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diff --git a/old/54539-0.txt b/old/54539-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 09ceda1..0000000 --- a/old/54539-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9294 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 5 (of 8), by -Richard Hurd - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 5 (of 8) - -Author: Richard Hurd - -Release Date: April 12, 2017 [EBook #54539] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, VOL 5 *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Wayne Hammond and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned -images of public domain material from the Google Books -project.) - - - - - - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -Characters preceded by a caret(^) are in superscript, and are enclosed -in curly brackets, i. e. {th}. - -Italicized text delimited by underscores. - -This project uses utf-8 encoded characters. If some characters are not -readable, check your settings of your browser to ensure you have a -default font installed that can display utf-8 characters.] - - - - - THE - - WORKS - - OF - - RICHARD HURD, D. D. - - LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. - - VOL. V. - - - Printed by J. Nichols and Son, - Red Lion Passage, Fleet-Street, London. - - - - - THE - - WORKS - - OF - - RICHARD HURD, D. D. - - LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. - - IN EIGHT VOLUMES. - - VOL. V. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, STRAND. - 1811. - - - - -THEOLOGICAL WORKS. - -VOL. I. - - - - -TWELVE SERMONS - -INTRODUCTORY - -TO THE STUDY OF - -THE PROPHECIES. - - - - -AN - -INTRODUCTION - -TO THE STUDY OF THE - -PROPHECIES - -CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH; - -AND, IN PARTICULAR, - -CONCERNING THE CHURCH OF PAPAL ROME: - -IN TWELVE SERMONS, - -PREACHED IN LINCOLN’S-INN-CHAPEL, - -AT THE LECTURE OF - -THE RIGHT REV. WILLIAM WARBURTON, - -LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. - - _Ita, si potuero, stylo moderabor meo, ut nec ea, quæ supersint, - dicam, nec ea, quæ satis sint, prætermittam._ - Augustin. C. D. l. xvii. c. 1. - - - - -TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE - -WILLIAM, LORD MANSFIELD, - -LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF ENGLAND, - -AND - -TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE - -SIR JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT, KNT. - -LATE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE COMMON PLEAS, - -TRUSTEES FOR THIS LECTURE, - -THE FOLLOWING SERMONS - -ARE MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED - -BY THE AUTHOR, - - R. HURD. - - LINCOLN’S-INN, - MARCH 2, 1772. - - - - -EXTRACT - -FROM THE - -DEED OF TRUST - -FOR FOUNDING THIS LECTURE. - - -An Indenture, bearing date July 21, 1768, sets forth, “That the right -reverend WILLIAM Lord Bishop of Gloucester has transferred the sum of -500_l. Bank four per cent. annuities consolidated_, to the right -honourable WILLIAM LORD MANSFIELD, Lord Chief Justice of his Majesty’s -Court of King’s Bench, the right honourable SIR JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT, -Lord Chief Justice of his Majesty’s Court of Common Pleas, and the -honourable CHARLES YORKE[1], of Lincoln’s-Inn, in the county of -Middlesex, UPON TRUST, for the purpose of founding a _Lecture_, in -the form of a Sermon, _To prove the truth of Revealed Religion in -general, and of the Christian in particular, from the completion of the -Prophecies in the Old and New Testament, which relate to the Christian -church, especially to the apostacy of Papal Rome_: That, in case of -any vacancy in this trust by the decease of any one or more of the -above-mentioned Trustees, _the place or places shall be filled up, from -time to time and as occasion may require, by the surviving Trustees, -or Trustee, or by the Executors of the survivor of them_: That the -Trustees _shall appoint the Preacher of Lincoln’s-Inn for the time -being, or some other able Divine of the Church of England_, to preach -this Lecture: That the Lecture shall be preached every year _in the -Chapel of Lincoln’s-Inn_ (_if the Society give leave_[2]) _and on the -following days, viz. the first Sunday after Michaelmas Term, the Sunday -next before and the Sunday next after Hilary Term_: That the Lecturer -shall not preach the said Lecture longer than _for the term of_ FOUR -YEARS, _and shall not again be nominated to preach the same_: And, when -the term of four years is expired, that the said Lecturer shall _print -and publish, or cause to be printed and published, all the Sermons or -Lectures, that shall have been so preached by him_.” - - - - - CONTENTS - - OF - - THE FIFTH VOLUME. - - - SERMON I. - - False ideas of Prophecy. - - 2 PETER i. 21. - - _Prophecy came not in old time by the will of - man: but holy men of God spake, as they - were moved by the Spirit of God._ - - - SERMON II. - - The true idea of Prophecy. - - REV. xix. 10. - - _The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy._ 21 - - - SERMON III. - - Conclusions from the true idea of Prophecy. - - REV. xix. 10. - - _The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy._ 44 - - - SERMON IV. - - The general argument from Prophecy. - - JOHN xiii. 19. - - _Now I tell you before it come, that, when it - is come to pass, ye may believe, that I am - He._ 74 - - - SERMON V. - - Prophecies concerning Christ’s _first coming_. - - ISAIAH xlii. 9. - - _Behold, the former things are come to pass, - and new things do I declare: before they - spring forth, I tell you of them._ 102 - - - SERMON VI. - - Prophecies concerning Christ’s _second coming_. - - ISAIAH xlii. 9. - - _Behold, the former things are come to pass, - and new things do I declare: before they - spring forth, I tell you of them._ 132 - - - SERMON VII. - - Prophecies concerning Antichrist. - - 1 Ep. JOHN ii. 18. - - —_ye have heared that Antichrist shall come._ 171 - - - SERMON VIII. - - Prejudices against the doctrine of Antichrist. - - 1 Ep. JOHN ii. 18. - - —_ye have heared that Antichrist shall come._ 205 - - - SERMON IX. - - The Prophetic style considered. - - EZEKIEL xx. 49. - - —_They say of me, Doth he not speak parables?_ 233 - - - SERMON X. - - The style and method of the Apocalypse. - - EZEKIEL xx. 49. - - —_They say of me, Doth he not speak parables?_ 260 - - - SERMON XI. - - Prophetic characters of Antichrist. - - LUKE xii. 56. - - —_How is it, that ye do not discern this time?_ 286 - - - SERMON XII. - - Uses of this Inquiry into the Prophecies—Conclusion. - - REV. xxii. 7. - - _Behold, I come quickly: Blessed is he that - keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this - book._ 333-352 - - - APPENDIX: - - _Containing an anonymous Letter to the Author - of these Sermons, with his Answer - to it._ 363 - - - - -SERMON I. - -FALSE IDEAS OF PROPHECY. - -2 PETER, i. 21. - - _Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God - spake, as they were moved by the Spirit of God._ - - -The argument from prophecy, in support of the Christian revelation, -would be thought more conclusive, at least would be more distinctly -apprehended, if men could be kept from mixing their own prejudices and -preconceptions with it. - -The general question may be expressed thus—“Whether the predictions -in the Old and New Testament do not appear to have been so far, and -in such sense, fulfilled, as to afford a reasonable conviction, that -they _came not_, as the text speaks, _by the will of man, but from the -Spirit of God_.” - -In examining this question, the predictions themselves cannot be too -diligently studied, or too cautiously applied: But, while this work -is carrying on, we are still to suppose, and should not for a moment -forget, that they _may_ be, what they manifestly claim to be, of divine -suggestion; I mean, we are to admit, not the truth indeed, but the -possibility, of such suggestion, till we can fairly make it appear that -they are of human contrivance, only. - -It will not be denied, that the tenour of Scripture, as well as -the text, clearly asserts the divine original and direction of the -prophecies. A just reasoner on the subject will, therefore, proceed -on this supposition, and only try whether it be well founded. He -will consider, whether the construction of the prophecies, and the -application of them, be such, as may accord to those pretensions; and -will not argue against them on other principles, which they do not -admit, or suppose. All this is plainly nothing more than what may be -expected from a fair inquirer, and what the rules of good reasoning -exact from him. - -The use of this conduct would be, To prevent, or set aside, all those -fancies and imaginations which too frequently mislead inquirers -into the evidence of prophecy; which fill their minds with needless -perplexities, and disgrace their books with frivolous and impertinent -disquisitions. And, because I take it to be of principal moment, that -this _use_ be perfectly seen and understood, I shall, _first_, apply -myself to justify and explain it. - -It is true that _prophecy_, in the very idea of that term, at least in -the scriptural idea of it, implies the divine agency; and that, exerted -not merely in giving the faculty itself, but in directing all its -operations. - -Yet I know not how it is that, when men address themselves to the study -of the prophetic scriptures, they are apt to let this so necessary -idea slip out of their minds; and to discourse upon them just as they -would or might do, on the supposition that the prophet was left at -liberty to dispense this gift in all respects, as he should think -proper. No wonder then, that they should misconceive of its character, -and entertain very different notions about the exercise of this power -from what the Scriptures give them of it. Nay it is no wonder that -they should even treat the subject with some scorn, while they judge -of it by the rule of human prudence, and not of divine wisdom: for, -though they would readily own themselves incapable of pronouncing on -the secret counsels of God, if prophecy, in its whole administration, -be regarded as proceeding merely from him; yet, from their knowledge of -human nature, they would think, and with some reason, they were well -able to conceive how the spirit of prophecy would be administered, if -man had the disposal of this spirit committed to him. - -Now it happens, as I said, (by an inexcusable perverseness, or -inattention, indeed, yet in fact it so happens) that, to the -consideration of the argument from prophecy, as applied to the proof of -the Christian religion, many inquirers bring with them this strange and -fatal prejudice; and then their reasonings, or rather conjectures, on -the SUBJECT, the END, and the DISPENSATION of prophecy, are only such, -as this prejudice may be expected to inspire. - -I. Judging for ourselves, and by the light of human investigation only, -there might be some ground for supposing, that, if it should please God -at any time to confer the gift of prophecy on his favoured servants, -they would be solely or chiefly commissioned to unfold the future -fortunes of the most conspicuous states and kingdoms in the world: that -so divine a power would embrace, as its peculiar object, the counsels -and enterprizes, the successes and triumphs of the most illustrious -nations; those especially, which should rise to the summit of empire by -generous plans of policy, and by the efforts of public virtue; of _free -states_, in a word, such as we know to have flourished in the happier -ages of Greece, and such as we still contemplate with admiration in -the vast and awful fabric of Consular Rome. This we might think a fit -object for the prophetic spirit to present to us; as corresponding in -some degree to the sublime character of a prophet; and as most worthy, -in our conceptions, of the divine attention and regard. - -But how are we surprized to find that this astonishing power, the most -signal gift of Heaven to mankind, hath, in its immediate application -at least, respected, many times, obscure individuals, whose names and -memory are only preserved in one barbarous chronicle, hath been chiefly -employed, and, as we are ready to express it, thrown away on one single -state, or rather family; inconsiderable in the extent of its power or -territory; sequestered from the rest of the nations, and hardly known -among them[3]; with some mention, perhaps, of greater things, but -incidentally touched, as it may seem, and as they chanced to have some -connexion with the interests of this sordid people! - -Was this a stage, on which it might be expected that the God of heaven -would condescend to display the wonders of his prescience; when He -kept aloof, as it were, from more august theatres, and would scarcely -vouchsafe to have the skirts of his glory seen by the nobler and more -distinguished nations of the World? - -Such questions as these are sometimes asked. But they are surely -asked by those, who consider the prophets, as acting wholly on human -views and motives; and not as over-ruled in all their predictions by -_the spirit of God_. For it is natural enough for vain man, if left -to himself in the exercise of the prophetic power, to turn his view -towards such objects as appear to him great, in preference to others; -and to estimate that greatness by the lustre of fame, in which they -shine out to the observation of mankind. But a moment’s reflection may -shew the probability, the possibility at least, that _God’s thoughts -are not as our thoughts_; and that, if the prophet’s foresight be under -the divine influence, there may be reason enough to direct it towards -such scenes and objects, as we might be apt to undervalue or overlook. -It is even very conceivable, that, if God be the dispenser of prophecy, -and not man, all that seems great and illustrious in human affairs may -to his all-judging eye appear small and contemptible[4]; and, on the -other hand, what we account as nothing, may, for infinite reasons, -unknown to us, but so far as he is pleased to discover them, be of -that importance as to merit the attention of all his prophets from the -foundation of the world. - -It is evident, then, that to reason in this manner on the subject of -divine prophecy, is to suffer ourselves to be misled by a poor and -vulgar prejudice; and to forget, what we should ever have present to -us, the claim of God’s prophets to speak, not as themselves _will_, but -as they are _moved by his Spirit_. - -II. The END, or ultimate purpose of prophetic illumination, is another -point, on which many persons are apt to entertain strange fancies, and -to frame unwarrantable conclusions, when they give themselves leave to -argue on the low supposition, before mentioned. - -1. It is then hastily surmized that the scriptural prophecies, if any -such be acknowledged, could only be designed, like the Pagan oracles, -to sooth the impatient mind under its anxiety about future events; -to signify beforehand to states or individuals, engaged in high or -hazardous undertakings, what the issue of them would be, that so they -might suit their conduct to the information of the prophet, and either -pursue their purpose with vigour, or expect their impending fate with -resignation. For, what other or worthier end, will some say, can -Heaven propose to itself by these extraordinary communications, than -to prepare and qualify such events as it decrees to bring to pass; to -animate desponding virtue, on the one hand, or to relieve predestined -misery, on the other; to adapt itself, in short, to our necessities -by a clear discovery of its will in those many intricate situations, -which perplex human prudence, elude human foresight, and, but for -this previous admonition, would bear too hard on the natural force, -or infirmity of the human mind? Some such idea, as this, was plainly -entertained by those of the Pagan philosophers who concluded, _from the -existence of a divine power, that there must needs be such a thing as -divination_[5]. They thought the attributes of their gods, if any such -there were, concerned in giving some notice of futurity to mankind. - -2. Others, again, encouraged in this conjectural ingenuity by partial -views of scripture, come to persuade themselves that prophecy is an -act of _special grace and favour_, not to this or that state, or -individuals, indiscriminately, as either may seem to stand in need of -it; but to one peculiar and chosen people, who, on some account or -other, had merited this extraordinary distinction. - -Self-love seems to have suggested this idea to the ancient and modern -Jews; and many others, I doubt, are ready enough to suppose with them, -that prophecy, under the Mosaic dispensation, had no other reasonable -use, or end. - -3. Lastly, there are those who erect their thoughts to nobler -contemplations, and conclude that this intercourse between heaven and -earth can only be carried on with the sublime view of preserving an -awful sense of Providence in an impious and careless world. - -Vanity, or superstition, may they say, has suggested to particular men, -or to societies of men, that their personal or civil concerns are of -moment enough to be the subject of divine prophecies, vouchsafed merely -for their own proper relief or satisfaction. But nothing less than the -maintenance of God’s supreme authority over his moral creation could -be an object worthy of his interposing in the affairs of men, in so -remarkable a manner. To keep alive in their minds a prevailing sense of -their dependance upon him, is, then, the ultimate end of prophecy: and -what more suitable (will they perhaps add, when warmed with this moral -enthusiasm,) to the best ideas we can form of divine wisdom, than that -this celestial light should be afforded to such ages or nations as are -most in want of that great and salutary principle? - -There is reason to believe, that many of the ancient speculatists -reasoned thus on the subject of divination. For, as they argued _from -the existence of their gods, to the necessity of divination_; so, -again, they turned the argument the other way, _and from the reality of -divination, inferred the existence and providence of their gods_[6]. -In drawing the _former_ conclusion, they shewed themselves to be in -the system of those who maintain, that the end of prophecy is _the -instruction of men in their civil or personal concerns_: when they drew -the _latter_, they seemed to espouse the more enlarged sentiments of -such as make the end of prophecy to be, _The instruction of men in the -general concerns of religion_. - -I omit other instances, that might be given; and concern myself no -further with these, than just to observe from them; That the foundation -of all such systems is laid in the prejudices of their respective -patrons; conjecturing rather what _use_ might be made of this -faculty, and to what purpose men, according to their different views -or capacities, would probably apply it, than regarding it, with due -reverence, as directed by the spirit of God. For then they would see, -that not one of those ends, nor any other of human conjecture, could be -safely relied upon, as being that of prophetic inspiration. Not that -all these ends need be rejected as manifestly unworthy of the divine -intention; perhaps, each of them, in a certain sense, and with some -proper limitation, might without impiety be conceived to enter into -it. But neither could it be presumed, if none of those ends could have -been pointed out, that therefore there was no reasonable end of divine -prophecy; nor could it with modesty be affirmed that the noblest of -these ends was certainly that, which the wisdom of God proposed chiefly -and ultimately to accomplish by it, unless the information had been -given by himself. - -III. But this folly of commenting on prophecy by the false lights of -the imagination is never more conspicuous, than when the DISPENSATION -of this gift, I mean the _mode_ of its conveyance, comes to exercise -the curiosity of presumptuous men. - -“If it be true, will some say, that the Supreme Being hath at any time -condescended to enlighten human ignorance by a discovery of future -events, these divine notices, whatever the _end_ or _subject_ of them -might be, must have been given in terms so precise, and so clearly -predictive of the events to which they are applied, that no doubt could -remain either about the interpretation or completion of them. - -On the contrary, these pretended prophecies are expressed so -ambiguously or obscurely, are so involved in metaphor and darkened by -hieroglyphics, that no clear and certain sense can be affixed to them, -and the sagacity of a second prophet seems wanting to explain the -meaning of the first. - -Then, again, when we come to verify these predictions by the light -of history, the correspondence is so slight many times, and so -indeterminate, that none but an easy faith can assure itself, that -they have, in a proper sense, been fulfilled. At the least, there -is always room for some degree of suspense and hesitation: either -the accomplishment fails in some particulars, or other events might -be pointed out, to which the prophecy equally corresponds: so that -the result is, a want of that entire and perfect conviction, which -prophecy, no doubt, was intended to give, and, when fulfilled, must -supply[7]. - -Indeed, continue these inquirers, if our prophecies had been derived -from no higher an original, than that of Pagan oracles, we might well -enough have supposed them to be of this stamp. When men had nothing to -trust to, in their predictions, but their own ingenuity, they did well -to deal in equivocal or enigmatic expression, and might leave it to -chance, or to the passions of their votaries, to find an application -for their random conjectures. But when the prophet is, what he assumes -to be, an interpreter of heaven, he may surely afford to speak plainly, -and to deliver nothing to us but what shall appear, with the fullest -evidence, to be accomplished in the event.” - -The invidious comparison, here made, between Scriptural prophecies -and Pagan oracles, will be considered in its place. To the general -principle, assumed by these inquirers, _That divine prophecy must be -delivered with the utmost clearness and perspicuity, and fulfilled -with irresistible evidence_, it may be sufficient to reply, as before, -That, though these inquirers use the words, _divine prophecy_, they -manifestly argue on the supposition of its human original, or at least -application. In this latter case, indeed, it is likely enough that the -prophet, for his own credit, or for what he might fancy to be the sole -end of prophecy, might chuse, if he were entrusted with the knowledge -of future events, to predict them with all possible clearness, and in -such sort that obstinacy itself must see and admit the completion of -them: but then, on the _former_ supposition, that the prophet was only -the minister and instrument of the divine counsels, in the high office -committed to him, they will do well to answer, at their leisure, the -following questions. - -“How do they know in what manner, and with what circumstances, it was -fit for divine wisdom to dispense a knowledge of futurity to mankind? -How can they previously determine the degree of evidence with which -a prediction must be either given or fulfilled? What assurance have -they, that no reasonable ends could be served by prophecies, expressed -with some obscurity, and accomplished in a sense much below what may -seem necessary to unavoidable conviction? Can they even pretend, on -any clear principles of reason, that very important ends, perhaps -the most important, may not be answered by that mode of conveyance, -which appears to them so exceptionable? Can they, in a word, determine -before-hand, I do not say with certainty, but with any colour of -probability; what _must_ be the character of divine prophecy, when they -know not the reason, most undoubtedly not _all_ the reasons, why it is -given, and have even no right to demand, that it should be given at -all?” - -Till these, and other questions of the like sort, be pertinently -answered, it must be in vain to censure the ways of Providence, as not -corresponding to our imperfect and short-sighted views. - -So much for that _capital_ prejudice taken from the supposed obscurity -of the scriptural prophecies. Of _smaller_ scruples and difficulties -on this head, there is no end. - -Men may ask, for instance, why the instruments employed in conveying -these celestial notices to mankind, are frequently so mean and -inconsiderable? The subject of a prediction is the downfall of some -mighty state, or the fortune of its governours. Why then is this -important revelation intrusted to an obscure priest, or sordid peasant, -in preference to the great persons, more immediately concerned in it[8]? - -Again; some momentous events have been signified in dreams: why not to -persons awake, and in the full possession of their best faculties[9]? - -And then, of those dreams, why are they sometimes sent to one man, and -the interpretation of them reserved for another[10]? - -Why—But I have done with these frivolous interrogatories; which, -though pressed with all the advantage of Cicero’s rhetoric, have really -no force against _Pagan divination_; and therefore surely none, against -_Scriptural prophecy_; I mean, in the opinion of those who respect it -least. - -In truth, they who put these questions (arguing, as they must do, on -the supposition that prophecy is divinely inspired) cannot excuse their -presumption, even to themselves: and they, to whom such questions are -proposed, will not, if they be wise, so much as attempt to resolve -them. For they have the nature of arguments addressed not only to the -_ignorance_, as we say, of the disputant, but to an ignorance clearly -_invincible_ by all the powers of human reason. Now to arguments of -this sort—_I know not_[11]—is the answer of good sense, as well as of -modesty, and, to a just reasoner, more satisfactory by far, than any -solution whatever of the difficulty proposed[12]. - -Not that reason is to be wholly silenced on the argument of prophecy: -for then every species of imposture would be ready to flow in upon -us. The _use_, we should make both of that faculty, and of these -preliminary considerations on the _subject_, the _end_, and the -_dispensation_ of prophecy is, briefly, this, To inquire, whether -_any_ prophecies have been given—in what sense they are reasonably -to be interpreted—and how far, and whether in any proper sense, they -have been fulfilled: to examine them, in a word, by their own claims, -and on the footing of their own pretensions; that is, to argue on the -supposition that they may be divine, till they can be evidently shewn -to be otherwise. - -This is clearly to act suitably to our own faculties; to keep within -the sphere of our duty; and to reap the proper benefit, whatever -it be, of a sober inquiry into the authority, and character, and -accomplishment of the prophetic scriptures. - -All the rest is idle cavil, and miserable presumption; equally -repugnant to the clearest dictates of right reason, and to that respect -which every serious man will think due to the subject, and to himself. - - - - -SERMON II. - -THE TRUE IDEA OF PROPHECY. - -REV. xix. 10. - -_The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy._ - - -It is very clear in what manner common sense instructs us to prosecute -all inquiries into the divine conduct. Wise men _collect_, from what -they see done in the system of nature, so far as they are able to -collect it, the intention of its author. They will conclude, in like -manner, from what they find delivered in the system of revelation, what -the views and purposes of the revealer were. - -Prophecy, which makes so considerable a part of that system, must, -therefore, be its own interpreter. My meaning is, that, setting -aside all presumptuous imaginations of our own, we are to take our -ideas of what prophecy _should_ be, from what, in fact, we find it -to have been. If it be true (as the Apostle says, and as the thing -itself speaks) that _the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit -of God_[13], there cannot possibly be any way of acquiring right -notions of prophecy, but by attending to what the spirit of prophecy -hath revealed of itself. They, who admit the divine original of those -scriptures, which attest the reality, and alone, as they suppose, -contain the records, of this extraordinary dispensation, are more than -absurd, are impious, if they desert this principle. And they, who -reject or controvert their claim to such original, cannot, on any other -principle, argue pertinently against that dispensation. - -In short, believers and unbelievers, whether they would support, or -overturn, the system of prophecy, must be equally governed by the -representation given of it in scripture. The _former_ must not presume, -on any other grounds, to assert the wisdom and fitness of that system: -and the _latter_ will then take a reasonable method of discrediting, -if by such means they can discredit, the pretensions of it. For, as to -vindicate prophecy on any principles but its own, can do it no honour; -so, to oppose it on any other, can neither prejudice the cause itself, -nor serve any reasonable end of the opposer. - -To scripture then we must go for all the information we would have -concerning the _use_ and _intent_ of prophecy: and the text, to look no -farther, will clearly reveal this great secret to us. - -But, before we proceed to reason from the text, in which, as it is -pretended, this discovery is made, it will be necessary to explain its -true meaning. - -St. John, in this chapter of the Revelations, from which the text is -taken, had been shewn the downfall of Babylon, and the consequent -exaltation of the church, in its closest union with Christ, prefigured -under the Jewish idea of a _marriage_. To so delightful a vision, the -Angel, in whose presence, and by whose ministry, this scene of glory -had been disclosed, subjoins this triumphant admonition—_Write_, says -he; _Blessed are they which are called to the marriage of the Lamb. -These are the true sayings of God._ - -The Apostle, struck with this emphatic address, and contemplating with -grateful admiration so joyful a state of things, and the divinity of -that fore-sight by which it was predicted, _falls down at the angel’s -feet to worship him. But he said into me, See, thou do it not; I am thy -fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: -worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy._ - -The sense is plainly this: Direct thy acknowledgment for this important -discovery, and that religious adoration, which it inspires, to God only -who revealed it, and not to _me_, who am but thy fellow-servant in this -office of bearing testimony to Jesus: I said _in bearing testimony -to Jesus_; for know, that _the spirit of prophecy_, with which I am -endowed, and by which I am enabled to foretell these great things, is -but, in other words, _the testimony of Jesus_; it has no other use -or end, but to do honour to him; the prophet, whether he be angel or -man, is only the minister of God to bear witness to his Son; and his -commission is ultimately directed to this one purpose of manifesting -the glories of his kingdom. In discharging this prophetic office, which -thou admirest so much, I am then but the witness of Jesus, and so to be -considered by thee in no other light than that of thy fellow-servant. - -It is evident from the expression, that the text was intended to -give some _special_ instruction to the Apostle, whose misguided -worship afforded the occasion of it. For, if the design had merely -been to enforce the general conclusion—_worship God_—the premises -need only have been—_I am the servant of God, as well as thou_—for -from these premises it had followed, that therefore God, and not the -Angel, was to be worshiped. But the premises are not simply, _I am thy -fellow-servant_, but _I am the fellow-servant of those who have the -testimony of Jesus_: which clause indeed infers the same conclusion, -as the former; but, as not being necessary to infer it (for the -conclusion had been just and complete without it) was clearly added to -convey a precise idea of prophecy itself, as being wholly subservient -to Christ, and having no other use or destination, under its various -forms and in all the diversities of its administration, but to bear -testimony to him. Therefore the Angel says emphatically, in explanation -of that latter clause,—_For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit -of prophecy_—or, as the sentence, in our translation, should have -run[14], the order of its parts being inverted, _For the spirit of -prophecy is the testimony of Jesus_. - -It may not be pretended that no more was meant by the text, than that -_the particular_ prophecy, here delivered, was in attestation of -Jesus: for then it would have been expressed with that limitation. The -terms, on the other hand, are absolute and indefinite—_the spirit of -prophecy_—whence we cannot but conclude that prophecy, in general, is -the subject of the proposition. - -We have here, then, a remarkable piece of intelligence conveyed to us -(incidentally indeed conveyed, but not therefore the less remarkable) -concerning the nature and genius of prophecy. The text is properly -a key put into our hands, to open to us the mysteries of that -dispensation; which had in view ultimately the person of Christ and -the various revolutions of his kingdom—_The spirit of prophecy is_, -universally, _the testimony of Jesus_[15]. - -The expression, as I have shewn, is so precise as to leave no -reasonable doubt of its meaning. Yet it may further serve to justify -this interpretation, if we reflect, how exactly it agrees with all that -the Jewish prophets were understood to intend, and what Jesus himself -and his apostles assert was intended, by their predictions. - -It were endless to enumerate all the Prophecies of the Old Testament -which have been supposed to point at Jesus: and the controversy -concerning the application of _some_ prophecies to him may be thought -difficult. But it is very certain that the Jews, before the coming of -Christ, gave this construction to their scriptures: they even looked -beyond the letter of their sacred books, and conceived _the testimony_ -of the Messiah to be the soul and end of the commandment. _The spirit -of prophecy_ was firmly believed to intend that _testimony_, that the -expectation was general of some such person, as Jesus, to appear among -them, and at the very time in which he made his appearance. This, -I say, is an undoubted _fact_, what account soever may be given of -it; and so far evinces that the _principle_, delivered in the text, -corresponds entirely to the idea which the fathers entertained of the -prophetic spirit. - -Next, Jesus himself appeals to the _spirit of prophecy_, as bearing -witness to his person and dispensation. _Search the Scriptures_, -says he to the Jews, _for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and -they are they which testify of_ ME[16]. Two things are observable in -these words. 1. If the Jews thought they had _eternal life_ in their -scriptures, they must needs have understood them in a spiritual sense; -for the _letter_ of them taught no such thing: and I know not what -_other_ spiritual sense, that should lead them to the expectation of -_eternal life_, they could put on their scriptures, but that prophetic, -or typical sense, which respected the Messiah. 2. Jesus here expressly -asserts, that their scriptures _testified of him_. How generally they -did so, he explained at large in that remarkable conversation with two -of his disciples, after his resurrection, when, _beginning at Moses -and_ ALL _the prophets, he expounded unto them in_ ALL _the scriptures -the things concerning himself_[17]. - -The _Apostles_ of Jesus are frequent and large in the same appeal to -the spirit of prophecy. _Those things_, says St. Peter to the Jews, -_which God had shewed by the mouth of_ ALL _his prophets, that Christ -should suffer, he hath so fulfilled_[18]. And, again, after quoting the -authority of Moses, _Yea, and_ ALL _the prophets from Samuel, and those -that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of -these days_[19]. - -St. Paul seems to have composed some entire epistles[20], with a view -of shewing that Christ was prefigured in the Law itself, and that He -was, in truth, the substance of the whole Jewish dispensation. So -thoroughly, according to him, did _the spirit of prophecy_ pervade that -system, and so clearly did it bear testimony to Jesus! Whence, in his -apology before Agrippa, we find him asserting of the whole Christian -doctrine, _that he said none other things than those which the -prophets and Moses did say should come_[21]. - -More citations cannot be necessary on so plain a point. And I bring -these to shew, not the truth of the principle itself (which is not now -under consideration) but the certainty of the interpretation, here -given to the text. For I make it say no more (though it says it indeed -more precisely) than the scriptures themselves were _understood_ by -the Jews to say, and are represented by Jesus and his Apostles, as -_actually_ saying, when I affirm its sense to be, “That the scope and -end of prophecy was the testimony of Jesus.” - -On this principle, then, we are to regulate all our reasonings on the -subject of prophecy. They who maintain, and they who would confute, -its pretensions, must equally go on this supposition. If the system of -prophecy can be justified, or so far as it can be justified, on these -grounds, the defence must be thought solid and satisfactory; because -those grounds are not arbitrarily assumed, but are such as that system -itself acknowledges. On the contrary, whatever advantage may be fairly -taken of those grounds to discredit prophecy, must needs be allowed, -for the same reason. - -Again: On the believer’s scheme, that prophecy is of divine -inspiration, there can be no _presumption_ in arguing from the grounds, -here supposed, in favour of prophecy. Because, though all conclusions -from a principle of human invention, must be hazardous and rash, yet -from a principle of divine authority, many sober and just inferences -may be drawn. For it is one thing, to discover a principle, and -another, to argue justly and cogently from it. - -On the other hand, the unbeliever, who regards the whole system -of prophecy as of human invention, must yet be allowed to argue -pertinently from the same grounds, because they are the proper grounds -of that system: his arguments may be rightly formed, though the -principle, from which he argues, appear to him of no authority. The -rules of logic will indeed oblige him to argue on that principle; for, -otherwise, he combats, not his adversary’s position, but a phantom of -his own raising. - -Having premised thus much concerning the right interpretation of the -text, and the important relation it bears to the present subject, I -should now proceed to inquire what conclusions naturally and fairly -result from it. For from this assumption, that _Jesus is the end -of prophecy_, it will, I think, follow very evidently, that the -greater part of those objections which make so much noise, and are so -confidently urged, on the subject of prophecy, have no force at all in -them. - -But, before we enter on that task, it may be useful to consider more -particularly what the ASSUMED PRINCIPLE itself is, and to pause a while -in contemplation of this idea. - -The text, as here interpreted, and in full consonance with the tenor -of the sacred writings, implies this fact—that _Prophecy_ in general -(that is, all the prophecies of the Old and New Testament) hath its -ultimate accomplishment in the history and dispensation of Jesus. - -But now, if we look into those writings, we find, 1. That prophecy is -of a prodigious extent; that it commenced from the fall of man, and -reaches to the consummation of all things: that, for many ages, it -was delivered darkly, to few persons, and with large intervals from -the date of one prophecy to that of another; but, at length, became -more clear, more frequent, and was uniformly carried on in the line of -one people, separated from the rest of the world, among other reasons -assigned, for this principally, to be the repository of the divine -oracles: that, with some intermission, the spirit of prophecy subsisted -among that people, to the coming of Christ: that He himself and his -Apostles exercised this power in the most conspicuous manner; and -left behind them many predictions, recorded in the books of the New -Testament, which profess to respect very distant events, and even run -out to the end of time, or, in St. John’s expression, to that period, -_when the mystery of God shall be perfected_[22]. - -2. Further, besides the extent of this prophetic scheme, the dignity -of the _Person_, whom it concerns, deserves our consideration. He is -described in terms, which excite the most august and magnificent ideas. -He is spoken of, indeed, sometimes as being _the seed of the woman_, -and _as the son of man_; yet so as being at the same time of more than -mortal extraction. He is even represented to us, as being superior -to men and angels; as far above all principality and power, above all -that is accounted great, whether in heaven or in earth; as the word and -wisdom of God; as the eternal Son of the Father; as the heir of all -things, by whom he made the worlds; as the brightness of his glory, and -the express image of his person. - -We have no words to denote greater ideas, than these: the mind of man -cannot elevate itself to nobler conceptions. Of such transcendent worth -and excellence is that Jesus said to be, to whom all the prophets bear -witness! - -3. Lastly, the declared _purpose_, for which the Messiah, prefigured -by so long a train of prophecy, came into the world, corresponds to -all the rest of the representation. It was not to deliver an oppressed -nation from civil tyranny, or to erect a great civil empire, that is, -to atchieve one of those acts, which history accounts most heroic. No: -it was not a mighty state, a _victor people_— - - “_Non res Romanæ perituraque regna_—” - -that was worthy to enter into the contemplation of this divine person. -It was another and far sublimer purpose, which HE came to accomplish; -a purpose, in comparison of which, all our policies are poor and -little, and all the performances of man as nothing. It was to deliver -a world from ruin; to abolish sin and death; to purify and immortalize -human nature; and thus, in the most exalted sense of the words, to be -the Saviour of all men, and the blessing of all nations. - -There is no exaggeration in this account. I deliver the undoubted -sense, if not always the very words of scripture. - -Consider then to what this representation amounts. Let us unite the -several parts of it, and bring them to a point. A spirit of prophecy -pervading all time—characterizing one person, of the highest -dignity—and proclaiming the accomplishment of one purpose, the most -beneficent, the most divine, that imagination itself can project—Such -is the scriptural delineation, whether we will receive it or no, of -that œconomy, which we call Prophetic! - -And now then (if we must be reasoning from our ideas of _fit and -right_, to the rectitude of the divine conduct) let me ask, in one -word, whether, on the supposition that it should ever please the moral -Governor of the world to reveal himself by prophecy at all, we can -conceive him to do it, in a _manner_, or for _ends_ more worthy of him? -Does not the _extent_ of the scheme correspond to our best ideas of -that infinite Being, to whom all duration is but a point, and to whose -view all time is equally present? Is not the _object_ of this scheme, -the Lamb of God that was slain from the foundation of the world, -worthy, in our conceptions, of all the honour that can be reflected -upon him by so vast and splendid an œconomy? Is not the _end_ of this -scheme such as we should think most fit for such a scheme of prophecy -to predict, and for so divine a person to accomplish? - -You see, every thing here is of a piece: all the parts of this -dispensation are astonishingly great, and perfectly harmonize with each -other. - -We, who admit the divinity of those records, which represent to us -this state of things, cannot but be infinitely affected with it: -since, in that case, we only contemplate an undoubted fact, in this -representation. And it should further seem that even those, who -question that authority of scripture, must, if they be ingenuous, -confess themselves _struck_ by a representation at once so sublime and -consistent. They require, on all occasions, to have reasons of what -they call _fitness_, in the divine conduct, pointed out to them: Can -they overlook them here, where they are so obvious and so convincing? -At least, the credibility of such a scheme, as that of prophecy is in -Scripture represented to be, appears not, so far as we have hitherto -considered it, to be opposed or lessened in any degree by our _natural_ -prejudices; by the best notions, I mean, which we can frame on this -subject; but is, indeed, much _strengthened_ and confirmed by them. - -On the idea of such a scheme, as is here presented to us, I enlarge -no farther, at present, than just to make ONE general observation. It -is this: That the argument from prophecy is not to be formed from the -consideration of single prophecies, but from all the prophecies taken -together, and considered as making one system; in which, from the -mutual dependance and connection of its parts, preceding prophecies -prepare and illustrate those which follow, and these, again, reflect -light on the foregoing: just as, in any philosophical system, that -which shews the solidity of it, is the harmony and correspondence of -the whole, not the application of it, in particular instances. - -Hence, though the evidence be but small, from the completion of any one -prophecy, taken separately, yet, that evidence being always something, -the amount of the whole evidence, resulting from a great number of -prophecies, all relative to the same design, may be considerable; -like many scattered rays, which, though each be weak in itself, yet, -concentred into one point, shall form a strong light, and strike the -sense very powerfully. Still more: this evidence is not simply a -growing evidence, but is indeed multiplied upon us, from the number of -reflected lights, which the several component parts of such a system -reciprocally throw upon each: till, at length, the conviction rise into -a high degree of moral certainty. - -It hath been said indeed, of this scheme, or way of considering -prophecy, _that it is an imaginary scheme, of which there is not the -least trace in any of the four Gospels; and that it even contradicts -the whole evidence of prophecy, as it was understood and applied by -the Apostles and evangelists_[23]. - -But what, is there no trace of this scheme in the Gospel, when Jesus -himself _began at Moses and the prophets, and expounded_ [to his -disciples] _in ALL the scriptures the things concerning himself_? Is -this scheme contradictory to the evidence of prophecy, as understood by -the Apostles, when St. Peter argued with the Jews _from what God had -spoken by the mouth of ALL his prophets, since the world began_? - -Is not here a series of prophecies, expressly referred to, as running -up not only to the times of Moses[24], but to the beginning of the -world? And is not this series argued from, as constituting one entire -system of prophecy, and as affording an evidence distinct from that -which arises from the consideration of each prophecy, taken singly and -by itself? - -But Jesus and his Apostles, usually, _applied the prophecies singly and -independently on each other, as so many different arguments for the -general truth of the Gospel_[25]. - -Could they do _otherwise_, when the occasions offered, in the course -of their ministry, to which those prophecies were to be applied? Or, -could they do _better_, in their discourses to the people, to whom -the argument from single prophecies would be more familiar, than that -complicated one, arising from a whole system? Does it follow, because -the prophecies were applied singly, that therefore they might not with -good reason be applied systematically; or that they may not now be so -applied, when we have to do with those, who are capable of entering -into this sort of argumentation? Will it be said that, because the -moral precepts of the Gospel are delivered singly, there is therefore -no such thing as a system of morality, or that the subject may not be -treated with propriety, and with advantage too, in that form? - -On the whole, the prophecies of the Old and New Testament, having -clearly all the _qualities_ of what we call a system, that is, -consisting of many particulars, dependent on each other, and -intimately connected by their reference to a common end, there is no -reason why they may not be considered in this light; and there is great -reason why they should be so considered, since otherwise, on many -occasions, we shall not do justice to the argument itself. - -To return then to the text (which implies the existence and use of -such a system) and to conclude with it. _The spirit of prophecy is the -testimony of Jesus._ This angelic information presents, at first sight, -an idea stupendous indeed, but, on such a subject, suitable enough to -our expectations. It offers no violence to the natural sense of the -human mind; but, on the contrary, hath every thing in it to engage our -belief and veneration. - -Such is the _idea_ of Prophecy, contemplated in itself. What -_conclusions_ (of importance, as we suppose, to the right apprehension -and further vindication of prophecy) may be drawn from that idea, will -be next considered. - - - - -SERMON III. - -CONCLUSIONS FROM THE TRUE IDEA OF PROPHECY. - -REV. xix. 10. - -_The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy._ - - -We have seen how precarious all our reasonings on divine prophecy must -be, when built on no better grounds than those of human fancy and -conjecture. The text supplies us with a principle, as _we_ believe, of -divine authority; as _all_ must confess, of scriptural authority; that -is, of the same authority as that on which prophecy itself stands. - -This principle has been explained at large. It affirms that _Jesus_, -whose person and character and history are sufficiently known from the -books of scripture, _is the end and object of the prophetic system_, -contained in those books. - -We are now at liberty to reason from this principle. Whatever -conclusions are fairly drawn from it, must to the believer appear, -as certain truths; must to the unbeliever appear, as very proper -illustrations of that principle. - -In general, if difficulties can be removed by pursuing and applying -scriptural principles, they are fairly removed: and the removal -of every such difficulty, on these grounds, must be a presumption -in favour of that system, whether we call it of _Prophecy_, or -_Revelation_, which is thus found to carry its own vindication with it. - -From the principle of the text may, I think, be deduced, among others, -the following conclusions; all of them tending to clear the subject -of prophecy, and to obviate some or other of those objections, which -prejudiced or hasty reasoners have been disposed to make to it. - -I. My first conclusion is, “That, on the idea of such a scheme of -prophecy, as the text supposes, a considerable degree of obscurity -may be reasonably expected to attend the _delivery_ of the divine -predictions.” - -There are general reasons which shew that prophecy, as such, will -most probably be thus delivered. For instance, it has been observed, -that, as the completion of prophecy is left, for the most part, to -the instrumentality of free agents, if the circumstances of the event -were predicted with the utmost precision, either human liberty must be -restrained; or human obstinacy _might_ be tempted to form, the absurd -indeed, but criminal purpose, of counteracting the prediction. On the -contrary, by throwing some part of the predicted event into shade, the -moral faculties of the agent have their proper play, and the guilt of -an intended opposition to the will of heaven is avoided. This reason -seems to have its weight: and many others might still be mentioned. -But I argue, at present, from the _particular_ principle, under -consideration. - -An immense scheme of prophecy was ultimately designed to bear testimony -to the person and fortunes of Jesus. But Jesus was not himself to come, -till what is called the _last age_ of the world, nor all the purposes -of his coming to be fully accomplished, till the _end_ of that age. - -Now, whatever reasons might make it fit, in the view of infinite -wisdom, to defer the execution of this scheme to so distant a period, -may probably be conceived to make it fit, that the _delivery_ of it -should be proportionably dark and obscure. A certain degree of light, -we will say, was to be communicated from the date of the prophecy: but -it is very conceivable that the ages nearer the completion of it, might -be more immediately concerned in the event predicted; and that, till -such time approached, it might be convenient to leave the prediction in -a good degree of obscurity. - -The fact answers to this presumption. Prophecies of very remote events, -remote, I mean, from the date of the prediction, are universally the -most obscure. As the season advanced for their accomplishment, they -are rendered more clear: either fresh prophecies are given, to point -out the time, and other circumstances, more determinately; or the -completion of some prophecies affords new light for the interpretation -of others, that are unfulfilled. Yet neither are we to conceive that -those _fresh prophecies_, or this _new light_ removes all obscurity: -enough is still left to prevent or disappoint the efforts of -presumption; and only so much additional clearness is bestowed on the -prophecy, as the revealer saw fit to indulge to those who lived nearer -the time of its completion. - -But this is not all: By looking into that plan of providence, which -respects Jesus, and the ends to be accomplished by him, as it is -drawn out in the sacred writings, we find a _distinct_ reason for the -obscurity of the prophecies, relative to that subject. - -We there find it to have been in the order of the divine councils, -that, between the first dawnings of revelation and the fuller light -of the Gospel, an intermediate and very singular œconomy, yet still -preparatory to that of Jesus, should be instituted. This œconomy (for -reasons, which it is not to our present purpose to deduce, and for -some, no doubt, which we should in vain attempt to discover) was to -continue for many ages, and _while_ it continued, was to be had in -honour among that people, for whom it was more immediately designed. -But now the genius of those two dispensations, the Jewish, I mean, and -the Christian, being wholly different; the one, carnal, and enforced -by temporal sanctions only, the other, spiritual, and established on -better promises, the prophets, who lived under the former of these -dispensations (and the greater part of those, who prophesied of Jesus, -lived under it) were of course so to predict the future œconomy, as not -to disgrace the present. They were to respect the _Law_, even while -they announced the _Gospel_, which was, in due time, to supersede -it[26]. - -So much, we will say, was to be discovered as might erect the -thoughts of men towards some better scheme of things, hereafter to be -introduced; certainly so much, as might sufficiently evince the divine -intention in that scheme, when it should actually take place; but not -enough to indispose them towards that state of discipline, under the -yoke of which they were then held. From this double purpose, would -clearly result that character, in the prophecies concerning the new -dispensation, which we find impressed upon them; and which St. Peter -well describes, when he speaks of them, as dispensing a light indeed, -but _a light shining in a dark place_. - -Upon the whole, the delivery of prophecy seems well suited to that -dispensation which it was given to attest. If the object in view had -been one single event, to be accomplished all at once, it might perhaps -be expected that the prophecies concerning it would have been clear -and precise. But, if the scheme of Christianity be what the scriptures -represent it to be, a scheme, commencing from the foundation of the -world, and unfolding itself by just degrees through a long succession -of ages, and to be fully accomplished only at the consummation of all -things, _prophecy_, which was given to attend on that scheme, and to -furnish a suitable attestation to it, must needs be supposed to adapt -itself to the nature of the dispensation; that is, to have different -degrees of clearness or obscurity according to its place in the general -system; and not to disclose more of it, or in clearer terms, at any one -period, than might consist with the various ends of wisdom which were -to be served by the gradual opening of so vast and intricate a scene. - -ANOTHER circumstance, of affinity with this, is apt to strike us, in -the contemplation of the scriptural prophecies. There is reason to -believe that more than one sense was purposely inclosed in some of -them; and we find, in fact, that the writers of the New Testament -give to many of the old prophecies an interpretation very different -and remote from that which may be reasonably thought the primary and -immediate view of the prophets themselves. This is what Divines call -the DOUBLE SENSE of prophecy: by which they mean an accomplishment of -it in more events than one; in the same system indeed; but at distant -intervals, and under different parts of that system. - -Now, as suspicious as this circumstance may appear at first sight, -it will be found, on inquiry, to be exactly suited to that idea of -prophecy which the text gives us of it, as being, from the first, and -all along, intended to _bear Testimony to Jesus_. For from that idea I -conclude again, - -II. “That prophecies of a _double sense_ may well be expected in such a -scheme.” - -And where is the wonder that, if prophecy was given to attest the -coming of Jesus and the dispensation to be erected by him, it should -occasionally, in every stage of it, respect its main purpose; and, -though the immediate object be some other, it should never lose sight -of that, in which it was ultimately to find its repose and end? - -It hath been before observed, That, between the earlier notices -concerning Jesus, and the advent of that great person, it seemed good -to infinite wisdom (I speak in terms, suited to the representation of -scripture) to institute the intermediate œconomy of the Jewish Law. -Among other provisions for the administration of this Law, _prophecy_ -was one; and, upon its own pretensions, a necessary one; for the -government claims to be strictly _theocratical_; and the people, to -be governed by it, were to be made sensible, at every step, that it -was so. Therefore the interesting events in their civil history were -to be regarded by them, as coming within the cognisance, and lying -under the controul, of their divine governour: to which end, a race -of men were successively raised up among them, to give them warning -of those events, and, by this divine foresight of what was seen to be -accomplished in their history, to afford a clear conviction, that they -were, in fact, under that peculiar government. - -Add to this, that the _Law_ itself, so wonderfully constructed, was -but a part, indeed the rudiments, of one great scheme; was given, not -for its own sake, but to make way for a still nobler and more generous -institution; was, in truth, a preparatory state of discipline, or -_pædagogy_, as St. Paul terms it, to bring the subjects of it, in due -time, to _Christ_[27]. - -Jesus then, the object of the earliest prophecies, was not overlooked -in this following dispensation; which was, indeed, instinct with -presages of that divine person. _It gave the shadow of good things to -come, but the body was of Christ_[28]. The _legal_ prophets, in like -manner, while they were immediately employed, and perhaps believed -themselves to be solely employed, in predicting the occurrences of the -Jewish state, were at the same time, preluding, as it were, to the -person and dispensation of Jesus; the holy Spirit, which inspired them, -bearing out their expression, and enlarging their conceptions, beyond -the worth and size of those objects, which came directly in their view. - -There is nothing in this account of _prophecy_, but what falls in -with our best ideas of the divine wisdom; intently prosecuting one -entire scheme; and directing the constituent parts of it to the general -purpose of his providence, at the same time that _each_ serves to -accomplish its own. - -This _double_, or _secondary sense_ of prophecy was so far from giving -offence to Lord Bacon, that he speaks of it with admiration, as one -striking argument of its Divinity. _In sorting the prophecies of -scripture with their events_ (a work much desired by this wise author, -and intended by this Lecture) _we must allow_, says he, _for that -latitude which is agreeable and familiar unto divine prophecies, being -of the nature of the author, with whom a thousand years are but as one -day; and therefore they are not fulfilled punctually at once, but have -springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages, though the -height or fulness of them may refer to some one age_[29]. - -But, that we may not mistake, or pervert, this fine observation of our -great philosopher, it may be proper to take notice, that the reason of -it holds in such prophecies only as respect the several successive -parts of one system; which, being intimately connected together, -may be supposed to come within the view and contemplation of the -same prophecy: whereas it would be endless, and one sees not on what -grounds of reason we are authorized, to look out for the accomplishment -of prophecy in any casual unrelated events of general history. The -Scripture speaks of prophecy, as respecting Jesus, that is, as being -one connected scheme of Providence, of which the Jewish dispensation -makes a part: so that here we are led to expect that _springing and -germinant accomplishment_, which is mentioned. But had the Jewish -Law been complete in itself, and totally unrelated to the Christian, -the general principle—_that a thousand years are with God but as -one day_—would no more justify us in extending a Jewish prophecy -to Christian events, because perhaps it was eminently fulfilled in -them, than it would justify us in extending it to any other signally -corresponding events whatsoever. It is only when the prophet hath one -uniform connected design before him, that we are authorised to use this -latitude of interpretation. For then the prophetic spirit naturally -runs along the several parts of _such_ design, and unites the remotest -events with the nearest: the style of the prophet, in the mean time, -so adapting itself to this double prospect, as to paint the near and -subordinate event in terms that _emphatically_ represent the distant -and more considerable. - -So that, with this explanation, nothing can be more just or -philosophical, than the idea which Lord Bacon suggests of divine -prophecy. - -The great scheme of Redemption, we are now considering, being the only -scheme in the plan of Providence, which, as far as we know, hath been -prepared and dignified by a continued system of prophecy, at least this -being the only scheme to which we have seen a prophetic system applied, -men do not so readily apprehend the doctrine of _double senses_ in -prophecy, as they would do, if they saw it exemplified in other cases. -But what the history of mankind does not supply, we may represent to -ourselves by many obvious suppositions; which cannot justify, indeed, -such a scheme of things, but may facilitate the conception of it. - -Suppose, for instance, that it had been the purpose of the Deity (as it -unquestionably was) to erect the FREE GOVERNMENT of ancient Rome; and -that, from the time of Æneas’ landing in Italy, he had given prophetic -intimations of this purpose. Suppose, further, that he had seen fit, -for the better discipline of his favoured people, to place them, for a -season, under the _yoke_ of the Regal government; and that, during that -state of things, he had instructed his prophets to foretell the wars -and other occurrences which should distinguish that period of their -history.—Here would be a case somewhat similar to that of the Jews -under their theocratic regimen: not exactly indeed, because prophecy, -as we have seen, was essential to the Jewish polity, but had nothing -to do with the regal, or any other polity of the Romans. But allow for -this difference, and suppose that, for some reason or other, the spirit -of prophecy was indulged to this people, under their _kings_, as it -was to the Jews, under their _theocracy_; and that it was _primarily_ -employed in the same way, that is, in predicting their various fortunes -under that regimen: Suppose, I say, all this, and would it surprize -us to find that their prophets, in dilating on this part of their -scheme, should, in a _secondary_ sense, predict the future and more -splendid part of it? That, having the whole equally presented to -their view, they should anticipate the coming glories of their _free_ -state, even in a prophecy which directly concerned their _regal_, and -much humbler successes? That, in commenting on their petty victories -over the Sabins and Latins, they should drop some hints that pointed -at their African and Asiatic triumphs; or, in tracing the shadow of -freedom they enjoyed under the best of their kings, they should let -fall some strokes, that more expressly designed the substantial liberty -of their equal republic: the _end_, as we suppose, and completion of -that scheme, for the sake of which the prophetic power itself had been -communicated to them? Still more: supposing we had such prophecies now -in our hands, and that we found them applicable indeed in a general way -to the former parts of their history, but frequently more expressive -of events in the latter, should we doubt of their being prophecies in -a _double sense_, or should we think it strange that two successive -and dependent dispensations in the same connected scheme should be, at -once, the object of the same predictions? And lastly, to put an end to -these questions, could there seem to be equal reason for applying these -predictions to such events as might possibly correspond to them in some -_other_ history, the Græcian, for instance, as for applying them to -similar events in the _Roman_ history? - -Let me just observe further, that, from what hath been said under these -two articles, we may clearly discern the difference between _Pagan -oracles_, and _Scriptural prophecies_. Both have been termed obscure -and ambiguous; and an invidious parallel hath been made, or insinuated, -between them[30]. The Pagan oracles were indeed _obscure_, sometimes -to a degree that no reasonable sense could be made of them: they were -also _ambiguous_, in the worst sense; I mean, so as to admit contrary -interpretations. The scriptural prophecies we own to be _obscure_, -to a certain degree: And we may call them, too, _ambiguous_; because -they contained two, consistent, indeed, but different meanings. But -here is the distinction, I would point out to you. The obscurity and -ambiguity of the Pagan oracles had no necessary, or reasonable cause -in the subject, on which they turned: the obscurity and ambiguity -of the scriptural prophecies have an evident reason in the system, -to which they belong. As the Pagan predictions had near and single -events for their object, the fate perhaps of some depending war, or -the success of some council, then in agitation, they might have been -clearly and precisely delivered; and in fact we find that such of the -Jewish predictions as foretold events of that sort and character, -were so delivered: But, the scriptural prophecies under consideration -respecting one immense scheme of Providence, it might be expedient -that the remoter parts should be obscurely revealed; as it was surely -natural that the connected parts of such a scheme should be shewn -together. - -We see then what force there is in that question, which is asked with -so much confidence—“_Is it possible, that the same character can -be due to the Jewish prophecies, which the wise and virtuous in the -heathen world considered as an argument of fraud and falshood in the -Pythian prophecies[31]?_” - -_First_, we say, the character is _not_ entirely the same in both: -and, _secondly_, that, so far as it _is_ the same, that character -is very becoming in the Jewish, but utterly absurd in the Pythian -prophecies. What was owing to fraud or ignorance in the Pagan Diviner, -is reasonably ascribed to the depth and height of that wisdom, which -informed the Jewish Prophet[32]. - -To proceed with our subject. It further appears, - -III. On the grounds of the text, we now stand upon, “to be very -conceiveable and credible that the line of prophecy should run chiefly -in one family and people, as we are informed it did, and that the other -nations of the earth should be no further the _immediate_ objects of -it, than as they chanced to be connected with that people.” - -Prophecy, in the ideas of scripture, was not ultimately given for the -private use of this or that nation, nor yet for the nobler and more -general purpose of proclaiming the superintending providence of the -Deity (an awful truth, which men might collect for themselves from -the established constitution of nature) but _simply_ to evidence the -truth of the Christian revelation. It was _therefore_ confined to one -nation, purposely set apart to preserve and attest the oracles of God; -and to exhibit, in their public records and whole history, the proofs -and credentials of an amazing dispensation, which God had decreed to -accomplish in Christ Jesus[33]. - -This conclusion, I say, seems naturally and fairly drawn from the great -principle, that _the spirit of prophecy was the testimony of Jesus_, -because the means appear to be well suited and proportioned to the -_end_. The _Testimony_ thought fit to be given, was not one or two -prophecies only, but a _scheme_ of prophecy, gradually prepared and -continued through a large tract of time. But how could such a scheme be -executed, or rather how could it clearly be seen that there was such a -scheme in view, if some _one_ people had not been made the repository, -and, in part, the instrument of the divine counsels, in regard to -Jesus; some _one_ people, I say, among whom we might trace the several -parts of such a scheme, and observe the dependance they had on each -other; that so the _idea_, of what we call a scheme, might be duly -impressed upon us? - -For, had the notices concerning the Redeemer been dispersed -indifferently among _all_ nations, where had been that uncorrupt and -unsuspected testimony, that continuity of evidence, that unbroken chain -of prediction, all tending, by just degrees, to the same point, which -we now contemplate with wonder in the Jewish scriptures? - -It is not then that the rest of the world was overlooked[34] in the -plan of God’s providence, but that he saw fit to employ the ministry of -_one_ people: This last, I say, and not the other, is the reason why -the divine communications concerning Christ were appropriated to the -Jews. - -Yes, but “some one of the _greater_ nations had better been intrusted -with that charge.” This circumstance, I allow, might have struck a -superficial observer more: but could the integrity of the prophetic -scheme have been more discernible amidst the multiform and infinitely -involved transactions of a mighty people, than in the simpler story of -this small Jewish family; or would the hand or work of God, who loves -to manifest himself by weak instruments, have been more conspicuous in -that designation? - -On the whole, I forget not, with what awful diffidence it becomes -us to reason on such subjects. But the _fact_ being, that _one_, in -preference to other nations, had the honour of conveying the prophetic -admonitions concerning Jesus, it may be allowable to inquire, with -modesty, into the reasons of that appointment, and the _end_ of -prophecy being clearly assigned in sacred scripture, such reasons will -not be hastily rejected, as obviously present themselves to an inquirer -from the _consideration_ of that end. - -The benefits of prophecy, though conveyed by one nation, would finally -redound to all; and the more _effectually_, we have seen, for being -conveyed by one nation. May we not conclude then (having the _fact_, -as I said, to reason upon) that, to obtain such purpose, it was fit to -select _a peculiar people_? And, if thus much be acknowledged, it will -hardly be thought a question of much moment, though no answer could be -given to it, why the _Jews_ had that exclusive privilege conferred upon -them. - -It is true, a great scheme of prophecy was once revealed to a Gentile -King[35]; but a King, connected with the Jews, and who had a Jewish -prophet for his interpreter. It is, besides, observable of that -prophetic scheme, that it laid open the future fortunes of four great -empires; but all of them instruments in the hand of God to carry on -his designs, on the Jewish people first, but ultimately, with regard -to Jesus. For it hath been remarked with equal truth and penetration, -that Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the four kingdoms was designed, as a -sort of _prophetic chronology_, to point out, by a series of successive -empires, the beginning and end of Christ’s spiritual Kingdom. So that -the reason, why those four empires only were distinguished by the -spirit of prophecy, was, not because they were greater than all others, -but simply because the course of their history led, in a regular and -direct succession, to the times and reign of Christ[36]. - -We see then, on the principle, _that prophecy was given for the sake -of Jesus only_, that no presumption lies against the truth of it, on -account of its respecting chiefly one people, how inconsiderable soever -in itself, or from its silence in regard to some of the largest and -most flourishing kingdoms that have appeared in the world. - -IV. Lastly (for I now hasten to an end of this discourse) I infer from -the same principle, “That, if, even after a mature consideration of the -prophecies, and of the events, in which they are taken to be fulfilled, -there should, after all, be some cloud remaining on this subject, which -with all our wit or pains we cannot wholly remove, this state of things -would afford no objection to prophecy, because it is indeed no other -than we might reasonably expect.” - -For, 1. If Jesus be the end of prophecy, the same reasons that made -it fit to deliver some predictions darkly, will further account to -us for some degree of obscurity in the application of them to their -corresponding events. - -I say—will _account_ to us for such obscurity—for, whatever -those _reasons_ were, they could not have taken effect, but by the -intervention of such _means_, as must darken in some degree, the -application of a prophecy, even after the accomplishment of it; unless -we say, that an object can be seen as distinctly through a _veil_, as -without one. For instance: _figurative language_ is the chief of those -means, by which it pleased the inspirer to throw a shade on prophecies, -unfulfilled; but figurative language, from the nature of it, is not -so precise and clear, as _literal expression_, even when the event -prefigured has lent its aid to illustrate and explain that language. - -If then it was _fit_ that some prophecies concerning Jesus should be -_delivered_ obscurely, it cannot be supposed that such prophecies, -when they come to be _applied_, will acquire a full and absolute -perspicuity[37]. - -2. If the dispensation of Jesus be the main subject of the prophecies, -then may some of them be still impenetrable to us, because the various -fortunes of that dispensation are not yet perfectly disclosed, and so -some of them may not hitherto have been fulfilled. But the completion -of a prophecy is that which gives the utmost degree of clearness, of -which it is capable. - -3. But lastly and chiefly, if the end and use of prophecy be to attest -the truth of Christianity, then may we be sure that such attestation -will not carry with it the utmost degree of evidence. For Christianity -is plainly a state of discipline and probation: calculated to improve -our moral nature, by giving scope and exercise to our moral faculties. -So that, though the evidence for it be _real_ evidence, and on the -whole _sufficient_ evidence, yet neither can we expect it to be of that -sort which should compel our assent. Something must be left to quicken -our attention, to excite our industry, and to try the natural ingenuity -of the human mind. - -Had the purpose of prophecy been to shew, merely, that a predicted -event was foreseen, then the end had been best answered by throwing all -possible evidence into the completion. But its concern being to shew -this to such only as should be disposed to admit a reasonable degree of -evidence, it was not necessary, or rather it was plainly not fit, that -the completion should be seen in that strong and irresistible light[38]. - -For all the reasons, now given, (and doubtless, for many more) it was -to be expected, that prophecy would not be one cloudless emanation of -light and glory. If it be clear enough to serve the ends, for which it -was designed; if through all its obscurities, we be able to trace the -hand and intention of its divine author; what more would we have? How -improvidently, indeed, do we ask more of that great Being, who, for the -sake of the _natural_ world, _clothes the heavens with blackness_ [Is. -1. 3.]; and in equal mercy to the _moral_ world, veils his nature and -providence _in thick clouds, and makes darkness his pavilion_ [Ps. -xviii. 11]? - -TO THESE deductions from the text, more might be added. For I believe -it will be found that if the _end_ of prophecy, as here delivered, be -steddily kept in view and diligently pursued, it will go a great way -towards leading us to a prosperous issue in most of those inquiries, -which are thought to perplex this subject. But I mean to reason from -it no farther than just to shew, in the way of specimen, the method -in which it becomes us to speculate on the prophetic system. We are -not to imagine principles, at pleasure, and then apply them to that -system. But we are, first, to find out what the principles are, on -which prophecy is founded, and by which it claims to be tried; and then -to see whether they will _hold_, that is, whether they will aptly and -properly apply to the particulars, of which it is compounded. If they -will, the system itself is thus far clearly justified. All that remains -is to compare the prophecies with their corresponding events, in order -to assure ourselves that there is real evidence of their completion. - -The _use_ of this method has been shewn in FOUR capital instances. -It is objected to the scriptural prophecies, _that they are -obscure_—_that they abound in double senses_—_that they were -delivered to one people_—_that, after all, there is sometimes -difficulty in making out the completion_—all of them, it is said, very -suspicious circumstances; and which rather indicate a scheme of human -contrivance, than of divine inspiration. - -To these objections it is replied, that, from the very idea which the -scriptures themselves give of prophecy, these circumstances must needs -be found in it; and further still, that these circumstances, when -fairly considered, do honour to that idea: for that the obscurity, -complained of, results, _from the immensity of the scheme_—the double -senses, _from the intimate connection of its parts_—the partial -and confined delivery, _from the wisdom and necessity of selecting -a peculiar people to be the vehicle and repository of the sacred_ -oracles—And lastly, the incomplete evidence, _from the nature of the -subject, and from the moral genius of that dispensation, to which the -scheme of prophecy itself belongs_. - -In conclusion, it is now seen to what purpose these preliminary -discourses serve, and in what method they have been conducted. - -The FIRST, shewed the vanity and folly of reasoning on the subject -of scriptural prophecy from our preconceived fancies and arbitrary -assumptions. The SECOND, shewed the only true way of reasoning upon it -to be from scriptural principles, and then opened and explained _one_ -such principle. In this LAST, I have shewn that, by prosecuting this -way of reasoning from the principle assigned, some of the more specious -objections to the scriptural prophecies are easily obviated. - -Taken together, these three discourses serve to illustrate the -_general_ idea of prophecy, considered as one great scheme of -_testimony_ to the religion of Jesus; and consequently open a way for -the fair and equitable consideration of _particular_ prophecies, the -more immediate subject of this Lecture. - - - - -SERMON IV. - -THE GENERAL ARGUMENT FROM PROPHECY. - -JOHN xiii. 19. - -_Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may -believe, that I am He._ - - -It hath been concluded (not on the slight grounds of hypothesis, but on -the express authority of scripture,) that prophecy was given TO ATTEST -THE MISSION OF JESUS: to afford a reasonable evidence, that the scheme -of redemption, of which he was the great instrument and minister, was, -in truth, of divine appointment; and was carried on under the immediate -cognizance and direction of the Supreme Being, whose prerogative it is -to see through all time, and to _call those things, which be not, as -though they were_[39]. - -Our next inquiry will be, how the prophetic scriptures _serve_ to -that end, and what that _evidence_ is (I mean, taking for granted, -not the truth of the prophetic scheme itself, but the truth of the -_representation_, given of it in scripture) which is thus administered -to us by the light of prophecy. - -I. The text refers to a particular prophecy of our Lord, concerning the -treachery of Judas; of which, says he to his disciples, _I now tell -you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that -I am He_: that is, “I add this, to the other predictions concerning -myself; that, when ye see it fulfilled, as it soon will be, ye may be -the more convinced of my being the person, I assume to be, the _Messias -foretold_.” - -The information, here given, was perhaps intended by our Lord to -serve a particular purpose, To prevent, we will say, the offence, -which the disciples might have taken at the circumstance of his being -betrayed by one of them, if they had not, previously, been admonished -of it. But the reason of the thing shews, that the _use_, which the -disciples are directed to make of this prophecy, was the _general_ use -of the prophecies concerning Jesus. The completion was to verify the -prediction, in all cases; and to convince the world, That HE was the -Messiah, in whom such things should be seen to be accomplished, as had -been expressly foretold[40]. - -Indeed prophecies, unaccomplished, may have their use; that is, they -may serve to raise a general expectation of a predicted _event_ in -the minds of those, who, for other reasons, regard the _person_ -predicting it, in the light of a true prophet. And such might be one, -a _subordinate_, use of the prophecies concerning Jesus: but they -could not be applied to the _proof_ of his pretensions, till they were -seen to be fulfilled. Nor can they be so applied even then, unless the -things predicted be, confessedly, beyond the reach of human foresight. - -Under these conditions, the argument is clear and easy, and will lie -thus.—“A great variety of distant, or, at least, future events, -inscrutable to human sagacity, and respecting one person (whom we will -call, Messiah) have been by different men, and at different times, -predicted. These events have accordingly come to pass, in the history -and fortunes of one person; in such sort, that each is seen to be, in -a proper sense, fulfilled in him, and all together in no other person -whatsoever: Therefore the prediction of these events was divinely -inspired: or (which comes to the same thing) therefore the person, -claiming under these predictions to be the Messiah, or person foretold, -hath his claims confirmed and justified by the highest authority, that -of God himself.” - -Such is the argument from prophecy[41]: and on this foundation, Jesus -assumes to be the MESSIAH; and his religion, to be DIVINE. - -II. Let us now see, what the amount of that _evidence_ is, which -results from this kind of proof. - -Careless talkers may say, and sometimes think, “that prophecy is but -an art of conjecturing shrewdly; that the sagacity of one man is seen -to be vastly superior to that of another; that, in some men, the -natural faculty may be so improved by experience, as to look like -_divination_; and that no precise bounds can be set to its powers.” -Light or sceptical minds may, I say, amuse themselves with such -fancies: but serious men will readily acknowledge, That many future -events, especially, if _remote_, or _extraordinary_[42], or described -with some degree of _particularity_, are not within the ability of the -human mind to predict. And, to cut off all occasion of cavil, let it be -owned, that the argument under consideration is, or ought to be, drawn -from the completion of prophecies, so qualified. - -To evade the force, which this argument apparently carries with it, -it must then be said, That the completion of any particular prophecy, -alleged, was fortuitous, or, what we call, a _lucky hit_. - -“Coincidencies of this sort, we may be told, are very frequent. In -the ceaseless revolution of human affairs, some event or other will -be turning up, which may give a countenance to the wildest and -most hazardous conjecture. Hence it is, that every groundless fear, -every dream, almost, has the appearance of being realized by some -corresponding accident; which will not be long in occurring to those, -who are upon the watch to make such discoveries. Upon these grounds, -the superstition of _omens_ hath, at all times, been able to sustain -itself; and to acquire a degree of credit, even with wise men. We -see, then, that _chance_, in a good degree, supplies the place of -inspiration: and that He, who sets up for a Prophet, is likely to -drive a safe, as well as gainful trade; especially, if he have but the -discretion not to deal too freely in precise descriptions of _times_, -and _persons_[43]: a consideration, of great moment to the men of this -craft[44]; and which hath not been overlooked by those, whom we account -_true_ prophets.” - -Such libertine reflections, as these, thrown out with an air of -negligent ridicule, have too often the effect intended by them. At -the same time, they disgust sober men, and are thought too light -and trivial to deserve a confutation. But, because I take these -suggestions, with whatever levity, or disingenuity, they may be made, -to contain the whole, or at least, the chief strength of the infidel -cause, on this subject, I shall not decline to give them a very serious -answer. - -IT IS TRUE, no doubt, what is here alledged, That the conjectures -of fanciful or designing men, whether grounded on casual signs, or -delivered in the direct way of prophecy, have been frequently verified -in the events: that is, such events have actually come to pass, in the -sense put upon the _sign_, when it was observed, and in the literal -sense of the _prophecy_, as delivered. History and common life, it is -agreed, abound in such instances[45]: and I shall even make no scruple -to produce _one_ of each sort; as much, at least, to the purpose -of these objectors, as any of those, which they have produced for -themselves. - -Nothing is more famous in the annals of ancient Rome, than the story -of Romulus, and his TWELVE VULTURES; an _omen_ this, on which the -auspicious name of the rising city, and the fortune of its founder, -were, at once, established[46]. What further construction was -then put on this prodigy, doth not appear: but, as the science of -augury advanced in succeeding times, a very momentous and striking -prophecy was grounded upon it. For we have it affirmed[47], on the -high authority of M. T. VARRO, that Vettius Valens, an augur of -distinguished name in those days, took occasion from this circumstance -(and in the hearing of Varro himself) to fix the duration of the Roman -empire. The TWELVE VULTURES, he said, which appeared to Romulus, -_portended_, that the sovereignty of that state and city, whose -foundations he was then laying, should continue for the space of TWELVE -HUNDRED YEARS. It is of no moment to inquire, on what principles of his -art the learned augur proceeded, in this calculation. The TRUTH is, -that the event corresponded, in a surprising manner, to the conjecture; -and that the _majesty_ of the Western empire (of which Rome was the -capital) _did_, indeed, expire under the merciless hands of the Goths, -about the time limited by this augural prophet. - -It should further, be observed that this prediction was of such -credit and notoriety, as to take the attention of the later Romans -themselves[48], who looked with anxiety for the accomplishment of it: -and that it was delivered by Valens, at least _five hundred years_ -before the event; when there was not the least appearance, that this -catastrophe would befall, what was called, the ETERNAL CITY, within -that period. - -THIS is an instance of divination from _augury_. The OTHER, I am -about to give, is a _prophecy_, in full form; respecting a still more -important subject, and equally accomplished in the event. A poet, in -the ideas of paganism, was a prophet, too. And Seneca[49] hath left us, -in proof of the inspiration to which, in his double capacity, he might -pretend, the following oracle: - - ——venient annis - Secula seris, quibus Oceanus - Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens - Pateat tellus, Tiphysque novos - Detegat orbes; nec sit terris - Ultima Thule. - -This prediction was made in the reign of Nero; and, for more than -_fourteen hundred_ years, might only pass for one of those sallies of -imagination, in which poetry so much delights. But, when, at length, -in the close of the _fifteenth_ century, the discoveries of Columbus -had realized this vision: when that enterprizing navigator had forced -the barriers of the vast Atlantic ocean; had _loosened_, what the poet -calls, _the chain of things_; and in these _later ages_[50], as was -expressly signified, had set at liberty an immense continent, shut up -before in surrounding seas from the commerce and acquaintance of our -world; when this event, I say, so important and so unexpected, came to -pass, it might almost surprize one into the belief, that the prediction -was something more than a poetical fancy; and that Heaven had, indeed, -revealed to _one_ favoured Spaniard, what it had decreed, in due time, -to accomplish under the auspices of _another_[51]. - -THESE two instances of casual conjecture, converted by time and -accident into prophecies, I shall take for granted, are as remarkable, -as any other that can be alledged. Cicero, in his first book of -_Divination_, where he laboured to assert the reality of such a power -in the pagan world, was able to produce nothing equal, or comparable -to them. We have the fullest evidence, that these two predictions -were delivered by the persons, to whom they are ascribed; and in the -time, in which they are said to have been delivered, that is, many -hundred years before the event. They, both of them, respect events -of the greatest dignity and importance: one of them, the downfal of -the _mightiest empire_, that hath hitherto subsisted on the face -of the earth; and the other, the discovery of a _new world_. Both, -express the _time_, when these extraordinary events were to happen: -the _latter_, by a general description, indeed, yet not more general, -than is frequent in the scriptural prophets; but the _former_, in the -most precise and limited terms. In a word, both these predictions are -authentic, important, circumstantial: they foretell events, which no -human sagacity could have foreseen; and they have been strictly and -properly fulfilled. - -Now, if such coincidencies, as these, do not infer divine inspiration; -if, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary, it must still be -allowed (as it will, on all sides) that they were simply _fortuitous_, -or what we call the effects of hazard and pure chance, by what -characters shall we distinguish genuine, from pretended, prophecies; or -in what way shall it be discovered, that the scriptural prophets spake -by the spirit of _God_, when these pagan diviners could thus prophecy, -by their _own_ spirit? - -To this objection, put with all the force which I am able to give to -it, I reply directly, That the distinction, so importunately demanded, -may very easily and clearly be assigned. - -If _one or two_ such prophecies, _only_, had occurred in our -scriptures; if even _several_ such had occurred in the whole extent -of those writings, and in the large compass of time they take up, -without descending to a greater detail than is expressed in these pagan -oracles; nay, if _a greater number still_ of supposed predictions, thus -generally delivered in the sacred writings, had been applicable only to -single independent events, dispersed indifferently through the several -ages of the world: In all these cases, I should freely admit, that the -argument from prophecy was very precarious and unsatisfactory: I could -even suppose, with the deriders of this argument, that so many, and -such prophecies, so directed, might not improbably be accounted for, -from some odd conjuncture of circumstances; and that the accomplishment -of them did by no means infer a certainty of inspiration. - -But, if now, on the other hand, it be indisputable, That a vast variety -of predictions are to be found in the scriptures of the Old and New -Testament; That a great part of these predictions are delivered with -the utmost degree of minuteness and particularity; and, lastly, That -_all_ of them, whether general or particular, respect one common -subject, and profess to have, or to expect, their completion in one -connected scheme of things, and, upon the matter, in one single person: -On this latter supposition, I must still think, that there is great -reason to admit the divine inspiration of such prophecies, when seen to -be fulfilled. - -To convert this supposition into a _proof_, is not within the scope -and purpose of this Lecture. The work hath been undertaken and -discharged by many others: or, it may be sufficient, in so clear a -point, to refer you directly to the Scriptures themselves; which no -man can read without seeing, that the prophecies, contained in them, -are extremely numerous—that many of these prophecies are minutely -circumstantial—and that one person, whoever he be, is the principal -object of them all. My concern, at present, is only to shew, that, -if the supposition itself be well founded, the _inference_, just now -mentioned, is rightly made. - -1. First, then, if the prophecies in the Old and New Testament be very -numerous, and if those prophecies, so many of them, I mean, as are -alledged in this controversy with unbelievers, have had a reasonable -completion (and I have a right to make this last supposition, when -the question is concerning the _account_ to be given of such a fact): -If, I say, we argue from these two assumptions, it must appear highly -credible and probable, that so numerous prophecies, so fulfilled, -had not their origin from human conjecture, nor their accomplishment -from what we call, _Chance_. For mere conjecture is not usually so -happy; nor chance, so constant[52]. Further still; if the scriptural -prophecies have been completed in numerous instances, and if in _no_ -instance whatsoever can it be clearly shewn that they have failed in -the event, the presumption is still stronger, that such coincidence -could not be fortuitous; and a material difference between scriptural -prophecy, and pagan divination is, at the same time, pointed out. For, -that, in the multitude of pretended oracles in the days of paganism, -some few only should come to pass, while the generality of them fell to -the ground, may well be the sport of _fortune_[53]. But, that very many -prophecies, recorded in our scriptures, have had an evident completion, -when not _one_ of all those, there recorded, can be convicted of -imposture, must surely be the work of _design_. - -The argument cannot be denied to have real weight, though the -expression of _all_ the prophecies were allowed to be _general_. But -this is, by no means, the case. It is further assumed, and is evident -to all that have read the Scriptures, that a great number of them are -delivered with the utmost degree of minuteness and particularity. And, -from this assumption, I infer, - -2. Secondly, that the accomplishment of prophecies, so circumstantially -defined, can still less be imputed to mere chance. - -Without doubt, if all the prophecies concerning the Messiah had been -penned in the style of the first—_that the seed of the woman should -bruise the serpent’s head_—though even then there might be reason -for applying them, exclusively, to the person of Christ, yet, the -evidence, that they were intended to be so applied, would have been -much obscured by the mode of expression; the wide cover of which might -seem to afford room for other applications. But when, to this general -prophecy, the theme of all succeeding ones, it is further added, That -this seed of the woman, should be the seed of Abraham; of the tribe of -Juda; of the family of David; that he should be born at Bethlehem; that -he should appear in the world at a time, limited by certain events, -and even precisely determined to a certain period:—when, after a -particular description of his life and office, it is said of him, that -he should be betrayed by an intimate friend; and sold for a price, -exactly specified; that he should suffer a particular kind of death; -should have his hands and feet pierced; should have vinegar given him -to drink; and should be buried in the sepulchre of a rich man—with -innumerable other particularities of the like nature[54]—When all -this, I say, is considered; the improbability, that these _specific_ -characters should meet in the same person by _chance_, is so great, -that a reasonable man will scarce venture on so hazardous a position. - -3. Still this is not all. Were we at liberty to apply even _numerous, -and circumstantial_ prophecies, to _any_ person, indifferently, whom -they might suit, and to _any_ events indiscriminately, to which they -might correspond, sought out at large in the history of mankind, the -force of the argument for _design_ in such prophecies, might in good -measure be eluded. But, when we reflect on what, in part, hath appeared -under the last article, that all the scriptural predictions profess to -respect one certain scheme of things; run in the line of one people; -and point ultimately at one person, whose country, and family, and age, -and birth-place are exactly defined; the application of them is so -limited and restrained, that, if they suit at all, there is scarce a -possibility of excluding actual foresight, and intention. - -LET ME, further, observe, that, as, upon this idea of a confined, -connected, and dependent scheme, in the prophecies, the detection of -imposture, if there be any, is much facilitated; so, on the other hand, -if the prophecies can be fairly applied in this way, not only the -presumption, that they were given to be so applied, is much increased, -but a clearer insight into the scope and meaning of them, is obtained. -For, in a system of prophecy, directed to one and the same general -end, preceding prophecies prepare the way for interpreting those that -follow, and every succeeding prophecy reflects some light on those that -went before. Thus, the general evidence, arising from this species of -argument, is, in all ways, augmented; while we see, that less room is -left to chance in verifying the more clear and direct prophecies, and -that fresh light is let in upon such as are more ambiguous or obscure. - -It is said, that many passages in the prophets are applied to Jesus, on -very slight grounds. This would be true, if the prophetic scriptures, -like the pagan oracles, had no determinate scheme in view, and had, -for their object, only detached and unconnected events. But, on this -scriptural principle, that one common purpose is in the contemplation -of that divine spirit, which dictated all those writings, That is -_expressed_, which is barely intimated; and every applicable prophecy -is _rightly_ applied: whence it is, that even secondary prophecies -have, in the system of revelation, all the light and force of the -primary; as, in a former discourse, hath been observed. - -This assertion, I know, may startle such persons, as have not attended -to the genius of the prophetic writings, or to that general harmony of -design and destination, which makes their distinctive character: but it -may be rendered familiar to us by reflecting on the _manner_, in which -we interpret other writings, somewhat similar to these. - -It is generally supposed, and on good grounds, that Virgil wrote his -Æneid with the view of doing honour to the person and government of -Augustus. But, the subject of his work being taken from a former age, -this was either to be done, by introducing his encomiums under the -form of _prophecies_, or by conveying them indirectly in allusive -descriptions and, what we call, _secondary_ applications. The poet -hath employed both these methods, with success. The purpose of his -_predictions_ is clear; for in them the emperor is expressly named: and -the ablest critics make no scruple of applying to Augustus all those -passages in this poem, which, however they may respect, immediately, -other persons, are yet clearly seen to be _applicable_ to Him. - -We have another instance of the same sort, at home. Our Spenser -wrote his famous poem, to illustrate the virtues and reign of Queen -Elizabeth. This we know from himself. Though his scene, therefore, -be laid in _Faery Land_, yet, whenever we find his fictions agreeing -to the history of that princess, or the characters of his knights -expressive of those virtues, which distinguished the great persons of -her court, we make no doubt of applying them in that way, or of the -poet’s intending that they should be so applied. These applications -would not be equally justifiable in _other_ works of fancy, written in -that time; but the knowledge, we have of the author’s general purpose -in writing, makes them reasonable in _this_. - -It may appear from these examples[55], that, whenever a general -scheme is known to be pursued by a writer, whose real or assumed -character gives him a right to deal in secondary senses and prophetic -anticipations, that scheme becomes the true key, in the hands of his -reader, for unlocking the meaning of particular parts; of many parts, -which would otherwise not be seen clearly and distinctly to refer to -such scheme. The observation applies to the inspired writers, in all -its force. We understand, that they had one common and predominant -scheme in view, which was _to bear testimony to Jesus_. Their writings -are, then, to be interpreted in conformity to that scheme. Not only the -more direct prophecies require this interpretation; but, if we will -judge in this, as we do in other similar instances, whatever passages -occur in those writings, which bear an apt and easy resemblance to -the history of Jesus, may, or rather _must_, in all reasonable -construction, be applied to him. - -Whence we see (to mention it by the way) that, if no prophecy in the -Old Testament had applied to Christ directly in its _primary_ sense, -Christianity might, yet, support itself on the evidence of prophecy. -For the evidence, arising from a _secondary_ sense of prophecies, is -_real_ evidence; and was certainly admitted, as such, by that great -man[56], whose mistakes on this subject have afforded the occasion of -so much vain triumph to infidelity. - -Fancy, no doubt, may grow wanton in this sort of applications. It may -find, in the prophet or poet, what was never designed by either: but, -in the circumstances supposed, the severest reader will not deny, that -_much_ was probably designed by both. It is impossible to lay down -general rules, that shall prevent all abuse in the interpretation of -such writings. But good sense will easily see, in particular cases, -where this liberty of interpreting is, in _fact_, abused. - -It is obvious to remark, that this use of prophecy doth not commence, -till the corresponding facts can be produced; that is, till the -prophecies are seen to be fulfilled. But this circumstance is no -discredit to the prophetic system; which pretends not to give immediate -conviction, but to lay in, beforehand, the _means_ of conviction -to such as shall be in a condition to compare, in due time, the -prediction with the event. Till then, prophecy serves only to raise -a general expectation of the event predicted; that is, it serves to -make men attentive and inquisitive, and to prepare them for that full -conviction, which it finally hath in view. And this service, the -prophecies of the Old Testament actually did the Jews, who were led by -them to expect the Messiah, when he, in fact, appeared among them. And, -had they pursued this reasonable method of interpreting the prophecies, -not by their prejudices, but by corresponding events, they must have -been further led to acknowledge his mission, as being evidently -attested by predictions, so fulfilled. But their capital mistake lay in -supposing, that their prophecies were sufficiently clear, without the -help of any comment from succeeding events; and thus, what they _could -not_ see beforehand, they _would not_ acknowledge, when these events -came to pass. - -It follows from what hath been said, that the obscurity of the Jewish -prophecies concludes nothing against the _use_ of those writings, or -against the _application_ of them, which Christians now make. Their -_declared_ use is posterior to the facts they adumbrate; whence the -intervening obscurity of those writings is no just ground of complaint: -and the _application_ of them to Jesus, now that history hath taught us -to understand them better, is made on principles to which no sober man -can object. - -On the whole, the general evidence for the truth of Christianity, as -resulting from the scriptural prophecies, though possibly not _that_ -which some may wish or expect, is yet apparently very considerable. -_Some_ coincidencies might fall out, by accident; and _more_, might -be imagined. But when _so many_, and _such_ prophecies are brought -together, and compared with their corresponding events, it becomes -ridiculous (because the effect is, in no degree, proportioned to the -cause) to say of such coincidencies, that they are the creatures of -_fancy_ or could have been the work of _chance_. - -The text supplies the only just account of such a phænomenon: and the -spirit of God, methinks, calls aloud to us, in the language of his -Son—_These things have I told you before they come, that when they -come to pass, ye may believe, that I am HE._ - - - - -SERMON V. - -PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST’S FIRST COMING. - -ISAIAH xlii. 9. - -_Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I -declare: before they spring forth, I tell you of them._ - - -The preceding discourses were designed, to open the _general idea_ of -prophecy; and to enforce the _general argument_ from it, in proof of -our holy Religion. - -The way being thus far cleared, we now advance a step farther, and take -a nearer view of THE PROPHECIES THEMSELVES. - -These prophecies may be considered under _two_ heads. They either -respect, _the person and character and office of the Messiah_; or, _the -fate and fortunes of that kingdom_, which he came to establish in the -world. - -Divines call the _former_ of these, Prophecies of his FIRST COMING: -and the _other_, Prophecies of his SECOND. Only, it may be proper to -observe, That the _second_ advent of the Messiah is not, like the -_first_, confined to one single and precise period, but is gradual and -successive. This distinction is founded in the reason of the thing. He -could only come, _in person_, at one limited time. He comes, _in his -power and his providence_, through all ages of the church. His _first_ -coming was then over, when he expired on the cross. His _second_, -commenced with his resurrection, and will continue to the end of the -world. So that this _last_ coming of Jesus is to be understood of his -_spiritual kingdom_; which is not one act of sovereignty, exerted at -once; but a state or constitution of government, subsisting through a -long tract of time, unfolding itself by just degrees, and _coming_, -as oft, as the conductor of it thinks fit to interpose by any signal -acts of his administration. And in this sense, we are directed to pray, -_that his kingdom_, though long since set up, _may come_; that is, may -advance through all its stages, till it arrive at that full state of -glory, in which it shall shine out in _the great day_, as it is called, -the day of judgment. - -It will be seen, as we advance in the present inquiry, to what use this -distinction serves. - -The _former_ set of prophecies are presumed to have had their -completion, in the history of _Jesus_; The _latter_ set, have had, or -are to find, their accomplishment, in the history of his _Religion_; -And of THESE only, it is the purpose of this Lecture to speak. - -But, though the prophecies of Christ’s _first_ coming (so largely and -accurately considered by many great writers) be not the immediate -subject of our inquiry, yet they must not be wholly overlooked by us. -It will contribute very much to rectify and enlarge our ideas of the -divine conduct, in this whole dispensation of prophecy, and to make way -for that conviction, which the prophecies of Christ’s _second_ coming -were intended to give, if we stop a while to contemplate the _method -and œconomy_ of that prophetic system, by which the _first_ advent of -the Messiah was announced and prepared. - -It is assumed, as a first principle on this subject, _That Jesus was -the ultimate end and object of all the prophecies_[57]: which beginning -from the foundation of the world[58], were, afterwards, occasionally -delivered through many ages; till at length this great purpose was -prosecuted more intently, by a continued and closely-compacted chain of -prophecy; as we see, first, in the patriarchal history, but, chiefly, -in the history of the Jewish state. For, when this people were selected -from the other nations, to answer many wise ends of providence, it -pleased God to institute a form of government for them, which could not -subsist without his frequent interposition; manifested in such a way -as might convince them, that they were under the actual and immediate -conduct of their divine sovereign. Hence, it became a part of this -singular œconomy, to be administered in the way of _Prophecy_; by which -it would be seen that the hand of God was upon them in all their more -important concerns. - -Upon this basis of an _extraordinary providence_, the Jewish government -stood: and we are now to see in what _manner_ the prophetic spirit, so -essential to that polity, was employed. - -1. First, we may observe, that, by means of this provision for their -civil regimen, an apt and commodious way was opened for carrying on -the divine councils, in regard to _Jesus_; in whom, indeed, the Law -itself was to be fulfilled. For, while the civil affairs of the Jewish -people furnished the occasion and substance of their prophecies, the -divine wisdom, that inspired the prophets, so contrived, as that their -religious concerns should, also, be expressed, or implied in them. -The general theme of the _prophet_, was some, temporal success or -calamity of the Jewish state: the secret purpose of the _inspirer_ was, -occasionally at least, and when he saw fit, to predict the spiritual -kingdom of the Messiah[59]. - -We have innumerable instances of this sort in the Jewish prophets; -but few, more remarkable than that of Isaiah’s prophecy, addressed to -Ahaz, king of Judah, concerning his deliverance from the two kings -of Samaria and Damascus. In the _primary_, but lower sense of this -prophecy, the sign given was to assure Ahaz, that the land of Judæa -should _speedily_ be delivered from its two Royal invaders. But it had -likewise _another_, and more important purpose. The introduction of the -prophecy, the singular stress laid upon it, and the exact sense of the -terms in which it is expressed, make it probable, in a high degree, -that it had some such purpose: and the event hath clearly proved, that -the _sign given_ had a respect to the miraculous birth of Christ, and -to a deliverance much more momentous than that of Ahaz from his present -distressful situation—_Hear ye now_, O HOUSE OF DAVID—_The Lord -himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and -bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel_. _Isaiah_, vii. 13, 14. -Admit that these words are capable of being explained, in some sort, -of the _child_ now given to be a sign, to the King of Judæa, of his -deliverance within two or three years, as expressed in the following -verses; still, who sees not that terms so emphatical and energetic -are more _properly_ understood of _another_ child, to whose birth and -character they are found, in the event, to be exactly suited? And, if -more properly, who can doubt that these terms are _naturally_, that is, -reasonably understood of that other child, when we consider with what -ideas the mind of the prophet was stored, and what the ultimate end and -object was, by supposition, of the prophet’s inspiration? The child -promised was a _sign_ to Ahaz of his deliverance; yet a sign too, that -is, a _type_, to the house of David, of another deliverance, which they -expected, which their prophets had frequently foretold, and which we -have here announced in the _name_ of this miraculous child, IMMANUEL, -or eminently, _The Deliverer_. - -There is nothing in this _sign_[60], thus interpreted, but what is easy -and unforced; I mean, if we bear in mind the genius and character of -the Jewish prophecies. The former event, signified in the prophecy, -was merely _civil_: the latter, concerned the _spiritual_ kingdom of -Christ. They were both predicted together: and the preceding event, -when it came to pass, was, further, to induce an _expectation_, that -the other event would, in due time, follow. For - -2. Secondly, it appears, that, to excite attention to these SPIRITUAL -predictions, more obscure than the other, and regarding events more -remote, care was taken to secure the authority of the prophet, by the -completion of his _civil_ predictions in events, distinctly described, -and near at hand. Thus, Moses might be believed by the Jews in what -he said, _of a prophet to be raised up_, in a future age, _like to -himself_; when they saw his prophetic blessings and curses upon them, -according to their deserts in the land of Canaan, so speedily and so -punctually executed. Thus, too, their prophet, Isaiah, might reasonably -expect to find credit with them, for the glorious things predicted -by him of the great deliverer, the Messiah; when their deliverance -from the Babylonish captivity was seen so certainly to verify his -prediction of that event. The prophet himself exults in this argument, -as decisive and unanswerable. _Behold_, says he, in the text, _the -former things are come to pass_, i. e. the prophecies, I have delivered -to you concerning your redemption from the Assyrian bondage, will -soon be so exactly completed, that I regard them as things _past; -and therefore new things do I declare_; hence I claim your belief of -other prophecies, concerning a much greater redemption, to take place -hereafter, though there be no appearance, as yet, of any causes tending -to produce it, _for before they spring forth, I tell you of them_. And -this appears to be the general method of _all_ God’s prophets. - -3. With these _new things_, these Spiritual prophecies concerning -the _first_ coming of the Messiah, were likewise intermixed other -prophecies, which ran out beyond that term, and prefigured the great -events of his SECOND coming: and the warrant for admitting _these_, -would be the completion of those other prophecies, in the person and -sufferings of Christ[61]. That there are such prophecies in the Old -Testament, will be shewn hereafter. In the mean time, it will not be -thought incredible, that, if Jesus be indeed the end of the prophetic -scheme, the revolutions of his _government_ should be foretold, as well -as the circumstances of his personal appearance; in other words, that -the consummation of that design, which Providence was carrying on, -would not be overlooked, when the steps and gradations of it were so -distinctly noted. For, in any reasonable design whatsoever, the _end_ -is first and principally in view, though the _means_ engage, and may -seem to engross, the attention of its author. It will then, I say, -be no surprise to us to find, that prophecy set out with announcing -the kingdom of the Messiah; that it never lost sight of that future -œconomy; and only produced it into clearer view, as the season -approached for the introduction of it. - -THUS MUCH concerning the _order and method_ of the Jewish prophecies; -in which one cannot but adore the profound wisdom of their author. The -_civil_ prophecies are, at once, the vehicle, and the credentials, of -the _spiritual_, concerning the _first_ coming of Jesus; and these -last, in their turn, support the credit of others, which point still -further at his _second_ coming: a subject, more than intimated by the -_legal_ prophets, but resumed and amply displayed by the _evangelical_. -Whence we see, that the prophetic system is so constructed, as, in the -progress and various evolutions of it, to illustrate itself, and to -afford an internal evidence of its divinity. One great purpose pervades -the whole: and the parts, of which it consists, gradually prepare and -mutually sustain each other. - -But this subject, so curious and important, is not yet to be dismissed. -It remains to be considered, whether _chance_, or _imposture_, can in -any degree account for so extensive, so connected, and so intricate a -system. - -On the very face of the prophetic scriptures it appears, that one -ultimate purpose is in the contemplation of all the prophets. This -purpose is unfolded by successive predictions, delivered in distant -times, under different circumstances, and by persons, who cannot -be suspected of acting in concert with each other. It does not -appear, that the later prophets always understood the drift of the -more ancient; or, that either of them clearly apprehended the whole -scope and purpose of their own predictions. Yet, on comparing all -their numerous prophecies with each other, and with the events, in -which it is now presumed they have had their completion, we find a -perfect harmony and consistency between them. Nothing is advanced -by one prophet, that is contradicted by another. An unity of design -is conspicuous in them all; yet without the least appearance of -_collusion_, since _each_ prophet hath his own peculiar views, and -enlarges on facts and circumstances, unnoticed by any other. - -Further still, these various and successive prophecies are so -intimately blended, and, as we may say, incorporated with each -other, that the credit of all depends on the truth of each. For, the -accomplishment of them falling in different times, every preceding -prophecy becomes surety, as it were, for those that follow; and the -failure of any one must bring disgrace and ruin on all the rest. - -Then, again, consider that the prophetic spirit, which kept operating -so uniformly and perpetually in what is called the _former age_, -ceased at that very time, when the great object, it had in view, was -disclosed; when that future œconomy, which it first and last predicted, -was introduced: a _time_, too, which was precisely determined by -the old prophets themselves. Could they answer for what _design_ or -_chance_ might be able to bring about? Is it credible, that this -perennial fount of prophecy, which ran so copiously from Adam to -Christ, and watered all the ages of the Jewish church, should stop, -at once, in so critical a season; and should never flow again in any -future age; if fortune, or fraud, or fanaticism, had dispensed its -streams, if any thing indeed, but the hand of God, had opened its -source, and directed its current? - -Nor let it be objected that a succession of prophets was _interrupted_ -for some ages before the coming of Christ. It was so: but not, -till preceding prophets had marked out the precise _time_ of his -coming[62]; not, till Malachi, with whom the word of prophecy ceased -for a time, had foretold that this interrupted series should be resumed -and finally closed by Elijah, the last Jewish prophet and _precursor_ -of the Messiah[63]; and not, till it had been expressly declared, that -this eclipsed light of prophecy should break forth again with redoubled -lustre, in the _days_ of the Messiah[64]. Who would not conclude, then, -from this very intermission, that prophecy was given, or withheld, as -the wisdom of God ordained, and not as the caprice or policy of man -directed? - -It may not be pretended, that the age, in which prophecy finally ceased -among the Jews, will account for the suppression of this faculty, “for -that it was an age of the greatest turbulency and disorder, and that -their ruin and dispersion soon after followed.” This pretence, I say, -is altogether frivolous. For it was precisely in those circumstances, -that their ancient prophets were most numerous, and their inspirations -most abundant. It was during the calamitous season of their -captivities, that the prophetic power had been most signally exercised -among the Jews. And now, when they were carried captive into all lands, -not a single prophet arose, or hath arisen to this day, either for -their reproof, or consolation[65]. - -If it be said, “that the pagan oracles ceased, too, about the same -time; and that the same cause, namely, the diffused light and knowledge -of the Augustan age, was fatal to both;” besides, that this diffusion -of light, for obvious reasons, was not likely to affect the Jewish -prophecies, and did not, as we certainly know, in any degree diminish -the credit of them, with that people, the fact itself, assumed in -the objection, is plainly false. For the pagan oracles continued -for several ages after that of Augustus; they became less frequent, -only, as Christianity gained ground; and were not silenced, but among -the last struggles of expiring paganism[66]. So that if the Jewish -prophecies, like those of the Gentile world, had been the issue of -_fraud_, or _fanaticism_ (_principles_, that operate at all times, and, -with redoubled force and activity, in the dark days of persecution) one -does not see, why they might not have continued to this day among the -bigoted professors of that religion. - -Now, put all these things together, that is, The long duration of -the prophetic system—the mutual dependance and close connexion of -its several parts—the consistency and uniformity of its views, -all terminating in one point—and the final suppression of it (as -was likewise foretold) at the very time, when those views were -accomplished; consider, I say, all this, and see, if there be not -something more than a blind credulity in the advocates for the divinity -of such a system. See, if there be any instance upon record—of so -numerous prophecies—so long continued—so intimately related to each -other and to one common end—so apparently verified—and so signally -concluded. If there be, I shall not wonder at the suspense and -hesitation of _wise men_, on this subject: but if, on the other hand, -no such thing was ever seen, or heard of, out of the land of Judæa, -they must excuse us if we incline to think their diffidence misplaced, -and their scruples unnecessary, at least, if not disingenuous. - -I descend no farther into a detail on the scriptural prophecies -concerning Christ’s _first coming_. The immensity of the subject, -and the plan prescribed to me in this Lecture, equally restrain me -from this attempt. _Obscurities_ there may, and must be, in so vast -a scheme: _Objections_ may, and must occur to the construction and -application of particular prophecies. But let any serious man take the -Bible into his hands; let him consider, not _all_ the prophecies in -that book, but such as are more obvious and intelligible; and let him -compare such _prophecies_, as he must acknowledge, and may, in part at -least, understand, with the _facts_, in which he sees their completion, -or so far, as he may think it _probable_ that they have been completed; -and I dare be confident that such an inquirer will be much struck -with the amount of the evidence from prophecy, in support of divine -revelation. If, indeed, on this general survey, he find nothing to -affect him, I shall not desire him to push his researches into the -more secret and mysterious prophecies: much less, shall I advise him to -wade through that cloud of smaller difficulties, in which the ignorant -temerity of some writers, and the _obscure diligence_ of others, hath -involved _this_, as it easily may any other, subject. - -TO SPEAK PLAINLY, the only consideration, which to me seems likely -to perplex fair and candid minds, is this—“That the argument from -prophecy is understood to be addressed to those, who admit the divinity -of the Jewish scriptures—that the Jews themselves were eminently in -this situation—that, besides this advantage, the Jews were better -qualified, than any others, to interpret their own prophecies; and to -judge of their completion—and yet, that these very men neither were, -nor are convinced by this argument.” - -Several things are here asserted, which deserve to be explained. I take -them in an inverted order. - -I. It is said, “_that the Jews were not, and are not to this day, -convinced by the argument from prophecy_.” This allegation is in -part _false_: for multitudes[67], from among the Jews, were, in the -apostolic age, converted to Christianity; and these are well known -to have laid a peculiar stress on this argument. The greater part -of that people, indeed, disbelieved, and have continued to this day -in their infidelity. But then let it be considered, 1. that we have -an adequate cause of this effect, in the _prejudices_ of the Jewish -nation; _prejudices_, of which their whole history evidently convicts -them. 2. That, notwithstanding their rejection of Jesus, they admit the -existence and authority of those prophecies, which we apply to him; -and that they themselves have constantly applied these very prophecies -to their expected Messiah: so that the question between us is only -this, Whether they, or we, _rightly_ apply them. 3. That their perverse -obstinacy in refusing to submit to the evidence of their prophecies, is -itself foretold by their own prophets. - -II. But it is further said, “_that their authority, in this -controversy, is greater than ours, for that they must best understand -their own prophecies, and judge best of their completion_.” - -1. I do not perceive on what ground of reason this is said. The old -prophecies belong to us, as well as to them; and have been considered -with as much diligence by Christian, as by Jewish expositors. Their -customs, their history, their traditions, are equally known to both -parties. Their very language hath been studied by Christians with a -care, not inferior to that which the Jews themselves employ upon it; -with a _care_, that not unfrequently, in _both_, hath degenerated into -superstition. - -If it be said, “that the _ancient_ Jews, that is, the Jews in the -time of Christ, must have been better qualified, than we now are, -to interpret the prophecies, the language, they spoke, being only -a dialect of that in which the prophecies are written,” the answer -is already given, under the last article: to which we may further -add, that Christianity being much better understood now, than it was -then, the force of the prophetic language concerning it (if, indeed, -the prophecies have any such thing in view) must be more distinctly -apprehended, in many instances, by Christians at this day, than it -could be by the Jews, even when they spoke a dialect of the Hebrew -language. So that still I do not see, upon the whole, what advantage -the Jews, whether of ancient or modern times, can be thought to have -over us, in explaining the prophetic scriptures. And then - -2. As to the _completion_ of the prophecies, the same histories are in -the hands of both: and if they do not apply them, as we do the appeal -is open to common sense. Every man is left at liberty to judge for -himself, which side is best supported in the application of them. The -prejudice might, indeed, be thought equal on _both_ sides, if it were -not decided by their own scriptures, that no prejudice of any people -upon earth was ever so invincible, as that of the Jews. - -3. Lastly, on both heads, there is a peculiar presumption, that they, -and not we, are misled by prejudice: It is this: They were led by their -prophecies, as interpreted by themselves, to expect that they would be -completed at the _time_, in which, we say, they were completed; and it -was not till after the coming of Christ that they began to interpret -them differently, and to look out for another completion of them. Judge -then, if they, or we, are likely to have erred most, through prejudice, -in expounding and applying the prophecies. The natural and proper sense -will be thought to be that, in which we take them; for that sense -occurred first to themselves, and was, in truth, _their_ sense, before -we adopted it. - -When I say—_their sense_—I mean, especially, in respect to the -_time_, which they had fixed for the accomplishment of the prophecies -concerning the Messiah: for, as to their giving a _temporal_ sense -to some prophecies, in which we find a _spiritual_, that is another -matter, concerning which, as I said, the appeal lies to every competent -and dispassionate inquirer. In the mean time, it must be thought -some presumption in favour of the Christian interpretation, that, -whereas the JEWS, in rejecting a spiritual or mystical sense of those -prophecies (which yet is admitted by them, without scruple, on other -occasions, and is well suited to the genius of their whole religion) -are driven to the necessity of supposing a _two-fold Messias_—a new -conceit, taken up, without warrant from their scriptures, and against -their own former ideas and expectations—WE, on the contrary, by the -help of that spiritual sense, are able to explain all the prophecies -of _one and the same Messias_, conformably to the _event_, and even to -the _time_ which the Jews themselves had prefixed for the completion of -them. - -Now, when, of two interpretations, _one_ has apparently all the marks -of shift, constraint, and distress in it, and the _other_ comes out -easy, uniform, and consistent; we may guess beforehand, as I said, -which of them is likely to be well-founded. - -III. Still it is pretended, “that the argument from prophecy is -properly addressed to those only who admit the divinity of the Jewish -scriptures, as the Jews have invariably done; and that it hath no -force, but on that previous supposition. Why then is the argument -pressed on others, who do not believe the divine authority of those -scriptures? And how should it prevail with _any_, whether believers or -not, when the Jews themselves, who of all men most firmly believe that -authority, are not convinced by it?” - -The _latter_ part of the difficulty, which respects the incredulity of -the Jews, hath been already removed; so far, I mean, as it is founded -on their prejudices. As for the _assertion_, “That the argument from -prophecy presupposes the truth and divinity of the Jewish scriptures, -and must therefore have most weight with the Jews, or rather hath no -weight at all, but with them, or with others, who admit that common -principle,” though something, like this, may have been said, I take it -to be wholly unsupported, as well by _fact_, as by any _good reason_. - -1. I argue against this assumption from _fact_; that is, from the -_method_, taken by the early Christians to convert the Gentile world, -and from the _success_ of that method. - -If we look into the history of the Gospel, we shall find the -Apostle Peter, pressing this argument from prophecy on the gentile -Cornelius[68]; and the Apostle Paul, urging it with effect, on the -Jews indeed first, but also on the Asiatic Gentiles[69]. If we turn to -the Christian apologists, we shall find them addressing this topic to -Gentile unbelievers, nay, as venturing the whole cause of Christianity -on this single argument[70]. Justin Martyr makes as free use of it in -his apology to the Antonines, as in his dialogues with Trypho. We know, -too, the success of this argument, thus employed, in many instances: -and therefore see, as well the _fitness_ of the argument to produce -this effect, as the _judgment_ of the Apostles and primitive Christians -concerning its fitness. But to come - -2. _to the reason of the thing_. - -The Jews, who professed to believe, and did, in fact, believe, the -divine inspiration of their sacred oracles, were, doubtless, bound -by their own principles, to expect with assurance the due completion -of them. The Gentiles, who did not previously respect those oracles -as of divine authority, but regarded them only in the light of human -conjectures, yet saw that such passages, whether we call them oracular -or conjectural, did, in truth, occur in the Jewish scriptures; and -were obliged to admit, on the faith of historical testimony, that -those scriptures were composed by the persons whose names they bear, -and at the times fixed for the composition of them. What then is the -difference of the two cases? Only this: the Jews believed that their -oracles would be fulfilled, because they held them to be divine; -the Gentiles had to wait till those oracles were fulfilled, before -they acknowledged their divinity. In either case, the argument is -independent of the belief, or the expectation, and turns on the -completion only. Then, indeed, the Jew sees that his belief was well -founded, and the Gentile admits that the prediction was divine. - -The mistake would be equal, on the other hand, to conceive, that the -argument from prophecy pre-supposes the divine inspiration of the New -Testament. It pre-supposes only the historical truth of that book. -Admit this, and compare the events recorded in that history, with -the prophecies to which they correspond, and the divinity of both -Testaments is proved. For then, the pretensions of Jesus are made good, -by the _completion_ of the prophecies; and the inspiration of the -prophets is concluded, from the _delivery_ of them. - -In both cases (let me repeat it) it is not the authority of the books -containing the prophecies, nor of the books recording the facts in -which they are fulfilled, but simply the _completion_ of the prophecies -in those facts, seen and acknowledged, which infers the divinity of -either Testament. Even the Jew would retract his high opinion of the -prophecies, if he did not admit or expect the accomplishment of them; -and the Christian would renounce his faith in Jesus, if his history -did not accord to the prophecies, alledged. - -’Tis true, that, with either, the argument would gain more _attention_, -than with such as professed no previous belief in the divinity of -the Old or New Testament. But its force is really the same, on both -suppositions. It lies merely in the conviction, which one hath from the -evidence produced, that certain prophetic passages were delivered in -the _Old_ Testament, and have been fulfilled by certain corresponding -events, related in the _New_. - -On the whole, there is no reason to conclude, that we are not as good -judges of the argument from prophecy, as the Jews were; or, that this -argument ought to have the less weight with us, because the Jews -were not convinced by it. For the argument doth in no degree depend -on _faith_, but is calculated to produce it. It is equally strong, -or equally weak, to a Christian, or Jew, or even to an unbeliever: -the sole point in question being this, Whether such things, as were -prophetically delivered, appear to have been fulfilled: a point, on -which common sense and common honesty will equally decide, on every -supposition. - -I know, indeed, that, unless we suppose the inspiration of the -prophets, _some_ passages, delivered by them, will not so probably be -thought to _intend_ Christ, as they will be, if we acknowledge that -principle: and, on the other hand, that there are _some_ circumstances -in the history of Jesus, which will not be so readily seen to _refer_ -to preceding prophecies, if the inspiration of Jesus and his Apostles -be not previously admitted. But I do not argue, at present, from either -of these topics. There are passages enough, clearly _predictive_ of -the Messiah, and clearly _accomplished_ in him, to afford a solid -foundation for the argument from prophecy, as here instituted, without -looking out for any other of more nice and ambiguous interpretation. - -Hence we see the dangerous mistake of those, who contend that the -argument from prophecy hath not, of itself, the nature of a _direct -positive proof_ of our religion. Prophecies fulfilled, I mean such -prophecies as _those_ in question, prove invincibly the divine -inspiration of the prophets. But, if the prophets were inspired, the -divine mission of him, in whom the predicted marks of the Messiah -meet, must needs be acknowledged. And what more is required to prove -the truth of Christianity? Not even the evidence of _miracles_, -performed by Christ, if the prophecies had not made them one mark -of his character. The truth is, _Prophecies_ and _Miracles_ are, in -themselves, two distinct positive proofs. Either proof is _direct_, -and would have been sufficient, if the other had not been given. But -the divine goodness, for our more abundant satisfaction, and to leave -infidelity without excuse, hath made the one proof dependent on the -other: so that neither the argument from prophecy is complete, without -the _miracles_; nor the argument from miracles, as applied to Christ, -unless he likewise appear to have fulfilled the _prophecies_. Can -we desire a stronger proof, that neither _they_, who predicted the -_miracles_, were _false prophets_, nor _he_, who claimed to himself the -application of ALL the _prophecies_, was a _false Messiah_? - -These reflexions, on the _method and order_ of the prophecies, of those -especially concerning Christ’s FIRST COMING; together with what has -been said on the _independency_ of this argument on Jewish or Christian -concessions; may serve to convince us, That we shall do well to suspend -our conclusions concerning the evidence of prophecy, till we have -examined the _whole_ subject. In the mean time, _this part_ of the -subject, thus far opened and explained, leads us, with advantage, to -the consideration of _that_, which is yet behind and is the peculiar -object of this Lecture, I mean _the prophecies concerning_ CHRIST’S -SECOND COMING. - - - - -SERMON VI. - -PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST’S SECOND COMING. - -ISAIAH xlii. 9. - -_Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I -declare: before they spring forth, I tell you of them._ - - -It must strike the most careless reader of the prophecies to observe, -that the general subject of them all was announced from the earliest -time, and was only drawn out more distinctly by succeeding prophets: -that, of the two _ages_, into which the world of God, I mean his -_religious_ world, is divided in holy scripture, the _former_, which -abounds most in prophecy, was plainly made subservient to the -_latter_: that not only the events of that preceding age are foretold -by its own prophets, but that the fortunes of the last, and very remote -age, are occasionally revealed by them; and that the same oracles, -which attest the _first coming_ of Christ, as if impatient to be -confined to so narrow bounds, overflow, as it were, into the future -age, and expatiate on the principal facts and circumstances of his -_second coming_. - -By this divine artifice, if I may so speak, the two dispensations, the -Jewish and Christian, are closely tied together, or rather compacted -into one intire harmonious system; such, as we might expect, if it were -indeed formed, and conducted by him, _to whom are known all his works -from the beginning_[71]. - -So that, in respect of the fortunes, which were to befall the Christian -church, even in the _latter days_, we may still ask, in the triumphant -terms of the Jewish prophet—_Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? -Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood -from the foundation of the earth[72]?_ - -But, though this subject was opened by the old prophets, so far -as seemed expedient in that _age_, and clearly enough, to shew -the integrity and continuity of the whole system, it was more -illustriously, because more distinctly, displayed by the evangelical -prophets. - -And here, again, the same provision of wisdom and goodness meets us, as -before. The Christian prophets, like the Jewish, bespeak our attention -to what they reveal of the greater and more distant events in their -dispensation, by other less momentous prophecies, which were speedily -to be accomplished[73]; thus, impressing upon us an awful sense of -their divine foresight, and procuring an easy credit from us to their -subsequent predictions: _while the events, which both these prophetic -schemes point out, are so distributed through all time, as to furnish, -successively, to the several ages of the world, the means of a fresh -and still growing conviction_[74]. - -AS THE ORDER of these Discourses, now, leads me to exemplify this -_last_ observation, I shall do it in THREE remarkable prophecies -concerning the Christian church; I mean those, which respect 1. THE -DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 2. THE DISPERSION OF THE JEWS. And 3. THE -CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES. - -I refer to these prophecies, as well known. They are in the number -of those, which, in part, were delivered by the Jewish prophets; and -afterwards, more distinctly revealed by the Christian. - -I. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWISH CITY AND TEMPLE, is an event of the -utmost moment in the view of revealed religion. It accomplished a great -number of prophecies, and vindicated the honour of Jesus, by a signal -vengeance on his murderers. It answered, besides, _other_ important -purposes of divine providence; by putting a visible and necessary end -to the Jewish œconomy, which was now to give way to the dispensation -of the Messiah; and by dispersing the Jews into all lands, for many -wise and admirable reasons. Hence, of all the prophecies, delivered -by Christ himself (who was a prophet, though indeed _much more than a -prophet_) _This_ alone is displayed by him, at large, and in all its -circumstances. - -If any man, unacquainted with these matters, should doubt, whether -this prophecy of Jesus, as recorded in three of the four Gospels, were -not delivered, that is, _forged_, after the event, I might refer him -to the numerous writers on that subject. But I hold it sufficient to -say, 1, On the faith of all antiquity, that these Gospels were not -only written, but published to the world, before the destruction of -Jerusalem—2, that the early date of their composition is apparent from -many internal characters, dispersed through these writings—3, that no -interpolation of this prophecy could afterwards take place, because the -prophecy is interwoven with the general thread of the history—and, -4, lastly, that no unbeliever of the primitive times, whether Jew or -Gentile, when pressed, as both frequently were, by this prophecy, -appears to have had recourse to the charge, either of forgery, or -interpolation[75]. - -The authenticity and early date of the prophecy is, then, on these -grounds, assumed. - -I will, further, suppose (because the history of Josephus invincibly -proves it) that all the particulars, mentioned in this prophecy, -concurred in the _event_. - -“But this, you will say, might well be: for what more _uniform_, than -the characters of distress in a _great_ city, forced and desolated by -a superior enemy? And what more _probable_, than that, some time or -other, such should be the fate of _every_ great city?” - -It may further be insinuated, “That, if ever Jerusalem was to be -destroyed, the obstinate humour of its inhabitants, and the _nature -of the place_, would probably draw this destruction upon it, in the -way it actually happened, in the way of _siege_[76]: that, then, all -the miseries, endured by the Jews, would naturally fall on a desperate -people from an irritated and successful conqueror; above all, in -ancient times, when conquest and clemency were little acquainted with -each other: that, as for the preceding _wars, famines, pestilences, and -earth-quakes_ (which are mentioned, in the prophecy, as _signs_ of the -approaching desolation) _these_, are such usual things in the course of -the world, as may be safely made the prognostics of any predicted event -whatsoever: that Jesus, therefore, as any other wise man, might form -his prediction on these principles; and trust to time, and the passions -of mankind, for the completion of it.” - -Now, let all this be allowed (and scepticism itself will hardly make -other or greater demands upon us) still, the honour of Jesus stands -secure; and this fine fabric of suspicion is overturned at once, if we -reflect on _two or three_ circumstances, unluckily, and, if the prophet -be not divine, unnecessarily wrought into the texture of this famous -prophecy. - -_First_, I observe, that this destruction was to come from _the hands -of the Romans_[77]; and, without doubt, if it were to happen in any -reasonable time, it could not so probably be expected to come from any -other quarter. But, then, was it _likely_ that Judæa, at that time a -Roman province, should be thus isolated by its own masters? Was it -to be _presumed_, that so small a province should dare to engage in -a formal contest with Rome, the mistress of the world, as well as of -Judæa? with Rome, then the zenith of her power, and irresistible to -all nations? Was it _conceivable_, if any future distraction of that -mighty empire should tempt the Jews to oppose their feeble efforts to -its high fortune, that a vengeance so signal, so complete, should be -taken upon them? that nothing less than a total _extermination_ should -be proposed, and effected? The ruin of the temple at Jerusalem was to -be so entire, that _one stone should not be left upon another_. Allow -for the exaggerated terms of a prophetic description; still, was it -_imaginable_, that the Romans should, in any proper sense of the words, -execute this denunciation? Was it _their_ way, as it was afterwards -that of the Goths, to wage war with _stones_? Was it a principle with -_them_, to beat down the _pride_ of buildings, as well as of _men_[78]? -Would even their _policy_, or their _pride_, have suffered them to blot -out an ancient, a renowned, an illustrious temple, the chief ornament -of their province, the glory of the East, and the trophy of their own -conquests? - -Such an event was very improbable, in contemplation: and history shews, -that it did not come to pass in any ordinary way. For the instrument, -in the hands of Heaven, of this exterminating vengeance, was a man, -the most unlikely of all others to inflict it; a man, who by nature -abhorred such extremities; who, in fact, did his utmost to prevent this -dreadful catastrophe, and _could not_ prevent it[79].—Still, a more -unmanageable circumstance, than this, occurs in the prophecy. For, - -_Secondly_, it is implied that ONE of our Lord’s disciples should -survive this desolation[80]: and it is expressly asserted, that the -then _subsisting generation should not pass away, before all these -things were accomplished_[81]. They WERE accomplished, within forty -years from the date of the prophecy, and before the death of that -disciple. The fact is certain and undeniable: I leave the rest to your -own reflexions. - -_Thirdly_, warning is given in this prophecy to the disciples of Jesus, -to fly from this impending ruin; and a signal is held out to them, -for that purpose[82]. It is further predicted, that they should avail -themselves of this signal and so entirely escape the snare, in which -the rest of their countrymen should be taken, that _not a hair of their -heads should perish_[83]. And this part of the prophecy was, it seems, -completed[84]. - -_Lastly_, this prophecy was incumbered with another strange event, -_needlessly_ incumbered with it, if the whole were an imposture. It -is said, _that the Gospel should be preached in all the world, for a -witness unto all nations_, before it should be fulfilled. Was it not -enough to say, that the prophecy should be accomplished in the time of -that generation, and in the life-time of St. John, without adding so -unlikely a circumstance, as that a general promulgation of the Gospel, -by a few unlettered and unfriended fishermen, should precede the -accomplishment of it?—I know, that this part of the prophecy admits a -secondary sense: but, in the primary sense, it was so far fulfilled, as -to astonish us with the divine foresight of its author. - -I omit other considerations, that might be alledged. But you see -that, setting aside such particulars in the prophecy, as sceptical -men may think themselves able to draw within the sphere of _human -conjecture_, there are several things expressed in it, so strange to -all apprehension, so unlikely to happen, so impossible for any natural -sagacity to foresee, and yet so certainly and punctually fulfilled, -that nothing short of _divine inspiration_ can possibly account for -them. The prophecy, in all its parts, is divine: but in _these_, its -divinity is clear and incontestable. - -II. THE DISPERSION OF THE JEWS, is another event, which deserves your -consideration. - -Moses himself had predicted this circumstance of their fortune, in -terms of the greatest energy. He had told them—_that they should be -removed into all the kingdom of the earth, and that they should be -scattered among all people from one end of the earth even unto the -other_—that, among the nations, into which they should be driven, -_they should find no ease, nor rest, and that they should be only -oppressed and crushed alway_—that they should _become an astonishment, -a proverb, and a by-word among all nations_—and that _their plagues -should be wonderful, and of long continuance_[85]. These prophecies had -been, to a certain degree, fulfilled in other parts of their history: -but there was to be a time, when _the wrath of God should come upon -them to the uttermost_[86]. This time was now come, when their city was -destroyed, and their land desolated, by the arms of Titus. Then, as -Jesus prophesied of them, _were the days of vengeance, that all things, -which were written, should be fulfilled_: then, were they _to be led -away captive into all nations_: and thenceforth, _was Jerusalem to be -trodden down of the Gentiles, until_ THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES SHOULD -BE FULFILLED[87]. - -Nor say, that this _last_ prophecy is _indefinite_: for _the times -of the Gentiles_ is a period, well known in the prophetic writings; -a period, of long duration indeed, as the event hath shewn; yet a -period, marked out by other prophecies (which may come, in turn, to -be considered in this Lecture) no less distinctly, than their other -captivities had been. - -For, to all these predictions there must be added _one_ more, which -expressly asserts the return of this people, in some future age, from -their long and wretched dispersion: for _blindness, in part_, only, -_hath happened to Israel_; and that again, _till the fulness of the -Gentiles be come in_[88]. This, St. Paul terms _a mystery_: and yet -the ancient prophets had a glimpse of it, when they foretold, _that -the Lord would not make a full end of them_[89], and that a remnant of -them _should remain, and should return in the latter days_[90]. Moses -himself, who had denounced such heavy judgements upon them, and of so -_long continuance_, during their dispersion, had mingled, with his -woes, this one note of mercy—_And yet for all that, when they lie in -the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I -abhor them, to destroy them_ UTTERLY, _and to break my covenant with -them_[91]. - -Consider these predictions, and compare them with the present and past -state of this people for seventeen hundred years; and see, if there be -nothing to take your attention, or, rather, your astonishment, in the -completion of them. - -Why is this dreadful vengeance, _singular_ in its circumstances, and -never yet experienced by any other people on the face of the earth, -why is this peculiar vengeance executed on the Jews?—Or, whatever the -_cause_ may be, is not the _fact_ such as was predicted? - -“The predictions, you will say, have the appearance of being fulfilled. -But where is the wonder, that a people, distinguished by a _singular_ -religion, and above measure _addicted_ to it, should continue to exist -under that distinction, and should be every where known by it? That a -people, on account of their profession, more than commonly obnoxious -to the other religious sects, among whom the earth hath been chiefly -parcelled out—to the _Heathen_, for their unconquerable aversion -to idolatry—to the _Christians_, for the atrocious murder of their -founder—to the _Mahometans_, for the constant rejection of their -prophet—should be the scorn and outcast of all three; and that, being -excluded from the only country, to which they have any attachment, -they should be vagabonds on the earth, and should disperse themselves -indifferently through every quarter of it, as caprice, or interest, or -convenience, invites them? that, lastly, being thus distinguished from -all men, and thus at enmity with all, they should never be suffered -to enter into any other civil community, or to establish a distinct -community of their own?” - -But the wonder doth not lie, altogether, where these questions seem to -place it. That the Jews, while they profess themselves such, should be -thus treated, may be natural enough: but that they should _continue_, -for so many ages, under such treatment; every where and always spurned, -reviled, oppressed; yet neither worn out by this usage; nor induced -by it to renounce their offensive profession, and take refuge in the -mass of people among whom they live; that neither time, nor custom, nor -suffering, should get the better of their bigotry or patience; but that -they should still subsist a numerous, a distinct, a wretched people, as -they do, to this day—all this hath something prodigious in it, which -the common principles of human nature will not easily explain[92]. - -We, who admit the divine origin of their religion; and, adore, with -them, the extraordinary providence, by which their polity was so long -administered and upheld; can, better than any others, explain this -difficulty. For, what so likely to produce an invincible attachment to -their Law, as the abundant evidence, they had of its authority? But -neither will this account of the matter be found satisfactory. For, -as if on purpose to discredit this solution, their history informs -us, That _ten_, of the twelve tribes, which originally composed their -nation, did, in fact, disappear under their last captivity, and were, -in a good measure at least, absorbed in it. If such, then, was the -fate of _Israel_ in its dispersion, within the compass of not many -generations, and yet the relics of _Judah_ are still preserved in all -countries to this day, what better or other reason can we assign for -this difference of fortune in two branches of the same people, equally -attached to the same divine Law, than that the _former_ were left to -the natural consequences of a dispersion, and that the _latter_ were -purposely kept from being affected by them, as the prophecies had -distinctly foretold? - -If it be still said, “That there is nothing more extraordinary in -this continuance of the Jews, under their dispersion, than of other -religionists in like circumstances; of the _Christians_ for instance, -under the Turkish dominion;” the cases (to say nothing of the -difference in point of _time_) are, in many respects, entirely unlike. - -The Asiatic CHRISTIANS derive a confidence, and some degree of -protection, from the many flourishing Christian empires, which subsist -in other quarters of the world. - -THEY, can perform all the duties of their religion, as perfectly in the -countries, where they reside, as in any other. - -THEY, have the future hopes of the Gospel, the proper sanction of their -Law, to support them in all the distresses, to which their Christian -profession may, at present, expose them. What is it to them, as St. -Austin well observed in a like case, that they suffer for a season -in a strange land; when even in their _own_, that is, a Christian -country, they are still obliged, by the principles of their religion, -to consider themselves, _as strangers and pilgrims on the earth_[93]? - -The condition of the JEWS, on the other hand, is widely different. -THEY, profess a religion, founded on temporal promises, only: and how -miserably these have failed them, the experience of many ages hath now -shewn. - -The JEWS, are shut out from the only country in the world, where the -several rites and ordinances of their religion can be regularly and -_lawfully_ observed. - -The JEWS, have, besides, the sensible mortification of knowing, that -all their brethren of the dispersion are every where in equal distress -with themselves; and that there is not one Jewish state or sovereignty -subsisting on the face of the whole earth. - -It follows, that in the JEWS, we find nothing but their _destiny_, so -plainly read to them by their own prophets, as well as ours, to account -for their long continuance in their present dispersion: whereas, the -_Asiatic Christians_ have many resources of comfort within themselves; -and may subsist, in Mahometan countries, on the same general motives -and inducements, which sustain the courage of other unhappy men. - -Yet, notwithstanding the advantages, here pointed out, on the side of -the Asiatic Christians, the _fact_ is, that they are reduced to a very -small number, and are insensibly melting away under the oppressions -of their Ottoman masters; so that in no long time, if that enormous -tyranny should be permitted to continue, they may, not improbably, -quite vanish out of those countries, where they had formerly so many -and flourishing churches: whereas, the Jews continue every where to -abound in great numbers; they thrive under their oppressions; and -seem to multiply amidst their distresses; as if the order of things -were reversed in regard to them, and the same causes operated to the -conservation of this people, which tend so naturally to the waste and -destruction of every other. - -Still, I have another reflexion, or two, to make on this interesting -subject. - -1. It deserves to be considered, that the _natives_ of any country, -though subdued and enslaved by a foreign nation, may, indeed, subsist -very long under that distinction. Thus, the Gentoo Indians have -preserved their name and race, under their Mahometan invaders: and -thus, the Moors, if they had not been violently expelled, might -have continued a distinct people for many ages, in their old Spanish -quarters. But that small colonies of men, transported into _strange_ -and populous nations, should preserve a distinct existence, and not -insensibly moulder away, and mix themselves with their numerous native -masters; This, I think, is without example in the history of mankind. -If the Jews might be expected to abound any where, it should, methinks, -be in Judæa; where the sight of the _holy land_, and the memory of -their past fortunes, might invigorate their prejudices, and perpetuate -their attachment to the Jewish name and worship. But it so happens, -that the number of Jews in that country hath now for many ages been -inconsiderable, while they swarm in every other. - -2. It should, further, I think, be observed, that a _sect_, whether -you will call it of _religion_, or _philosophy_, may subsist through a -long tract of ages; I mean, that certain opinions may continue to be -professed by some people, or other, without intermission; as may be -true of the _doctrine_ concerning _the two principles_, at all times -so prevalent in the East; of that species of eastern _idolatry_, which -consists in the worship of _fire_; and in other instances. But that -these opinions, in circumstances any thing like those of the Jews, -should still be professed, not only by some, but by the _same_ men, -that is, by men known to be of the same extraction, as well as of a -certain persuasion; this, again, is, I think, a circumstance of great -singularity, and altogether unprecedented in the case of any other -people. Who knows, of what race or family the present Manichees are -descended, or the professors of the old Persian idolatry? The followers -of the Mosaic law, are every where known to be of the stock of Abraham. -They are distinguished in all places, as being Jews by _descent_, as -well as by _Religion_. - -3. Supposing, what I think cannot be shewn, that the history of the -world furnishes an instance or two of a people circumstanced in all -respects, as the Jews are; these extraordinary cases would not much -abate the wonder, we are now contemplating. For how happened it, that -a prophecy delivered above three thousand years ago concerning the -fate of a _particular_ people, should be so exactly verified, as it -has hitherto been, when that fate is so far from being a common one, -that it has only taken place, in one or two instances besides, within -the compass of so many ages? And still more, how should it enter into -the head of Moses to deliver this prophecy, when, at the time of his -delivering it, he had absolutely no instance before his eyes of such -fate, in the case of _any_ people? - -These things, then, deserve to be well and seriously considered. - -Lastly, We believe, on the faith of the sacred oracles, that the -Jews shall _never be destroyed utterly_, but shall exist a distinct -people, as they have hitherto done, _till the times of the Gentiles are -fulfilled_. But here, you will say, the prophets indulged a natural -prejudice in favour of their own nation; it being the way of all people -to delight in such dreams of _existence and perpetuity_. It may be so: -But see, whether this _dream_ hath ever yet been so far realized, in -the case of any other people. The Romans, for instance, were as partial -to themselves, and doted as much on the idea of their _perpetuity_, as -the Jews. But what now is become of their _eternal empire_? Consider, -therefore, the singular fate of the Jews through so many ages, and see -whether it be not credible from what is past, that the prophet was -moved by something more than a spirit of _national vanity_, when he -said, _Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord, for I am -with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have -driven thee_, BUT I WILL NOT MAKE A FULL END OF THEE[94]. - -To these prophecies concerning _Jerusalem_, and the _Jews_, I add - -III. _A third, concerning_ THE CALL AND CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES TO -CHRISTIANITY. - -This prophecy is very remarkable, whether we consider—_the matter of -it_—_the persons, by whom it was delivered_—or, _the manner, in which -it hath been fulfilled_. - -1. As it had been declared from the beginning, that in the promised -seed, _all the nations of the earth should be blessed_, so the Gospel, -or, the good tidings of that blessing, was, in due time, to be -communicated to _all nations_. Further still, this Gospel was not only -to be published to all nations, but to be acknowledged and received by -them. There are numberless prophecies to this purpose in the books -of the Old Testament: prophecies, which say expressly—_that God -would give unto the Messiah the heathen for his inheritance, and the -uttermost parts of the earth for his possession_[95]—_that from the -rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, his name should -be great among the Gentiles_[96]—_It is a light thing_, says the -prophet Isaiah, addressing himself, in the person of the Almighty, to -the Messiah, _that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes -of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give -thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to -the end of the earth_[97]. And Jesus himself, when he commissioned his -Apostles to publish his doctrine, did it in these words—GO YE INTO ALL -THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE[98]. - -It is unquestionable, therefore, from these and other passages[99], -that not the Jews only, but all nations were to be instructed in the -Christian faith; that the Gospel was to be an universal religion; -and that, thus, the Messiah was to be, in every sense, the Saviour of -mankind. There is no doubt, I say, but that such is the language of the -prophets; and that they clearly suppose the dispensation of the Gospel -to have these views, and to terminate in this event. - -But now, let any man consider with himself, what it is to proselyte -the whole race of mankind to one faith, and to one religion. Let him -revolve in his mind this great, this magnificent idea. Let him, next, -turn his thoughts on what history and experience may suggest to him on -the subject. And then let him tell us, whether there be not something -extraordinary in this project; whether, indeed, there be any other -example of this sort in the annals of mankind. - -In the old world, the institutors of _pagan religion_ looked no -further, than to single communities: each destined his ceremonies -for his own people only; and never presumed so far on the truth or -importance of his religious scheme, as to set it up for a standard of -belief or worship to the other nations of the earth. Even the _Jewish -ritual_ was so constituted as to respect the Jews only, and was even -practicable no where but in the land of Judæa. - -But this idea of universality was equally strange to the _Doctors_, -as to the Legislators, of the ancient world. Sects of philosophy, -there were many; espoused with zeal, and propagated with industry; and -some of them, of no small extent. Yet the most sanguine, or the most -successful of these speculatists never conceived so much as the idea -of bringing all nations into their system. They presumed, indeed, that -truth, or probability at least, was on the side of their favourite -opinions; but they beheld a neglect of them in others, with a sort of -indifference; and, contenting themselves with their own superior skill -or felicity, left it to the rest of the world to philosophize in their -own way, and on their own principles. They seem not to have thought it -either necessary or possible, that their own sentiments should become -the standing, universal persuasion of mankind. - -_Ambition_, I know, hath been sometimes enterprizing enough to think of -subduing the whole world. But this was the ambition of _power_, not of -religion, or philosophy: it was an ambition to subdue the _bodies_, not -the minds of men. This _last_ was a project, too big for a Cæsar or an -Alexander, much more, for a Numa or an Aristotle, to entertain. And I -think it certain, that, except in the scheme of Christianity, or such -other schemes of revelation as have been copied from it[100], we shall -no where find the idea of _universality_ to have taken place in any -religious or philosophical sect whatsoever[101]. - -If then this idea was _familiar_ to the Jewish and Christian prophets, -you will, at least, conclude that this circumstance is remarkable -enough to engage your attention; and you will naturally ask, how it -came to pass that those prophets should adopt so strange a fancy, -which appears not to have entered into the views or conceptions of -other men. - -When you are in this train of inquiry, it will surprize you still more -to find, - -2. _By what persons, these prophecies_, so remarkable for the _matter_ -of them, _were announced_. - -The publishers of this extraordinary doctrine were, in one word, JEWS: -that is, men of the most narrow and contracted minds; men, brought -up in the highest conceit of themselves, and in the utmost scorn and -contempt of the Gentiles; men, accustomed to think themselves the only -favourites of Heaven, and to regard the rest of the world, as outcasts -of its providence; men, in short, induced, partly, by the genius of -their religion, ill understood, and partly, by their carnal temper, -long indulged, to believe with assurance the perpetuity, the eternity -of their divine law; and to deem it impossible that God should reign -anywhere but in the land of Israel, or should impart his blessings to -any that lived out of the Jewish pale. - -Was it, now, to be expected of such men, as these, that they should -enlarge their ideas so far as to form the project of a new and -universal religion; a religion, not imprinted outwardly on the flesh, -but _written in the heart_; a religion, that was to supersede and -evacuate the law of Moses, to which they were so immoderately addicted, -and to enlighten and bless and save the heathen, whom they so perfectly -despised and abhorred? - -You will suspect, perhaps, that the meaning of these prophecies was -no more, than that the Jewish Law should finally prevail over all -other Laws, and be the sole predominant religion of the whole earth: a -prejudice, very likely, it may be said, to possess the minds of such a -people as the Jews; and suitable enough to that zeal, which prompted -them _to compass sea and land_, as Jesus himself observed of them, _to -make one proselyte_[102]. - -But the contrary is apparent from the _structure_ of the Jewish Law, -which, as I said, was so contrived, that it could not be observed out -of Judæa—from the _tenour_ of that Law, addressed only to the house -of Israel, and not obligatory to any other people—from express -_declarations_ of the prophets themselves; who call the dispensation -of the Messiah, _a new Covenant_, a covenant _written in the heart_, -in opposition to the law of circumcision[103]; who say, that the Lord -will _create new heavens and a new earth_, that is, in the prophetic -language, will institute a _new_ dispensation of religion, different -from that, which he had given to the Jews, and _subversive_ of it[104]; -who, lastly, speak of this dispensation, as of _one_, that should be -established under _a new name_, and should be embraced by the Gentiles, -as _such_, that is, by men, converted immediately to this new religion -from their state of Gentilism, without passing through the strait gate -of the Jewish Law[105]. - -Judge, then, whether the prophets did not mean more than a -_proselytism_ to their own religion, when they predicted, and in -such terms, the future conversion of the Gentiles; and whether such -ideas, as these, could ever have entered into the hearts of Jews, if -something, besides and above the natural suggestion of their own minds, -had not inspired their prophecies. - -Add to all this, if you please, that Jesus was himself a Jew, and (to -regard him as a man only) in the lowest class of the Jews, that is, of -the most confined and bigoted education; and yet was not restrained by -his prejudices from giving that sublime command to his followers—GO -AND TEACH ALL NATIONS. - -But enough on the _doctrine_ itself, and on the _character_ of its -teachers. It remains only - -3. To add one word, _on the manner, in which this prophecy_, concerning -the conversion of the Gentile world, _appears to have been completed_. - -There are especially TWO prophecies on this subject, which merit our -attentive consideration. ONE of them asserts, that the conversion of -the Gentile world shall take its rise from small and very unpromising -beginnings, and yet shall prevail speedily and to a vast extent; -the OTHER, that it shall prevail by pacific means only, without the -intervention of any force or violence whatsoever. - -1. The FORMER of these prophecies is expressed thus—_A little one -shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord -will hasten it in his time_[106]. In allusion to this prophecy, -concerning the rise and progress of Christianity, is that parable of -our Lord applied to the kingdom of heaven—_the kingdom of heaven_, -says he, _is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and -sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when -it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree: so -that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof_[107]. -And, with regard to the _celerity_ with which this tree should grow -up, we have a prophecy from Christ himself, and that wonderfully -fulfilled—that _his Gospel should be preached to all the world for a -testimony to all nations_, before the destruction of Jerusalem, or -within forty years from the date of the prophecy. - -Now, consider the state of the Gospel, at our Lord’s ascension. It -was left in the hands of a few, mean, unlearned, dispirited persons: -without any countenance from authority; and with every difficulty, -every terror, opposed to them, and placed distinctly within their view. -_Matth._ xxiv. 9. Yet these men were commissioned to spread this Gospel -through the world, and had an express promise, that they should succeed -in their attempt. Against all appearance, the success followed. In less -than half a century, _the sound of the Gospel went out into all lands_; -and, within three centuries from the death of Christ, Christianity -ascended the imperial throne; _and had the utmost parts of the earth -for its possession_. - -To encrease the wonder, this amazing revolution was brought about, by -_pacific methods only_; as was, likewise, foretold - -2. In the LATTER of the _two_ prophecies, to which I before alluded. - -Jesus himself quotes this prophecy from Isaiah in the following -words—_Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom -my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall -shew judgment_, i. e. declare a new Law, _to the Gentiles. He shall -not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the -streets; a bruised reed shall he not break, and smoaking flax shall -he not quench_, i. e. (as all interpreters explain these proverbial -expressions) he shall not employ the least degree of force or violence -in the propagation of this law, _till he send forth judgment unto -victory_, till it finally prevail against all opposition; _And in his -name shall the Gentiles trust_. Matth. xii. 18-21. - -Let any man read the history of Christianity, from its first -publication in Judæa, to the conversion of Constantine, and then -see whether this prophecy hath not been exactly and illustriously -completed. The followers of Jesus were numerous enough, long before -the empire became Christian, to have attempted the way of force, had -it been permitted to them[108]: and the insults, the oppressions, the -persecutions, which they suffered from their Pagan enemies, were -enough to provoke the most passive tempers to some acts of hostility -and resistance[109]. But every one knows, that they had recourse to no -arms, but those of the spirit: they took no advantage of distracted -times, to raise commotions in behalf of the _new_ religion, or to -suppress the _old_ one: _a bruised reed did they not break, and -smoaking flax did they not quench_: yet with meekness, and patience, -and suffering; by piety, by reason, by the secret influence of a divine -blessing attending on these feeble efforts, the doctrine of the cross -insensibly gained ground, spread itself far and wide, and in the end -became _victorious_ over all the rage and power and sophistry of an -unbelieving world[110]. - -That this _victory_ hath not been, hitherto, so complete, as to answer -the promise of an _absolute universality_, we readily acknowledge; but -are in no pain for the event[111]; as the same oracles, which have thus -far been verified, suppose the present condition of things; and, what -is more, assure us of a time to come, when _the fulness of the Gentiles -shall come in_. - -One word more, and I have done. If it be now thought, that these -THREE prophecies—_concerning the destruction of Jerusalem_—_the -dispersion of the Jews_—and _the call of the Gentiles_—have been -clearly accomplished; and yet were of that nature, that no human -foresight could deliver them, nor any probable conjuncture of human -affairs account for the accomplishment of them, you will conclude that -they were truly divine, and that we do not abuse your credulity in -alledging such prophecies, in proof of our holy religion. You will see -and acknowledge that there _are_ prophecies, recorded in scripture, -_concerning the Christian Church_; and that _these_ prophecies, in -particular, concerning it, have been remarkably fulfilled. Ye will, -therefore, the less wonder to find, that there are still _other_ -prophecies, relative to the kingdom of Christ, as administered in -this world; and will, of course, be disposed to consider, with less -prejudice, what may further be said in support of them. - - - - -SERMON VII. - -PROPHECIES CONCERNING ANTICHRIST. - -1 EP. JOHN ii. 18. - -—_Ye have heared that Antichrist shall come_— - - -Among the more remarkable prophecies concerning the Christian Church, -there are several, which describe the rise, progress, and downfal of -a certain Power, represented under various symbols or images, and -distinguished by many appellations; but more especially known by the -name of ANTICHRIST. - -These prophecies come now, in the order of this Lecture, to be -considered. The subject is, in a high degree, curious and important; -but of no easy discussion: not so much on the account of any peculiar -difficulty in the prophecies themselves, as from the prejudice of party -in _explaining_ them, and still more, from the general prejudice that -lies against every _attempt_ to explain them. - -To make my way through these obstructions, I shall begin with laying -before you a clear and distinct state of the question itself, which is -chiefly agitated by inquirers into these prophecies. - -It is admitted, that many predictions in the Old and New Testament, -particularly in the book of Daniel, in St. Paul’s Epistles, and in the -Revelations of St. John, clearly point out a very extraordinary power, -which was to manifest itself _in the latter times_, that is, in the -times subsequent to the introduction of Christianity. The characters, -by which this power (acknowledged by all under the name of Antichrist) -is chiefly distinguished, are those of _Tyranny_[112], _Idolatry_, and -_Intolerance_. And, to abridge our trouble in searching after this -_three-headed_ monster, we are directed by the prophets to look for him -within the boundaries of what is properly called, the Roman Empire, and -even in the city of Rome itself. - -Thus far there is no dispute. The only question is, To what Roman -power, exhibiting those characters, the prophecies are to be applied. -And even this question is reduced within narrow limits. For TWO Powers -only have subsisted in Rome, from the Christian æra to the present -times (within which period we are, again, allowed to expect the reign -of Antichrist); the Roman Emperor, in the first place; and, afterwards, -the Roman Pontifs. So that, on the whole, the single point in debate -is merely this, Whether Imperial, or Papal Rome, be that Antichristian -Power, which the prophets foretold. The church of Rome holds, for -obvious reasons, that the _Imperial_ power is the object of the -prophecies: the Protestants have, on the contrary, their reasons for -maintaining, that _Papal_ Rome is that power, which the prophecies had -in view, and in which alone they are truly and properly verified. - -This, then, is the meaning of that famous inquiry concerning -Antichrist: and I must desire you to keep your attention steadily fixed -on the question, as here stated; while I endeavour to furnish you with -the proper means of deciding upon it. - -The obvious method of doing this, would be, To lay before you, -directly, the prophecies themselves, and to examine them by the light -of sober criticism, and authentic history. But, because it is no -new or difficult thing to misrepresent _facts_, and to misinterpret -_scripture_, to pervert, in short, these two instruments of truth to -any ends, which prejudice hath in view; and because I know how natural -it is for you to suspect such management in the present case, where the -zeal of party is supposed, on either side, to exclude, or over-power, -the love of truth; for _these reasons_, it may be convenient to take -a larger compass, and, by a previous historical deduction of this -controversy, to let you see in what light it has been regarded, through -the several ages of the Christian Church. - -I. THE FIRST ACCOUNT, we meet with in scripture, of the power in -question, I mean, under his proper name of _Antichrist_, is in the -first epistle of St. John, from which the text is taken. The whole -passage runs thus—_Little children, it is the last time: And, as -ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many -Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time_. - -To understand these words, we must call to mind what hath been already, -more than once, observed concerning the scriptural division of time -into two great portions, The FORMER, and LATTER times. By the _former_, -is meant the times preceding the Christian æra; by the _latter_, the -times subsequent to it. Correspondent to this partition of time, is -the double advent of Christ, of which I before gave a distinct idea. -His _first_ advent was, when he came in the flesh, at Jerusalem: his -_second_ advent to be understood of his coming in his kingdom, through -all the ages of the Christian Church. - -But though the _latter times_, in the general sense of scripture, be -thus comprehensive, they are further subdivided into other constituent -portions, in which some particular state of Christ’s kingdom is -administered, and within which it is completed. In reference to this -subordinate division of time in the Christian dispensation, the -_coming_ of Christ is, also, proportionably multiplied. He _comes_ in -each division; that is, as oft as he thinks fit to interpose by any -signal act of his power and providence. The whole period, in which any -distinct state of his kingdom is carrying on, is likewise called _the -latter time_; and the concluding part of that period is distinguished -by the name of the _last hour_: as if the whole of each period were -considered as _one day_; and the close of each period, as the end, or -_last hour_, of that day. - -Thus, the time that elapsed from Christ’s ascension to the destruction -of Jerusalem, being one of the subdivisions, before mentioned, is -called the _latter times_; and the eve of its destruction, is called -the _last hour_. He _was coming_ through the whole time: he _came_ -in the end of it. And the like use of these terms is to be made, -in other instances. We are to apply them in the same manner to the -_reign of Antichrist_—_to the Millennium_—to the _day of judgment_. -Each of these states, into which the _latter times_, or the times of -Christianity, are divided, is likewise spoken of under the idea of the -_latter times_; and the season, in which each is drawing to an end, is -the _last hour_ of that state[113]. - -Thus much being premised, it is easy to give a just exposition of the -text. _Little children, it is the last time_, or _hour_—that is, the -destruction of Jerusalem is at hand; as indeed it followed very soon -after the date of this Epistle. _And, as ye have heared that Antichrist -shall come_—that, in some future period, called the _last times_, an -hostile power, which we know by the name of Antichrist, shall arise and -prevail in the world, _even now_, we may see the commencement of that -power; for, _there are many Antichrists_; many persons, now, appear in -the spirit of that future Antichrist, and deserve his name: _whereby_, -indeed, _we know that it is the last hour_: for Christ himself had -made the appearance of false Christs and false prophets, that is, of -Antichrists, to be one of the signs by which that _hour_ should be -distinguished[114]. - -The meaning of the whole passage, then, is clearly this: “That the -appearance of _false Christs_ and _false Prophets_ (of which there were -many, according to our Lord’s prediction, in St. John’s time) indicated -the arrival of that _hour_, that was to be fatal to the Jewish state: -and that they were, at the same time, the types and forerunners of a -still more dreadful, power, which should be fully revealed in _the -latter times_, in a future period, when that calamity was past.” For -the truth of the assertion, That such a power should arise in the -Christian church, he appeals to a tradition, then current among the -disciples: and his hated name of _Antichrist_ is here applied, by way -of anticipation, to the false prophets of that time; as possessing much -of his character, and acting with his spirit. - -Hence we see the meaning of the word, _Antichrist_; which stands for -a person or power, actuated with a spirit opposite to that of Christ. -And so indeed the Apostle explains himself, in another place of this -very Epistle. For, speaking of certain false teachers, who preached -up a doctrine, contrary to that of the Gospel, he adds—“This is -that _spirit_ of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should -come, and even now already is it in the world[115].” And I lay the -greater stress on this observation, because the etymology of the word, -_Antichrist_, makes it capable of two different meanings. For it may -either signify one, who _assumes the place and office of Christ_, -or one, who _maintains a direct enmity and opposition to him_[116]. -But the _latter_, is the sense in which the Apostle useth this term; -although it be true that, in the _former_ sense, it very well suits the -Bishop of Rome, who calls himself the _Vicar_ of Christ, as well as the -successor of St. Peter. Nor can there be any difficulty in fixing the -charge of Antichristianism, in the sense of _an enmity and opposition -to Christ_, on the Roman Pontif (though I know how absurd the attempt -seems to the writers on that side); for, to merit this charge, it is -not necessary that he should formally reject Christ, which undoubtedly -he does not, but that he should act in defiance to the true genius and -character of Christ’s religion: a charge, which may be evidently made -good against him. - -In short, as the word, _Christ_, is frequently used in the Apostolic -writings for the _doctrine_ of Christ; in which sense we are said -to _put on Christ_, to _grow in Christ_, to _learn Christ_, and in -other instances: So _Antichrist_, in the abstract, may be taken for a -doctrine subversive of the Christian; and when applied to a particular -man, or body of men, it denotes _one_, who sets himself against the -_spirit_ of that doctrine[117]. - -In this last sense, the word _Antichrist_ is clearly employed by St. -John: and from his example, the word grew into general use in the -Christian church; and is so to be understood, whenever mention is made -of Antichrist by the primitive fathers, or any other ecclesiastical -writers. - -II. I am now to shew in what manner the prophecies concerning -_Antichrist_, or a person or power, so called, and, though variously -described, always considered under the idea of an adversary to the true -doctrine of Christ, have been construed and applied by many eminent -members of the Christian Church, in all ages. - -1. When the canon of scripture was formed, and new in the hands of the -faithful, the prophecies concerning Antichrist were too remarkable not -to take their early attention. They accordingly cite these prophecies -in their apologies and commentaries, or refer to them, very frequently. -But one thing is singular. Though Antichrist be every where spoken of -in the prophecies as a persecuting power, and though the Christian -church then was, and so continued to be for near three centuries, in -a state of persecution under the Roman emperors, yet this opprobrious -name was not usually given to their persecutors. I do not say, that -none of the early Christian writers ever applied that character to the -Emperors. Some few of them, in a fit of zeal and resentment, did[118]. -But the most, and the ablest of the Fathers, were clearly of another -opinion. - -It may be thought, that they forbore this application of so odious a -term, out of respect to the government under which they lived, and -from prudential considerations. These motives had, without doubt, -their weight with them, and made them more cautious, than they would -otherwise have been, in interpreting the prophecies. But, if they had -been at liberty to speak out, and declare their full sense, on the -subject, it is certain they would not, and could not, consistently with -their avowed principles, apply the prophecies concerning Antichrist -to the Roman Emperors. For they had learned from tradition, and from -the letter of the prophecies, that Antichrist was to be revealed in -some distant age; and they even collected from a remarkable passage in -one of St. Paul’s Epistles (which will be considered hereafter) that -the removal of the Roman empire was to make way for his appearance. -Hence, they give it as a reason for their ardent prayers to Heaven for -the preservation of the empire, that the dreaded power of Antichrist -could not commence, so long as the Imperial sovereignty subsisted. And -it is observable that, of those few writers, who were in different -sentiments, the greater part conceived the time of his coming to be -_remote_; and were even driven to the strange necessity of supposing -that Nero, the first persecuting Emperor, was miraculously kept alive, -or would be raised up from the dead, in order to be revealed in a -future age, as the Antichrist of the prophets, or at least as the -_Precursor_ of Antichrist[119]. - -In short, the idea, which the early Christians, in general, formed -of Antichrist, was that of a power, to be revealed in distant times, -after the dissolution of the Roman empire; of a power, to arise out of -the ruins of that empire. Not to multiply quotations, on a point which -admits no doubt, Jerom, the ablest of the ancient Fathers, and the most -esteemed, shall speak for the rest. He says expressly, that such was -the idea of _all the ecclesiastical writers_, down to his time, as is -here represented[120]. - -Now this circumstance ye will surely think not a little remarkable, -that they, who lived under the emperors, and felt the whole weight -of their tyrannous persecution, should not apply the prophetic notes -and characters of Antichrist, to _them_, if indeed the prophecies had -been fairly capable of such application. This, I say, is exceedingly -remarkable: for men are but too apt even to wrest the scriptures to a -sense, which favours their own cause, or gratifies their passions; and -to find a completion of prophecy in events, which fall out in their own -days and concern themselves (as we see from so many absurd applications -of the Apocalypse, justly objected to certain Protestant writers); -though, when such events are past, and impartially considered, no such -accomplishment of prophecy can be discerned in them. - -When the church of Rome, therefore, now pretends, that Antichrist is -to be sought in Imperial and Pagan Rome, ye will naturally ask how it -came to pass, that the ancient fathers, who had the best opportunity of -seeing the conformity of the prophecies with the transactions of their -times, and were so much interested in those transactions, should yet -overlook such conformity, if it had been real, and fairly marked out by -the prophecies, when interpreters of these days are so quick-sighted? -And to this question, no just and satisfactory answer can be given, but -that, in the opinion of those fathers, the characters of Antichrist -were not sufficiently applicable to the Roman emperors; or, if they -were, that certain express clauses in the prophecies themselves forbade -that application of them. Either way, their conduct forms a strong -presumption, that the Antichrist of the prophets was not, and could -not be, the Roman Emperor. - -I know indeed, that, when the empire became Christian, and factions -sprang up in the church, the name of Antichrist, as a term of reproach, -was not unfrequently bestowed on such of the emperors as had made -themselves obnoxious to the orthodox party. But this flippancy of -language proves nothing but the passion of the men who indulged -themselves in it, unless it be, that this term of reproach was thought -better suited to an ecclesiastic, than a civil power: for the Emperor, -being now the head of the Christian church, his persecutions of -the faith were deemed the more _Antichristian_, as they especially -disgraced his _religious character_. And how natural this idea was, -I mean the idea of _Antichrist_, as intended by the prophets of a -_religious_, not civil power, we may learn from the history of the -schisms, which afterwards distracted the church under the papacy; when -the Antipopes very liberally, and constantly branded each other with -the name of _Antichrist_: as if they had found a peculiar aptness -in the prophetic language to express ecclesiastical tyranny and -usurpation. - -But, whatever use we may make of these facts, it is clear, on all -hands, that the Roman Emperor, _as such_, was thought to have no -concern in the predictions concerning Antichrist; at least, that the -more intelligent Christian writers of the three first centuries had -no idea of his having any such concern in them: while, yet, they held -very unanimously, that some future power was to arise in the church, in -which those predictions would be completed. - -III. This, in general, was the state of the controversy concerning -Antichrist, till the down-fall of the Western empire; when the Bishop -of Rome reared his head, and by degrees found means, amidst the ruins -of that mighty power, to advance himself into the sovereignty of Rome, -and, at length, of the Christian world: fixing his residence in the -very seat and throne of the Cæsars. It remains to see, in what light -the reign of Antichrist was, thenceforth, considered by many eminent -members of that church, which now called itself, and was, in a manner, -_universal_. In other words, we are to inquire, now that the imperial -power, which the fathers would not acknowledge to be Antichristian, had -deserted Rome, whether the papal power, which took its place on _the -seven hills_, did not, in the opinion of sober men, fill up all the -measures of the prophetic characters, and perfectly correspond to that -idea. - -1. So early, as about the close of the sixth century, Gregory the -first, or, the _Great_, as he is usually called, the most revered, and -in some respects not undeservedly so, of all the Roman pontifs, in a -famous dispute with the Bishop of Constantinople, who had taken to -himself the title of _Oecumenical_, or Universal Bishop, objects to -him, the arrogance and presumption of this claim, and treats him, on -that account, as the fore-runner, at least, of Antichrist. His words -are remarkable enough to be here quoted. _I affirm it confidently_, -says He, _that whoever calls himself Universal Bishop, or is desirous -to be so called, demonstrates himself, by this pride and elation of -heart, to be the fore-runner of Antichrist_[121]. And, again, _From -this presumption of his_ [in taking the name of Universal Bishop] _what -else can be collected, but that the times of Antichrist are now at -hand_[122]? - -It is to be observed of this Gregory, that he disclaimed, for himself, -the title of Universal Bishop, as well as refused it to his aspiring -brother of Constantinople. How consistently he did this, when at the -same time, he exercised an authority, which can only belong to that -exalted character, it is not my business to inquire. Perhaps, he did -not advert to the consequence of his own actions: perhaps, like an able -man, he meant to secure the thing, without troubling himself about the -name: perhaps, he was jealous of a rival to this claim of catholic -authority, and would not permit the Bishop of Constantinople to -decorate himself with a title, which was likely to be favourable to the -pretensions of that see, and injurious to his own. Whatever the reasons -of his conduct were, the _fact_ is, as I here represent it; and clearly -shews that, in the judgment of this renowned Roman Bishop, Antichrist -had not yet been revealed in the person of the Roman Emperor; and if -ever he were to be revealed, that not a civil, but ecclesiastical -character, agreed best with the prophetic descriptions of him[123]. - -2. Pope Boniface III. had not, it seems, the scruples, whatever they -were, of his predecessor, Gregory. He readily accepted, or rather -importunately begged, this proud title of _Oecumenical Bishop_, from -the Emperor, Phocas; and transmitted it to all his successors. And now, -it might be expected, that the Bishop of Rome would be Antichrist, in -his turn. But, such was the fortune of that see, or the devotion of the -faithful to it, that this charge was not presently brought against him: -as if the spirit of dominion, which had so long possessed that city, -were a thing of course, and could not misbecome the Bishop of Rome, -though it looked so _Antichristian_ in him of Constantinople. - -Other reasons concurred to save the honour of the papal chair. Its -authority grew, every day, more absolute: and the tradition of the -church (which had hitherto been the chief support of the doctrine -concerning Antichrist) gradually sunk under the apprehension of that -power, to which alone it could, with any apparent propriety, be -applied: while the ignorance of the times became such, that, except -perhaps in the minds of some few retainers to the see of Rome, there -was scarce light enough left in the Christian world to point out -the meaning of the prophecies; if its gross superstition would have -otherwise permitted the application of them to the sacred person of the -Pope. - -3. Under the cover of all these advantages, _the Man of Sin_ had -a convenient time to display himself, and to grow up into that -full size and stature, in which he could no longer be overlooked, -or mistaken, by those who had any knowledge of the prophecies, or -skill in applying them. Accordingly we find that at the synod of -Rheims, held in the Xth century[124], Arnulphus, Bishop of Orleans, -appealed to the whole council, whether the Bishop of Rome were not -the Antichrist of the prophets; _sitting in the temple of God_; and -perfectly corresponding to the marks, which St. Paul had given of -him. In particular, speaking of John the XVth, who then governed the -church of Rome, he apostrophized the assembly in these words—“What -think ye, reverend Fathers, of this man, seated on a lofty throne, and -shining in purple and gold? Whom do ye account him to be? Surely, if -destitute of charity, and puffed up with the pride of science only, He -is ANTICHRIST, _sitting in the temple of God, and shewing himself that -he is God_[125].” - -4. In the former part of the XIth century, Berengarius, a man of -principal note in those days, and distinguished by his free writings -concerning the Eucharist, went so far as to call the church of -Rome, _the seat of Satan_ (which is but another apocalyptic name of -Antichrist); and to know from what source he derived this language, -we need only reflect, that, in the catalogue of his works, we find a -treatise written by him expressly on the book of Revelations[126]. - -As this century advanced, the papal power rose to its height. And -all the characters of Antichrist glared so strongly in the person -of Hildebrand, who took the name of Gregory VIIth, that the Romish -historian, Joannes Aventinus, speaks of it as a point, _in which the -generality of fair, candid, and ingenuous writers, were agreed, That_ -THEN _began the empire of Antichrist_[127]. - -5. Pascal II, who had been brought up at the feet of Hildebrand, and -sate upon the papal throne in the beginning of the XIIth century, was -treated with as little ceremony, as his master had been; particularly, -by Fluentius, Bishop of Florence, and by the whole church of Liege[128]. - -St. Bernard, too, the most eminent person of that age, was so struck -with the marks of Antichristianism in the church of Rome (to which, -however, in other respects, he was enough devoted) that he employed all -the thunder of his rhetoric (in which faculty he excelled) against its -corruptions; exclaiming, _that the ministers of Christ were become the -servants of Antichrist; and that the beast of the Apocalypse had seated -himself in the chair of St. Peter_[129]. - -But this charge was now so general, and sounded so high, that it -reached the ears of _others_, besides prelates, and churchmen. -Historians relate, that it made an impression on our military king, -Richard I.; who, being at Messina in Sicily, in his way to the Holy -Land, and hearing much of the learned Abbot Joachim of Calabria, (a -man, famous in those times for his warm invectives against the Roman -hierarchy;) had the curiosity to take a lecture from him on this -subject. His text was, _Antichrist_, and the _Apocalypse_; which he -explained in so pointed and forcible a manner, as was much to the -satisfaction, we are told, of his royal auditor[130]. - -6. The first appearance of the people, called Waldenses or Albigenses, -was in this age; but, in the next, the XIIIth century, they prevailed -to that degree, that Crusades and Inquisitions were thought little -enough to be employed against them. We may know what the guilt of this -people was, when we understand from their books, and from the testimony -of the great historian, Thuanus, that a leading principle of their -heresy was, To treat the Pope as _Antichrist_; and the church of Rome, -as _Babylon_; on the authority of the prophecies contained in the -Revelation[131]. - -Other[132] testimonies occur in the history of this age. But I must -not omit that of our famous historian, Matthew Paris; who hath taken -care to inform us, that his contemporary, Robert Grostête, Bishop of -Lincoln, the most considerable of all the English bishops, and equally -renowned for his affection to civil and religious liberty, was so much -in earnest in fixing this charge on the see of Rome, that, as it had -been the common theme of his meditations during life, so it occupied -his dying moments; the _Pope_, and _Antichrist_, being, as he tells us, -among the last words of this zealous prelate[133]. - -7. The XIVth century affords many authorities in point; among which the -immortal names of Dante[134] and Petrarch[135] are commonly cited. -But the example of our Wicklif, who adorned that age, is most to our -purpose, and may excuse the mention of any other. This extraordinary -man saw far into all the abuses of his time: but he had nothing more at -heart, than to expose the _Antichristianism_ of the Roman Pontif[136]. - -8. Still, as the times grew more enlightened, the controversy -concerning Antichrist became more general and important. The writings -of Wicklif had great effects both at home, and abroad; and, with other -causes, contributed very much to the cultivation of free enquiry, and -to the improvement of all useful knowledge, in the XVth century. The -church of Rome was pushed vigorously on all sides; and, in her turn, -omitted no means of self-defence. That the _worst_ were not scrupled, -may be seen by what passed in England at that time, as well as by the -sanguinary and faithless proceedings at the council of Constance. Lord -Cobham, and the two Bohemian martyrs, were committed to the flames, for -nothing so much, as for asserting the impious doctrine, ‘That the Pope -was Antichrist.’ - -9. We now enter on the XVIth century; distinguished in the annals of -mankind by that great event, The Reformation of long oppressed and much -adulterated religion. The Christian world had slumbered in its chains, -for full ten ages. But Liberty came at last— - - _Libertas, quæ sera tamen respexit_ INERTEM. - -This important work was begun, and prosecuted, on the common principle, -That the bishop of Rome was Antichrist: and the great separation from -the church of Rome, was every where justified on the idea, That Rome -was the Babylon of the Revelation; and that Christians were bound by an -express command in those prophecies, to _come out of her_ communion. - -Leo X. was thunder-struck with this cry, which resounded on all sides; -and, in the last Lateran council, gave it in charge to all preachers, -that none of them should presume to call the Pope, Antichrist, or to -treat this obnoxious subject in their discourses to the people[137]. -But his edict came too late. The notion had taken deep root in the -minds of men; and the name of Antichrist, as applied to the Pope, was -current in all quarters. - -10. From this time to the present, _the charge of Antichristianism_ -against the church of Rome is to be regarded, not as the language of -private men, or particular synods; but as the common voice of the whole -Protestant world: so that it will be needless to bring down the history -of it any lower. - -THIS DEDUCTION, though made with all possible brevity, hath held us so -long, that I have but time for one or two short reflexions upon it. - -1. _First_, It may seem probable from the general prevalence of this -opinion, in all the periods of the Christian church, that it must needs -have some solid ground in the scriptural prophecies: it not being -otherwise conceivable, that it should spread so far, and continue so -long; or that the more enlightened, as well as barbarous ages should -concur in the profession of it. - -2. _Secondly_, from the catalogue of illustrious names, here produced, -and from the singular stress, which all Protestant churches to this -day have ever laid on this principle, we may see the importance of the -general question. The papal divines have an evident reason for treating -it with contempt. The men of thought and inquiry, who speculate within -the Roman communion, may be restrained by considerations of fear or -decency, from joining[138] in this invidious charge against the head -of their church. But for any, that profess Christianity, and call -themselves Protestants, to make light of inquiries into the prophecies -concerning Antichrist, and to manifest a scorn of all attempts to apply -them in the way, in which they have so generally, and with such effect -been applied, is a sort of conduct, which will not so readily find an -excuse, much less a justification. - -3. _Lastly_, whatever becomes of the _truth_, or _importance_ of the -doctrine, the _antiquity_ of it is not to be disputed. For we are -authorised to affirm, on the most certain grounds of history, that a -Roman power, commonly called Antichrist, was expected to arise in _the -latter times_, by the primitive Christians; and that the Imperial, was -not deemed to be that power, so long as it subsisted. It is, further, -unquestionable that not the Emperor, but the Bishop or Church of Rome, -was afterwards thought entitled to the name of Antichrist by many -persons of that communion, for several successive centuries, previous -to the æra of the Reformation. - -These facts should abate the wonder, at least, which some express at -hearing the names of the _Pope_ and _Antichrist_ pronounced together. -They must surely convince every man, that this language, whatever -foundation it may, or may not have, in the prophecies, is not taken -up without precedents and authorities; and that the notion, conveyed -by it, is not a conceit of yesterday, which sprung out of recent -prejudices, and novel interpretations. This, I say, is a conclusion -which every man must draw from the premises, laid down in this -discourse: and this, for the present, is the main use I would request -you to make of those premises. - - - - -SERMON VIII. - -PREJUDICES AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF ANTICHRIST. - -1 EP. JOHN ii. 18. - -—_Ye have heared that Antichrist shall come_— - - -One of the principal prejudices against the doctrine of Antichrist, -as understood and applied by Protestant divines, arises out of a -circumstance, which was just touched in the close of my last discourse, -and is of importance enough to be now resumed and more particularly -considered. - -I. It is well known that, when the Reformation was set on foot in the -sixteenth century, this great work was every where justified and -conducted on the general principle, “That the Pope, or at least the -church of Rome, was Antichrist.” - -“Now men of sense, who have looked no farther into the subject, and yet -remember, as they easily may, the bitterness, the policy, the fraud, -too commonly observable in the conduct of religious (as of other) -parties, easily fall into the suspicion, That this cry of Antichrist -was only an artifice of the time, or at least an extravagance of it; -when the minds of men were intensely heated against each other, and -when of course no arms would be refused, that might serve to annoy or -distress the enemy. - -In these circumstances, it was natural enough, it will be said, for -angry men to _see_ that in the prophecies which was not contained in -them; or for designing men to _feign_ that which they did not see; in -order the more effectually to carry on the cause in which they had -embarked, and to seduce the unwary multitude into their quarrel. In -short, the passions of the Reformed, it is readily presumed, had, some -way or other, conjured up this spectre of Antichrist, as a convenient -engine, by which they might either gratify their own spleen, or excite -that of the people; the prophecies all the while being no further -concerned in the question, than as they were wrested for these purposes -(as they frequently have been, in like cases) from their true and -proper meaning.” - -To remove this capital prejudice (which, more than any other, hath, -perhaps, diverted serious men from giving a due attention to this -argument) was the main purpose of the preceding discourse; in which -it was clearly shewn from historical testimony, that the question -concerning Antichrist had its rise in the earliest times; that the -prophecies concerning Antichrist, though imperfectly enough understood, -and, it may be, passionately applied, had yet, been considered, -very generally, as referring to _some_ corrupt Christian and even -ecclesiastical person or power; and that many eminent members of the -Christian church had even applied those prophecies to the _same_ person -or power, to which Protestants now apply them, and for the _same_ end, -which Protestants have in view, when they apply them to such person or -power, for many successive centuries, before the Reformation began. -From all which it is undeniable, that the Reformers did not innovate in -the interpretation of the prophecies concerning Antichrist; and that -their application of them to the see of Rome, was not a contrivance, -which sprung out of the passionate resentments, or interested policies -of that time. - -It is true indeed (for the truth should not, and needs not be -concealed) that the Reformers were forward enough to lay hold on this -received sense of the prophecies, and to make their utmost advantage of -it; the account of which matter is, briefly, this: The Christian church -had now for many ages been held together in a close dependence on the -chair of St. Peter; and to secure and perpetuate that dependence, was -the principal object and concern of the papal court. Various means -were employed for this purpose; but the most effectual was thought to -be, to inculcate in the strongest terms on the minds of Christians the -absolute necessity of communicating with the Bishop of Rome, as the -centre of unity, and, by divine appointment, the supreme visible head -of the Christian world. Hence, to renounce in any degree the authority -and jurisdiction of Rome, was deemed the most inexpiable of all sins. -The name of SCHISM was fastened upon it; a name, which was sounded -higher than that of Heresy itself, as implying in it the accumulated -guilt of Apostacy, and Infidelity. The way of heaven was shut against -all offenders of this sort; and, to make their condition as miserable, -as it was hopeless, all the engines of persecution, such as racks, -fires, gibbets, inquisitions, and even Crusades, had been employed -against them: as was seen in the case of the Albigenses and others, -who, at different times, had attempted to withdraw themselves from the -papal dominion. - -Such was the state of things, when the bold spirit of Luther resolved, -at all adventures, to break through this inveterate servitude[139], so -dextrously imposed on the Christian world, under the pretence, and in -the name, of ecclesiastical union. Yet the peril of the attempt was -easily foreseen, or was presently felt. And, therefore, the Reformers -(to prevent the ill effects which the dreadful name of _Schism_ might -have on themselves and their cause, and to satisfy at once their own -consciences and those of their adherents) not only revived and enforced -the old charge of _Antichristianism_ against the church of Rome; but -further insisted (on the authority of those prophecies which justified -the charge) that Christians were bound in conscience, by the most -express command, to break all communion with her. The expedient, one -sees, was well calculated to serve the purpose in hand: but still -the command was truly and pertinently alledged; for it exists in so -many words (however the blindness or the bigotry of former times had -overlooked it) in the book of the _Revelations_[140]. So that whoever -admitted the _charge_ itself to be well founded, could not reject this -_consequence_ of it, That Christ and Antichrist had no fellowship -with each other. And on this popular ground, chiefly, the Protestant -cause, in those early times, was upheld; with no small advantage to the -patrons of it; it being now clear, that the invidious imputation of -Schism had lost its malignity in the general obligation, which lay upon -Christians, to renounce all communion with the church of Rome. - -This being the true account of that zeal, with which the doctrine of -Antichrist was asserted in the days of Reformation, let us see how -the case stands at present; and whether any reasonable prejudice lies -against the doctrine itself, from the uses, that were then so happily -made of it. - -In the first place, The injunction, _to come out of her_, was, as I -observed, not forged by the Reformers; nor (admitting that church -to be Antichristian) was it misrepresented by them. Every reader of -the prophecies must confess, that the command is clearly delivered, -and that the sense of it is not mistaken. How serviceable soever, -therefore, this topic was to the cause of reformation, it is not, on -that account, to be the less esteemed by the just and candid inquirer. - -In the next place, I will freely admit, that the dread, in which most -men, if not all men[141], of that time, were held, of incurring the -imputation of Schism, was much greater, than the occasion required, -and, upon the whole, a sort of panic terror. For, though a causeless -separation from the church would indeed have loaded the Reformers with -much and real guilt, yet when the abuses of it had risen to that height -as to reduce an honest man to the alternative, either of committing -sin, or of leaving its communion, they might well have justified -themselves on the evident necessity of the thing, and had no need of -a positive command to authorize their separation. All this is, now, -clearly seen; and if the first Reformers did not see thus much (as -very probably they did not) all that follows is, That the doctrine -of Antichrist, from which that command derived its effect, was less -necessary to their cause, than they supposed it to be; not, that the -doctrine itself is without authority, or the command without obligation. - -Lastly, I observe, that, though the _violences_ of the time might -force the Reformers to take shelter in this doctrine of Antichrist, -and though the _prejudices_ of the time might induce them to take -the advantage, they did, of it; yet, neither of these considerations -affords any just presumption against the doctrine, as it lies in -scripture, and is enforced by us at this time out of it; because we -argue, not from their authority, but from the prophecies themselves; -which are much better understood by us, than they were by them; and -are still maintained to speak the sense, which they put upon them, I -mean with respect to the general application of them to the church of -Rome, though we have nothing to apprehend either from the power of that -church, or from the prejudices of the people. - -Let no man, therefore, rashly conclude, from the free use made of this -doctrine by our old Reformers (and there is scarce one of them that has -not left behind him a tract or discourse on Antichrist) that it hath -no better or other foundation, than in their interests or passions. A -reasonable man sees, that it has no dependance at all upon them. That -Luther, indeed, heated in the controversy with the church of Rome, and -smoaking, as I may say, from the recent blast of the papal thunders, -should cry out, ANTICHRIST[142], shall pass, if you will, for a sally -of rage and desperation[143]. But that we, at this day, who revolve the -prophecies at our ease, and are in little more dread of modern Rome, -than of ancient Babylon, should still find the resemblance so striking -as to fall upon the same idea; and should even be driven against the -strong bias of prejudice (which with us, in England, for above a -century past, has drawn the other way) to adopt the language of our -great Reformer; this, I say, is a consideration of another sort, and -will not be put off so slightly. - -STILL, there are other prejudices, which oppose themselves to this -great Protestant principle, _That the Pope is Antichrist_; and these, -it will not be beside the purpose of this Lecture to consider. It may, -then, be said, - -II. “That, although there be not the same evident necessity for -bringing this odious charge against the Papacy, as there was formerly -in the infancy of Reformation, yet obvious reasons are not wanting, -which may possibly induce the Protestant churches of our times to -repeat and inforce it. So long as the separation is kept up, the -partizans of the cause will not scruple to lay hold on every popular -topic, by which it may be promoted. But an _ill name_, is the readiest -of all expedients, and generally the most effectual, for this service. -And as _Heretic_ is the term in use, when the church of Rome would -discredit the Reformation; so, _Antichrist_ serves just as well, in -the mouth of a Protestant, to disgrace the Catholic party. Hence, the -people are gratified in a low spite against the person of the Pope; the -better sort are confirmed in their religious or politic aversion to the -church of Rome; and Princes themselves are invited to come in aid of -the prophecies, by turning their arms and councils against a godless -antichristian tyranny: and all this, to the ruin of public peace, and -in defiance of Christian charity.” - -When men declaim, instead of arguing, or, what is worse, when they -argue from their suspicions only, it may not be easy to give them an -answer to their satisfaction. Otherwise, one might reply, - -_First_, That the question is not, what use has been, or may be, made -of this doctrine concerning Antichrist; but whether there be reason to -believe that such doctrine is really contained in sacred scripture. If -there be, it will become us to treat it with respect, how much soever -it may have been misapplied, or perverted. - -In the _next place_, one might observe that no man, who understood -the state of this controversy, ever applied the prophecies concerning -Antichrist to the _person_ of the Pope, but in general to the church of -Rome, or rather to the Antichristian spirit, by which it is governed; -or, if to the _Pope_, to him only as representing that society, of -which he is the head; and so far only, as he acted in the spirit of it. -And there is nothing strange or unusual in this use of the term. When -Hobbes wrote his famous book, called LEVIATHAN (a word, now at least, -of almost as ill sound, as Antichrist itself) no man supposes, that -he meant to apply this character, exclusively, to the person of any -prince, then living; but, in general, to _civil government_, according -to the ideas he had formed of it. And this way of speaking, as I have -before observed, is especially familiar to the sacred writers. Many -of the Popes are said to have been, and, for any thing I know, _may_ -have been, _Saints_, in their private morals: so that when we apply -the term, Antichrist, to them, we do not mean to stigmatize their -_persons_, but merely to express the sense which the prophecies lead -us to entertain of the communion, over which they preside; though -they may not exemplify in their own conduct, or not in any remarkable -degree, the avowed principles of that communion. - -Conceive, therefore, with more respect of Protestant divines, when they -explain and vindicate the prophecies concerning Antichrist, than to -suppose, that they indulge in themselves, or would encourage in others, -_a low spite against the person of the Roman Pontif_. - -_Thirdly_, It is to be observed, that, although this prophetic language -may tend to confirm Protestants _in a religious, or_, if you will, -_politic aversion to the church of Rome_; yet it is not therefore to -be forborn, if the scriptures do, indeed, authorize the use of it; -nor is there any hurt done, if the principles of that church be not -misrepresented; for then, such aversion becomes the wisdom and the -duty of all Christians. Besides, this aversion proceeds no farther -in well-informed Protestants, than to keep them at distance from the -Romish communion, and to admonish others of their obligation to forsake -it. And, if the members, above all, if the rulers, of that communion -would restrain _their_ zeal within the same bounds (though they would -not, we say, be equally justified in this zeal) neither public peace, -nor Christian charity, would suffer by it. - -_Lastly_, it should be remembered, That, when the prophecies foretell -the downfall of Antichrist, and even go so far as to point out to us -the princes of that communion, as the destined instruments of such -catastrophe; yet neither is hereby any duty imposed on those princes -to make war upon the Pope, nor any encouragement given to Protestants -themselves to concur in any such measures. For the prophets simply -predict an _event_; and do not deliver in their prediction, or propose -to deliver, _rules_ for our conduct. Our Saviour himself, speaking -by the spirit, and in the language of prophecy, said—_I come not to -send peace on earth, but a sword_. But will any man suppose that this -prediction justifies, or was meant in any degree to justify, that state -of things, which it describes, and which the author of it foresaw -would too certainly come to pass? Nor think, that the event predicted, -I mean, _the fall of Antichrist_, will not take place, unless our -invectives, or hostile attempts, make way for it. If the prediction be -divine, there is ONE, who will see that it be accomplished. Princes and -States may have nothing less in view than to fulfill the prophecies -of sacred Scripture: yet, when the appointed time is come, they will -certainly fulfill them, though they never thought _of coming in aid -of the prophecies_—though we should not encourage them in any such -presumptuous design—nay, though we should do our utmost, as it is our -duty to do, to restrain vindictive and ill-advised men from turning -their arms even against Antichrist himself, for the sake of religion. - -This topic, I know, is much laboured by the advocates of the papal -cause, in order to throw disgrace on Protestant writers, whom they -consider as so many incendiaries, wickedly attempting to spread the -flames of war through Christian societies. There might be a time -when, in the case of some few men, transported by passion, because -outrageously oppressed, there was, perhaps, some colour for this -charge. But to persist in it, as they still do, only shews that they -neither conceive with due reverence of divine prophecy, nor do justice -to that spirit of toleration by which the Protestant churches, at least -of our days, are so eminently distinguished. - -III. “A _third_ prejudice, which operates in the minds of many persons -against the principle under consideration, arises from the disagreeing -opinions of learned men concerning the sense and application of the -prophecies; while not only the papal Divines, but many writers of note -even among ourselves, have strenuously maintained that the church of -Rome is no way concerned in the predictions concerning Antichrist.” - -To this prejudice, I observe, - -1. That arguments from authority, in all cases where reason and good -sense must finally decide, are very little to be regarded. Shew me the -question in religion, or even in common morals, about which learned men -have not disagreed; nay, shew me a single text of scripture, though -ever so plain and precise, which the perverseness or ingenuity of -interpreters has not drawn into different, and often contrary meanings. -What then shall we conclude? That there is no truth in religion, -no certainty in morals, no authority in sacred scripture? If such -conclusions, as these, be carried to their utmost length, in what else -can they terminate, but absolute universal scepticism? - -2. I observe that this authority, after all, whatever weight we may, -in the general, suppose it to have, is, in the present case, no great -matter; for it is, in effect, but the authority of ONE man, whose -eminent worth, however, and lustre of reputation, made it current with -some others. - -The character of HUGO GROTIUS is well known. He is justly esteemed -among the ablest and most learned men of an age, that abounded -in ability and learning. Besides his other shining talents, his -acquaintance with history was extensive; and his knowledge of -scripture, profound. And yet, with two such requisites for unlocking -the true sense of the prophetic writings, this excellent man undertook -to prove in form, _That the Pope was not Antichrist_. - -The account of this mischance, is as extraordinary, as the mischance -itself. The moral qualities of Grotius were still more admirable, than -his intellectual: and in these qualities, we shall find the true spring -of his unhappy and misapplied pains on the subject before us. - -He was in his own nature just, candid, benevolent, to a supreme degree; -and the experience of an active turbulent life had but fortified him -the more in a love of these pacific virtues. He was, on principle, a -sincere and zealous Christian; and consequently impressed with a due -sense of that exalted charity, which is the characteristic of that -religion: but he had seen and felt much of the mischiefs, which proceed -from theological quarrels: and thus every thing concurred to make him a -friend to peace, and, above all, to peace among Christians. - -An union of the Catholic and Protestant churches seemed necessary -to this end: and the apparent candour, whether real or affected, -of some learned persons, whom he had long known and valued in the -church of Rome, drew him into the belief, that such a project was not -impracticable. Henceforth, it became the ruling object of his life; -and, permitting himself too easily to conclude, that the Protestant -doctrine of Antichrist was the sole, or principal obstruction to the -union desired, he bent all the efforts of his wit and learning to -discredit and overthrow that doctrine. - -Thus, was this virtuous man betrayed by the wisdom and equity of his -own character; and I know not if the observation of the moral poet can -be so justly applied to any other— - - Insani sapiens nomen ferat, æquus iniqui, - Ultrà quàm satis est, virtutem si petat ipsam[144]. - -The issue of his general scheme was what might easily be foreseen: and -of his _arguments_, I shall only say thus much, That the Romish writers -themselves, for whose use they might seem to be invented, though they -continue to object his name to us, are too wise to venture the stress -of their cause upon them. - -To conclude this head of authority, let me just observe, - -3. In the last place, that, if any regard be due to it, the advantage -will clearly be on our side. For, though the name of Grotius made -an impression on some Protestant interpreters of scripture, not -inconsiderable for their parts and learning, yet, when the grounds of -his opinion came to be examined, the most and the ablest of them have -generally declared against him: and among these, let it be no offence -to the manes of this great[145] man, if we particularly mention TWO, -and prefer even to his authority that of Newton and Clarke; the one, -the ablest philosopher, and the other, the coolest and most rational -divine, that any age has produced. - -IV. “Another, and _fourth_ prejudice may have been entertained on this -subject from observing that many curious persons, who have employed -themselves much and long in the study of the prophecies, especially of -those concerning Antichrist, have been led (on their authority, as they -pretend) to fix the time and other circumstances of great events, which -yet have not fallen out agreeable to their expectations. Whence it is -inferred, that no solid information can be derived from the prophecies, -and that all our reasonings upon them are no better than fancy and -conjecture.” - -Now, though the indiscretion of these curious persons, who would needs -prophecy when their business was only to interpret[146], be injurious -enough to their own character, I do not see how it affects that of -the prophets; unless whatever may be abused (as every thing may) be -answerable for the abuses made of it. But to reply more directly to -this charge. - -The ill success of men in explaining prophecies of events, not yet come -to pass, can in no degree discredit those prophecies, unless it be -essential to this sort of revelation to be so clearly proposed, as that -it may and must be perfectly understood, before those events happen; -the contrary of which I have already shewn, in a preceding discourse. -The very idea of prophecy is that of _a light shining in a dark -place_: and a place is not _dark_, if we have light enough to discern -distinctly and fully every remote corner of it. But the thing speaks -itself. For to what end is the prediction delivered in obscure and -enigmatic terms, if the purpose of the inspirer was that the subject -of the prediction should be immediately, and in all its circumstances, -precisely apprehended? Why, then, is any distinction made between -Prophecy, and History? The mode of writing clearly demonstrates, that -something, for a time at least, was meant to be concealed from us: and -then, if men will attempt, out of season, to penetrate this mystery, -what wonder if mistake be the fruit of their presumption? - -Again: the _declared_ end of prophecy is, not that we may be enabled -by it to foresee things before they come to pass, but _when_ they -come to pass, that we may acknowledge the divine author of the -prophecy[147]. What dishonour, then, can it be to the prophet, that he -is not perfectly understood, till we be expected to make use of his -information? Nay, in the case before us, it would dishonour him, if -he was. For, of the prophecies concerning Antichrist we are expressly -told, that they are _shut up and sealed, till the time of the end_; -that is, till Time brings the key along with him. So that, if men -could open them, by their own wit and sagacity only, they would give -the lye to the prophet. And thus we see, that the very mistakes of -interpreters attempting prematurely to unfold the _sealed_ prophecies -concerning Antichrist, far from subverting, support the credit of -those prophecies[148]. - -But I have something more to say on this subject. Though we cannot see -every thing in the prophecies, which we are impatient to see, it is -not to be supposed that we can see nothing in them. If this were the -case, we should scarce regard them as prophecies at all; at least, we -should hardly be prevailed upon to read and consider them. For, it is -on the supposition that some _light_ is communicated to us, that we are -disposed, as well as required, to _take heed to it_. In short, if we -saw nothing, we should expect nothing: such prophecies would not engage -our curiosity, or so much as take our attention. In one word, they -would be utterly lost upon us. - -This seems to have been, in some measure, the case with regard to this -very book of the _Revelations_. The early Christians saw so little -in this prophecy, that they were led by degrees to neglect the study -of it. Otherwise, the little they did see, might have given them a -glimpse, at least, of many things, that intimately concerned both their -faith and conduct. - -It being then necessary, as I said, that prophecy should, from the -first, convey some light to us, and time having now very much increased -that light, it follows, that men may excuseably employ themselves -in studying and contemplating even unfulfilled prophecies. They may -conjecture modestly of points which time has not yet revealed: but they -should, in no case, pronounce confidently, or decide dogmatically upon -them. - -It seems therefore to be going too far, to pass an indiscriminate -censure on all those, who have proposed their thoughts on the sense -of prophecies, not yet completed, though it be ever so clear that a -wrong construction has been made of them. Nay, it is worth considering -whether they may not even have conjectured right, when they have -been thought to mistake the most widely. I say this, chiefly, with -regard to the _time_, which some writers have beforehand assigned for -the accomplishment of certain prophecies, and that, on principles -apparently contained in those prophecies; but so unhappily, as to draw -much scorn and ridicule upon themselves. - -I explain myself by a famous instance. Nothing has been more censured -in Protestant divines, than their temerity in fixing _the fall -of Antichrist_; though there are certain data in the prophecies, -from which very probable conclusions on that subject may be drawn. -Experience, it is said, contradicts their calculation. But it is not -considered, that the fall of Antichrist, is not _a single event_, -to happen all at once; but _a state of things_, to continue through -a long tract of time, and to be gradually accomplished. Hence, the -interpretation of the prophecy might be rightly formed, though the -expectations of most men are disappointed. - -It is visible, I suppose, that the papal power (if we agree to call -that, _Antichrist_) is now on the decline; whensoever that declension -began, or how long soever it may be, before it will be finished. And -therefore interpreters may have aimed right, though they seemed to -others, and perhaps to themselves, to be mistaken. - -Suppose, the ruin of the Western Empire had been the subject of a -prediction, and some had collected, beforehand, from the terms of -the prophecy, that it would happen at a _particular_ time; when yet -nothing more, in fact, came to pass, than _the first irruption of -the barbarous nations_. Would it be certain that this collection was -groundless and ill made, because the empire subsisted in a good degree -of vigour for some centuries after? Might it not be said, that the -empire _was falling_[149] from that æra, or perhaps before; though, in -the event, it _fell_ not, till its sovereignty was shaken by the rude -hands of Attila, or rather, till it was laid flat by the well-directed -force of Theodoric? - -But we have an instance in point, recorded in sacred scripture. It had -been gathered from the old prophecies[150], that, _in the last times_, -(that is, when the Messiah was come) _a new earth and new heavens -should be created_. The style is symbolical; but the meaning is, and -was so understood to be, that a new Law should be given to mankind and -prevail over the whole world. This Law was accordingly promulged and -began to prevail in the days of the Apostles. Yet there were some who -said, _Where is the promise of his coming? for, since the fathers fell -asleep, all things continue, as they were from the creation of the -world._ It was taken for granted, we see, that this great and glorious -work, equivalent to the production of a new world, would take place -suddenly and at once; which not being the case, it seemed to follow, -that the prophecies were false, or at least ill understood: when yet, -surely, they were then fulfilling under the eyes of these _scoffers_. - -It will be considered, how far these hints may go towards rescuing -some respectable interpreters (for I speak only of such) from -that contempt, which has fallen upon them, and, from them, on the -prophecies themselves, for some hazardous conclusions, or, (if you -will) predictions, formed and given out by them, concerning the reign -and fall of Antichrist. My meaning, however, is not to make myself -responsible for these conclusions. They may not be rightly drawn -from the premises, laid down; or the premises may be such, that the -precise date of those transactions cannot be determined from them, at -least, not, till the scene of prophecy be closed, or, in the prophetic -language, _till the mystery of God be finished_[151]. In the mean -time, it is not clear and undeniable that there is no ground at all -for such conjectures: or, if it were, it would only follow that they, -who made them, had been rash and indiscreet in commenting too minutely -and confidently on prophecies unfulfilled; and it would be weak, as we -have seen, to contract a prejudice against the subject itself from the -mistakes of such commentators. - -V. After all, the main and master prejudice, I doubt, is, that levity -of mind which disposes too many to take their notions on this, and -other subjects of moment, from certain polite and popular, it may be, -but frivolous and libertine writers: men, who have no religion, or not -enough to venerate the prophetic scriptures; who have no knowledge, or -certainly not enough to understand them. - -But with such cavillers, as these, I have no concern; this Lecture, -and the subject of it, being addressed to men of another character, -to fair, candid, sober, and enlightened inquirers, only: For so -the inspired person, who first announced these wonders concerning -Antichrist, to mankind, expressly declares, or rather prophesies—_None -of the wicked shall understand: but_ THE WISE _shall understand_[152]. - - - - -SERMON IX. - -THE PROPHETIC STYLE CONSIDERED. - -EZEKIEL xx. 49. - -—_They say of me, Doth he not speak Parables?_ - - -In recounting the various prejudices, which have diverted many persons -from giving a due attention to the prophecies concerning Antichrist, I -may be thought to have overlooked ONE of the most considerable; which -ariseth from _the peculiar style, in which they are delivered_. But -this being a subject of larger compass, and nicer inquiry, than the -rest, (in which, too, the credit of all the prophetic scriptures, as -well as those respecting Antichrist, is concerned) I have purposely -reserved it for a distinct and separate examination. - -WITHOUT DOUBT, a plain man, brought up in our customs and notions, and -unacquainted with theological studies, when he first turns himself -to the contemplation of the Jewish and Christian prophecies, will be -surprised, perhaps disgusted, to find, that he understands little, or -nothing of them. His _modesty_ may incline him to think, that such -writings are too mysterious for his comprehension: or, his _laziness -and presumption_ may dispose him to reject them, at once, as perfectly -unintelligible; to consider the language of them, as a jargon, to which -no ideas are annexed; or, at least, as a kind of cypher, of so wild and -fanatical a texture, that no clear and certain construction can be made -of it. - -Now, this prejudice, whichever way it points, will be obviated, if it -can be shewn, - -1. That the prophetic style was of common and approved use, in the -times when the prophecies were delivered, and among the people to whom -they were addressed. - -And - -2. That this style, how dark or fanciful soever it may appear, is yet -_reducible to rule_; that is, is constructed on such principles, as -make it the subject of just criticism and reasonable interpretation; -and, in particular, to us, at this day. - -For a language is not _fanatical_, that is authorised by general -practice; nor can it be deemed _unintelligible_, when it is capable of -having its meaning ascertained. - -I. The proof of these two points will most conveniently be given -together, in a deduction of the causes, which produced the character of -the prophetic style. - -That character, I believe, is truly given by those who affirm, That -the style of the prophets was only the poetical, and highly figurative -style of the Eastern nations. But if you go farther and ask, How it -came to pass, that the oriental poetry was so much more figurative -than ours, it may not be enough to say, as many others have done, that -this difference of character was owing to the influence of the sun, -and to the superior heat and fervour, which it gave to an eastern -imagination. For I know not whether there be reason to think, that the -sun hath any such effect on the powers of the mind; or that the fancies -of men are apter to catch, and blaze out in metaphor, within a warm -climate, than a cold one: a figurative cast of style being observable -in the native poetry of all countries; and that, so far as appears from -history and experience, in a pretty equal degree. - -Besides, if the fact were allowed, the answer would scarce be -sufficient. For, as we shall presently see, the symbolic language of -Prophecy, is too consistent and uniform, hath too much of art and -method in it, to be derived from the casual flights and sallies of -the imagination _only_, how powerfully soever you suppose it to have -operated in the prophets. - -We then must go much deeper for a true account of the emblematic and -highly coloured expression, which glares so strongly in the prophetic -scriptures: and we shall find it, partly, in the nature of the human -mind; and, partly, in the genius, indeed, of the oriental nations, and -especially of the Jews, but as fashioned, not by the influence of their -climate, but by the modes of their learning and institution. - -I must be as brief as possible, on a subject, which many learned -writers[153] have largely and fully discussed; and, as the reflexions -I have to offer to you upon it, are chiefly taken from them, I may the -rather bespeak your attention to what follows. - -1. First, then, let it be observed, that the original language of all -nations is extremely imperfect. Their stock of words being small, they -explain themselves very much by _signs_, or representative actions: -and their conceptions, in that early state of society, being gross and -rude, the few words they have, are replete with material images, and -so are what we call highly metaphorical; and this, not from choice -or design, or even from any extraordinary warmth of fancy, but of -necessity, and from the very nature of things. - -Such is the primitive character of all languages: and it continues long -in all, because the figurative manner is thought ornamental, when it -is no longer necessary; and because the necessity of it is only, if at -all, removed by long use and habit in abstract speculation: a degree -of refinement, to which the orientals, and the Jews especially, never -attained. And therefore in their languages, very long - - —_Manserunt, hodieque manent vestigia ruris._ - -Thus far we may go in accounting for the figured style of the east, -from general principles. But this is by no means the whole of the case. -For - -2. We are to reflect, that, before an alphabet was invented, and what -we call literary writing was formed into an art, men had no way to -record their conceptions, or to convey them to others at a distance, -but by setting down the figures and shapes of such things, as were the -objects of their contemplation. Hence, the way of writing in _picture_, -was as universal, and almost as early, as the way of speaking in -_metaphor_; and from the same reason, the necessity of the thing. - -In process of time, and through many successive improvements, this -rude and simple mode of _picture-writing_ was succeeded by that of -_symbols_, or was enlarged at least, and enriched by it. By symbols, -I mean certain representative marks, rather than express pictures; -or if pictures, such as were at the same time _characters_, and, -besides presenting to the eye the resemblance of a particular object, -suggested a general idea to the mind. As, when a _horn_ was made to -denote _strength_, an _eye and scepter_, _majesty_, and in numberless -such instances; where the picture was not drawn to express merely -the thing itself, but something else, which was, or was conceived -to be, analogous to it. This more complex and ingenious form of -picture-writing was much practised by the Egyptians, and is that which -we know by the name of HIEROGLYPHICS. - -Indeed, these _symbolic characters_ were likely, in a course of -successive refinements, to pass into characters by _institution_: and -have, in fact, undergone that change among the Chinese: and it might be -expected that _both_ would be laid aside by any people that should come -to be acquainted with the far more convenient and expeditious method -of alphabetic writing. But the event, in some instances, hath been -different. The Chinese adhere to their _characters_, though from their -late intercourse with the European nations, one cannot but suppose, -that the knowledge of _letters_ has been conveyed to them: and the -Egyptians, through all the extent of their long subsisting and highly -polished empire, retained their _hieroglyphics_, notwithstanding their -invention and use of an _alphabet_. - -Their inducement to this practice might be, the pleasure they took -in a mode of writing, which gratified their inventive curiosity in -looking into the natures and analogies of things; or, it might be a -strain of policy in them to secrete by this means, their more important -discoveries from the vulgar; or, vanity might put them on raising the -value of their knowledge by wrapping it up in a vehicle, so amusing at -the same time, and mysterious. - -What account soever be given of it, the fact is, that the Egyptians -cultivated the hieroglyphic species of writing, with peculiar -diligence; while the antiquity, the splendor, the fame of that mighty -kingdom excited a veneration for it, in the rest of the world. Hence it -came to pass, that the learning of those times, which was spread from -Egypt, as from its center, took a strong tincture of the hieroglyphic -spirit. The East was wholly infected by it; so that it became the pride -of its wise men to try the reach of each other’s capacity by questions -conceived and proposed in this form. Even the Greeks, in much later -ages, caught the manner of symbolizing their conceptions from Egypt; -and either drew their mythology from that quarter, or dressed it out in -the old Egyptian garb. But the Israelites, especially, who had their -breeding in that country, at the time when the hieroglyphic learning -was at its height, carried this treasure with them, among their other -_spoils_, into the land of Canaan. And, though it be credible that -their great Law-giver interdicted the use of hieroglyphic characters, -yet the ideas of them were deeply imprinted on their minds, and came -out, on every occasion, in those symbols and emblems, with which, under -the names of _riddles_, _parables_, and _dark sayings_, their writings -are so curiously variegated and imbossed. - -This then is the true and proper account of that peculiar style, which -looks so strangely, and to those, who do not advert to this original of -it, perhaps so fantastically, in the writings of the prophets. And what -more natural, than that a mode of expression, which was so well known, -so commonly practised, and so much revered; which was effected by the -wittiest, nay, by the wisest men of those times; which was employed in -the theology of the Eastern world, in its poetry, its philosophy, and -all the sublimer forms of composition; What wonder, I say, that this -customary, this authorized, this admired strain of language should -be that in which the sacred writers conveyed their highest and most -important revelations to mankind? - -Nor let any man take offence at the condescension of the divine -Inspirer, as though he degraded himself, by his compliance with the -humours and fancies of those to whom his inspirations were addressed. -For let him reflect, that in what form of words soever it shall please -God to communicate himself to man, it must still be in a way, that -implies the utmost, indeed the same, condescension to our weaknesses -and infirmities; nay, that immediate inspiration itself, though coming -through no medium of language, is of necessity to be accommodated to -our methods of perceiving and understanding, how imperfect soever they -are. - -Besides, if external revelation be possible, it must be given in -some one mode of speech or writing, in preference to others. And, -if we consider how ancient, how general, how widely diffused, this -symbolic style has been, and still is, in the world; how necessary it -is to rude nations, and how taking with the most refined; how large -a proportion of the globe this practice had over-run before, and at -the time of writing the prophecies, and what vast regions of the South -and East, not yet professing the faith, but hereafter, as we presume, -to be enlightened by it, the same practice, at this day, overspreads; -when we consider all this, we shall cease perhaps to admire, that the -style in question was adopted, rather than any other; or we shall only -admire the divine goodness and wisdom of its Author, who had contrived -beforehand, in the very form of this revelation, what may possibly -help to bring on and facilitate the reception of it. Certainly, it may -become us, on such an occasion, to enlarge our ideas a little; and not -to conclude hastily and peremptorily that, when a general blessing was -intended by Providence, the mode of conveying it should be instituted -singly with an eye to our local notions and confined prejudices, and -with no regard to the more prevailing sentiments and expectations of -mankind. - -In the mean time, it is past a doubt that the hieroglyphic style was -predominant in the ancient world; in Judæa, particularly, from the -times of Moses to the coming of Christ. There was indeed a degree of -obscurity in it, so far at least as to furnish the Jews, who had no -mind to listen to their Prophets, with a pretence of not understanding -them (as we see from the complaint brought against the prophet Ezekiel -in the text, _Doth he not speak Parables?_) yet still, it cannot be -denied, _That this mode of writing was of common and approved use in -the ages, when the prophecies were delivered, and among the people, to -whom they were addressed_. - -Our FIRST proposition is then reasonably made out; and so much of -the SECOND, as affirms that the prophetic style _is constructed -on such principles as make it the subject of just criticism and -rational interpretation_. For it was constructed, as we have seen, on -the symbolic principles of the hieroglyphics; which were not vague -uncertain things; but fixed and constant analogies, determinable in -their own nature, or from the steady use that was made of them. And a -language, formed on such principles, may be reasonably interpreted upon -them. So that what remains is only to shew, that there _are_ means, by -which this abstruse language may become intelligible to us, at this day. - -II. That there are such means, you will easily collect, without -requiring me to come to a detail on so immense a subject, from the -following considerations. - -1. Some light may be expected to arise from the study of the prophecies -themselves. For the same symbols, or figures, recur frequently in -those writings: and, by comparing one passage with another; the darker -prophecies with the more perspicuous; the unfulfilled, with such as -have been completed; and those which have their explanation annexed to -them, with those that have not; by this course of inquiry, I say, there -is no doubt but some considerable progress may be made in fixing the -true and proper meaning of this mysterious language. - -2. Very much of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, on which, as we have seen, -the prophetic style was fashioned, may be learned from many ancient -records and monuments, still subsisting; and from innumerable hints and -passages, scattered through the Greek antiquaries and historians, which -have been carefully collected and compared by learned men. - -3. The Pagan superstitions of every form and species, which were either -derived from Egypt, or conducted on hieroglyphic notions, have been -of singular use in commenting on the Jewish prophets. Their Omens, -Augury, and Judicial Astrology seem to have proceeded on symbolic -principles; the mystery being only this, That such objects, as in the -hieroglyphic pictures, were made the symbols of certain ideas, were -considered as omens of the things themselves. Thus, the figure of a -_horse_, being the symbol of prosperity and success in arms, when a -_head_ of this animal was found in laying the foundations of Carthage, -the Soothsayers concluded, that the character of that state would be -warlike, and its fortune prosperous: or, thus again, because the _sun_ -was the common emblem of a King, or supreme governor in any state, -an _eclipse_ of this luminary was thought to indicate the ruin, or -diminution, at least, of his power and fortune; and the superstition is -not quite extinct at this day[154]. - -But, of all the Pagan superstitions, that which is known by the name of -_Oneirocritics_, or the art of interpreting dreams, is most directly to -our purpose. There is a curious treatise on this subject, which bears -the name of Achmet, an Arabian writer; and another by Artemidorus, -an Ephesian, who lived about the end of the first century[155]. In -the former of these collections (for both works are compiled out of -preceding and very ancient writers) the manner of interpreting dreams, -according to the use of the Oriental nations, is delivered; as the -rules, which the Græcian diviners followed, are deduced in the other. -For, light and frivolous as this art was, it is not to be supposed -that it was taken up at hazard, or could be conducted without rule; -an arbitrary or capricious interpretation of dreams, considered as -a mode of divination, being too gross an insult on the common sense -of mankind[156]. But the rules, by which both the Greek and Oriental -diviners justified their interpretations, appear to have been formed -on symbolic principles, that is, on the very same ideas of analogy, by -which the Egyptian hieroglyphics (now grown venerable, and even sacred) -were explained. So that the prophetic style, which is all over painted -with hieroglyphic imagery, receives an evident illustration from these -two works. - -I have said, that this superstition was _more immediately to our -purpose, than any other_. For some of the more important prophecies are -delivered in the way of dreams; and therefore, without doubt, the rules -for interpreting the symbols presented to the mind of the prophet in -these inspired dreams, were the very same with those, that were laid -down in the Gentile Oneirocritics. The conclusion, I know, may appear -bold and hazardous. But you will reflect that there is really nothing -more strange in applying this mode of interpretation to _dreams_, -than to any other species of prophecy; to visions, for instance, or -parables, or even, in general, to any part of the prophetic style. -The compliance, on the part of the inspirer, is the same on every -supposition; and only shews that, when the Deity thinks fit to reveal -himself to men, he does it in a way that is suitable to their ideas and -apprehensions. Nor is any sanction, in the mean time, given, by this -accommodation of himself, to the pagan practice of divining by dreams. -For, though the same symbols be interpreted in the same manner, yet the -_prophecy_ doth not depend on the interpretation, but the inspiration -of the dream. A casual dream, thus interpreted, is only a dream -still; the received sense of the symbols, represented in it, no way -inferring the completion of it. But when the Almighty sends the dream, -the symbols are of another consideration, and not only signify, but -_predict_, an event. - -Now, if men will mistake a _barely significant emblem_, for _a -prophetic inspiration_, the fault is in themselves, and not in the use -of the common emblems; which may be the vehicle of a true prophecy, -though craft or superstition take occasion from them to _divine -lies_[157]. It follows, that the rules, which the ancient diviners -observed in explaining symbolic dreams, may be safely and justly -applied to the interpretation of symbolic prophecies, and especially to -such of them as were delivered in the form of dreams. - -4. It is lastly to be observed, that not only the Arabic and other -Oriental writers, but even the Greek and Latin poets, may contribute -very much to the exposition of the ancient prophets. For these poets -abound in strong metaphors and glowing images, which were either copied -from the symbolic language of the East, or invented on the same -principles of analogy as prevailed in the Egyptian hieroglyphics. So -that many expressions, which seem dark and strange in the writings of -the Jewish prophets, may be clearly illustrated and familiarized to us, -even from classic usage and example. - -And now from these several sources; that is, from _the scriptures -themselves_—from the still _subsisting monuments of Egyptian -hieroglyphics_—from _the Gentile ceremonies and superstitions_—and -from _the greater works of genius and fancy, transmitted to us both -from the Eastern and Western poets_—such a vocabulary of the prophetic -terms and symbols may be, nay hath been[158], drawn up, as serves to -determine the sense of them in the same manner, as any common art or -language is explained by its own proper key, or dictionary; and there -is, in truth, no more difficulty in fixing the import of the prophetic -style, than of any other language or technical phraseology whatsoever. - -III. But, if the case be so clear, you may now be tempted to ask, “What -then becomes of the obscurity, in which the prophecies are said to be -involved; and in particular, how comes it to pass, that they may not be -as well explained, before the completion, as after it[159]; which yet -is constantly denied by writers on this subject, and, even, by your own -principles, cannot be supposed?” - -To this objection, I shall not reply by saying, That the style of -the prophets, though intelligible, yet requires much practice in the -interpreter to unfold its meaning; for that is the case of many other -arts and sciences, which yet are generally understood: nor, that the -symbolic terms are frequently capable of several senses, which must -needs perplex the interpretation; for there is no common language, in -which the plainest words do not frequently admit the same difference of -construction, which yet creates no great difficulty to those who attend -closely to the scope of a writer: I shall not therefore, I say, amuse -you with these evasive answers, but reply, directly to the purpose of -your inquiry, by observing, - -“That there are several methods, or, if you will, artifices, by which -the inspired writers, under the cover of a symbolic expression, and -sometimes even without it, might effectually conceal their meaning, -before the completion of a prophecy, though the language, in which they -write, be clearly explicable on fixed and stated rules.” - -1. When the prophecy is of remote events, the _subject_ is frequently -not announced, or announced only in general terms. Thus, an -_earthquake_ is described—a _mountain_ is said to be thrown down—a -_star_, to fall from heaven; and so in numberless other instances. -Now, an earthquake, in hieroglyphic language, denotes a _revolution -in government_; a mountain is the symbol of a _kingdom_, or _capital -city_; a star, of _a prince_, or _great man_: but of _what_ government, -of _what_ kingdom, of _what_ prince, the prophet speaks, we are not -told, and are frequently unable to find out, till a full coincidence of -all circumstances, in the event, discloses the secret. - -2. The prophetic terms are not only figurative, but sometimes, and -in no common degree, hyperbolical (of which the reason will be given -hereafter), so that nothing but the event can determine the true -size and value of them. This seems to have been the case of those -prophecies in the Old Testament, which describe the tranquillity and -felicity of Christ’s kingdom; and may possibly be the case of those -prophecies in the New, which respect the Millennium. - -3. It being the genius of the prophetic style to be ænigmatical, this -cast is sometimes purposely given to it, even when the expression is -most plain and direct. Thus Jeremiah prophesies of Zedekiah, king of -Judah, _that he should be delivered into the hands of the king of -Babylon, that his eyes should behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, -and that he should go to Babylon_[160]. Ezekiel, prophesying of the -same prince, says, _that he should go to Babylon, but that he should -not see it, though he should die there_[161]. Now Josephus tells us, -that the apparent inconsistency of these two prophecies determined -Zedekiah to believe neither of them. Yet both were strictly and -punctually fulfilled. - -4. Lastly, the chief difficulty of all lies in a circumstance, not much -observed by interpreters, and, from the nature of it, not _observable_, -till after the event; I mean, in _a mixed use of the plain and -figured style_: so that the prophetic descriptions are sometimes -_literal_, even when they appear most figurative; and sometimes, -again, they are highly _figurative_, when they appear most plain. -An instance of _literal_ expression, under the mask of figurative, -occurs in the prophet Nahum, who predicts the overthrow of Nineveh in -these words—_With an over-running flood he will make an utter end -of the place thereof_, [Nahum i. 8.] An _over-running flood_, is the -hieroglyphic symbol of _desolation by a victorious enemy_: and in this -highly figurative sense, an interpreter of the prophecy would, in all -likelihood, understand the expression. But the event shewed the sense -to be literal; that city being taken, as we know from history, by -means of an _inundation_. Of _figurative_ expression, under the form -of literal, take the following instance from a prophecy, of Christ -himself; who says to the Jews, _Destroy this temple, and I will raise -it up in three days_, [John i. 19.] It was natural enough for the -Jews to understand our Lord as speaking of the _temple_ at Jerusalem; -the rather, as this term had not been, and, I think, could, not be, -applied, to any person, before Jesus: to _Him_, it might be so applied; -and we know that _he spake of the temple of his body_, [ver. 21.] - -The same equivocal use was, sometimes, purposely made of _proverbial -expressions_, as learned men have observed[162]. - -I omit many other causes of obscurity in the prophecies; such as -the seeming incredibility, sometimes, of the things predicted—the -undefined chronology and geography—the intricacy of the method—and -many other considerations. But you will collect from these brief -hints, respecting the _expression_ only, that, though the symbolic -language be reducible to rule, and therefore, in the main, sufficiently -intelligible, yet that there is room enough for the introduction of -so much obscurity into the prophetic writings, as may answer the ends -of the inspirer, and conceal the full meaning of them from the most -sagacious interpreter, till it be revealed, in due time, by the event. - -Or, if it be thought that such difficulties as the event removes, are -not, in their own nature, invincible, before it happens, it is still -to be considered, that the giver of the prophecy is, by supposition, -divine; and as he, therefore, foresaw, in framing the texture of it, -that such difficulties would, in fact, be invincible, they served -the purpose of a designed concealment just as well, as if, in nature, -they were. Whence the conclusion is still the same, That the prophetic -style might be the cover of impenetrable obscurities in a prophecy, -before its completion, and yet the terms of it be clearly explicable on -established rules; the event only enabling the expositor more skilfully -and properly to apply those rules. - -IV. To conclude this subject; It will now be acknowledged, that the -suspicions which have been taken up against the prophetic way of -writing, as if it were vague, illusory, or unintelligible, are utterly -without foundation. The style of the prophets was the known, authorized -style of their age and country, in all writings especially, of a -sacred or solemn character; and is even yet in use with a great part -of mankind. It further appears, that, as it was understood by those to -whom it was addressed, so the principles, on which it was formed, are -discoverable by many obvious methods, and may be applied, with success, -to the interpretation of it, at this day. - -The prophetic style is, then, a _sober and reasonable_ mode -of expression. But this is not all. We may, even, discern the -_expediency_, I had almost said, the _necessity_, of this style, -considered as the _medium_, or vehicle of prophetic inspiration. - -For we have seen, that the scheme of scriptural prophecy extends -through all time; and is so contrived as to adumbrate future and more -illustrious events, in preceding and less important transactions: -a circumstance, which shews the harmony and connexion of the whole -scheme, and is not imitable by any human art, or forethought -whatsoever. But now a figurative style is so proper to that end, that -we scarcely conceive how it could be accomplished by any other. For -thus the expression conforms, at once, to the type, and antitype: it -is, as it were, a robe of state, for the one; and only, the ordinary, -accustomed dress of the other: as we may see from the prophecies, -which _immediately_ respect the restoration of the Jews from their -ancient captivities, and, _ultimately_, their final triumphant return -from their present dispersion—from the prophecies concerning the -destruction of Jerusalem, which prefigure, at the same time, the day -of judgment—from those concerning the first coming of Christ, which, -also, set forth his reign with the saints on earth, and even the -glories of his heavenly kingdom—and in a multitude of other instances. - -These successive, and so different, schemes of Providence could only -be signified _together_ in a mode of language, that contracted, or -enlarged itself, as the occasion required. But such is the singular -property of a symbolic style. For none but this, hath fold and drapery -enough, if I may so speak, to invest the _greater_ subjects; while yet -(so complying is the texture of this expression) it readily adapts -itself to the _less considerable_, which it ennobles only, and not -disfigures. The difference is, that what is a metaphor in the former -case, becomes an hyperbole in the latter. And this double use of the -same symbol, is the true account of such figures as are thought most -extravagant in the description of the prophets. - -We see, then, in every view, how reasonable, how expedient, how divine, -the symbolic style is, in such writings as the prophetic. So that if -any be disposed, in our days, to take up the complaint of the text, -and to up-braid the prophets by asking, _Do they not speak Parables?_ -We may now take courage to answer, Yes: but _parables_, which, as -dark as they are accounted to be, may be well understood; and, what -is more, _parables_, which are so expressed, as to carry an evidence -in themselves that they _are_ what they assume to be, of divine -inspiration. - - - - -SERMON X. - -THE STYLE AND METHOD OF THE APOCALYPSE. - -EZEKIEL xx. 49. - -—_They say of me, Doth he not speak Parables?_ - - -All the prophecies of the Old and New Testament are written in -_parables_; that is, in highly figurative terms; which yet, on -examination, have appeared to be explicable on certain fixed and -rational grounds of criticism. - -So far, therefore, as any prejudice may have been entertained against -the prophecies concerning Antichrist, as if the language of them were -too abstruse or fanciful to be understood, enough hath been already -said to shew, that it is not well founded. - -It must, however, be confessed, that the book of _Revelations_[163], -which contains the most, and the chief prophecies on the subject of -Antichrist, is of a deeper and more mysterious contrivance, than any -other of the prophetic writings. Whence, our next step, in this -inquiry, must be, To trace the CAUSES of that peculiar obscurity; and -to suggest, as we go along, the MEANS, by which it hath been, or may -be, removed. - -The _causes_, are to be sought in the STYLE, and the METHOD, of -that book. I say nothing of the _subject_; for, though the _things -predicted_ may darken a prophecy, unfulfilled, the _event_ will shew -what they are; and it is not necessary, that we should anxiously -inquire into the meaning of a prophecy, till it be accomplished. - -I. _First_, then, the STYLE of the Revelations (for I mean not to -consider it, with regard to the Greek tongue, in which it is composed, -or, to the Hebrew idiom, with which it is coloured) The _style_, I -say, being symbolical, like that of the other prophecies, must, in -general, be explained on the same principles, that is, must be equally -intelligible, in both. Yet, if we attend nicely to the style of -this prophecy, some difference will be found, in _the choice of the -symbols_, and in _the continuity of the symbolic form_. - -1. To explain my meaning, on the first article, I must observe, That, -though the prophetic style abounds in _hieroglyphic_ symbols, properly -so called, yet the Israelites, when they adopted that style, did not -confine themselves to the old Egyptian stock of symbols; but, working -on the same ground of analogy, superadded many others, which their -own circumstances and observations suggested to them. Their divine -ritual, their civil customs, their marvellous history, and even the -face and aspect of their country, afforded infinite materials for the -construction of fresh symbols: and these, when they came into common -use, their prophets freely and largely employed. Thus, _incense_, from -the religious use of it in the Mosaical service, denotes _prayer_, or -_mental adoration_[164]—_to tread a wine-press_, from their custom -of pressing grapes, signifies _destruction, attended with great -slaughter_[165]—_to give water in the wilderness_, in allusion to the -miraculous supply of that element, during the passage of the Israelites -through the wilderness to the holy land, is the emblem of _unexpected -relief in distress_[166];—and, to mention no more, a _forest_, such as -Lebanon, abounding in lofty cedars, represents a _great city, with its -flourishing ranks of inhabitants_[167]; just as, a _mountain_, from -the situation of the Jewish temple on mount Moria, is made to stand for -the _Christian Church_[168]. - -Now, though the symbols of this class be occasionally dispersed through -the old prophets, yet they are more frequent, and much thicker sown, -in the Revelations: so that to a reader, not well versed in the Jewish -story and customs, this difference may add something to the obscurity -of the book. - -If you ask the _reason_ of this difference, it is plainly this. The -scene of the apocalyptic visions is laid, not only in Judæa, but in -the temple at Jerusalem; whence the imagery is, of course, taken. It -was natural for the writer to draw his allusions from Jewish objects, -and especially from the ceremonial of the temple-service. Besides, -the declared scope of the prophecy being to predict the fortunes of -the Christian church, what so proper as to do this under the cover -of Jewish ideas; the law itself, as we have before seen, and as St. -Paul expressly tells us, having been so contrived, as to present the -_shadow_ of that future dispensation? - -This then (and for the reason assigned) is ONE distinguishing character -of the Apocalyptic style. But the difficulty of interpretation, arising -from it, cannot be considerable; or, if it be, may be overcome by an -obvious method, by a careful study of the Jewish history and law. - -2. The OTHER mark of distinction, which I observed in the style of -this book, is the _continuity_ of the symbolic manner. Parables are -frequent, indeed, in the old prophets, but interspersed with many -passages of history, and have very often their explanation annexed. -This great parable of St. John is, throughout, carried on in its own -proper form, without any such interruption, and, except in _one_ -instance[169], without any express interpretation of the parabolic -terms. - -Now, the prophecy, no doubt, must be considerably obscured by -this circumstance. But then let it be considered, that we have -proportionable _means_ of understanding it. For, if the symbols be -continued, they are still but the _same_[170], as had been before in -use with the elder prophets; whose writings, therefore, are the proper -and the certain key of the _Revelations_. - -From these distinctive characters, then, of the Apocalyptic style[171], -nothing more can be inferred, than the necessity of studying _the Law, -and the Prophets_, in order to understand the language of this last and -most mysterious revelation. And what is more natural, nay what can be -thought more divine, than that, in a system, composed of two dependent -dispensations, the study of the former should be made necessary to the -comprehension of the latter; and that the very uniformity of style and -colouring, in the two sets of prophecies, should admonish us of the -intimate connexion, which each has with the other, to the end that we -might the better conceive the meaning, and fathom the depth, of the -divine councils in _both_? - -But, without speculating further on the final purposes of this Judaical -and Symbolical character, so strongly impressed on the Apocalypse, -it must evidently appear that the difficulties of interpretation, -occasioned by it, are not invincible; nay, that, to an attentive and -rightly prepared interpreter, they will be scarce any difficulties at -all[172]. - -I proceed, then, - -II. To the SECOND, and more considerable cause of the obscurities, -found in this prophecy, the METHOD, in which it is composed. - -The other prophecies have, doubtless, their difficulties, arising from -the abrupt manner, in which, agreeably to the Oriental genius, they are -delivered: But then, being short and unconnected with each other, the -apparent disorder of those prophecies, has rarely any sensible effect -in preventing the right application of them. The case is different with -the prophecies, contained in this book. For, having been all delivered -at once, and respecting a series of events, which were to come to pass -successively in the history of the Christian Church, it is reasonable -to expect that some certain and determinable method should be observed -in the delivery of them; and the true secret of that method, whatever -it be, must be investigated, before we can, with success, apply any -single prophecy to its proper subject. - -The _first_, and most obvious expectation of a reader is, that the -events predicted in this prophecy should follow each other in the order -of the prophecy itself, or that the series of the visions should mark -out and determine the succession of the subjects, to which they relate. -But there is reason to think, on the face of the prophecy, that this -method is not observed. - -A _second_ conclusion would, then, be hastily taken up, that there -is no regular method at all in these visions, but that each is to be -applied singly, and without any reference to the rest, to such events -as it might be found, in some tolerable degree, to suit: And then -it is plain, that fancy would have too much scope afforded her in -the interpretation of these visions, to produce any firm and settled -conviction, that they were rightly and properly applied. Yet, as this -idea of the Apocalypse would favour the laziness, the precipitancy, the -presumption, and, very often, the malignity of the human mind, it is no -wonder that it should be readily and eagerly embraced. And, in fact, it -was to this pre-conceived notion of a general disorder in the texture -of these prophecies, that the little progress, which, for many ages, -had been made in the exposition of them, is chiefly to be ascribed. - -But then, _lastly_, if neither the order of the prophecy be that of -the events, nor a total disorder in the construction of it can be -reasonably allowed, the question is, By what _rules_ was it composed, -and on what ideas of _method_ is it to be explained? - -This question, as obvious as it seems, was not presently asked; and, -when it was asked, not easily answered. The clear light, indeed, which -the Reformation had let in on some parts bf this prophecy, and a spirit -of inquiry, which sprung up with the revival of Letters, excited a -general attention to this mysterious book. But, as each interpreter -brought his own hypothesis along with him, the perplexities of it -were not lessened, but increased by so many discordant schemes of -interpretation: And the issue of much elaborate inquiry was, that the -book itself was disgraced by the fruitless efforts of its commentators, -and on the point of being given up, as utterly impenetrable, when -a sublime Genius arose, in the beginning of the last century, and -surprised the learned world with that great desideratum, _A Key to the -Revelations_. - -This extraordinary person was, JOSEPH MEDE: of whose character it may -not be improper to give a slight sketch, before I lay before you the -substance of his discoveries. - -HE was a candid, sincere man; disinterested, and unambitious; of no -faction in religion or government (both which began in his time to be -overrun with factions) but solely devoted to the love of truth, and to -the investigation of it. His learning was vast, but well chosen and -well digested; and his understanding, in no common degree, strong and -capacious. - -With these qualities of the head and heart, he came to the study of -the prophecies, and especially of the Revelations: But, with so little -_bigotry_ for the scheme of interpretation concerning Antichrist, -that, as he tells us himself, _he had even conceived some prejudice -against it_[173]: And, what is stranger still in a man of his inventive -genius, with so little _enthusiasm_ in his temper for _any_ scheme of -interpretation whatsoever, that, when he had made his great discovery, -he was in no haste to publish it to the world[174]; and, when at length -he did this, he was still less in haste to apply it, that is, to shew -its important use in explaining the Apocalyptic visions[175]. Cool, -deliberate, and severe, in forming his judgments, he was so far from -being obsequious to the fancies of other men, that he was determined -only, by the last degree of evidence, to acquiesce in any conclusions -of his own[176]. - -In short, with no _vanity_ to indulge, (for he was superior to this -last infirmity of ingenious men[177])—with no _interest_ in view (for -the interest of Churchmen lay at that time, as he well understood, in a -different quarter[178])—with no _spleen_ to gratify (for even neglect -and solitude could not engender this unmanly vice in him[179])—with -no oblique purposes, I say, which so often mislead the pens of other -writers, but with the single, unmixed love of truth, he dedicated his -great talents to the study of the prophetic Scriptures, and was able -to unfold, in the MANNER I am now to represent to you, this mysterious -prophecy of the Revelations. - -He had observed, that the miscarriage of former interpreters had been -owing, chiefly, to a vain desire of finding their own sense in this -prophecy, rather than the sense of the prophet. Laying aside, then, all -hypotheses whatsoever, he sate down to the book itself, and resolved -to know nothing more of it, than what the frame and texture of its -composition might clearly reveal to him. He considered the whole, as -a naked recital of facts, literally expressed; and not as a prophetic -scheme, mystically represented. In this way of inquiry, he discerned, -that several parts of the history, whatever their secret and involved -meaning might be, were _homogeneous_, and _contemporary_; that is, -they related to the same subject, and were comprised within the same -period; and this, though they were not connected in the order of the -narration, but lay dispersed in different quarters of it. These several -sets of historical passages (or, of _Visions_, to speak in the language -of the book itself) he carefully analyzed and compared; shewed, from -circumstances, not imagined, but found, in the history, their mutual -relation and correspondency; and established his conclusions, as he -went along, not in a loose way of popular conjecture, but in the -strictest forms of Geometric reasoning. The coincident histories, thus -classed and scrutinized, he distinguished by the name of SYNCHRONISMS; -and gave them to the learned world, in this severe scientific form, -without further comment or illustration, under the title of CLAVIS -APOCALYPTICA, or A KEY TO THE REVELATIONS. - -In considering this discovery, which did so much honour to the profound -genius and accurate investigation of its author, one clearly perceives -how it serves to the end proposed. - -_First_, it appears that the order of the Visions is not that of the -events; in other words, that the prophecy is not to be so explained, as -if the events, predicted in it, followed each other in the same train -as the Visions. For the _facts_, which constitute the scheme or fable -of the prophecy, literally and historically considered, do not succeed -to each other in that train; therefore the _events_, whatever they may -be, which those facts adumbrate, most certainly cannot. - -_Secondly_, it appears what the true, or chronological order of the -Visions, is; namely, that, which the nature and connexion of the things -transacted in them, points out and declares. So that, if the real time -of any one Vision can be shewn, the relative time of the rest may be -easily settled. For (to quote Mr. Mede’s own words) _such Visions -as contemporate with that already ascertained, are of course to be -applied to the same times; while such as, in the order of the story, -precede that Vision, are to be referred to preceding events, and those, -which follow it, are in like manner to be explained of subsequent -transactions_[180]. - -By this means, the whole plan or method of the Apocalypse will be laid -down. The several synchronical prophecies will thus fall in their -proper places; and there will be no doubt of the relative situation, -which each holds in the general system. - -_Thirdly_, as we now see the true order of the prophecies (though for -the wisest reasons, no doubt, the order, in which they are delivered, -be sometimes different) so it is to be observed, that the knowledge -of this order is a great restraint on the fancy of an expositor; who -is not now at liberty to apply the prophecies to events of any time, -to which they appear to suit, but to events only falling within that -time, to which they belong in the course of this pre-determined method. -And if to this restriction, which of itself is considerable, we add -_another_, which arises from the necessity of applying, not one, but -many prophecies (which are, thus, shewn to synchronize with each other) -to the _same_ time, we can hardly conceive how an interpretation should -keep clear of these impediments, and make its way through so many -interfering checks, unless it be the _true_ one. Just as when a Lock -(to take the author’s allusion) is composed of many, and intricate -wards, the _Key_, that turns easily within them, and opens the Lock, -can only be that which properly belongs to it. - -After all, it may be difficult, I know, to convey a distinct idea -of the uses, to which this synchronal method serves, to those who -have not read, and even studied, Mr. Mede’s work. But the sum of the -matter is this, That the order of the events and of the Visions is -_not_ the same—that the _true_ order of the events, is to be sought -in certain characters, not fancied at pleasure, but inserted, in the -Visions themselves—and, lastly, that the whole book of the Revelations -being thus resolvable into a particular determinate order, in which -the several sets of synchronal prophecies regularly succeed to each -other, no exposition of this book can be admitted, that does not refer -every single prophecy to its true place in the system, and provide at -the same time that no violence be done to any other prophecies, which -synchronize with it. - -And thus much concerning the TRUE ORDER of the Apocalypse; deduced, -you see, from no precarious hypothetic reasonings, but from notes and -characters, inclosed in that book; that is, from intrinsic arguments, -which have their evidence in themselves, and conclude alike on every -supposition. - -If we would know more distinctly what the EXTERIOR FORM of it is; and -how it comes to differ so widely from the plan of a chronological -arrangement; here, too, our sagacious expositor will give us -satisfaction. For, in bringing together and comparing his synchronisms, -he found (what had escaped the attention of all others) that the main -body of the prophecy is made up of TWO[181] great parts; which are, -also, synchronical; so that, setting out from the same goal, and -measuring the same space, they both concur in the same end: but with -this difference, that the _former_ division more immediately regards -the affairs of the _Empire_; the _latter_, those of the _Church_. - -Still, this is not all. Our attentive and penetrating commentator -further discovered, That the two great component parts of this -prophecy, though distinct, are very artificially connected, and shewn -to harmonize throughout with each other, by making the same concluding -event[182], once told, the catastrophe of both. For the _former_ part -is purposely, and with express warning given[183], left unfinished, -till a summary deduction of the _latter_ part down to the same point -of time[184], (by way of prelude to the more extended visions of this -last part, which follow to the end of the book, and to signify, that -both parts are contemporary) furnished the occasion of shutting up the -two prophecies together in one common term: which, however, had the -appearance of being misplaced, till the detection of this singular -contrivance, by means of the synchronisms, pointed out the use and end -of the present disposition[185]. - -_Another_ cause of the seeming perplexity in which this Prophecy is -involved, is, That, it being expedient to treat the same subject in -different respects, and to give different views of it, according as -two sets of men, the true worshipers and the false, were affected by -the fortunes of the Christian Church, this shifting and opposite face -of things could not be exhibited together; but was to be set forth -in several and successive, though contemporary, visions. Hence, the -prophecy is thought to proceed, when, in fact, it stands still, and -only presents another prospect of the same transactions. - -But I enter no farther into the mysterious contexture of this book; -through which, however, the clue of the synchronisms, if well pursued, -would safely conduct us. It is enough to my purpose to have shewn, That -as the _Language_ of the Revelations is intelligible, so the _Method_ -is not involved in such intricacies, but that, in general, a regular, a -consistent, and, what is more, a _true_[186] conception may be formed -of it. Whence no sober man needs be discouraged from reading this -book; or will be in danger, I think, of losing either his wits, or his -reputation, in the study of it. For what should hinder a book, though -of prophecies, from being understood, when its _method_ may be clearly -defined, and its _language decyphered_? Provided always, that we only -interpret a prophecy by the event, and do not take upon us to determine -the event by a premature construction of the prophecy. - -With this Apocalyptic key then (of which so much has been said), this -_key of knowledge_, in my hands, it may, now, be expected that I should -open this _dark parable_ of the Revelation, by applying so much of it, -at least, as respects Antichrist, to Apostate Papal Rome. But, besides -that there would not, in what remains of this course, be room enough -for a detailed account of the prophecies, _other reasons_ restrain -me from entering immediately on a task, not less easy perhaps, than -amusing. For Interpreters, I think, have generally been too much in -haste to apply the prophecies, before they had sufficiently prepared -the way for their application: So that, leaving many doubts unresolved, -which men of thought and inquiry are apt to entertain on this subject, -or not laying before them all the reasons and inducements, which should -engage their attention to it, their clearest expositions are not -received, and possibly not considered. - -With regard, then, to the prophecies, concerning Antichrist, though -the chief obstructions in our way seem fairly removed, and it be now -evident that there _are_ certain grounds, on which the most abstruse -of them may be reasonably interpreted, yet, because the application -of them is a work of time and industry, many persons, before they -undertake it, may desire to know, What GENERAL ARGUMENTS there are, -which may assure them, beforehand, that their labour will not be -misemployed, and that Papal Rome is, in fact, concerned in the tenour -of these prophecies: And, when this demand has been made, they may -further wish to be informed, To what ENDS OR USES this whole inquiry -serves; of importance enough, I mean, to encourage and reward their -vigorous prosecution of it? - -These desires and expectations are apparently not unreasonable: And to -satisfy them, in the best manner I can, will be the scope and purpose -of the two following Lectures. - - - - -SERMON XI. - -PROPHETIC CHARACTERS OF ANTICHRIST. - -LUKE xii. 56. - -—_How is it, that ye do not discern this time?_ - - -So much having been said on the _manner_, in which the prophecies, -respecting Antichrist, may be interpreted; I imagine that now, at -length, ye are disposed to ask, On what GENERAL GROUNDS we affirm, that -the Church of Rome is actually concerned in them. - -To resolve this question, it will be sufficient to set before you, in -few words, some of the more obvious _notes_, or _characters_, by which -Antichrist is marked out in the prophecies: such, and so many of them, -as may convince you, that they are fairly applicable to the Church -of Rome; and that, taken together, they cannot well admit any other -application. - -Of these prophetic characters, - -I. The FIRST, I shall mention, is, _That we are to look for Antichrist -within the proper limits of the Roman empire_. - -On this head, there is no controversy among those who acknowledge the -authority of the prophet Daniel, and can be none: For that prophet, in -his famous vision of the four kingdoms, says expressly, that, _among_ -the ten kingdoms into which the fourth, or Roman, shall be divided, -ANOTHER _shall arise_[187]; that is, as all interpreters agree, the -kingdom of Antichrist. So that this power, whatever it be, must have -its birth and seat within the compass of the ten kingdoms, that is, -of the Roman empire, when, in some future time from the giving of -Daniel’s prophecy, it should be so divided. - -But, to fix the station of the Antichristian power more precisely, it -is to be observed, that, as the four kingdoms of Daniel, considered in -succession to each other, form a _prophetic chronology_[188]; so in -another view, they form a _prophetic geography_[189], being considered, -in the eye of prophecy, as _co-existent_, as still _alive_, and -subsisting together, when the dominion of all, but the last, was taken -away[190]. - -In consequence of this idea, which Daniel gives us of his four -kingdoms, so much only is to be reckoned into the description of each -kingdom, as is peculiar to each; the remainder being part of some other -kingdom, still supposed to be in being, to which it properly belongs. -Thus, the SECOND, or Persian kingdom, does not take in the nations of -Chaldæa and Assyria, which make the body of the _first_ kingdom; nor -the THIRD, or Græcian kingdom, the countries of Media and Persia, being -the body of the _second_. In like manner, the FOURTH, or Roman kingdom, -does not, in the contemplation of the prophet, comprehend those -provinces, which make the body of the _third_, or Græcian kingdom, but -such only as constitute its own body, that is, the provinces on this -side of Greece: where, therefore, we are to look for the _eleventh_, or -Antichristian kingdom, as being to start up _among_ the ten, into which -the Roman kingdom should be divided. - -We see, then, that, as Antichrist was to arise within the Roman -kingdom, so his station is farther limited to the European part of that -kingdom, or to the _Western empire_, properly so called. - -This observation (which is not mine, but Sir Isaac Newton’s) is the -better worth making, because, in fact, the papal sovereignty never -extended farther than the Western provinces; at least, could never gain -a firm and permanent footing in the countries, which lie East of the -Mediterranean sea. But, whether you admit this interpretation, or not, -it is still clear that Antichrist was to arise somewhere within the -limits of the Roman empire. In what _part_ of that empire he was to -make his appearance, we certainly gather from - -II. A SECOND prophetical note or character of this power, which is, -_That his seat and throne was to be the city of Rome itself_. - -The prophet Daniel acquaints us only that the power we call -Antichristian, would spring up from _among_ the ruins of the fourth, -or Roman kingdom: But St. John, in the _Revelations_, fixes his -residence in the _capital city_ of that kingdom. For, when, in one of -his visions, he had been shewn a portentous _beast with seven heads and -ten horns, and a woman arrayed in purple_, riding upon him, an Angel -is made to interpret this symbolic vision in the following words—_The -seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth—and the -ten horns, which thou sawest, are ten kings—and the woman, which -thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the -earth_[191]. - -Words cannot be more determinate, than these. The _woman_, that rides -this BEAST, that is, the fourth empire, in its last state of _ten -horns_, or divided into ten kingdoms, is that Antichristian power, of -which we are now inquiring. She is seated on _seven hills_, nay, she is -_that great city, which reigneth_ [that is, in St. John’s time which -_reigned_] over the _kingdoms of the earth_. Rome, then, is the throne -of Antichrist, or is that city, which shall one day be Antichristian. -There is no possibility of evading the force of these terms. - -It hath been said, that Constantinople, too, was situated on seven -hills. It may be so: But Constantinople did not, in the time of this -vision, _reign over the kings of the earth_. Besides, if its _dominion_ -had not been mentioned, _the city on seven hills_ is so characteristic -of Rome, that the name itself could not have pointed it out more -plainly: As must be evident to all those, who recollect, what the Latin -writers have said on this subject. - -The—_septem domini montes_—of one[192] poet is well known; and seems -the abridgement of a still more famous line in another[193]— - - _Septem urbs alta jugis, toto quæ præsidet orbi_: - -To which, St. John’s idea of a _woman, seated on seven hills, and -reigning over the kings of the earth_, so exactly corresponds, that one -sees no difference between the poet and the prophet; except that the -_latter_ personifies his idea, as the genius of the prophetic style -required. - -But a passage in Virgil is so much to our purpose, that it merits a -peculiar attention. This poet, in the most finished of his works, had -been celebrating the praises of a country life, which he makes the -source and origin of the Roman greatness. - - _Hanc_ olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini; - _Hanc_ Remus et frater: _sic_ fortis Etruria crevit: - Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma[194]. - -The encomium, we see, is made with that gradual pomp, which is -familiar to Virgil. And the last line (from its majestic simplicity, -the noblest, perhaps, in all his writings) one would naturally expect -should close the description. Yet he adds, to the surprize, and, I -believe, to the disappointment of most readers, - - _Septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arces_. - -Had we found this passage in any other of the Latin poets, we should -have been apt to question the judgment of the writer; and to suspect, -that, in attempting to rise upon himself, he had fallen, unawares, into -an evident anti-climax. But the correct elegance of Virgil’s manner, -and his singular talent in working up an image, by just degrees, to the -precise point of perfection, may satisfy us, that he had his reason -for going on, where we might expect him to stop; which reason can -be no other, than that the _seven hills_ were necessary to complete -his description of the imperial city[195]. To an ancient Roman, the -circumstance of its _situation_ was, of all others, the most august and -characteristic; and Rome itself was not Rome, till it was contemplated -under this idea. - -There was ground enough, then, for saying, “that the _name_ of Rome -could not have pointed out the city _more plainly_.” But I go farther, -and take upon me to assert, That the _periphrasis_ is even more -precise, and less equivocal, than the _proper name_ would have been, -if inserted in the prophecy. For _Rome_, so called, might have stood, -like Sodom, or Babylon, simply for an idolatrous City. But the city, -_seated on seven hills_, and _reigning over the earth_, is the city of -Rome itself, and excludes, by the peculiarity of these attributes, any -other application. - -Nor is it any objection to the remark, now made, that this city, -whatever it be, is described by _another_ circumstance, not peculiar to -Rome, indeed scarce applicable to it, I mean that of its being _seated -on many waters_[196]. For these _waters_ are not given as a mark of -Rome’s _natural_, but _political_ situation: as the prophetic style -might lead one to expect, if the sacred writer had not taken care to -prevent all mistake by assuring us, in so many words, That _the waters, -where the whore sitteth, are_ PEOPLES, AND MULTITUDES, AND NATIONS, AND -TONGUES[197]. - -If it be, further, said, “That the _seven hills_ may, likewise, admit -a similar construction from the frequent use of _hills_, as emblems -of _power_, in hieroglyphic writing, and therefore in prophetic -description,” the remark is very just: but then, unluckily, there is -no such explanation of the _seven hills_, as we have of the _waters_, -from the prophet himself; while yet it could not escape him, that -such explanation was more than commonly necessary in this case, to -prevent the reader from applying the _seven hills_ to the best-known -city in the world, then subsisting in all its glory, and universally -acknowledged by this distinctive character of its situation. - -Should it, lastly, be alledged, “That the explanation is subjoined to -the figure, for that the prophet adds immediately in the following -verse—_and there are seven kings_—meaning, that the _seven hills_, -just mentioned, were to be taken as emblems only of _seven kings_,” -I reply, that the _seven hills_, in the figurative sense of the -term, _hills_, naturally suggested, and elegantly introduce, the -_seven kings_; but that the _former_, nevertheless, are clearly to be -distinguished from the _latter_. For it is not said—_and the seven -hills are seven kings_—as it was before said—_the seven heads are -seven hills_—but—AND _there are seven kings_—plainly advancing a -step further in the prophecy, and pointing out a new characteristic -distinction of the seven-hilled city, arising from the different forms -of Government, through which it had passed. - -The truth is (as Mr. Mede well observes[198]) _the seven heads of -the beast_, are a DOUBLE TYPE: _first_, they signify the _seven -hills_, on which the city is placed; and, _then_, the _seven kings_, -or governments, to which it had been subject; but still _on_ those -seven hills, for which reason the same type is made to signify both: -But, if the type had been designed to carry a _single_ sense, and -_kings_ had been that sense, as explicatory of _hills_, it had been -very preposterous to give the _interpretation_ of the type, and then -to _interpret_ the interpretation, unless the expression had been so -guarded as to convey this purpose in the most distinct manner. As it is -now put, there are manifestly TWO SENSES, and ONE TYPE[199]. - -On the whole, there can be no doubt concerning _the great city on seven -hills_. It can be no other, than the city of Rome itself: In other -words, the Antichristian, is a _Roman Power_. - -Still, this Roman power, for any thing that hath hitherto appeared, may -be a _Pagan_ and _Civil_ power. But - -III. The prophecies seem very clearly to point it out to us, _as an_ -ECCLESIASTICAL and, in name and pretence, at least, _a_ CHRISTIAN -_power_. - -To begin again with the prophet, Daniel. He tells us, that the Horn -which shall _arise after_, and from _among_, the ten horns, that is, -the Antichristian kingdom, as before explained, shall be DIVERSE from -the ten kingdoms, out of which it shall arise[200]. “But a kingdom may -be _diverse_ from other kingdoms, in various respects.” Without doubt. -And, therefore, we cannot certainly conclude from this single text, -that the _diversity_, mentioned, will consist in its being a spiritual -kingdom. Yet, if ye reflect that this _diversity_ is given, as the -characteristic mark of the Antichristian kingdom; that, although there -may be other and smaller differences between kingdoms, the greatest and -most signal is that which subsists between a temporal and spiritual -power; nay, that Government, as such, is, and can only be, of two -sorts, civil and spiritual, as corresponding to the two constituent -parts of _man_, (the subject of all government in this world,) the Soul -and the Body: Taking, I say, these considerations along with you, ye -cannot esteem it a very harsh and violent interpretation, if, without -looking any farther, we incline to think that this _diversity_ of -regimen, so emphatically pointed out, respects that great and essential -difference in human government, _only_. At least, it will be admitted, -that, if, from other and more express testimonies, the government of -Antichrist appear to be a spiritual government, we shall, then, be -authorized to put such a construction on Daniel’s prophecy, as will -reach the full force and import of his expression. Such a kingdom must -be allowed to be eminently _diverse_ from secular kingdoms. So that -the harmony between the prophets on this subject will be clear and -striking. - -Now, such a testimony we seem to find in the Apostle, St. Paul; who, -prophesying of _the man of Sin_, or Antichrist, to be revealed in the -latter days, makes it a distinguishing part of his character, _That -he_ SITTETH IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD[201]. Consider the force of these -words. A power, _seated in the temple of God_, can be nothing but a -power suitable to that place, or a _spiritual_ power: just as a power, -_seated in the throne of Cæsar_, could only be interpreted of a _civil_ -power. - -Nor say, because the context runs thus—“that he, AS GOD, sitteth in -the temple of God, SHEWING himself that he IS GOD—that therefore it -only means his claiming _divine honours_: a degree of blasphemy, very -applicable to a _civil_ power.” This objection has clearly no force: -because his _sitting in the temple of God_ was the very _means_ (if -we rightly apply this prophecy) by which the man of sin rose to that -abominable pre-eminence. It was by virtue of his _spiritual_, that he -assumed a _divine_ character. So that the phrase—_as God_—and that -other—_shewing himself that he is God_—sets before us, indeed, the -extravagant height to which the man of sin aspired, and to which he -ascended; but, no way invalidates the conclusion from his sitting in -the temple of God—that he was a _spiritual power_. Rather, we see -the propriety of this conclusion: because the text, thus understood, -suggests the _way_ in which the man of sin accomplished his blasphemous -purpose: His _success_ arose, from his _station_ in the temple. On -the other hand, a power _sitting in the throne of Cæsar_, might sit -there _as God_, and might _shew himself that he was God_ (as many of -the Roman Emperors did:) So that the clause—_sitting in the temple of -God_—has evidently no peculiar fitness, as applied to the usurpation -of divine honours by a _civil tyrant_; whereas we see it has that -fitness, when applied to a _spiritual_ tyrant. The context therefore -proves nothing against the interpretation, here proposed and defended. - -But, what is this _temple of God_? The temple at Jerusalem, it will be -said; the only temple, so called, then subsisting in the world[202]. -Admit this to be the literal sense of the words. Yet ye remember so -much of what hath been said concerning the prophetic style, as not to -think it strange, that the literal sense should involve in it another, -a _mystical_ meaning. And this, without any uncertainty whatsoever. -For so, the term, _Jew_, means a _Christian_; the term, _David_, means -_Christ_; the _incense_ of the temple-service, means the _prayers_ -of Christians; plainly and confessedly so, in numberless instances. -Agreeably to this analogical use of Jewish terms, in the style of the -prophets, _the temple of God_, nay _the temple of Jerusalem_[203] (if -that had been the expression) must, in all reason, be interpreted of -the _Christian church_, and could not, in the prophetic language, be -interpreted otherwise. When, therefore, Antichrist is said to _sit in -the temple of God_, it is the same thing as if it had been said of -him, _That he sitteth_, or ruleth, _in the church of Christ_. Now, -substitute these words—_the church of Christ_—in the room of those -other words—_the temple of God_; and see, if St. Paul, supposing his -purpose had been to express a spiritual power in opposition to a civil; -see, I say, if St. Paul could have conveyed that purpose more plainly. - -Still, we have another, and, if possible, a more decisive testimony -in the _Revelations_. For, among the different views, which St. John -gives us of Antichrist, in so many distinct visions, one is set before -us in the following manner—_And I beheld another beast coming up out -of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a -Dragon_[204]. Now, if we had known nothing more of these symbols, than -what the obvious qualities of the animals themselves suggested to us, -we could only have inferred, that this ruling power (for that is the -idea conveyed by the term, _Beast_) would put on the appearance of a -gentle and pacific administration: I say, the _appearance_; for what -its _real_ character was to be, is clearly enough expressed in what -follows, that this lamb-like beast _spake as a Dragon_. But, when we -further reflect, that _horns_, in the prophetic style, are the emblems -of _power_, and that a _Lamb_ is the peculiar, the _appropriated_ -symbol of Christ, _the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the -world_[205], and is constantly so employed throughout this whole -prophecy of the Revelations, we must, of necessity, conclude that -_a beast with the horns of a lamb_ can only be a state or person, -pretending to such powers, as Christ exercised, and his Religion -authoriseth; that is, powers, _not of this world_, but purely spiritual. - -The other symbol of a _Dragon_, confirms this conclusion. For a -_Dragon_, in the prophecies, is the known symbol of the old Roman -Government in its pagan, persecuting state. When, therefore, it is said -that the beast _spake as a Dragon_, the meaning is, That Antichrist -should assume the highest tone of civil authority in promoting his -tyrannous purposes, though he cloked his fierce pretensions under the -meek semblance of a spiritual character. Taken together, these two -symbols speak as plainly, as symbolic terms can speak, That Antichrist -was to be a _religious person_, acting in the spirit of a _secular -tyrant_. So exactly is he characterised by the poet Mantuan, addressing -himself to one of the Popes— - - _Ense_ potens _gemino_, cujus vestigia adorant - Cæsar et aurato vestiti murice reges. - -On the whole, I leave it to be considered, whether, when the prophecies -pronounce of Antichrist, that he should be, a power _diverse_ from all -others—that he should _sit in the temple of God_—and that he should -have _the horns of a lamb_—I leave it, I say, to your consideration, -whether it be not plain that this extraordinary power, a Roman power, -and residing at Rome, was to be a _Christian and Ecclesiastical_, and -not a _Pagan and Civil_ power. - -IV. Another obvious character of Antichrist, or rather, _complication_ -of characters, is that triple brand, impressed upon him, of a -_tyrannical, intolerant, and idolatrous_, power. - -The prophets hold him up to us, as _reigning_, or exercising an -oppressive and supereminent dominion, _over the kings of the earth_, -that is, of the Western empire[206]; as _making war with the lamb, and -the saints who receive not his mark in their foreheads_[207], that is, -persecuting good and conscientious Christians, who refuse to wear the -badge of Antichrist, and to serve under him; and, as another _Babylon, -the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth_[208], that is, -as polluted himself with the grossest idolatry, and as corrupting the -nations with the same prophane worship. - -But these marks, it will be said, have been found upon so many powers, -which have appeared in the world, that they cannot be given as the -_distinctive_ marks of _one_, that is, of the Papal Power: Nay, the -Bishop of Meaux goes further, and attempts to shew, by a very refined -argument, that the very _terms_ of _whoredom_ and _fornication_, in -which the _last_ of these marks, I mean, IDOLATRY, is set forth by the -prophet in the _book of Revelations_, make it impossible for us to -apply that mark to Rome Christian. - -Let us see, then, _first_, what force there is in the criticism of this -learned Prelate. - -That _whoredom_, or _fornication_, in the language of scripture, means -_idolatry_, is agreed on all hands, and cannot be disputed: Whether the -figurative use of this term arose from observing, how constantly that -pollution attended idolatrous worship; or how fitly a communication -with false gods may be compared with that unlawful commerce: Whatever -be the ground of the analogy, it is clear to a demonstration that -_whoredom_ is but another name for _idolatry_, which, under this idea, -is very frequently charged upon the Jews by the ancient prophets. - -Sometimes, however, (without doubt, to aggravate the charge) the -idolatry of the Jews is considered in the light of _adultery_, that is, -of infidelity to the God of Israel; to whom, as to her proper Lord and -_Husband_, the Jewish nation had, by express stipulation, and in the -most solemn manner, contracted herself. - -But, notwithstanding this promiscuous application of the terms, -_fornication_, and _adultery_, to the idolatry of the Jews in the -ancient prophecies, it hath been remarked by the Bishop of Meaux, “That -Babylon, or Rome, in the Revelations, is constantly and uniformly -spoken of, as a _whore_, and not as an _adulteress_: whence he -concludes, that this charge is brought against Pagan Rome only, and not -Christian Rome. For, why, he asks, is so much care taken not to impute -_adultery_ to idolatrous Rome, if it had been a Christian city? when -its polluting itself with this crime, contrary to the most express -engagements, which Christians take upon themselves, of fidelity to the -only true God, might justly deserve, and, in propriety, may seem to -require, this opprobrious charge, rather than that other lighter one -of _fornication_; whereas, if Pagan Rome be here meant, its idolatry -could only be set forth under the idea of _fornication_, and not of -_adultery_[209].” - -Now, although, as I observed, the idolatrous Jews are frequently -treated by their prophets, as _fornicators_, as well as _adulterers_, -nay, are much more frequently[210] represented under the _former_ -idea, than the _latter_; and although it be therefore true, that -_fornication_ is not necessarily, and exclusively, to be understood of -Pagan idolatry, but may well be applied to Christian idolaters, as it -was to the Jewish; yet the force of the learned objector’s argument -will not be obviated by this observation only. For the stress of it -lies in this, “That the idolatry of Rome in the Revelations is _every -where_, that is, purposely, termed _fornication_ (to insinuate to us, -that the charge is directed against a Pagan City, and not a Christian -Church), and _no where_, that is, purposely again, called _adultery_.” - -The objection is extremely ingenious; and, so far as I know, hath -been, hitherto, unanswered. Yet, if any good reason can be assigned -why the prophet should thus studiously prefer the term, _fornication_, -to that of _adultery_, in describing the idolatry of Christian Rome, -notwithstanding those terms be used indifferently by the Jewish -prophets, when they reprove the idolatry of their own countrymen, the -Bishop of Meaux would himself acknowledge, that his objection falls to -the ground. - -Now such a reason offers itself to us in the EMBLEM, under which St. -John chuses to represent his idolatrous society. This emblem is, -_Babylon_; a Pagan idolatrous city; to which the idea of _fornication_ -may be colourably, and hath, in fact, been, applied[211], in order -to express the transgression of the law of nature, in its idolatrous -worship: But to such a city, _adultery_, could in no proper sense, be -applied; because, it had never entered into any close engagement, or -_marriage-contract_, as it were, with the God of heaven. - -This being admitted, we see the reason, why Rome Christian is taxed -as a _whore_ simply, and not as an adulteress. For what had been -improperly said of the _type_, cannot, on the principles of decorum, -be transferred to the _anti-type_. If Babylon be only a _harlot_, -she is a harlot still, and nothing more, when she stands for Rome, -whether Pagan, or Christian. The concinnity of the figure, and the -just correspondence of the thing signified to the sign, demands the -observance of this rule; which cannot be violated without manifest -absurdity and confusion. - -“But why then, it is asked, was such an emblem employed? Why was not -Jerusalem, or Samaria (of which _adultery_ might be predicated) rather -chosen, than Babylon, for the type, or representation of _idolatrous -Christian Rome_?” - -The reason, again, is obvious. It was, because Babylon was the _first_ -of all idolatrous cities; and the _fittest_[212] to emblematize the -enormous guilt, or to set in full light the extensive influence, of -idolatrous Rome. For each, in its turn, was _the mother of harlots and -abominations of the earth_; the _former_ corrupting the _heathen_ world -with her fornication, and the latter, the _Christian_. - -When therefore for this, or the like reason, Babylon was made the -emblem of Christian Rome, the prophet was obliged to retain the idea of -fornication, only, and not to interpose that of adultery, through the -whole tenour of his application. - -It may, further, be worth observing, that _pagan_ idolatry is, for the -most part, exposed by the ancient prophets under the notion of LYES, -or LYING VANITIES[213]; and very rarely, I think in no more than one -or two short passages, under that of _fornication_. For vague lust was -so generally practised in the heathen world, and the law of nature, -condemning that vice, so little known, or respected by it, that the -metaphor would not have conveyed to a Pagan idolater the atrocious -nature of his crime. The Mosaic Law, on the other hand, interdicting -fornication in the severest terms, and requiring that _there should be -no whore of the daughters of Israel_[214], the guilt of idolatry was -very forcibly, as well as naturally, represented to a Jew, under that -idea. - -Accordingly, we find, that the prophets every where, and in whole -pages, employ this figure, when they address themselves to Jewish -idolaters. Whence it may seem, that, although there be sufficient -authorities to justify the prophet St. John in considering his -emblematic Babylon under the idea of a _harlot_, yet he would not -have prosecuted even this inferior charge of _fornication_ so far as -he has done, and in so many parts of his prophecy, if his purpose had -not been to apply it to a _believing_, and not a Pagan city. If the -mystical Babylon be _Christian_ Rome, we see the force and propriety of -this representation; which had clearly been less apt, if Pagan Rome, -according to the Bishop of Meaux, had been intended by the prophet. - -We see then, in both ways, why Rome is not an _adulteress_ in the -Revelations; and why she is so emphatically, a _harlot_. The type -employed forbad the _former_ charge, though the anti-type be _Rome -Christian_: The _latter_ charge had not been so much laboured, if the -anti-type had been _Rome Pagan_. - -Thus, the edge of this acute objection is entirely taken off, and the -execution, it was to make on the Protestant system, prevented. - -To return, now, to the consideration of our _three_ marks. These -marks, it is said, agree to so many other powers, besides that of -the Papacy, that they cannot be made the peculiar, distinctive -characters of Christian Rome. And, without doubt, considered merely -in themselves, they cannot. But, having already understood that the -power, thus stigmatized, is a power seated in the _seven-hilled_ city, -and that too, an _ecclesiastical_ power, one sees clearly that, if the -prophecies have hitherto received their accomplishment in any degree, -these marks can only be sought in Papal Rome, and must be the proper, -exclusive characters of that power. I say, _one sees this_; but, it -must be owned, not without amazement, That a species of government, -calling itself Christian, and professing to model itself on the example -of the _Lamb_, on the pure and simple principles of the Gospel, should -yet be all over stained with those specific vices, which Christianity -most abhors—the utmost pride of secular domination—the most -relentless zeal against the rights of conscience—and, what is still -more incredible, the most blasphemous idolatry. The accumulated infamy -of these crimes struck the prophet, St. John, so forcibly, that, on the -sight of this portentous monster, exhibited to him in the vision, _he -wondered_, as himself expresses it, _with great admiration_[215]. - -But, strange as this vision appeared to the sacred _prophet_, the Papal -history is found to realize all the wonders of it: And, backward as we -may be to interpret this vision of a church, professedly Christian, -that church herself is so little scandalized at the imputation of these -crimes, that she is ready to avow them all; the _two first_, directly -and openly; and the _last_, when set in a certain light, and explained -in her own manner. In short, she prides herself in the _extent of her -sway_[216], and the _fire of her zeal_[217], and only quibbles with us -about the meaning of the term, _idolatry_. - -To cut the matter short, then, and to keep clear of those endless -debates concerning the worship of _Images_, of the _Cross_, and of -the _Host_ in the celebration of the Mass; debates, which a dextrous -sophist may find means to carry on with a shew of argument, and with -some degree of plausibility; To set aside, I say, all these topics, -let it be observed, at once, That _idolatry_, in the scriptural sense -of the word, is of _two sorts_, and consists either, 1. in giving the -honour due to the one true God, as maker and governor of the world, to -any other supposed, though subordinate god; Or, 2, in giving the honour -due to Christ, as the sole mediator between God and Man, to any other -supposed, though subordinate, mediator. The _former_, is the idolatry -forbidden by the Jewish law, and by the law of Nature: The _latter_, -is Christian idolatry, properly so called, and is the abomination, -prohibited and condemned, in so severe terms, by the law of the Gospel. - -Now, whether the _former_ species of idolatry be chargeable on the -church of Rome or not; and whether the _crime_ of that species, may not -be incurred by honouring the true object of worship, through the medium -of some sensible image: Whatever, I say, be determined on these two -points (which, for the present, shall be set aside) the _other_ species -of idolatry is, without all doubt, chargeable on any Christian church -that shall adopt or acknowledge, in its religious addresses, another -mediator, besides Christ Jesus. - -But the church of Rome (I do not say, in the private writings of her -divines, but) in the solemn forms of her ritual, _publicly professes_, -and, by her canons and councils, _authoritatively enjoyns_, the worship -of saints and angels, under the idea of mediators and intercessors: not -indeed in exclusion of Christ, as _one_, or, if you will, as _chief_ -mediator, but in manifest defiance of his claim to be, the _sole_ -mediator. This charge is truly and justly brought against that Church, -as it now stands, and hath stood, for many ages; and cannot, by any -subterfuge whatsoever, be evaded[218]. And therefore, to the other -characters of _Pride_ and _Intolerance_, which she takes to herself -with much complacency, she must, now, be content (whether she will or -no) to have that of DÆMON-WORSHIP, or ANTICHRISTIAN IDOLATRY, fastened -upon her. - -Nor let the followers of that communion think to elude this charge, by -saying, _That they only request the saints, as we commonly do any good -man, to pray for them_[219]. False and disingenuous! _False_; because -their breviaries and litanies shew, that they supplicate the saints -to befriend them by their own inherent power, or to intercede for -them to the throne of God by virtue of their own personal merits[220], -in blasphemous derogation to the all-atoning and incommunicable -intercession of Jesus. _Disingenuous_, too; because they know very -well, that the question is concerning unseen and heavenly mediators -only, not men like ourselves, such as we live and converse with on -earth; whom we only admonish of their duty, and to whom we only do -ours, when we call upon them to exert an act of piety and common -charity in praying for their fellow-christians. Our meaning is but that -which the Apostle well expresses, when he would have us _consider one -another, to provoke unto love and to good works_[221]; and not at all -to supplicate our Christian brethren as powerful intercessors, in whose -meritorious virtues we confide, and to whom, as possessing a proper -interest in the Almighty, by the worth of their own persons, we commit -our dearest concerns, The forgiveness of our sins, and the salvation of -our souls. - -“But this, it will be said, is a very defective, and even unfair, -account of the matter. We do more than admonish our brethren of their -duty, when we sollicit their prayers for us. We invite them directly, -and formally, to _intercede_ for us to the throne of Grace. We are -allowed, nay encouraged, to lay a stress on their intercession; and, -what is more, we are given to understand that such intercession, -especially if it be made by good men, will have weight and influence in -Heaven. What else is the meaning of the Apostle, when he assures us, -_That the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much_. -James v. 16.? And, if the prayer of _a righteous man_, much more the -prayer of glorified saints and angels.” - -I have put the argument, I think, in all its force, and (because the -advocates of the papal cause affect to think it unanswerable) shall -examine it, with care. - -“We apply to good Christians, or to those we esteem such, to intercede -for us by their prayers to Heaven.” We do so; and are encouraged in -this application, by the _example_, and by the _directions_ of the -Apostles. For I shall not take advantage of what some have conceived to -be the meaning of St. James, in the place alledged, where he attributes -so much to the prayer of, a righteous man, That the prayer, there -spoken of, is _the prayer of faith_, or a spiritual gift miraculously -conferred on the first teachers of the Gospel, and confined to their -ministry: I will not, I say, take advantage of this gloss; because, -whatever foundation it may seem to have in the context of that epistle, -I allow it to be clear from other places of the New Testament[222], -That the duty of Christians is to pray, that is, to _intercede_, for -each other. - -But then I desire it may be observed, - -1. What difference there is between desiring good men to pray for -us, in the Gospel sense of that duty; and desiring Saints and Angels -to pray for us, in the sense of the papal rituals. We request those -prayers, only as they shall be offered up in the name, and through the -merits, of the great, and properly speaking, sole intercessor; and we -look for no effect from them, but on that condition. The Church of -Rome addresses herself to Saints and Angels, as _intercessors_, by, -what we may call, their own right, by virtue of their own inherent -sanctity: Or, rather, she applies to them directly, as to _Saviours_, -for their proper and immediate help, and expects it from the supposed -privilege of their rank, or merits, independently of their _prayers_, -or, at least, of the _manner_ in which those prayers shall be presented -through the name of Jesus. The formal words of their Litanies shew, -that such is their meaning. - -But they will say, that this condition of interceding, or saving, -through the merits of Christ, is implied, though not expressed. I reply -then, - -2. That, admitting it to be so, there is, yet, the widest difference -between _praying_ to Saints and Angels to pray for us, though in the -Gospel forms of intercession; and merely _requesting_ good men to pray -for us, in those forms. The _latter_ address is made in a way remote -from all appearance of idolatry, and free from the suspicion of it: -The _former_, is preferred in the _place_, at the _time_, with the -_posture_, in the _language_, in short, with all the circumstances and -formalities of divine worship. - -3. I observe, that, when we ask the prayers of men, we know that they -hear our address to them: We cannot even suppose thus much of Saints -and Angels, without ascribing to them the incommunicable attributes of -the Almighty. - -Still, it may be insisted, That prayers, whether offered up to God by -men, or glorified spirits, are however to be considered in the light of -_Intercessions_; and that therefore, so far as we combat the practice -of saint-worship on that ground, Protestants, as well as Papists, when -they employ the prayers of others, are guilty of idolatry. - -This, in truth, is the hinge, on which the question turns: And, to shew -the difference of the two cases, palpably and clearly, I say, - -Fourthly, and lastly, That the Gospel, in permitting, or rather in -commanding us to ask the prayers of each other, justifies this sort of -intercession, and absolves it from the blame and guilt of idolatry. It -gives a sanction to this mode of mediating with God by his Saints, on -earth; and does not regard it as a practice that interferes with the -mediatorial office of Jesus, in Heaven. - -The same Gospel, on the contrary, (I inquire not, for what reasons) -says not a word, from which we can infer, that any such address is -directed, or permitted, to be made to Angels or Spirits. It even -condemns all addresses of this kind, under the opprobrious name of -unauthorized, or WILL-WORSHIP[223]. Though we be allowed, then, to -have good men, in some sense, for our mediators or intercessors on -earth, we are not allowed to have any mediator or intercessor in the -tabernacle of heaven, but Jesus, the great high priest of Christians, -only. This last sort of intercession, by Angels and glorified Saints, -is against the spirit and letter of our religion. It is a practice, -which, not being enjoined, is forbidden; which, being disallowed, is -reprobated. In a word, It entrenches on the incommunicable honour and -prerogatives of the great, the appointed, the sole Mediator in Heaven, -seated at God’s right hand, _who ever liveth to make intercession for -us_[224]. It sets up new mediators, without, and against his leave: It -is, then, un-christian, and _idolatrous_. - -Thus at length, I suppose, it appears indisputably, That we are neither -unreasonable, nor uncharitable, in charging IDOLATRY, as well as the -other two anti-christian vices of _pride_, and _intolerance_, to the -account of papal Rome. - -V. The last prophetic mark of Antichrist, which I shall have time to -point out to you, and what perhaps you may esteem the most material of -all, is, _The_ TIME _in which that power is said to make its appearance -in the world_. - -It hath been already observed[225], that the _chronology_ of the -prophecies is, for the most part, not defined with that exactness, -which we expect in historical compositions. It is commonly expressed -in terms that may be interpreted with some latitude; or, when the date -is more precisely delivered, we are still at a loss, in some respect -or other, before the event, in what manner to form our calculation. -However, the expression is not so loose and vague, but that we may -clearly apprehend _about_ what time the predicted event will come to -pass. - -Thus, for instance, the season of Christ’s _coming into the world_ was -fixed by such circumstances as these—that it should be before the -total dissolution of the Jewish state—or while the second temple was -yet standing: And, when it was determinately foretold to be after the -expiration of _seventy weeks, from the going forth of the commandment -to return and to build Jerusalem_, still, besides the prophetic and -somewhat obscure sense of the word _weeks_, we cannot beforehand -calculate exactly _when_ these weeks commence[226], or in what term -they are to be accomplished. Yet, notwithstanding these uncertainties, -the Jews saw very clearly, and, from them, the rest of the world -conceived an expectation, that the person predicted was to appear in -that age, or _about_ that time, in which he did appear, and which, from -the tenour of the prophecies, they had computed would be the time of -his appearance. - -In like manner, the season of Antichrist’s appearance in the world is -left to be collected from general intimations; and, when the duration -of his tyranny is limited to _twelve hundred and sixty days_, besides -that the expression, as before, is ænigmatical, we have no means of -fixing the commencement of that period so precisely, but that some -doubts may arise about it, till the accomplishment of the prophecy -shall give light and certainty to the computation. Yet still, as in the -former case, we have such _data_ to proceed upon in calculating the -reign of Antichrist, as may let us see _about_ what time it was to be -expected. - -Thus much being premised, I have now only to remind you of what the -prophets expressly declare concerning the rise of Antichrist. The -eldest of these, the prophet Daniel, says it was to be in the time of -the _fourth_ kingdom, that is, of the Roman; which, for the convenience -of the prophetic calculations, is considered as subsisting, though -in a new form, under the ten kings, among whom it was to be divided. -He further tells us, that Antichrist was to arise from _among_, and -_after_, the ten kings; that is, we are to look for him _then_, -(and not before) when the Roman empire has undergone that change of -government[227]. - -Next, St. Paul, it seems, had told the Thessalonians, what it was -that, for a time, prevented the appearance of Antichrist: But that -information hath not been transmitted to us. However, he says to -them—_Ye know_ WHAT _with-holdeth that he might be revealed in his -time_: and further adds, HE, _who now letteth, will let, until he be -taken out of the way_[228]. - -Now, by putting these passages together, and by comparing them with -the predictions of Daniel, not we of these later times only, before -whom _the man of sin_ is supposed to be evidently displayed, but the -early fathers of the church, long before the events happened to which -these prophetic notices could be applied, clearly saw, or at least -generally conjectured, that the impediment, here mentioned, was the -then subsisting power of the Cæsarean government; which, they said, was -first to be taken away, and then Antichrist would be revealed[229]. - -Lastly, the Apostle St. John not only confirms the prophecies of -Daniel, that Antichrist should arise out of the ten kings, who were to -have the western empire shared out among them, but adds this remarkable -circumstance, That he should RIDE the ten kings[230]; which implies, -that he should _co-exist_ with them: And it further appears, that -he was to receive his whole power from them, and was finally to be -destroyed by them. - -Now, turn to the history of the _fourth_ kingdom, and see how it -corresponds to these prophecies. Observe, when the western empire under -its Cæsarean head, was taken away; how it was, afterwards, dismembered -by the northern nations; by what degrees it fell at length, into _ten_, -that is, _many_ distinct, independent kingdoms; at what time this -partition was made, or rather fully settled and completed. From this -time, and not before, you are to look for Antichrist, now gradually -rearing himself up among the ten kings; and at length, in a condition, -by the power, which they gave to him, to _ride_, that is, to direct -and govern them. From this time, again, compute the 1260 years, the -predicted period of his government; and, keeping your eye all along on -the ecclesiastical and civil state of our western world (the predicted -theatre of all these transactions) see, if you can help concluding, -I do not say at what precise time, but _about_ what time, Antichrist -appeared; see, if the _commencement_ of his reign be not so far -determined as that you may be certain of its being long since past; and -see, if very much, at least, of that allotted _period_, through which -his dominion was to continue, according to the prophecies, be not, by -the evident attestation of history, now run out. - -To DRAW, then, what hath been said on the several marks of Antichrist, -to a point. Consider, within _what part_ of the world, he was to -appear; in _what seat_ or throne, he was to be established; of _what -kind_, his sovereignty was to be; with _what attributes_, he was to be -invested; in _what season_, or _about what time_, and for _how long -a time_, he was to reign and prosper: Consider these FIVE obvious -characters of Antichrist, which the prophets have distinctly set -forth, and which, from them, I have successively held up to you: And, -then, compare them with the correspondent characters, which you find -inscribed, by the pen of authentic history, on a certain power, sprung -up in the West; seated in the city of Rome; calling himself the Vicar -of Christ; yet _full of names of blasphemy_, that is, stigmatized with -those crimes, which Christianity, as such, holds most opprobrious, -the crimes of tyrannic dominion, of persecution, and even Idolatry; -and lastly, now subsisting in the world, though with evident symptoms -of decay, after a long reign, whose rise and progress can be traced, -and whose duration, hitherto, is uncontradicted by any prophecy: Put, -I say, all these correspondent marks together, and see if they do -not furnish, if not an absolute demonstration, yet a high degree of -probability, that apostate papal Rome is the very Antichrist foretold. - -At least, you will admit that these correspondencies are signal enough -to merit your attention, and even to justify your pains in looking -further into so curious and interesting a subject. Ye will say to -yourselves, That the prophecies concerning Antichrist deserve at least -to be considered with care, since in so many striking particulars, they -appear, on the face of them, to have been completed. - -This _conclusion_, it is presumed, is a reasonable one: And the end of -this discourse will be answered, if ye are, at length, prevailed upon -to _draw_ this conclusion. - - - - -SERMON XII. - -USES OF THIS INQUIRY INTO THE PROPHECIES. - -REV. xxii. 7. - -_Behold, I come quickly: Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the -prophecy of this book._ - - -Before we engage in a work of time and difficulty, we naturally ask, -“CUI BONO, to what considerable end and purpose, are our labours to be -referred?” - -Although it may, then, be presumed, that enough hath been said on the -prophecies to excite a reasonable desire of looking further into them, -and even to produce a general persuasion, that they have been, or may -be, understood; yet, it may quicken your attention to this argument, -and support your industry in the prosecution of it, to set before you -the USES, which may result from a full and final conviction (if such -should be the issue of your inquiries), That these prophecies are not -intelligible only, but have, in many instances, been rightly applied, -and clearly fulfilled. - -These USES are very many. I shall collect, only, _two or three_ of the -more important, for your consideration. - -Though every period of prophecy be instructive, that which takes in the -great events and revolutions, which have come to pass in the _Christian -Church_, is, for obvious reasons, more especially interesting to us, -who live in these latter ages of the world. - -Of the numerous predictions, contained in either Testament, which, -it is presumed, respect these events, the most considerable by far, -because the most minute and circumstantial, are those of St. John in -the _Revelations_; which treat professedly of such things as were -to befall _the servants of Jesus_[231], from the prophet’s own days, -down to that awful period, when all the mysterious councils of God, -in regard to the Christian dispensation, shall be finally shut up in -the day of judgment. To these predictions, then, a more particular -attention is due, the rather because they have been fulfilling from -the time of their delivery—_behold, I come quickly_—and, above all, -because a _blessing_ is pronounced on those, who keep, that is, who -observe, who study and contemplate, _the sayings of this book_. - -Assuredly, then, this study will be rewarded with signal benefits. And -one sees immediately: - -I. In the first place, that no small benefit must arise to those, who -admit the completion of these prophecies, so far, I mean, as the tenour -of the book makes it probable that they have been completed, _from -the awful sense, which this conviction must needs give them of the -Christian dispensation itself_. - -That this dispensation, ushered in by so long a train of prophecies, -should still be attended by others, through all the stages and -periods of it; that secular empires should rise and fall, unnoticed, -as it were, by the Spirit of God, while the kingdom of his Son is -so peculiarly distinguished, and its whole history, in a manner, -anticipated, by the most express predictions: that Jesus should be, -as he says of himself, _the alpha and omega, the beginning and the -end_[232], of all God’s religious dispensations to mankind: that -his _first coming_, or personal appearance in the flesh, should be -signified from the foundation of the world, and from time to time more -explicitly declared in a variety of successive prophecies, till the -great event, at length, fulfilled them all: and that, together with -this event (the foundation of others, still more illustrious) his -_second coming_, in the future and gradual manifestations of his power -(for they were to be _gradual_) should be distinctly marked out, and -duly accomplished, in the fortunes of the Christian church, or of that -kingdom, which he came to erect in the world; while this subject, and -no other, engaged the ultimate attention of all the prophets: There -is, I say, in this scheme of things, something so astonishingly vast, -something so much above and beyond the attention that was ever known -to be paid to any other person or thing in the compass of universal -history, as must strike an awe into the hearts of all men, who consider -Christianity in this point of view; and must compel the most negligent -to confess, or suspect at least, That _such_ a dispensation is a matter -of no light moment, but, indeed, the most important in the eyes of -Providence, and the most interesting to mankind, that can be conceived, -or expressed. - -If, then, there be reason, to _admit_ the completion of such -prophecies, respecting such a subject, in any considerable number -of instances, within that space of time which is already elapsed; -and, therefore, to _expect_ that the remaining prophecies will, in -like manner, be fulfilled, The conclusion is, that the dispensation -of God through Christ is of the last consequence to the inhabitants -of this world: And the obvious _use_ of this conclusion will be, -that it further obliges all serious men who have thus far profited -by a study of the sacred oracles, to put that salutary question -to themselves—_How shall we escape, if we neglect so great -salvation[233]?_ - -Connected with _this_ use of prophecy, - -II. A _second_ is, That it sets before us, not the importance only, but -the _truth_ of Christianity, in the strongest light. - -So many illustrious events falling in, one after another, just as the -word of prophecy foretold they should, must afford the most convincing -proof, That our Religion is, as it claims to be, of divine institution: -a _proof_, the more convincing, because it is continually growing upon -us; and, the farther we are removed from the source of our religion, -the clearer is the evidence of its truth. Other proofs are supposed to -be, and, in some degree, perhaps, are, weakened by a length of time. -But this, from prophecy, as if to make amends for their defects, hath -the peculiar privilege of strengthening by age itself: till hereafter, -as we presume, the accumulated force of so much evidence shall -overpower all the scruples of infidelity; and bring about, at length, -that general conversion both of Jew and Gentile, which the sacred -oracles have so expressly foretold. - -In both these ways, then, by impressing on the mind the most affecting -sense of Christianity; that is, by giving us, _first_, the most _awful -view of its pretensions_, and _then_, by producing the _firmest -conviction of its truth_, the word of prophecy hath an evident -tendency, in proportion as we see its accomplishment, to promote the -great ends, for which it was given, till _the earth shall be filled -with the knowledge of the Lord_, and _all the inhabitants of the world -shall learn righteousness_[234]. - -These uses are general, and concern _all_ men: The - -III. _Next_, I shall mention, is more especially addressed to -_thinking_ and inquisitive men. - -When the view of things, exhibited under the two preceding articles, -has raised our admiration, to the utmost, of the divine councils in -contriving, preparing, and at length executing so vast a scheme, as -that of Christianity, for the benefit of mankind; we are led to expect -that the _effect_ will correspond to the _means_ employed, and that a -striking change will, at length, be brought about in the condition of -the moral world. - -But, in surveying the history of this new religion, the theme of so -many prophecies, and the great, the favourite object, if I may so -speak, of divine Providence, “some are not a little scandalized to -observe that nothing hath come to pass in any degree equivalent to -such an expence of forethought and contrivance; that, for a season, -indeed, virtue and piety seemed to triumph, in the exemplary lives of -the first converts to this religion, and in the overthrow of Pagan -idolatry; but that this golden age was soon over; and that, now, for -more than fourteen hundred years, the passions of men have kept their -usual train, or rather have expatiated with more licence and fury in -the Christian world, than in the Pagan; that _idolatry_, in all its -forms, has revived in the bosom of Christianity; and, as to _private -morals_, that this Religion has even made men worse than it found them, -or, at best, of corrupt sensualists, has only made them intolerant and -vindictive bigots; that, in a word, the _kingdom of heaven_, as it is -called, has, hitherto, neither served to the glory of God, nor to the -good of mankind; at least, to neither of these ends, in the _degree_, -that might have been expected from such high pretensions.” - -The colouring of this picture, we will say, is too strong: but the -outline, at least, is fairly given. The corruptions of the Christian -world have been notorious and great; and though they are indeed the -corruptions of men calling themselves Christians, and not the vices of -Christianity, yet he who the most dispassionately contemplates so sad -a scene, can hardly reconcile appearances to what must have been his -natural expectations. - -Here, then, the prophecies of this book, I mean, of the Apocalypse, -come in to our relief. This book contains a detailed account of -what would befall mankind under this last and so much magnified -dispensation. It foretells all that history has recorded. It sets -before us the corrupt state of the Christian world in almost as strong -a light, as that in which our indignant speculatist himself has placed -it. But it, likewise, opens better things to our view. It shews, that -the _end_ of this dispensation is to promote virtue and happiness; and -that this end shall finally, but through many and long obstructions, -be accomplished. It represents the cause of righteousness, as still -maintaining itself in all the conflict, to which it is exposed; as -gradually gaining ground, and prevailing, through the secret aid of -divine Providence, over all opposition, till it obtains a firm and -permanent establishment; till _the Saints reign_ (not in a fanatical, -but in the sober and evangelical sense of that word, _reign_) _in the -earth_[235]; till _the Lord God omnipotent reigneth_[236]. - -So far, then, as these prophecies appear to have been completed, -they reconcile us to that disordered scene, which hath hitherto been -presented to us; and give repose to the anxious mind, in the assured -hope of better things to come. The worst, that has _happened_, was -foreseen; and the best, that we _conceive_, will hereafter come to -pass. Thus, the reasonable expectations of men are answered, and the -honour of God’s government abundantly vindicated. - -IV. The _last_ use, I shall suggest to you, is that which immediately -results from the study of the Apocalyptic prophecies _concerning -Antichrist_; I mean, _the support that is hereby given to Protestantism -against all the cavils and pretensions of its adversaries_. - -For, if these prophecies are rightly applied to Papal Rome, and have, -in part, been signally accomplished in the history of that church, it -is beyond all doubt, that our communion with it is dangerous; nay, that -our separation from it is a matter of strict duty. _Come out of her, my -people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not -of her plagues_[237]—are plain and decisive words, and, if allowed to -be spoken of that church, bring the controversy between the Protestant -and Papal Christians to a short issue. - -I know, the advocates of Rome pretend, that, not a sense of duty, but -a _spirit of revenge_ operates in the minds of Protestants, when they -affect to lay so great a stress on the Apocalyptic prophecies. “_Reward -her, even as she rewarded you_[238]”—is, they say, another of their -favourite texts, by which they take themselves to be as much obliged, -as by that which they so commonly alledge for quitting her communion. -It is not, therefore, to cover themselves from the imputation of -schism, but to authorize the vengeance, they meditate against us, that -we are stunned with the cry of Antichrist and Babylon[239].” - -To this charge, I can only reply, That, if any Protestant writers -have put that sense on the words—_reward her, as she rewarded -you_—they must answer for their own temerity and indiscretion. They, -who understand themselves, and the language of prophecy, disclaim the -odious imputation. They say, That they neither admit the lawfulness -of persecution in any case, on the account of religion, nor have the -least thought of instigating the Christian world to any sanguinary -attempts against the Papacy. What the _event_ may be in the councils -of Providence, is another consideration: But they neither avow, nor -approve those principles, which tend to produce it. They, further, -insist, That the two passages under consideration, though, both of -them, expressed in the _imperative_ form, require a very different -construction: That the language of prophecy _seems_ very often to -authorise what it only foretells; and to command that which it -barely permits: that, therefore, the sense of such passages is to be -determined by the circumstances of the case; that, where obedience -is lawful, there the _preceptive_ form may be admitted; but, where -it is not, there nothing more is intended than the certainty of the -_event_: That this distinction is to be made in the present case; for -that Christianity doth not allow vindictive retaliations, or _holy -wars_, for the sake of religion, and that offensive arms taken up in -the cause of God (how confidently soever some have justified their -zeal by the authority of the Jewish Law, ill-applied) are abominable -and _antichristian_: Whence we rightly conclude, that—_reward her, as -she rewarded you_—are words not to be taken injunctively; while those -other words—_come out of her, my people_—expressing nothing but what -it was previously our duty to do, are very clearly to be so taken. - -Lastly, We say, that the context in the two places alledged, justifies -this distinction. _Come out of her, my people._ Why? _That ye be not -partakers, of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues._ The -reason is just, and satisfactory. _Reward her._ Why? No reason is -assigned, or could be assigned consistently with the spirit of the -Christian religion: It only follows, _as she has rewarded you_—words, -which express only the _measure_, and the _equitable grounds_ of the -allotted punishment, not the _duty_ of Christians to inflict it. - -I return, then, from the confutation of this cavil (the most plausible, -however, as well as invidious, which the wit of Rome has started on -this subject) to the conclusion, before laid down, That the completion -of the Apocalyptic prophecies in the Papal apostasy, if seen and -confessed, affords an unanswerable defence and vindication of the -Protestant churches. - -This conclusion, that THE POPE IS ANTICHRIST, and that other, that THE -SCRIPTURE IS THE SOLE RULE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH, were the _two_ great -principles, on which the Reformation was originally founded. How the -_first_ of these principles came to be DISGRACED _among ourselves_, -I have shewn in another discourse[240]. It may now be worth while to -observe, in one word, through what fatal mismanagement the _latter_ -principle was even _generally_ DISAVOWED and DESERTED. - -When the Reformers had thrown off all respect for the Papal chair, and -were for regulating the faith of Christians by the sacred scriptures, -it still remained a question, _On what grounds, those scriptures should -be interpreted_. The voice of the church, speaking by her schoolmen, -and modern doctors, was universally, and without much ceremony, -rejected. But the Fathers of the primitive church were still in great -repute among Protestants themselves; who dreaded nothing so much as -the imputation of novelty, which they saw would be fastened on their -opinions, and who, besides, thought it too presuming to trust entirely -to the dictates of what was called _the private spirit_. The church -of Rome availed herself with dexterity, of this prejudice, and of the -distress to which the Protestant party was reduced by it. The authority -of these ancient and venerable interpreters was sounded high by the -Catholic writers; and the clamour was so great and so popular, that the -Protestants knew not how, consistently with their own principles, or -even in mere decency, to decline the appeal which was thus confidently -made to that tribunal. The Reformers, too, piqued themselves on -their superior skill in ancient literature; and were ashamed to have -it thought that their adversaries could have any advantage against -them in a dispute, which was to be carried on in that quarter. Other -considerations had, perhaps, their weight with particular churches: -But, for these reasons, chiefly, all of them forwardly closed in with -the proposal of trying their cause at the bar of the ancient church: -And, thus, shifting their ground, maintained henceforth, not that -the scriptures were the sole rule of faith, but the scriptures, _as -interpreted by the primitive fathers_. - -When the state of the question was thus changed, it was easy to see -what would be the issue of so much indiscretion. The dispute was not -only carried on in a dark and remote scene, into which the people -could not follow their learned champions; but was rendered infinitely -tedious, and, indeed, interminable. For those early writings, now to be -considered as of the highest authority, were voluminous in themselves; -and, what was worse, were composed in so loose, so declamatory, and -often in so hyperbolical a strain, that no certain sense could be -affixed to their doctrines, and any thing, or every thing, might, with -some plausibility, be proved from them. - -The inconvenience was sensibly felt by the Protestant world. And, after -a prodigious waste of industry and erudition, a learned foreigner[241], -at length, shewed the inutility and the folly of pursuing the contest -any further. In a well-considered discourse, _On the use of the -Fathers_, he clearly evinced, that their authority was much less, than -was generally supposed, in _all_ points of religious controversy; -and that their judgment was especially incompetent in _those_ points, -which were agitated by the two parties. He evinced this conclusion by -a variety of unanswerable arguments; and chiefly by shewing that the -matters in debate were, for the most part, such as had never entered -into the heads of those old writers, being, indeed, of much later -growth, and having first sprung up in the barbarous ages. They could -not, therefore, decide on questions, which they had no occasion to -consider, and had, in fact, never considered; however their careless or -figurative expression might be made to look that way, by the dextrous -management of the controversialists. - -This discovery had great effects. It opened the eyes of the more candid -and intelligent inquirers: And our incomparable Chillingworth, with -some others[242], took the advantage of it to set the controversy -with the church of Rome, once more, on its proper foot; and to -establish, for ever, the old principle, THAT THE BIBLE, and that only, -(interpreted by our best reason) IS THE RELIGION OF PROTESTANTS. - -Thus, ONE of the two pillars, on which the Protestant cause had been -established, was happily restored. And, though Mr. Mede, about the -same time, succeeded as well in his attempts to replace the OTHER, -yet, through many concurring prejudices, the merit of that service -hath not, hitherto, been so generally acknowledged. Whether _the Pope -be the Antichrist of the prophets_, is still by some Protestants made -a question. Yet, it seems as if it would not continue very long to be -so: And it may not be too much to expect, that this institution will, -hereafter, contribute to put an end to the dispute. - -The Reformation will, then, be secured against the two invidious -charges of SCHISM and HERESY (for _neither_ of which is there any -ground, if _the Pope be Antichrist_, and if _the sole Rule of faith -to a Christian be the canonical scriptures_) and will, thus, stand -immoveably on its ancient and proper foundations. - -In saying this, I do not, however, mean to assert, that the Reformation -has no support, but in this principle—_that the Pope is Antichrist_. -There are various other considerations, which are decisive in the -controversy between us and the Papists. So that, if the prophecies -should, after all, be found to suit any other person or power, better -than the Roman Pontif, we shall only have one argument the less to -urge against his pretensions, and the Protestant cause, in the mean -time, stands secure. But, on the supposition that the prophecies are -rightly, and must be exclusively, applied to the church of Rome (of -which every man will judge for himself, from the evidence hereafter to -be laid before him) on this supposition, I say, it must be allowed that -the shortest and best defence of the Protestant cause is that which is -taken from the authority of those prophecies, because they expressly -enjoin a separation from that society, to which they are applied. - -Ye perceive, then, in all views, the utility of studying this prophecy -of the _Revelations_, provided there be reason to admit the completion -of it in the history of the Christian Church, and particularly in the -history of Papal Rome. The _importance_ and the _truth_ of Christianity -will be seen in their full light—The _wisdom_ of the divine councils, -in _permitting the Apostacy to take place for a time_, will be -acknowledged—And the _honour_ of our common _Protestant profession_ -will be effectually maintained. - - - CONCLUSION. - -This Lecture is now brought down to that point, from which, possibly, -ye expected me to set out. But, in the entrance on an argument, new -to many persons, and misunderstood by most, it seemed expedient to -take a wide compass. The true _scriptural idea_ of the subject, was -to be opened, at large[243]; the _general argument_ from prophecy, -enforced[244]; the _method_ of the prophetic system deduced, and -further illustrated in a view of the prophecies more immediately -respecting the Christian church[245]; Of _these_ prophecies, those -concerning _Antichrist, or the apostasy of Papal Rome_, were to be -cleared of all prejudices and objections[246]; and the _principles_, on -which the _Apocalyptic_ prophecies, in particular, are to be explained, -proposed and justified[247]: It was, further, necessary to bespeak -your attention to the _argument_ from the Apocalyptic prophecies, -especially, concerning Antichrist, by shewing the several presumptions -there are of its _force_[248]; and by setting before you the _uses_, -to which this whole inquiry may be applied[249]. - -This preliminary course, then, though it has been tedious, will not -be thought improper, if it may serve, in any degree, to prepare and -facilitate the execution of the main design, which is, _To interpret -and apply particular prophecies_: A work, of labour indeed; but not -unpleasant in itself; and (if carried on with that diligence and -sobriety, which are, in reason, to be supposed) capable, I think, of -affording to fair and attentive minds the fullest satisfaction. - -The SEASON, I know, may be thought unfavourable to such an attempt. -For the main stress must be laid on prophecies, about which Christians -themselves are not agreed, at a time when the number of those persons -is supposed to be very great, and increasing every day, who are not -easily brought to acknowledge the reality of _any_ prophecies. - -This _last_ would be an unwelcome consideration, if the fact were -certain; I mean, if the present state of religion were altogether -such as some, perhaps, wish, and as others too easily apprehend, it -to be. But I hope, and believe, it is not; the truth of the case, so -far as I am able to form a judgment of it, being no more than this. -A few fashionable men make a noise in the world; and this clamour, -being echoed on all sides from the shallow circles of their admirers, -misleads the unwary into an opinion, that the irreligious spirit is -universal and uncontroulable. Whereas, the good and wise, are modest -and reserved: having no doubt themselves concerning the foundation of -their faith, they pay but little regard to the cavils, which empty or -corrupt men throw out against it. They either treat those cavils with a -silent contempt; or, they lament in secret the libertinism of the age, -without taking any vigorous measures to check and oppose it. Besides, -they rarely come into what is called, _free company_; and they are too -well employed, and at the same time too well informed, to hearken after -every idle publication, on the side of irreligion. - -For these, and the like reasons, the number of true believers is -overlooked; or thought to be less considerable than, in fact, it is, -and would presently be known to be, if a just estimate were taken of -them. - -Let me then, under this persuasion, express myself in the spirit, and -almost in the words, of an ancient apologist[250]—“Let no man too -hastily despair of the cause, we are now pleading. When we stand up in -its defence, there are those who will lend an ear to us. For, whatever -the vain, or the vicious may pretend, the prophetic writings are not -fallen so low in the esteem of mankind, but that there are numberless -persons of good sense and serious dispositions, who wish to see the -truth of the Gospel confirmed by them; and are ready to embrace that -truth, when fairly set before them, and supported by the clear evidence -of historical testimony and well-interpreted scripture.” - -Such is the language, which I am not afraid to hold to the desponding -party among us. But should my confidence, or my candour, transport me -too far, should even _their_ apprehensions be ever so well founded, the -zeal of those, who preach the Gospel, is not to abate, but to exert -itself with new vigour under so discouraging a prospect. If there be a -way left to strike conviction into the hearts of unbelievers, it must -probably be, by pressing this great point of prophetic inspiration, and -by turning their attention on a _miracle_, now wrought, or ready to be -wrought before their eyes. Or, let the event be what it will, our duty -is to illustrate the word of prophecy, and to enforce it; to withstand -the torrent of infidelity with what success we may, and, if it should -prevail over all our efforts, to make full proof, at least, of our -sincerity and good will. - -In the mean time, it becomes all _others_ to retain and cultivate in -themselves a respect for the prophetic writings; which either are, or, -for any thing that has yet appeared, may be divine. To treat them, -without the fullest conviction of their falshood, with neglect and -scorn, is plainly indecent, and may be highly criminal and dangerous. - -Josephus tells us, that, in the last dreadful ruin of his unhappy -countrymen, it was familiar with them, _to make a jest of divine -things, and to deride, as so many senseless tales and juggling -impostures, the sacred oracles of their prophets_[251]; though they -were then fulfilling before their eyes, and even upon themselves. - -But the case, perhaps, is different; and _we_ have no concern, in the -prophecies concerning Papal Rome. - -What! Have WE no concern in those prophecies (supposing, I mean, that -they are prophecies, at all, and, that there is reason for applying -them to the church of Papal Rome). WE, who have but just been delivered -from the more than Egyptian bondage, which they predict; and are, -therefore, bound by every tye of interest, of gratitude, and of -charity, to assert to ourselves, and to communicate to others, as far -as we are able, the blessings of _that liberty, wherewith Christ has -made us free_[252]. Have WE no concern in the several _uses_, mentioned -in this discourse; and in many others, which I have not mentioned; it -being well known, that _all inspired scripture_ (of which prophecy -is so eminent a part) _is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for -correction, for instruction in righteousness_[253]? - -Or, supposing that we had no _direct_ concern in these prophecies, -and supposing, farther, that the divine authority of them was even -_problematical_; still it may deserve to be considered, I mean, by -men the most libertine, who have not yet convinced themselves, by an -exact and critical inquiry, of their utter falshood and insignificancy; -I say, it merits the reflexion of all such, That the _contempt_ of -the prophecies, under these circumstances, has a natural tendency -to corrupt the temper and harden the heart. And is there no room to -question, whether this conduct, plainly an _immoral_ conduct, be -adviseable or safe? - -Let us then, on a principle of _self-love_, if not of piety, _keep -the sayings of this book_, concerning THE MAN OF SIN. From many -appearances, the appointed time for the full completion of them may -not be very remote. And it becomes our prudence to take heed that we -be not found in the number of those, to whom that awful question is -proposed—_How is it, that ye do not discern the signs of this time?_ - -Nay, there are prophecies, which, in that case, may concern us -more nearly, than we think. St. Paul applied ONE of these, to the -unbelieving Jews; of whose mockery, and of whose fate, ye have heared -what their own historian witnesseth: And, if _we_ equal their obdurate -spirit, _that_ prophecy may clearly be _applied_, and no man can say, -that it was not _intended_ to be applied, to _ourselves_. - -_Beware therefore_ (to sum up all in the tremendous words of the -Apostle[254]) _Beware, lest that come upon you, which is spoken by the -Prophets_: BEHOLD, YE DESPISERS, AND WONDER AND PERISH; FOR I WORK A -WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK, WHICH YE SHALL IN NO WISE UNDERSTAND, THOUGH -A MAN DECLARE IT UNTO YOU. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX: - -CONTAINING - -AN ANONYMOUS LETTER - -TO THE AUTHOR OF THESE SERMONS, - -WITH HIS ANSWER TO IT. - - -Soon after I had published this volume, I received an anonymous Letter, -addressed to me at Thurcaston, of which the following is an exact copy. - - -LETTER TO DR. HURD. - -SIR, - -Some months ago it was reported, that Dr. Hurd was preparing to expound -the Apocalypsis, and once more to prove the Pope to be Antichrist. The -public were amazed. By the gay and by the busy world, the very attempt -was treated as an object of ridicule. Polite scholars lamented, that -you should be prevailed on to give up your more solid and liberal -studies, for such obscure and unprofitable researches. Your own -brethren of the church hinted, that it would be far more prudent to -observe a respectful silence with regard to those awful and invidious -mysteries. A more than common share of merit was requisite to surmount -such adverse prejudices. Your Sermons, Sir, have been perused with -pleasure by many, who had the strongest dislike to the name and -subject. Every one has admired the vastness of the plan, the harmony -of the proportions, and the elegance of the ornaments; and if any have -remarked a weakness in the foundations, it has been imputed to the -nature of the ground; and the taste of the Patron has been arraigned -rather than the skill of the Architect. - -Since you have undertaken the care and defence of this extensive -province, I may be allowed, less as an opponent than as a disciple, -to propose to you a few difficulties; about which I have sought more -conviction than I have hitherto obtained. From the general cast of your -writings, I flatter myself that I am speaking to a candid critic, and -to a philosophical divine; whose first passion is the love of truth. On -this pleasing supposition, let me venture to ask you, “_Whether, there -is sufficient evidence that the Book of Daniel is really as ancient as -it pretends to be._” You are sensible, that from this point the Golden -Chain of Prophecy, which you have let down from Heaven to earth, is -partly suspended. - -There are two reasons which still force me to with-hold my assent. -I. The author of the Book of Daniel is too well informed of the -revolutions of the Persian and Macedonian empires, which are supposed -to have happened long after his death. II. He is too ignorant of -the transactions of his own times. In a word, he is too exact for a -Prophet, and too fabulous for a contemporary historian. - -I. The first of these objections was urged, fifteen hundred years ago, -by the celebrated Porphyry. He not only frankly acknowledged, but -carefully illustrated the distinct and accurate series of history, -contained in the book of Daniel, as far as the death of Antiochus -Epiphanes; for beyond that period, the author seems to have had no -other guide than the dim and shadowy light of conjecture. The four -empires are clearly delineated, the expedition of Xerxes into Greece, -the rapid conquest of Persia by Alexander, his untimely death without -posterity, the division of his vast monarchy into four kingdoms, -one of which, Egypt, is mentioned by name, their various wars and -intermarriages, the persecution of Antiochus, the prophanation of the -Temple, and the invincible arms of the Romans, are described with as -much perspicuity in the prophecies of Daniel, as in the histories -of Justin and Diodorus. From such a perfect resemblance, the artful -infidel would infer, that both were alike composed after the event. -This conduct has supplied St. Jerom with a fund of learning, and an -occasion of triumph; as if the philosopher, oppressed by the force -of truth, had unwarily furnished arms for his own defeat. Yet, -notwithstanding Jerom’s confidence, and in spite of my inclination to -side with the father, rather than with the adversary of the church; the -reasoning of the latter may I fear be justified by the rules of logic -and criticism. - -May I not assume as a principle equally consonant to experience, to -reason, and even to true religion; “That we ought not to admit any -thing as the immediate work of God, which can possibly be the work of -man; and that whatever is said to deviate from the ordinary course of -nature, should be ascribed to accident, to fraud, or to fiction; till -we are fully satisfied, that it lies beyond the reach of those causes?” -If we cast away this buckler, the blind fury of superstition, from -every age of the world, and from every corner of the globe, will invade -us naked and unarmed. - -The eager trembling curiosity of mankind has ever wished to penetrate -into futurity; nor is there perhaps any country, where enthusiasm -and knavery have not pretended to satisfy this anxious craving of -the human heart. These self-inspired prophets have strove by various -arts to supply the want of a divine mission. Sometimes adapting their -conjectures to the present situation of things, and to the passions and -prejudices of those, for whom their oracles were intended, they have -involved themselves in the mystic veil of dark, general, and ambiguous -metaphors: and embracing an indefinite space, they have trusted to -time and fortune for the accomplishment of their predictions, or to -the industry of kind commentators for a favourable interpretation of -them. Sometimes they have commenced prophets, and even true prophets at -a very easy rate, by delivering the narrative of things already past -under the name of some celebrated character of a distant age. As the -series of events gradually unfolds itself, those which the supposed -ancient could have read only in the book of fate, are transcribed by -the more enlightened modern from any common history. - -Virgil (the example is innocent and unexceptionable) has left us -specimens of both these prophetic arts: I have often wondered at the -rashness of critics who have tryed to ascertain the subject of the -fourth Eclogue, and to point out the wonderful infant, the restorer -of a golden age. That modest and judicious Poet would not surely have -risked the smallest part of his reputation, on the miscarriage of a -woman, or the precarious life of a child. The picture is richly, nay -profusely coloured; but the design is traced with so vague a pencil, -that it might adapt itself to any events or to any interpretation; -that it might equally suit a literal or an allegorical sense; the son -of Pollio, of Antony, or of Augustus; the restoration of liberty, or -the tranquillity of the world under one master. Far different are the -prophecies delivered to Æneas concerning the fate and fortunes of his -descendants. The Trojan hero is indulged with a full and distinct view -of the most remote futurity; and the visionary prospect is closed -by the mournful apparition of a youth, who would have rivalled the -greatest of his ancestors, had not the gods envied _such_ virtues to -Rome and to mankind. - -From this single remark, we should think ourselves authorized to -infer, that Virgil lived in the Augustan age; and that the sixth -book was composed during the yet recent grief for the loss of young -Marcellus. The Poet indeed meant not to deceive us: like the author of -the Persian Letters, or of the Moral Dialogues, his only aim was to -convey important truths under the pleasing cover of fiction. But had -Virgil seriously pretended, that his sketch of the Roman history was -a faithful transcript from an old Sibylline oracle; had Augustus from -motives of policy favoured the deceit, and had the Romans adopted it -with religious respect; would any man of sense want better evidence of -the pious fraud, than the very clearness and precision of the prophecy? -The unanimous judgment passed on the yet extant collection of the -Sibylline Oracles affords an easy answer to this question. Every critic -who has observed that their prophetic light ceases with the reign of -Hadrian, has pronounced them without hesitation to be a forgery of that -period. - -However, as no Christian can dispute the reality of Divine Inspiration, -nor any philosopher deny the possibility of it; the suspicion, that a -prophecy too clear and precise was composed after the event, though -extremely strong, is capable of being removed by still stronger -positive evidence. Without insisting on any fanciful or impracticable -conditions, we have (I think) a right to expect, that the existence of -such a prophecy prior to its accomplishment should be proved, by the -knowledge of it being generally diffused amongst an enlightened nation, -previous to that period; and its public existence attested, by an -unbroken chain of authentic writers. Till such evidence is produced, we -may fairly sit down in a calm and well-grounded scepticism. - -I have endeavoured to form something like this chain of witnesses -in favour of the Book of Daniel; but without being able to carry it -higher than the first century of the Christian æra. Josephus seems -to expatiate with pleasure on the praises of that great man; whose -character, in some instances, he proposed as a model for his own. He -celebrates the various merit of Daniel, as a statesman, a prophet, and -even as an architect. His prophetic writings (says Josephus) which are -still extant, evince his familiar intercourse with the Deity, and -his perfect knowledge of futurity. He even possessed some material -advantages above the rest of his inspired brethren; not contented -with declaring future events, he ascertains the time when they were -to happen; and instead of announcing calamities, he is most commonly -the messenger of good news. The rise and fall of successive empires so -clearly described and so punctually accomplished, ought to convince -the disciples of Epicurus, that human affairs, instead of being left -to the blind impulsion of chance, are pre-ordained by an all-directing -Providence. Nothing can be desired fuller or more honourable for Daniel -than this testimony of the Jewish historian. I am only concerned that -he did not publish his Antiquities till the ninety-third year of the -Christian æra; two hundred and fifty-seven years after the death of -Antiochus Epiphanes, and more than six centuries later than the time, -in which the Prophet is supposed to have flourished. - -II. The Book of Daniel is partly of the prophetic and partly of the -historic kind. With the account of his visions, the author mixes the -memoirs of his life; which lies the more open to our inspection, as it -was spent, not like those of the other Prophets in caves and deserts, -but in the courts of princes and the great transactions of the world. -Three incidents are more particularly mentioned: that he was educated -with many other captive youths, among the Eunuchs of Nebuchadnezzar; -that he was promoted by that prince to the government of Babylon for -the interpretation of a dream; and that, under the reign of Darius the -Mede, he was appointed the first of the three ministers or vizirs of -the empire; and was soon after exposed to the most imminent danger, -by the malice of his enemies, the impudence of his sovereign, and -his own pious constancy. To the first of these incidents I am so far -from forming any objection, that it seems to me, in the true style -of the oriental customs in war and government. But the two last are -embarrassed with difficulties, from which I have not been able to -extricate myself. - -1. Although the most unfrequented paths have sometimes conducted the -favourites of fortune to wealth and honours: yet I much doubt, whether -any man has been appointed a great officer of state for his skill in -divination. In the time of Chardin, the Persian astrologers possessed -as much credit at the court of the Sophis, as the Chaldeans could -possibly obtain in that of Babylon; and both king and people paid -the most implicit obedience to their predictions. Two astrologers -constantly attended the Royal Person; nor was any measure adopted, -however trifling or however important, without the previous sanction -of these ministers of fate; who cost the state annually above four -millions of French money. But notwithstanding they were thus highly -favoured and respected, they were still confined within their own -province; nor is there any instance of the Sovereign chusing his -ministers, his generals, or his judges, amongst that class of men; the -best qualified, as it should seem, for action, since they were the best -acquainted with the consequences of their actions. The common sense -of mankind has constantly preferred the mere human accomplishments of -courage, capacity, and experience. The Roman augurs indeed presided -in the senate, and led forth the armies of the common-wealth; but in -this single exception, the sacerdotal was grafted on the political -character. The first citizens, after rising gradually through the -honours, and great offices of their country, were at length admitted to -play the most powerful engine of the aristocracy. - -2. I am disposed to believe that the subsequent merit of Daniel might -justify the Monarch’s caprice. I will allow, (on the credit of the -story of Susanna and the elders) that there never was a Judge of hands -more clean, or of a more discerning eye; and that, in his ministerial -capacity, he was ever attentive to the public interest, and careless of -his own. I cannot deny, that Daniel, as a favourite, as a stranger, and -as an honest man, must have the whole court of Babylon for his enemies; -and am very sensible, that in the administration of a great empire, -the purest virtue and the most shining abilities may afford room for -misrepresentation and calumny. How often must the great Sully have -yielded to those arts of courts, had he not possessed a sure resource -in the sound understanding and generous heart of his friend and -master! The situation of the Jewish and of the Huguenot Minister were -somewhat similar. Both were issued from an oppressed race of obstinate -sectaries; and it might be deemed a very artful contrivance to invent -some test, which must force them to relinquish their place, or their -principles; to forfeit the favour of their prince, or the confidence of -their party. Thus far the comparison is tolerably exact. But the French -ministers were well assured that the fate and innocence of Sully would -be left to the common order of providence. The courtiers of Darius must -apprehend, that the piety of Daniel would be asserted by a miraculous -interposition. The people of Babylon, not many years before, had beheld -the wonderful deliverance of Daniel’s friends from the fiery furnace; -and it would have been a strange project for these crafty statesmen, a -second time to provoke the jealous God of Israel, to exalt the glory of -their enemy, and to draw down destruction on their own heads. - -This age indeed, to whom the gift of miracles has been refused, is -apt to wonder at the indifference with which they were received by -the ancient world. Instead of the instant terror, lasting conviction, -and implicit obedience, we might rationally expect; the Jews as well -as the Gentiles conducted themselves, as if they neither remembered -nor believed the miracles to which they were witnesses. Although the -hand of the Almighty was almost perpetually employed in tracing out -those divine characters; they were no sooner formed, than they were -obliterated from the minds of men. It may possibly be alledged, that -faith was distracted by the multiplicity of false as well as of genuine -miracles; whilst even the patrimony of the Lord was encompassed by -rival deities. - - ——Who from the pit of hell, - Roaming to seek their prey on earth, durst fix - Their seats long after next the seat of God; - Their altars by his altar; Gods ador’d - Among the nations round; and durst abide - Jehovah thund’ring out of Sion, thron’d - Betwixt the Cherubim—— - -But this solution is more proper, I am afraid, to aggravate than to -alleviate the pressure of the difficulty. Counterfeit money may pass -current with the true; since both are coined by human hands and human -industry: But I have always considered Salmoneus imitating Jove’s -thunder by rattling with a brazen chariot over a brazen bridge, as the -most contemptible legend in the whole compass of the Grecian mythology. - -3. The law of the Medes and Persians is represented as a constitutional -sanction, which put it out of Darius’s power to revoke his rash -edict. Such legal restraints are the natural offspring of free -governments; but ill suit with the genius of Asiatic despotism. From -the inaccessible solitude of a seven-fold palace the king of the Medes -disposed without controul of the lives and property of his subjects: -nor does there exist a more dreadful act of authority, than the -retaliation inflicted by Darius on Daniel’s enemies; who, to the number -of a hundred and twenty, were cast, with their wives and children, into -the den of lions. If the Persians enjoyed any degree of freedom among -their mountains, they became at the same time slaves and conquerors; -and a formal determination of their judges stands recorded by -Herodotus. “That it was lawful for the king to do whatever he pleased. -There are indeed some instances, where a wise despot will check -himself, and a foolish one will find himself checked by the nature of -things. Such institutions as are derived from Divine authority, ancient -custom, or general opinion, cannot be shaken without endangering the -foundations of his own throne. But it would be truly unaccountable, -that his cooler reason should not be permitted to correct the passion -or surprize of a moment; and that the occasional declarations of -his pleasure should not be annihilated by the same authority, which -produced them. May I not assert, that the Greek writers who have so -copiously treated of the affairs of Persia, have not left us the -smallest vestige of a restraint, equally injurious to the monarch, and -prejudicial to the people?” - -4. The edict of Darius, “that during thirty days, whosoever should -ask any petition of either god or man, save only of the king, should -be cast into the den of lions,” implied an almost total suspension -of religious worship; which consists much more in prayer than in -thanksgiving. Such an extraordinary interdict, by depriving the people -of the comforts, and the priests of the profits of religion, must have -diffused a general discontent throughout his empire; which might easily -have been inflamed into sedition and civil war. With what colours -could the ministers of Darius gloss over a measure big with every -mischief, and destitute of the smallest advantage? In what language -could they address themselves to the reason, or even to the passions -of their Sovereign; who is described to be of an advanced age, and a -lover of justice and moderation? But is there any character, which, -with the utmost latitude of supposition, may account for this edict? -An irreligious prince may be indiscreet enough to treat with ridicule -whatever is held sacred by his subjects; but he will entertain too -great a contempt both for the people, and for popular superstition, -ever to think of forcibly separating them from each other. The bigot is -actuated by a warmer principle than the infidel; but his attachment -to his own mode of worship rises in proportion to his hatred of all -others. Had Darius, as a disciple of Zoroaster, shut up the temples -of the idolaters, he would have directed the fires of the Magi to -have blazed with redoubled ardour. Even those tyrants who, destitute -of human virtues, have aspired to divine honours, have grafted their -pretensions on the established religions. To be seated between Castor -and Pollux, to obtain the embraces of the Moon, to confer with Jupiter -of the Capitol, and to place his image in the temple of Jerusalem, -would have gratified the wildest ambition of Caligula. But to suspend -during thirty days the most universal propensity of mankind, is a -strain of wanton despotism unparalleled in the history of the world; -for the interdicts of the Popes were of a quite different nature. -They were not the arbitrary prohibitions of a temporal monarch; but a -chastisement, inflicted by the vicegerent of Christ, who excluded the -offenders from the benefits of Christianity, till they had satisfied -the Deity, offended in the person of his ministers. - -5. There yet remains a stronger, or at least a more palpable objection, -against the veracity of the author of the book of Daniel: “The high -probability that Darius the Mede never existed; or, what amounts to -the same, that no prince of that name or nation reigned at Babylon, -between the time of Nebuchadnezzar and that of Cyrus.” It would be to -little purpose to expatiate on the uncertainty of ancient history, -and the careless vanity of the Greek writers. The outlines of the -history of Babylon are known to us with uncommon precision. The Canon -of Ptolemy contains the stories of its kings, deduced from authentic -records, attested by astronomical observations, and confirmed by the -fragments of Berosus, which are still extant in Josephus. Berosus -describes the conquests and buildings of Nebuchadnezzar, and only omits -to mention the metamorphosis of that monarch into an ox. His three -immediate successors, were of his own family; the fourth, Nabonadius, -was a Babylonian raised to the throne by the conspirators who murdered -his predecessor; and cast down from it by the victorious arms of Cyrus -king of Persia. In this close series of the Babylonian and Persian -dynasties, there cannot be found the smallest interval, which will -admit a Median prince. - -Of the various expedients devised to elude this difficulty, there is -one only which can deserve our notice; both as the most tolerable in -itself, and as having been embraced by the chronologists of the most -distinguished merit and reputation; by Usher, Prideaux, Sir Isaac -Newton, &c. In their extreme distress, the Cyaxares of Xenophon offered -himself to their imagination, as the properest person to support the -character of Darius the Mede. For this purpose, they have supposed -that he reigned two years over the Babylonian empire; after it had -been subdued by the arms of Cyrus, his nephew and his lieutenant. Such -is their hypothesis, which falls to the ground if the Cyropædia is a -romance; and is overthrown by it, should that noble performance be -received as a genuine history. - -1. Without insisting on the opinion of Plato and Tully, I would -rather appeal to your own feelings; as I cannot doubt your familiar -acquaintance with the writings of the Attic Bee. Compare the Anabasis -with the Cyropædia; and _feel_ the difference between truth and -fiction; between the lively and copious variety of the one, and the -elegant poverty of the other. A few general incidents, thinly scattered -through a diffuse work, and destitute of any notes of geography or -chronology, compose the life of Cyrus; which seems lost in a multitude -of speeches, councils, reflections, and familiar episodes. Xenophon -was a philosopher and a soldier; and if we unravel with any care the -fine texture of the Cyropædia, we shall discover in every thread the -Spartan discipline and the philosophy of Socrates. The only part -which has the air of real history, is the judicious digression, where -Xenophon compares the degeneracy of the modern Persians with the wise -institutions of their founder. He possessed the best opportunities of -examining both the one and the other, whilst he served in the camp -of the younger Cyrus, and traversed, with the immortal ten thousand, -the greatest part of the provinces of Artaxerxes. The first Cyrus was -confessedly a great man. The conquest of Asia is a sufficient testimony -of his abilities; and the name of Father given him by the Persians -after his death, must stand as the surest evidence of his virtues. But -the hero of the Cyropædia is drawn as a _perfect character_; a monster -as fabulous, and less interesting than those of Ariosto. His wise -councils are never, in a single instance, seduced by passion, misled by -error, or disappointed by accident. Xenophon labours to establish the -empire of prudence; his countryman Herodotus had entertained himself -with displaying the tyranny of fortune; and both writers, whilst they -inculcate the moral precept, seem alike, though by opposite paths, to -deviate from historic truth. - -2. But if the Cyropædia be admitted as a genuine history, Darius the -Mede is still excluded from the throne of Babylon, since Cyaxares -himself never ascended it. When the Cyrus of Xenophon besieged that -great city, he had gradually shaken off all dependance on his uncle, -and assumed to himself the supreme command, and exclusive advantages of -the war. The strength of his army consisted of seventy thousand natural -Persians, solely attached to their hereditary prince, from every motive -of duty, gratitude, and interest. He was followed by a various train of -nations, allies and subjects, all subdued by his arms and policy. About -forty thousand Medes, who served under his banners, had long since been -taught to despise the weakness, and to disobey the commands of their -sovereign. After the conquest, Cyrus was solemnly inaugurated king of -Babylon, with every circumstance of pomp and greatness, which could -dazzle the eyes of the multitude. Some time afterwards he visited his -uncle at Ecbatana, presented him with rich gifts, the spoils of Asia, -accepted his only daughter in marriage, and very politely told the King -of the Medes, that he had set apart for him, one of the finest palaces -of Babylon; that whenever he should chuse to come to that city, he -might find himself, _as if he were still in his own dominions_. - -If these observations are founded in truth and nature; it will -follow, that the author of the Book of Daniel has entertained us with -incredible stories, which happened under an imaginary monarch. So much -error and so much fiction are incompatible with an inspired, or even -with a contemporary, writer. But if the prophecies were framed three -or four centuries after the Prophet’s death, it was much easier for -the counterfeit Daniel to _foretel_ great and recent events, than to -compose an accurate history or probable romance of a dark and remote -period. - -The question is curious in itself, important in its consequences, -and in every light worthy the attention of a critical divine. This -consideration justifies the freedom of my address, and the hopes I -still entertain, that you may be able and willing to dispell the mist, -that hangs, either over my eyes, or over the subject itself. On my -side, I can only promise, that whatever you shall think proper to -communicate, shall be received with the candor which I owe to myself, -and with the deference, so justly due to your name and abilities, - - I am, Sir, - with great esteem, - your obedient humble servant, - —— - -P.S. You will be pleased, Sir, to address your answer _To Daniel -Freeman, Esq. at the Cocoa Tree, Pall Mall_: but if you have any -scruple of engaging with a mask, I am ready, by the same channel, to -disclose my real name and place of abode; and to pledge myself for the -same _discretion_, which, in my turn, I shall have a right to expect. - - * * * * * - -I had neither leisure nor inclination to enter into controversy with -this stranger (for which there was the less occasion, as he had -disputed no principle or opinion advanced by me in the Sermons); but, -as I knew, whoever he was, that he would complain, or rather _boast_, -of being wholly unnoticed by me, I sent him this answer. - - - ANSWER TO THE FOREGOING LETTER. - - _Thurcaston, August 29, 1772._ - -SIR, - -Your very elegant letter on the antiquity and authenticity of the Book -of Daniel (just now received) finds me here, if not without leisure, -yet without books, and therefore in no condition to enter far into -the depths of this controversy; which indeed is the less necessary, -as every thing, that relates to the subject, will come, of course, -to be considered by my learned successors in the new Lecture. For, -as the prophecies of Daniel make an important link in _that chain, -which_, as you say, _has been let down from heaven to earth_ (but not -by the Author of the late Sermons, who brought into view only what he -had found, not invented) the grounds, on which their authority rests, -will, without doubt, be carefully examined, and, as I suppose, firmly -established. - -But, in the mean time, and to make at least some small return for the -civility of your address to me, I beg leave to trouble you with two -or three short remarks, such as occur to me, on the sudden, in reading -your letter. - -Your main difficulties are these two: 1. That the author of the Book -of Daniel is too clear for a prophet; as appears from his prediction -of the Persian and Macedonian affairs: And 2. too fabulous for a -contemporary historian; as is evident, you suppose, from his mistakes, -chiefly, I think, in the vith chapter. - -1. The first of these difficulties is an extraordinary one. For why -may not prophecy, if the Inspirer think fit, be as clear as history? -Scriptural prophecy, whence your idea of its obscurity is taken, -is _occasionally_ thus clear, I mean after the event: And Daniel’s -prophecy of the revolutions in the Grecian empire would have been -obscure enough to Porphyry himself, before it. - -But your opinion, after all, when you come to explain yourself, really -is, as one should expect, that, as a prophet, Daniel is not clear -enough: for you enforce the old objection of Porphyry by observing, -That, where a pretended prophecy is clear to a certain point of time, -and afterwards obscure and shadowy, there common sense leads one to -conclude that the author of it is an impostor. - -This reasoning is plausible, but not conclusive, unless it be taken for -granted that a prophecy must, in all its parts, be equally clear and -precise: whereas, on the supposition of real inspiration, it may be -fit, I mean it may suit with the views of the Inspirer, to predict some -things with more perspicuity, and in terms more obviously and directly -applicable to the events in which they are fulfilled, than others. But, -further, this reasoning, whatever force it may have, has no place here; -at least, you evidently beg the question when you urge it; because the -persons, you dispute against, maintain, That the subsequent prophecies -of Daniel are equally distinct with the preceding ones concerning the -Persian and Macedonian empires, at least so much of them as they take -to have been fulfilled, and that, to judge of the rest, we must wait -for the completion of them. - -However, you admit that the suspicion arising from the _clearest_ -prophecy may be removed by direct positive evidence that it was -composed before the event. But then you carry your notions of that -evidence very far, when you require “that the existence of such a -prophecy prior to the accomplishment should be proved by the knowledge -of it being generally diffused amongst an enlightened nation, previous -to that period, and its public existence attested by an unbroken chain -of authentic writers.” - -What you here claim as a matter of _right_, is, without question, very -desirable, but should, I think, be accepted, if it be given at all, as -a matter of courtesy. For what you describe is the utmost evidence that -the case admits: but what right have we, in this or any other subject -whether of natural or revealed religion, to the utmost evidence? Is -it not enough that the evidence be sufficient to induce a reasonable -assent? And is not that assent reasonable, which is paid to real -evidence, though of an inferior kind, when uncontrouled by any greater? -And such evidence we clearly have for the authenticity of the book of -Daniel, in the reception of it, by the Jewish nation, down to the time -of Jesus, whose appeal to it supposes and implies that reception to -have been constant and general: Not to observe that the testimony of -Jesus is further supported by all the considerations that are alledged -for his own divine character. To this evidence, which is positive so -far as it goes, you have nothing to oppose, but surmise and conjecture, -that is, nothing that deserves to be called evidence. But I doubt, Sir, -you take for granted, that the claim of inspiration is never to be -allowed, so long as there is a possibility of supposing that it was not -given. - -II. In the second division of your Letter, which is longer and more -laboured than the first, you endeavour to shew that the _historical_ -part of the book of Daniel, chiefly that of the sixth chapter, is false -and fabulous, and, as such, confutes and overturns the _prophetical_. -What you say on this head is contained under _five_ articles. - -1. You think it strange that Daniel, or any other man, should be -advanced to a great office of state, _for his skill in divination_. - -But here, first, you forget that Joseph was thus advanced, and for the -same reason: Or, if you object to this instance, what should hinder the -advancement either of Joseph or Daniel (when their skill in divination -had once brought them into the notice and favour of their sovereign) -for what you call _mere human accomplishments_? For such assuredly -both these great men possessed, if we may believe the plain part of -their story, which asserts of Joseph, and indeed proves, that he was, -in no common degree, _discreet and wise_; and of Daniel, that _an -excellent spirit was found in him_, nay that he had _knowledge and -skill in all learning and wisdom_, over and above his _understanding -in all visions and dreams_. In short, Sir, though princes of old might -not make it a rule to chuse their ministers out of their soothsayers, -yet neither would their being soothsayers, if they were otherwise -well accomplished, prevent them from being ministers: Just as in -modern times, though churchmen have not often, I will suppose, been -made officers of state, even by bigotted princes, because they were -churchmen, yet neither have they been always set aside from serving in -those stations, when they have been found eminently qualified for them. - -2. Your next exception is, That a combination could scarce have been -formed in the court of Babylon against the favourite minister (though -such factions are common in other courts) because the courtiers of -Darius _must have apprehended that the piety of Daniel would be -asserted by a miraculous interposition_; of which they had seen a -striking instance. And here, Sir, you expatiate with a little too much -complacency on the strange indifference which the ancient world shewed -to the gift of miracles. You do not, I dare say, expect a serious -answer to this charge; Or, if you do, it may be enough to observe, -what I am sure your own reading and experience must have rendered very -familiar to you, that the strongest belief or conviction of the mind -perpetually gives way to the inflamed selfish passions; and that, when -men have any scheme of interest or revenge much at heart, they are not -restrained from pursuing it, though the scaffold and the axe stand -before them in full view, and have perhaps been streaming but the day -before with the blood of other state-criminals. I ask not, whether -miracles have ever _actually_ existed, but whether you do not think -that multitudes have been firmly _persuaded_ of their existence: And -their indifference about them is a fact which I readily concede to you. - -3. Your third criticism is directed against what is said of _the -law of the Medes and Persians, that it altereth not_; where I find -nothing to admire, but the extreme rigour of Asiatic despotism. For I -consider this irrevocability of the law, when once promulgated by the -Sovereign, not as contrived to be a check on his will, but rather -to shew the irresistible and fatal course of it. And this idea was -so much cherished by the despots of Persia, that, rather than revoke -the iniquitous law, obtained by surprize, for exterminating the Jews, -Ahasuerus took the part, as we read in the book of Esther, (and as -Baron Montesquieu, I remember, observes) to permit the Jews to defend -themselves against the execution of it. Whence we see how consistent -this law is with the determination of the Judges, quoted by you -from Herodotus—“That it was lawful for the King to do whatever he -_pleased_”—for we understand, that he did not please, that his law, -when once declared by him, should be altered. - -You add, under this head, “May I not assert, that the Greek writers, -who have so copiously treated of the affairs of Persia, have not left -us the smallest vestige of a restraint, equally injurious to the -monarch, and prejudicial to the people?” I have not the Greek writers -by me to consult; but a common book I chance to have at hand, refers -me to one such vestige in a very eminent Greek Historian, Diodorus -Siculus. Lowth’s Comm. in loc. - -4. A fourth objection to the historic truth of the book of Daniel is -taken, with more plausibility, from the matter of this law, which, -as you truly observe, was very strange for the King’s councillors to -advise, and for any despot whatsoever to enact. - -But 1. I a little question whether prayer was so constant and -considerable a part of Pagan worship, as is supposed; and, if it was -not, the prejudices of the people would not be so much shocked by -this interdict, as we are ready to think. Daniel indeed prayed three -times a day: but the idolaters might content themselves with praying -now and then at a stated solemnity. It is clear that when you speak -of _depriving men of the comforts, and the priests of the profits of -religion_, you have Christian and even modern principles and manners -in your eye: perhaps, in the _comforts_, you represented to yourself -a company of poor inflamed Huguenots under persecution; and, in the -_profits_, the lucrative trade of Popish masses. But, be this as it -may, it should be considered, 2. that this law could not, in the -nature of the thing, suppress all prayer, if the people had any great -propensity to it. It could not suppress _mental_ prayer: it could not -even suppress _bodily worship_, if performed, as it easily might be, in -the night, or in secret. Daniel, it was well known, was used to pray -in open day-light, and in a place exposed to inspection from his usual -manner of praying; which manner, it was easily concluded, so zealous -a votary, as he was, would not change or discontinue, on account of -the edict. Lastly, though the edict passed for thirty days, to make -sure work, yet there was no doubt but the end proposed would be soon -accomplished, and then it was not likely that much care would be taken -about the observance of it. - -All this put together, I can very well conceive that extreme envy and -malice in the courtiers might suggest the idea of such a law, and that -an impotent despot might be flattered by it. Certainly, if what we read -in the third chapter be admitted, That _one_ of these despots required -all people, nations, and languages to worship his image on pain of -death, there is no great wonder that _another_ of them should demand -the exclusive worship of himself, for a month[255]; nay perhaps he -might think himself civil, and even bounteous to his gods, when he left -them a share of the other eleven. For, as to the presumption— - - ——Nihil est quod credere de se - Non possit, cui laudatur Diis æqua potestas. - -5. A fifth, and what you seem to think the strongest objection to the -credit of the book of Daniel, is, “That no such person, as Darius the -Mede, is to be found in the succession of the Babylonish princes [You -mean, as given in Ptolemy’s Canon and the Greek writers] between the -time of Nebuchadnezzar and that of Cyrus.” - -In saying this, you do not forget, nor disown, what our ablest -chronologers have said on the subject: But then you object, that -Xenophon’s Cyaxares has been made, (to serve a turn) to personate -Darius the Mede, and yet that Xenophon’s book, whether it be a romance, -or a true history, overturns the use which they have made of this -hypothesis. - -1. I permit myself, perhaps, to be too much flattered by your civility -in referring me to my own taste, rather than to the authority of -Cicero: But the truth is, I am much disposed to agree with you, “that, -if we unravel with any care the fine texture of the Cyropædia, we shall -discover in every thread the Spartan discipline and the philosophy of -Socrates.” But then, as the judicious author chose to make so recent -a story as that of Cyrus, and so well known, the vehicle of his -political and moral instructions, he would be sure to keep up to the -_truth_ of the story, as far as might be; especially in the leading -facts, and in the principal persons, as we may say, of the drama. This -obvious rule of decorum such a writer, as Xenophon, could not fail to -observe: And therefore, on the supposition that his Cyropædia is a -romance, I should conclude certainly that the outline of it was genuine -history. - -But, 2. if it be so, you conclude that there is no ground for thinking -that Darius the Mede ever reigned at Babylon, because Cyaxares himself -never reigned there. - -Now, on the idea of Xenophon’s book being a romance, there might be -good reason for the author’s taking no notice of the short reign of -Cyaxares; which would break the unity of his work, and divert the -reader’s attention too much from the hero of it: while yet the omission -could hardly seem to violate historic truth, since the lustre of his -hero’s fame, and the real power which, out of question, he reserved -to himself, would make us easily forget or overlook Cyaxares. But, as -to the _fact_, it seems no way incredible, that Cyrus should concede -to his royal ally, his uncle, and his father-in-law (for he was all -these) the _nominal_ possession of the sovereignty—or that he should -_share_ the sovereignty with him—or, at least, that he should leave -the _administration_, as we say, in his hands at Babylon, while he -himself was prosecuting his other conquests at a distance. Any of these -things is supposable enough; and I would rather admit any of them, than -reject the express, the repeated, the circumstantial testimony of a not -confessedly fabulous historian. - -After all, Sir, I doubt, I should forfeit your good opinion, if I did -not acknowledge that some, at least, of the circumstances, which you -have pointed out, are such as one should hardly expect at first sight. -But then such is the condition of things in this world; and what is -_true_ in human life is not always, I had almost said, not often, that -which was to be previously expected: whence, an indifferent romance -is, they say, more _probable_ than the best history. But should any -or all of these circumstances convince you perfectly that some degree -of error or fiction is to be found in the book of Daniel, it would be -too precipitate to conclude that therefore the whole book was of no -authority. For, at most, you could but infer, that the historical part, -in which those circumstances are observed, namely the sixth chapter, -is not genuine: Just as hath been adjudged, you know, of some other -pieces, which formerly made a part of the book of Daniel. For it is -not with these collections, which go under the name of the prophets, -as with some regularly connected system, where a charge of falsehood, -if made good against one part of it, shakes the credit of the whole. -Fictitious histories may have been joined with true prophecies, when -all that bore the name of the same person, or any way related to him, -came to be put together in the same volume: But the detection of such -misalliance could not affect the prophecies, certainly not those of -Daniel, which respect _the latter times_; for these have an intrinsic -evidence in themselves, and assert their own authenticity in proportion -as we see, or have reason to admit, the accomplishment of them. - -And now, Sir, I have only to commit these hasty reflections to your -candour; a virtue, which cannot be separated from the love of truth, -and of which I observe many traces in your agreeable letter. And -if you would indulge this quality still further, so as to conceive -the possibility of that being _true and reasonable_, in matters of -religion, which may seem strange, or, to so lively a fancy as your’s, -even ridiculous, you would not hurt the credit of your excellent -understanding, and would thus remove one, perhaps a principal, occasion -of _those mists which_, as you complain, _hang over these nice and -difficult subjects_. - - I am, with true respect, - Sir, &c. - R. H. - - * * * * * - -I should not perhaps have thought it worth while to print either of -these Letters, if a noble person had not made it necessary for me to -give the _former_ to the publick, by doing this honour (though without -my leave or knowledge) to the _latter_. By which means, however, we -are now at length informed (after the secret had been kept for twice -twelve years) that the anonymous Letter-writer was Edward Gibbon, Esq. -afterwards the well-known author of “The History of the _Decline and -Fall of the Roman Empire_[256].” - -Of Mr. Gibbon’s Letter to me, I have no more to say: And of his -_History_, only what may be expressed in few words. - -It shews him, without doubt, to have possessed parts, industry, -and learning; each in a degree that might have entitled him to a -respectable place among the compilers of ancient history. But these -talents were disgraced, and the fruit of them blasted, by a FALSE TASTE -OF COMPOSITION: that is, by _a raised, laboured, ostentatious style_; -effort in writing being mistaken, as it commonly is, for energy—by _a -perpetual affectation of wit, irony, and satire_; generally misapplied; -and always out of place, being wholly unsuited to the historic -character—and, what is worse, by a _free-thinking libertine spirit_; -which spares neither morals nor religion; and must make every honest -man regard him as a bad citizen, as well as writer. - -These miscarriages may, all of them, be traced up to one common cause, -an EXCESSIVE VANITY. - -Mr. Gibbon survived, but a short time, his favourite work. Yet he lived -long enough to know that the most and best of his readers were much -unsatisfied with him. And a few years more may, not improbably, leave -him without one admirer.—Such is the fate of those, who will write -themselves into fame, in defiance of all the principles of true taste, -and of true wisdom! - - R. W. - - _Hartlebury Castle, Nov. 18, 1796._ - - -THE END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME. - - -Printed by J. Nichols and Son, -Red Lion Passage, Fleet-Street, London. - - -Errata: - -P. 365, l. 9. for _two_ read _too_. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] This noble and eminent person was the second son of the Lord -Chancellor Hardwicke. He had been, for many years, in the first -reputation at the Bar; and having passed through the offices of -Sollicitor and Attorney General, was, himself, made Lord Chancellor -in January 1770, but died soon after his appointment to that high -dignity—_Luctuosum hoc suis; acerbum patriæ; grave bonis omnibus_. - -[2] The Society _have_ given leave that this Lecture be preached in -their Chapel, and on the days specified. - -[3] Thus Celsus represents the Jews—μηδὲν πώποτε ἀξιόλογον πράξαντας, -οὔτ’ ἐν λόγῳ, οὔτ’ ἐν ἀριθμῷ αὐτούς ποτε γεγενημένους. ORIG. contra -CELS. _l._ iv. _p._ 181. _ed. Spenc. Cantab. 1677_. And in _p._ 175, -he represents it as the highest absurdity in such _reptiles_ to -pretend that their insignificant concerns were the objects of divine -prediction, and that the supreme Governor of the world, who had so many -greater things upon his hands, should be only solicitous, as it were, -to keep up a perpetual intercourse with them. See the whole passage, -which the philosopher seems to have taken a pleasure to work up with -much oratorical amplification.—Julian, too, was much pleased with this -foolish objection. - -[4] _Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as -the dust of the balance._ Isaiah xl. 15. - -[5] Si dii sint, est divinatio. - -[6] Si divinatio sit, dii sunt. - -[7] These objections were long since urged by Celsus, who speaks -of the Jewish and Christian oracles, as _fanatical, uncertain, and -obscure_, _l._ vii. _p._ 338—ἄγνωστα, καὶ πάροιϛρα, καὶ πάντῃ ἄδηλα, -ὧν τὸ μὲν γνῶμα οὐδεὶς ἂν ἔχων νοῦν εὑρεῖν δύναιτο, ἀσαφῆ γὰρ καὶ τὸ -μηδέν. as _applicable to other subjects besides those to which they -were referred_—τὰς εἰς τὰ περὶ τούτου ἀναφερομένας προφητείας δύνασθαι -καὶ ἄλλοις ἐφαρμόζειν πράγμασι. _l._ i. _p._ 39.—nay, _as much more -applicable to others, than to Jesus_—μυρίοις ἄλλοις ἐφαρμοσθῆναι -δύνασθαι πολὺ πιθανώτερον τὰ προφητικὰ ἢ τῷ Ἰησοῦ. _l._ ii. _p._ 78. - -[8] Utrum tandem, per deos atque homines, magis verisimile est, -_vesanum remigem_, aut aliquem nostrûm, qui ibi tum eramus, _me, -Catonem, Varronem, Coponium_ ipsum, concilia deorum immortalium -perspicere potuisse? _Cic. Div._ l. ii. c. 55. - -[9] Illud etiam requiro, cur, si deus ista visa nobis providendi causâ -dat, non _vigilantibus_ potius dat quàm _dormientibus_? l. ii. c. 61. - -[10] Jam verò quid opus est _circuitione et amfractu_, ut sit utendum -interpretibus somniorum, potiùs quàm _directo_? _Ibid._ - -[11] - - Οὐκ οἶδ’. ἐφ’ οἷς γὰρ μὴ φρονῶ, σιλᾷν φιλῶ. - Soph. Oedip. Tyran. ver. 577. - -[12] Quod est enim criminis genus, aut rei esse alicujus ignarum, aut -ipsum, quod nescias, sine aliquâ profiteri dissimulatione nescire? aut -uter magis videtur irrisione esse dignissimus vobis, qui sibi scientiam -nullam tenebrosæ rei alicujus assumit, an ille, qui retur se ex se -apertissimè scire id, quod humanam transiliat notionem, et quod sit -cæcis obscuritatibus involutum? - _Arnobius_, _adv. Gen._ l. ii. - -[13] 1 Cor. ii. 11. - -[14] St. Matthew, vi. 22. - -[15] Μαρτυρία τοῦ Ἰησοῦ—_the testimony of, or concerning Jesus_, -not—_the testimony given by Jesus_. - -The _former_ appears to be the sense, for the following reasons. - -1. The point asserted, is, “That the Angel, who had delivered this -illustrious prophecy, was _the fellow-servant of John_, and not of -John only, but _of those who have the testimony of Jesus_.” The proof -is—_for the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus_—i. e. the -end of prophecy is to bear testimony, or, to do honour, to Jesus; -therefore, I, says the Angel, who am endowed with this prophetic -spirit, am but employed, as thou art; who, in thy character of Apostle -or Evangelist, hast received the same general commission, namely, to -bear testimony, or to do honour, to Jesus. See Acts x. 42. We are, -therefore, _fellow-servants_, or joint labourers in the same cause. -All this is clear and well-reasoned. But, now, take the words—_the -testimony of Jesus_—in the sense of—_the testimony given by -Jesus_—and how does the Angel’s having _the spirit of prophecy_, prove -him to be _a fellow-servant of John_? for the reason assigned will then -stand thus—_for the spirit of prophecy is the testimony which Jesus -gives of himself_. The inference is, that the Angel was a true prophet. -Again: how is the Angel proved, in this way, to be _the fellow-servant -of those who have the testimony of Jesus_? Why, thus; the Angel had the -spirit of prophecy, and prophecy was the gift of Christ; therefore he -was the fellow-servant of those, who had the same gift, i. e. who were -prophets. Without doubt. But why so strange a way of proving so plain -a point? It had been enough to say—_I am a prophet, as others are_. -Still, what was this to St. John? who, in this place, is not sustaining -the character of a prophet; for the worship he was inclined to pay the -Angel was on account of the Angel’s being, what himself was not, _a -prophet_. - -Turn it which way you will, the reasoning is frivolous, or -inconsequent. I conclude therefore, that not _this_, but the _other_ -interpretation gives the true sense of—_the testimony of Jesus_. - -2. To speak of _prophecy_ under the idea of _a testimony to, or -concerning Jesus_, is conforming to the true scriptural idea of that -gift. Thus we are told that—_to him_ [i. e. to Jesus] _give all the -prophets witness_—τούτῳ πάντες προφῆται μαρτυροῦσιν, Acts x. 43. -_Prophecy_, therefore, being the thing here spoken of, is rightly -called the testimony, or witness to, or concerning Jesus. - -3. Lastly, the construction is fully justified, 1. by observing that -the genitive case [as here Ἰησοῦ] is frequently used in scripture, -not actively, but passively. See a variety of instances in Mede, p. -626, where he explains διδασκαλίαι δαιμονίων: And 2. by referring the -reader to the following passage of St. Paul, where the very expression -of the text is so used—μὴ οὖν ἐπαισχυνθῇς τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ Κυρίου -ἡμῶν—clearly, _be not ashamed of bearing testimony to our Lord_, 2 -Tim. i. 8.—and to Rev. i. 9. where the Apostle tells us, he was in -the isle of Patmos—διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν -Ἰησοῦ Χριϛοῦ—_on account of his having been faithful in preaching -the word of God, and in bearing testimony to Jesus Christ_—and still -more plainly, if possible, and indubitably, by referring him to Rev. -xii. 17. where, speaking of the Dragon, he says, he went in wrath -to make war on those, _which keep the commandments of God, and have -the testimony of Jesus Christ_—τῶν τηρούντων τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, -καὶ ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριϛοῦ: for these objects of the -Dragon’s fury are properly, THE WITNESSES, those faithful servants of -truth, who suffered for the courageous and persevering _testimony_, -they gave, in evil times, to Jesus Christ, and to his pure religion. - -On the whole, there cannot be the least doubt of the interpretation -here given of this famous text. The _expression_ fairly admits this -interpretation; and (what the true critic will regard most) the _scope_ -of the place, or pertinence of the reasoning, addressed to St. John, -admits no other. - -[16] John v. 39. - -[17] Luke xxiv. 27. - -[18] Acts iii. 18. - -[19] Acts iii. 24. See also Acts x. 43. 1 Pet. i. 10. - -[20] See especially the Epistles to the _Hebrews_, and _Galatians_. - -[21] Acts xxvi. 22. See farther, Acts xxviii. 23. Rom. iii. 21. Eph. -ii. 19, &c. - -[22] Rev. x. 7. - -[23] DR. MIDDLETON’S _Works_, vol. III. p. 137. London, 1752, 4to. - -[24] Though by _Moses_, is here meant, not the prophecies of Moses -only, but the _books_ of Moses, containing those former prophecies, -which, as St. Peter says, had been delivered, _since the world began_. - -[25] DR. MIDDLETON, p. 139. - -[26] D. L. Vol. V. p. 288. Lond. 1765. - -[27] Gal. iii. 24.—ὁ νόμος παιδαγωγὸς ἡμῶν γέγονεν εἰς Χριϛόν— - -[28] Coloss. ii. 17. Hence, St. Austin affirms roundly, “That, to such -as consider the genius of the revealed system, the Old Testament must -appear a continued prophecy of the New.”—_Vetus Testamentum_, rectè -_sentientibus_, PROPHETIA _est Novi Testamenti_ [_contr. Faustum_, l. -xv.]: and St. Jerom speaks of it as a generally-received maxim, “That -it is the manner of sacred scripture, to deliver, beforehand, the truth -of futurity, in types”—_hunc esse morem scripturæ sanctæ ut futurorum -veritatem præmittat_, in TYPIS [Hieron. T. III. 1127.]—I know, -that the ancient Fathers, and from them many moderns, have exposed -themselves to much and deserved censure, by pursuing this principle -too minutely and superstitiously, in their mystical and allegorical -comments on the Jewish scriptures. But men of sense will consider, -that a principle is not therefore to be rejected, because it has been -abused. For instance, that the Passover was instituted with a reference -to the sacrifice of Christ, that the paschal Lamb was, in the language -of St. Austin, a _prophecy_, or, in that of St. Jerom, a _type_, of -the lamb of God, will seem highly credible to one who considers the -aptness of the correspondence in two related parts of the same system: -But, that the famous Law in Deuteronomy, concerning the marriage of a -brother’s widow, was _prophetic_, or _typical_ of the duty, incumbent -on the ministers of the Gospel, to espouse the widowed church of -Christ, is certainly much less clear, and will scarcely be admitted -even on the authority of St. Austin.—Hoc ipsum—quod uxorem fratris ad -hoc frater jussus est ducere, ut non sibi, sed illi sobolem suscitaret, -ejusque vocaret nomine, quod inde nasceretur: quid aliud _in figurâ -præmonstrat_, nisi quia unusquisque Evangelii prædicator ita debet -in Ecclesiâ laborare, ut defuncto fratri, hoc est Christo, suscitet -semen, qui pro nobis mortuus est, et quod suscitatum fuerit, ejus nomen -accipiat? _Contr. Faustum_, l. 32.—St. Austin might, perhaps, say -for himself, that he had an example of this practice in the mystical -comments of St. Paul: it may be so: but an _example_, followed without -warrant, in this instance, by the learned Father, and, not improbably, -ill understood by him. - -[29] Adv. of Learning, B. II. - -[30] DR. MIDDLETON, _Works_, vol. III. p. 177. _London_, 1752, 4to. - -[31] DR. MIDDLETON, vol. III. p. 177. - -[32] See further on this subject, D. L. vol. V. p. 290. - -[33] Quand UN SEUL HOMME auroit fait un livre des prédictions de Jesus -Christ pour le tems et pour la maniere, et que Jesus Christ seroit venu -conformément à ces propheties, ce seroit une force infinie. Mais il y -a bien plus ici. C’est une SUITE D’HOMMES durant quatre mille ans, qui -constamment & sans variation viennent l’un ensuite de l’autre prédire -ce même avénement. C’est UN PEUPLE TOUT ENTIER qui l’annonce, et qui -subsiste pendant quatre mille années, pour rendre EN CORPS témoignage -des assurances qu’ils en ont, & dont ils ne peuvent être detournés par -quelques menaces et quelque persecution qu’on leur fasse: CECI EST TOUT -AUTREMENT CONSIDERABLE. - Pascal. - -[34] See the passage before referred to in Serm. I. p. 6. - -[35] Daniel, c. ii. - -[36] Est autem Quaternio iste regnorum Danielis (quod imprimis -observari velim) CHRONOLOGIA QUÆDAM PROPHETICA, non tam annorum -quàm regnorum intervallis distincta, ubi regnorum in præcipuâ orbis -terrarum parte, simul ecclesiam et populum Dei complexâ, sibi invicem -succedentium serie, monstratur tempus quo Christi regnum à tot seculis -promissum et primùm inchoandum sit, idemque demum certis temporibus -consummandum. - -—Ex his, quæ dicta sunt, ratio elucet, quare, ex omnibus mundi regnis, -quatuor hæc sola selegit Spiritus sanctus, quorum fata tam insigni -ornaret prophetiâ; nempe quia ex his solis inter omnia mundi regna -periodus temporum ejusmodi contexi potuit, qua rectâ serie et ordinatâ -successione perduceret ad tempora et momenta regni Christi. Non verò -quia nulla istis paria imperia, forsan et aliquibus majora, per omnia -secula orbis visurus esset. Nam neque Saracenorum olím, neque hodie -Turcarum, neque Tartarorum regna ditionis amplitudine Persico aut -Græco, puto nec Assyrio, quicquam concedunt; imò, ni fallor, excedunt. - MEDE’S Works, B. III. p. 712. Lond. 1672. - -[37] To this purpose the late learned and ingenious author of the -_Discourses on Prophecy_—“A figurative and dark description of -a future event will be figurative and dark still, when the event -happens.” And again—“No event can make a figurative or metaphorical -expression to be a plain or literal one.” Bishop Sherlock, _Disc._ II. -p. 32 and 36. London, 1749. - -[38] Le dessein de Dieu est plus de perfectionner la volonté, que -l’esprit. Or, la clarté parfaite ne serviroit qu’à l’esprit, & nuiroit -à la volonté. Pascal. - -[39] Rom. iv. 17. - -[40] Ταῦτα ὁ Θεὸς προεμήνυσε διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος μέλλειν -γίνεσθαι, ἵν’, ὅταν γένηται, μὴ ἀπιϛηθῇ, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ προειρῆσθαι πιϛευθῇ. - J. MARTYR, _Apol._ I. c. 74. - -[41] Yet hear in how decisive a tone a certain writer, of no small -account with the infidel party, reprobates this argument:—“Je dis -de plus, qu’aucune prophétie ne sauroit faire autorité pour moi.” -[Rousseau, Œuvres, T. III. p. 156. La Haye, 1762.] “I say,” says Mr. -Rousseau, “that the argument from prophecy can have no weight with -me.” If you ask his reason, it follows. “Because, to give it any -authority, three conditions are required, the concurrence of which is -impossible. First, I must have been, myself, a witness of the prophecy, -when delivered. Secondly, I must have been, myself; a witness of the -event: And lastly, I must have it demonstrated to me that the agreement -between the prophecy and the event could not have been fortuitous. For -though the prophecy were clearer, and more precise, than a geometrical -axiom, yet as the clearness of a prediction, made at hazard, does -not render the accomplishment of it impossible, this accomplishment, -allowing it to take place, proves nothing, strictly speaking, in favour -of the person who foretold it.” - -First, he says, _He must himself have been a witness of the prophecy_. -But why so? Is there no way of being reasonably assured that a prophecy -has been delivered, unless one has been actually present at the -delivery of it? Does any one doubt, whether Socrates told his friend -that he should die within three days’ time, because he did not hear -these words from the mouth of the philosopher? But, there is less -reason still to doubt whether Jesus uttered the prophecies, ascribed to -him in the Gospel. - -Next, _He must have been, himself, a witness of the event_. With just -as good reason, as of the prophecy. However, it so happens that we -are, or may be, if we please, witnesses of the events, foretold in -many prophecies. What does he think of the dispersion of the Jews, for -instance? Is he not a witness of this event? - -But lastly, _He must have it demonstrated to him that the agreement -between the prophecy and the event could not have been fortuitous_. -What, will nothing less than _demonstration_ satisfy him? Will not -a high degree of probability serve him to form a conclusion upon, -nay, and to regulate his conduct? And will he stand out against the -strongest degree of evidence, short of mathematical, or a proof _à la -rigueur_, as he terms it, in a subject, where, from the nature of it, -mathematical certainty is not to be had? - -Surely one needs be no great philosopher to see that all which is -wanting to give authority to the argument from prophecy, is, That we -have _reason_ to admit the delivery of a prediction—that we have -_reason_ to admit the completion of it—and that we have reason -to think the agreement between the prediction and the event not -fortuitous. And where is the impossibility that these three reasons -should concur?—It is plain that the only one of these three reasons -that appears in any degree problematical is the last concerning the -completion of a prophecy in its event, whether it be fortuitous or -not. Have I not reason then to say, as I do below p. 81, 82, that the -strength of the infidel cause lies in this last consideration?—But -what that strength is, we shall see as we go along. - -[42] Socrates foretold that he should _dye within three days_: and the -event followed.—_Est apud Platonem Socrates, cùm esset in custodiâ -publicâ, dicens Critoni suo familiari, sibi post tertium diem esse -moriendum—quod, ut est dictum, sic scribitur contigisse_ [Cic. de -Div. l. i. c. 25.] Jesus foretold that he should suffer death by -_crucifixion_. [John iii. 14. viii. 28. xii. 32.] He, likewise, -foretold that he should _rise from the dead_, within _three days_ after -his crucifixion. [John ii. 19. Matth. xii. 39, 40.]—The _first_ of -these predictions might be a sagacious conjecture. Can it be said of -such, as the _two last_,— - - _Augurium, ratio est, et conjectura futuri_? - Ovid. Trist. l. I. viii. 51. - -[43] Hoc si est in libris, in _quem hominem_, et in _quod tempus_ est? -Callidè enim, qui illa composuit, perfecit, ut, quodcunque accidisset, -prædictum videretur, _hominum et temporum definitione sublatâ_—said, -in discredit of the Sibylline oracles [_De Div._ l. ii. p. 295. _fol. -Lutet._ 1565]: how far applicable to the scriptural prophecies, will be -seen in its place. - -[44] Διὰ τὸ ὅλως εἶναι ἁμάρτημα ἔλαττον, διὰ τῶν γενῶν τοῦ πράγματος -λέγουσιν οἱ μάντεις. And again—οἱ χρησμολόγοι, οὐ προσορίζονται πότε. -Aristot. Rhet. l. iii. c. v. - -[45] Permultorum exemplorum et nostra plena est respublica, et omnia -regna, omnesque populi, cunctæque gentes, augurum prædictis multa -incredibiliter vera cecidisse. - _Cic. de Leg._ l. ii. p. 337. - -[46] - Certabant, urbem Romam, Remoramne vocarent. - Omnibu’ cura viris, uter esset induperator. - - Cedunt de cœlo ter quatuor corpora sancta - Avium, præpetibus sese, pulchrisque locis dant. - Conspicit inde sibi data Romulus esse priora, - Auspicio regni stabilita scamna solumque. - _Cic. de Div._ l. i. c. 48. - -[47] Quot sæcula urbi Romæ debeantur, dicere meum non est: sed, quid -apud Varronem legerim, non tacebo. Qui libro Antiquitatum duodevicesimo -ait, fuisse Vettium Romæ in augurio non ignobilem, ingenio magno, -cuivis docto in disceptando parem; eum se audisse dicentem: Si ita -esset, ut traderent historici, de Romuli urbis condendæ auguriis, ac -_duodecim vulturibus_; quoniam CXX annos incolumis præteriisset populus -Romanus, ad _mille et ducentos_ perventurum. - CENSORINUS _de die natali_, c. xvii. p. 97. Cantab. 1695. - -[48] Hence Sidonius, in personating the city of Rome, makes her ask— - - Quid, rogo, _bis seno_ mihi _vulture_ Thuscus aruspex - _Portendit_? - Sidon. Carm. vii. 55. - -And again, addressing himself to the same city, - - Jam propè fata _tui bissenas vulturis alas_ - Complebant (scis namque tuos, scis, _Roma_, labores.) - Ib. ver. 358. - -And, before him, Claudian, to the same purpose— - - Tunc reputant annos, _interceptoque volatu - Vulturis_, incidunt properatis sæcula metis. - B. G. ver. 262. - -[49] Medea, ver. 374. - -[50] _Annis seris._ - -[51] Ferdinand. - -[52] _Casu_, inquis. Itáne verò quicquam potest esse _casu_ factum, -quod omnes habet in se numeros veritatis? Quatuor tali jacti, _casu_ -Venereum efficiunt. Num etiam centum Venereos, si CCCC talos jeceris, -_casu_ futuros putas? _De Div._ l. i. p. 259, Lutet. 1565.—Had the -supposed case been fairly applied to the subject, there had been an -end of the dispute; as may appear from the pitiful answer, made in the -next book to this reasoning—dixisti multa de _casu_: ut, Venereum jaci -posse casu, quatuor talis jactis; quadringentis, centum Venereos non -posse casu consistere. Primùm, NESCIO, CUR NON POSSINT.—Was this, like -a philosopher? - -[53] Multa vera, inquit, evadere. Quid, quòd multo plura, falsa? Nónne -ipsa varietas, quæ est propria fortunæ, fortunam esse causam, non -naturam, docet? _De Div._ l. ii. p. 295. This, methinks, looks like -sense. - -[54] See the ancient apologists, who are frequent and large on this -subject; and, of the moderns, see especially Huetii _Dem. Evang. -Prop._ IX.—Bishop Kidder’s _Dem. of the Messias_, c. ii. p. 17, -18. London, 1726, fol.—Dr. Clarke’s _Evidences of Nat. and Rev. -Religion_.—_Pensées de M. Pascal_, p. 108. - -[55] I take these examples to be more in point, than those given by -Bishop Butler in his _Analogy_, P. II c. vii. p. 386. Lond. 1740: not -but those, too, have their weight. - -[56] Grotius. - -[57] Serm. II. - -[58] Ἀπ’ αἰῶνος. Luke i. 70. - -[59] This use and intent of prophecy was seen, and admirably expressed, -by the great _M. Pascal_—“Les propheties sont mêlées de propheties -particulieres, et de celles du Messie, afin que les propheties -du Messie ne fussent pas sans _preuves_, et que les propheties -particulieres ne fussent pas sans _fruit_.” _Pensées_, p. 112. - -[60] _The Lord himself shall give you a sign_, Isai. vii. 14.—This -SIGN (and the extraordinary introduction of it, in the words quoted, -indicates no less) had plainly a recondite and even complicated meaning! - -1. As addressed to _Ahaz_, it was simply an ASSURANCE, that his -deliverance from his two great enemies was now at hand. - -2. As addressed to the _house of David_—_Hear ye now, O house of -David_—it was a TYPE of Christ. - -3. It was, farther, a TOKEN, or pledge, that the remote deliverance of -the house of David by Immanuel, should hereafter take place, just as -the approaching deliverance of Ahaz, by the prophet’s Son, would be -seen to do. - -4. This sign, when fulfilled in the near event, would, thenceforward, -become a PROOF, or evidence, that it would be fulfilled in the remote -one. - -5. Lastly, in the Antitype, the sign was a MIRACLE, properly so called. - -So eminently was this Child, a SIGN! A _sign_, in all the _senses_ -of the word, as employed by the Jewish prophets; and to all the -_purposes_, for which signs were given. - -[61] Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὰ γενόμενα ἤδη πάντα ἀποδείκνυμεν, πρὶν ἢ -γενέσθαι, προκεκηρύχθαι διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, ἀνάγκη καὶ περὶ τῶν -ὁμοίως προφητευθέντων, μελλόντων δὲ γίνεσθαι, πίϛιν ἔχειν ὡς πάντως -γενησομένων. - JUSTIN MARTYR, _Apol._ i. c. 87. - -[62] Isaiah vii. 16. Daniel ix. 24. - -[63] Mal. iv. 5. Luke xvi. 16. - -[64] Joel ii. 28, 29. - -[65] Is not their case exactly delineated by the prophet -Ezekiel—_Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon -rumour; then shall they_ SEEK A VISION OF THE PROPHET; i. e. they shall -seek what they shall not find, _for the_ LAW _shall perish from the -priest, and_ COUNCIL _from the ancients_; i. e. their ecclesiastical -and civil polity, to which prophecy was annexed, shall be utterly -abolished. See Ezekiel vii. 26. and compare Isaiah iii. 1, 2. - -[66] See A. VAN DALE, _de Oraculorum ethnicorum duratione atque -interitu_. - -[67] The sacred text says—_myriads_—θεωρεῖς, ἀδελφὲ, πόσαι μυριάδες -εἶσιν Ἰουδαίων τῶν πεπιϛευκότων—Acts xxi. 20. - -[68] Acts x. - -[69] Acts xiii. 42. 48. - -[70] Τίνι γὰρ ἂν λόγῳ ἀνθρώπῳ ϛαυρωθέντι ἐπειθόμεθα, ὅτι πρωτότοκος -τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ ἐϛι, καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν κρίσιν τοῦ παντὸς ἀνθρωπείου γένους -ποιήσεται, εἰ μὴ μαρτύρια, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, -κεκηρυγμένα περὶ αὐτοῦ εὕρομεν, καὶ οὕτως γενόμενα ὁρῶμεν; - JUSTIN MARTYR, _Apol._ i. c. 88. - -[71] Acts xv. 18. - -[72] Isaiah xl. 21. - -[73] We see this design very plainly, in the prophecies of Jesus -concerning _his own death and resurrection_; concerning _the descent of -the holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost_; concerning _events, that were -to befall his disciples_; and in other instances. - -[74] La plus grande des preuves de Jesus Christ, ce sont les -propheties. C’est aussi à quoi Dieu a la plus pourvû; car l’evenement, -qui les a remplies, est un MIRACLE SUBSISTANT depuis la naissance de -l’Eglise jusqu’ à la fin. - _M. Pascal._ - -[75] For these particulars, see Dr. Jortin’s _Rem. on Ecclesiastical -History_, vol. I. p. 20-89. - -[76] An event, it must be owned, the more likely to happen, as the Jews -had always been disposed to _trust to their high and fenced walls_; -which yet could never defend them from their enemies, as their history -shews, and, as Moses had distinctly foretold, _Deut._ xxviii. 52. - -[77] Matth. xxiv. 28. and compare Luke xvii. 37. Ὅπου γὰρ ἐὰν ᾖ τὸ -πτῶμα, ἐκεῖ συναχθήσονται οἱ ἀετοί.—Meaning by _eagles_, the standards -of the Roman army.—Some writers of name have, indeed, observed, -that this is only a _proverbial_ expression. True: but proverbial -prophecies are often fulfilled in the strict literal sense of the -expression; as Grotius well observes on Matth. xxvi. 23. hîc quoque -accidit, quod in _multis aliis vaticiniis_, ut verba—non tantùm -secundùm proverbialem loquendi modum, sed etiam secundùm _exactissimam -verborum significationem_ implerentur.—If the reader calls to mind -the prediction of our Lord, as it is elsewhere expressed, without a -figure—_when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with_ ARMIES [Luke, xxi. -20]—and compares it with the _event_, he will hardly make a doubt -whether _eagles_, in those figurative predictions, which respect the -same subject, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, were not intended -by our Lord to denote, the ROMAN armies. - -[78] —debellare _superbos_. Virg. - -[79] Assuredly this prophecy was not in the number of those, of which -it hath been said—_The prophecy is not occasioned by the event, but -the event by the prophecy—L’evenement n’est pas predit parcequ’il -arrivera; mais il arrive parcequ’il a été predit._ ROUSSEAU, _Nouv. -Hel._ t. iv. p. 314. n. Neuf. 1764. - -[80] Matth. xvi. 28. - -[81] Matth. xxiv. 34. - -[82] Luke xxi. 20. - -[83] Luke xxi. 18. Acts ii. 21. Mark xiii. 20. - -[84] See the learned Bishop Newton’s _Dissertations on the Prophecies_, -vol. ii, p. 268. n. - -[85] Deut. xxviii. - -[86] 1 Thess. ii. 16. - -[87] Luke xxi. 22. 24. - -[88] Rom. xi. 25. - -[89] Jer. xlvi. 28. - -[90] Isai. i. 21. Ezek. vi. 8. - -[91] Lev. xxvi. 44. - -[92] Hear the profound and reflecting M. Pascal—L’etat où l’on voit -les Juifs est une grande preuve de la Religion. Car c’est une chose -étonnante de voir ce peuple _subsister_ depuis tant d’années, & de -le voir _toujours miserable_—et, quoique il soit contraire, D’ETRE -MISERABLE, & DE SUBSISTER, il subsiste neanmoins toujours malgré sa -misère. PENSEES, p. 115. - -[93] —Multò minus nomen criminandum, in captivitate sacratorum suorum, -qui supernam patriam veraci fide expectantes, _etiam in suis sedibus -peregrinos se esse noverunt_. _Aug. De Civ. Dei_, l. i. 15. - -[94] Jer. xlvi. 28. - -[95] Ps. ii. 8. - -[96] Mal. i. 2. - -[97] Is. xlix. 6. - -[98] Mark xvi. 15. - -[99] The reader may see many of them collected, and the general -argument from them well inforced, by Mr. Bullock, in his VINDICATION, -Part II. - -[100] As in the case of _Mahometanism_, for instance. - -[101] What the Philosopher Celsus thought of such a project, we learn -from a curious passage in Origen. It being usual with the Christians -of that time, as of every other, _to pray for the conversion of the -whole world to the Christian faith_, the philosopher laughs at the -extravagance of this petition. He observes upon it, ὅτι ὁ τοῦτο -οἰόμενος οἶδεν οὐδέν. The words are not easily translated. But the -_meaning_ of them is, That he regarded an universal agreement in one -mode of religious belief, as a perfect chimæra: and the _turn_ of the -words is so contrived, as to express the utmost contempt of those, who, -in their supreme ignorance of mankind, could entertain so senseless an -idea. _Contr. Celsum_, l. viii. _sub. fin._ - -[102] Matth. xxiii. 15. - -[103] Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a _new -covenant_ with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not -according to the covenant that I made with their fathers—but this -shall be my covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after -those days, saith the Lord, _I will put my Law in their inward parts, -and write it in their hearts_, &c. Jer. xxxi. 31-33. See also Jer. iii. -16. - -[104] For behold, _I create new heavens and a new earth_: and the -_former shall not be remembered nor come into mind_. Is. lxv. 17. - -[105] The _Gentiles_ shall see thy righteousness, and all Kings, thy -glory: And thou shalt be _called by a new name_, which the mouth of the -Lord shall name. Is. lxii. 2. - -[106] Is. lx. 22. - -[107] Matth. xiii. 31, 32. - -[108] Si enim et hostes _exertos_, non tantùm vindices occultos, -agere vellemus, _deesset nobis vis numerorum et copiarum_? _Tertull. -Apologet._ c. 37. - -[109] Could it be _foreseen_, that nothing of this sort would happen? -When the _Reformation_ was set on foot in Germany, Luther and his -adherents resolved to carry it on in the spirit of the Gospel, that -is, by _pacific measures_. But how soon did passion and policy strike -in, to drive them from this purpose! The Catholics were intolerant: -the Reformed grew powerful: and then, what was too naturally to be -expected, followed. - -If it be said, that the Gospel hath not been always propagated, -_without force_; I acknowledge, it has not: but then I observe, 1. that -it was incontestably so propagated, till the conversion of the Roman -empire; in which event, alone, the prophecies appear to have had a -reasonable completion. 2. that the _force employed_, has generally been -the force of one Christian sect, directed against some other (in which -scandalous contentions the prophecies have no concern), not in the -propagation of Christianity itself in unbelieving countries. 3. that -the _way of force_, when professedly used against unbelievers, though, -in _some_ cases, it has contributed to the enlargement of Christ’s -kingdom, has yet, in _others_ (where, too, the utmost force and zeal -were combined) very signally failed of success; of which the _crusades -against the Mahometans_ afford a striking instance: and 4. lastly, -that we expect the _final universal_ prevalence of the Christian faith -from the same spiritual arms only, which were first employed with such -success in the propagation of it. - -[110] An eminent writer, with the view, indeed, of disgracing the -Reformation, hath set this matter in a very just light: “Que nos -freres, says he, ouvrent donc les yeux; qu’ils les jettent sur -l’ancienne Eglise, qui durant tant de siécles d’une persecution si -cruelle ne s’est jamais échapée, ni un seul moment, ni dans un seul -homme, & qu’on a vûë aussi soûmise sous Diocletien, et même sous Julien -l’apostat, lorsqu’elle remplissoit deja toute la terre, que sous Neron -& sous Domitien, lorsqu’elle ne faisoit que de naitre: C’EST LA QU’ON -VOIT VERITABLEMENT LE DOIGT DE DIEU.” - _Hist. des Variations_, l. x. c. 53. - -_The finger of God_, as the learned writer says, was indeed conspicuous -in this conduct of the primitive Christians, because it fulfilled the -prophecies (so unlikely to be fulfilled) concerning the _manner_ in -which Christianity was to obtain an establishment in the world. If -the conduct of the _reformed_ had not this merit, it was because the -prophecies did not extend to the reformation of Christian religion, but -to the introduction and first settlement of it. The agents, in this -last work of Providence, were therefore left to the natural influence -of their passions, and they acted too frequently as those passions -impelled them. - -For the rest, how far the _general_ precepts of the Gospel require -a passive submission and non-resistance to outrageous intolerance, -whether absolutely, and in all cases, is a point of nice discussion; -in which I take no part, at present, because I am not now making the -apology of the _reformed_, but shewing the completion of the prophecies -concerning the _propagators_ of Christianity: and the wonder to see -them so punctually completed, is not lessened, but increased, by -supposing, that the precepts of the Gospel leave mankind to the free -use of their natural rights, in the case of extreme violence and -injustice. - -[111] _The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall -speak, and not lye: though it tarry, wait for it, because it shall -surely come, it will not tarry._ Habakkuk, ii. 3. - -[112] By the word _Tyranny_, here and elsewhere in these discourses, as -applied to the Pope, I would be understood to mean, that _super-eminent -dominion_, which he exercised, or claimed a _right_ of exercising, over -the princes and states of his communion, in all affairs both temporal -and spiritual.—I use the word (somewhat improperly, perhaps) for -the sake of brevity, as I know of no other single term, that so well -expresses my meaning. - -[113] What is here said of the scriptural division of _time_, with -regard to the affairs of the _Church_, is enough for my purpose. -There is another division of time, in the prophetic scriptures, with -regard to the _kingdoms of the world_; concerning which the reader may -consult BISHOP KIDDER’S _Dem. of the Messiah_, Part iii. ch. ix.; and -especially Mr. MEDE’S _Apostasy of the latter times_, ch. xi. - -[114] Matth. xxiv. 24. Mark xiii. 21. - -[115] 1 Ep. John, iv. 3. - -[116] Ἀντίχριϛος—ἀντι, in the sense either of _pro_, or _contra_. - -[117] Grotius says, “Sicut _Anticæsarem_ dicimus qui contra Cæsarem -se Cæsarem vult dici atque Cæsar haberi, sic _Antichristus_ est qui -se vero Christo opponit _eo modo_ ut ipse Christus haberi velit.” -OP. t. iv. p. 490.—The learned commentator did not reflect, that -words are not always used according to the strict import of their -etymologies. _False Christs_, we will say, are, in the strict sense -of the word, _Antichrists_. But the question is, in _what_ sense -this word is used of the person called, by way of eminence, THE -ANTICHRIST. This must be collected from the attributes given to him -in the prophecies themselves, not from the rigorous etymology of the -term. The case was plainly this. St. John is speaking of the _false -Christs_, who had appeared in his time; and, to disgrace them the -more effectually in the minds of those to whom he writes, he brands -them with the name of _Antichrists_: not so much respecting the exact -sense of the word, as the ideas of aversion, which, he knew, it would -excite. For the tradition of the church concerning _Antichrist_, -had made this appellation, of all others, the most opprobrious, and -hateful.—Besides, it is not so clear, as Grotius supposes, that the -strict sense of the word, _Antichristus_, must be—_is, qui se vero -Christo opponit eo modo ut ipse Christus haberi velit_. Cæsar, who -generally expressed himself with exact propriety, thought fit, on a -certain occasion, to assume the name and character of, ANTICATO. Was -it Cæsar’s purpose to say, or was it his ambition to pretend, “_that -he opposed himself to the true Cato_, EO MODO _ut ipse_ CATO _haberi -vellet_?” - -[118] Eusebius mentions, JUDAS, H. E. l. vi. c. 2; and DIONYSIUS, E. H. -l. vii. c. 10.—_Others_, seemed to expect that Antichrist would appear -as the Messiah of the Jews; but in the person of a Roman Emperor; as -will be explained presently. See the next note. - -[119] See many citations to this purpose in Dr. Lardner’s _Cred._ p. -ii. v. p. 210, 11, 12. - -[120] Jerom, in Dan. vii. Mede, p. 657. - -[121] Quisquis se universalem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione -suâ Antichristum præcurrit. GREG. M. Op. Ep. xxx. l. vi. _Par._ 1533. - -[122] In hâc ejus superbiâ, quid aliud nisi propinqua jam Antichristi -esse tempora designatur? Ep. xxxiv. l. iv. - -[123] With all his merits, Gregory the Great, it is to be feared, had -some Antichristian marks upon him; and his adversary of the East might -have gone some way towards _fixing_ them upon his _Grandeur_, if he had -but observed, that Antichrist, whoever he was, and whensoever to appear -in the world, is clearly marked out in the prophecies, as having his -seat in _old Rome_. - -[124] A. 991. - -[125] Quid hunc, reverendi patres, in sublimi solio residentem, veste -purpureâ et aureâ radiantem; quid hunc, inquam, esse censetis? Nimirum, -si charitate destituitur, solâque scientiâ inflatur et extollitur, -ANTICHRISTUS est, _in templo Dei sedens, et se ostendens tanquam sit -Deus_. USSER. _de Christian. Eccl. successione & statu_, c. ii. p. 36. -Lond. 1613.—ILLYRICI _Cat. Test. Ver._ p. 1558. _Officin. Jacob. Stoër -et Jacob. Chouël._—This Arnulph, Bishop of Orleans, was esteemed, in -his day, the wisest and most eloquent of all the Gallican prelates. -Arnulphus—de quo sic initio ejus synodi scriptum est—_Inter omnes -Galliarum episcopos sapientiâ et eloquentiâ clarissimus habebatur_. Ib. - -[126] “Ecclesiam vanitatis, & SEDEM SATANÆ vocabat.” USSER. _de -Christian. Eccl. succes. & statu_, c. 7. s. xxiv. p. 196.—In -Apocalypsin scripsisse testatur Bostonius Buriensis. CAVE, H. L. vol. -ii. p. 131. _Oxon._ 1743. - -[127] Plerique omnes boni, aperti, justi, ingenui, simplices, tum -imperium Antichristi cœpisse, quod ea quæ Christus servator noster -tot annos ante nobis cantavit, evenisse eo tempore cernebant, memoriæ -literarum prodidêre. ANNAL. BOIORUM, l. v. p. 591. Ingolstad. 1554. - -[128] CAVE, H. L. vol. ii. p. 258. Conc. Flor. 1104. USSER. _De Christ. -Eccl. succ. & stat._ c. v. s. v. p. 109. - -[129] MINISTRI CHRISTI SUNT, ET SERVIUNT ANTICHRISTO [_Serm. sup. -Cantic._ xxxiii.]—It is true, by Antichrist, he seems not to mean the -Pope, but, in general, an evil principle, which then domineered in the -church. Yet he refers us to the famous passage in the first Epistle -to the Thessalonians, ch. ii. And he tells us in his 56th epistle, -that he had heard one Norbert, a man of exemplary piety, say, That -Antichrist would be revealed in that age. Hence it seems probable, -that some one person or power was in his eye. After all, he says, that -Norbert’s reasons did not satisfy him. Yet, in another epistle, he -asserts expressly—Bestia illa de Apocalypsi, cui datum est os loquens -blasphemias, et bellum gerere cum sanctis, PETRI CATHEDRAM OCCUPAT, -tanquam leo paratus ad prædam. Ep. cxxv: which was, in other words, -to call the Pope, Antichrist. It is evident that St. Bernard applied -the prophecies in the Revelation to the successor of St. Peter.—I -mention these things so particularly, to shew, what his sentiments on -this head really were; which have been misrepresented by hasty writers, -who transcribe from each other, without examining, themselves, the -authorities, they quote. - -[130] CAVE, H. L. v. ii. 278. ROG. DE HOVEDEN, ANNAL. _Pars Post._ -p. 681. Ed. Franc. 1601.—In this age [XIIth], was composed a very -remarkable tract on the subject of Antichrist, which may be seen in -Mede’s Works, p. 721.—Mr. Mede supposes, and seems indeed to have -proved, that the _true_ doctrine of Antichrist was, and was intended to -be, a mystery, or secret, till the 12th century. Whence it follows that -the testimonies, hitherto alledged, are only passionate or declamatory -exaggerations, or to be esteemed, as he says, _pro parabolicè et_ κάτ’ -αὔξησιν _dictis, declamatorum more_. _Works_, p. 722. - -I admit the truth of the observation: but hold, that the _use_ of -the deduction, here made, is not in the least affected by it. For -my purpose in giving this catalogue of witnesses to the doctrine of -Antichrist, was not to _justify_ that doctrine, in the _true_, that is, -Protestant sense of it (for then, not only the preceding testimonies, -but even some of the following, would have been omitted) but merely -to shew that the general, at least, and confused idea of some such -doctrine did, in fact, _subsist_ in the ancient Christian church. That -what idea they had of this doctrine was founded on the _prophecies_, is -clear from the terms in which they express themselves. And, though the -doctrine itself was very imperfectly conceived, and inconsequentially -applied by them, still their language shews that they had some notion -of _a corrupt spiritual power, which was_, in their sense of the -prophets, _to domineer in the church of Rome_: whence I draw this -conclusion (for the sake of which, this whole deduction is made), That -the present application of the prophecies concerning Antichrist to -papal Rome, is not wholly new and unauthorized; as the prejudice, I am -here combating, supposeth it to be. - -[131] VITRINGA in Apoc. p. 747. Amst. 1719. USSER. De Eccl. succ. & -stat. c. 6 and 8. THUANUS, l. vi. s. 16. vol. i. p. 221. Ed. Buckley. - -[132] See, especially, the famous speech of Everhard, bishop of -Saltzbourg, at the assembly of Ratisbonne, in the time of Gregory the -IXth; inserted at large in Aventinus, _Ann. Boior._ l. vii. p. 684. The -following extracts from it will be thought curious. Hildebrandus ante -annos centum atque septuaginta primus specie religionis _Antichristi_ -imperii fundamenta jecit. p. 684. - -Flamines illi _Babyloniæ_ [meaning the Bishops of Rome] soli regnare -cupiunt, ferre parem non possunt, non desistent donec omnia pedibus -suis conculcaverint, atque _in templo Dei sedeant, extollanturque supra -omne id, quod colitur_. Ib. - -Nova consilia sub pectore volutat, ut proprium sibi constituat -imperium, _leges commutat_, suas sancit; contaminat, diripit, spoliat, -fraudat, occidit, perditus homo ille (_quem Antichristum vocare -solent_) in cujus fronte _contumeliæ nomen_ scriptum est, “Deus sum, -errare non possum,” _in templo Dei sedet_, longè latéque dominatur. -_Ib._ - -—_Reges decem pariter existunt_—_Decem Cornua_—_Cornuque -parvulum_—Quid hâc prophetiâ apertius? p. 685. - -[133] MATTH. PARIS, ad ann. 1253. p. 874. ed. Watts, 1640. - -[134] Purgat. 32. - -[135] Epistolarum sine titulo Liber. Ep. xvi. p. 130. Basil. -1581.—Many strokes in this epistle are, to the last degree, severe -and caustic. Addressing himself to Rome, “Illa equidem ipsa es, says -he, quam in spiritu sacer vidit Evangelista.—Populi et gentes et -linguæ, aquæ sunt super quas meretrix sedes; recognosce habitum. Mulier -circumdata purpurâ, et coccino, et inaurata auro, et lapide pretioso, -et margaritis, habens poculum aureum in manu suâ, plenum abominatione -et immunditiâ fornicationis ejus.—Audi reliqua. Et vidi (inquit) -mulierem ebriam de sanguine sanctorum, et de sanguine martyrum Jesu. -Quid siles?”—And so goes on to apply the prophecies of the Revelation -to the church of Rome, in terms that furnish out a good comment on the -famous verse in one of his poems— - - _Gia Roma, hor Babylonia false è ria_— - -Numberless passages in the writings of Petrarch speak of Rome, under -the name of _Babylon_. But an equal stress is not to be laid on all of -these. It should be remembered, that the Popes, in Petrarch’s time, -resided at Avignon; greatly to the disparagement of themselves, as -he thought, and especially of Rome; of which this singular man was -little less than idolatrous. The situation of the place, surrounded by -waters, and his splenetic concern for the _exiled_ Church (for under -this idea, he painted to himself the Pope’s migration to the banks of -Avignon) brought to his mind the condition of the Jewish church in -the Babylonian captivity. And this parallel was all, perhaps, that he -meant to insinuate in most of those passages. But, when he applies the -prophecies to Rome, as to the _Apocalyptic_ Babylon (as he clearly does -in the epistle under consideration) his meaning is not equivocal: and -we do him but justice to give him an honourable place among the TESTES -VERITATIS. - -[136] See the catalogue of his works in Cave’s Hist. Lit. vol. ii. App. -p. 63; in which is the following book of Dialogues. Dialogorum libri -quatuor; quorum—quartus Romanæ Ecclesiæ sacramenta, ejus pestiferam -vocationem, ANTICHRISTI REGNUM, fratrum fraudulentam originem atque -eorum hypocrisim, variaque nostro ævo scitu dignissima, perstringit. - -[137] Mandantes omnibus, &c.—_tempus quoque præfixum futurorum -malorum, vel_ ANTICHRISTI ADVENTUM—_prædicare, vel asserere, nequaquam -præsumant_. BIN. CONC. _Lateran._ v. _sub Leone_ X. _Sess._ xi. _p._ 632. - -[138] M. d’Alembert, indeed, goes further. He acquaints us, that this -_charge_ is now out of date, and that nobody, either within or without -the Romish communion, makes it any longer. For, speaking of a public -inscription at Geneva, in which _the Pope is called Antichrist_, he -animadverts on this disgrace of that Protestant people, and very kindly -suggests to them what their improved sentiments and language should be -on that subject. _As for the Catholics_ (says he, very gravely,) _the -Pope is regarded by them, as the Head of the true Church: By sage and -moderate Protestants, he is seen in the light of a sovereign prince, -whom they respect, though they do not obey him: But, in an age like -this_, HE IS NO LONGER ANTICHRIST IN THE OPINION OF ANYBODY. “Pour -les Catholiques, le Pape est le chef de la veritable Eglise; pour les -Protestants sages & modérés, c’est un Souverein qu’ils respectent comme -Prince sans lui obéir: _mais dans un siécle tel que nôtre, il n’est -plus l’Antichrist pour personne_.” Encyclopedie, Art. GENEVE.—If the -present age be, here, truly characterized, it was high time, or rather -it was too late, to found this Protestant Lecture. - -[139] Rompons leurs liens, dit-il, et rejettons leur joug de dessus nos -têtes. _Bossuet, H. V._ l. i. c. 26. - -[140] _Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her -sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues._ Rev. xviii. 4. - -[141] Il [Luther] condamnoit les Bohemiens qui s’etoient separez de -nôtre communion, et protestoit qu’il ne lui arriveroit jamais de tomber -dans _un semblable Schisme_. _Bossuet, Hist. des Variat._ l. i. p. -21. _Par._ 1740. And again, p. 28; Apres, dit-il [Luther,] que j’eus -surmonté tous les argumens qu’on proposoit, il en restoit un dernier -qu’à peine je pus surmonter par le secours de Jesus Christ avec une -extrême difficulté & beaucoup d’angoisse; _c’est qu’il falloit écouter -l’Eglise_.—One sees for what purpose M. Bossuet quotes these passages, -and others of the same kind, from the writings of Luther. However, they -shew very clearly how deep an impression the idea of Schism had made on -the mind even of this intrepid Reformer. - -[142] _Contra Bullam Antichristi_—a tract of Luther, so called, -against the Bull of Leo X. - -[143] Luther reconnoit après la rupture ouverte, que dans les -commencemens il étoit _comme au desespoir_— - _Bossuet, H. V._ c. 26. - -[144] Hor. 1 Ep. vi. 15. - -[145] Grotius was more than a great, he was a fashionable man. No -wonder therefore that, under the influence of two such prejudices, his -opinions should find followers; which yet they would scarce have found -with us, if the political state of that time had not been a _third_ -prejudice in their favour. See the Bishop of Gloucester’s Sermon, _On -the rise of Antichrist_. - -[146] “The folly of interpreters has been, to foretell times and things -by this prophecy, as if God designed to make them prophets.” _Sir I. -Newton_, p. 251. - -[147] “God gave this, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, not -to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things; -but that, after they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by -the event; and his own providence, not the interpreter’s, be then -manifested thereby to the world.” _Sir I. Newton_, p. 251. - -[148] “’Tis a part of this prophecy, that it should not be understood -before the last age of the world; and therefore it makes for the credit -of the prophecy, that it is not yet understood.” _Sir I. Newton_, p. -251. - -[149] St. Jerom, who lived in this time, speaks in the very terms, here -supposed, _Romanus orbis_ RUIT. Ep. iii. - -[150] Isai. lxv. 17.—2 Pet. iii. 4. 13. - -[151] Rev. x. 7. - -[152] Daniel xii. 10. - -[153] Mede, More, Daubuz, Vitringa, and, above all, the learned Founder -of this Lecture. - -[154] Hence, the allusion of our great poet, - - —or from behind the moon - In dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds - On half the nations, and _with fear of change - Perplexes monarchs_—P. L. i. 596. - -[155] See these two works, published together, under the title of -_Artemidori Daldiani et Achmetis Sereimi F. Oneirocritica_, by Nicolaus -Rigaltius. _Lutet._ 1603. - -[156] Non enim credo, _nullo percepto_ aut cæteros artifices versari in -suo munere, aut eos, qui divinatione utantur, futura prædicere. _Cic. -de Fato_, c. 6. - -[157] Ezekiel xiii. 9. - -[158] See Dr. Lancaster’s _Symbolical_ and _Alphabetical Dictionary_, -prefixed to his abridgment of the Commentary on the Revelations, by Mr. -Daubuz. - -[159] See this objection urged by Mr. Collins in his _Grounds and -Reasons_, &c. p. 220. Lond. 1737. - -[160] Jeremiah xxxiv. 3. - -[161] Ezek. xii. 13. - -[162] See Grotius on Matth. xxvi. 23. - -[163] As to the _authority_ of this extraordinary book (although the -discussion of this point be foreign to my present purpose) it may -be proper to acquaint such persons, as have not made the inquiry -for themselves, and are perhaps incapable of making it, with the -sentiments, which our ablest writers have entertained of it. - -Mr. Mede, a capable inquirer, if there ever was any, says roundly—“The -Apocalypse hath more human (not to speak of _divine_) authority, than -any other book of the New Testament besides, even from the time it was -first delivered.” _Works_, p. 602. - -—And to the same purpose, Sir Isaac Newton—“I do not find any other -book of the New Testament so strongly attested, or commented upon so -early, as this of the Apocalypse.” _Observations on Daniel_, &c. page -249. - -Thus, these two incomparable men. What some minute critics have said, -or insinuated to the contrary, is not worth mentioning; farther, than -just to observe, that, if the authority of this momentous book be -indeed questionable, the church of Rome could hardly have failed long -since to make the discovery, or to triumph in it. - - _Hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridæ._ - -[164] Mal. i. 11. - -[165] Lament. i. 15. - -[166] Isaiah xl. 20. - -[167] Ezek. xx. 47. - -[168] Isaiah ii. 2. - -[169] Chap. xvii. - -[170] The learned Bishop Andrews says expressly—“You shall scarce -find a phrase in the Revelations of St. John, that is not taken out of -Daniel, or some other prophet.” _Vix reperias apud Johannem phrasin -aliquam, nisi vel ex Daniele, vel ex alio aliquo prophetâ desumptam._ -Resp. ad Bellarm. Apol. p. 234. - -[171] An eminent writer gives an exact idea of it, in these words—“The -style [of the Revelations] is very prophetical, as to the things -spoken: And very hebraizing, as to the speaking of them. Exceeding -much of the old prophets language and matter adduced to intimate new -stories: And exceeding much of the Jews language and allusion to their -customs and opinions, thereby to speak the things more familiarly to be -understood.” Dr. LIGHTFOOT, _Harm. of the N. T._ p. 154, London, 1655. - -[172] I have heard it affirmed, on good grounds, that the late Dr. -Samuel Clarke, being asked in conversation by a friend, whether, as -he had taken much pains to interpret the other books of Scripture, he -had never attempted any thing on the Revelations, replied, _He had -not; but that, notwithstanding, he thought he understood every word of -it_: Not meaning, we may be sure, that he knew how to apply every part -of that prophecy, but that he understood the _phraseology_, in which -it was written; which a man, so conversant as he was in the style of -scripture, might very well do.—Calvin, indeed, has been commended for -making the opposite declaration: And, it may be, with good reason: -For (not to derogate in any respect from the character of this great -man) the language of the Scriptures, and especially of the prophetical -scriptures, was in no degree so well understood in his time, as it was -in that of Dr. S. Clarke. - -[173] “As for me, I am conscious of my weakness and unworthiness; -being, when these kind of thoughts first possessed me, looking another -way with a prejudice incompatible to this.” _General Pref. to Mede’s -Works_, p. 20, from a MS Letter. - -[174] He printed only a few copies of his _Clavis Apocalyptica_ in -1627, at his own expence, and for the use of his friends. _Pref. to his -Commentary._ - -[175] His Commentary, on the principles of his _Clavis_, did not appear -till 1632. - -[176] “I am by nature _cunctabundus_ in all things, but in this [his -Exposition] let no man blame me, if I take more pause than ordinary.” -MS Letter in _Gen. Pref._ p. 22. And again, in a Letter of reply -_ad animadversiones Ludovici de Dieu_, “Eo ingenio sum (delicatulo, -an moroso) ut nisi ubi interpretatio commodè et absque salebris -eat, nunquam mihi satisfacere soleam.” WORKS, p. 569. Yet of this -_sage_ man, could the Bishop of Meaux allow himself to speak thus -negligently—_Il s’est rendu de nos jours célébre en Angleterre_ PAR -SES DOCTES REVERIES _sur l’Apocalypse_. _Hist. des Var._ l. xiii. p. -257. But M. de Meaux knew what he did, when he _affected_ this contempt -of Joseph Mede. He was then at liberty to turn himself from the ablest -advocate of the Protestant cause, to the _weakest_; I mean, M. Jurieu, -whose indiscretions afforded, indeed, ample scope for the raillery of -this lively prelate. Mr. Mede was not a man to be confuted in this -way, and still less by a fanciful and ill-supported _Exposition of the -Apocalypse_. - -[177] As appears from his backwardness to publish his discoveries, and -from his unconcern about the reception of them. But see his Letter to -Mr. Hartlib, Ep. 96, p. 881; and compare with his answer to Dr. Twisse, -Ep. 51, p. 811. See also Ep. 98, to Mr. Hartlib, Aug. 6, 1638, not long -before his death, in which are these words: - -“I have not been very obtrusive unto men, to acquaint them with my -notions and conceits—for some of them that are but lately known have -lain by me above these twenty years.” P. 883. - -[178] _The point of the Pope’s being Antichrist, as a dead fly, marred -the savour of_ THAT OINTMENT—meaning the merit he had of being -known to entertain some opinions; then much cherished by the ruling -clergy. Ep. 56, p. 818. He says afterwards of himself, in the same -Letter, _I thank God, I never made any thing hitherto the caster of my -resolution, but reason and evidence, on what side soever the advantage -or disadvantage fell_. - -[179] His friends speak much of his chearful disposition.—But I draw -this conclusion from the tenour of his _life_ and _writings_; and, -above all, from that famous declaration which he made in confidence to -a friend, that, _if he might but obtain a Donative sine curâ, of so -much value as, together with his fellowship_ [of Christ’s College in -Cambridge,] _should enable him to keep a horse, for his recreation, he -would set up his staff for this world_. _App. to his Life_, p. 40.—The -simplicity of this declaration, makes one confident of its truth. And -a man of so moderate desires, was in no danger of having his temper -_soured_ by disappointments. - -[180] Siquidem, quæ isti tuo Vaticinio jam, ut dixi, cognito, -cætera contemporaverint Vaticinia, iisdem procul dubio temporibus -sunt applicanda; quæ autem præcedunt, non nisi de præcedaneis; quæ -succedunt, pariter de succedaneis eventibus sunt interpretanda. - _Clavis Apocalyptica_, in Mede's _Works_, p. 432. - -[181] From ch. iv. to the end of ch. ix: And from ch. x. to the end. - -[182] The sounding of the seventh trumpet. - -[183] Ch. x. 7. - -[184] Ch. xi. 15. - -[185] The reader may form a distinct idea of the method, in which the -_whole_ book of the Apocalypse is disposed, by observing that it is -resolvable into THREE great parts. - -The FIRST part, is that of the EPISTLES to the seven churches, -contained in the three first chapters, and is not at all considered by -Mr. Mede. - -The SECOND part (with which Mr. Mede begins his commentary) is that of -the SEALED BOOK, from ch. iv. to ch. x; and contains _the fates of the -Empire_, or its civil revolutions, yet, with a reference, still, to the -state and fortune of the Christian Church. - -The THIRD part, is that of the OPEN BOOK, with what follows to the -end; and exhibits in a more minute and extended view, _the fates of -the Christian Church_, especially during its Apostacy, and after its -recovery from it. - -This THIRD division may, further, be considered as consisting of TWO -parts. The FIRST contains, in ch. xi, a summary view of what should -befal the Christian Church, contemporary with the events deduced in -the _second_ part concerning the Empire; and is given in this place, -in order to connect the _second_ and _third_ parts, and to shew their -correspondence and contemporaneity. See Mr. Mede’s Clavis, p. 424; and -Comment. Apocalypt. p. 476. - -The SECOND part of the last division, from ch. xii. to the end, gives a -detailed account of what should befal the Christian Church in distinct, -and, several of them, synchronical visions. - -It has been thought by some an objection to Mr. Mede’s scheme, “That -the prophecy of the _open book_, (which contains, according to him, all -the remaining visions to the end of the Revelations) is not only, for -the _subject_, more considerable, but, for the _size_ of the volume, -larger, than the Prophecy of the _sealed book_; whereas, the name given -to it, βιβλαρίδιον, or _little book_, seems very clearly to express the -contrary.” - -If this objection be thought material (for I do not find that Mr. Mede -condescends to take any notice of it) it _might_, perhaps, be obviated -by supposing, That the _little book_ contains the xith chapter, only, -being a compendium of the _third_ division, and inserted in this place -to shew the contemporaneity of the _two last_ and principal parts; -and that all which follows to the end, is to be regarded as a sort of -_comment_ on the little book, or larger explication of its contents: -As if the design had been to consult our weakness, in presenting us, -_first_, with an abridged view of a great scheme, and _then_, in -drawing it out at large, for our more distinct information. - -But the _truer_ answer to the difficulty I take to be, That the _sealed -book_ is represented under the idea of a _book_, properly so called, -which, upon being opened, presents to the eye the several objects -and schemes of the prophecy, distinctly delineated on the _roll_, or -volume, when it comes to be unfolded, and which, therefore, must needs -be considered as a _large_ one. The _open book_, on the other hand, -is to be regarded, not as a real, but _metaphorical_ book; and is not -produced to be read or contemplated, after a gradual evolution of it, -but to be _eaten_, at once, by the prophet; like that book, to which -it alludes, and from which the imagery is taken, in the visions of -Ezekiel [ii. 8. and iii. 1, 2, 3.]—to _eat a book_, being, in the -hieroglyphics, to _meditate upon_, and to _digest_, its contents. -So that this book, to distinguish it from the other, is named a -_little book_: not, that the revelations, conveyed by it, are less -considerable, or less numerous, than the other, but that the _use_, -to which it is put, required only that it should be spoken of, as a -_book_ simply; the diminutive form being here suggested in the term -βιβλαρίδιον, that the metaphor of _eating_ it might seem the easier; -and (because the former _sealed_ book was of an immense size) might, -under this idea, present itself the more naturally, and give less -offence, to the imagination. - -[186] I am not ignorant that many interpreters have thought otherwise. -But possibly they have not enough attended to the advice, which -Mr. Mede used to give to such of his friends as did not enter into -his ideas—EXPENDE. My meaning is, that, if they had possessed the -patience, or the sagacity, to understand this great Inventor, before -they objected to him, they would perhaps have seen cause to acquiesce -in the _Method_, pointed out by him, instead of attempting in various -ways, and to little purpose, to improve upon it. - -[187] Dan. vii. 7, 8.—I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth -beast—had _ten horns_. I considered the horns, and behold, there came -up among them _another little horn_—Compare with ver. 24.—The ten -horns out of this kingdom are _ten kings_ (or kingdoms) that shall -arise: and _another shall arise after them_. - -[188] Mede, p. 712. - -[189] Sir Isaac Newton, p. 31. - -[190] Dan. vii. 11, 12.—Concerning the rest of the beasts, they had -their _dominion taken away_: yet their _lives were prolonged_ for a -season and a time. - -[191] Rev. xvii. 3, 4. 9. 12. 18. - -[192] Martial. l. iv. ep. 64. - -[193] Propert. l. III. ix. 57. - -[194] Georg. l. ii. ver. 532. - -[195] Compare Æn. vi. ver. 776. &c. - -[196] Rev. xvii. 1. - -[197] Ibid. ver. 15. - -[198] _Septem_ BESTIÆ _capita_, duplex typus: primò, septem montes seu -colles sunt, super quos urbs Bestiæ metropolis sita est; deinde, septem -quoque, idque in iisdem (quod unitas typi denotat) Collibus, Regum seu -Dynastarum successivorum ordines. Works, p. 524. - -[199] The whole passage in the original stands thus—αἱ ἑπτὰ κεφαλαὶ, -ὄρη εἰσὶν ἑπτὰ, ὅπου ἡ γυνὴ κάθηται ἐπ’ αὐτῶν, καὶ βασιλεῖς ἑπτά -εἰσιν—of which the following is the literal translation—The SEVEN -HEADS are _seven hills_, where the woman sitteth upon them, AND are -_seven kings_—Every one sees that the connective particle, AND, refers -to _heads_, and not to _hills_. - -[200] Dan. vii. 24.—The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings -that shall arise: and another shall arise after them, and He shall be -_diverse_ from the first— - -[201] 2 Thess. ii. 4. - -[202] See Grotius, on the place: who applies this prophecy to Caius -Cæsar, and thinks it was fulfilled when that Emperor commanded his -statue to be placed in the temple of Jerusalem. A strange conjecture! -which many writers, and very lately an excellent prelate, has well -confuted. Bishop Newton’s _Diss. on the Prophecies_, Vol. ii. p. 375. - -[203] _Hierosolyma_ in scriptis prophetarum occurrit ut emblema -alterius cujusdam _Hierosolymæ_, mysticè sic dicendæ; quæ _Hierosolyma_ -non potest esse urbs quædam in montibus Zione & Acra constructa, qualis -fuit antiqua illa; sed oportet esse _rem spiritualem_, in quâ attributa -antiquæ Hierosolymæ _mysticè_ demonstrentur. - VITRINGA, _Apocalyps: Exp. & Illustr._ p. 762. - -[204] Rev. xiii. 11. - -[205] John i. 29. - -[206] Dan. vii. 8. 20. Rev. xvii. 1. 16, 17. - -[207] Dan. vii. 21. Rev. xvii. 14. xiii. 7. 16. - -[208] Rev. xvii. 5. - -[209] Le saint apôtre a bien pris garde de ne pas nommer la prostituée, -dont il parle, une adultere, μοιχάδα, μοιχαλίδα, mais une femme -publique—sans jamais avoir employé le mot d’_adultere_; tant il étoit -attentif à éviter l’idée d’une épouse infidelle.—Loin de marquer la -Prostituée, comme une _Eglize corrompuë_, nous avons montré clairement -qu’il a pris des idées toutes contraires à celles-là, puis qu’au lieu -de produire une _Jerusalem infidelle_, ou du moins une _Samarie_, -autrefois partie du peuple saint, commee il auroit fait s’il avoit -voulu nous représenter une eglise corrompuë, il nous propose une -_Babylone_, qui jamais n’a eté nommée dans l’alliance de Dieu. Nous -avons aussi remarqué qu’il n’avoit jamais donné à la Prostituée le -titre d’épouse infidelle ou repudiée; mais que par tout il s’étoit -servi du terme de _fornication_, et de tous ceux qui revenoient au -même sens. Je sçais que ces mots se confondent quelquefois avec -celui d’_adultere_, mais _le fort du raisonnement consiste en ce que -de propos deliberé_ Saint Jean _evite toujours ce dernier mot_ qui -marqueroit _la foi violée, le mariage souillé, et l’alliance rompuë_, -&c.—_L’ Apocalypse avec une Explication; par Messire Jaques Benigne -Bossuet, Evéque de Meaux_. PREF. 26, 29. AVERTISEMENT, p. 321-323. Par. -1690, 12^{o}. - -[210] The reason I take to be, That _fornication_, that is, vague -lust, and general prostitution, served best to express the unbridled -and indiscriminate passion of the Jews for the dæmon-worship of their -neighbours: Whereas the crime of _adultery_, though of a blacker -dye, and, in that view, more proper to expose the malignity of their -offence, does not convey the same ideas of universal pollution, being -usually committed, _because_ it is so criminal, with more distinction -and restraint. - -[211] Isaiah xxiii. 16, 17. Nahum iii. 4. - -[212] —_for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon -their idols._ Jer. l. 38. Again: _Babylon hath been a golden cup in the -Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken -of her wine, therefore the nations are mad_. Jer. li. 7. Compare Rev. -xvii.—_the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine -of her fornication_. - -[213] Mr. Mede. Works, p. 49. - -[214] Deut. xxiii. 17. - -[215] Rev. xvii. 6 ἐθαύμασα θαῦμα μέγα. - -[216] Not held of the civil power, or acknowledged to be so held, but -usurped upon it, and insolently directed against it; as is well known -from ecclesiastical history. _The Pope is not Antichrist: God forbid!_ -(says the good Abbé Fleury, with a zeal becoming a member of the Papal -communion.) _But neither is he impeccable, nor has he an absolute -authority in the church over all things both temporal and spiritual_—_Le -pape n’est pas l’Antichrist; à Dieu ne plaise; mais il n’est pas -impeccable, ni monarque absolu dans l’eglise pour le temporel et pour -le spirituel_ [4^{eme} _disc. sur l’hist. ecclesiastique_, p. 173. Par. -1747, 12^{o}.] - -The Pope, he says, _is not an absolute monarch in the church over all -things temporal and spiritual_: That is, he _ought not_ to arrogate to -himself the power of an absolute monarch; for that the pope assumes to -be such a monarch, and, in fact, exercised this supreme monarchical -power in the church, through many ages, the learned and candid writer -had indisputably shewn, in the discourse, whence these words are -quoted. But now this _monarchical sovereignty in all things temporal, -as well us spiritual_, is certainly one prophetical note or character, -by which the person or power, styled Antichristian, is distinguished. -Let the Pope, then, be what he will, we are warranted by M. Fleury -himself to conclude, that he hath, at least, this mark of Antichrist. - -[217] In the _persecution of heretics_; which M. Bossuet regards as -so little dishonourable to his communion, that he thinks it _a point -not to be called in question_—calls the use of the sword in matters -of religion, _an undoubted right_—and concludes, that _there is no -illusion more dangerous than to consider_ TOLERATION, _as a mark of the -true Church_—_l’exercise de la puissance du glaive dans les matieres de -la religion & de la conscience; chose, que ne peût être revoquée en -doute—le droit est certain—il n’y a point d’illusion plus dangereuse -que de donner_ LA SOUFFRANCE _pour un caractere le vraye Eglise_. _Hist. -des Var._ l. x. p. 51. Par. 1740, 12^{o}. - -Thus, this great doctor of the Catholic church, towards the close -of the last century. And just now, another eminent writer of that -communion very roundly defends the murder of the Bohemian martyrs -at Constance, and (what is more provoking still) the _fraud and -ill-faith_, through which the pious and tender-hearted _Fathers_ of -that council rushed to the perpetration of it. _M. Crevier, Hist. -de l’Université de Paris_, t. iii. l. vi. p. 435, &c. Par. 1761, -12^{o}.—Can it be worth while to spend words in fixing this charge of -_intolerance_ on the church of Rome, when her ablest advocates, as -we see, even in our days, openly triumph in it? But, then, hath she -forgotten who it was that the prophet _saw, drunken with the blood of -the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus_—Rev. xvii. 6?. -Alas, no: But she wonders, by what figure of speech _heretics_ are -called _Saints_; and _rebels to the Pope_, _Martyrs of Jesus_. - -[218] See Vitringa _Apocalyps. Exp._ p. 603, and the authors cited -by him: But, above all, see Mr. Mede’s exquisite and unanswerable -discourse, entitled, _The Apostacy of the latter times_. - -’Tis true, the Bishop of Meaux is pleased to divert himself with one -part of this discourse; I mean, that part, which contains [ch. xvi. -and xvii.] the learned writer’s interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy, -concerning the Gods _Mahuzzim_. He finds something pleasant in this -idea, or rather in this hard word, which he repeats so often, and in -such a way, as if he thought the very sound of _Mahuzzim_, was enough -to expose the comment and Commentator to contempt. _Hist. des Var._ l. -xiii. p. 260, 261. But, after all, the ingenious Prelate would have -done himself no discredit by being a little more serious in discussing -an interpretation, which Sir Isaac Newton adopts without scruple [_Obs. -on the prophecies of Daniel, &c._ p. 192]; and which, in mere respect -to the prophet, he should, at least, have condescended to replace by -some other and more reasonable interpretation. But it is the infirmity -of this lively man, to be jocular _out of season_. Thus, again, he -raillies Luther, for an assertion of his, delivered, it seems, with -some assurance, and, in the form, as he pretends, of a prediction, -_That the Papal power would speedily decline and come to nothing, in -consequence of the Reformation_. The event, he says, has belied the -prophet; the Pope still keeps his ground; and then (in an unlucky -parenthesis) laughs to think, _how many others, besides Luther, will be -dashed to pieces against this_ STONE—_bien d’autres, que Luther, se -briseront contre cette_ PIERRE [_Var._ l. xiii. p. 244]. Now, if the -glory of saying a good thing had not infatuated this Catholic Bishop, -could he have helped starting at his own comparison of a _stone_, as -applied to Luther and the Reformation, when it might so naturally have -put him in mind of that prophetical STONE, which shall one day _become -a great mountain_, and _break in pieces a certain_ IMAGE, _and stand -for ever_ [Dan. ii. 35, 44.]? - -[219] L’Eglise, en nous enseignant qu’il est utile de prier les -Saints, nous enseigne à les prier dans ce même esprit de charité, & -selon cet ordre de société fraternelle qui nous porte à demander le -secours de nos freres vivans sur la terre; & le Catechisme du Concile -de Trente conclut de cette doctrine, que si la qualité de Mediateur, -que l’ecriture donne à Jesus Christ, recevoit quelque préjudice de -l’intercession des Saints qui regnent avec Dieu, elle n’eu recevroit -pas moins de l’intercession des fideles qui vivent avec nous. - - M. BOSSUET, _Exposition de la doctrine de l’Eglise Catholique_, p. - 17, 18. Paris, 1671. - -[220] Vitringa, p. 603, 604. - -[221] Heb. x. 24. - -[222] 1 Thess. v. 25. 1 Tim. ii. 1. and elsewhere, _passim_. - -[223] Coloss. ii. 18. - -[224] Heb. vii. 25. - -[225] Page 228-231, and p. 255. - -[226] “Whatsoever time of Messiah’s appearing Almighty God pointed out -by Daniel’s LXX Weeks, yet I believe not that any Jew before the event, -could infallibly design the time without some latitude; because they -could not know infallibly where to pitch the head of their accounts, -until the event discovered it: yet in some latitude they might.” _Mede, -Works_, p. 757. - -And so in other instances. “I do not believe that the Jews themselves -could certainly tell from which of their _three captivities_ to begin -that reckoning of LXX years, whose end should bring their return from -Babylon, until the event assured them thereof.” - _Mede, Works_, p. 662. - -[227] Dan. vii. - -[228] 2 Thess. ii. 6, 7. - -[229] P. 182-184. But see especially Mede’s Works, p. 657. - -[230] Rev. xvii. 7. - -[231] Rev. i. 1. - -[232] Rev. ii. 8. xxi. 6. - -[233] Heb. ii. 3. - -[234] Hab. ii. 14. Is. xxvi. 9. - -[235] Rev. v. 10. - -[236] Ibid. xix. 6. - -[237] Rev. xviii. 6. - -[238] Rev. xviii. 4. - -[239] M. de Meaux: _L’Apocalypse avec une explication. Avertisement aux -Protestants_, p. 303, &c. Par. 1690. - -[240] Sermon VIII. - -[241] M. Daillé. - -[242] Lord Falkland, Lord Digby, Dr. Jer. Taylor, &c. - -[243] Serm. I. II. III. - -[244] Serm. IV. - -[245] Serm. V. VI. - -[246] Serm. VII. VIII. - -[247] Serm. IX. X. - -[248] Serm. XI. - -[249] Sermon XII. - -[250] Verum non est desperandum. Fortasse, _non canimus surdis_. Nec -enim tam in malo statu res est, ut desint sanæ mentes, quibus et -veritas placeat, et monstratum sibi rectum iter et videant et sequantur. - _Lactant. Div. Inst._ l. v. p. 417. _ed. Sparke_. - -[251] Ἐγελᾶτο δὲ τὰ θεῖα, καὶ τοὺς τῶν προφητῶν θεσμοὺς ὥσπερ ἀγυρτικὰς -λογοποιΐας, ἐχλεύαζον· - Fl. Joseph. B. J. l. iv. 6. - -[252] Gal. v. 1. - -[253] 2 Tim. iii. 16. - -[254] Acts xiii. 40, 41. - -[255] Judith iii. 8. - -[256] See his Posthumous Works, published by Lord Sheffield, 2 vols. in -4to. Lond. 1796. Vol. I. p. 463. - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original. - -Greek words beginning with ϖ have had the character replaced with π.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Richard Hurd, Volume 5 -(of 8), by Richard Hurd - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, VOL 5 *** - -***** This file should be named 54539-0.txt or 54539-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/3/54539/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Wayne Hammond and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned -images of public domain material from the Google Books -project.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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