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natural communications. To conclude what I would say on the difficulty of the dæmoniacs in the gospel-history, I do not pretend to decide which is the true solution. All I contend for is, That to explain away the reality of the presence of spirits, is, in my opinion, unwarrantable and dangerous, and removing a less difficulty to put a greater in its place.

To return to the general objection I was upon before this digression, which was, That we have no reason to believe there ever were any miracles, because we have no experience of any in our times; I have to say farther, that the objection is not founded upon truth; at least not upon an unquestionable truth. For many persons of good judgment have declared it to be their opinion, that among the innumerable fictitious accounts of supernatural appearances and prodigies, some, even in these later ages, are in such a manner authenticated, that to deny them a man must deny every information he can receive by any means whatever, besides his own immediate senses, which does not seem highly rational. Besides, are not the completions of a multitude of prophecies, which we have at this day extant before our eyes, as the predicted lasting ruinous state of Babylon and Tyre, the total subjection to the latest ages, of the once illustrious kingdom of Egypt, the remaining marks of the general deluge; the unequalled and unaccountable condition of the Jews for so long a period of time; the establishment and continuance to the end of the world of the christian religion,—are not these standing miracles conspicuous in our time? But of this more elsewhere. Upon the whole, it is evident, that if the objection was founded on truth, it could not be valid, because different periods may require different measures of government; and to say that there could never have been any miracles, because there are none now (were it true that there are no effects of miraculous interposition remaining in our times) would be as absurd as to say, that the axis of the earth must point exactly the same way it did two thousand years ago; whereas the observations of ancient astronomers have put the doctrine of its continual change of direction, and the procession of the equi noxes, out of all possible doubt. But if the objection is not founded upon truth, it must of course fall to the ground.

Prophecy is a miraculous history, or account of events before they happen. This being unquestionably above the reach of human capacity, it is a proper and convincing evidence, that the revelation in which it is given is not a human production. To pretend to determine the foundation, or the modus, of the prescience of the actions of free agents, may be wholly out of our reach in the present state. But we can form some conception of its being possible, in some such manner as the following, though it may not perhaps be safe to affirm, that the following is a true account of it.

Do we not commonly see instances of very sound judgments passed by wise men on the future conduct of others? May we not suppose, that angels, or other beings of superior reach, may be capable, from their more exact knowledge of human nature, to pass a much more certain judgment of the future behaviour of our species? And is there any thing less to be expected, than that He who made us, who perfectly knows our frame, who immediately perceives the most secret motions of our mind, and likewise foresees with the utmost exactness, and without a possibility of being deceived, the whole proceeding and concurrent circumstances in which any of his creatures can at any future time be engaged (as it is evident, that all things are the effect of his directing providence, except the actions of free creatures, to whom he has given liberty and power of action within a certain sphere) is any thing less to be expected, I say, than that our infinitely wise Creator should form a judgment, suitable to his wisdom, of the future conduct of his creatures? And to imagine that this judgment should at all effect the future behaviour of the creature, seems as groundless as to conclude that one created being's judging of the future conduct of another should actually influence and over-rule his conduct. The judgment is, by the supposition, formed upon the character of the person judged of, not the character influenced by the judgment. There are some passages of Scripture, which seem to lead us to this manner of conception of this difficult point.

When David (1 Sam. xxii. 12.) pursued by the inveterate hatred of king Saul, consulted the oracle, whether, if he staid in the city of Keilah, the people of that city

would give him up to his enemy; the answer he received was, That they would. It is plain in this case, that the Divine prescience of the conduct of that people, in the event of David's trusting himself into their hands, did not arise from God's having decreed that they should give up David: for if it had been decreed, it must have come to pass. Nor was their treachery foreknown because it was future: For it was not future, having been disappointed, and never coming to be executed. Nor could it be eventually predetermined, that in case of David's staying in the city, the people should give him up into the hands of his enemy. For the event shows, that it was not the Divine scheme that he should fall into the snare, but that he should escape it. There seems nothing therefore left to conclude, but that the Divine prescience of the conduct of the people of Keilah was founded in a thorough and perfect insight into the treacherous character of that people, and perhaps the knowledge of actual designs formed by them to betray David into the hands of the king.

Again, when God foretells (Gen. xviii. 19.) that Abraham would "command his household after him, and they would keep the way of the Lord;" he plainly shows upon what that prescience was grounded, in saying, "I know him, that he will command," &c. That is, I so fully know his zeal and affection for the true God, that I foresee he will set up and support my worship in his family, and enjoin it to his posterity, in opposition to the idolatry and polytheism which prevails among the heathen around.

In the same manner, in the New Testament, though the apostle Paul foretells, that there should not be a life lost of those who sailed with him, notwithstanding the 1 severity of the tempest; we find afterwards, that the pre› diction depended upon the sailors staying in the ship. So that probably what was foreseen was, that the ship and crew might be saved by the skill of the sailors; and that, if they deserted it, it must perish.

These, and other passages, which might be quoted, seem to favour the preceding attempt to solve part of the difficulty of the Divine prescience of the actions of free creatures. But it must still be confessed, that the subject is involved in such intricacies as we shall not in all probability be able to clear up in the present state. How

ever it be, we are not immediately concerned with any thing but what may affect our doing our duty: And that neither prescience, nor any thing else, does any way abridge our freedom in performing that, and so securing our final happiness, we need not use any reasoning to be convinced. We have no other assurance that we exist, than feeling: And we have the same for our freedom. Every man feels, that in all his actions, whether virtuous, vicious or indifferent, he is naturally free. And what we feel we cannot bring ourselves serious to doubt if we would, though we may cavil at any thing.

That many parts of Scripture prophecy, not yet accomplished, are obscure, and of doubtful signification; so that the most learned interpreters are divided in their sentiments about what may be intended by them, must be ac knowledged. And that this is no more than might have been expected, will appear by considering, that had many future events been too clearly predicted, the obstinacy of men might have rendered miracles necessary upon every occasion to bring about the completion of them.

With all the pretended obscurity of prophecy, there are still enough of unquestionable and conspicuous comple tions to show that the predictions of scripture were given, not by chance, nor by bold conjecture, nor by partial informations from evil spirits, as some have thought was the case of some of the responses of the heathen oracles, but by One who saw through futurity down to the most distant periods, from the time of their being given out; by Him, who holds the reins of government in his own hand. The few following examples may serve as a proof of this,

Moses, in his account of the deluge, (Gen. viii. 21, 22.) assures mankind, in the name of God, that there should never be another universal flood; but that the four seasons of the year, and the revolutions of day and night, should go on without interruption to the end of the world. This is one of those predictions which could not have been written since the event, as has been pretended, in derogation of some others: the period taken in by it not being yet concluded. And considering the extraordinary wisdom so conspicuous in the character of Moses, it does not seem conceivable, that he, who expected to have the opinion of future ages as an inspired person, should with

out Divine Authority, have ventured his whole character upon such an affirmation as this, which he could have let alone, lest the event should have detected him for an impostor. For how could he know, without inspiration, what change in nature might happen, which might totally change the course of days, nights, and seasons? How could we know that their might not happen some such revolution in his own times, to the utter ruin of his character as a prophet! How could he know that another deluge might not come according to the order of Nature; and as he had published the account of the preservation of Noah and his family in the ark, was it not natural to expect, that upon the least appearance of such another judgment, people would set about making arks for their own safety, which would have proved the total degrading of his character as a prophet and a lawgiver? The event hitherto has answered the prediction, and, in all probability, future ages will fully prove it to have been given from God.

The same wise lawgiver of the Jews founded a very important part of that constitution in a manner extremely injudicious and improvident, if we suppose him not to have acted upon Divine authority. What I refer to, is his confining the priesthood, which he declares to be ever. lasting to the single family of Aaron. Had he not done this upon Divine authority, he must have run an obvious hazard of the downfall of the religious polity he was setting up by the possible failure of male issue in Aaron's family, who had only two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar. This part of the Mosaic constitution may therefore be considered as a prediction, that in a course of several thousand years, there should not be wanting male issue proceeding from one single family, at that time consisting only of two per sons. Had this prediction failed; had these two persons, or their posterity, been cut off by natural death, or by an enemy, the whole Jewish economy must have sunk for want of a priesthood, and all the prophecies had been falsified, or had never been given.

In the book of Jeremiah, chap. i. and following, it is foretold, that Babylon, the greatest city and seat of the greatest empire at that time in the world, should not only be destroyed, but that it should never again be inhabited. Which last particular no man of prudence or judgment

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