2i- C 
 
 '."^ 
 
 I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, | 
 
 % Princeton, N. J. f 
 
 
 Case, 
 SheJf, 
 Booh', 
 
 Division, 
 
 Seciir -. 
 
 
 
 Sec 
 
\ 
 
RFVKtATio?* Examined 
 with Candour. 
 
 OR, A FAIR 
 
 ENQUIRY 
 
 INTO T FI E 
 
 SENSE ««^ USE 
 
 Of the Several 
 
 REVELATIONS 
 
 Exprefly Declared, or llifficiently Implied, 
 
 To be given to Mankind from the Creation, 
 as they are found in the Bible. 
 
 By a profefs'd Friend to an honeft Freedom of 
 Thought in Religious Enquiries^ 
 
 VOL. IL ^tfe 
 
 /Xi«-i 
 
 ContMning Diircriations upon the foUorping Subjects , viz. 
 
 I. Of the Grant of Animal Food 
 madeto Noah, atter the Flood, 
 
 II. Otthe Building of -B/i^^e/. 
 
 III. Of the r redidtions relating' 
 
 IV. Of Circumcifioo. 
 
 V. Of the Dt'iirn'Uonof Soihm 
 zvA Gomorr.th. 
 
 VI. Of th:- Command ^iven to 
 
 to Ijhmael. \ Aoraham to rici itce his Son. 
 
 To whow flmll I /peak ami give Teaming, that they may hear? 
 BihcU, their ear is uncircumnfrd, ami they cannot r^rarken : 
 b-^K-cld the veord of the L. ord o unto tKcht a reyrof:.ch : th'cy have 
 no i^llght in it, fer. v^ lo. 
 
 The SaCond Edition. 
 
 1. O N D O N : 
 
 Printed for C. R i v i n g t oN;, ar the Bible ar.d Crcnj^n in 
 Sr. P^»/'s Church-yard. M.dccxxxiii. 
 
To the Rhxht Honourable 
 
 o 
 
 PETER, Lord KING, 
 
 Baron oFOckha m, 
 Lord High Chancellor of 
 
 G R E A T - B R I T A I N. 
 
 M Y L o R r>, 
 
 F any other fnothe^ than 
 thofe n^hich have governed 
 and ennobled your life^ the 
 love of truths and the love 
 of j lift ice J could have injluenced mo in 
 the biffiiysfs of a dedication^ your 
 LordJJjip had teen faved this trouble-^ 
 
 A 2 but 
 
iv DEDICATION. 
 
 hut as 1 knomv no great nanie^ to wbscb 
 a ivovk of this k{7id could be more pro^ 
 perly hifcrihed^ my choke was foon 
 determined. Religmij ^vindicated from 
 ahiife^ hy the aids of reafon a^td learn" 
 i,ig^ naturally appeals to the great 
 patrons and projiciertts in both ^ and 
 'tis hit jiifice to fay^ That the Lord 
 ChanceJlor of Great-Britain, 
 m:as^ in that ^ieii\ ^^fily dijlin^ 
 
 My Lord, // / were capable of 
 doing you honour hy a dedication^ yet 
 would you be as little obliged to me, 
 on that account, as you are to any 
 thing but the providence of God, and 
 your own worthy for all the honours 
 
 to which you e^ver attained : Jou 
 
 rofe irrejijiably to them ; by^ the force 
 
 of a fuperior merit ; nor were they 
 
 Jo properly conferred upon )ou^ as 
 
 claimed 
 
DEDICATION, v 
 
 claimed for you 5 clahned by the n:oice 
 of the pitbUch ! In this cafe {if it ever 
 fwas in any) the "voice oj trutPy and 
 the voice of God. ^^' 
 
 Your legtnning, my hord, was 
 the greatejl that true glory could wiflo. 
 Tour foundation was lald^ in humility^ 
 and religion. Tour knowledge in the 
 law of Gody was the hefi foundation 
 of your difinguifloed hiozvledge in the 
 laws of your country. The foundation 
 was laid deepy and built upon a rocky 
 and the fuperflrui^ure rofe with pro- 
 portioned flrength and dignity. Tour 
 skill was unrivalledy and your integrity 
 tmtainted. 
 
 That fuperior skill in the laws of 
 
 your countryy which is wont {even in 
 
 lefs perfe^iioti) to fill up tloB minds oj 
 
 many of its profeffors^ and leave litih 
 
 A 3 room 
 
vi DEDICATION. 
 
 room for hwizJe^clge of other kinds: 
 mja], in you J hut a better preparation 
 tojlmje to more advantage in the fennte^ 
 as your great integrity made you highly 
 re-vered therCy and removed you thence^ 
 to prefide in one of the comts of 
 ju/ue. 
 
 Your ahilities upon the hench, 
 called yoUy upon the Jirji occafion. {the 
 iwjl glorious for you that could he ma' 
 gined) to the Jirjl honour in your 
 profejjton 5 • and placed joUj t-nenvyedy 
 amotig the peers 0/ Great-Fritain, 
 
 qzhere your native humiUty ftill 
 
 attends yoUy and is the greateji orna- 
 ment of your exaltation. 
 
 M Y Lord, thefe circumjlancesy 
 glaringy and glorious^ in the eyes of 
 the n.vhoIf ^orldy left me little merit 
 or choice in this application. -—— -il^jy 
 
 Lordy 
 
DEDICATION- vii 
 
 Lord^ this application^ infers 720 morcy 
 
 than that I honour you in common 
 
 with the rejl of mankind -^ hut give 
 
 me leave to fay^ that I honour you al/oy 
 
 for reafonSj which do not equally ajfeSi 
 
 them all I honour you^ from the re^ 
 
 gar d you hear to true religion. 1 honour 
 
 you^ hecaufe you are a good chrijlian^ 
 
 in confequence of being an excellent 
 
 fcholafj and a good man. Not hecaufe 
 
 it is the religion of your country {the 
 
 prefent fafloionahle phrafe) hut hecaufe it 
 
 is the religion of the living Gody the 
 
 God of truth ! 
 
 'T I s true^ you received the chrijlian 
 religion from education : hut you em^ 
 hraced it from choice : you emhraced it^ 
 my Lord, after a thorough enquiry 
 into its truth and excellence : you em- 
 hraced ity hecaufe you found nothing in 
 your own foul to contradi£ij nor any 
 
 A 4 thln^ 
 
viii DEDICATION. 
 
 thing hi the whole compafs ofreafon 
 mid learjihig^ that did not tend to con^ 
 firm it. 
 
 I T wight well become Pythagoras^ 
 and his commentator^ to re^verence the 
 religion of their country^ hecaufe it was 
 by law cPcabliflied • inafmuch as that 
 was the only reafon, ' any man of fenfe 
 could ^ffign^ for his attachment to it. 
 "" But you will own J my Lord^ that this 
 only reafon ill heco77ies the mouth of the 
 meanefl chrijlian^ of common fenfe, for 
 afferting the religion of Jefus. To 
 defend the left religion that ever was 
 infltiuted^ a religion every way worthy 
 the wifdom and the goodnefs of Gody 
 from the only reafon^ by which the 
 vilefl, the worfly and the mojl un^ 
 zi'orthy of God^ could he defended j — 
 Is this to he endured! 
 
 It 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 IX 
 
 It might qiveJl become the heathen 
 ^iS:orldj to dilUngusflj^ betqzieen the reU" 
 gion of the wife, and the religion of the 
 vulgar: inafmich as the religioji of the 
 njulgar^ nziith them^ ^as every way ufi" 
 wife J ahfurd^ and abominable! tho\ 
 in truth, it muft he owned^ that what 
 they called the religion of the wife, 
 
 was not in any degree lefs fo ; they 
 
 differed indeed jrom the ^vulgar, but it 
 waSy for the moft party only in variety 
 and refinement of ahfurdlty. They did 
 720t believe^ with the vulgar^ that the 
 gods were fubje£i to human vices and 
 infirmities^ but then they believed^ 
 what wasj at leafl^ full as abfurd^ 
 that they were utterly negligent of hu" 
 man affairs. 
 
 H o \Y Ey E R, as the religion of the 
 "vulgafy was abfurdj they were in fome 
 
 fort 
 
X DEDICATION. 
 
 fort JHpfied in defp'ifmg it-^ hut h 
 
 the religion of Jefus therefore abfurd^ he^ 
 caiffe the religion (^/^ Bacchus ^;/^ Venus 
 ^vas Jo^ — Is not that the ^ery religion 
 ^hich the wife men of our world now 
 embrace ^ Was it ahfurd in the vulgar ^ 
 two thctifand years ago^ and is it now 
 rational in the wife ^ What made it 
 then move ahfurd J than the ahfurd pra^ices 
 to which it led ^ And will the fame 
 pra^cices now make it wife (* What is tt 
 that demonf rates any religion wife^ hut 
 the wifdom and excellence of its endsy 
 and the fnitahknefs of its inflituted 
 vieanSj for the attainment of thofe ends? 
 Jjid will the wife men of the world 
 pretend to find ?iobkr ends^ or better 
 n:eans^ than thofe exhibited to us in the 
 Chriflian inflitufwn ! Infupportable ex^ 
 cefs of follvy thus to i?ifult the common 
 fenfe oj mankind^ under the vaunt of 
 
 wfdovL 
 
 My 
 
DEDICATION, xi 
 
 ]My Lord, / ohje6i to no man the 
 reverence he hears to the religion of his 
 country : the grien^ance is^ that am 
 7nau of common fenfe^ floould mention 
 thisy as the only reafen for reverencing 
 the religion of Chrift, 
 
 This reafon^ my Lord^ might well 
 hecome a heathen phi kfopher -^ inaCmuch 
 as many of the^n projejfed to know no 
 other difiin£ihn between good and evil, 
 hut the determination of the Jaw 5 hut 
 furely it mujt ill became us^ who are 
 perfect in thefe diJlin£iions 5 in an age 
 too, where reafon fioines fo bright, 
 as to he a fuffcient guide, {if we may 
 believe the moft celebrated writer^ 
 amongft us^ to the 7neanejl favage in 
 Afric, or America, andfloallit be f aid, 
 that we have reafon to every other pur ^ 
 
xii DEDICATION. 
 
 pofcj hut to difcern the excellence of the 
 gofpel ? 
 
 But, rnj Lordy is this the truth i^ 
 Is it that ^iSoe cannot difcern the ex- 
 celknce of the gofpel^ — or cannot hear 
 its imperfetjions ? ^Jte othe/^vife^ my 
 
 Lord I 'tis its purity ^ and per' 
 
 fe£iion^ that impeach it. It reproaches 
 our li'vesy and upbraids our confciences. 
 It is inconJifte7it with avarice^ amhi- 
 iion, and fenfual indulgence I either 
 thisy or grofs undifcriminating igno^ 
 rance^ is the only caufe to which it can 
 he afcrihed. The 'Precepts of Jcfus 
 Chrift, are incompatible with the cry^ 
 ing corruptions of the age I The rules 
 are too flratt^ for the crooked paths we 
 tread in : they upbraid our evil waysy 
 and perverted manners : and therefore 
 we refvfe to he guided by them. — 
 Thefe are the true grounds of our dif- 
 
 like 
 
DEDICATION, x 
 
 XIll 
 
 like to the religion oj Jefus • and whUji 
 they are fo, 'tis no ^^oiider^ if its being 
 the religion of our country^ pouJd he the 
 only reafon of our regard for it. 
 
 Happy are you^ jny Lord^ in 
 whom^ neither this "way of thinking 
 nor any of the temptations to it^ can 
 take place. Happy are you^ who are 
 hlejfed with a head^ and a hearty too 
 clear^ and too incorrupt^ to he fwayed 
 h fi^^^^ maxims/ Happy for you, that 
 early learning hath fo enlarged your 
 mind^ and right habits poffeffed it^ as 
 to make your religion, the bujinefs of 
 your reafon • and your duty, your de'^ 
 ^ htl 
 
 In one word, my Lord, happy are 
 
 you, that the 'Providence of Gody 
 
 placed you, out of the reach of early 
 
 tempt at ion J from the z'anities of Ife-y- 
 
 and 
 
xlv D E D I C A T I O N. 
 
 and the more^ inafmuch as the fame 
 ctrcumjlances qvhkh ^dvere of advantage 
 to your verttte^ ha^ve ^reatlj added to 
 your honour. 
 
 My Lord, it is your greateji 
 glory to have fonie refemblance to the 
 gofpd of Chrin:5 you nje in the nvorldy 
 as that prevailed in it, ^joithout mortal 
 aids and advantages 5 or, tofpeak more 
 properly y in oppojition to them all: hy 
 the force of innate <worthl Selfraifedy 
 felf'-recoimnended ! and U'hat is perhaps 
 yet rarer ^ th^ nz'orth that raifed youy 
 pill continues with you. — As outward 
 honour could add nothing to it, pride 
 could not impair it. 
 
 God that raifed you h/gb, prefrve 
 
 you lo72g : preferve you a hlefjing^ and 
 
 an ornament to your coujitry • ajid con^ 
 
 tinue your vertues^ with- increafe, of 
 
 5 glcvy, 
 
DEDICATION, xv 
 
 glory ^ in your pojl.erlty : — BeJieve me^ 
 my Lardy no mortal more Jincerely or 
 dijinterepedly wifies thh^ than the 
 author of this letter 5 ^ho contents him^ 
 felf nmith the honour of renjerenclng 
 your worth and "vertue in fecrety with^ 
 out the addition of that honour j njohich 
 ns^ould acrue to him^ from being known 
 to the whole worlds under the chara6fcr 
 of, 
 
 Your Lordship's 
 
 Mcft humble and 
 
 Moft Obedient Servant, 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 pANT of taRe is a complaint^ 
 which none but good wri- 
 ters are privileged to urge 
 againft the age chey live in • 
 ■ — and confequently, iuch as no mo- 
 deft man will avow in his own behalf. 
 But when that complaint is allo^ved by 
 men of genius, to be juft, as it is at 
 prefent, others may, perhaps, be al- 
 lowed to take if- up ; at leaft^ to en-» 
 quire into the caufes of it. 
 
xviii The Preface. 
 
 And without cjueftion, the imme- 
 diate caufe of the ill tafte which prevails 
 among us, is, the prefent general dif- 
 regard of Roman and Grecian litera- 
 ture : together with that ftrange afto- 
 nifliing contempt, into which^ the 
 fcriptures, ( the nobleft of all writings 
 this world was ever blefled with) have 
 fallen for fome years paft. 
 
 That this is, in a great meafurc, 
 owing to the growth of infidelity, is 
 undeniable 5 but that other caufes alfo 
 have concurred, nay, greatly contribu- 
 ted to this evil, mufi:, I think, be 
 owned. 
 
 Mathematical learning hath, of 
 
 late years^ been greatly and juftly 
 
 in efteem among us- and fome men 
 
 have raifcd themfelves inio reputation, 
 
 3 this 
 
The Preface, xix 
 
 this way, who will always be aa 
 honour to their age and country. But 
 the misfortune is, that (ome of thefe 
 very unhappily miilook their talents : 
 and carried that cold, dry, d^daitick 
 way, into the pulpit, w^iich could only 
 become, or be of ufe in, the fchools. 
 Nay more, what might have been of 
 excellent ufe in the fchools, became of 
 very evil influence in the church 5 in- 
 afmuch as religion, was now con- 
 fidered, barely in the light of truth j 
 and fo was difcuiled, like other truths^ 
 wirh a dry, cold unconcern, which 
 neither interefted, nor influenced, any 
 one mortal^ in its behalf. 
 
 "'TIS true, texts were collated^ 
 difficulties cleared, and points proved} 
 but the heart was all this time un- 
 moved, and the conference unalarmedl 
 ihe preacher aded, as if he had to do 
 
 a 1 not 
 
sx The Preface. 
 
 not with corrupt, unruly mortals, but 
 with pure, unbodied intelligences : 
 among whom the perception of truth 
 was the only feHcity to be attained, or 
 duty pradtifed. The audience became 
 apparently very knowing in religion, 
 and in reality very negligent about it. 
 Their wifdom gave no fort of check to 
 their vices ! — The moral turpitude 
 of thefe unhappy habits, was indeed 
 clearly made out 3 — but their fliame- 
 ful confequences, their fpreading in- 
 feftion^ their various and accumulated 
 
 niifchiefs ^ their deceftable vilenefs, 
 
 and their dreadful end, were out 
 
 of the c]ue(lion 5 — were fo far from 
 being difplayed in their true lights, or 
 painted in their true colours, or loaded 
 with their jufl: aggravations and infinite 
 ill efFeds, that they were not fo much 
 as feen, or fhewn, or mentioned. — • 
 The terrors of the Lordy were things 
 
 un- 
 
The Preface. xxi 
 
 unheard of 5 — hell not once named 1 
 or named only to be defpifed 5 — 
 denied to be local, and diftinguiflied 
 away by philofophick fooleries ! in 
 contradidion not only to the exprefs 
 declarations of fcripture, but to every 
 principle of reafon, and eternal juftice ! 
 (as, by God's bleffing, (hall, in due 
 time, be flievvn) Emblems, examples, 
 allufions, illuftrations, enforcements, 
 from poets, from orators, from hifto-^ 
 rians, from moralifts, — from pro- 
 phets, from apoftles, from evangelifts,, 
 from fcience, from fcripture, from na- 
 ture, — were antiquated, exploded 
 trifles ! Hence the n^gled of Roman 
 and Grecian eloquence ! Hence an equal 
 contempt of Li'vy and Thucidydes^ of 
 Mofes^ and the prophets ! In one 
 word, hence the united ruin of true 
 learning and true religion ! and the 
 ^ 5 triumph 
 
xxii The P R E f A C eI 
 
 triumph of ignorance, infidcHty, and 
 vice ! 
 
 Nor is this the worfl : — Men 
 who had no talents for mauhematical 
 learning, had however talents enough 
 for abfurd imitation $ for a low ma- 
 thematical manner in divinity 3 and as 
 their great originals were now high in 
 cfteem, not only on account of ma^ 
 themacical knowledge, but likewife 
 fome bold fingularities in religion, their 
 fervile imitators took care to out-do 
 them, where only they could pretend 
 to equal them, in the philofophick ftifF-? 
 nefs and formality of their ftile, and 
 loofenefs of their principles, 
 
 I N the mean time, the refi: of the 
 world, perceiving, how free thefe men 
 made with what were before accounted 
 
 fundamentals of Chrifiianhy ; 
 
 and 
 
The Preface. 
 
 xxm 
 
 and perceiving, at the fame time, 
 how utterly unanimated they were, 
 either in the pulpit, or out o{ it, with 
 any thing like a true Chrijlian fpirit 5 
 their fouls as alien from the warmth 
 of piety, the ardour of benevolence, 
 and the zeal of Chrijlian charity, as 
 their ftiles from the interefting, the per- 
 fuafive, the pathetick, the fublime, — 
 came quickly into a difregard of fo 
 
 fruitlefs a religion j • juftly con- 
 
 eluding, that a religion whidi could 
 not influence, could be of no ufe. It 
 was natural to refledl, that if the im- 
 mediate minifters of this religion, were 
 ktn to have it fo little at heart, the 
 profedors of it at large, might be yec 
 more at liberty, and lefs fohcitous about 
 k. 
 
 H E K c £ a carelefnefs and a cold- 
 
 nefs in the concerns of religion 5 and 
 
 a 4 both 
 
XXIV 
 
 The Preface, 
 
 both chefc in the natural order of things, 
 foon fucccedcd with worfe than neglect: 
 
 • for what men dlfregard, they 
 
 difufe 3 and what they difufe, they 
 quickly come to defpife. 
 
 Nor was this the word. Men 
 were no: only difcouraged from ftudy- 
 ing and revcieing the Icriptnrcs, by per- 
 ceivincT how little true religion, was 
 promoted by that ftudy, under the 
 management of fomc of its moft 
 learned and eminent profeflTors, and 
 their followers 3 but alfo by being told, 
 that this ftudy was difficult, fniitkfsy 
 and dangerous ^ and a publick, an ela- 
 borate, an earneft difluafive from this 
 ftudy, for the very reafons now 
 mentioned, enforced by two well 
 known examples, and believed from 
 a perfon of great eminence in the 
 church, hath already pafs'd often enough 
 
 thro* 
 
The Preface. xxv 
 
 thro' the prefs, to reach the hands of 
 all the clergymen in GreauBritain 
 
 and Ireland. God, in his great 
 
 mercy, forgive the author ! 
 
 A MAN of equal abilities, with an- 
 other turn of mind, would have ex- 
 horted the clergy to a noble emulation 
 in conquering the difficulties of this 
 ftudy, yet behind : from the glory of 
 thofe great men, who led the v/ay 
 with fo miuch honour, in fo arduous 
 
 an undertaking 5 • would have re- 
 
 prefented the ftudy of the noblefi: write- 
 ings the world was ever bleflfed with, 
 as infinitely the noblefi: of all others, 
 « — and manifefl:!y the mofi: ufeful, — . 
 as tending, eminently above all others, 
 to perfect holinefs in the fear of God ; 
 and, in confecjuence of that, to pro- 
 mote, to perfect, and to perpetuate 
 
 the 
 
xxvi The Preface. 
 
 the human happinefs^ both in heaven 
 and in earth. 
 
 Akd laftly, inftead of difcouraging 
 the clergy, from the ill fuccefs of two 
 men, he would have encouraged them 
 from the good fuccefs of thoufands. 
 
 Whereas the former conducft, 
 feems little lefs extravagant, than ic 
 would be in a preacher, to difliiade his 
 audience from endeavouring to go to 
 heaven, becaufe Lucifer fell. 
 
 But this is not all. We are degenerated 
 into all the extremes of ill writing as 
 well as thinking! An infipid affectation 
 of police eafe, and claffic elegance, hath, 
 With the advantage of a very negligent 
 profanenefs, done almoft as much mif- 
 chief, in the works of one man^ as 
 the oppofite error, in all the reft. 
 
 And 
 
The Preface. xxvii 
 
 And many are fuch profefled admirers 
 of the writings of both kinds, as to unite 
 thefe extremes, (the dry, and the florid 
 formal) with great fuccefs in their own. 
 
 This is the true ftate of ftile and 
 tafte amongft us ! Vile principles, and 
 wretched writings, beget one another, 
 like infedlions and dileafes3 — - in- 
 fedions that deftroy all health and good 
 habits where-ever they come. 
 
 This is the ftate of our corruption ^ 
 but where to hope for our recovery, — ■ 
 that's the diflrefs ! — Alas ! if it is to 
 be hoped for only from the intro- 
 duction of right thinking, and better 
 writing, I fear it is yet far off: — Can 
 any man, who hath any idea of righs 
 thinking or good writing, hope that 
 either will fucceed in fuch an age ! Can 
 he hope that human means will fuc- 
 
 cced^ 
 
XXVUl 
 
 The P R E F A C E* 
 
 ceed, where infptratwn fails ! That his 
 writings will be regarded, where the 
 prophets and e'vangelijls are defpifed 1 — • 
 where T — is preferred to Solomon^ 
 and C~ to Chvip ? 
 
 Where infinitely the befl: and 
 nobleil of all writings are in difgracc, 
 it is natural that the vileft fliould be ia 
 honour* 
 
 The works of quaint, fantaftick 
 rhapfodifts^ of mean, abandoned, un- 
 derling mortals 5 of dry divines, and 
 mathematical moraiifts j — Thefe are, 
 thefe muft be, in the prefent ftate of 
 things, the reigning writers, and write- 
 ings! the ftandards of perfedion and 
 excellence ! 
 
 The man who hath the ftupid. igno-^ 
 raacCj or hardened effrontery ! to infult 
 
 the 
 
The Preface. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 the revealed will of God 5 or the petu- 
 lant conceit to turn it into ridicule 5 — . 
 or the arrogance to make his own per-' 
 fedions the meafure of the divinity ; 
 .—or, at beft, that can collate a texr, 
 or quote an authority, with an infipid 
 accuracy : or demonflrare a plain pro- 
 pofition, in all the formality of ^4's 
 and B's^ ^ thefe are now the only 
 men worth mentioning : the only wri- 
 ters worth reading, for improvement; 
 or remembering, for applaufe. — Nor 
 Bacon^ nor Barro^v^ nor lillotfon^ 
 nor Jddifon^ ( living writers muf!: not 
 be mentioned ) nor ^'Jato^ nor ^lu^' 
 tarch^ nor Cicero^ nor ^jemojlhenes, 
 
 are to be once named with thefe! • 
 
 Thefe are the important men, vvhofe 
 
 * I would nor have the reader imagine, that I here intend 
 any afperfion on the learned and ingenious author of The 
 religion of iiature deli?ieated :--ox any other man of eminence 
 in that way. — I cenfurc nothing but abfurd iniiiation. 
 
 weight 
 
XXX The Preface. 
 
 weight hath at once funk down thd 
 eloquence and elegance of Rome and 
 Athens. And, what is infinitely more 
 to be lamented, the wildom, the dig- 
 nity, the fiiblimity^ the majefty, of 
 die facred writings ! 
 
 I F men of genius are found to write 
 in fuch an age, we may well conclude, 
 that nothing but the ftrongeft fenfe of 
 
 duty forced them to it 5 for 
 
 otherwife, tho' a man of any degree of 
 merit, could hope to be fo happy, as 
 to efcape the weight of envy, party, — 
 perfonal, or national prejudices, yet, to 
 what purpofe fhould he write ! To 
 emulate the applaufe of fuch writers as 
 are now in vosue, were a m.ean, is- 
 noble view. — To write for the praife of 
 this age ! — An age which hath no 
 relifli for any thing beyond the wit of 
 profane fcurrility, or the formality of a 
 
 dry, 
 
Irhc Preface. xxxi 
 
 dry, unanimated dinercation •■ To 
 
 what purpofe, unlefs to become defpi- 
 cable in his own eyes, and deceilablc 
 to God and goodnefs ! 
 
 To write fo7 fuch an age were 
 
 wicked, and to write agahiji it, 
 
 vain, at leaf!:, vain to any other 
 
 purpofe, than the faint hopes of pre- 
 ferving the few yet untainted, in their 
 integrity : and the fruitlefs fortitude of 
 reproaching the reft 5 reproaching them, 
 at once, to their own reafon, and to 
 poflerity • — appealing to a tribunal, 
 w^hich, the works they admire, will 
 never reach, — — or reach only to be 
 condemned ! 
 
 All joy to the applauded authors 
 of fuch an age, from the glory of fuch 
 admirers 1 and to fuch admirers, from 
 the bleffings of fuch authors ! they are 
 
 well 
 
XXXll 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 well matched. I know nothing more 
 truly pitiable than both 5 he only ex- 
 cepted, that could envy either. Buc 
 tho' none fliould envy their happincfs, 
 all mufl: lament their {ucctk. I mean 
 all who have any regard for religion, 
 vertue, and true learning. — They have 
 indeed gone on hitherto with furprizing 
 fuccefs : Vis bu: perfevering a little 
 longer, and the next age will fee none 
 to reprove them. 
 
 I TH^KK God, I have lived to bear 
 iny teftim.ony againft them both. A- 
 cainft an age, where truth is either 
 utterly defpifed, or treated in an infa- 
 mous manner ! treated as if it were 
 utterly incompatible with elegance and 
 fublimitv ! as if the proper badges of 
 its majefty difgraced it ! as if that which 
 gave it its efficacy, impaired its evi- 
 dence! Demonftration, with thefe men, 
 
 lofes 
 
The Preface. xxxiii 
 
 lofes its very name, and nature, if it at- 
 tempts fubjeds apparently obfcure: 
 (where only it is wanted) and perhaps 
 yet more, if it clears them : Efpe- 
 cially, if the leaft light of genius fliines 
 about it 5 for light in this cafe, has 
 all the effects of darknefs, upon eyes 
 long accuftomed to the dark : — fuch 
 men can fee no more about it, but 
 that it is new 5 or fome, perhaps, more 
 fagacious and clear-fighted, may per- 
 ceive it, pretty 3 and, in excefs 
 
 of civility, pronounce it, ingenious. 
 And, in truth, that, is going a great 
 way, with people, that are fo little 
 accuftomed to any thing that can pro- 
 perly be called fo. 
 
 I F in this deplorable ftate of things, 
 there are yet any of the clergy, (as 
 God be praifed there are) who neither, 
 deterred by dtjpculttes and difconrage^ 
 
 Vol. II. b nientSj 
 
xxxiv The Preface. 
 
 7nents, nor fcJuccd by favours, and 
 the fafhion, dill rerain their zeal, their 
 integrity, and a true tafte, yet how 
 few are they, and how faint ! How 
 unequal to the flood that drives againft 
 them ! How forced to real or feeming 
 compliances, — and how frighted to 
 diflenc ! 
 
 These right-thinking men, are 
 doubclefs very good judges of a right 
 and a reafonable conduit 3 but^ at the 
 fame time, they very well know, that 
 the Diod reafonable condud:, is not 
 always the wifcft, with regard to this 
 world 3 IS not the mofi: dnedt road to 
 fame and fortune : — prudential com- 
 pliances, and humble applications to 
 great men, (fo men in great ftarions 
 will always be called) thefe are the 
 reputed arts to rife! and if they really 
 are fo, and no merit will avail without 
 
 them, 
 
The Preface. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 them, there is no doubt but they will 
 duly be regarded by fuch as refolve to 
 become great, and think this the true 
 way to be To 5 to thofe whom God 
 harh formed to another way of think- 
 ing, who have confined their ideas of 
 merit, to loyalty, learning, rel gion, i^c. 
 
 duty, is honour, and the folid joys 
 
 of a good confcience^ folid glory I 
 
 'Tis the misfortune of thefe men, 
 to read of times, wherein true merit 
 was accounted the true means of ad- 
 vancement, wherein fecurities were faid 
 to be given, for good abilities, not 
 compliances 5 at leaft, where thefe gif s 
 of God were not regarded as jufl ob- 
 je<ftions to advancement : I will not 
 take upon me to fay, that thefe happy 
 times are not fuch 3 nothing is more 
 common, than to fee the happieft 
 b 2 and 
 
xxxvi The Preface. 
 
 and bell times more than negatively 
 abufed. 
 
 They have heard of timcs^ where- 
 in writers, on the fide of revealed reli- 
 gion, could infpire indignation againft 
 fin, and abhorrence of its abetters j 
 wherein the fame men, who had all 
 imaginable regard for the reafonablc 
 doubter, and candid enquirer after 
 truth, had all imaginable contempt 
 and abhorrence of the petulant caviler ! 
 and could paint out, the turbulent, 
 abandoned infidel, as the worfl; peft of 
 fociety ! The enemy of God and good- 
 nefs ! A wretch that lived not only to 
 the ruin of the world^ but to the dif- 
 grace of human nature! An infedlion 
 that fliould be dreaded as a plague ! 
 Alas, this infe(5tion is now become 
 familiar ! No men are better received^ 
 or more carefled, than the moft aban- 
 doned ! 
 
The Preface. 
 
 xvu 
 
 doned I Nay, one would think, that 
 to be fo, were the beft recommenda- 
 tion ! This, I think, is undeniable, — 
 that to defpife principles, and laugh at 
 religion, is the very teft, if not of true 
 merit, at leaft, of good abilities! And 
 "'tis notorious, that men have rifcn to 
 great renown on this fingle account, 
 who had been defpicable on every 
 other. 
 
 I N this ftatc, *tis no wonder to fee 
 the very names and natures of things 
 inverted 5 — 'tis no wonder to fee, 
 that, merit, is demerit, and demerit, 
 merit : fo utterly rcgardlefs are we of 
 that dreadful woe denounced by the pro- 
 phet againft them, that call evily goody 
 and good J e^vil 5 that put darknefs, for 
 lights and light ^ for darknefs ! 
 
 b 3 There 
 
xxxviii The Preface. 
 
 There was a time, when human 
 nature was behevcd to be corrupt : ac 
 Icaft, fufpeded of fome Lttle partiality 
 (I had ahriofl: faid, prejudice; in fa- 
 vour cf vice 5 and religion was then 
 thought of fome ufe, to fecure men 
 from the temptations of fin, and the 
 feducem.ents of their own hearts. To 
 hear the difcourfes, and read the write- 
 ings of the wife men of this age, one 
 would be tempted to think, that reli- 
 gion were the terror of all others in this 
 world, which mankind ought rnoft to 
 be afraid of 3 moft upon their guard 
 againft 5 and that there was no one 
 propenfion in human nature, or preju- 
 dice incident to it, half fo ftrong, or 
 fo deftrudive, as thofe that fway them 
 in favour of vertue, and the fear of 
 God. 
 
 As 
 
The Preface. 
 
 xxxix 
 
 As this new, refined way of think- 
 ing, is now predominant, 'tis no won- 
 der, if fome even of the clergy are 
 carried away wich it : 'tis no wonder, 
 if the loud din, and inceffant clamour 
 of priejlcraft, prejudice, and perfecu-' 
 tton 5 (a clamour as loud, as if the 
 £rcs o( Smith/ield^ were never cut 5 as 
 if every parfon in the land were an in- 
 quifitor, and every jail crouded with 
 herecicks) have either confounded them 
 into conviction, that there is fome 
 ground for all this outcry, (againft ail 
 the evidence of demonftration to the 
 contrary ; ) or, at leaft, fubdued them 
 into filence. 
 
 T N this fad fituation^ 'tis no won- 
 der, if a truly Chrijlian preacher, is a 
 character, not always met with in the 
 clergy 5 or a truly Chrijtuvi hearer, 
 b 4 among 
 
xl The Preface. 
 
 among the laky. What can be more 
 common than to fee men go to church, 
 (I mean fome of thofe few polite per- 
 fons, that fometimes think it worth 
 while to go thither) not to ferve God, 
 to be inftruded, '— to confefs their 
 fins, '— to repent, and be reclaimed ; 
 but meerly as they go to other great 
 affcmblies, to be entertained. And in 
 this cafe, it cannot be matter of much 
 furprize, if fome of the clergy ftudy 
 only how to make the entertainment as 
 agreeable as they can 5 and forget every 
 higher praife, and nobler purpofe of 
 their profefllon : — if they can preach 
 prettily^ or, at moft, make a good 
 moral difcourfe, 'tis all they wifli, or 
 their audience defire. 
 
 I WOULD not be miftaken ; I mean 
 neither to reproach the clergy, (there are 
 many religious, learned, and truly 
 
 Chiflian 
 
The P R E-# ^ c E. xli 
 
 Chujltan preachers among them^) — 
 nor CO decry morality, (there is no reli- 
 gion without it) 5 my intention is no 
 more, than to exhort fuch of that facred 
 order, as may have forgotten their true 
 character, to return dihgently to it; --- 
 to befeech them to remember, that the 
 carneft, the inftrudive preacher, the 
 pathetick, the fubhme, the Chriftiaa 
 orator — Thefe are the true charaders of 
 the minifters of the gofpel : thefe arc 
 chara6ters which will always be ho- 
 nourable and amiable even in the eyes 
 of their enemies and perhaps not the 
 lefs fo, for being too often lefs advanta- 
 geoufly diftinguiflied than they dcfervc. 
 To put them in mind, to cry aloud ^ 
 to lift up their voice like a trumpet, to 
 Jhenso the people their iranfgrejjioiis^ and 
 the houfe of Jacob their fins : to put 
 them in mind, that cho' morality is 
 eflential to true religion, yet is not the 
 
 only 
 
xlii The Preface. 
 
 only thing a Chriftian audience fliould 
 hear of. Should they hear nothing of 
 the love and fear of God, the demerit 
 of man, and the degeneracy of human 
 nature, the redemption of the world, 
 the merits and mediation o(Jeftis Chrijiy 
 the immortality of the foul, the refur^ 
 redion, and the judgment of the laft day ! 
 the importance of prayer, of private and 
 of publick worflhip 5 the importance and 
 efficacy of the Chriftian ordinances 5 and 
 the indifpeniible duty of an humble and 
 diligent attendance at the facrament of 
 the Lord's fupper 5 the endlefs rewards of 
 riahreoufnefs, and retributions of guilt, 
 the horrors of ini<]uity, even in this 
 world, and the eternal torments that 
 
 await it in the next 5 • Are not 
 
 thefe the befl means and motives, ■ — ~ 
 the mofl effeftual, the only effedual^ 
 
 motives to morality ! knowing 
 
 the terrors of the Lord (fays the apoftle) 
 
The Preface. xliii 
 
 ewe perjiiade men. Will moral re£iitiide 
 and the heauty of ^ertue effectually 
 govern the vices and paffions of fuch 
 beings as we are? Will they concroul 
 ambition, fubdue appetite, and arreft 
 revenge? Idle and ignorant! and there- 
 fore the beft I can fay of thefe piauiibic 
 moralifcs, and their performances, is, 
 what our Saviour faid of thofe who 
 tjthed mint and rue^ and paffed owr 
 JUDGMENT, and the fear of God j 
 J'his ought ye to have done^ and kot 
 TO leave the other undone. 
 
 But is this the worft complaint 
 that lies againft the clergy? v\ho are 
 reported the great patrons of infidelity ? 
 who are faid to encourage it by their 
 (ilcnce, and countenance it by their 
 coldnefs ! who are charged with crying 
 up the light of nature, againft the light 
 of the gofpcl ? Whofe preaching is faid 
 
 3 to 
 
xliv The Preface. 
 
 to proclaim it, whofe principles to in- 
 fer it^ unnecellary ? ^udet hac oppro- 
 hria — 
 
 I F thefe men are wrong charged, as 
 Chriftian charity makes us hope they 
 are, the remedy is in their own hands: 
 let them vindicate their innocence to 
 the world : If they are true Chriftians, 
 and are not afiiamed of the gofpel and 
 crofs of Chriji, let them fpeak out. 
 
 Will they wait till the world 
 grows worfe ? Does it need to grow 
 worfe I Are not the greateft crimes 
 that can be named, perpetrated, and 
 defended ! perpetrated with impunity, 
 and defended with applaufe, from the 
 influence of thofe very principles, which 
 they are believed either to embrace or 
 to abet : I fiiall not defcend to particu- 
 lars, — the detail were dreadful ! 
 
 If 
 
The Preface. xlv 
 
 If men that abet thefe principles, 
 imagine themfelves not accountable to 
 their Maker, are they yet not accounta- 
 ble to their king and country, for all 
 the evils derived upon fociety, by chofe 
 immoralities they caufe or increafe ? 
 And for the murder of fubjcds, and 
 fellow-citizens, the avowed effects of 
 thefe doctrines! 
 
 If thefe mortals only murdered, each 
 himfelf, or his friend, fome, perhaps, 
 might imagine, that the world were 
 better without them 3 and Chriftian 
 charity might hope that God permitted 
 them, to incur this guilt, in prevention 
 of greater 5 but to murder innocent 
 children, (without the influence of 
 fuperfticion ) in cold blood, — upon a 
 principle of duty 5 -— nay, of huma- 
 nity ! 
 
xlvi The Preface. 
 
 nicy ! Is a horror, till now, unheard 
 of! A horror unknown to heathenifm ! 
 
 To what perdition will thele doc- 
 rrines drive us! If this be the humanity 
 of free-thinkings what is cruelty ? Can 
 any man confider this^ and not be 
 ftruck with that reflection of Solomon^ 
 A righteous man regardeth the life of 
 liis heaji^ hut the tender mercies of the 
 wicked are cruel ^ And yet could we 
 imagine it ended here ? — could it 
 terminate only in murder, — it might 
 be born. 
 
 I F others are calm under thefe cala- 
 mities, for my Ovvn part, I neither 
 envy, nor upbraid their ferenity. — — 
 They will, I hope, forgive the infirmity 
 of meaner mortals, who cannot fee 
 the ruins of infidelity w'ithour horror ! 
 who cannot furvey the dcftrudion of 
 
 the 
 
The Preface. xl 
 
 Vll 
 
 the giddy, the fenfual, the ambitious, 
 the unwary world around them, with 
 a cold unconcern. Mechinks it is but 
 a poor confolacion to a Chriftian fpirit, 
 to be innocent of the evils it beholds. 
 And if others can delight and glory in 
 them, God forgive them ! -— And yet 
 upon refl[ed:ion, fure ihey have but 
 little room co glory in the ruin ci ey 
 have wrought! for befices the honor 
 of fo hellifli a facislacaion, is it not 
 poflible they mav be permitted by 
 God to work thefe evils in the world 
 for their fins, (co fill up the meafure of 
 their iniquity! ) as others to endure 
 them for theirs ? Hut what docs this 
 infer? More worth, or more vilenefsl 
 Alas, the feverity of the chaftifement 
 no way infers the dignity of the fcouige! 
 tho' they have faid with the proud 
 boafter in Ifaiah (c. x. 13, ^c. ) By 
 the Jlrength of my hand I have done //, 
 
 and 
 
xlviii The Preface; 
 
 and hy my ^ifdom, for I am prudent : Z 
 Ija'i^e removed the hounds of the people^ 
 and have robbed their treafures^ — and 
 as one gather eth eggs that are lefty have 
 I gathered all the earth 5 and there ^as 
 none that moved the wing^ or opened 
 the mouthy or peeped : yet may we re- 
 ply upon them with the prophet, Shall 
 the ax boafi itfelf again jl him that 
 he^eth therewith /^ — jis if the rod 
 Jhould pah itfelf againfl them that lift 
 it up 5 as if the fiaff fjjould lift up itfelf 
 as if it were no wood. 
 
 Were thefe inftruments^ the pro- 
 phet fpeaks of, fenfible to monition^ 
 it were eafy to acquaint them with 
 their intrinfick worth : to let them 
 know, that they were, at beft, but 
 brafs and wood 3 their mifchiefs mighty ! 
 but their materials, mean. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 Differtation L 
 
 Of the forbidden fruiC. 
 
 NO IV L EDGE cf the fruits of 
 paradije ahjblutely neceffary for 
 Ad?in\'s prefei'vatiori^ p. 2. This 
 knowledge given to him by God^ 
 p. 3. T'he words y dying, thou 
 fhalt die, explained^ p. 4. Revelation mccf- 
 firy^ ibid. How Adam could he made mortal 
 and finful^ by eating an apple , confiflently with 
 divine juftlcej p. 5, 6. 7. Jnd by fitceffary 
 conjequence from the nature of things^ p. 8, 
 
 Vol. II, c Diffa- 
 
1 The C O N T E N T Sa 
 
 Diflertation II. 
 
 Of the knowledge of the brute world con- 
 veyed to Adam. 
 
 7ht5 knowledge necejfary^ that the crea- 
 tares might be ufeftil to Adam, p. ii. 7he 
 goodnefs of God required it to he given ^ p. 12. 
 I'he confeque72cej revelation necejffary^ p. 13. 
 Dominion over the creatures abjolutely necej^ 
 fry to Adam'j well being ; as alfo the know^ 
 ledge that he had this dominion^ p. 13, 14^ 
 J 5. T'he que ft ion how the ferfent could deceive 
 KvQ difcupd^ p. 1(5, 17, 18. She Jaw him 
 eat the fiuity and ajcrihe his power of Jpeech 
 and reafon to the eating of it^ p. 1 6. 'This 
 matter hriepy related^ and jit it fhould : there 
 IV as a necejfity that the conference fhould he 
 fhort^ p. 17, 18. If hat was necejfarily ini" 
 filed in ity p. 15), 20, m, 22. That Eve 
 faw the fir pent eat the fruity and afcribe his 
 power of Jpeech and reafon to it^ demon fir ated^ 
 p. 23, 24. iVhy Eve exprefjed no furprize 
 at hearing a brute fpeaky p. 24, 25, 26, 27. 
 
 Diflertation III. 
 I'he knowledge of marriage given to Adam. 
 
 The infeparahle union oj one man with one 
 
 v:omany a law of nature^ p. 28. This law 
 
 mpoJjM^ to he known to Adam, hut by reve-^ 
 
 ' . latioriy 
 
'the Contents- Ii 
 
 iation^ 1^, 30, 31, 32. 'fhis revchtion cow 
 ■firmed from Mat. xix. p. 32, ^'^. Probably 
 
 given as a fojit'ive inflltntton^ V* ?>'^* J^ 
 
 regarded by his fons^ and yet a law of 
 
 nature^ ibid, vhe confequence^ fojttivs 
 
 infiitutions not to be rejected. 
 
 Diffcrtation IVo 
 Of the skill of language infufed into Adam. 
 
 ^his skill necejfary to man as a fociable 
 creature^ p. 34. J he ufe of fpeech not from 
 nature 5 a fafflige in Herodotus confideredy 
 p. ^^. Adani not endowed with it by God, 
 had been in a worfe condition than a brtite^ 
 P- 3^> 37* Probably could not attain the 
 ends of his beings p. 38. 'Therefore the Mo- 
 faic account that it zvas given ^ true^ p. 3 p. 
 An inference from the precedent reafonings ; 
 five revelations now proved necejfary^ in ths 
 uti7iofl fuppofed perfection of human nature^ 
 the main dotirine of infidelity is overthrown^ 
 even upon the avowed principles of infidels. 
 The necejfary confequence is, that revelation is 
 now more neceffary^ p. 35), 40, 41. 'Ths 
 infoUnce of infidelity inexcufabky p. 41, 
 
 4a. 
 
 c 1 
 
 DIf- 
 
lii The C o n T E K T s, 
 
 Differtatton V. 
 
 Of the revelations which immediately fol- 
 lowed the fall. 
 
 T'his account mcejfanly ohfcure^ and 
 
 'vohy \ 1 bis ohfcuniy a jair frejiimptlon of 
 MofesV veracity^ p. 43, 44, 45. ^e fen^ 
 teace pjjjt^d upon Adam and Eve, p. 46, 
 47. ^0 thein dreadful^ ibid. Some flay of 
 hope in this extremity^ neceffary^ p. 48. 
 ^his hope to he deduced from that fentence 
 pajjld upon the ftr pent \ that fentence not to 
 be underflood literally^ ?• 45^) 5^. The ft r^ 
 fenCs curfe confUered^ p. ji, 52. ^hat^ in 
 fuiiy hs is cur Jed ^ P- 53- ^^^ curfe now 
 executed upon the ferpent of great ufe to 
 Adam and Eve, p. 54, 55. Why the curfe 
 upon the ferpent ought to he under flood to 
 refer to Satan, p. ^5. T'he Jryle of the fcrip-- 
 ture^ in calling vSatan the ferpent^ juflifedy 
 ibid, and p. 57. Ho'U) Adam and Eve could 
 have any idea of Jpirits^ p. ^y^ 58. And of 
 this fpirit in particular^ p. 55). Hoiv they 
 could fnd the true fen f of the fentence faffed 
 upon the ferpent^ p. 60, di, 62. The oh^ 
 ie^iot? to this way of interpreting^ in the 
 letter to Dr. Waterland, confidered^ p 64, 
 6^^ 66^ 6y. Believers require no more than 
 that Mofes fould he interpreted in the fafne 
 candid and rational way with all other wri^ 
 
 tersy p. ^7, <58- 
 
 X Differ- 
 
The C o N T E N T s. Iiii 
 
 DilTertatlon VI. 
 
 Concerning fome difficulties and objecllons 
 that lie againft the ^ioJiUc account of clic 
 fall. 
 
 Why God pumfljcd the ev'ilfp'irit under the 
 jignre of the Jerpent^ p. 6^. Ihh fiinijh" 
 merit ahfolutely necejjliry to prevent the dehi- 
 fion of Adam and Kve, in relation to a pnu- 
 ciple of evil^ p. 70, 71, 72. The figure of 
 the ferpent^ the only one tinder which Satan 
 could properly he pimifjed^ P- 7-) Th* ^Vhy 
 the ferpeyit was pumjhed^ being incapable of 
 guilty p. y^. 'The perfeBwn of the crea^ 
 tares bejlowed for the fake of man ^ p. 74, 75. 
 The infiriinmn of evil to be punfhed in rnanl- 
 feflation of God's abhorrence of guilty p. y^^^ 
 7<5. This piinifoment no injury to the crea- 
 tures^ p. 77. The wifdom and goodnefs of 
 God greatly manifsjled in the punifjjmeat of the 
 ferpent^ p. 78, y^^ 80. A hard que fion 
 put to unbeliever Sy p. 80. ffhy the tempter 
 chafe to work his delufon by the organs of the 
 ferpent^ p. 81, 82. Why our firfl parents 
 were punifhed for yielding to this delufon^ 
 p. 83, 84. Why this injlance of obedience 
 was exa^ed^ and this temptation thrown in 
 their way when God knew they would tranf- 
 grefsy p. 85, U, 87, 88, 8^, ^o. All diffi- 
 culties on this head cleared: paradije not 
 
 c 3 made 
 
liv The Contents. 
 
 made hi va'n^, tho' it JhouLi have lafled hiii 
 cm day^ p. 91, 5)2. OhjeSions to 'the con- 
 duct of God on this occajton anfwered^ P* 92, 
 5>3> ^4) 95' "^1-^^ ohjefi'wns from Cicero, 
 fi^b^ P- 5>i> 9^^ "fhofe from Jofephus, ///- 
 grounded, p. ^7. 
 
 Differtatlon VII. 
 
 Some farther difficulties ralating to the fall 
 confidercd. 
 
 T'heferpenfsfentence confdered, p. ^8, SCc. 
 His eating of duji, p. 103. The Ionian's 
 fentence confidtred^ p. 105. Sorrow from 
 conception peculiar to wo man ^ p. loj, 10 5. 
 Her forrow and her conceptions greatly multi- 
 plied above thofe of any other creature, p. io(^, 
 1 07. Infidels obliged to tell zis how this comes 
 to pafs, otherwife than from the curje upon 
 Eve, mentioned by Mofes, p, loS, 105). "fhe 
 latter part of the woman s fentence confidered^ 
 viz. her fubjcBion to her husband, p. lop! 
 Demon fir ably the efe£is of a curfe, p. no, 
 "The fentence pajpd upon Adam, conjdered, 
 p. 1 1 1, 1 1 2. ^ fuYvey of the fate of our 
 frji parents in paradife : that flat e the hap-, 
 fie ft and be ft that wifdom could wijh, or ima- 
 gin^tion form : the only condition of human 
 exiflence, every zmy worthy of God, p. 112, 
 113, 1 14. this account of the creation wor^ 
 thy a writer hijpired of God^ and fuck 
 
 OS 
 
The Contents. Iv 
 
 as no mortal could devife^ p. 113, 115. fj^hy 
 Adam fell^ aiid how he could fall by eating an 
 apple J reconftderedj p. ii(S, 117. Eve'j- /;;- 
 temperance^ regarded knowledge^ not food ; — 
 and was the confequence of that perfetiton In 
 which fhe was created^ p. 118, 119. Every 
 objeBion againji this revelation an argument of 
 its truth 
 
 Diflertation VIII. 
 
 Of facrifices. 
 
 In this dijfertation facrifces are evincedy 
 loth from reafbn andfcriptme^ to be oj divine 
 injiitution : and that by J'uch a plain chain of 
 reafonlng^ as is obvious to every capacity. 
 
 Differtation IX. 
 
 Concerning that corruption and degeneracy 
 of mankind, which drew down the divine 
 judgment in a deluge. 
 
 7he Jiate of the world^ and methods of 
 divine mercy with mankindy from the crea^ 
 tion to the flood ^ confidered^ p. 153, to 15^, 
 ^general enquiry how man became fo corrupt 
 injofhort afpace^ from p. 160, to idi. T'hc 
 defiructlon by the flood jufilfed, ip. 16^. ^hc 
 chief particular caufe of this corruption^ from 
 
 p. 164 to 170. 
 C 4 Differ- 
 
Ivi The C O N T E N T s, 
 
 Diflertation X. 
 
 Concerning the natural caiifes made ufe of 
 by Almighty God to flood the earth. 
 
 ^he deluge eajily accounted for from the 
 Mofaic account of tha [fate oj the earth imme^ 
 diately after the a cation^ compared with thz 
 fuhfequent Jcripture accounts^ both of the 
 creation ajid deluge^ from p. 171, to 178* 
 T'he lights oJ natural phi lofophy upon this heady 
 
 to p, 182. 
 
 Diflertation XL 
 
 Concerning the ends of divine wifdom 
 anfwered by the deluge. 
 
 The deluge a la fling proof of the providence 
 ef God in the punijhment of guilty p. 184. 
 the unreafonablenejs of in f dels ^ from p. 184, 
 to i8d. T'he deluge pojjibte upon the princi^ 
 fles of natural philofophy andafironorny^ p. 1 87, 
 188. Proved from the prefrnt fiate of the 
 earthy p. 188, i8p. T^/j jlate befi ac-^ 
 counted for from the Mofaic account^ of the 
 deluge^ p. 1^0, i^i, I pi. Infidels reduced 
 to a fad dilemma upon this head^ p. 15)2, 15)3. 
 T'he objeciion from particular deluges dijcuffedy 
 p. ip4, 195. Another end oj the deluge^ 
 was to take of the curfe from the earthy from 
 
The Contents. Ivri 
 
 p. ip5, to aoo. J'he fuppofition of but afmall 
 number of men then in the worlds enoneuusy 
 p. aoi. How the curfe mu[l be taken off" the 
 earth at this time^ farther explained^ p. 202. 
 How the upper firata of the earth could be 
 wafhed off^ by rainsy and rocks new formedy 
 
 p. 203, 1204, lOJ. 
 
 Diflertation XII. 
 
 Objeftions to the Mofaic account of the 
 deluge, and this explication of it, con- 
 iidered, 
 
 ^he objeBiony that man Ji ill toils y and the 
 earth is fill curjed with thorns and thlflhs^ 
 anfweredy from p. ao5, to 208. That thz 
 rainbow was the mofl proper fignal of a cove-- 
 vant never more to defroy the earth by a delugCy 
 from p. 205>, to 212. T'his confrmed from 
 the tradition of antiquity y in relation to Iris, 
 
 p. 212, 213, 
 
 Diflertation XIII. 
 
 Of the concurrence of all antiquity with the 
 Mofaic account of the deluge. 
 
 fhis dijprtation ^contains and compares 
 thofe teflimonies of antiquity which are 
 cited by Jofephus and Eufcbius upon this 
 fointy and places the chara^ers of thofe two 
 
 great 
 
Iviii The Contents. 
 
 great men i» their trus light ^ from 215, to 
 
 Differtation XIV. 
 
 Of other teftimonies relating to the deluge. 
 
 T'he Greek mythology upon this point con- 
 fidered^ from p. 235), to 242. fhe tefiimo" 
 nies of VhiOy Plutarch, and Lucian, p. 243, 
 ^44. fhe tejiimonies ^Fabius Piftor, Pliny, 
 and Ammianus Marcellinus, p. 245, to 248. 
 ^he na?nes of coantrieSj mountains^ and river s^ 
 as alfo the infcriptions of coins confirming the 
 fame things 24^, 250. Jin abjira£i ofFaU 
 conerius'j dijfertations upon two particular 
 coins relating to the deluge^ with the impreffes 
 mi infcriptions of thofe coins y p. 2ji, to 
 
 Differtation XV. 
 
 Some Difficulties relating to Noah's ark 
 confidered. 
 
 Relating to the contents and duration of it. 
 7'hefe points fufficiently cleared and attefied^ 
 as alfo new objeilions relating to the flood 
 removed^ from p. 256, to 270. 7'he evidences 
 relating to the flood fummed up in a fhort 
 peroration^ p. 270, 27 1« 
 
 - ^-^ T^E 
 
[lix] 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 Diflertation I. 
 
 Of the grant of animal food made to Noah 
 after the flood. 
 
 HIS grant refiratnedy Hood excepted^ 
 p. I, 2. The feven precepts of the 
 fons of Noah, p. 3. The excep^-^ 
 tion of the blood intended to prevent 
 cruelty .^ p. 5. The method taken in this dif- 
 fertation^ p. 8. Eating of blood prohibited^ 
 p. ^, 10, II. The blood appointed to make 
 atonement^ p, 11, 12, 13, 14, ji difficulty 
 upon this point conjtdered^ p. 14, ij^ kJ. 
 Other reafons of the prohibition of eating 
 
 bloody p, 175 gCc. 
 
 Blood an inflaming food. 
 
 p. 21 
 
Ix The Contents* 
 
 p. 21. Jin objeciion to this opinion anfwered^ 
 p. 2 2. Eating blood a caiife of fcorhutick 
 habits^ p. 23. Flefly drained of the blood 
 more Jalutary and ujef til, p. 24. Luxury pro- 
 hibited by the prohibition of things firangledy 
 p. 24, 25. Eating blood gave occafion to Ido- 
 latry^ as well as cruelty^ p. 16, The goodnefs 
 of God In prohibiting Itj p. 27. T'hls pro- 
 hibition Jl HI rejis upon Chrijiians^ p. 28, 
 
 ac. 
 
 Differtation II. 
 
 The apofloUch decree about bloody 8Cc. not 
 temporary^ p. 35, 36. The cbjeBlon^ that 
 facrificcs were a type of Chrljl, confdered^ 
 p. 36, 37. The obje^lon^ that blood is eaten 
 in all flefh, con^'dered^ p. 38, ^9. Blood and 
 things firangledy prohibited under the denomi^ 
 Elation of nece£ary things^ P* 4i) ^.c. 7'he 
 apofoHck decree did not refpeB the Jewilh 
 profclytes^ p. 44, SCc ihe obje^ion^ that 
 the apoftolick decree refpeded not the 
 queftion debated, confidtred^ p. 50, 51, The 
 obje^lon^ that it relpefted only thofe to 
 whom it was direded, p» S^^ i^- ^^^ ^^^ 
 jetilon^ (p. 53.) that the neceffity of this 
 decree is now ceafed, p, 54, &c. The ob^ 
 jeBlon from thefe words j Not that which 
 goeth into the mouth defileth the man, 
 conjidered^ p. 57, &c. The ohfe^ilon from 
 St. PcterV vlfon^ conjderedy p* 62, 63. 
 
 St. 
 
The Contents- kl 
 
 St, Paul'i fennijffwn to eat what ever is fold 
 in the fhambles, &c, cofjfidered^ p. 64, £Cc. 
 'The ohjetiion from the defect ivenefs of the 
 text^ p. 70. Such fuinute prohibitions not 
 unworthy of God^ p. 71. T'he importance 
 of the prohibitions contained in this decree^ 
 p. 73. A fummary perorationy p. 74, &c, 
 
 DIflertation III. 
 
 Of the building of Baleh 
 
 No neceffty of confining even the heginning 
 §f this zuork to the time of Peleg'j birtk^ 
 p. 82, 83. T'he method taken in this dijpr^ 
 tation^ p. 83. The teflimonies of Herodotus 
 and Arrian concerning this tower ^ p. 84. Its 
 Jlrength and fuppoj'ed -founders^ p. 85, %6. 
 Upon the foot of the antient chronology it 
 could not he built in that early age by the 
 power or wealth of one man^ p. 87, 88. Upon 
 the foot of Sir Ifaac Nevvton'j corredion of 
 antient chronology the heathen fiippofed joun^ 
 dcrs of this tower had no being till long after 
 Mofes, p. 85). A remarkable pafjage in 
 Diodorus, p. 5)0. T'he ends propofed from 
 building this tower^ i* 9^-> 9^y ^^- ^^^ ^^^^ 
 propofed by God in defeating this projeci^ 
 p. ^0, &Cc. T'he vbjectivn^ that increale of 
 men muft caufc a variety of tongues, con- 
 fide red ^ p. 105, SCc. The Molaic account of 
 this tower confirmed hy anti^iuity^ p. i r i. 
 
 Differ- 
 
Ixii The ConteIn^ts, 
 
 Differtation IV. 
 
 Concerning the prediftions relating tcf 
 iJhmaeL 
 
 'fhefe pedtBions recited^ p. 117. Ex-^ 
 flainedy p. 117, n8, 5Cc. His chara^er 
 continued in his defcendants^ p. 121, SCc 
 fthe prediffions concerning Ifhmael confidered 
 in their order : the Arabians defcended from 
 him^ p. 124, &c. fi^hy Alexander medi- 
 tated an expedition againji the Iflimaelites, 
 p. 131. neir condition from thence to 
 Trajan, to p. 1 34. Trajan'j expedition againji 
 theniy p. 134, &c. Severus'j- expedition^ 
 p. 140, &lc. 7'he great prophecy concerning 
 lUxm^oi fulfilled^ p. 147. f his prophecy be- 
 yond the reach of human foreftght^ and con-^ 
 tradi^ory to principles of policy y p. 145), 
 
 scc. ;,; 
 
 Differtation V. 
 
 Of Gircumcifion. 
 
 nis rite enjoined Abraham, p. 152. T'he 
 reajbn of ity p. 153. T'he method of this 
 differtation^ p. 157. Circumcifion could only 
 obtain among mankind from divine inflitutiofiy 
 p. 158, &c. Other pretended reafons of it 
 4:on fide red y p. 160, i6i, T^he true reafons of 
 
 ity 
 
The Contents. Ixiii 
 
 ity p. 162, 8Cc. Oh'jeBions to tie divine 
 infiltutlon of this rite from Sir John Mar- 
 Iham, confideredy p. i<J8, &c. fhls rite not 
 in ufe with the Egyptians yr^;;^ the beginnings 
 p. 176. fhe coyueffions of Philo and Jofc- 
 phus on this head conjidered^ p. 180, 181, 
 &Cc. An ohjeBlon on this head^ from a late 
 author of great fame^ p. 184. A conje^iurc 
 why clrcumclfon was appointed on the eighth 
 day^ p. 187. fhls rite probably not In ufe 
 with the Egyptians at the time of Moths' s 
 birth^ p. 188. fhe origine of this rite among 
 the Egyptians accounted for y p. 1^0, &lc^ 
 
 Diflertation VI. 
 
 Of the deftruftion of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 T'he method of this dlffertatlon^ p. noi. 
 Ofie great end of recording the converfatlon in 
 relation to the defiruEiion of Sodom, p. 201, 
 8Cc. Abraham's conduEi In this converfatlon 
 crltlclfedj ao8, 6Cc. Another reafon of re» 
 cording this converfatlon^ an, 6Cc. A great 
 end attained by the antecedent communication 
 of God's purpofe to defiroy Sodom, p. 216", 
 8Cc. . Tefilmonles of antiquity in relation to 
 Abraham, p. 2.17. Another end of record-^ 
 ing the hi/iory of the dejiruEilon of Sodom, 
 p. I21. Heathen tejilmonies relating to the 
 dellru^ion o/' Sodom, p. 225. Of the pillar 
 of fait into which Lot's wife was changed^ 
 
 p. 227, 
 
Ixiv The Contents. 
 
 p. 227, SCc. fhe fable of Niobe and Or- 
 pheus p'obably derived J rem this hijioryy 
 
 p. 230. 
 
 Differtation VII. 
 
 Of the command given to Abraham to 
 facrifice his fon. 
 
 Areafon of the revilings againfi Abraham, 
 p. 233. T'he method of this differtation^ 
 p. 234. I'his command not iinjufi^ p. 235, 
 ^he affertion of an eminent writer on this 
 foint examined^ p. 2 3 (5, SCc. T'his command 
 given in trial of Abraham'^ fatth^ p. 240, 
 241. T'he, goodnefs of God in giving ity 
 p. 242, SCc. Abraham* J Obedience^ fuch as 
 became a wife and a good man^ p. 245, 246". 
 J'he merit of Ifaac'j' obedience^ p. 247, 248. 
 ^he great objc£iion of the adverfaries confide redy 
 p. 24Q, &c. Another objeEiion^ p. 2ji. A 
 (hart view of the argument in javour of this 
 co7nmandy p. 256. 
 
 Differtation VIII. 
 
 A fort recapitulation of the precedent 
 differtation, p. 258. l^he ob'je^ficn^ that a 
 religion commanding parents to facrifice their 
 children cannot come from God, confderedy 
 p. 261. Abraham'j conduct on this occafiofty 
 compared with other epctraordinary occajtons^ 
 
 p. 263, 
 
The Contents. hv 
 
 2^3. How Abraham cou/d hwzv th.it 
 
 ^^5. 
 
 this command came, jrom GvJ^ p. 
 &c. The ohjeEitO}}^ that Abraham obeyed 
 without the leaft hefitation, or expoftulation, 
 confidertd^ p. lyG, Coyitiadichry ohjetiions 
 urged again fl Abraham, p. 27^. I'hts com- 
 mand^ equally calculated to frevent human 
 
 Jaciijices^ or to ahoVijh them^ p. 281. A 
 
 fummary view cf the whole argument^ p. 285. 
 A Jljort review of four revelations confide red 
 in this period^ p. 289. 
 
 Vox,. II. 
 
 T II E 
 
A 
 
[ Ixvii ] 
 
 THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T hath been objeded to the firfl 
 part of this work, that the write- 
 ings of Mojes are there confi- 
 dered as divinely infpircd, with- 
 out being firft proved to be fo. 
 But this objedion arifes from not rightly 
 attending to the title of the book ; in which 
 it is not propofed to examine the revelations 
 given, but declared to he given. 
 
 The author obferved two things mainly 
 infiftcd upon, in the writings of thofe great 
 men who now govern the world. The firft 
 was, that revelation never was neceffary : the 
 fecond, that the revelations pretended to be 
 laid down in the fcriptures, are loaded with 
 abfurdities. 
 
 d % Thes5 
 
Ixvlii I N T R O D U C T I O K. 
 
 These two points he confidered with all 
 the attention he could, and the confequence 
 of this conhderation was, that he found 
 revelation to be neceflary (as far as he 
 went) in every inftance mentioned by MofeSy 
 i. e. in all thofe points wherein Mofes tells 
 us it was given- That revelation was abfo- 
 lately neceflary even in the utmoll fup- 
 poled perfection of human nature. And he 
 takes upon him to fay, that he hath demon- 
 ftrated this, in the feveral inltances, of food, 
 language, knowledge of the creatures, and 
 dominion over them. And if revelation was 
 neceflary in the utmofl; fuppofed perfeftion 
 of human nature, the neceffary confequence, 
 is, that it was more neceflary in its dege- 
 neracy* 
 
 In the next place, he found thefe reve- 
 lations recorded by Mafes^ upon a due 
 enquiry, clearly acquitted of abfurdity to 
 every thinking, intelligent reader ; and he 
 hath ftiewn them to be fo. And that, in 
 truth, the imputations with which they are 
 jjoaded, are the manifeft effects of abfurdity, 
 and grofs ignorance, in the imputers. 
 
 i\l E N quarrel with the reftraints there 
 laid to be laid on our firfl: parents. In 
 snfwer to this, he hath clearly fliewn, 
 that feme rcfiraint was for the interefl: of 
 
 our 
 
Introduction. ki^ 
 
 pur firft parents ; and was abfolutely neccf- 
 fary in token of dependance ; and that no 
 relirainr could he more rational than thai: 
 recounted by Mofes^ in a ftate where moral 
 reftraints could not take place, or were not 
 wanted. 
 
 Moses rcprcfents j4dam endowed with 
 the knowledge of marriage, according tq 
 the law of nature. Jldcwi could have that 
 knowledge only from infpiration : nor could 
 Mojes fay he had it, otherwile than by 
 inlpiration, inafmuch as he himfelf, in all 
 human probability, had it not \ as, by- 
 God's bleffing, fhail be fhewn hereafter, 
 
 MOSES reprefents Eve as deluded by a 
 ferpent to eat the forbidden fruit, from the 
 
 hopes of acquiring more knowledge. 
 
 That temptation hath been proved to be the 
 firongcft and the wifeft that could be devifed. 
 It hath been clearly fhewn, that Ihe faw the 
 ferpent eat the fruit, and become vocal and 
 rational, as fhe thought, by eating it : and 
 that upon this fuppofiiion, her hopes of 
 approaching the divine perfection in know*- 
 
 ledge, were well founded. So that this 
 
 fcheme of deception, tho' at firft fight feem- 
 ingly abfurd, was, in truth, the wifeft, the 
 moft fubtil fpirit of hell could invent : 
 and confeqnently, far above the power of 
 Mofes to devifc. 
 
 It 
 
Ixx Introduction. 
 
 It was alfo flicwn, that ^c1a?n and Eve 
 had, in the curfc of the ferpent, a demonftra- 
 tion that this dehifion was wrought by a 
 fpirit of fuperior fubtilty, acting by the or- 
 gans of the ferpent. 
 
 MOSES reprefents God, as infliding a 
 peculiar curfe upon Eve^ on this occafion ; 
 and it hath been ihewn, that this curfe ftill 
 refts upon her daughters. And if the proofs 
 offered on that head, are thought defedive, 
 or inconclufive, the author here declares, 
 that he fhould be glad to fee a fair effort 
 from the infidel world to confute them. 
 
 A/0 tJE 6* reprefents the facrifice of j^hel^ 
 as accepted with approbation by Almighty 
 God: (a fuppofition much ridiculed by 
 libertines) Tht^iXxihoxoi Reflation Examin'dj 
 hath demonftrated, that facrifices were of 
 divine inftitution ; and that many ends of 
 infinite wifdom and goodnefs were anfwered 
 by that inftitution. A demonflration as 
 clear as any in Euclid. 
 
 MOSES affirms, that God deluged the 
 
 world. The fad hath been proved in the 
 
 firfl part of this work, by fuch complicated 
 and accumulated evidence, as, I believe, no 
 infidel will attempt to overthrow. Mofes 
 then is demonftrated to be a true hiflorian ; 
 
 and 
 
Introduction. Ixxi 
 
 and if he is found faithful in the relation of 
 fafts, of all others the leaft credible, and 
 circumftanccs above the power of human 
 wifdom to devife, it is incumbent upon the 
 adverfaries of revelation, to tell us, how he 
 could have this knowledge, otherwife than 
 
 by infpiration : it is evident he muft 
 
 have it either by infpiration, or fuch tradi- 
 tion as demonftrates its own truth : and either 
 way his veracity is thus far eftablifhed. 
 
 How far he is credible in his fubfeqnent 
 relations, I mean, how far he is evinced to 
 be lb, in the following diflertations, the 
 reader will bell judge for himfelf. 
 
 RE VE. 
 
REVELATION 
 
 EX A MIN'D, &"€. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 Dissertation I. 
 
 Co77ceYning the grant of animal food 
 made to Noah after the flood. 
 
 E learn from the ninth This grant 
 chapter of Genefjs, that ^'^ ^^"'''^^• 
 foon after the Flood, the charter 
 vt^'^J^Q^ of dominion over the animal 
 ^"^^^^^^^ World, given to Adam, was 
 enlarged to Noab\ the creatures being now 
 granted to him, and, in him, to mankind, for 
 food: but granted, however, under this 
 plain reftridlon, that they fhouid not eat the 
 blood v/ith the tiefh. This appears from the 
 Vol. IL B third 
 
1 Revelation Exanmd^ &c. 
 
 third and fourth verfes of that chapter: 
 verfe 3 . Every moving thing that livethy jhalt 
 be meat for you ; even as the green herb^ have 
 I given you all things : Here is the grant : 
 After that immediately follows the reftridtion j 
 but jlefld with the life thereof^ which is the 
 blood thereof, jlmll you not eat. Here you 
 fee the grant is limited; and this limitation 
 plainly teaches us, that though man was 
 allowed to eat the fleih of the creatures, yet 
 he was not allowed to eat the blood with 
 it. 
 
 Now one obvious apparent reafon of 
 this reftridion, is, to prevent unneceffary 
 cruelty in the ufe of the creatures. Tho* 
 God, in his goodnefs, allowed us to eat 
 them, yet the fame goodnefs, would not 
 allow us, to be wantonly cruel or brutal, 
 in their deftrudion : would not allow us, to 
 devour them piece-meal, or to eat them 
 alive, like wolves and tygers: but requires, 
 that we ihould firft difpatch them, by drain- 
 ing the blood from them : and this feems to 
 be the fenfe of the Jews, upon this text, 
 when they tell us, that it prohibits the limb 
 of a living creature: For if prohibiting the 
 limb of a living creature, be not a prohibi- 
 tion of cruelty to the creature, it is certainly 
 a prohibition, of no fenfe, or fignilicancy. 
 
Revelation Examhid^ &cc. 5 
 
 'Tis a fundamental dodtrine with them, 
 * that revelations were given to mankind, 
 from the beginning; that God gave Adam^ 
 fix grand principal precepts, by which to 
 condudt his life, and govern focietv; and 
 thefe, they fay, are the fundamental princi- 
 ples of the law of nature, and are as fol- 
 low; 
 
 Firft, To abfiain from idol a- Theferenpre- 
 
 try. Secondly, "To hlefi the rons'of'Llt 
 Name of God-, or, as others ex- 
 prefs it, to abflain from nialediBion of the 
 Divifje Name, Thirdly, To abflain from 
 murder. Fourthly, From adultery, or the 
 pollution of impure mixtures. Fifthly, 
 Fro7n theft. And fixthly, To appoint judges 
 to be guardians of theje precepts-, or, in 
 general, to preferve publick juftice. And 
 that to thefe fix, given to Adam, a feventh 
 was added to Noah, viz. To abflain from the 
 limb of a living creature. Not that it was 
 lawful to eat the limbs of living creatures, 
 before Noah\ for it always was unlawful^ 
 before the flood: (God not having then 
 granred the animal world toman for food): 
 but becaufe, upon the enlargement of the 
 
 * Vid. Sdden de jure nat. Sc genr. juxta fent. Heb. 1. i.' 
 c.5>, lo, 
 
 B 2 firfl 
 
4 Revelation Exammd^ tec. 
 
 firft riglit of dominion over the creatures, 
 when they were granted to man for food, 
 under the Hmitation now mentioned, this 
 precept to Noal\ was added to the fix before 
 given to Adam. And thefe feven precepts 
 thev call. The feve?2 precepts of the Jons of 
 Noah, that is, the rules, which all the 
 defccndants of Nool\ v/ere obliged to ob- 
 ferve; and confequently, the obfervance of 
 w^hich, they exafted from all the Gentiles 
 which dwelt among them. 
 
 As for thenifelves, tho' they alfo, as 
 defcended of Noah^ were bound to the fame 
 obfervances, yet were they tied down to 
 other ordinances, and refhraints, befides 
 thefe. Such as, clrcumicifion, derived from 
 Ahrahani'y and the precepts of the law, 
 derived from Mofes, from which, other 
 nations were exempted 5 but the k\tn pre- 
 cepts of the fons of Noal\ were rules of 
 duty, which the whole race of mankind, 
 wxre obliged to obferve, in common wiUi 
 them. 
 
 Whether the Jews are right in thefe 
 opinions, is not now my concern to en- 
 quire j my chief view in recounting them, 
 is, to let the reader fee, that in their icnic^ 
 a new revelation was nov/ neceflary : that it 
 was {Qj in other refpecfls, does not appear: 
 
 For- 
 
Revelation Examhidy 8cc. 5 
 
 Forafmiich as Noah being a pro- Theiimimion 
 phet, and preacher of righteouf- J" ^J^ mtcn- 
 nefs, mull be prefumed fuffi- clcd ro prevent 
 ciently acquainted with the Di- ^^^'^'"y- 
 vine Will; and fufficiently enabled to in- 
 fl:ru(ft his children in it. But thus much, I 
 think, muft be allowed, that a new grant 
 required a new revelation 3 alfo, that infinite 
 wiidom and goodnefs required, tliat this 
 grant fliould be limited. 
 
 Nor can we reafonably doubt this, 
 
 If wc confider, that when God gave Man 
 a right to the creatures for food, he forefav/ 
 that this indulgence would many ways be 
 abufed: and therefore guarded againft that 
 abufe, as a wife legiflator fliould, by fuch a 
 prohibition, as, if obferved (as he intended 
 it) would effed:ually prevent ir. He knew, 
 that the earth v/as Jul/ of "violence^ i. e. of 
 cruelty and outrage, before the flood: and 
 that this right now given, of deftroying the 
 creatures for food, would, if not wifely 
 tempered and reftrained, naturally tend to 
 inflame men to cruelty; that the beft way 
 to prevent this, w^as, by prohibiting all unne- 
 ceiTary cruelty in the exercife of that right. 
 
 Besides this, upon the grant cf domi- 
 nion over life, there w^as an apparent n€- 
 peflity, of eflablifhing a clear difiincl^ion, 
 
 B 3 between 
 
6 Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 between the lives of brutes, now granted 
 for food, and the lives of men, made facred, 
 by the feal of their Maker's irrrage, ftamped 
 upon themj and therefore, the* the prohi- 
 bition of cruelty to the creatures, was a 
 molt proper introduftjon to the prohibition 
 of cruelty to man, which immediately fol- 
 lows it : it was thought proper, to en- 
 force that prohibition yet farther, by the 
 facred diftindlion, of man's being formed in 
 the image of God, — ^ for i?2 the image of 
 God^ made he man. 
 
 If God would not allow man to be cruel 
 to other creatures, even tho' their lives were 
 put into his power, much lefs, would he 
 permit one man, to be cruel to another, or 
 to take away the life of another, over whom 
 he had given him no right, no power ; and 
 therefore he declares, that the man who fhall 
 dare to incur fuch guilt, fhall have fevere 
 vengeance executed upon him,; and that he 
 will require the blood fo fpilt, at the hand 
 both of man and beaft. 
 
 The expreffion here ufed, of requiring 
 any thing at the hand of a beaft, muft, doubt- 
 lefs, found harfli to ears unufed to fuch an 
 idiom: and therefore we fliculd know, 
 that the Hebrew word 1% which is here in- 
 terpreted a hand, is a word of large extent, 
 and fignifies aliib firength, and power: and 
 
 con- 
 
Revelation Exammdy 6cc. 7 
 
 confequently, the meaning of it, in this 
 place, is, that God will require the blood of 
 man, from the ftrength or power of every 
 beall; or rather, as it is in the original, of 
 every I'rcing creature^ i.e. from the ftrength 
 and power of the whole brute world; and 
 alfo at the hand^ or from the ftrength of 
 man. Nay, at the hand of every maris bro- 
 ther "Will I require the life of ma?i, faith the 
 Lord. All which feems plainly to imply, 
 that God would arm the whole creation 
 againft the murderer. As nothing is more 
 notorious, than the puniftiment of that crime 
 by fignal interpofttions of the Divine Pro- 
 vidence, in a great variety of very extraor- 
 dinary ways, and methods, and by a great 
 variety of very extraordinary inftruments^ 
 as we know, God hath fometimes armed even 
 the meaneft infedls, to the deftrudion of fuch 
 wretches. As in the cafe of Herod ^ Sylla^ 
 and Philip the fecond of Spain ; three noto- 
 rious murderers, who were devoured with 
 infedls, from their own bofoms and bowels. 
 And that thefe judgments are agreeable to 
 the fenfe of mankind, we may learn, as 
 from many other inftances, fo alfo from that 
 paftlige in the twenty-eighth chapter of the 
 A^s of the Holy Apofles-y where the Ba-r- 
 harians obferving the viper to faften upon 
 St. Paul's hand, immediately concluded him 
 a murderer, whoin, tho* he ha^ efcaped 
 
 B 4 the 
 
8 Revelation Examhul^ &cc. 
 
 the fea, yet vengeance ivould not Jnffer to 
 
 live. 
 
 Having thus explained the grant to 
 Noah, and ihewn you, that cruelty to the 
 creatures, is plainly prohibited in the words 
 fubfequent to it, and that this prohibition 
 was a very proper introdud:ion to the prohi- 
 bition of murder, which immediately fol- 
 lows it, under the m.oft folemn denunciation 
 of vengeance from God, upon the offender : 
 and under the moft facred diftind;ion of the 
 dignity and importance of the human life, 
 above the brutal: 1 now proceed to en- 
 quire. 
 
 Whether eat- JF/r/?, Wh ET H E R the eating 
 
 fofbidden. *^ ^^ blood, is uot alfo forbidden by 
 this prohibition of eating the 
 
 fiefh with the blood? and, if it be, 1 
 
 ihall, 
 
 Secondly, E n qjj i r e into the reafons of 
 this prohibition. 
 
 thirdly, I w i L L fhew you, that this prohi- 
 bition ftill lies upon all mankind : and upon 
 Chriliians in a peculiar manner. And, 
 
 Lajily, I shall, by God's affiilance, 
 anfwer all the objedions, of any weight, 
 that can be brought againft this dodrine. 
 
 Firji 
 
Fevelatiok Examtnd^ Sec. 9 
 
 Firji then, I am to enquire, whether feed- 
 ing upon blood be forbidden in this prohibition: 
 But fr'Jl\ i^itb the life thereof, ichich is the 
 
 blood thereof, Jhall sou 720t eat. And furely 
 
 the moft natural and obvious interpretation of 
 the words, is this : Tho' I give you the fiefli, 
 you muft not eat the blood with it ; or, in 
 other words, Tho' I give you the flelli, I ^o 
 not give you the blood with it, becaufe the 
 blood is the life *. 
 
 When princes give grants of lands to any 
 of their fubjecfts, we find it ufual with them 
 to referve fome royalties upon thofe lands, 
 as memorials of dependance, and in tOxken 
 that the original property was in them; and 
 mines and minerals, are among fuch royal- 
 ties. Now, fuppofing that all lands, con- 
 tained mines and minerals, fuch as are wont 
 to be excepted, if no mention had been 
 made of mines and minerals, in the grant, 
 probably they v/ould be underftood to be 
 conveyed with the land, by fuch grant ; 
 but if the grant were thus exprefly limited; 
 You (liall have fuch or fuch lordQ:iips or 
 manors; but you fl:iall not have the mines 
 and minerals with the land (for fuch and fuch 
 reafons, would any man, in his fenfes, ima- 
 
 * And fo the learned authors of the univcrfal hi/Ior/ under- 
 hand the precept, N. 2. p. 11+. 
 
 gine, 
 
10 Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 glne, that the grantee had a right to mines; 
 and minerals from fuch a grant? No furely ■ 
 
 'And is not the cafe parallel in the point 
 
 before us ? You fliall have every living 
 creature for food : but you fhall not eat the 
 blood with the flefh. Can any man reafon- 
 ably infer from hence, that he has a right to 
 eat the blood ? At leaft, I think, no man 
 can fairly infer that here is an exprefs grant 
 made of the blood ; and, without fuch a 
 grant, 'tis certain we may not eat it ; becaufe 
 no man has a right to any creature, or any 
 part or portion of a creature, but from the gift 
 of the Creator. 
 
 But if there yet remain any doubt upon 
 this head, yet fmce this is a grant from, 
 God, I believe it will be allowed, that God 
 underftands, and confequently^ explains his 
 own grants beft: Now we find, that God 
 himfelf exprefly prohibits the eating of 
 blood, not only to the Jews^ but to all 
 ftrangers that dwelt among them \ (as you 
 inay read in the feventeentli chapter of Levi- 
 ticus^ at the tenth verfe), And whatfoever 
 man there he of the houje of Ifrael, or of the 
 grangers that fojoiirn among yoii^ that eateth 
 any manner of bloody I will even fet my face 
 agai7}Jl that foul that eateth bloody and I will 
 cut him off from amo?ig his people. This 
 certainly is a very folemn and dreadful pro- 
 hibition ! and when God hath made this 
 
 folemr^ 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &c. \ \ 
 
 iblemn prohibition, he immediately adds the 
 reafon of it, verfe ii; For the life of the feJJ? 
 is the blood. And is not this very realon con- 
 tained in the prohibition to Noah ? But jlefo 
 *with the life thereoj^ which is the blood thereof^ 
 pall you not eat. 
 
 This prohibition is alfo m.ore fully explained 
 in the 1 2th chapter of Deuteronomy the 23d and 
 24th verfes. Only be fiwe that thou eat not the 
 blood, for the blood is the life 3 and thou mayjl 
 
 not eat the lije with the flejh ; thou Jljalt not 
 
 eat it, thou fhalt pour it upon the earth as water. 
 
 Now the reafon of abidaining from blood 
 being the fame here as in the command of 
 abilinence to Noah, viz. (hecaufe it is the life) 
 'tis evident that this prohibition, though more 
 enlarged, is but a comment upon that ; from 
 whence it follows, beyond all doubt, that the 
 prohibition of eating the blood, with the flefli^ 
 was meant an abfolute prohibition of blood, 
 whether in the animal or out, — — and fo (as 
 I apprehend) the Jews now univerfally un- 
 derftand it. 
 
 But this point will, I think, be placed 
 beyond the reach of all reafonable doubt, 
 by refieding upon what I before obferved in 
 the dilTertation upon facrifices, that they 
 were divinely inftituted: and in m^ercy to 
 maiikind 5 and that one plain document 
 
 con- 
 
II Revelation £x^;;;/;/ J, &cc. 
 
 conveyed by this inftitiition, was, that God 
 would accept the life of the creature offered 
 up upon the altar, in lieu of the offender's 
 life, forfeited by his tranfgreffion ; now, if 
 it be believed, that the way of offering up 
 the creature's life, before the flood, as well 
 as after, was, by pouring out his blood up- 
 on the altar; (which, I think, cannot rea- 
 lonably be doubted '^) ; and if Noah under- 
 flood all this, I defire to know, what Noab 
 could naturally underfland by the prohibition 
 of eating the fledi with the life, /. e. the blood; 
 but plainly this, that fincethe lives of the crea- 
 tures were ftillto be offered up upon the altar, 
 after the grant of eating flttfh, as well as be- 
 fore, the blood, which was the life, muff ftill 
 be poured out to make atonement; and con- 
 fequently, not diverted to any other ufe ? 
 
 Can any confidering man find the leaft 
 room to doubt, whether every thing effen- 
 tial in the bu fine fs offacrifice, w^as inftituted 
 antecedent to the law of IvJofes : or v/hcther 
 blood is an effential ? Things of lefs con- 
 fequence, the diftincflion of creatures, clean, 
 and unclean, the offering of fat, and the 
 doClrinc of burnt-offerings, were well under- 
 ftood before the law; And can we imagine 
 that an effential was unknown ? 
 
 See a paflj^^ to this purpofc in S;incJ mutho'$\ii?i.gznGT. j-. 
 
Ke\ EL Arioi>^ Examindy &c. ij 
 
 If then blood was facred to the making of 
 atonement, before the giant to NcaL\ (as 
 there is not the leaft rcafon to doubt that it 
 was), Why fliould it not continue fo after? 
 Does that grant make any alteration in that 
 point ? If it was given for atonement under 
 the law, Can we fufped: that it was given 
 for any other purpofe before? Is it not mere 
 rational to believe a confiflency and unifor- 
 mity in the purpofes and appointments of 
 Providence ? If Noah knew, that the lives 
 of the creatures . were appointed to be ofered 
 up, in lieu of the lives of offenders, forfeited 
 by their tranfgreffions, what other inftruc- 
 tion needed he upon the grant of the crea- 
 tures for food, but to be told, that the 
 blood was the life^ and that he muft not eat 
 it, even with the flefli ? that he was not to 
 eat it, feparate, was no way necelTary to be 
 told him. 
 
 Slaying and Sacrificing, are known to 
 by fynonymous terms, in the oldeil learned 
 languages; in Latin^ and Greek^ and He- 
 hrew\ vv^hat can be more naturally inferred 
 from lience, than that thele ad:icns were, 
 originally, one ; and continued to be fo, 
 after the grant of the creatures for food; 
 efpecially, firxe rcafon requiied it fliculd be 
 fo? For if men fiaying the creatures for 
 (uilenancc, could at the fame time, make 
 
 atone- 
 
i4 Revelation Exammd^ &cc. 
 
 atonement for fin, and a religious and thank- 
 ful acknowledgment of the divine bounty in 
 the grant of fuch food, Were it vA(q to 
 neglect to do fo ? And fhall this pradiice be 
 yet cenfured of fu perdition ? Can the fame 
 thing be at once the dictate of true religion 
 and reafon, and folly? 
 
 'Tis true, this duty was reduced to cer- 
 tain regulations under the Jewijh oeconomy ; 
 and flaying and facrificing might pofTibly 
 have been diflind: actions among them, after 
 the eftablifhment of the temple-fervice ; but, 
 I believe it will be allowed, that they con- 
 tinued to be one and the famCj long after 
 this, with the wifefl and moft religious of 
 the heathen v/orld : and it is certain, that 
 this diilinclion among the Jews^ made no 
 alteration in the duty of abftinence from 
 blood 5 nor does it follow, but that the 
 creatures might ftill be killed, even by them^ 
 under a conflant i^iii^ of religion and grati- 
 tude to God, tho' not with all the formalities 
 of a temple facrifxce. 
 
 But there is ftill a difficulty upon this 
 point, which is this, that though the Jen^ii 
 were prohibited to eat any creature that died 
 of itfelf, and confequently, had the blood 
 in it, yet they might give it to an houfhold 
 profelyte, or fell it to a flrangerj as you 
 may read Dent. xiv. 21. 
 
 But 
 
Revelation Examh/d^ Sec. \ j 
 
 But the reafon of the diftlndlion, there 
 added, will, in a good meafiire, clear this 
 difficulty; '-r^^For thou art aJi holy people 
 unto the LordM^ God; i. e. tho' fuch pollu- 
 tions are lefs regarded among other nations, 
 yet you being let apart from other people, 
 by a peculiar devotion to God, may not 
 allow your felves in them 3 and what the 
 penaky. of this, pollution was, both upon the 
 Jew aitd Pro/e/yte^ we learn from the feven- 
 teenth chapter of Leviticus, that they were 
 to 'U'ajh their cloaths^ and bath themjehes in 
 water, and he unclean until the even, ajid 
 the?! they ficuld be clean. From VN^hence it 
 appears, that this prohibition, was, what 
 men call meerly ceremonial^ even with re- 
 gard to them 5 and calculated m.ore to keep 
 up their feparation from other nations, than 
 to guard againft any crying guilt in the 
 aftion itfelf. 
 
 Now if any man ask. Why this ftrange 
 difference between the penalty of eatino- 
 blood out of the creature, and in it, that 
 the firft iliould be death, and the laft only 
 a temporary pollution, of a few hours? I 
 anfwer, that the reafon is obvious, from 
 what hath been already obfcrved ; becaufe 
 the blood being facred to the making atone- 
 ment for fnij was not to be applied to any 
 
 other 
 
\6 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 other life * ; but when the creature died of 
 itfelf, the reafon of the prohibition then 
 cealed -, becaule that atonement could not 
 then be made: the blood could not then be 
 poured out, or Iprinklcd upon the altar; 
 nor was it wilfully diverted, or defecrated 
 from the facred purpole to which it w-as de- 
 voted -y and confequently, eating it, not un- 
 der the form of blood, but in an undifcri- 
 ininated mixture with the flefli, was not a 
 formal abufe or defecration of it: and fo 
 could not deferve the penalty due to fuch a 
 defecration, in contradidion to the folemn 
 command of God. 
 
 Also the precept of abftinence from 
 blood, being calculated to prevent cruelty 
 10 the creatures ; that reafon alfo ceafed, 
 when there Vv'as no room for cruelty, as in the 
 cafe of a dead carcafe. In a word, the main 
 reafons of abilinence ceafed in this cafe; 
 and the guilt of tranfgreilion ceafed wdth 
 them. 
 
 And thus having, I hope, fufficiently 
 proved, that the eating of blood was pro- 
 hibited in the grant of the creatures for food 
 
 * Hjncc we tind, that when a Jevf was to kill any crea- 
 ture for h s privace u.c, he was yer to bring the blocid robe 
 lprink:e.i upon the alrar, Lev. wvii. from verfe i. to veric 6. 
 induuve. 
 
 made 
 
Revelation Examind^ &cc. 17 
 
 made to Noab, and anfwer'd the only ob- 
 jection of weight that lies againft that opi- 
 nion : I now proceed to the fccond point 
 propos'dj which was, To enc^uire into the 
 realbns of this prohibition. 
 
 Ax\'D here 'tis evident, that if RcaforL-.ofthe 
 we could afTiSin no other reafon P^^'"^^"^ •°"- 
 for this prohibition, than that affign'd by 
 God himfelf in the law, viz, that the 
 i/ooJ li'tis the lije^ and was appointed to 
 make atonement upon the altar: I fay, if 
 we could affien no other reafon, fliould we 
 not be infatuated if we did not fully acquiefce 
 in this? Nay, fliould we not be w^orfe than 
 infatuated, if we did not fully acquiefce in 
 all the determinations of God, w^ithout any 
 reafons affi^ncd for them ? and without any 
 other information concerning them, than a 
 clear rational affurance that they are his 
 determinations r Is human nature capable of 
 a wifer or more rational conduct, than an 
 entire and burnable fubmifilon to the direc- 
 tions and deciiions, of an infinitely- wife and 
 good Being? And do we need more mo- 
 tives to fuch a fubmiiiion, than a reafonable 
 affurance that they are his decifions and 
 diredlions ? Is any mortal fo v/eak, or wicked, 
 as to imagine we have a right to all the 
 reafons of liis appointments? Or to difobty 
 till we are well inform'd, and fully fatisfied 
 in them? Is any man fo monftrous as to ima- 
 
 V OL. II. C gine, 
 
i8 Revelation Examind^ &cc. 
 
 gine, that infinite wifdom and goodnefs can 
 fee no reafon for decifions or dirccftionSj, 
 which we cannot, or {hould not? And if 
 God can fee reafons for precepts and prohi- 
 bitions, which it is neitlier poflible nor pro- 
 per for us to know, what means this mon- 
 ftrous dodtrine *, fo nnuch cry*d up of late, 
 that no pofitive inftiiutions or reftraints of 
 natural liberty, can come from God! i.e. in 
 truth, that there is no inftance or extent of 
 wifdom, in the Divine Nature, with regard 
 to the government of free agents, of which 
 we are not competent judges. A fuppofition 
 as wild, and as wicked, as ever yet enterU 
 into the heart of man. 
 
 As to the precept before us, of not eating 
 the blood with the flefh of the creatures, 'tis 
 evident, that befides the reafon exprefly af- 
 fign'd by God himfelf for this prohibition, 
 there are alfo feveral others (very wife and very 
 important) why it fhould be made. 
 
 In the firft place then, let me ask any 
 man, that is capable of rational refiedion, 
 Whether he imagines it would be hard or 
 unreafonable in Almighty God, when he 
 granted man a right to take away the lives 
 of other creatures for food, to make fuch a 
 
 * See chriftianity a? old as the creation, ch. lo, ii. 
 
 referve 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. \ 9 
 
 referve in that grant, as might be a perpe- 
 tual monition to mankind, that God was the 
 author and giver of life? 'Tis certain, fuch 
 a monition could have no ill effecft ; and 
 might, at the fame time, be of infinite ad- 
 vantage, in keeping up a conftant {cnfe of 
 dependance upon God, and gratitude to 
 him, in the minds of his creatures. And 
 what could anfwer thefe ends better, than 
 referving the blood for facred ufe? and affign- 
 ing that veiy reafon, becaufe it was the life; 
 as a natural and neceffary monition to man- 
 kind, that G6d was the author and giver of* 
 life. 
 
 When God gave man the fruits of the 
 earth for food, yet he gave them with an 
 exception to the fruit of the tree of know- 
 ledge; and in the fame analogy, when he 
 o;ives him the flefh of the creatures for food. 
 he gives it with an exception to the blood. 
 — — Unlimited grants would but inflame our 
 vanity, and blot out that fenfe of depend- 
 ance upon the Divine Being, wliich is equally 
 neceffary to our humility and our happi- 
 nefs. 
 
 Again, if God forefaw that an unli- 
 mited grant would be the caufe of much 
 unneceffary cruelty to the creatures, that 
 furely was a fufficlent reafon with Infinite 
 Goodnefs, why a limitation Ihould be made. 
 
 C z Now 
 
to Revelaticisi Examhid^ &c 
 
 Now if we find luch cruelties v/antonly 
 exe:cis'd, where fuch limitations are not 
 known, or not regarded, then iurely we 
 muft co.iclude, that the limitation was mer-» 
 cifu), and w\'f-, and well appointed. Plu- 
 tarch tells us *, that it was cullomary in his 
 time, to run red hot fpits thro* the bodies of 
 live fwine : and to llamp upon the udders of 
 fows ready to farrow, to make their ?it£a 
 more delicious: and, I believe, Chriftians 
 have heard of whipping pigs, and torturing 
 other creatures to death, for the fame rea- 
 fons +. Could thefe cruelties be committed, 
 if fuch men thought themfclves bound in 
 confcience to abflain from all unneceflliry 
 cruelty to the creatures ? and to bleed them 
 to death, with all the difpatch they could, 
 before they touch'd them for food. 
 
 * In his difcourfes of eating flcfh. 
 
 •f 1 am alTared, that it is not uaufual with Tome people to 
 wound certain kinds of- fowl in the head, and then hang them 
 up by the feet, till they beat their iielh tender, and themfelves 
 to death with their wings. 
 
 *Tis alio a known cuftom in a neighbour nation, to keep 
 oxen from food for many days together j and then lieat them 
 to death with battle-dores, by which means their flelh being 
 pounJed into a Ifate approaching to putrcfaflon, the tafte is 
 
 greatly heightened to a vitiated palate. But if the love of 
 
 tainted flefh be m truth a mark of politencis, the Samoeids^ the 
 moll filthy and beatlly of all human mortals, have the honour 
 to enjoy it in common with the mofl polite European nar.on ; 
 ■I but, however, w.th this diiadvantage, that thjy have 
 
 not yet learnt the reanem^nt of beating poor brutes to death, 
 to bring their flelh the foouer into that delicious flatc. 
 
 But 
 
Revelation Examind^ £cc. i \ 
 
 But this is not all: cruelties are conec- 
 nial; and rife by an eafy graduation, frona 
 being pradifed upon brutes, to be exerted 
 even againft men. Tims 'tis notorious, that 
 the Scytbia?:s^ from drinking tlie blood of 
 their cattle, proceeded to drink the blood of 
 . their enemies, (as Herodotus * aflures us they 
 did) and certainly, the mod natural means of 
 guarding mankind, againft fuch cruelties, 
 was, to guard them againft the leaft ap- 
 proaches to it 3 by obliging them to abftain 
 religioufly from blood, and ail unnecelTary 
 cruelty to the brute creation. And if evil 
 forefeen to the brute creation from eating 
 their blood, was a wife reafon v/hy fuch 
 food fliould be prohibited to men^ evil fore- 
 feen to man himfelf, from fuch an allowance, 
 will, I believe, be own'd a very good addi- 
 tional reafon for fuch a prohibition; and 
 will any may fay, that the Scythian cruelty 
 now mentioned is no evil ? 
 
 Again, all animals that feed upon blood, 
 are obferv'd to be much more furious than 
 others -, Will any man fay, that much 
 of their fury is not owing to their food? 
 Have not creatures of the fame kind been 
 found to differ greatly in their tempers, from 
 
 *Herod. 1. 4. 
 
 C 3 the 
 
ti Kev EL ATioi^ Examind J Sec. 
 
 the difference of their diet? I believe it will 
 be allow'd, that blood is a very hot in- 
 flaming food, that fuch foods create choler *, 
 and that choler eafily kindles into cruelty. 
 -^ — —Even flefh is an inflaming fafl:idious 
 diet ', infpiring pride and infolence : and 
 therefore with infinite wifdom was murder 
 fo folemnly and immediately prohibited by 
 God, upon the permiffion of that food to 
 mankind. 
 
 But here 'tis objefted, that, in fadl, men 
 are found m-ore cruel in feme countries, where 
 they live in an entire abfl:inence from flefli, 
 than in others, where they indulge in it to 
 the higheft degree, 
 
 I ANSWER, That this objedion no way 
 weakens the force of my argument : fince it 
 is poflible enough, that the influence of the 
 climate, and evil inftitutions, in one country, 
 may inflame men more to cruelty, than the in- 
 fluence of a hotter and more cholerick food, in 
 a cooler climate, and under better inftitutions: 
 But can it from thence be inferred, that a cho« 
 lerick food does not inflame to cruelty ? 
 
 Bull's blood was a common poifon with 
 the antients: can we imagine there was any 
 
 * Vide Crew's Cofmol, facrat 1. 4. c. 8» 
 
 v/ pecu= 
 
Revelation Examine!^ &cc. z ^ 
 
 peculiar malignity in the blood of that crea- 
 ture, above any other? Or may we net 
 rather imagine, that the malignity is now 
 only abated by the mixtures commonly con- 
 veyed into the llomach with it ? 'Tis doubt- 
 lels matter of much confolation, to be af- 
 fur'd, that the poifon of our luxury is well 
 qualified. 
 
 We of thefe nation, who are wont to 
 feed largely upon flefh, are obferv'd to be 
 remarkably fubje(5t to evil, fcorbutick habits: 
 
 And if phyficians are right in afcribing 
 
 thefe evils to our food, I believe it can fcarce 
 be denied that the groffer lefs digefted 
 juices of that food, contribute much more 
 towards them, than thofe juices which arc 
 purer, and more digefted; and therefore 
 blood, as the grolTeft of all animal juices, 
 muft, ofneceffity, do moft mifchief*. And 
 as groffer lefs digefted juices, are lefs lalu- 
 tary, they muft for that very reafon be lefs 
 elegant, and lefs pleafing to an untainted 
 palate: And whereas it is found by expe- 
 rience, that bathing and cleanlinefs, are a 
 
 * Dr. Grer0 obfervcs in his Cofmol. facra., 1. 4. c.7. fee. if. 
 that no creatures have the rickets except men and dogs that 
 feed on blood : and 'tis notorious, that blood is the great prin- 
 ciple of corruption, and common feat of infection in all animals; 
 And who knows how long, or how fully that infcdlion may be 
 &ied there before it difcovers itfelf ? 
 
 C 4 great 
 
24 Revelation Exanmd^ Sec, 
 
 great relief from fcoibutick infections, there 
 is no doubt, but this was the very reafon, 
 why God prefcribed wafhing the cloaths, 
 and bathing in water, as the conftant penal- 
 ties of eating fleih with the blood in it. 
 
 And as all flejfh which hath the blood 
 drain'd from it, is more falutary, and will 
 keep better, and will confequently be more 
 Lifetul ', 'tis evident, that the ends of life and 
 health, will be better anfwxred by draining 
 £way the blood, v^ith all the care we can, 
 from dl the flefh we eat ; but then it muft 
 be owned, that the purpofes of luxury, as well 
 as cruelty, v/ill be far better ferved by the 
 contrary practice j for as the blood abounds 
 with ialts, and is the great principle of cor- 
 ruption, 'tis evident, that what men call the 
 high talk, will be better confulted by letting 
 the blood remain in the fleih, and blending it 
 with it, by all the evil arts imaginable; which 
 can't be done in many cafes, without forgetting 
 our humanity. 
 
 And forafmucli ?iS the to irviKriv ;j^pea; 
 (fufibcatcd or ftrangled flefli) was in high 
 efleem in point of delicioufneis vv^ith all the 
 antients *, and is fo ftill with the prefent 
 patrons of luxurv, 'tis evident that the 
 
 See VUu>v,\h a.s duvfe, and Athm^m. 
 
 apoftle: 
 
Revelatioisi Examindy &c. 25 
 
 apoftles in enjoining abftinence from blood and 
 things ftrangled, did fo far prohibit luxury and 
 
 intemperance, as well as cruelty. And fo 
 
 St. Jerome and Cajanboji explain that part of 
 the decree. 
 
 But here it may be objeded, That men may 
 be as cruel in bleeding, as in any other way of 
 putting the creatures to death. 
 
 T o this I anfwer, firfl, that they cannot; 
 
 All the art of man cannot devife half the 
 
 cruelty to the creatures in draining the blood 
 from them, as in eating them alive limb by 
 limb, (a practice v/hich the Jews believe 
 more particularly forbidden by the prohibi- 
 tion to Noah) 3 I alfo doubt whether all 
 the arts of cruelty could make bleedino- a 
 death of fo much mifery, as ftarving, beat- 
 ing, whipping, torturing, and trampling to 
 death, in the manner antiently, and even yen 
 pradifed. 
 
 Besides this, where the ends of luxury 
 cannot be ferved by bleeding, the tem.pta- 
 
 tions to cruelty are cut off; and in this 
 
 is manifelled the wifdom of God, in pre- 
 fcribing fuch a death to the creatures, as 
 would, moft effedually, prevent all lempta- 
 
 tions to cruelty. And God's intention in 
 
 this matter once known, is an eiTedlual pro- 
 hibition of all unnecefll^ry cruelty in killi'ug 
 
 the 
 
i6 Revelation Examind^ &:c. 
 
 the creatures, to all that fear him; though 
 
 neither this, nor any thing elfe, can abfo- 
 lutely correcft the evil difpofitions of men; 
 or put cruelty out of their power. 
 
 But other deaths may be lefs cruel. 
 
 Possibly they may, in particular inftances, 
 
 and circumftances; but would any other 
 
 kind of death fo univerfally and effevflually 
 prevent cruelty! and all the other evils confe- 
 quent to the eating of blood ! or attain all the 
 ends of abftinence from it ? if no other kind of 
 death' could anfwer all thefe ends, all thefe ob- 
 jedtions are ill grounded. 
 
 Eating blood FARTHER yet, Maimomdes * 
 
 gave occafion affures US, that the eating of 
 to 1 oatry. blood, gave occafion to one kind 
 of early idolatry among the Zaiii in the 
 
 Eaji -f-, the worfhip of daemons, whofe 
 
 food, as they imagined, was blood ; and 
 therefore they who adored them, had com- 
 munion with them, by eating the fame food. 
 And 'tis remarkable, that tho* they did eat 
 blood, in honour of their da3mons, yet even 
 tbey thought it foul and deteftable food. 
 And 'tis certain that Arnobius upbraids the 
 heathen with tearing and devouring goats 
 
 * See Dr Tatrick, vol. i. p. 463. Schkn, I, j* c. i. 
 t Maimon. more Nevo, p. 3. c. 46, 
 
 alive. 
 
Revelation Examind^ &c 27 
 
 alive, in honour of Bacchus, in that affedted 
 fury, to which they wrought themfelves up, 
 in the celebration of his mad and monllrous 
 rites *. 
 
 Now if God had not forefeen thefe cruel- 
 ties, corruptions, and inconveniencies, con- 
 fequenc to the eating of blood, Should we 
 juftly deem him infinitely wife? And if 
 forefeeing them, he had not yet prohibited 
 them in their caufe, (which was at once the 
 wifeft, and the moft effedual prohibition). 
 Could we juftly deem him infinitely good, 
 and gracious to his creatures? When there- 
 fore, we find him, infinitely wife, in 
 forefeeing, and infinitely good, in forbid- 
 ding fuch abominable pradices. Do wx yet 
 hefitate, to conclude fuch prohibitions, the 
 efFed:s of infinite wifdom and goodnefs? 
 And when we do conclude God's command 
 of abftinence in this cafe, to be the effed: of 
 infinite wifdom and goodnefs, Can we con- 
 clude it confiftent with any degree of wil- 
 dom and goodnefs in our felves, to defpife 
 fuch commands 1 and to live in open avowed 
 contempt of them ? Can any thing in na- 
 ture be more iliocking than fuch a con- 
 dudl! 
 
 * jiJverfus gentesy 1. ^. 
 
 But 
 
2 8 Revelation Examind, &:c 
 
 But here it may be aflced, if one main in- 
 tention of Almighty God, in prohibiting blood 
 and things ftrangled, was, to reftrain men 
 from luxury, as well as cruelty, why did he 
 not rather chufe to prohibit luxury and cruelty, 
 in exprefs terms? 
 
 To this I anfwer. That prohibiting the 
 means was the fure way to prohibit the end. 
 If God had only prohibited luxury and 
 cruelty in general, every man's own tem- 
 per, the cuftom of his country^ his huma- 
 nity, or inhumanity, his temperance, or 
 gluttony, would have been the meafures of 
 that luxury and cruelty ; and then, fome 
 would have been cruel as Canibals^ favage 
 as Scythians^ and luxurious as Sybarites^ 
 without imagining they were fo: and others, 
 as falfly and fooliihly merciful and abftemi- 
 ous, as the Pythagoreans : and fo either the 
 command would have been difobeyed, or the 
 bleffing defeated : tho*, at the fame time, this 
 coiidudt hath no way precluded God from 
 giving particular exprefs prohibitions both of 
 luxury and cruelty, in feveral parts of the 
 fcriptures. 
 
 B u T flill it may be Imagined, that Chri- 
 fiians are now fome way or other exempted 
 from this abflinence, and therefore, to re- 
 move all miflakes of this kind, I now pro- 
 ceed 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 29 
 
 ceed to fliew you, in the third place, that this 
 prohibition of eating blood, lies upon all man- 
 kind to this day; and xx^on Chrijiians in a pe- 
 culiar manner. 
 
 And the proof of this, lies within the 
 compafs of one plain argument, obvious to 
 every capacity 5 which is as follows 3 
 
 If the eating of blood never was per- 
 mitted, either before the flood, or after the 
 flood, or under the law, or under the go- 
 fpel, then furely, no man in his fenfes, will 
 fay 'tis now lawful to eat it : Now that it 
 never was permitted in any of thefe periods, 
 is undeniable. Nay, the argument is yet 
 ftronger; for it was not only not permitted 
 in any of thefe periods, but, in truth, it is 
 plainly enough prohibited in the firft of them; 
 and, I think, as clearly prohibited in all the 
 reft. 
 
 Firjl^ I SAY, the eating of any living 
 creature, and confequently, of blood, is, 
 not only not granted before the flood, bur 
 plainly enough prohibited^ in that part of 
 the curfe denounced upon man after the fall ; 
 Cur Jed is the ground for thy fake ; in forrozo 
 Jhalt thou cat of it^ all the days of thy life ; 
 thorns alfo and thifles fhall it bring forth to 
 thee : ajjd thou f:alt eat the herb of the field. 
 In the Jweat of thy face pal t thou eat bread: 
 w //// 
 
go Revelation Examindy Sec. 
 
 fill thou return to the ground. Can any 
 thing be plainer than that man is here con- 
 demned to eat bread, and the herb of the 
 field, to the day of his death ! without the 
 leaft furmife or hint of any higher grant or 
 
 privilege of food, of any kind. You 
 
 fhall eat bread, and you fhall eat the herb 
 
 of the fields Is not the plain meaning 
 
 of thofe words, that bread and herbs fliall 
 be your food ? 
 
 Ira prince gave any man a grant of cer- 
 tain lands, named in his patent, and men- 
 tioned in his grant, that this fhould be the 
 eftate ; Would any man in his fenfes believe, 
 that he had a right to any other eftate, by 
 virtue of that grant ? Or that he was not 
 limited to the lands there exprefly men- 
 tioned? And is not this the cafe in point; 
 God Almighty declares to Adam^ bread and 
 herbs fliall be your food : Does any man 
 imagine he had a right to any other food by 
 vertue of that grant ? Or rather, that he was 
 not plainly precluded from all other food, by 
 that exprefs peremptory prefcription ? 
 
 And thus we fee that man had no right 
 to the blood of the creatures before the flood. 
 That he had no right after this, from the 
 grant made to Noah^ I have already, 1 hope, 
 fufRciently fliewn ; that no man had any 
 right to it from any conceffign in the law of 
 
 Mofes^ 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. ^ i 
 
 Mofes, but quite the contrary, is undoubted. 
 The only queftion then is, Whether any 
 fuch permiffion had been made under the 
 gofpel? And that there hath not, but the 
 diredl contrary, I now come to prove, from 
 the 15th chapter of the yf^i; where we read, 
 that after a long and folemn debate, upon 
 the queftion, Whether the Gentile converts 
 to Ckrijiianity^ were obliged to obferve the 
 
 law of Mofes? It was at laft determined that 
 
 they were not; and that no more fhould be 
 required of them, than to abftain fro?n pollu^ 
 tions of idols ^ and from fornication^ and from 
 things fir angled^ and Jrom blood. — And 
 accordingly, a moft folemn de- 
 cree was drawn up to that pur- lid^dec^^^"' 
 pofe, by the apoftles, and elders, about blood 
 and the whole church at Jerifa- ^^ ^|^>"§s 
 /f/;;, and tranfmitted in letters to 
 the brethren at Antiochy Syria^ and Cilicia^ 
 by four deputies of principal note, Paul and 
 
 BarnabaSy Judas and ^ilas. And thofe 
 
 letters were conceived in thefe terms; 
 
 23. T Yi^ apojilesy and elders ^ and brethren 
 fend greeting unto the brethren which are of 
 the Gentiles, in Antiochy and Syria, and 
 Cilicia. 
 
 24. Forasmuch as we have heard^ that 
 certain^ which we?7t out from us^ have trou- 
 ble you with words ^ fubverting your fouls ^ 
 
 faying^ 
 
faying, Tc mujl be circufncifed, and keep the 
 laWy to whom we gave 7io fuch command^ 
 ment : 
 
 25. It feemed good unto Its, being a[fe?nbkd 
 with one acco?'d, to fend chofen men unto you^ 
 with our beloved Barnabas, and Paul 3 
 
 26. Men that have hazarded their lives for 
 the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift. 
 
 27. W E have fent therefore Judas a?id 
 Silas, whofiall alfo tell you the fame things by 
 mouth. 
 
 28. For it feemed good unto the Holy 
 Ghof, and to us, to lay upon you no greater 
 burden than thefe necejjary things. 
 
 29. That r^ abflain from meats offered 
 to idols, and from blood, and from things 
 
 fir angled, and jrom fornication, from which 
 
 if ye keep yourf elves, ye Jl^all do well. Fare 
 
 ye well. 
 
 Now if this decree be obligatory upon 
 all Chrijlians, then can it no longer be a 
 doubt with any Chrijiian, whether he is 
 obliged to abftain from blood, and things 
 ftrangled. And if the direction of any one 
 apoftTe infpired of God, be obligatory, cer- 
 tainly it can be no doubt, whether a folemn 
 
 ' deciiion 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &cc. ^^ 
 
 declfion of all the apoftles, exprefly declaring 
 the joint determination of the Ho/y Ghoji in 
 the point, be alfo obligatory. 
 
 This point muft furely be out of all 
 doubt with all that call themfelves Chrijiians^ 
 unlefs this decree hath fince been refcinded. 
 That it ever was formally repeal'd, is not pre- 
 tended ; and w^hether it be implicitly cancelled, 
 by any contrary decifions of Cbrift and his 
 apoftles, will befl be feen by examining the 
 feveral arguments brought againft it by the 
 advocates for eating blood. 
 
 All which, that are of any weight, fhall, 
 by God*s affiftance, be fully examined in my 
 aext dilTertation. 
 
 Yx^ulh D t>i^^ 
 
2 4 Revelatiois Examindy Sec. 
 
 Dissertation II. 
 
 '^ ^^T'^- fiSiH^^ AV I N G, in the forego- 
 
 Ot the pre- ><^»'^Sr^s»S'i^;:2C!5 - 
 
 cedent dif^ 
 
 iertatiou. 
 
 ing dilTertation, fnewn 
 you, that the eating of 
 blood is forbidden by 
 the prohibition of eating 
 the blood with the flefli: and that this prohi- 
 bition is founded upon very imporiant reafons: 
 ift, To prevent cruelty to the creatures: adly. 
 As a memorial that God is the author and 
 giver of life : and 3dly, Becaufe the lives of the 
 creatures, v^ere to be offered up to God in lieu 
 of the lives of men forfeited by their oifences : 
 confequently, that the blood, which is the life, 
 was confccrated to the making of atonement 
 upon the altar : Having alfo ihewn you, that 
 the eatingof blood never was permitted, either 
 before the flood, or afters or under the law, or 
 under the gofpel -, but, on the contrary, that it 
 was> in truth, prohibited in every one of thefe 
 periods: before the flood, all animal food was 
 
 plainly 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ 8cc. ^ ^ 
 
 plainly enough prohibited, in that part of 
 ^Adam^ curfe, which condemns him to eat the 
 herbs of the field, and bread in the Jhveat of his 
 brou\ till he returned to the diijl\ thus was he 
 levelled with the bealls in his food^ fays Mz/- 
 
 monides [More Ne-vo p. i. c. 2.^ After the 
 
 flood, a more exprefs prohibition of blood is 
 continued, in the reftraint laid upon Noah-^ 
 under the law, in that folemn command ia 
 the 17th chapter of Leviticus^ both to the 
 Jews and the ftrangers that fojourned wdth 
 them, to abftain from all manner of blood; 
 and under the gofpel, by a folemn injunc- 
 tion of the apoftolick council to the Gentile 
 converts to abftain from blood and things 
 Jlrangled, 
 
 The only queftion then is, 
 whether this apoftolick decree «?^,^^f^P^- 
 
 111 r 11 1 "Oiick decree 
 
 hath been nnce repealed; and concerning 
 
 this will beft appear, by con- ^^°^^ ^^^ 
 
 fidering the arguments for this iJ"^whahfr 
 
 repeal, produced by the advo- it was only of 
 
 cates for eating blood ; which u.";,^,"^''^^^'' 
 
 I now come to examine. 
 
 First then 'tis faid, that this decree of 
 the apoftles w^as only temporary, to prevent 
 giving offence to the Jeivs^ in the infancy of 
 
 the Ghriftian religion; and confequently 
 
 rhe reafon of it, is long lince ceafed; and thac 
 celTation is a virtual repeal. 
 
 D a In 
 
5 6 Revelation E^Kammdy &cc. 
 
 In anfwer to this, I defire it may be con-^ 
 fidered, whether the reafons now mentioned, 
 for abftaining from blood, do not equally 
 extend to all ages and nations of the world : 
 and if they do, 'tis evident this injundlion of 
 the apoftles, had no peculiar relation, either 
 to the infancy of the Chriflian religion, or to 
 
 the people of the Jc'wSy unlefs it be thought 
 
 that the Jews are the only people in tlie world, 
 v/ho are obliged to abftain from cruelty to the 
 creatures, or to recognize God as the author 
 and giver of life ; or that this nation only 
 were entided to the atonement made by blood ; 
 and if fo, How came facrifices inftituted im- 
 mediately after the fall? And how came blood 
 to be prohibited to all the fons of Noah, be- 
 fore there was any fuch thing as a Jew in the 
 
 world ? This pretence then, feems very ill 
 
 founded. 
 
 It may indeed be urged with much more 
 plaufibility by Chrifiians, that blood being 
 confecrated to the making of atonement for 
 fin, as a type of the (acrifice of Chrijl, and that 
 iitonefnent being now received by his bipod, 
 as St. Paul expreffcs it, in the 5th chapter of 
 his epiftle to the Roma7is, the reafon of ab- 
 stinence in this point, is now ceafed; and 
 confequently, that abftinence is no longer a 
 duty. 
 
 But 
 
Revelation Examhid, 8cc. 37 
 
 But then it mufi: be remembred in 
 cinfwer to this reafoning, that the apoflolick 
 decree again ft blood, was paiTcd many years 
 
 after this atonement was made ; and 
 
 furely, 'tis no more unreafonable, (tho' I 
 won't take it upon me to pronounce it 
 flri(5lly obligatory) to abftain from blood, 
 now, in commemoration of the atonement 
 made by the blood of Clri/i, for the fins of 
 the whole world, than it was before, to ab- 
 ftain from it in view of that atonement. • 
 
 For barely to confider it in the light of gra- 
 titude, one would imagine, that the fenfe of 
 an infinite benefit received, fhould in reafon, 
 and in duty, have no lefs weight with us, 
 than the diftant profpedl and expectation of 
 fuch a benefit: unlefs hope can render any 
 obfervance more reverential, and more reli- 
 gious, than gratitude; and fliould any one, 
 that deems him.felf a Freethinke7\ imagine 
 it ought (from a peculiarity of completion, 
 remarkable enough in this abufed denomina- 
 tion of men) yet furely, his Angularity in 
 this point, cannot affed: the other reafons of 
 abftinence from blood, already afligned ; 
 which muft eternally hold, as long as cruelty 
 to the creatures is a crime, or the recognition 
 of God, as the author and giver of life, is a 
 duty; — and this, one would think, an anfwer, 
 more than fufiicient to filence thofc impor- 
 tant objedors, who call this an inftitutioa 
 D 3 merely 
 
^8 Revelation Examhid, Sec. 
 
 la^erely ceremonial, and pofitive; for if even 
 fuch of the divine injundions as commonly 
 go under that name, are found, upon en- 
 quiry, to have a folid foundation in reafon, 
 and a clear infeparable connedlion with the 
 neceifary and eternal nature of things, thefe 
 gentlemen would do well to beware, how 
 they haftily difclaim divine appointments; 
 left in their enmity to revealed religion, they 
 may haply be found fighting againft reafon, 
 and nature; Wkt Mcrope * in the tragedy, 
 who in the blindnefs of her fury, miitook 
 her darling fon, for her mortal enemy. 
 
 Again 'tis objedled, that creatures v/hich 
 died of themfelves, and confequently had the 
 blood in them, might be given to the 
 ftranger, or fold to an alien; and 'tis evi- 
 dent, that the ftranger and alien were in this 
 Cafe permitted to eat blood. 
 
 I ANSWER, That this objed:lon was fufti- 
 ciently obviated in the precedent differtation : 
 and have only lo add, that it may, v/ith al- 
 moft equal reafon, be objefed both to the 
 je'ws^ and to us, that wx eat blood in every 
 creature we kill to this day, becaufe 'tis 
 
 impofTible tp drain it all from them; And 
 
 what then? the queftion is, concerning the 
 
 Pijt. Moral, p.ppo, 
 
 eating 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. ^ 9 
 
 eating of blood feparate from the creature, 
 or eating the blood defignedly left in the 
 creature, to ferve any end of luxury, or 
 
 cruelty ; and eating blood in either of 
 
 thefe ways, is what I efteem to be unlaw- 
 ful; the eating of blood, as fuch, was 
 
 never imagined an adlon, fimply, and in it 
 felf, finful; tho' it was, and is, criminal, 
 in certain circumftances, from the reafon and 
 nature of things ; as well as the divine pro- 
 hibition; and it was prohibited, for very 
 wife, and very important reafons; and when 
 thofe reafons ceafed, as in the inftance ob- 
 
 jeded, the prohibition ceafed too; ■ -and. 
 
 therefore this objedion is fo far from over- 
 throwing the do&ine laid down, that, in 
 truth, it confirms it; for what can be a 
 clearer proof, that the reafons of any divine 
 prohibition are rightly aiiigned, than this, 
 that as feon as thofe reafons ceafe, the pro- 
 hibition ceafes alfo ? When the creature 
 
 died of it felf, its blood could neither be 
 poured out upon the altar, for atonement, 
 nor abufed to idolatry; nor reverenced, in 
 recognition of God's being the author and 
 giver of life: nor fpilt, to prevent cruelty in 
 the ufe of the creatures ; and therefore, there, 
 fuch a fmall portion of it, as could not be 
 feparated from the flefla, was permitted to be 
 eaten with it : in effed permitted even to 
 
 the Jew^ under a very light penalty ; 
 
 but where there was a poffibility either of 
 
 D 4. cruelty 
 
40 Revelation Examind, &cc. 
 
 cruelty or abufe, there it was more flrid:ly 
 prohibited;-- — and for this reafon, v/hcn a 
 creature was torn by a beaft, there the flefh, 
 was not to be touched by any human crea- 
 ture, but thrown to the dogs, as you 
 
 may read in the 2 2d chapter of Exodus, at 
 the 31ft verfe; and the reafon of this diftin- 
 ftion is obvious; if men were permitted to 
 make any advantage of creatures torn to 
 death by beafts, what an inlet into all man- 
 ner of cruelty, (as well as villainy) might fuch 
 a permiffion be ! And who can fay where it 
 w^ould end? Nay, who knows, how far 
 fuch dilacerations might even be counterfeited, 
 to the purpofes of idolatry, or indulgence in 
 blood? 
 
 But however, as there might be cafes, 
 clear of all fufpicion of cruelty or ill condudt 
 in the owner, and v/herein it might be 
 thought hard, abfolutely to preclude men 
 by a fevere penalty, from making any ufe 
 of creatures fo (lain, (as when one ox gored 
 another to death) the penalty upon eating that 
 which was torn, and that which died of it 
 felf, v^as, we find, the fame. 
 
 In the cafe of a creature that died of it 
 felf, a heathen might eat fo much of the 
 dead carcafs, as his natural abhorrence of 
 fuch food would permit, or his neceffities 
 
 would urge him to. j^I mean, if thus 
 
 much 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ 8cc. 41 
 
 much be neceflarily implied in the permiffion 
 to the Jews, of felling their Morticinia to 
 the heathen). 'Tis true, the Jew might 
 not do even this, without a penalty : but it 
 was only the flight penalty of waJJ:i?ig his 
 cloaths, and bathing in water ^ and being un- 
 clean till the evening ; and the reafon of 
 
 the diflinftion, is added ; becaufe they were a 
 holy people -, a people peculiarly devoted to 
 God: and, I hope, Chrijliam will be- 
 lieve that this reafon Ihould equally afFedt 
 them; fmce we are aflured by St. Paul in 
 the 2d chapter of his epiftle to *Titus^ verfe 
 14. that Chrijl J ejus gave himfelf fir us^ 
 that he might redee?n us from all iniquity \ 
 and purijy unto himfelf a peculiar people^ zeaU 
 ous of good works. 
 
 And *tis certain, that the primitive C/5r/- 
 fians thought themfelves as much obliged 
 to abftain from fuch food, as ever the Jews 
 were. 
 
 Again, I muft bcfeech all Blood and 
 Chrijlians, ferioufly to attend to L^a^^oh^S 
 the tenor of the words, by which under the de- 
 abllinence from blood and things nomjnationof 
 
 ftrangled is enjoined ; It thinV.'^'^ 
 
 feemed good unto the Holy Ghoji^ 
 and to us, (fay the apoflles) to lay upon you 
 no greater burden than thefe necefary things : 
 that ye abjlainfrom meats offered to idols, and 
 
 from 
 
41 Revelation Examind^ Sc c. 
 
 Jrom bloody and fro?n tbi/igs Jiran^/ed, and 
 
 from fornication : If thefe abftinences 
 
 were only intended to be enjoined for a fea- 
 fon, could they properly be enjoined under 
 the denomination of nee ejfary things^ Is that 
 the proper appellation, for duties of a tran- 
 
 lient, temporary obfervance ? Did neither 
 
 the apoftles, nor the Holy Ghoft, know the 
 diftindion, between neceiTary and expedient ? 
 Or fuppofe it not convenient to make that 
 diftindlion at that time ; how come things 
 of a temporary, and things of an eternal 
 obligation, placed upon the fame foot of 
 neceflity, in the fame decree ? Or were for- 
 nication, and idol pollutions, only to be 
 abftained from for a time ? And in compli- 
 ment to the infirmity of the Jews ? What 
 monftrous abfurdities are thefe? And what 
 a train of them, are they obliged to maintain, 
 who affert this decree to be only of tempo- 
 rary obligation? 
 
 But to proceed, if this was only a tem- 
 porary neceffity, How long did this neceffity 
 laft? 
 
 To this one * anfwers, that it lafted till 
 the Jews and Gentiles were formed into one 
 communion: another -f* fays, that it lafted 
 
 * Dr. Hammond, annot. on the ij-th ch. of the Ads, p. 399. 
 •*• St. Augujline, ibid, 
 
 till 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. d^ 
 
 till the time that no carnal Ifraclite appeared 
 in the church of the Gentiles -, and again, 
 tliat it lafted till the temple and the JewiJJj 
 polity were deftroyed. 
 
 To all this I anfwer, That if the two firft 
 opinions are admitted, then, the neceffity of 
 obfervlng the apoftolick decree, continues to 
 
 this day; firft, becaufe the Jews and 
 
 Gentiles, are indifputably not yet fully 
 
 formed into one communion: and fecond- 
 
 ly, becaufe there was never any time, where- 
 in there was not fome carnal Jjraelite in the 
 church; and I think it muft be notorious to 
 many of my readers, that there are fome 
 fuch even in this part of the Chrijltan church, 
 at this day: and fo doubtlefs in every Chri- 
 flian church over the face of the whole earth; 
 and therefore both thefe opinions are wild, and 
 unfupported. 
 
 As to the third opinion, 'uiz, that the 
 neceffity of obferving this decree lafted only 
 till the deftrudlion of the Jew?^:) temple and 
 
 polity; To this I anfwer. That whatever 
 
 may be thought of the neceflity of this de- 
 cree, 'tis evident, that the wifdom of it, and 
 the advantage of that abftinence which was 
 
 due to it, extended much farther. Since, 
 
 without this, that calumny imputed to Chri^ 
 fiia7is^ of killing inflmts in their affemblies, 
 and drinking their blood, could never be {o 
 
 eafily 
 
44 Revelation Examind, &:c. 
 
 eafily and fo effedtually confuted : for no- 
 thing could do this fo thoroughly, as denion- 
 ftrating that it was a fundamental principle 
 with ChrifiiajiSy to touch no blood of any 
 
 J^ind: ^^and what could demonftrate this 
 
 fo effedlually, as dying in attellation to the 
 truth of it! as it is notorious, both from the 
 apologifts and ecclefiaftical hiftorians, that 
 many Chrijlian martyrs did. 
 
 But befides all this, fuppofing, (not 
 granting) that this were a mere temporary 
 neceffity, will any man pretend to fay, that 
 it hath ceafed ? or that it can ceafe, as long 
 .as there are Jews and Maho77ietam in the 
 world, to be converted to the Chrijlian reli- 
 gion ? 
 
 But it is further urged, that this apoflo- 
 lick decree was only given to the JewiJI: 
 profelytes ; and confequently, that the ne- 
 ceffity of abftaining from blood and things 
 
 ftrangled, related to them only: This, 
 
 they tell us, appears ^ in that the apoflle^ ^hen 
 he preached in any cit)\ did it as yet in thefyna-- 
 gogues of the jewSy whither the Gentiles 
 could not come^ unlefs they were prof elytes of the 
 gate. 
 
 
Revelation Examind, Sec. 45 
 
 Now this opinion, I think, will be fuf- 
 ficiently confuted, by demonftrating thefe 
 
 two things fiift, that before the pafling 
 
 of this decree, St. Pmd preached Cbrijjlamfy 
 to the whole body of the Gentiles ^ at Antioch j 
 and fecondly, that this decree is directed to 
 the Gentiles at large, and not to the JewiJJj 
 profelytes. 
 
 First, I iiiy, St. Paid preached the Chri- 
 Jiian religion to the whole body of the Gen- 
 tiles at Antioch 'y this appears clearly and 
 inconteftably from the 13 th chapter of the 
 
 A^tsy at the 42d and following verfes, 
 
 where we are told, that when St. Paul had 
 preached in the fynagogues, the Gentiles^ 
 (probably thofe who had been his hearers) 
 befought that thofe words might be preached 
 
 to them the next fabbath -, and the next 
 
 fabbath day came ahnop the whole city toge- 
 ther^ to hear the word of God -^ Does any 
 man imagine that all thefe were JewiJJo pro- 
 felytes ? Or not rather, that the Jews them- 
 felves were but a handful, compared to the 
 reft of the inhabitants of that great city? 
 Now what the confequence of this mighty 
 concourfe was, St. Luke (the author of this 
 hiftory) tells us verfe 45. But when the 
 'Jews Jaw the multitude s^ they were filled with 
 envy^ and /pake again ji thofe things which 
 
 were 
 
4^ Revelatiok Exammd^ &:c. 
 
 were fpolien by Paid, contradi^ing^ and blaf- 
 fheming. 
 
 46. Then F aid and Barnabas waxed bold, 
 and f aid. It wasnecejfary that theivord of God 
 jhoiild firjl have been fpoken to you -, but feeing 
 ye put It from you, and judge yourfelves un- 
 worthy of everfafing life, lo, we turn to the 
 Gentiles, 
 
 47. F o R yi hath the Lord co7nmanded us^ 
 fayi?2g, I have fet thee to be a light to the 
 
 Gentiles that thou fiouldjl be for falvation 
 tmto the ends of the earth, 
 
 48. And when the Gentiles heard this, 
 tbey were glad and glorified the word of the 
 Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal 
 life, believed, 
 
 49. And the word of the Lord was pub^ 
 lified throughout ad the region. 
 
 Now this tranfadtion at Antioch, happened 
 feven years before the decree againft blood 
 and things ftrangled, was paffed by the 
 apoftles at Jerufalem-, Can any man in his 
 fenfes, doubt, after this, whether the apoftles 
 preached to the Gentiles, before the paffing 
 of that decree? When it appears from the 
 words now recited, tha"t the ^apoftles not 
 only preached to the Gentiles^ but preached 
 
 to 
 
Revelation Examind^ &c. 47 
 
 to them in contradiftincftion to the Jews : 
 
 and does any man know the Jews fo litde, 
 as to imagine, that when the apoftles turned 
 to tlie Gcjitiles, from them, the Jews would 
 after this fufFer thofe apoftles to preach to the 
 Gentiles in their fynagogues ? Bcfides the 
 text fays, that the word of the Lord was 
 publifhed throughout all the region, . 
 
 confequently the apoftles were fo far from 
 confining themfelves to the ^r-z^;///:) fynagogue, 
 that they were not confined even to the 
 extent of that ample city; but preached 
 
 throughout the whole country : This 
 
 opinion, then, that the apoftles preached only 
 to the Je'ws^ and profelytes, before the paf- 
 fing ot this decree againft blood at Jerufa^ 
 
 km, is demonftrably falfe: ■ and if they 
 
 preached to the Gentiles at large, to whom 
 elfe can that decree be direded ? 'Tis diredled 
 to the Gentile converts at large; and who 
 can we imagine thofe converts were, but 
 thofe to whom Chrifiianity was preached, 
 /. e, the Gentiles at large ? 
 
 But this is yet further demonftrated, from 
 St. James's fentence, in the 15th chapter of 
 the ABs, upon which the apoftolick decree is 
 founded. His words arc thefe: 
 
 19. Wherefore my fmtence is, that we 
 trouble not them which Jrom among the Gentiles 
 are twiied to God, 
 
 20. But 
 
48 Revelation Exammd^ &cc. 
 
 20. But thaf we ivrke unto them^ that 
 they ahfiain from pollutions of idols ^ and from 
 
 fornication^ and from tbi?igs firangledy and 
 from blood, 
 
 21. For Mofes of old time hath in every city 
 them that preach him^ being read in the fyna- 
 goguesy every fabbath day. 
 
 What then? what li Mofes had thofe that 
 preached him in the fynagogues every fabbath ? 
 Why then, there was no neceffity of writing 
 upon thefe points to any of thofe who were 
 admitted into the fynagogues; becaufe they 
 knew, from the writings of Mofes^ that all 
 thefe things were, from the foundation of the 
 world, unlawful to the whole race oi Adam, 
 
 My fentence (fays the apoftle) /i, that njce 
 write to the Gentile converts upon thefe points; 
 for Mofes hath thofe of old in every city, 
 that preach him, /. e. there is no neceffity 
 of writing to any Jewijh convert, or to any 
 profelyte convert to Chrifiia?jity^ to atf^ 
 ftain from thefe things: becaufe all that are 
 admitted into the fynagogues, (as the pro- 
 felytes were) know all thefe things fuffi- 
 
 ciently already ; and accordingly, upon 
 
 this fentence of St. James's^ the decree was 
 founded, and directed; doubtlefs, from the 
 
 nature 
 
Revelation Examtnd^ Sec z}c> 
 
 nature of the thing directed to thofe whom 
 it was fitting and neceffary to inform upon 
 thefe points; /. e, thofe who were unac- 
 quainted with the writings of Mo/es; for the 
 decree, as far as it contained a diredion to 
 certain duties, could give no information to 
 any others. 
 
 And thus we fee, that they who believe 
 this decree given only to the Je^wijl:) profe- 
 lytes, proceed upon manifeft miftakes ; and 
 therefore we may fay of them, as our Saviour 
 fdid of the Sadducees^ They do greatly err^ 720t 
 knowing the Jmftures. 
 
 Nay, fome of them do err yet more; 
 ■ affirming that this canon is only an 
 
 exemption from the obfervance of the Jewijb 
 law, but contains no command or precept of 
 abftinence, upon the points there mentioned. 
 But the canon itfelf will beft determine this 
 
 doubt; // feemed good unto the Holy 
 
 Ghojl^ and to us^ to lay upon you no greater 
 
 burthen^ then thefe nece'ffa^y things. Does 
 
 any man imagine that the words, ?io greater 
 burthen^ imply no burthen at all ? Or rather. 
 Don't the words plainly imply, to common 
 fenfe, that they did lay the load of thofe 
 neceffary things upon them ; but would load 
 
 them with noihing that was unneceflary ? 
 
 I own I fliould be afliamed to m.ention thefe ob- 
 jections in a Chrijlian country of common 
 
 Vol, IL E fenfe 
 
50 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 fenfe, if fo learned a man as Dr. Hammond *, 
 had not ferioully urged them, as if he thought 
 them of moment. 
 
 Again, an objedlion is raifed againft this 
 dodrine from the conchifion of the decree, ye 
 do welly infinuating, that tho' they fhould do 
 well to obferve it, yet they did no ill in not 
 obferving it. 
 
 I ANSWER, That doing well, in the ftyle 
 of fcripture, as well as common fpeech, is 
 adling agreeably to our duty; and doing 
 well in neceflary things, muft certainly be 
 ading agreeably to neceffary duty; and cer- 
 tainly the fame duty cannot be at the fame 
 time neceflary, and indifferent. 
 
 But *tis objedled, that if the points con- 
 tained in this decree are not parts of the 
 Mofaic law, the decree has no relation to the 
 queftion in debate; for the debate was, 
 whether the Gentile converts to Chrijiianity 
 fhould be obliged to obferve the law of 
 Mofes^ 
 
 I ANSWER, That the decree hath the 
 clearefl relation to the queftion, — inaf- 
 much as it is a decifion, that the Gentile 
 
 -^ Hammtmli ibid. 
 
 con- 
 
Revelation Exam'm'd^ Sec. 5 1 
 
 converts were not obliged to oblerve the 
 
 law oi Mofes'y it hath at the fame tiine a 
 
 plain relation to the point in queftion ; for 
 whac, could be more proper, than to take 
 that occation to let the Gentiles know, tliac 
 they were obliged to the obfervance of fuch 
 duties as were obligatory antecedent to the 
 law^ of Mofesj tho' they were exempted from 
 that law? 
 
 Again 'tis ufged, that this decree could 
 only oblige thofe to whom it was direcfted, 
 i. e, the Gsntiles of Antioch^ and Syria^ and 
 Cilicia, 
 
 As if the decree, and the reafon of it, 
 did not equally extend to all Gentile con- 
 verts throughout the whole world. And 
 
 as if this dodrine were only taught and 
 received in thofe particular regions; when, 
 'tis evident, beyond a poffibility of being 
 denied or doubted, that all Ckriftians, in 
 every region of the earth, were taught and 
 ad:ually imbraced the fame dodtrine, at 
 leall, for the iiril three hundred years after 
 Cbrtjl *. Every one knows that the queirion 
 
 * Except in the inftance of a difpenfation, faid to have been 
 granted by Elutheriis, bilV.op of Rome, in the fecond century, 
 to eat any thing that was man's meat, which yet was foon over- 
 ruled by the prevalence of the doftrine of abihnencc trom bloody 
 which became univerial in the third century, 
 
 E z tiiovcci 
 
52 Revelation Examind^ &cc. 
 
 moved and debated in the council of "Jcriifa- 
 letn refpeded no partlcubr people or coun- 
 try, but related to the heathen converts to 
 Ckrijtianlty in general; and 'tis certain, that 
 the determination of that queftion, was as 
 general as the debate: and the reafon of 
 directing the letters which carried this decree, 
 to the l3rethren at Antioch^ Syria^ and Cilir 
 eta, plainly was, becaufe they, and they 
 only, had been difturbed by the dodrine of 
 thofe judaizing converts, who urged the ne- 
 ceffity of obferving the w^hole law of Mofes^ 
 even after converfion to Cbrijiianity ; and 
 there was no neceffity that the apoftles 
 lliould write to any other converts on this 
 occalion, but thofe who had been difturbed 
 by that do(5trine ; for w^hen they were quieted 
 upon this head, by the unanimous fentence 
 of the apoftles, there was no danger that 
 any others fhould be difquieted by it; or if 
 they were, the fame fentence would un- 
 doubtedly be equally fatlsfadory to them 
 
 a^lfo^ . efpecially fince they could net but 
 
 fee, that tho* the letter from the fynod of 
 ^erufalem^ was directed to the brethren at 
 AntiGch^ yet it was plainly founded upon 
 this principle, that all the converts from Hea- 
 thenifm to Chriftianity fliould be exempted 
 from all obfervance of the law of Mofes^ 
 except in thofe four inftances laid down in 
 that canon; and thefc, as fo many precepts 
 
 of 
 
Revelation Exammdy &c, 55 
 
 of the fons of Noah * (as, in truth, they con- 
 tain all fuch of them as were not already fuf- 
 ficiently known and admitted by the heathen 
 world), the yews themfelves believed to be 
 obligatory upon all mankind, antecedent to the 
 law of Mofes, 
 
 Add to all this, that if the reafons of the 
 apoflolick decifion, and the direftion of the 
 letters containing it, were not fo clear to us, 
 at this diftance, yet nothing were more 
 fhocking, or more unchriftian, than to fup- 
 pofe, that the precepts of any apoftolick 
 epiftle are obligatory to thofe only, to whom 
 that epiftle is dire(fled. 
 
 But it is ftill objedled, that this The main ob- 
 difpute could not have happened J^^ions to this 
 otnerwile than between Ge?itile dered. 
 and Jiidaizing converts 5 and con- 
 fequently, the decifion of it mu ft have refped: 
 to the conducft which it was then neceffary the 
 Gentiles ftiould hold, with regard to the Jews^ 
 who could not converfe with them upon the 
 foot of a friendly com.munication, could not 
 fit at meat, ^c, unlefs the Gentiles abftained 
 from blood, ^c. 
 
 * whether thcfc precepts were then known by that name, I 
 (Jiall not take upon me to determine^ (piobably they were not) 
 but that all the Tons ot Noah were obliged to obferve them, 
 i;, I think, undoubted. 
 
 E 3 CoN„ 
 
54 Revelatioi^ Examlndy &c. 
 
 C o N s E Qj; E N T L y, that this licceflity is now 
 ccafed. 
 
 In anfvver to this, admitting the premifes, 
 I muft own I cannot fee how this conckifion 
 follows from them, as long as there are yews 
 and Mahometans in tlie world to be converted 
 to the Chrijiian religion, 
 
 Besides, whatever the occalion of this 
 decree might be, furely its precepts may be 
 obligatory beyond the occafion : The pre- 
 cepts of our Saviour's fermon upon the mount, 
 were delivered on occafion of his bein<H: fol- 
 lowed by great multitudes from Galilee^ Deca- 
 folis, &c. Is the obligation of the precepts 
 there delivxred, only relative to the occafion? 
 Had not the apoftles found this occafion, of 
 enjoining thefe precepts of abftinence -, is it to 
 be im?.gin'd they would not have taken fome 
 other occafion ? Or enjoined them without re- 
 fpedt to any occafion ? 
 
 Fornication, idolatry, luxury, and 
 cruelty to the creatures, are prohibited by 
 this decree; and an original precept from 
 God to Noak^ of manifold advantage to 
 mankind, reftored ; is it to be believed, the 
 apoftles could ftand in need of a particular 
 occafion to prohibit thofe enormities? or to 
 
 reftore this bleffing ! 
 
 The 
 
Revelation Examindy 8cc. 5 5^ 
 
 The heathen world was over-run with 
 idolatry *, and abandoned with regard to 
 women; and blood was fubfervient to both 
 thefe corruptions: fiippofe then the duty of 
 abflinencc from blood to have ceafed with 
 regard to idolatry, muft it not ftill fubfift 
 with regard to luxury? as it is in itfelf a 
 high inflaming food -, and yet more fo, when 
 
 blended with the flefli, ■ as in things 
 
 ftranglcd. 
 
 Fornication did not appear to the hea- 
 then v/orld, to be contrary to the law of 
 nature; (nor do the libertines of the age fee 
 it to be fo to this day), and as they had no 
 reftraints upon intemperance, their luxury 
 of food, greatly contributed to make them 
 abandoned. How then could the apoftles, 
 whofe bufinefs it was to reform the world, 
 pretend to amend mankind, without reco- 
 vering them from thefe corruptions? And 
 what more effectual method could they take 
 to recover them, than a moft folemn and 
 facred injunction of abftinence in thofe points 
 contained in the decree of jeri/Jh/cm? And 
 that the apoftles had nothing lefs than this 
 
 ■^ Tho' Maimonides only fays, that the eating of Mood gave 
 occafion to idolatry among the Zntiiy yet he gives us to un- 
 deiftand, that the fupcrftirions of that people filled the whole 
 world. Sec Sir John MarJJjam, Iccul. 9. p. ipj. Lond. edit. 
 
 E 4 in 
 
5^ Revelation Examin'd^ 8cc. 
 
 in view, from that decree, is, I think, fairly 
 and fully to be coUeded, from thefe words 
 of Sr. Lii'A:e, ABs xvi. 4, 5. And as they f'i.e. 
 Paul and his companions) went tht'o the cities, 
 they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that 
 ii'ere ordained oj the apojiles and elders which 
 were at ^f eriifalem, and Jo were the churches 
 ejiablijhed in the faith y and increafed in number 
 daily. 
 
 Now the decree here referred to, is evi- 
 dently the decree concerning blood, &c. from 
 the obfervance of which, the churches were 
 not only increafed, by opening the way to a 
 more friendly communication with the yews, 
 and io facilitating their admiffion into the 
 Chriflian church, but they were likewife 
 ejlablifhed in the faith: Does this expreffion 
 mean nothing ! Might wx not conclude from 
 it, with fome appearance of reafon, that the 
 Chriflian religion had been defective without 
 this eftabli{hment ? 
 
 But there are yet two other main funda- 
 mental objedions againft this dodlrine, taken 
 from the declarations of our Saviour, St. Peter, 
 and St Pauk 
 
 And the firft of them is built upon thofe 
 
 words of our bleffed Saviour in the 15th 
 
 chapter of St. Matthew^ at the nth verfe. 
 
 Not that which goeth into the mouth defiletb 
 
 ^ the 
 
Revelation Examindj &c, 57 
 
 the man, but that which cometh out of the mouth. 
 
 From hence 'tis inferred, that a man may 
 
 eat or drink any thing without fin, notwith- 
 ftanding the apoftoHck decree. 
 
 But furely no Chriflian would fay this, that 
 
 faw the abfurdities of this alTertion ; for if 
 
 this declaration of our Saviour's, deftroys the 
 validity of the apoftolick decree, then it will 
 follow ; 
 
 Fir ft ^ That this decree was repealed, juft 
 twenty years before it was made, which is furely 
 a very extraordinary fuppolition \ for whoever 
 looks into the chronology of his bible, will 
 find, that thefe words of our Saviour were 
 fpoken twenty years before the apoftolick coun- 
 cil was held at Jerufalem, 
 
 Secondly, It will follow, that the whole 
 body of the apoftles, did, after full debate, 
 and mature deliberation, make a moft folemn 
 decree, in dired; contradi(5tion to the plain 
 exprefs declaration of their bleffed Lord and 
 Saviour. 
 
 And this fuppofition is furely as modeft, 
 and as Chrijiian, as the firft was extraordi- 
 nary 3 nay more, • they made this 
 
 decree, under the immediate direcflion and 
 influence of the fplrit of God, and yet made 
 it in direct contradiction to the declaration 
 
 of 
 
5 S Revelation Examind^ Sic. 
 
 of the Son of God. I am really at a lofs 
 
 to think, whether the abfurdity, or the blaf- 
 phemy of thefe fuppofitions is mofl- locking. 
 
 Let us quit them then, and examine our 
 
 Saviour's words by the common rules of reafon. 
 
 And to clear this point, I lay this down 
 as a plain rule of interpretation, tbaf ge?2eral 
 exprejjions ought not to be extended beyond the 
 reajon of them^ and the occajion of their being 
 deli'^cered. For example, St. Paul^ in the 
 loth chapter of his firft epiflle to the Corin- 
 thians^ anfwering the arguments of thofe 
 converts, who pretended they might inno- 
 cently eat of things offered to idols, even in 
 
 the idol temples- ufcs thefe words, All 
 
 things are lawful for me^ but all things are not 
 
 expedient', Will any man infer from 
 
 Iience, that murder, and adultery, and in- 
 eeft were lawful to St. 'Paul? Or, that he 
 
 thought they were r No furely,^ ■ What 
 
 then can he mean by them r I anfvver. That 
 the reafon and occafion of them, maift deter- 
 mine that queftionj and do determine the 
 
 plain fenfe of thofe words to be this : . 
 
 All things that are lawful to any other man,^ 
 are alfo lawful to me ; but every thing that 
 is lawful to be done, is not always expedients 
 though the liberty you took of eating in the 
 idol temple, were lawful, yet if it gives offence^ 
 you ought not to take it. 
 
 In 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 59 
 
 In the fame manner fhould that general 
 expreflion of our Saviour's be interpreted; 
 Not that "which gocth into the mouth defikth 
 the man^ but that which co?nefh out of the 
 mouthy that dejileth the man: — — Does any 
 man imagine, that our Saviour meant to 
 give full licence to gluttony and intempe- 
 rance by this declaration ? Or that a man 
 might deliberately fwallow poifon by virtue 
 of thefe words; or in general, might inno- 
 cently eat any thing which the law of God 
 at that time forbad to be eaten ? Thefe were 
 ftrange abfurdities to be fuppofed; the fenfe 
 of the declaration then, muft be drawn from 
 the reafon and occafion of it, which v^as 
 
 this ; The Pharifecs v/ere offended with 
 
 our Saviour's difciples, for fitting down to 
 meat before they wafhed their hands, con- 
 trary to the tradition of the elders; as if 
 fuch a violation of a traditional precept, 
 were fin and a pollution : In anfwer to this, 
 after our Saviour hath fliewn the iniquity and 
 abfurdity of their traditions, he adds. Not 
 that which gceth into the 7nouth dejileth the 
 man; now the queftion is. What he meant 
 by thofe words ; and if he himfeif had not 
 told us, I really think that the occa- 
 fion and common fenfe would teach us to 
 underftand no more by them, than this, that 
 it is not any litde foil or filth taken into the 
 mouth from eating with unwafli'd hands^ 
 
 that 
 
6o Revelation Examind, &c. 
 
 that can be fald to defile a man ; nothing of 
 that kind can properly be called a pollution. 
 This, I fay, is the plain, natural, ob- 
 vious fenfe of thofe words; indeed the 
 
 latter part of the declaration is not fo plain ; 
 hit that which comefh out of the mouthy this 
 defileth the Man ; this part of it, I fay, is 
 not fo intelligible; neither was it fo to the 
 difciples, and therefore Teter defired his 
 
 Lord to declare this parable unto them^ 
 
 and accordingly he did fo, by Ihewing, that 
 whatfoever pollution was taken in at the 
 mouth was cajl out into the draughty but 
 what came out of the mouth, came forth 
 from the heart, as did evil thoughts of all 
 
 kinds ; and he adds, ^heje are the things 
 
 that defile the man^ - — ■ but to cat with un- 
 
 wajhen hajids defileth not the man : Here 
 
 you fee, that our Saviour himfelf explains 
 his general declaration from the rcafon and 
 occafion of it, and limits it there ; limits it 
 
 to eating with unwafhen heads; and 
 
 furely he will be allowed to undcrftand his 
 
 own declaration beft ; and I fhould be 
 
 glad to know, by what authority any man 
 will take upon him, to extend the fenfe 
 and intention of thofe words, farther than 
 Chrifi himfelf extends them ; or, at leaft, 
 farther than the reafon and occafion of them 
 will v/arrant? Or where he will flop if he 
 dees? for if we may extend the declaration 
 oi Chrifi^ fo far as to take off" our obligation 
 
 to 
 
Revelation Exammdy &c. 6i 
 
 to the obfervance of one divine law, why 
 not of any other that will come within the 
 letter of that declaration? (gluttony and in- 
 temperance for example), though quite befide 
 the intention of it ; the intention of it was to 
 take off all apprehenfion of guilt from viola- 
 ting a tradition of the elders; and fhall 
 
 we extend it to take off all apprehenfion of 
 guilt from violating a decree infpired by the 
 fpirit of God ? 
 
 Besides, w^e fhould remember that Cbnjl 
 refers to the "^fpirit oj truth for many things 
 which he had yet to fay to his difciples, 
 which they could iiot bear : and fmce this 
 decree was made under the influence of the 
 Jpirit of truth, we may well conclude, that 
 the precepts contained in it, were of that 
 numbers and, in all probability, they could 
 not then bear to be told, that the law of 
 Mofes fliould be utterly abrogated ; except 
 fuch precepts as were obligatory upon all 
 mankind, antecedent to it. 
 
 But if this decree is flill obligatory, why 
 have we not heard of it fooner? 
 
 I ANSWER, That as errors have gradually 
 crept in, they muft be gradually removed; 
 
 John XV i. 12, I J, 
 
 and 
 
6i Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 
 
 and the earlieft, laft; but, I hope, it 
 
 will be allowed, that no antiquity can fandlify 
 
 errors as this point made no part of the 
 
 dilpute at the reformation, nothing could be 
 
 determined upon it, in that contefl ; and 
 
 no occaiion that I know of, hath fince offered 
 to bring it into debate. 
 
 I COME now to the laft objeftion of weight, 
 which is this: that the diftindiion of clean 
 and unclean meats, is plainly taken away in 
 the new teftament ^ and particularly by that 
 
 voice from heaven in St. Pefers vifion, 
 
 and that St. Paul clearly determines the 
 lawfulnefs of eating any thing fold in the 
 fliambles, or fet before us on the table, asking 
 no qiiejiions for cojifcience fake, 
 
 T o the firft part of this objedlion, I an- 
 fwer. That the diftindlion of meats, clean 
 and unclean, commonly fuppofed to be in- 
 troduced and eftablifhed by the law of Mofes^ 
 is plainly taken away, by the voice from 
 heaven, accompanying St. Peters vifion : 
 But how does this conceflion affed: the pro- 
 hibition of blood, eftablifhed before the law 
 of Mofes? And which hath nothing to do 
 with the diftinftion of creatures, clean and 
 unclean, taken away at that time ? 
 
 B u T to cut this difpute fhort, I fhall only 
 
 obferve, that the very command to St. Peter 
 
 3 in 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec, 6; 
 
 in that viiion, is fo far from taking away 
 the prohibition of blood given to Noab, that 
 
 it clearly eftabl ifhes it, the words are 
 
 ihefe 5 Ri/e^ Peter ^ kill a?id eat : now the 
 
 Greek word ^aov, which is here tranflated 
 killy does in the original fignify to Jacrif:ce^ 
 ^ — and the plain fenfe of the command, is 
 this, that Peter fliould flay thofe creatures, 
 as creatures were wont to be flain for facri- 
 fice \ that is, that he fhould firft draw away 
 the blood, and then eat them -, and no maa 
 that pretends to any knowledge in the Gree'k 
 tongue, will fay, that this word has, or can 
 have, any other meaning in this place; — - 
 and therefore the very command, which 
 takes away the diftindiion of creatures, clean 
 and unclean, is fo far from taking away the 
 prohibition of blood, that it eftabliihes it. 
 
 Besides, I defire it may be obferved, that 
 this command to St. Peter^ was given in the 
 41ft year from our Saviour's birth; or, in 
 other words, in the year of our Lord 4 r, and 
 the decree of the apoftles at Jerufalem^ was 
 in the year of our Lord 52, /. c. the pro- 
 hibition of blood was eftablifhed eleven years 
 after the diflin^tion of meats, clean and un- 
 clean was taken away. Ill-fated decree ! to 
 
 be again repealed, fo many years before it was 
 made ! 
 
 As 
 
^4 Revelation Examindy &cc. 
 
 As to the latter part of the objedtion, I 
 own, St. Paul allows that Cbrijiians may eat 
 whatfoever is fold in the flmmbleSy or Jet 
 before them at a friend's table, asking no 
 quejlions for confcience fake\ but will any 
 man in his fenfes, interpret this permiffion, 
 to extend farther than to things lawful and 
 proper to be fold, or eaten ? What block- 
 ing abfurdities will follow from fuch a fup- 
 pofition ? Do thcfc People imagine that 
 St. Paul meant to licenfe all the barbarities 
 of the Scythians, and Melanchlcenians * in 
 the bulinefs of food ? and yet all this will 
 follow, from thefe conceffions, interpreted 
 in their utmoft extent. Can it be believed, 
 with any colour of reafon, that St. P^^/gave 
 this permiffion in contradidion to the decree 
 of Jerufalera ? a decree to which he himfelf 
 confented! nay, which he himfelf princi- 
 pally occafioned! which he himfelf adually 
 carried about, and depoiited with the feveral 
 churches ! What abfurdity and contra- 
 diction of condudl, would thefe men brand 
 the apoftle with? to go himfelf, and with 
 his own hands, to depofit the apoftolick 
 decree in one church, under the fandion of 
 a canon ratified by the fplrit of God; and 
 
 * The Melavchlocnians fed upon human ilcfh. Vide He- 
 roJotusi 1. 4. 
 
 then 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 65 
 
 then go immediately to another church, and 
 preach againft that very canon, and decry it 
 as inconliftent with Chriftian liberty : — - 
 was this the way to eftablifh Chr'ijltmnty in 
 the world, by contradictory and inconfiftent 
 doctrines! It feenis like wife, that his preach- 
 ing was in this point, (if he did preach) as 
 vain, as it was inconfiftent \ for we do not 
 hear of one convert to blood, made either 
 by his fermons or epiftles^ for the firft 300 
 years of the Chriftian ^ra. 
 
 But after all, thefe vaunted permiffions 
 of the apoftle, w^ill, upon enquiry, be found 
 to have no relation either to blood, or things 
 ftrangled; but to relate entirely to meats 
 offered to idols ; parts of which, were fome- 
 times fold in the fliambles, and fometimes 
 eaten in private houfes \ and thefe the 
 apoftle permitted to be eaten by Chrifliansy 
 
 asking no queftions for cojijctence fake : 
 
 and fince thefe permiflions no way relate to 
 blood or things ftrangled, 1 ftiould be glad 
 to know by what rule of reafon, any man 
 can take upon him to apply them to thefe 
 points, beyond the intention of the apoftle, 
 
 and contrary to every reafonable rule of 
 
 interpretation ! And whenever any man 
 proves from thofe conceflions, that the 
 apoftle meant to give Chrifians a liberty of 
 eating blood and things ftrangled, I will 
 undertake to prove by the fame way of rea- 
 
 Vo L. IL F Ibning, 
 
66 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 foning, that he intended to give himfelf a 
 full licence to commit murder and inceft. 
 
 But ftill it may be urged, that St. Paul 
 undeniably allows Chriftians to eat things 
 offered to idols, contrary to the apoftolicfc 
 decree; and if he invalidates that decree in 
 one inftance, Why not in another ? 
 
 T o this I anfwer, That the plain inten- 
 tion of the council at Jerujalem^ in com- 
 manding to abftain from meats offered to 
 idols, was to keep Chriflians from idolatry ; 
 or, as St. 'James exprcffes it, from folluttons 
 of idols : and the true way to effed this, they 
 knew, was, by prohibiting all communion 
 with idols and idolaters, in their fealls, in- 
 
 ftituted in honour of their idols ; and 
 
 this is plainly what is meant by the com- 
 mand of abftaining from meats offered to 
 idols ; and fince thofe feafts were kept in 
 the idol temples, Hovv^ is this command in- 
 validated by St. Patirs permilTion of eating 
 any part of a creature Ibid in the fhambles^ 
 or fet before them in private houfes, tho' 
 that creature might have been flain in ho- 
 nour to an idol ? Since the Chrlfiian that eat 
 it in this Manner, did not eat it in honour 
 to the idol, nor as meat offered to an idol^ 
 but as common food. 
 
 To 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 67 
 
 To illnftrate this by a parallel inftance. 
 Suppofe the apoflolick decree had com- 
 manded Chrtflians to abftain from, thhigs 
 
 jlolen^ What would any reafonable man 
 
 underftand by that prohibition ? Would he 
 not underftand that it was meant to prohibit 
 theft, and all communion with thieves in 
 
 their villainy ? Yes furely : Suppofe 
 
 then any one of the council ^ fhould, after 
 this, tell the people he preached to, that 
 they might buy any meat publickly fold in 
 the fhambles, or fet before them in private 
 houfes, asking no qmjl tons for conjcierice Jake j 
 tho* poffibly the butcher, or the hoft, might 
 
 have ftolen that meat : Would any man 
 
 in his fenfes think this permiffion was in- 
 tended to annul or invalidate the decree of 
 
 abftaining from things flolen ? and if 
 
 any man think fuch an interpretation abfurd 
 in one cafe, he muft furely think it as ab- 
 furd in the other ; efpecially fince Saint 
 
 ^aul himfelf fo exprefly, and fo folemnly, 
 deters Chri/iians from all participation of 
 idolatrous feafts ; that is, from all meats 
 offered to idols, as fuch: for whereas it was 
 pretended by feme, that they might inno- 
 cently partake of idol feafts, fince they knew 
 that an idol 'ujas nothings and rhat there was 
 ho God but one: he reproves that pre- 
 tence by that dreadful denunciation in the 
 loth chapter of the firft epiftle to the C^r/;;- 
 
 F 2. thians^ 
 
6% Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 thiansy at the noth and aill verfes; But I 
 fay^ that the things which the Gentiles facrl^ 
 jice^ they facrijice to devils^ and not to God : 
 and I would mt that ye Should have fellow (hip 
 with devils ; ye cannot drink the cup of the 
 Lordj and the cup of devils ; ye cannot be 
 partakers of the Lord's table ^ and the table of 
 
 devils: And will any man, after this, 
 
 pretend to fliy, that St, Paul indulged C^ri- 
 jflians in eating meats offered to idols, contrary 
 to the apoftolick decree? I will fay more, 
 
 • I will venture to affirm, that whoever 
 
 reads St. 'haul's firft epiftle to the Corin- 
 thians^ with attention, will find that the 
 mainpurpofe and tendency of it, is to recom- 
 mend and eftablifh the feveral particular 
 duties contained in the apofloUck decree at 
 Jerufalem, I mean the duties of abftinencc 
 
 from fornication, idol pollutions, — - 
 
 and forbidden food * ; 'Tis true he does 
 
 this with great addrefs, with feeming con- 
 ceflions, fubmiffion to their wifdom, &c. 
 but flill all thefe have no other view than to 
 win them over to his own opinion to more 
 
 advantage : that he meant to deter them 
 
 from fornication and idol pollutions, is out 
 
 * As the reader will fee, not only by the whole tenor of 
 the epiftie, but by confidering, in a more particular manner, 
 tlic feveral palfages here referred to, — viz., ch. iii. i, i, 3, 
 17. —■ - ch. V. I, 6, 7, 9, 10, II. — ch. vi. 9, 12, 1 3.- — 
 ch. vii. 31. — [ch. viii. entire, and ch. ix. 4, 20, 21, 22, 
 23, 27. compared with ch. x. beginning at the fth verfe.] 
 
 of 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &cc. 69 
 
 of all doubt : that he meant alfo to 
 
 withhold them from luxurious and forbid- 
 den foods, is, I think, evident from the 
 following texts : I^e mt deceived : neither 
 fornicators^ nor idolaters^ nor adulterers^ nor 
 effeminate^ Re. fhall tukerit the kingdom of 
 
 God. Meats for the belly ^ and the belly for 
 
 meats : but God fljall deflroy both It and thetn, 
 
 And they that life this world^ as not 
 
 abufing It : for the fafhlon of this world paf- 
 
 feth away. 'Neither let ns tempt Chrifi as 
 
 fome of them aljo tempted^ and zvere deflroy ed 
 
 of ferpents. ISlow the deftrudion of the 
 
 Jfraelltesj here referred to, was for their in- 
 temperate longing for the delicacies of Egypt^ 
 
 from which God had precluded them ; 
 
 and the verfe that follows, is to the fame 
 
 purpofe : Neither murmur ye^ as fome. of 
 
 them alfo murmured^ and were deflroyed of 
 the deftroyer : -^ — and the reafon why the 
 apoftle conveys this doctrine fo covertly, and 
 with fuch caution, was, becaufe tlie pcr- 
 fons to whom he wrote, were yet weak and 
 carnal. 
 
 The main objedions to this decree, and 
 its doctrines, are, I think, now removed : 
 
 but ftill there are fome flighter cavils 
 
 that delervc to be confidered ; for ia- 
 
 ftance 5 
 
 F 3 'Tis 
 
70 Revelation Examindy 8cc. 
 
 Objeaion? of ^Xis Urged, that the word 
 
 lels moment , ,p . • v 
 
 confidercd. 'TTOpviixg (rornicatioii), IS want- 
 ing in Ibme manulcripts, and 
 that St, Aiigiijitne tells us, {^contra Fauji, L 32. 
 c, i^,J that fuch as abftained from wild 
 fowl, hare, &€, on account of their being 
 killed, without bleeding, were laughed at in 
 his time, it being underftood that our Sa- 
 viour's declaration abovementioned, licenfed 
 all forts of food. 
 
 I ANSWER, That were thefe laughers ^/z- 
 gels from heaven^ we were obliged, in this 
 cafe, to rejeft them, Gal. i. 8, 5). 
 
 Besides, this objection from Si, y^ugiiftlne^ 
 and the ridicule of his contemporaries, be- 
 ing profciTedly founded upon our Saviour's 
 declaration, muft manifellly ftand, or fall, 
 according to the skill or ignorance with 
 which that declaration is interpreted: — - 
 and whether fuch interpreters, as his con- 
 temporaries, are more the objefts of our 
 admiration, our contempt, or our pity, I 
 leave the reader to judge, 
 
 I T were alfo eafy to confront this father, 
 with other declarations of his own, incon- 
 fiftent wath the licence here feemingly al- 
 lowed, as alfb with many authorities lupc« 
 lior to his own : authorities of all the earlier 
 
 fathers. 
 
Revelation jE'^^w/V^, &c. 71 
 
 fathers, of emperors, and of councils; . 
 
 but as thefe arc eafily to be collcdcd from 
 comments, the reader, if he thinks it worth 
 while to fearch, may find them there. 
 
 The objedion, from the dcfedivenefs of 
 the text in fome manufcripts, Dr. Gale hath 
 
 fully and learnedly confuted : and I fhali 
 
 only add, that thefe fedulous objeftors had 
 been filcnt upon the point, had they remem- 
 bred that this decree is founded upon Saint 
 yames's fentence, where no defect is pre- 
 tended ; and that the fame decree is again 
 recited, (ylBs xxi. 25.) and by the apoftles 
 themfelves, without any omiflion or defi-^ 
 ciency. 
 
 But ftill it may be objeded, that the 
 prohibition of fuch minute things as meats 
 and drinks, are below the majeily of God. 
 
 I ANSWER, That it may with as much 
 juftice be objected, that anger and abufive 
 appellations are prohibited in the gofpel : 
 For are not thefe, at leaft, equally be- 
 neath the majefty of God ? human wifdom 
 may object, whatever infolence and vanity 
 fuggeft ; but thefe principles will always be 
 ill meafures, by which to eitimate the wif- 
 dom and majefty of God : it is the per«^ 
 
 fedion, and ever will be the glory of the 
 gofpel;, th^t it prohibits not only grof3 and 
 
 f 4 im^ 
 
7 1 Revelation Exammdy Sec. 
 
 immediate ads of immorality, but even its 
 moft diftant and unfufpefted tendencies. 
 
 I AM but too fenfible, that a doctrine very 
 
 different from this prevails at prefent : 
 
 it is thought advifable to demoliih the out- 
 works of religion, to prevent their being 
 
 made I know not what, lodgmei2ts for 
 
 the enemy, I ihould imagine that the city 
 
 of God had no vain works ereded about it, 
 
 at leaft, none of God's ereding ! and 
 
 thcfe only I contend to preferve, at 
 
 icafl-, I am fure, if we confider the church of 
 God under another image, which the lan- 
 guage of fcripture hath made more familiar 
 to us, I mean that of a vineyard, this way of 
 reafoning will ill bear the teft; deftroying 
 the fences of the vineyard, was never thought 
 
 the beft way to preferve its fruit : may 
 
 we not v>"ith much more juftice complain 
 to God, in the words of the rjalmlj}^ of 
 the prefent condition of that vine, which his 
 own right hand hath planted amongft us ? 
 Thou made ft roora for it^ and when it had 
 taken root it jilkd the land, T'he hills were 
 covered with the Jhadow of it : and the boughs 
 thereof were like the goodly cedar trees. She 
 jlretched out her branches unto the fea^ and 
 her houghs unto the river. Why hafi thou 
 then broken down her hedge ^ that all they that 
 go by^ flack cff^ her grapes ^ the wild boar 
 mt of the wood dpth root It upy and the wild 
 
 heajts. 
 
Revelation Examind, &cc. 75 
 
 iea/ls of the field devour it. 7'urn thee agatn^ 
 thou God of hojis^ look down from heaven : 
 behold and vifit this vine, 
 
 I AM fenfible I have already detained the 
 reader too long upon this fubjecl : I am fure 
 
 much longer than I could wilh ; and 
 
 yet, before I conclude, I muft beg his pa- 
 tience for one obfervation more, and but 
 one, in relation to the importance of it, 
 viz, that it will not be eafy to produce one 
 fo direfl:, plain, and authoritative prohibi- 
 tion of all the impiety and immorality for- 
 bidden by this decree, from any other part 
 of the new teftament befides. 
 
 For tho' St. faul exprefly prohibits both 
 idolatry and fornication, yet poffibly all men 
 may not count his fingle prohibition, as autho- 
 ritative, as that of the whole council of the 
 apoftles, under the immediate influence of 
 the Holy Ghoft. 
 
 In this decree, fornication, and idol pollu- 
 tions, are exprefly prohibited ; and luxury 
 of the worft kind, that is, luxury indulged 
 
 with cruelty, prohibited in its caufe : 
 
 and, I believe, no Chrifiian will deny that 
 the perfection of the gofpel^ required, that 
 fuch immoral and impious practices fiiould 
 be prohibited, under the fuileft and firmefl: 
 fendjons of divine authority : the groflcr 
 
 more 
 
74 Revelation: Examind^ Sec. 
 
 more exprelly and authoritatively ; and all 
 fufficiently, 
 
 Afummary Thus have I defended a 
 
 peroration. j. . , . -, , 
 
 divine revelation and command ; 
 a command ot eafy, unexpcnfiveohfervance, 
 preventive of cruelty, luxury, and many 
 ohter evils ; and conducive to much good ! 
 
 ■ manifeftly contributing to the heakhful- 
 
 nefs and finipllcity, and, in confequencc of 
 both thefe, to the elegance and delicacy of 
 food. 
 
 A COMMAND in its nature, negative and 
 abfoiute, as that of the forbidden fruit. 
 
 A COMMAND given by God himfelf 
 
 to Noah J repeated to Mofes^ and ratified by 
 
 the apoitles of Jcjus Chrift ; given im- 
 
 mediat(;:]y after the flood, when the world, 
 as it were, began anew ; and the only one 
 
 given on that great occafion : repeated 
 
 with awful folemnity, to that people whom 
 God feparated from the reft of mankind, to 
 be holy to himfelf: repeated with dreadful 
 denunciations of divine vengeance, both 
 againft the Jew and the Stranger that fnould 
 
 dare to tranfgrefs it : and ratified by 
 
 the moft folcmn and facred council, that 
 t'ver was affcmbled upon earth ; acting un- 
 der the immediate influence of the fpirit of 
 pQ^j I . — _ tranfpiitted from that facred 
 
 aiTcmbly 
 
Revelation E^nmhfd^ Sec. 75 
 
 affembly to the fevcral churches of the 
 neighbourinG; nations, by the hands of no 
 meaner meffengers, than two bifhops, and 
 two apoftles ; afferted by the befl: wrfcers 
 and moft philofophic fpirits of their age, the 
 Chriflian apologifts ; and fcaled with the 
 blood of the belt men, the Chr'ifllan mar- 
 tyrs ! confirmed by the unanimous fentences 
 of fathers, emperors, and councils: and one 
 of thefe, as low as the fixth century. Re- 
 verenced (in conformity to the pradice and 
 principles even of jVwj and Mahoiiielans) by 
 the whole church of God for the firft 300 
 years after Chr](l • and by all the churches 
 
 of the Eajl to this day : chinches 
 
 allowed to be more extenfive, and not more 
 corrupt, than that which vaunts itfelf, cat ho- 
 Uc^ and infallible • — ~ And will any man 
 after this dare to vilify this command ? 
 Will any man in his fenfes pronounce 
 a precept, lb given, fo repeated, and lb 
 ratified by God himfelf, unmeaning, and 
 unimportant ? Can we imagine, that it w^as 
 affcrted by the moft learned men of the early 
 ages of Chriflianity^ without knowledge \ 
 Or obeyed by the moft holy, even unto 
 death, without conlcicnce ? Or reverenced 
 by the whole church of God, without rca- 
 Ibn? And (hall we, after all this, contemn 
 this command! becaufe h'glit libertines revile^ 
 
 and infolents dcfpife it ? or, at bell-, 
 
 becaufe fome learned men^ have given very 
 
 weak 
 
7<5 Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 
 
 weak and ungrounded, very unlearned rea- 
 fons, for believing it repealed ? reafons 
 which I have now fufficiently refuted and 
 cxpofed : And fhall fuch reafons, and fuch 
 authorities weigh againft God ! and the in- 
 fpirations of his holy fpirit ? againft the 
 apoftles, and apologifts, and martyrs ! and the 
 whole church of God, for the three firft and 
 pureft ages of the Chrijtian aera ! Let others 
 glory in their Chrijiian liberty, as they like 
 
 beft : but, perhaps, to fome of thefe we 
 
 may fay with St. Paul: Tour glorying is not 
 good : know ye riot that a little leven levemth 
 the whole lump ^ 
 
 Thus much, at Icaft, we may fay with 
 him^ Let not him that eateth^ dejpije him 
 that eateth not: and let not him which eateth 
 fiot^ judge him that eateth : there is room for 
 charity on both fides, but with this ad- 
 vantage to the abftinent, that meat 
 
 (moft certainly) commendeth us not to God : 
 for neither if we eat^ are we the better ; 
 neither if we eat not^ are we theworfe. 'Tis 
 fome conlblation to be on the fure fide of 
 
 duty. ' Glory who will, in his Chriftian 
 
 liberty ; Meats for the belly y and the 
 
 belly jor meats : but then let them not forget 
 
 what follows, God Jhall deflroy both it 
 
 and thenu 
 
 IH 
 
Revelation Examlndy Sec. 77 
 
 I F mine is an error, it mufl: be owned at 
 the fame time, that it is an error on the fure 
 
 (ide, it is innocent, it is an error 
 
 infinitely better authorized, and nearer allyed 
 to religion, virtue, and humanity, than its 
 contrary ! for (not to mention the precepts 
 of apoftles, the opinions of fathers, and the 
 decrees of councils) If I err, I err with the 
 moft men, (not heathen) and with the beft! 
 with the whole Ch'i/iiau world of the beft 
 ages ! and the whole eaftern world to this 
 
 day ; 1 err, on the fide of humanity, and 
 
 health; and a religious gratitude to the Author 
 and Giver of life, for every creature flain for 
 my fupport ! I err, in oppofition to a prac- 
 tice manifeftly brutal and favage ; a pradice 
 
 which human nature abhors, a favage 
 
 praftice ! which overran the ffej}, together 
 
 with the Goths and Fandah ; a praftice, 
 
 introduced by Scythian barbarity, and efta- 
 
 bliflied by popery ! eftablifhed with 
 
 other works of darknefs, in the ages of 
 error and ignorance, and their neceifary 
 confequences, immorality and irreligion. 
 
 A PRACTICE, which under its only colour- 
 able pretence, of aflerting Chriftian liberty, 
 can, in the ordinary courfc of things, neither 
 anfwer nor propofe, any end worth men- 
 tioning, but thofe of floth, luxury, and 
 
 cruelty j 
 
f% Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 cruelty ; ends, of all others, leaft Cbrl- 
 
 Jiian I 
 
 But tho* all this be demonftrably true, 
 yet am I fufficiently fenfible, that I have 
 all this time been fpeaking in a great mea- 
 fure to appetite, which hath no ears ; and 
 
 to prejudice, which hath no eyes : to 
 
 perverfenefs, incapable of attention : and to 
 pride, incapable of convidion : and am fo 
 far, from being able to bring fome men to 
 reafon, that I am myfelf, perhaps, become 
 the objcd of their pity, for attempting it ; 
 
 that 1 have been feeding the railery of 
 
 libertines, and the feoffs of infidels ; 
 
 that even duUnefs will droll on this occafion, 
 and ftupidity break ftale jefts, ~- Alas \ 
 
 Who is fo ignorant, as not to knowj 
 
 that iho fcorner^ foe to every virtue and ex- 
 cellence in life ! muft in that very cha- 
 rafter, be the fworn enemy of every part of 
 religion ! of that religion, by which every 
 virtue lives, and is efteemed in the w^orld ! 
 Who is fo ignorant, as not to know, that this 
 meancft denomination of men, fubfifts upon 
 earth, like the meaneft fpecies of infedls: by 
 teizing and tainting to the utnioft of their 
 malignant might: and then feeding where 
 
 they have infefted ; but, God be praifed, 
 
 their impotence affeds nothing but infirmity ! 
 and the flighted fence is fecurity againft 
 them. Some difference, I hope, will be 
 
 allowed 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 79 
 
 allowed between us, on this occafion : 1 
 
 write, from the dictates of a good con- 
 fcience; it is theirs to fee, if they reproach 
 
 not from the influence of an evil : I 
 
 write, from the cleared conviction ; let 
 
 them beware that they rail not from cor- 
 ruption: this I will fay without fcruple : 
 
 I reafon from the light of an humble, 
 
 an honcft, and a diligent enquiry : and 
 
 if they rixJicule, they ridicule from the 
 depth of a lazy, and ''a conceited igno- 
 rance ! how far that ignorance will 
 
 acquit them at the great day of account, 
 God only knows. 
 
 D I s- 
 
8o Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 Dissertation IIL 
 
 Of the luiJding of BabeL 
 
 HEN the world, as it wefe^ 
 began a fecond time, in Noah 
 and his fons, Mofes" tells us, that 
 God blefled them twice, in a 
 very remarkable manner, and in 
 words that plainly imply the bleffing of an 
 immenfe increafe. Thus in Gen. ix. i. 
 j^nd God hlejpd Noah and hhfons^ and faid 
 unto thenty Be fruitful y and lyiultiply^ and 
 replenlp the earth. And again at the 7th 
 verle, y^nd you^ Be fruitful and multiply^ 
 hrlvgjorth abundantly in the earthy and rnuU 
 tiply therein. By thefe commands in fuch 
 reiterated and exaggerating cxpreffions, of 
 being fruitful, multiplying, and bringing 
 forth abundantly, is plainly meant, accord- 
 ing to the idiom of the Hebrew tongue, the 
 bleffing of a very extraordinary and prodi- 
 gious 
 
Revelation Exammdy &cc. 8 1 
 
 gious increafc, conferred upon Noab and his 
 fons : for what God commands, he wills; and 
 what he wills, muft have effeft. From hence 
 fome have inferred, that mankind were mul- 
 tiplied by twins at Icaft, for many years next 
 after the flood ; and they are confirm'd in this 
 conjefture, by finding, that according to 
 the Hebrew chronology of the old teftament, 
 they were in about a hundred years from 
 that asra, numerous enough to fet about the 
 building of the tower of Bahel^ the moil 
 magnificent and ftupendous work of all an- 
 tiquity. 
 
 The number of mankind, fuppofed by 
 fome then in the world, amounts to about a 
 million and a half But the learned primate 
 U/fjer contents himfelf with half that num- 
 ber, viz. 388000 males, and as many 
 females. 
 
 But as much the greater part of thefe 
 muft have been children at this time, and 
 many of thofe, who were fufficient for la- 
 bour, muft be taken up in cultivating the 
 ground and furnlfhing provifion for thofe 
 who were employed in building : the remain^ 
 ing hands, are, by fome men, deemed a 
 number not fufficient to fet about, and much 
 lefs to finifti fo great a work. 
 
 Vol. IL G I shali. 
 
82 Revelation Examindy &c, 
 
 I SHALL not enter into this difpute, but 
 content mylelf with obierving, that there is 
 not the leaft neceflity for confining even the 
 beginning of that great undertaking to this 
 time ; fince the only reafon of moment 
 
 affigncd for that confinement, is this; 
 
 'tis faid in the icth chapter of Gene/is^ at 
 the ajth verfc, That unto Eber were born 
 two fans : the vame of one was Peleg^ which 
 is derived from a Hebrew word fignifying to 
 divide ; and the reafon of the name is an- 
 nexed, for hi h'ls days was the earth divided i 
 
 Now, by the fubfequent account of 
 
 Pr/^^*s anceftors, we find, that he was born 
 in the loift year after the flood: from 
 whence 'tis conckided, that the earth began 
 
 to be divided at his birth. But this con- 
 
 chifion by no means follows from the l^y.t,j 
 which only fays, that in his days the earth 
 was divided: words, which can with no 
 propriety or colour of realbn, be fuppofed 
 to imply that this divifion began at his birth* 
 
 Nor is it fo much as faid, that this 
 
 name was given him at his birth : and 'tis 
 certain, it might as well have been given 
 him, at any time after, from his being a 
 principal agent among his own family, in 
 the divifion made in his days : as it is noto- 
 rious, that names have been given not only 
 to men, but to families, from like accidentSj 
 in infinite inftances, throughout all ages and 
 
 regions 
 
Revelation Examina^ See. 8 ^ 
 
 regions of the world ; or fuppofe the 
 
 name givea at his birth. Why might it not 
 have been given prophetically, as that of 
 Noa/jj from an event forefeen, which did 
 not however come to pals till many hun- 
 dreds of years afcer the name was given? ■ 
 
 And (ince ^e/e^ lived two hundred and 
 thirty-nine years, and that his younger bro- 
 ther Jock^a^jy and his fons, were a confider- 
 able colony in the diftribution of the world,, 
 at that time, \is much more rational, and 
 every way more credible, that this dillribu^ 
 tion did not begin till a confiderable part of 
 
 his life was lapfcd. And if it be fuppofed 
 
 begun about a hundred years afcer his birth, 
 or if his birth be computed according to the 
 chronology of the Septuaghit^ we fhall then 
 have time fufficient for linifhing the great 
 work of Bahely before this diftribution ; fince 
 mankind, might very well be multiplied to 
 fome millions, before that time. 
 
 Having thus prepared the way, the bufi-^ 
 riefs of this differtation Ihall be to enquire, 
 
 Firfly Whether there ever was fuch a 
 tovs^er built as is here Ipokcn of by Mofes : 
 and if built, by whom. 
 
 Secondly, What end the builders propofed 
 by erecting fo magnificent a ftrudure. 
 
 G a 1'hirMy^ 
 
84 Revelation Examlndy Sec. 
 
 fh'irdJ)^ What end Almighty God pro- 
 pofed by defeating their projed, in the 
 manner here recorded by Mofes^ viz, by 
 confounding their language. And, 
 
 Laflly^ To anfwer the objeftions which 
 have been raifed againft this account of the 
 confufion of tongues. 
 
 In the firft place then, that there was 
 fuch a tower in Babylon is out of all doubt ; 
 that it was alfo built of brick and flime, as 
 the fcriptures exprefs, is attefted by Herodo-- 
 tuSy and Jlrrian^ who were both upon the 
 fpot ; the flime being that pitchy fubftance 
 called j^fphaltnSy with which that country 
 abounds; and the brick, Herodotus affures 
 us, was baked In furnaces ; lo perfectly does 
 his teftimony agree with MofeSj who re- 
 cords the purpofeof thofc builders, and their 
 
 performance of it, in thefe words ; ^nd 
 
 they faid one to another ^ Go tOy let us make 
 brick and burn them throughly \ and they had 
 brick for ft one ^ andjllme had they for mortar 4 
 Then follows ; ylnd they f aid ^ Go tOy let us 
 build us a city^ and a tower ^ whofe top may 
 reach Unto heaven. 
 
 The expreffion of reaching unto heaven, 
 
 is ufed according to the known idiom of the 
 
 Hebrewj and the Greek alfo, to fignify very 
 
 «. great 
 
Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 8 5 
 
 great height. ■ And, in fad, the height 
 
 of this tower, was prodigious, it was an 
 
 hundred and nineteen feet higher than the 
 highcft of the Egyptian pyramids ; even 
 according to their accounts who rare it 
 loweft *. Now the accounts of the heathen 
 concerning this city, are all either fiibulous 
 
 or contradictory : Ibnie fay that Belus 
 
 built it \ others Semiramts ; and we know 
 that Nebuchadnezzar took all the plorv of it 
 to himfelf ; Cte[ias (and after him DiodurasJ 
 afcribes all the buildings of that great city 
 to Se7mramis ; which yet were the known 
 works of many fucceeding generations- and 
 which were fo prodigious, that it was im- 
 pofTible they could be otherwife executed. 
 But as he \s an hiftorian of no credit, and 
 demonftrably and notorioufly falfe in his 
 
 account of this matter : and as other 
 
 heathen hiftorians are not fo much as agreed 
 who was the founder of the city, (tho' all 
 agree, that this tower was the temple of 
 Belus^ who is fuppofed the Nimrod of the 
 fcripture) fome \ fecming of opinion, that it 
 
 * Stmbo determines the height of it to be a furlong j and 
 upon this foot, the authors of the univerfal hillory compute 
 it to be 179 feet higher than the grcatefl of the :Egyp'L%n 
 pyramids. 
 
 t '2iiny vol. i. p. 35-5. Tiurat ad hue ihi Job'is Beli temphon : 
 
 inventor hie fuh fiJeralis fcientiA. And Diod. Siadus, 1. i. 
 
 gives us to underftand, that the ChMdcans made their aflrono • 
 rnicd obfervations there. 
 
 G 3 was 
 
Z6 Revelation Exammdy Sec. 
 
 was erected by hiai for aftronomical obfcr- 
 vations ; and others, that it was built a 
 little later, and dedicated to him ; 'tis plain 
 we have no account of this matter to reft 
 upon, with any clearnefs and confidence, 
 except that of Mojes ; who, as he is doubt- 
 lefs the moft antient, is alfo found, after all 
 poiTible fcrutiny, to be infinitely the moft 
 authentick hiftorian, of all antiquity. 
 
 And as this tower of ^^^^^/jGonfidered upon 
 the foot of the antient chronology, is doubtlefs 
 the oldett work, of the oldeft (at lead, one of 
 the oldcft) city, of the oldeft empire of the 
 world ; and confeffedly atchieved in the begin- 
 ing of that empire ; the queftion then is, Hov/ 
 k could be performed fo early, other wife than 
 
 in the manner Mo/ej relates it ? for Be/us 
 
 is allowed by moft and beft heathen writers 
 * to be the founder of the city, as well as 
 the empire ; and it never was doubted, that 
 the tower was built by the founder of the 
 empire, when the fame perfon is fuppofed 
 the founder of the city ; and being at the 
 fame time allowed the moft prodigious work 
 of all antiquity, the queftion is. How Belus 
 could build it? "lis not to be imagined, 
 how it could be attempted by any prince in 
 
 * See Ql:in^ Curt. !. 5-, and Piiny ut fupra. — » Prideaux 
 connexion, pan j. i. t. 
 
 the 
 
Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 87 
 
 the infancy both of empire and arts, in 
 
 the infancy of empire, when royalty was 
 confined for the nioft part to the dominion of 
 one or two cities! as it certainly \va.s, as 
 low as Abraham] and no more than four 
 are attributed even to Nimrod in the fcrip- 
 ture; and Mojes's account of him, is, that 
 he began to he a mighty cue In the earth : 
 which the bed writers explain, by his being 
 the firft that laid the foundation of rcs-al 
 authority, among mankind ; and to im:igine 
 that fuch a beginner of fovereign power, 
 could effeft fuch a ftructure as the tower of 
 
 Babel ^ is a wild fuppofition. Nor is it 
 
 imaginable, how an empire able to effcft 
 fuch a work, could be entirely acquired, 
 and fo throughly eftablifhed by the fame 
 perfon, as to allow leifure for amufements 
 of fuch infinite toll and trouble. 'Tis true, 
 great empires, have fince been feemingly 
 acquired, by fingle perfons, as Cyrus^ and 
 Alexander : but there is a great error in this 
 fuppofition ; they began, upon the founda- 
 tion of kingdoms already acquired by their 
 anceflors ; and eflablifhed by the care and 
 wifdom of many fuccefTive rulers, for feveral 
 generations ; and afrer a long improvement 
 and exercife of their people in arts and arms, 
 which gave them fingular advantages over 
 
 thofe they conquered: fo that tho' thefe 
 
 empires rofe to their height under Cyrus 
 
 and Alexander^ yet were they in reality the 
 
 G 4 work 
 
88 Revelation Examind^ &cc. 
 
 work of many ages. Even Genghlfcan^ 
 
 and famerlalne^ the great, fet out upon the 
 credit and ftrcngth of confiderablc principa- 
 lities long in the pofleffion of their anceftors; 
 nor is there any inliance (that ever I could 
 learn) of any great empire from the founda- 
 tion of the world, entirely ereded and efta- 
 blifhed by one private perfon ; and there- 
 fore there is all the reafon in the world to 
 believe, that Nimrod's dominion was not 
 
 very great ; or if it were, there is no 
 
 inftance of works of this kind attempted from 
 that day to this, but from the fulnefs of 
 wealth, and wantonnefs of power ; after 
 peace, luxury, and long leifure, had intro- 
 duced and eftablifhed arts j and there- 
 fore nothing can be wilder, than to attribute 
 this work to the power and vanity of one 
 man, in the infancy both of arts and empire ; 
 and when we can fcarce luppofe, that there 
 was any fuch thing as artificial wealth in the 
 world. And fmce this building, is un- 
 doubtedly very antient, nay, demonftrably 
 as antient as the Icriptures make it, and yet 
 cannot be fuppofed the w^ork of any one 
 man in that period, To what can it, with any 
 appearance of probability, be afcribed, but 
 to the united labours of all mankind ? And 
 that it was compleated in that union, before 
 the confufion of their language, feems highly 
 probable from thefe words of Mofes^ in the 
 eighth verfe of this chapter, So the Lord 
 
 feat- 
 
Revelatiok Examhid^ &c. 8 9 
 
 fcattered them abroad from thence^ upon the 
 face of all the earthy and they left off to huild 
 the city : if the tower had not been iiniflicd 
 before this time, their ceflluion from that 
 alfo, would naturally have been mentioned ; 
 but vanity being a main motive to this work, 
 as fliall be fliewn immediately, 'tis probable 
 the work of greateft vanity, was iirft begun 
 and executed ; and executed doubtlefs it 
 might be, by fuch an immenfc number of 
 men fo united ; but impofiible to be execu- 
 ted by the power of any feparate fociety of 
 men, for many ages after the difperfion. 
 
 Besides, if Sir Ifaac Newton's correction 
 of antient chronology, be right, neither Be- 
 Itis^ nor 'Ninas ^ nor Semtramhy the fuppofed 
 builders of this tower, in the accounts of the 
 heathen, had fo much as a being, till many 
 hundreds of years after Mofefs account of 
 
 this matter : and yet Mofes fpeaks of 
 
 this tower and city, as of any other affairs 
 well known in his time : Can we then, with 
 any colour of reafon, doubt of its exifience at 
 that time? And what end could he have in, 
 giving a falfe, or fictitious account of its ori- 
 gine ? unlefs to difcredit the rcfl of his write- 
 ings, and defeat his own purpofcs, with a 
 people with whom, the traditionof this mat- 
 ter was very frefli ; as it could not but be, 
 in fo fmall a fpace from the moft rem.arkable 
 
 event 
 
po Revelation Examh/d, &cc, 
 
 event that ever was, fince the foundation of 
 the world, except the deluge. 
 
 And therefore take this matter either way; 
 either upon the foot of the antient chronology, 
 or the correftion of it, Mofefs account, is the 
 only one, that can be relied on, with any 
 appearance of reafon. 
 
 I CANNOT in this place forbear taking no- 
 tice of a paflage in Diodorus Stciiliis (1. i.) 
 which gives great confirmation to this part 
 of the Mofaic hiftory : — -he tells us, that on 
 the walls of one of the Babylonian palaces, 
 was pourtrayed, a general hunting, of all 
 forts of wild beafts : with the figure of a 
 woman on borfeback, piercing a leopard, 
 and a man fighting with a lyon ; fuppofed 
 to rcprefent Semiramts and Isfimis ; and on 
 the walls of the other palace, armies in bat- 
 talia, and huntings of fevcral kinds. — • 
 
 Now Mofes^ when he hath told us, that 
 'Ntmrod began to be a tnighty one on the earthy 
 he adds, that he was a mighty hunter before 
 the Lord^ t. e. according to the Hebrew 
 idiom, he was a very great and remarkable 
 huntfman ; fb remarkable, that it became a 
 common faying in the world, Even as Nhn-- 
 rod the mighty hunter before the Lord, Now, 
 as hunting is the befl means of training up 
 men to war, and was the moft natural means 
 of attaining to empire, in thole early ages^ 
 
 by 
 
Key Ei^Ano!<i Ex ammdy 8cc. 91 
 
 by the glory gained, and publick good done, 
 in dedroying thofe wild beafts which infeftcd 
 the world at that time : and alio by drawing 
 together a body of men under one leader • 
 and as boars and lyons are ftill carried in the 
 efciitcheons of great families, in memory of 
 fome exploits atchieved by their ancellors, 
 on fuch creatures, as Mr. Sehien obferves \ 
 and fince Mofes tells us, not only that Nim^ 
 rod was a mighty huntfman, but likewife, 
 that Bahel was the beginning of his kingdom : 
 What can be fo rational an account of thefe 
 ornaments on the Babylonian palaces, as that 
 they were fet up by fome of A^/>?2;Wsdelcen- 
 dants, in their anccftor's imperial city, in me- 
 mory of the great founder of their fiimily,, 
 and the empire ? 
 
 Akd thus haying cleared the firft head of 
 my enquiry, viz. Whether there ever was 
 fuch a tower as that mentioned in my text, 
 
 and who were the builders of it ; I now 
 
 proceed, in the fecond place, to enquire what 
 end thefe builders propofed by ereding fo 
 magnificent a ftruclure. 
 
 And that, I think, is fufficiently ex- 
 plained to \\s^ Gen, xi. 4. ^nd they J aid ^ Go 
 tOy let us build us a city^ and a tozver^ zvhoje 
 top may reach unto heaven ; and let us make us 
 a mmCj hjl^ (or as the LXX render ir, before) 
 
 we 
 
9i Revelation Exanmd^ Sec. 
 
 we be Jcattered abroad^ upon the face of the 
 whole earth. 
 
 Now in this refoliition two ends feem 
 
 plainly to be aimed at, • to prevent a di- 
 
 Iperfion, and to make a name : let ns 
 
 confider each ofthefe diftindiy. 
 
 First then, we are to enquire, how they 
 could propofe to prevent a difperfion, by 
 
 building this tower : and this, I think, is 
 
 obvious ; they were now in the midft of a 
 vaft plain, undiftinguifhed by roads, build- 
 ings, or boundaries of any kind, except 
 rivers. The provifion of pafture, and other 
 neceffaries obliged them to feparate \ and 
 when they were feparated, there was a ne- 
 ceflity of fome guidance, to bring them to- 
 gether again, on occafion : othervvife, all 
 regular and ealy communication muft be cut 
 off; and with that, all the pleafures of fo- 
 ciety. Now what could fo naturally and 
 properly prevent all thefe inconveniencies, 
 as a tower large and lofty enough to be feen 
 at great diftances ; and confequently, fufR- 
 cient to guide them from all quarters of that 
 immenfe region ! and when they had occafion 
 to correfpond, or come together, nothing 
 was more proper, than the contiguous build- 
 ings of a city, for their reception^ and more 
 convenient communication. 
 
 Beforb 
 
Revelation Examind^ &c. 93 
 
 Before their defcent, Ararat^ and the 
 ark upon it, were landmarks liifHcient : and 
 nothing could fo efFedually fupply their place, 
 upon a vaft plain, as an ample tower of fuf- 
 
 ficient eminence : and this was fo jull and 
 
 judicious a reafon for ereding this tower, 
 that Perizomus^ a late learned writer, thought 
 it the only one implied in the text, and hath 
 with a good deal of learning (and not with- 
 out fome probability) endeavoured to fliew, 
 that the words. Let tis make us a namej 
 might, in the original, fignify no more, than 
 
 let us make us a Stgn^ that is, a landmark 
 
 or monument to guide us. 
 
 But forafmuch as thofe words, would 
 then be unnecefTary, a monument or land- 
 mark, being fufficiently implied in the idea 
 of a tower ^ whofe top may reach unto heaven : 
 
 and as the LXX have rendered them 
 
 otherwife, to imply a motive of fame or va- 
 nity, and both thele reafons are very natural, 
 and very well confiftent : therefore I chufe 
 to underftand the words in the common re- 
 ceived fenfe. Take this refolution then, 
 in the light of both thefe motives united, 
 and the rcafoning of thefe bold builders will 
 ftand thus : 
 
 W E are here on a vaft plain, our difpcr- 
 Hon is inevitable^ our increafe and the ne- 
 
 ceflities 
 
94 Revelation Examind, 8^c. 
 
 ceffities of life demand it, we are ftrong 
 
 and happy united : divided, we fhall be 
 weak and wretched : let us then contrive 
 fome means of union, and friendly commu- 
 nication ; (which may at the fame time 
 perpetuate our fame and memory) and 
 what means fo proper for thefe purpofes, 
 as a magnificent city, and a mighty tower 
 whofe top may reach unto heaven I This 
 city, and this tower, will be fure means 
 
 of union, and friendly communication, 
 
 the tower will be a landmark to us, 
 throughout the whole extent of this vaft 
 plain * ; and fo make our correfpondence 
 eafy,^ -as the city will make it commo- 
 dious, Thefe glorious purpofes, we are 
 well able to cffeft united ^ but divided, we 
 
 * As to the extent of this plain, the reader will, I hope, not 
 be dilplealcd at my tranfcribing a paragraph upon this head from 
 the learned authors of the unix^erfal hillory before-mentioned 
 (N. 2. p. HZ.; 
 
 '' Wc meet with footHeps of the name of Shinaar, in thofc 
 *' parts, both in anricnt and modern authors j Sennaar of Ba- 
 *' 6ylon, is mentioned by HeJlUus the Mile/ian, and the city of 
 *' Smgara in McfopotamiO' by icveral. Some fpeakof a territory 
 *' of that name in the ilime quarters ,• Vtolemy places both the 
 *' city and mounticn cr. Singarn there j all which feem to be 
 " the fame city, mountain and territory, which ftill bear the 
 " name of i^wjWr in the eaft. The fcut o't Mejopotamia, chofen 
 *' out by the aftronomers in the time of KhaJfah al Mamun, 
 " for meafuring the content of a degree of a great circle, was 
 *' the deilirt of Senjdr ; which the nature of that experiment 
 " fliews to have been large, as well as a level country j and this 
 *^ we take to have been, at leaft, a part of the antient plain of 
 
 ihalJ 
 
Revelation Exanrnd^ &c. ^^ 
 
 Ihall be inconfiderable ^ and difperfe inglo- 
 rious, and eftranged, over the face of the 
 earth. 
 
 CoMMENTATOPvS have puzzled themlelves 
 to find out forc'd reafons for this union of 
 mankind in fo extraordinary an undertaking ; 
 when the plain natural reafons of it, lay io 
 fully and fairly before them in the text. 
 
 They were all the fons of one man, bred 
 up in brotherly affeftion, and under all the 
 motives of friendly union, that can be ima- 
 gined ; their common father, was their com- 
 mon governor : they were the only men on 
 the globe ; and they had no property to 
 
 contend for. What would not fuch friends 
 
 fo united undertake ! What attempt could 
 
 be too arduous, or too difcouraging, to con- 
 tinue, and, if poffible, to perpetuate fuch a 
 union ! 
 
 EuT befides all this, all the pride and 
 magnificence of their anceftors, were defaced, 
 and utterly deftroycd by the deluge, without 
 the leaft remains or memorial of their gran- 
 deur ! confequently, the earth was now a 
 clear ftage, whereon to ered, new, and un- 
 rivalled monuments of glory and grandeur to 
 themfelves : nor could they want art to 
 effed their purpofc j it being in itfelf a work 
 w of 
 
9(5 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 of the utmoft plainncfs and fimplicity, which 
 required little art or contrivance ; or if it 
 had, JSloab knew, at leaft, an hundred and 
 twenty years before-hand, that the earth 
 was to be deftroyed, and peopled again from 
 him ; he knew, that he, and his fons, would 
 want houfes after the flood ; and therefore, 
 he muft be very negligent, (to fay no worle) 
 if he did not acquire fome knowledge and 
 skill in building : and take care alfo that his 
 
 Ions fhould be inftrufted in architedurc. 
 
 And they had all the inventions and im- 
 provements of their anceftors for their guides 
 
 and models. And being affured by God 
 
 himfelf, that the world fhould be deftroyed 
 no more, in the fame manner, they had rea- 
 fon to believe, that whatever monuments of 
 magnificence they fhould now ereft, would 
 laft, in proportion to the ftrength of the 
 ftruclure, and durablenefs of the materials. 
 
 As to the firft, I believe it will be 
 
 allowed, that no other ftructure ever vied 
 with this in point of ftrength, (except the 
 pyramids) and whether it was thro' necef- 
 fity or choice, is hard to fay, but certainly 
 they chofe the moft durable materials for 
 their ftruclure, that this world affords \ 
 Jince right good brick clay, throughly burnt, 
 and fuch was that of which this building 
 wholly conlifted, is found to outlaid marble j 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &c. p/ 
 
 fA\'\ is, I believe, more durable even than 
 metals of any kind ^\ 
 
 Nor let any man think it ftrange that I 
 lay lo great a firefs upon the motive of 
 vanity, towards effcfting this work, when it 
 is notorious, that this is the very principle, 
 whicli hath ever governed, and incited the 
 whole race of mankind, in all the works and 
 monuments of magnificence, that ever were 
 erected, from the foundation of the world ^ 
 
 to this day : that which could erecl fo 
 
 many cities, maufoleums, palaces, pillars, 
 and pyramids, may well be allowed fufficienc 
 for one BaheL 
 
 But here I would have the reader cau- 
 ttoned, not to imagine that I think this tower 
 and city could be for ever the means of art 
 immediate union and communication among 
 this people, and their poflerity, or that they 
 thought it could : the conftant increafe of 
 their numbers, would perpetually demand a 
 proportionable difperfion, till the whole 
 earth was overfpread by them ; and confe* 
 qucntly, there would loon be a ncceflity of 
 
 * B'lo obfcrves (1. 68. p. 783. edit. Lcuencl.) that the 
 dj^haltus, with which Babylon was built, gives fiich a firmnefs 
 aivi iecuvity (ei<r<pei?^Ha.v) to burnt bvick, cr fnvail ftones, that 
 
 it makes them Ihonf^er than cither rocks, or iron. ■ And 
 
 Diodorus Siculus (1. 19.) afcribes the duration ot embalmed 
 bodies to the mixture ot" this drug. 
 
 Vol. II. H building 
 
98 Revelation Exammd^ 8cc. 
 
 building other cities ; but ftill this generation 
 would enjoy the immediate benefit of this 
 great undertaking ; which ^ in all probability, 
 was all they propofcd by it, befides the bu- 
 finefs of vanity before-mentioned. 
 
 These are the plain obvious reafons for 
 which mankind united in this mighty work 
 of Babel : as is fufticiently evident, both 
 from the words of Mofes^ and the nature of 
 the thing ; and I am pcrfuadcd, thinking 
 men would never have fought for any other 
 reafon, could they have conceived vv'hy God 
 fhould incerpofe in fo extraordinary a man- 
 ner, to defeat this defign ^ which they think 
 he would not have done, if the defign had 
 no-t been fome way or other, monfiroufly 
 wicked and dctcfiable ; and indeed this 
 fccras to hav- been the common fenfe of 
 mankind, upon the point, from the heathen 
 mythology, of the impious attempt of the 
 old giants, to invade heaven, by heaping 
 T^el'wn upon Oija \ v/hich is, in all appear- 
 ance, a fable, founded upon fome obfcure 
 memory of the defign here mentioned by 
 Mofes^ to hutid a tozver whofe top may reach 
 unto heaven*^ efpecially confidering, that this 
 ftructure, as Herodotus defcribes it, confifted 
 of eight towers, piled one upon another. 
 
 Amd therefore I now proceed, in the third 
 place, to encj^uire, what end Almighty God 
 
 propofed,, 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ Sec, ^^ 
 
 propoled, by defeating this projed, in the 
 manner here recorded by Mojesy viz, by 
 confounding their language. 
 
 And the main purpofe of God, in con- 
 founding the language of mankind, at that 
 time, moil probably was, to prevent the 
 early eftablifhment of one great empire in the 
 world ; and, in confequence of that, th(^ 
 proportionable growth of every vice and im* 
 
 j piety, among mankind* 
 
 1- 
 
 I For, if this city were once finiihed^ the 
 I immediate confequence would have been^ 
 j the cllablifliment of fome civil government ; 
 I and, as the people were all the fons of one 
 ! man, that government, in the hand of Koah^ 
 1 or his heir, would have eftablilhed this city 
 j the metropolis of an empire over all mankind, 
 i then in being ; and that empire, would na^ 
 ' turally, and almofl: neceffarily, become uni- 
 j verfal, when the ties of regal authority were 
 fiiperadded to the paternal ; and, when all 
 the fubordinate degrees, of rulers and ma- 
 giftrates, of all kinds, were in the fame ana^ 
 logy : that is, when their power, in the 
 ftate, lliould be in the order of their natural 
 
 authoriry, as, in all probability, it would 
 
 be, for fomc ages, at leaft. And what 
 would have been the confequence of fuch an 
 eftablifhment? Why, plainly this, that im- 
 
 H 2 piety. 
 
1 CO Rev el atiok Examindy 8cc. 
 
 piety, and immorality of all kinds, would" 
 have kept pace with the empire ; and in- 
 creafed and enlarged in the fame propor- 
 tion ; fince it is notorious, that the wicked- 
 nefs of men, in all focicties, is, in propor- 
 tion to their number. Increafe of men 
 
 exads an increafe of induftry ; induftry 
 brings wealth ; wealth, kixury; and luxury, 
 
 vice of every kind. This is the known 
 
 and ordinary train of things. Hence it is, 
 that the greateft cities, being moll wealthy, 
 are found, in fad, to be moft luxurious, 
 and moft vicious ; and, in proportion to 
 the duration of that affluence, and the 
 numbers of men, infected by it, the arts 
 cf luxury, and all the confequent corrup- 
 tions, muft eternally endure and increafe 
 
 alfo ; and, as an empire, founded at 
 
 this time, muft, from the nature of the 
 thing, become more extenfive than any 
 other ever was, at leaft, fince the flood, 
 becaufe all the members of it muft be 
 joined together, by the cement of one com- 
 mon blood, and by all the ties of the 
 
 fame language, manners, religion, intereft, 
 and authority • confequently, the corrup- 
 tions of mankind, would, of neceflity, in- 
 creafe, and extend, in the fame propor- 
 tion ; and, as fuch an empire, muft, in all 
 probability, foon ftretch itfelf to the utmoft 
 limits of the earth, and fo become univerfaly 
 
 wicked- 
 
Revelation Exammcl^ Sec. i o i 
 
 wickednefs would undoubtedly be as uni- 
 vcrfal ^. 
 
 This God Almir^hty plainly forefaw ^ 
 and, by one ad oi' infinite and adorable 
 
 wifdom, prevented ; prevented, not 
 
 only for the prefent, but, to the end of the 
 world ; by that fingle ad, of confounding 
 their language, he crumbled mankind, at 
 once, into feparate affedions, and interefts ; 
 and reduced 'em to the virtue and the difci- 
 pHne of fmall Ibcieties ; which can llibfifl: no 
 otherwife, in the neighbourhood of other 
 focieties, of feparate interefts, but by difcl- 
 pline, and vertue, and induftry ; and, as 
 the variety of languages, now diffuled among 
 mankind, would naturally increafe, from the 
 mixtures, arifing from the commerce of one 
 people with feveral others, of different 
 tongues : and different languages, will al- 
 ways create a difference of inclinations, i'nd, 
 in confequence of that, a difference of inte- 
 refts, 'tis evident, that the difunion of man- 
 kind, muft, from this one principle, eter- 
 nally increafe with their numbers ; and, by 
 this means, univerfal monarchy, and the con- 
 fequence of that, univerfal corruption, mull 
 for ever be keot out of the world. 
 
 * There feems to have been, ar leafc, two empires fubfifling 
 in the world at once, before the Hood : nor did wickcJncr:i bc- 
 tome uuivcrljil, till the families d' Seth and Cfim united. 
 
 H q And 
 
102 Revelation Exanmd^ Sec. 
 
 And that this was the exprcfs purpofe of 
 pro\ddence, in confounding the language of 
 the world, at this time, feems to me clear, 
 from God's own words, (recorded by Mofes) 
 on this occafion, in the nth chapter oiGen. 
 at the 6th and 7th verfes, Jnd the Lordfaid^ 
 Behold^ the people Is one ; and they have all eve 
 language : ^nd this they begin to do : And 
 fiGZD nothing will be refirained from them^ 
 iDhtch they have imagined to do. 
 
 The people is one (faith God) ; one in 
 fuch a fenfe, as no other people ever were, 
 from that day, to this : All brethren, the 
 children of one father, then alive, and, in all 
 probability, at their head \ and, being thus 
 united by blood, they have alfo all one Ian- 
 guage\ — cemented by every principle of union 
 that can be imagined ; and this they begin to 
 do\ or, as it is in the original, this is their 
 Beginning to do^ and now nothing will be re^ 
 jl rained from them^ zvhich they have imagined 
 to do : i. e. this is their firft attempt, and, if 
 they fucceed in this, the fame brotherly af- 
 feftion, and focial vanity, which united thcni 
 in this attempt, and made it prolperous, will 
 infpire them with a ftrong defire of atrempt- 
 ing, and a proud confidence of effecting, 
 every wilh, and every vanity, that comes 
 into their hearts; the confequence of which, 
 niuft be, that they will run into all manner 
 a of 
 
Revelation Examind^ &c. 1 03 
 
 of irregularity, and extravagance; to 
 
 prevent which, God immediately enters into 
 this refoliition : Go to^ let us go dozwi^ and 
 there cojifonnd their language^ that they may 
 not under (land one ajwthers fpeech : So the 
 Lord feat tered them abroad from thence (fays 
 Mofes) upon the face of all the earth \ and 
 they left of to build the city. And by what 
 means he did this, is more fully explained in 
 
 the following verfe. 'f here fore is the name 
 
 of it called Babel^ (i. e. confujion) becauje the 
 Lord did there confound the language oj all the 
 earth : And jrom thence did the Lord fcatter 
 them abroad upon the face oj all the earth \ i.e. 
 having, by the confufion of their language, 
 divided them into diftind tribes, the confc- 
 quence was, that each of thofe tribes chofe 
 to live feparate ; as it is the nature of man- 
 kind, to feparate from thofe widi whom they 
 cannot converfe, and to unite where they can. 
 And fo they became fo many diftind nations, 
 and colonies, over the face of the whole earth. 
 
 What the number of thefe colonics was, 
 is not fo clear, from the Scriptures ; though 
 (with fome reafon) fuppofed 70 or 72 ; bur, 
 it feems fufSciently evident, that God Al- 
 mighty fo far confulted their happincfs, as 
 to unite particular families, by one tongue, 
 and, probably, under one head, from thofe 
 words Oi Mojes^ in the icth chapter of G\v/. 
 where, recounting the dcfcendants from each 
 
 H J. of 
 
1 04 Rev elation Exammd^ Sec. 
 
 oi NoaFs fons, he lays firft, of the defcend- 
 ants of Japheih^ By thefe were the ijles of the 
 Gentiles divided^ in their lands ; eve}y one 
 after his tongue^ after their families^ in thtir 
 7iations, And fo likewiie of the fons of H.un^ 
 7 he fe are the fons of Ham^ after their families^ 
 after their tongues^ in their countries^ and in 
 their nations. And, in the fame manner, he 
 fays of the defcendants of Shern^ 'fhefe are 
 the fons of Shem^ after their families^ after 
 their tongues^ in their lands ^ after their na- 
 tions. From whence it feems evident, 
 
 that a certain number of families, having one 
 tongue, polfelTed them.felves of one country j 
 and fo became one nation. 
 
 And thus having, I hope, fufficiently ex- 
 plained for what reafon, and with what in- 
 finite wildcm the difperiion of mankind was 
 effected, by the fingle aft of confounding 
 their language • having fliewn alfo that it 
 was not in puniihment of guilt, but in pre- 
 vention of it; not to correft corruption, but 
 to keep it out, and to preclude it from a 
 poUibility of becoming univerfal in the world : 
 
 and that in faft he hath done fo : The 
 
 common opinion of divines, that this was 
 only the work oi fLnn^ and his defcendants, 
 is plainly Vvithout foundation ; Befides the 
 Scripture aiTures us, that yjjher^ a defcendant 
 o{ Shenis^ went out from that very land, and 
 built Ninive ; and therefore there is no doubt, 
 
 buc 
 
Revelation E^^mmd^ Sec. 105 
 
 but that he, and all his defccndants, were 
 there alfo. 
 
 I COME now, in the laft place, to anfwer 
 the only objedion, of any moment, which 
 lies againft this account, which is thisj 
 
 That the increafe of mankind, muft of ne- 
 ceffity caufe a variety in their language ; and, 
 confequently, that there was no need ojf a mi- 
 raculous interpolition, to produce this variety. 
 
 In anfwer to this, I could wifli thefe ob- 
 jeclors would fupport their objeftion with 
 fome more colour of reafbn, or ftiew of proof; 
 becaufe, 'till they do fo, the abfurdity of the 
 pofition itfelf, can only be confuted and ex- 
 
 pofed J whereas, fince abfurd pofitions can 
 
 only be fupported by weak and idle reafons, 
 if the reafon of an abfurd opinion were added, 
 the falfhood of it would be capable of clearer 
 and more complicated confutation. 
 
 'Tis true, a late ingenious writer hath, in 
 his letter to Dr. Waterhuid^ in fome meafure 
 removed this difficulty, by telling us, (p. 38.) 
 that the caufe of the variety of languages in 
 the world is grounded in reafon and nature ; 
 in the mcejjliry mutahility of himian things^ 
 the fife and fall of fates and empires^ change 
 of modes and cafoms^ which neceffarily intro- 
 dace a proj^ortionahle c bangs in language, 
 
 N w, 
 
io6 Revelation Examindy See. 
 
 Now, in anfvver to the main of this ob- 
 jeftion, I beg leave to ask this gentleman, 
 for whofe learning and abilities I have long 
 had an high efteem, (with much grief to iec 
 them degraded in defence of an ill caufe) 
 
 this plain queftion, Whether he believes, 
 
 that, if the Normal and South^Britons had 
 fpoke the fame language at the time of the 
 conqueft, the importation of French fafhions 
 and laws, v/ould have changed the Englijh 
 tongue, fo far as to make it a new language? 
 I will anfwer for him that he will not, upon 
 due deliberation, believe fo great an ablbr- 
 
 dity ; and, for the reft of his reafoning, 
 
 upon this fubjed, refer my reader to the very 
 learned remarks upon this letter^ by Philo^ 
 hlbllctis Ca/2tabrigie?7fiSy which ^ I doubt not, 
 v/ill give him the fame entire fatisfadion, 
 upon this point, which, I here acknowledge, 
 that it hath given me. 
 
 In the mean time, I appeal, to every man 
 of common fenfe, whether any thing in na- 
 ture be more credible or reafonable, than to 
 believe that any number of men, defcending 
 from one father and mother, Ipeaking one 
 language, and teaching the fame to their 
 children, would for ever continue to Ipeak 
 that language, and no other ; the fame rea- 
 fon why Sbem, Ham, and Japheth^ would 
 fpeak one language^ viz, becaufc they were 
 
 taught 
 
Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 107 
 
 ^aught it by their parents, would fiirely hold 
 as good, why their children, fhould fpeak it, 
 and their children's children, and fo on, 
 endleffly. 
 
 The?.h are now, fome miJlions of men, 
 in England^ that fpeak the fame language, 
 becaufe they were taught it , might not as 
 many more, or ten times as many more, or 
 ten thoufand times as many more, fpeak it, 
 
 for the fame reafon ? 'Tis true, the Em- 
 
 Vtjh^ and all living languages, are in a per- 
 petual flux ; new words are added, and 
 others die, or grow obfolete ; But whence 
 does this arife ? not at all from the 77ecejjary 
 matah'iiity of human things ; but moft e vident- 
 ly from the mixture of other tonguese; fcho- 
 lars add new words, or terminations, fiom the 
 learned languages, either thro* afFedation of 
 learning, or a defire of adorning their native 
 tongue, with fome words of more elegance or 
 fignificance ; and others from a commerce 
 with countries of different languages, natu- 
 rally adopt fome of their phrafcs and cxpreC* 
 fions, into their own ; and fo our language 
 varies ; And what then ? How docs this af- 
 fect the queftion concerning the continuance 
 of the fame language, where no other was 
 ever taught, or heard ? 
 
 The "^ews are allowed to have Ipoken 
 the fame language from Mojes^ to the Bahy-- 
 
 lon'fjh 
 
io8 Revelation Exammd, 8cc. 
 
 ^0f2i/h captivity ; if their polity had continuecfj 
 Would they not fpeak the ikme language to 
 this day ? Some of the inland inhabitants of 
 Africa J are found to fpeak the fame language 
 now, whith they fpoke 2000 years ago • 
 (and, in all probability, the fame obfcrva- 
 tion is true of our near neighbours the M'^^elfi) 
 Could they keep to one language for 2000 
 years, and could not the defcendants of 
 Noah keep to one language for 2.C0 ? Could 
 they keep their language amidft a variety of 
 io many others ail about them, and when 
 'tis fcarcely poffible they Ihould be clear of 
 all commerce with people ofdifFerent tongues, 
 and could not thefe keep their language, 
 when it was impoffible they could have any 
 commerce but with one another ? Thefe 
 j^frlcans (to fay nothing of the ffeljh) now 
 keep their own tongue, though there are lb 
 many others in the Vvorld, to taint, and by 
 degrees abolifh it ; if there were no other 
 language in the world, but theirs, does any 
 man believe they would not continue to 
 Tpeak it for :icoo, or loooo years more, if 
 the vvcrld lafted fo long ? And if all the reft 
 of mankind were dcftroyed, and no traces of 
 their learning or languages left behind, and 
 -the world v/ere Co be wholly peopled from 
 thefe Afy'icaus^ would not the whole v/orld 
 then Ipeak one language ? 'Tis true, as arts 
 increaied, and cuftoms changed, new terms 
 and phrafcs muft be added; What then? 
 
Revelation E^:amind^ Sec. 109 
 
 new words would increafe, and adorn the 
 tongue, but fure no man will fay, they would 
 dcftroy it! - — unlefs it be believed that new 
 branches, or fruit, or flowers, do daily de- 
 Itroy the tree they ftioot out from. 
 
 The learned author of the letter to 
 Dr. pyaterland., p. 35;. feems to think, that 
 all other languages /prang as vatnrally jroni 
 the Hebrew^ as 7nanyJ]jGots from the fatne rooty 
 ?nany branches from the fame fock: but I am 
 confident, that whoever carefully confiders 
 the genius of each of the antient languages, 
 novv^ extant, will find as little reafon to be- 
 lieve that they all had their origin from the 
 Hebrew^ as that all the variety of foreft and 
 fruit trees in the world, were originally but 
 fo many flioots and branches from the palm- 
 tree of 'Judt;ea, 
 
 Besides all this, if we confider that the 
 language o^ Adam (if we could fuppofe it 
 impcrfed in him, when it was demon iirably 
 infpired by God, yet) had time enough ta 
 arrive to fall perfedion in i^jd years : and 
 that 'Noah and his fons, had time enough to 
 learn it in perfection, before the flood ; the 
 youngeft of his fons, being about an hun- 
 dred years old, at that time, and himfelf fix 
 hundred : we cannot, with any colour of 
 reafon, imagine, that there could be any ne- 
 ceflity of adding fo much as one word to it, 
 
 before 
 
1 lo Revelation Exammd, See. 
 
 before the building of B^^^/. So utterly 
 
 ground lefs and unreafonable is this mighty 
 objeftion. 
 
 And yet, fuch is the delufion of human 
 vanity, that rather than acquiefce in the 
 clear and natural account of this matter, 
 delivered by Mofes^ they will have words to 
 wear out with ufage like cloaths ; forgetting 
 that this can only be in the ordinary train of 
 things, from the importation of other words 
 from foreign and more fafhionable languages; 
 otherwife, long ufage, is fo far from tending 
 to aboliih, that it naturally tends to eftablilh 
 and prclerve a tongue. Nay fome have gone 
 fo far into folly, as to imagine there was 
 fomething in the very air, which created a 
 variety in the hiiman fpeech ; and they 
 ground this conjedure upon the different way 
 of pronouncing the fame letters in fome 
 fouthern and northern nations ; as, if this 
 arofe from the difference of climates; where- 
 as, 'tis plainly a neccffary confequence from 
 the variety of language, that the fame letter 
 may, or rather muil, have different powers 
 in different languages, e.g. we call the firft 
 letter of our alphabet, a^ the French call it, 
 aw^ does that arife from the difference of 
 our air ? 'Tis faid there is no fuch letter as 
 a V conjbnant in the native tongue of a neigh- 
 bouring kingdom, and for that reafon the 
 natives, who are early taught their own lan- 
 
 g^^age, 
 
Revelation Exammdy &c. 1 1 1 
 
 guage, find a difficulty to pronounce this 
 letter in ours (as they certainly do) ; Will 
 any man of common fenfe fay there is any 
 thing in the air oi Ireland^ that makes it im- 
 poffible to pronounce a v confonant ? What 
 an extreme of ignorance and folly is it, to 
 objed and argue at this rate ? 
 
 Before I conclude, it will be proper to 
 obfervc to the reader, that all the remains 
 now extant of the moft antient heathen hi- 
 ftorians (except SMchoniatho) concur to con- 
 firm the Mofaic account of this matter : — - 
 the fum of their teftimonies is this, that a huge 
 tower was built by gigantick men at Babylofiy 
 
 that there was then but one language 
 
 among mankind, that the attempt was of- 
 
 fenfive to the gods, who demoliflied the 
 
 tower, overwhelmed the workmen, divided 
 their language, and difperfed them over the 
 face of the earth *. 
 
 And thus having Ihewn, that the tower 
 of Babel was, and could only be built, in 
 the manner in which Mofes relates it ; that 
 vanity and focial affeftions were the motives 
 to it ; and that vanity alone could accom- 
 plifli it : having alfo fhewn, that the pro- 
 
 * See the teftimonies on this head colle£tcd by Jofefh. Antiq. 
 1. I. c. 4.. and Efifeu. ^r^^, EviJng, 1. 9. c. 14, i^, 17. 
 
 videncc 
 
1 1 1 Revelation Examind, 8cc. 
 
 vidence of God interpofcd with infinite v/if» 
 dom on this occafion, by the confufion of 
 their language ; and by that one aft pre- 
 vented the growth of imiverfal corruptioH, 
 
 from that day to this: and laftly, 
 
 having, I hope, fully confuted the mighty 
 objections of infidelity, to this part of the 
 
 Mojalc hiftory ; I fhall beg leave to add 
 
 one, and but one obfcrvation more upon this 
 
 head, and that is, How injurioufly and 
 
 unreafonably men objeft to the Mojatc ac- 
 count of God's endowing the firft man 
 with a perfeft knowledge and skill of lan- 
 guage at once, when the fame miraculous 
 aft of power hath fince been more than once 
 repeated : and net one language only, but 
 
 many, infufed in an inftant I feveral 
 
 languages infufed into feveral men at Bahel^ 
 
 and many into feveral men at Jerujale?}:, 
 
 The firft of thefe fafts fufficiently 
 
 proves itfelf at this day ; and the fecond 
 
 will, I truft in God, be placed out of the 
 reach of all reaibnable doubt, when it comes 
 
 to be confidered. 1 Ihall only add, that 
 
 the wifcr heathen faw the neceffity of afcibc- 
 ing the origine of language to Almighty 
 God. Fhito tells us, * that the firft names 
 were impofed on things by the gods : and, in 
 truth, without the advantage of language 
 
 * In Craty!o> 
 
 divinely 
 
Revelation Examh/d^ Sec, 1 1 1 
 
 divinely taught or infpired, it is evident 
 that man would be (at leaft, for a long 
 time) muttim & turpe pecusj a dumb and bafc 
 herd ! would, with regard to their condition 
 here, be no way diftinguifhed (unlefs, per- 
 haps, to difadvantage) from the meanefl 
 order of brutes. 
 
 Vol. IL 
 
 D js^ 
 
1 14 Revelation Exammdy Sec. 
 
 Dissertation IV. 
 
 Concerning the predi6iions relating to 
 Iflimael. 
 
 FTER the deftmaion of 
 '^''^ ^^P^^S BabeL the next remarkable 
 
 Intro- S«| A 1^^ / ^ *x . ,1 
 
 dudion, !^^il«ll^ event we meet with m the 
 fcripture, is, the calling of 
 Abraham ; the feveral ma- 
 
 nifeftations of the divine prefence, which God 
 
 vouchfafed unto him ; and the feveral fignal 
 
 bleffings bellowed upon him. 
 
 For what reafons God called Jbraham 
 from his own country, is not exprefly and 
 
 formally declared in the fcripture ; but 
 
 the event, I think, fufRciently fhews, that 
 it was, to preferve true religion in the world 
 
 by means of him and his pofterity. The 
 
 common, and, I believe, the true opinion is, 
 that the world was by this time grown 
 
 greatly 
 
Revelation Examiiid^ 8cc. 1 1 ^ 
 
 greatly corrupt ; and that God now delivered 
 yjbrabam from that flood of idolatry that 
 overipread it, as he did NojIj^ not long bc- 
 ibrc, i'rom the flood of waters. 
 
 That God did call Ahraha?7i from his own 
 country, fufficiently appears from the fcrip- 
 
 tures; xhusGeii. xii. i, &c. Novj the 
 
 Lord had faid tmto Abraham^ Get thee vat of 
 thy country^ and from thy kindred^ and from 
 thy father s hoafe^ unto a land that I wilUhezv 
 thee, j4nd I 'will make of thee a great nation^ 
 and Iwillblefs thee, and make thy name great ^ 
 and thoa fhalt be a ble£tng \ and I tvHI blejs 
 them that bkfs thee^ and ciirfe him that 
 ciirfeth thee : and in thee fjall all families of 
 
 the earth be blejjed, So Abraham departed, 
 
 as the text tells us, from Horan^ where 
 
 'ferah laft dwelt : that he alio firft left 
 
 Chaldea by a command from God, appears 
 from Gen. xv. 7. I am the Lord that brought 
 thee oat ofUr of the Chaldees. 
 
 The firft part of the blelling here pro^ 
 mifed to Abraham^ is, that he ihould be 
 made a great nation. And the bufinefs of 
 this dilTertation fhall be to enquire how thac 
 promife was made good to him in his fen 
 IJhmaeL 
 
 Having, at my firft entrance upon this 
 work, determined^ neither to incumber the 
 
 I % reader 
 
1 1 6 Revelation EiXamind^ Sec. 
 
 reader with quotations, nor trouble him 
 with repetitions of what others had obferved 
 upon the lame fubjefts before ; and appre- 
 hending, upon my firft enquiry, that I 
 fliould have httle new to ofFt^r upon the 
 fubjed of I/JjmaeFs ftrange charafter, and 
 the predictions relating to him, (at leaft, 
 much Icls than upon any of the foregoing 
 fubjefts) that point having been anticipated, 
 and fo amply, and with fo much learning 
 difcuffed by a divine of great note in the 
 laft age *, I determined for fome time to 
 leave that fubjed untouched: barely refer- 
 ring my reader to the works of that eminent 
 man ; but finding, upon further confidera- 
 tion, that thofe works were not in every 
 man's hands, and that the argument was 
 capable of fome additional illuflration : that 
 this point was a fubjed of Angular curiofity, 
 as well as great importance towards clearing 
 the truth of the Mojaic predidions : and 
 that the omillion of it might be objeded by 
 libertines, and afcribed to a confcioufnefs 
 that the writings of A/t/^j" could net bejufti- 
 fied in that Doint : I determined in the end^ 
 not to let it go untreated ; and therefore, I 
 hope, the learned reader will forgive mc, 
 and the unlearned thank me, for laying this 
 
 * Dr. Thomas Jack/on of Corpus Chrijli College, Oxon, 
 whofc works were printed Lontt. 16/3. 
 
 matter 
 
Revelation Examind^ &cc. i \ j 
 
 matter before him, in the cleared order, and 
 in the fewell words I can. 
 
 In the i(Jth chapter of Genefis we find 
 thefe words pronounced by the angel of the 
 
 Lord, unto Hagar in her diftrefs : / 
 
 will multiply thy feed exceedingly^ that it Jhall 
 
 not be nntnbred for multitude. Behold 
 
 thou art with child ^ and fh alt hear a fon^ and 
 jloalt call his name Ifhmael • hecauje the Lord 
 hath heard thy affliciion. Jnd he zvill be a 
 wild man^ his hand will be againfi every man ; 
 and every mans hand againjl him • and he 
 [hall dwell in the prefence of all his bre^ 
 thren. 
 
 And again, in the i7rh chapter, we 
 jfind this, among other promifcs of God to 
 
 yibraham^ Jnd as for lihmael, / have 
 
 heard thee^ behold I have blejjcd him^ and will 
 make him fruitful^ and will multiply him^ ex-r 
 ceedingly : twelve princes jhall he beget ^ and I 
 
 will make him a great nation : and fooa 
 
 after this we find, that IJhmael was circum-^ 
 cifed by his father when he was thirteen 
 years old. 
 
 Now the known ftyle of the old tefta- 
 ment requires us to underftand, that what is 
 here faid of Ifhmael^ was likewifc intended to 
 be true of his defcendants ; in the fame 
 manner ^s what '^acob pr$:did3 pf Judah^ 
 
 I 3 and 
 
\ 1 8 Revelation Exam'md^ &c. 
 
 and his other fons was to be true of their 
 delcendants : was to be the charaderiftick of 
 feveral tribes. And indeed fome parts of 
 this prediction relating to Ijhmad^ necefTarily 
 tie us down to this way of thinking, and ex- 
 plaining, I zvUlmuhiply him exceedingly ; 
 
 by him in this place, is evidently meant his 
 poflerity ; for, I believe, no man imagines, 
 that he himfclf was, or was meant, to be 
 literally multiplied, by virtue of this pro- 
 mife. So like wife in the fubfequent pro- 
 
 mife, / wUl make Mm a great nation : 
 
 'tis evident that one man cannot be a nation ; 
 and therefore IfhinaeVis throughout this whole 
 prediftion the reprefentative of his poflerity ; 
 and what is declared of him, and promifed 
 to him, was intended to be verified of his 
 poflerity ; and fulfilled in them : for fince 
 fome parts of this prediction w^ere evidently 
 meant of his poflerity, and mufl of neceflity 
 
 refer to them, and be underflood of 
 
 them, and them only, common fenfe, and 
 all the rules of rational exphcation require, 
 that all the refi fhould be underflood (if 
 there be no abfurdity in fuch an interpreta- 
 tion) to have them alfo in view^, tho' more 
 immediately true of their parent. 
 
 In the fame manner then fhould the pre- 
 cedent prediction be likewife underflood, as 
 intended to be alfo true of his poflerity : he 
 will be a wild man j the word which is tranf- 
 
 lated 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &c. 1 1 (^ 
 
 Litcd wild in this place, fignifics in the ori- 
 ginal, a wild ajs (the literal conftruclion of 
 
 the phrale in Latin is, erit onoger homo)^ 
 
 and it is explained in the margin of the bible 
 
 fierce and ciiiel^ or as a wild afs : now 
 
 this lame wild man^ who was to be as a wild 
 afs^ multiplied into a great nation, fhould 
 feem, as defigned by this character, to be 
 multiplied into a great nation of wild men ; 
 as a wild als greatly multiplied, mufl: be 
 multiplied into a great nation of wild afles ; 
 
 for otherwife where is the analogy ? ■ 
 
 at leaf}:, if we find that the analogy holds in 
 the defcendants, as much as in the parent, I 
 think we have all the reafon in the w orld 
 for underftanding the prediftion in this fenfe ; 
 and furely there is ail the reafon in the 
 world to believe, that this charader was in- 
 tended to be true of his pofterity ; inafmuch 
 as they have been remarkably fuch, I mean 
 wild men, for many ages • and many of 
 them unqueftionably are fuch to this day : as 
 alfo, bccaufc the fubfequent w^ords mufl: necel^ 
 farily be underftood of them (his pofterity), 
 his hand will he againfl every man s hand^ and 
 every man's hand againfl him, Jnd he Jhall 
 
 dwell in the prejknce of all his brethren, 
 
 Now 'tis evident that one man could not 
 fubfift alone at open enmity with all the 
 world ; nor could one man's hand be literally 
 
 againfl every man's; and therefore this 
 
 could only be true, and intended of that nation 
 
 I 4 which 
 
1 2 o Rev elation Exammd^ Sec. 
 
 -which was to arife from him ; and the fenfc 
 of it could only be, that this nation fliould 
 fubfift, tho' at enmity with all others : and 
 indeed it is lufficiently ftrange, that this 
 ihould be true of any one nation under hea- 
 ven J and yet it is indifputably true of the 
 race of Ifimael^ as Ihall be feen more fully 
 immediately, 
 
 And he pall dwell In the prefence of all his 
 brethren : this, in the immediate literal fenfe 
 of the words, was verified in ljhmael\ fitua- 
 tion ; being encompaffed by his near kinf- 
 men, the Ijrael'ites^ the fons oi Abraham by 
 Keturah^ the Moahites^ Ammonites^ and Idii^ 
 
 m^ans ; but as all mankind are brethren 
 
 in a larger fenfe, and as Iprnael was flill to 
 fubfift, tho' at open enmity with all man- 
 kind, I think thofe words, he [hall 
 
 dwell in the prefence of all his brethren^ may 
 very well be underftood as further intended 
 to fignify that the defcendants of Ifimael^ 
 notwithftanding their enmity with mankind, 
 fhould ftill fubfift in the face of the world ; 
 for the words, all his brethren^ can, in their 
 full import and extent, imply nothing lefs 
 than all mankind, (at leaft, I think, the 
 event makes it no way unjuft or irra- 
 tional to underftand them fo here), and 
 
 as the Jfimaelites have ever fubfifted thus, it 
 is alfo remarkable, that they, and the Jews 
 only, have fubfifted froni the remoteft ac- 
 counts 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ &cc. 1 1 \ 
 
 counts of antiquity ; as diftind people from 
 all the reft of mankind, and the undoubted 
 dcfcendants of one man. 
 
 And that it might be clearly and indubi- 
 tably known whofe defcendants thefe were, 
 to whom this promifc was made, and fo, 
 certainly known, whether that promife was 
 fulfilled, they (the Ifhrnaelites) have been 
 the moft fingular diftinguifhcd race of mor- 
 tals, (more diftinguiihed even than the Jews^ 
 if poflible) by every mark both of their fa^ 
 ther and mother, from that day to this. 
 
 ISHM AEL was circumcifed at thirteen 
 years of age ; "io have all his fons, ^ from 
 him, till the eftablifnment of Mahemetijm'^ 
 and many of them to this day \ tho'fome of 
 them circumcife indifferently on any year, 
 
 from the eighth to the thirteenth ; but 
 
 all profefling to derive the pradice from their 
 father IfhmutL 
 
 H E was an archer in the zmldeynefs : his 
 fons, the Arabs^ have been the moft remark- 
 able archers in the world, and are fo to this 
 
 day ; and in the wildernels too, where 
 
 culture is not known. And tho' travellers 
 
 * And even his daughters. See Heideg. hift. Patriarch. 
 
 torn. 2. exercit. 7. fc6t. 29. p. 2^1. Reland, dc rdig. Moham. 
 Ludolf.hiil. iEthiop. 
 
 fome- 
 
1 1 1 Revelation Exammdy 8cc, 
 
 lometimes talk of a few ftraggling Arahs^ 
 with guns ; Thevenot, and other writers, 
 afliirc us, that the greater part of them are 
 
 ftill ftrangers to lire-arms * : It is true 
 
 the ftrrks have forbidden that any fhould be 
 fold to them ; but their caution fliould feem 
 to be necdlefs: for tho* thefe Arabs have a 
 great terror of iire-arms, yet it is remarkable 
 that they at the fame time abhor the ufe of 
 them. And as their father Ijhmad was a 
 
 Granger to culture, ^o are thefe his fons. 
 
 Ammiiinas Maycellinus obferves of them, ISIec 
 eormn quijquam al'tquando fiivarn apprehendity 
 vel arbor cm colit^ aut arva Jiibtgendo queer it at 
 
 vWiira ; not one of them ever toucnes a 
 
 plough, plants a tree, or feeks a fuftenance 
 
 by cultivating the earth. And the lateft 
 
 travellers give the very fame accounts of 
 them ^ obferving at the fame time, that there 
 arc very fruitful portions of ground fcattered 
 thro' their delarts , and doubtlefs would be 
 more if they were cultivated. 
 
 ISHMAEVs mother was a concubine, 
 and a hireling; who had conceived him in 
 one place, and was perhaps delivered of him, 
 in another, for Abraham then dwelt in tents; 
 
 '^ Thofe Ar.tbs who dwell on the confines of- Syria^ and 
 FerJJa, arc reported to carry fire-arms ; and the latter, are laid 
 to be farniflied with them, by the Verjiansj the better tQ 
 enable them to annoy the Xurku 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Exammdy Sec. 125 
 
 and was in a fojourning ftate. And it liifH- 
 ciently appears from Mo/es's account of him, 
 that he never continued long in one place : 
 the providence of God fo ordaining, that thro' 
 famine and other accidents, there was a ne- 
 ceflity for him to have an intercourfe with 
 
 feveral nations. ^mmiainis Marcell'nuis 
 
 obferves of the j^rabians^ that they had mer- 
 cenary wives, hired for a time, marrying in 
 one place, bringing forth in another, and 
 
 educating their children in a third -^ : 
 
 nor is this matter much altered, fince the ad- 
 
 miflion of divorces : to thcfe that ftill 
 
 live in the wildernefs, 'tis in all refpecls the 
 fame. 
 
 Rj4 UWO L F fays of them, in his travels 
 (part 2. ch. 3. p. 151.), that they take as 
 many wives as the Turks do : neither do they 
 extol or magnify one bejore the other ^ hecanje 
 they come from better parents^ being they bay 
 thera all from them : and Thevenot tells us, 
 that when a marriage is made, any near re- 
 lation, who was not prefent at it, can dif- 
 folve it at pleafure, at any time after, pay- 
 ing back the husband his money, and the 
 
 camel killed at the wedding. Now a 
 
 woman purchafed at firft, and difcharged at 
 pleafure, comes, 1 think, more properly 
 
 * Lib. 14. c. 4., 
 
 under 
 
124 Revelation ^^^;;7/V^,&c. 
 
 under the charader of a hireling or merce* 
 nary concubine, than a wife. 
 
 This being premifcd, let us now proceed 
 to confider thefe ftrange prophetic characlers \ 
 in their order. ! 
 
 I WILL mult t ply thy feed exceedingly^ that 
 it jhall not he niimbred Jor multitude^ I 
 
 That the Hagarenes were defcendcd, and 
 denominated, from Hagar^ and, that the 
 Arabs aifo, efpecially the Scuenlt^y were 
 very numerous, and defcended of Ifhmael^ 
 and that the Saracens were alfo from the 
 
 fame (lock, and more numerous than 
 
 either, is not, I believe, denied, or doubted, 
 
 at leaft, if it be, I refer the reader, for 
 
 full fatisfaction, upon this head, to the lear- 
 ned Dr. yackfonj before-mentioned ; to the 
 Writers of the Life of Mahomet^ and to 
 Travellers and Voyages without number. 
 In Ihort, 'tis a point univerfally agreed, over 
 the Eaft and South. And this people have 
 this fecurity, for being his genuine offspring, 
 from whom they derive their dcfcent, that 
 they marry only in their own nation ; re- 
 garding themfelves as the nobleft of all mor- 
 tals, and, confequently, difdaining alliances 
 with all others. Nor is this obfervation 
 abated by any exception, that I know of, 
 Antiently, their alliances were confined to 
 3 their 
 
Revelation Exanihi'd^ &c. 1 2 y 
 
 their neareft kindred : And a commerce with 
 any other woman was punirned with death* 
 That this part of the predidion then, is luf- 
 liciently fulfilled, will not, I think, bear a 
 reafonable doubt ^\ 
 
 Akd be w'lllbe a zvlld ?nan ; his hand will he 
 again ft every tnan^ and every mans hand 
 againji him. 
 
 To clear the firfl part of the predidion, in 
 the perfonal charader of IJhmael^ we find, 
 from the 21 It chapter of GenefiSy that he in- 
 habited the wildernefs, and was an archer 
 
 there. The text tells us, that God was 
 
 with the lad ; afid he grew^ and dwelt in the 
 wildernej}^ and became an archer ; that God 
 was with him, I think, is evident : For, how 
 otherwife he could fubfill in a defart, and in 
 the midft of wild beafts, with no more fo- 
 ciety than his mother at firil, and his wife 
 afterwards, is not eafily conceived; and the 
 fubfiftence of his pofterity tliere, to this 
 
 * To fay nothing of the accounts of this people left us 
 throughout the icriptures, moil writers have oblcrved of the 
 Arabians, that they are a very numerous people, and fome of 
 their tribes are ftili found to be very numerous, tho', perhjps, 
 lefs To, lince the elhbiillimcnc of polygamy, by the Mahowetra 
 
 law. As many as the fons of Saad (one of the tamilics) is 
 
 a Proverb amongll them, wncrcby to exprcis the higheft numbers 
 they can imagine. Vide Excer^ta ex Geo^r, Nubien/i, in Col- 
 Itiianeis Gabr. Sionifa, Sec. 
 
 day, 
 
ii6 Revelation Examh/dy &c 
 
 day, is not matter of Ids wonder to all that 
 have feen them. 
 
 That he was a wild man (the word implies, 
 free, and lavage) his condition of life luffi- 
 ciently fhews : And, that the fame charafter 
 
 dcfcended to his polterity, is notorions, 
 
 inafmuch as wild is their known charader, all 
 over the world. And, indeed, there is no 
 one character, or combination of charadcrs, 
 that can denominate any creature wild, or 
 favage, which is not ftridly and eminently 
 theirs. 
 
 Some accounts of them, reprefent them^ 
 before the introduftion of Mahometifm^ as 
 little reftrained, in the ufe of females, as the 
 
 brutal herd ; and all agree, in charafter- 
 
 izing them free, fwift, fierce, and cruel. 
 Many of them live in defarts, to this day, 
 and rove about, like the fierceft beafts of 
 prey, feeking whom they may devour. 
 
 N o R is this character true only of fuch 
 of them as live in the defarts of Ara^ 
 h'la ; it was alfo eminently true of their 
 dcfcendants, the Saracens^ ^ the wildeft 
 and the fiercell race of men that ever 
 
 over- ran the world, and is this day 
 
 true, not only of all thole of them, who 
 
 Siic Oakley's hill, of the Saracens, 
 
 dwell 
 
(C 
 
 Revelation Examind^ &c, 1 27 
 
 dwell in the dcfarts, but likcwilc of all thofe 
 who infefl: the codlls of Egyp^ yjfnc^ mid 
 Jfia^ as all travellers agree. '^ Jt is a de- 
 " monftrative Argument, (faith Dr. Jackfon^ 
 p. 105.) " that their wildnels was foretold 
 *' by his Spirit, that only can command Na- 
 ^^ ture, and prefcribe limits to the free 
 ^' thoughts of man, in that this progeny 
 ^^ (throughout fo many hundred generations) 
 vary no more from their firft progenitors 
 agreft and fierce qualities, than the wild 
 plants of the forcft, never accuftomed to 
 *' human culture, do from the trees, whence 
 ^' they are propagate. 
 
 Nor is this wildnefs confined to the land: 
 They rove all over the fbuthern and eaftern 
 feas ; infbmiich, that there is fcarce one 
 creek, or coaft, or ifland, that is clear of 
 them, yimmiamis MarcelUntis compares them 
 to kites, who Ibufe down upon their prey, 
 with incredible fvvifcnefs, and, are gone again, 
 in an inftant. Had he confidered them in the 
 light, and under the image of rovers, fly- 
 ing about at fea, and prey ins; upon every 
 thing, they can lay hold of, the character 
 had been yet more appofite. 
 
 And, as they have thus always preyed 
 upon mankind, the necefi^ary confequence is, 
 that they have always been at enmity with 
 them, making good the next part of the pre- 
 
 didion. 
 
128 Revelatiok ExammJy ScC. 
 
 diftion, His hand will he agalnji every man^ 
 end evei'y Vfians hand agalnji htm. 
 
 That any one nation fliould be of fo 
 fingiilar and perverfe a charafter, as to fet 
 themlelves in open oppofition to the reft of 
 the world, and to live in perpetual, profefled 
 enmity with all mankind, is furely the 
 ftrangeft and moft aftonilhing predidion that 
 
 ever was read or heard of, and yet, that 
 
 it is, beyond all controverfy, true of thefe 
 uirahtansy the defcendants of Ijhmael^ is no- 
 torious to the whole world ; but, that 
 
 they fhould continue fo for four thoufand 
 years together, and yet fubfift, that whole 
 time, under the united enmity of mankind, 
 makes it yet more fingular, and is furely the 
 moft amazing completion of apredidion, that 
 can poffibly be imagined. 
 
 Suppose this character were true, at this 
 inftant, of any other nation, that we know 
 of, encompalTcd by, and acceftible to others, 
 how long do we think it would continue fo? 
 'Tis fcarce poffible to imagine, it would fub- 
 fift one century, and much lefs forty. 
 
 Nor is it poiTible to imagine, how this nation 
 could fubfift in that circumftance, but from 
 the uncontroulable Providence of that great 
 Jking, w^ho fo folcmnly pronounced of IJIj'- 
 maely that he jJoould dwell tn the prefence of all 
 
 his 
 
Revelation Esamindj Sec. up 
 
 his brethren ; * that tho* he Jhonld Ih^ 
 
 in a ftute of hofiility v;ith his brethren, that 
 is (as it fccnis moft probably meant) a date 
 oi perpetual enmity with the reft of the 
 world J yet he fhould lubfift perpetually 
 under it, before their faces* 
 
 But here it may be objefted, that this 
 country was not worth the expence of con- 
 queft ^ and, that it was fcarce poflibk to con- 
 quer it, prote<9.ed as it was, by drought and 
 defarts. 
 
 I ANSWER, firft, that, though fome part of 
 this country, was not, in itielf, worth the 
 expence of conqueft, yet lurely it was worth 
 the while of any, nay of all the neighbour 
 princes, to prelerve themfelve?, and their 
 lubjccts, irorii being made a perpetual prey, 
 to worie than wild beafts, by their utter ex- 
 
 cifion, It v/as well worth while, to root 
 
 out this peftilent race, which infelled the 
 world ; and, it is very well known, that the 
 wealth of one part of the country, would 
 
 * There is not the leaft hint in fcrlptiire, ror is there the 
 leaft reafon to believe, that Jjhf»ael dwelt in aperfonal rtateof 
 holUlity with his brethren ; nor is it poffible to imagine, how 
 he could fubiiil at war with th.m all, — If aac wdiS, beyond 
 all doubt, in friend fhip with hinr, — he was then at war with 
 them all, — and tlicrcfore all circumllances concur to make 
 us underftand this predi(ftion as intended to relate chiefly to 
 hh pofterity. 
 
 Vol. 11. K more 
 
IjO Revelxtion Ep<ammd^ dec, 
 
 more than pay for thb conqueft of the 
 other. 
 
 I N the next place let it be obferved, that, 
 though the natural difficulties of conquering 
 them irom the circumftances of the country^ 
 and climate, are very great, yet are they not 
 mfurmoun table : I believe, it will be allowed, 
 tliat an army well appointed, and provided, 
 may very well be llippoled capable of doings 
 what caravans are now known to do every day ; 
 the great difficulties there, are, to be able to 
 travel, and fubfift, and be lupplyed with 
 water ; and, if that be once found praftica- 
 ble, as it certainly is, valour and military 
 
 skill muft do the reft, And, in fad, thefe 
 
 difficulties were, in a great mealure, fiir- 
 mountcd by two Roinan emperors in fucceffi- 
 on, and yet the Arabs wx-re neither extir- 
 pated, nor fubdued. 
 
 Their effeminate neighbours, the£g7/'/-i^;;j-, 
 and A/tatkhsy they have always inliulted, ^' 
 
 * We mufl: here except that period of time in which it pleafed 
 God to raife up the inhabitants of Elaw, and Aledia^ to cha- 
 flize the neighbour nations, and particularly the der::end arts of 
 
 Abraham^ for their ilns. ^There is reafon to believe, from 
 
 the 25th chapter of Ifaiah^ that Arabia buffered remarkably 
 in this feafon of general calamity. It was then, and at other 
 times, dilhelfcd, but never enflaved. 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Ep^amindy &c* i^i 
 
 and do ib at this day. ^' Alexander and his 
 Macedonians^ would, in all probability, have 
 put them hard to it : He intended an Expe- 
 dition againft them, (becaulc they only, of 
 all the Aflatlcks^ as Arrian and Strabo tell 
 us, lent him no ambaflador, nor made him 
 any fubmiffion, either before his fucceffes in 
 the eaft, or after) but died before he could 
 put it in. execution. 
 
 What Alexander intended^ Antlgonus^ the 
 greateft of his lucceffors, attempted j but with- 
 out luccefs, being repulied with dilgrace, and 
 
 the Ids of above 8000 men. Dwdonis 
 
 S'lcahs^ \n\\.o hath left us a relation of this 
 expedition, gives this account of that people : 
 {L, ip.) He tells us, they Yxycjhb dio^ (in open 
 air) without houfes, fruits, culture, or wine, 
 i. e. without the ule of thofe things which 
 men forfeit their liberties to prefer ve ^ as lor 
 them, they v/ere determined to live poor, in 
 order to live free ; calling the delart their 
 
 country, b^i^'^g? ^^ Diodorus calls them, 
 
 ((prAsAliO^eP^ ^^^(pe(yvnzos) eminently lovers of 
 liberty • to prelerve which, the delart was 
 at once their defence and dwelling. 
 
 * The governor of Grand Cairo keeps a guard of four 
 thouOnd horfeinen every night, on the fide of the city, nex: 
 the wildernefs, to fecure it from the incurlions of the Arabiy 
 befides twenty choufandmufquetce'-s^ that keep watch wichin 
 the city. 
 
131 Revelation Examind^ 3cc. 
 
 JNTIGONUS, enraged with his repulfe, 
 makes a fecond attempt upon them, with a 
 leletl number of choice m*en ; under the 
 command of his valiant, and iortunately ex- 
 peditious fon^ Demetrius^ who was, how- 
 ever, glad to compound the matter, and leave 
 the Arabians J in ireedom, and in peace. 
 
 AvTER this, when the Romans and Parthians 
 were rivals for the empire of the eaft, they 
 (the Arabs) joined or oppoied themlelves to 
 each, as they thought lit ; not deiireable, 
 (as Ammnwus Marceltmus juftiy oblerves of 
 them) either under the charader of friends 
 or enemies ; and, indeed, their character al- 
 ways was, that, of iaithlefs (at leaft, fickle) 
 friends, and fierce enemies : repreffed, and, 
 in Ibme fort, fubjcdedfor a feafon, but never 
 entirely either lubdued or tamed ^ refemb- 
 ling in this (the only comparilbn in nature 
 that lliits them) the wild afs in the defart, 
 and lent out, by the fame hand, free as he, 
 zvhofe hoiife is (alio) the wildernefs^ and the 
 barren land his dwelling ; alike difdainful of 
 bondage \ fcorning alike the multitude of the 
 c'it]'y and the cry of the driver. 
 
 Men of this character quickly became 
 the proper objefts of the Roman enmity and 
 ambition, which could bear nothing that was 
 unlubdued, uiiallyed, or independent. 
 
 D 10 
 
Revela.tion Esamindj Sec. i ^ j 
 
 D 10 tells us {L. ^6.) that the Romans in- 
 vaded them, in defence ot SyruT^ then under 
 their protection and vexed by Aretas^ King 
 of that part of Arabia which was lUbjecl to 
 the Romans^ in his[Z)/6''s] time, (but this was 
 certainly no more than the outskirts of this 
 country, bordering upon S)i'ia and Mejhpo- 
 tamiiX) and that \\\\^Aretas iubmitted to Pom- 
 fey^ and received a garrilon * and Plutarch 
 tells us, in the life of Pompey^ that he {Pom- 
 fey) iubdued the Arabians who dwelt about 
 mount Amannsj ^ by Afranius ; and that, 
 alter this, the king of the Arabians wlio 
 dwelt about the caftle called Petra^ and who 
 ''till now made no account of the Romans^ 
 fubmitted himlelf, by letter, to ^To?nfey ; but, 
 that Pompey poflTelTed himlelf of tliat ftrong 
 hold, does not appear. Plutarch rather in- 
 clines us to believe, that he vv'as recalled 
 from thence, by the death of MithridateSy 
 before he could make full proof of the fincerity 
 of their king's fubmiflion. And this is the 
 more probable, becaufe Gabinius^ who fuc- 
 ceeded loon after to the government of Syriay 
 was preparing for an expedition againft the 
 Arabians^ (as Appian informs us) but was di- 
 verted from his purpofe by Ptolomy's Iblici- 
 tation to be reftored to his kingdom. 
 
 ' The fe were a colony of Arabians fcttlei in Mefopotdmia, 
 
 K 3 The 
 
134 Revelation Emmtnd^ &c. 
 
 The next news we hear of this people, is, 
 that Jgbaras (or, as others call him, ymnm- 
 nes) one of their phylarchs, mifled and de- 
 luded Crajfus to his deftruclivon. But, by 
 them, in all probability, were the Palmyrc" 
 nians defended, not long after this, when 
 jinthony lent his hoile to ravage the city ; for 
 they were defended, Appicm tells us, by their 
 archers, who excel in thjt^ way ; which is 
 the diftinguiihed character of the Arabicins. 
 
 After this, we hear little more of thenij 
 (unleis that Chaiincm's^ who was deluded by 
 Ventidliis^ was one of their kings, as pro- 
 bably he was) except in that fruitleis expe- 
 dition of Julius Largiis into Arabia Falix^ 
 "till after the entire eltablilhment of thei?i?- 
 man empire. 
 
 The power of tlie whole world was now 
 •united into one empire, and that empire 
 now in the hands oi* one man, juft, wile, 
 merciful : loving all good men, and beloved 
 by them, and by his ibldiers remarkably ; a 
 ftranger to envy, ill-will, and fear of death ^ 
 in dangers-^ martial, magnanimous, perlever- 
 ing ; in neceflary expence, magnificent ; and 5 
 as far as honefty would admit, ambitious , 
 in the toils of war, indefatigable ^ in all its 
 arts and adventures, from experience, in^- 
 tclligent, and, from fortitude and wildom., 
 
 fortunate ! 
 
Revelation Ep<amind^ &c. ij5 
 
 fortunate ! equally dear to all the friends of 
 Rofue^ and dreadful to all her enemies ! a 
 Roman^ who fubdued the German^ and 
 humbled the Parthian^ and had already- 
 reduced one part of JiraVm into a Roman 
 province ! Few that are acquainted with the 
 Roman hiftory, will be at a lofs to find, that 
 the man here meant is Trajan. 
 
 If it were poffiblc that God's promife of 
 fubfiftence to Ijhmael^ in freedom, though in 
 enmity with the reft ol^ the world, could be 
 defeated by human wifdom, or mortal might, 
 now was the time, and this the man. 
 
 The reader will, I am fare forgive me, ([ 
 hope, thank me) for tianicribing one para- 
 graph from the learned author above-men-* 
 tioned relating to this point, b. i. p. ic8, 
 
 " Their city, (i. e. the city of the 
 " Hagarenes ; Dio calls them Agarenes)^ 
 '^ faith Dio (1. 68.) was neither great nor 
 ^' rich ^ yet had it Zoar's privilege : he that 
 '' preferved the one from the ftorms of fire 
 " and brimftone, which devoured far greater 
 '' neighbouring cities, did guard the other 
 " againft the violence of two moft potent 
 ^^ emperors, who had over-ran the mightieft 
 ^' kingdoms of the earth. The heathen 
 '^ thought the iun, to whom their city was 
 ^^ conlccrated, did protect it. But can they 
 K 4 " ftcw 
 
1^6 Revelation E>iarnmd^ dec. 
 
 fhcw us any prophecy of old given by 
 Phoehm lor this people's good ? We can 
 fiiew them the cxprels promile oi" Ahra-- 
 ham's God, more than two thouiand years 
 before, ibr making them, and their brc- 
 tb.rcn, a mighty nation. Let the athcill 
 judge whether their God^s arm was Ihor- 
 ten\i, or w^hether liis miracles, which the 
 icripture telis us, w^erc wrought for the 
 Ions of the free woman, whilft they fol- 
 lowed their father's flops, can Icem incre- 
 dible, being compared with the wonderful 
 deliveiance of the ylgarenes^ the Ions of" 
 the bond-w'oman, from Tra/au and Seve^ 
 nis^ both befieging them in pcrfon. The 
 foil about their city was barren, and when. 
 frajan befieged it, very hot • io that the 
 violence of the fiege could not be long : 
 thefe figns th.e politicians could afllgn of 
 Trajan's ill iuccefs. But whence was it, 
 that as oft as the city was affanlted, the 
 Ibldiers wxre annc»yed with lightnings, 
 thunders, v/hirlwinds and hails? AiFripjhted 
 and daZ2:led with the Apparitions of rain- 
 bows ? Whence was it, tl^iat iiies fliould 
 corrupt and fpoil their meat whilft they 
 did cat it ? By thefe, and the like means, 
 wonderful in the heathens fight, w^as 
 Trajan forced to give over the f?ege, 
 w^hich lie had ibllowed not without danger 
 of his life, by coming within thefe flrcng 
 archers feot^ in viewing the city, fnortly 
 
 '^ aitcr 
 
Revelation Sv^wmV, See. lyj 
 
 ^^ after (as if he had fought before with men, 
 '^ but now againiL God) lalling into a dif- 
 ^' eafe, whereof he dicd*'\ 
 
 The infidel, may perhaps, in the fecu- 
 rity of his ciofct, and the ikilus of a liber- 
 tine fpirit, think liglit of thefe terrors of the 
 Lord: but let him remember, that they dil- 
 maycd men, braver and better than himfelf ! 
 The utmoil ambition of modern libertines, is 
 to raife thcmfelvcs up to the reputation of a 
 Ronicin relblute Ipirit : but theie terrors dil- 
 
 mayed Romans^ 'Romans led by Trajan ! 
 
 and raifed by iliccefs I appalled them, in the 
 higheil confidence of conqueft, and pride of 
 glory. 
 
 Let him remember, that D\o^ the au- 
 thor of this hiftory, was himfelf a Romati^ 
 and a foldier, of fingular dignity, governor 
 
 * I beg leave to afTare the reader on thisoccafion, that I 
 Jiave, with all the care I could, revolted all the accounts of 
 Arabia tint came in mv way ; to lee whether the ph^enomena, 
 ^nd the calami ties here mentioned by DioXo have di ft re /Ted the 
 'R.oman army, are frequent in that region. And that I never 
 have ])een able to meet with any inftance of any one of them, 
 except fometimesftorm? of wind. If hail, frightful appearances 
 of rainbows, and food infefted with ^ies, were ordinary cala- 
 mities in this region, all the accounts of the caravans thu 
 travel thro' thcfcdefarts, wouM naturally and recefTariiy he 
 
 full of them : whereas it is notorious, that the bed 
 
 and moft experienrei writers, who hiveleftus faithful diaries 
 of thefe affiirs, 6.0 rot f ) much as mention any o{ them. ->--- 
 Rain is very rarely fcen there j and hail fas tar as 1 could 
 learr) never, 
 
 of 
 
ijS Revelation Esamlnd^ 6cc. 
 
 of leveral provinces, and an officer of note 
 under Pertinax J allowed by cri ticks a man 
 of diflinguifhed judgment and capacity, who 
 related nothing upon common report : and 
 all the tranfadions of his own times, either 
 from his own knowledge, or the teftimoriy 
 of eye-witneffes, of undoubted credit : and 
 yet he relateth thefe terrors, without any 
 imputation either of ILiperftition or pufil- 
 animity, upon thole who were affected by 
 them ! To all this may be added, that he is, 
 a writer who appears to haye had a particu- 
 lar veneration lor Trajan ; and confequently, 
 more likely to conceal, than to relate in a 
 very exaft and particular manner, any thing 
 which he thought might juftly be diladvan- 
 tageous to his character. — And what fliall 
 we think of every little libertine of the age, 
 who ihall dare to delpile or dilcredit this 
 writer, the better to defpile and dilcredit 
 Mofes P Is it not evident, that every fuch 
 important mortal, muft either think himlelf 
 much wifer than DiOy or much braver than 
 frajan^ — or both. 
 
 N D who is that mighty mortal, fo hardy, 
 ib refolved, as not to be difmayed, to lee 
 
 A 
 
 and fo 
 
 the elements "i'^X. in array againft him I to 
 
 lee heaven renew its affaults upon him, in 
 hail, lightning, tempcft, and thunder, as 
 often as he renewed his affaults upon the 
 enemy ! — - And that this was the condition 
 
 r- 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &c. 139 
 
 of the Romans on this occafion, D'lo gives us 
 clearly to undcrftand. Rainbows arc uliially 
 indications of rain ; and rain is found by 
 experience to cool the moft Icorching por- 
 tions of the Arabian delarts , * but tho* rain 
 could not abate the violence of this diftem- 
 pered heat, one would think that repeated 
 Ihowers of hail, could not iail to effe«?c it. 
 Storms and temperts are comnionly known 
 to beat down, and todcitroy flics of all kinds : 
 
 but here, all the powers of nature, 
 
 either failed of their effects, or produced their 
 
 contraries. Hail and ftorms are repeated, 
 
 and yet heat and flies prevail ; prevail per- 
 haps beyond any thing that ever was before 
 heard of ! Here is a problem worthy the 
 depth of infidel wifdom ! Believers may 
 fatisfy thcmfelves that God adled at this 
 time in favour of Ifhmael^ with the fame 
 diftinguifhed mercy which he promiled the 
 other defcendants of ylhraham^ Exod. xxiii. 
 27, 28. — /-zi^vV/ make all thine enemies ttiru 
 their backs unto thee, — ■ ^nd J zuill fend 
 
 * See Pitt's account of the religion and manners of the 
 Mabometans^ p. i 59. '^ We travelled through a certun valley 
 '^ which is called by the name of AttaJ]) el wait, i. e. the River 
 *« of Fire, the vale being ibexceinvely hot, that tJie very water 
 *^ in their goat-skins hath fometimes been dried up with the 
 ** glowing, fcorching heat. Tnit we had the happinefs to pafs 
 *' thorough it when it rained, fo that the fervent heat was 
 •* much allayed thereby ; which tie 7-f<7^^ei looked on as a 
 ^' great bleflirg, and did not a little praifc Gcd for it". 
 
 hornets. 
 
140 Revelation EMmind^ Sec. 
 
 hornets before thee^ which Jhall drive out the 
 Hivite, &c. 
 
 Believers, men of narrow intellectuals, 
 may think this extraordinary ftatc of things, 
 this rcverfed order of caufes and ciTcds, 
 
 dtgniis Deo vmd'ice nodus : whilft men of 
 
 larger talents give themfelves no difquiet 
 
 about them, or look down indignant 
 
 "upon the ftupidity of meaner niortals, with- 
 out once vouchlafing a folution ! — Might 
 I be allowed to entreat thefe men of mighty 
 abilities, to imagine themielves for one mo- 
 ment, queftioned by the Almighty, on this 
 occafion, as "Job was on another, and then 
 think w^hat they have to anlwer ; 
 
 Hast thou entered into the treafures of 
 the fnow ? Or haft thou feen the treafures of 
 the /?£?//, whtch I have referved agahifl the 
 time of trouble^ againf the day of battle and 
 'ivar F B)' zvhat ':vaj is the light farted^ which 
 fcattereih the eafi wind upon the earth <" — — « 
 'Knowcfl thou the ordinances of heaven ? Canfl 
 thou jet the dominion thereof in the earth ? Can ft 
 thou lift up thy voice to the clouds^ that abundance 
 of waters may cover thee P Canji thou fend 
 lightnings that they tnay go^ and Jay unto thee^ 
 Here we are I 
 
 Some years after this, Sever us ^ a va- 
 liant, a hardy, a pradifed, and a profperous 
 
 warrior. 
 
Revelation Esamindy Sec. i^r 
 
 warrior, after a leries of immenfc toil and 
 trouble, and endlcfs conqucfts, when lie had 
 defeated all his competitors, taken Byzan^ 
 tiam (the ftrongeft city in the then known 
 world) and Nljjhis^ made peace with the 
 ^ParthiatiSy and fubducd all the regions 
 around : tlufh'd with prolperity, and in- 
 flamed to revenge againll the inhabitants of 
 Jltra *, (or as Herodtan calls it, Atrce) on 
 account of their having aided Niger againft 
 him : indignant alio, that this city (the city 
 of the Hiigareues) fhould alone Hand out 
 againft him, when every thing clle had 
 yielded, marches thither with ail his forces, 
 and engines of war ; and many of thefe (the 
 inventions of Pnjcus^ the moft eminent 
 artift of his age) from Dh's account of them, 
 
 lecured from hoftile fire ^ the mightieft, 
 
 the moft ftiipendous, and moft deftrudive, 
 that ever were devifed! befiegcs it twice 
 fucceffively ; and is twice repulied, with 
 ftiame, and great flaughter of his forces. 
 Nothing can be more clear and fuccind, 
 than Dr. Jackfoii's account of this matter 
 (ibtd.) from D'wy 1. y^. and thereibre I fhall 
 take leave to tranlcribe it. 
 
 " About eighty years after, the emperor 
 " Sevtrusy diidaining (as Trajan liad done) 
 
 * Herodtan ra}s, that Betrfemius^ king oF the JitrcnT^ 
 fent ibme archeis :o aid JS'rger againil Stvcrus, 
 
 " that 
 
14.1 Revelation E^amindy &c. 
 
 *' that thcfe Hagarefies Ihould ftand out ftill 
 *^ againft the Romans^ when all the reft 
 " about them, had yielded \ being repulfed 
 ^' with lols of men and munition, made 
 " great preparations for the fecond affault, 
 *' in. which (after great lols of his foldiers) 
 *^ having overthrown part of the city wall,, 
 ^^ he caufed the retreat to be founded in 
 *' policy, hoping the befieged would come 
 *^ to intreat for peace and liberty, which he 
 '^ was not minded to grant, but upon condi- 
 *■' tion they would bewray the hidden trea- 
 *^ lure fuppos'd to be confecrated to the 
 ^^ fcn. But they continued rciblute a whole 
 '' day ; giving no intimation of any treaty 
 ^' for peace. The ibldiers, in the mean 
 *' time, were fo difcontented, that on the 
 *' morrow following, the Europeans^ before 
 ^^ moft rcfolure, would not enter at the 
 ^' breach : and the Syrians ^ enforced to un- 
 *^ dertake the fervice, had a grievous re- 
 *' pulfe. So (faith Dwn) God delivered the 
 *' r//}', recalUng the Jbldkrs by Severus, when 
 *' they might have entered^ and reftralnwg 
 ^^ Severus the fecond day by the foldiers back- 
 " zvardnefs. The coaqueft, after this breach, 
 ^' was, in martial efteem, io eafy, that one 
 <^ of his captains confidently undertook to 
 ^^ effecl it, without the hazard of any other 
 " man's life befides, lb he might have but 
 « 550 European foldiers affigned : to which 
 ^' fair proffer, the emperor (as pettifh as 
 
Revelation EsamiYid^ dec. 145 
 
 ^' they had been peevilh) in a diftraded 
 " chale replied ; £ta where paJl I fold Jo 
 ^' many J oldie rs <" and lb departed unto Pa- 
 " lejUne. '' 
 
 Here I muft beg leave to obferve, that 
 the reiulil which Dr. Jackj'bn afcribes to the 
 pettilhnels of the emperor, Dio leems rather 
 to aicribe to his lols of authority over his 
 Ibldiers ) \jl^i Trip dTret^axv nzav (^^rtca'Tiov 
 Tyit) eiiTooy] Speaking ivith relation to the dtj^ 
 
 obedience of' the Jbldiers : he, who had 
 
 before this, openly difgraced, and punifhed 
 the Pr^toriari bands : putting Ibme to death, 
 and dilarming and unhorfing all the reft; 
 and this at a time when they wxre fo 
 powerful, as to fet the empire to fale, 
 and depofe and eled as they thought lit : 
 a captain, the hardieft and the moft dex- 
 trous that hiftory leaves us any account 
 of! who in many relpefts exceeded the 
 greateft of the Roman emperors * and w^hom 
 Herodian makes no doubt to prefer at once to 
 Ccefar^ Marius^ and Sylla \ w^hom he re- 
 preients, equally expeditious, indefatigable, 
 and patient ot heat and cold ! at once be- 
 loved and revered almoft to adoration, by 
 
 his Ibldiers. A commander, who, tho' 
 
 perhaps too indulgent to his Ibldiers in 
 peace, yet, in time of war, was ^o fevere 
 in diiciplinc, and lb high in authority, that 
 
 he 
 
144 Revelation Ep<ammdj &cc. 
 
 he could J a little before this, turn back hi^ 
 army at a word, ia the niidft of flight and 
 
 fear ; could not now influence them to 
 
 affault the enemy, when they were almofl at 
 mercy : — The maniieft interpofition of that 
 mighty Being, who, at his pleafure, foitretb 
 contempt upon princes J and bnngeth the coun^ 
 fel of the heathen to nought '■^<, 
 
 " Thus (adds my author) [i^/V.] are the 
 " proud aflaults of the gieateft monarchs, 
 " in their heighth of ftrength, but like the 
 
 * Ammtaniis MarceUinus inentlcns this city, and the ca.a- 
 mities both thefe emperors underwent before it, in the a^tli 
 V'cok of his hiftory in thefe words :-. -Props H^-itram vsnimust 
 retus cppiduw^in media fol'itudine pcfitum^ oliwqus defer- 
 turn : quod diitiendum adorti temporibusvariis Tra]anui^ 
 Seveyus principzs b^xRicofi, cum exercitibus pene deleti funt^ 
 
 And probably the rifques that nat'on then ran, o^ being de, 
 ftroycd, or, at lead, enflnved, (rogethet with fome other later 
 dargers) were the chief reafon which determined them never 
 to Ihuc thsmfelves up any more wi'.hin the enclofures of 
 
 tov\ns : but to live perpttuariy en:amped with their kings : 
 
 keeping the moll: diligent fpies on all hinds, (as Thtvenot ai- 
 furcs us they do)to give them early notice ofthe leaft approach 
 orappreherlion of darger. This nation feems now, as Lucan 
 fays o^lhcTarthians^ (\.^ )NuUi fuper^bilis hofli efi /ibertale 
 
 fug<e : The libertire may thirkthem antiertly {"die^ from 
 
 a vail number of impregnable fortrelftSjWhich hiltorians agree 
 they were poffefled of, — ~ ihey have now quitted them 
 allj ard traVene:S rake notice of many of them that are ruinous 
 
 and deferted ', and yet ihc Ijhmaelitei ftill fubfiil, . . 
 
 and are dill in a (late ot as greu fafety and freedom as ever ; 
 — Will hny man, after this, wonder at that promile of Gcd 
 made by Micah ('ch. v. 7, 8, 9.; to fave the remnant oi' Jacob 
 from their enemies, at the iaine time that he would delboy 
 their ibcng holds : verfe 1 1, And i rolll cut off th^ cities of 
 thy land andtbrow down all thy jirong kulds, 
 
 ■ " billows 
 
Revelation Emmindy &c. 145 
 
 ^^ billows of a Iwelling tide, which break 
 ^' over the banks, and immediately fall 
 " again. The Almighty hath let bounds 
 ^' to both, which they muft not pafs j and 
 " under his protedion may IJhmael reft, as 
 ^' fecure from the Roman Ibrces, to whom 
 " he had given all the regions round about 
 " them, as Edom did, from the Ijraehtes^ 
 
 when Xhtyjlew m'tghty kings ; and caft out 
 
 far greater neighbour nations. '' 
 
 Two things the nature of the fubjeft) and 
 the fingular obfervations of D'w^ rnake well 
 w^orthy our notice, on this occafion ; the 
 lirft is, that the Arabimis flood fingle, in 
 this extremity, againft the whole Roman 
 power : for Dio exprefly tells us *, that not 
 one of their neighbours would affift them. 
 
 The next is, that Severus was remarkably 
 fond of foldiers of all nations; for Z)io obfervcs, 
 that whereas other emperors zvere contented with 
 guards of four different European nations^ 
 Severus filled the city with a mixed multitude 
 of foldiers of all kinds : favage to the fghty 
 and fearful to the ear \ rude and wild to con-- 
 verje with. He oblerves after this, that 
 Byzantium w^as beleagured, by the forces, as 
 
 it were of the whole world '^ whereas 
 
 then Ipmael was laft invaded, when Severus 
 
 ^\., 75. in Exc^rptis f f/jsodofiOy p. 849. Ecf» LcttenrJ, 
 
 Vol, IL L Vvas 
 
ii\6 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 was at reft from all his other wars, and the 
 firft army which he led againft him, being 
 repulfed with 16 much dilgrace and ruin^ 
 he was under a neceffity of repairing it^ 
 if Dlo had not told us, that he m.ade 
 great preparations for the fecond fiege, the 
 nature oi the thing would. The reparation 
 of his own honour, his thirft of revenge, 
 and all his hopes of fuccels, called upon him 
 not only to repair his army, but alio to fup- 
 ply it, in the moft ample and effectual man- 
 ner he could ; and therefore there is no 
 doubt but he repaired it, with the beft and 
 hardieft veterans he had in the world ; and 
 alio took care to have it lufficiently lup- 
 plied ; having now to do with the moft 
 lurious and determined enemy, he had ever 
 affaulted. 
 
 All this confidered, I think we may fair-* 
 ly conclude, that every man's hand., was, at 
 this time, emphatically again/} IJhmael'^ the 
 hoftile arms, as it were of the whole w^orld, 
 were now lifted up againft him ; and his 
 handy and his only, againjl every 7nan*s ; and 
 yet he dwelt, and ftill dwelleth, tn the fre-^ 
 fence of all his brethren. 
 
 It is likevriie obfervable, that in this 
 people, at this time, the free Ipirit of their 
 
 lather Ijhmael llione out in all its glory : • 
 
 ih 
 
Revelation Ep^amindy &c 1^7 
 
 fo determined were thele Ions of the -wild 
 man to be abfolutely free, that they fcorned fo 
 much as to be redeemed from fervitude, by 
 
 any thing but their valour : ■ they dil- 
 
 dained lb much as to treat with the emperor 
 
 of the world, upon that head , • bravely 
 
 relblved, or to live free, or to die fo. 
 
 After this, it is well known that the 
 IJJjmaeUtes joined the Goths againft the Ro^ 
 
 mans J and foon after overcame both ^ • 
 
 erefting an empire upon their ruins, the 
 greateft that ever was erected in this world : 
 
 and thus Ijhmael^ in the full extent of 
 
 the prophecy, became a great nat'ion, 
 
 'T I s true they had long before this, taken 
 the name of Saracens : moved to do lb, as 
 Ibme imagine, by the reproaches of the 
 Jews^ who upbraided them with bailardy, 
 and {o made them afhamed of their old name 
 derived from Hagar and Ijhmael^ Vv^hich car- 
 ried reproach in the found : ciefiring to be 
 confidered as the defcendants of Abraham by 
 Sarah (though others derive the name from 
 
 another originc) ; but it is certain that 
 
 they are not, and that they are no other than 
 the ScenituC Arahes under another name^ \ 
 nor can I learn, but that they have entirely 
 
 *■ iee Ammianus Adarcellrnus, 1. 23. JornatidsSf 1. l. and 
 Sfxtiis Ruf'iii breviar. Rom. Hill. 
 
 L :-. dropt 
 
148 Revelation Esamind^ Sec, 
 
 dropt that pretence long fince, ■■ if in 
 
 truth they ever took it up.- 
 
 Thus is this extraordinary prophecy of 
 IJhnmtl^ f.gnally fulfilled, in lb many, and 
 iuch very remarkable and lurprizing cir- 
 cumftances : And I believe the hardielt ene- 
 my of revelation will not pretend, in this 
 cale, as they have adventured to do, in 
 others, that the prophecy was given out after 
 the event. 
 
 Indeed Mofts^ did himfelf come into the 
 world, long alter the accomplifhment of one 
 part of this prophecy ; doubtlels the princi- 
 pal parts of Arah'm were then called after 
 the twelve ions of IJlnnael ^ who had erefted 
 principalities there ; as they were alio called 
 in much later ages. Le Ckrc hath difcufTed 
 this matter, in his comment, with great la- 
 bour and learning ^ and hath found evident 
 remains of almoft all their phylarchies or 
 principalities among the Greek writers. Melo 
 -^ is quoted by AlexamUr Polyhiflor^ as men- 
 tioning the fame of yibraham's wifdom \ his 
 traveriing the delarts of Syrla^ and marrying 
 two wives: one of them an Egyftia?j flave ; 
 by V. hom he had twelve Ions, v/ho became 
 princes over the Arabians : from whom the 
 
 Apud Eufeb, evarg. prep. 1. 9. c. 19. 
 
 twclv^' 
 
Revelation -Ev.wi/Vc/^ Sec. iig 
 
 twelve kings of the Arabiajis are named 
 (lays Mclo) down to our times. And Saint 
 Jerom lays [//; qiijijf. Hcb,'\ that their tribes 
 were diftinguilhed by the names of IJhmad's 
 Sons in his time. And Thevenot ^ tells us 
 from his own knowledge, that they live in 
 Tribes^ and under Phybrchs to this day : — 
 the truth of the Mo/ah relation then in this 
 point, is ih far attefted by all lliblequent 
 writers. 
 
 The increale of Ilhnud into twelve prin- 
 cipalities, v>'as well known in Mojes's time ; 
 but that immenie multiplication and national 
 grandeur that was promJlcdhim, j/o/tj could 
 have no notion of, but from inlpiration. In- 
 alhiuch as there was not then the leaft ap- 
 pearance or profpecl of any luch thing j nor, 
 in fad, did it come to pals, till manv hun- 
 dreds of years after his death : nay, not till 
 many hundreds of years after his hiftory was 
 tranllated and known all over the world. 
 
 They {IlhmacH Ions) were doubtlels 
 
 numerous in Mofes's time- but yet the J//- 
 dian'itesy and other fons of Abraham^ by Ke^ 
 t'trah^ were, in all probability, then much 
 more numerous and powerful in Arabia than 
 they; it is evident from the journeving of 
 the children of Ifrael^ that they had not dien 
 
 ' Part I. 1. 2. c. 32. 
 
 L 3 ipreai 
 
1^0 Revelation Ei<amind^ 8cc. 
 
 ipread over that part of the defart, which, 
 they have fince filled: and poffels to this 
 
 day ; the Afidiamtes and Amakkites were 
 
 in that neighbourhood ; but no IJhmadites. 
 
 are Ilo much as heard of: nay, Jeremiah 
 
 gives us plainly to underftand, that no mor- 
 tal dwelt in that defart at that time ^ . 
 
 (ch. ii. 6.) he exprcfly calls it a land which 
 fw man pajjld through^ and where no man 
 dwelt. It is plain then that the Ions of 
 JJhmael were nothing like lb numerous then, 
 as they have been fince, nor was it poffible that 
 
 they fhouid in fo fhorta time. Nor was 
 
 it poffible that any thing but Providence 
 could forefee that immenle grandeur and in« 
 creafe to v. hich they are fince fwolen. 
 
 That they fhouid be at enmity with all 
 the world, and yet grow great, w^as a pro-? 
 blem, the moft oppofite to all the rules and 
 principles of human politicks, that could be 
 imagined : and therefore no wile man, atleaft, 
 no man, v/hofe very being depended upon 
 the reputation of his wifdom, (which w^as the 
 cafe of Mofes) would rilque the utter ruin 
 both of himfelf and charaSer, by pronoun- 
 cing ^o ftrange a feeming abfurdity, and con-^ 
 tradidion, from any other motive than the 
 irrefifiable influence of divine inlpiration. 
 Efpecially fince that predidion related to a 
 people with whom he had nothing to do ; 
 and for whom he could have no concern : 
 
Revelation E^amindy &c. 151 
 
 ——nay, a prediftion which muft in its own 
 nature, be exceedingly dilagreeable to that 
 proud felfifh nation, with whom he had to 
 do! inafmuch as the promift to Ijhmael^ 
 did, in point of that worldly grandeur, which 
 they had fo much at heart, evidently rival^ 
 if not exceed, that given to their father 
 Jfaac : and we may imagine, hov/ ill they 
 could bear fiich a preference, who could as 
 little bear even any partition of the fignal 
 providence, and diftinguifhed favour of God, 
 as their mother could, that IJhmael fhould 
 Ihare the inheritance with Ifaac ; and were as 
 
 ready to cry out with her, Caji out this 
 
 bond woman and her Jon \ far the Jon of this 
 bond woman Jh all not be heir with my Jon. 
 
 L 4 D 
 
 I s« 
 
152. Revelation E^amindy Sec, 
 
 Dissertation V. 
 
 Of Circumcijii 
 
 N the 17th chapter oiGenefis^ GocJ 
 aflures ylhrahamj that he will 
 cft^biifh his covenant with hini 
 
 and his feed. 
 
 that he Ihall be 
 
 a father of many nations^ and that 
 kings Jloall come oat of him ^ — that he will be 
 a God to him, and to his feed after him, and 
 will give them the land wherein he was then 
 a ftranger, the land of Canaan \ — and, as 
 a token of this covenant, circumcifion is in^ 
 ftitu ted, and ftridly enjoined to be obferved, 
 with regard to every male of his family,, 
 whether born in it, or bought of a ftrangen 
 
 And he that is eight days old (hall he cir-^ 
 cumcifed among you : every man child in your 
 generations^ he that is horn in the houfe^ or 
 bought with money ^ of any fir anger which is 
 noj; of thy feed j *— and the uncircumcifed 
 
 man 
 
Revelation i^xawmV^ &c. i^j 
 
 man ch'tld^ whofe flejh of his foreskin is not 
 drcumcijedj that J did Jhall be cut off^ from his 
 
 feeble : he hath broken my covenant. 
 
 I OBSERVED, in a late diflertation, with what 
 infinite wildom Almighty God confounded 
 the Unguage of mankind, at Babely in order 
 to reduce them to the virtue and diicipline of 
 fmall feminaries ; to prevent the growth of 
 one univerfal empire, and, the confequence 
 
 of that, univerfal corruption. < And here 
 
 again, we lee the fame defign, farther purlii- 
 ed : though in a lecondary wayo 
 
 A Rite, of a very ftrange and lingular na- 
 ture, is here enjoy ned, under the penalty of 
 ptter excifion, to the w^hole family of one 
 man, whom it pleafed God to diftinguilh in 
 a very extraordinary manner, by numerous 
 tleffings, a,nd many fignal protedions and 
 manifeftations of his Providence. — — And, 
 as that family was very large, and made up of 
 a great variety of people of different coun- 
 tries, the neceffary conlequence was, that, as 
 any of them went off from thence, they 
 carried whatever virtues or inftitutions they 
 had learned there, into their own houfes or 
 countries, or wherefoever the providence of 
 God conveyed them; — and, as fomething 
 \vould necelfarily be added, or diminifhed, 
 or varied, in thefe inftitutions, from length 
 pf timCj or the different dilpofitions or de- 
 grees 
 
154 Revelation ^A'^w^/^V^ &c. 
 
 grees of underftanding, which ruled thoft 
 who had learned them : here was a new 
 foundation laid of new diftindions, to be diC- 
 perled through the world, with a profped of 
 much piety and virtue diffused through each. 
 For, in the firft place, Abraham journied 
 with his father, from Ur of the Chaldees^ to 
 Haran:^ and, from Haran^ he journied to 
 Canaan^ with his wife, his kinfman Lot^ and 
 all the Ibuls they had gotten in Haran^ and 
 to thefe were afterwards added, men lervants 
 and maid lervants, from Egypt^ and wx find 
 his family was foon after lo numerous, that 
 even when Lot was divided from him, he 
 had 318 fervants, born in his houfe, able to 
 bear arms ; nor was his family wholly made 
 up even of Chaldeans^ and Egyptians ; for we 
 learn from his own words, that Elkzer of 
 Damafcus was his fteward ; and ftewards are 
 leldom found in great families, without Ibme 
 dependants of their own ; elpecially ftewards 
 of fuch power and credit as EUezer^ who was 
 heir apparent %o his mafter ^ and we know, that 
 none are lb ordinarily and naturally taken in- 
 to favour, with liich men, or indeed with 
 any men, as thofe of their own kindred and 
 
 country \ and to all thefe were yet added 
 
 men fervants and maid fervants, of the land 
 of Canaan^ beftow'd by Jlhlmelech ^ fo that 
 jibraham'% family was made up of as great a 
 variety of people, as could well be collefted 
 in that early age of the world. 
 
 N w. 
 
Revelation Sx^w^Vc/, &c. 155 
 
 Now, that Abraham was a good man, and 
 ftudious to imprefs true piety and virtue upon 
 the minds of his houlhold, and that he adu- 
 ally did lb, we are aflured by God himfelf ; 
 Gef2, ch. xviii. 15). For I know him ^ (laith 
 God) that he will command his children and 
 his houfiold after him^ and they Jhall keep the 
 way of the Lord^ todojufiice andjudgfnent, * 
 
 And, indeed, it was fcarce poffible, it 
 Ihould be otherwife with Ibch as dwelt long 
 in his family, under all the manifeftations of 
 divine mercy, vouchlafed to Abraham^ and 
 under fuch a fteady and glorious example of 
 true faith, piety, and virtue in him. And 
 
 * There is reafon to believe, that the Jews were originally, 
 and for a confiderable time after the eftablifhment of their 
 commonwealth, remarkably juft and horeft, though, it is cer- 
 tain, that, long before the de(iru(ftion of their temple and po- 
 lity, as well as fince,they have been remarkably otherwife. All 
 things degenerate in length of time j and no indications are 
 proof againfl: wealth and var.ity. — Nor can any argument 
 be drawn, from their fubfeouent corruptions, to the difadvar- 
 tage of their primitive righteoufnefs. What the opinion of 
 the more candid and confidering heathen was concerning them, 
 I think, may be fairly collccled from the account Strabo gives 
 of them, /.. 16. Retells us, that Mofcs was an Egyptian prieO, 
 who was mailer of one part of the country, and could not bear 
 the idolatry of his countrymen, who afcribed the images of 
 beafts to God, as the Greeks did thofe of men ; that to him 
 the virtuous and religious reforted, whole leader he became, 
 and cftablifhed a coniiderable empire, where '^erufakm now 
 Hands \ that his fticceffors long continued in his inftitutions ; 
 
 and were truly religious and juft j but afterwards 
 
 degenerated into fuperltitiou?, tyrannical, i!jc. 
 
 we 
 
l$6 Revelation Esamind, Sec. 
 
 we find, that, in fad, his fon J/^iac is the 
 moft perfed char after among all the patri- 
 archs ^ — and his fervant, lent to fetch that 
 Ion a wife, from among his own kindred, is 
 the moft accomplilhed inftance of fidelity, di- 
 ligence, true piety to God, and a firm confi- 
 dence in the immediate luperintendence, and 
 interpofition of his providence, that was ever 
 yet heard of, in a man of that charader ; — 
 and, as we have all the realbn in the world to 
 believe, that all the reft of his Ions * and fer- 
 vants, were as well, and as carefully trained 
 up in true virtue, and the fear of God, as 
 thefe, (as long as they continued with him) 
 how naturally and neceflarily muft true vertue 
 and true religion be diff'uled among mankind, 
 by their means, as they themfelves were dil- 
 perfed among rnankind ! and they could not 
 fail to be lb dilperfed, by the difperfion of 
 his Ions ; to all whom (except Ifhrnael^ fent 
 away under the refentment of his wife) the 
 text fays, he gave gifts ; and we know that 
 men and maid fervants were the chief gifts of 
 
 * Notwithdanding the many imputations upon the Arabs^ 
 the defcendants o^ Abraham by Ijhmael^ there are not wanting 
 ni;iny writers of note, who greatly celebrate their national ju- 
 ftice, — and juflify the impoHs they exaft from caravans and 
 travellers, from the common right of all nations, to raife 
 tributes from good and perfons trading and negotiating in theic 
 coantr}-. — So that they alfo may net unnaturally be allowed 
 to have learnt of their father Abraham to keep the way of the 
 Lord fo far, as to do jufiice and judgment, which are the 
 main points ox that divine declaration concerning him, in the 
 i8th ch. of G^«. 
 
 that 
 
Revelation Epcamindy &g. i^y 
 
 that age. And as Ifaac and Ifimael^ had a 
 good underftanding with one another, after 
 this, (ibr we find they affifted together at 
 their lather's funeral) the goodnels of Ijaac\ 
 charader, leaves no doubt but that he gave 
 his brother a proper portion of his father's 
 fubftance: nay, there is no doubt but that 
 Abraham himlelf did 16, after Sarah's death, 
 if not fooner, to a fon io tenderly loved. 
 And indeed 'tis fcarcely poflible, that IJhmael 
 Could otherwife become lb early great, as to 
 have twelve fons, princes. 
 
 From all which, we may fairly conclude, 
 that even in this refpcd, that glorious pro- 
 mile and privilege conferred upon Abraham 
 by Almighty God, was alio fulfilled in a 
 
 lower way *, that in htm all the nations 
 
 of the earth Jhould he hlejftd. 
 
 Having thus prepared the way, the bufi- 
 nefs of the following diflertation, Ihall be 
 to ihew, 
 
 jF/V'/?, That circumcifion could obtain 
 among mankind, no otherwife than by di-* 
 vine inftitution. 
 
 Secondly^ To enquire into the reafons of 
 that inftitution. 
 
 And 
 
158 Revelation Sv^w/Vc/, &c. 
 
 ^nd thirdly^ X^ anfwer the objedions \ 
 xaiied on this head. i 
 
 And firft, that circumcifion could no 
 otherwile obtain among mankind, than from 
 divine inftitution, appears from the plaincft ; 
 
 xealbning in the world j becaufe ^o painful j 
 
 and io inconvenient a rite, and in fome cales 
 (as that of Abraham) lb dangerous ^, which ? 
 
 had 
 
 * A late ingenious writer hath in his letter to Dr. Water' 
 Itnd^ treated this rite of circumcifion as exceedingly dangerous 
 in all cafes : (fupporting the opinion of a lefs conliderahle wri- 
 ter agairefl: revelation in that point) and confequently fuch as 
 cannot reafonably be prefumed to be originally derived from 
 
 divine inllitution ; but from the command of a good and a 
 
 merciful God. Now, as a very learned anfwer hath lately been ' 
 
 publifhed to this part of that letter, I beg leave to lay before 
 the reader a fhort abHraft oi that controverfy. 
 
 This gentleman (the letter. v/riter) grounds his judgment j 
 
 upon quotations from Sp^ncsr and Lightfoot^ both whom, his 
 adverfary affirms him to have mifquoted and mifreprefented ; 
 as they alio millook and mifreprefented th&^swijij authorities, i 
 
 from whence they quoted \ Spsncer quotes Maimonides^ as pro- ' 
 
 nouncing that circumcifion was not as a flight hurt of the leg^ 
 or burning of the arm, &c. but fo dangerous that is was not 
 
 fomst'imes to be undergone without hi^ard of Jife» Now 
 
 thefe laft words, not to be fometimes undergone without ha^ 
 ^drd oflife, are found to be Spencer's own addition, without 
 any foundation from Matmonides : '--- and the author of the 
 letter to Dr IVaterlandy hath chAn^ed foj9Je times bayard into 
 fome ha:(ardy as if this operation were always attended with 
 fome hazard of life, which Spenccr doth not fay, nor could 
 lay with truth, experience being full againft him. 
 
 Again, that ingenious letter-writer^ concludes a note in that | 
 
 letter with thefe words; - -• //' the firfi, Jecond^ third fon. 
 fhould die by circumcifion^ tbsfe that were bom after^ were 
 7i0t circumcifed ; and yet Ifrae/ites ii^ all refpctJs : priejis in 
 all refpcUs^ Ligl-tf. vol. 2. p. 760, I 
 
 Now I 
 
Revelation Esamindy &c. 1 59 
 
 had no foundation either in realbn, or nature, 
 or neceffity, or the intereft of any particular 
 fet of men, could never obtain in any nation, 
 but from the injunction of fome high and irre- 
 fiftable authority • and fuch only, in the pre- 
 fent cafe, could be the authority of God ! 
 and, in general, the fame reafbning with 
 which I demonftratcd lacrifices to be of 
 
 Now the words, Ifraelites in all refpe^s, and prtefls in all 
 refpeBs^ tho'feemingly quoted from Li^htfoot, his anfwerer 
 
 affirms not to be found in Lightfoot ; but in this he is 
 
 greatly miftaken : for they are the very words of Lightfoot, 
 However the learned anfwerer produces feveral quotations 
 from the 'fewijh writings, full to the point,— — that no uncir- 
 cumcifed prieil was allowed amongft them; though, I think, 
 we are little concerned to defend any of their allowances of 
 ordinances contrary to the law of God. 
 
 The letter, writer alfo quotes Lightfoot^ thus, — - Light foot 
 informs us that the frequent mortality it (i. e. circumcilion) 
 occafionedj produced a Jlanding law^ that when ariy perfon had 
 lofl three children fucceffively by the operation^ he rocs excufed 
 from circumcifing the reft* -— Now Lightfoot fays not a word 
 of afianding Law, en this head : but ftys, that if the £rft, fe- 
 cond, third fon fhould die by circumciilcn, thofe that were 
 
 born after were not circumcifed :- but in this, I think, the 
 
 learned anfwerer proves him to be miftaken in challenging him 
 at the fame time, to produce any inftancc of fuch mortality oc« 
 cs Honed by circumcifion : — there is indeed an inftance of a 
 woman who loft two children after circumcifion : but then 
 thofe children were dangeroufiy ill, at the time of the opera- 
 tion ; and in all probability would have died without it *, and 
 as to the point of uncircumcifed Ifraelites and Trieflsy it is 
 certain the law of God allowed no fuch : and thofe expelfions, 
 this learned writer infifts,were either figurative, or meant only 
 of a fecond circumcifion, not required by the law oF God ; a 
 rabbinical and fuperftitious fol'ly, which Vv^e are no way con- 
 cerned to defend. — . — See this matter more at large, in an 
 anfwer to the letter to Dr. U'aterland in relation to circum- 
 cifion, ^c. LondoHy printed fer ^ohu Crorvnfieldf at the 
 Rifmg-fun in vt, /'^;r/"> church. }avd 
 
 divine 
 
166 Revelation Ep<amindy &:c. 
 
 diviae inftitution, will hold full as ftron^ 
 here« 
 
 First, becaufe there could be no prieft- 
 craft m the cafe , for we read of no fuch 
 thing as a prieft of the race of Abraham for 
 400 years after this inftitution ; ndr had 
 prielts any emolument frorli this rite, nor 
 was it their peculiar bufinefs. And, 
 
 In the next place^ I believe it will be 
 allowed, that cruelty, /. e. unneceflary pain 
 to ourfelves, and our children^ hath as little 
 foundation in nature, as cruelty to the crea- 
 tures ; and therefore nothing but the fame 
 authority which eftabliflied one^ could efta- 
 blilh both. 
 
 The Egyptians indeed, pretended to prac- 
 tife this rite from no other principle but that 
 
 of cleanlinefs, as Herodotus affures us : . 
 
 and poffibly they might by that time, have 
 lb utterly loft all memorial of the true origin 
 of this rite, as to know no other reaibn why 
 they pradifed it ; but at the fame time, any 
 man of common capacity cannot but fee, 
 that could never be the true reafon of the 
 inftitution. Since, 'tis evident to a demon- 
 ftration, that they might be as perfectly 
 clean to all intents and purpofes, without 
 this rite, as with it ; and 'tis abfurd to fup- 
 pofe, that any man of common fenfe, Ihould 
 
 undergo 
 
Revelj^tion R^aminJy Sec i6l 
 
 undergo pain, or hazard himfclf, or force 
 the lame inconvenience upon his pofterity 
 for any end, which could be as fully and 
 perfeclly attained without thole evils ^ and 
 therefore this pretence is utterly idle and 
 abfurd. 
 
 Others have fuppofed, that this rite was 
 inftituted, for prevention of dilcafcs, inci- 
 cident to that part of the body ; as others 
 think the part cut otf, inconvenient in thole 
 countries where this practice prevailed* 
 
 In anfwerto thefe, I readily agree with the 
 enemies of revelation, that God 7/iakes nothing 
 in valn^ much kjs what requires cutting off : 
 
 ' ■ and whenever thele objectors ihall 
 
 prove, that any nation under heaven, ever 
 had their nails regularly pared away to pre- 
 vent whitloes, or their jugular glands 
 
 regularly cut out, to prevent quinfies, 
 
 or their noies conllantly cut off at eight days 
 old, to prevent polypus's, it will then be 
 time enough, to enter into a lerious confu- 
 tation of fuch fenfelefs fuppofitions ; and 
 therefore it being dcmonftrable, that this 
 practice could have no foundation, cither ia 
 realon, or nature, or neceffity, or intereil, 
 tlierc is not!}ing to which it can be referred, 
 but t!ic appointment of Almighty God. 
 
 V L. IL . M I Pl'^O- 
 
l6l Revelation Ep<ammd^ &c. 
 
 I Proceed therefore in the fecond place, 
 to enquire into the realons of that inftitu- 
 tion. 
 
 And doubtlefs one reafon of it, was, to be 
 at once a trial of jibraham's faith, and a proof 
 of the covenant then entered into with him. 
 
 For fince yjbraham was to be the father 
 of the fiithfid^ the moft eminent example of 
 truft and confidence in the promifes ot God, 
 tho' all human appearances and probabilities 
 were full againft him : an example, which 
 was to extend to all iiiture ages I how other- 
 wile could that example be made fo effectual, 
 for our imitation and inftruftion, as by con- 
 veying a certain memorial of it down to all 
 
 ages ! fuch a memorial, as fhould exhibit 
 
 him fteady and relblved under the leve- 
 reft trials, and conftantly and glorioufly 
 triumphant, and rewarded afterwards. And 
 that this was one plain intention of that rite, 
 u^ I think, very realbnably to be inferred 
 irom thefe words, Gen. xvii. ii. And ye 
 jhall c'lrcumc'tfe the fefo of jour foreskin : and 
 it fjall be a token of the covenant betwixt me 
 
 and you : . And again, verfe 13. He that 
 
 is born in thy houfe^ and he that is bought 
 ivith thy money ^ maft needs be circumcijed : 
 and my covenant fall be in your fefhj jor an 
 everlafiing covenant. And Tacitus y who hath 
 
 vended 
 
Revelation Esammd^ &cc. i6*j 
 
 vended many lalfhoods and abliirditics con- 
 cerning the "JewSy yet plainly law the realbn 
 
 of their circumcifion, thus far, viz. that 
 
 they uled it as a mark to be diftinguiilied 
 from other people * and Mojes's ac- 
 count of the origine of this rite, is the only 
 account of it, confiftent with common fenle, 
 from whence it is caly to oblerve that it was 
 inftituted to leparate a particular race of men 
 from the reft, for the prelervation of true 
 religion ; and to be a perpetual memorial of 
 that feparation • to be a perpetual memorial 
 of that covenant into which God then en- 
 tered with Abraham^ upon a very Angular 
 
 occafion. The plain account of it fcaads 
 
 thus : 
 
 ABRAHAM had a folemn promife of a 
 
 fon irom Almighty God : the blefTmg 
 
 was long deferred : at laft granted by a bond- 
 woman ; and that fon, Ibme few years after 
 he was given, when his father lia.d now 
 fixed his heart and his hopes upon him, ap- 
 parently given up for loft! and exprelly 
 
 refufed to be his heir. He is now again 
 
 promlfed another Ion by his wife ; and the 
 next moment compelled to practile a rite, 
 which, in ail human probability, muft defeat 
 
 * C.j\um:idere gtn'.tdlia inf.ituere, ut diijerfitate nofcfintur. 
 
 M 2 that 
 
164 Revelation Emmindj Sec. 
 
 that promife ; and yet he obeys iiiftantly * t 
 How glorious an example is this ? And how 
 admirably are all the circumftances of this 
 inftitution fitted, to perpetuate the memory 
 oi" it, with all his pofterity ! to make it me- 
 morable and illuftrious to the whole earth ? 
 
 With what w^ifdom Abraham's family 
 was conftituted of various nations to this 
 very end, and they, with his children, dil- 
 pcrJed into various regions of the earth, I 
 already obferved in the introduction to this 
 difcourfe ; and fince he himfelf had by the 
 peculiar appointment of Almighty God, tra- 
 verled a great part of the then known world^ 
 
 **" The danger J.braham underwent in that operation, at 
 that advanced age, and the very indecency of it in a man of 
 his years and dignity, are in the place o'i ten thoufand proofs 
 that it was forced upon him ! and ncthipg but the irreliiliMe 
 authority of God, could he a fufHcient force in thofe circunj- 
 ftances.-— Theodotus's verfcs upon this rubje<ft (quoted by Eu- 
 febiusEvan. prtpar. I. 9. c.22.) carry their ownevidence with 
 them ; — he tells us, that Abraham readily executed, becaule 
 Godbimfclf co^i^anded.-"Jhe intelligent reader \vil],I doubt 
 not, thank me for fcur antient Greek veifcs upon this fubjec!-, 
 in my judgment not unworthy the Homeric age. 
 
 'Au'to; aV i^.vod-iv yIkit dvi^, TmvTt (Tvvoiyjo 
 
 In i:ngUJh thus : IVbo forrr.erly Jed foi tb dtv:n€ Abraham 
 
 from out of his iwn cc.xintry^ the fame commanded the man 
 jpoith bis rvhole hoiife, fr cm heaven^ to cinumcife ihe firjh of 
 
 their foreskin : He executed : < it was jieadilj 
 
 done J becaafe G:d himfelf Jit id it fhou/dhs done, 
 
 before 
 
Revelation Esamindj &c. i6$ 
 
 before this time, under the ilillefl evidence 
 of the divine protedion, attending him 
 \vhere-ever he went, the difperfion of his 
 lamily afterwards, (many of whom were eye- 
 witncfTcs of the divine favours to him, and 
 all the males of them, carrying about them 
 the fure marks of his Maker's covenant w ith 
 him *) could not but diffulc a through per- 
 fuafion of God's manifold mercies, and graci- 
 ous promifes to Abraham^ into many remote 
 regions of the earth ; and convey both the 
 memory of thofe mercies, and the piety 
 which they themfelves had derived from his 
 influence, to their children \ and by thefe 
 means, an extenfive and lively memorial of 
 God's providence, and fure interpofition in 
 the government of the world, was long pro- 
 pagated and preferved in the world ^ lor the 
 inipreflions of piety and virtue on the minds 
 of men, mull be, in proportion to the lignal 
 force with which thole impreffions arc made, 
 and the Irequency with which they are re- 
 peated. And fince God himfelf forefaw, 
 that thefe impreffions v/ould be effectually 
 made by Abraham^ upon his whole family, 
 and pofterity, and when, at the fame time, 
 
 * A candid man iliould, methinks, be little at a lofs to ac- 
 CGur.t for the origine of circumcifion among other nations, 
 when Abraham had fo many hundreds of fervants of different 
 
 nations, circumcifed at once in his houfe ; and, in all 
 
 probability, many thoufands even in his own houfe before his 
 death. To fay nothing of his many fons, and fonsfons. 
 
 M 3 they 
 
1 66 Revelation Esamind^ &c. 
 
 they were attended with lb diftinguiihed a 
 leal of the divine covenant, it was hardly 
 poffible, but that they mult long be propa- 
 gated and prelcrvcd in the world. 
 
 Besides all this, the covenant made with 
 jihrahcim^ v/as fitted to raife, and to fix the 
 attention of all mankind. It was a cove- 
 nant of univerfal concern ; all the nations of 
 the earth were to be bkffed in him '^ : and 
 moft regions of the then l^nown world, had 
 men of their own nation, men of credit and 
 veracity, to atteft the truth and certainty 
 of" this covenant to them. And therefore, 
 both curiofity and intereft, would naturally 
 excite men, to attend to this matter ; and to 
 examine it with care • and the careful exami- 
 nation of fuch truths, as men find it their 
 intereft to embrace, leldom Ikils to end ia 
 conviction; 
 
 And whoever confiders how fignally and 
 univerfally the fame of Abraham hath been, 
 from the earlieft times, and ftill is extended 
 over all the caft, will have no realpn to 
 
 * If \vc nny believe the bed accourits of antiquity, j^bram 
 ham was (as fK-11 be Ihewn hereafter) the great inflrument in 
 th.Q hand of God, of diffufing true religion and wifdom over 
 the moft (.minentreginrs of the world then known; and the 
 natural propagation and difpcrfion of thefe bleffings over the 
 earth, made him very properly a blefling to all the nations of 
 the earth. 
 
 believe 
 
Revelation -Bvviwi/^V^ Sec. idy 
 
 believe this a light or a groundlefs fpecu- 
 lation. 
 
 Another reafon why this rite was inlli- 
 tuted, was to be an emblem to the people of 
 God, of true purity, and a dilregard of fen- 
 fual enjoyments : that they fhould renounce 
 every thing that had no other ufe, in the 
 degeneracy of our nature, but to cherifh the 
 delufions of lenle, and leave our appetites 
 lels in our power ; a document which men, 
 skiird in the knowledge of nature, will find 
 to be lufficiently implied in this inftitution. 
 Hence it is, that Mojis (in the loth chapter 
 of Deuteronomy J commands the children of 
 Ifrael to circumcife their hearts ; and in the 
 30th chapter of the lame book, among many 
 other bleffings promiled to obedience, he 
 
 adds this alio \ jdnd the Lord thy God 
 
 will circumcife thy hearty and the heart of thy 
 feed^ to love the Lord thy God with all thine 
 hearty and with all thy fonl^ that thou mayefi 
 live. And the ftile of all the Icriptures both 
 of the old and new teftament, is in the fame 
 analogy ; plainly implying this rite to be an 
 emblem of Ipiritual purity. 
 
 But doubtlefs the main reafon of this in- 
 ftitution was to leparate a peculiar people to 
 the fervice of God, by fuch a diftindion, as 
 fhould demonftrate itfelf to be of divine ori- 
 ginal : as being no otherwife to be accounted 
 
 M 4 for. 
 
1 68 Revelation Emmind^ &c. 
 
 for; and in that demonflration, be a per- 
 petual, a living, and an inerijftahie proof of 
 his covenant with Abraham, And luch a 
 proof it is, as hath confounded the whole 
 infidel world, from the days of Julian the 
 apoftate emperor, to this day ; and will con- 
 tinue to do lb to the day of judgment. Such 
 a proof as infidels have been called upon, 
 challenged, provoked to confute \ : and 
 whether they have confuted it, will be bed 
 feen by ail the objections, which their im- 
 potence hath hitherto railed, with any colour 
 of realon, againfl: it. 
 
 And all thefe feem to be principally 
 founded upon the liiggeftions of Sir John 
 Marjloam : a very learned man of the laft 
 age, from whom, fome late writers, whom I 
 will not prefume to pronounce very unlearn-? 
 ed, have tranlcribed %vithout fcrutiny: and 
 in the natural and unhappy coniequence of 
 
 llich negligence, retailed without truth. 
 
 And therefore leaving thefe lecondary ob- 
 jed:ors to fuch as are at leiliare from matters 
 of more importance, I fhall examine the 
 grounds of this gentleman's conjectures ; and 
 content myfelf with demonftrating them to 
 be very ill founded. 
 
 ^ See Ltjlef% method >yith the deids, and the defence of it. 
 
 In 
 
Revelation Ep<aminJy ace. 169 
 
 In the firft place then, he tells \ us, that 
 Abraham was not circumciled, when he 
 went into Egypt ^ nor in more than 20 years 
 alter ) that his potterity were circumciled 
 both beibre their delcent into Egyptj and 
 during their continuance there ; but were 
 not circumciled for 40 years after, as long as 
 jljojes lived • till Jojbtia caufed them to be 
 circumciled \ and that God approved the 
 adion, laying, CJoJh, v. ^.) This day have I 
 rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off 
 you : from hence 'tis inferred, (not in- 
 deed by this learned author himlelf, tho' he 
 did every thing but m.ake the inference) that 
 this inftitution had fome peculiar regard to 
 Egypt ^ as if it were only pradifed by the 
 children of IJrael^ to make them more agree- 
 able to the Egyptians^ whilft they were 
 amongft them; and therefore neglcded, as 
 loon as they were ieparated from them. 
 
 The anfwer to this infinuation, is obvi- 
 ous : if this rite were pradiied only m com- 
 pliment to the Egyptians^ how it came to be 
 pradiled by the people of God, upon their 
 entrance into Canaan^ when they were whol- 
 ly Ieparated from the Egyptians^ and 
 
 had nothing more to do with them ? > 
 
 5ecul. 5. p. 73. LipfiiX edit. 
 
 this 
 
lyo Revelation Emmind^ &cc. 
 
 this then is a groundlcfs fuggeftion, it being 
 demonftrable tiiat this could not be the rea- 
 Ibn, why that rite was omitted in the wil- 
 dernefs : becaule if it were, the realbn would 
 be much llronger, why it fhould be omitted 
 
 in Jud^a • the true realbn then, of the 
 
 omiffion of this rite in the wildernefs, feems 
 
 plainly to be this ; becaule they were 
 
 then in a ftate of perpetual wandering ; 
 which would make this pradice not only 
 very troublefome, but very dangerous : fince 
 it is known, that wounds demand reft, and 
 fuch perpetual difquiet, and the frequent 
 deaths confequent to it, would be not only 
 a new, but a conftant, and, in truth, a more 
 juftifiablelburce of complaint, againftGod and 
 their leader; — and would, at the fame time, 
 of neceffity deftroy a great number of thole 
 very men, whole fwords were to fubdue the 
 promiled land. And as this realon carries 
 its own evidence with it, I think it may alio 
 be, in Ibme meafure, coUeded from the fifth 
 chapter of J-ofiua^ at the fifth and 6th 
 verles ; ISlow all the people that came out were 
 circumcifed \ hut all the people that were horn 
 in the wildernefs hy the way^ as they came 
 forth out of Egypt ^ them they had not circum- 
 cifed^ for the children of IJrael walked forty 
 
 years in the wildernefs till^ 8Cc. It feemed 
 
 good therefore to Almighty God, to liilpend 
 this rite, in that unlettled fojourning ftate, 
 till the inftant of their entrance into the 
 
 land 
 
Revelation Esam'md^ Sec. lyi 
 
 land of CatJaan^ /. e. till he placed them in 
 the midft of their enemies ; and there they 
 were circumciicd : not by the order of 
 Jojhna^ as it is infinuated in the objedion, 
 but by the cxpreis command of God him- 
 
 felf ; to let them fee, that they were 
 
 under his immediate protection ; for the 
 greateft part of their men of war, w^as by 
 this means utterly dilqualifiied for battle, for 
 ftveral days ^ and if their enemies had come 
 upon them in that condition, they mufl have 
 been deftroyed. And what could hinder their 
 enemies from dcftroying them, but the im-r 
 mediate proteftion of Providence ! and this 
 circumftance, is, (notwithftanding the im- 
 preffions of terror, w^hich God's fignal dry- 
 ing up of Jordan before the children of 
 Jjyael^ had made upon the neighbour nations) 
 a demonftration, that the oblervance of this 
 rite, at that time, could only be in obe- 
 dience to the divine command ; becaule 
 Otherwife, no captain of common fcnle, 
 would enjoin it at that time • fince fuch an 
 injundion, without the immediate appoint- 
 tnent and proteftion of Almighty God, would 
 be in efFeft, to give up himlelf and his 
 people at once, into the power of their ene- 
 mies. Nor would a people, fo obftinate as 
 they were, obey him, without a full allure-, 
 ance of fuch a command. 
 
 N 
 
 o\v 
 
lyi Revelation Examind^ &c. 
 
 Now this rite, being practifed at this time, 
 upon men in maturity, under the exprels 
 declaration of a command from God, every 
 fingle man that received it, was a competent 
 jude;e whether it was adually commanded 
 by God • (and what elfe could obhge them to 
 fubmittoit, in that imminent and immediate 
 Article of danger, is unimaginable) and con- 
 lequently they were competent VvitneiTes to 
 their children, that it was fo commanded. 
 So that the rite was now renewed, with more 
 evidence of divine authority, than even in the 
 original inftitution of it, to Abraham. And 
 this I take to be the true comment upon that 
 command from God to Jojhua^ (which hath 
 been lb much controverted by Men of learn- 
 ing) Jojh. ch, 5. V, 2. At that time the Lord 
 J aid unto Joftiua, make thee Jharp hiivesj and 
 circumcife again the childrefz of Ilrael a fecond 
 time. That is, let this inititution be now 
 publickly and Iblemnly renewed upon you. 
 ■ — Well knov/ing, that after fo lolemn a 
 renewal of it, in thole circumitances, it could 
 never alter become a doubt amongft them,, 
 whether this rite were of divine inftitution. 
 
 But 'tis urged, that God himfelf tells them,, 
 that he had now rolled away the reproach of 
 IL^ypt from off" them^iionx whence 'tis inferred,, 
 that incircumcifion was reproachful among 
 the Egyptians. — I anlwer, that, poffibly^ 
 
 it 
 
Revelation Epiamind^ &:c. 173 
 
 h might • but yet, that, by no means, fol- 
 low's, iiom thoie words ; forj the reproach of 
 Egypt may as well fignity what was reproach- 
 ful to the Egyptians themlelves, as what was 
 reproachibl in their efteem. To illuftrate 
 this by one inftance, among a great number 
 that might be offered. — In the 33d ch. 
 of Jeremiah y v, 15). Ephralm is introduced 
 lamenting in this manner ^ / zvas ajloamed^ yea^ 
 even conjoiinded^ hecaiije I did hear the re^ 
 proach of my youth ; here the reproach of his 
 youth is plainly the reproach to which that 
 youth wasexpofed, the reproach which it had 
 deferved ; and may not the reproach of 
 Egypt be interpreted in the lame analogy, the 
 reproach to which Egypt was cxpoled, the 
 reproach which Egypt had deferved ; and we 
 know, that incircumciiion was that with 
 which the Je-ws reproached other nations. 
 
 Again, it is evident, that the children of 
 Ifrael^ invading Canaan^ from Egypt^ muft 
 be confidered by the Canaanites as Egyptians ; 
 as a race of men who had dwelt in England iox 
 four hundred years, if they wxre to invade 
 France^ would undoubtedly be confidered by 
 the French as EjJgUlbmen ; now we know 
 that nothing could be more reproachful to 
 the children of IJrael^ than to be called by 
 the name of any other people, efpccially that 
 people whom they now moft of ail, and very 
 juftly, detelted, viz. the Egyptians ; and 
 
 therefore 
 
174 Revelation E^amtnd^ 8cc. 
 
 therefore when God had fixed llich a mark up- 
 on them, as would certainly diftinguilh them 
 from the people of Egypt ^ what could be a 
 more natural refledion, on that occafion, than 
 to tell them, that he had vozo taken off' the 
 reproach of Egypt from them, /. e, that they 
 ihould now no longer luffer under the impu- 
 tation of being fugitive and vagabond Egy^-^ 
 t'lans. 
 
 But 'tis urged, by the learned man alrea- 
 dy mentioned, that the Egyptians ufed this 
 rite of circumcifion from the beginning. 
 
 He fays fo indeed, but the queftion is how 
 he proves it ? and, in truth, he does not ^o 
 much as pretend to prove it, otherwife than 
 by the tcftimony of two Greek hiftorians, 
 w^ho exprefly fay lb, — Herodotus^ and Dio^ 
 doriis. — Now, to prove it by the teftimony of 
 Herodotus^ is to prove it by the teftimony 
 of an hiftorian owned to befiibulous, even by 
 the writers of his own country; * who wrote 
 his hiftory, above looo years after Mofes \ 
 and an hiftorian from a country, which did 
 not lb much as know the ufe of letters ^ 'till 
 fix hundred years after Mofes ; and had 
 confeffedly no record, or monument of 
 
 * Vid. Jofepli. contra Apion. Diod Sicul, Lib 
 f Sir iiaac Newton's chronol-'^gv. 
 
 learning 
 
Revelation Emmind^ &c. 175 
 
 learning amongft them, even when he wrote. 
 
 ►^ 'Tis plain then, this author, can have no 
 
 credit from any knowledge of his own, or 
 records of his own country ^ and therefore 
 what he fays upon this head can only reft 
 upon the credit of the Egyptians^ who told him 
 lb. — That is, upon the credit of thole very 
 men, who told himf that, from their firft king 
 to SethoHj the prieft of Vtdcan^ there had pafled 
 1 1 340 years. — That, in that fpace, there had 
 paft juft 341 generations, and juft 341 high 
 prielts, and juft 341 kings ^ and that, in that 
 time, the fun role twice, where it now lets, 
 and let twice where it now riles ; and all this, 
 without caufing any fort of change in Egypt y 
 either with regard to the earth, or the river, 
 or health, or death.— The very lame men who 
 alio told him, ^ that from Diomijbs to Amafisy 
 was 15000 years ^ and that they fpoke this 
 from certain knowledge \ becaule they con- 
 ftantly made exaft computations of time. — 
 And therefore thefum of Sir John Marjbam's 
 Argument, from Herodotus^ is this. 
 
 The Egyptians undoubtedly ufcd circum- 
 clfion from the beginning, becaule a lying 
 hiftorian tells us lb, upon the credit of the 
 moft fnameleis, notorious, abandoned lyars, 
 that ever were heard of in the world. 
 
 t Herod. Lib 2. Ed. Lond, p. 144, 145, 
 ^ ibid. p. 146. 
 
 And, 
 
Iy6 RRYELATioisi E;<ammdy 8cc. 
 
 ^ And, befides all this, it is, I think, fufE- 
 clcntly, demonftrabk, that the £g;;;/7^i./;^j had 
 not circumcilion from the beginning. For 
 the Colchiaiis^ (i. e. the CafJolabhn of Mofes) 
 are allowed to be a colony of the Egyptians \ 
 and the Ph'il'ifihn are the defccndants of the 
 Colchians^ as Mojis affii'ms, and Eochart 
 proves, (and the learned Dr. ^Patrick is of the 
 fame opinion). Now, the PhUiJiim (i. e. the 
 
 PhiUJiines) were not circumciied. The 
 
 fbns were not circumciied, and fhall we believe 
 the fathers were? 'Tis true, the Colchlans 
 were circumciied in the time of Herodotus \ 
 and nothing is more natural than for colonies 
 to derive cuftoms and manners from their 
 mother country : but, I think, it is very evi- 
 dent, that thev were not circumciied when 
 they firft left Egypt ^ (for then the Philiflines 
 would have been circumciied) confequently, 
 that rite was then unknown in Egypt. 
 
 Bbsides, Herodotus tells us, that the Syr'i^ 
 ojis^ and they w^ho live about the river fker- 
 modon^ and Parthenhis^ and their neighbours, 
 the Macrones^ had but very lately (jgwgi) 
 learnt this rite from the Colch'ians, ~- — Had 
 this rite always obtained am.ong the Cokkians^ 
 or as early as the age of Ahraharn^ mcthinks, 
 their example, or authority, or intercourie, 
 or all together, might more naturally have 
 influenced or infected their neighbours fome- 
 
 v> hat 
 
Revelation Exammd, &c, lyy 
 
 what fooner; might have operated upon 
 
 their near neighbours in lefs time than fifteen 
 hundred years. 
 
 But it feems the fame Herodotus tells us 
 * alfo, that the Phceuicicins and Syrians^ who 
 inhabit Palejline, confeffeJ that they learnt 
 
 circumcifion from the Egyptians, ■ and 
 
 poffibly he might have heard fo 5 and what 
 then ? he fays the Pboenicians learned it from 
 the Egyptians ; SanchoniatLo fays, they learnt 
 it from Saturn^ (i, e, as good criticks have 
 made it very probable, from Abraha7n) Which 
 fhall we believe in this cafe ? Shall we believe 
 Herodotus, who knew nothing of the Phoeni- 
 cians'? or Sanchoniatho, who was well-ac- 
 quainted with them ? 
 
 Besides, the Phoenicians -f- were originally 
 Idumceans, as Ammonius affirms ; now, the 
 Idumoeans, beyond all queftion, had circum- 
 cifion, not from the Egyptians, but from Edom, 
 
 But Herodotus tells us, that the Syrians^ 
 who inhabit Palefiiiie, confeiTed, that they 
 
 learnt circumcifion from the Egyptiajis ; »« 
 
 and poffibly, they did confels this in his 
 time : but the queftion is, who thefe were. 
 Now Sir Jh.ac Newton hath fhev/n (nor 
 
 ^^mmmmmmmmi^ ^ — — — ^— i ■■ i . i ■ ■ i *■ 
 
 * I J d. p. 117. 
 
 f Others thjik. the Jews Were now known by the name of 
 Phoenicians. Sec Bochart. Vhd. 1. 4, c. 34. 
 
 Vot.II. N 'i3 
 
178 Revelation Examlnd^ Sec. 
 
 is this among his fingularities) that Herodotus 
 was contemporary with Nehcmiahy (Hehiciis 
 places him a little earlier, viz, in the time of 
 the captivity) and every one knows, that the 
 Jews were then only rebuilding the city of 
 'Jeriifalem ; and that the people who inha- 
 bited Palejime at that time, were not Jews^ 
 but a mongrel race, fettled there by Salma- 
 72ajjir^ when the ten tribes were carried away 
 
 into captivity ; a race of men who were 
 
 at mortal enmity with the ye-ws-, and doubt- 
 lefs would rather afcribe the origine of any of 
 their cuftoms, to any nation, under heaven, 
 than to that nation, whom thev detefted above 
 all others ! and no man of common fenfe, who 
 knows any thing of the Jews^ and how much 
 they glory, and ever have gloried, in their fa- 
 ther Abraham^ will ever believe, that any one 
 of them, from the foundation of the world, 
 ever owned or imagined this rite derived to them 
 otherwife than from him 5 or from him, other- 
 wife than by the exprefs command of God 5 
 "^ and therefore the learned man above-men- 
 tioned can ilirely derive but little honour from 
 an opinion fupported by fuch teftimony. 
 
 ^ Th„t circumcilion was divinely inftitured, appears (I think) 
 toademonftrarion, even f. om the fuperftition of the Egyptims^ 
 ' rhey paid an uncommon veneration to a certain kind 
 
 of ape ainonglt them, who wanted the prepucCj upon a firm 
 perfualion, that this was owing to the immediate appointment 
 
 of Almighty God. What can be m;ire clearly implied in 
 
 this, than afiim perfualion, that circumcifion was originally of 
 diviao inftitution? 
 
 But 
 
Revelation Exammdy &c. 17^ 
 
 But 'tis further urged, that Diodorus Sicu-^^ 
 lus ■* alfo fays, that the yews were a colony 
 from the 'Egyptians^ and learnt circumciiioa 
 from them. 
 
 'Tis owned, he does; but then it muft ahb 
 be owned, on the other hand, that he exprefly 
 reports this upon the credit of the Egyptians 
 themfelves, who never yet ftuck at any 
 iidlion or falihood, how fhocking and mon- 
 jftrous foever, which they imagined could 
 aggrandize their nation 5 and, as they were 
 fufficiently infamous on this fcore, long be- 
 fore Diodorus was acquainted with them^ 
 fo 'tis certain that they had in no degree re- 
 covered their credit in his time , but were 
 rather much improved in lying, as Sir Ifaac 
 Newfoji very judicioufly obferves ; and there- 
 fore this teftimony, being upon the fame 
 foundation with that of Herodotus^ deferves 
 juft the fame regard, /. e, juft the fame con- 
 tempt. 
 
 Besides, It being notorious, that the Jew^ 
 came out from Egypt ^ what could be m.or6 
 natural, in the eftimation of any hiftorianj 
 who knew this, without knowing the cir- 
 cumftances of their living there, as a diftindl 
 
 f L. I. jp-17. 
 
 N % people^ 
 
1 80 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 people, and their departure thence, under the 
 nianifeft protecftion of God, than to conclude, 
 that they were an Egyptia?i colony ? And, 
 being fo deemed, whatever mftitutions they 
 were found to obferve, in common with Egyft^ 
 would very naturally be judged to be derived 
 from thence 5 and it is undeniable that Strabo 
 judged it thus; for, fpeaking of the pracftice 
 of circumcifion peculiar to the Egyptians^ 
 
 * he adds, which the Jews do, by their 
 
 law, who were antiently Egyptians, 
 
 But, it feems, Philo defends this rite of 
 his religion, from the pradice of the Egyp- 
 tioJis^ a great and wife nation ; but fays not 
 one word of its being derived to them from 
 the Jews, 
 
 That is, Fhilo^ a wife man, (a man of 
 the world) who had confiderable tranfadtions 
 with the heathen world, defended this rite 
 of his religion in fuch a manner, as would 
 bring moft credit to that practice, and, at the 
 fame, time, give no offence, to thofe he dealt 
 with; whereas, had he infifted upon this 
 rite's being derived to the Egyptians^ from 
 the Jews^ he had offended the heathen world 
 without bringing any advantage, either to his 
 
 * He diftinguiflies two operations of this kind, in ufe with 
 the Egyptians, circumcilion of the males, and cxcifion of the 
 females. 
 
 country^, 
 
Revelation Examlndy See. 1 8 1 
 
 country, or the rite he would defend, . 
 
 which would, perhaps, be left reverenced, if 
 it were believed to be originally theirs. 
 
 Besides, Pbi/Oy perhaps, knew little of the 
 true origine of this rite among the Egyptiaiis : 
 it might have been derived from J^ffph (as 
 the yews generally believe it was) ; it might 
 have been derived from ipmiael^ or the fons 
 of Kcturah : perhaps, he did not know how 
 it was derived ; or, if he did, he did not cire 
 to tell. — And furely it will always be found 
 a very weak and injudicious way, to attempt 
 to overthrow any truth, by arguments drawn 
 from the ignorance, or prudential filence of 
 
 its defenders, from whence nothing cam 
 
 be inferred to its difadvantage. 
 
 I N the laft place, 'tis objeded, that yofe-- 
 phus^ quoting the teftimony of Herodotus^ 
 againft Apion^ owns, that the Jews did cir- 
 cumcife \ but makes no objecftion to that hiflo- 
 rian s account of the origine of this rite. 
 
 In anfwer to this, I cannot but obferve 
 with concern, that I never faw a !efs candid 
 reprefentation pf any point than this ; would 
 not any man that heard the objedlion, believe 
 that Apio7i had charged the Jenjjs with having 
 learnt this rite from the Egyptians ? and that 
 Jofephus was filent under the charge, and, 
 
 N 3 con- 
 
i8z Revelation Examind, &cc. 
 
 confequently, in effeft, owned it ? This is 
 certainly what any reader would apprehendj 
 at firft fight ; and yet, upon enquiry, nothing 
 in nature can be more injurious or unjuft ; 
 for, in fad:, j^pion never objeded any fuch 
 thing to him, and confequently, Jo/ephus had 
 no occafion to anfvver an olDJeftion which 
 had never been made to him. 
 
 The cafe was this; Apion^ among other 
 calumnies, upbraided the Jews with being 
 an obfcure and upftart race, unknown to 
 the Greek hiftorians "*. In anfwer to this, 
 after Jofephus hath fufficiently fhewn his 
 contempt of the Greeks-^ their Ignorance, 
 and the caufes of it, yet to confute this 
 calumny of his adverfary, he proves from 
 quotations out of every one of the Greek 
 hiftorians of note, that the Jews were not 
 unknown to them; and, after fome others, 
 he mentions Herodotus^ in this manner; -j-* 
 Neither was Herodotus of Halicarnaflus igJio-^ 
 rant of our nation^ but feems to have men- 
 tioned 'em after a fajlnon^ and then proceeds 
 to quote that paflage from him, where he 
 fays, that tlie Syrians who inhabit Palejline^ 
 
 learnt circumcifion from the Egyptians ; . 
 
 now, fays "Jofephus^ the Jews are the only 
 
 * Vide Jofeph, cont. ^pion, I. i, p. 1325. issj*. edit.Oxon. 
 
 i Ibid. p. 1 345-. 
 
 inha- 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. i 8 5 
 
 inhabitants of Paleftine^ that circumcife ! and 
 from thence he infers, that Herodotus had 
 ahb heard of his nation, and made mention 
 of them. 
 
 The queftion was not, whether Herodotus 
 mentioned them right or wrong, but whether 
 he knew them, or mentioned them at all ? 
 The point in debate was, whether the "Jews 
 were known to the Greek hiftorians -, and 
 yofephus proves they were, becaufe they all 
 mentioned them : his bufinefs was not to dif- 
 pute, whether they had given right accounts 
 of 'em, but to prove that they knew them ; 
 and when that was once made out, Apion^ 
 calumny, that they were an ohfcure^ upjlart 
 
 race^ was fo far confuted. Jofephuss dif- 
 
 pute, was not with Herodotus^ but wiiaylpion-^ 
 confequently his bufinefs was not to confute 
 Herodotus, but to confute Apion : and when 
 he had confuted him, he had no more to 
 
 do : efpecially confidering that he had 
 
 already fully declared his fenfe in this point, 
 in his hiftory, to which he refers the reader, 
 in the introdudlion to this difcourfe. But at 
 the fame time, 'tis fufficiently infinuated in 
 this very pafiage from yofephus, that Hero- 
 dotus, tho' he had heard of the Jews, (as 
 Jofephus erroneoufly concludes from that paf- 
 fage) yet he knew little of them : he feems to 
 have mentioned us (fays he) after a fafion \ 
 an expreffion, which plainly implies, that 
 N 4 J°S'- 
 
184 Revelation Exammdj Sec. 
 
 yojiphus had an utter contempt of his igno- 
 rance on this head: (nay, it implies more; 
 
 it impUes, that Jofephus was under fome 
 
 doubt, whether they really were the people 
 which Herodotus fpoke of.) And doubtlefs, 
 this was one reafon, why he elfewhere 
 treats Kerodotus as an hiftorian of little cre- 
 dit even with his own countrymen ; as in 
 fadl he was. 
 
 All the inference I would draw from 
 hence, is, that we fhould not haftily adopt 
 the opinions, even of men of great learning, 
 without weighing the reafons on which they 
 are built : — — neither fliould we adopt any 
 opinions of men, in oppofition to the will of 
 
 God fufficiently revealed ; forafmuch as 
 
 the wijdom of men is fooliJJmefs with God ; 
 and the moft refined and folid judgments 
 they ever yet made, weighed with the divine 
 declarations and decifions in the fcriptures, 
 will, upon the balance, be found lighter than 
 vanity. 
 
 But we are told by fome very ingenious 
 writers on the fide of irreligion, that the opi- 
 nion of circumcifions being derived from 
 the Egyptians to the JewSy is the more pro- 
 bable^ becaufe it was not till after the Lord 
 had ordered Mofes into Egypt, that the 
 Lord met him by the way iii the inn, and 
 
 fought 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. i S 5 
 
 fought to kill him for not circumcifing his 
 child. 
 
 The force of the argument (lands thus; 
 
 Mofes is fent by God, to the children of 
 
 Ifraely to deUver them from fcrvitude and 
 
 captivity, by a high hand, by inflifting 
 
 calamities and judgments of various kinds, 
 upon the Egyptians ! and therefore, in order 
 to qualify him for that employment, he ob- 
 liged him to execute a rite upon his ion, 
 which was not to recommend him to the 
 
 JfraeliteSy but to the Egyptiam : not to 
 
 recommend him to the Ijraclites^ whom he 
 was to affemble, to exhort, and to condud ; 
 but to recommend him to the Egyptians^ 
 whom he was to terrify, to afflidl, and to 
 
 deftroy ; this is reafoning, I muft con- 
 
 fefs, of a very uncommon caft ; and, I 
 frankly own, that the man who fees the 
 force of it, 10 the advantage of its authors 
 caufe, hath a fagacity very fu perior to any 
 
 thing I can pretend to: now I fliould 
 
 very naturally conclude, that a fon of Ahrn- 
 ham^ who was fent to the fons of Abraham^ 
 under the exprefs charader of a mellengcr 
 from the God of Abraham, to be their deli- 
 verer, leader, and lav/-giver, mufl come 
 very ill recommended under every one of 
 thofe charadlers, if he were found himfelf to 
 jive in an open negled: of that inftitution, and 
 open difobedience to that command, givrn 
 
 by 
 
1 86 Rev elation Examhidj &c. 
 
 by God himfelf to Abrdha77i ! and that there- 
 fore, there was an abfolute neccffity that his 
 fon fhould be circumcifed. 
 
 But then I muft own, that this is not 
 thinking freely ; becaufe *tis thinking, as I 
 am neceffarily tied down to think, from the 
 nature and reafon of things. 
 
 Thus far, I think, 'tis evident that there 
 is no folid or jull: foundation either from 
 antiquity, or the circumcifion of Mojh\ fon, 
 to believe that circumcifion had its rife among 
 
 the 'Egyptians. And befides all this, I 
 
 think it demonftrable from the fcripture, that 
 it was not known in Egypt ^ when Abraham 
 was there. 
 
 For we find, that when this rite was en- 
 joined him by God Almighty, about twenty 
 years after he left F^gypt, he acftualiy circum- 
 cifed every male in his houfe; now we know, 
 that he brought men-fervants and maid-fer- 
 vants with him, from Egypt \ whether they 
 were prefents made to him (as was ufual in 
 thofe times) , or purchafcs made there, by 
 him, is not fo clear from the text ; the text 
 fays, he had them, but does not fay, how: 
 
 Now, I think, it cannot well be fup- 
 
 pos'd, that all thefe Egyptian men-fervants 
 died within twenty years,- — when the or« 
 dinary period of life was^ at leaft^ a hun- 
 dred 
 
Revelation Exanmd, &cc. \ 87 
 
 dred years ; or, if we fuppofe that they all 
 died within this period ; we can't well fup- 
 pofe that they all died without fome male 
 iifue ; efpecially in fo prolifick a family as 
 that of Abraham was ; and yet unlefs thefe 
 two ftrange fuppofitions are taken for grant- 
 ed, 'tis evident that circumcifion was not 
 known in Egypt ^ in Abrahams time ; be- 
 caufe every male of his houfe w^as circum- 
 cifed, when he himfelf was ; confequently 
 thofe Egyptian fervants, and their defccn- 
 dants were then circumcifed alfo ; which 
 could not be, if they had undergone that 
 rite, before : now the text fays, that Abra- 
 ham took Jfimael his Jon ^ and all that were 
 born 171 his hoiife^ and all that were bought 
 with his money ; and left this fliould not be 
 thought to take in his whole family, it adds, 
 
 every male among the men of Abrahanis 
 
 hoiife^ and circuincifed the fejh of their fore--, 
 skin^ in the felf-Jdme day as God had Jaid 
 unto him. 
 
 If it be asked, why circumcifion was or- 
 dained on the eighth day from the child's 
 birth ? I think, we may anfwer (with- 
 out pretending to know every reafon of this 
 circumftance, or precluding any) that an 
 obfervation of Arijhtles, fufficiently juftifies 
 the w^ifdom of this appointment : he tells uz^y 
 (in the feventh book of his hiftory of ani- 
 mals) that mojt infants die before the frcenth 
 
1 8 8 Revelation Examlnd^ Sec. 
 
 day\ and that for that reafon mm gave them 
 names on that da)\ as then confiding mere in 
 their health. Had God appointed circumci- 
 iion earlier, the ordinary mortality of chil- 
 dren, from other caufes, antecedent to this 
 period, had infallibly been imputed to this 
 
 rite ; and had he deferred it much longer, 
 
 the growing fondnefs of parents, would often 
 delay, and perhaps, in the end, defeat the 
 inftitution. 
 
 It being now, I hope, fufficlently appa- 
 rent that Abraham did not learn this rite 
 from the Egyptians^ I beg leave to add an- 
 other obfervation ; and that is, that this rite, 
 as it was pradlifed among the Jews^ was, in 
 all probability, no rite among the Egyptians^ 
 
 at the time of Mofes% birth: this, I 
 
 think, appears from the conduct and expref- 
 lions of Pharaoh's daughter, upon finding 
 
 Mofes in the ark : that he was then cir- 
 
 cumcifed, is out of all doubt ; becaufe he was 
 a goodly (that is, a hale, beautiful) child of 
 three months old ; and that Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter knew him to be fo, is, I thinks fuffici- 
 ently evident from the words of the text ; 
 (Exod, ch. VI. 6,) ylnd when fie had opened y 
 (the Englifi tranflation adds, /V, but it is not 
 in the original) fide j aw the child^ and behold 
 the babe wept, and fid e had co7npa[jion on him, 
 and faidy I'^his is one of the Hebrew s chil- 
 dren. Take then the import of thefe words^ 
 
 added 
 
Revjelation Exammdj &c. 1 89 
 
 added to the curiolity, natural, and reafon- 
 able, and fuch, I believe, as never was left 
 unfatisfied on fuch an occafion, and, I think, 
 we muft fairly conclude, that this lady knew 
 Mofes to be a Hebrew child by the fign of cir- 
 cumcifion, which diilinguiihed the Hebrew 
 children, from thofe of the Egypiiaiis, 
 
 Some indeed imagine, that Fharaoh\ 
 daughter knew him to be a Hebrew child ^ 
 merely from jSnding him in the river : be- 
 caufe her father had commanded all the male 
 children of the Hebrews to be thrown into 
 the river (Exod,\- 22.): but, I own, I can't 
 
 fee the force of this argument, becaufe 
 
 Pharaoh commanded all the male children 
 of the Hebrews to be drowned, therefore a 
 child found in the river, in a condition to 
 be moft efFed:ually preferved from drowning, 
 was known by that mark, to be a Hebrew 
 child. 
 
 Besides, whoever confiders the ftile, in 
 which Pharaolfs daughter fpe:iks of him, 
 muft fee, that (lie knew his fex. 
 
 Since then it appears, that the Egyptians 
 were ftrangcrs to all circumcifion when Abra-- 
 
 ham praftifed this rite, and when the CoU 
 
 chians came out from them, — -and to infant 
 circumcifion when Mojes was born ; the only 
 
 queflioa 
 
1 po Revelation Exammd, 8cc. 
 
 queftion now remaining is^ how they came 
 by it ? 
 
 And a]l this is very clearly to be account-* 
 ed for, from the fcriptures, joined to the ac- 
 counts of the Greek hiftorians : Herodotus tells 
 us, that it was doubtful, whether the Egyp-^ 
 tiam learned this rite from the Ethiopians^ or 
 the Ethiopians from them ; and Diodoria tells 
 us *5 that the Egyptians learned their laws 
 and cuftoms from the Ethiopians: Herodotus 
 notes alfo, that there was a tradition, that the 
 antient Egypt was only that part of it, which 
 was then, and is now, known by the name of 
 Delta ; that all the reft of the country fo 
 called, belonged originally to Arabia and 
 Ethiopia, And nothing is more credible than 
 this : fince all kingdoms were originally very 
 fmall ; and extended by degrees ; and 'tis well 
 known, that the antient Ethiopia^ is parr of 
 that country, fince known by the name of 
 Arabia : indeed Strabo, who wrote later, fup- 
 pofes its antient dimenfions to be much larger, 
 iriz, from Syenne to the Mediterranean : but 
 then he adds, that all the region on the left- 
 hand of the Nile-, that is, from thence to the 
 Si?2us Arabicus^ was Arabia : and that Helio- 
 folis was in Arabia : — — Now Mofes tells us, 
 in the 25th chapter of Genejis^ that IJJmtaer^ 
 fens dwelt from Havilah unto Shur^ which i$- 
 
 — I ' > " ' I ■ n il ii m i n i 'i.. II ■ ■■ ^ . 
 
 * L. 2. 
 
 before 
 
Kev EL ATio !<i Exammd, &c. ipf 
 
 (pefore Egypt. His wife was an Egyptian^ 
 
 as was his mother j and probably his fons 
 matched there : and nothing is clearer from 
 the accounts of fcripture, joined to thofe of 
 antiquity, as well as later writers, than that 
 his defcendants (in procefs of time) poffefTed 
 themfelves of all the Arabia s^ which com- 
 prehended Ethiopia, and a great part of the 
 prefent Egypt ^ (at leaft, fo far poffefled them- 
 felves of them, that the other nations, who 
 were originally mixed with them, were fwaU 
 
 lowed up in theirs) and can it be a rea- 
 
 fonable doubt, whether they introduced this 
 rite of their religion, where-ever they fet- 
 tled ! tho' 'tis polTible, that as the Egyptians 
 expulfed thefe IJJjrnaelites^ the rites they in- 
 troduced were, in a great meafure, negledled 
 or aboliflied. But that the Tjhnaelites did 
 introduce this rite where-ever they prevailed, 
 can fcarce be doubted, when 'tis known they 
 fo ftridly adhere to it to this day y and the 
 reafon of this adherence is evident, becaufe 
 Ijhmael, (and his mother) who taught it 
 them, certainly knew that it came from God ; 
 and in confequence of that certain know- 
 ledge, inculcated it carefully into all his de- 
 fcendants. And when we fee them fo re- 
 
 ligioufly adhere to it, to this day, can it be 
 doubted whether they eftabliflied it in Egypt ^ 
 if the greateft part of Egypt was afterwards 
 in their poffeffion? as in all probability it 
 was 5 and if it was doubtful to Herodotus^ 
 R whether 
 
1 9 2. Revelation Et<amindy &cc. 
 
 whether the Egygtians learned it from the 
 Ethiopia72Sy or the Etbiopiaiis from them, can 
 it be a doubt with any candid man of com- 
 mon fenfe, which of 'em pracftifed it origi- 
 nally : who fees the tefthnony of Diodorus^ 
 and the only rational account of this rite's 
 being derived to the Ethiopians^ from an 
 hiftorian vallly more antient, and upon all 
 accounts infinitely more authentick^ than 
 Herodotus. 
 
 Or fuppofe it not fully eftabliflied there 
 by the poflerity of Ifimaely can we doubt 
 whether it might eaiily be eftablifhed by 
 jfofephy in the courfe of the moft abfolute 
 miniftry that ever was heard of, for fourfcore 
 years together? 
 
 W E know that in the firft fourteen years 
 of that period, he reduced the whole king- 
 dom into the abfolute power of his mafter ^ 
 their goods, their lands, their perfons, were 
 ■FharaoHs^ /. e. in effedl were Jofeph'Sy ■ 
 as far as his vertue would fuffer him to em- 
 ploy them ; and is it not the known pracftice, 
 nay, is it not the pride of flaves, to imitate 
 their mailer's manners, if he feems any way 
 folicitous to have them do fo ? Can it be doubt- 
 ed that the Egyptians would eafily embrace 
 the religious rites, of fo great, fo wife, fo ab- 
 folute a minifter, who had preferved every 
 one of their lives ; who had faved the whole 
 
 king- 
 
Revelation Examindj &c. i^^ 
 
 kingdom from ruin, and was himfclf fo vU 
 (ibly and remarkably guided by the fpirit of 
 God* 
 
 If circumcifion then was fo early efta- 
 blifhed in Egypt^ 'tis evident to the meaneft 
 capacity, that thefe are the only rational 
 ways of accounting for that eftablifliment*. 
 Efpecially if it be confidered yet farther, 
 that Jojeph married the daughter of an Egyp- 
 tian prieft, Jlfenath^ the daughter of Pott^ 
 pherah^ prieft of 0;;f : and this, in the heighth 
 of his power and grandeur ! when he might 
 eafily make it one condition of his marriage, 
 that all the males of that family, into which 
 he married, fliould be circumcifed. And 
 can any thing be more probable, than that 
 he did io^ when his brethen made the fame 
 a neceffary condition of giving their filler 
 Dinah to Slot c hem ^ the fon of Hamor^ in 
 marriage, when they were very far from 
 being upon equal terms with Shechem^ who 
 had before defiled their filler, and in whole 
 land they dwelt ? much lefs were they upon 
 fuperior terms with him, as Jofeph was very 
 fuperior to any fubjed of Egypt ^ at the 
 
 * There are fome memorials of Jofeph ftill extant in ^gypi 
 his granaries and the priibn v/hcrc he was confined ; and learned 
 men have concluded, with much appearance oi truth, that the 
 chief antient religious rites, were originally memorials ot 
 him. See Stillingjlcefs origims facr^. 
 t Gen. xli. 45-. 
 
 Vol. II. O ^*i^^ 
 
194 Revelation Examind^Scc. 
 
 time of his marriage ; yet under thefc 
 
 difadvantages the ions of jfacob infilled on 
 this condition ; * /Ve cannot (faid they) do 
 this things to give our Ji(ier to one that is tin^ 
 circumctfed ; for that were a reproach unto 
 us. But in this will we conjent unto you : if 
 ye will he as we be^ that every male of you be 
 circumcijedy then we will give our daughters 
 unto yoUy and we will take your daughters to 
 usy and we will dwell with yoUy and will he-- 
 come one people. Now if this was their true 
 fenfe, (as it certainly might be, tho' they 
 dealt deceitfully in the condud of this affair) 
 and as it unqueftionably was their father 
 Jacob's fincere fenfe of the matter, muft not 
 the fame fenfe be much ftronger in Jofephy 
 a man of fuperior piety to them all ? and 
 would he give himfcif, endowed with all 
 the power and grandeur of Egypty and what 
 is more, with the fpirit of God, in marriage 
 to an uncircumcifed family, upon terms lefs 
 advantageous, than his brethren would give 
 a fifter who was defiled ? Let any man judge 
 if this be credible ! 
 
 It was certainly very natural for the Jews 
 to conclude, that if their fervants, bought 
 with their money of ftrangers, muft be cir- 
 cumcifed, much more fliould they, with 
 
 * Gen. xxxiv. 14 1 5", 16. 
 
 whom 
 
Revelation Examindy Sec. 1 9 5: 
 
 whom they entered into the clofeft and moft 
 
 intimate alliance, by marriage. And as 
 
 for any fingularity in the praftice of this rite, 
 among the Egvptians^ different from the 
 pradice of the Jews^ fingularities in all rites 
 of religion, (/. e. departures and variations 
 from their true original inflicution and man- 
 ner) are common in all countries ; and lefs 
 to be wondered at among the Egypt tans ^ than 
 any other people • for as they affefted to be 
 thought to have learnt nothing from any 
 other nation, that affedlatlon would naturally 
 urge them to vary their rites, into the greateft 
 difference they could, from the pradice of 
 others. 
 
 To confirm this account yet farther, let it 
 be obferved, that, in fad, the priefts of 
 Egypt were circumciied, even as low as the 
 timt of J-ofephus \ io^ yojephus refuting the 
 calumnies of Jlplon againft the Jewtflo obler- 
 vances, and among others, againft circumci- 
 fion, and abflinencc from fwine's flclh, has 
 thefe words ; * If^^^^y one (1:10 aid ask him (i. e. 
 jipiou) whom he thbiks the wijef} and moji 
 pioas of the Egyptians^ he zvonid certainly con- 
 fejs the pnejis to be fo^ for thefe two th'ings 
 are enjoined them by the kings from the begin- 
 ning \ the worjhip of the gods, and the fndy 
 
 
1 96 Revelation Examindy &c. 
 
 of wifdom ; mw they are all circumcifed^ and 
 abjialn from fwhies pefl?. And then he ex- 
 pofes the folly and blindnefs of Apon^ in 
 objeding that to the Jews^ as a reproach, 
 which the wifeft of his own countrymen 
 pradifed. If this rite had been then, or even 
 originally, praftifed by all the Egyptians^ I 
 fhould think Jo/ephus would as naturally 
 have retorted the reproach upon Apton from 
 the pradice of the Egyptians in general^ as 
 Apwn would have declined urging it. 
 
 Besides, I think it demonftrable both 
 from Jeremiah^ ix. 25, 2(5. and Ezekiel^ xxxi. 
 18. that xht Egyptians \w QIC not univerfally 
 
 circumcifed in their time : for tho' there 
 
 is a difficulty in the conftrudion of the 25th 
 verfe of that cliapter of Jere^nlah^ yet the 
 laft words of the next verfe put this point 
 out of all dilpute, viz. For all thefe 7iations 
 (i. e. Egypt ^ &c.) are uncircumcifedy and all 
 the houjh of Ijracl are unc'ircumcijed in heart : 
 From which words, 'tis evident, that the 
 Egyptians were uncircumxifcd in the flefh : 
 — -the fame thing is alfo evident from the 
 cited pafTage of Ezekiel ; where Pharoahy 
 and all his nialtitride^ are confidered as un- 
 circumcifed : and unlefs thefe affertions were 
 notorioufly true, 'tis incredible how thefe 
 prophets could deliver them to a people, 
 who could not but know that they were 
 notorioufly falfe. 
 
 The 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. \ p/ 
 
 The great prejudice that blinds and byaflcs 
 the minds of men upon this point, is, that 
 the Egyptians were a great and flourifhing 
 people when the Greeks firft fpeak of the 
 iiibfiftence of this rite amongft them, and 
 the yews nothing like fo confiderabie ; and 
 therefore they think it highly improbable, 
 that the proud Egyptians fliould derive this 
 practice from the (comparatively) poor Jews: 
 
 ' ^ but there is a grofs delufion that runs 
 
 thro' all this reafoning ; —the Egyptians were 
 a very great people in the time of Herodotus^ 
 but it was impoilible they could be a very 
 great people in the time of Abraham^ /. e, 
 
 when circumcifion had its origine ; ^there 
 
 could be no fuch thing as a great empire in 
 
 that early age of the world, nor till long 
 
 after ; and that this rite obtained early amongft 
 them, ftiould feem probable, inafmuch as 
 they vaunted it to have obtained always. 
 
 They alfo forget, that all the mofl: au- 
 thentick accounts of antiquity, fuppofe the 
 Egyptians inftruded by Abraham^ not Abra" 
 
 ham by them, ■ derive all their learning 
 
 and wifdom from Abraham : and, at the 
 fame time, fhew him not only to have con- 
 temned their religious rites, but even to have 
 
 convinced themfelves of their abfurdity * 
 
 as fliall be feen hereafter. 
 
 O 3 Lastly, 
 
98 Revelation Exammd^ &:c. 
 
 Lastly, they forget, that it is utterly 
 irrational, and without the leaH: found ;tioii 
 either of proof or probability, to fuppofe 
 this rite of circumcifion, to be of human in^- 
 ftitution. 
 
 In one word, the only rational conclu- 
 fions that can be drawn from a thorough and 
 a candid examination of this matter are thefe 
 three : 
 
 F/rfi^ That circumcifion was demonftra-^ 
 bly of divine inftitution. 
 
 Secondly^ That the Egyptian priefts, in 
 all probability, learned it either from Ijhmael 
 or "Jojeph. 
 
 ^hirdl)\ That the bulk of the people (if 
 they ufed it) fell late into the practice. 
 
 The reader hath here a candid and clear 
 ftate of this controverfy : together with the 
 plain, obvious, (and, as I think, unanfwer- 
 able) reafons, of my opinion upon this fub- 
 jed ; and if any man fhall attempt to refute 
 thefe plain reafons, for believing (as I firmly 
 do) that circumcifion was originrlly infti- 
 
 tuted by God, (Commanded firft to 
 
 Abraham^ and from him derived by his fons 
 and fervants to other nations^ and can find 
 
 any 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 99 
 
 any new matter, or room for opppofing mc 
 with candor and integrity upon the point, I 
 promife his arguments the moft fincere and 
 ferious confideration I am capable of; tho' 
 it fliould end in a publick retractation of what 
 I am now fatisfied to be the truth. 
 
 04 
 
 D I s- 
 
2 oo Rev elation Examindy Sec 
 
 Dissertation IV. 
 
 Of the dejlni£iion of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah. 
 
 In the 1 8th chapter of Genefis^ is 
 recorded a converfation, between 
 ^hraham^ and that glorious Being 
 before whom he confidered him- 
 lelf as duft and ajhesy concerning 
 
 the deftruftion of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
 
 In this converfation, Abraham is reprefented 
 interceding for that abandoned people, with 
 fuch ftrength of reafon, and fo clear a fenfe 
 of divine juftice, with fuch fortitude in de- 
 fence of innocence, and yet fuch infinite de- 
 ference to the great Judge before whom he 
 
 pleaded ; with fuch a mixture of humility 
 
 and humanity, of wifdom and of virtue, fo 
 right a temperament of fpirit; as renders his 
 character, the moft amiable and exalted, that 
 can well be imagined among mankind. 
 
 In 
 
Revelation Examind^ &cc. 201 
 
 In difcourfing upon this fubjcft, I fhall 
 enquire, 
 
 FirJ}^ What ends of divine wifdom were 
 anfwered by recording this whole relation, 
 
 and conveying it down to future ages. 
 
 And, 
 
 Secondly^ I shall enquire, what evidence 
 there is, that the cities of Sodom and Gomor- 
 rah were deftroyed in the manner here 
 related by Mofes. 
 
 And doubtlefs one end of infinite wifdom 
 in recording this relation, was, to fhew 
 jibraham*^ charafter, in fuch a light, as 
 might leave every man of common fenfe, a 
 competent judge of the amiablenefs and ex- 
 cellence of it. 
 
 For fince it feemed good to Almighty 
 God to diftinguifh ylbraham with lingular 
 and eminent marks of his favour, and lince 
 God forefaw at the fame time, that the info- 
 lence of vain men would charge this conducl 
 
 with partiality * j nothing could better 
 
 become 
 
 * On account of his having, as they imagine, no diftinguifhcd 
 merit or title to the divine favours above other men. 
 
 The inftances of this kind, are from fuch trifling writers, as 
 I am almoil afiiamed to quote: the main objedtion to him, is, 
 
 his 
 
102 Revelation Examind, 8cc. 
 
 become his wifdotn, than to convey fuch an 
 account of yfbraham to fntiire ages, as fhould 
 demonftrate to every candid and confidering 
 man, that a great variety of excellent en- 
 dowments, every virtue that can adorn, or 
 cxait the human nature, were centered in 
 him! and of coniequence, rendered him the 
 fitteft objed of the divine favour, that can 
 be imagined. 
 
 Th^ precedent accounts of him, fufficiently 
 ihew, his piety, his prudence, and modera- 
 tion ; and now comes on another relation, 
 which fcts forth his hofpitality, his tem- 
 perance, his humanity, his humility, his 
 
 liis want of veracity m calling his wife his fifter, in a ftrangc 
 country : moft abiurdly making him accountable for all the ac- 
 cidental confcqucnces of fuch a condu6l : ■ -^ ■ and this is to me 
 n fcrong argument of the high opinion tliefe men muft have 
 (at heart) of Al^raham's charadler, when fuch an imputation as 
 this is fo urged and aggravated agaiaft him. ■ He is, I bc- 
 
 iieve, the full, and only mortal, that ever was charged with 
 immorality, for difguifmg his true charadler in a ftrange couiv- 
 try y which was no way injured by the difguife, nor had any 
 light to the knowledge of more truth concerning him ; efpe- 
 dally, when there was not fo much as a verbal fallhood in the 
 
 alfcrtion ,- fne being, in truth, his lifter, according to the 
 
 idom of language in thofe early ages ; tho* not inceituoufly, 
 at once his wife and his filler (/. e, the immediate daughter of 
 the fame father or mother, in which cafe only he could be guilty 
 of inccd) as fome have allertcd, from the force either of un- 
 common Ignorance, or effrontery! ■ And 1 muft own, that 
 v/rircrs on the fide ot revelation, have, I think, taken more 
 
 pains to confute liich cavilers than they deierve. A cir- 
 
 cumftance more juftly exceptionable in this great man's cha- 
 raifter, fliall, with Gcd's aftiftance., be candidly confidcred iu its 
 proper phcc, 
 
 for- 
 
Revelation Examindy &cc. 205 
 
 fortitude : and all thefe fet off, with fuch 
 light of reafon, fuch integrity of heart, fuch 
 fimplicity of manners, and fuch beauty and 
 skill of addrefs, as enabled him to cxpoftu- 
 late with his Maker, not only with a decency, 
 but alfo with a dignity not to be defcribed. 
 
 Had Mo/es only given this charafter of 
 ^hrahaniy in the abftraft, bcfides that it had 
 been cold and unaffeftixig, there had been 
 then nothing in it, fufficiently diftinguifhed 
 from what pride and partiality have fincc 
 afcribed to other men, or, if there had, 
 would not the fame vanity, which now ob- 
 jefts, and upbraids, think itfelf then entitled 
 to doubt, or disbelieve ? To ask,^ how- 
 all this appears? And why Mofes did not 
 relate the fads upon which he founded his 
 opinion, and leave his readers to pronounce 
 upon them ? and to infer as they found rea- 
 fon? 
 
 Now this is what Mofes aftually hath 
 done; conveying Ahrahan*^ character, to 
 us, in the fimplicity, of fuch ihort and na- 
 tural relations, in a plain account of fuch apt 
 addrefs, and fo generous a behaviour, as can- 
 not fail to affeft every heart, not yet har- 
 dened by inhumanity, or made infenfible by 
 jnfolence \ at the fame time placing it in a 
 jight, fo amiable, and fo exalted, as hath 
 
 never 
 
204 Revelation Examind, &cc. 
 
 never yet been reached by all the pomp of 
 eloquence, and all the paint of flattery. 
 
 And here I miift obferve, that if Mo/es 
 is not admitted to be a writer infpired by 
 God, yet he muft be allowed, upon many 
 accounts, the greateft genius this world ever 
 faw ! even the hiilorical parts of his write- 
 ings, never yet were, nor ever will be 
 equalled. 
 
 Perhaps there is not a more effedual way 
 of convincing candid men, and confuting 
 cavillers, upon the point before us, than by 
 Ihewlng the feveral parts of this patriarch's 
 conduft in the relation before us, in their 
 true light ; which will make his perfections 
 fufficiently ftiine out to every common eye. 
 
 ylBRAHJlMy in a hot country, and in 
 the heat of the day, fitting in the Ihade of 
 his tent, protected by the fpreading oaks of 
 Mamrey (long after from him famed with 
 pofterity ^■) fees three men at fome diftance ; 
 travellers, as he probably deemed them, 
 
 weary with toil, and faint with heat ; ■ 
 
 immediately, without a moment's hefitation, 
 regardlefs of the refrefhment he himfelf en- 
 
 * yibvakv,no oaks at MAmre were celebrated in the foiirth 
 
 century. 
 
 joyed 
 
Ke\ EijATion Examind^ &c, loy 
 
 joyed in the fliade, he haftens to relieve the 
 diftrefs of ftrangers, who needed the aid of 
 his humanity : for the text tells us, that 
 when he faw them, be ran to meet them from 
 the tent door^ and bowed htmfelf toward the 
 ground^ and fatd^ My Lord^ if now I have 
 found favour in thy fight ^ pafs not away I 
 pray thee from thy Jervant^ let a little water 
 I pray you be fetched^ and wajh your feet ^ and 
 
 reft yoiirfelves under the tree, Here is an 
 
 united decency, and fincerity of addrefs, 
 fufficient to fhame all the forms of courts, in 
 their utmoft refinement and elegance ^ every 
 delight he defires to do his guefts, he re- 
 quefls of them ; and with an earneftnefs, that 
 demonftrates that he himfelf had yet more 
 delight in doing it. 
 
 No R is he content with the fupply of fuch 
 cheap pleafures, as reft, and fhade, and wa- 
 ter, howfoever grateful and refrcfhing in 
 
 a fultry day and in a fcorching clime ! 
 
 but immediately adds, in the fulnefs of his 
 hofpitable fpirit, And I 'Will fetch a morfel of 
 hread^ and comfort ye your hearts ; after that 
 youfiallpajs on\ for therfore are ye come to 
 
 yonrfervant, Nothing is more remarkable 
 
 than the refinement of this addrefs; he di- 
 minifhes, as much as poflible, the merit of 
 every office he means to do them : If they 
 are to be refrefhed with water, he calls it a 
 little water ; and, if with foo(% he calls it a 
 2 tnorjel 
 
io6 Revelation Examind^ SccV 
 
 morfel of bread: He fays not one word 
 
 of the bcft of the entertainment he intended, 
 to prevent the trouble of apologies from them 
 and the difquiet which he imagined them 
 arifc to them, from the apprehenfion of all 
 the trouble he was to take, upon their ac- 
 count y but, at the fame time, (without 
 
 waiting to be refufed) he immediately haftened 
 into the tent to Sarah^ and (however fuch 
 an office might be vexatious in the heat of 
 
 the day) he inftantly urges her; Make 
 
 ready quickly three meajures of fine meal^ knead 
 it^ and make cakes upon the hearth : this faid, 
 he ran to the herd^ and fetched a calf tender 
 and good J and gave it to a young man^ and he 
 hafled to drejs it. And he took butter and milk 
 and the calf which he had drejjed^ and f^t it 
 before them^ and he fiood by them under the 
 treey and they did eat. In this account, be- 
 lides the charader of Abraham*^ humanity, 
 hofpitality, and addrefs, is contained, a jfine 
 picture of his temperance, and that rural fim- 
 plicity of food, in which he rejoiced ; here is 
 no variety, either of coftly wines, or of 
 
 coftly meffes; no expenfive luxury; no 
 
 temptation to intemperance of any kind ; tho' 
 from the veneration he had for his guefts, it 
 feems highly probable, that he rather ex- 
 ceeded, onthisoccafion. His veneration for 
 them ftrongly appears, in this fingle circum- 
 ftance, that, while they eat, he flood by, 
 
 to attend them. And here, by the way, 
 
 2 wc 
 
Revelation Examind^ &c. 107 
 
 we may obferve the awful fenfe ylbraham 
 had of the dignity of his guefts ; one of them 
 efpecially, whom, at his firft falutation, he 
 
 ftiles his lord, This patriarch, who was 
 
 now a great prince, as princes were then in the 
 world: and had, before this, vanquifhed 
 kings : yet, upon the firft light of thefe his 
 guefts, he bowed himfelf towards the ground 
 to the moft eminent amongft them ; and, 
 while they fate at meat, he thought it not 
 below his dignity, to wait upon them. 
 
 Thus far, I think, his humility, and ho- 
 fpitality, and temperance, the fweetnefsofhis 
 manners, and the refinement of his addrels, 
 
 abundantly ftiew themfelves, Nor do the 
 
 other parts of his character ftiine out with lels 
 luftre, in the fubfequent account of him ; 
 for, no fooner did the Great Being here fpoken 
 of, declare his refolution, of examining into 
 the crying corruptions of Sodom and Go^ 
 morrah^ hut ^braham^ concluding, from the 
 wickednefs of the people, what they deferved, 
 
 and, from the importance of the meflcn- 
 
 gers, that they could be fent on no common 
 
 errand, yet, concluding, at the fame 
 
 time, from the knowledge he had of Lot^ 
 and from the impulfe of his own virtue, which 
 taught him to think the beft of others, that 
 there muft be fom.e righteous men amongft 
 them ; falls inftantly into fo anxious a loli- 
 citude, for the few good men he imagined to 
 
 be 
 
io8 Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 
 
 be there, as urged him to a moft earneft in- 
 terceffion for their lafety ; and not only fOj 
 but for mercy to both the cities, for their 
 
 fakes. His interceflion is inimitable ! 
 
 and no words but his own, can fhew it in 
 half its beauty, and excellence. 
 
 And Abraham drew near^ and f aid ^ fVilt 
 thou alfo deflroy the righteous with the wicked ? 
 Peradventure there he jifty righteous^ within 
 the city : fVllt thou aljo defiroy and not f pare 
 the place for the jifty righteous that are there-- 
 in ? that he far from thee to do after this 
 manner J to Jlay the righteous with the 
 wicked J and that the righteous fJjould he as 
 the wicked! that he far from thee. Shall not 
 the judge of all the earth do right? 
 
 With how noble a fortitude in defence of 
 innocence, and how right a fenfe of the 
 divine juftice and mercy, is this interceflion 
 urged ? And yet, at the fame time, with 
 what humility? With what ftrong impref. 
 lions of the dignity of his Judge, and the 
 infinite deference due to him ? He knew 
 that juflice was a claim of right which God 
 allowed to all his creatures, and therefore 
 he urged it, with all the fortitude, and inge- 
 nuity, allowable in a reafonable creature, 
 and a free agent •, but, at the fame time, he 
 knew the luperiority of his Maker, and the 
 fubmiflion due to him, and therefore he did 
 
 it 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 109 
 
 it with all the diftance and deference that be- 
 came a depend inr being; and, we find, 
 
 he was accepted accordingly; And the 
 
 Lord/aid, If I find in Sodom, fifty righteous^ 
 within the city^ then I will /pare all the place, 
 for their fakes. 
 
 Then Abraham (with the fame fortitude 
 and force of reafon, but with added beauty 
 and humility of addrefs^ anfwered and faid^ 
 Beheld •710W I have taken upon me to fpeak 
 tint the Lordy which am but dufi and ajhes\ 
 feradve?iture there fiall lack five of the fifty 
 righteous^ wilt thou deftroy all the city for lack 
 of five? This plea alfo is admitted; and the 
 Lord faid. If I find there forty and five ^ I will 
 not defiroy it. 
 
 By this time, Abraham had gain'd new 
 courage, from the gracloufnefs with which 
 his plea was accepted; and the vehemence 
 of his zeal carries him one ftep farther, with- 
 out any apology : And he fpake unto hifn 
 
 yet again^ and faid^ Fer adventure there Jhalt 
 
 be forty found there, This alfo is admitted ; 
 
 a72d he faid^ I will not do it for forty's fake. 
 
 Then Abraham^ ^g^ii^, niovcd by the 
 workings of an upright fpirit, and a com- 
 pallionate heart, and yet, at the fame time, 
 under ftrong diflrefs, from an apprehenfion^ 
 that the fpreading guilt of <SWo^ had not left 
 
 Vol. IL P evea 
 
t \ o Revelatiois Examind^ Sec. 
 
 even that fmall number of righteous men, 
 
 within its walls, again, urges his inter- 
 
 ceffion, in fuch emphatick expreffions of hu- 
 mility and concern, as are not to be defcribed. 
 01) let not the Lord be angry ^ and I mllfpeak : 
 Peradvenfure there fi all thirty be found there. 
 
 « This alfo is gracioufly complied with; 
 
 and the Lord faid, I will not do it^ if I find 
 thirty there. 
 
 Again, Abraham^ ftill fupported by the 
 goodnefs of his caufe, and the gracioufnefs 
 
 of his judge, and ftill finking in his re- 
 
 queft, " Behold now I have taken upon me 
 
 to fpeak unto the Lord: per adventure there 
 Jhall be twenty found there. And he faidy I 
 
 will not defiroy tty for twenty's fake, And 
 
 here the patriarch, dreading the danger of aa 
 unbecoming importunity, but more dreading 
 to give up the caufe of innocence, fums up 
 all in the moft becoming earneftnefs and hu- 
 mility of one concluding requeft. Oh ! let 
 
 7iot the Lord he ajigry^ and I will fpeak yet but 
 this once; per adventure ten f hall he found there. 
 And the Great Being, whom he petitioned, 
 
 ftill patient, and ftill complying, ftill 
 
 anfwers, with infinite condefcenfion, / 
 
 will not defiroy it for tens fake. 
 
 Take then the character o^ Abraham ^ as 
 it is clearly coUeded from this fliort account 
 of his concud:, ^.dded to that of his piety, 
 
 fortitude. 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 2 i i 
 
 fortitude, and refignation, in other inftanccs, 
 more particularly in relation to the command 
 
 of facrificing his fon ; And I appeal to 
 
 the heft underftandings, whether it is poffible 
 to conceive a more compleat characfter among 
 mankind. 
 
 Another reafon why it feemed good to 
 infinite wifdom to record this converfation 
 with Abraham^ was, to eftablifli, by fo fami- 
 liar and beautiful a narration j the important 
 do6trine of God's immediate infpedlion into 
 the affairs and concerns of mankind 5 — of his 
 not contenting himfelf with governing the 
 world by what men call his general providence^ 
 and the eftablifhed order of nature; — but in- 
 terpoling in a moftexadt and particular manner, 
 to puniih iniquity, and to refcue and reward 
 righteoufnefs, over the face of the whole earth ; 
 —at the fame time, to let all fucceeding gene- 
 rations fee, God's gracious methods of mercy 
 with mankind; to teach them^ in a moll: fa- 
 miliar, delightful way, in a way at once ob- 
 vious and agreeable to every capacity, that, 
 when God viiits the earth in vengeance, he 
 does not involve the innocent in the punifh- 
 ment of the guilty ; that ten righteous men 
 are enough to fave a devoted city from de- 
 (lrud;ionj nay more, a devoted country; 
 « — and that vengeance is fufpended even for 
 the fake of one: as appears from thofe words 
 of the angel to Lot ; Hafte thee, ejcape thithe?^ 
 
 P z for 
 
212 Revelation Examtnd^ &c. 
 
 for I ca?2not do ajy things 'till thou be co?ne thi^ 
 
 ther. Sodofii could not be deftroyed 'till 
 
 Lot was fate in another city; and that Lot 
 was the only righteous man in that city, feems 
 fufficiently plain, from the words of that 
 wicked people to him: (ch. xix. v. 9.) Ajid 
 they faid^ This one fellow ca?ne in to fojoiirn^ 
 
 and he njoill needs be a judges this one iA- 
 
 low y from hence it appears, that there was 
 but this one^ v/ho took upon him to controul 
 them in their wickednefs; and, befides this, 
 we find, in the preceding part of this chapter, 
 that the people of Sodom were unanimous, in 
 the horrid attempt they made upon the an- 
 gels, at Lot\ houfe; the text fays, all the 
 
 people y from every quart er^ compared the 
 
 houfey poffibly, indeed, Lofs fons-in-law, 
 might not have been there, out of veneration 
 to him; but yet it appears, from the fequel 
 of the relation, that they had as little religion 
 as the reft 3 for, when Lot went to warn them 
 of the ruin impending over that abandoned 
 people, we find, that they no more believed 
 one word of what he told them, than if they 
 had been modern free-thinkers; for the text 
 fays, he fee?ned loito them as one that mocked % 
 and fo they alfo were involved in the common 
 ruin. This circumftancCj however, muft make 
 fome diftindtion to their advantage: for our 
 unbelievers, inftead of fufpecfting that he 
 mocked, would ha;ve been fure to mock him, 
 at all adventures: and the more, , perhaps, 
 
 becaufe 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 21^ 
 
 becaufe it was impoflible to prove him in the 
 wrong; nay, tho' the ferious attention of a 
 few hours might prove him demonflrably in 
 the right; and, tho' they could have no fe- 
 curity from being carried, by their contempt, 
 quick to perdition, the next moment. 
 
 Had the fame truths v/hich are here fo 
 dehghtfully convej^ed into the mind of every 
 reader, been only laid down in a dry differta- 
 tion, how few would either read or regard 
 them ! Hov/ long would it be before men of 
 the beft capacities could perfectly underftand 
 fuch reafonings! and hov/ few among the 
 common herd would ever be capable of com- 
 prehending them! or would ever attend to 
 them, if they were! whereas, being now 
 conveyed in an hiftorical relation, at once fo 
 plain, and fo delightful, fo fitted to engage 
 and to fix the attention, every child is eager 
 and able to underftand them; and I iim per- 
 fuaded, that fcarce one child, who ever once 
 heard, or read this hiftory, ever forgot it. 
 
 And, by this means, the fear of God, his 
 
 deteftation of fin, and his mercy to righteouf- 
 ziefs, are infenfibly conveyed into the mind, 
 
 and the nations of the earth are bleiTed in 
 
 Abraham, 
 
 The ferious reader will refledt how obvi- 
 ous it is, to infer, upon tiiis occafion, tlie great 
 wifdom of early inftrudiing, and enuring 
 
 P 3 children 
 
1 \ 4 Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 
 
 children to read the fcriptures ; efpecially 
 thofe hiftorical parts of them, which render 
 the examples of piety and virtue, fo very 
 amiable ; and the examples of vice and irre- 
 ligion fo deteftable: that, whilft they are 
 delighting their hearts with the moft pleafine, 
 the moft engaging hiftories, that ever were 
 penned, they are, at the fame time, filling them, 
 with the love of every virtue, and the ab- 
 horrence of every vice 5 they are, at the 
 fame time, enlarging, and ennobling their 
 fouls. 
 
 And here I cannot, without equal wonder 
 and delight, refledl upon the infinite wifdom 
 of God, in the condud: of this one revelation 
 concerning Abraha?n. 
 
 Vain men are wondring at the familiarity 
 of this dialogue, with that patriarch, and ca- 
 villing, that a neighbouring city could not 
 be deftroyed, without acquainting him with 
 it. — — Whereas, if they gave but common 
 attention to all the circumftances of adorable 
 wifdom, that fliine out thro* this whole con- 
 dud:, and would allow themfelves to confi- 
 de; the reafon affinged by God himfelf, for 
 acquainting him with his purpofe : and would 
 refled but one moment how well his infinite 
 wifdom and goodnefs are juftified in the 
 
 event, they could not but fall down into 
 
 the loweft confufion, for their own folly ; 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Examhi'd^ Sec. i \ 5 
 
 and the deepefl veneration of his adorabl^ 
 
 providence ! j4pici the Lord /aid. Shall ^ 
 
 hide from Abraham that thing which I do^ 
 feeing that Abraham Jhall furely become a 
 great and mighty nation, and all the iiatiom of 
 the earth fiall be blejjed in him : for I knew 
 him, that he will co?n?na?id his children, and 
 his houfloold after him, and they pall keep the 
 way of the Lord, to do jujlice afid judgment ^ 
 that the Lord may bring upon Abraham, that 
 which he hath fpoken of him -, — i. e. that it may 
 be verified w^hich God declared of him, that 
 in him all the nations of the earth fhould be 
 bleffed. And then follow^s God's commu- 
 nication of his purpofe, and the converfation 
 in relation to Sodom, 
 
 Here vjq may fee, that one reafon of 
 God's imparting to Abraham, his purpofe in 
 relation to Sodom^ vs^as, becaufe he knew^ his 
 piety would be propagated, thro' his chil- 
 dren, and fervants, over the face of the 
 earth; and vv^ith it, would this hiflory be 
 conveyed; which, as I before obferved to 
 you, was fo admirably fitted to imprefs tlie 
 fear of God upon all that fhould read or 
 hear it; and that, not only in the eafieft, 
 but alfo in the moft efFedlual way imagina- 
 ble ! and as there is fcarce one region under 
 heaven, where this hiftory has not already 
 reached, 'tis evident, to a dcmonflration, that 
 the world hath from that day to this, been 
 
 P 4 bet- 
 
^\6 Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 
 
 bettered and benefitted by /Ibraham j and 
 doubUefs will continue to be fo, as long as 
 
 this biftory continues to be read : nay, 
 
 I doubt not, will continue till this prophecy 
 of him is fully compleated ! till all the 
 -natio?7s of the earthy are alfo in this inftance, 
 and by means of this very relation, MeJJed m 
 him. 
 
 The infidel reader, if any fuch fliould 
 chance to vouch fafe this work a contemptu- 
 ous perufal, even for cavil or confutation, 
 will, I hope, forgive me, if I admonifh him 
 in the words of the apoftle, ABs xiii. 40, 41. 
 Beuare therefore, leji that come upon you 
 which is ffoken oj in the prophets y Behold ye 
 defpifers, and wo?ider, and perifj : for I work 
 a work in your days, a work which you jJmll 
 in no, wife believe, though a man declare it unto 
 you, Our defpifers are yet more infa- 
 tuated, than thofe to w^hcm St. Paul applies 
 this prophetick denunciation 5 for thefe be- 
 lieve not, tho' they fee this word, and work, 
 daily and inconteftably verified, before their 
 eyes. 
 
 Another end propofed and attained by 
 God's antecedent communication of his de- 
 fign to deilroy Sodom, to fo good, (o wife, 
 and fo celebrated a man as Abraham, was, 
 that the faQ; of God's immediate interpofitioii 
 and determined deflruclion of thole cities, 
 
 on 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 217 
 
 on account of their crying guilt, (hould be 
 fupported by the cleareft, and the ampleft 
 atteftation ; fhould come afcertained and re- 
 commended to all mankind, by the beft 
 known, the bell efteemed, the moft authen- 
 tick, and moft unexceptionable teftimcny the 
 whole world could afford. 
 
 The fame of Abraham^ his great verruc 
 and wifdom, and peculiar favour with Al- 
 mighty God, were now throughly known over 
 all the moft celebrated and beft inhabited 
 
 regions of the earth * : and we may be 
 
 fure 
 
 * It will not, perhaps, be amifs briefly to colled the tefli- 
 monies of heathen hiflorians upon this point, ^'iz,. how far 
 
 Abraham was now known in the world: nay more, 
 
 how tar he became a bleffing to mankind, even in his lite- 
 time. 
 
 Nicholans Danjafcenus (as he is quoted by Jofephus) fays, that 
 Abn-Jjam was famous throughout the whole region of Dama^ 
 cus, where he dwelt ; that urged by a famine, and a dclire of 
 converfing with the Egyptian prielb, he departed thence into 
 Egypt : where he foon became famous both for wilHom and 
 
 vcTtue: f for whereas the Egypiiuis were divided into 
 
 many religious fe6ts, each applauding his own, and decrying 
 every other i Abraham convinced each of them apart of the 
 
 folly of their opinions,- .and taught them arithmctick 
 
 and aftrology. 
 
 Eufebius alfo (Evang. prxp. l.g. c.i-j,) quof:s Alexander 
 Tol)hijiorj.\v\\o quotes Eupolemus verbatim, to rh s purpofc, — 
 that Abraham was born at Ourie, 2 city o[ Babylon y that he 
 excelled in wifilom and ailrology, and was in eminent favour 
 with God tor his piety: that he came into Phoenicia by divine 
 command, where he taught aftronomyj and was in high favour 
 
 with the king of the country. Then adds,'^rhat the 
 
 Thoenicians were invaded by thq king of Armenia, and Abra- 
 
 hf-tn'^ 
 
2 1 8 Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 
 
 fure his great piety, the fignal favour of 
 God to him, his merits and abilities of 
 every kind, w^ere not lefs known than honour- 
 ed in his own family. His whole 
 
 houfliold were witneffes of his having enter- 
 tained three extraordinary perfons on the 
 very day before this deftrucftion, with an 
 humble and a fubmiffive obfervance, and 
 attendance, which could be due from Abra-7 
 ham, to no earthly being ! (and one of thefe 
 
 with a very diftinguifhed deference ! ) 
 
 and probably fo great a prince as Abraham 
 did not wait upon thefe glorious guefts 
 
 ham's nephew carried away captive; and that Abr/iham re- 
 deemed him by arming his fervants, and conquering the con- 
 queror : — — that he received gifts from Melchifedec, the 
 prieft of God : > after this, was forced into Eg^pt, by a 
 
 famine, (with the ftory of his wife at large) where he taught 
 them aftrology, &c. 
 
 Artapanus alfb, quoted by Eufebius {ibid. c. i8.) from Toly- 
 hifior, mentions his going firft into Phoenicia, his teaching them 
 allrology, and going thence into Egypt. 
 
 Melo alfo is quoted by Yolihijlor, as witnefTing the fame of 
 A.ora.ham's great wifdom, ^c. But what proves Abraham^ 
 fame, as the author of true religion, to have been throughly 
 cftabllftied, and in the highell efteem alt over the eaft, is Zoro- 
 Aflres's undertaking, more than foo years before the coming 
 of Chrifty to reftore, and to eftablifh the religion of Abraham 
 all over Media, Ferfia, Parthia, Baciria, ^c. as Mahomet did 
 about 6oo years after Chrijl, \n Arabia; every one knows, that 
 the vaneration in which Mahomet found this patriarch's name, 
 was the main foundation upon which he built his hopes of 
 fuccecdin^' with the Arabiar,s : and the nature of the thing 
 Ridded to^the teftimonies of antiquity upon this head) fpcaks 
 rlie reafons of Zoroajlres's condu6t to have been the fame. 
 From whence it appears, thzt Abraham hath, from the carlieft 
 ^'rcs, been in the highcft veneration all over the eaft, as he un- 
 cueliionably is at this day. 
 
 2 alone : 
 
Revelation Examind, &c. 1 1 9 
 
 alone: and therefore it is reafonable to be- 
 lieve, that fome of his houfhold might be 
 prefent, and witnefTes to the promife made 
 to him of a fon by Sarah ; a woman, barren 
 from the beginning, and now fuperannuate! 
 at once out of the courfe, and above the 
 power of nature. And probably the impref- 
 lions of veneration which thefe glorious guefts 
 made upon Abraham^ were not lefs forcible 
 upon his family! it was very natural to ap- 
 prehend, that the coming of fuch very extra- 
 ordinary perfons, muft be for fome very extra- 
 ordinary purpofe. 
 
 Every circumftance of this affair, natu- 
 rally tended to excite their attention to a 
 more ftrid: obfervance and enquiry, after all 
 that pafTed on that great occafion : and if 
 the natural confequence of that attention and 
 obfervance, was an antecedent notice of 
 God's defign to deftroy thofe great guilty- 
 cities; fuch a knowledge muft certainly be 
 of vaft confequence, to eftablifh in their 
 hearts, a right, and a ftrong fenfe of God's 
 infpedling the affairs of mankind, and inter- 
 pofing to reward and punifli, as alfo to per- 
 petuate the memory of that interpofition to 
 
 all poflerity: -whereas, otherwlfe this 
 
 great event might, in time, be afcribed to 
 meer natural caufcs: and, for any thing that 
 appears to the contrary, the converfanon in 
 
 relation 
 
tio Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 relation to Sodomy might have pafled in the tent 
 as well as that which related to Sarah. 
 
 But though it had not, and though none 
 of Abrakam% houfhold fhould be fuppofed to 
 have attended their mafter, when he con- 
 duced his great guefts towards Sodom^ yet 
 nothing was more natural, than an impa- 
 tient curiofity in Sarah^ and his whole houfe, 
 to learn their bufinefs thither: and as no- 
 thing could be more natural to true piety, 
 than a willing, nay, an eager gratification 
 of that curiofity, there is no doubt but that 
 Abraham readily embraced this occafion, (the 
 nobleft that ever offered from the foundation 
 of the world ! ) to inform them in the ways 
 of God's juflice and judgments! and to pre- 
 pare them to fee the fudden, and the dread- 
 ful deftrud:ion of thofe devoted cities for 
 their enormous gnilt ! by that means, to 
 ftamp the fear of God deep upon their 
 hearts ! 
 
 Here then are in effed: many hundreds of 
 witneOes of this purpofe of Providence, be- 
 fore the execution of it : which, with all 
 the circumftances of the event, muft atteft 
 the immediate interpofition of Alm.ighty God 
 in the government of the world: and con- 
 vey it with irretillable evidence, over the 
 face of the whole earth. 
 
Revelation Examindj Sec. ni 
 
 Another end of infinite wifdom in 
 recoixling this hiftory of jlbraham, and the 
 deflruftion of Sodo?n^ was to give us a true 
 idea of that guilt, which drew down the 
 divine vengeance, upon this devoted people, 
 and to convey this knowledge to us, in a 
 way worthy of infinite wifdom and good- 
 nefs ! 
 
 Here was a habit of guilt, the moft mon- 
 ftrous and unnatural that can be imagined ! a 
 crime not to be named among men! and 
 much lefs to be explained or defcribed ; 
 and yet there was a neceffity that it fhould 
 be known, that it fhould be feen in all its 
 
 aggravation, in all its horror, in order 
 
 to vindicate the juftice of God, in fo dreadful 
 a chaftifement of it ! and that this chaftife- 
 mcnt fliould be a terror to all fucceeding gene- 
 rations j to guard them againft a fin fo Ihame- 
 ful, and fo deteftable. 
 
 Now all this, is clearly and compleatly 
 effefted, in the fimplicity of a plain natural 
 account of God's fending two angels, to 
 execute the purpofes of his juftice, upon that 
 abandoned people ; and the violence that 
 abandoned people unanimoufly agreed, to 
 offer to thofe bleffed beings in human form. 
 -^ — The text fays, The ?7ie?i of Sodom com- 
 pa fed the houje rounds both old and youngs all 
 
 the 
 
2 2 1 Revelation Examind, &c. 
 
 tbe people from every quarter, Now this 
 
 combination, in fo deteftable a purpofe, 
 (hews them all depraved, beyond imagina- 
 tioni 
 
 WheM the youth of any place, have loft 
 all reverence of the aged, and fear not, to 
 expofe their guilt, to their eyes, from whom, 
 
 of all others, they (hould hide it, *tis a 
 
 fure fign that corruption has made great pro- 
 grefs among them; that people are haflen- 
 ing to deftrudtion. But when the aged, have 
 loft all reverence for themfclves ! when (as 
 the prophet Ifaiah expreffes it) they declare 
 
 their guilt like Sodom^ they hide it ?tot ; ^ 
 
 when they fear not to publiih their fliame to 
 their fons; then is guilt in its laft gradation! 
 that people is utterly abandoned ! that people 
 is ripe for perdition ! (can the inhabitants of 
 Great Britain read this reflection, without 
 trembling for themfelves, and for their chil- 
 dren ! ) And that this was the condition of 
 that devoted city, when God deftroyed it, 
 is fufliciently clear from Mojess account of 
 that deftrucStion ; in which every common 
 eye fees the heinoufnefs of the guilt, and 
 the juftice of the puniftimenr, without the 
 leaft offenfive mention of the crime that 
 
 deferved it. The guilt is cxpofed in all 
 
 its horror, and the reader is eager for divine 
 vengeance upon it; and yet the pureft ear 
 
 is 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 225 
 
 Is not oiFended, with any one word in the 
 whole relation. 
 
 So has infinite wifdom conduced it, — — . 
 and fo evident is it, that this alfo cometh 
 from the Lord oj hojis^ which is wonderful in 
 counfeL If this is not the did:ate of divine 
 wifdom, what is ! Equal it if ye can, ye proud 
 preferrers of prophane hiftory, and boafters of 
 
 abilities merely human. If Mofes was un- 
 
 infpired, why is he fuperior to all the glories 
 of Greece and Italy'? And if he is fuperior, 
 why is he yet reviled? Why is he not pre- 
 ferred ; And why is not that fuperiority traced 
 
 up to its true fource, the fountain of 
 
 wifdom? 
 
 And here I cannot but obferve, upon the 
 wide difference, in point of true virtue, be- 
 tween that religion which guides you to 
 falvation, and that infidelity which would 
 fcduce you to deftrudion; that where-ever 
 the influence of true religion reaches, there 
 virtue lives and profpers. That where- 
 ever infidelity prevails, all kinds of immora- 
 lity attend it, and this detefled prad:ice 
 among the reft, too notorious in this infidel 
 age! that whilft the preachers of the word 
 of God, are fhewing you the horror of the 
 vice before us, and the dreadful vengeance 
 
 due to it, the patrons of irreligion are, 
 
 as far as they can, acquitting it of moral 
 
 turpi- 
 
2Z4 Revelation Exammd, Sec. 
 
 turpitude % or, publifhing panegyrics in 
 its praife ; and, to the utmofi of their power, 
 propagating them to pofterity -f*. O Lordy 
 
 righteous and juft^ how long Jhall this people 
 provoke thee? Lord^ how long wilt thou look 
 on ? How long jlmll the ungodly triumph ? How 
 long Jloall the wicked doers fpeak Jo dijdain- 
 full)\ and make fuch proii^ boajling? They 
 fmite down thy people^ O Lord^ and trouble 
 thine heritage^ and yet they fay, — T'he Lord 
 Jhall not fee, neither Jhall the God of Jacob 
 
 regard', take heed, ye iinwife among the 
 
 people \ O ye fools, when will ye u?jderjiand? 
 be that planted the ear, Jhall he not hear? 
 he that mid'^ the eye, Jhall he not fee ? he 
 that teachcth man knowledge, fiall he not 
 punifj ? 
 
 And thus having (hewn you, how 
 throughly the wifdom of God is juftified, in 
 reveaUng his will in relation to Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, to his fervant Abraham, and re- 
 cording this whole hiftory, of the deilru(5tion 
 of that accurfed people and place, to fuc- 
 ceeding ages : and what gracious and great 
 
 * Seethe author of the rights, 8c c. p. 264. who afiigns,, that 
 as the only rcafba of the moral turpitude of that adtion, which 
 ibme men may imagine ve\y wtU conlifcent with it, -viz, the 
 prcfervat on of the human fpccics. 
 
 f Babies did. vol. 3. undci" the word ^'/ry«r. — note E» 
 
 ends 
 
Revelation Examhid^ 8cc. 225 
 
 ends are anfwered, by conveying it down 
 from generation to generation* 
 
 I SHOULD now proceed to enquire, accord- 
 ing to the method laid down, what evidence 
 there is from other hiftorians, that thefe cities 
 were deftroyed in the manner here related by 
 
 Mofes, ^But as this is a point as well attefted, 
 
 as the nature of the thing will allow, and by 
 writers of all denominations, and of undoubted 
 credit, and feme of them not only ftrangers, 
 but enemies to the revelation eftabliflied by 
 it ; I fhall not take up the reader's time in 
 recounting many tellimonies upon this point 
 
 at large. And therefore hope he will be 
 
 content with the few following extracts. 
 
 For as there arc no very antient hiftories 
 of the early ages of the world extant, befides 
 that of Mofes^ we can reafonably expeft no 
 account of this matter, except from Inch of 
 the Greek and Latin hiftorians, whofe fub- 
 jccts led them to treat of this country. 
 
 DIODORUS SI CUIUS, who flourilhed 
 about t'ne time of Julius Ccejar^ defcribes the 
 lake JfphdltiteSy (which novv^ fills that fpace 
 where thefe cities flood) at large, (k 19. p. 
 734. edit. Hanov,) and tells us, that the ad- 
 jacent region was then on fire \ and fent out 
 a grievous fmcll, which he afligns as the 
 
 Vol. II. CL c^u^'e 
 
2i6 Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 
 
 Sufe of the fickly and ihort lives of the 
 neighbouring inhabitants. 
 
 STRJBOy who flourifhed foon after, men- 
 tions the fea of Sodom by the name of the 
 Lacus Serhorns (1. i6,) fpeaks of it as on fire 
 
 in his time ; and adds^ that the broken and 
 
 burnt rocks, ruins of buildings, * and cine- 
 
 ritious earth feen all about it, &c» gives 
 
 credit to the teftimony of the people of the 
 country, who fay, that thirteen cities, (of 
 which Sodom was chief) which antiently flood 
 here, were deftroyed by earthquakes, fire, 
 &c. fome entirely fwallowed up, and others 
 defcrted by fuch as could fly from them. 
 
 TJCIT'US, in the fifth book of his 
 hiftory, dcfcribes the lake nearly in the 
 fame manner with the writers before men- 
 tioned ; and then adds, that near it are thofe 
 fields, now barren, reported to have been 
 
 * Mr. Maumlrel teVis us, in his journey from Aleppo to Je- 
 rufalemy (p. 85-.) that it was conlidently alhrmcd to him by the 
 father guardian, and procurator of Jerufrhm, both men in 
 years, and fcxniinL^ly, not dcftitute either of lenfe or probity, 
 that they, with ieveral others, had once aftually feen one of 
 thofe ruins, the waters bein;^then very fliallow: ■ and if it 
 
 be true, as Xzcitus and Jullin alTirm, that this lake is never 
 ruffled with wind i (v. h ch, J prefume, may be, in ibme meafure, 
 owing to the weight ot its water, as well as the bitumen) the 
 Afphaltus, with which it abounds, will fufficiently account for 
 the duration of thefc ruins. 
 
 for- 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cC. 12;^ 
 
 formerly fruitful, and inhabited by great 
 cities, which were deftroyed by thunder ; 
 and that the traces of the lire were IHII vifi* 
 ble in the burnt earth. 
 
 As it is needlefs to fearch for other tefti- 
 monies on this head, 1 (hall only add, that 
 this fire lafted till after the age of the 
 apoftles ; and was burning in 'Thi/o 'Jad^us'^ 
 time; which clearly explains a paflage in the 
 epiftle of St. Jude^ where he fays of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah^ that they are fet forth as an 
 example^ fufferhig the vengeance of eternal fire : 
 now a fire which was aftually burning when 
 he wrote, and had continued to burn for 
 more than 2000 years together, fufficiently 
 juftifies the apoftle in calling it eternal \ or, 
 as the word may otherwife be rendered, en- 
 during from generation to generation. 
 
 My next obfervation is this : that the pillac 
 of fait into which Lot\ wife was turned, 
 fubfifted in the time of that author who 
 wrote the Wifdom of Solomon^ as we may read 
 in the loth chapter of that book, at the 7th 
 verfe, and that Jofephus (who himfelf faw 
 it) and later writers atteft the fame thing of 
 their times *. 
 
 I AM 
 
 * BinyMnin the Jew, who lived in the iith century, fpcaks 
 of it in his Itinerary, p. 77. with. as much ncg.igencj and un- 
 concern, as if it were a point paft all doubt. but add' a 
 Q^ 2, c jrcum- 
 
2 28 Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 I A M fenfible that this is a point upon 
 
 "W'hich learned men are much divided : 
 
 but thus much, I think, is highly credible 
 
 upon the whole, that Moje/s account of 
 
 this matter is triic (not figuratively, as fome 
 underftand it, but) according to the very 
 letter of the text ; that Lofs wife became a 
 real ftatue, and that this ftatue lafted many 
 
 ages J lafted, at leaft, till a new revelation 
 
 from heaven, the revelation of jft^^u Chri/i^ 
 
 made this monument lefs neceffary. And 
 
 as to the difficulty of falt's continuing undif- 
 folved in the open air fo long, is is well 
 known to naturalifts, that rocks of fait are 
 as lafting as any other rocks, nay more fo^ — 
 and that houfes are built of them. 
 
 Now there is reafon to believe, from the 
 i^th chapter oi Deuteronomy at the :23d verfe, 
 
 circumftance \\''hich, I believe, will hurt his credit with every 
 candid reader : it is (iimi?iijl)cil (fays he) by the licking of cattle j 
 
 but increafes again to its old dimenjions. (An idle Irory which 
 
 he took upon truft from the dreams of feme rabbins) And a cir- 
 cumftance yet more incredible than this was reported of it in 
 Tertullians, time, vizj. that it did muUeLria fati ,• but yet I 
 muft beg leave to fay, that fuch monftrous reports concerning 
 it, are not perhaps very ill proofs of its exiftence at that time. 
 That It exili:s not now, I am inclined to believe, inaiiiiuch as 
 £rochard and Radzivillius are faid to have enquired after it to no 
 purpolc 5 and yet, I own, 1 cannot but wifli that Mr. MaundreVs 
 curiofity had carried him to examine with his wonted cxadlnels, 
 what - his guides told hiju, ihdX iome remains of that monu- 
 ment were Itill extant. 
 
 that 
 
Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 229 
 
 that much fait, as well as fulphur, fell down 
 from heaven upon this devoted region, when 
 Sodom and Gomorrah were deftroyed : nor 
 perhaps is the great faknefs of the fea of 
 Sodom, beyond that of any other fea in the 
 known world, without the leaft change from 
 the perpetual influx of frefh water (of water 
 remarkably fwcet, as Dtodorus Siciilus ob- 
 ferves) into it, an ill prefumptive proof of 
 
 this : at leaft it muft be allowed a circum- 
 
 ftance of weight, to corroborate any other 
 evidence upon this head. -~ — And as thunder 
 fliffens all animals it ftrikes, in one inftant, 
 and leaves them dead in the fame pofture, in 
 which it found them alive : there is no fort 
 of difficulty in conceiving, how this unhappy 
 woman's body, being prepared by heat, and 
 penetrated and incrufted with fait, might 
 long fubfift as a ftatue of fait, in the very; 
 pofture in which this judgment from heaven 
 
 found her. Nor are we without examples 
 
 of fuch changes in other writers and hifto- 
 rians of undoubted credit. 
 
 I SHALL mention but one : Avejitinusy 
 
 an hiftorian of great ability and integrity, in 
 the feventh book of his Boian Annals (edit. 
 Baftl^ p. 6^^,) tells us, from the credit of 
 Conrad^ an eminent phyfician and mathema- 
 tician, who was himfelf, with the chancellor 
 of Aufiriay an eye-witnefs of the event, that, 
 at the time of a great earthquake, which 
 
 0.3 hap- 
 
1 3 o Revelation Exammd^ &c. 
 
 happened y!, D, 1348. fifty cow-keepers 
 ani their cattle were turned into ftatues of 
 fait, in a village oi Bavaria, 
 
 Give me leave to add, that this change of 
 laofs wife was not occafioned barely by her 
 looking ba.k, but by her loitering unfealbna- 
 bly behind her husband ; for 'tis clear enough 
 from the i^th chapter of Gd'/^^/zj, at the 2 ad 
 verfe, that this vengeance from heaven did 
 not begin till Lot was fafe in Zoar : confe- 
 fequently his wife could not have been af- 
 feded by it, had ihe not both looked back, 
 and flayed unfeafonably in the plain, con- 
 trary to the exprefs command given by the 
 angel ; as you may read in the 7th verfe of 
 that chapter 
 
 And as this unfeafonable delay of Lof's 
 wife, was without queftion occafioned by 
 her folicitude for her children which fhe left 
 behind her, the ftory of Niobe^ weeping for 
 her children, and being ftifFened into fl:one 
 with grief, is doubclefs founded upon this 
 hiftory. 
 
 Possibly top, thefableofOr/^Z^^^j's being 
 permitted to redeem his wife from hell, and 
 lofing her alter wards, by looking unfeafona- 
 bly back, contrary to the exprefs command 
 given him, and thv.n, thro' grief, dcferting 
 the fociety of mankind, and dwelling in de-? 
 
 fartSj 
 
Revelation Exammd, &cc. 25 1 
 
 farts, might be derived from fome obfcurc 
 tradition of this hiftory. SoJom was now the 
 livelieft emblem of hell that can be imagined : 
 it was granted to Lot^ by a peculiar pri- 
 vilege, to deliver his wife thence: he 
 
 was exprefly commanded (Gen. xix. 17.) Look 
 
 7Wt behind thee^ his wife was loll ; after 
 
 which he quits the city, and dwells in a cave 
 
 on the mountains : here are all the main 
 
 circumftances of the fable, and the poets had 
 nothing to do, but to vary and embellifh as 
 they liked bell. 
 
 So well hath infinite wifdom provided, 
 that the facred truths of divine revelation, 
 Ihall not only be fupported by the atteftation 
 of enemies, but like wife prefer ved even in 
 the vanity and extravagance of fables. — - 
 Even they^ O Lord, Jbew the glory of thy 
 khigdom^ and talk of thy power : that thy 
 fower^ thy glory ^ and the ?mghttnefs of thy 
 kingdom might be known unto men. 
 
 CL4 Dis. 
 
z'^i Revelation Examlnd^ &c. 
 
 Dissertation VII. 
 
 Of the Command gi'ven to Abraham, to 
 facrijice his Son. 
 
 HIS command is thus introduced 
 in Gerh xxii. i. y4nd it came to 
 pafsy after theje th'wgs, that God 
 did tempt Abraham, ai^d (aid unto 
 
 hi my Abraham J and he Jaidy Be- 
 Jooldy here I am, 
 
 1. ylnd he faid^ T'ahe now thy fon^ thine 
 only fon^ Ifaac, whom thott love ft ^ and get thee 
 unto the land of Moriah ; and offer him there 
 for a burnt --offeringy upon one of the mountains 
 which I zvill tell thee of] 
 
 By the introductory - words, after thefe 
 things^ the Jews underfhind, after all the 
 precedent temptations, w'ith which it plcafed 
 God to try the faith of Abraham :^ counting 
 
 \]p nine tryals antecedent to thisj but, I 
 
 think. 
 
Revelation Exammd, Sec. 235 
 
 think, we are well warranted to iindcrftand 
 thefe words more at large ; to fignify, that 
 this command was fubfcqiient to the fevcral 
 other intercourfcs of the Divine Being with 
 ylbraham ^ to the feveral deliverances wrought 
 for him, the promifes made to him, and 
 
 blellings beftowed ; fubfcqiient to the 
 
 inftitution of circumcifion, and the folemn 
 
 covenant ratified by it; fubfequcnt to 
 
 the expulfion of IJhmael^ forced upon him in 
 
 the height of paternal fondnefs ; and 
 
 when he had now no ftay of hope, or con- 
 
 folation of age, but Ifaac ; and, even 
 
 fubfequent to the repeated promifes he had, 
 from God himfelf, of being bleffed, enlarged 
 
 and multiplied in this very fon ; after all 
 
 this, to be commanded to deftroy him, and 
 
 deftroy him with his own hands, was 
 
 furely the fevereft tryal to which human na- 
 ture could be expofed. 
 
 A s faith is the great Chrifltan duty, upon 
 which all others are built, and is at the fame 
 time the foundation of all religion, {for he 
 that Cometh to God mufi believe that he is^ and 
 that he is a rewarder of them that diligently 
 feek him) 'tis no wonder if we find this great 
 governing principle of religion, reviled and 
 ridiculed, above all others, by the infidel 
 
 world; and, 2iS Abraham is, in thefcrip- 
 
 tures, Riled the father of the faithfuly and is 
 indeedthe great pattern of firm truft and con- 
 fidence 
 
2 5 5 Revelation Examind, 8cc. 
 
 fidence in the promifes of God, however im- 
 probable, or appraently impoffible, to be ful- 
 filled ; and, at the fame time, the great 
 
 example of ready obedience to the commands 
 of God, how ftrange and unaccountable fo- 
 
 ever to human wifdom ; 'tis no wonder 
 
 to find his character alfo, treated, upon 
 all occafions, with all imaginable obloquy, 
 by thofe, who make their own unguided 
 reafon, the fole rule of their duty ; and their 
 own mifguided infolence, the meafure of 
 that fubmiffion due to God, from his crea- 
 tures J and, as God's command of offer- 
 ing up I/aaCj is the moft extraordinary in- 
 ftance of duty, that ever was exaded, and 
 Abrahams immediate compliance, the moft 
 extraordinary inftance of obedience, that ever 
 
 was paid, 'tis no wonder, if both thefe 
 
 are, in afingular manner, theconftant objeds 
 of infidel contempt and calumny. 
 
 But, at the fame time, to fatisfy all good 
 Chnftians^ and candid enquirers, that there is 
 no other foundation for all this outcry of un- 
 believers, than what is laid, in the depths of 
 their own conceit, and corruption ; I fhall, 
 with God's affiftance, fliew, in the follow^ 
 ing differtations, 
 
 I. That this command of facrificing^^.^ 
 as it is laid down in the fcripture, is no way 
 
 incon-. 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. % ^ ^ 
 
 inconfiftent with the juftice or the goodnels 
 of God. 
 
 a. That Ahrahan^^ obedience, was fiich, 
 as became a wife and a good man to yield 
 to the commands of his Maker. And, 
 
 3. That all the objeftions raifed againft 
 both, are the effefts of grofs ignorance, and 
 narrow thinking. 
 
 In the firft place then, if this command 
 were diredly defigned for the deftrudion of 
 Ifaac^ there were demonftrably no kind of 
 injuftice, either in the injunftion, or execu- 
 tion of it, fince God, the author and giver of 
 life, can, without the leaft pretence of in- 
 juftice, take it away, when, and in what 
 
 manner he pleafes ; did Abraham receive 
 
 the powers of his body and mind, upon the 
 terms of difbbedience to his Maker, in the ufc 
 of them, whenever obedience was offenfive or 
 difagreeable to him? Or, did God confer life 
 upon Ifaac^ upon the terms of taking it away 
 only in one certain manner ? Or, did he give 
 it, as all others, under the ordinary referve 
 of his own indifputable and indifpenfibleright 
 of refumption, in any manner he thought lit ? 
 and, if he did, how was it either IJaac'Sy or 
 his father's concern, by what hands the loan 
 was taken back ? There is then evidently no 
 colour of injuftice in the cafe, even on fuppo- 
 
 firion 
 
2]6 Revelation Exammd, Sec. 
 
 fition that the command were really defigned, 
 for the fon's execution, by the hands of his 
 fiither. 
 
 Akd yet a late celebrated writer, hath the 
 alTurance, to pronounce calmly and peremp- 
 torily, that, if Ahxdh2im had obeyed, the action 
 had been abominable in the eyes oj God and man. 
 
 Now, if this pofition be true, it muft 
 
 be fo, becaufe no cafe can be conceived, in 
 which God could exad obedience to fuch a 
 command, confiftently with infinite wifdom, 
 juftice, and goodnefs ; and I muft own, that, 
 if I could not conceive fuch a cafe, yet I 
 fliould not take upon me to pronounce my 
 conceptions adequate meafurcs of the attri- 
 butes of God : But, when I can con- 
 ceive a thoufand cafes, wherein this may be 
 done, confiftently with every perfection of 
 
 the divine nature, nay, in dired confe- 
 
 quence of them all, as in puniftiment of 
 
 concealed guilt, or prevention of forefeen evil, 
 in a thoufand inftances, I muft own, I could 
 not but confider myfelf as the moft arrogant, 
 the moft prefumptuous, the moft blafphe- 
 mous of all wretched mortals, fliould I once 
 dare to deem that action abominable, fuppofing 
 that God once commanded it ; not becaufe a 
 command, as fuch, alters the nature of ani- 
 ons, but becaufe a divine command necefla- 
 xily implies wifdom, and juftice, and good- 
 nefs, tho' the reafon of that command fliould 
 
 not 
 
Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 257 
 
 not appear to fuch a wretched, ihort-fighted, 
 limited reptile, as I am. 
 
 Does not reafon antecedently demonflrate 
 that God cannot be unjuft or unmerciful, and 
 yet does not experience fhevv us, that he daily- 
 takes away the lives of innocent creatures ? 
 and does he not do this from the very motive 
 of mercy, in a thoufand inftances ? is it not 
 in prevention of guilt and mifery, that ;t^e 
 righteous cue taken away jrom the evil to 
 come ? 
 
 There is indeed fomething ftiocking at 
 iirft fight, in the idea of a parent's taking 
 away the life of an innocent child • but 
 then the exprels command of God, entirely 
 alters the cafe. — - The reafon, why fuch 
 an action, is Ihocking, is becaufc it carries 
 with it the idea of injury and grievous cruelty ; 
 and nothing is more abhorrent from na- 
 ture, than the cruelty of parents to their off- 
 fpring ; as being contrary to that ftrong inftind: 
 which makes the happinefs and well-being 
 of their children, their neareft and tendereft 
 concern ; but wnere the adion is once com- 
 manded by God, all thefe reafons ceale. 
 
 A GOOD man Is, antecedently fatisfied, 
 that God can command nothing but for wife, 
 and good reafons ; and that all his determi- 
 nations mull be for the beft j and confe- 
 
 quently, 
 
^ I § Revelation Eiimtnd^ 8cc. 
 
 quently, that it mull be his fon's intereft, 
 and advantage, to be difpofed of as he 
 direds : and that, in truth, the cruelty- 
 would be, not to difpoleof him in that man- 
 ner ; becaufe that were, as far as in him lay^ 
 to withhold him from that condition, which 
 infinite wifdom and goodnefs had appointed 
 for him, / <?. to rob him of his beft ftate. 
 
 Abraham therefore, being a wife and a 
 
 good man, could not but know this 5 and 
 therefore as foon as God commanded, he 
 readily obeyed ; not only from a fenfe of 
 the dury he owed his Maker, but likewife 
 from a full convidion that his difobedience 
 would be injurious to his fon ; would, in 
 truth, be the greateft cruelty he could do 
 
 him : this is demonftrably the true flate 
 
 of the cafe, even on fuppofition that God's 
 command were abfolute, and Abraham and 
 his fon perfedly innocent, /. e, on fuppofi- 
 tion that they both were, what no mere 
 mortal men ever yet were, or will be : and 
 if, on the other hand, we fuppofe them cri- 
 minals, who will pretend to tell us, why 
 God might not ordain fuch an execution, for 
 their mutual punilhment ? Are there not 
 numberlefs inftances of men, un-noticed for 
 eminent iniquity, reduced by the divine 
 juftice, to the necelficy of deftroying their 
 own children in calamitous circumflances of 
 various kinds ; And will any man of com- 
 mon fenfe fay, that fuch vifitations are in- 
 con- 
 
Revelation Examhid^ &c. 1 5 p 
 
 confiftent with infinite goodnefs ? Is not ter- 
 ror one of the nobleft inftruments of mercy? 
 To keep the world happy, by keeping them 
 virtuous ? And to keep them virtuous, by 
 keeping them in awe ? And how are beings 
 of a mixed nature, under the divided in- 
 fluence of paflion and reafbn, more effedu- 
 ally awed, than by the exemplary punifli- 
 ment of offences ? And tho' that punifhment 
 ftiould apparently exceed the guilt it cha- 
 ftized, in any particular inftance, is it ours 
 to pronounce upon appearances ? Are we 
 
 adequate judges in cafes of this kind ? 
 
 Is it ours to fearch the fecrets of the heart ? 
 To determine demerit, and to proportion 
 punifhment? And if it be not, what means 
 this wild unruly infolence, of difclaiming 
 and reviling every part of divine revelation, 
 which does not immediately fall in with 
 every little narrow conceited conception that 
 comes into our heads ? 
 
 Suppose, Mofes had reprefented y^hra^ 
 ham and his fon, in appearance innocent, 
 and yet both reduced to this fad neceflity : 
 
 the one, of inflidting, and the other of 
 
 fuffering a calamitous death by the hand of 
 his parent, what would right reafon infer 
 from fuch an example? What indeed, but 
 
 one, or other, of thefe conclufions ; Firft, 
 
 that if they were really innocent, God in- 
 flided this evil on them in prevention of a 
 
 greater j 
 
240 Revelation Exammdy Sec. 
 
 greater ^ (and we know that in this cafe the 
 
 leffer evil has the rat/o of good) or for 
 
 fome great and good purpofe above our 
 
 comprchcnfion : but whatever the rea- 
 
 fons of this condiid might be, that God would 
 infallibly reward this extraordinary inftance 
 of duty and obedience, in ibme extraordinary 
 manner : agreeable to his own infinite wif- 
 dom and goodnefs ! Or, idly, that notwith- 
 ftanding their apparent innocence, they might, 
 in truth, be criminals ; for that God feeth 
 
 not as man feeth : that as the wtfdom of 
 
 men is foolifljnefs with God^ fo is their fliarpell 
 
 fight, blindnefs; and that fecret things 
 
 helong only to God\ that this was an 
 
 example of humiliation, to fink the merit of 
 feeming righteoufnefs, and to reftrain the 
 lalhnefs of judging and pronouncing upon 
 appearances ! And what could fuch an ex- 
 ample miflead, but conceit and arrogance? 
 What could it miflead, even in that ob- 
 fcurity, but that very vanity, which it can 
 now neither condud, nor inform, with all 
 that evidence and light of wifdom, that fur- 
 rounds it ? Since nothing can be clearer 
 
 from the fcriptures, than that this is an ex- 
 ample, not of the punilhment of guilt, but 
 of the trial and triumph of duty ; for Mofes 
 tells us exprefly, on this occafion, that God 
 tempted ylhraham-^ 'tis true, the cxpreH^on 
 of tempting is fomctimes taken in the fenfe 
 of feducing to fin, but in this fenfe we are 
 
 aifured, 
 
Revelation Exammd, 8cc. 241 
 
 afTured, thaf as God cannot be tempted with 
 evjiy uetther tempteth he any man • by tempt- 
 hi<r then, in this place, is plainly meant, the 
 putting of his duty to the trial ; and ^o the 
 Arabtc verfion renders it, he proved h'lm^ 
 
 \\t fe arched htm out : the original word 
 
 is indifferent to cither fenfe ^ ; and thac 
 
 it muft be underftood here in the latter fcnfe, 
 is evident not only from the nature of God, 
 but alfo from God's own words in Gen. xxii. i 2. 
 For now I know that thou fcarefi Gody /eeh/g 
 thou haft not zmth-held thy Jon ^ thine only f on ^ 
 
 from mQ. Now I know, fays God ; or 
 
 rather, as it is in the original, A"6zc; / have 
 hww?Ty not that God did not know this as 
 fully before, but that he now knew it by 
 experience; — he had now proved it; ---he 
 had now brought his obedience to the teft ; 
 thac Abraham had now given fuch evidence 
 of fubmiffion, and refignation to the divine 
 will, as muft put his piety out of all doubt, 
 and that the manifeftation of this pious dif- 
 pofition, vv'as the lole purpofe of this com- 
 mand. And will any man of common fenfe 
 fay, that God cannot, both in juftice, in 
 
 * And fo we fee is the Latin word by which it is rendered, 
 T>eus tentavit Abrahamnm : the word is indifferent either to 
 
 temptation, or trial: • > in the latter Icnic arc to be uader- 
 
 ftood thofe words of the poet: 
 
 Cun^a prius tentandm fed immedicahile Tulrius^ 
 E»fe reddendum eft ?2e pars Jmcera trahafur. 
 And fo in feveral parts of the fcripture. 
 
 Vol. II. R wif-^ 
 
1^1 Revelation Examind^ Sec, 
 
 wifdom, and in mercy, bring true religion 
 to the tell? to the teft of fevere, and re- 
 peated trials? the better to difplay, to aceom- 
 plifh and to crown it. 
 
 Great virtue has a right to be confpicu- 
 ous,— 'tis linking the merit of heroifm, to with- 
 hold the occafions of exerting it, — to deny it 
 combat, in the caufe of virtue, is to deny it 
 glory !-— and therefore the juftice clGcd. is fo 
 far from being concerned, in guarding great 
 minds from great trials, that it is clearly in- 
 terefted in granting them ; and certainly no 
 man will fay, that the goodnefs of God, in 
 putting virtue and piety to the proof, is to 
 be eflimated, only by the little, tranfient, 
 temporary anxiety of the trial : and not rather 
 by that lalting joy, and excefs of tranfport, 
 that awaits, and rewards the conqueft. 
 Temporary anxieties, are the feafonings that 
 recommend and endear virtue, as fafting 
 
 recommends food : exemptions from evil 
 
 are fome of the greatell felicities our nature 
 
 knovvs; but when they are fucceeded by 
 
 real good, our happinefshas all the heighten- 
 ing it is capable of: and hence it is, 
 
 that great bleHings would lofe half their re- 
 lifli, if they were not feafoned, andlweetened, 
 by relief from diftrefs ; 'tis oppof tion that 
 heightens, and exhibits things in their true 
 
 proportion and price. If there were no 
 
 llich thing as ficknefs in the world, health 
 
 would 
 
Revelation Examhid^ occ. 245 
 
 would lofc half its value. Take away 
 
 darfcnefs, and light will lofc half its glory. 
 
 Had 'Jofeph made himfelf known to his 
 brethren, at iirft fight, the joy of the difco- 
 very, had loft all its heightening ; but when 
 it broke upon them from the depth of diftrefs, 
 the rapture was unfpeakable! we may judge 
 of the tranfports of their hearts on this occa- 
 fion, by what we feel in our own, upon 
 barely reading the relation (a relation which 
 the whole compafs of human literature hath 
 never yet pretended to equal). And was 
 not the memory of that diftrefs, or rather 
 the ftrong fenfe of happinefs in being deli- 
 vered from it, afure fund of joy for the reft 
 of their lives ? What then did Jofeph m 
 delaying that happinef?, but contrive to 
 exalt and perpetuate it ? ~ And do we 
 imagine that Abraham*^ joy was lefs lafting, 
 or lefs exalted than theirs ? Was the reco- 
 very of a brother, loft by guilt, equal to the 
 recovery of a fon, devoted to duty ? — '— 
 Of a twelfth brother, to an only fon ? Of a 
 brother, envied, and hated, to a fon inex- 
 
 preftibly beloved ? Is the memory of 
 
 the diftrefs they were delivered from, to be 
 
 once mentioned with his ? The happieft 
 
 reflexions upon the divine goodnefs, in 
 the diverlion and difappointmenc of guilt, 
 
 arc they to be named, with the 
 
 confcious delights of duty ! of the higheft 
 R 2 and 
 
144 Revelation Examind, &cc. 
 
 and moft heroick duty, that was ever yet 
 heard of among men ! of duty, fo im- 
 mediately, and fo amply rewarded ! of duty, 
 that inftant crowned with applaufe from the 
 
 mouth of God : When, as Mq/es affures 
 
 us, ^he angel of the Lord called unto Abraham 
 out of heaven y the J e con d t'tme^ and J aid ^ By 
 myfelj have I fworn^ faith the Lorf for he- 
 caufe thou haft done this things and haft not 
 wtth'heldthy fony thine only Jon : that in blef 
 fwgy I will blefs thee^ and in multiplying^ I 
 will multiply thy Jeed as the ftars of heaven^ 
 and as the fund which Is upon the fea-ffore^ 
 and thy feed fh all poffefs the gate of his ene-^ 
 mies ; and in thy feed ^ fhall all the nations of 
 the earth be bleffed, Becaufe thou haji obeyed 
 my zoice. 
 
 Was ever obedience fo crowned ? Is there 
 a joy in heaven beyond the tranfport of fuch 
 an applaufe ? What is it then thefe groveling 
 objedors cavil at ? Is it that faith was fo im- 
 
 menlly rewarded ? Do they reproach 
 
 the goodnefs of God with blefling beyond 
 imagination ? With crowning a trial of three 
 days anxiety, with lafting, and unfpeakable 
 felicity ? With the higheft happinefs human 
 nature is capable of enjoying upon earth, 
 or, perhaps, even in heaven ? 
 
 Add to all this, that God had yet other 
 bleffings in view from this trial, thofe end- 
 
 lefs 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 245 
 
 lefs bleffings derived upon mankind, from 
 the excellence of fuch an example ! Is not 
 every inftance of duty and fubmilTion to the 
 will of God, under a great variety of temp- 
 tations, and as great a variety of fublequent 
 triumphs, at once the nobleft fupport, and 
 incitement to virtue? And is not every fuch 
 example a new light fet up on high, to 
 warn us of danger, and to guide us to duty? 
 And is not one of the greateft, as the fun in 
 
 heaven, to chear, to enlighten, and to 
 
 dired ? 
 
 And therefore, fince God's command to 
 yibrabam, is evidently calculated for thefe 
 great, and gracious, and glorious ends, the 
 putting his taithful fervant to fo fevere a 
 trial, is lb far from being any way incon- 
 fiftent with his juftice and goodnefs, that it 
 is, in truth, an ample and godlike manifefta- 
 tion of both. 
 
 I PROCEED therefore in the fecond place, 
 to fhew you, that Abraham's obedience, on 
 this occafion, was fuch, as became a wife 
 and a good man to yield to the commands of 
 his Maker. 
 
 A WISE and a good man muft know, that 
 obedience to his Maker, is the great go- 
 verning duty of his life ; and the greater 
 the obedience, the more glorious the dil- 
 K 5 charae 
 
i:\6 Revelation Examind, Sec. 
 
 charge of duty : fo wife and fo good a 
 
 man as Abraham^ muft be antecedently fa- 
 tisfied, that a being of infinite wifdom and 
 goodncls, could give no command, that muft 
 finally terminate in calamity upon innocence 
 
 and obedience : What then had he to 
 
 fear ? What had he to do, but to obey, 
 
 and leave the reft to infinite wifdom and 
 goodnefs ? And was this an irrational fub- 
 
 miilion ? Or a confidence ill-grounded? 
 
 He knew this fon was given him in an ex- 
 traordinary manner; and why might he not 
 be taken away in a manner as extraordinary ? 
 And when he was taken away, he very well 
 knew, that God could again reftore him, in 
 a manner yet more extraordinary ! and that 
 raifing him from the grave, had no more 
 difficulty with infinite power, than raifing 
 him from the womb of a woman barren at 
 firft, and now, by the courfe of nature, 
 
 long paft the power of conception ! 
 
 And therefore St. PauV^ reflefticn in the 
 nth chapter to the Hebrews^ is a noble 
 comment upon the principles of Abrahams 
 
 obedience on this occafion. Rj faith 
 
 Abraham^ when he was tried^ offered up Ifaac : 
 and he that had received the promifes^ offered 
 zip bis only begotten fon^ of whom it was J'aid^ 
 7'hat in Ifaac foall thy feed he called. Account- 
 ing that God was able to raife him up^ even 
 from the dead: from whence aljo he received 
 Mm in a fimre. 
 
 ^^ He 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 247 
 
 H E could not but recoiled, in how folemn 
 a manner, God, had before this, prom lied to 
 cftabllfh his covenant with I/ciaCy and with 
 
 his feed after him : and he could not 
 
 but know, that God was faithful and juft to 
 fulfil his promife ; and as for the time, and 
 manner, in which this was to be done, both 
 thofe, he well knew, were the concern of 
 infinite wifdom, and goodnefs, and veracity j 
 which could not fail to effeft both, in the 
 
 beft manner, and in the fitteft fealbn. ■ 
 
 What then had he to fear, or to de- 
 
 fpond upon? I would not leffen the merit 
 
 of fo firm and fo illuftrious a faith ; 
 
 without fuch a fupport, humanity mufi: fink 
 under fo great a trial; and the lame infinite 
 goodnefs, which tempted his faithful fervant, 
 in fo extraordinary a manner, would mp 
 Juffer him to he tempted above what he 
 
 was able to bear, And yet pofiibly, it 
 
 might be made a queftion, whether he, or 
 his fon, had more merit in this confiid of 
 faith. 
 
 ISAAC^ was now, indifputably, of 
 years, to enable him to defeat his father's 
 purpofe, had he not voluntarily and moft fur- 
 prizingly fubmittcd to it ; the mod learned 
 and moderate computations, fuppofe him 
 now at man's eftate ; and the load of wpod 
 which he carried to confume the burnt*- 
 II 4 oncring, 
 
148 Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 
 
 offering, demonftrates him, of age and 
 ftrcngth enough, to fruftrate the weak efforts 
 of an aged parent *, had he not with infinite 
 refignation given up his hands to be bound : 
 and fuffercd himfelf to be kd as a lamb to the 
 
 Jlaughter, And if all this does not con- 
 
 ftitute him an amazing type of the lamb of 
 God^ which takcth away the fins of the worlds 
 
 what is there amazing in this world ! 
 
 Why, is there one fuch inflance, of fo meek, 
 fo deliberate, fo determined a fubmiflion to 
 death, in obedience to the will of his father, 
 and his God ? And why is there but that 
 one, in all the annals of the world, from 
 the foundation of it, to this day ? 
 
 And thus having Ihewn you that Jbra- 
 hams obedience, in this cafe, was fuch, as 
 became a wife, and a good man to yield to 
 
 the commands of his God, I come now 
 
 in the laft place to anfwer the objeftions 
 avith which infidels have affaulted this part 
 of Abrahams character. 
 
 * That Abraham was now alone and unaided in binding his 
 fon, appears inf^ifputably from the text : for we are told at 
 firfl:, that he took two of his young men rohh him 5 and then 
 follows, ch. xxii. 5-. And Abraham fiid unto his young men^ 
 Abide you here roith the afs, and I and the lad will go yonder, 
 and wcrf^^/ip, and come again to you. And when the affair was 
 over, Mofes tells us, (ibid. 19.) So Abraham returned unto his 
 young men, and they rofe up, 6cc. 
 
 In 
 
Kev EL ATio^ Examind^ Sec. 249 
 
 In the firft place then, it is faid, that the 
 Lord of the univerfe governs himfelf by the 
 eternal rules of reafon, and cannot a<S him- 
 felf, nor command his creatures to aft, in 
 any inftance contrary to them ; confequently 
 no command, in contradidion to any of thefe 
 
 rules, can come from God ; now the 
 
 command to Abraham of flaying his only 
 fon, is (they fay) fuch a command ; as be- 
 ing in contradiction to that eternal rule of 
 reafon, by which parents are obliged to pre* 
 ferve their offspring : confequently, fuch a 
 command could not come from God. 
 
 In anfwer to this, I own that God muft 
 govern himfelf and his creatures by the eter- 
 nal rules of reafon, and can give no command 
 in contradidion to them. 
 
 But then common fenfe tells us, chat 
 thefe are the rules not of human reafon, but 
 
 divine : thefe rules, muft refult from 
 
 the relation which the whole, and all the 
 parts, have to one another : which nothing 
 
 but infinite wifdom can comprehend : ■ 
 
 and therefore to affirm, as one of our free- 
 thinking writers does, that tri/e religion is 
 founded upon moral jitnefs^ is to fpeak with 
 due dignity of divine inftitutions : but to in- 
 fer from hence (as that author does) that 
 man by his own natural ability {confidtred as 
 
 man)^ 
 
250 Key ELATION Examindy &c. 
 
 ma^?) is qualified to dijcover true reUgioji : is 
 to infer 1 know not what, bcfidcs the extent 
 
 of human arrogance ; to affirm that man 
 
 is in all cales an adequate judge of moral 
 fitnefs, is to affirm him unbounded in his 
 
 knowledge, fully endowed with a 
 
 thorough comprehenfion, and clear view of 
 all the relations of things throughout the 
 univerfe ; from whence only that moral fit- 
 nefs can arife : ' an affertion fo utterly 
 
 abfurd and ungrounded, that the weak- 
 
 nefs of it, can only be exceeded by the 
 vanity. 
 
 If it were pretended, that even in every 
 little earthly ftate, every fubjeft was, and 
 ought to be, an adequate judge of all the 
 prudential and political meafures of his 
 rulers, is there a man of common fenfe, 
 that would not explode fo fenfelefs and prc- 
 fumptuous a maxim, with difdain ! Are we 
 incompetent judges of the conduct of our 
 earthly rulers, in a thoufand cafes, and are 
 we adequate judges of the wifdom and juftice 
 of that God that governs the world, in 
 every cafe ? O Ihamelefs and infupportable 
 vanity ! 
 
 I N the next place, we readily own, that 
 all parents are eternally obliged, as far as in 
 them lies, to preferve their children. 
 
Revelation Examhid, See. 25 1 
 
 But then furely it will by no means fol- 
 low from hence, that parents have a right to 
 
 difobey the commands of God; or that 
 
 they are obliged to prcferve their children in 
 
 contradiction to the commands of God, 
 
 becaufe obedience to the commands of God, 
 is a prior obligation, and the duty of pre- 
 ferving their children is but a fecondary 
 fabfequent obligation ; and mull give place 
 
 to every obligation that is prior ; con- 
 
 fequently, whenever it is inconfiflent wdth 
 any prior obligation, it ceafes ; and not only 
 fo, but the dired contrary becomes a duty. 
 
 But here it may be objected, that the 
 prefervation of children is a law of nature, 
 binding upon all parents, and being a law of 
 
 nature, muft be owned a law of God; 
 
 and that to fuppofe a command given by- 
 God, in oppofition to this law, is to fuppofe 
 that God can contradict his own laws. 
 
 I ANSWER, That to fuppofe God unpof- 
 fefTed of a power to fufpend, or controul, 
 
 his own laws, is to fuppofe him un- 
 
 poffefled of a right effcntial to all legiflative 
 
 authority : to fuppofe him incapable of 
 
 working a miracle, (for all miracles are 
 
 controlmcntsof the laws of nature) or inter- 
 pofing, in any extraordinary manner in the 
 
 government of the world. The ordinary 
 
 law§ 
 
25 i Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 
 
 laws of God, are the ordinary means for at- 
 taining the ordinary ends of his providence, 
 
 ■ and therefore the extraordinary ends of 
 
 his providence, demand an extraordinary con- 
 
 trolment of thefe laws ; and to fuppofe 
 
 fuch a controlmentany way inconfiftcnt with 
 immutability, or infinite wifdom, is to fup- 
 pofe an extreme abfurdity ; unlefs it be 
 
 Hippofed, that the immutability of God, 
 
 iiippofes an immutable ftate of things, 
 
 that is, a fatal necellity, which is dire6l 
 
 atheifm • otherwife the fteady and in- 
 variable wifdom of God, requires a change 
 of meafures, upon a change of circum-* 
 fiances. 
 
 Besides, would it not be ftrange, to fup- 
 pofe thefe laws uncontroulable by any extra- 
 ordinary interpofition of providence, when we 
 behold them daily controuled by one another, 
 
 in the ordinary courfe of things. For 
 
 example, 
 
 Tho' it be an eternal law of nature, and 
 confcquently, of God, that parents fliould 
 prefer ve their children, yet if that preferva- 
 tion be inconfiftent with their own, that 
 eternal law is controuled, and their obli- 
 gation to it, ceafes that moment ; becaufe 
 felf-prefervation is a prior obligation. - — 
 For this reafon, if a parent has no more food 
 than will fubfift himfelf, he may let his child 
 
 ftarve : 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. 255 
 
 ftarve : if he be fwimming to fliore upon 
 
 a plank, which would only iupport one, 
 and his ion fhould leize it, he may drown his 
 fon to fave his own life. 
 
 ^Tis a known rule, that a parent can vio- 
 late no duty he owes to his neighbour, to 
 
 preferve the life of his child, much lels 
 
 can he violate any duty he owes to the com- 
 munity on that account, and leaft of all any 
 
 duty he owes to God ; if a parent be a 
 
 magiftrate, and the child a criminal deferving 
 death by the laws of his country, Is the 
 parent in this cafe obliged to preferve him? 
 quite the contrary ! he is obliged to deftroy 
 him : nay, fuppofe a man condemned inno- 
 cent, the magiftrate, whofe duty it is to put 
 the laws in execution, is bound in conference 
 to put him to death, tho' he were his fon ; 
 and the reafon is obvious, the extraordinary 
 duty he owes to his country, is prior to the 
 ordinary duty he owes his child, and con- 
 fequently, whenever they become incon- 
 fiftent, his duty to the child muft give 
 way. 
 
 Now every one that knows any thing of 
 the duties of morality, knows, that they 
 
 fubfift in this order ; the firft duties we 
 
 owe, or can owe, is obedience to the will of 
 God however known. And obedience to 
 the will of God, feen in the ordinary efta- 
 
 blifhment 
 3 
 
2 54 REVELATION Examhid^ Sec. 
 
 blifhment of things, muft give way to the 
 
 will of God extraordinarily revealed. 
 
 The fecond order of duties, are thofe we 
 owe to the community : - — and the third, 
 
 are thofe we owe to ourfelves, the 
 
 duties then which men owe to their children, 
 
 are only in the fourth rank. Whenever 
 
 the duties men owe their children become 
 inconfiftent with the duties they owe them- 
 felves, their duties to their children inftantly 
 ceafe, whenever they become incon- 
 fiftent with the duties they owe their coun- 
 try, they ceafe for a higher reafon, and 
 
 whenever they become inconfiftent with the 
 duties they owe to God, they ceafe for the 
 higheft reafon. All private duties give place 
 to the duties men owe to their country; and 
 the duties they owe to their country, give 
 place to the duties they owe to God ! be- 
 caufe thofe are the firft and higheft obli- 
 gations we can lie under : and 'tis for 
 
 want of knowing thefe common and plain 
 diftindions, that infidels have run riot in 
 folly, whenever they talk of the incon- 
 fiftency of any of the divine commands, re- 
 lated in fcripture, with the eternal laws of 
 reafon ; for, 
 
 Is it not an eternal law of reafon, antece- 
 dent to every focial obligation in life, either 
 private or publick, that God the Creator has 
 an inherent, inconteftable right, to employ 
 
 the 
 
Key EL ATiO'b^ Eticammdy &c. 255 
 
 the powers and faculties of all his creatures 
 to the purpofes o^ his eternal will ? And is 
 not the firlt obligation we owe in life, an 
 obligation of immediate obedience to all the 
 commands of God, in confequence of his in- 
 herent right to employ the powers and facul- 
 ties of his creatures in fubfervience to the 
 purpofes of his will ? 
 
 Is there a clearer dictate of reafon, than 
 that God has an abfolute right over the lives 
 of all his creatures? Will any man of com.- 
 mon fenfe fay, that God, who gave uncon- 
 ditional life and being to his creatures, hath 
 not an abfolute right to take them away, 
 
 when, and by what means he thinks fit ? 
 
 And will any man of common fcnfe fay, that 
 he can abufe that ris-ht ? That there is a 
 poilibility of his employing that right, erro- 
 neoully, or to evil purpofes? And if there is 
 nor, can there be a doubt about the duty of 
 our fubmiffion vv^henever he thinks fit to 
 exert it ? Are not thefe eternal antece- 
 dent laws of reafon ? Is there then any in- 
 confiflency either in his commanding, or 
 our obeying in conformity to them ? In con- 
 formity to the eternal laws of reafon ! What 
 fenfelcfs fuggeilions are thefe ? And what 
 unparalelled effrontery at once to revile the 
 revelation of God, and the common fcnfe of 
 mankind with fuch monftrous and blafphe- 
 mcus abfurdities? 
 
 The 
 
2 5^ Revelation Examindy &cc. 
 
 The fum of all is this ; 
 
 God has an undoubted right over the lives 
 of all his creatures. He cannot exert that 
 right erroneoufly. 
 
 He has an undoubted right to employ the 
 powers of all his creatures, to the execution of 
 all his rightful commands : all the commands 
 of God muft of neceflity be wife, righteous, 
 
 and juft : what God can rightfully do, 
 
 he can rightfully command to be done ^. 
 
 'Tis the indifpenfable duty of all intelli- 
 gent beings, to obey God in all things that 
 
 he can rightfully command to be done. 
 
 Thefe propofitions are all felf-evident. 
 
 I F then God has a right to take away the 
 life of any human creature, he has a right to 
 command the powers of any intelligent be- 
 ing, in the execution of that right, no 
 
 * Tho' it is not always true, that what man can rightfully 
 do, he can righti-uUy command to be done by another, ■ ■ 
 
 yet is it eternally true of God j ^^ human rights in many 
 
 inflances, can't be transferred: inafmuch as they arc perfonal and 
 imperfeft, and can't devolve upon another by his command in 
 whom that perfoaal and iniperte^t right is vcfted 5 becaufe he 
 may have no right of com mand or rule over th::t other 5 and becaufe 
 a third perfon may be injured by iuch devolutions; — but the 
 divine rights arc ail perfect, God hath a right of command over 
 sU beings, and no third perlbn can be injured by exerting it, 
 becaufe the divine right is prior. 
 
 being 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ &c. 257 
 
 being can have a right to difobey, what God 
 
 has a right to command : if therefore God 
 
 commanded Abraham to take away the Hfeof his 
 fon, he had a right to be obeyed in that com- 
 mand : confcquently Abraham had no right 
 
 difobey him; and if he had no right to 
 
 difobey, obedience was his indifpenfable duty. 
 
 This is fuch a chain of clear, irrefiftible 
 reafoning, as, I beheve, infidels will hardly 
 attempt to break thro* ; or if they do attempt 
 it, I will be bound to promife them, that 
 they will find their weaknefs in the attempt. 
 
 But their abfurdity will appear yet far- 
 ther in the other objedtions they have raifed 
 againft revelation on this head. — — which^, 
 by God's affiftance, fliall be difcuflTed in th© 
 next diflertation. 
 
 Vol. II, S Di>^^ 
 
258 Revelatioin Exanmidj Sec. 
 
 Dissertation VIII, 
 
 A fliort reca- 
 pitulation of 
 the precedent 
 diilertation. 
 
 N the precedent differ- 
 tation, I laid down 
 thefe t\vo propofi- 
 tions. 
 
 1. Th AT the command of facrificingT/^^r, 
 as it is laid down in the fcriptures, is no way 
 inconfiftent w^ith the jiiftice, or goodnefs of 
 God. And, 
 
 2. That Ah7''aha7ns obedience was fuch^ 
 as became a wife and a good man to yield, to 
 the commands of his Maker. 
 
 Under the firfl head, I fliewed you, that, 
 if the command had been abfolutely intended 
 to take away Jfaac^ life ; and Ifaac had been 
 perfectly innocent, there could be no colour 
 of injuftice in the cafe 5 fince God, the au- 
 thor and giver of life, hath an undoubted 
 
 right, to rcfume it, when, and 
 
 by what 
 means 
 
Revelation Examlnd^ &cc. 259 
 
 means he thinks fit. And, fince his i;i~ 
 
 finite wildom and goodnefs fufficiently fecure 
 us from all fufpicion of his taking it away 
 
 arbitrarily or unlawfully, nor is there 
 
 any imputation or fufpicion of cruelty upon 
 the conducfl of God, in fuch cafes, fince the 
 fcriptures affure us, that the righteous are 
 
 take?! away from the evil to come^ fince 
 
 experience Hiews us, that innocent creatures 
 are daily cut oflf from the earthy and reafon 
 antecedently demonftrates, that this, as all 
 other parts of the divine conducS, muft be 
 the eifed: of infinite wifdom and goodnefs, 
 however obfcure and unaccountable, to fuch 
 fliort-fighted creatures as we are. 
 
 'Tis owned, indeed, that fuch an adlion 
 in a parent, would be fhocking at firft fight, 
 as carrying the idea of a grievous injury, 
 and unnatural cruelty; but the command of 
 God, entirely alters the cafe; becaufe rea- 
 fon antecedently demonfl:rates, that all his 
 difpofitions and determinations muft be for 
 the beft ; confequently, the only cruelty and 
 injury to the child, would be, to with-hold 
 him from that ftate, which God had decreed 
 for him. 
 
 O N the other hand, I fliewcd you, that, if 
 Abraham and his fon were criminals, God 
 might, in ftrldl juftice, ordain fuch an exe- 
 cution, for their mutual punifhment. But 
 
 S z thac 
 
2^0 Revelatiok EKamtnd^ Sec. 
 
 that in truth, this was only a command of 
 probation, and never intended for r.ny other 
 purpofe than to render Abrahams piety more 
 illullrious, and to entitle it to higher rewards. 
 
 Under the fecond head, I fliewed you, 
 that Abrahams ready obedience was the effedt 
 of his wifdom and piety. 
 
 He knew, obedience to the divine will, 
 was the firft duty in life ; and that obedience 
 to the will of God, fecn in the ordinary 
 eftablifliment of things, muft give place to 
 the will of God revealed in an extraordinary 
 
 manner ; and that no command from 
 
 God, could be erroneous or unrighteous, ■ 
 
 or terminate in the calamity and mifery of 
 
 innocence. He knew, that God had given 
 
 him gi". clous promifes, in relation to this very 
 fon ; and he had a firm confidence in the 
 
 juflice and veracity of God ; that he 
 
 was faithful and juft to fulfil his promifes. 
 
 In the laft place, I anfwered that formid- 
 able objed:ion of infidelity^ That God cannot 
 a5l hinifelf\ nor cojnmand his creatures to a^^ 
 in contradi^ion to the eternal rules of reafon^ 
 
 by {hewing you, that God commanded 
 
 nothing in Abraham's cafe, 'but what he had 
 
 an undoubted right to command ; confe- 
 
 quently, that this comm/and was perfcdily con- 
 formable, to the eternal rules of reafon ; ^ 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Examind^ 8cc. i6\ 
 
 and that the obligation of obedience to his 
 rightful commands, is prior to all others; 
 confequently, whenever that obligation comes 
 in competition with any duty men owe their 
 children, their duty to their children ceafes. 
 
 I NOW proceed to confider fome other ob- 
 je<^ions, raifed by infidels, againfl: this pare 
 of divine revelation. 
 
 I N the next place then, 'tis urged, (with a 
 view of imputation upon this command to 
 Abraham) that a religion commandijig parents 
 to deji-roy their children^ cannot fome from 
 God. 
 
 In anfwer to this, 'tis owned, that a reli- 
 gion which made this the ordinary duty of 
 parents, could not come from God, becaufe 
 fuch a duty would neceifarily deftroy all hu- 
 man fociety, and, of confequence, all re- 
 ligion with it ; but what religion does this ob- 
 jedlion affecSt ? I am fure, neither the Jeu'ijh^ 
 nor Chrijiian: Was any fuch religion ever 
 heard of, befides thofe of the heathen world, 
 to which infidelity is labouring to bring us 
 back, and the worft examples of whigh it 
 hath lately outdone? 
 
 But, though, this cannot be the ordinary 
 duty of parents, from any true religion, does 
 \t follow from hence, that God could not, 
 
 S3 m 
 
r6i Revelation Examind^ Sec. 
 
 in any cafe whatfoever, rightfully give fuch 
 a command, or exad: obedience to it? Are 
 we adequate judges of the whole compafs 
 and extent of infinite wifdom ? Does it cer- 
 tainly follow, that God could not, on any 
 particular occafion, or for any end of divine 
 wifdom whatfoever, give fuch a command? 
 ■ — ^Does it follow, that he could not impofe 
 fuch a command, upon a wicked parent, in 
 
 chaflifement of guilt ? or on a righteous 
 
 parent, in proof of obedience, or to render 
 his faith and piety more illuflrious ? And 
 will it follow from hence, that an hiftory re- 
 lating, that fuch a trial was made by Almighty 
 God, in order to that very end, is falfe or 
 
 fallacious ? Let us fee how this reafoning 
 
 will hold. The argument, in its full force, 
 
 will fland thus, 
 
 A RELIGION commanding parents to de-- 
 flroy their children, cannot come from God, 
 
 therefore that hiftory which tells us, that 
 
 God in trial of yiirahams obedience com- 
 manded him to facrifice his fon, cannot be 
 true. How wild and inconclufive is this 
 reafoning? How will it hold in other cafes? 
 For Example, 
 
 A TREATISE of mcdicine, which fhould 
 prefcribe phylick for the daily food of pati- 
 ents, could never be the work of a wife and 
 a good phyfician; becaufe it muft deftroy 
 
 the 
 
Revelation Examhtd^ &c. 2^5 
 
 the very end for which phyfickwas ordained ; 
 therefore any hiilory that iliould tell us, 
 that phyfick was prefer ibcd by a wife and a 
 good phyfician, in any particular cafe, mufl 
 
 be filfe Is there a man of common 
 
 {^wic that does not fee the lillinefs of this way 
 of arguing? We fee then, that the infe- 
 rence from this command, to the difadvan- 
 tage of revelation, is altogether inconclufive, 
 
 and abfurd. Let us now confider, what 
 
 inference can be made to Abrahams di fad- 
 vantage, in the intended execution of that 
 command, from the general duty of parents 
 to their children, compared with other extra- 
 ordinary cafes ; for example, it may be 
 
 faid, with great truth, that he m.uft needs be 
 a bad parent, who commands his children to 
 be barbaroufly butchered with rods and axes, 
 before his own eyes. This pofition is un- 
 doubtedly true in the general; but, does it 
 follow from hence, that the iirft Brutus was 
 either a bad man, or a bad parent, for com- 
 manding his fons to be ferved in this manner, 
 when the duty he owed his country required 
 it? And did Abraham owe left duty to God 
 than Brutus owed his country ? 
 
 Again —a captain, who fliould com- 
 mand his valiant and victorious fon to be put 
 to death, for exerting his prowefs upon the 
 enemies of his country, muft furely be a 
 monfter amongft men. - — This pofition, laid 
 
 S 4. dowa 
 
t6j^ Revelation Examind^ &c. 
 
 down without any limitation, is undoubtedly 
 true ; but will it follow from hence, that 
 Manlius was a monfter, tho' he put his own 
 fon to death, for killing Gcmhiius^ general 
 of the Latim, contrary to the difcipline of 
 
 ^var ? And had Manlius better authority 
 
 for putting his fon to death, than Abraham? 
 - — Is the difcipline of war a ftronger obli- 
 gation, than an exprefs, pofitive, unerring 
 command, from the great ruler of the world ? 
 — the foyereign arbiter of life and death ? 
 
 Again, 'tis no uncom.mon cafe, to fee pa- 
 rents and children engaged in the oppofite 
 intereliS, and lifted under the oppofite banners, 
 
 of princes at enmity v/ith one another. 
 
 And, if the conteft comes to the decifion of 
 a battle, is it nor, in that cafe, the parent's 
 duty to deilroy the fon ? and the fon's to de- 
 ftroy the parent ? Will any man of common 
 fenfe fay it is not ? ^ 
 
 If putting a fon to death, were an adlion, 
 limply, and, in itfelf, finful, 'tis evident, 
 that no authority could j aft ify it; and then, 
 neither could a magiftrate honeftly do this, 
 in obedience to the laws, nor a captain, in 
 fupport of martial difcipline, nor a foldier, 
 in obedience to his prince; but furely no 
 man v/as ever fo extravagant, as to imagine 
 fuch an ad:ion immoral, in any of thofe cales ? 
 What is it then that can make it immoralj 
 
 but 
 
Revelation Exammdy See. 2($5 
 
 but doing it without fufficieiit authority ? 
 Whereas killing a ion in obedience to a 
 competent authority, has evidently no more 
 immorality in it, than killing a mortal enemy, 
 And is not the authority of God a com- 
 petent authority? Is it the duty of a parent, 
 to flay a fon, tho' innocent and unoffending, 
 in obedience to the commands of a magi- 
 
 ftrate^ his captain, or his prince ; and is 
 
 it no duty, to do this in obedience to the 
 
 commands of his Maker ? Will any man 
 
 pretend to any degree of common fenfe, 
 that will dare to fupport fuch abfurdities? 
 Is not then this objection to Abraham^ and 
 to divine revelation upon that account, the 
 effect of grofs ignorance ? Or will the authors 
 think we honour them, in afcribing it to 
 another cauie ? Will they ftill have it placed 
 to the fcore of free-thinking'? 'Tis indeed, 
 in one fenfe, juftly entitled to that appella- 
 tion, inafmuch as it is thinking under a 
 thorough, an entire exemption from all the 
 rules of reafon, and all the reilraints of 
 truth. 
 
 Again, 'tis afked, how Abraha?n could 
 know, that it was God that gave him this 
 command? Should he not rather fufped: 
 the delufion of fome evil fpirit delighting in 
 cruelty ? 
 
 What 
 
266 Revelation Exammdy &cc. 
 
 What fpecious trifling is here? 'And 
 
 why fhould Abraham fufpedl, that God 
 Almighty fliould fufFer an evil fpirit to 
 delude him, ading in the honefty and inte- 
 grity of his heart? Could Abraham fufpedt 
 it confiftent with the divine wifdom, and 
 goodnefs, to fuffer a good man, ailing upon 
 the higheft principle of obedience to God, 
 to be at once invincibly deluded into the 
 greateft, and moft irretrievable calamity, 
 and the moil: (hocking ad: of obedience to 
 the devil ? Is there any man of common 
 fenfe, that does not fee this to be utterly in- 
 confiftent with every attribute in the divine 
 nature ? 
 
 Besides this, Abraham could not but 
 know, that God had given him that fon 
 
 miraculoully, • that he had promifed 
 
 him, feed by that fon, that he had 
 
 promifed to eflablifh his covenant with that 
 fon : ■ Could he, after this, fufped:, that 
 
 God would fuffer all his own gracious 
 purpofes, and promifes, to be defeated by 
 the devil ? Why furely thefe creatures 
 imagine Abraham not only as infidel, 
 but as ignorant as themfelves ! How elfe 
 could fuch abfurdities come into their 
 heads ? 
 
 But 
 
Revelation Examhi'd^&cc, \(^y 
 
 But ftlll, how could Abraham certainly 
 know that it was God, that gave him this 
 command ? 
 
 Is not this, in other words, to ask, How 
 God could make himfelf certainly known? 
 To ask, How God, who gives all other be- 
 ings thofe powers, and marks, and characters 
 by which they know one another, could exhi- 
 bit to Ah'aha77i^ any certain marks and cha- 
 racters, whereby to know himfelf? The mean- 
 eft man in this city has it in his power to make 
 himfelf certainly known to the emperor of 
 
 China or Japa7i : Do we ask then, how 
 
 could God do that, which is in the power of. 
 
 any ordinary human creature ? What afto- 
 
 nilhing infolence is it, to queftion at this wild 
 rate ? 
 
 However, to compiv for once with their 
 utmoft ftretch of extravagance, let us examine 
 calmly, what reafonable grounds of affurance 
 Abraham could have, that this command 
 came from God. 
 
 I u the firft place then, Abraham left his 
 own country and kindred, by the exprefs 
 command of God, and went into a ftrange 
 land, which God had promifed to give to 
 
 his feed. 'Tis not indeed told us, in 
 
 what manner God appeared to Abraham^ 
 
 when 
 
t6^ Revelation Examhid^ Sec. 
 
 when he gave him this command, but we 
 
 may be affured from Abrahams prudence, 
 that he would not Hghtly obey a command of 
 fo much trouble and inconvenience to him: 
 
 ' for his greatefl enemies allow him fuffici- 
 
 ently cautious, in every thing relating to his 
 own well-being ; he was now well advan- 
 ced in years, and was neither of a temper, 
 or age, that would lightly incline him to 
 feek adventures; confequently, there is no 
 reaion to fufped: he would obey this order, if 
 it were in any degree doubtful to him, whe^ 
 ther it was God that gave it ; nor would an 
 aged parent indulge and accompany him in 
 his obedience, as Tierah did, unlefs he alfo 
 had been fufRciently certified, that it came 
 from God. 
 
 Again, after he had been for fome time 
 fettled in Haran^ long enough to have his 
 family and fortune increafe in it, * and pro- 
 bably, long enough to like it, and be con- 
 tented with it : God commands him thence, 
 into a llrange country, in all appearance not 
 better than his own; and confequently, fuch 
 as he cannot be prefumed to have preferred 
 
 * This appears from thefe words, [Gen. xii. ^.) And Abra^ 
 ham took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's fon, and all their 
 fub/iance that they had ^atheredy and the fouls that they had gotten 
 inUaran, ^c. 
 
 to 
 
Revelation Examind^ Sec. i6g 
 
 to it, for any other reafon than that mentioned 
 by Mofes. 
 
 Again, when he came into Canaan^ God 
 appeared to him a fecond time, and renewed 
 his firft promife. 
 
 After this, when he was driven by fa- 
 mine into Egypt, God fufficiently manifefted 
 his fignal proted:ion of him, by plaguing 
 Pharaoh^ and his houfe, upon his account; 
 and it is clearly implied in the relation ot 
 this tranfadtion, that God revealed to Pha- 
 raoh^ the reafon of the plague wherewith he 
 
 and his houfe were viiited. If Abraham 
 
 then could doubt the information of his own 
 faculties, which afTured him of the imme- 
 diate interpofiticn of God in his favour, could 
 he doubt the atteftation of Pharaoh^ and his 
 
 fervants on that head ? The atteftation of 
 
 ftrangers, who could have no intereft in de- 
 luding him? Or if he could doubt them, 
 could he doubt the atteftation of thofe great 
 plagues which he faw them fuffer upon his 
 account ; or the atteftation of thofe numerous 
 bleffings, which he faw daily multiplied 
 upon himfelf in conformity to the divine 
 promife f 
 
 Aft E R this, when Abraha?7t returned into 
 Ca7iaan^ God again renewed his afliirance, of 
 
 giving him the promifed land, And, 
 
 After 
 
270 Revelation Examind^ Z^c. 
 
 After this, 'tis faid, \.\\2i\. the word of the 
 J^ord came to Abraham in a vifion : from 
 •whence, as alfo from other circumflances, 
 'tis reafonable to conclude, that the prece- 
 dent applications of Almighty God to him, 
 were made in fome other manner : and here 
 the promife of an heir and a numerous pofte- 
 rity, are added to the promife of Canaaii-y 
 and tho* the text tells us, that Abraham be- 
 lieved the promife s of God^ on this occafion; 
 yet however, (probably becaufe this affurance 
 was given him in a vifion) he befeeches 
 the Almighty to give him fome fure fign, 
 that might put it out of all doubt, that this 
 promife fliould be made 'good to him: And 
 he faid, Lord God, whereby fiall I Jmow that 
 I fiall inherit it? In compliance with which 
 requeft, a facrifice is commanded to be pre- 
 pared, and when it was prepared, God again 
 appears to him in a vifion, and the pro- 
 mife is again repeated : and after this re- 
 petition, the promife is fupported by a miracle; 
 and a covenant confirmed by fire from heaven, 
 to confumethe facrifice, which God had com- 
 manded him to offer. 
 
 And here 'tis remarkable, that this part 
 of Abraha?7is conduft appears fo fall of 
 caution, that a late writer upbraids him 
 with want of faith on this occafion ; and yet, 
 in truth, all that can be inferred from it, is 
 
 no 
 
Revelation Exmiiind^ Sec. 271 
 
 no more than this, that tho' Abraham had 
 firm faith in the promifes of God, yet he 
 took futhcient care to be fully fatisfied, that 
 
 it was God, that did promife. And if he 
 
 was fo cautious with regard to a promife, 
 w^hich related only to remote futurity, can 
 we imagine, he was lefs cautious with re- 
 gard to commands which were immediately 
 to affedt him? particularly that command, 
 which was to affed: him in the tendereft 
 point, in the point of higheft importance to 
 him? Can we believe, that he took lefs 
 care to be alTured, that this alfo came from 
 God? 
 
 Again, when Abraham was ninety-nine 
 years old, God appeared again to him^ and 
 that he exhibited himfelf in fome glorious 
 fenfible appearance, is fufficiently clear from 
 the text, which fays, that Abraham fell upon 
 his face, whilfl God converfed with him, 
 
 Here, circumcifion is inftituted ; an 
 
 hazardous, and painful rite ! which Abra- 
 ham could not prad:ice, but from full con- 
 viction of a divine command. Ifaac alfo 
 
 is here promifed to him, out of the courfe of 
 nature. 
 
 Again, the Lord appeared unto Abra-^ 
 ham in the plains of Mamre^ and this was 
 evidently in a fenfible fliape^ and 'tis clear 
 from the text, that before his departure, 
 
 Abraham 
 
i7^ Revelation Examhid^ Sec 
 
 jibraham knew him to be God ; or, to fpeak 
 hiore properly, /. e. more intelligibly, the 
 
 Mejjuih in human form *; this appears 
 
 from the whole converfation about Sodom^ 
 more particularly that part of it, where he 
 calls him, judge of all the earth. 
 
 Soon after this, God appeared to Abime^ 
 Jech, in Abrahams behalf, and inflided a 
 temporary barrennefs upon his whole houfe ; 
 
 which was removed upon Abraha??is 
 
 prayer. 
 
 Again, foon after this, God*s promife of 
 an heir was fulfilled by the birth of a fon 
 
 from a barren woman: and that too, 
 
 long after the feafon of conception was over. 
 
 ■ Could he then doubt, that it was God 
 
 who had promifed a bleffing, w^hich nothing 
 but He that could controul the order of na- 
 ture^ could confer ? 
 
 ■ * Should any free-thinker, in the fullnefs of his wifHora, 
 fuppofe this account of God's conference with Abraham, in- 
 credible and abfurd ; ■ ■ I muft beg leave to tell him, that 
 
 before he can reafonably conclude this, he rauft antecedently 
 Satisfy himfclf, and be able to fatisfy every reafonable man, that 
 either or both thcle pofitions are impolTible and abfurd. 
 
 Firft, that it is impoflible that God fliould manifefl: himfelf 
 to human eyes, under any fenfible appearance : ■ or fecondly^ 
 
 that it is abfurd or impoilible he fliould manifefl himfelt: 
 
 under a human form. I can't but fay, 1 fhould be very 
 
 glad to fee the utmofl; efforts of free-thinking philofophy upon 
 lo curious a fubje^, 
 
 A G A I Nf 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 275 
 
 Again, God commanded Abraham to 
 comply with his wife's requeft, in calling out 
 the bo?2d-ix:oma7i and her fo?i. This was a 
 command fo feemingly cruel, and fo grievous 
 to be obeyed, that nothing but a full con- 
 vid:ion that it came from God, could exadt 
 Abrahams fubmiffion to it; and God's fub- 
 fequent extraordinary protection of the lad, 
 and his mother, could not but confirm 
 Abraham in the wifdom, and reafonablenefs 
 of that ready obedience, he paid his Maker 
 on that occafion. 
 
 And after all thefe manifeflations of him- 
 felf and his providence to Abraham^ he 
 
 commands him to offer up Ifaac\ . and 
 
 will any man fay, that Abraha?n had not by 
 this time fufficient reafon to know certainly 
 
 that this command came from God ? Goa 
 
 had fome way or other appeared and mani- 
 fefted himfelf to him nine times, before thisi 
 command, twice in vifion, twice by miracle, 
 twice under fome fenfible appearance, and 
 thrice in fome manner not explained; ■ ■■ 
 he had given him three precedent commands, 
 which no man in his fenfes could obey, 
 without full convid:ion that they came from 
 
 God. And he had given him full proof 
 
 of his protedlion, in confcquence of his obe- 
 dience to each. 
 
 Vol. II. T The 
 
274 Revelation Examindy&cc. 
 
 The weight of thofe grievous trials which 
 it pleafed God to lay upon him, was gradu- 
 ally increafed; ■ banifliment from his 
 
 country and kindred, was lucceeded by the 
 pain and hazard of circumcifion j and that, 
 by the grief of turning out a helplefs fon, 
 whom he tenderly loved, into a wildernefs; 
 expofed to want, and to wild beafts! and 
 now, his only remaining child, was to be 
 
 flain by his own hands. His obedience 
 
 had hitherto been gloriouily crowned in every 
 inflancej Could he then, with any colour of 
 reafon, doubt or defpond now, after fucli 
 reiterated experierxe of God's goodnefs to 
 him? God's miraculous interpofition in his 
 behalf was atteiled by two kings; and the 
 vifible effeds of divine judgments upon them, 
 
 and their houfliold: he had often before 
 
 this called to him, fpoke to him, fometimes 
 converfed wirh him, and on one occafion, 
 
 familiarly and long ; and d'cubtlefs, always ' 
 
 in the fame voice ^ and is there, after this, 
 the leaft ground for doubting, whether Ahra- 
 ham certainly knev/, that it was God that fpake 
 to him on this occaiion ? Shall we never have 
 done with the importunate abfurdity of fuch 
 objeiftors ? 
 
 The command which he was now to 
 obey, could not be executed till after three 
 ^ays; fo that he had time enough to deli- 
 berate 
 
Revelation Exammd, Sec. 275 
 
 berate upon the matter, and to be fettled in 
 a f ull conviftion that it came from God. 
 
 Besides this, when God gave h'm the 
 command, he told him the country where it 
 was to be executed, but referved the parti- 
 cular place for anorher revelation; Gef 
 
 thee ■ into the land of Moriah, (fays God) end 
 offer hifn ihere^ upon one of the moimtains 
 which I iscill tell thee of\ and we find, that 
 this mountain was not told him till the third 
 
 day, and then it was far off; for the 
 
 text fays, that on the third day Abraham 
 
 lift lip his eyes and f aw the place afar off. 
 
 Nt)w the rabbins tell us, that this mountain 
 was marked out to him, by the glory of 
 God refting upon it, in a remarkable man- 
 ner; and indeed this is perfecflly credible 
 from the words of the text, which fays, that 
 he- faw it afar off-, now how could he fee it, 
 fo as certainly to know it to be the place, 
 but by fome glorious manifeftation of the 
 divine prefence upon it? Doubtlefs fome 
 manifeftation, or fome monition, which he 
 
 was before well acquainted with: nay, 
 
 in all probability, fome fuch manifeftation 
 as fully fatisfied even IJaac of the peculiar 
 interpoficion and appointment of God on 
 this occafion: and fuch as exadled fo ready 
 
 a fubmiffion from him. It was far off 
 
 when he faw it, fo that he had ftill time 
 enough to deliberate, and be fully fatisfied, 
 
 T 2 before 
 
17^ Revelation Examindy &cc. 
 
 before he reached it, that it was the very place 
 marked out by God, as the fcene whereon to 
 difplay the glory of that faith, which was to 
 be the admiration of all future ages. 
 
 Take this adion then in all its circum- 
 ftances, and I challenge all mankind^ to fliew 
 any one adlion, undertaken fmce the foun- 
 dation of the world, upon a furer, a clearer, 
 a more deliberate, or more fettled conviftion. 
 
 But ftill 'tis objeded, that Abraham obeyed 
 in this cafe, without the leaft hefitation, or ex- 
 poftulation with God, in behalf of an innocent 
 fon, thd he could at another time befo tmportu^ 
 natefor the pardon of an inhofpitable^ miirdei'ous^ 
 impioiiSy and incejiuous city. 
 
 Before I enter upon Abraham's defence 
 againft this objection, one thing is unanfwera- 
 
 bly to be inferred from itj and that is, 
 
 that a man who could intercede fo earneftly, 
 and with fo right a fenfe of divine juftice, to 
 fave flrangers from deftrudion, would never 
 have fo filently fubmitted to the deftrudion of 
 his ovv^n fon, had he not been fully convinced 
 that the command came from God ; had he 
 not been fully convinced that God could with 
 
 juftice claim his obedience in this cafe; 
 
 and that he could with a good confcience, 
 yield it to his Maker. 
 
Revelation Examindy See. 277 
 
 And now, in anfwer to this objedion, 
 from Abraham's filence on this occafion, I 
 dcfire it may be confidered, upon what 
 principles Abraham could expoflulate with 
 God, as a parent, in this point, if he were 
 minded fo to do? What could he urge, but 
 that he was his fon, his only fon, a fon 
 whom he tenderly loved ? And that he could 
 not, without the greateft violence to parental 
 
 affecflion, lay hands upon him? Now 
 
 all pleas of this kind, were clearly and fully 
 
 anticipated, by the divine command. • * 
 
 Take now thy fon^ thine only fon Ifaac, whom 
 thou lovejl^ and get thee into the land of Mo^ 
 riah^ and offer him there for a burnt offerings 
 upon one of the mountains which I will tell 
 thee of'y i. e. Notwithftanding he is your fon, 
 your only fon, and a fon you have fet your 
 heart upon, yet muft you facrifice him to 
 me. Here all pretence of expoftulation is cut 
 off, — — and any thing Abraha?n could have 
 faid after this, muft have been equally im- 
 pious and unbecoming. 
 
 Besides this, there is a vaft dilparity in 
 the two cafes ; and fuch as abundantly jufti- 
 fies the difference of Abraham's condud:. 
 
 In the cafe of Sodom^ Almighty God i 
 reprefented as deliberating, and undeter- 
 jaiined: and there, Abraham's humanity, 
 
 T 3 and 
 
278 Revelation Examind^&cc. 
 
 and the redtitude of his mind, were at 
 
 liberty, nay, were engaged to interpofe. 
 
 But in the cafe of his own fon, God appeared 
 fixed and determined; and their his humi- 
 hty, and the deference due to his God, forbad 
 him to expoftulate. 
 
 To all this may be added, that he knew^^ 
 if he erred in the firft cafe, it was the error 
 of 9,n upright, an humane, and a generous 
 fpirit; but an error in the latter, could only 
 be the effed of partiality, and felf-intereft ! 
 and Ahraham\ heart was too honeft, and 
 too enlarged, to allow him in a conduct, 
 that could fall under the fufpicion of being 
 fwayed by fuch mean, interefted, and felfifh 
 principles. 
 
 What is it then which his enemies objedt 
 to him? What, in truth, but the wifdom^ 
 the humanity, the redtitude, the humility, 
 the fortitude, and the gene rofity of his foul? 
 
 And did ever any man object to the 
 
 light, the greatnefs, or the goodnefs of an- 
 other's fpirit, from the prevalence of thofe 
 noble principles in his own ? 
 
 Such was Abraham ; and fuch are the ob« 
 jedicns made to him. 
 
 And this, I hope, will be deemed a fuffi- 
 cient confutation of that cavil, which objeds 
 
 to 
 
Revelation Examind, See. 279 
 
 to Almighty God, tJie partiality of taking 
 one man and his porterity into peculiar fa- 
 vour, for little or no reafon. — -When, 'tis 
 evident to a demonllration, that if ever man 
 was peculiarly marked out as a proper objedl 
 of the divine favour, from the merit of every 
 virtue, and every diftinguiihed excellence. 
 
 In human nature, Abraham was that 
 
 man. 
 
 I COME now, in the lalT: place, to confider 
 the contradidory objections, that are made 
 to Abrahams condudl and charafter. 
 
 The common objecfllon to him is, that he 
 had too much faith. And yet a late writer 
 upbraids him with having too little, becaufe 
 he demanded of God, whereby he flionld 
 know that he fliould inherit the proniifed 
 land ; i. e, becaufe he demanded a rational 
 conviftion, that this promife came from 
 God. 
 
 'Tis ahb objecfled to him, that he had 
 
 too much humanity, and toolitde:, too 
 
 much for llrangers, and too little for his 
 
 own fon. Too much for ilrangers, that 
 
 were wicked and abandoned, and too 
 
 little for his own fon, who was innocent and 
 
 upright 3 nay more, his only fon and 
 
 Jbeir, the hopes of his family, the fon 
 
 T 4 of 
 
aSo Key EL ATiov^ Examind,&cc. ^ 
 
 of God's promife, whom he tenderly 
 
 loved. 
 
 For my own part, I accept the objections 
 
 with great gratitude to the authors; I 
 
 thank them for objedions which demonflrate 
 the juftice, the generofity, the mercy, the 
 magnanimity, the difintereftednefs, of Abra^ 
 hams foul : — — I thank them for objedlions 
 which demonflrate his whole conduft on this 
 occafion, to be fuch as none but a truly 
 great mind was capable of, even under the 
 influence of the fuUeft and the cleareft con- 
 viftion. 
 
 Lastly, the merit of Abrahamh ready 
 obedience, is decried by fome, from a fuppo- 
 fition, that the pradlce of facrificing children 
 
 was frequent in his days \ whilll others, 
 
 on the contrary, load his example, with the 
 odium of having introduced that hateful prac- 
 tice into the world. 
 
 And here I cannot but obferve, how juft 
 and judicious that maxim of the fchools is, 
 which teaches us, that contradictory pofitlons 
 cannot all be true, but may very eafily be all 
 
 falfe: as they demonftrably arc in this 
 
 cafcp 
 
 The four firft, as far as they relate to 
 the point before us, I have already dif- 
 
 cufled 5 
 
Revelation Examlnd^&cc. 281 
 
 cuffed ; and come now to confider the two 
 latter. 
 
 And without entering into the conten- 
 tions of learned men on either fide, I fliall 
 only venture to affirm, that, take the queftion 
 either way, the wifdom of God in giving 
 this command, and Abraham's merit in obey- 
 ing it, are abundantly vindicated. 
 
 For, in the firft place, if (as fome ima- 
 gine) fo impious and abominable a rite ob- 
 tained at this time, 'tis evident, that nothing 
 could be better calculated to abolifh it, than 
 this command to Abraham-^ which was a 
 plain document to the whole world, that 
 human facrifices were not acceptable to God, 
 
 for if they could be acceptable from any 
 
 man, they would certainly be moft acceptable 
 from the beft man : the man in the world 
 then moft remarkably acceptable, and in 
 favour with Almighty God. And there- 
 fore, when it fhould appear in the event^ 
 that this command was only in trial of obe- 
 dience, and that when it came to the point 
 of execution, Abraham was exprefly forbidden 
 to execute it, by a voice from heaven ; — - 
 and as a document to him, and to the refl 
 of the world, that human facrifices were not 
 acceptable to the divinity; a brute animal 
 was by God's own appointment, fubftituted 
 in the place of his fon ; I fay, when all this 
 
 is 
 
iZi Revelation Examind,Scc. 
 
 is confidered, was it poflible to give a clearer 
 monition to mankind, upon this head, than 
 God's own exprefs prohibition of that prac- 
 tice, by a command from heaven, and 
 
 God's own miraculous interpolition of a vica- 
 rial oblation? 
 
 ±\nd the fame reafoning that demonftrates 
 this command wife, with a view of abolifli- 
 ing that abominable cuftom, demonftrates it, 
 equally wife, with a view of preventing it, 
 on fuppoiition that it had not yet obtained, 
 v/hen God forefaw that fuperftition would foon 
 introduce it: as it is evident that fuperftition 
 only (the wildeft and worft of all fuperftitions) 
 
 .did introduce it and what could be 
 
 more efficacious towards repreffing it, over 
 the face of the earth, than the atteftation of 
 all Abrahams difperfed fervants, and de- 
 Icendants, vouching every-where with one 
 voice, that God himfelf had prohibited their 
 mafter from pra(5tifing it. • And there- 
 fore the v/ifdom of God, in this condu6t:, is 
 
 fufficiently vindicated either way. And 
 
 'tis evident from the fable of Iphigenia^ in 
 DiBys Cretenjis^ probably founded on this 
 hiftory, or rather upon fome confufed ac- 
 count of this hiftory, and the ftory of Jeph- 
 
 tbd^ daughter, put together. (Ipbigenia 
 
 being an eafy corruption of Jepthigenia "* : 
 
 * The GvQQ^A word to fignif/ the daughter o^Je^htha. 
 
 and 
 
Revelation Exammd^ &cc. 285 
 
 and a ram eafily changed into a deer, fup- 
 pofed to be fubftituted by the goddefs Diana 
 in her ftead;) that the memory of God's 
 prohibiting a human offering, was handed 
 down to late pofterity. 
 
 As to the fecond point, viz, the merit of 
 
 Abraharns obedience on this occafion, 
 
 if the pradice of facrificing children pre- 
 vailed in Abraham?, time, 'tis, however, 
 allowed to have prevailed, only from the 
 neceffity of averting fome great calamity, by 
 fome extraordinary atonement to appeafe the 
 divinity. 
 
 But this was evidently not Abraha?n's, 
 cafe ; fince this facrifice was refolved on by 
 him, in the heighth of worldly affluence, 
 and happinefs of every kind! which places 
 the ready fubmiffion, and refignation of 
 Abraha?77^ upon a foot of merit, very fuperior 
 to that which neceffity extorted. 
 
 And thus, I hope, I have fufficiently 
 vindicated God's command, and Abraham's 
 obedience, in the point before us, from the 
 objecftions of ignorant and injudicious men. 
 
 If it be yet faid, that the facrificing of 
 children might be derived from a miftaken 
 imitation of Abraham's obedience in this 
 
 point, the anfwer is obvious. 
 
 In 
 
284 Revelation Examlnd, Sec. 
 
 I N die firft place, it is an aflertion with- 
 out the leaft foundation, either of proof, or 
 probability. 
 
 In the next place, fuppofing it were not, 
 . where is that example which is not ca- 
 pable of being miftaken ? The only qucftion 
 is. Whether, as it is laid down in the fcrip- 
 ture, it is fufficiently guarded, againft all 
 reafonable danger of being miftaken? And 
 fufficiently fitted to prevent the evil it may 
 accidentally occafion, from the mifguided 
 imitation of ignorant, or ill-meaning men. 
 Abfolutely to guard againft error and abufe, 
 is out of the power even of infinite wifdom, 
 leaving mankind to the free range of their 
 folly and perverfenefs ! 
 
 But fuppofing this example was abufcd 
 by an ignorant or corrupt imitation, yet if 
 God forefaw that the advantages of eftablifh- 
 ing it in the world, would far exceed the 
 inconveniencies of a wild or wicked imi- 
 tation, his wifdom is abundantly juftified in 
 
 the point. And was there ever a nobler 
 
 document, more perfecftivc of true piety, or 
 more conducive to the happinefs of human 
 life, than that which is conveyed to us in 
 this example of Abraham ! which teaches 
 us, that nothing can be fo dear, or valuable, 
 in this world, v/hich we muft not readily 
 
 rcfign. 
 
Revelation Examlndy &cc. i8j 
 
 rcfign, whenever it comes in competition 
 
 with our duty to God?- And that this re- 
 
 fignation will not fail to be crowned, with 
 more abundant bleffings from heaven. 
 
 And thus I have endeavoured 
 to anfwer the feveral objedions, vicw"ofThc 
 made to this part of Jbrabam\ ^^oi« argu- 
 charadler. 
 
 The firft objeftion mentioned in this dijt 
 fertation was this, that a religion command- 
 ing parents to be cruel to children, could 
 not come from God. 
 
 In anfwer to this, I obferved, that this ob- 
 jediion no way affedled the Jewijfj or Chri- 
 
 Jlian religion And that though a religion 
 
 which made this the ordinary duty of parents, 
 could not come from God, yet it no way 
 followed from hence, that God could not 
 on particular occafions, and for reafons of 
 infinite wifdom, give fuch a command to 
 particular perfons. And to make any in- 
 ference from thence, to the difadvantare of 
 a hiftory, relating that fuch a command was 
 given, in trial of obedience, was full as ab- 
 furd, as to infer, that becaufe phyiick was 
 not good for food, therefore a hiftory rela- 
 ing that phyfick w»s adminiftred by a wife 
 and a good phyfician on a particular occafion, 
 muft be.falfe, 
 
 I ALSO 
 
286 Kevelatio^ Exammdj8cc. 
 
 I ALSO iliewed, from feveral inftances^ 
 that it may often be the duty of parents to 
 put their children to death ; ^— ^ even fuch 
 as were innocent and unoffending, in obedi- 
 ence to authorities very inferior to that of Al- 
 mighty God. 
 
 In the next place I (hewed, why Abra-^ 
 ham could not fufpefl: this command to 
 
 be the delufion of an evil fpirit, becaufe 
 
 he knew it inconfiftent with the perfedlions 
 of God, to fuffer fuch a delufion to be put 
 upon him, ailing in innocence and the inte- 
 grity of his heart, or to fuffer the pur- 
 
 pofes and promifes of his own infinite wif- 
 dom and goodnefs, to be defeated by the 
 devil. 
 
 , In the next place, I anfwered that objec- 
 tion, how Abraham could know that it was 
 God gave him this command ; by (hew- 
 ing, that the intercourfe and appearances 
 of the divine Being, had been long familiar 
 to him before this time 5 that he had fre- 
 quently before this obeyed fuch commands, 
 as no man could obey without full convidtion 
 
 that they came from God. And that his 
 
 obedience was always crowned with fignal, 
 bleffings, and interpofitions of Providence, 
 
 in his behalf. In a word, that he was 
 
 equally confirmed in his faidi, by bleffings 
 
 upon 
 
Revelation Examind^ &cc. 287 
 
 upon himfelf, and calamities upon thofe that 
 would injure him : by the teftimony of two 
 
 kings, and their houfholds, by fenfe, by 
 
 vifions, by miracles, by various and repeated 
 e:xperience. 
 
 In the next place I fhewed, that ^ira- 
 ham\ filent fubmiffion to this command, as 
 it is a full proof of his convidion that it 
 
 came from God, , fo was it the effeft of 
 
 his wifdom, the greatnefs, and the goodnefs 
 
 of his fpirit! ^and confequently, that the 
 
 objedllons made to him on tliat head, are, in 
 truth, not fo much objections to Abraham ^ 
 as objeiflions to every nobler virtue eminent 
 in human nature. 
 
 And, in the laft place, I fliewed, tliat 
 whether the practice of facrificing children 
 was then in ufe, or only forefeen by Al- 
 mighty God, this command to Ab7-aha?n, was^ 
 excellently adapted either to abolifli, or pre- 
 vent it. — That it conveyed a document of 
 infinite importance to piety, and the felicity 
 of human life; and that fuch an example 
 was ot infinitely more confequence, than the 
 poffibility of its being abufed. 
 
 I SHALL conclude all with this one iliort 
 inference, that they that follow the faith of 
 Abraha?n, cannot reafonably expe6t to be 
 much Icfb reviled tha/rhe is; can they hope, 
 
 v/ith 
 
x88 Revelation Examind^ 8cc. 
 
 with all their imperfeftions about them, to be 
 treated with lefs indignity than this friend of 
 God I than this eminent example of wifdom, 
 faith, and fortitude! of every higher virtue, 
 and more diftinguiflied excellence, that can 
 
 ennoble the human mind ? If the dignity 
 
 of Abraham'% character, cannot proteft him, 
 from the infults of the defpifers eye, and the 
 fcorner's tongue, what can a fenfe of very 
 inferior worth, leave others to hope for, be- 
 yond the favour of a calmer contempt, from 
 lefs ofFenlive merit ! The father of the faith^ 
 fuly hath indeed a right to inflame their rage: 
 the wifdom and vertue of his faith, is an 
 eternal reproach upon the blindnefs and de- 
 pravity of their unbelief! As for meaner be- 
 lievers, ihould they have the misfortune to 
 provoke, where they meant to perfuade, 
 they have this confolation from the mouth of 
 
 God himfelf, in Ifaiah li. Hearkeft unto 
 
 me^ ye that know right eoiifnefs^ the people in 
 whofe heart is my law ; fear ye ?20t the re^ 
 proach of 7nen^ neither be ye afraid of their 
 revilings. 
 
 For the moth JImU eat them tip like a gar-^ 
 ment^ and the worm fh all eat them like wool-y 
 but my j'-ighteoufiefs fhall be for ever^ and my 
 falvation from ge?ieration to generation. 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. i8p 
 
 
 
 A JJooYt review of four revelations 
 confidered in this period. 
 
 N D now what ground of triumph, 
 or even of cavil, for infidelity 
 during this period ? Can one 
 precept here recorded, upon a 
 fair enquiry, be deemed irra- 
 tional, or unedifying ? One prophecy 
 
 unfulfilled? One interpofition of provi- 
 dence unimportant ? One appearance of the 
 divine Being unneceflary or untimely ? Or 
 one command unwife or unworthy of 
 God? 
 
 Do they object to the command given 
 
 to Abraham to facrifice his fon ? it was 
 
 the nobleft and the mod beneficent trial 
 of faith and obedience, that ever was vouch- 
 fafed from heaven ? The nioft exem- 
 plary, the moft inftrudive, the moft ufefuJ. 
 
 Vo L, IL U ir^ 
 
290 Revelation Examindy Sec. 
 
 in its influence, the moft glorious in its re- 
 ward, and happy in its end ! 
 
 D o they objeft the readinefs of Jbraham's 
 obedience to this command ? — we thank them, 
 
 they do ^ and in doing fo, they at once 
 
 evince the clearnefs of his conviction that it 
 
 came from God, and the fortitude, the 
 
 c^enerofity, and the magnanimity of his foul, 
 in his ready, his deliberate, his determined 
 fubmiffion to it ; they objed: his eminent 
 •acceptance with God, and preference in the 
 divine favour: and at the fame time their 
 own objedions, urge the plaineft proofs, 
 and extort the fuUeft acknowledgement of 
 his fuperiority over the reft of mankind, 
 'Tis at once the higheft point of earthly ho- 
 nour, and teft of excellence ; ^tis Abraham's 
 peculiar glory to be upbraided with virtue, to 
 be enoblcd by reproach ! 
 
 Do they doubt of the deftruftion of Sodom 
 and Gofnorrah ? It is to this day a mo- 
 nument of divine vengeance, before their 
 
 eyes ; their friends the heathen, vouch 
 
 its dellruclion by fire from heaven ! The 
 caufe from continued tradition, and the effeds 
 from their own obfervation. They vouch the 
 continuance of that fire, and the vifible and 
 fad effcds of it in the contiguous ruins, to 
 the very tirne they wrote. If unbelievers 
 
 doubt 
 
Revelation Exammd^ Sec. 291 
 
 doubt Mofes^ they will not doubt Straho 
 and Diodorus they cannot doubt Ta- 
 citus s" What would even They demand ; 
 what can they wifh, for the efbblirnment 
 of any truth, beyond the evidence of 
 their own eyes, and the atteftation of ene- 
 mies ! 
 
 D o they objed the precedent notice of 
 this deftrudion given to Abraham? — They 
 
 do, and with great reafon ; it demon- 
 
 ftrates God's immediate infpeftion into the 
 affairs of men • his immediate and deliberate 
 interpofition in the chaftifement of guilt, and 
 
 deliverance of righceoufnefs ; • and at 
 
 the fame time, conveys thefe documents, 
 with irrcfiftible atteftation, over the whole 
 earth; and continues them, to the confu- 
 fion of infidelity, from generation to ge- 
 neration ! 
 
 D o they object to the divine inftitution 
 of circumcifion ? They do ; and with argu- 
 ments of fuch force, as to confute them- 
 felves ! They have a right to quarrel with 
 this inftitution \ it demonftrates its own 
 divine original; and at the fame time, rea- 
 fon demonftrates all the pretended grounds 
 of its eftabliftiment in the world, to be idle, 
 
 abfurd, ignorant. As learning evinces all 
 
 the authorities of its heathen origine, to be 
 
 U 2 late, 
 
1^1 Revelation Exanimd, Sea 
 
 late, fiaitious, incorififtent, falfe! So weak, 
 fo idle are the reafons by which its ^gyp^ 
 tian origine are lupported, that they arc 
 confuted by their own fuperftitions ! (See 
 the note f. 178.) And fo abfurd are 
 the opinions of the prefent advocates for 
 its heathen original, that they are over- 
 thrown even by their own arguments 
 O. 184, iSj.) 
 
 D o they objeft to the predldions relating 
 
 to Ijlj77iael ? 1 cannot fay they do, or that 
 
 they know any thing of them ; but I 
 
 dare promifethe reader, that they fliall fcorn 
 them at firft fight ! Facilis ctnfura Cachhmi^ 
 The cenfure of a loud laugh, or a difdain- 
 ful fmile, falls equally within the talents of 
 the meaneft,and the ambition of the mighti- 
 eft amongft them ! But laugh as they will, 
 a predidion fo ftrange, fo feemingly abfurd, 
 fo oppofite to all the principles of human 
 policy or fore-fight, and at the fame time fo 
 deliberate and circumftantial, and in fad ful- 
 filled, and given inconteftably many hun- 
 dreds of years (I might fay thoufands) before 
 it was proved to be fulfilled. This pro- 
 phecy, as it called for Ibme learning to con- 
 firm it, will call for fomething more than a 
 loud laugh to confute it. 
 
 Do 
 
Kev Et^ATiO^ Examindy Sec. 295 
 
 Do they objed" to the confufion o^ Bahel^ 
 — They do \ they objed to a fact that 
 proves it Iclf at this day, incontellably to 
 the whole earth ; inafnmch as the prefent 
 variety of languages in the world, is denion- 
 ftrably the effeds of that confufion \ nor 
 hath it ever yet been otherwife attempted to 
 be accounted for, confiftently either with 
 truth of fad, 01* common fenfe {p. loj, &€,) 
 The Moja'ic hiftory of this great event, every 
 way demonftrates its own truth • and all 
 that can properly be called antiquity, 
 vouches with him : the tower was built, 
 when it could only be built by the united 
 labours of mankind ♦ and for the only rea- 
 
 fons mentioned by Mofes. And the 
 
 wifdom of God in defeating that defign, 
 is amply manifefted from that day to this, 
 in keeping out that univerfai iniquity, 
 by this one ad of his providence, which 
 infidelity would introduce by confuting 
 it. 
 
 Upon the whole, the infidel w^orld 
 will, I hope, forgive me^ if upon the 
 moft candid and diligent enquiry, I have 
 never yet been able to find their learn- 
 ing far furpalling their integrity • » - 
 their hardicft affauks, formidable from the 
 
 force 
 
2 94 Revelation Examindy &cc. 
 
 force of reafon, -^ — - their boafted abilities 
 above the meafure of other men, or 
 
 their noblcft views other than pernicious 
 to mankind, and deteftable to God and 
 goodnefs. 
 
 T'he END of You IL 
 
m 
 
I