v-/ - Ci-'^'r/ii/Tu-^-^^ Zaprvmicrc cJwse gu on doitfaire quandon u empriuUc- un Lhrc .c'est dele lire. ann Jcpouvoirle rcriilrc plutot. ifenaoiana V'oi.4. L 1 B R A^ R Y Theological Seminary PRINCETON, N. J. ("use S>^-C. ^'^'sion.j.^__ 'VAr//- ^^^jO^Co . Section -. ' , ^■H^: TWELVE DISCOURSES ON THE PROPHECIES. TWELVE DISCOURSES ON THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE FIRST ESTABLISHMENT A N I> SUBSEQ^UENT HISTORY O F CHRISTIANITY. Preached in LI N C O L N's -I N N -C H AP E L, AT THE LECTURE OF The Right Rev. WILLIAM WAR BURT ON, LATE LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. By lewis feAGOT, LL. D. , DEAN OF CHRIST-CHURCH. Omnia qul-n«f 2 V 2 3. 4 ini; « Aata; 3 Ci^iSffSS Tt/V v^uv 3 5 ^Kn;:;* I(rg36>jA 5 'l(rgjt>)A 5 6 ^IHD tf J ^ o^Vi^* ^ Ui *l CClXf^? 6 7 CD'H 7?jj JuT^Xos-ris 7 75JS JuXxoSiJi 7 8 -iKty TB {(^TtcXHfAfiS^ 8 7» }(SU7U>.HfAfiS/i 8 9 nv^» ttvltat 1 10 in «i)^>)«TKj 9 «ufliJ«-£7Wj 9 11 p^Vd ;koj5v 1 1 ^9J5» 1 I JM^ 12 pnn uviTtXai I 3 X«M ffvimXuv 1 3 x«# 13 f^Du; ffvtirif^vat I 2 tniimfivuv 12 H npnjf i» ^Kouomi^ 14 ill o(xeM0OTL/y>j 14 15 ^D in 15 Jti 15 16 n^D ^«^» 16 Aej3V 1 6 17, 18 n2f-imi BVIttT l*,7i^l)ICV I 8 avniT^Yi^ivoi 1 8 19 ♦HM 20 nin* KvQ^as 20 n-«<)]0-« 22 21 msnif 22 nir^iT ?r«i>jr« 2 2 Ktig/ie; 20 23 nnpn ty 23 f7n 23 24 Vd Tji iixovfXlvYi 25 ■n;? yni 25 25 p«n «Av) 24 This comparative view of the Paffage, according to the LXX, 6o DISCOURSE II. and wifdom not totally to rejedl his chofen People i but to referve a Remnant to be Lxx, St. Paul and the prefent Hebrew Text, fuggefts the following obfervations : 3. ciptAfj(gg raft t\at 'l/r^ri?^, is rather a Paraphrafe and II- luftration, than a clofe Verfion. 10. The LXX render O by ccvia/v, which St, Paul has omitted. 12, 13. The v/ord n^vrif^vm fhould feem to belono; to ^'nn, fmce nmri!! is in the next paffage rendered mvri7f/,:if^tiie¥. This ccnjefture is ftrengthened by feve- ral MSS. placing 1 before ^nn, correfponding to the :(^t of the jLxx and St. Paul. It is farther to be ob- ferved however, that crjvrtMav is adlive and pin paf- five. This it is not fo eafy to account for, unlefs perhaps the 1 in the Hebrew having been omitted in fome Tran- fcript, and afterwards overwritten, might, in fubfequent MSS, be placed in the middle and not at the beginning of the word. It is full as difficult to conceive hov/ it hap- pened, that mitriXm fhould be ufcd for iqtDLt-'. (WJTjXftv may lignify coiifcere or complere ; it is alfo ufed in a forenfic fenfe, avm'hHv ^ik^v, by Dion. Hal. See Conft. Lex. and Steph. Thefaur. — Thus a fenfe fufficiently clear and con- fiftent may be collefled from all three, though the expref- iions are a little varied, and in their prefent form not ftridlly grammatical. — f^^ii' lignifies to overflow violently like a torrent ; and is fo ufed in two paffages of the Pro- phetic Writings which bear a near refcmblance to the place before us. HDipO HSi'I?* n^D ")3y rilOi^m, But ivith an overrunmng fiood hD joined to the word ID'iy or ID15:', a Scourge or Plague, and DISCOURSE II. 6i admitted to the benefits of his future Dif- penfation, and to be the means of convey- ing them to the reft of Mankind. This the Prophet here declared, pointing, as we may fuppofe, to his fon, oracularly named as the Type or Figure of God's gracious pur- pofe. At the end of the next chapter we and illuftrated ver. 17. where the fame word occurs in its proper fenfe. It is again ufed ver. 18. in conjunftion with "l3y, in the fame manner as in Nah. i. 8. above quoted ; and ver. 22. we have the very words b'D b^ TlJi'^ni) .1^3 ^'INH. From whence and from ver. 16. it is plain, that the Scourge or Plague there fpoken oT as overflowing, muft be the final completion of the determined Judgments on the Jews. 14.. npTlf is ufed adverbially, though without the pre- fix, and is rightly rendered h oiKoc^amvy,. This is not an unufual form. Pf xv. 2. CD-Qn "J^IH, ijjalking uprightly -^ and the fame might be faid of the other nouns in this verfe. — Jer. xi. 20. pnjf ]DB]L\ judging righteonjly. And thus, U. xlv. 23. our Tranflators have rendered Hpiy in Righteoufiiefs. But Bp. Lowth fcems to have reltored this paffage, with his ufual fagacity, to its true fenfe and divifion. ig. 21. The words niNIll,* and '■JTK appear to have been both interpolated in this a^ in many other places. 24.. b'2 tranflated ohr^ by the lxx, is omitted by St. Paul, probably in order to limit the paffage to its proper fenfe, which at that time, from the exprcifion oAn ^, might feem to admit of a fignification more extenfive than was in- tended. Cranmer's t% DISCOURSE II. find the Gentiles and this refcued Rem- nant defcribed as affembling under the ban- ner of the fon of Jefle, the heir of the fure mercies of David, In that day there Jhall be a root of Jejfe, which JIj all Ji and for an Enjign of the People. 'J'o it fiall the Gen^ tiles feek, and the Lord Jlmll fet his hand again, the fecond time, to recover the Rem- nant of his People '. It is faid the fecond time, with reference to the former deh- verance from Egyptian Bondage. It fol- lows then, though all that God had threatened to this chofen but rebellious Nation, was to be brought upon them, as he fays, by Jeremiah, / will bring upon them all the words of this Covenant ' -, yet a Cranmer's Great Bible gives the whole Paflage thus : For though thy People (O Ifrael) be as the Sonde of the See, yet Jhal the Remnaunte of them concert in hym. Perfeii is the Judgement of hym that Jlonjueth in Righteoufnejfe, And therfore the Lord of Hoof es Jhal perfeSlly fulfyll the thynge that he hath determyned in the myddef of the hole nvorlde. Cranmer's Great Bible, printed by Grafton and Whitchurch in 1539. fol. xxxix. C- ' Ifaiah xi. lo, 11, » Jer. xi. 8. Rem- DISCOURSE II. 6^ Remnant Jhould be faved\ and they, toge- ther with the Gentiles, fhould become his People, the faithful feed of Abraham, the fubjeds of the New Kingdom under a New Law. * Compare Zech. viii. 20—23. [ 65 ] -■ ^.»ii=j^i--t^s.^a-— a^MTl».MMPI»u>lj*u^iij.imi. .»i^.»»^ . DISCOURSE III. Matt. xiir. 31, 32. l!he Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of Mufiard Seed which a Man took andfowed in his field: which indeed is the leaf of all Seeds-, but when it is grown it is the greatefi among herbs ^ and becometh a '^ree^ fo that the Birds of the Air come and lodge in the Branches thereof AT the time thefe words were addrefled to the Jews, we know that by the Kingdoni of Heaven they could underftand nothing but the Kingdom of the Meffiah. And as their notions of the nature of this E King- 66 DISCOURSE III. Kingdom muft be derived from the Pro- phets, every one who propofed any opinion concerning it, muft expedt and intend to have the agreement of that opinion with the Prophetic Writings throughly can- vaffed. The Defcription here given plainly re- prefents it as a Progreffive Scheme. Whe- ther the Prophets give us the fame charac- ter of it, it is my bulinefs, in purfuance of the Plan I have already laid before you in this place, to enquire. In human affairs all revolutions, confi- derable for their extent or duration, have been brought about by degrees. It feems to be a Law in God's moral Government, as it is in his natural, that nothing fudden or violent (hould be of great importance or long continuance. Strength and firmnefs are in every inftance the effed: of time. If we trace the feveral Empires of the World to their original, we find them at firft DISCOURSE IIL tj firfl weak and contemptible ; and from thence rifing gradually to Power and Do- minion. It might be expedled in an Eftab- lifhment fo peculiarly the work of God, as the New Difpenfation is by the Prophets defcribed to be, that the common courfe of his Providence would be varied, in or- der the more to awaken and engage the at- tention of Mankind. God might, no doubt, had it fo pleafed him, have fet up his King- dom in all its Glory and fplendor at once, and have reduced the whole race of Men into fubjedion to it in an inftant. But he hath made us reafonable creatures, with powers to judge and a will free to choofe : and as fuch he is ever wont to deal with us. Under an arbitrary and violent impulfe no reafonable fervice or fubjecftion could be obtained. Yet fuch fervice only is proper to our nature ; fuch only therefore can be pleafing to God who hath made us what we are. Accordingly, this new Difpenfa- tion, ftiled emphatically the Kingdom of God and of Heaven, is every where repr«- E 2 fentcd 6S DISCOURSE HI. fented by the Prophets as in all refpeds agreeable to the perfedlion of our Nature, both in its rife and continuance. It was not to be forced upon the World by an ex- traordinary and irrefiflible exertion of Di- vine Power i but fairly propofed to the Reafon of Mankind. Miracles indeed, we are told, fhould be Wrought in favour of it. But what are miracles but the proper arguments to con- vince the minds of Men, that God really approves and efpoufes that caufe for the fake of which they are wrought. The Governor of this New State (among his other charaders, which will hereafter be particularly confidered ) was to be a Teacher or Inftruftor. Under this charac- ter he is ftrikingly reprefcnted in r. me- inorable pafTage adopted by two Prophets. // pmll come to pafs m the latter daysy that the Mountain of the Lord's Houfe fiall be ejiablified in the Top cf the Mountains, and fiall DISCOURSE III. 69 JJjall be exalted above the Hills ; and all Na^ tions jld all flow unto it; and many People pall go and Jay, Come ye, and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord; to the Houfe of the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of his ways ; and we will walk in his Paths : For out of Sion Jhall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from ferufalem", and He fiall judge among the Nations -, and Jhall re* buke many People ". Again, in another very fimilar palTage, With right eoufnefs jlmll he judge the Poor ; and reprove with equity for the meek of the Earth \ In this laft place the margin of our Bible, with more propriety, reads argue inftead of reprove. The original word ' is the fame that is before rendered rebuke; it occurs frequently in Scripture, and in fenfes fomewhat different; but every where im^ ' Ifaiah ii. 2 — 4. Compare alfo Micah. iv. i — 3. * Ifaiah xi. 4. E 3 plying 70 DISCOURSE III. plying the ufe of reafon and argument''. So we fee that the MelTiah's Kingdom, as defcribed by the Prophets, was to be found- ed on argument ; and not only fo founded, but to be extended by the fame means. Now it is evident, that any Syfiiem which is to be carried on by the convi(flion of Men's minds, muft, in the nature of things, be gradual in its progrefs. And this is more efpecially true of fuch a Syftem as this, which the Prophets fet forth as op- pofmg inveterate prejudices, and thwarting the corrupt propenfities of the human heart. That the Meffiah's Kingdom fliould be progreffive, appears farther in another view. We find the charaders of a low and hum- '* Bp. Lowth, in his excellent Verfion, hr.tli exprefled the full and proper import of the Word in both thefe places. And he Jball judge among the Nations ; And Jh all nxiork convi^ion in many Peoples. Lowth's If. ii. 4. And nxjitb equity Jhall he work con'viiiion in the meek of the Earth, Ibid. 3ci, ^. ble DISCOURSE III. 71 ble ftate furrounded by enemies and ftrug- gling with oppofition attributed to it, as well as the more glorious chara Ezek. xvli 22, 23. ^ Ibid, xlvii. 1 — 5. day DISCOURSE III. '^y day been extinguifhed juft fourteen years*. The reftoration of the Temple and its Ser- vice, here circumftantially infifted on, was well calculated to raife their drooping Spi- rits, and renew their truft and confidence in the God of their Fathers, and that, the rather in their prefent fituation, as they would then naturally refer all thefe benefits to themfelves in their own perfons, and expedl that they were to be the immediate confequence of a redemption from the cap- tivity they then laboured under. But, in truth, the Spirit of God, as in other Pro- phecies on the fame occafion, looked to a period beyond that event ; which then be- came evident when the Jews were reftored to their Land, and the Second Temple was completed. For neither the extent and magnificence of the Building, nor the pri- vileges and miniftry of that Temple, did, by any means, correfpond to this reprefen- tation : and it was in the mofl eflential circumilance, the Glory of the Divine Pre- ' Ezek. xl, I. fejnce. 78 DISCOURSE IIL fence, entirely deficient. Whereas the Pro- phet here tells us, The Spirit took me up and brought vie into the lufier Court: and behold the Glory of the Lord filed the Houfe, He adds farther, And I heard him fpeaking unto me out of the Houfe, and He faid unto me, the place of my throne and the place of thefoles of my feet, where 1 will dwell in the midfi of the Children of Ifrael for ever"". Which laft circumftance of perpetual du- ration could not belong to any temple un- der the Mofaic Economy j but is, as hath been already obferved, the peculiar attri- bute of that nobler Difpenfation to which it led. We fhall have the lefs difficulty in admitting fuch an interpretation of this myftical Vifion, as it is ufual with the Pro- phets to fpeak of the future Difpenfation under the image of a Temple or City. T'he Mountain of the Lord's Houfe fiall be ejlab- Itjhed in the top of the Mountains, faith Ifaiah " ; and Zechariah, in terms appli- "" E2ek. xliii, 5—7. " IC "• 2- cable DISCOURSE IIL 79 cable to none but the Meffiah, Behold the Man whofe name is the Branch, and He Jh all grow up out of his place, and He fiall build the l'ef7iple of the Lord, and He fhall bear the Glory °. At the conclufion of this very Vifion of Ezekiel, we are told, that the name of the City fhould be, the Lord is there ^ i a name of the fame import with that given by Jeremiah to the City of Chrift, The Lord our Right eoufnefs ''. The whole Vifion, therefore, whatever difficul- ties there may be in the explication of par- ticular parts, muft be confidered as a myf- tical reprefentation of the Meffiah's Go- vernment. On this general application, that there fhould ftill be partial difficulties, is exactly what ought to be exped:ed ; nei- ther will thofe difficulties entirely vanifh till the whole Scheme is completed -, for the true and accurate interpretation of all Prophecy is only to be had from the ac- compliffiment. — This Vifion then being ** Zech. vl. 12, 13. P Ezek. xlviii. 35. ^ Jer. xxxiii. 16. Coinpare alfo xxiii, 6, thus' So DISCOURSE III. thus applied to the Meffiah's Government, it follows, that the Holy Waters which make a part of it, are to be interpreted of the increafing Bleffings of that Kingdom. And thefe Bleffings are wont to be fo ex- preffed in Prophetic Language, In the wiU /iernefs fia/I waters break out, and Jir earns ifi the defart -, and the parched ground Jhall be- come a Pool, and thirjly Landfprings of wa- ter \ And elfewhere, with a peculiar re- femblance to this place. All the Rivers of fudah Jld all flow with waters, and a Foun- tain fljall cojne forth of the Houfe of the Lord\ Such a (tn^Q alfo befl fuits that healing and beneficial influence attributed to thefe fandified Waters, which are faid to have power to heal the waters of the Sea ; and to give Life wherever they flow, every thing Jhall live whither the River comet h. And of the trees nourifhed by this Stream it is. faid, that their leaf fiould not fade, nor their ' Ifaiah xxxv. 6, 7. • Joel. iii. 18. fruit DISCOURSE III. 81 fruit be confitmed j but their fruit jhould be for meat and their leaf for medicine '. On the whole it appears, in whatever light we confider the matter, that the Pro- phetic delineations of the New Economy are intelligible and confident only on a fup- pofition, that that Scheme was not to be complete at once, but fetting out from fmall beginnings, to attain the full meafure of its glory by gradual and '-progreflive fteps. The Jews, who themfelves fo un- derftood the moft of thefe Prophecies, could not (without departing from their own principles and their own i^rS& of Scrips ture) rejc(ft any Scheme that pretended t6 be the Difpenfation foretold by the Pro- phets, merely for want of a difplay of Gran- deur and Magnificence in its firfl: eftablifh- ment, were there no other argument againft it. Nay, the afFedtation of fuch difplay had * Erek. xlvii. S — iz. F alone 82 DISCOUPvSE III. alone been fufficlent to have overturned the authenticity of any other pretenfions how- ever fpecious. Yet at a certain period we find, that they looked only for a fign from Heaven; a Meiliah, attended with glorious appearances of heavenly Majefty, to eredl a throne at Jerulalem, to which all the powers of the Earth fliould pay immediate Sub- mifiion. The prevalence of a prejudice fo contrary to the Spirit of their own Scrip- tures, may, in fome meafure, be accounted for from the circumftances of the time. The Power of Rome was now in the me- ridian of its Glory. The fame of her Victories, and the fplendor of her Triumphs, were the admiration of thofe People who had thereby been reduced to fubjecftion. And as thefe were no where more confpi- cuous than in the Eaftern Provinces, the Jews may well be fuppofed to have imbi- bed the common opinion. It was not un- fuitable to their natural difpofition. They were ever addided to externals, and fond of DISCOURSE III. 83 of them. Add to this, that the privileges and fecurity which they enjoyed under the Cefarean Sceptre, attached them not a little to that Government ". The family of Da- vid was overlooked and almofl forgotten in its obfcurity : and, as if the authority of the Prophets had been forgotten too, they profeffed themfelves willing to acknowledge no King but Cefar. Through the medium of fuch prejudices, the moft authentic marks of Truth might appear like error ; and the humility of the Son of Man, though exprefsly iniifted on by the Pro- phets, might become, as it was foretold ° Jofephus, fpeaking of the Jews under Archelaus, tells us, that " when they could no longer endure his cruelty *' and tyranny, they accufed him before Auguflus ; which '* they did with the more confidence, bccaufe they knew " his conduft was a direft infringement of orders he had ** received from the Emperor, to carry himfelf towards *' them with mildncfs and juftice." Jof Ant. L. XVII. C. XV. For other inftances of this favorable difpontion in the Koman Government, fee alfo L. XII. C, iii. et Contra Ap. L. II. F 2 it 84 DISCOURSE III. it would, a tumbling block and flone of offence, alike to Sadducean Scepticifm and Pharifaical Pride. The condudl and opi- nions of fuch naen cannot be urged now as an argument of the true meaning of their Law or their Prophets ; as it is plain they were inclined to accommodate both, in fpite of confiflency and common fenfe, to the corrupt maxims of the Times. It is not to be imagined, that God, in his dealings with the World, {hould conde- fcend to footh or flatter the pride of Man in any fhape. If an overweaning Ambi- tion, a fafhionable love of external often- tation and pageantry led the Jews into dangerous errors, and inclined them to wreft the word of God to their own de- ftrucftion -, neither are we free from danger of the fame fort. There prevails in thefe days a pride of Philofophy more flatter- ing ta the human heart, and fo much the more prejudicial to the caufe of Truth. Of this, if we are as all would be thought to DISCOURSE IIL Ss to be, really lovers of Truth, it behoves us to beware in all enquiries, but more efpecially in thofe which concern the ways of God and the explication of his word. The Gofpel is not the lefs true, nor lefs the Word of God, merely becaufe it was de- livered to the World in a mode incon- fiftent with the prepofseflions generally en- tertained by the Jews. Neither is it the lefs true, becaufe it contains Do<5lrines which do not fall in with the conceits of vain theorifts, nor even becaufe fome of thofe Dodtrines are not to be fathomed by human reafon. It has been fhown, that there are unequivocal marks of the interpofition of God ; where thefe obtain therefore it matters not to our Faith, whether he addrefs himfelf to us lik^ a rujhing mighty JVindy or in a Jlill fmall Voice, As to the fubje that the Jewifli Interpreters refer their ac- complifhment as necefTarily belonging to the times of the Mcfliah, and to be brought about by his means. In fo applying them therefore, we have the concurrence of the Jews themfelvcs in their avowed fenfe of their own Scriptures — a conceflion of con- fequence to be attended to. On 124 DISCOURSE V. On examining with care and attention into the defcriptions of thofe deliverances attributed to the Meffiah, we find them fuch, not only as no temporal deliverance of the Jewiili nation yet has, but fuch as no temporal deliverance of that or any other feparate people ever can fully fatisfy. We have feen, that the mercies of the Meffiah's Reign are not confined to the Jews only ; but to be extended to all the families of the Earth, agreeably to the ori- ginal Covenant with Abraham. A. deliverance therefore which can an- fwer the predidions of the Prophets, muft be a general deliverance that may apply to all mankind. Such a deliverance as this muft refpedl a flate of llavery and capti- vity, to which the whole race of men were all equally fubje(5l. But this could not arife from the ufurpation of one man, or fet of men, over the reft, feeing it is fup- pofed to comprehend all without excep- / tion i DISCOURSE V. 125 tion ; it muft therefore be a fubjedion not of a human, but of a fplritual kind, con- fequently the deliverance from it muft be fpiritual too. And fo we find it conftantly defcribed in exad: conformity with all the other circumftances of the Meffiah's Kingdom, which we have fcen not to agree with the temper and fpirit of this world, but to be of a higher nature. We are told indeed, that the Meffiah Jhall fmite the Earth andjlay the wicked -y but it is with the rod of his mouth and the breath of his lips ^^ in- flruments very different from thofe made ufe of by worldly Conquerors. After all, a fpiritual deliverance can be only from Spiritual Powers, from Sin and Wicked- nefs. This is the notion ever held forth, in thofe earlier Revelations which God made of himfelf and his will to mankind, as the ultimate fcope of that Difpcnfation of Mer- cyy for which the whole tenor of his Word * Ifaiah xi, 4. and 126 DISCOURSE V. and courfe of his Providence, through a long facceifion of after ages, were but pre- paring the World. The original Promife of a future Deliverer vi^as given imme- diately after the iiril tranfgreffion, that it might at once appear, that refpeft vi^as therein had to the expiation of Sin. By inflituting Sacrifices after the Fall, (for it is impoffible to conceive of them as ob- taining but by pofitive inflitution) God fhowed that he was reconcileable ; but that, in as much as Death was the proper confequence of Sin, he could not properly be reconciled, without the tranflation of that punifhment which Sin deferved, upon the Viftim which the Sinner was com- manded to offer. — To this Dodrine of atonement, by a vicarious punifhment, the Hiftory of the Offering of Ifaac, enjoined on his Father Abraham, has a clear refe- rence; and has always been fo underftood by the Jews ; whence it happens, that in the Prayers they make ufe of at this day they declare, that they look upon that Sacrifice DISCOURSE V. 127 Sacrifice as a folid Foundation of their ad- drefTes to the throne of God '. The import of the legal Sacrifices and Expiations is manifeilly of the fame kindj keeping in view the neceflity of an atone- ment, at the fame time that they pretend not to make the Comers thereunto perfed:; lince, as it is well argued by the Apoftle to the Hebrews, they were to be continually repeated^ i a fure indication, both that the * In the Prayers for the two firft days of the New Year, called in Hebrew nri^'H li'N") Ralh Hafhanah, is the following. Our God, and the God of our Fathers ^ remember us tvith a remembrance of Goodnefs before thee, and think on us nuith a thought of Salvation and CompaJJiony from the Heavens of the frfl Heavens ; and remember unto us, O Lord our God, the Covenant, and the Mercies, and the Oath 'which thou didjt fnuear unto Abraham our Father on Mount Moriah ; and the Offering that he offered, even Ifaac his Son on the top of the Altar. Book of Rel. Cer. and Prayers of the Jews, p. 225. Lond. 1738. And in their afual Morning Prayer for Monday and Thurfday. We befeech thee, O King of Favour and Compajfon, remem- ber and look on the Covenant bttvucen the Parties j and behold the Offering of the only Son Ifaac for the fake of IfraeU Ibid, p. 78. I f Hcb. X. I, 2, efFea: 128 DISCOURSE V. efFecl of that Sin for which they were of- fered was not thereby completely done away : and that without an atonement made by fome more excellent Sacrifice, no remiffion could be obtained, that the de- filement of Sin ftill adhered to the Sinner ; ftill rendered him an objed: of Divine Wrath and Punifhment. Thefe things then, evidently infufficient in themfelves, being thus ordered, not for their own fakes, but with reference to fome- thing of the fame kind adequate and per- fect ; to what can they refer, but to the Deliverance by the Meffiah, (at whofe coming they were all along intended to ceafe, as then of no farther ufe) — and that deliverance we have already fliown, can only be a fpiritual deliverance from the Power and Confequences of Sin and Wickednefs. Accordingly, we are told by the Pro- phets refpeding this great Deliverer, not only DISCOURSE V. 129 pnly that he (hould die ; but that his Death fhould be an expiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of Men. — Hence it is, that in his perfon we find the fpiritual charadler of Prieft annexed to that of King ; in or- der that he might be authorized to make a proper offering and atonement. And of his Prieflhood we are given to underfland, that it fhould not be according to the Mo- faic Inftitution -, but differing in feveral re- fpefts. The legal Priefls were necelTarily of the Tribe of Levi ; but this Priefl wa$ to be born of the Houfe of David and Tribe of Judah . The Miniflry of the Priefls under the Law was confined to one people only J but the objed: of the Meffiah's Mi- niflry we have feen to be of greater ex- tent. He is called therefore to be a Priefl after another order, after the order of Mel- chifedec ; who, like him, was King and Priefl too ; and that, before the feparation of Abraham to be the Father of a peculiar and diflinguifhed People ; who likewife, at the fame time that he was reverenced as I a Priefl 130 DISCOURSE V. a Prieft by the Gentiles (for he was al Prieft in the Land of Canaan) received alfo from Abraham an acknowledgement of his fpiritual Authority ^ Such a Prieft- hood as this became him who, as King, was to reign over Jew and Gentile -, efpe- cially with this addition, that it {hould be an everlafting Priefthood ; unlimited in time as well as extent of jurifdidion. 7'^ou art a Pfieji for ever, after the order of Melchifedec ^. The Sacrifices appointed un- der the Law, namely, the Blood of Calves and of Goats, were inadequate to the atone- ment of tranfgreflions even of the cere- monial ordinances, and were therefore con- tinually to be repeated ; the Priefts alfo themfeives, for their own Sins, ftood in need of expiation before they could make any offering: but under the new Difpenfa- tion thefe defeds were to be remedied. The Prieft adminiftring here was to be the Son of God, himfdf God eternal, one with ^ Gen. xi;'. 18 — 20. f Pf. ex. 4. the D I S C O U R S E V. 131 the Father. The Offering made was no other than his own Blood ; himfelf as Man, pure and without ftain of Sin : no- thing therefore could be wanting, either ia the value of the Satisfaction, or the effi- cacy of the Miniflry. A Deliverance thus wrought, a complete Redemption from the Power and Penalties of Sin, a Reftoration of our fallen Nature, a Reinftatement in the Favour of God, was an obje(5l worthy of infinite Wifdom to contrive, and infinite Love to put in efl^e(ft; in comparifon of which, the Jewish Dreams of a temporal deliverance from worldly Powers, and the eftablifhmcnt of an earth- ly Empire, are lifelefs and infipid. But it may be, nay it has been, afked, if God were indeed difpofed to reftore man to a capacity of happinefs, what need of this traffic and merchandize ? What need there any fatisfacflion to be made to the Divine Nature ? This is, in effedt, to afk a reafon why the conftitution of things is what it I 2 is^ 132 DISCOURSE V. is. — There is nothing in fuch an arrange- ment inconliftent with the perfect reditude of the Divine Nature ; and many good purpofes may be conceived to be anfwered by it, even within the fphere of our own obfervation. That God does require fuch a fatisfac- tion, has been the fenfe of mankind in all ages, however acquired. And this opinion is confirmed, by the revealed Word of God, from one end to the other of the Old Tef- tament. This is its decilive language : / will ranjom them from the Power of the Grave : I will redeem them from Death. O Death, I will be thy Plagues \ O Grave, I will be thy DeJlriiSlion ^, Or as one com- petent Interpreter hath rendered it, with more clearnefs and emphafis, O Death, where is thy Sting ? O Grave, where is thy Vi6lory ' ? And fuch Verfion a learned Commentator, at the clofe of the laft cen- ^ Hof. xiii. 14. ^ I Cor. XV. 55. tury, DISCOURSE V. 133 tury, laboured to reconcile with the origi- nal Text as it now ftands *". But the in- duftry of the prefent age hath difcovered, that this is one of the many paiTages where the Hebrew itfelf hath fufFered a Diftor- tion, and that when reftored to its proper arrangement, it coincides to a letter with the Apoftle's Interpretation. Whether we underftand thefe Words as fpoken by God the Father, who was to fend this Deli- verer, or by the Meffiah, the Shiloh, or Saviour fent, they are expreflions that can- not be applied to any temporal Reftoration of the Jews ; they clearly import a Price or Ranfom to be paid ; and farther include a triumphant exclamation over vanquifhed Enemies : a Price paid to the offended Juftice of God, and a triumph over the Power of Death and the Grave. It is the concurring Voice of all Revelation, that the Meffiah was to lay down his Life: and that his Life thus laid down was to be the ^ Pococke on Hof. xiii. 14. I 3 price 134 DISCOURSE V. price of our Redemption ; a Ranfom paid to God to free us from the Bondage we were under to Sin and Satan. For as God tvas the Party offended by the Sin of Man, and in confequence thereof Man made over to the oppreffion of thofe Enemies, to Him in all Reafon, and not to them, ought the Satisfadlion to be made, and the Ranfom paid. Our Deliverance muft proceed at any rate from the pardon and forgivenefs of God, and not from any voluntary or pur- chafed kindnefs of the Powers of Dark- nefs '. It had been needlefs to have faid fo ' This whole matter is well explained by Dr. Field. *' Having fpoken of the fatisfaflion and merit of Chrifl, ** it remaineth, that we fpeak of the benefits which we re- " ceive from him : which are all moll fully exprefled by *• the name of Redemption ; which is the freeing of us " from that miferable Bondage and Captivity wherein we *' were formerly holden by reafon of Adam's Sin. This " Bondage was twofold ; firft, in refpeft of Sin ; and, fe- '■ condly, in refpeft of Piinifliment. In refpeft of Sin, we " were bondmen to Satan, whofe will we did, according " to that of the Apoille, His fervants ye are to njchom ye *' oify. In refpe(5> of Punilhroent, we were become bond- *' wen to Almighty God, the Righteous Judge of the " World; who ufeth Sathan as an Inftrumejit of his Wrath, '• and an Executicner of his dreadful Judgments againft •• fach DISCOURSE V. 135 much on this fubjecft, had not a very ad- mired writer of our own country given up the Dodlrine of a true and proper Redemp- tion and fatisfadtion as abfurd, on an idea that the price muft needs be paid, if any where^ '* fuch as do offend him, and provoke him to wrath.— *' Thefe being the kinds of captivity and bondage wherein " we were holden, it will not be hard to fee how we arc •* freed and redeemed from the fame. There is no Re- '* demption, as Divines do note, but either by exchange of '• Prifoners, — by force and ftrong hand, — or by paying of '* a price. Redemption by exchange of Prifoners is then " when we fet free thofe whom we hold as captives taken " from our Enemies, that they may make free fuch as they "hold of ours: and this kind of Redemption hath no " place in the deliverance of finful men from fin and ** mifery i but their deliverance is only wrought by flrong ** hand and paying of a price. For Chrifl redeemed us " from the Bondage of Sin, in that, by force and working ** of his Grace making us diflike it, hate it, repent of it, *• and leave it, he violently took us out of Sathan's hands, " who tyrannically and unjuflly had taken pofTeffion of us, " But from the Bondage of Punifhment, in refpeft where- ** of we were become bondmen to Almighty God ; he re- '* deemed us, not by force and flrong hand, but by pay- *' ing a price, fatisfying his Jullice, and fuffering what •* our Sins had deferved ; that fo being pacified to- *' wards us, he might ceafe to punifh us, and difcharge " Sathan, who was but the executioner of his wrath, from *• affliding us any longer." Field of the Church, B. v. Ch. :)cxi. fub in. I 4 tp is6 D I S C O U R S E V. to the Devil, whofe thralls we were ". And 4 foreign Critic of no lefs eminence dif- putes the claim to the Honour of this Dif- covery ". But whofe foever the difcovery may be, or whatever fagacity were requi- * Mr. Locke concludes his Note on Rom. iii. 24. in this manner. ** But if any one will, from the literal fig- ** nification of the word in Englifh, perfift in it, againft ** St. Paul's declarations, that it neceflarily implies an ** equivalent price paid, 1 defire him to confider to whom : ** and that if we will ftriftly adhere to the Metaphor, it *' mull- be to thofe whom the redeemed are in bondage to, " and from whom we are redeemed, viz. Sin and Satan. " If he will not believe his own Syftem for this, let him *' believe St. Paul's words. Tit. ii. 14. Who gave him/elf "for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. Nor could " th^ price be paid to God in ftridtnefs of Juftice, (for " that is made the argument here) unlefs the fame perfon '* ought, by that ftrift Juftice, to have both the thing re- ♦' deemed and the price paid for its redemption : for it is '* to God we a-^e redeemed by the Death of Chiift." Rev. V. 9- Thou ivafi Jfain, and haji redeemed us to God by thy Blood. I am free to own I have been the rather induced to bring forward this fingular paiTage, as an antidote to the powerful magic of a favourite name ; in hopes it may ferve as a hint to thofe who fet out, in their ftudy of thefe Scriptures, with Mr. Locke's Comment in their hand, that they ought to be extremely cautious how they admit his mere authority, either as a Critic or a Divine. " Monf. Le Clerc having recited the Note above refer- red to, fubjoins, " Ces remarques et ces raifonnemens font *' bons DISCOURSE V. 137 fite to make it, to fay nothing of the Shal- low reafoning by which it is fupported, it is evidently in diredt oppofition to the Word of God. From this circumftance of a vic- tory over Death, attributed by the Pro- phets to the Meffiah, the neceffity of a Refurrection from the Dead feems evidently to follow. For that he was to die (that is, what was human in him which alone could be faid to die) we have clearly {hown. That he was to reign in the united charac- ter of God and Man for ever, has likewife been fhown to be an eflential chara(5ter be- longing to him. But that he fhould die, that he fliould triumph over Death, and reign for ever over his redeemed, could not be reconciled to truth and confiftency, except on the fuppofition of a proper Refurrec- tion. And therefore it is that there are many intimations, dark and figurative in- deed, in the Jewifh Scriptures of fuch an •' bons, mais on fait affez que M. Locke n'en eft nuHement •' Tauteur." Le Clerc Bibliotheque Choifie, Tom. xiii. p. 121. event. 138 DISCOURSE V. event. And hence it is, that David fpeak- ing in the perfon of his great Antitype, fays exprefsly, 'Thou Jhalt not leave my Soul in Hell'y nor Juffer thine Holy One to fee corruption " -, which words plainly infer a Refurredion of all that was human, both Soul and Body. The fpiritual nature of that deliverance to be wrought by the Meffiah, and the extraordinary means by which it fhould be cffeded are laid down with fufficient clear- nefs in the Prophetic Writings. There are many palTages ; not a few of which I have already pointed out, which admit of no other application. There are many too, which, though they have their application to other events, lofe not their relation to this. Not only the Law, but, in a man- ner, the whole Hiftory of the Jewifh Na- tion appears to have been figurative of bet- ter things to come. The partial delive- rances then of this people may well be * PC. xvi. 10. fuppofed DISCOURSE V. 139 fuppofed to have happened, under the di- re<5tion of Providence, with a certain allu- fion to this greater and more general refto- ration. — Many Prophecies therefore which point in the lirft inftance to the former, have neceffarily a farther reference to the latter. This progreflive fenfe of the word of Prophecy obtains in other inftances, and arifes from the typical and fubfervient na- ture of the Jewifh Economy. But that no ambiguity might follow from hence, ora- cles of this kind are for the moft part fo exprefled, that their firft accomplifhment, falling fliort of the full import of the ex- preffion, though agreeing unequivocally to a certain point, fhould ferve as a fign or token to lead to a confident expecftation of a more entire completion. And fo far is this idea from throwing the Scripture Pro- phecies into uncertainty and obfcurity, that it is the only means by which a clear and fatisfadiory interpretation can be given of many of them : and the argument for their proceeding from God receives from hence additional 140 DISCOURSE V. additional force ; in as much as they thus the more evidently furpafs all puflibility of human guefs or conjedture; and obtain a fort of connection and harmony, analogous to the great Scheme of Providence, v^hich nothing elfe could have given them. In anfwer to thofe who, on different motives, have oppofed this opinion, it may be fufficient to urge, that Prophecies, though not always ftridlly fmgle, are not, therefore, the lefs determinate. Every me- taphorical expreffion in language is of this kind. To Chriftians, the cafe of the Paf- chal Lamb, one* fliould think, muft be de- cifive in this Queftion. Of this Lamb it- felf the Law fays. Neither Jhall ye break a boiie thereof^. Whether thefe words are capable of a farther, and that a determi- nate application, no Chriftian furely can doubt ^ P Exod. xii. 46. Compare alfo Pf. xxxiv. 20. * See more on this Subjeft— 'Thorndike Epil. Ch. xiii. From DISCOURSE V. 141 From what has been faid with refpedt to the nature of thofe means by which the Mefliah fhould efFed: the Deliverance of his proper fubjedls, it is obvious to remark, that a Difpenfation of fo extenfive, com- plicate, and fpiritual a nature, requiring too the Sufferings and Death of its Foun- der, muft be but an unpromifing under- taking for an Impoftor to engage in. And accordingly they who have fet up in this way, have formed themfelves entirely on the narrow carnal prejudices and mifcon- ceptions of the Jews, and not after that model which we have fhown to be adlually held forth by the Prophets. We have now fketched out fome of the leading principles and charaderi flics of that wonderful Difpenfation for which the Scriptures of the Old Teflament prepare us J fufHcient it is conceived, fully to an- fwer the intention propofed. Without co- ming to any application, we have feen enough to pronounce of it^ that it i$ a Difpen- 142 D I S C O U k S E V. Difpenfation wonderful indeed. It origi- nates with the Fall of Man, and is con- nedled with that event as its true founda- tion. It terminates in the reftoration of Man, from the dreadful confequenccs of his Rebellion. And this reftoration is brought about by the Death of the Mef- fiah, God and Man, King and Prieft of the reftored World, as a proper Sacrifice and Atonement for the iniquity thereof. Thus were thefe great myfteries previoully incul- cated, when God in time pad fpake to the Fathers by the Prophets. The Divinity of the promifed Saviour, and the Dodxine of an Atonement to be made by him, are the points principally objected to by the enemies of Revelation. The caufe of objection in both inftances ap- pears to be the fame, that, namely, which hath been the bane of Man's peace from the beginning ; even the inveterate and unfubdued Pride of the Human Heart. Thcfc men fet up their own Reafon as aa DISCOURSE V. 143 an infallible guide in matters where it cannot lead them. The Nature and Counfels of God, how perfectly foever con- fonant with right Reafon, are not fully- conceivable by us in our prefent ftate. Thefe plaufible objedlors cannot com- prehend the Divinity of the Mefliah in conjundion with the acknowledged Unity of the Divine Nature; they therefore re- je(ft and ridicule it. The fitnefs and ne- ceflity of an Atonement, in order to their future happinefs, their own refearches can as little difcover to them, this point like- wife is therefore expunged from their Creed. Though in this cafe there may be ilill a farther reafon for their diflent, dilated by the fame Spirit of Pride and Prefumption. The Do(ftrine of fuch an Atonement fuppofes Man not only in a ftate of alienation from the favour of God, but without a capacity of regaining it by any exertion of his own. This, no doubt, is a mortifying confideration to Men who rate 144 DISCOURSE V. rate their own Powers and Reafon fo high. In compliance with thefe Princi- ples, there has lately appeared a very in- competent fubftitute ' for the excellent and truly devout Liturgy of our Church, in which not only every expreffion of the Divinity of the Son of God, but every acknowledgement of the abfolute and to- tal infufficiency of mere Human Powers is omitted '. Thefe points notwithftanding make the Bafis of that Faith, which, as we have feen, is built on the Prophets ; and, I truft, it will be no difficult tafk to Ihovv, even to demonftration, that with them the Apoftles are in perfed: agree- ' This is entitled, Tie Book of Common Pra-ier, reformed according to the Plan of the late Dr. Samuel Clarke, together with the Pf alter or Pfalms of Dauid, Lond. 1 774. * In the form of Confeflion the claufe and there is no health in us is omitted. In the Colleft, p. 21. inftead of gi'ving us thofe good things luhich -we are not worthy to ASK, we are taught to read, luhich lue are encouraged TO ASK. And wherever in our Liturgy, Mercies are hum- bly implored for J cf us Chriji's fake^ the form is entirely changed. — More inftances might be pointed out, but this is enough to mark the principle on which this Reform proceeds. mcnt. D I S C O U R S E V. 145 ment, and both united in that ftone, which, though rejeded by the Pride and Sophif- try of Human Builders, fhall appear to be the chief Corner Stone in that Fabric, which hath been railing by the hand of God from the Foundation of the World- K [ '47 ] DISCOURSE VI. Hab. II. 3. ^he Vijion is yet for an appointed time j but in the end it fiallfpeak and not lie, THAT the affairs of the World are under the diredlion of Divine Pro- vidence ; and conduded with reference to that vi^onderful Difpenfation, of which it is the main bufinefs of the Law and Pro- phets to apprize mankind, has been already proved. As the plan of this moral Go- vernment appears to be uniform and deter- minate, every event of importance in it muft have its certain and determined place. K 2 This 148 DISCOURSE VI. This then muft be more efpecially true of that event which is the great object of the whole Scheme, and gives importance to all the reft. But in order to difcover what is the fit and proper point for any particular occurrence, it would be requifite to com- prehend at one view the whole arrange- ment, with the reafons of it; that is, to fathom the counfels of infinite Wifdom. This muft necefTarily exceed the limits of any finite underftanding. It is therefore prepofterous tp quarrel with Divine Reve- lation, becaufe it reprefents the principal AOl of God's Love and Mercy to Man- kind, as taking place at a late period. Complaints of this kind proceed on a de- gree of prefumption little ftiort of Atheifm. Of the ways and will of God we can know no more than it pleafeth him to im- part to us. The nature of that Economy, whereby it was his purpofe to reftore and perfedt the happinefe of Man, he hath delineated to us DISCOURSE VI. 149 us by certain and decifive marks. Some of the moft confiderable of thefe we have carefully examined, and find them fuffi- cient, if attended to with care and circum- fpedion, to diftinguifh that eftablifhment from all others. Great and extenfive as the feries of time was intended to be, it had been a field too large for the faculties of the human mind to range, in queft of one obje6l, however charaderized. And though fome few might, perhaps, by in- defatigable exertions, have difcovered the Truth, it would have been difficult to have convinced others. Few have leifure, fewer the inclination, for laborious re-^ fearches. Befides the Cavillers and Dif- puters of the World, fuch as love darknefs rather than light, had fo had but too much opportunity to refift the Truth and eilab- lifli Error. That we may be the better fecured from danger in a matter of fo high concernment to all ; we are not left thus at large. God in his goodnefs hath vouch- K 3 fafed 150 D I S C O U R S E VI. fafed to reftrain our enquiries within cer- tain limits* Thefe limitations arife partly from thofe eflential charadters which we have already fhown, from the Prophets, to belong to the New Difpenfation ; and partly from Oracles diredtly relating to the precife time of its eftablifhment. Thefe latter are few in number, and were probably intended chiefly for the pur- pofe of raliing a previous expecflation. That end, it will appear, has long ago been anfwered. ' ^The Texts themfelves are now become obfcure, probably corrupted by the negli- gence or defign of tranfcribers, and that paft recovery. And the variety of inter- pretations which learned men have been at the pains to frame, include a fort of pre- fumptive evidence, that no ufeful argu- ment can now be drawn from thofe pre- cife DISCOURSE VI. i^i cife dates. This is the lefs to be regretted, as the more general limitations which I men- tioned are themfelves fufficiently determi- nate, and better calculated for the purpofe of a fubfequent demonftration, which is the bufinefs we are now engaged in. From the nature of the Jewifh Eco- nomy we have fhown, that it could only be appointed as preparatory to fome other Scheme ; and that that Scheme wherein it was to receive its completion, was no other than the Kingdom of the Meffiah. When- ever, therefore, that Kingdom fhould be fully eflablifhed, the JewiQi Polity, both civil and religious, muft give way. They could not continue to fubfift together, be- ing only fucceffive parts of one and the fame Divine Arrangement. But as it was by means of the Law only that the Mef- fiah and his Kingdom could be afcertained, that Kingdom muft have taken its rife be- fore the Jewifh Polity was at an end. The Meffiah himfelf was, of neceffity, to be K 4 born 152 DISCOURSE VI. born under the Law, of the known family of David, the proper heir of his throne. The Bleffings of his Kingdom were to be offered in the firft inftance to the Seed of Abraham, God's chofen people, while they continued fuch. From thefe circumftances it muft needs follow, if the Scriptures be the Word of God, and fuch a Difpenfa- tion as they attribute to the Meffiah be really of God's appointment, that it had its beginning on Earth before the final dif- folution of the Jewiih State by the Roman Arms. The fame point is alfo farther evinced, in as much as it was alfo deter- mined by clear and unequivocal declara- tions, that that fecond Temple, built by Zorobabel, fhould be diftinguifhed by the perfonal appearance of Chrift; it was there- fore neceffary, that he fhould come before that Temple was demolifhed. The New Kingdom was indeed, as we have feen, to take its rife among the Jews, and the chofen Remnant of that people to become DISCOURSE VI. 153 become fubjedls of it : but with them likewife the Gentiles were to be united j and both together to become one fold un- der one Shepherd. And not only was Shiloh to be come, but the Bleilings of his Kingdom were to be evidently extend- ed beyond the limits of Judea, and the Nations to be gathered to him before the Sceptre or Civil Power departed from Ju- dah. It was another character of this King- dom, that it fhould rife againft oppofition from the Powers of the World, both Jew- ish and Pagan, and be advanced without force by the mild methods of perfuafion and argument. Under fuch circumftances and by fuch means it could not have at- tained the footing required in a few months or even years. The firft appearance of the MefTiah, therefore, muft have happened fe- veral years before the great Jewifli War, wherein the Temple and City were de- ftroyed. Thus we obtain one limit, after which it 154 DISCOURSE VI. it would be abfurd and inconfiftent with the Prophetic Charadlers to look for the commencement of the New Difpenfation. The Kingdom of Heaven was to arife under the laft of the four Empires men- tioned by the Prophet Daniel. Thefe four Empires, on any rational and confident in- terpretation, can be no other than the Chaldeo-AfTyrian, the Medo-Perfian, the Macedonian, and the Roman. Thefe are defcribed by the Prophet to be properly and immediately fucceffive to each other. Where one ended, there the next began. The Macedonian begun by Alexander, and continued in a divided ftate under his Cap- tains and their Succeflbrs, was not com- pletely ended till the Death of Cleopatra, the laft of the Family of the Lagidae after the Naval Defeat at A(ftium *. Confe- quently, not till then can the fourth or Roman Empire, at leaft in a fcriptural * Tore iTT^mTOi c Kuttmp on neceflarily led him to fay fomething of Jefus and his followers. He is profefledly treating of feveral attempts at innovation in the Jewifh flate that had been made about that time. What he appears to have faid, is no other, on a reafonable inter- pretation, than what fuch a Jew as Jofei phus might well fay when he was wri- ting to a Chriftian friend. And it is faid in a turn of phrafe and exprcflion pecu- liarly his own '. For thefe reafons I am convinced, that this teftimony is authentic with refped to the fa(ft of the miniftry and death of Jefus, and the continuance of cer- tain perfons profeffing to be his Difciples after his death, which is the only purpofe to which I mean here to apply it. I have faid thus much in its vindication, becaufe it appeared to me in common * This is proved at large by D'Aubuz. See D'Aubux de Teftimonio Jofephi, which is now joined to Havercamp's Edition of that Aiuhor. Vol. ii. with DISC OiUiR S B Vn. 179 with fome Texts of Scripture, and other points of Chriftian Hiftory, to have been too eafily given up. It is the way of In- iidels, when they feem to ^ave gained an advantage on any point, to magnify the importance of it, as if the whole caufc depended on that alone. Some who call themfelves Chriftians, care not how much they concede -, others, who really are fo, confident of their ftrength, rather than contend for what might in any flaape be queftioned, have yielded the matter in de- bate. The intentions of thefe laft cannot be blamed 5 their judgment perhaps may. We have crafty and encroaching enemies to deal with. Conceffions are therefore dangerous j and at any rate ought never to be made at the expence of truth. Truth is a facred and inviolable Palladium ; and any part of that evidence which God hath placed to guard and fecure it, we are not at liberty to give up or not, as we pleafe. M 2 On i8o DISCOURSE Vlt. On the whole, the authorities I have mentioned are fufficient to convince the moft fcrupulous mind with refpete(i on other accounts, had this happy effeft, that they rendered it utterly impoflible for any alteration whatever to be defignedly made in the Apoftolic Wri- tings. Since all were zealous for their opinions, and all equally appealed thither for the confirmation of them. Thus it appears, that Jefus and his A- poftles did eftabliih a Syftem of Religion in the World at the time contended for, beginning from Judea 5 for the evidences I have produced argue equally for the place fts for the time. It farther appears, that what is now called Chriftianity, the Laws and Do(3:rines of which are contained in the New Teftament, is fubftantially that very Syftem which was then eftablifhed. What is now called Chriftianity, there- fore, was fet on foot at the period limited by the Prophets for the firft cftablifliment of the Mefliah's Kingdom. With refped: to the ftate of the World M 4 at i84 DISCOURSE VII. at this particular period, at which we have fhown Chriftianity to commence, it may be proper to fay fomething ; as fome very extraordinary pofitions have of late been advanced concerning it. The Author of them profefTes to colledt the moft material fecond caufes that contributed, under Pro- vidence, to the rapid Progrefs of the Chrif- tian Religion '^. An undertaking that, ac- cording to his own Plan, he might more confidently have forborn -, fmce he con- cludes with telling us, that if there be any thing to caufe our admiration in the whole affair, it fhould rather be the flownefs than any extraordinary rapidity with which this new Religion made its way in the world ''. To leave him however in pofTeffion of this difcovery, and the means of reconciling himfelf with himfelf, certain it is, that he does affign fome of the caufes which may well be fuppofed to have contributed " Gibbon. Decl. and Fal] of the Rom. Emp. p. 450. ? ft Edit. ** Ibid, p, 505, to DISCOURSE Ylt 185 to the advancement of Chriftianity. We have hinted before at fome inftances by which it appeared, that the Providence of God had prepared the World for the more eafy admifTion of fuch a Difpenfation. In- deed the whole Plan of his Moral Govern- ment had been dired:ed to that end. But this Author mentions one circumftance, which is a very Angular one, and^ if ad- mitted, would prove perhaps more than he intended. It is this : The main Bufinefs of Chriftianity, namely, that of bringing the World from darknefs into light, of re- forming the Manners and Religion of Man- kind, was already efFed:ually done, before any fuch Scheme as Chriftianity made its appearance ^. From whence he concludes, that it was no wonder that men fhould be ready to admit it when it came. Poly- theifm was at an end — and " fo urgent on " the vulgar, fays our Author, is the ne- ** c^ffity of Believing, that the Fall of any ' " Human Reafon had already obtained an eafy triumph *• over the folly of Paganifm." p. 503. ** Syftem i86 DISCOURSE VII. *' Syftem of Mythology will moft proba- ** bly be fucceeded by fome other mode of ** fuperftition ^." Such is his argument ; and it is fingular in all its parts. It were more obvious to have concluded from fuch premifes, that therefore Chriftianity was fuperfluous and unneceflary. I do not fay he intended his Readers fhould draw fuch inference for themfelves — I hope he did not; — but I am confident, if they allow his Pofition they muft. How was the Fad? I will be bold to fay, that there never was a time, in which what there was of Religion in the Pagan World was more dark and contemptible, in which the man-^ ners of the Pagan World were more avow- edly profligate and infamous. I know there were Wits and Philofophers at this time, (and they the moft admired men of the age) who, with their mafter Epicurus, ri- diculed all religion whatever. If this were, as fome now-a-days will be ready enough to admit, an advance to Reformation, the •J Gibbon. Decl. and Fall of Rom. Emp. p. 504. World -:;>* DISCOURSE VII. 187 World was indeed in a way to be reform- ed ; but not on the Plan or for the Pur- pofes of Chriftianity. As to our Author's conclufions and infinuations, they will ftand or fall, as they ate founded in Reafon or not. Eut fuch a palpable mifreprefenta- tion of Fact as this, fliould put his Readers on their guard how they admit any of his ajfertions, A competent knowledge of the Hiftory of the World, is an accomplifhment within the attainment of every man of a liberal edu- cation. He may go to the Fountain Head; to original Authors; and, if he thinks it worth his while to read the modern Ef- fayifts, it fhould be only for the amufement of a leifure hour, and not for information. A man authentically inftrudled in the Hif- tory of the World, is in pofleffion of the bell: means of examining the pretenfions of Chriftianityj and will find the truth of one and the other fo interwoven, that he will never be able to feparate them, he mufl admit or rejed both together. [ i89 } DISCOURSE VIII. Luke xxiv. 27. Beginning at Mofes and all the Prophets, he expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures^ the things concerning himfelf. HAVING fhown, from a complicated evidence, fuch as muft be allowed full and convincing to every man who admits the force of Hiftoric Teftimony for any faft whatever, that the Scheme of Reli- gion, now called Chriftianity, commenced at the time predetermined by the Prophets for the Rife of the Meffiah's Kingdom, having fhown, likev^'ife, that the origin and 190 DISCOURSE VIIL and laws of this Religion are authentically recorded in the Books of the New Tefta- ment, I might refer thither for full proof, that the perfon and character of the Great Founder himfelf^ the nature of the Efta- ^Jifhnpent, jind the means by which it made its way in the World, do alfo cor- refpond, in every refped:, with the marks by which the old Prophets have defcribed the Meffiah and his Kingdom. Thefe Books do themfelves allege pafTages from the Pjopliecies, and point out an exad coincidence with them in the time and circumflances of which they are .treating. They do not indeed do this in every in- ifl^^pej^ter^ it might be done; but fre- r^Vieptly enough to lead us to a ilmilar ap- „plication of all the moil important Oracles of the Jewifh Scriptures. , Jt is not in my prefent purpofe to pro- ceed to a minwte and critical application of particular paiTagcs ; the limits to which I ^^i ^oji^iied will not admit of it, and the P I S C O U ft ^ E VJIJ. 191 nature of my arguoaent ^pes -not require At^ It will be fufficient to confider w,hat dije Pretenfions of Chriftianity arc, aj;id: h^ far they correfpond with thofe more ge- neral charad:ers which we have difcovpre^ from the Prophets to b.e ,efre;itial to ?tb^ New Difpenfation. And firfl, with refpedb to Jefus, the J^u* thor and Finisher of our Faith. . That he was born of the Houfc ^. Da- vid, admits of little queftion. Whether it were fo or not, muft have been a matt^^ of notoriety. In this cafe there were circjum- flances that tended to make it peculiarly fo. It could not therefore be falfely ipre- tended without immediate detedtion. Had it been poflible to have brought this point into (ufpicion in the fmalleft degree, the oppofing Jews could not have wanted fuf- ficient means to fupprefs the progrefs of a caufe that proceeded on the necefTary fup- pofition of its truth and evidence. On the 1^2 DISCOURSE viir. the contrary, we find that they always ad- mitted this plea in its fulled extent '. In the times both of Domitian and Trajan the Kinfmen of our Lord were judicially arraigned as being of the Davidical family, then deemed a dangerous offence. For this we have the teftimony of Hegefippus, a living witnefs of the fad: ''. The Baby- lonifli Talmud too admits, with refpedt to Jefus himfelf, that he was related to the Kingdom. There are feeming varieties in the two Tables recorded, one by St. Mat- thew, and the other by St. Luke. But thefe varieties may be reconciled by proba- ble arguments from the peculiar lituation and obje that Jefus of Nazareth pafled his life Upon earth in an humble, defpifed, afflidied ftate; and that he underwent at laft a painful and ignominious Death. Thefe are points which the Jewifh adverfaries of our faith zealoufly contend for ; thus far allowing the veracity of the Gofpel Hiflory : and on this very ground it is that they refufe to admit Jefus to be the Saviour and Meffiah of the Prophets. Though the whole ftory of his Life and Sufferings might be related in the very words of the Prophets them- felves, almoft as minutely and diftindly as if ftands in the Writings of the Evange- lif^s ', and that, from pafTages which the old Jewifh expofitors faw plainly could ap- ply to none but the Meffiah. Hence it N 2 was 196 DISCOURSE VIII. was their firfl contrivance to evade the force of the argument, by holding up two "different Meffiahs, as we have already had occafion to obferve ^. Their later Do<5lors, fenfible how untenable fuch ground muft be, have rather chofen to fearch out for other applications. But in all thefe, whe- ther they be adapted to individuals or to the Jewifh nation colledively, it were eafy to fliow, that the refemblance, however in- geniouily made out in fome features, will not, by any means, hold throughout. At the fame time they themfelves cannot pre- tend to fay but what they may all apply, on an eafy and natural conftrudtion, to the Hiftoryof Jefus as we now receive it; though they feem to think, that the moft ftrained accommodation to any other perfon or cafe, muft preclude all argument from the ex- adeft agreement in that perfon whom their prejudices have taught them to anathema- tize. He grew up as a tender plant, and as ^ Difc. III. a root DISCOURSE VIII. 197 a root out of a dry ground^. He was born and brought up in a ftate of poverty and obfcurity, before God, ivcainQv ®iov, by the fpecial appointment indeed, as it fhould feem, of the Divine Will. And when in procefs of time he came out into the world, He had no form nor comelinefs ; he had no beauty to make him defired"^. The expedations of men were awakened ; they were looking with eagernefs for a Saviour and Deliverer inverted with all the pomp of worldly Majefty. This was the form and comelinefs they longed for ; this was the beauty that would have been defireable in their eyes. But of all this there were not the leaft traces in the appearance of the meek and humble Jefus ; — Hhey therefore turned their faces from him ; they defpifed and ejieemed him not : He was opprejfed and he ivas afiiSledy yet he opened not his mouth '-: He was brought as a Lamb to the Jlaughter ; and as a JJjeep before his fiearers is dumb, fo • Ifaiah liii. 2. - Ibid. N 3 he jgS DISCOURSE VIII, be opened net his mouth ". Thus far do the Prophet and Evangelifl go hand in hand, not only with refpedt to Jefus himfelf, which is top obvious to be farther infifted 0n, but alfo with refpec^t to the Jews, who defpifed and rejedied him, who turned $way their faces froni him purely for de- fecft of what they grofsly efteemed beauty and comelinefs. How powerful an impe- diment this alone was, may be beft con- ceived from that credit which the Jews at and near that time gave, to the Dodirines, to the mighty Works, and even to the Pivine Commiffion of Jefus as Prophet, to every thing in fhort but his being the Glorious Mefliah. Of this we have feen ^ remarkable inflance in the Hiftorian Jo- fephus. The fa«ie flill continues to be a Stone of Offence ; — The prefent Jews op- pofe the Chriftian Faith chiefly on the fame ground, unwittingly fulfilling, as their Fathers did before, 'The word of God by the mouth of his Prophets °, * Ifaiah lili. ^—7. * Afts iii. 18. The DISCOURSE VIII. 199 The miraculous works related to have been wrought by this fingular Perfon, in- cluding that moft remarkable and impor- tant one, the raifing of himfelf from the Dead, may all be referred to this head as completions of Prophetic Oracles. It is true, confidered in themfelves, they form a feparate argument : but the nature and manner of them being found to agree ex- adly with what the Prophets had foretold of the Mefliah, they make a part of the argument we are now ftating, and an im- portant one too, if we confider that they are never attended with that eclat and fplendor that Impoilors muft needs aifedl, in order to dazzle and embarrafs both the fenfes and underftanding of the beholders ; but are calculated to illuftrate and enforce thofe Do<5trlnes of piety, humility, and be- nevolence, which he conftantly taught. I know that this fort of tendency in thefe extraordinary Works has been urged againft their being defigned as proofs of the Divine N 4 Inter- 200 DISCOURSE Vlir. Interpofition ''. The plea is frivolous at beft. It proceeds on a prefumption that the Divine Attributes cannot a6l in con^ cert. But when we confider thefe works as having been firfl defcribed by the Pro- phets ages before they were actually wrought, they become one inftance of what obtains throughout the whole Scheme, l^hat Mercy and I'ruth are met together, that Righteoufnefs and Peace have kijj'ed each other % The time, the place, the perfons con- cerned, both as his accufers and judges, P J. J. RoulTeaii fpeaking of Miracles, makes this ex- traordinary afTertion, " C'etoient {implement des Ades " de Bonte, de Charite, de Bienfaifance qu'il faifoit en •' faveur de fes amis, et de ccux qui crcyoient en lui. — " Ces Oeiivres marquoient le pouvoir de bien faire, plutot " que la volonte d'etoiiner, c'etoit des Vertus plus que des "Miracles. — Et Comment la Supreme Sagefle cut elle •' employe des moyens fi contraires a la fin qu'elle fe pro. *' pofoit." Lettres ecrites de la Montagrie, Partie i. Lett. iii. I might tranfcribe more, but this I conceive is enough to convey the whole of the Author's Sentiment in this re- fpeft, and the ground it refls upon. •J Pf. Ixxxv. lO. and DISCOURSE VIII. 201 and a thoufand lelTer circumftances, in ap- pearance the moft indifferent and trivial, •which attended his Death, fuch as could be no way dependent on his own contri- vance or that of his followers, but were the mere voluntary a(!ts of his enemies and perfecutors, have all the moft minute and literal agreement with the word of Pro- phecy. The Evangelifts are themfelves more full and diredt in their appeals to Scripture in this, than in any other part of the Hiftory. It becomes, on that account, the lefs needful to dwell upon it here. I fliall proceed, therefore, to enquire how far the declared end and defign of all this was fuch as it ought to be, on the plan laid down by the Prophets. Our Lord, in his Difcourfes upon earth, frequently alluded to the approaching event of his Death. Sometimes he mentioned it in diredl terms. Wherever he fpeaks of it, it is as an occurrence of no trifling concern j as an occurrence in which the interefts 202 DISCOURSE VIII. interefls of his followers and of all the world were intimately involved ; and as the great objedt of his whole Miniftry. When the event drew near, he faid to his, Difciplcs, 7)6^ Jbour is come that the Son of Man Jljould be glorified : verily, verily, I Jay unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone j but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. And he then prefently fubjoins. Now is my Soul troubled, and what Jh all I fay ? Father, fave me from this hour : but for this caufe came I unto this hour \ In another place he fays, T'he good Jhepherd giveth his life for the Jheep ', I lay down my life for the Jheep ; and other fieep I have which are not of this fold; them alfo I mujl bring ; and they jloall hear my voice ; and there fia II be one fold and one Jhepherd *. When the Difciplcs, apprehenfive at laft of his impending fate, which he had fo ' John xii. 24. 27. * John X. II. 15, 16. often DISCOURSE VIII. 203 often warned them of, began to (how figns of forrow and uneafinefs, this was the con- folation he gave then^, Becaufe I have /aid tbefe things unto you, forrow hath Jilled your heart : never the/e/s I tell you the truths it is expedient for you that I go away ^ . In all this there is fomething fingular; fome- thing very unHke the pradice of the worldt that the head and former of a party (hould announce his own approaching Death to his followers, and that by way of encourage- ment too; infinuating, that their future fuccefs muft depend on that alone. Had nothing farther been declared, it had been difficult to have affigned a rational caufe for fuch conduct; or to have cleared it from the charge of fanatic enthufiafm. But the matter was not fo left : — In what manner all this promifed advantage was to accrue from the Death of this perfon, has been intimated various ways. That Pro- phet who appeared, as we have already * John xvi. 7. ihown. J264 DISCOURSE VIII. {hown, to prepare his way, and to give teftimony to him, ftiles him emphatically, T^he. Lamb of God, that taketh away the Sin of the World"". Of himfelf he declares, 'The Bread that I will give is my Flejlo -, which I will give for the Life of the World^ . And again, T^he Son of Man came not to be mijiijlred unto, but to minijhr -, and to give his Life a ranfom for many ". Expreffions of this kind can have no fenfe at all, un- lefs they be underftood to reprefent the Death of Jefus as a proper Atonement and propitiatory Sacrifice. Such a Do6trine was afterwards clearly and diftindly taught and infifted on by the Apoftles, both in their Difcourfes and Writings. But we have fomething more than words for it. Our Saviour having thus frequently inti- mated the end and intention of his Death, that he might the more fenfibly inforce this Dodrine on the minds of thofe who " John i. 29. 36. *' John vi, 51. * Matth. XX. 28. were DISCOURSE VIII. 205 were chofen to teftify of him to the world, and perpetuate a true idea of his whole Scheme to future ages, he inftituted a folemn Rite to be conftantly obferved by all who fliould profefs to believe in his name. The Jewifh Sacrifices, properly fo called, in the number of which the PafTover held a principal place, were all Expiations ^. Thefe were always attended with Feafts . which Feafts were folemn federal Rites between God and the Jewifh People. When therefore Jefus faid to Men, who were themfelves Jews, ^a/te, eat, this is y I am aware that the Jewifh Sacrifices are diftinguifhed by a variety of denominations, and that much labour and learning hath been beftowed on the Subjedl. But after all, it is Hill evident to me, that the firft Religious Blood- fliedding n;uil have been by Divine Appointment for the purpofe of Atonement ; and that every bloody facrifice iince, the Pafchal Lamb as much as any other, hath either direftly or by typical reference the notion of expiation annexed to it — We know that by God's fpecial appointment, rwithout Jheddi>:g of Blood there could be no remijjion. Heb. ix. 22. Wherever, therefore, there was a Religious Shed- ding of Blood, there an expiation was always intended. my 2o6 DISCOURSE VIII. my Body which is given for you ', they muft underftand, that that Body of which he fpake was reprefentcd as an expiatory Sacrifice ; and that the Bread which they cat in Hcu of it, was meant to be a feafl of the fame kind as attended the Sacrifices of the Law. There have been many who contend, that the Jewifh Paffover was itfelf no Sa- crifice ; and that the Chriftian Eucharift being conne(5ted with that Rite alone, could not, therefore, be a Sacrifical Feaft ; and ought not to be confidered as a Federal Rite in any degree, but merely as comme- morative. Philo, whofe authority is chiefly urged in this Queftion, hints at a diife- rence between the Paffover and other Sa-* crifices -, which, by the way, implies clear- ly, that he confidered that too as a Sacri* ficc as much as the reft. The difference he conceives to confift in this. That it was ' Luke xxii. 19. the DISCOURSE VIII. 207 the People and not the Priefts who were to kill the Paflbver % Now it may be (hown, from various paffages in Scripture, that the flaying of the animal was in none of the Jewiili Sacrifices a part of the Prieft's Office ; but merely the fprinkling of the Blood and laying of the Parts upon, the Altar. It may feem ftrange that Philo, himfelf a learned Jew, fhould fo grofsly miflake in fuch a matter. But it has been maintained by Men, the moft converfant in enquiries of the kind, that he was by no means accurate in his knowledge of Jewilh Cuftoms ''. It is certain, therefore, « Philo de Vita Mofis, L. 111. Ed. Par. 1640. p. 686. E. — 'En i> (fefto fcilicet Pafchatis) cv^, « fts» i^tuTOj ^«a»yi<«-i Tu fiufxci) iifttx, ^ifr< eS ci nffif, tcXt^x vo^a it%«iu.%H ovfATiw* -n f6>ei ti^TU] Twv >(^7K ftjpflf f;($(r« IKS vTc^f tujra ')ve-txs einoc^rlef He ftyles the Paflbver exprefsly TmthfJisi ©vtix^ Dc Sept. & Feftis, p. 1190. D. *• In moribus Hebr2eis ipfe Alcxandrinus non fatis certus eft Auftor. Grot, in Matth. xxvi, 18. Adeo ut pauci inter illos (Graecos fcil.) Hebralce fcx» rent, quod n«n invitus crediderit qui Philonem eximium Judsum ex ipfiufmet fcriptis Hebraice nefcifTe cognoverit. Jof. Seal, de Em, Temp. p. 148. that 2o8 DISCOURSE VIII. that the Pafchal Lamb was sacrificed : and they who allow that Chrift is our Paflbver, muft allow alfo in the words of the Apoftle, that he was sacrificed for us ' : and farther, that the Communion of his Body and Blood, is, flridtly fpeaking, a Feaft upon that Sacrilice offered once for all; and therefore a Federal Rite, as fuch Feafts always were. If it be alked. Who in this cafe are the parties covenanting, and what the bargain made? It may be anfwered. That God hath declared his voice in the Gofpel, and there promifes Pardon, Life, and Salvation to man, through a crucified Redeemer ; and that Man, on his part, doth, in this inflituted manner, from time to time, difclaim all perfonal merit of his own, and profefs an entire and grateful re- liance on God's promifes. On this idea all is intelligible and pertinent ; but on the idea of a mere Commemoration, fo much contended for by fome, not only <^ I Cor. V. 7. every DISCOURSE VIlI. 209 every part of the inftitutlon becomes Life- lefs and unmeaning, but the great and dif- criminating article of our Faith is kept out of fight. Some one perhaps may fay. How comes it that, in the words of the Infti- tution, it fhould be enjoined merely as a memorial, and nothing faid of its being alfo a Rite of covenanting ? Had this been really the cafe, yet the very nature of the Adl fpoke for itfelf, as appears from what I have already faid ; but the words alfo themfelves oblige us to this Notion. The cup is called, with a fi- gurative emphafis, T^he New Covenant ** : and the Apoftle explains the whole in terms borrowed from the Sacrifical Feafts j which he could not have done, had there been no analogy between the two. I'he Bread which we breaks is it not the Com- * Luke xxii. 20. « xomh) Jiw^xjj, St. Matthew's Phrafc is no lefs ftrong — rt> e(ti^ jm«, t» -pj? x«<»»)f £^«^>£>!f, m m^t W<»hui tK^vvofAiiei «'f ipie-it »y^PTiut. Matth. XXvi. 28. o mumon 2IO DISCOURSE VIII. miinion (or participation) of the Body of Chrijl ? ^he Cup of Bkfjing 'which we blefs, is it not the Communion of the Blood of Chrijl '^ ? Where the words teach no new Dodtrine, but are an appeal to the cer- « I Cor. X. 1 6.— Since the former pdrt of this Volume was printed ofF, Dr. Bell's DlJJertation on the Authority, Na- ture, and De/-gn of the Lord^s Supper hath fallen into my hands. The Author ftates the argument for this Ihftitu- tion being no other than a mere Commemoratioh, and deduces the confcquences of that Notion, through a chain ©f formal and diilind Propofitions. It is not poffible in the compafs of a Note, nor Indeed neceflary to my prefent purpofe, to confider feparately every part of this laboured performance. 1 would lirft obferve, that the learned Au- thor takes no direft notice of the fixth Chapter of St. John's Gofpel ; and, by his twenty -fcvcnth Propofition, evidently precludes it from having any relation to the Na- ture and Defign of the Lord's Supper. With refpedl to the Faffage of St. Paul, which I have here (Judted, he produces it as affording an argument, that the Lord's Supper, be its Nature what it might, was a Rite of univerfal and perpetual Obligation: and this, no doubt, it does, in common with almoll every Paffage where men- tion is made of this Inftitution throughout the Apoflolic Writings. He obferves, moreover, that *' in this paflage " the Apoftle hath not imparted to us any information re- " lating to the nature and defign of the Lord's Supper, in *' addition to what we are furnifhed with by the Hiftory " of the inftitution." This Propofition I moll readily ad- mit j DISCOURSE VIII. 211 tain and acknowledged fenfe of all Chrif- tians. If this idea be retained, it can- not be denied, but that we do, in a mofl lively and efficacious manner, commemo- rate both our Redeemer and the great adt of our Redemption ; and alfo fit and dif- pofe ourfelves to receive the riches of his mit ; but muft maintain that it cannot poflibly be true, on a fuppofition, that the Hiftory of the Infiitution repre- fcnts it only as a Commemoration. J have fhown above, that from every circumftance attending the Adion, and from the words themfeives of the appointment, as related by the Evangelifts, more than that muft be underftood. In this Paflage of St. Paul no mention at all is made of its being commemorative : what it aflerts therefore, if it affert any thing relating to the nature and defign of the Inftitution, muft be in addition to that circumftance. The plain import of the words, in confiftencc with the context, is finiply this, " That our participation of the Bread and '* Wine in this Sacrament, is an adual participation of *' that Atonement made for us by the Sacrifice of Chrift." It is not itfelf an Atonement, but the means by which ..at elFedlual Atonement and all the benefits of it are ap- plied perfonally to the participants : and this is the nature of all Sacrifical Feafts, Jewifti and Pagan, as v/ell as Chriftian. That the Sacrifices themfeives were regarded as expiations Dr. Bell very juftly admits, p. 127, 128. He admits too, that ** thofe who partook of the Sacrifical *' Feafts, were underftood to partake of all the benefits of O 2 " the 212 DISCOURSE VIII. Love. It is fcarcely needful to remark, that the true notion of the Chriflian Eu- charift, as here ftated, entirely precludes the Popifli Dodrine of the Mafs, which, amongfl its other abfurdities, reprefents it as a New Sacrifice to be continually re- peated. It is enough to obferve, that this Inftitution (ftill retained in the Church, and certainly derived from the appoint- ment of that very Jefus who was cruci- " the Sacrifices themfelves." This ib what we contend for, and upon this St. Paul's argument turns. But it does not hence follow, (as Dr. Bell very inconclufively argues^ that by reprefenting the Lord's Supper as a Sacn'fical Feaft, we reprefent it as being itfelf a proper expiation and atonement. The analogy requires (according to his own conceffions) that it be confidered as the means by which we perfonally partake of the benefits of an Atonement before made. Notwithftanding therefore all Dr. Bell has argued to the contrary, and delivered as complete demonftration, the Lord's Supper may and ought to be confidered as a Sacrifical Feaft. As fuch, it is properly a federal Rite; as fuch, it is, according to St. Paul's plain account of it, a real participation of the benefits of the Chriftian Atone- ment. It is of confequence to obferve farther, that what has been faid, if admitted, includes a refutation of feve- ral of Dr. Bell's propofitions, viz. the third and fourth Parts DISCOURSE VIII. 213 fied under the fentence of Pilate) when explained according to the legitimate in- tention of the Founder himfelf, uncor- rupted by the additions of the Papifts, and undiminifhed by the Socinians, does ncceffarily imply, that the Death of Jefus was held forth to the World as a propitia- tory Sacrifice. Thus, in every poffible way, both in dired: words and by expreffive ad;ions, both by himfelf and his Apoftles, is the Death of Jefus pronounced to be a full and fatisfadlory Atonement for the Sins of the World; and fo including a De- Parts of Pr. xi. Pr. xiii. Pr, xlv. Pr. KV. Pr. xix. Pr. xxii. Pr. xxviii. the conclufion of Pr. xxx. Pr. xxxv. Pr. xxxvi. the conclufion of Pr. xH. Pr. xliv. in part, Pr, xlv. Pr. xlviil. as far as it confines th^ nature of the Rite to a mere Commemoration. Laftly, So much of the Conclu- fion as depends upon thefe Propofitions. Thefe obftacles removed, a pious Chriftian may ftill at- tend on this inrtituted Rite of his Lord and Mafter, in full affurance of thofe moft valuable Bleifings which indeed belong to it. O 3 liverance 214 DISCOURSE Vlir. liverancc from the power of Sin and Death. When Jefus dilcourfing to fome who believed on him, faid. If ye con.' tinue in my Wordy then are ye my Difci-' ciples indeed ; and ye fiall know the T'ruth -, and the Truth jhall make you free ^ -, cer- tain Cavillers who were {landing by took umbrage at his words, as refleding on the whole Jewifh Nation, that they were in a State of llavery ; which, by the by, was at that time in fa6t the cafe. Jefus, however, not noticing the arrogance and impropriety of their objed;ion, proceeds to explain the liberty he was fpeaking of, as fomething which no way con- cerned their civil State. Verily^ verily^ I fay unto you, whofoever committeth Sin, is the Servant of Sin, And the Servant abideth not in the houje for ever -, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore Jhall make you free, ye Jhall be free in- ^ John viii. 31, 32. deed. DISCOURSE VIIL 215 deed^. He had but a little before faid to theni. If ye believe not that I am He, ye JhaJl die in your Sins ^ : and prefently afterwards, ^/jen ye have lift up (that is, crucified) the Son of Many then jhall ye know that I am He '. Of him- felf he declares, on another occafion, / flm the I'ruth^, So that to know him, is to know the Truth j to be made free by the Truth, is to be made free by HIM : and this Deliverance 15 fpiritual, from the Bondage of Sin, and referred to his Death as to its proper Source* But we have before fhown, that fuch a Deliverance as this precifely, was rc- quifite to fatisfy the Prophetic Oracles; and that none elfe could fall in with the nature of fuch a King and fuch a Kingdom as they defcribe '. « John viii. 34, 36. ' Ibid. 24. ' Ibid. 28. . *• Ibid. xiv. 6. » Pifc. V. O 4 I mud 2i6 DISCOURSE VIII. I muft here remind you, that all I have yet proved is, that the preten- fions of Chrifl and his Apoftles for him, in this refped, accord v/ith the Prophets. Whether thofe pretenfions are found- ed, whether the Death of Jefus were really fuch an Atonement as they de- clare, is indeed the main point in Quef- tion. But this and the Divine Nature of Chrift are fadts that cannot admit of feparate and diftindt proof; but mufl be inferred from fuch arguments as go generally to eftablifli the certainty of the Divine Appointment of the whole Scheme. Of this kind is the argument from Prophecy which we are now canvaffing: and thefe great points will, I truft, be fliown neceffarily involved in our general conclufion. For the prefent, therefore, we DISCOURSE VIII. 217 we may leave them, and proceed to con- (ider the Nature of that Kingdom which was actually eredled in the World in con- fequence of the Death of Jefus. I 2'9 ] DISCOURSE IX. John xviii. 36. y^Jus anfweredy My Kingdom is not of this World. TH E Difciples of our Lord, though convinced by his Miracles and Doc- trines that he was the Mefliah foretold by the Prophets, appear to have retained the fame unv^'orthy and carnal Notions of his Kingdom that the reft of their countrymen did. His Humiliation indeed did not give them the fame offence; but they conceived it was foon to be laid afide, and fucceeded by a vifible ftate of Glory of greater fplen- dor 220 DISCOURSE IX. dor and more irrefiftible power, than any thing that had before appeared upon earth. Expetflatlons of this kind, and indeed every other comfort, were, for a while, remo- ved from their mind by the adtual Death of their Mafter. When he appeared among them rifen from the Dead, and converfed with them in the fame meek and gracious manner as before, /peaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of Gody their hopes revived, but they were ftill hopes of the fame kind. Having been once fo grie- voufly difappointed, their curiofity became Wronger than ever, to know at what time and in what manner thefe new expe 23^ DISCOURSE IX. an Eftablifhment as this, Chriftianity itfelf undergoes no change ; its Doftrines, its Worfhip, and its Laws, continue what they were; and it remains in all refpeds the fame pure and fpiritual Syftem that it was when delivered by Chrift: and his Apoflles, ^he Prince of Peace ^ is one illuflrious- title given by the Prophet to the Meffiah. His Kingdom we find every where fet forth, as abounding in Peace, and Joy, and Comfort ; all Wars ceafing, fwords were to be beat into plough-ihares, and fpears into pruning-hooks ; the moft inveterate enmities were to be reconciled, and vio- lence turned to meeknefs. It concerns me to fhow in what fenfe, and how far thefe Charaders have been verified in the Chriflian Church -, and the rather, ^% we have authentic accounts of great •^ Ifaiah ix. 6. troubles DISCOURSE IX^ 93i troubles and perfecutions which vexed it on its firft appearance : and it is not to be difTembled, that wars and animofities, even fince the extirpation of Paganifm, have continually obtained among Chriilian ftates i and that not feldom on Religious pretences. The fpiritual nature of this Kingdom muft ever be kept in. light, and all the particular charadlers annexed to it explained with a view to fuch nature. Had Chrift's Kingdom beer* temporal, its Peace muft have depended on external circumftances : But, in truth, the Gofpel Peace is of an higher nature, thi^n to be Hiaken by all the terrors and violence of the World. This is intimated by Jefus himfelf — Peace indeed he bequeathed to his faithful fubjeds — Peace I leave unto you ; my Peace I give unto you : not as the world givethy give I unto you : let not your beart be troubled, neither let it be afraid \ ' John xiv. 2j. Yet :234 DISCOURSE IX. Yet he warns them to exped tribulation in the world — ^befe things have I fpoken wito yoUy that in me ye might have Peace ; in the world ye fiall have tribulation : but be cf good cheer, I have overcome the World ^, V.'hat fenfe the Difciples of Jefus enter- tained of thefe tribulations, even when they were in the midfl of them, and how little they efteemed their real and fubftan- tial Peace, to be afFeded by them, is abun- dantly evident from their own repeated profefilonsj and indeed from the whole tenor of their condudl. Being jujlijied by Faith (faith St. Paul) iJi-e have peace with God: we rejoice in hope of the glory of Godp and not only fo, but we glory in tribulation alfo \ — Whatever might be the temper of their Perfecutors, certain it is, that the firft Chriftians pojj'ejfed their fouls in pa^ tience^'y and the principles of their Faith, with the affiftance it afforded, enabled * John xvi. 33. 1 Rom. V. 1—3. ^ Luke xxi. ^9. them D 1 S C O U R S E IJt. 235 tliem fo to do. The great and invaluable Peace of this new and fpiritual Kingdom, confifts more efpecially in the rcftoration of Peace between God and Man, between an offended Creator and his finful Crea- ture, effe(fled and confirmed in the recon- ciling Blood of Chrift : If God then be for vs, who can be againji us ^ f The befl foundation too of Peace be- tween Man and Man was laid in the Gof- pel Law of Univerfal Charity and Benevo- lence. All diftindtion and enmity between Jew and Gentile was done away, I will not fay by the abolifhing, but by the com- pletion of the Mofaic Law. In thefe feve- ral refpedts we muft allow Peace to have been reftored by the Gofpel, notwithftand- ing the oppofition of the World. But the flate of a Chriftian is alfo rc- yrefented as a flate of fpiritual Warfare, " Rom, viii. 31. For 23^ D I S C U R S E IX. Vor we wrejlk not againjl Flejlo and Bloody, but againjl Principalities, againjl Powers, againjl the Rulers of the darknefs of this World, againjl fpiritual Wickednefs in high Places'", Here, it muft be owned, is a dreadful mufter of fpiritual Enemies : but they are enemies already vanquifhed ; per- mitted indeed to awaken and exercife the vigilance of every Chriflian : yet fuch as they are, he need not, he ought not, no, not for a moment, to fear their power. That very power which hath already van- quifhed them, is at hand to affift and pro- tedl him. I mean not to infmuate, that the flate of any Chriflian on earth is a Hate of abfolute fecurity. From the na- ture of his fituation it cannot be fo : he is placed under a Law, and confequently bound to certain conditions. His flate therefore mufl be fo far precarious, not- withflanding he is in polTeflion of certair^ ^ Eph. vi. 12. means DISCOURSE IX, 237 means of procuring eternal happinefs. God's promifes are fure and infallible—* Man on his part is free — free to com- ply with the conditions or not. St.' Paul, perfuaded as he was, that neither Deathi nor Life, nor Principalities , nor Powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come ', nor heighth, nor depth, nor any other Creature, were able to feparate him from the Love of God which is in Chrijl fefus ^ ; yet fpeaks of himfelf as one who had not already attained, was not already made perfedt, Btit I will follow after, he fays, if that I may apprehend that for which alfo I am apprehended of Chrijl Jefus ^. We have already feen, that this King- dom, according to the Prophetic defcrip- tions of it, was to arrive at its utmoft perfedion by a flow and gradual Pro- F Rom. viil, 38, 39, "- Phil. iii. 12, 13, 14. grefs. ^3^ DISCOURSE IX. grefs \ That this period cannot be yet come is evident on the lllghtell viewj hut will, I trufl, be more fully evinced as I difcufs the remaining part of my argument. This being at prefent fup- |)ofed, it is to be expelled, from the nature and extent of the Prophecies, that a. more literal, and more general accom- plifhment of fome of them is flill to come. This topic, therefore, can afford no folid argument, that what we call the Chriflian Difpenfation is not that very Difpenfation to which the Prophets at- tribute the charaders of Joy and Peace* In what fenfe thefe characters muft be allowed already to have obtained, has been fully fhown. What remains, fo far from diminilhing our Faith, ought, in all reafon, to ftrengthen it j to fill our hearts with hope and comfort, and en- ' Difc. UL courage D I S C O U R S E IX. 239 courage us to pray fervently, that the fulleft completion of that Kingdom may come in God's good time, when every Enemy fhall be put down, and God fhall be all in all *. ' I Cor, XV. 25. 28, [ 241 ] ■mriM iJMMiiiii 'mim irtw DISCOURSE X. Rev. III. 22. He that hath an Ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith to the Churches. IT was not by Prophecies concerning Its iirft eftablifliment only, that the truth of Chriflianity was to be evinced. The progrefs and fates of the New Difpenfa- tion after its a(5lual commencement are, in fome meafure, delivered by the Old Pro- phets. That our attention to this fort of evidence might be continually kept alive, diftant events in the Chriftian Church are pointed at by Chrifl himfelf : and thefe intimations are accompanied with minute CL Pro- 242 DISCOURSE X. Prophecies of early accomplifliment ; a method of addrefs pecuhar to the word of God throughout, and wonderfully adapted to ftrengthen and confirm the Faith. Scarcely forty years after the death of Jefus, not only that great event, the entire fubverfion of Jerufalem and the Jewifh ftate took place in dired: confirmation of the words of Mofes, of all the Prophets, and of Jefus himfelf j but St. Peter had before then ftretched out his hands and glorified God by fuch death as had been defcribed\ And St. John verily tarried till Chrifl fo came ^ with vengeance on the Jewilh nation, and furvived to teftify of all thefe things. The Apoftolic Writers have delivered remarkable predidtions of things to come, St. Paul, in particular, defcribes a future Apoftacy under ftriking and deci- iive characters. But that beloved Apoftle, as if he had been appointed to continue * John xxi, 1 8, * Ibid. 22, 23. longer DISCOURSE X. 243 longer on earth for fuch important pur- pofe, was favoured with a more extenlive and diflind: Revelation. The time and circumftances under which the Apocalypfe was written are fufficiently afcertained by internal marks, and pretty generally known. That it could not be earlier than the time of Domitian, I fhould prefume, will not now be difputed : Proofs of it however will arife as we proceed. In this Book we have a comprehenlive view of the Chriftian Economy and its various Revolutions from beginning to end. The Book itfelf is very artificially com- pofed ; and, on the firft infpedion, has an air of myftery and obfcurity that might warrantably deter us from all attempt to un- riddle it ; were it not for the importance of the fubjed, and that folemn Blefling which is, in the opening of it, pronounced on reading, hearing, and obferving the 0^2 things 244 DISCOURSE X. things written therein ^ This appearance of obfcurity arifes, in fome meafure, from the fymbolical Language in which it is written almofl throughout. That this fort of language, however, is fubjedl to afcer- tainable rules, and capable of conveying determinate and rational information ; and that it is peculiarly adapted to the nature and purpofe of Prophecy, has been proved by able hands ; and particularly explained and illuftrated from this place in the mofl ufeful and fatisfadlory manner **. I will only obferve farther, as fome encourage- ment to men to look into this neglecfled part of God's Word, that there is fcarcely a fmgle Symbol made ufe of in this Pro- phecy, which had not been before em- ployed by the Prophets of the Old Tefta- ment. The arrangement is another fource of difficulty : but this may be removed, by giving that attention which the nature of a Book fo extenfive in its fubjedt, fo ^ Rev. i. 3. * Hurd on Prophecy. Serm. IX. various D I S C OU R S E X. 24^ various in Its matter, and yet comprized in fo fmall a compafs, feems of neceffity to require. It confifls of many diftin6l parts : thefe ought in courfe to be firft feparately flu- died, the Language and Symbols peculiar' to each critically difcufled -, and then the Re- lation that they bear to each other may, with good profpedt of fuccefs, be enquired into. Much hath already been done in this way. The labours of learned men now afford many ufeful helps for the farther under- ftanding of this Book. It is a great many years fince a fagacious writer of our own country obferved, " That of the Interpre- *' ters of it in the age preceding, there *' was fcarce one of note who had not ** made fome Difcovery worth knowing'.'* He himfelf added to the ftock : fomething hath been done fmce his time, and much ilill remains to be done 5 which, by the ' Sir Ifaac Newton's Obfervatlons on Dan. and Apoc. P-253- 0^3 way. 246 DISCOURSE X. way, is the beft argument of the ufeful- nefs and importance of the prefent truly Chriflian Inftitution. It is, on the whole, fufficiently evident, that in the view which this Prophecy fug- gefts of the Fates of the Ghriftian Difpen- fation. Three great Periods are diflindly marked. To fome part of one or other of thefe every one of the vifions muft be re- ferred. Thefe greater Periods are again fubdivided into lefler, charadlerized by events proper to each. Previous to the vifions opening thefe important Revolutions, the Apoftle to whom they were granted receives a com- miffion to write to the Angels or Minifters of feven Churches in Afia, thofe probably, ., to the particular edification of which his own labours and inflrudions had been chiefly direded. This commifTion is given by one who faith of himfelf, / am the Firjl and the Laji; I am He that liveth, and was DISCOURSE X. 247 was dead', and behold I am alive for ever- 7/wre, Amen : and have the Keys of Hell and of Death \ The Epiftles enjoined to be addrelTed to each of thefe Angels or pre- fiding Minifters, are conceived, for the moft part, in plain and dired: terms. Hence it has happened, that fome of the moil eminent Interpreters have paft them by, as if they v^^ere no w^ay connecfled with the more myftical parts of the Book. Had this been the cafe, one may fairly prefume they w^ould have held feparate and diftind: places in the Canon, in the fame manner as thofe of St. Paul, and St. John himfelf, which are addrefled to particular perlbns. The folemn Vifion by which they are in- introduced, the regular and fimilar con- flru(5tion of each, and the importunity with which we are repeatedly called upon for our attention, are circumftances that feem to imply that they hold their proper place, and that an important one. The truth of f Rev. I. 17, 18. 0^4 this 24S DISCOURSE X. this fufpicion will be confirmed, if we really canvafs the contents of them with the attention demanded. They may be confidered, and to underftand them right- ly, I apprehend they muft be confidered, in different views. Firfl, As they give us an infight into the ftate and circumftances of the Chrif- tian Church at the time they were written. Secondly, As they contain fome diref^ predictions. Thirdly, As they are fymbolical of E-.- vents in the future Periods which make the main fubjedl of this Book. And laftly. As they contain reproofs and commendations worthy the moft fe- rious attention of every part of the Chrif- tian Church, in whatever Epoch of its ex- igence on earth. That DISCOURSE X. 249 That thefe Epiftles were addrefled to real Perfons, and related, in the firft in- ftance, to circumftances peculiar to the time and refpedlive places, cannot be dif- puted without doing fuch violence to Lan- guage as muft deftroy the validity and cer- tainty of all Hiftorical Information what- ever. That the whole of this Book fliould be Prophetic, and Prophetic only, need not be fuppofed ; indeed the dired: contrary is intimated. It was a part of the Inftrudtion given to St. John, Write the things which thou hafi feen, and the things which are ^. To view thefe Epiftles then in this light, it is, in the firft place, I think, not to be queftioned, that at the time they were written there was a Church or Aflembly of Chriftians in each of the Cities here mentioned. For what certain Heretics urged, in order to invalidate the Authority of the whole Book, that there was no Church founded in Thyatira, was a mere 8 Rev. i. 19, ground- 250 DISCOURSE X. groundlefs aiTertion : and Epiphanius too haftily admitted the fadt, becaufe he thought he , could obviate the confequence they meant to draw from it ^. But the whole of his argument proceeds on a mifappre- henfion. That Chriftianity obtained a very early footing in this place, is probable from many circumftances. And the evidence from the PafTage before us, that there was a Church eftablifhed there in the time of Domitian, is flrong and pofitivej and there is nothing but negative conjecture to fet againfl it. Each of thefe Churches had a proper preiiding Minifter of its own, whofe OfEce and Authority was fuch in that par- ticular Church, as to make him, in fome meafure, accountable for the Faith and Pradices of thofe under his charge -, and, confequently, fubjed: to blame or commen- dation on their account. A notice which may well, at all times, excite very ferious refledions in the mind of every authorita- * Epiph, Adv. Haer. Tom. i. p. 455. Ed. Par, 1622. tive DISCOURSE X. 251 tive Minifler of God's word. The Office of each was confined to his ov/n Province ; there was no authority of any one of them over the refl, nor of any other Bifhop over them all. The care and fuperintendence of Chrift himfelf is reprefented as con- ftantly extending to each feparate part, no lefs than to the whole Body colledively. He holdeth the f even Stars in his right hafid, and walketh in the midji of the /even golden candlefiicks \ The Language indeed is fym- bolical 'y but the Myftery is interpreted for us : for we are told, that the /even Stars are the Angels of the feven Churches ; afjd the feven Candlefiicks are thefeven Churches^, If then the proper Office of Chrift him- felf refted at that time in his own perfon, and were not delegated to any Vicegerent, at what period afterwards is it likely that fuch a commiffion fhould be given, or what record is there of it ? And if not necelTary then, when or how did it become ' Rev. H. I. '' Ibid. i. 20. fo? 2SZ DISCOURSE X. fo ? It remained for that witked one who was afterwards to be revealed, to aflume this Vicegerency to himfelf, to Jit in the ^Temple of God as God\ and to pretend to powers which belong to God alone, even to Chrift, who is over- all God blejjed for ever " ; whofe is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory ; who alone reign- eth in his own Kingdom -, and will reign as mediatorial King, till the whole Scheme being compleated, all economical diftinc- tions fhall ceafe, and God, the undivided Trinity, be all in all. Thefe Churches were in all refpedts dif-- tindt, and independent on each other, (as may be inferred from the feparate addrefs to each) and feem to have had no other bond of Union but the common Religion which they profefTed. They appear like- wife to have been, in fome refpedts, under various Laws and Regulations -, as certain J 2 ThefT. ii. 4. ^ Rom, ix. 5. opinions DISCOURSE X. 253 opinions and pra(ftices which were forbid- den and wholly difallowed in one, were in others either permitted, or lefs feverely cen- fured. It is hence evident, that each of them had in itfelf a Rule or Law of its own, to which the whole Society were held. The Dodlrinc (I do not fay of Toleration, for that fuppofes and implies that there is a profefled and public Rule, both of Order and Faith) but the Dodrine which fepa- rates every individual Chrlftian from all others, and makes him, as the modern Phrafe is, " A Church to himfelf," was un- known at the time we are treating of, and confequently cannot be derived from the Apoftles. It is farther obfervable from the tenor of thefe Epiftles, that there obtained, even in that early time, irregularities and herefies amongft Chriftians themfelves; and thofe of a very pernicious tendency. What the particular nature and complexion of thefe diforders was, I fliall have occafion to ob- ferve 254 DISCOURSE X. fcrve under another head. It is fufficient to remark here, that what is contained to this purpofe in thefe Epiftles, is confirmed by other Apoftolic Writings, and the con- currence of the earlier Ecclefiaftic Hiftory. The Chriflians of thefe feveral Churches are plainly reprefented as then in a perfe- cuted and afflided ftate. Antipas had al-^ ready fuffered % the good Polycarp is warn- ed of his approaching fate °, and St. John himfelf, at that time, in his own perfon experienced the oppreflive hand of Power. We have hence a clue in fome meafure to determine the date of the Apocalypfe. Happening at a time of general Perfecu- tion, we mufl: fix it either to the reign of Nero, or bring it down as late as Domi- tian. The ftate of things here defcribed can by no means be made to accord with what we know of the fituation of Chrif- " Rev. ii. 1 3, « Ibid. 10. tians D I S C O U R S E X. 255 tians at the former of thefe eras. In the intermediate time the Jewifh War afforded fo full employment to the Empire, that they paid little regard to the gradual in- creafe of Chriftianity. The perfecution here intimated, therefore, muft be that un- der Domitian. Satan, we are told, had then his Syna- gogue, whether it were at Smyrna ^ or at Philadelphia ^. He had his feat too at Pergamos, and there he dwelt ' ; and of fome at Thyatira, it is intimated that they knew the depths of Satan *. At this time, therefore, this m-alicious and wicked Spirit fhould feem to have had a power and influence among men. To the Bifhop and Faithful at Smyrna it is faid. Fear 7ione of thofe things which thou fialt fuffer. Behold the Devil fi all caft fotne of 9 Rev. ii. 9. 1 Ibid. HI; g, ' Ibid, ii, 13. " Ibid. 24. you 256 DISCOURSED. you info prifon^. Such his power and in- fluence therefore was not yet to have an end. This circumftance leads me to con- flder what I propofed in the fecond place j namely, the diredt Predictions contained in thefe Epiftles. One of the moft remarkable is, what I have now produced relating to the Church of Smyrna and its venerable Bifhop. The whole palTage flands thus, I know thy works, and tribulation, and po- verty (but thou art rich) 5 and 1 know the blafphemy of them which fay they are Jews, and are not*, but are the Synagogue of Satan. Fear none of thofe things which thou fialt fuffer. Behold the Devil fi all caft fome of you into prifon, that ye may be tried-, and ye jhall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faith- fid unto Death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life ". The circumftances here pointed out were, about ninety years afterwards, exacStly verified in the event under the * Rev. li. 10. " Ibid. 9, 10. Emperor DISCOURSE X. ic^j Emperor Marcus Antoninus'^. By fome Imperial Edidls before this time, the fum- mary manner of proceeding againft Chrif- tlans without a formal charge had been prevented ". The Chriftians gained no- thing by thefe means. They were now rendered odious by the moft horrible ca- lumnies, and crimes of the blackeft nature were laid to their charge, in order that the cruelty of the fubordinateMagiftrates might be fafely indulged. Thus it was the Devil (here emphatically fliled o A/aCoAog-, the ac- cufer) caft many into Prifon. Here they were clofely kept, to be brought forth at the time of Games and Feftivals ', and then expofed to the moft inhuman tortures, they became a favourite part of the fliow, and the Refentment of the Officers and Multitude was completely gratified. Thefe Ihows were wont to laft feveral days; in the inftance before us it was probably ex- ^ Eufeb. Eccl. Hill. L. in. Cap. xv. ^ Ibid. L. IV. C. ix. R aftly 258 DISCOURSE X. adly ten ; though that number may per- haps be alfo fymbohcally uled. The adive and malicious part which the Jews took in thefe proceedings at Smyrna, is particularly noticed ^. The firmnefs with which the old Apoftolic Bifliop endured even to Death, at the fame time that it completed this Prophecy, might, in feme meafure, be founded upon it. His own words feem to refer hither when he prays in his laft moments, *' I '* blefs thee who hall: deigned to bring me ** to this day and this hour, that I might «* have part with the number of Martyrs " in the Cup of Chriit, at the Refurrec- ** tion both of Soul and Body to eternal •* Life, in the purity of the Holy Ghoft ; *' among whom may I be admitted in thy ** prefence, as it were a fat and acceptable y Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. L. iv. C. xv. p. 107. *' Uac^ tt -xXrfioi ■*' ihnv Ts j^ laocmaf •tat -njv "Zfivpuxf t'gi'nuiiiiluy ic>(g.-m<^irm " ^^ai, r^ y-iyxM (^uxy\ loox' ovlog tritJ* a. r, A. And fhortly after, f^xAt^u ln&MUt ar^oSvuai, alij t8oi avloti^ «V mro VTrttf- *' Sacri- DISCOURSE X. 259 •* Sacrifice; according as Thou the God of ** Truth haft predetermined, fulfilling thofe ** things which thou haft forefhown '^." And to tTie fame purpofe they, who relate this memorable Hiftory almoft in the words of the Prophecy, defcribe him as *' crown- " ed with the Crown of Immortality, and ** bearing his uncontroverted reward, ^^^t- There are other dired: predictions con- tained in thefe Epiftles ; fuch, for inftance, as refpect the removal of one Church, and the continuance of others, which, it is evident, have had their accomplifhment : but as the time and manner of fuch ac- complifhment cannot be decifively pointed out, it would add little to our argument to allege them. The Authority of the whole Prophecy was early fealed, by the precife '^ Eufeb. Hift Eccl. L. iv. C. xv. p. 108. B. C. * Ibid. p. 109. A. — This whole account is given in afl Epiftle from the Church of Smyrna to the Churches of Pontus. Concerning this valuable Record, fee Cave Hilh Liter. Tom. 1. p. 65. Ed. Oxon. 1740. R 2 con- 26o DISCOURSE X^ / concurrence of circumftances at Smyrna above defcribed. I proceed now to another topic. That the particular Herefies condemned in thefe Epiftles, obtained at the very ^ time, will not be difputed by any one who is at all acquainted with the early Hiftory of the Church. The fame point might be farther confirmed, by taking into the account all that variety of ftrange Dodlrines which, in later times, perplexed and agitated the Chriftian World. By tracing thefe back to their Source it would be eafy to Ihow, that they all branched out from one or other of the irregularities here reproved. So early did offences begin, and Chriftia^ nity affume that very face which Chrifl: had warned his Difciples to expecft. Here then are we to look for the feeds of Anti- chriflianifm : and the fpirit of Prophecy hath taken care to notice fuch circum- ftances, and in fuch terms as might the moft certainly induce us to obferve an agree- D I S C O U R S E X. 261 agreement with the leading Charadlers of the great Apoftacy. In this refped:, therefore, thefe Churches may be confidered as typical of the whole Chriftian Church, and the true Hiilory of them prophetical of what iliould obtain afterwards. This is analogous to the me- thod of Scripture Prophecy, and difcovers to us one very important conned:ion which thefe Epiftles hold with the fubfequent Vifions. In Ephefus we find there were thofe who pretended to be Apoftles and were not ^. Of fuch men and their true charadler St. Paul had long before apprized Timothy. He intimates, that they taught another DoBrine 5 that they had fwerved from the Faith, and turned ajide unto vain jangling ; dejiring to be teachers of the Lau\ yet underjlanding neither what they faid, nor whereof they afirmed", A claim to ftrange and fupernatural Powers obtained early in •* Rev. ii. 2. ' \ Tim. i. 3. 6, 7. R 3 this 262 DISCOURSE X. this place, and had been pretended to in their feveral ways, both by Pagans and Jews. The magical terms and devices em- ployed by men of fuch complexion, from the frequent ufe of them here, were fliled, Ephelian characters ^ The Apoftles had appealed to real Miracles wrought here in the name of Jefus ' ; and it was here that Men of the Charadter above defcribed, in imitation of the Apoftles, made ufe of the name of Jefus in their Exorcifms and In- cantations ^ Thus far the diredl fenfe of this relation is verified by what we know of the Hiftory of the Place at that time. But a farther allufion is intimated to the character of the Man of Sin, w^ofe coming is after the work- ing of Satan, with all Fewer, and Signs, and lying Wonders^, * Afts xix, 6. II, I2i f Ibid. 13. 8 2 Thef. ii. g. The DISCOURSE X. 263 The other Dlforders here reprimanded are all of one particular caft; they are fuch as tended to the promotion of Senfuality and Idolatry together. The Nicolaitans were of this kind. And perhaps (as a learned Man has obferved) might derive their name from their principles, rather than from any particular Perfon who gave rife to the Sed: ''. Be that as it may, the name fuits with their principles, and in both places, where they are mentioned, there is an evident allufion to the meaning of it. Of this kind too was that Prophe- tefs in Thyatira, with all her adherents ; and they are defcribed in terms exaftly fi- milar to thofe made ufe of both in this Book and other Apoftolic Writings, as cha- ra