The rectified Mind said they is the Man but the sensitive Appetite is the Beast This latter they declared to be the Principle which predominateth in all vicious Men and because they wholly â—ollow their Sense and are led merely by a corporeal Appetite they resemble Brutes Accordingly Epimenides calls the Crâ—tians evil Beasts as the Apostle takes notice and for the same reason all Persons that are given to Vice deserve that Denomination For their Portion like Nebuchadnezzar's is with the Beasts You cannot reckon them in the number of Men for tho they retain the human Shape yet they are really degenerated into the nature of Brutes Nay Man is become more irrational by far than the whole Herd of Brutes who by a natural Instinct or by some certain Laws of Motion following the Apprehensions of their Senses discern what is good or hurtful to them and not only so but imbrace the one and avoid the other Man alone once the excellentest Creature in the World but now depraved knows not his Happiness or despises it which in the sacred Stile is expressed after this manner The Ox knows his Owner and the Asâ— his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my people do not consider Isa. 1. 3. These are the inword and spiritual Evils which are the effects of Adam's Degeneracy and they are usually called by Divines by the name of Spiritual Death for these also were part of that dreadful Threatning In the day thou â—atest thereof thou shalt surely die But there are not only temporal but eternal Evils which are the fruit of Man's Apostatizing Man by his Guilt and Pollution contracted by the Fall and since delighted in is liable to be excluded from Happiness in another Life and is obnoxious to eternal Punishment and Misery in the World to come for Sin of it self can never be expiated and therefore the Guilt of it must necessarily continue without any Period Accordingly we read that the Wages of Sin is Death Rom. 6. 23. i. e. eternal Death for it being oppos'd in that place to eternal Life it cannot signify less It appears then that the Sinner deserves to be â—ormented both in Body and Soul with endless and eternal pains which makes his Condition far worse than that of the Beasts who Perish and so are made uncapable of all future Sufferings This is that worst of Deaths which is another part of that direâ—ul Threatning denounced against Adam and which is the most grievous and terrible effect of his Disobedience and falling from God and from this as from the other Evils procured by Man's Apostacy there is no redemption on 〈◊〉 the merciful and meritorious Undertakings of the blessed Messias who was afterwards promised After all it might be observ'd that not only Adam and Eve were threatned to be punish'd for this Transgression but even the Serpent which the Devil made use of in order to it he was rendred the most cursed of all Creatures and condemn'd to grovel on his Belly and to feed on the Dust of the Earth Gen. 3. 14. Which was design'd to be a lasting as well as a visible Memorial of God's Displeasure against the first Sin in the World So we read afterwards that God spared not the brutâ— Beasts whom the Sinners of the old world had abused but destin'd them no less than the Offenders themselves to Destruction Gen. 6. 7. which gives us some account of the implacable Opposition of the Divine Nature to all Sin and even to all that are but instrumental and serviceable to it He that is of purer eyes than to behold Iniquity will not suffer it to go unpunish'd wherever he observes it And this might be added here that the foresaid Cursâ— on the Serpent hath reference also to the malicious Dâ—mon who actuated that Animal The doom of this impure Spirit is here included his being not able to raise up himself against the Servants of the most High so as to hurt them and his being 〈◊〉 to Hell and his being made for ever a cursâ—d Creature lâ—ath'd and abhor'd of God and Man are comprehended in this Execration Thus I have finish'd the second State of Man This I call a State as it respects Us but I call it a Dispensation as it hath respect unto God because it was his Will and Pleasure to suffer this to be Out of infinite Wisdom he permitted Man's Fall designing to make it subservient at last to the Good of Mankind and to his own Glory by inhansing his Mercy and Goodness in the 〈◊〉 and unexpected rescuing of Mankind from the Miseries which they had incur'd by this general Lapse I say general for as I asserted before concerning the first State that of Innocâ—ncy that it included all Men in it as well as our first Progenitors so I must declare the same concerning this second State and Dispensation It takes in not only Adam and Evâ— who indeed were the most conspâ—cuous Persons but all the succeeding Generations of Men and Women For by reason of our first Parents wilful sinning and transgressing the Divine Law all Persons are under the Displeasure of God the Penalty of his Law and the Power of Satan for they are all conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity they are naturally averse to all Good and prone to all Evil and therefore a Condemnation is justly pass'd on them all Here I might copâ—ously treat of Original Sin and the fatal Influence of it but I intend not at present to enlarge on any main Article or Point of Divinity this Treatise being design'd only as an 〈◊〉 to so great a Performance This only in brief is to be remembred that Adam as a common Person sinn'd for himself and his whole Posterity In him all Mankind were created and in him they all â—ell and were corrupted Adam being the Father and Root of all Successions by his sinning involv'd himself and his Progâ—ny into a State of Guilt and Enmity against God This great Banker broke and with him all his Race were beggar'd and ruin'd His particular Fault became the Catholick Crime of all Persons descended from him even before they knew what was Good and Evil i. e. before they were born They were all accurs'd in him and rendred obnoxious to the Divine Wrath and no Creature was able to deliver them from it But God the merciful Creator and indulgent Father of Mankind was pleased to contrive their Deliverance Accordingly he made an early Discovery of his Grace and Love to our first Parents and to their Posterity which leads me to the next Dispensation CHAP. III. The Nature of the Third General Dispensation The first part of which is the Adamick State The early Promise concerning the Messias Gen. 3. 15. explain'd He was expected betimes The New Testament witnesses that he was to bruise the Serpent's Head Several positive Laws were under this Oeconomy That of Oblations and Sacrifices is especially consider'd Eucharistical Sacrifices were part of the Law of Nature Expiatory
was accepted And this passes for a general Opinion with us and not without a great shew of Reason for it seems to be founded on the Mosaick Law it self there we see that Idolatry Murder Blasphemy c. were always punish'd with Death unless the special Favour of God interposed There was no Sacrifice permitted to expiate the proâ—anation of the Sabbath for it is expresly said Everyone that defileth the Sabbath shall surely be put to death Exod. 31. 14. Nor could he that eat the Sacrifice whilst he was in his Vncleanness be pardon'd for this is his Doom That Soul shall be cut off from his People Levit. 7. 20 21. There was no Sacrifice admitted for Adultery or for disobeying of Parents In short Sins of Ignorance only were expiated by the Mosaick Sacrifices but all Sins of Presumption remain'd unatoned which they prove from Numb 15. 28 30. The Priest shall make an atonement for the Soul that sinneth ignorantly But the Soul that doth ought presumptuously shall be cut off from among his People So that Sins of Obstinacy and Malice had no Sacrifice allow'd the Offenders were either put to death by the Magistrate or cut off by God But notwithstanding all this that is alledged it seems to me very evident that the guilt of all Sins whatsoever if they were heartily repented of was atoned by the Mosaick Sacrifices For when those of the other Opinion say there was no Expiation for greater Sins it must be meant either of Internal or External Sins Now it is generally confess'd that God appointed Sacrifices and Expiations for the greatest Sins of the Heart and Mind as Unbelief blasphemous Thoughts idolatrous Imaginations desires of Murder uncleanness of the Heart c. for even some of the best Men it is likely were not free from these mental Pollutions Who can imagine that there was no atonement for these under the Law Can we think that all perish'd who were at any time guilty of these No certainly they were pardon'd through God's Mercy upon Repentance and the appointed means of sacrificing And as for visible and outward gross Enormities tho there may seem to be no provision made in the Mosaick Law for their Expiation because the Offenders were presently punish'd with Death yet it doth not follow thence that there was no Expiation for those notorious Crimes for they might be expiated tho it was fitting and necessary that they should be animadverted upon by a severe Penalty leâ—t Impunity should encourage Men in Sin and Vice When we find then in Moses's Law that such as were guilty of Adultery Murder Incest c. were not exempted from Capital Punishment we cannot thence infer that Sacrifices purg'd none from the guilt of these Enormities and that the Legal Offerings were design'd only to expiate for smaller Aberrations for the reason why those great Offenders were punish'd was not because there were no Sacrifices and Oblations to clear them of their Guilt but because it was requisite Death should be the Recompence of those Crimes lest the Common-wealth should be endamaged and ruined by suffering such to go unpunish'd But even the guilt of these heinous Sins if those that committed them sincerely repented of them was expiated by those daily Offerings which were made for the Sins of the People and by the frequent Trespass-Offerings notwithstanding the infliction of the corporal Punishment The Propitiatory Sacrifices were available even to those who suffer'd for their Sins They were able through God's Appointment to remove the Guilt the not the Punishment Is it not acknowledg'd and that because it is manifest from several Instances that the Crimes of Persons have been forgiven and pardon'd tho they themselves were not exempted from the Penalty Moses's Death was the Recompence of his Unbelief tho none doubts of his expiring in the Divine Favour David was punish'd with the Death of his Child tho we read that his Sin was pardon'd Iosiah was justly snatch'd away in Battel because he ingag'd in it against the Divine Will and Command but yet he died in peace i. e. in the Favour of God and was transmitted to the place of Everlasting Peace and Happiness Wherefore I gather hence that tho Death was made by Moses's Law the penal Consequence of Adultery Disobedience to Parents Violation of the Sabbath Day c. yet whoever among such Criminals as these turn'd unto God by an unfeign'd detestation of the Sins they committed had without doubt the benefit of the Legal Sacrifices which expiated the Offences of all true Penitents tho they were never so great And the reason is this because this Institution or Ordinance of Sacrificing was the standing means of Salvation in the Jewish Dispensation and therefore it was requisite that the influence of it should extend to all Sinners that were heartily sorry for their Offences and abhorr'd their past Crimes yea and themselves for being guilty of them This we must grant unless we will say that no heinous Sinners under the Law were ever pardon'd and receiv'd to Mercy which is an assertion that is easily baffled by a great many Instances which the Old Testament records It was in the was of Sacrifices that these Persons had their Guilt remitted and expiated for there was no other Expedient or Remedy at that time as we are assured not only from the End and Design of instituting the Sacrifices which was to take away Sin but from those express words of the Apostle which refer to this manner of Expiation without shedding of Blood there is no Remission Heb. 9. 22. This then being the only way of Remission and Pardon of Sin it was certainly efficacious and even those who were cut off from their People tho this Doom doth not always signify immature Death and therefore can't be absolutely made use of here or were cut off from the Land of the Living and their Sins atoned by the Law of Sacrifices supposing as hath been said before that they repented from their Hearts of their vile and flagitious Miscarriages And this may be further made good from that plain distinction of Chattah and Asham the Sin Offering and the Trespass Offering the one being design'd to remove the Guilt of petty Declensions the other to make satisfaction for gross and enormous Crimes And moreover this is plain from Levit. 5. 4 15. where Sacrifices are commanded to be offer'd for great Crimes as unlawful swearing and sacrilege And the Aâ—niversary Oblation in Levit. 16. 16 c. was not only for their Vncleannesses but for for their Transgressions in all their Sins But as for the sin of Presumption or sinning with a high hand as 't is in the Hebrew Numb 15. 30. it includes in this place Impenitence and final Obstinacy and therefore it is no wonder that there was no Atonement for it for even the Alsufficient Merit of Christ Jesus doth not expiate for this Sin but all other Sins were atoned by Sacrifices I see no reason to the contrary and therefore I
Vessel whilst the Israelites were in the Wilderness and so was continued till Solomon's Temple was finished and then Fire came down again from Heaven and consumed the Sacrifices 2 Chron. 7. 1. This was preserv'd till the Babylonian Captivity and afterwards renewed 2 Macc. 1. 22. Here the Difference between the Patriarchal Sacrifices and the Mosaick ones might be taken notice of The Patriarchs had no other Expiatory Sacrifices but Holocausts or Burnt-Offerings as is clear from several places Besides there were Anniversary Monthly and Weekly Sacrifices among the Iews but we know not that there was any such thing before the Law And some other Differences the Reader may gather from the particulars aforesaid But the End and Design of these Sacrifices are chiefly to be inquired into where we shall also see a further Difference in some things between the Mosaical and Patriarchal Sacrifices Let us see to What Purpose all those Bloody Offerings were appointed let us acquaint our selves with the Design of Heaven in it First They were as the Fruits of the Earth intended as Acknowledgments that God was their Benefactor He gave these Animals as well as those Fruits and therefore it was fit to offer these as well as the others 2. If we speak concerning the Continual Morning and Evening Sacrifices it is certain they were Symbolical they were a Token of God's Presence among them They were instituted as a Testimony of This as you read in Exod. 29. 38 to the end They were a Sign that the Lord would be continually with them and be their God 3. The Mosaical Sacrifices were to testifie what the Iews deserved for their Sins viz. Death By these Bloody Oblations it was signified that the Life of Beasts should expiate for the Life of Men who had sinned and were become worse than Beasts Sheep and Oxen were substituted in the room of Offenders these sinned and those were slain Though this could not be evidently discover'd by Natural Light as hath been said yet now upon God's declaring in the Law the nature of these Sacrifices it appears that this was one design of them Those Legal Sacrifices were a kind of Confession of their Guilt By killing their Beasts they did as 't were acknowledg that themselves deserved to be used so 4. The Mosaical Sacrifices were Federal Rites and design'd to signify the Correspondence and Agreement between God and Man To which purpose you may observe that as part of the Shelamim the Peace-Offerings was burnt on the Altar so the remainder and greater part were eaten by the People that brought it to shew that it was truly a Sacrifice of Peace a Ceremony of Communion and Friendship with God a Token of Fellowship and Amity between God and Man As for the Holocaust that indeed was all of it burnt but there was a Meat-Offering and Drink-Offering annexed to it to denote Familiarity and Friendship to shew that they were Guests in God's House or rather that they were of his Family and were fed at his Table and eat of his Meat as the Sacrifices are call'd in Mal. 3. 10. and Houshold Provision Again the great Design of the Mosaick Sacrifices was to Expiate and Atone Not only Burnt-Offerings or Helocausts but all Free-will-Offerings were Expiatory notwithstanding what Crellius affirms viz. that they were Eucharistical and therefore were not Expiatory But we must know that That Epithet doth not respect the End which those Sacrifices were design'd for but the occasion of their Offering them As for the name of Peace-Offerings that was given to this sort of Sacrifices not only because they were offer'd in way of Return for their Peace i. e. as the Hebrew word denotes their Safety and Welfare which were vouchsafed to them but because the offering of them did also procure Peace with God and did assure them of the like Blessing for the future from the same Propitious Hand And therefore tho in another Dispensation I distinguish'd between Eucharistical and Expiatory Sacrifices yet there is no reason to do so here when I am speaking of the Mosaick Sacrifices all or most of which have on them the evident marks and tokens of Expiation They were appointed to propitiate and appeaâ—e God's Wrath and therefore might all of them be call'd Pacifick as well as some That these Peace-Offerings were Expiatory is proved from this that here was putting the Beast to Death here was Sprinkling the Blood here was the Consumption of some part of the Beast on the Altar as an Oblation to God which are the three Ingredients of an Expiatory Sacrifice But what was this Expiation which was made by the Mosaick Sacrifices I answer It was threesold 1. In respect of Corporal Punishment The Sanction of the whole Mosaick Law is express'd in Deut. 27. 26. Gal. 3. 10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them Which Curse imports no less then Death it self besides all the miseries of this life But God was pleas'd to mitigate the rigour of this Sanction and whereas according to the strictness of the Law those who were found guilty of violating it were to Die this was not put in Execution but Beasts were appointed to suffer death for the Offenders and their death was accepted for the death of Sinners 2. These Sacrifices Expiated as to Legal and Bodily Impurities which separated them from publick Converse and Worship Such were Leprosy Touching the Dead c. Hence the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrâ—ws saith that they Sanctified to the purifying of the Flesh Heb. 9. 13. 3. These Sacrifices which is the most considerable thing of all Expiated for Moral Impurities viz. all sorts of Sins I know it is asserted by some Men of great Learning when they discourse of Sacrifices that the Mosaick Law gave no pardon to heâ—â—ous Sinners that great Offences were not expiated by Scarifices This is more especially held by 〈◊〉 who urges that the Sacrifices under the Law were available only for lesser Sins not for great ones And Volkelius and other profes'd Socinians insist upon the same thing and labour to prove that Sacrifices were offer'd only for expiating of Sins of Lgnorance Weakness and Error and that Death was the Penalty of all great and enormous Offences The same is defended by Smalcius as the Reader may find it in his Writing And we are told by one of our own Divines that the Jewish Religion allow'd of no Expiation but for legal Impurities and involuntary Transgressions such as proceeded from Ignorance and Inadvertency but not for Sins of Presumption and such as were committed with an high hand If Men sinned wilfully there was no Sacrifice appointed by the Law for such Sins And another of great repute in our Church agrees with him saying The greater Crimes under the Law were no otherwise to be expiated but by the Blood of the Offender himself whereas for lesser ones the Blood of Beast
of the true Reasons of this part of the Legal Dispensation viz. why after so long a time from the Creation these Ceremonies and Observations some of which were very irksome and burdensome were imposed by God on the Hebrew People and lasted till Christ's coming It may be expected I should treat in the next place of the Iudicial Law which was for preserving of Civil Peace and Justice among the Iews This was the Common or Municipal Law of that Nation It contain'd Precepts concerning the ordering of that People in the matter of Judgement Punishments Contracts Division of Lands and Inheritances making of War and the like These Precepts may be distinguish'd according to the different Ranks of Men and so 1. they have a regard to the Relation between the Prince or Magistrate and the People there you have the Injunctions which concern Governours and their Office and likewise the Duty which is to be paid to them 2. They have respect to the Relation and Commerce which People have with one another and there you have Precepts concerning Buying and Selling c. 3. They direct the Iews as to their Behaviour towards Strangers here are Rules concerning entertaining of Strangers going to War against their Enemies c. 4. They take notice of Domestick Relations and accordingly give directions as to the behaviour of Husbands Wives Children Servants c. It is not of this Law that I am concern'd at present to speak because it is Secular rather than Religious and so doth not properly fall under my consideration when I treat of the Dispensations of Religion Only as we observ'd before of some of the Ceremonies enjoyn'd by the Mosaick Law that they were in use before that Dispensation so here it may be noted that some of the Iudicial Laws were in force before Moses's time as punishing Adultery with death only with this difference that before the Law Adultery was punishâ—d with Fire but now with Sâ—oning Killing of a Man or Woman was punish'd with death marrying the Brother's Widow was enjoyn'd Cutting off from the People was a Sanction among the Patriarchs The Right of Primogeniture obtain'd before the Law of Moses Moreover I will remark that some things in this juncture pass for Laws which are rather and more properly may be call'd Dispensations or Permissions Thus Poligamy which was practis'd by Lamech first then by Abraham and Iacob is now permitted under the Law as in Elkanaâ— David Solomon c. And thus they permitted a Man to put away his Wife for Fornication or Adultery As for the Degrees of Consanguinity and Affinity within which the Iews were forbid to marry the 18 th Chapter of Leviticus gives us a full account of them and I shall afterwards have an opportunity of discoursing of them Therefore I will not insert any thing of them in this place for what I have said is sufficient for my purpose which was to give you some account of this distinct Administration and to let you see wherein it differeth from the rest Only here I will inquire what obligation these Iudicial Laws have upon Christians It was the opinion of Castalio and some others that these are to be perpetually retain'd in Christian Commonwealths but it is not reasonable to pronounce this in the gross for we ought rather to distinguish concerning this matter I could observe then to you that as Moral Laws viz. concerning the Poor Forgiving of Injuries Equity in Contracts Duty towards Strangers were mixed with the Ceremonial ones in Levit. 19. So several Moral or Natural Laws such as oblige all Nations were delivered on Mount Sinai mixed with Iudicial ones Such was the Law against Homicide the Duty of Men to Widows and Orphans the Reverence due to the Magistrate and others mention'd in the 21 and 22. Chapters of Exoduâ— These belong not to the Mâ—saical Polity or the Iudicial Law but concern all Persons at all Times and in all Places In the inquiry then proposed there are these two kinds of Laws 1. Such as have respect to the particular Condition and Circumstances of the Iews and concern their individual Polity and State 2. Such as are not appropriated to the State of the Hebrew People but were given to them as Men rather than Iews and consequently may be serviceable and useful to other Nations As to the former of these they do not oblige Christians in the least but expired with the State of that People but the latter are obligatory under the Gospel so far as they are of common Equity and as they may be made use of now as well as then And tho what our Church in her Seventh Article saith is to be granted namely that the Civil Precepts of the Mosaick Law ought not of necessity to be receiv'd in any Common-wealth yet where Reason and Equity commend those Civil Constitutions to any Commonwealth or Kingdom they are to be embraced and made use of For there is some Reverence to be given to those Politicks which were the Invention and Appointment of Heaven and so far as they were not appropriated to the condition of the Iewish People they may be practised among Christians without offence Thus the Law of Tithes is lawfully adopted into our Constitutions in this Nation So likewise if you look to their bodily Punishments you will see that some of them are made use of in Christian Kingdoms if not all of them in one place or other But here it will be asked May Christians inflict severer Punishments than the Iewish Law prescribed To which Sr. W. Raleigh answers thus Christian Magistrates may abate of the severity of Moses's Law and mitigate the punishment of Death but they can't make it more heavy for it becomes not the Gospel to shew more rigour than the Law But why then is a Capital Punishment iâ—flicted on Thieves and Robbers not only among our selves but in other Christian Countries whereas such Offenders were only to make Restitution or to be Sold according to the Mosaick Law I answer Law-givers have â—ound that a less punishment than Death is not a sufficient Restraint and therefore think it necessary to make use of this And as to what is alledged we return this that Thieves sometimes had a greater Punishment than a Mulct even under the Law We read that they might have been kill'd by those that found them breaking up a house in the night time Exod. 22. 2. And it appears from that Judgment and Decision of King David in 2 Sam. 12. 5. that Theft in some cases was Capital And we read that two Thieves were Crucifled with Christ which was no Punishment for Theft among the Romans and therefore we may probably think the Execution was Iewish and had â—ome foundation in the Mosaick Law according to which some kind of Theft was Felony and in this as in several other things the Christian Laws diffeâ— not from the Iewish ones It is probable that the Jewiâ—â— Cherem or Cuâ—â—ing off gave occasion to the
that were Beheaded for the Witness of Iesus we are to understand all Martyrs that were put to Death for Professing Christianity the same that are mentioned Rev. 6. 9. they that were slain for the Word of God and the Testimony which they held This particular manner of Death Bâ—heading is specified because it was most in use at that Time This was the capital Punishment that was frequent both among Iews and Romans as Dr. Lightfoot hath observ'd and proved and we read that Iohn the Baptist the first Martyr for Christ underwent it And not only those that suffer'd Death but all other holy Men that had any other Punishment of a lesser sort inflicted on them are here intended for one kind of corporal Punishment is mentioned here to denote all the rest which is a way of speaking very usual not only in the Holy Scriptures but in other Writings They who had not worshipped the Beast nor â—is Image nor received his Mark upon their Foreheads or in their Hands are those Religious and Holy Persons who keep themselves unspotted from the Pollutions of Antichrist and do not in any kind whatsoever comply with them or allow of them These St. Iohn saw as well as the others before mentioned And they lived which may refer to this latter sort of Persons only and not to the former that is to those who had not worshipped the Beast not to the Souls of them that were Beheaded For you may observe that it is expressed thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and whosoever which shews these are a distinct Company from the others mentioned before Therefore to the latter must be applied those Words they lived i. e. these Persons were free'd from Persecution under the happy Reign of Christ which was now come Thus it is not absolutely necessary that we should interpret this concerning the deceased Martyrs the Souls of them that were Beheaded but only concerning the Saints then in being those that worship not the Beast and consequently here is no ground for the Resurrection of the Martyrs before the Last and General Resurrection as a Recompense of their former Sufferings as some Persons imagine Or suppose that they lived refers here to these Martyrs yet still we cannot conclude thence their rising from the Dead for it is only barely said they lived not they revived or rose from the Dead What then was this Living here spoken of which is the Introduction to the Thousand Years No other certainly than this that whereas many of the Faithful Servants of Christ had been put to Death for the Testimony of Iesus and other Religious and Holy Men had been as it were kill'd in former Times in the same Sence that 't is said we are killed all the Day long Psal. 44. 22. i. e. they were persecuted injured and abused now they shall live now they shall flourish now they shall be free'd from Persecution and enjoy Peace and Rest. Not that the individual Persons that really lost their Lives shall thus live upon the Earth but the Church is here considered as a successive Body as is usual in this Book of the Revelation and elsewhere The Meaning then is this though the Christians in the preceeding Ages were cruelly and inhumanly treated by their merciless Persecutors though the Church in those Times labour'd under great and unspeakable Miseries yet upon the Entrance of the joyful Millennium for there shall be on Earth such a Millennium though not of that Nature which the Ancient Chiliasts asserted all these troublesome and afflictive Things shall cease and the Faithful shall be put into the Possession of an undisturbed Repose and Serenity But because not living again is mentioned in the next Clause some may think that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here is of the same import with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there and therefore they lived must be equivalent with they revived which is as much as they rose from the Dead Granting this it doth not follow that it is to be understood Literally and Strictly i. e. of a Real living again after Death or of the rising of their dead Bodies out of the Grave It is a Figurative way of speaking and it is probable is an Allusion to Ezek. 37. 11 14. Behold O my People I will open your Graves and cause you to come up out of your Graves And I will put my Spitit or breath into you and you shall live Which Words speak not of a Bodily Resurrection as at the first Hearing they may seem to do but of Israel's rising out of a low captivated Condition in Babylon Your Graves shall be open'd and ye shall live i. e. you shall be restored to your own Land again and there live in Plenty and Prosperity There is no Expositor of any Account but interprets the Words thus And indeed there are several other Texts which back this Interpretation for in Psal. 71. 20. 80. 18. Isa. 26. 19. Hos. 6. 2. Reviving and Rising again are used to express a comfortable and prosperous Condition So that one would a little wonder how it comes to pass that some Writers who have made enquiry into the future State of the Christian Church take this Place in the Revelation in a Literal Sense and perswade themselves that it speaks of a Bodily Resurrection of the Saints when it may so conveniently be taken in a Metaphorical and Mystical Sence nay when they themselves at other Times are so delighted with this latter One of them acknowledges that the killing of the Witnesses Rev. 11. 7. and their Bodies lying dead is not meant of a Literal Death and with great Diligence he labours to prove it and indeed performs that task very laudably and in many other Places in this Book he flies to a Mystical Meaning Why then may not the Living or Living again of the Saints be understood here in the same manner The other is known to be a great Asserter of an Improper and Figurative Sence in Scripture But see the Unhappiness of his placing it he that expounds the Third Chapter of Genesis which is a plain downright History in a Mystical and Allegorical way to the enervating of a great part of Revealed Religion interprets this Passage in the Revelation where Mysteries and Figures are so common in a Literal Sence But I think I have shew'd from the Tenour of this Place that a Real Corporeal Resurrection i. e. a returning of departed Souls into their Bodies again is not here meant but that a Political or Civil Resurrection is the Thing here spoken of that is the Christian Church after its great Troubles and Mortifications shall revive shall as it were rise out of its Grave and as the Excellent Dr. Hammond Paraphrases on the Place there shall be such an universal Profession of Christianity as if all the departed good Christians had been alive again and were come upon the Stage of this World once more Or the Reader may make use of the Apostle's Words in Gal.