Life without doubt was to consist in the Union of his Soul with the chief Good the infinite and eternal Being for it is this alone which constitutes the Happiness of Man His Mind being of a spiritual Nature could find no satisfaction but in an Object that was of that kind for a spiritual and intellectual Being must be entertain'd by its like But the chief happiness ought to be something that is above us and far exceeds us in excellency for the Capacities of the Mind cannot be happy in any thing that is of an inferior nature to them And the chief Good must be of infinite perfection otherwise the vast and capacious Faculties of the Soul cannot be satisfied Hence it follows that God alone was his supreme Blessedness which he was entirely to possess and enjoy by such a knowledg as was perfective of his Understanding and by such vehement and ardent Acts of Love whereby he might be intimately united to the eternal Good and live in perpetual â—ruition of it and that without Satiety for there is no excess in the chief Good it cannot be known desired loved or enjoy'd too much This was the designed Felicity of our first Parents Neither they nor their whole Race were to be liable to sorrow or misery of any kind but to be possessed of a constant and never-failing Happiness and after innumerable Ages and Successions they were in their courses to be taken up to a heavenly Paradise In this Oeconomy Adam had two sorts of Laws to conduct him viz. 1. The natural Law of Goodness and Righteousness in his own Breast The Light of Reason was his Guide and this shone very bright at that time He had true conceptions of things he had clear apprehensions of what was Good and Right Just and Holy He had a perfect knowledg of his Duty from this Law which God had implanted in his Nature 2. Besides this natural or moral Law Adam receiv'd positive Laws from God in this state of his Innocence and they were these three 1. There was the Law of Matrimony That this State of Life was instituted and appointed by God in Paradise is clear from what we read in Gen. 2. 24. God having made the Woman and brought her to the Man he pronounced the Law of Marriage in these words A Man shall leave his Father and his Mother and shall cleave unto his Wife and they shall be one Flesh. Here is the indissoluble Knot of Wedlock But yet this must be said that tho the first instituting and appointing of this State was from God yet the Law of Nature dictated something of it For this teacheth that two and no more agreeing to join in the Fellowship of Marriage should become one Flesh the Light of Reason discovers that a conjugal Union cannot consist of a Plurality Thus far Matrimony as 't is the joining of one Man to one Woman is a branch of the natural Law But as I have shew'd in another place a Law may be partly natural and partly positive and so is this It was positive because God himself directed our first Parents to this State of Matrimony But then Reason approving of the natural Equity of it it may be said to be a Law of Nature 2. The Hebrew Masters reckon that an absolute Precept Gen. 1. 28. Be fruitful and multiply and they look upon it as the first and the chiefest of all as out of several of their own Writers and out of Buxtorf is evident But others esteem it rather a Benediction wherein God approves of the propagation of Mankind as he doth also of other Creatures ver 22. Yet this we may grant that those words had the force of a Precept or Law as well as a Benediction with respect to our first Parents they had the full force of a Command to those two individual Persons Adam and Eve and indispensably obliged them because it was intended by God that Mankind should be increas'd and propagated by those two particular Persons But they are words of Approbation to all others afterwards that is they signify the lawfulness tho not the necessity of Matrimony and Generation 3. There was a positive Law given to Adam in his Integrity concerning the keeping of the Sabbath or observing the Seventh Day God blessed the Seventh Day and sanctified it Gen. 2. 3. i. e. he assign'd it for some special purpose he separated it from the other Days he dedicated it more especially to Divine Worship he set it apart to be the Feast of the World's Nativity to call to mind the Works of the Creation to magnify the Power Wisdom and Goodness of God in the framing of the Universe to extol his Providence in the World In short this Day was devoted to holy Uses and the more solemn Service of God This is blessing and sanctifying of that Day Indeed we read not that Adam kept this Day after this manner nor is it said that any of the old Patriarchs did But we know that many things were done which are not recorded Moses omits several Matters of Fact and he intending brevity in his History must needs do so but we may supply them by our own collective Reason Thus in the present case we find it expresly recorded that God blessed and sanctified the Seventh Day here he instituted the celebration of it We need not then question whether Adam and the righteous Men that succeeded him practis'd according to this divine Institution But if any shall question it I prove it thus First There was no imaginable reason why this Day should not be celebrated presently after it was instituted What was it sanctified and set apart for if not for this to be observ'd And can you conceive any thing that hindred this No certainly Therefore seeing it was instituted we may conclude it was kept that is that it was so from the Creation of the World If it be objected that Adam in Innocency lived free from Toil and Labour and therfore the cessation on the Seventh Day was not necessary or proper for him I answer It is true he was not subject to hard and uneasy labour and such as was accompanied with fatigue but it is as true that he was bid to dress and keep the Garden and consequently he was not unimploy'd he had ordinarily some bodily Work to do and to think of But there was a certain time set him by God's particular appointment on which he was to cease from this or any other worldly and corporeal Business that he might devote himself wholly to the Worship of God This was the Sabbath Day which he was to keep and there is no reason to think he did not keep it Secondly This appears from the reason of God's appointing and setting apart this Day His ceasing from his Works of the Creation on this Day was the ground of it And what did that infer but Man's cessation from working on that Day Gen. 2. 2 3. And can we think that God would
and add what he thought was left out saith not one word concerning these Fourthly These Precepts are all of them the Laws of Nature or most easily reducible to them They are Prohibitions against Injustice Blasphemy Idolatry Uncleanness Bloodshed Rapine All which are general Dictates of Nature and Reason and written in man's Mind originally Therefore it may be remembâ—red that these Precepts obtain'd not only among the Hebrews but among all Nations whatsoever It is not likely then that God did orally deliver these to the Patriarchs before the Flood for in that early time of the World it was not requisite Tho afterwards some of thesâ— Precepts were given to Noah viz. after the corruption and gross degeneracy of the People of the Old World and when a New World of Men was to be set up And tho these and the like Precepts were made up afterward into Ten Commandments and given to the Iews i. e. when the World was more corrupted and the Dictates of Reason and Morality were almost lost and when it was as necessary to rouse mens Minds and to keep Religion from decaying and when God was erecting a New Oâ—conomy and chusing a peculiar People to himself tho in these Circumstances the giving of such Precepts was necessary yet now in the Patriarchs days there was no need of delivering them they having them fresh on their minds There is no ground then for us to credit the Hebrew Doctors when they tell us that those six Precepts were deliver'd solemnly to the Sons of Adam It is only a Tradition of the Iews and of what truth and reality their Traditions generally are is known to those who are sober and unprejudiced Persons they are usually mere Fancies and Conceits Dreams and Dotages Lies and Forgeries Thus you see how it went with the World from Adam to the Flood which is reckon'd to be about sixteen hundred Years You see how the State of Religion stood what Communications the World had from God And here by the way I cannot but take notice of the groundless assertion of that Socinian Writer who declares That before the Flood there was no General Precept given to Men by God they had only some Injunctions which appertain'd to certain particular Persons and particular Affairs Nor had they any general Promise made to them he saith Episcopius is more large telling us That they lived almost 2000 Years without any Law without any Promises without any Precepts from God And he further adds That the Religion from Adam to Abraham was merely Natural and had nothing but Right Reason for its Rule and Measure All which are mistaken Notions for from what hath been deliver'd concerning this Oeconomy before the Flood it is evident that there was a Divine Prâ—cept which was general concerning Sacrifices and there was a Promise and that a general one concerning the Blessed Seed and there were other Laws and Prescriptions besides those that were founded on mere Reason for it appears that this Antediluvian Dispensation was mixt partly guided by the Light and Law of Nature partly by Revelation Religion consisted both of Natural Principles and Positive Commands These were all along interwoven with one another Thus the Old World was govern'd In which Period there were these ten Patriarchs who were all long-liv'd but one Adam was the first who when Abel was dead begat Seth whose Son was Enosh who begat Cainan and he Mahalalel and this Iared whose Son was Enoch who was translated Then Methusalaâ— the longest liver of them all Adam and he took up all the time between the Creation and the Flood then Lamech not he of that Name who was of Cain's Race and Noah was the last of the ten Antediluvian Fathers CHAP. IV. The Noachical Oeconomy The first Positive Law under it was about eating of Flesh. It is proved that this prevail'd not till after the Flood Objections against it answer'd The Testimony of Pagans to confirm it The Reason of the Prohibition The second Positive Law was concerning not eating Flesh with the Blood The Reason of it The third Positive Law was concerning not shedding of Man's Blood With the Penalty of it And the Sanction of Magistracy Servitude not introduced under this Dispensation The Longevity of the Patriarchs was common to all in those Times The Months and Years were of the same length then that they are now They were Solar not Lunar Years The Causes of the long Lives of those that lived before the Flood The Abrahamick Oeconomy With its several Steps and Advances The Nature of the Covenant made with Abraham Now the Faithful were separated and distinguish'd from the rest of the World Why they are called Hebrews The Nature and Design of Circumcision Vnder this Dispensation Altars were erected Tithes paid c. Of Polygamy and Concubines and other Vsages THE Second Patriarchal Dispensation or the Noachical Oâ—conomy began in Noah's days and lasted till Abraham Immediately after the Flood the Covenant which was made with our first Parents was renewed to Noah the Law of Grace which had been given to them was now confirmed to this eminent Person and to the â—est of Mankind in him and the â—ow in the Cloud was made a Sign of the Covenant Gen. 9. 9. It is to be believ'd that a farther discovery of the Mâ—ssias was made to Noah tho the Sacred History saith nothing of it But this is expresly recorded that this renewing and confirming of the Dispensation of Grace were accompanied with some positive Institutions and Laws which were an addition to those that were before given to Adam These are the things which make the difference between this and the former Oâ—conomy The first Positive Law was concerning â—ating of Flesh. Evâ—ry moving thing that liveth shall bâ— Meat for you Gen. 9. 3. The discrimination of Meats is taken away and Flesh is granted to be eaten and indeed there was a necessity of it at that time because the Fruits of the Earth were destroy'd by the Flood Before the Delugâ— there was not a liberty given to eat Flesh for they were limited by that Injunction in Gen. 1. 29. which appoints Herbs and Fruits to be their Meat God said Bâ—hâ—ld I have given you every Hâ—rb bearing Sâ—â—d which is upon the Face of all the Earth and every Tree in thâ— which is the Fruit of a Tree yielding Seed to you iâ— shall bâ— for Meat Here is the Lex Cibaria Man is confined as to his Diet Herbs and Fruits are appointed his Food and no other But now this Restraint is taken off by the same hand that laid it on and God permitâ— Noah and his Posterity to eat Flesh as well as Herbs But yet it is a Controversy among Writers whether eating of Flesh was granted just after the Flood and was altogether prohibited before The Hebrews generally say that the People before the Deluge fed only upon what the Earth produced and abstain'd from all living Creatures Most of the Christian Fathers hold
shall be objected that it is improbable Paradise was washed with all these four Rivers viz. Euphrates Tigris Ganges and Nile for then it must needs be almost as large as a third part of half the Globe Especially as to Pison and Gihon how can we hold that the former is Ganges and the latter Nile for then we must take in almost all Asia and a great part of Africa into Paradise Therefore this Notion concerning the Rivers of Paradise is very extravagant and consequently must not look for any reception I answer 1. It is not so extravagant to make a quarter of half the Earth Paradisiacal as to hold that it was all of it so at first which yet we find vouched of late But 2. it is a gross mistake in the Objectors to think that what I have said enlarges Paradise to that wideness which they mention for when we speak of the Rivers belonging to this place this must be remembred that the Heads and Springs of them are meant not the whole body and current of them For you read but of a River Gen. 2. 10. i. e. one River but this one River was parted as you read in the same Verse into four Branches or if you will into four Rivers viz. without Paradise not within it The one River was in Paradise and was serviceable to water it whilst these Arms and Branches of it spread themselves to a vast distance even on one hand to some Regions of Africa and further yet on the other hand to some remote parts of India Here is nothing extravagant in this Assertion and consequently Nile and Ganges might and certainly did descend from the capital River of Eden The River Pison is said to compass the whole Land of Havilah and Gihon is said to compass the whole Land of Ethiopia that is the Waters of these Springs or Fountain-heads which had their rise in Paradise flow'd as far as Havilah in India and Ethiopia in Africk and encompass'd these places with their various turnings and windings Moses tells us what Regions of the World these derivative Streams and Branches which in broad Channels made very considerable Rivers reach'd to But we cannot conclude thence that Paradise it self was extended so far This I think is very plain and intelligible and no Man of sense can oppose it and therefore there is no cause for that outcry which is made against Ganges and Nile's being two of the Rivers mention'd in Gen. 2. Notwithstanding what some late Writers have ingeniously offer'd I think the old Opinion is the most probable or at least I take it to have as much probability in it as any of the Modern ones And so any unprejudic'd Person will be inclin'd to think if he considers how likely a thing it is that the Fountains and Springs of Rivers are much alter'd since the Creation of the World and consequently what these learned Men alledg concerning the rise and spring of Euphrates c. which they have met with in some Authors is to little purpose 3. I will add this that Euphrates and Tigris were the only Rivers that were proper to Eden or Paradise but the other two are mention'd because they wash'd those Regions which appertain'd to and border'd upon that blessed Ground called Paradise Paradise strictly taken was not so wide and spacious but all the whole Country lying about that particular Ground is in a large sense termed Paradise We may observe it is said God planted a Garden in Eden Gen. 2. 8. not that the Garden was as large as Eden but rather it is evident from these words that Eden was that Region of the Earth in part of which God planted a Garden which was not and indeed could not be so large as the place he planted it in Yet without doubt it was of a very considerable length and breadth the circumference of it was large and specious and therefore Rivers or Arms of Rivers at a great distance might belong to it In short the Soil thereabouts was in some measure Paradisiacal but this one part of it was more eminently so and in a peculiar sense might be call'd Paradise and the Garden of Eden Thus I hope I have given a full Answer to what was objected and thereby made it very clear and perspicuous that Paradise was planted in that Region which was afterward call'd Eden and that Babylon even that which was cursed Babylon afterwards was the Seat of that blessed Ground And tho what Tertullian and Augustin and several of the Moderns as Aquina◠Gregory de Valentiâ Bellarmine Del Rio and others have held viz. that this happy place is not known to Mortals may be thus far true that we are not acquainted with the individual Spot of Ground where Adam and Eve were placed in their Innocence yet if these Persons aforemention'd meant what they said in a more general sense their Opinion is false and groundless for it is evident from the premises that Paradise was in the eastern part of the Continent of Asia that it was that part of Mesopotamia which was wash'd with Tigris and Euphrates that it was a kind of an Island made so by these and other Rivers that encompass it and particularly that Babylon now a known place in Turky was afterward the name of the Country that pleasant and delightful Country where the Garden of Paradise was situated Here it was that our first Parents were seated by the particular appointment of God In this happy Region of the World in this blessed Island they were to spend their days But what were they to do here What manner of Life were they to lead What Laws were they govern'd by This we are next to consider and it is necessary to do so in order to our being acquainted with the nature of this first Dispensation God who had given Adam the whole Earth and all that was in it to possess and enjoy yet assign'd him this lesser portion of Ground to inhabit in and to cultivate and he would not suffer him to be idle and unimploy'd in that happy state of Innocence but set him to dress and keep that choice piece of Earth Gen. 2. 15. which would want his care because it was so luxuriant Here he was to employ his Mind as well as exercise his Body here he was to enjoy God Himself and the whole World Here he was to contemplate and study God's Works to submit himself wholly to the Divine Conduct to conform◠all his Actions to the Will of his Maker and to live in a constant dependence upon him Here he was to spend his days in the continual exercises of Prayers and Praises and it may be the very natural dictates of Gratitude would prompt him to offer up some of the Fruits of the Ground and some living Creatures in way of Sacrifice unto God There were thousands of Objects to exercise his Wit and Understanding to call forth his Reason and to employ it But the ultimate perfection of his
not require this at his hand Can we think that he would not take care to see this Rest from all labour observ'd Can we think that Adam and Eve the last Piece of the Divine Work did not call their Creation and Formation to remembrance and praise God for that as well as for his wonderful making of the World Can we reasonably and on good grounds imagine any of these things when the very Sabbath was instituted on purpose to perpetuate the memory of the Creation May we not rather say that it is expresly recorded that God blessed the Seventh Day before Adam's Fall to intimate to us what Adam and Eve were to do the next day after their Formation viz. to sanctify that Day in a solemn commemoration of the Divine Goodness to them Thirdly There are several passages in the Old Testament whence we may gather the early observation of the Seventh Day The keeping of it seems to be intimated in Gen. 8. 10. where we find that Noah divides the Time by Weeks or seven Days And so he doth again ver 12. Which being repeated seems to tell us that the Seventh Day was then observed in a religious way by Noah in the Ark who questionless had it from Adam who receiv'd it from God who instituted it to be a Commemoration of the Birth-day of the World of the Divine Blessings that accompanied the Creation It is not improbably conjectur'd by a Learned Writer that the Day when the Sons of God i. e. Iob's Sons and other Holy Men who are rightly call'd God's Sons or Children came to present themselves before the Lord Job 1. 6. 2. 1. was the Sabbath Day the Day when the Professors of Religion met together in the publick Assemblies for even in the Land of Vz they kept this solemn Day they living near the Hebrews who had it deriv'd to them from the Creation Further I desire it may be observ'd that there is express mention of the Sabbath Day before the Law was deliver'd on Mount Sinai To morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord Faith Moses Exod. 16. 23. And when that Day was come he thus speaks to them To Day is a Sabbath unto the Lord ver 25. And it is plain that it is meant of the Seventh day Sabbath because the Day before was the sixth day as you read in the foregoing Verse but more expresly in ver 26. there is mention of the Seventh Day which is the Sabbath It appears then that this Day was kept before the Decalogue was given and was antienter than the Laws of Moses And indeed the Fourth Commandment which enjoins the keeping holy the Sabbath Day seems to hint no less to us for when the Israelites are bid to remember to do this there is intimated to us in this manner of expression that it was kept holy before for remembrance hath regard to things past and so forgetting respects what hath been heretofore It might be observ'd also that it is call'd in this Commandment Ha Sabbath the Sabbath or that Sabbath which I have enjoin'd you before to keep The Article here seems to imply so much But however from what hath been said it is manifest that there was a day of Rest a keeping of a Sabbath observ'd before the Law of Moses And if before it then it was by virtue of this Primitive Institution which I am now speaking of and consequently the celebrating of this Day was from the beginning of the World In Paradise was given the Law of Sanctifying the Seventh Day as a Day of Rest and holy Worship as some of the ancient Writers of the Christian Church who search'd into this matter further than others have freely acknowledged And therefore those words Gen. 2. 3. God blessed the seventh Day are not proleptick as some groundlesly imagine but acquaint us that that Day was then instituted and was to be observ'd from that very time that they might be settled in the Truth of God's creating the World and not like Pagans think it to have been from Eternity This then must go along with the succeeding Dispensations Fourthly There was a positive Law given to Adam of abstaining from the Fruit of a certain Tree in the Garden of Eden We must know then that in Paradise were divers sorts of Trees but two of them were of more especial not than the rest The first was the Tree of Life which was called so because it was appointed by God to signify that if our first Parents did obey God's Command they should live for ever It was design'd to be a Sacrament of that Immortality which Man should have had if he had retain'd his Innocence This is clear from what is said in Gen. 3. 22. lest he take of the Tree of Life and eat and live for ever This Text proves against the Socinians that our first Parents should not have died if they had not transgressed the Divine Law and it proves that the Tree of Life was give them on purpose to perpetuate their lives The eating of the Fruit of that Tree would have been a means to have kept them from dying and to have made them immortal Yea this Tree was a Symbol of all Happiness as Life is taken in that sense very frequently Wisdom is said to be a Tree of Life to those that lay hold on her Prov. 3. 18. Which is thus explain'd in the next Verse Happy is every one that retaineth her As often then as our first Parents had eaten of the Tree of Life they were to be reminded by it that all manner of Bliss and Happiness was to be entail'd upon them and their Posterity if they continued in their Obedience and broke not the Command of God As long as they â—ed on this Tree they should be void of old Age Sickness Pains Cares and all troubles of Body and Mind till at last they should have been translated from the earthly Paradise to those compleat and eternal Regions of Bliss at God's right hand So that it was a Type of enternal Life and Bliss and a Sign and Seal of these to them if they had not apostatiz'd How long a time this particular course of preserving Health and Life should have continued if Mankind supposing in a state of Innocence had increas'd or whether other Trees of the same nature should have been produced in other Regions of the Earth or whether there should have been some other way of keeping Mens Bodies from decay I am not able to determine nor need we concern our selves about it The other Tree in the Garden which was of more note than the rest was the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil. And they were strictly forbidden by God to eat of This they were by no means to taste any part of it It was call'd the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil because it was to try Adam whether he would do well or ill or because the observing of that Prohibition was to be
gave unto Cain Lands to till unto Abel Sheep to keep their Callings intimating to them what should be their Allotment and Portion afterwards the Real Estate being to be assigned to the eldest Son and the Personal to the younger as is in use at this day But the careful Parents might dispose of their Estate but they could not entail Virtue and Grace upon their Children Cain most maliciously rose up against his Brother and neither his Innocency nor his near Relation to him could divert him from violently pursuing and shedding his Blood This made thâ— hearts of the distressed Parents bleed afresh this added new dolours to their former ones and caus'd them yet more seriously to look back on their vile Apostacy from God which was the spring of all the Miseries they underwent There is nothing said in Scripture of the Repentaonce of these Sinners after their Fall whereupon some have concluded that these first Offenders died in Impenitency and were denied all Mercy and Pardon But it thust be remembred that the Sacred History omits many things being very short and compendious yea of this very nature some things are pass'd by as that Noah repented of his Drunkenness and Lot of his Incest so that we cannot draw an Argument in this case from Scripture-silence But we have reason rather to believe that Adam and Eve did repent and were saved for theâ— Promise of the Seed which was to redeem and save Mankind was made immediately after the Fall and so concern'd them as well as others Gen. 3. 15. Besides we may piously believe that God's Mercy would not overpass these poor Offenders at its very first setting out but rather that it would begin with them to give an Instance of his present Pity and Kindness and an assurance of his future Goodness and Clemency The wise God would not suffer Satan to boast that his first Conquest and Spoils remain'd entire and met not with an afterdefeat This was the Judgment of the most antient pious and learned Fathers and they declar'd that the Tatiani and others who held that Adam never repented but was damned were very unreasonable and absurd in their Assertion Yea Irenaeus and Epiphanius reckon this as an Haresy and conâ—ute it And this may be observ'd that the Fathers both Greek and Latin do generally agree in this that Adam was buried on Mount Calvary where Christ was crucified intimating thereby that he had the benefit of our Saviour's Sufferings that his Repentance for his Apostacy was accepted for Christ's sake that in the great and universal Shipwrack of the World for it was then all concern'd he swam safe to shore on this Plank But I proceed to consider some larger Effects of our first Parents Apostacy i. e. what befel their whole Race as well as themselves We will consider them both together And these doleâ—ul Effects are both Temporal and Eternal I begin with the first the temporal Evils they are either outward or inward The outward and bodily Evils which are the Consequences of Man's revolt are very many and great Cursed is the Ground for thy sake saith God to Adam Gen. 3. 17. At first its pregnancy and â—ecundity were exceeding great so that it yielded its Fruit easily without any toil Per se dabat omnia tellus And again Ipsaque tellus Omnia liberiùs nullo poscente ferebat And the like we find spoken by other Poets concerning the Golden Age from some broken Notions and Traditions as a judicious Person of our own hath observ'd of Man's first Estate in Paradise and of that Estate wherein the World and all things should have continued of Man had not fallen There was nothing noxious in the Earth at first all things were safe and wholesom useful and pleasant serviceable for the Life of Man and every ways advantageous to him But Man's Fall introduced a change the Ground brought forth Thorns and Thistles Gen. 3. 18. which shews that the former fruitfulness of it was decay'd and that now it would require some toil and pains to prepare and manure it in order to a plentiful Crop And therefore I am not forward to assent to what a late learned Writer suggests that the Plâ—ugh was of no use till after the Deluge and was not invented till than as if the State of Innocence lasted till that time He confesses himself that God sent the Deluge â—o destroy that Constitution of the Earth which was calculated and contrived for a State of Innocence and to fashion it anew according to the lapsed and frail state of Mankind And therefore according to his own concession the Flood should have come presently after the Fall of Man whereas it was above sixteen hundred years after iâ—r This Author ingeniously lays hold upon the Sentence of Death which was pronounced at the same time with this part of the Curse about the Earth's Sterility and argues from the suspending of that to the suspending of this But I conceive this is not a good way of arguing unless he could have proved that neither our first Parents nor any others felt the effect of that Sentence of Mortality before the Deluge for it is of this which he was discoursing and his Opinion is that this was the cause which check'd the exuberance of the Earth and therefore the Curse took not place till this time But the very words and expressions themselves by which the Curse of Sterility is set forth seem to me to put this matter out of controversy for they respect not only Mankind in general but the first Man in particular and more especially and therefore must have taken place before the Flood Cursed is the Ground for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy Life See here Adam himself for whose sake the Earth had its Doom was to experience the sad Effect of it by eating of the Fruits of the Ground in sorrow that is with labour and toil the Ground not bringing sorth its Fruits with that ease and in that plenty which it did before The Curse then was inflicted in Adam's time â—nd consequently before the Deluge And unto Adam himself the following words are directed Thorns and Thistles shall it bring â—orth unto thee and â—hou shalt eat the Herb of the Field viz. with hard labour and pains or as 't is express'd in the next Verse IN THE SWEAT OF THY FACE and this must continue until he return VNTO THE GROVND OVT OF WHICH HE VAS TAKEN And we know he return'd above 700 years before the Flood and consequently the Commination did affect that generation of Men which lived before that time And there is a farther proof of this in v. 23. Therefore the Lord sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the Ground from whence he was taken This shews that the Curse had actually taken effect and that Thorns and Thiâ—tles were come up for Adam here is set on work by the immediate Order
its Magnitude it was just as big again as the Tabernacle for the one was 60 Cubits long 20 Cubits broad and 30 Cubits high but that was but 30 Cubits in length 10 in breadth and 15 in height But when 't is said in 1 Kings 6. 2. that the Temple was 30 Cubits high it must be meant only of the space which reached from the Floor to the first Story for when it is compared with the Tabernacle it is consider'd without a Roof or any Superstructure because the Tabernacle was such But if you take the whole height of the Temple it was no less than 120 Cubits as you read in 2 Chron. 3. 3. Thus then it is from the bottom to the first Roof were 30 Cubits from thence to the second Roof 30 more and from thence to the top 60 Cubits So the height of the Temple from the Floor to the top of all was 120 Cubits Thus the Learned Iewish Antiquary reconciles those Texts in Kings and Chronicles which seem to oppose one another I might add that as the Tabernacle when 't was fix'd in Shiloâ— had Buildings about it for the Priests and Levites to lodg in so likewise it was contriv'd in the spot of Ground where the Temple was erected there were Houses to receive those Sacred Officers of the Temple and in them they lodg'd and resided all the time of their Ministry as our Deans and Prebendaries Houses are round about their respective Cathedrals And about the Temple there were divers Chambers some of which were us'd as Storehoses to lay up the Tithes and Offerings 1 Chron. 9. 26. 2. Chron. 31. 11. Others were Repositories for the Vessels and Utensils and all things belonging to the Service of the Temple Nehem. 1. 39. 13. 5. And some of them were made use of as places of Reâ—ection Ier. 35. 2. So much of this Magnificent Temple at Ierusalem which was the Iews Cathedral as the Synagogues were their Parish-Churches where their Ceremonious Worship was perform'd with the greatest pomp and splendor Fourthly The Sacraments appointed by the Ceremonial Law are here to be taken notice of They were Circumcision and the Passover The former was in use before the Mosaick Dispensation it being appointed as a Sign of the Covenant between God and Abraham It was reestablished by God when he delivered the Ceremonial Law to Moses and it was to continue a Badg and Confirmation of the same Covenant that the Posterity of Abraham the Iews might receive comfort thence It was also to be a remarkable Token to difference the Iews from other Nations tho other People afterwards borrow'd Circumcision from the Israelites as the Idumaeans the Egyptians c. There were other Ends and Designs of this bloody Rite which you will find enumerated under the Abrahamick Dispensation and therâ—â—â—e I will not repeat them here The other Iewish Sacrament was the Passover but because I may more properly speak of it among the other Feasts I refer it thither and accordingly proceed to the consideration of the set Times of Iewish Worship CHAP. VII The Jewish Feasts Sabbaths New Moon Passover The Parallel between the Paschal Lamb and our Saviour shew'd in several Particulars This mystical Way approved of Christ celebrated not the Passover on the same Evening that the Jews did but in the Evening before This represented in a Scheme The Feast of Pentecost The Feast of Tabernacles The Feast of Trumpets Of Expiation Other lesser Feasts not commanded in the Law but appointed by the Jewish Church Fasts kept tho not injoin'd by the Law The difference of Clean and Unclean Animals Why the latter were forbidden to be eaten The chief Reason of the Prohibition was to prevent Idolatry Two Objections answer'd Vows proper to the Mosaick Dispensation They were either Personal or Real The Cherem IN the Fifth place I am to treat of the Solemn Times and Set Seasons of Worship appointed the Iews by the Mosaick Law These by a general Name were call'd Feasts but if you speak properly some of them were Fasts But because the word is sometimes taken by the Iews for a solemn Time of Religious Worship whether it was accompanied with Rejoicing or Mourning that term is applied to them all The Design of these Festivals was to commemorate some great Blessing to maintain mutual Love Friendship and Communion and to join together in the Service of God These Feasts are divided by the Iews into the greater and the lesser The greater Feasts are these 1. The Sabbaths For tho this word be of a larger signification and is applied to all Feasts and Solemn Times of Worship yet it hath a restrained Sense and is particularly applied to these certain Seasons viz. the Sabbaths of Days and the Sabbaths of Years The Sabbaths of Days are the lesser and the greater the lesser are every seventh Day call'd the Sabbath by way of eminence in memory of God's resting or ceasing from the Works of the Creation But it was commanded now with particular reference to the Iewish People and to their resting from their Captivity and Bondage in Egypt I say no more of it here because I am to insist largely upon it when I come to treat of the Fourth Commandment The greater Sabbath of Days was when the Passover â—ell on the Sabbath-day as it did that Year when Christ suffer'd Iohn 19. 31. This was call'd the Great Sabbath by the Iews And as there were the Sabbaths of Days so there were the Sabbaths of Years These were two first Every Seventh Year was a Sabbath of Rest to the Land Levit. â—5 4. and then there was no plowing or sowing nor making any the like provision but what the Ground yielded that Year of it self was sufficient and it was in common to all Persons to eat of it It was God's Pleasure to deal thus with this People to bring them to a sense of his Providence in the World that he was able without their Care and Art to sustain them that he was Lord of all things and the Supreme Disposer of them This was the reason why their Land enjoy'd its Sabbaths Secondly There was the Sabbath which was the end of seven times seven Years that is 49 Years Levit. 25. 8. This was the greatest Sabbath of all and was call'd the Iubilee But whether it was kept in the close of that 49 th Year as Scaligâ—r Petaviâ—s Calvisius think or in the Year after viz. the 50 th Year â—s those who follow Iosephus determine I will not dispute at present having said something of it in another place This we are certain of that when the Year of Iubilee return'd all Debts were to be cancell'd and mortgaged Lands were to return to their Owners and every Freeholder repossess'd what was alien'd from him and all Prisoners and Debtors were set free and Captives were released and all Controversies and Suits about Lands Estates Possessions and Properties were ended It is certain likewise that as on every seventh Year so in
of the Knowledg of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ Ephes. 4. 11 c. To this Perfection and Fulness contribute the Holy Sacraments of Christ's appointment It is true the Apostle sheweth that the Israelites had the same Religion the same Covâ—nant and that they might be said to have the same Sacraâ—â—nts with us 1 Cor. 10. 1 c. and indeed the Covenant being the same the Sacraments must be so which are Seals of the Covenant But the Evangelical Sacraments were only typified by those they were never in actual use till Christ's coming Baptism and the Eucharist the two Sacraments of the Gospel may be rightly said to have been virtually in Circumcision and the Passover and so are not new but they are new in another respect viz. as by the former we are initiated and adopted into the Christian Oâ—conomy and by the latter we are confirmed in it By the pious celebrating of both which the Spiritual Benefits of the Gospel are exhibited and conferr'd sealed and assured to the Souls of the Faithful and they are found to be no contemptible Helps to Religion and Holiness But the assistance of the Holy Spirit in these and all other Duties of Christianity is the most signal Privilege of the Gospel For when Christ ascended up on high he gave Gifts unto Men especially that matchless Gift the Holy Spirit whereby not only the Apostles and Primitive Christians were enabled to speak and act in a miraculous manner but in all succeeding Ages the true Followers of Jesus feel the wonderful influence and operation of it on their Hearts and Lives whereby they are strengthned to perform what is required of them in a way far surpassing what was in the former Dispensations This is that which makes Evangelical Grace differ from Moral Virtue and Iudaical Righteousness viz. that the former is heightned not only by the Motives of the Gospel of which I spake before but by the Assistance of the Spirit By this we not only cry Abba Father but are enabled to demean our selves as those who are the Sons of God Thus our Power is mightily increased which is another great Difference between the Law and the Gospel between Judaism and Christianity This is a brief Account of the Difference between those two Dispensations the Legal and Evanâ—elical Tho it was once said by Luther There never was that Man found on Earth who could make a right Difference between the Law and the Gospel yet afterwards he gives us to understand that he thought this was no impossible thing for he tells us That whoso can rightly judg between the Law and the Gospel let him thank God and know that he is a right Divine There is great difficulty in performing this Task and therefore I have gone through it with much caution and the whole I leave to the judgment of the Learned and Judicious The Manichean Hereticks held there was one God that was the Founder of the Law and another God that was Author of the Gospel But this gross and blasphemous Error is baffled by those several Particulars which I have offered to you concerning the Law and the Gospel The same God blessed for evermore wisely appointed both these Oeconomies and tho they are different yet they are not contradictory God made those two great Lights the one to rule the Night the other the Day the former was fitted to those darker times and the latter is most sutable to the Fulness of time when a redundant Light overspread the World The Iewish Oeconomy was narrow weak and imperfect and best comported with the People that were under it but the Gospel-Dispensation is large and ample compleat and perfect and therein more adapted to the condition of the Persons who are under this Dispensation of Christ's Fulness receive and Grace for Grace John 1. 16. Frâ—m what hath been said we may know what to think and determine of that great Query Whether our Saviour hath added any new Laws and Precepts to those which were before under the Old Testament or wâ—ether his Laws and those are the same I find this Question is too peremptorily decided on both sides One positively asserts that all the Evangelical Commands are the very same with the Laws of the former Administration The others say there are New Commands added in the Gospel to those of the Law But I conceive the Question is not to be decided thus in gross but we ought to be more particular and exact in it Take it in short thus First There were many things of Religion under the Law which are abrogated under the Gospel as all Rites and Ceremonies merely Mosaick Therefore the Gospel is called the Law of Liberty Jam. 1. 25. because it â—reesus from observing those Iewish Rites These were Duties then but are no Duties now But secondly all things that are our Duty now were their Duty then Which I explain thus in these four Propositions Prop. 1. There were the same Laws and Commandments in general in the Old Testament that are in the New tho there are some particular things enjoin'd in the New Testament which were not prescribed in the Old as admitting of all Believers into the Church by Baptism which was never practis'd among the Body of the Iews tho it was used toward some Proselytes and celebrating the Lord's Death in the Holy Communion which could not be done before because Christ was not come and therefore could not die So there are some particular Preceptâ— about the Government and Discipline of the Church of Christ which were not before in the Iewish Church and indeed could not be the state and condition of things being far otherwise Likewise with the New Dispensation came a New Sabâ—ath the Seventh day of the wâ—ek was changed into the First This is very rational to believe tho there were no express mention of any such thing for now the Iewish Sabbath being repeal'd Gal. 4. 10 11. Col. 2. 16. some other day was to be celebrated in its room that as the former was set apart from the beginning for commemorating the Creation of the World so this latter might be in remembrance of the Redemption of Mankind The change of the Day and our celebrating of it are upon weighty grounds viz. 1. Christ's Resurrection from the Dead whereby Man's New Creation was perfected a. Warrantable Authority no less than that of our Saviour himself for first it is most probable that Christ himself gave particular Order concerning the observing of this day when as we read for forty days together after his Resurrection he spakâ— to his Disciples concerning the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God Acts 1. 3. This being of so great concern and so nearly relating to that Kingdom and the Occonomy of the Gospel it is to be presuâ—â—ed that our Saviour gave particular directions about it tho it is not to be denied that there may be