after this manner; The Burden of Moab, the Burden of Babylon, the Burden of Egypt, &c. Yet against that grand prejudicate Opinion, fo deeply rooted in their Minds, even from their Youth, and strengthened by Education, confirmed by the terrible Comminations the Holy Ghoft put in their Mouths against thofe Nations; for all this, I fay, they foretel their Salvation, they foresee that God would remove into the midst of them the Tabernacle of his Glory: They proclaim, how that God will raise unto himself an Altar in Ægypt, and that the Egyptians fhall know the Lord. And they speak not of it without exceffive transports of Joy; and they prefage, that the Jews fhall have for Affociates in their Happiness and Election thofe very Nations which were thought to be most certainly reprobate, and which had been hitherto the moft inveterate Enemies of Ifrael.

But what shall I fay of that mixture, of Lowlinefs and Greatness, of Shame and Glory, of Power and Weakness, of Sufferings and Triumphs, of Life and Death, whofe mixture makes up one of the most remarkable Characters of the Meffias, which they promise to us? We must enter into a particular Examination of all the Oracles of the Old Teftament concerning the Meffias, if we would find out how many things the Prophets have spoken against their own fettled and profeffed Opinions, as well as the Prejudices of all other Men. We would fain know, what the Revelation of the Strength and Power of the Lord has to do with a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Grief, and that Suffers Death? How the Prophets could ever think, that Chrift fhould be cut off, but not for himself? What prejudicate Opinion leads them fo much to debafe his Nativity, and yet to represent the Confequences of it fo comfortable to us, and fo glorious to himself? But because the methed we have

pre

prescribed our felves, will not as yet allow us to fall upon thofe Confiderations, we will reft contented with what we have already faid in that refpect. That, as I fuppofe, being fufficient to defeat Spinefa's Objecti ons, and to thew, that it furnishes us with an invincible Argument for the Truth of the Jewish Religion.

CHA P. XX.

Where we further Answer the Objections raised by the Incredulous, against the Jewish Religion.

NE of the most plausible Objections the Incredulous alledge against us, is that, which is taken from the great diftance of time between us and the Matters of Fact mentioned in the various Hiftories of the Old Testament; a distance indeed which feems capable to render our belief fomewhat doubtful and incertain.

But this difficulty, methinks, may be easily folved, if we do but obferve, 1ft. That the Matters of Fact of the Old Testament, which are very remote with refpect to us, were very nigh, nay, very prefent, with refpect to thofe that wrote them. 2dly, That those Matters of Fact, befides, that they were of fuch a Nature, as not eafily to be fancied in any ones mind, unless they were true, at least the most part of them; and befides, that they were written by Authors of an unfufpected Sincerity and Simplicity, they were ingraven in fuch Monuments that have preferved to us the Memory and affured Ideas of them, in fpite of

the

the Viciffitude of Time, and the Revolutions of Ages.

The firft of thefe Truths is unquestionable. For it is not to be denied, but that thofe Matters of Fact were written by fuch Hiftorians as had either seen their Events, or heard them related by those who were Spectators of them. And this might seem fufficient to clear all doubts in this occafion. Because Men are of fuch a Temper as fcarcely to trouble themselves fo much as to publifh thofe Lyes, which 'tis absolutely impoffible to make any Body believe, especially when they cannot do it without expofing themselves to the Contradiction or Malice of the Men of their Age: Neither can it be fo much as imagned, that any Man fhould go about to impofe upon other Mens Belief, Stories compofed of Events notorioufly falfe.

Now fuch is exactly the cafe of all thefe who made it their bufinefs to inform us of thofe miraculous Matters of Fact we are fpeaking of. There was never any Age but there were fome Rebels among the Jews. For no fooner are they come out of the Land of Egypt, but they would fain have return back to it again. Sometimes they murmur for want of Water, and by and by for fcarcity of Bread. Now they make a golden Calf, and another time they worship the falle Deities of Remphan, Moloch and Aftaroth; fometimes they ferve Baal; fometimes they erect Calves in Pan and Bethel to be adored; and almoft continually exercife their Fury against the Prophets, who sometimes hid themfelves, fometimes were caft into Prifon, at other times were ftoned, or fawn afunder. For 'one juft and religious King, you fhall find amongst them, you fhall meet with many Impious and Sacrilegious Ones, whofe greatest Ambition was to abolish the true Religion, and that either to fhew fome compla

cency

cency for the ftrange Nations they were Tributaries to, or to have the freedom to humour their Paffions, and to practice without any Scruples, all forts of Injuftice. Yet we find that as long as there were any Prophets, they always took upon them to reprove the People, and publicly to convince all obftinate Gainfayers, by thofe so very extraordinary and fenfible Miracles, which all they were Witness to. Mofes called the Eyes of the Ifraelites to witnefs, what amazing Wonders God had wrought in the midft of them, and Elias made Fire to come down from Heaven in the fight of all Ifrael. The firft deftroyed by the Sword, many Thousands of the People, that had defiled themfelves with Idolatry in the very nick of time, that he laid before them all thofe wonderful Benefits, for which they fhewed themselves fo very ungrateful. The latter putting to Death all the Priefts of Baal, which were fo mightily favoured by the King and Queen of Ifrael, wanted neither Gainfayers, nor more violent Oppofers, when he went about to convince the whole Nation of Idolatry, by making Fire to come down from Heaven.

But this is as yet nothing. It was the Will of the Divine Wisdom, that all those extraordinary and miraculous Matters of Fact should be preserved in certain and peculiar Monuments, that fhould equally perpetuate the Memory, and demonftrate the Truth of them. But the better to apprehend this, 'tis neceffary to run them over diftinctly one after another.

And, First, The Creation of the World being the first of all Events, and the furtheft diftant from our Knowledge, was likewife the difficulteft of all to prove. And yet Divine Wisdom did wonderfully provide for it, by engraving it, if I may fo fpeak, on thofe four different Monuments, the World, Society, Hiftory

and

and the Inftitution of the Sabbath day, which he fanEtified on purpose to eternize the memory of it. The World fo vifibly bears the Characters of being fome Workmanship, and demonftrates fo well the Wifdom of its Maker, that we cannot but fee that the Existence of God, and the truth of the Creation are two fuch Truths as are effentially connected together.

Neither can we confider public Society, nor behold that fucceffion of Generations, which must needs have had fome beginning, without granting, that there was a firft Man and a first Woman that were immediately created by God. We learn from History, by the late difcovery of Arts, and Sciences, and of Customs, and by the Original of Nations, that public Society had a beginning, and is not very ancient. Laftly, the establishment of the Sabbath, the reasons whereof would be incomprehenfible, or rather whose Institution would be unreasonable, had it not been thought useful to perpetuate the memory of fuch important an Event, neceffarily leads us to the Truth of the Creation which it reprefents to us. Now although each of thefe Monuments in particular might fuffice to convince unprejudiced Men, of the Truth of the Creation; yet certain it is, that the connexion of all these Monuments together, give us an evident demonftration of the fame. For what is there, I pray, that can be the caufe of this mutual Agreement between Nature, Society, History and the Jewish Tradition? What neceffity is there, that all the parts of Nature should fo well agree with all the parts of Society, that the parts of Society fhould agree with all kinds of Hiftories; and that the latter fhould be fo conformable to the Jewish Tradition, the most ancient in the World, and above all, to that extraordinary eftablishment of one day fet apart for the Sabbath? Undoubtedly the Wisdom of God intended, that this

Truth