these Five Books of Moses must be Genuine and of Divine Authority being written by him who had so many ways given Evidence of his Divine Commission CHAP. V. Of the Predictions or Prophecies Contain'd in the Books of Moses IT was foretold by God himself upon the Fall of our First Parents That the seed of the woman should bruise the serpem's head Gen. iii. 15. Maimonides is observ'd to take particular Notice That it was the Seed of the Woman and not of the Man and the Jews in their Targum's are observ'd to apply this Text to the Messias which was fulfill'd in our Saviour Christ who was born of a Woman that was a Virgin and had no Man to his Father And therefore this Prediction express'd thus precisely concerning the Seed of the Woman could be fulfill'd in no other Person and no other Person ever gain'd such Victories over the Enemy of Mankind who had so long tyranniz'd over the Sons of Men. God reveal'd the precise Time of the Flood to Noah who thereupon built an Ark and foretold the Destruction of the World to that wicked Generation and was a Preacher of Righteousness and Repentance to them Gen. vi 3. After the Flood Noah by a Prophetick Spirit foretold the Fate and Condition of the Posterity of his three Sons Gen. ix 25. That Canaan should be Servant to Shem which was accomplished when the Children of Israel the Posterity of Shem subdued the Canaanites and possessed their Land about Eight hundred Years after this Prophecy That Japhet should dwell in the Tents of Shem which was fulfilled in the Greeks and Romans descended from Japhet when they conquer'd Asia That Canaan should likewise be the Servant of Japhet as well as of Shem. Upon which Mr. Mede observes (n) Mede Book 1. Disc 28. that the Posterity Cham never subdued the Children either of Japhet or of Shem though Shem hath subdued Japhet and Japhet hath conquer'd Shem which made (o) Liv. l. 27. Hannibal descended from Canaan cry out with amazement of Soul Agnosco fatum Carthaginis God promiseth Abraham a Son in his old Age by Sarah his Wife who was likewise of a great Age and declares that his Posterity by this Son should be exceeding numerous that they should inherit the Land of Canaan after they had been afflicted in a strange Land Four hundred Years Gen. XV. 13. and that then they should come out of that Land with great substance but that God would judge the Nation that had oppressed them or that he would procure their Deliverance by signal Judgments upon their Oppressors and that in the fourth generation they should be brought back again to the Land of Promise ver 16. which agrees exactly with the Deliverance of the Children of Israel out of Aegypt computing the Years from the time that the Promise was made to Abraham Exod. xii 40. Gal. iii. 17. and reckoning the Four Generations to be betwixt Isaac the Son promised to Abraham and Moses in whom the Prediction was fulfilled This Promise made to Abraham and his Seed was renewed several times and repeated again to Him and to Isaac and Jacob Gen. xxvi 3. xxviii 14. and was all along depended upon by the Israelites God foretold of Abraham That all the nations of the earth should be blessed in him Gen. xviii 18. which was fulfilled in that God made Abraham ' Posterity his Messengers to communicate his Will to the rest of Mankind and more especially in that Blessing which all Nations received in the Birth of Christ This is a remarkable Prophecy concerning the greatest of Blessings and is often repeated The Prophecy of Isaac concerning Esau and Jacob Gen. xxvii 40. first That the Posterity of Esau should serve Jacob's Posterity was fulfilled in David's Victories over the Edomites 2 Sam. viii 14. 1 King xi 15. 1 Chron. xviii 13. and by Amaziah 2 King xiv 7. and then that part of it That the Edomites should break the yoke from off their neck was accomplish'd 2 King viii 20. 2 Chron. xxi 8. Joseph's own Dream and his Interpretation of the Dream of Pharaoh when none of the Magicians or Wise-men of Aegypt were able to interpret it had remarkable and publick Circumstances that could neither be mistaken nor forgotten in the accomplishment Jacob describes the Borders of their several Possessions in the Land of Canaan though it were so many years after divided among the Tribes by Lot Gen. xlix 13. He foretold the different state and condition of the rest of his Sons and particularly prophesied That the scepter should not depart from Judah until Shiloh came And upon the fulfilling of this and other Prophecies in the Pentateuch not only the Jews but the Samaritans who received no other Prophecies as they did these expected the Messias at the time in which our Saviour appeared in the world and believed on him because they saw the Prophecies fulfilled in Him Joh. iv 25 29 39 42. Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel saying God will surely visit you and ye shall carry up my bones from hence Gen. l. 25. which they did accordingly Exod. xiii 19. Jacob had desired to be buried in the Land of Canaan insomuch that he caused Joseph to swear to him that he would bury him there and not in Aegypt and Joseph and his Brethren went into Canaan to bury their Father because that was the Land where Abraham and Isaac had been buried and the Land which their Posterity was afterwards to Possess but Joseph as a further token of Assurance to the Israelites that they should inherit that Land would not have his own Corps carried thither at his death but ordered his Bones to be kept and carried up by their Posterity at their leaving Aegypt and in the mean time they were a perpetual Monument and Representation to them of the Promise made to their Fore-fathers and a Ground and Motive for their Trust and Confidence in God for the Accomplishment of it The Remembrance of Balaam's Prophecy was preserved in the East and the Wisemen upon the appearance of the Star knowing it to be fulfilled came to Jerusalem to enquire where they might find the King of the Jews then newly born Num. xxiv 15. Mat. ii 2. He prophesied likewise of Agag by Name saying of Israel And his king shall be higher than Agag and his kingdom shall be exalted Num. xxiv 7. thereby foretelling the Destruction of Agag by Saul who being the first King that ever Israel had overcame Agag King of the Amalekites 1 Sam. xv 8. The same Balaam foretold the Conquests of Alexander in these words And ships shall come from the coasts of Chittim and shall afflict Ashur Num. xxiv 24. By the Coasts of Chittim are to be understood the Coasts of Greece from whence Alexander's Army was transported into Asia for Alexander came out of the Land of Chettim or Chittim 1 Mac. i. 1. and Perseus was King of the Citims or Macedonians chap. viii 5. These
undeceive him in this Matter his Words are these (i) Castigat ad Opusc Isaaci Vossii p. 238. Novi quidem Judaeos de Germana Vocis illius cetuvim Significatione inter se non convenire et omnes sentiant Cetuvim seu Hagiographos non minus divinos esse canonicos quam reliquos veteris instrumenti libros and he plainly proves his Assertion The same Gentleman (k) Oracle of Reason pag. 221. tells us that Josephus confesses That he durst not presume to compare the Nation of the Jews with the Antiquity of the most ancient and infallible Writings of the Aegyptians Chaldaeans and Phoenicians For which he refers his Reader to Josephus contra Apion lib. 1. Where he will find the quite contrary for Josephus makes it his business to confute the Heathen Historians and to vindicate the Jewish Antiquities against them and to shew how they contradict themselves and one another in what they relate of the Jews different from the Scriptures (l) Anima Mundi p. 25. And yet this notorious Mistake is again repeated by our Author which any one may confute that will look into Josephus The Design of his First Book against Apion is to prove the Truth of the Jewish Antiquities against the Greeks from the Writings of the Aegyptians Phoenicians and Chaldaeans Josephus says He wonders at those who think that the Greeks alone ought to be regarded in Matters of Antiquity whereas there was nothing to be found among them of Ancient Date their Cities their Arts their Laws were but of late Original and their Histories latter than all these But the Greeks themselves confess that there were very ancient Accounts of former Times among the Aegyptians the Chaldaeans and the Phoenicians (m) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For I omit says he for the present to put our own Nation into the number with them This is far enough from saying that he durst not presume to enter into a Comparison for he doth shew soon after that the Jews had taken as much care in the writing and preserving their Antiquities as these Nations or any other could possibly do But it had not been to his purpose to mention the Jews in that place with the rest because he brings his Argument from the confession of Foreign Historians who were acknowledged by the Greeks to be of much greater Authority in things of this nature than they could pretend to themselves (n) Oracles of Reason p. 218. A little before having translated something out of Ocellus Lucanus to prove the World Eternal this Gentleman thus subjoins Now it is very much that this Author Ocellus Lucanus who for his Antiquity is held to be almost Contemporary with Moses if not before him should have so different a sentiment of the Worlds Beginning from that which Moses had methinks if Moses his History of the Creation and of Adam's being the First Man had been a general received Opinion at that time Ocellus Lucanus who was so ancient and so eminent a Philosopher should not have been altogether ignorant thereof But what shall we say if Ocellus Lucanus was not so ancient but of no Antiquity in comparison of Moses then methinks this Author might have spared his Pains and his Inferences And of what Antiquity Ocellus Lucanus was is shewn by Ludovicus Nogarola who translated this Piece of Ocellus Lucanus into Latin and publish'd it with his own Observations upon it For he makes it appear from Plato that the Ancestors of this Ocellus being banish'd from Troy under Laomedon came to Myra a City in Lycia but Laomedon was the Father of Priamus in whose time as every body knows happen'd the Destruction of Troy and Jair was then Judge of Israel about Three hundred Years after they had been in possession of the promised Land He farther shews from Lucian that Ocellus Lucanus was a Scholar of Pythagoras who lived sure long enough after Moses to save our Author's Criticism or to expose it Indeed the best Account we have in Heathen Antiquity agrees exactly with the History of Moses concerning the Creation of the World Aristotle (o) Grot. de Verit. Annot. ad c. 7. l. 1. himself was not satisfied in his own Doctrine of the Eternity of the World and he (p) Aristot de Coelo l. 1. c. 10. confesses that all the Philosophers asserted the Creaation of it and as for the manner of the Creation (q) Metaphys l. 1. c. 3. he says it was esteemed a very ancient Doctrine and thought by some to be the Doctrine of the most ancient Theologists That it was formed out of Water It is certain that (r) Tull. de Nat. Deor. l. 1. De Legib. l. 2. Thales the first Greek Philosopher who treated of these things one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece and the Wisest of them in Tully's judgment taught That God formed all things out of Water The same Gentleman has observ'd (s) Oracl of Reason p. 93. That the Epicurean Deists labour to have their Vices imputed rather to a Superiority of their Reason above that of others than to a Servitude of their Reason to their own Passions which shews Vice is naturally esteemed a base and low thing It is but too plain that this was his own case as his unhappy Death declared This I think is sufficient to shew how little this Book deserves the vain Title of The Oracles of Reason it will be hard to meet with any Book which has less right to so high a Pretence I shall take notice but of one thing more and that is (t) Ibid. p. 187. Mr. Gildon's Attempt to prove the Materiality of the Soul his Arguments are as unlikely to prove it as most I have seen but I shall shew the Notion to be absurd in it self and impossible to be maintained The Essence of all Matter must be the same whether Extension or any thing else be assign'd as the Essence of it and though we may be ignorant of the Essence of Matter yet we know it cannot be essential to it to Think for then all Matter would necessarily Think But the difference in the several sorts of Matter can be only in Accidents that is in Bulk Rest Motion Situation and Figure none of which can render Matter capable of Thought For if a different Bulk of Matter could produce Thought in it and the Subtile Matter should be able to Think and Reason though the Gross cannot then the Parts of a Stone would think when it is ground to Dust though when they are joined and compacted together they make up a Body as unlikely to think as any thing we can imagine If Rest could cause Matter to think a Stone would be the most thinking Creature in the World If Motion could cause it then that which moves with most quickness would think most as Fire and the Sun and Stars but Motion is only a successive change of Place and there is no reason why Matter should think
after a Captivity of Seventy Years and Cyrus sent forth his Proclamation declaring that he had received his Kigdom from God with a charge to re-build the Temple at Jerusalem 2 Chron. xxxvi 23. And this Decree of Cyrus was reinforced by Darius and Artaxerxes Ezra vi vii Now so many several Decrees put forth in favour of the Religion of the Jews and the miraculous Power and Wisdom which gave occasion to them and the Advancement of Daniel and others and the long life and continuance of Daniel in that Power and Esteem must leave all the Eastern part of the World without any excuse who were not converted to the Knowledge and Worship of the True God The Advancement of Esther and Mordecai under Ahasuerus and of Nehemiah under Artaxerxes gave the Jews great Authority and great opportunites of propagating their Religion from India even unto Aethiopia over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces for this was the extent of the Dominions of Ahasuerus Esth i. 1. and the Jews were dispersed in all the Provinces of the Kingdom of Babylon chap. iii. 8. And they wanted no Care nor Diligence to improve every Opportunity as we learn from the Books of Ezekiel Daniel Ezra Nehemiah and Esther and the very Names of such Persons is enough to convince us that that part of the World could want no means of Conversion Confess him before the Gentiles ye Children of Israel for he hath scattered us among them there declare his greatness and extol him before all the living for he is our Lord and he is the God our Father for ever In the land of my captivity do I praise him and declare his might and majesty to a sinful nation Tob. xiii 3 4 6. This was the Practice of Pious Men among the Ten Tribes of whom some were likewise in great Place and Authority chap. i. 13 21 22. And as the Ten Tribes were first carried away Captive so upon the Restoration of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin all but a few in comparison of the other Tribes remained in the places of their Captivity and many (c) Joseph Antiq. l. 11. c. 1. Mede's Discourse 20. p. 75. of those Two Tribes also chose rather to continue in Babylon than forsake the Possessions which they enjoyed there It is supposed that not much more than half of them returned and there were afrerwards three celebrated Universities (c) Lightf Harm N.T. p. 335. Exercit. on Acts p. 681 799. of the Jews in Babylon Nehardea Pombeditha and Soria besides several other Places famous for Learning The Jews relate (e) Hier. in Zech. x. that the Ten Tribes were carried away not only into Media and Persia but into the Northern Countries beyond the Bosphorus and Ortelius finds them in Tartary The Odomantes a People of Thrace were Circumcised and the (f) Aristophan Acharnens Act. 1. scen 4. Scholiast of Aristophanes says that they were reported to be Jews The Restoration of the Jews by Cyrus who had been so long before appointed and named by God himself for that Work was ordained for this end that they might know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is no God besides him Isa xlv 6. And it is observable that after the Captivity the Jews were never given to Idolatry and tho' they were bofore too much addicted to it yet this gave occasion to Prophecies and Miracles to withdraw them from it and these with the Judgments of God which befell them for their Iniquities gave continual Manifestations to the World of the Truth of their Religion When the Ten Tribes were carried from Samaria and strange Nations were transplanted thither in their room God would not suffer his Name and Worship to be quite neglected and forgotten amongst them but they were forced to send for a Priest back again to teach them the fear of the Lord 2 King xvii And after the Taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Death of Gedaliah who was set over them that were left behind in the Land of Judah all the People that were not before carried to Babylon fled into Aegypt Jeremiah being forced along with them who there prophesied against Aegypt and foretold its Destruction by the Babylonians Jer. xliii and at last suffer'd Maâ—yrdom Their going into Aegypt was indeed contrary to the Word of the Lord by Jeremiah but the Providence of God so order'd things that Jeremiah should be carry'd thither with the rest to testifie against their Wickedness and Obstinacy and to denounce God's Judgments upon them and upon the Aegyptians in whom they placed their confidence rather than in the Living God and then to die in testimony of the Truth of what he had delivered Cyrus and Darius desired the Prayers and Sacrifices of the Jews in behalf of themselves and their Kingdoms Alexander the Great Pâ—olemaeus Philadelphus Augustus Tiberius and Vitellius sent Victims to be sacrificed at the Temple of Jerusalem as we learn from Philo and Josephus The Jews constantly offer'd Sacrifice and Prayers for the Kings and Emperor under whom they lived and for their Allies and Confederates 1 Maccab. vii 33. xii 11. and it was expected of them for the omission of this contrary to their known and approved Custom in all former Times was the thing which hastned their final Destruction by the Romans The course of Alexander's Victories was so unexpected so sudden and every way so wonderful that it alarm'd the World And no Man can believe that this was designed by Providence only to gratifie the Ambition and Vanity of a rash Youth but to open a way for a communication between the several Parts of the Earth to the benefit of Mankind in the improvement of all useful Knowledge and when this Work was done he was no longer the same Man he had been before but soon resigned his Conquests with his Life Alexander is said by (g) Joseph Antiqu. l. 11. c. ult Josephus to have been mightily encouraged in his Enterprise against Persia by the Prophecy of Daniel He remitted the Tribute of every Seventh Year in which by their Law they were obliged not to sow their Ground (h) Ibid. l. 14. c. 17. which was afterwards remitted to them likewise by the Romans He granted the Jews who in great numbers listed themselves in his Army the free Exercise of their Religion and promised to grant the same to the Jews of Babylon and Media and those of Sanballat's Faction who followed him into Aegypt he placed in Thebais Hecatoeus who lived in Alexander's time wrote (i) Joseph contra Ap. lib. 1. pag. 1048 c. a Book concerning the Jews in which he took notice of their great Zeal for their Law which he proves by this Instance That when Alexander repaired the Temple of Belus at Babylon his Soldiers who were Jews could by no means be brought to help forward that Work and at last the King excused them He related that Hezechias the High-Priest of the Jews
signal Judgment from Heaven and Moses advanced neither of his and both Moses and Aaron died by the particular Appointment and Command of God for their Offences against him never enjoying nor for a long time before expecting to enjoy the Land of Promise And therefore as they could never have performed what they did but by the Almighty Power of God so they could have no Motive or Inducement to attempt it but his Command and Promise of Assistance revealed to them CHAP. IV. Of the Pentateuch AS the Books entitled to Moses are confessed by all to be of the greatest Antiquity so we have it confirmed to us by the Authority of Heathen Writers themselves that the Books which go under his Name are indeed of his writing besides the unanimous Testimony of the whole Jewish Nation ever since Moses's Time from the first writing of them Which is infinitely better Proof of their being Authentick and entitl'd to the true Author than can be pretended for any Books but the Holy Scriptures Divers Texts of the Pentateuch imply that it was written by Moses and the Book of Joshua as well as other Books of Scripture import as much and though some Passages have been thought to imply the contrary yet this is but a late Opinion and has been sufficiently confuted by Learned Men. It is observable whoever wrote these Five Books that there is no Partiality shewn to any one whomsoever Noah is said to be overcome with Wine and expos'd to the Mockery of one of his Sons Lot is describ'd not only to have been drunken but to have lain with his own Daughters Abraham himself denies his Wife twice and Isaac imitates him in it Jacob gets the Blessing by Fraud and Subtilty from his Brother Esau Joseph's Brethren sell him into Aegypt and he when he is there learns to swear By the Life of Pharaoh The Faults of Aaron and of Moses himself as I have already observ'd are not conceal'd On the other side particular Notice is taken how Melchizedeck bless'd Abraham and receiv'd Tythes of him And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better Heb. vii 7. The Advice of Jethro is recorded and the Prophecies of Balaam himself are punctually set down It was no Design of the Sacred Pen-Man to write a Panegyrick upon any Man but to represent the Failings and Infirmities as well as the Excellencies of each Person and to shew by what various Methods the Providence of God brought to pass his gracious Designs how he turn'd Evil into Good and made use even of the Infirmities and Sins of Men to accomplish his Purposes In the Book of Genesis we have a short Account of the most Memorable and Remarkable Things which had past to the Times of Moses as the Creation of the World the Institution of the Sabbath the Fall of Man the Promise of the Messiah and the Custom of Offering Sacrifices as Types of his Death Who first committed Murther and who first brought in Polygamy the Inventon of divers Arts the Flood the Confusion of Tongues the Original of the several Nations of the World with the Chronology of the whole all which is comprehended in a little Compass but a larger and more particular Account is given of Abraham and his Family For here the Scene begins to open to the main Design of the Work the Book of Genesis being as an Introduction to the rest of the Pentateuch and containing such things as were requisite to be premis'd And in the beginning of the History of Abraham it is noted that the Canaanite was then in the land Gen. xii 6. even at that very time when Abraham erected an Altar to the Lord ver 7. this being a great Encouragement to the Israelites to excite them to follow the Example of their Father Abraham who worshipp'd the True God in a publick and solemn Manner in that Land which they were now going to possess and amongst that People which they were now to drive out and which at that time when the Land was promis'd them were the Inhabitants of it and God who had protected Abraham in so signal a Manner would no less assist them And if we consider those things particularly wherein Moses himself is concen'd as an Agent as well as an Historian there can be no Pretence for any Man to doubt but that at least the principal Points of the History of Moses are true that is that Moses was the Governor or General of the People of Israel who conducted them out of Aegypt that they travell'd for many Years in the Wilderness that they fought divers Battels with the several Nations who oppos'd their Journeying into the Land of Canaan and that Moses gave them the Laws which we find there recorded These are the chief Points of the History of Moses which are as it were the Foundation of all the rest the rest being but as Circumstances to shew the Manner of doing it and the Power by which all this was done And that these main Points are true it was never deny'd by those Heathens themselves who most reproach'd and vilify'd the Jewish Nation They acknowledg'd that Moses was the great General and Law-Giver of the Israelites they own'd that the Israelites came out of Aegypt they could deny nothing of the History it self but only gave wrong Accounts partly out of Ignorance and partly out of Malice and Design of the Manner and Means by which this was effected and the Reasons and Occasions upon which it came to pass From the Books of Josephus against Apion in which he gives an Account of what the most Ancient Authors of other Nations have deliver'd concerning the Jews and from what the latter Heathens Strabo Tacitus Justin and others after the Jews became so odious and contemptible in the eyes of all Nations have written it is evident that the great and fundamental Points as to the Matters of Fact are confess'd and the only Dispute is concerning the Manner in which they were brought about and the Means whereby all was effected Now we take the Histories of all other Nations rather from themselves than from Foreigners and Strangers to their Affairs or professed Enemies and it were extreme Partiality to admit the Accounts we have of the Jewish Affairs from Authors who liv'd so much too late to have any certain Information of the things they write about and who upon every Occasion shew such Disaffection to their Name and Nation and contradict each other and themselves too as Josephus shews it would I say be notorious Partiality to follow such Authors rather than credit the Jewish Records attested and deliver'd down to us by the unanimous Approbation and Testimony of the whole Nation And when I come to consider the Miracles wrought by Moses I shall prove That they were of that Nature and perform'd in such a Manner as that they could not be feign'd or counterfeit at first nor the Account given of them in the Pentateuch falsify'd afterwards and therefore
Messiah the Jewish Law was to become impracticable and impossible to be observ'd For if the City and Temple were not destroy'd the confinement of the Jewish Worship to one certain Place must necessarily imply an alteration in their Worship upon the coming of the Messiah and the calling of the Gentiles who could not all be supposed to assemble thrice every year at Jerusalem and therefore the Prophets foretold That Jerusalem should then be no longer the only place of God's Worship but that Men should Worship him in any place of the World 'T is true the Prophets often mention the resort which should be made from all Nations to Jerusalem and to the Temple or the Mountain of the Lord. But then these are Mystical Expressions for the City of Jerusalem and the Temple are used by the Prophets as Types of the Christian Church and therefore Ezekiel (m) Lightfoot 's Prospect of the Temple ch 2. describes the Temple larger than the whole City of Jerusalem and the City in greater dimensions than all the Land of Canaan to shew that we are not to understand these Expressions literally A Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedeck different from that of Aaron was Prophesied of Psal cx 4. and a New Covenant different from that which was made with the Children of Israel upon their coming out of the Land of Aegypt Jer. xxxi 31 32. And this Covenant was to extend to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews For from the rising of the Sun even unto the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure offering for my Name shall be great among the Heathen saith the Lord of Hosts Malach. i. 11. If against all this it be alledged That the Mosaical Law was to endure for ever it ought to be considered what sense that expression bears in the Law it self And that expression is there used to denote the continuance of any thing which was not designed for some particular occasion or season only but was to last as long as the nature and general design of its Institution would admit The Servant whose Ear was bored was to serve his Master for ever Exod. xxi 6. by which is to be understood not all his Life but only till the year of Jubilee whereas he that had not his Ear bored was to be set free in the seventh year ver 2. And even before the year of Jubilee he whose Ear was bored might be freed with his Master's Consent (n) Grot. ad loc either by Manumission or Redemption and was at liberty upon the death of his Master not being bound to serve his Son Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting Priesthood throughout their Generations Exod. xl 15. which can be understood to extend no farther than as long as their Genealogies were preserved and the Tribe and Generations of the High-Priests could be distinguished I will abide in thy Tabernacle for ever Ps lxi 4. or in other words all the days of my Life Ps xxvii 4. Samuel was brought by his Mother to abide before the Lord for ever that is during his Life 1 Sam. i. 22. And by parity of Reason those Statutes and Laws are said to be Established for ever which were designed to be perpetual and standing Laws not temporary during their journeying in the Wilderness only as others were but to continue as long as the Constitution of the Government was to last and in this sense the Jews themselves (o) Id. de Veritat Lib. 5. §. 7. have taken the word and it is sufficiently explain'd Deut. xii 1. These are the Statutes and Judgments which ye shall observe to do in the Land which the Lord God of thy Fathers giveth thee to possess it all the days that ye live upon the Earth or as we read ver 19. as long as thou livest upon thy earth that is their Law was obligatory to them as long as they had possession of the Land of Canaan or retained any right to possess it by God's donation But those Statutes and Judgments which were to be observed in the Land which the Lord had given them to possess can no longer be of any obligation to them when they are finally deprived of that Land The Ceremonial Law therefore by its Original Design and Institution being to continue in force but till the coming of Christ he gave the accomplishment to it and put a final period to its Obligation Instituting his Gospel in its stead which had been pre-figured by the Law and foretold both by Moses and the Prophets CHAP. XVII Of Sinful Examples Recorded in the Scriptures AS some have endeavour'd to excuse their own Sins by alledging the Sinful Examples which we find mention'd in the Scriptures so others who are no less fond of imitating them yet have from hence taken a pretence for Objections and Cavils I shall therefore shew that the bad Examples in some actions of Men whom we find in all other respects commended in the Scriptures are far from being proposed for our imitation but there is great reason why the Faults and Miscarriages of the best Men should be deliver'd down to us in the Scriptures for our Caution and Prevention as well as upon other accounts I. Several passages of the Scriptures contain only Matter of Fact and that very briefly express'd and a bare Narrative of any Action implies neither the Approbation nor the Censure of it but only declares that such a thing was done and in such a manner but the Nature of the Fact it self with the Circumstances of it or some Command or Permission or Prohibition in Scripture must discover the goodness or lawfulness or the wickedness of the Action No Historian is supposed to approve of all which he relates but he must report bad as well as good Deeds who will do the part of a faithful Historian II. The Rules of Good and Evil are plainly delivered in the Scriptures by which we are to judge of Actions and we are to conform our Actions not to the Example of Men but to the Law of God We are forewarn'd to follow no Man's Example when it is contrary to the Divine Law and therefore it could not be necessary in the relating of every evil Action to set a mark of Infamy upon it and a Caution against the imitation of it III. The Relation of the bad Actions of Good Men may be of great use and benefit tho' we are not to follow but avoid them Because 1. This shews the sincerity of the Pen-Men of the Scriptures that they spare no person whatsoever but relate the plain Matter of Fact even tho' themselves be concern'd when it is never so much to their disgrace as in the Denial of St. Peter and other instances 2. By this we learn the Frailty of Humane Nature and the necessary dependance that the best Men must have upon God for his Grace in
who was not as singular in other things and in his Notions of Religion but he has firmly believed the Divine Authority of the Scriptures It concerns all who have any Doubts about these things to weigh the Objections with the Answers that have been given to them by divers Authors and withal to observe the importance of the Objections and how far they affect the main Cause and still to remember that it is at every Man 's own Peril if he make a rash and partial Judgment If our Faith could be of no Benefit or Advantage to us nor Infidelity any Prejudice we might take the same Liberty to give Credit or no Credit to what we read in the Bible that we use in the Reading all other Books and to receive or reject it as we think fit or to believe only just so much as lies even with our own Understandings and Notions of Things and at the worst this would be but Folly in us But it is madness to reject our own Happiness and make our selves miserable because we do not perceive the Reasons of all the Means and Methods which God has been pleased to use to make us happy or are not able to understand every Word of that Book which contains the Terms of our Salvation This is as if a Son should chuse to live miserably rather than to enjoy a large Estate left him by his Father because he doth not perceive the design and full meaning of every particular in his Will he searches out for all Ways and Arts for cavilling at it and is fond of any pretence to cast it aside as Counterfeit being resolved never to believe it to be his Father's For his Father was a wise Man and if it were his such and such Clauses would not be in it since there is no reason that he can see why they should be inserted several things mentioned in it he believes are mis-timed the Bounds of the Lands are not described by fit Names besides it is interlined and he never will accept of such an Estate conveyed to him by such a Will but chuses rather to be miserable all the Days of his Life This would be such peevishness and perversness as is not to be met withal where our Temporal Interest is concerned But too many are too forward to reject the Tenders and despise the Terms of an everlasting Inheritance in Heaven tho' at the same time they become obnoxious to all the Curses threatned to Unbelievers because the Old and New Testament contain some things which may afford matter of Exception and Cavil to captious Men. God has sent his Prophets to call and admonish us and his Son to reconcile us to himself by his Death and to offer us Eternal Peace and Happiness and he has given us all the Evidence of it that the nature of the things would admit The Jews have asserted the Authority of the Old Testament from the times of Moses and the Prophets and the Christians asserted the Truth of the Gospel when it was impossible for them not to know whether it were true or not without any prospect of Advantage by it in this World but with a certain expectation of all manner of Torments and Deaths and the greatest part of the Known World was converted to the Belief of it and became Christians when in this World Christians were of all Men the most miserable and were supported only by the stedfast hope and expectation of that Happiness which is promised to us in the Scriptures after this Life And all things considered we have as sufficient Grounds for the Authority of the Scriptures as we have not only that any other Book was composed by the Author whose Name it bears but as we have to believe any thing else in the World Now what do these Men How do they receive so great a Blessing Why they overlook all the Evidence that can be brought to prove the Divine Authority of the Scriptures and search up and down for doubtful and obscure Passages to disprove it by not considering in the mean time that nothing can overthrow their Authority but that which can invalidate the Evidence by which it is establish'd It would be the highest Folly and Ingratitude thus to despise God's Mercy and Care over us if there were no danger in it but it being a thing of infinite Danger it is no less than Madness For what milder Term can be found to express the desperate Folly of them who reject a Book which sets before us the means of Salvation but at the same time forewarns us upon pain of the severest effects of God's Displeasure not to neglect them It is madness I say if we rightly consider it to reject such a Book and at once both to affront the Mercy and despise the Threatnings of the infinitely Merciful and the infinitely Great and Powerful God It is a good Caution to the Atheist to forbear his Blasphemies and Contempt of the Divine Majesty for fear it should prove true that there is a God at last and then it will be a dismal thing after all his profane Talking and Arguing to be called before that God whom he has so often denied And it is as good Advice to those who make it their business to find Fault with the Scriptures to consider seriously whether they are sure that these are not God's Word after all that can be said against them and if they be not absolutely certain of this the Name and Title which they bear and which Men as wise and as Judicious as themselves thought to belong to them should methinks keep Men within some bounds of Modesty and Discretion For if they be indeed the Word of God and nothing is capable of being made more evident than how dearly must they pay for a little cavilling Wit and Subtilty The best and most Divine things may be despised and affronted by a bold and Scurrilous Wit but can Men think it a safe or a prudent thing to ridicule and Scoff at those Books which for ought they know may be of Divine Revelation when all the Reason of which they fansie themselves so great Masters can never be able to confute the Arguments brought in Vindication of them Can they value the contemptible Reputation of a little Satyr and Drollery at that mighty Rate as to run the hazard of being damned for it If Men have any real Doubts or Scruples they must needs grant that it is too serious a thing to jest and trifle withal when no less than the Terms of our everlasting Happiness or everlasting Misery is the thing in Controversy And what Wit there may be in it I cannot tell but I am sure it is no sign of a very Wise Man to speak contemptibly of a Book by which he can never prove but that he must be judged at the last Day As a Mad-Man says Solomon who casteth Fire-brands Arrows and Death so is the Man that deceiveth his Neighbour and saith Am not I