Body: In which Eftate, we may obferve from Now amongst fuch Multitudes of Inhabitants that were upon the Earth, when the Deluge came upon them, there must be vast Numbers of innocent Infants who would be hereby deprived of being brought up in a Course of Wickedness, and thereby die innocent of actual Guilt; and that, as before noted, the greatest Numbers of Men and Women, if not all, would die in Remorse, as well as Surprize; fo that there is no Reason to fuppose, but that their temporal Punishments were adapted for their future Pardon; and that upon their Entrance upon another State, by Death, tho' they had not any Knowledge, or Hope of their Redemption from this Prifon of Death, by a Refurrection from the Grave; yet when our bleffed Saviour had fuffered Death, due to Sin, "He was quickened by the Spirit, by which he alfo went and "preached unto the Spirits in Prison; which were fometime difobedient, when once the Long-fuffering of God waited in the Days "of Noah, while the Ark was a preparing, "wherein few, that is eight Souls, were faved by Water." ་་ Now what this Preaching of Chrift to these Spirits in Prison might be, we may best judge from the Defign of his Miffion, and the End of his Sufferings; The Just for the Unjust, that he might bring us to God. For Chrift having thus fuffered, he went and preached to those Spirits in Prifon, to raise in them an Hope which they had loft, and to give them an Affurance, that tho' by their Difobedience they had loft the Knowledge and Hope of their Redemption, and had hitherto remain'd under the Imprisonment of a darkened and hopelefs Mind, of ever being delivered from that State of Separation of Soul and Body, which their fuddain Deftruction had hurried them into; but now that he had tafted Death for every Man, he came to affure fuch of them, as had either been free from actual Tranfgreffions, or fuch as, by the Views of their approaching Deftruction had repented of their vile Practices, that occafioned their Overthrow: I fay, as we may reasonably conclude, he went and affured them, by this his preaching to them, That he had now compleated their Redemption; and that they had now no longer Occafion to lie under that Imprisonment of Mind, and without a Knowledge that he had ranfomed their Spirits from that Ignorance of their Deliverance, which they had hitherto been under, and proclaimed to them the Redemption that his Sufferings had procured, and would procure, both for them and all Mankind. Tho' this Preaching of Chrift to the Spirits in Prifon might not be only (yet feems chiefly to relate) to thofe who fuffered the total Overthrow by the Deluge, fince St. Peter particularly mentions thofe, who were fometime difobedient in the Days of Noah, And And these having been involved in fuch grofs Infidelity and Wickednefs, we may very well conclude, had caft off all Expectations of a future State; but tho' they had found themselves deceived and disappointed, in finding their immaterial Spirits ftill in Existence, contrary to their Expectations, in a Separation from their material Organs; yet they should also, tho' hitherto they had been ignorant of it, and could fee into no farther Existence than that which they then had found themselves in ; I fay, yet they should now be delivered from that Darkness and Imprisonment of Mind, by the Affurance he came to give them of their Redemption from their prefent State, into which they had thus unexpectedly entered. §. 9. Upon Confideration of this melancholy Subject of the Overthrow of the old World for their Infidelity and Wickedness, I am forry there should be any now-a-days, in fo mean a way of thinking, or who cannot, or rather will not, believe thofe Declarations of the Scriptures, which teftify to us that we shall have a future Existence: These (tho' I trust there are few fuch) might as well, and as reasonably believe, that they have not any Existence now, as that they fhall not have one hereafter. That which makes Men fo fond of this Ignorance, must be their Unwillingness to change their prefent State for one they cannot here have a clear Idea of; and thro' some secret Vices, which they are not willing to forfake, they dread to be punished for hereafter, if they they should find a future Existence ; and therefore fooner than they will relinquish their dar ling Vices, they will rather chufe to embrace that Delufion, than to comply with those extensive Offers of Mercy to all Penitents and Reformers. Nay, it is but too obfervable, that these Deluders of themselves more frequently delude others, than others can perfuade them to throw off their Delufions; and by the Account our Saviour has foretold of his Coming to Judgment, Infidelity will be the Occafion of the laft and final Cataftrophe of this Heaven and Earth; fince this Infidelity, becoming univerfal, will bring upon the whole Earth (inftead of another Deluge) a general Conflagration; when it will be high Time to convince them of their Infidelity, by manifefting the Truth of his Declarations, and fhewing them altogether that themselves are now brought to a State, which they by their vicious Lives endeavoured to perfuade themselves into the Disbelief of. But I earnestly wish that both they, and all Men, who are any ways involved in this way of thinking, may be convinced of their Infidelity before their Vices fhall render them incapable of receiving any Pleasure, but Horror from their Convictions; that none of the Fruits of that univerfal Redemption, CHRIST has fo dearly purchased, may become fruitless to any of the whole Creation. Amen. The CONTENTS of the Review of the State of the Antediluvian World. §. 1. The Year of the World when Cain flew Abel, §. 2. Seth, when born, Page 17 20 ibid. $.3. The Number of Children Adam and Eve might probably have after Cain and Abel, before Seth, .ibid. $. S. 4. The Pofterity that Cain and Abel very probably had when Cain flew him, with the Encrease of Adam and Eve's other Pofterity at that time, 21 §. 5. What Numbers of Mankind might probably be encreafed in 258 Years, and what in 516; and, allowing for all accidental Deaths, &c, what in 700 Years, 23 CHA P. II. 24 $1. If the Earth would fo foon be replenished with Inhabitants, what must have contained and fubfifted them if they had not been fubject to Death? Answered, §. 2. From the Anfwers therein given may be feen, that it is poffible to frame an Answer thereto from physical Reafoning, CHA P. III. 27 Obfervations begun from the 4th Chap. of Genefis. §. 1. The Births of Cain and Abel, with Cain's flaying of him, §. 2. Cain's Repentance, &c. 27 31 $.3. Cain's Sentence of Death, which his own Confcience pronounced against him, mitigated to a Banishment from the mutual Society and Affiftance of the then habitable Parts of the Earth, 33 ibid. $. 4. Cain's Encrcafe in his Exile, S. 5. Lamech, the feventh from Adam in the Line of Cain, took two Wives, with three particulars of his Sons, and one Daughter mentioned in the Mofaic Hiftory, with the three Sons Excellencies in particular Arts and Inventions, 35 §. 6. Lamech's boasting to his two Wives of his flaying two Men, 36 $.7. That the Conftruction therein given, carries in it a true Connection to the Senfe of the Text; but that which fome |