraham, fure I am, that this Nation was never a Bleffing to any other Nation. They have always proved a Curfe where-ever they have come, and were the greateft and moft outrageous Oppofers of the Gofpel at firft, from their Zeal for the Law. I had argued, that the popular, local, ora- cular God of Ijraely who always locally re- fided among them, fat upon the Mercy-Seat between the Cherubims over the Ark, and was occaiionally carried about from Place to Place, could not be the true God, the infinite Creator and Governor of the World ; but muft have been an Idol after the Manner of Egypty and other Nations, who had fuch Gods. And that the Worihip paid him in coftly, burdenfome Sacrifices, ufelefs Ceremo- nies, and bare, external, carnal Obfervances, could not be agreeable to the Nature, Perfec- tions, and inward fpiritual Worihip of the true God. And this feems to be fo juft and neceffary a Concluiion, that one would think any Man free from Prejudice, muft fee and own it at firft View. Biit (hould our Author allow this, or {hould it be proved againft him, it muft overthrow his whole Scheme at once; and, therefore, I {hall confider very P 2 particu- 212 Superftition and Tyranny particularly and diftindly, all that he has of- fered in Anfwer to it. He pretends, />. 135. That it was the true God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, who thus manifefted himfelf to the IJraelites^ by a local, vifible Prefence, and audible Voice, as the God of IJrael only, and of no other Na- tion. But that the fupream Being {hould continue a vifible, fenfible Signal of his Pre- fence in, and Protection of one Nation only, as their God, Guardian, and Deliverer, while he was a fworn Enemy to all other Nations, is as abhorrent to the Nature and Perfedtion^ of the true God, as any Thing he could ima- gine. That God iliould manifefl fuch an un- reafonable Partiality, or groundlefs Refpedt of Perlbns, as to love and favour one of the wick- edeft Nations in the World, while he hated and abandoned all the reft, is as credible as that the true God is an Idol. But if they were fo grofly fuperftitious, as to imagine, that the God who thus manifefted his fpecial Prefence and Favour only among them, was the true God, the Creator and Governor of the World, their whole Fliftory, from firft to laft, (hews, -that this was falfe in Fa6t; and that in the Courfe of his Providence and moral Govern- ment, he generally fucceeded, profpered, and favoured their Enemies, while he plagued and diftreffcd them.' And if they worfliiped the true God under fuch a falfe, idolatrous No- tion of him, it was the very fame Thing, in Eftbdt, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 213 Effedl, as worfhiping an Idol ; efpecially when the Worflrp to be paid him, and which Mo- Jes had inftituted, was of the very fame Na- ture and Kind with that which the Heathen Nations paid to their tutelar Idols. For a Priefthood and Sacrifices were inftituted to this God of I/rae/, with as much fenfelefs Ceremony, external Pomp, and coftly, bur- denfome Services, which were as carnal, un- profitable, and as contrary to the Nature of true Religion, as ever had been {ten in Egypt. But the People were perfuaded, and made be- lieve, that while they continued this Sort of Woriliip in the Mofaic Tribe and Family, and offered no Sacrifices, or paid any Revenues, but to their own Priefts, the true God would be always with them, and for them ; and, indeed, Mofes feems to have underftood the Power of Enthufiafm, and national Pride, as well as any Politician fince his Time. But this confining the Prefence and Favour of God to a Place, and to fome vifible, fenfible Sym- bols of his being with them, and ready to aflift them, was the very Idolatry of the Hea- thens. They were not fo ftupid and fenfelels as to imagine, that thofe Idols, or Symbols of divine Favour, were Jehovah, or the fupream Being himfelf : But they thought, that the coeleftial, mediatorial Gods, or Guardian An- gels, had a particular, local Refidence in thofc Places, as the Minifters of Providence, and |;he fenfible Signals and Reprefentations of P 3 God's 214 Superftition and Tyranny- God's fpecial Prefence and Favour. And in like Manner the TJraelites had their guardian, refidential Angels: They had the Angel of the Covenant, or Angel of God's Prefence, always wuth them, as they conceited, and had been taught to believe. And thefe me- diatorial or minifterial Angels they petitioned and invoked as their Guardians, Governors, Difpofers under God, and as his Minifters and Reprefentatives. AnA thus Jaakob on his Death-Bed invokes God and the Angel diftincSly and feparately, for the fame Blef- fings, as fuppoling his Guardian Angel to be the commiffioned, authorized Miniller of God to him. And thus w^hen an Angel was fup- pofed to appear and fpeak to Men, it is faid, that Jehovah appeared and declared fo alfo, that is, Jehovah appeared and fpoke this or that, by his minifterial Angel and Reprefen- tative. And I have (liewn in the Introduction, or Prehminary Difcourfe, that this minifte- rial Worfhip of Angels, or of God by An- gels, was the Rife and Foundation of all the Idolatry of Egypt ^ and other Nations. And I cannot fee, that Mofes^ in his Scheme, had much mended the Matter, or altered the Cafe in general, though he had thrown off^ the groffer Superftition of Image- Worlhip, and the Multiplicity of fuch local, tutelar Gods. When the PhiUfiijies took the Ark, though the Ifraelites could not imagine that Jehovah was not ftill prefent in their Country, as well 2 as inconliftent with Theocracy. 215 as every where elfe; yet they thought they had loll their minifterial Guardian and Pro- tector, or the Angel by whom they mediaio- rially worshiped God ; and the Idolatry and tutelar Worfliip of the Heathens was of the fame Nature and Kind. But the Author grofly miftook me, in imagining, that I thought that the IJraelites worfhiped an Idol, or local, tutelar God, as Jehovah, or the fu- pream God, as he puts it upon me, />. 134, 135. But I take this Prefence of the Angel of the Covenant, as the continued, refidential Reprefentative of God to the IJraelites^ and the Worfhip or Regard paid to him on that Account, to have been as much a Delulion as the heathen, imaginary, tutelar Deities. And it feems to me extreamly plain, that this Angel of the Covenant, or Angel of God's Pre- fence, though he was not Jehovah himfelf, yet being his immediate Minifter and Re- prefentative, and as they worfhiped God in and by him ; he was next to him in Honour and Dignity, and was fo confidered and re- garded. But as the more ignorant and fuper- ftitious Vulgar among them did not, per- haps, conlider this Subordination of their lo- cal, tutelar Deities, to the fupream God ; but often wordiiped them immediately and ulti- mately, widiout any farther Reference ; fo it feems plain enough, that the Grofs of the People among the Ifraelites^ who for Igno- rance and Stupidity canie not behind any P 4/ other 21 6 Superftition and Tyranny other Nation in the World, did after the fame Manner confound their local Guardian with the Jehovah himfelf, and regarded and worihiped him ultimately, as the fupream God. There are fo many vulgar PafTages, and popular Phrafes in the Books of MofeSy which look ftrongly this Way, that one can hardly help concluding, that this was the Cafe. It was Jehovah himfelf, as diflin- guifli'd from the Angel, who appeared and ^ake to Mofes, attended him up and down in the Wildernefs, and converfed familiarly with him Face to Face. It was Jehovah himfelf, as perfonally prefent, who gave the Law to Mofes, was feen by the Elders of IJrael upon the Mount, and who afterwards gave Com- mandment concerning Solomons building him a Houfe to dwell in. And thefe People were no fuch Philofophers, or abftrad: Reafoners, as not to take fuch Things from Mofes in their obvious, literal Senfe. And we find, that all Politicians, in every Country, fo far as \ye have any Hiftory, have had one Reli- gion for the grofs, ignorant Vulgar, and an- other for the Wifer and more Learned. This has alwavs been fo hitherto; and, I fear, muft ftiirbe fo. When I am fpeaking of the popular No- tion of the God of Jfrael^ and how Mofes re- prefented him to the People, as the God and Protecftor of that Nation only, and who would be an Enemy an4 Avenger of all other inconfiftent with Theocracy. 217 other Nations, who fhould dare to difturb or moleft his chofen, beloved People, while they kept to this political Law , the Author pre- fently flies off to the Defcriptions which the Prophets had given of the univerfal Power, Prelence, and paternal Care of the liipream and true God, many hundred Years aftef the Days of Mo/es, and about the Time of the AJj'yrian Captivity. But there is no Dealing with a Man who will contradidl one in every Thing, and always refolve to mifun- derftand what he cannot confute. That the popular Notion of the God of i/r^^/was, that he was the God, the Guardian and Proteftor of that Nation only, that they were his only chofen and beloved People, no Body, I be- lieve, but this Writer, would have deny'd. And as to his Covenant of Peculiarity, and particular Eledtion of this Nation, he has made but a very poor Hand of it yet, and can produce no Authority for it, without tak- ing up with the yewijh national Prejudices, and bringing in this People as Vouchers for themfelves : And this to prove a Polition that is as contrary to the whole Courfe and Run of the Hiflory itfelf of what was really true in Fadl, as it is to the Perfeftions of God, and the Reafon of Things. But becaufe I had faid^ that it was always the univerfally received Notion of this Nation, that they were the only peculiar eled: People of God in the World, and that they would have ftoned 21 8 Superflition and Tyranny iloned any Prophet who fliould have come to them with any other Dodrine; the Author, f, 139. breaks out into this Exxlamation, " I am fo ufed to the Authors Way of re- '^ prefenting Things, that I am not furprized " at this, though ever fo contrary to Truth *^ and Decency." And then he goes on to obferve what Reprefentations the Prophets, in after Ages, gave us of God and Providence univerfally refpedling all Mankind. But the Queftion here is, What was the general pre- :vailing and popular Notion of God among the IJraelites and Jews^ with Refpedl to them- felves, as the only peculiar eledt People and Favourites of God upon Earth ? And whe- -therthis Notion and Opinion of the Peculia- rity of fo wicked and profligate a Nation be not contrary to the Perfed:ions of God, to the Reafon of Things, and to all hiflorical Truth in . Fadl ? It appears from their whole Hiftory, that this People were never the pe- culiar Favourites of Heaven ; and yet no Prophet ever dared tell them fo, even under their greateft Degeneracy and Wickednefs. And was not all this vain Boafting then ow- ing to Enthufiafm and national Pride ? But however they might be the peculiar People .of Mofes^ and his Inheritance, they were ne- ver, furely, the pecuhar People of God. But this Pride is ilill peculiar to Predeftinarians, and vifionary Entbufiafts. I have faid thus much, to let the Reader fee, that either this Nation inconfiiftent with Theocracy. 219 Nation worfliiped a falfe God, or, which is the fame Thing, the true God, under an ido- latrous, falfe Notion and Idea of him. But this, I think, is plain, that God, in a pecu- liar Senfe, is the God only of the Righteous, or his true, fpiritual Worihipers, of what Nation or Country foever they are 3 and for any one Nation to claim this Honour and Privilege peculiarly to themfelves, exclufive of all others, is the higheft Prefumption and Ar- rogance, as Chrift himfelf and St. Paul open- ly declared, and evidently proved of this Na- tion. But this proud, afTuming People were always famous and remarkable for affronting God, and infulting all the reft of Mankind. With Regard to the Miracles in Egypt ^ and at the Red Sea^ I muft refer the Rtader to the Introduftion, or Preliminary Difcourfe, where I have confidered this Matter more at large, and fhewn the great Improbability and Self-Inconliftency of the whole Account, as it is related and reprefented by the Hebrew Hiftorian. It will be fufEcient here to ob- ferve in general, that as thefe Hiftorians al- ways affed: to afcribe almoft every Thing that happened to them, and the whole Condudl of Providence towards them, for many hun- dred Years together, to fupernatural Caufes, and immediate, divine Interpofition, they are the lefs to be rely'd on in fuch Matters. They never diftinguilhed between the permiffive and effcdive Will of God. Whatever was brought about 2 20 Superftition and Tyranny about by any uncommon, extraordinary, or unexpected Providence, where no human "Forefight or Contrivance had appeared, diey afcribed all to Miracle and fupernatural Inter- pofition. If we take Things in the literal, obvious Senfe, as they are reprefented in thofe Writings, we muft conclude, that for above a thoufand Years fucceffively, God, in go- verning and conducing this holy, peculiar Nation, continually fufpended all the general Laws of Nature, and common Providence, in Favour of them, and as a Mark of their Peculiarity and diftinguifhed Care of Heaven. They always invoked the Almighty in every Thing where they themfelves were concern- ed ; they often afcribe the mofl common, na- tural Events to fupernatural Caufes^ and this, where the natural Caufes which brought them about, are vifible in the Story itfelf. In (hort, a great Part of what they relate, as to the Manner and Caufes of the Facts, could meet with no Credit, were they related by other Hiftorians, who have not the Prejudice of In- fallibility on their Side, and where Men think themfelves at Liberty to make a rational, dif- cretionary Judgment. Our Author ought to have proved this Hebrew hiftorical Infallibi- lity, before he had taken it as a firft Princi- ple, and argued upon it as grantedj as he does all along. But as it cannot be done, the learned Reafoners in this Way have nothing to do, but to quote a Text of Scripture, in fomq inconfiflent with Theocracy. 221 fome Senfe or other, right or wrong, and then come off triumphantly, with a quod erat demonjlrandum. The Author next, p, 143. endeavours, as well as he can, to excufe the Ifraelites in making and worfliiping a Calf, and afcribing their Deliverance to the Gods of Egypt ^ with- in forty Days after the Promulgation of the Law, and about four Months after their pafE- ^ing the Red Sea. And here he will have it, that it was not the Gods of Egypt^ but the God of Ifrael, Jehovah himfelf, whom they intended to worihip under this Egyptian Sym- bol, or fubordinate God. But fuppofing this to have been the Cafe, it was however done in Defiance of the Law, which had been juft given from God in the moft extraordina- ry and aftoniflhing Way of Miracles 3 and which Law they had juft before fworn, in the moft folemn Manner, to obey. I had mentioned this as an incredible Thing, that they fhould aft thus under fuch a Blaze of Miracles, and Demonftrations of divine Pow- er ; and, therefore, concluded, that either the Story of the Miracles, or of this fudden De- fection of the People, muft have been a Forgery, and, in all Probability, the former. But the Author takes no Notice of the Argu- ment, where the Strefs of it lay. But as to the Ifraelites intending to worihip Jehovah, or the true God, under this Egyptia?i Symbol, he might have known, that this was the very Idolatry t22 Superftition and Tyranny Idolatry and Worfliip of the 'Egyptians them- felves, who worfhiped Jehovah, or the fu- pream God, by the Symbol of a Calf, or Bull; that is, they worfhiped God by the Symbol of the Sun in Taurus^ as moft of the Eaftern Nations did, whatever other idola- trous Symbols, and fubordinate Deities, they might have. The Egyptians^ indeed, did not know the fupream Being by the Name Jeho- vah, which Mofes gave him; but they took Jehovah to have been fome fubordinate, na- tional, and tutelar God, by whom Mofes had been fent. None of the Heathen Nations, I mean the knowing, thinking Men among them, were ever fo ftupid and fenfelefs, as to imagine any of their national, tutelar Gods, or providential Governors of Countries and Provinces, to have been the fupream God, the infinite, eternal Creator, and Lord of the whole Earth. But they worfliiped God un- der fuch Symbols, and by the Miaiitry and Mediation of thofe fubordinate Deities. I had almoft overlooked what the Author offers, p. 141. to juftify Mofes^ Miracle, in bringing Water inftantly out of a Rock, by ftriking it with his Rod or Wand. I had obferved, that a.s the Ifraelites had never feen any frefh Water Springs, or Water flowing out of the Rocks in the Lower Egypt, where they had lived, they might eaiily have been cheated and impofed on in fuch a Cafe, and take that for a moft ftupendous Miracle, which is the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 223 the common Work of God and Nurture. And I ftrengthned the Argument with this, that Mojes, by this Miracle, forfeited his Entrance into the Land of Canaan^ and had ahnoft loft his Credit with the People ; but to this the witty Author thus triumphantly replies, />. 141. " The Water, it feems, had been ' there all along. It had come flowing from * the Rock, and had pajjed by their T'ents^ ^ but the poor, fenfelefs Creatures could not ^ fee it, though they were, at that very ^ Time, ready to perifh for want of it. And ' when he brought them to the Rock, he ' made them believe, there was not one ' Drop of Water ifliiing out of it, till he ' ftruck it with his Rod, though it was all * the while gufliing out in great Abundance, * a rapid Spring before their Eyes. To ' attempt a ferious Anfwer to fuch wild Sup-» ' poiitions, would be to make myfelf as ri- * diculous as this Writer 5 and he muft fup- ' pofe thefe Nation's to be as fenfelefs, as he ' .makes the IJraelites to be, if he imagines ' fuch Stuff as this can pafs upon them. It ' were to be wifhed, he had gone through ' the other Miracles, which he might eafily ' have done in the fame Way." I have quoted this PalTage from our fprightly, hu- morous Author, becaufe I admire it the moft of any Thing in his Book. But can this fa- gacious Writer imagine, that Mojes, who knew the Place, had not Wit or Skill enough 19 S24 Superftition and Tyranny to draw up the People to this new Incamp- ment in fuch a Manner, as not to bring them in Sight of the Water, either of the Foun- tain, or any Rivulet ifluing from it, till he had ftruck the Blow, and given the Word of Command ? It muft be fuppofed, that Mofes^ before he decampt from the Defart of Ziriy and came to Rephidim^ knew whither he was going, and where Water might be had ; for otherwife he might have taken any other dry Rock nearer at Hand, or have brought Water out of the dry Ground in the Defart, before the People had taken fo hard a March as to be juft perifhing with Thirft. But when he had brought them to a Spring, or Water- flowing Rock, why was it neceflary, that they {hould fee this, or be brought in Sight of the Spring or Rivulet before' Mofes had wrought the Miracle, and (hown the divine Power and Virtue of his Wand ? Why muft the Water have flow'd through their Tents, or gufh*d out in a rapid Spring before their Eyes, before they had been brought in Sight of It, or knew, that there was any Spring about the Rock? But 'tis pleafant to fee how this ingenious Author delights himfelf with the Creatures of his own Imagination, and cre- ates Difficulties upon my Suppofition, where there were none. But if Mofes could do fuch Things with his Rod, if he could bring Water out of a dry Rock, why not out of one dry Rock as well as another, or out of the inconfiiftent with Theocracy. 225 the dry Ground? Why might he not have created Bread and Fklh, as well as Water ; or have made Sheep and Cattle in the Wil- dernefs, as v/ell as Serpents and Lice in Egypt? It will be faid, doubtlefs, that he could not do this, becaufe God did not think fit to enable, or authorize him. God then, it feems, could not, or would not, enable Mojes to work the moft ufeful and beneficial Miracles, ♦but only fuch as might ferve for Plagues and Punifhments, which was, doubtlefs, moft a- greeable to the Nature and Perfedtions of the true God. But there is one Expreffion in this Paragraph, which feems to me as dark as the reft are bright. He fays, I muft fuppofe thefe Nations to be as fenfelefs as I make the Ifraelites to be, if I imagine, that fuch Stuff as this can pafs upon them. But who were thefe Nations ? Were there any other Nations befides the Ifraelites^ who were Witnefs to the Truth and Reality of this, or any other of Mofess Miracles in the Wildernefs ? I fup- pofe the Author might want fuch Witnefles, but not finding them upon Earth, he was forced to fetch them from the Moon. But it were to be wijlSd I had gone through the other Miracles, which I might ea/ily have done in the fame Way, I hope then, if I have fatisfied him in this, it may excufe me from the reft. But I do not think it is to be wiftfd, that I lliould firft fuppofe the infallible Truth of a Story, and then confute it as improbable, or Q^ incic- 2 26 Super Aition and Tyranny incredible. The Author may fiippofe, as he docs, an Infallibility which he cannot prove; but he muft give me Leave to exercife a Judgment of Difcretion, and to feparate the Probable from the Improbable, in Nature and Reafon, in this, as w^ell as in all other Hifto- ry. If Dr. heland fliould think fit to difpute with another Man, upon a Principle that is not agreed upon, and that he cannot prove, he is, doubtlefs, at Liberty ^ but then he need not make his Adverfary as ridiculous as him- felf. But this Author, we fee, can write with a Spirit, when he has a good Caufe; and it is always from the too great Weight of his Subjeft, when he feems to be dull. I had faid, it cannot be proved, or made appear, that Mofes ever wrote the hiftorical Parts of the Pentateuch. To which the Au- thor replied. That we have as full a Proof of thisy as can be reafonably defired^ or as we can have^ that any Book was written by a?ty Au- thor under whofe Name it goes, I granted, that we might be as fure of one, as the o- ther ; becaufe we may be fure of neither, but may be fure enough of the contrary. The hiftorical Books of Scripture contain the Hif- tory and Memoirs of the Lives and i\d:ions of their great Men, of their Judges, Kings, and Prophets ; but who ever thought, or can fuppofe, that thofe Men wrote the Story of their own Lives and Deaths. I had given many Inftances out of ihQ Pentateuch ^ and ■:.;:^^a^g.-^ t^i^v.^ ■ ■ the inconiiltent with Theocracy. 227 the -Books of Jopjua and JudgeSy to (hew that thofe hiflorical Fads muft have beea written long after the Days of MofeSy and xx)uld not have been earUer than the Time of Samuel and SmiL But the Author does not think himielf concerned to take Notice of any Thing of this, and, therefore, I need not repeat it again, or add any Thing more to it. But inftead of anfwering the Objecftions, he urges the Authority of the modern Jews, who gave thefe Books the fame Name, and afcribed them to the fame Authors that we do now. But the Nanae of a Book can be no Proof at all of the Author. The Books of Samuel could not have been written by Samuel, fince the firft Book brings down the Hiftory to the Death of Sauly which was fome Years after Samueh Death , and the fecond Book carries down the Story about forty Years flill lower, to the latter End of David's Reign. As to the Pe?itateuch, or Books of Moles, as they are called, the Jews always diflinguiflied be- tween the Law, which was undoubtedly written by Mofes, and the Hagiographa ; and they did not think this latter of equal Autho- rity with the former. But faith the Author, " This was never pretended to be contefted, " but by a few in thefe latter Times, who " come too late, and whofe Objedions are " too weak and trifling, to difiurb an U7iin^ *' terrupted Po[feJJio?i of Jo many Ages ^ p. 145. But was not this pretended Righljgf uninter- 0^2 rupted 2 28 Su perdition and Tyranny rupted PoJj'eJJion the very Argument ufed by the Papifts againft the Proteftants two hun- dred Years ago ? Had not the Jews feventeen hundred Years ago the fame Argument againft Chriftianity ? Or will it not hold as good a- gainft throwing off any old Errors or Preju- dices at all ? But, furely, the Author was hard prefs'd, when he was forced to take up with the Principles of Jews and Papifts, to maintain his Chriftianity. And one of the contemptible Moderns, whofe Objedlions are too weak, and trifling to be taken Notice of by this great Man, was Sir Ifaac Newton him- felf, in the Introdudion to his Book on the Prophecies. I ftiould have taken no Notice of any Thing this Writer has offered for feven or eight Pages forward, had it not been for a moft vile and feandalous Imputation, which I find, p, 153. where he puts upon me, as charging the Jews^ m all Ages, and even Chrift and the Apoftles, and all Chriftians in general ever fmce, as be- ing infpired with the Spirit of the Devil, for believing the Miracles, and divine Injpiration of Mofes. But, I am fure, this is as great and flagrant a Piece of Falftiood and Malice, as the Devil himfelf could have invented. It was not the Faith, but the Bigotry and perfe- cuting Spirit of the Jews, which I call'd the Spirit of the Devil-, and for which, as is but too evident, the Chriftians have been as re- markable as they. But I can affure this Ca- iVi;,; iij^i/i; ijtAj' . . : :;-.>;;-x iumniator. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 229 lumniator, in the Name of moral Truth and Righteoufnefs, that if he himfelf was to be- lieve the Alcoran, or all the Popilh Legends in the World, I ihould not charge him with having the Spirit of the Devil for this, pro- vided he did not endeavour to force or impofe his Faith upon others, or ufe them ill, and brand them as hifideh, for not being of his Faith. And though it is very rare to find Men of this Writer's Principles pofTeffed with much Charity, yet, I hope, it is not the Faith of the Jews that has infufed and propagated their Malignity among us. But the Author, it feems, was refolved here to make me feci his Strength, and let me fee how dangerous it is to provoke fo keen an Adverfary, The Author comes next to prove the divine Authority of the Ifraelites Conqueft of Ca^ naan, and Deftruftion of the CanaaniteSy in Confequence of the Ahrahamic Covenant, or the Promije and Oath of God to Abraham, As this is a very extraordinary Undertaking, I fhall attend the learned Doftor throughout, and confider what he has delivered upon it the more minutely. I had fuppofed, in Favour of this enormous Claim, that the Abrahamic Co- venant, or God's Promife and Oath to Abra^ ham, to fettle his Pofterity, or the Nation to be derived from him, in the everlafting Poflef- fion of that whole Country, at the End of four hundred Years ; I had fuppofed, I fay, that this Promife and Oath might have been Q^ 3 condi- '230 Superftition and Tyranny conditional; and by this I thought to have brought off the Almighty from any Breach of Promife and Oath, though the Thing pro- miied and fworn had not been made good to them, as to which there could be no Obli- gation from the Grant, when the Conditions of it had not been complied with. But the wary Author fcorned to take any fuch Con- ceffion, as if he had rather the Charge fliould lie againft God himfelf, than Mofes, For if he fhould give up the Infallibility of MoJeSy he is quite undone. He infife upon it, there- fore, as the Reader will fee, p, 154, That this Covenant, Promife, and Oath, as relat- ing to thp Land of Canaan^ muft have been ablolute and unconditional. And it cannot be doubted, but if I had faid it had been abjblute^ he would have made it conditional \ for he takes it as a general Rule to contradifit me in every Thing, right or wrong. Well, but to pleafe him, let this Covenant, Promife, or Oath relating to Canaan^ be abjblute\ and. If hejs content, I am. But then, we ought to. fee what this Promife, or abfolute Oath was, In that Day the Lord made a Covenant "with Abraham, faying^ unto thy Seed have I given this Land, from the River of Egypt, to the great River, the River Euphrates. And then the feveral Nations and Clans inhabiting this vaft Country at that Time, are reckon- ed up, and particularly fpecified. Gen, xv. 18- Zi. One ,wo]Lild think, that in this Promife inconfiftent with Theocracy. 231 Promife there mu ft have been fome Miftake of the Hiftorian, fince the I/raelites were nei^^" ver in Pofleffion of a tenth Part" of this large Tratfl, from the River of Egypt to the Eu- phrates. But as this Revelation was only made to Abraham in a Dream^ it is not much to be infifted on. But the fame Promife had been made to Abraham afore, while he was awake, and juft returned out of Egypt ^ and when he and Lot had parted, and Lot having chofen the Vallies in Arabia^ to the Eaft of "Jordan^ Abraham took the Mountains of Palejline^ afterward caird the Amorite Mountains, when the Canaanites had fettled there. Upon thefe Mountains Abraham taking a View of the whole Country, Eaft, Weft, North and South, God promiled it all to him, and his Seed, as an everlafting Inheritance. And he could now fee the whole Country, from Zidon to Sin^ or the River oi Egypt, North and South; and from 'Jordan to the Mediterranean, Eaft and Weft. And the Lord /aid to Abraham, after Lot was departed fro7n him, Lift up thy Eyes now, and look from the Place where thou art. Northward and Southward, and Eajlward and Weflward', for all the Land which thou feejl will. I give wito thee, and thy Seed for ever, Arife, walk through the Land in the Length thereof, and Breadth thereof, for ' I will give it thee. Gen. xiii. 14, 15, ij. The Bounds and Limits of this Country are de- fcribed, Gen. x. 19. And there, and in all 0^4, <^ther 232 Supefftition and TyrafMy^ - other Places, where the Countiy is defcribed, and its Places and Borders mentioned, it in- cluded the Fhins of Pbili/iia, and the north- ern Mountains of Zidonia^ Libanus^ and Anti- hibams^ as well as the inland, eaftern Moun- x; tains and Plains of "Jordan^ which the Ifrae- lites only conquered and pofleffed themfelves of^ which was not much more than half thei Country. David, indeed, above four hun- • dred Years after the Expiration of this Pro- > mife, conquered the inland Plains oi Canaan % but he could never fubdue, or poffefs himfelf of the Plains of the Sea-Coafts, Philijiia and Zidonia, which contained at leail a third Part of Palejline or Canaan^ as defcribed in Scrip-1 ture, and as ftill drawn and divided into twelve Provinces, or Tribes, in our common Maps. And tho* Jojhua divided this whole Country by Lots, upon a Prefumption that God would foon make good his Promife, and perform his Oath, yet this People were never in Pofleffion of above two Thirds of it, even in Davids Time, and when the Extent of their Conquefts was greateft. Having thus related, and laid before the Reader the plain Matter of Fad, from firft to laft, I fhall now confider the Author's Proof, that this Promife and Oath was punc- tually made good to them, and that this was the divine Right upon which Mofes adted, and which juftified the Conqueft. But if he can prove this, I fhall never pretend to difpute inconfiftent with Theocracy. 233 difpute with him, or prove any Thing againft him more. I had urged, that the Abrahamic Covenant was a Covenant of Peace,Righteoufnefs,of Faith, and true filial Obedience ; and that as often as God promifes this whole Land to Abrahams Seed, as an everlafting, fafe Inheritance and Pofleflion, it is commanded and fuppofed, that Abrahams Seed fhould, and would con- tinue in the fame Faith, Worfhip, and filial Obedience, as Abraham had done. And there I fuppofed, that this Covenant of Promifewas conditional, and then the People could have claimed no Right from any fuch Grant in the Days of Mojes^ and, confequently, that this Politician brought in this only as a Pretence to juftify the moft bloody and unnatural En- terprize that ever had been proje<3:ed ^ an Un- dertaking contrary to the Abrahamic Cove- nant of Righteoufnefs, and all Truth or Righ- teoufnefs in the World. But the Author faith, f, 155. " All that was promifed in the Co- '*' venant made with Abraham^ was, that his " Seed fhould have the Land of Canaan for *- a PolTeilion. The particular Manner in ^ which they were to be put in Pofleflion of " it, is not told. But the Reafon w^hy they ** were not to poflcfs the Land, till after four " hundred Years, is declared to be this, that *' the Iniquities of the Amoriies were not yet " full, G^n. xwr 16.'' But how often muft this Writer be told* ;that this fuppofed Pro- • : .. mife. 2 34 Supcrftition and Tyranny mife, or Oath, never was performed, or made good at all, from firft to laft ? God had pro- mifed them the whole Country, or Land, in which Abraham had ibjourned. And Abra- ham had travelled from Place to Place, and dwelt and fojourned in all Parts of the Land while he was there, which had been all pro- mifed and fv/orn to him, and his Seed. But the Arnorite Mountains, which Jojlma and the Elders, and Judges after him conquered, were not the Land of Canaan^ nor fcarce the major Part of it. Nay, they did not make an intire Conqueft of the Arnorite Mountains, for the yebujites ftill held out "Jernfakm^ the chief City, till David's Time j and the other TriJ)es of the Ca?iaanites retained many Towns and Settlements, even upon thofe Mountains. And to call this the Land of Canaan^ and a Conqueft of the Land, is as abfurd as it would t>e to call our fouthern and inland Counties, cxclufive oi Wales, and all the Northern Coun- ties beyond the Hiimber, the Land of England, Let this Promife then have been abfolute, or conditional, it was never made good -, and, therefore, if the Author will have it to be abjolufe, he muft make God himfelf a Liar. But if it was conditional, Mofes was an Im- poftor. And I fliall leave him here to take his Choice J for both, I believe, he cannot avoid. As to the Text he quotes, Gen, xv. i6. That they were not to be put into the Poffef- fion inconfiftent with Theocracy. 235 lion of Canaan till after four hundred Years, becaufe the Iniquities of the Amor it es were not yet full, it happens to be a Uttle un- lucky for him. For the Amorites, or feveral Tribes of the Canaanite Mountaineers, were not then in the Land, when this Promife was made to Abrahatn^ though they were there in the Days of Mofes, And, therefore, ^though this might ferve as a Pretence to Mo- fes^ for deftroying the Amorites^ and taking Poffeffion of their Lands and Properties, it could not be God's Reafon, why he did not put Abraham^ and his Family, into the pre- lent Poffeffion of the Land. It does not ap- pear, that there were any Idolaters in that Country, while Abraham was there. Abi^ vielech^ King of the Pbilijlines^ on the South Coafts of Palejiine^ with whom Abraham fometimes fojourned, and with whom he was in Alliance, is reprefented as a Man fearing God, and very cautious of offending him. And fo were his Succeffors, the Abi?nelechs, in'I/aac's Time. The inland, mountainous Parts of the Country, were then, in a Man- ner, defart and uninhabited, and lay all open to Abraham and Lot, And this Part of the Country not having been yet tilled and culti- vated, nor fcarce any Wells dug, or Conve- niences for Water, made it very fubjed to Dearths and Scarcity, which often drove the Patriarchs into the Plains among the Phi^ lijlines, Npr was this Country. call'd Canaan then, 236 Superftition and Tyranny then, but Palejline or Fhilijlta^ from the Phi- lijlines^ who firft took Poffeffion of it. Mo/es might call it Canaan, becaufc the Canaanites, whom he intended to deftroy and drive out, had been then fettled there, and had well peopled and cultivated the Country. But this Settlement of theirs, in that Part of the World, had not, probably, been long before the Birth of Mofes, In ihort, there were no fuch People in that Country, as the Amorites, or Canaanite Mountaineers in Abraham's Time, nor for a long Time after; and, therefore, this Pretence of not driving them out then, becaufe their Iniquities were not yet full, muft have been a Forgery, or Interpolation of later Ages. This is a full, and, I think, unanfwera- ble Reply to every Thing the Author has of- fered upon this moft important Point, and chief Part of the Controverfy, with Refped: to the divine Authority of Mofes in his pro- jecfted Conqueft. But becaufe he has fomc other feeble Shifts and Evafions, I {hall juft take Notice of them, left he fhould complain again of my Overfights. I had obferved, that Abraham and the Patriarchs might eafily have poffeffed themfelves of Canaan^ had they thought fit to attempt a Conqueft before they went down to Egypt^ as they might at any Time after, while they maintained their Power and Intereft. But, it feems, as- God had aflured Abraham^ that they {hould not poffefs inconfiflent with Theocracy. 237 poffefs the La?id till the End of four hundred Years, they were willing and content to wait the promijed Time, They would not then poffeis thenilelvcs of this Land, while they might eafily have done it ; but they waited God's Time, till they could not do it, and till they could no longer maintain a peaceable Settlement in Egypt. He pretends too, that God did not abjblutely promije them the PoC- *feffion of the whole Landy at the End of four hundred Years, but only that they fhould be then brought to the Land, and begin their Settlement there. But even this partial Pro- mife was never accompliflied ; for it was forty Years after the four hundred were expired, be- fore they could fet a Foot in Canaan^ or gaia any Settlement at all there. Nor is there any fuch Promile of Part of the Land, but where- ever the Land is promifed at all, it is the whole Land, Eaft, Weft, North and South, in which Abraham had fojourned. He pre- tends likewife to have given the true Reafon, why the Ifraelites did not drive the Canaanitei out of the Valleys, and will have it, that it was not becaufe they could not, but rather becaufe they would not; for he thinks there could have been no other Reafon. I had argued, that fix hundred thoufand Men, between twenty and fixty, befides Wo- men and Children, muft have amounted' to at leaft between three and four Millions. And while Men had fo many Wives and Concu- bines. 238 Superftition and Tyranny bines, and Children by them all, it might have amounted to more than double the Num- ber. And it was wonderful to me, that fuch a vaft Multitude fliould not be enough to people a Country not a fourth Part fo big as England, and, indeed, not a feventh, with Refped to that Part of the Country which the IJraelites now conquered and poffeffed. And that this vaft, incredible Multitude fhould have too much Room in a Spot fcarce bigger than Wales, without endangering the Multi- plying the Beafts of the Field againft them, I thought perfedlly miraculous. But the Au- thor has a ready Anfwer to this at his Fingers Ends; for faith he, />. 157. " But it happens, " that in this Paffage, where thofe Words " are to be found, which the Author here ** refers to, the Land afligned to the IJrae- " lites, and which was to be delivered " into their Hands, was of a vaftly larger " Extent than all Englajid-, for it is re- " prefented as reaching from the Red Sea " even unto the Sea of the Philiftines, and " f7''om the Defart unto the River Euphrates ; " all this was comprehended in the Grant, " though not fully poffeffed, till the Time of " of David and Solomon. And with Regard *' to the Land of Canaan, properly fo called, " it muft be confidered, that it was a hilly " Country, and fuch a Country has more " Room in it, than a plain Country of the " fame Extent/' But what does this whim- 3 fical inconiiftent with Theocracy. 239 fical Author mean ? The Paffage I referr'd to, was that in Exod. xxiii. 29, 30. And 'tis evident, that this whole Chapter throughout relates to the Canaanites only, whom God was about to drive out before them, and to give them the preient Poffefljon of fome Part of their Country, as much as they could then poilefs. But he would not drive out thefe Canaanites all at once^ lejl the Land JJjculd be-- come dejolate^ and the Beajls of the Field mul- tiply againjl them^ Ver. 29. In the next Verje^ the whole Extent of this Country is defcribed in its Breadth and Length. It was to ex- tend in Breadth, or from Eaft to Weft, from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philij^ tineSy or the Mediterranean -, and in Length, from the Defart of Arabia y which they were to pafs through, to the River, Now we muft look for this River fome where North- ward, to know the Length of the Country; for its Breadth, from Eaft to Weft, had been fettled before. And this River could be none but the Cafimere^ or Letane^ which riling in Syriay ran through all Phcenicia^ or Zidonia^ and emptied itfelf into the Mediterranean^ be- tween "Tyre and Zidon. And Eaftward, where it enters the Country, it bounds the whole Length of it, from thence to the Defart of Arabia^ which bounds on the South towards Egypt, This is perfectly agreeable to the De- fcription and Boundaries of Canaa?i in Ge?2e^ fis^ and is evident from many other Places and 240 Superftition and Tyranny and Paflages compared, where its chief Towns and Cities are mentioned. But our Author's meafuring from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea^ and from the Defart to the Euphrates^ is ftill going the fame Way, from Wefl to Eaft, which would be making two Breadths, without any Length, or two Lengths, with- out Breadth, and cannot mark out and dcligii any Country at all. But, I fuppofe, his Mean- ing was, that David conquered all Arabia Petrea^ and Syria, and hereby made good the Promife to Abraham, and his Seed. But there is not one Word in the Faffage here re- ferred to, nor in any of the Books of Mojes, of any Nation, or Country, which the Ijra" elites were to drive out, and take their Poffef- fions, but the Canaanites only. And 'tis cer- tain in Fad:, that they never did drive out any other People, or take Poffeffion of any other Country, but Canaan. They lived there all together, till they were taken, and carried into Captivity, firft by the Ajfyriam, and af- terward by the Babylonians, David, indeed, over-run and ravaged a great Part of Arabia and Syria. He cannot, properly, be faid to have conquered them, though he committed great Ravages and Devailations ; it could not, I fay, be properly called a Conqueft, unlefs he had dethroned their Kings, and annexed their Dominions to his own Crown, which he did not. And as for thofe few adjacent Towns in Arabia and Syria ^ which he took and, garifon'd. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 241 garifon'd, they were held but a very Httle while, and were almoft as foon loft as got ; for when Solomo?i came to the Crown, they all revolted, and fct up their own Kings a- gain, and Solomon never ftruck a Blow, either to hold or regain them. Thefe Countries, therefore, could never have been given, in any Senfe, or at any Time, to the Seed of Abraham, as their Inheritance and Pofleflion, and, confequently, could make no Part of God's Promife and Grant to that Patriarch. But the Author here has one very fhrewd Remark ; for he tells us, that Canaan being a hilly Country^ muft contain more Room thaa a plain Country of the fame Extent. But, per- haps, not; for this is not very clear ; for it can- not be fuppofedj that the People ihould build Towns and Cities upon the Sides and fteep Afcents of the Rocks ; and the Mountains being narrower above, than below, they muft rather take up Room, than make more. A mountainous, hilly Country, is never known to-be more populous, than a champain one. The Dutch Provinces, which lie all upon a Flat, are the moft inhabited of any Part of Europe: The mountainous Parts of Scotland have but few People ; and in England the flat, low Countries, are moft populous. But our Author, to make Room for fuch a vaft Multitude in fo frnali a Spot, ought to have had his Hills two or three Miles high, and all inhabited, from^ Top to Bottom. But I R am 242 Superftition and Tyranny am forry to fee this Writer driven to fuch poor Shifts, in maintaining Things which are as falfe in Fad:, as they are contrary to Na- ture and Reafon. However, I can alfure him, that if he can convince me of being in an Error, I fhall readily own it, and recant it, as openly and publickly as I have maintained it. And, therefore, I hope he will not yet give me up as quite defperate, but continue to ufe his bell Endeavours to bring me over to the Truth. The Author, in his fifth Chapter, attempts to juftify and fupport his Scheme of Infal- libility, and unerring Guidance, upon St. Paul's Authority. If he had not taken up, and run away with thefe two Words from St. Paul^ viz, Injpiration^ and All-Scripture^ he could not have writ his Book 5 and if he fliould be driven out of his Suppofition here, he muft give up his whole Caufe. He can- not here tell us what St, Paul means by 7;z- fpiratmi^ or hy All-Scripture y but he fup- pofes, and begs it as a firft Principle all along, that the Meaning of the Apoftle, in this Place, muft be, that all the Writings which the I jfeivs had received as authentic Scripture, had been written under the infallible Direc- tion, or unerring Guidance of the Holy Ghoft^ and that this Chara^/^j//) of the Gen- tiles, againft Peter, and all the other Apoftles of the Circumcifion, who had no fuch Au- thority. This was the plain State of the Cafe in Faft. Now, furely, here could not be Infallibility, or any unerring Guidance on both Sides; and yet all wrought Miracles, and had all equally the Holy Ghoft. Mira- cles, therefore, and Infpiration, did not prove Infallibility, and unerring Guidance, in thofe Days. Thus we fee they were not infallible even in Doftrinals ; and as to hiftorical Fadts, ihty took them as they found them, and as they had been then commonly received a- mong the Jews, without pretending to any infallible Direction, or Guidance, to amend, reftore, or corredfc any Thing. It has been own*d, by moft of the learned Critics, that the Copy of the Septuagint, then in vulgar Ufe among the JewSy was a very faulty and corrupt one. And yet the Apoftles, when- ever they quote from the Greek Verfion, refer to this vulgar, adulterated Copy, without any R 3 Emen- 2^6 Superftition and Tyranny Emendations or Corredion. And *tis well known, that the Evangelifts almoft con- ftantly made Ufe of this vulgar Copy. St. Luke, had he not ufed the vulgar, corrupt Septuagmt, could never have placed Cainan, as an intermediate Generation between Ar-- phaxad and Sala; for this Cainan is not to be found in any Hebrew Copy, nor is it in- ferred in the beft and moft correct Copies of the Septuagint ftill extant. The Copy which St. Paul made Ufe of in fettling the Time of the Judges, the Reign of Samuel and Saul, and the whole Period from the Exodus, to the Building of the Temple, differed widely from any Co- pies now in being. After the forty Years in the Wildernefs, he affigns four hundred and fifty Years to the Judges, from the Entrance into Canaan, to the Death of £//, and Begin- ning of SamueV^ Government, which makes four hundred and ninety Years, from the Ex- odus, to this Time. During this Period or Interval, there had been but feven-High Priefls in continual Succeffion, inclufive of Aaron and E//; And this Succeffion having been always from the eldeft Sons, cannot be al- low'd, in the common Courfe of Nature, to have been more than thirty Years, one with another; the common i\ge of Man being the fame then, as now; efpecially if we confider, that the three or four firft of thefe High Priefts mud have been very old, before they inconfiftent witli Theocracy. 247 they came to the Government. But accord- ing to St. Faul\ Copy and Computation, each of thefe Priefts muft have reigned fe- venty Years, one with another, though they were old when they came to the Office; and the greateft Age recorded, during this In- terval, 2iiitvyqfJma, is only ninety eight, which was the Age of Eli when he died, and he was then fuperannuated, and uncapable of Government. This Computation, therefore, fo much exxeeding all Bounds in the common Courfe of Nature, cannot be admitted. Our prefent Copies from the Hebrew make the whole Interval, from the Exodus, to Solomons Temple, but four hundred eighty Years; whereas, according to this corrupt Copy and Computation of St. PauV^^ it muft have been at leaft five hundred ninety. This laft, in- deed, agrees with yofephuss Account; and, therefore, 'tis probable Jofephus and St. Paul might make Ufe of the fame Copy, Verfion, and Edition of the Book of Judges, Our prefent Septiiagint makes the Time, from the Exodus, to the Building the Temple, but four hundred forty Years, which loweft Computa- tion muft be much too high for the Succef- fions of the High Priefts during that Time, in which Reckonings the Jews were moft exa6t. David was born but thirty Years before the Death Saul^ for that was his Age when he w^as firft made King. Salmon begat Boaz R 4 of 24n8 > Superftkipn and Tyranny pij^ahah^ -whom he mamed about the Time of the F^akjline, Gonqueft. Boaz begat Obed^ Obedhf^g2iX Jeffe, and Jejfe begat David the King. But. from the Palejline Conqueft, to the Pirth of David^ according to Jofephux zndi% Paul^ muft have been four hundred eighty Years j and, therefore, Boaz^ Obed^ and ^ejfe^ muft have got Qhildren, one with another, at the Age of one hundred fixty; according tq our prefent Copies, at the Age pf one hundred twenty two ; and by the pre- fent Septuaginty at about one hundred and nine : All which, even the loweft, are too high to be admitted in the Courfe qf Nature. tl But this Book of "Judges has perplexed .n and confounded all Chronology. No two v^y learned Men, who have endeavoured to fet- oi tie it for themfelves, could ever agree about ll it. It obferves no Order of Time, but gene- >3( rally relates ^nd reprefents Things in Succef-^£(| fion, which were coincident. After the Death 3ri of Othniel^ *tis moft probable, that they had 3 always two Judges and twp Armies kept up ib at once, as they were continually liable to be 1^ attack'd, and broke in upon by the Ammo- nites and Zidonians in the North, and by the Moabites^ Philijlines^ and C(inaanites of the ^b Plains, in the Souths and, therefore, we find it fome of their Judges refided in the North, dt and others in the South Parts of the Country, lal And 'tis plain, from the Book itfelf, that 'h jE/ij^, ;Who is faid tp have judged IJrael forty Years, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 249 Years, muft have been co-temporary with Elon^ AbdoTty and Sampfon ; for Eli never was a military Judge, or General among them. Elon, AbdoUy and Sampjbn^ judged or govern- ed in the military Way thirty eight Years; and, therefore, Eli muft have been High Prieft for the two laft Years of Ibzan. But it is not my Bufinefs now to fettle what might be probable in this Cafe, which would require ti diftindt Treatife. What has been faid, is enough to ihew the great Confufion of the Book, and that it could not have been writ- ten under an extraordinary Guidance or Di- reftion y and that the Apoftles had no parti- cular Infpiration, or Revelation from God, which might enable them to corredt the Er- rors and Blunders of their antient Hiftorians. It would require a Book written on that Sub- jed: alone, to confider all the grofs and pal- pable Errors and Inconfiftencies of thefe an- tient Hebrew Hiftorians, efpecially in the Books of Chronicles, Ezra^ Nehemiahy Efiher^ and Daniel But I ftiall fpare myfelf the Trouble now, and wait for a farther Call from our ftrong believing Author. The Author, in this Chapter, takes a great deal of Pains to make his Reader believe, that I had produced and urged St. Pmih Au- thority inconfiftently, and contradid:ed my- felf in it. But here he has only fliuffled off the Argument, and fuppreffed what I had reaily offered^ and ^ then charged me with Incon- 2^0 Superftition and Tyranny Inconfiftency and Self-Contradicflion. But a few Words will fuffice to clear up this Mat- ter, and fet the Reader right, however the Author may (liift and fhuffle. I h^d diftinguiflied between the Obligation of this Law, confidered as a national, civil Law, or Syftem of mere human Policy 3 and confidered as a divine Inftitution, or Syf- tem of Religion, or direct Obedience to God. And every one muft fee, that thefe two Obli- gations would be perfectly and eifentially dif- ferent, as much as obeying God, and obey- ing Man. In the one Cafe, the Je'ws could have been under no other Obligation to their Law, than the Greeks^ Ro7?mns, and all other Nations were to their Civil Laws and Conftl- tutions; and, in this Cafe, the Jews might have altered their Conftitution, and reformed what was amifs in it, as well as any other Nation : But in the other Cafe, fuppofing it to be a divine Inftitution, the Law of MoJeSy efpecially relating to their Priefthood, Sacri^ fices, and Propitiations, muft have been the Religion of the Jews, or the Method which God had appointed for his own immediate Worfliip ; and, in this Scnfe, or under fuch a Notion of it, the whole Nation, and even all the Apoftles, Elders, and Brethren of the Circumcifion, received and obeyed it. And, in this Senfe, St. Paul himfeljf had received and fubmitted to it in the Days of his Igno- rance, and till he came to be better inlight- ened. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 251 ened. But when the Light of the Gofpel had difcovered more clearly the Nature of true Religion, and that inward fpiritual Wor- fliip which God alone could accept and re- ward, St. Paul was now as fully and tho- roughly convinced, that there could have been nothing of Religion or divine Authority in that blinding, enflaving, carnal Conftitution, which they had received and fubmitted to as the true Worlhip of God. He had been brought out of Darknefs into Light, and from a State of wretched Bondage, and carnal Sub- jedlion, to the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God. He might well call this a new Revela- tion, and labour to bring his Country-men to the fame Confi4eration, and juft Senfe of Things. But their Law had too much blind- ed and enflaved them ; they could not open their Eyes, to fee the cleared Day-light, or Sun-(hine ^ and under this Darknefs and Ser- vitude to the ritual Law, the whole Circum- cifion continued, till God by his Providence had utterly deftroyed and extirpated their Temple, Prieflhood, and Sacrifices. Here then we may fee what it was, that St. Paul declared againft, and endeavoured to reform : It was the religidus Obligation of that Law in Point of Confcience and divine Worfliip; and in this Senfe he denies it to be binding,. ei- ther to Jew or Gentile ; and that it could not be thus binding, he proves from the Nature and Tendency of the Thing itfelf, which Ar- gument 252 Superftition and Tyranny gument muft always have had the fame Force and Confequence as then, had there been the fame Light and Difcovery made about it. But that God, by an exprefs Teftimony or Declaration to St. Paul, or by a Revelation in the Author's Senfe, had difTolved the religious Obligation of this Law, when it had been thus binding, as a divine Inftitution before ; this is what that Apoftle never faid ; and 'tis impoffible, from what he has faid of it, that ever he fhould have thought fo after his Illu- mination and Converfion : This I have fo often urged upon the Author, without being able to bring him to the Point, till I am quite weary of repeating it. But, in the mean while, St. Paul did not .^brbid the Jews fubmitting to the Law, in the civil, national, and human Senfe. Under this Refpeft and Confideration he occalionally fubmitted to it himfelfs but yet, even in this Senfe, he would not have it impofed on the Gentiles. This is the Sum and Subftance of all that I had faid about it, in which, if the Author can find any Inconfiftency, or Self-Contradiftion , I ihall readily be accountable for it. If this Author underftands St. Paul right, he muft have been one of the moft inconfif- tent, felf-contradiftory Writers in the World : He muft have maintained, that this ritual Law, or Law of Ordinances, was a carnal, worldly, blinding, and enflaving Conftitution, and State of Things, in its own Nature and Ten^ dency; inconfiftent with Theocracy. 253 dency ; that in itfclf, according to the Letter, or in its Uteral Senfe, it was dead, unprofita- ble, and never true, nor good ; that it had al- ways kept thofe who had been under it, in a wretched State of Darknefs and Bondage, fubjed: to the Devil, and their own Lufts; and under this miferable Vaffalage it could afford them no Help : And yet, at the fame Time, according to our learned Author, St. Paul rfiuft have maintained, that this very Confti- tution had been immediately inftituted and ordained by God himfelf, under the Sanftion of divine Authority, for very wife and good Ends, This is the grofs Abfurdity and Con- tradidion which he would put upon that great Apoftle, and from which, in his Way, he can never be able to clear him. He is much at a Lofe for any of thofe wife and good Ends, which either were, or could have been anfwered by fuch a Law ; and what he has hitherto offered, or hinted at to this Pur- pofe, has been fo extreamly trifling, and fa often refuted, that I need fay no more of it ; i But 'tis plain enough, that this never enter-? ed into St. Pauh Senfe or Defign, and has n© l Key at all to his Writings. ..im ii St. Paul mufl argue againfl the Jews upond their own Principles, and take them in theirs) own Way, or not at all. Had he exprefly 1 and diredtly denied the divine Authority of I their Law, inflead of hearkening to his Ar-v guments, they would.have ftoned him ; but I know 254 Superftition and Tyranny know not how he could have denied this Authority by a plainer Confequence, than by {hewing its evil Nature and Tendency, and by rejecting it as killing and deftrudlive ac^ cording to the Letter^ or in the literal Senfe, when Mojh had given it, and the People re- ceived it in no other Senfe. But the Author, it feems, cannot conceive how this Apoftle could fuppofe a Thing in Argument, without believing, or granting it ; though this Suppo- fition made his Argument the ftronger againft the Jews, and was the only Way in which he could have dealt with them ^ for if their ceremonial Law had been ever fo much of divine Inftitution, yet they were now obliged to receive a clear Light, and fubmit to the Truth ; to lay afide their Enmity and Separa- tion from the Gentiles^ to embrace the Gofpel, as this Apoftle had preached it, and to wor- (hip God in that pure, fpiritual Way, which he had direfted : And this Obligation muft have been evident to any Man's Underftand- ing and Reafon, who would but open his Eyes, and allow himfelf any cool, fober Thought and Reflexion. But if God, by any exprefs Teftimony and Declaration to St. Pauly had revoked or repealed this Part of the Law, as having been of divine Inftitution, it is wonderful, that the Apoftles and Teachers of the Circumcifion fliould know nothing of it, and {hould not have had the fame Reve- lation, who were the chief, if not the only Perfons inconliflent with Theocracy. 255 Perfons concerned ! But this Difficulty the Author prudently flips over, and leaves as he finds it. He muft feem to fay fomething, but he takes great Care never to touch where the Argument pinches ; and w^hen he has thus flipt himfelf out, he comes off triumphantly, and blames me for rambling and writing in an unargumentative Way. But without ramb- ling, it is very plain, that the Apoflles and Teachers of the Circumcifion, from firft to laft, kept to the whole Law, and had no No- tion of their Priefthood and Sacrifices being abro- gated and done away by the Death of Chrifl. This Abrogation of the ceremonial Law, or the Law relating to the Mofaic Priefthood and Sacrifices, continued a Secret to the A- poftles and Teachers of the Circumcifion at leaft thirty Years, or as long as we have any fcriptural, authentic Account of them: And yet they preached all along the fame Go/pel with St. Paul, though St. Paul exprefly de- clares, that he had received his own Gojpel by Revelation^ without advifing with, or con- certing any Thing with thefe Chrijlian Jews. But 'tis high Time to relieve the Author from this Strefs of the Argument, and to wait for his farther Elucidations upon it. The Author had declared, that " The le- /' gal Sacrifices fandlify'd to. the pur i tying -of " the Flejk, and that this external Atone- '^ ment is what Mofes intends as the imme- * I ^ ** diate 256 Superftitioh and Tyranny " diate Confequence of the Priefl^s fprinkling " the Blood/' But I could not, for my Life^ underftand or make any Senfe of this exter- nal^ legal Purification and Atonement^ whefe no Sin had been committed^ [remitted] for which the haw required the Sacrijice^ and no Sin could be pardoned^ or done away by it* Thefe are my Words, only he has changed committed for remitted^ which is a Matter of no Confequence, and might be a Miftake of the Author's Printer, or mine. But the Ar-s. gument is plainly this : Under the Law there was no Remiffion, or Pardon, of any legal Offence whatever j where the Law had provided any Punifliment for an Offence againfl it, that Punilhment, in Cafe of Difobcdience, mufl be inflifted ; or if a Sa- crifice, as a Fine or Deodand, had been en- joined by the Law, for the Churching of a Woman at her firft appearing Abroad after Child-bearing, for the Cleanfing of a Leper^ or any other legal Purification ; this Sacrifice, Fine, or Deodand, mufl be given or paid in according to Law, and there could be no Re- mijfion. Now I faid, that I could not un- derftand, what Propitiation or Atonement could fignify under a Law, where there could be no iuch Thing as Pardon^ or Remiffion, in any Cafe whatever. I concluded from hence, that this Propitiation, or Atonement, mufl have been merely nominal^ and could not have been real in any Senfe at all. This, indeed, I faith inconfiftent with Theocracy. 257 faith he, p. lyg. *^ Is abfolute and diredl ** Nonfenfe, to talk of a legal Atonement for ^* Sin, where no Sin had been committed a- *^ gainft the Law, and no Pardon could be obtained by it. But then the Nonfenfe is his own, and he may take the Credit of it. This external, legal Purification and Atone- ment for Sin, did fuppofe, that a Sin had really been committed, for which the Law required the Sacrifice, and that the Sin, or ** Fault, was done away, or pardoned, m " the Eye of the Law: And this is what *' the Apoftle calls SanBifying^ to the Purify*- ** ing of the Flejh^ i. e. a Perfon was upon *^ offering the Sacrifice outwardly fandlified " or cleanfedi he was clear in the Eye of " the Law, from the Guilt he had con- ** tratfled." But does not every Man ftand acquitted in Law, when he has paid the Fine, or fuffered the Penalty, which the Law required ? Or is here any Thing of Pardon or Forgivenefs in this? Or if no Pardon or Remiffion, but the Law has been fatisfy'd by Obedience, where is the Atonement or Pro- pitiation ? But let us hear the Author out up- on it, becaufe it is a notable Sample of School- Play. " When, therefore, he goes on wife- " ly to alk. Was legal Sin no Sin, and legal *' Forgivenefs no Pardon or Remijion of Sin at ** all? I anfwer, legal Sin, was a Sin or Fault " committed againft the Law -, and legal ** Forgivenefs, was a Pardon or Remiffion S '' of 258 Superftition and Tyranny '' of that Sin in the Eye of the Law, and *' whereby a Perfon was fet legally clear *^ and free/* But is not every Man, with- out any Thing of Pardofi or Forgivenefs^ legally free^ when he has paid his Fine, or difcharged his Debt, as the Law re- quired ? I think, when the Fine is paid, the Debt difcliarged, or the Penalty fufFered, ac- cording to Law, every Law mufl: be fatisfied, and here can be no Pretence of Propitia- tion, Pardon, or Forgivenefs, unlefs Obedience {hould be Propitiation^ and fuffering the Pe- nalty Forgivenefs, He goes on, " But be *' cannot conceive what Sin could he forgiveit^ " or atoned for ^ by a Maris offering a Sacri- " fee in a legal Way^ unlefs it was the Sin of *' not offering it^ which would have been pu- *' ni[lded with Death for any wilful^ prefump^ " tuous Refufair I mufl: profefs, that I am Hill under the fame Ignorance and Confufion ; for I cannot conceive, how Obedience to the Law, in offering a Sacrifice, or paying a Fine which the Law required, fhould be Propitiation^ or Pardon. But let us attend the Author a little, and, no doubt, but he will foon clear it up. For this^ faith he, p. 180, \^ compleatly abfurd, " Let us fuppofe *' a Man had committed a Sin, or Fault, for ^*^ which the Law required a Sacrifice, and " doing what the Law required, it was de- " clared, that his Sin was forgiven him: The " Queftion is, What was forgiven him? 3 !' Any inconfiftent with Theocracy. 259 " Any Man of common Underftanding would " take it, that it muft be the Sin, on the Ac- " count of which he offered the Sacrifice, " which was no longer to be charged upon " him, nor was he to be obnoxious to any " Penalty on the Account of it." This is, furely, admirable. Suppofe a Man, on fome Account or other, had forfeited an Ox, a Calf, or a Sheep, which the Law required to ^be given, or paid in, on fuch an Occafion. Well, he obeys the Law in this Cafe, and then he is told, that the Law being now fa- tisfied, has nothing farther to demand, and, confequently, that he is hereby pardoned, or acquitted, in Law. This is the Author's very Cafe, and all that he can make of it; that paying a Fine, or difcharging a Debt due in Law^ is legal Pardon. But if he would make out any Thing of Satisfaction, which fuppofes Pardon or Forgivenefs, he muft give fome In- ftance or other, in which a Man might be excufed from any legal Obedience, or any Punifhment in Law could be remitted by Sa- crifice. But to talk of Pardon by Sacrifice, when the Sacrifice itfelf was the Fine or Thing charged for the Oflfence, is the fame Abfurdity, as if he was to fay, that a Man is pardoned, acquitted, or forgiven in Law, as foon as he has difcharged the Obligation, or fubmitted to the Penalty, which the Law required; which is plainly nothing elfe, but forgiving a Debt after it is paid, or on Con- S % ditiou 26o Superftition and Tyranny dition of puncftaal Payment; and this is out Author's legal Propitiation and Pardon. And now, I think, I may leave it to the Reader, whether this is the Author's Abfurdity, or mine ; or whether he is not maintaining a very abfurd and unintelligible Law. As to the Argument from Types, AUego-^ ries, and Refemblanccs, I need fay no more of it. In this Way any Confequences may be drawn from any Premifes, according to every Man's own Fancy, or Imagination. 'Tis no Wonder, that Chrift and the Apoftles fhould argue again ft the 'Jewijh Dodtors in this Way, fince they themfelves had been in- finitely fond of it, and written many large, elaborate Volumes upon the myftical, typical Senfe of Mojes and the Prophets. Such Con^^ fequences, therefore, were good againft them, ad homineniy and taking them in their own Way, though they could really prove nothing ad judicium^ on one Side or the other. The Argument or Authority which Chrift himfelf brings from Mofes^ to prove againft the Sad- ducees a Refurreftion of the Body, if it proves any Thing to the Purpofe, muft prove, that Abraham^ Ifaac, and Jaakob^ were not dead, but living, in the Days of Mofes; for God was then their God, but he was not the God of the Dead, but of the Livings therefore thofe Patriarchs were then rifen from the Dead: But all that could have been prov'd from this Teftimony from MoJes againft the Saddiicee^, inconliltent with Iheocracy. 261 SadduceeSy was, that thofe Patriarchs were ftill exifting, and capable of Happinefs in a fepa- rate State ; but they might have for ever ex- ifted, and been capable of Happinefs in a fe- parate State, without any Refurredtion of the Body, which was the Thing here to be proved. But, indeed, the plain Senfe of the Text in Mofes could be no more than this^ ♦that Jehovah, who now appeared to Mofes^ was the fame God whom Abraham^ Ijaac^ and jfaakob had worfliiped and ferved, and who had bleffed and protedled them in their Days. Thus St. Paul proves, that the Seed or Offspring of Abraham ^ to whom the Pro- mife was made, muft be myftically under- flood of Chrift and his fpiritual Seed, becaufe it was not ipoken of Seeds or Offsprings, as of tnany^ but of Seed, as of one, which is Chriji. This might be a good Argument ad hominem, to fuch myftical Believers as the Jewijh Rab- bins ^ but the rational, or literal Confequence, feems to be - very obfcure : And yet Mofes and the Prophets could not have been other- wife quoted for a new Difpenfation, in which no temporal Power or Dominion was to be concerned, or expefted ^ and, therefore, fuch Arguments drawn from Mofes and the Pro- phets, muft have appeared very weak and in- confequent to the Jews. As to St. Paur^ being the Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, it is but a very mo- dern Opinion^ and depends upon no original^ S3 authen^ 262 Superftition and Tyranny authentic Teftimony : And no Man can have any Right or Reafon to father it upon that Apoftle, without his own Authority, or any other authentic Proof. 'Tis well known, that this Epiftle had never been received, or taken into the Canon at all by the Weftern or Latm Church in Jerom's, Time, which was the lat- ter End of the fourth Century > nor is it to be found in any of the moft antient Collec- tions of the canonical Books : Its Authority, therefore, as an original, canonical Book, is not very clear, or indifputable. But the Author of this Epiflle, as himfelf teftifies, was a Hebreu\ and had exercifed his Miniftry and Labours in the Hebrew Church among the yerufakm Chriflians ; and he earneftly defired, at this Time, when in Ita- ly^ to be reftored to them again, and begs their Prayers to this Purpofe, Heb, xiii. 19. But this could not be St. Paul, who had ne- ver laboured or miniftred among the Hebrews^ and whofe Labours and Miniftry had been confined wholly to the Greeks and Gentile Churches. Again, this Epiftle was wrote af- ter 'Timothy had been imprifoned at Rome, and was then fet at Liberty, Verfe 23. But this sould not have been in St. PauV^ Time, nor while Nero reigned, nor within a Twelve- month afterward \ for all this Time the Per- fecution continued, and no Chriflians had been enlarged, or fet at Liberty. But after the Jewijlo War was ended, the Troubles and Commo- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 263 Commotions of the Empire pacify'd, and VeJ- fafian was peaceably fettled on the Throne, and declared Emperor by the Senate; he gave Liberty to the Chriftians, and releafed fuch as he found under Bonds and Imprifon- ment. The Hebrew Church of Jerujahn^ who during the Wars and Commotions of the Empire, had been driven out and difperfed * through the feveral Provinces of the Lefler AJia^ and in Syria^ Arabia^ and Egypt ^ where St. Paul had planted Churches ; were now fuffered to return, and form themfelves into a Church at Jerufalem again, under a Bifhop of their own : And all this was not till the End of the War, the Deftrudlion of the Tem- ple, and the general Settlement and Tranquil- lity of the Empire. Thefe, I think, are fuf- ficient Indications, that this Epiftle could not have been written till within three or four Years, at leaft, after St. P^z//*s Death; and, therefore, furely, not while the Temple was ftanding. CHAP. IV. HAVING thus, as I think, eftabliflied the general Principles of the Moral Philojopher^ againft the weak Attempts of this Author, to overthrow and fet them a- fide J I {hall now have the lefs to do, and S 4 ' may 264 Superftition and Tyranny- r. may make the fliorter Work with him in what, 1 remains, with Regard to his Exceptions to thc^*^, particular Inftances I had produced to (hewr the human Policy and State-Craft of this whole Conftitution. And here it will be evi- dent all along, to any one who will lay afide Prejudice, and confider Things as they really^:d are, that my Principle, or Suppofition of hufi^ o man Policy and State-Craft, will clearly ac-r ; count for the moft difficult and fliocking Parts of this Law; whereas they muft be abfolute- ly and perfedly inconfiftent with the contrary Suppofition of a Theocracy, or divine Infti- tution. He cannot talk confident Senfe upon any Part of this Argument, becaufe he ftill goes upon a wrong Suppofition. Upon my having diftinguifhed between the j two different Capacities in which Mofes adted, JUL as a Law-giver^ or as a Prophet or Preacher of Righteoufnefs ; this fanguine, hafty Writer cries out, p, iSj. " This is real- j " ly granting the Point in Queftion ; for it " mufl be confidered, that it was as a Pro- *' phet extraordinarily infpired of God, that " Mojes delivered his Law." Thus putting the Author's Suppofition and mine together, that MoJes gave the Law as a Politician and % Craftfman, and as a Prophet or Preacher of ,1 Righteoufnefs too, all will be clear, and the > whole Point is granted. // miiji be confidered^ that Mofes delivered the Law as a. Perform es^ ,.v\ traordinarily.injpired of God, to ere& (I'facred . W "'^ Polity. inconfiftent with TJieocracy. 265 '-1^ Polity:, But by whom mud: this be confider- ed'? Why, by- our Author, and thofe who are of his Mind ; for others, furely, will not confider or believe it, and, I think, he has' faid but very little to make us believe it. If yoa will confider, -and grant his Principles, he can prove any Thing in the World^ or otherwife he muft defire to be exxufed. All tjie Prophets, after MofeSy were P?'^mchers of Righteoujhefsy and the Author fuppofes them to have been extraordinarily in/pired, and yet they were not Law-givers : And, therefore^, thefe two Capacities are very diftind: and dif- ferent, and the fame Perfon may adt in both. And I have proved, that this Law could take Cognizance of outward Aftions only, and could not poffibly extend to the inward Tem- per, Difpofition, or Principle of Aftion. The Author offers nothing farther with Refped: to this Law, but his own Suppofition of its being a Theocracy, or divine Inflitution ; the contrary to which, in my Opinion, has been evidently proved. He declares, p. 189. That I quite miflake the Senfe of St. P^^/, in fup^ pofing, that this Law could only relate to outward Adlions, and could not reach the Heart and Confcience. But why have I mif- ^ taken St. Paul in this ? Why, becaufe he de- ^ clareSy that the Law was holy^ jii/l^ and good-^ and that it was fpiritual^ though Mefi are car-- haL And does not the fame Apoflle alfp declare^ that the Law itfelf wsiS carnal, and in 266 Super/lition and Tyranny in its literal Senfe, or according to the Letter ^ it was blinding, enflaving, and mortiferous, or killing ? The Letter killeth, but the Spirit quickneth. What Spirit^ Not, furely, the carnal Law, but the Gojpel^ which in this A- poille's allegorical Way of Reafoning with the Jews, was the Spirit of the Law 3 but this Spirit the Law could not obtain, nor provide or execute any Sanftions that might reach it. But this Writer muft, no doubt, perfedtly well underftand St. Paul, when he is continu- ally making the Apoftle contradid: himfelf, without taking Notice, as I had done, of the different Senfes in which he ufes the Word Law. This Apoftle plainly diftinguifhes be- tv^'een the Law written in l^ables of Stone^ by which he means the Decalogue, or moral Law, and the Law of Ordinances, by which he underftands the ritual, ceremonial Law-, and both thefe he diftinguiflies from the Law of Faith, or Gofpel of Chrift, which diredtly relates to the inward Temper, Difpofition, and Principle of Action, and is accordingly enforced with the Sanctions of eternal Life and Death. But this End, even the moral Law of Mofes, could never obtain, nor could any of its Sandions reach to it : And yet a political, civil Law, by enjoining the outward Praftice of Virtue, and fecuring the external Peace, Safety, and good Order of Society, may be holy, juft, and good. But St. Paul never fpeaks of this Law of Ordinances, as holy. inconfiftent with Theocracy. 267 holy, juft, and good, but the quite contrary : And if this Law, which made a principal Part of the Law of Mojes, was in its own Nature and Tendency, as the Apoflle repre- lents it, blinding^ enjlavingy carnal^ and kill^ ing^ I am fure it could not be the Law of God. I had proved, that the Law indulged hu- man Sacrifices, as free-will Offerings, and that any Man or Beaft thus offered, as holy to the Lord, by the fpecial Vow, mufl die the Deaths or be made a Burnt-Offering: And as this is the exprefs Declaration of the Law, fo I had fhewn, that we have a clear, undeniable Inflance of this inyephthas Daugh- ter, who was in Fa(5t thus vow'd, and thus offered. And what our Author offers in An- fwer to this, p. 202 206. is fo perfectly trifling and evafive, that I am willing to leave the Reader, from what has been faid on both Sides, to judge for himfelf ; and the Author mufl excufe me in not following him through every Shift and Turn, as often as he would lead me, and his Reader, out of the Way. He cannot believe, that the Cafe here ftiould be fuch as it is exprefly declared, and clearly reprefented to be, becaufe this would be inconfiflent with his fuppofed Theocracy, and divine Inflitution ; but if he will fuppofe v/ith me, that this Law was a mere Piece of human Policy and State-Craft, to advance the Power of their fupream Lords the Priefls, the Reafon 268 Supcrftition and Tyranny Reafon of fuch an Indulgence, and the Ufe which might be made of it to fuch a Pur- pofe, will be very clear^ and can create no Difficulty at all. I had urged, that the Redemption of the Firft-born muft neceffarily fuppofe and im- ply, that they muft have been, othcrwife, or had been referved as holy to the Lord in the facrificial Senfe^ as the Firft-born of the Beafts were, fince both had been referved as holy to the Lord, by the fame Lav7, and in the fame Terms : And that the very Notion and conftant Ufe of the Word Redemptionj\ or to redeem, muft relate either to Life or Liberty, which Perfons were redeemed or ranfomed to, from Death or Slavery, to which., they had been fubjedt, or liable before. And that the Senfe of the Law could Bot be, that the Firft-born of all the other Tribes r were to be redeemed from the high Privileges, Exemptions, and Prerogatives of the Levites^ to the Labour, Toil, and Dangers of common SubjeBs. This was the whole Force and Strefe,^ of my Argument ; and as the Author has faidp^ nothing to it, but left it juft as he found it, I ftiall leave it there too, till I hear from him again. O He next complains, p. 210. That I had taken no Notice at all of a great deal which v he had urged in the C^ik oi Abraham*^ oS^v^^g ing up his Son. It is true, that I had notb taken Notice of a great Part of his fuppofi-. tivc inconfiftent with Theocracy. 269 tive Declamation upon that Head, becaufe I thought it nothing at i:ill to the Purpofe : But if he has now anfwered what I did take No- tice of, it will be well enough 5 and then hef may thank ii^e for {hortening the Argument. He faith, that God did not, for his own In- formation, try Abraham in this Way, to know what he would do in fuch a Cafe, " But it *^ was to give Abraham an Opportunity of *^* difcovering to the World the excellent Tem-^ " per of his Mind, and exhibiting a lofting " Example to all Ages'' But a lading Ex- ample of what ? Why of the Efficacy and Accepnihlenefs of human Sacrifices with God;* for, furely, God would not command Abra^^ bamy as an Example to others, and to allAges^ to do a Thing wiiich ought not to be done, as being contrary to Nature and Reafbn, as well as to the Perfections of God himfelf : But if it was a Thing fo acceptable to God, and agreeable to his Nature and Perfedtions,'^ to try Abraham's higheft Faith and Obedi-^ ehce, how much more meritorious muft it ^ have been in thofe who adlually did it in after - Ages, as taking Example and Encouragement from Abraham y and thereby going farther than Abraham in the fame Sort of Faith and Obedience ? It will be faid, no doubt, that what Abraham did was at the Command of God j but they who afterward offered human: Sacrifices had no fuch Authority for it : But this is gratis di6lum. . They who offered hu- 270 Superftltion and Tyranny man Sacrifices, thought they had Reafon for it, and that it would be highly acceptable and pleafing to God, fince they could offer him nothing elfe of fo great Value, or more pre- cious to them ; and this was Abrahams Faith and Perfuafion. But that he had better Au- thority for it than others who adtually did it, is the Thing in Queftion ; for 'tis certain, that the Nature and Reafon of the Thing itfelf is the fame in both. Our Author takes it for granted, that this Story is literally true, and to be taken accord- ing to our prefent Ufe of Language, and Ac- ceptation of Words, as now current with us ; and becaufe it is laid, in the Hebrew Way of fpeaking, that God appeared and fpoke to Abrahaniy and commanded him fo or fb, he believes, that God did, in Reality, perfonally appear, and talk with Abraham^ Mouth to Mouth, and with an audible Voice, as one Man would with another : But he might have known, that God, in thofe Days, and according to the Hebrew Idiom and Phrafe- ology, appeared and fpoke to Men more Ways than one. He often appeared, and fpoke to them in their Dreams^ or they dreamed, that God appeared and fpoke to them, and direded them to adt and condudt themfelves in this or that Way : And when any fuch Dream had made a ftrong Impref- fion on them, they interpreted it as the Voice and Will of God to themj and thus they under- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 271 tinderftood any remarkable or uncommon In- -cident of Providence towards them, as the Voice of God, and a Dirediion or Command from him. But that God did then really ap- pear and converfe with Men, and that they were almoft as familiar with Angels as with one another, is a Thing not to be proved by a ftrifl:, literal Tranflation of one Language into another, againft all Nature and Reafon, and all the general Laws of Providence by which God governs the World. 'Tis very plain that Abraha??!^ however he came by it, had a ftrong, indubitable Perfuafion, that if he (hould facrifice his Son, as God was able, fo he would certainly raife him again from the Dead, and make good his Promife in him after he had been burnt to Alhes. But that God fhould adually and exprefly command this, and then forbid it again, as the Story is literally told, is a Degree of Faith which every one cannot attain to; and, therefore, the Au- thor ought rather to pity, than blame thofe poor, diminutive Dwarfs in Religion, who cannot reach to the Sublimities of his fuper- natural and divine Faith. Abraham finding a Ram accidentally tied in a Bufh juft by, as he was about to ftrike a Knife into his Son*s Throat, might have a fudden Thought dart into his Mind, that this was immediately di- recfled by Providence, and a Declaration from God to him, that he ought not to facrifice the Child, but the^ Ram : And this might fudden ly 272 Superftition and Tyranny fudderily alter his Mind, how ftrong foever his Perfuafion and Refolution had been be- fore ; and had this been fo, the SebreiD Hif- torian, according to the Phrafeology of that Language, and the Notions then prevailing, would have faid, that God had provided the Ram, and fent it thither by an Angel. We have another Inftance of the Author's School- Play, and Art of Evafion, in the Pro- mife which God is fuppofed to have made to Abraham, that at the End of four hundred Years his Seed (hould inherit the Land of Ca- naan. The Author here, p. 212. v^oiild make his Reader believe, that I had faid this Pro- mife was not made good, becaufe they at the End of thefe four hundred Years were not put into the Poffeffion of the whole Land-, but this is purely evafive. I had urged, that this Promife, or Predidlion, was not made good at all, either in Whole, or in Part, at the Expiration of the four hundred Years ; becaufe it was forty after the four hundred were expired, before the Ifraelites could gain any Settlement at all, or fet a Foot in Canaan. Befides, as often as the Land is promifed, it is the whole Land, Eaft, Weft, North, and South, fo far as Abraham could fee, or take a View, when he was upon the Mountains ; and this Promife was never made good at all, even in Davids Time, as I have proved. And now I muft leave the Author to find out fome other Shift or Evafion, and to inconliftent with Theocracy. 273 to prove, that 'any Fart of a Land is that La?id^ that there is no Difference between the Whole and a Part, and that four hun- dred forty Years are not more than four hun- dred. No doubt, but Mo/eSj when they went out of Egypt, might expedl to have taken immediate Pofleflion of the whole Land, and this he promiled the People as from God, the four hundred Years being now iuft ex- pired ; but he was defeated in his Politics, and thereby, it feems, made God break his Promife. The Author j in his feventh Chapter, ^.214. undertakes to anfwer what I had offered con- cerning the fupream Power under the Mo- yi/V Conflitntionj the Largenefs of the Reve- nues due to the Priefls and Tril<^ of Le^v: by thistvLaw, the Burden of the Priefthood, as the Caufe of their Revolt and Idolatry, and fome other incidental Matters which I had charged upon that Law ; and he promifes, or undertakes to prove all this to be falfe, ex^'- travagant, and abfurd. I muft attend him in all this, for fuch is my Fate; but after what, I have faid already, my Labour here wiUmpt be infinite. I had aiferted and maintained, that the Le- vi tcs hdid greater legal Privileges, Exemptions, and Immunities granted them, than any of the Princes or chief Men of the other Tribes. I had. fhewn, that this w^hole Tribe, from the highefl to the lowcfl, were exempted by .. . T the 2 74 Superflition and Tyranny the Law from all Taxes and Payments in Law whatever, from all burdenfome and ex- pen five State-Offices, and from the Fatigue and Danger of bearing Arms, though it might be ever fo neceffary for the common Defence and Prefervatjon of their Country. And I might here challenge this Writer to fhew, or give an Inftance of any one legal Privilege, Exemption, or Immunity, which any of the Princes, or chief Men of the other Tribes had,^ and which the pooreft and meaneft Le-r- vite had not. The Privileges and Immuni- ties of the Levites were peculiar to tliat Tribe, and muft have been intended as a diftinguifli- ing Honour and Advantage to that Tribe a- bove the reft. As for the common and or- dinary Admirjftration of the Government in their inferior Courts of Judicature, and in their Sanhedrim, Parliament, or national Council, which was by the twelve hereditary Princes of the Tribes, and the eledive Mem- bers, chofen five out of every other Tribe ^ this was not a legal Privilege, Exemption, or Immunity, but a very great Expence. and Burden, for which they had no Recompence or Confideration at all, but the paylefs Ho- nour of ferving their Country ; but from this Service, without Pay, the Levites were by Law exempted. But after all the Expence and Trouble of the Lay Rulers, the laft Re- fort in Judgment was to the fupream Lord, or High Prieft, and his Decifion was to be fub- ihconfiftcnt with Theocracy. 275 fubmitted to on Pain of Death, Deut. xvii. 12. If any Man under this Law would not obey the common Judge, or Order of Court, where the Judge had determined the Matter definitively, and without Appeal, he was to die for that Contempt. But the laft Refort in Judgment, where the common Judges could not decide a difficult Cafe, was to the Lord, or High Priejl. What the Author has offered againft any Thing of this, •is rather Raving than Reafoning. Let the Reader fee, f, 114 -117. He affirms, indeed, thafthe fupream Power was firft in Mojes^ then in Jofiua, and all along in the Judges, for the Time being. But that the laft Appeal in Judgment by this Law was not to the Hi- pream Lord, or High Prieft, this Author does not fay, and, I prefume, that where-ever this ultimate Appeal lay in Judgment, that mufi: have been the fupream Power. I had, in- deed, pretended, that the People's throis:mg off the Jupream Power vejied in the High Priejl hy^ the ,Law of Mofes, was a fundamental Breach of the Conjlitution, and rejeSing God from being their King, But the Author afliires us, p. iij, Th-at it was not the chufing a King, and inverting him with the fupream Power, but throwing off the Judges, who had the fupream Power befoi-e, which is* re- prefented as a fundamental Breach of the Conftitution : But 'tis evidently felie, ^nd con- trary to the Text, ^ that the throwing off the T ,2 fupream 276 Superftition and Tyranny ilipream Power of the Judges was the Reafoii alljgned for the Breach of the Conftitution in rejeding God as their King, and chuiing another King or Subjed: of fupream Power. When Samuel was grown old, he had fettled his Sons in the Government, and defigned to have kept it in his own Family ; but the Male-Adminiftration of his Sons brought on a general Difcontent, and a public Refolution to chufe a King, and place the fupream Power in him, 'as in other Nations. But the T!hing difpleajed Samuel, when they /aid, Give us a King to judge us, and Samuel prayed unto the Lord, Ajtd the Lord faid unto Samuel, Hear the Voice of the People in all that they fay unto thee 3 for they have not rejedled thee, but they have rejeBed me, that 1 JJ:ould not reign over them, I Sam. viii. 6, 7. Samuel was now High Prieft, and had the fupream Power of the Nation in his Hands. And the Compe- tition is here plainly between Samuel and the King, whom they were to chufe, without one Word of the Judges. Samuel and all fucceffive High Priefts v/ere now become Sub- jedls ; the fupream Power and ultimate Refort in Judgment was to be now vefted in a King, who would do jufl: as he pleafed, and iTiight .dethrone a High Prieft as well as a chief Captain. The People had now rejedted and caft off the prieftly, fupream Power, and, therefore, had rejefted the Lord^ or dethron'd Crod as their King, This was evidently the funda- inconfifteiit with Theocracy. 277 fandamental B^-each of the Conftitution, and after this the Nation was no longer aTheocra- ey, as the Prophet here declares. But our Author *s Affurance in afierting the contrary, again ft the exprefs Text, is very remarkable, and his Difcovery, in this Cafe, ought to be placed to his own Account. Sa?miel was now very fenfible, that the King would not long *be governed by him, or take his prophetic and oracular Decifion as the Voice of God ; and the Event ftiewed, that he was not mif- taken in this, when he came to be depofed from the high Priefthood, and the right, le- gal Heirs reftored. He next comes, p. 118. to refute and fet afide a Computation which I had made. That the legal Revenues of the Priefthood, or Tribe of Levi, amounted to at leaft twenty Shillings a Head upon all the Lands, or a third Part of the whole Produce of the Lands. He had called this a wild AJJertion, and he thinks fo Jiill ', and I ihall now examine the Reafons why he thinks fo. I fliall here dif- tinftly confider what this Author, upon fe- cond Thoughts, has offered, in Abatement of my Computation, though he owns, that at firft he thought an annual Rent to have been the whole Produce, or Value of the Lands, and that if the High Priefts and Tribe of Levi had had that, they muft have had all. But now he is better awake, and yet thinks my Calculation very abfurd and extravagant : T 3 , For 278 Superftition and Tyranny For faith he, />. 220, " Firft he fuppofes an " Eftate in Land to be intirely under Tillage " or Vintage, fo that the Corn and Fruits ^' upon it make up the entire Value or Profit '^ of the Lands, and one Tenth of that i© *' equivalent to three Tenths of annual Rents; ^'^ and then he fuppofes the fame Land to be *' ftock'd with Cattle to the Value of two *' annual Rent's, fo that two Tenths of the " Beafls upon it come to four Tenths of the '^ annual Rent 3 fo that the very fame Land " is, the fame Year, both compleatly under '' Tillage, and under Pafturage: And this '^ is the Suppofition he makes concerning the ^' v/hole Country, which, without pretend- " ing to any extraordinary Skill in thofe Mat- " t€rs,.one may venture to pronounce a very ^' great Abfurdity." But the Author here, for w^ant of a little more Skill in theje Mat- ters^ is under a very great Miftake ; for I did not fuppofe, that the fame Land, at the fame Time, might be Tillage and Pafturage too, though the fam.e Land, in different Parts of the Year, may be both, as all know. But I fuppofed, that every Tenant of a Landed Eftate, whether Arable or Pafture, muft make three annual Rents, or elfe he could not bear the Charge of Cultivation, maintain his Fa- mily out of it, and pay his Rent too. And I fuppofed and proved, that the Tithes and Dues of one Sort or other under this Law, inuft have amounted to at ieaft an annual 3 Rent inconliftent with Theocracy. 279 Rent upon all the Lands. And fiippofing the Calculation to hold good, with Relped: to the Paflure Land, where the Sheep and Cat- tle are fed, the Computation will run much higher upon Arable Land, though it (liould not ferve for Pafturage at any Time of the Year. It was the pooreft of the Lands^ and of the loweft annual Value, that were thrown ^to Arable, for Corn and Grain of all Sorts ; and here the Profits to the fpiritual Lords ^ would be much greater in Proportion to the annual Rent or Value of the Lands, than upon Pafture Ground with all the Sheep and Cattle fed upon it. For one Tenth of the Produce in Corn and Grain, paid in neat, and free of all Labour, would be equivalent to two annual Rents upon the Land. We may reckon the Labour and Expence of Cultiva- tion, Tillage, and fitting for Ufe, or bringing to Market, upon Arable Lands, at fix: annual Rents of fuch Land, which with the Rent makes feven ; and fo much the Produce mull amount to, for the Farmer juft to pay his Rent, and get nothing. But 'tis evident, that the Tenth of fuch a Produce, free from all Labour and Expence, mull be equivalent to two annual Rents. The Profits arifing to the fpiritual Lords from the Vineyards, was ftill greater. Vines flourifli beft on a dry Sand or Gravel, which would not be otherwife fit for Tillage or Paf- turage j and as the Labour of Cultivation and T 4 Ma- 2 8o Superftitioii and Tyranny Manuring is here greater, fo the Produce i^ proportionally richer, and the Profit to the Lord^ or Prieft, in the fame Proportion ftill more. Befides, we may reckon the Revenues arifing to thefe fpiritual Lords, or Priefts, from the Oil and Fruit of the Olive Groves, from the Balfain Trees, and from the Honey, which fell in vaft Quantity upon th^ Trees and Shrubs in the Woods and Forefts, and which the induftrious, laborious People col- led:ed, and purified, for themfelves ; the fpi- ritual Profits upon thefe, I fay, muft have a- mounted to an annual Rent upon the Arable Lands, fuppofing they had taken no Tenths of the Corn and Grain, And now I might ftand to the Judgment of any Farmer or Hufbandman in this Nation, whether if he was to pay upon every Thing, as the Ifraelites were obliged to do by Law, it muft not a- mount to more than twenty, or even thirty Shillings a Pound on the Rents? What the Author offers farther in Abatement of the Computation I had made of an annual Rent, as that Tithes, and Firft-born of unclean Beafts, were not paid in Kind, but might be redeemed with a Lamb for an Afs; that the fame Sheep and Cattle were not tithed every Year, but only the Increafe^ and that only the Firft-born of the Males were offered, and not of the Females : All this is what I had confi- dered before, and made fufScient Allowances |br, as he will now fee. But that the fame . Catfk incon^ftent with Theocracy. 281 Cattle we?'e not tithed eve?y Tear, but only the Jncreafe^ is a very extraordinary Remark of *the Author's; for had this been done, within a certain Number of Years, which might be eafily computed, they muft have had all the iSheep and Cattle, and there could have been none left, and then their Tithing muft have been at an End. But the unclean Beafts, th/)ugh they could not be offered in Sacrifice, muft be redeemed, or other wife the Neck of the Creature was to be broke ; and any Man would rather pay the Value of fuch a Beaft, which was ufeful to him, and he had brought to his Hand, than have the Creature deftroy'd by breaking his Neck. When any Thing belonging to the Lord-Prieft was to be re- deemed, the general Law of Redemption was to pay the Value of it, as the Prieft fhould fet it, and a fifth Part over, if it had been voluntarily offered before. But the Author concludes, that becaufe an Afs might be re- deemed with a Lamb of a Year old, there- fore a Horfe, Camel, or any more noble, ufeful, and valuable Creature might be re- deemed fo too. But this is gratis diStum^ and we have nothing but his own Word for it. But where the Law had not fixed the Price, the Prieft was at Liberty to let his own Va- lue, and the Prieft was no fuch Fool to un- dervalue a Thing that muft have been de- ftroyed if this Price had not been given. And ^s an Afs might be redeemed with a Lamb, " ■ ' *■ ' we 2B2 Superftition and Tyranny we muft conclude, that Affes were very cheap and plenty in that Country. And as to the whole Burnt-Offerings, it can be nothing to his Purpofe, fince the Tax v/as the fame upon the People, as if the Beaft had been eaten ; and, therefore, cannot be urged in Abatement of legal Offerings. And it may be prefum'd, that fuch Offerings were but few, and thefe ferv'd to keep up the Awe and Influence of Lord-Prieft's Authority, to whom all the Vir- tue and atoning Power of thofe Sacrifices muff be owing. When a Woman, at her going Abroad, after her Lying-in, was to pay a Lamb for her Churching, though the Lamb was to be burnt, it was the fame to the Wo- man's Pocket, and to the Publick, as if the Prieft had eat it. It was all placed to the fame Account, and {q much funk to the Pub- lick. But the Author is moft egregioufly miftaken in imagining, that the Priefts got nothing by this : Thefe Sacrifices were reckon- ed of the greateft Value with God, and were only ordered on fome particular and extraor- dinary Occafions : And as the whole Virtue of fuch Offerings depended on the Prieft's fprinkling the Blood, by which Aftion of his the Atonement was made, this ferv*d to keep up the Awe and Influence of their Au- thority and Dominion over Confcience, which was the Foundation of their whole Hierar- chy, Theocracy, or facred Impofture, and of all the vaft Revenues which it brought them inconfiftent with Theocracy. 283 them in : For by this Means the Priefts came to be conlidered and regarded as the Saviours of the Nation, their Interceflbrs with God, and the neceflary Difpenfers and Conveyan- cers of all divine Favour. And, I think, 'tis very plain, that this Notion or Pretence of Propitiation and Atonement, by the Adtioii of the Prieft, was contrived and introduced - by^the Politician, as the neceflary Foundation and Support of his whole Plan of Govern- ment and Power, without which he could ne- ver have brought it.to bear, or made any Thing at all of it. But I have proved, that this was a grofs Impoflure, that fuch Propitiation could be only nominal and imaginary, and that there could be really no fuch Thing under a Law which admitted of no Pardon, RemiC- fion, or any the leaft Abatement of its full Demands. But not to follow our Author, through all his little Exceptions to thefe enormous, theo- cratic Revenues, as I had fet them, I fhall here once more ftate the general Account with him, with fome Amendments and Correc- tions, fince he has called on me to do it, fo little to his own Advantage. I {hall fuppofe, therefore, the cultivated Lands of this Country to have been divided into two equal Parts, of which the one Half was Pafturage, and the other Half left for Corn, Vineyards, and Gardens for the choic- eft and moll valuable Fruits and Plants. Now here 284 Superftition and Tyranny here the pooreft Part of the Country, or the Lands of the loweft Rent, would be fet to Corn and Vineyards, and yet thefe would yield the largeft and richeft Produce, as they required moft Labour; and if they had pro- duced fix or eight annual Rents, the Land- lord could not be paid the Expence of Tillage, Cultivation, and bringing to the Market for Ufe, Corn, and the Labourer fubfifted. Up- on Corn Ground, or Land fown to Wheat and Barley with us, the Tithe, when paid in Kind, amounts, one Time with another, to an annual Rent of the Land thus employed. An Acre of Land fown to Wheat, will pro- duce at leaft twenty Bufheb, if there be a tolerable Crop, and may be much more; of this two Bufliels is the Parfon's, which at five Shillings a Bufhel, is ten Shillings to him ; or if it is Barley at three Shillings a Bufhel, it will be fix Shillings neat to the Priefl ; which is more than Land thus employ 'd can be reckoned at by the Acre on an Average, or taking all fuch Lands one with the other. But the Crops may, and very often are, much greater, and the Price of the Grain double to what have been here fet, while the Rent and Labour are ftill the fame; and then the Va- lue of the Produce, and confequently of the Tenths, muft increafe in Proportion. Befides, the Proprietor, out of his Rent, pays the Land-Tax, and other neceflfary Charges and !pxpences, as well as running tfe^ Rifque of bad inconfiftent with Theocracy. 285 bad Tenants; whereas the Parfon has his Share neat and free, without any Trouble or Expence. And let the Charge of Manuring be ever fo great, and though it ftiould be ten Times the Rent, as it often is, yet flill the Tither, with the Grain, has the Tenth of all that Labour which the Occupier muft pay for. With Regard to Vineyards, and Gar- dens for rich Fruits, the Profit to the Tither is ftill greater, and may amount to feveral an- nual Rents upon the Land thus hufbanded, as any Farmer, or Occupier of an Eftate, would convince the Author. But the Profits arifing to the Prieft or Tither, depend not merely on the firft Har- veft Crop, or natural Produce of fuch Arable Land ; for between Harveft and Seed-Time, it may bear a fecond Crop of a different Kind, ind which may be fufficient to pay the whole Rent : And where there is no fuch after Crop, the Land produces Herbage and Feed for Sheep and Cattle, for about three Months: And from all this the Tither reaps his Advan- tage from thofe Sheep and Cattle, and their Increafe, while fed upon the Arable. From all this, I hope, our Author will allow, that the Profits to the Tither upon Arable, Vineyards, and Gardens, where all is paid in Kind, and rigidly exaded, muft amount to confiderably more than an annual Rent of the Lands, and if I fhould fet it at a Rent and half, I fliould be fufficiently within Com- pafs. 2 86 Superftitioil and Tyranny pafs, as any Farmer, or Occupier, might fa^ tisfy this Gentleman. I now come to the other Half of ths Lands, as I had divided them into Tillage and Pafture. And here from the Failure, they had a Tenth of all Grafs and Herbage, and of all the Fruits, as Olives, Nuts, Figs, &c, of which they had great Plenty grow- ing about their Meadows and Paftures ; and, indeed, thefe Field Fruit-Trees grew all over the Country, as well about their Arable as Pafture Enclofures. This Tenth, free of all Labour and Expence, muft Jiave been at leaft three Tenths of the annual Rent, or worth fo much to the Occupier. After the Tenth of the natural Produce of the Ground in Herbage, and Field-Fruits, had been taken off, the Spiritualty had like- wife a Tenth of all the Increafe of the ftand- ing Stock ; and this yearly Increafe muft have been more than the ftanding Stock, by which the whole Herbage, or natural Produce of the Paftures, was confumed -, for their Sheep and Cattle were exceeding fruitful -, and. as the Grofs of the People had been always Shep- herds and Herdfmen, from the Beginning of their Nation, they were more Ikilful in breeding Sheep and Cattle, and making the moft of their Flocks and Herds, than any o- ther Nation ; and as the Ewes had often two or three Lambs apiece, fo a Cow might have two Calves at a Birth. It inconliftent with Theocracy. 287 It muft be here fuppofed, that the original ftanding Stock, which conliimed the Herbage of the Paftures and Arable Feed too, was al- ways the fame; for as fome were continudly draughted out, others muft be added in their Room, to keep up ftill the fame Num.Ber, as the common, regular Confumption was the fame. And from hence it is evident, that the conftant, regular Confumption, and c6nfequently the annual Increafe, muft have been at leaft equal to this original ftanding Stock, for other wife the ftanding Stock muft have been continually diminifliing, and at laft quite exhaufted. But I have proved the annual Increafe and Confumption to have been more than this original ftanding Stock. From hence this general Principle may be laid down, that in every Landed Eftate fed in Whole, or in Part, with Sheep, Cattle, or anv live Goods, the annual Increafe muft be at leaft equal to the Confumption, or ftand- ing Stock, for otherwife the Stock muft ftilt diminifti, and at laft be quite annihilated ; but if the Confumption goes beyond this, the annual Increafe muft be more than the ftand- ing Stock in the fame Proportion. This,, therefore, I fhall venture to take as a Pojlula- tiim^ that where the Quantity of manured Pafture Land is fix'd, the yearly Increafe can- not be lefs than the ftanding Stock. But if the Number of People increafe, or there be any foreign Dismand, it may be greater in any .2 88 Superftition and Tyranny any Proportion'^ And then fecondly^ I fhall fuppofey that any manured, well - cultivated Eftate in Paflurage, to be full ftock'd, muft require two annual Rents. As to the firfl: of thefe Suppofitions, common Senfe may decide it, as being in a Manner felf-evident ; and as to the fecond, if the Divines (hould difpute it, I muft appeal to the Farmers^ who are the beft Judges in this Cafe. This being pre- mifed, a juft Computation of the Value of Tithes in Cattle, upon Pafture, and to be ftridtly and legally exacted in Kind, may be eafily computed. The Stock upon the Paf- turage is worth two annual Rents of the Land : The Tenth of this is two Tenths of the Rent : Thefe two Tenths of the Rent in Sheep, or Cattle, come as free to the Tither, and as much exempt from all Labour, Ex- pence, and Hazard, as if he had taken it in Grafs or Corn, which coft the Occupier, or Manurer, three annual Rents 5 and, therefore, depriving him of two Tenths of his Rent, is depriving him of fix Tenths ^ becaufe all his Labour, Expence, and Hazard, are now to be added to the original, neat Rent of the Land. Suppofe the Farmer, or Occupier, had loft nine Lambs or Calves fucceffively, and faved the Tenth, the Tither would take, that Tenth, without any Allowance for his Charge, or Loffes. I do not here pretend to make this nine to one a general Rule, for I only charge all Labour^ Expences, and Ha- zard inconfiftent with Theocracy. 289 izard of Loffes, as three to one, on the annu- al, bare, or neat R.ent; but had the Tither himfelf rented the Eftate, and been- at all the Charge and Hazard of feeding and railing the Sheep and Cattle, which brought his Share to Perfection, and put it into his Hands, it muft have cott. him infinitely more than it does now, bccaufe he has it for nothing. li may be laid, perhaps, that this fpiritual Donee richly deferved his Reward, had it been ten Times more valuable, becaufe he faved the Soul of the Donor 5 but I cannot enter into fuch Computations, and, therefore, muft leave every Man, in this Cafe, to judge for himfelf. But fuppofing two Tenths of the whole Produce, after all Labour, Ex- pence, and Hazard are born and difcharged, to be equivalent to fix Tenths of the bare, neat Rent, thefe lixth Tenths, with the three as fettled before, will make nine Tenths of the original, annual Rent. . The next Account is, that of all the firft-- born* Males, which I fliall allow, fince the Author will have it fo, to be but half die Firfc-born. But then, if a Cow had two Male Calves, or a Ewe two or three Lambs at once, all thefe were firft born, at the firft Impregnation of the Creature; they were the firft that opened the Womb, which is all that the Law intends, fince it would be im- poffible, in moft fuch Cafes, to know which came out firft; and the Law did not forbid U fuch 290 Superftition and Tyranny fuch Creatures to haye more than one for the iirft Tinie. However, to give the Author all the Allowance poffible, or that he can reafon- ably demand, I ihall fuppofe the Increafe from the firft-born Males to have been but half a Tenth of the ftandhig, original Stock in Sheep and Cattle, or a Tenth of an annu- al,, prime Rent, as before. And as this Tenth too was charged with all the Labour, Ex- pence, and Hazard of raifmg, feeding, &c. it muft be three Tenths of the prime Rent, which, with the other nine, make twelve Tenths upon the whole Rent. Now 'tis very plain, though this Writer feems unwilling to own it, that all thefe Tenths were Tenths, not of the annual Rents or Value of the Lands, but of the whole Produce, with all the Labour, Expence, and Hazard annexed to it ; and this could not be lefs than three Tenths of an yearly or prime Rent to every Tenth on the whole Labour and Produce of the Lands, as^I have put it at the very lowejft Rate that can be fuppofed or admitted -, and very often the Produce from the Labour might be ten or twenty Times the prime Rent, as it is ftill with us. But all this Labour the fpiri- tual Tither paid nothing for, though it be an hundred Times more than the yearly Rent of the Land. It was not, therefore, the Lands upon the annual Rents, but the Labour and Induftry, the Sweat and Toil of the People, that was taxed by the Ipiritual Law. It was not incotlfiftent with Theocracy. 2gi hot in the Nature of a Land-Tax, but Ex- cife, in which an Acre, or any Quantity of Ground might pay in one Year the whole Va- lue of the Land in Fee Simple, or InheritancCc I could give luftances of this in a great Part of the Lands now fown to Barley with us, including the Land-Tax, with other Pound- Rates, the Six-pence a Bulhel paid upon all the Barley made into Malt, and the Tax up- on Liquors afterward made out of that Malt for publick Sale. But if thefe Things feem new and ftrange to our Author^ I would have him get fome of his Country Farmers to tax and abate my Bill of Charges, as above. For none of thefe were Land-Taxes^ or Pound-Rates upon the Value of Lands, but Taxes upon all Labour, and the Fruits and Produce of it^ and that too upon all the Neceffaries of Life, and Home Produce and Confumption» And this is a Method never taken in the World, and rigoroufly exaded by Law, but under an aljfolute^ arbitrary Power. Our Laws relating to the Spiritualty now come neareft to it, but with fuch Miti- gations and Abatements, that they are no more in Comparifon of the other^ than a Flea-bite to the Sting of a Scorpion. I fhail now fettle the Account with our Author relating to the Property of the Levites in Land. They had forty eight of the largeft, ftrongeft, and richeft Cities in the Kingdom allotted them on the firft Divifion and Settle- U 2 men-t 292 Superftltion and Tyranny ment by JoJJnia. We never find above four hun- dred and fifty Towns and Cities mentioned ei- ther in Scripture, by Jofephus, or in any Map cf the Country. In Jojhuas Time, when the Land was divided, tliey were not in Poffeffion of much more than one Half of thefe, but I fliall fuppofe two Thirds ; or that they had three hundred Cities and Towns of one Sort or other then in Pofleflion. But one Third of thefe were not Places of any confi- derable Largenefs, Riches, or Strength. The Community, Bulk, or labouring Part of the People lived in the fmall, open Towns and Villages ; and though thefe were very popu- lous, and built at fmall Diftances from each other, yet they were not Places of any Strength or Defence. The Levites, therefore, had one Half of the principal Towns and Cities then in Poffeflion, and at leaft an eighth Part of all the Places of every Sort they had conquer- ed, or at any Time after, during the Reigns of the Judges. But a great Part of the' Country, dividdd and given to the other Tribes, was not in Pofi^effion; for Jo/hua di- vided and took in all Philijiia and Zidonia^ which were never conquered or poflelied at all, from firft to lafr, and not even in Da- vii% Time. When the Levites were num- bered, the whole Sum of the Males, from a Month old and upward, came but to twenty two thoufand. Numb, iii. 39. Whereas the other Tribes, at an Average, or one with another, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 293 another, amounted to fifty thoufand; and the whole Number of the Males to fix hun- dred thoufand, reckoning only from twenty Years old and upward. The Number of Souls below twenty muft be nearly equal to thofe above, from twenty to fixty. But I fhall fuppofe, that fifteen thoufand of the twenty two thoufand Males of Levi might be up- ward of twenty, and only feven thoufand below that to a Month, which is certainly a very liberal Allowance ; and then the Tribe of Leviy in Proportion to any other fingle Tribe, at an Average, will be as three to ten ; and to the whole Number of the other Tribes, but as one to forty. Now when we fpeak of the Power and Property of any Number or Body of Men, with Regard to any other Community, we mufl take in Propordon, or Number for Number; and it is upon this Foot that we muft compute and judge of the Strength and Wealth of Levi. Hebroji, which .was the chief City of the LeviUs, was then the firft City of the Kingdom, and fo it had alvyay^ continued, till David having con- quered Jerufalem^ and driven out the 'Jehu- Jltes^ made that his principal, or royal Seat. And w:hoever will be at the Pains to examine the Matter, may fee, that the Places .given to Levi vvere the principal Cities and Towns in the whole Country. And then, whoever confiders the Smallnefs of their Number, that they were but three Tenths of any other U 3 . Tribe, 2.94 Superftition and Tyranny Tribe, at an Average, and but one fortieth of the whole People, will find, that their Inheritance even in a Landed Intereft, was not propor- tionally much (liort of any other Tribe, or equal Number : And then as this Tribe had been originally poffeffed of the chief Cities and Towns for Riches and Strength through- out the Kingdom., and thus difpofed of in it, that they might be ready, on all Occafions, as Informers, Surveyers, x^ppraifers, Afleffors, and Colledtors of Taxes for the fuprCam, fpi- ritual Lord the Pligh Prieft, and were all mofl firmly united and attached to thejpiritual Ih- ferejl ; this muft have given them vaftly more Power and Influence, than it was poffible any other Tribe, or even the Princes of the Tribes, could have. We fee now the vaft Wealth and Power of the Spiritualty in moft Popifli 'Countries 5 but never any Thing came up to JJ^the Rigour and Tyranny of this Law, nor 'were ever any People in the World, if we except Egypt^ io miferably prieft-ridden, and confcientioufly enflav'd to a Hierarchy, As to the PoU-Tax, which I mentioned, I think the Author has juftly excepted againfl it; and as I am not, upon fecond Thought^ fatisfied in it myfelf, I freely give it up; but for the occafional Fines, Forfeitures, and le- gal Exadions, payable for legal UncleanneiTes, and Purifications, I think I have removed his >'■ ■ ■ ''t pbjeftions to what I had offered about it^ ^nd proved^ that it muft have given the Spi- ritualty inconfiftent with Theocracy. 295 ritualty a moft Infufl'crable Power, and kept the whole Nation in continual Awe of them, Free-will Offerings, or voluntary Gifts, may be as burdenfome and oppreiTive, and as inconliftent with the Happinefs and Welfare of Society, as any legal Impofitions, where the Conlcience itfelf is blinded and enflaved by a falfe Religion, and wrong Notions of the Nature, Perfections, and true, acceptable Worfhip of God. How far a mifguided Con- fcience, and a blind Obedience to a Hierar- chy, may enflave and ruin a Nation, we have fufficient Proofs from the Hiftory of allChrif- tian Nations iince Chriflianity came to be eflabliflied, and a Hierarchy fupported and aflifted by the Civil Power. Our own pious Anceftors before the Reformation, had given, by voluntary Refignations, feven Tenths of all their enclofed, manured Land, to their fpiritual Lords and IntercefTors with God j and thefc Lands were -all made irredeemable : And ^ while the Spiritualty enjoyed fo great a Part of the befl and richefl Lands, the Crown- Lands, and the Eflates of the Nobility and Gentry ky moflly in Parks, Woods, Forefts, and open Downs, Heaths, and Moors, which they let out at fmall Rents to their poor Te- nants. The Author of the Atlas Hijiorique afTures us, that the Spiritualty, or Clergy, is now the mofl confiderable Part of the three Orders into which that Kingdom is now divided, U 4 though 296 Superftition apd Tyranny though they hayp lately fufFered a confiderablc Diminution. He reckons the Religious of both Sexes, upon their fpiritual Foundations, at upward of two hundred thoufand, and computes their Revenues at three hundred and twelve Millions of Livers, or about twenty fix Millions Sterling, which is more than all the Caflh, or circulating Money of England^ and equal to an annual Rent of the Lands in France 'y for though they are more tliapj three Times our Exient of Ground, yet their Lands are not a third Part fo good. They can fcarce ever export any Corn ; whereas we can anfwer our own Home Confumption, and occafionaly fupply their Deficiency too. If we look into other Countries, where the People are blindly erifiaved to the' Power of a Hierarchy, \ we fhall not find this State of the Cafe in France at all mended ; and yet the Power of the Spiritualty in thefe Coun- tries, is not greater, or more epormous, than what Mofes had efl:abliilied for the Levitical Hierarchy. For by this Law, though no Man could fell, or alienate his Inheritance to any common Subjed:, or Layman, he might part with as much as he pleafed, and make it irredeemable, to the fpiritual Lords, And under fuch a Conftitution of fpiritual Blind- pefs and Slavery, where all the Virtue and Acceptablenefs of their Sacrifices mu ft de- pend on the Hierarchy, and their Miniftra- tions^ and where no Atonement could be made" inconfiftent with Theocracy* 29^ made, or Bleffing from God expelled with- out it, what would not a Man give which was in his Power beyond what the Law had' " exacted?" And, indeed, the Pope, under the ' greateft Degeneracy and Corruption of the Chriflian Church, was but the fupream Pon- tiff or High Prieft of the Gentiles, Who- ever will confider the Matter impartially, and ►take Thuigs as they are, muft fee, that the Papal' Hierarchy has been formed upon the fame Principles and Plan of fpiritual Power and Dominion, with that of Mojh, And when this Author fuppofes the one to have been originally a divine Inftitution, and is not able to prove its having been ever repealed, I know not how he will get rid of the other, which ilill fubfifts upon the fame Foot of Miracles and divine Authority, and has been held by the uninterrupted PoJJeJJion of fo ma- ny Ages from Mcfes^ and the Prophets, and which had been all along comply'd with by Chrift and the Apoftles, as the JewiJJj Hie- rarchy was. Popery is nothing but yudaifm a little difguifed, or mixt in fomewhat dif- ferent Drefs ; and I might challenge this Writer to urge any Arguments in Favour of the one, which will not hold as good for the other. The Nature and Reafon of the Thing is the very fame in both, and both are equal- ly repugnant to the Perfedions of God, to his true, fpiritual, acceptable Worfliip, and to the natural Pvights and Liberties of Jylan- kind. 298 Superftition and Tyranny Jcind. And, therefore, his fuppofing a divine Authority in one Cafe more than the other, is begging the Qaeftion, and afferting what he can never prove. No Book, or Writing, can prove itfelf, nor is the Authority of Mofes to be taken in his own Caufe, more than of any other. But while an Author will flill go upon a Principle which I do not grant, and which he cannot prove, there is but little to be done between him and me. CHAP. V. THE Author takes up a great Part of his eighth Chapter in vindicating the Oracle, particularly in the Cafe of the Levite and Benjamites^ where a whole Tribe had been cut off, Men, Women, and Children, in a War, which the Oracle and Prieft had encouraged, and engaged them in. The Author cannot deny, that this enraged Multitude of four hundred thoufand Men, whom the revengeful Levite had fet on Fire, afked Counfel of their Oracle before they would attempt any Thing, or put their vow'd Revenge in Execution, and afked who fhould go up firft, as not doubting of Succefs. Now here the Oracle might have forbid their going up at all, and told them fome milder and more reafonable Method might be found out to avenge inconfiftent with Theocracy. 299 avenge the Death of one Woman, without deftroying the whole City. But the divine Oracle feemed to forefee no more than the People themfelves, what would be the Event, and that they fhould be repulfed two Days fucceffively, with the Lofs of forty thoufand of their own Men. The fecond Day after they had gone up, they wept before the Lord \intil the Evening, and afked Counfel again, w^iether they fhould once more go up againft their Brethren of Benjamin. Here the leaft Difcouragement in the World might have prevented any farther Deftrudlion, and faved the City and Tribe. But they are again fet on to the bloody Enterprize, and ordered to go up, and were again beaten and repulfed. The People now feemed quite difl:ieartned, and could not but begin to think, that furely the Lord was not on their Side. They went yp again in the utmoft Doubt and Perplexi- ty, and wept before the Lord, and offered Bijrnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings all that Day unto the Evening. And now they afkcd, with greater Earneftnefs and Importunity than ever, whether they fhould go up, or forbear, pufh on the War, or drop it ? But they were again fent up, and animated to the bloody Slaughter. And now a Stratagem is laid, which could not fail of Succefs, and evidently Ihews, that the Oracle, or Prieft, was refolved to pufh his Revenge to the utmofl Extremity. Now I afked, whether this Oracle knew, or forefaw joo Superflition Urijd 'iTyrahny iprefaw at firft, th^t' tKis vafl Army of mad Revengers would be twice repulfed and beat^ en, with the Lofs of forty thoufand of theip own Men, and that they would fucceed in the third Attack, to the utter Deflruftion of the City, and whole Tribe ? If he did not know, or forefee this, he muft have been as ignorant a? the People themfelves, who had alked Advice of him ; but if he did know and forefee it, yet would not prevent it, and give Orders againft it, he could have no common human Juftice cr Mercy -, and in both Cafes, he could not be God, and could have been no pther but the Prieft himfelf. To this the Author's Reply is very remarkable, and I ihall quote him in his own Words, p. 247. " How " does this follow ? Will he pretend there *^ could be no jufl: Reafons, why God iliould " fee fit to permit that Slaughter of the IJra- " elite Sy fuppofing their Caufe to be never " fo juft, except he knows, and is able to ^' judge thofe P^eafons ? It is very evident, *' that in the Courfe of divine Providence, a *' juft Caufe is often fuffered to be oppreffed " for a Time; and that wicked Men are " often fuffered to vanquifli thofe who are *^ much better than themfelves." AU this is very true, but then there is a vaft Difference between what God may permit, or fuffer, and what he may command, order, and di- rect. It is one Thing to afk, what God ;nay permit in a common 'Courfe of Provi-:: dence^ inconfiftent with Theocracy. 301 dence, and a quite different Queflion to afk, what God may exprefly command. If Men will undertake any Thing upon their own Judgment, or Opinion, they mufl take the Coniequences of it, and cannot blame God, or Providence, for it. Suppofing the Caufe of the Ifraelites again ft the Be?ija?nites to have been, at firft, juft and righteous, and that ^od had ordered and commanded them to go up, and revenge themfelves to their own Deftruffion, and to the Lofs of more Lives of their own, than the Benjamites had in all, which is here fuppofed to have been done twice ; this mufl plainly argue Ignorance or Injuftice in God, and that inflead of punifh-r^ ing the Benjamites, he intended, without giv- ing any Intimation of it, to plague the Ijrae- lites. Again, fuppofing God had fent them up the third Time againft the City, when they feemed to repent of what they had done fo much to their own Lofs, and God fliould then affure them, that they fhould prevail the next Day, and take the City certainly, know- ing, at the fame Time, that the Confequence of this would be the utter Deftrudtion of the whole Tribe, by the mod unparaliel'd Vio- lence and Wickednefs, without giving them any Warniug or Caution to the contrary, or letting them know how far they might carry their Revenge -, fuppofing this, I fay, which is here the plain Matter of Fa6t, I think it is very evident, that God himfelf muft be chargeable with 30 2 Superllitioii and Tvraniiy with all the Confequences of it, as the Author, Contriver, and Encourager of the whole Scene. But this Writer feems refolved to lay any Blame upon God himfelf, rather than the Prieji, He cannot diftinguifh between the permiffive and effedlive, ordering and diredl- ing Will of God 5 and 'tis impoffible he iliould make any fuch Diftindtion with the leaft Senfe or Confiftency, while he is under the hard Neceffity of defending thefe Hebrew Writers, who never themfelves made any fuch Diftind:ion, and who continually repre- fent God as commanding, ordering, and ef- fedling whatever he thought fit to permit or fuffer in the Courfe of Providence. Thus God hardened Pharaolo^ Heart againft all the Power and Conviftion of his own Miracles j and God raifed up and commiflioned every Enemy and Deftroyer this Nation ever had ^ and in the fame Way God fuffers, /. e, com- miffions this Writer to talk in the fame Strain. Here lies the Strefs of the Caufe, if the Au- thor will take Notice of it; or whether he will or no, I fhall here reft this Part of the Argument, till I hear farther from him ; and, perhaps, this farther Hearing may be expedted both by his Friends and Enemies. He next comes, p. 249. to the Argument of Prophecy, as a Proof of immediate Infpi- ration, with Regard to the Knowledge of fu- ture Events 3 but he can make no Ufe of it againft me, as he could not at firft. I had - not inconfiftent with Theocracy. 303 not denied, but fome of thofc antient Sages might be infpired, or extraordinarily affifted in the Forefight of Things to come. But then I obferved, that this might be the Cafe of bad Men as well as good, as it was of Ba- laam, who notwithftanding his Forefight, is reprefented as a very wicked Man, and an Enemy in his Heart to God, and his chofen ^^People. But I obferved farther, that it muft be very difficult, if not impoffible, for us now to diftinguifih with any Certainty be- tween Hiftory and Prophecy, confidering the many Additions and Supplements to thoie o- riginal Books by after Editors, at great Dif- tances of Time. Upon this he harangues, for ten Pages together, p. 249 259. in which he would perfuade us, that the Mat- ter, perhaps, may not be as I fay. All which being nothing to my Purpofe, I muft refer the more curious Reader to the Book itfelf, as above quoted. But the Author cannot ad- mit, that there were any Prophets of the Lord, but fuch as were true Prophets, or whofe Pre- diftions came to pafs. And thus among four . hundred Prophets of the Lord in Ahab'^ Time, there was but one true Prophet of the Lord. Ahab\ four hundred Prophets were fuch as had been received and recognized as true pro- phets, or Prophets of the Lord, both by the King and People, according to the known Settlements and Inftitutions for Prophets at that Time, and they were thofe who had 3 efcaped, 304 Superftition and Tyranny efcaped, and been faved from the common Slaughter which had been made among them. But in the fame Way, among four hundred Priefts of the Lord, there mieht not be one righteous Perfon, or true Priej}, But in the Gafe before us, iht Lord himfelf is repre- fented as having deceived his own Prophets, by fending out a lying Spirit among them,, for the Deftrudlion of AhciB and his Houfe. And 'tis very probable, that this Concur- rence of the Prophets might have been a Snare laid by them for the King, to revenge the Death of their Brethren, who had been cut off under this Reign. But if nothing but the Event or Accom- plifhment, which might not be till a long Time to come ; if nothing but this could de- termine the Charad:er of the Prophet, what poffible Rule of Judgment could the People have in moft Cafes, to know a true Prophet from a falfe? The fame Prophet might be fometimes right, and at other Times wrong in his Predicflions, when the Event came to difcover it. The prophetic Order, as origi- nally inftituted and eftablifhed by Samuel, and as publickly owned and recognized all down, were as well known as the Priefts, Judges, or Men of any other Order. And yet Men of this holy Order, and equally owned as Pro- phets of the Lord, both by King and Peo- ple, might deliver quite contrary - MelTages, and make repugnant publick Declarations, -^ . ^ as inconfiftent with Theocracy. 305 as by a CGmmiflion from God, and with a Thus faith the Lord the God of Ifrael, as in the Cafe of Jeremiah and Hanajiiuh^ Jer, xxviii. Now what could the King and Peo- ple think in this Cafe ? They were both of the fame prophetic Order, and both owned as fuch. The Event, indeed, in this Cafe, muft foon decide the Queftion ; but even then, when the Thing foretold came to pafs, as in this Cafe, the contrary was fcarce poffible, in human Appearance; yet nothing at laft could be concluded from it, but that it had been foreknown, and fome Way or other no- tify 'd to that Prophet. According to our Author, this holy Order inftituted by Samuel, and publickly owned, known, and recognized all down, as Prophets of the Lord ; this Order, I fay, muft have been nothing but a Cheat and Impofture at firft, and a mere political Contrivance to curb and reftrain the regal Power, when 5^- muel could no longer prevent its taking Place. For of whatUfe or Benefit could fjch an Or- der be to the Nation, when, perhaps, not one in a hundred, or in many hundreds of them, were true Prophets, or knew more of Futu- rity, than other People ? And was not Na- than himfelf, Samuel's immediate Succeffor, a falfe Prophet, in declaring, as from God,' the Perpetuity of David's Kingdom, or Govern- ment over Ifrael? This everlafting, or for ever, lafted but one Generation after him -, for X at 30 6 Superftition and Tyranny at the Death of Solomon^ the ten Tribes, or Kingdom of Ifrael^ revolted from the Houfe of David^ and never returned to their Obe- dience more. But all the Prophets, after that Revolt^ took up v^ith that firft Prophecy or Declaration from God by Nathan^ concern- ing the Perpetuity of David's Kingdom ; and from hence they concluded, that the whole Kingdom muft, one Day or other, be reftored to the Houfe of David^ for a Perpetuity; and this gave Rife to the yewijk Notion of MeJJiahfiip, But before David could regain IJraely he loft Judah too, and has had no Kingdom ever fince, tho' it is now above two thoufand three hundred Years ago. And, there- fore, certainly, let our ChriftianDivines fay what they will, the Jewijh Meffiah is not yet come, nor are any of thofe Prophecies concerning him yet accomplifhed* Our Author, per- liaps, may prove the contrary in his fyftemati- cal Way, but it can never be proved in any Way of Truth, or common Senfe, But all that he has offered upon this Head is fo very trifling and infignificant, that unlefs he could have made more of his Argument from Pro-^ phecy, he had much better have let it alone. I had made it plainly appear from the HiA tory, that Samuel had aded as High Prieft, from the Death of £//, till Saul had been confirmed in the Kingdom: I had proved, that this could not be lefs than forty Years; that during this Period, he had had the whole Admi- inconfiftent with Theocracy. 307 Adminiftration or fupream Power, civil, cc- cleliaftical, and military; that he pre; i -Jed in all the Sacrifices, on the greateft Occaiions, as at the Coronation of the King, and other great, publick Solemnities, where none but the High Prieft himfelf could prefide : I had (hewn from the Hiftory, that during this Pe- riod, there could be no other High Prieft, and that after the Death of Eli there had been no other High Prieft of that, Family, till Ahia^ the Great Grandfon of Eli , was put iii by Saul, after Samuel, forely againft his Will, had been forced to refign his whole Govern- ment in every Capacity; and the Texts I quoted for this, are the fame which Sir ^ohn Marjloam, and other learned Men had produced, to prove, that Samuel had ad:t;d as High Prieft during this Interval and Interrup- tion of the legal Succeffion of the Priefthood. But after all this, the Author has the Af- furance to fay, p, 268, That it cannot be proved, or that it does not appear. But if it does not appear, to him, I pre fume, it muft to every one elfe, who has no Intereft or Bias to the contrary. But for my own Part, I defpair of ever making any Thing appear to fuch a Writer, that he has ilot a Mind to fee. .But though Samuel was not the right Heir, yet he might be nearer ally'd to tne iiigh Priefthood than this Writer imagines. The Hiftorian lets us know, that Samuel'^ Mother could never have a Child by her Hu{bj.nd, X 2 , nor 30 8 Superftition and Tyranny nor breed at all, till (lie went up and made her Cafe known, and told her Diftrefs for a Child to the Priefls, who then flood before the Lord. We are alfo affured, that E/rs Sons lay with the Women who came up with their Gifts and Offerings to the Sanduary. We know too, that this Woman devoted, or gave the Child Samuel to the Lord}, and that the Lord took him, and bred him up as his own Son, clothed him while a Child, as a Prieft in a linen Ephod. All this the Hifto- rian has plainly and frankly told us; but I know not how far it may help out our Au- thor, as to Samiier^ Right to the High Prieft- hood; but if he could make out any Thing of a Right, it would be much better than denying or fliifting off fo plain a Fadt. In the remaining Part of this eighth Chapter, p. 271 281. he makes a feeble Attempt in Defence of Davidy but how far he has cleared up his Charadler againft my Account of him, I muft leave the Reader to judge. But he reprefents me, all along, as a moft falfe, impudent, fhamelefs Accufer. I can" forgive him all his Ribaldry, and perfonal Abufe, fince I know he muft be very an- gry, as he is driven to very hard Shifts. The Sufferer muft complain. The Author goes on, in his ninth Chapter, to vindicate the Prophets, againft what I had faid of their Male Practices, Milbehaviour, and Proftitution of their Holy Orders and he inconfiftent with Theocracy. 309 he undertakes to prove, that the anticnt Pt'r- fiam were Heathen Idolaters, and Worfliipers of the Sun and Fire. Now though all this is purely incidental, and jiot at all afFecfling the main Points in Debate, yet I fliall take fome Notice of what he has offered. But when he undertakes to vindicate the Prophets, I fuppofe he means the true Prophets^ or Pj'o- ^ phets of the Lord, as he calls them; for as to the Order in general, as they had been in- ilituted by Samuel under the Sanation of di- vine Authority, they are reprefented as a grofly corrupt, and degenerate Order or Bo- dy, by the few honeft Men they had among themfelves, and of their own Order; and thefe few, perhaps, from firft to laft, might have been, at an Average, not above one at moft in four hundred. But fuch of them as have been recommended to us by the Jewijh Hii- torians, muft, doubtlefs, have been true Pro- phets of the Lord, and, therefore, under an infallible Guidance and Diredtion : But this Infallibility, or unerring Guidance, hangs like a Mill-ftone about the Author's Neck, and he is fo fenfible of his own Inability, that he dares not profeiTedly attempt it, or enter Up- on the Proof; and yet he fuppofes, and begs it all along ; and if you will not give it, he is quite undone as to the Argwnent I I had urged the Hand the Prophets had in the Deftrudlion of Ahab and his Houfe, and anointing Jebu^ w^ho proved as great an Ido- X 3 l^ter 3IO Superftltion and Tyranny later and Tyrant as the other ; and I had faid, that no Miracles that might be fuppofed to have been wrought by thofe Prophets, could prove any divine Authority, or Commiffio;i, for fuch a general Slaughter and Deftrucftion in a Country. Our Author, p, 284. tells us, T'hat 'uoe have the fame Proof the Prophets Elijah a?2d Eli(ha wrought thoje Miracles^ that 'we have, that they had any Hand in anointing Jehu. But I have proved, that v^e cannot have the fame Evidence, or Proof, from Teftimony, for Miracles, as for natural Fads, becaufe the natural Improbability, or Incre- dibility of the Thing, in this Cafe of fuper- natural Fads, will generally, if not always, outweigh the Credit of the Teftimony. Be- fides, the Miracles faid to have been wrought by thofe Prophets, were private Fads, done in a Corner, and before none but Friends, and ftanch Believers, who would be fure not to leflen the Mir icle, if they did not invent the Story ; and then the moft amazing of thcfe Mirat: 3 mentioned of Elijha^ carry with them c\\ the Air and Appearance of Romance and Fidion, as the Prophet's ftretching him- felf Part to Part, and Limb to Limb, upon the correfj ondcnt Parts and Limbs of the Child whom he raifed from the Dead, 2 Kings iv. 34. And the Bones of this Prophet, after he was dead, raifed a dead Man out of his Grave, by being thrown into it, 2 Kings xiii. 21. But thefe were private Stories which inconfiftent with Theocracy. 311 which the Prophets themfelves fpread about and recorded, to aggrandize their own Order. But the Anointing of yehu was a publick, notorious FacS, which the whole Nation were Witneffes of, as they were of the fatal Confequences of it in Jehus Reign. And then this Writer goes on eternally upon a falfeSup- pofition, which though it has been abundant- ly refated over and over, yet he will ftill re- tain. Had God intended this Power of work- ing Miracles, as a Proof of any fpecial Au- thority, or Commiffion from him, he would never have given it, as he often did, to the falfe Prophets, Impoftors, and unrighteous, wicked Men. And yet fetting afide this falfe, unproved Suppofition, the Author's whole Ar- gument, in his two Books, muft be reduced to nothing, An Inftance how eafy it is, in the Way of School Divinity, to fpin a whole Syftem out of the Air ! What the Author offers farther in Vindica- tion of the Prophets, againft the Account I had given of them, as it appears to me purely evafive and infignificant, and the Matter it- felf is of no great Confequence, and does not afFecS the main Points in Debate, I am will- ing to let reft where it is, after Vv^hat has been faid on both Sides, and leave the Reader to take which he thinks moft probable. But what he offers, p, 287 294. relating to the tutelar Gods, and mediatorial Worlhip of the Heathen Nations, may deferve parti- . X 4 ' cular 312 Superftition and Tyranny cular Notice. Our Author very feldom ftarts any Thing of Confequence, but this is really fo. He will have it, that the Idolatry of • "Jeroboam firft, and of Jehu afterward, were of a perfectly different Nature and Kind from that of Ahab^ who had intervened. Je- rcboam had fet up the local, tutelar Gods of Egypt ^ as the Egyptiam had placed him upon the Throne ; and this local, tutelar Worfliip Jehu reftored, after he had cut off all Ahab"^ Houfe, Friends, and Family. But Ahab^ in the Interval, had iet up Baal^ as the God of Ehoenicia or Zidonia^ under a Notion that this Zidonian Baal\ the God of his Queea Jezebel^ was the fupream God, and Foun- tain of all Power, both in Heaven and in Earth ; whereas the plain Truth of the Mat- ter is, that Ahab^ having broken his Alliance \v\m Egypt ^ who had let up the Jeroboam Family, now took to the tutelar Gods of an- other Country, the Fhcentcians or Zidonians, from whence he had taken his Queen, and who had nov/ alfo broke with Egypt. As they had had the Egyptian Guardians before, they had now the Ehcenician or Zidonian Guardian Gods. And now the Egyptian Friefls and Gods went to Pot, and the Zidonian were fet up. But when Jehu had gained his Point, and renewed the old Alliance with Egypt^ after the Deftrud:ion of Ahab and his Houfe, he caft off the Gods of Zidon^ and took to thofe of Egypt again. But this was done 3 a nder inconfiftent with Theocracy. 313 under a Pretence of a Zeal for the Lord God of Ifraely which was the only Pretence that could have taken EfFedt. This is the plain Truth of the Cafe, that Ahab being in ano- ther Intereft, had thrown oiF the tutelar Gods of Egypt ^ and taken to thofe of Zidon, But Jehu having gained his Point, by the Intereft and Influence of the Prophets, renewed his Alliance with Egypt^ and took to their Gods again. But our Author's Conceit, that thefe two Schemes of Idolatry were of a different Kind, and thajt the one CQnfifted only ici worshiping the true God in a wrong Way, and the other in worfliiping a local, tutelar God ultimately, as the one fupream Being, and Fountain of all Power, without any No- tion of the one true God, or terminating Objed: of Worfhip, and Fountain of Power; I fay, this Notion, or Fetch of his, is abfo- lutely unfupported by any Hiftory, facred or profane. Nor is he able to prove, that any Heathen Nation in the World, Egyptians^ Greeks^ AJfyriam^ Babylonians^ or Romans^ ever imagined their local, tutelar Gods to be the one fupream Being, or Fountain of all Power. Indeed, when one Nation was to conquer another, they would implore the Af- fiftance, or court the Intereft of the Gods of that Country; and they had Methods of E- vocation, by which they thought they could call the Gods of one Country into another, and prevail with them to be propitious to the Con- 314 Superftition and Tyranny Conquerors; of which we have many In- fiances in the Greek and Roman Story. But ftill they had all a Notion of one fupream Deity, or Fountain of Power, and they only regarded their national, tutelar Gods, as Mi- nifters of Providence, and Sub-Governors of the World, by CommifRon from the fupream Deity. And this was the Cafe, with Refpedt to the Hebrew or Abrahamic Family, as well as other Nations. They always diftinguifhed between the Jehovah God, and the Angel of the Lord, or the Angel Jehovah; and they never thought thefe two to be the fame Per- fon, or the fame Being. The Angel Jehovah had never been known under that Name, till the Time of Mofes-, for though the fame Angel had often appeared, walked up and down, and converfed with Men before, yet he had never, till now, taken the Name of Jehovah, which was peculiar to the fupream Being. But Mojes now firft deify 'd this An- gel, becaufe he muft have a local, tutelar, oracular God, and could not have governed the World without it. The Reverend and Learned Mr. Shucks ford^ in the ^ febond Volume of his Sacred and profane Hijiory of the World conneSled^ has fet this Matter in a very clear Light, tho' he may, perhaps, have carried the Argument farther than he intended, as he protefles to have undertaken the Work in Defence of Re-- vdation. He has clearly proved, that tho' the fame inconfiftent with Theocracy. 315 fame Angel had appeared and converfed with Abraham^ and the great Men of the Hebrew Nation before; yet he had never, till now, taken the Name 'Jehovah^ which had always before, and by all Nations afterwards, been taken as the Hebrew peculiar Name of the fupream Being, or Fountain of all Power. Whether this Community of Names, now introduced, will prove a Community of At- tributes and Properties, I muft leave to the Judgment of the learned Author, and others ; but that all the Heathen Nations round about had a clear Notion of one fupream Being, or Fountain of Power, and that they never looked upon the tutelar God of IJrael to be this fupream Being, or Fountain of Power, any more than their own national, tutelar Gods, I have this learned Man's Authority for, and clear Proof of. The IJraelites^ from the Days of Mofes, believed their national, tutelar God to be Jehovah^ or th^ Jiipream God'y but no other Nation upon Earth ever believed it. 'Tbe King of Sodom knew the moji high God by the Name of Jehovah, Abimelech, Ki?ig of the Philiftines, knew Jehovah^ and was his Servant in Abraham'^ Time. God was known by this Name in the Family of Be- thuel in Mefopotamia, when Abraham fent thither , and afterwards in Jacob'i Days^ Laban knew God^ by this Name. Though it is remarkable^ thai he. did not life the Word 31 6 Superftition and Tyranny Word entirely in the fame Senfe that Jacob did\ for Laban meant by it the God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their Fa-- thers 'y but Jacob fivore by the Fear of his Fa^ ther Ifaac, i. e, Laban meant by Jehovah^ the fupreamy true^ and living Gody which the Fa- thers of Abraham, and Abraham had wor- Jhiped^ before he received farther Revelations than were- imparted to the reft of Mankindy and before he built an Altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. After this Abraham and his Pofterity determined^ that this Lord alfo fhould be their God, ajid they invoked God in the Name of this Lord. God was known by the Name of Jehovah to Job the Arabian ; but it was not the Lord who appeared to Abraham, whom he knew by this Name ; but rather God whom no Man hath feen at any T[ime, God's Judgments were executed upon Egypt, not to convince Fh2iY2iohy and his People y thai Jehovah was the supream God, but to make them knoWy that the God of the Hebrews, their national, tutelar God, was Jehovah,^^r^ The Moabites knew the fupream God by this Name.^^But we have a very remarkable In- ftance of the Word Jehovah ufed by a HeatheUy for the Name of the fupream Deity y in Con- IradiBioii to the God of the Hebrews, in Times very latey even in the Days of Hezekiah. Rabfliekah, who well widerftood the Hebrew Language y in delivering his Mafter the King of Aflyria'i Meffage^ which he exprejfed in the Hebrew inconfiftent with Theocracy. 317 Hebrew T!o7igue^ profejfed^ that he was not come up againjl Jerufalem without the Lord, /. e, Jehovah, to dejlroy it-, for that the Lord /aid unto him^ Go up againjl this Land and dejlroy it, That Rab(hekah, by the Lordy or Jehovah here^ did not mean the God of the Jews, though at the fame Time he knew^ that they called their God [national God] by this Name^ is evident^ from his very plainly dijiin- *guij}jing them one from the other. From all this, and what the learned Author offers far- ther upon it, it is plain, that Rabfiekah^ the King of A[fyrias General, knew and owned Jehovah as the fupream Being, and Fountain of all Power, though he knew nothing of the tutelar, national God of Ifrael^ whom- they called Jehovah, and pretended to be the fupream Being himfelf. The Affyrians knew and owned the fupream God, Jehovah Elo- im, or El Shaddai j but they knew nothing of the Angel Jehovah, or tutelar God of 7/- rael From this learned Author's whole Dif- courfe upon this Subjedl, in which he has fupported his Opinion with the beft Authori- ties, it is evident, that the Heathen Nations, from firft to laft, knew and owned Jehovah as the one fupream God, or Fountain of ail Power J but they knew nothing of the He^ . breWy national, fubordinate God, or Angel Lord, as the fame with Jehovah God, or the fupream Being. And, therefore, the Idola- try of the Heathens, according to this learned Writer, 31 8 Superftition and Tyranny Writer, and celebrated Chronologer, did not confift in not knowing, or not owning and worshiping the one true, fupream God^ but in worshiping him in a wrong Way, and by falfe Mediators. I muft refer the Reader for all this to Mr. Shuckford\ Chronology, Vol II. />. 134 146. I have made Breaks where I have not quoted him throughout, and hope I have not miftaken, or mifrepre- fented him, as I would not willingly do fo learned, laborious, and candid an Author, to whom I ovvn myfelf fo much indebted. But the learned Author thus concludes his DiC- courfe on this Mead. T!hey did^ indeed^ wor^ JJdip a Multitude of JDeities^ but they fuppofed all but one to be Jubordinate Divinities, They bad always a Notion of one Deity fuperior to all the Powers of Heaven^ and all the othef Deities were conceived to have different Office^ and Miniflrations under him^ being appointed to prefide over Elements^ over Cities^ over Coun^ tries^ and to dijpenfe Vi6lory to Armies^ Healthy Life^ and other Blefjings to their Favourites^ if permitted by the fupream Power. Hefiod Jiip- fofes one God to be the Father of all the othef Deities ; and Homer, in many Pafages in the Iliad, reprefents one fupream Deity prefidirig ever all the reji-, and the mof celebrated of their Philojophers alway endeavoured to affert this Theology, By all this the learned Reader will fee, that Dr. Leland has quite niiftaken the Heathen Divinity and Manner of WorShip, and inconfiilent with Theocracy. 319 and knows not the Difference between that and the MoJ'aic Scheme. The Sabean Hea- thens worfhiped God by a great Number of fubordinate Deities, Angels, or coeleftial Gods, whom they fuppofed to inhabit in, and pre- fide over the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Con- ftellations, and from thence to difpenfe either Good or Evil to the feveral Nations of the *Earth, by Commiffion from the fupream De- ity, or Lord of Heaven and Earth. All this Sort of Worfhip came originally from the Notion of governing, guardian Angels, as re- fiding in the Sun and Hofts of Heaven. But the Sabean Idolaters, at la ft, came to ima- gine, that their Heroes and great Men, the Founders of Empires, and Inventors of ufe- ful Arts and Sciences, had been begotten by thefe coeleftial Gods, and then they gave them the fame Names, and fent them after Death to the fame Manfions, where they worfhiped them under the fame Notion, and in the fame Capacity as they had done the Angels, or 'coeleftial, immortal Qods before. This was the Sabean Religion and Worfhip. But the Hebrews owned but one fubordinate, minifterial God, the A7igel Jehovahy who might appear vifibly, and converfe with Men, and in and by whom they worfliiped Jehovah God, or El Shaddai; the fupream Deity, who could not be feen, nor reprefented under any fenfible Images. This Aizgel Jehovah, or y^- bovah the Angela was the national, refidciuial I Gcd 320 Superftition and Tyranny God of Ifrael only, and befides whom they admitted of no other national God, or fu- pream Minifter and Reprefentative, by whom Jehovah God, or El Shaddai^ could be wor- fhiped. I have been the larger upon this, that the Reader may excufe me from tak- ing any farther Notice of what Dr. Leland has offered about Idolatry and falfe Worfliip, fince he has evidently miftaken the whole Matter, and fallen upon a Subject which he had very little confidered, or thought of. This Writer has a long Difcourfe of ten or twelve Pages, to prove againft Dr. Hyde^ that the antient Terjians. were grofs Idolaters, and that they worfhiped the Sun ; but the Dodlor had fully vindicated them from this Calum- ny, and (hewn how Herodotus^ and other Greeks^ came to miftake and mifreprefent them in this Matter. But I (hould rather take the exprefs Declaration of the Perjians themfelves, even of the Remains of the Ma- gians to this Day, and the Authority of all "the antient eaftern Writers, as quoted by that learned Man, than the Teftimony of Hero- dotus, and other Greeks^ who were Strangers and Enemies to the PerJta?iSy and knew no- thing at all of their Religion. The Perjiam had many external Rites and Ceremonies in their Worfhip, which the, Greeks^ and other Strangers mifunderftood, and thought to have been the fame Sort of Sabean Idolatry, which they had in their own Country, - CHAP, inGonfiftent with Theocracy. 321 C H A R VI. THE Author, in. his tenth Chapter, comes to the Argument relating to the prophetic Meffiahfliip, the Ipiri- tual Gift of Tongues, and the Infallibility or unerring Guidance of the Apoftles. This is *the very Heart of the Controverfy, and yet he has faid leaft to it, and fcarce any Thing that can deferve Notice. He here affedls to be very fanguine, and fometimes would feem to laugh 'y but the Reader v/ill foon lee, that this Laughter is but Grinning, and that his Mirth is only from the Teeth outward. I had aflerted, that Jefus of Nazareth ne- ver owned or declared himfelf as the Jewijh^ prophetic Meffiah, or as that Prince of the Houfe of David, who was to gather the Tribes, and reilore the Kingdom. But faith he, p, 213, *' I (hewed on the contrary, that *^ Jefus did all along, during the whole *' Courfe of his perfonal Miniftry, on all " proper Occafions, declare himfelf to be the *' Chrift or Mefliah," i. e. he declared him- felf openly and publickly, upon all proper Oc^ cajionsy to be that Prince of the Houfe of* Davidy who was to reftore the Kingdom. This I had denied, and proved the contrary, by his Renunciation of all temporal Power before Pilate on his Trial, and by his fliarply rebuking the Devils, whom he caft out, and Y the 322 Superftition and Tyranny the Sick and Difeafed, whom he cured, from ever mentioning or publifhing him under this Charafter. But what fhall we do here? Chrift exprefly declared, that he was, and / was not the Jewijh^ prophetic Mefliah. He declared, that he was that Prince of the Houfe of David^ who was to gather the Tribes, and reflore the Kingdom to Ifrael ; and yet he would be never mentioned or fpoken of under this Charadler, and renounc- ed it at his Trial. I had proved the latter, which the Author cannot deny ; and yet he afferts the former. How our Author will re- concile this, I know not ; but I had account- ed for it very well, by fuppofing and prov- ing, that Chrift's Difciples all along mifun- derftood and mifreprefented him. This, I think, is as clear as Day-Light, and, if the Author will not admit it, he may make as great a Contradiction of the Gofpel, as he pleafes. I had proved, that the Reftoration of the Kingdom by a Prince of the Houfe of Davidy was an effential CharacSler of the Jewijh prophetic Mefliah, and that no Pro- phet had ever fpoken of him, without in- cluding this Characfteriflic of him. But there never was a fhrewder Adverfary than this Writer, for he can grant all that I contend for, and yet prove me to be grofsly miftaken. I had inconteflably proved, by the moft ex- prefs Authorities and Quotations from the Prophets, that their Mefliah was to be a mighty inconfiftent with Theocracy. 323 mighty conquering Prince of the Houfe and royal Line of David-, that he was to fet up an exteniive Empire and Dominion over all Nations, and the Nation who would not fiib- mit to him were to be utterly deftroyed ; the Metropolis of this vaft Empire was to be Je- rufalem, which was to be rebuilt and enlarged in a vaftly more fplendid and magnificent * Manner than ever, where their Law and Re- ligion, their Priefthood and Sacrifices, were to be reftored in the greateft Purity and Per- fedion. I have proved, that the Difciples themfelves continued in this Notion of a tem- poral Kingdom, and after Chrift's Refurrec- tion from the Dead, they expeded his fecond Coming, to fet up his Kingdom, and to fave or deliver Ifrael in that very Generation. It was in this Senfe that they preached Jefus as Chrift, and they who had not this Faith in him, as their national Saviour and Deliverer, could receive no Benefit from their miraculous Cures, and were to exped: no Salvation. The Mi- niflry of thcfe Galileam was confin'd intircly to the JewiJJj Nation, as I have proved. Now what does our Author fay to all this? Why, he is not able to difprove, or fet it afide, and yet cries out, and exclaims at it, as if it was the moft monftrous, abfurd, .and unreafonable Suppofition in the World. Let it be fo then, and I know it mufl be fo in his Syftemj but I dare abide by it as Scripture, and the Senfe of the Prophets, if they had Y 2 , any 324 Superftidon and Tyranny any literal, intelligible Senfe at all. Bat this renown'd Champion will have it, that the Prophets fpoke of the Meffiah in a myftical, unintelligible Way, and could never be un- derftood by their own Nation from firft ta laft. He complains and infults upon it, that I did not confider the Arguments by which he had cleared the Prophets from the narrow^ niijlaken Senfe of the Jews, /». 3 17. I mufl profefs I could never lee any fuch Arguments in his Book. If the Reader can find any fuch, he may; but I believe he mufl: look for them through the Author*s own Spedla- cles. Sure I am, that Chrift's own Difciples, I mean the Galileans^ underfl:ood the Pro- phets in the fame Senfe of a temporal King- dom, which they could never get rid of. And this, I think, certainly proves, that however they might be infpired^ yet they were not in-^ fallible^ or under any unerring Guidance. He pretends, that the temporal Kingdom was not eflential to the Charadler of the Mefliah, becaufe it was not the Whole of that Charac- ter. The Mefliah was not only to be a mighty Conqueror and temporal Prince, but a fpiri- tual Saviour too, and to fpread Truth, Peace, and Righteoufnefs through the Earth. But why might not thefe two be very confiftent ? I am fure the Difciples themfelves thought fo. He might as well have argued, that be- caufe the Body is not the Whole of the Man, therefore it is not necelTary or eflential to a Man J inconfiftent with TJicocracy. 325 Man; and that there may be a Man without a Bod\\ as well as a Body without a Soul ; but thefe, and fuch like, are the Arguments which I had overlooked, becaufe they are un- anfwerable. I had urged, that the Apoflles and others, who in that Age had the Spirit, or Holy Ghoft, were not infallible, or under any un- ♦erring Guidance; and that they never pre- tended to any fuch Spirit of Infallibility : And I had proved, that if they had made any fuch Claim, their Differences and Divifions amongft themfelves, both in Doftrine and Pradtice, mufl have confuted and convidled them. Peter and Paiil^ with Refpedl to Jews and Gentiles^ preached two different Gofpels, and feparated at Antioch^ becaufe they could not agree about the Authority and Extent of the yeriifalcm Council ; and, therefore, they could not continue together, or miniflcr in the fame Churches. The Apoftles and Teach- ers of the Circumcifion all along thought themfelves to be ffill under the Obligation of the whole Lav/, even as a Matter of Reli- gion, and good Confcience towards God, which St. Paul vehemently declared againfl. And thofe Apoftles and Teachers of the Cir- cumcifion ftill preached Jefus as the Chrift in a national Senfe, and expedted his coming again to reftore the Kingdom, during that very Generation. They were never convinc- ed, that the Law^ had been repealed by the Y 3 Death 326 Superftition and Tyranny Death and Refurredlion of Chrift, either in Whole, or in Part 3 or that it ever was to be repealed. And if they who had the Spirit, or Holy Ghofl:, in thofe Days, had been un-? der any infallible or unerring Guidance, what Need could there be of a fuperior Rule, where- by to try and judge of thofe extraordinary Gifts and Powers, whether they were of God, or not. But our Author has fully and clearly anfwered, or obviated all this, and proved his Point againft all Fa6t, if the Reader will but borrow his Spectacles to find out his Argu- ments, and fee the Force of them. I had proved his Suppofition of Infallibility to be evi-* dently falfe in Fadl, from many clear, unde- niable Inftances, and even from their great Heats and Contentions in the Council itfelf, before they could come to any Refolution, and from St. Pauh rejefting the Authority of this Council afterward, fo far as it related to the Ge?itiles, But the Author has confidered or cleared up none of thefe contrary Fadts, which ftand againft his Suppofition of Infal- libility, or unerring Guidance, fo far as I caii f:e ; and, I believe, I (hall never be able to fee it, or be fo far illuminated, unlefs I could ufe his Glaffes. I had obferved, that the Gift of Tongues, as mentioned in the New Tejiamcnt, feems to have been only a preternatural Impetus, or Efflatus, which many of the firfi: Difciples were fub- jed; to at certain Times, and that they had 3 ^^ inconfiftent with Theocracy. 327 no natural, common Ufe of Reafon, or Un- derftanding, while they were under this Pow- er of the Spirit, or in thefe talktjig Fits. This has given our Author very great and grievous Offence. " Here he puts off all Difguife,^ " and does all that is in his Power to expofe *^ Chriftianity, and the Proofs of it, to the " Scorn and Derifion of Mankind,'* p. 321. But I think it is fuch Defenders of the Faith as this, who betray and expofe Chriftianity by putting it on a wrong Footing, and falfe Proof. If I fliould expofe and fet afide fonie falfe Suppofitions and Whims of School Di- VtJiity^ by Scripture Authority^ I hope Chrif- tianity could lofe nothing by this ; but Truth muft always fuffer by fuch Advocates. 'Tis very remarkable, that this Writer cannot contradiifl me, without arguing diredly a- gainft Fafts, rejecting the plain Scripture Ac- count of Matters, and thereby throwing off that very Authority, which he would make infallible. I had fuppofed, that there were one hundred and twenty, or thereabout, who were prefent at xiiisPentecoJl, or Defcent of the Holy Ghoft. But there is no Proofs faith he, that there were one hundred mid twenty^ upon whom the Holy Ghojl fell on the Day of Pentecoft 5 or^ if there were, that all the hundred and twenty fpoke at once^ p. 323. There were about one hundred and twenty, when they all came from the Mount of Olives to Jerufilem, and went up into an upper^ Chamber -, and all thefe con- Y 4 tinued 328 Su perdition and Tyranny tinued in Prayer and Supplication, &c. Ads i. 12, 13, 14. And when the Day of Pe?2- fecofi was come, all thefe were together in one and the fame Place, ABs ii. i. But whe- ther they now all fpoke together, or divided themfelves into diftipd: Companies, while they were thus impreffed and aftuated, is not very material ; but 'tis plain, that the Company a- bout them knew nothing of what they would be at, what they were talking off, or what the Meaning fliould be. And, therefore, fome wondered, and thought it a very extraordina- ry Thing, the wonderful Works of God, while others laughed, and thought them all drunk and intoxicated with new Wine, till Feter^ when the reft were out of the Fit, flood up, and in an intelligible, confiftent Difcourfe, told them the Meaning and Occafion of all this. And if thefe hundred and tvventy had been now for ten Days and Nights under the deepeft Secrecy for their Lives, fafting and praying in one Place, or for as much of the Time as they could keep awake, 'tis no Won- der, that fomething extraordinary fhould hap- pen to them at laft. I think I had prov'd from St. PauH Account of this Gift of Tongues at Cormth, that they who were un- der this Power of the Spirit, were not compos mejjtis, or in the right Ufe of tlieir Senfes, at that Time ; that this was a Gift not tend- ing to Inftruftion or Edification, but of very ill Confequence; and^ therefore, the Apofdc exhorts incondftent with Theocracy. 329 exhorts them not to covet or leek it, but ra- ther to ftudy and cuhivate the hejl Gifts, and fuch as might tend to Edificatioru And here, inftead of minutely following this Writer through his little Shifts and Evaiions, I (liall refer the Reader to St. Paiih own Account of the Matter, in the fourteenth Chapter of his firft Epiftle to the Corinthians, which I had confidered and reprefented before. And when this Writer can make any Thing more of it than I have, I fhall talk with him again, if he calls me to it. It is very plain, that they fpoke vvhat they could not interpret; and if they fpoke what they underftood, might they not have interpreted it, or fpoken it in the common Language ? And how was it pofli- ble, that they who knew not what was fpoken, fhould know whether it was Senfe, or Nonfenfe } Jf I pray in a Jirajige Tongue, faith the Apoftle, my Spirit prayeth, but my Underftanding is not profited or informed, Verje 14. What is it then, I will pray with the Spirit, but I will pray with the Under- standing alfo', I will frig with the Spirit, but I will Jing with Understanding alfo^ Verfe 15. This was a very fevere Rebuke, and a very plain Proof, that the Spi?'it and XJnderJlanding with them did not go together, and had no Connexion. St. Paul, indeed, thanks God, that he could fpeak with Tongues more than all of them; and he might very well thank God for it, becaufe he 330 Superftition and Tyranny he could fpeak different Languages with XJnderftanding, and they could not. He could fpeak intelligibly, to Men of different Nations and Languages, without Muttering, Grumbling, Trumpeting, Piping, (3c. as they did with ilrange Voices, inftead of intelligi* ble Speech. As to the Differences between St. Peter and Paul, or between the Apoflles and Teachers of the Circumcifion and Uncircumcifion, ancl St. PauH declaring, that he had received his ewn Gentile Go/pel from God by Revelation, without concerting, or advifing with Peier^ or any of the Circumcifion 5 that he alone had been appointed the Apoflle of the Gen- tiles, and that they of the Circumcifion had no Right or Authority to intermeddle, or dif- turb his Miniflry in thofe Churches; I have faid fo much to all this already, that I fhall take no Notice of this Writer's httle Cavils, or pe- remptory Affertions to the contrary, in his eleventh Chapter. He very confidently avers, that there was a perfedt Harmony between Peter and Paul, and no Difference between the Circumcifion and Uncircumcifion in thefe Matters; and that what I have offered to the contrary, is mere FiSlion and Forgery, I muft leave this to the Judgment of the Reader, af- ter what has been faid on both Sides , for I am almofl weary of contending with a Cham- pion, that will fing I'e Deum when he has been routed. I am willing, likewife, to leaye him inconfiftent with Theocracy. 331 him in Poffeffion of the Apocalypfe, fince a very learned Brother of his has fo clearly ex- plained it ', and fince the Book too is fo very plain and exprefs for a fifth Monarchy, or temporal Kingdom of Chrift at 'Jeritjalcm^ which, as this Writer has aflTured us, did not (enter into the Character of the prophetic Mefliah. And thus he may fee, that I do not defire more Words than ordinary with him about Things of little Confequence, and which do not aftedl the main Points in De- bate. I had often called upon him to give an In- ftance of any Adt of legal Obedience, or any Fine, Mulcfl, or Penalty, which the Law re- quired, and from which a Man might be ex- empted by Sacrifice. And yet he fays, p. 348, He had Jhewed^ that in Cafes where Sacrifices ivere appointed to be offered^ a Man was always exempted from any Fine^ MulB^ or Penalty ; that the Sacrifice under that Confiitiition was always fuppofed to avert the Penalty^ which would otherwife have bee?! due. But I had as often proved, that in fuch Cafes the Sacrifice itfelf was the only Fine, Muldl, or Penalty, which the Law required 5 and, therefore, this being paid, and the Law fatisfied by Obedi- ence, nothing could be pardoned. One would think this {hould be vifible enough, that Of- fering or Paying in a Sacrifice, which was the only legal Fine, could be no more Atonement pr Remiflion, than any other AcS of Obe- dience 332 Superftition and Tyranny dience to the Law. But our Author is in great Diftrefs for fome Inftance or other of real Propitiation and Remiffion under the Law, which yet, if he would rack himfelf to Death, he cannot find. He wanted here fome Pretence or other of Juftification, A- tonement, and Remiffion by Sacrifice under the Law, which he might have applied to Chrift, and the Imputation of his Righte- oufnefs. But if we fliould hear from him no more, till he can produce and clear up fuch a Cafe in the Law, I prefume we can have little Hope of ever hearing from him again. What the Author has offered in this, and his other Book, in Defence of his Dodtrinc of Satlsfadion, redundant Merit, or imputed Righteoufnefs, appears to me fo exceedingly weak and jejune, that I fhall not trouble thb Reader any farther about it. He thinks he has fully and clearly anfwered all my Argu- ments and Objedlions on this Head, and I am willing to give him, and others who can take it, that Pleafure flill. I know of no one learned Man within my Acquaintance, who has not thrown off this Dodlrine, or who would now undertake the Defence of it. And I believe our Author would find but very few fuch learned Advocates, who would fecond him, among his own Acquaintance. But, however that be, I am content to refl this Part of the Argument intirely upon what ha^ been already faid on both Sides, I inconfiPient with Theocracy. 333 I had given, as I thought, fome very plain Marks and Charad:erill:icks of Impofture ia the Mojaic Conftitution ; and the Author con- cludes his prefent Work with a pretended An- fwer to thofe fair Characters. He tell us, p. 352, " As to Mojess own Family, I think, *' he gave the greateft Proof of his Di/in- *' terejlednefs^ and how far he was from any ^' worldly, ambitious Views; fince notwith- " ftanding his vaft Authority and Intereft " with the People, though he left two Sons, *^ he did not raife either of them, or their *' Children, t3 any Dignity at all, but left ** them to continue undiftinguifhed among " the common Levites, whofe Bufinefs was " only to minifter about the Sandluary, in " inferior Offices under the Priefts/' But I doubt our Author, as a Piece of true Hijiory^ has here given us a mere Fi5lion of his ow?j. That Mojes had two Sons living, or any liTue or Defcendent from them, when he died, is not faid ; and the contrary is exceeding pro- bable, and almoft certain, from the Story it- felf. ^ When Mofes firft came into Egypt, he had a {harp Controverfy and Quarrel with his Wife about the Circumcifion -, and the Wo- man being forced to circumcife the Son (he then had with her, was in a great Rage -, (lie caft the Forelkin at Mojes\ Feet, and faid, Surely a very bloody Hujband haft thou been to me\ and this (he doubled and repeated, to fliew her deep Refentment : Upon this Mofes parted 334 Superftition and Tyranny parted with her^ and fent her away with hef Son into Midian again. See Exod, iv. 24, 25. compared with Chap,x\m. i, 2, 3, 4. As foon as Mofes came into the Wiidernefs, or at the Beginning of their Marches and Decamp- ments, Mofes having parted with his firit Wife, and fent her away to her Father, took to an Ethiopian Woman for his Wife, which highly provoked Aaron^ and Miriam his Sif- ter, as it well might; for this was certainly contrary to the Pradtice of all the Hebrew Pa- triarchs from the Beginning, and to Mofes*% own Law afterward. What* became of this Ethiopian Woman afterwards, or whether Mofes had any Children by her, is not faid ; but 'tis moft probable, that he now parted with her too. For this whole Story, and how fure God was to be always on Mojes's Side, though in ever fo fcandalous a Matter, the Reader may turn to Numb, xii. That Mofes s parting with his firft Wife, while in Egypty and fending her Home to her Father, was a Divorce, and that he hereby difclaimed the Woman, and her Children, is plain enough from all the Circumftances of the Story. For though Jethro^ with his Daughter, and her two Sons, came to pay Mofes a Vifit foon after his Arrival in the Wiidernefs, yet after a fhort Stay they went back again, and we never hear of them more. But Mofs^ before he died, took Occafion to quarrel with the Mic/ianites, and to de- ftroy inconfi Aent with Theocracy. 335 ftroy and plunder the whole Nation, faving none, great or fmall, but fuch of the Wo- men who had not known Man. The Booty from this general Slaughter, which came to the Camp, befides what the Lord had refcrv- ed to himfelf, amounted to fix hundred fe- venty five thoufand Sheep, feventy two thou- fand Beeves, fixty one thoufand Afl!es, and thirty two thoufand Women that had not known Man, befides a vaft Bociy in Gold, Jewels, Ear-Rings, and other very rich and coftly Ornaments. The Reader will find this Story at large, with the vile Pretence for fjch a bloody and moft inhuman Slaughter, in Numb, xxxi. This was the Country in which Mofes had been fuccoured, nouriflied, and ge- neroufly treated forty Years ; from which he had taken his Wife, and who muft now have periftied with her Children, and the whole Family, as many of them as were now re- maining. And now I hope I have furnifhed our Author with a very clear Inftance of the'perfed: DiJintereflednefSy Gratitude^ human Cotnpajjion^ and natural Affection of his divhte Conqueror, And this, perhaps, may be a bet- ter Reafon than the Author had given, why fo cruel and blood-thirfty a Man was not fuf- fered to live in his Pofl:erity, or furvive him- felf in his IflTue. He pretends, p, 154, That the Levita were difperfed thus up and down, to teach and inftruct the People in the moral Law, and to 336 Supeiftition and Tyranny to keep them to their Duty to God and thei> Neighbour; and he talks of them, as if Mojes had appointed Synagogues and Places of Worfliip up and down, where the People might refort to them as Preachers and Teachers of the Law ; but this is i^ll mere Ficflion. They were intended, undoubtedly, to keep the Peo- ple ftridt and fteady to the Law of Tithes^ Dues, and Offerings ; and this they were well fitted for, and enabled to do, not only by In- tereft, but by their Situation. However the People might obey the moral Law, of which the Civil Magiftrates and Judges were to tokt Cognizance, the Levites would certainly take Care, that nothing flipt their own Hands, and that the Priefthood was not cheated ; and 'tis very evident, that they were fet as Watch- men and Guardians, not for the People, but for ih^ fpiritual Lords, I had urged, that Mofes had no Law pro- vidijig any Penalty for Drunkennefs. He might declaim againft this, or any other Vice, as a Prophet or Preacher of Rightcoufncfs, but he enadted no Law againft it as a Law- giver; and this Writer has not been able to inftance it in any fuch penal, political Law of Mofes, The Text he refers to, Deut. xxi. 20, 21. relates to the Law of Difobedience to Pa- rents, and the Parents here were to be the Profecutors of their own Child. And in this Cafe, an Ad: of Contempt, and Difobedience to Parents, was capital, and to be punilhed with 1.. Death, inconfiftent with Theocracy. 337 Death, whether itwasforDrunkennefs, Cards, Dice, Dancing, or* any Thing clie ; but if the Parents had been the Drunkards, neither the Son, nor any one elle, could have brought them before the Magiftrate, or punilhed them for it in Law. But the Author, to have made this Cafe to his Purpofe, fliould have proved, that Drunkennefs, by the Law of Alojes, was •'to be punifhed with Death ; or that the Law had provided any other Punilhment for this Vice ; but this he could not dcv. In the next Place, he endeavours to vindi- cate Mo/es from allowing, or indulging by his Law, Polygamy, Concubinages, and arbitrary Divorces. I had argued, that there was no Reftridion or Limitation by this Law againft any Man's keeping as many Wives and Con- cubines as he pleafed, and then turning them away, and taking new ones, as he thought fit; and this muft ftand good again, fince he has produced nothing to the contrary. He obferves, p. 356, That Mahomet limit- ed' the Number of Wives to four, beyond which a Man could not be indulged. But MoJ'es had no fuch Reftridion or Limita- tion; and, therefore, by his own Account, Mofes muft have left a greater Liberty or In- dulgence to carnal Concupifcence, than Ma- hornet. He faith, Mofes ftridly prohibited all Whoredoms, Rapes, and Mens inticing and debauching Maids, and then deferting them. But what then ? Mojh might forbid Z fuch 338 Superftition and Tyranny fuch Things as Afts of natural Injuftice and Violence, and yet allow Men to keep as ma- ny Wives and Concubines as they pleafed. But when this Writer can fay nothing to the Purpofe, he cannot help expofing himfelf by Impertinence. Inftead of clearing Mofes from what I had charged upon him, he gives fe- veral Inftances, in which he thinks Mahomet gave greater carnal Indulgences than Mofes. I muft own, that I am not of his Opinion in this Cafc) but that is not the prefent Queftion. With Regard to Divorcement, it is evident from the Law which he quotes, Deut. xxiv. I 4. That this was a Man's own arbitra- ry AQ. ; if he did not like, or could not love his Wife, he might write her a Bill of Di- vorce, and turn her away -, and the Woman, in this Cafe, could have no Hearing, or Re- medy by Law, how much foever flie might have been abufed. As to the Word Unclean^ nefs^ or Filthinefs, which is here ufed, it muft fignify any Thing which the Hulband did not like, and of which he alone was to judge; for had {he been guilty of carnal Uncleannefs^ or defiling his Bed, he could not have di- vorced her, and fet her at Liberty, but fhe muft have been put to Death. Thus is this poor Gentleman driven to the hardeft Shifts, and almoft preffed to Death with the Weight of his divine Authority. But with Regard to the 'Trial of Jealoufy^ he makes worfe of it, if poffible, than of all inconfiftent with Theocracy. 339 all the reft. He faith, p. 364, That by the unanimous Confent of all the Jewifh Writ- ers^ before a Man could put his Wife upon this Trial, he was obliged to produce Wit- nefles, that he had given her Warning before, and often declared the Caufe or Reafon of his Jealoufy. But, by the unanimous Confent of ^ all the Jewifli Writers^ this Author under- ftands nothing of Mofes^ or the Prophets ; which I could prove againft him, were it ne- ceflary, from their Authority. I was arguing from the Law as it ftands, and what the na- tural Confequences of it might be, with Re- fpedl to the Power of the Prieft \ and he has not been able to refute, or fet afide one Word of it. I had {hewn the plaineft Marks of Impofture, and a Cheat in the Cafe ; and he cannot prove the contrary. And if our good Chriftian Women had not a great deal of Pa- tience, they would tear a Man to Pieces, who fhould maintain fuch a Law as of divine Au- thority, But I have now done with this Writer for the prefent, and till I receive his farther Commands. CONCLUSION. THE Reverend Mr. Lowman, in his Book, intitled, A Dijfertation on the Civil Governmmt of the Hebrews, goes all Z 2 ' along 340 Superftition and Tyranny along upan the common Suppofition, that this Government was a Theocracy, and of immediate, divine Inftitution^ in which God himfelf condelcended to be their King, or ci- vil Sovereign. This, with many others who had gone before him^ he has taken up as granted, and argued from it without Proof, or fo much as attempting to prove it againft thofe who deny it. He has endeavoured, in- deed, by the Bye, to anfwer fome Objedtions which had been brought againft it on the other Side. And here it is, that he has done me the Honour to take a particular Notice of me, as the Author of the Moral Philofopher, As to what he has offered concerning the Di- vifion of the Tribes, and their Government, under their civil and military Courts, I have nothing to do with it. He has given us many Things out of Dr. Spencer^ and other Authors, which, for ought I know, might be worth collecSling and putting together in a fmall Compafs. But he has attacked me very warmly, and with great AfTurance of Suc- cefs, in relation to the Computations which I had made of their fpiritual Revenues, or the feveral Tithes, Dues, and Offerings paid in to the Lord^ who, it feems, was the King of that Country, and kept his Court up and down in the Tabernacle. But as I have fuffi- ciendy confidered this already, I need fay no more of it here. The incon{iftent with Theocracy. 341 The Author, in computing the propor- tional Share of the Spiritualty in Land, niea- ibres only the open Fields, without the Walls, which was 2000 Cubits every Way from the Walls without. But he takes no Notice of the Ground, the Towns and Cities flood upon within the Walls, as if this made no Part of the Dimenfions of the Country ; but as their Towns and Cities were fome of the heft and largeft in the Lund, lefs than 1000 Cubits fquare cannot be allowed within the Walls ; and fome of their very large Cities, fuch as Hebron, muft have been much more. The Author's Number, there- fore, 52840 Acres, being increafed, as the Square of 5 to 4, or as 25 to 16, his Area of 52840 Acres will be 82562 fuch Acres; and this is the thirty fixth Part of three Millions, their whole Quantity of Ground. And, therefore, this Tribe, who were not more than a fortieth. Part of the People, muft have been richer in Lands, than an-y other Tribe, in Proportion to their Number. All thefe Meafures have been taken by the common, antient Cubit of the Egyptians^ Greeks and Romans, between which there was but very little Difference ; and the Ifrae- lites had taken all their common Weights, Meafures, and Computations of Time from Eg'Jpt, But if thefe Hebrews had their dou- . Z 3 blc 342 Superftition and Tyranny ble Cubit too, when they meafured any Thing for the Lord^ as they had their double She- kel, and Talent, when they payed the Lord in Money, the Levitical Share of the Lands would be then double to what was before affigned. Befides, it muft be confidered, that thele fpiritual Lords had the largeft, beft, and richeft of the Cities and Towns which had been then conquered, and in Poffeffion, while the Community of the other Tribes lived as Villagers in the open Country. And as they were feldom out of War, their other Tribes muft have lived a great Part of their Time in Tents and Camps in the open Fields, and have fuffered all the Hardfliips and Fatigues of fuch a Life; while their fpiritual Lords lived at Eafe, pampering themfelves with their Wives and Concubines in their rich Cities, and with all the delicate Provifions of the fpi- ritual Court ; and thus the poor, blinded, en- flaved Laity muft feed and fatten them with the Sweat of their Brows. But the Author, p. io8. tells us. That " in " a foregoing Computation of the Contents ^* of the promifed Land, it appeared, that at *' a large Computation, it contained nineteen " Millions two hundred thoufand Acres; at ^' a mean Computation, fourteen Millions *' nine hundred twenty fix thoufand; and " at the loweft Computation, eleven Millions ** two hundred and fixty four thoufand. This ** would inconfiftent with Theocracy. 34.3 " would allow a large Remainder for publick " Ufes, near twenty three Times as much as *' all the Levitical Cities amounted to." No doubt but he might make Room enough for the other Tribes too, fome where or other in Afia^ fo as that Levi might not have been burdenfome to them, if they had not en- croached farther. He might have extended the promifed Land, from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, fix hundred Miles in Length, and from the Borders of the Wildernefs thro' all Philijiia, and Phoenicia or Zidojiia^ to the City Sidon^ two hundred Miles in Breadth ; and then have concluded, that the other Tribes had above fourteen thoufand Times more than the Levites had for their Share. But the Mifchief of it was, that the Spiritu- alty had all their Share in prefent, aftual Pof- feffion ; whereas the other Tribes had theirs only in Hope, and in the mean while were fent out a grazing, to encamp in the Fields on all neceflary Occafions, and to get their Allotment afterward, as well as they could, by the Sword. Other learned Men, in computing the Set- tlements of the Ifraelites in Canaan, have only taken in that Part of the Country which they actually conquered and poffefled, with- out including thofe other Parts, which .were three Times as much, which they only plead- ed an imaginary Right to, but could never inherit. And then, as to that Part of the Z 4 inland. 344 Superftition and Tyranny inland, mountainous Country, which they broke in upon, 'tis plain, that they had never the Whole of it; for there were great Numbers of the feveral Tribes, or Nations of the antient Canaanltes^ who were ftill left among, and had Settlements with them, Xo prove and to try them^ becaufe they could not drive them out. If the learned Author will be fo good as to make thefe neceflary Allowances, he will find, that my Computation of the Landed Intereft of hevi^ or the Hebrew Spiritualty, is not at all exorbitant in my own Favour, But if he will take the Liberty tQ enlarge their Borders at Pleafure, he may, with Dr, heland^ extend the promifed Land to the Eu- phrates^ and take in '^Arabia and Syria \ but had I an Eftate to meafure, I (hould will- ingly take this Gentleman as my Surveyor, if he could make five or fix Times more of it than it really was. But the Author having given, as he aflTures, a jufl: ^nd true Computation of the Levitical Share in the Lands, and declared, that this was not a hundredth Part of the Whole, pre- fently comes to perplex himfelf, and the Read- er, about thofe Dimenfions which he had fet- tled before. For in Numb. xxxv. it is faid, in the fourth Verfe, the Suburbs of the Cities, meafuring from the Wall outward, fhould be looo Cubits round about ^ or on every Side. And yet in the next Verfe, they arp ordered inconiiftent with Theocracy. 345 ordered to meafure from the Wall outwards 2000 Cubits, which is a manifeft Contra- didion, fuppofing the Meafure to be taken both the fame Way from the Wall out- ward. And, therefore, we muft fuppoie, that the 2000 Cubits were from the Wall outward , to the Boundaries of the . Sub- urbs; and the 1000 Cubits from the Wall inv/ards, to the Centre or Middle of the City. And thus the half Side of the whole Area, including City and Suburbs, would have been 3000 Cubits, and the Side of the Area 6000 Cubits fquare. But to make two Stations, one from the Wall, and the other from the Centre of the City, when both are ordered to be taken from the Wall, is very abfurd. In this Cafe, it is but to mend the Text, by putting inward for out- ward from the Wall in the fourth Verfe, and then the Whole will be very clear and intelli- gible, But the Author's Criticifm does not only alter a Word, but the whole Senfc, in making two different Stations, without giving the leaft Notice of it. Upon this Suppofi- tion, which, I think, is the faireft and moft natural, the Sides will be increafed as 3 to 2, and the Areas as the Squares of thofe Numbers, or as 9 to 4, which would bring the Author's 52840, to 1 18890 Acres. I ihall now compute, as exad:ly as I can, the whole Extent of this Country, according to 34^ Superftition and Tyranny to the lateft and moft corred: Account of it, and which I take to be that of Mr. JVhiJ{o?is^ corrected from Jofephus ; and this being done, I (hall throw out all that belonged to the Phi- lijlinesy Zidonians^ and Canaanites of the fouth- ern Plains, who kept their Ground, and were never difpoflefs'd by the Ifraelites. Sihor, or the River of Egypfy bounds Ca- naan to the South, in Latitude 31^ 10'. Zi- don bounds to tlie North, Latitude 33° 50'. The Difference of Latitude is 2° 40'. or 160 geographical Miles, which is very nearly 180 Englijh ftatute Miles, the exaft Pro- portion being as 22 to 25. The Breadth, tak- ing in the whole Country, is not much dif- ferent from one End to the other 5 tho' with Refpeft to that Part which the IJraelites con- quered, and poffeffed, the Breadth was vaft- ly different. From Old Tyre to Dariy the longitudinal Line in the North is 64 Miles. The longitudinal Line, which paffes through yerufalem^ in Latitude 32°. is the longefl of all, and 84 Miles. At the River Sthor^ in the South, from the Mediterranean ' to the Defart of Kadijhbarneay and the Con- fines of Idumea^ is 60 Miles; and the fame Diflances hold in all the longitudinal Lines drawn from any Port of the Mediterranean to the Defart, on the Wefl Side of the Salty or Dead Sea. From thefe Menfurations, any one who will look on the Map may fee, that inconfiftent witli Theocracy. 347 that this whole Country of Canaan, or Pa- kjiiney may be confidered as 180 Miles in Length, and 70 in Breadth, between the Mediterranean on the Weft, and the River Jordan and the Dead Sea on the Eaft -, and then 180 into 70, gives 12600 fquare Miles for the Area, or Content of the whole Country. * Philijlia and Zidonia contained all the Sea-Coafts of the Mediief^ranean^ from Z/- don to the River Zidon^ or 180 Miles, the whole Length of Canaan, Zido?iia^ from the Mediterranean to the Extremity of the Anti'hebanan Mountains, was 40 Miles. In the Latitude of Jerufalem^ the Breadth of Philijlia^ from AJkalon on the Mediterra- nean^ to Gorth^ a noted frontier Town of the Philijli?2es, juft on the Edge of the Amor tie Mountains, was 30 Miles; and this is the Breadth of Philijlia and Zidonia, in the moft foutherly Parts of BeerJJ^eba, to the Philijline Sea. Philijlia, therefore, and Zidonia, or all the Sea-Coafts, for 180 Miles in Length, and 30 in Breadth, contained 5400 fquare Miles. Then from Beerjljeba in Latitude 31° 27', to the Edge of the Wildernefs fouthwards, in Latitude 3 1°, was 27 geographical Miles, or 32 EngliJJj nearly, which multiplied by 70, the common Breadth, give 2240 fquare Miles ; and this was poffefled by the Ca- ttaanites of the Southern Plains, which the IJi-ae^ 34^ Superflition and Tyranny IJraelites could never drive out. And this 2240 added to the 5400 before, as the Con- tent of Philijlia and Zidonia^ make 7640 fquare Miles. This, which the IJraelites ne- ver conquered, or had in Poffeffion, is to be fubtradted from the 12600 fquare Miles, the Content of the whole Land, and the Re- mainder 4960 will be that Part of Canaan which the IJraelites poiTeffed in Canaan^ pro- perly fo called, or the Weft Side of Jor- dan, and the Dead Sea, between that and the Mediterra7iean. But they had two Tribes and a half fettled on the Mountains, on the Eaft- ern or Arabian Side of Jordan, and who had gained Settlements there among the Ammo- nites and Moabites. I fliall fuppofe their Ex- tent of Lands here to be proportional to what it was in proper Palejiine, or Canaan^ as 2 i to 9 t, or as 5 to 19 : And then as 19 to 5, fo is 4960 to 1305, or 13 10, to give a little, and keep in round Numbers \ which 13 10 added to 4960, will give 6270, for the whole Area, or Quantity of Land inherit- ed by the IJraelites on both Sides Jordan^ This 6270 fquare Miles, make 4012800 A- cres; which divided by 1 18890, the Quantity of irovV/V^/ Lands, as before, will give a 33** Part to the Levites on the general Landed In- tereft, when they were but a 40^^ Part, at moft, of the People; and, therefore, furply, they had not only equal Landed Interefl: on hijQfi this inconfiftent with Theocracy. 349 this Computation, but the Balance was very much in their Favour. No Map of Carman, or the Ijraelites Set* tlenients on both Sides of J or dan ^ has ever obferved or inferted full 480 Cities, Tov^ns, or Places in all, of one Sort or other, great or fmall, fenced or open \ and of thefe, as the Ijraelites never had more than one Half of the '' Country, they could have but one Half of the Towns and Cities, which would not exceed 240, of which 48 is the fifth Part. And, therefore, fuppoiing no Favour had been given to the Lord in this Divifion, and that the Levites Cities and Towns had been no better than the reft, a fifth Part of the In- tereft, to a fortieth Part of the People, would have given them a Landed Intereft in Ground Rents, and Building, fuperior to the other Tribes, at the Rate of 8 to i ; and eve- ry one knows, how vaftly the Profits upon fuch Rents exceed what can be made of the iarae Quantity of Land in common Pafture, or Tillage, which may be 100, or 1000, or even loooo to one; and, therefore, 'tis plain, that whoever had the Lands in Ijrael, the Spi- ritualty, Hierarchy, or Theocracy, were the Landlords. And this may ferve to fettle the Account between the Clergy and Laity of Ifrael^ with Regard to the Profits arifing fromi Ground-Rents and Buildings. I fliall now confider how the Cafe ftood with Levi^ in Refped; to the whole national Property, 350 Superftition and Tyranny property, or Produce, upon all the Labour. And here I (hall cut the Argument as (hort as poflible with this Author 3 becaufe he feems to underftand Matters of this Nature better than fome others of his Character, and has been fo kind as to dip into Calculations. That the Tribe of Levi^ or Spiritualty of Ifrael^ had the Tenths of every Thing in Kind, as of Grafs, Corn, Wine, Oil, Sheep, Cattle, &c, is well known. They had like- wife the firft-born Males of Man and Beaft, which were either to be paid in Kind, or to be redeemed with Money, or fome Equiva- lent, when they were not to be offered in Sacrifice. I had fuppofed, that taking it at an Average, either in the human or brutal Kind, one in five would be a firft-born Fe- male, and one in ten a firft-born Male, efpe- cially of the brutal Kind, where double or triple Births are fo common. I always under- ftood the fir ft that opened the Womb to be the firft Impregnation and Production, whe- ther one or more 5 for otherwife it would be next to impoflible in Beafts, that bring forth a Plurality, to know which came out firft, as in the Cafe of Jaakob and Ffau, Now this Firft-born of all the Males, of Man and Beaft, with the Redemption Money, or E- quivalent payable for Things not taken, or accepted in Sacrifice, could not be lefs than a Tenth of all the Labour and Produce on all the inconfiftent with Theocracy. 351 the Pafture-Lands, which I have fuppofed to be one Half. Befides thefe conflant, ftated, and general Dues and Offerings, there were a great Num- ber of occafional ones, of which the Cafes were very numerous, and often unavoidable. I (hall take all thefe at half a Tenth, or a Tenth on the Arable and Tillage Lands only, \vhich were the pooreft, and at the loweft Rents. Now this half Tenth, with the other of the Firft-born on the Pafture, will be a Tenth on all the Lands, which with the firft general Tenth on Corn, Wine, Oil, Sheep, Cattle, &c. will be two Tenths, or a Fifth, This Tribe then had not lefs than a Fifth of the whole national Property, or Whole of all the Lands and Labour of the Country 3 and this neat and free. Now I would leave it to any Farmer, or Occupier and Manurer of Lands to determine it for our Author, whether a Fifth of the neat Produce or Value of all the Lands, as annually arifing from the Labour, muft not, at the very loweft, be more than an annual Rent, as it might be five, ten, or even twenty fuch Rents, where the Produce is very rich, and the Labour of Raifing and Ma- nuring proportionally great. But the Tither, or fpiritual Lord, pays nothing for Labour ; and if the Land with great Labour, Expence, and Hazard, produces twenty annual Rents, he has four of them, or a fifth Part free and 3 neat. 35 2 Superflition and Tyranny neat, whatever it be. Now a fifth Part of the whole Property, or Produce on all the Lands and Labour given to a fortieth Part of the People, muft have made this fpiritual Body proportionally richer than any of the reft, at the Rate of 8 to i ; and this I had before proved to have been the Cafe, with Refpedt to their Property in Ground-Rents, and Buildings, even fuppofing the Levitical Towns and Cities to have been no larger, or better in Proportion, than the reft 5 which yet was not the Cafe. All over the Eaft, their Cities and Towns of Strength and Defence, had always Lands enough, within the Walls, to fupply the In- habitants with all NecefTaries of Life, with- out any Communication with the open Coun- try, fo as to enable them to hold out a Siege for many Years ; and if they were not fcaled, or ftormed, they could never be ftarved to a Surrender. And, therefore, the Produce of their own Lands upon the original Grant, both within the Walls, and without, muft have been fufficient to have abundantly fup- plied this whole Tribe, for their own Con- fumption ; and, therefore, the Fifth of the whole Produce of all the reft of the Country, which thefe fpiritual Lords receiv'd free, they muft fell again for Money, either to their own Subjefts, or Foreigners. And this muft have given them an Opportunity to drain all the inconfiftcnt with Theocracy. 353 the Money of the Nation into their own Coffers, which could then never iffue, or circulate back again. And the Lay-Tribes being thus kept down, and drained of their Money, could only deal with one another by Way of Barter, or exchanging one Commodity for another, and paying for all Labour with Goods in the Neceffaries of Life. ^ Under fuch a Conftitution, the Levitical Cities muft have been publick Fairs and Mar- kets, where their own People, or Foreigners in a Time of Scarcity, or on any common, regu- lar Demand, niight be fupply'd with all marketable Goods and Commodities. And what a Fund of Wealth and Power this muft have been, I may leave any one to judge. It muft be farther coilfidered, that this Ipiritual Tribe, or Hierarchy, Avere not limited by the original Grant, fo as never to in- creafe their Inheritance or Qiiantity of Lands. For though no Lay-man could fell or alienate his Inheritance to another, yet he might give as much as he pleafed of it to the hord^ and make it irredeemable for ever. And as thelc Gifts, or perpetual Grants to the Spiritualty, were look'd upon as highly meritorious and acceptable to the Lord, what Effe^fts might it not have produced, fuppofing the Tribes could, have made farther Conquefts, and the Projecft A a of 354 Superftition and Tyranny of univerfal Theocracy had taken EfFedt? What Ufe has been made of fuch a Domi- nion over Confcience, and blind Obedience of the People, in Popifli Countries, is very well known ; and, I believe, the Levitt cal Hierar^ £hy were not, and would not have been lefs attentive to their own Intereft than the Papal fpiritual Power, And 'tis fome what wonderful, what fhould make fome fpiritual Men now fo fond of fuch a State and Conftitution of Things, and fo very much concerned to de- fend it as divine, unlefs it is to (hew what Wealth and Power they (hould think fit, rea- fonable, and worthy of God, if they could but get it; or elfe, perhaps, it may be to make us the more thankful for our Happi- nefs, by letting us fee how much better a Hi- erarchy of human Eftablifhment is, than a divine one. I think it Is evident, from all the Books of Mojes, that the Hebrews had a Duality of di- vine Perfons, Beings, or Objedls of Adora- tion and Worfhip, the one inferior and fub- ordinate to the other. Befidcs Jehovah Elo- him, Jehovah El Shaddai^ the Lord God, the Lord God Abnighty, or the fiipream. God, they had the Angel Jehovah, or Jehovah the An- gel, who, tho' not the fame Being, aflumed the fame Name of Jehovah, as the prime Minilier^ and immediate Reprefentative of Jeho-^ ineonfiftent with Theocracy. 35^ Jehovah El Shaddai^ or the fupream, inde- pendent Being. Jehovah had been always the Hebrew Name of the fupteam, indepen- dent Being, from the firft Creation j but the prime, minifterial Angel, or the Angel of God's Prefence, had never aflumed the Name of Jehovah, or been known under this divine Character, till he appeared and fpake to T^ofes^ gave him a fpecial Commiffion as a Lawgiver, and entered into a peculiar Cove- nant and Relation as the God of that Nation, and the Guardian Protestor of that Polity only, and of no other Law, or civil Confli- tution upon Earth, then in being, or that ever was to be inftituted, or owned by him, in any Time to come. That this Angel of Jehovah, or Angel Jehovah, as it ought to be rendered, was not Jehovah El Shaddai, or the fupream God, is too plain to be difputed with any the leaft Appearance of Reafon. Jehovah, the God of Ifrael, was a local, circumfcrip- tive, vifible, and oracular God, who gave the Law by Mofes^ and who was ever to refide in that Nation, and to fupport that civil Polity, and no other. No other Nation, therefore, could be ever intitled to the Favour and Pro- tedtion of the God of Ifraely without fub- mitting to, and obeying the Law which he had given by Mofes. All Nations who would not fubjed: therafelves to this political Law A a 2 and 356 Superftitlon and Tyranny and Conftitution, were to be for ever rejeded and forfaken by the God of Ifrael^ or the Angel Jehovah, who being the prime Mi- nifter, Agent, and immediate Reprefentative of Jehovah Elohim^ or El Shaddai^ had deli- vered and confirmed the only Law, Prieft- hood, and Sacrifices that could ever be ac- cepted, or owned, by the fupream Being. This is what the whole Hebrew Nation ever underftood, from firft to laft^ nor is there any Jew now in the World, but ftill under- ftands it fo , and to do them Juftice, I think it is impoflible, in any fair Senfe or Con- ftrudtion, to underftand it otherwife. I muft therefore leave our learned Author to confider farther, whether this was not a national, tutelar, refidential God, and whe- ther fuch a Scheme of Government muft not have been defigned and calculated for uni- verfal Empire and Dominion, or to enflave all Mankind to this Nation ? This is cer- tainly a Matter of very great Importance, and if the Author has a Mind to enter deeper into it, and to have it fairly and farther can- vafied and enquired into, I fliould be very glad and ready to join liTue with him. But if he iliould think fit to do this, I hope he will keep ftridlly to the Nature and origi- nal Conftitution of the Law itfelf, and not barely fhew his Reading, by amufing us with inconfiftent with Theocracy. 357 with the different Opinions and Conftruc- tions of modem Writers -, which would fig- nify no more with me, than if without any farther Authority or Reafon he was to give us his own Opinion. IN- INDEX. A J RON, of his making the golden Calf 67, 221 Jhrahamic Covenant diilind from the Law of Mo- fa 2091 Abram, whether he had any Defign at firft of fettling in Ca- naan 25 . He goes down into Egypt, and denies his Wife there 26. Returns into Canaan 27. Of the Promife of Canaan to him and his Pofterity 28, 38, 63. An Account of the divine Appearances to him 88. At firft in Dreams 88, 89. His Name changed tn Abraham (^o. His enter- taining three Angels 91. Of his Defign of facrificing his Son 96. The judgment we are to make of that Affair 97, What was the Reformation he introduc'd 105, 106. Whether the Promife of Canaan to him, as recorded by l/bfes, was ever made good 229, ^c. 272. The Affair of his offering up his Son farther confidered 268, ^c. Ahab and the four hundred Prophets 303, 304. His Idolatry compar'd with that of Jeroboam and Jehu 312, 313 Amakkiiesy the Battle between them and the Ifraelites 62, 63 Angel of the Lord, never called Jehovah (a Name peculiar to the Divine Being) till Mo/es's Time ^ 314, 35^ Anp-els worfliipM by the Hebrew Patriarchs, as local, tutelar ' Gods 85. An Ihftance of it in Jacob 87. It afterwards gave Rife to Idolatry 99,214,319 Apoilles of the Circumcifion, State of the Cafe between them and the ApoiUe Paul, and whether both could be in- fallible .. 244i 245, 325, 330 Authority and P^eafon, the Difference between them 126, ' 127. Of divine Authority founded upon human Authori- ty 134. Ol receiving Truth by Authority 145 Z B INDEX. B BALAAM, a bad Man tho' a Prophet 305 Benjamitesy of the Slaughter of them and the Ifraelites^ in Confequence of the Oracle 298 Biblical Hillory, the Confequences of its being deem'd in- fallible 140 Book, that none can prove itfelf, or Ihould be admitted upon its own Authority 5, 298 CANAAN, whether the Ifraelites had any Thought at firfl Ki^ fettling there 24, 25. Of its being promis'd to Abraham 28, 38, 63, 89, 90. Of the bloody Conqueft of it, and whether it could be by divine Commiflion and Authority 179 — 184. Whether the Promife of it to Abra- ham, as recorded by Mofes, was erver made good 229, d3*r. 272. Mr. Lo^maii^ Method of computing its Contents 342, 344. And that of other learned Men 343. The Author's Computation 345, ^c. Ceremonial Law, a blinding, enflaving Conilitution 1 84, 1 85, 210. St. Paul's Opinion of it after his Converfion 251, 252. Whether there was any Pardon or Remiflion of any legal Offence under it, and confequently any real Atone- ment 256, 331. Of its indulging human Sacrifices, as free- will Offerings 267 Chrift, that his Commiflion, while living, extended only to the JewiJ^ Nation 186. That his Difciples miftook him, in expedling a temporal Kingdom 188, 203. Of his dif- claiming the McfTiahfhip 189. Of his being forcM to ac- commodate hinifelf, in great Meafure, to the Temper and Prejudices of the People 191. Of the End and Defign of his Miracles 19;, 196, 198. Of his being born of a vir- gin 197. Of his Brethren not believing in him 204, 205 Chriftians, the Idolatry they fell into 108. How they perfe- cuted one another 109 Conftellations, the Figures of thtm, the firfl Rife of Images loo,^ 101 Cutaneous FoulnefTcs, the Ifraelites fubjc<5l to them 74, 75 A a 4 D INDEX, p DARKNESS, the Plague of ^ ^ 50 Dai'idy of the Prophecy concerning the Perpetuity of his Kingdom 305, 306 Deify'd Men and Women, the Rife of 102, 103 Drunkennefs, no Pei^^y for it by the Law of Mofes 336 EGTPT, how it became the Mother and Nurfe of Super- ftition 21,. 22. Natural Magic carried to a great Height there 43, 99. Its iirft Idolatry loi. Its later Ido- latry 102 Egyptiansy how enflav'd by Jofeph 18, 19, 20. Struggles be- tween them and the Iftaelites 22, 23, 33. Whether it was their Defign to keep them there, or utterly to deftroy them 33, 34, 53, 54. Whence it was that the common People among them favoured their Efcape 55> 5^ EIH Sons, their Debauchery 308 FACTS, natural and fupernatural, the different Degrees of Evidence to make them credible 140, 141, i6o, 31Q Faith of Healing 200 Famine in Bgyft, how it came to laft fo long 19 Firfl-born, of their Redemption 268 Flies, the Plague of 46 Fortrefies and Strong-holds, what was probably the firfl In- flance of them 13 Free-will Offerings to the Priells, where Superllition prevails, may be very burdcnfome 295. An InJlance of this in our own Country, before the Reformation ihid. And in France 295, 296 % GENEALOGIES of Matiheto and Luke 196, 197 Gift of Tongues " 326, 328 God, of the Elders of Jfrael (et'ing him 65, 66. Of his ap- pearing to Abraham 88, l^c. Of his other Appearances 216 ^ God INDEX. God of Ifraely whether the popular, local, oracular God of Ihaely was the true God 2 1 1 Golden Calf, the Cafe of 67, 221 Grafshoppers, the Plague of 48, 49 H HAGARzxi^. Sarah, their Story go Hail, the Plague of 47, 48 Heathen Moralills 151, 210 H^f^rw Hiflorians, their Manner of Writing 41, 178, 219, ^ 220, 270, 272. Their Errors and Inconfiftences 249. They reprefent God as commanding and efFeding what he only permits in the Courfe of Providence 302 hehre^M Patriarchs worfhip'd Angels, as their Guardians and Proteftors '^^y %"], But did not admit of Image Worfhip 105 Hebreinj Phrafeology, the Ground of it, and how it came to be a- bufed to Superftition and Enthufiafm 93, 94, 95, 96,270, 272 Jiehrenjo Shepherds, an Account of their firft Defcent into £- g;^ft 6, 14. Their Settlement there 15. The Struggles between them and the Egyptians zz^ 23, 33. Their Af- fairs grown defperate 37. Mofes's Account of their leav- ing Egypt examin'd 52, Iffc. The Sum of his Account concerning them 70. Whether they were the fame with the ancient Shepherds in Egypt, mentioned by profane Authors 72 — 84 Hebrews, that they had a Duality of divine Pcrfons 354. See Ifraelites. Hebrews, the Epiftle to, of its Authority, and that St. Paul was not the Author of it 261, 262 High Prieft, the fupream Power veiled in him 274, 27^. This was what the People threw off when they chofc a King ^ ^ 275, 276 Hiftorical Infallibility deny'd 130, 131 jiuman Sacrifices, whether indulg'd by Mofes's Law 267. Whether encouraged by Ahrahan!^ Example 209 I JAAKOB, his Defcent into Egypt, with his whole Fami- ly, and Settlement there 14, 15. His magnificent Fu- neral 23. His Notion of Guardian Angels 87 Idolatry, its Rife and Progrefs 99, iffc. Of punifhing it with Death under the Mofak Conllitution i Ji, 112. It was a mere r N D E X. mere Piece of State Policy among the ancient Greeks and Romans 152, 210 Jealoafy, of the Trial of 1 17, 1 18, 338, 339 Jehonjah, how that Name was apply'd before Mofes\ Time, and after it 3H» S^S* 355 jfebu, of his being anointed King 309, 311. His Idolatry, what it was 3 1 2 yeremlah and Hananiah^ the Cafe between them 305 yeroboam, what his Idolatry was 3 1 2 Jethro advifes Mofes to appoint Judges 64 Images, their Original 100, loi Infallibility and unerring Guidance. See Apoftles, Prophecy, and Scriptures. Infpiration no Teft of Truth or found Dodlrine 1 70 Intuition, Demonftration, and rational Probability 144 Jofeph, how he came into Egypt, and what befel him in Poti- phar\ Houfe 6. The Authority he had in the King's Pri- fon 7. What contributed to his farther Advancement 8, i^c. The whole Power of Egypt put into his Hands 12. His Management thereupon 13. He fettles his Father and Brethren, and their whole Family in Egypt 14, 15, 17. He draws in all the Money and Cattle, and takes Poffeifion of all the Lands of the Egyptians 18. Except thofe of the Priefts 19. He makes the Prieflhood independent of the Crown 20, 21. His Death and private Funeral 23, 24 Irenaus, the firft great Heretic Founder 109 Jjraelites, their Defcent into Egypt, and Settlement there 14, 15. The only Body of People who aflUm'd the general Name of Shepherds 16. When they began firll to think of fettling in Canaan 24, 25. l^Iofesh Relation of their leaving Egypt 52, ^c. They mutiny on that Account 57, 59. Their Battle with the J'w^/?i/V^i 62, 63. They re- ceive the Law 65. Of their God being a local, national, tutelar God 66, 107, 211. Whether they were the fame with the ancient Shepherds in Egypt, mentioned by Mane- tho, and other profane Authors 72 — 84. Of their rigid Separation from, and Averfion to all other ]^eople 114. The Knowledge and Wbrlhip of God was not confin'd to them 152. Of their being God's peculiar People 208. Whether their God was the true God 211, ^c. Whether their Worfhip was not Idolatry 211, 213, 215, Of their confounding their local Guardian with Jehovah himfelf 215, 216. How their chufmg a King was a fundamental Breach in their Conftitution 275, 276. That from the Days of Mofes, they believ'd their national, tutelar God tQ INDEX. to be Jehovah, or the fupream God 314, jij. They flaughter and plunder the Midianites 334, 33 r Judges, Book of, its great Perplexity and Confufion 248, 249 LA W of Mofesy of its being made perpetual and unaltera- ble 112. Of the Worfhip inftituted by it 116. Of the carnal Indulgences allow'd by it ibid. Whether it was defign'd to ^ure Idolatry 184, 185. That it provided no Penalty for Drunkennefs 336. See Ceremonial Law. Leland, Dr. the Author's Reply to him 121. His Cenfures and Reflexions in his Preface 122, 123. His Conceifion concerning Miftakes in the facred Writings 127, 128. Of his main Fads whereby Revelation was attelled 1 29, difr. Of his Matters of pure Revelation 1 34. How hard he is prefs'd about coming to Particulars 154, 155. His Argu- ment from Miracles confiderM 161. What he fays of the Conquell of Canaan confider'd 1 80. What he fays of the Jfraelites being the peculiar People of God 208, tjc. A Paflage of his relating to what the Author had faid of Mo- fes bringing Water out of the Rock 223. His Slander on the Author 228. A Reply to what he fays of the Abraha- viic Promife of Canaan 229, l^c. To his Scheme of the Infallibility of the Scriptures 242. Of his legal Propitia- tion and Pardon 255. A Reply to his Exceptions to the particular Inftances the Author had produc'd to fhew the human Policy of the Mofaic Conftituiion 264, l3c. His Vindication of the Oracle in the Cafe of the Bcnjamites confider'd 298. And what he fays of Prophecy, and the 'Prophets 302, ^c. And of the Theology and Worlhip of the Heathens 311, 312, i^c. And of Mofei\ Difmterelled- nefs, in not advancing his own Family 333 Leprofy, the Ifraelites fubjeft to it 75 Lenjitesy of their being difpers'd thro' the Country 113. Their Privileges, Exemptions, and Immunities 273. Their Re- venues with thofe of the Priefls computed 277 — 291, 349 "—353. See Prielts. Their Property in Land 292, 341, 348. Their Number, compar'd with that of the o- ther Tribes 292, 293. For what Reafon they were dif- pers'd through the Country 335, 336. They hiad the bell Cities and Ibwns 342 Uce, the Plague of 45 Local, tutelar Gods of the Heathen 3 1 3 Local, INDEX. local, tutelar God of the Ifraelltes 66, 107, 211, 314, 315 Low, flat Countries more populous than mountainous ones 241 Lo^fnan, Mr. the Suppofition he goes upon 339, 340. His Way of computing the Share of the Spiritualty in Land confider'd 341, 344. His Method of computing the Con- tents of the Holy Land 342 M MAGICIANS of Egypt 40, 173 Manetho, his Account of the Shepherds in Egypt 79 Manna and Quails 57, 58, 60 Medes and Perjtans retained the Knowledge and Worfhip of the one true God 2 1 1 Mefliah, of Chrifl's difclaiming that Charafter, and the Dif- ciples believing it 189, 192, 193, 203. What the Je^ijh Meffiah was to be, and how the Difciples underftood it 322, 323 Mefliahfhip, the Notion of, what gave Rife to it 306 Midianites plunder'd and flaughter'd by the Ifraelites 334, 335 Mid wives of Egypt, of Pharaoh''?, Order to them 33> 34 Miracles, the Argument from them, as a Proof of Revelation above Reafon, confider'd 161 — 172. Miracles of Mofes 173—179. Of Chrifl 195, ^«r. Of the Prophets 310 Mofaic Theocracy, what the Author fuppofes to have been the firft Rife of it 22 I^lofesy the Defenders of him take it for granted that his Go- vernment was a Theocracy 3. The Confequence of this with Regard to their Oppofers 4. How far his Account of the Eallern Shepherds in Egypt agrees with profane Hiftory, and wherein it differs 32, 33. The Circumllances of his Birth and Education 36. What forc'd him to leave E- gypt 37. When he firil began to think of delivering the ifraelites ibid. The Steps he took for that Purpofe 38. He and Aaron demand their Difmiflion of Pharaoh 39. . Of his Rod 39, 40, 61, 174. His Improvements in the Learning of the Egyptians 43, 176. His farther Improvement in Midian 44. His Account of the Ifraelites going out of E- gypt, after flaying the Egyptian Firft-born 52, ^c. Of his bringing Water out of the Rock 61, 62, 222. Jetkro's Advice to him 64. He gives the Law 65. Whether he had fuch a divine Commiflion as he pretended to 68, 69. Of the Worfliip which he eftablifh'd jo6, 107. The Sup- pofltion, that he and Aaron were mere worldly Politicians, purfu'd INDEX. pmfu'd no. Ill, iff c. Of his Miracles 173— . 179. Whe- ther he wrote the hiftorical Parts of the Pentateuch zz(}. Of his two different Capacities, as Lawgiver and Prophet 264. His not advancing his own Family accounted for 333. His llaughtering and plundering the il^V/«;;//^j 334, 335 Murrain, the Plague of ^^6, 47 Myftical, allegorical Way of Reafoning us'd by Chrill and the Apoltles, as Arguments adhominem 260, 261 N N AT HAN, of his declaring the Perpetuity of Da////?i^, their Dimenfions 347 FINIS, BOOKS prmted for THOMAS cox. i.^TT^HE Moral Philosopher. Vol. L In a DiV j|[ logue between Philalethes a Chriflian Dei/l, and Ths- ephanes a Chrifiian Jew. In which the Grounds and Reafons of Religion in general, and particularly oi Chrifiianity, as dif- dngu'lhed from the Religion of Nature; the different Me- thods of conveying and propofing Moral Truths to the Mind, and the necefTary Marks or Criteria on which they n)uft all equally depend; the Nature of poUtive Laws, Rites and Ce- remonies, and how far they are capable of Proof, as of (land- ing perpetual Obligation ; with many other Matters of the ut- moft Confequence in Religion, are fairly confidered, and de- bated, and the Arguments on both Sides impartialy reprefented. Elihu in Job xxxii. 8. Inhere is Reafon in Man, and the Infpi- rauon of the Almighty giveth him Vnderfianding. The fecond Edition. 2. The Moral PwrLosopHER. Vol. II. Being a farther Vindication of Moral Truth and Reafon; occafioned by two Books lately publifhed : One intitled, ^he Divine Authority of the Old W ^etti Tejiatnents nfferied. With a particular Vin- dication of Mofes and the Prophets, our Saviour Jefus Chrift, and his Apoftlcs, agavnft the unjuft Affertions, and falfe Rea- fonings of a Book, intitled, 'Ihe Moral Philofopher. By the Rev. Mr. Leland. The other intitled, Eufebim : Or, The true Chrijlian's Defence, Sec. By the Rev. Mr. Chapman. By Phi- lakthes. ■ ' 3. The true Gofpcl of Jefus Chrift afferted. Wherein is Ihewn what is, and what is not that Gofpel ; what was the great and good End it was intended to ferve ; how it is excel- lently fuited to anfvi^er that Purpofe ; and how, or by what Means, that End has in a great Meafure been fruftrated. Humbly offered to publick Confideration, and in particular to all thoie v/ho efteem themfelves, or are efteenied by others, to be Mi- nifters of Jefus Chriit, and Preachers of his Gofpel ; and more efpecially to all thofe who have obtained the Reputaiioh of being the Great Defenders of Chriftianity- By Thomas Chubb. Ads xvii. 6. They drew Jafon, .and cfvtain Brethren, unto the Rulers ef the City^ crying, Thefe that have turned the World up- Jide down, are come hither alfi. To v/hich is added, a fliOrt Differtation on Providence. 4. An In trod udl ion to Geography, by Way of Queftion and Anfwer, particularly dcfigned for the UTe of Schools. To which is prefixed, an Explanation of the Sphere, or of all the Terms any Ways neceffary for the right Underftanding of the terraqueous Globe. With the Addition of a ffiort Diftio- nary of the moll commou Names of aii^^ient Geography, ^c. DATE DUE .mi ? 4../^^i . 1 1 GAYLORD PRINTED IN US A.