to himself thereby The greatest Masters of Decency have not thought it always improper for Men to commend themselves either because they supposed some occasions might require it or because it was a more usual thing in ancient Times when Mens Lives and Manners were more natural and sincere and they oftner spoke as they thought both of themselves and others yet we no where find Men speaking so freely in disparagement of themselvs as in the Holy Scriptures Which shews that Moses and the rest of the Inspired Writers little regarded their own Praise or Dispraise but wrote what God was pleased to appoint it being a thing indifferent to them so God might be honoured whether they lost or gained in their own Reputation by it But what we read of Moses Num. xii 3. that he was very meek above all the Men which were upon the face of the Earth which is the only commendable Character that Moses gives of himself may be translated that he was the most afflicted Man according to the Marginal Reading and if he mentions his own Meekness he mentions also his great Anger or heat of Anger Exod. xi 8. and his being very wroth Num. xvi 15. But if Moses had not had more respect to Truth than to his own Reputation he would never have left it upon Record That he so often declined the Message and Employment which God appointed him to undertake Exod. iii. 11 13. iv 1 10 13 14. and that God was angry with him upon other occasions and for that reason would not permit him to enter into the promised Land He would certainly have ascribed Balaam's Prophecy and Jethro's Advice to himself at least he would never have Recorded That by Jethro's Counsel he took up a new and better Method for the administration of Justice If he had been led by Ambition and Vain-glory he would have endeavoured by these things to adorn his own Character and would never have lessen'd it by telling his own Infirmities at the same time when to the diminution of himself he publishes the Excellencies of others The Wonders of the Magicians of Aegypt are not concealed by him and being to give an account of his own Genealogy from Levi he first sets down the Families of Reuben and Simeon the two elder Brothers lest he might seem to arrogate too much to himself and his own Tribe Some have observed that Moses relates his own Birth to have been by a Marriage contrary to the Laws afterwards by himself established which indeed is doubtful by reason of the latitude of signification in the word Sister in the Hebrew Language yet it is certain he was not careful to avoid the being thought to have been born from such a Marriage as he would have been if his Laws had been of his own contrivance lest his own Reputation or the Authority of his Laws or perhaps both might have suffered by it Exod. vi 14 20. He sets forth the Ingratitude Idolatry and perpetual Revolts and Murmurings of his whole Nation and relates the Failings and Faults of their Ancestors the Patriarchs and particularly of Levi from whom he was descended Gen. xxxiv 30. xlix 6. He spares neither his People nor his Ancestors nor himself in what he relates and these are all the Characters of a faithful Historian and a sincere Man that can be desired And as Moses was not ambitious of Praise so neither was he ambitious of Power and Dominion For besides that he entered upon such an Undertaking as no sober Man would have attempted without a Revelation it appearing otherwise impossible to accomplish it his whole Conduct shews that he had no design of advancing his own Interest or Dominion If he had been never so Ambitious he needed not have gone into the Wilderness to seek his Preferment amongst a wandring and stubborn People when he had been bred up to all the Honours and the Pleasures that Aegypt or Pharaoh's Court could afford but he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Aegypt Heb. xi 24 25. He undertook to lead the People of Israel for Forty Years through a barren Wilderness where he could promise himself but a very uneasie and inglorious Reign if that had been his Design and by the course of Nature he could not hope to out-live that period of Time and tho' he was preserved in his Old Age in the full strength and vigour of Manhood yet upon their entrance into the promised Land he meekly resigned himself to death in the very sight and Borders of Canaan knowing before-hand that he must not be suffered to possess the Land which he had been so many years in so great dangers leading the People of Israel to enjoy though he doth not conceal how desirous he was to pass over Jordan Deut. iii. 23 c. The History of his Death is like that of his Life related with a peculiar kind of native simplicity He is not said to be taken up into Heaven as Enoch and Elijah were and as the Romans feigned of Romulus but to die and his Sepulchre was hid to prevent the Superstitious and Idolatrous Veneration which might have been paid to the Remains of so great a Person And tho' he had Sons yet they were but private Men no otherwise known to us than as they were his Sons the Government he conferred upon Joshua one of another Tribe Moses therefore was the furthest of any Man from Vain-glorious or Ambitious and Aspiring Designs and could propose no other Advantage to himself but the fulfilling the Will of God in delivering his Commandments to the People of Israel and following his Directions in his Conduct and Government Aaron was of a different Temper from Moses and was envious of him and both Aaron and Miriam murmured against him It is so notorious that there could be no Contrivance between them to deceive the People that it was the immediate and visible Power of God which kept Aaron as well as the rest in Obedience to Moses Upon Moses's Absence Aaron complied with the People in making a Golden Calf and his two eldest Sons offered strange Fire before the Lord which he had not commanded for which they were both destroyed by Fire miraculously issuing out from the Presence of the Lord And Aaron held his peace knowing that this Punishment was inflicted by God himself and having nothing to reply to Moses when he declared to him the Justice of it And both Aaron and his other two Sons are forbidden upon pain of Death to mourn for them Lev. x. 1 2 3 6. At last by the Commandment of God Aaron goes up into Mount Hor to die there not being permitted to enter into the Land of Promise Thus Moses and Aaron were sometimes at disagreement Aaron envying Moses Aaron lost two of his Sons by a
suffer the wicked to go unpunish'd in contempt of those Laws which he had appointed and under that dispensation which was establish'd upon Temporal Rewards and Punishments They were not allow'd to indulge their anger and desire of Revenge yet they might pray that God would avenge himself of his Enemies and rescue his Laws from that contempt which they must lie under from wicked Men if they did not feel those punishments which the Laws of God threatned them withall But under the Gospel the Case is different for now we are not to expect that Temporal Rewards and Punishments should constantly follow upon the performance or transgression of our Duty but both of them may be commonly reserved to a future State A Christian may not pray for Judgments upon his Enemies because God has not so peremptorily declared by the Gospel that he will inflict his Punishments in this Life as he had done by the Law and we have our Saviour's Command and Example to pray for their Repentance that they be not punished in the next But a Christian may right himself in due course of Law and in order to that may Petition the Judge without any breach of Charity and this was all that the Jews did when they pray'd God to execute his own Laws by inflicting such Punishments as he had threatned to inflict upon the Transgressors of them in this Life they invoked and appealed to God as their Political Judge and Sovereign and pray'd Judgment against Offenders V. Those which seem Imprecations are oftentimes Predictions or Denunciations of Judgments to come upon Sinners as we may learn from Acts 1.20 And it can be no uncharitableness to foretell or denounce God's Judgments against Sinners but rather an effect of Charity towards them for their Repentance and Amendment Most of those places of Scripture may as properly be rendred by way of prediction in the Future Tense and when they cannot they may be look'd upon as denunciations of God's Wrath. For Prophets were sometimes employ'd to execute the Divine Judgments as we see in Elijah 2 Kings i. 9 10. and as they sometimes executed God's Judgments so they at other times denounced them and this had nothing of uncharitableness in it but is fully agreeable with the Gospel it self For thus we read that Ananias and Sapphira were punished with present death by St. Peter Acts v. But if St. Peter had denounced Death without inflicting it immediately upon them this had been less And St. Paul prays that the Lord would reward Alexander the Copper-Smith according to his works who had done him much evil 2 Tim. iv 14. which was no uncharitable imprecation but a leaving him to God's Judgment and a denunciation of punishment to befall him without Repentance it was an Authoritative Act and in consequence of that excommunication which the Apostle had inflicted upon him 1 Tim. 1.20 And when God had inspired and empower'd Men to denounce Judgments this was no more against Charity than the inflicting of them would have been or than Excommunication it self is If Magistrates are empower'd in the King's Name to give Sentence and to inflict Punishments certainly Men may be so empower'd and authoriz'd by God himself and may act or speak accordingly without breach of Charity VI. The Expressions Ps lxix and cix are to be understood concerning Judas as we find them applied Acts 1. and all other Expressions of the same nature may be understood either of him or of some others like him whom the Psalmist by inspiration might know to be hardned in Sin past Repentance and therefore might pray that God would rather cut them off than suffer them to do more mischief in this World and increase the number of their Iniquities here and of their Miseries in the World to come VII Lastly This Supposition is tacitly emply'd in Imprecations if they will persist in their Sins if they will not repent and the Penmen of the Holy Scriptures might in some Cases know by Revelation that Judgments were the only means to reclaim those Men against whom they pray'd and then it was the greatest Charity to pray that God would be pleased to make use of that Remedy which alone was lest for their Amendment aâ— Psal lxxxiii 15 16. So persecute them with thy tempest and make them afraid with thy storm Fill their faces with shame that they may seeâ— thy Name O Lord. There is nothing therefore inconsistent with the Doctrine of Charity and the Love of ouâ— Neighbour in those places of Scripture which have been liable to the mistakes of unwary Men. For either they are Prayers to God to enable the Isâ—aelites to do what he had appointed as in the destruction of the Canaanites whom God was pleased for wise and great Reasons to punish by the Sword of the Children of Israel rather than by Pestilence or any other Judgment Or they are Prayers to God to assist them in the doing what both Justice and Charity will allow to be done either by Persons in Authority as King David or even by private Men as in the prosecution of Offenders and bringing them to condign punishment and this may be without any degree of Malice or the least breach of Charity since Punishment it self may be not only an act of Justice but of Charity likewise towards divers Men. Or these Expressions may be Appeals to God as the Political Governour and Legislator of the Jews Or they are Predictions or Denunciations of God's wrath against Sinners And they may be directed against impenitent obstinate Men hardned in their Wickedness Or lastly they may be only Prayers to God â—hat he would inflict such Punishments upon Mon as may bring them to Repentance And tho' the Jews in latter Ages perverted some passages of their Law to serve their own Pride and Revenge yet as it is evident by many instances never any Law but that of Christ oblig'd Men to more Humanity towards Strangers or more Charity towards Enemies They were certainly to Covert no Man's House or Wife and therefore the word Neighbour is not to be limited to signifie only an Israelite or a Proselyte but is to be understood of any Man whatsoever Exod. xx 17. Thou shalt love him the Stranger as thy self Lev. xix 34. The Aegyptians are stiled the Neighbours of the Israelites Exod. xi 2. And Ps xv 2 3. where acts of common Justice towards Neighbours are spoken of by Neighbour must necessarily be understood any person for to all Men Justice is due Not only Justice but Charity was enjoyn'd towards Enemies If thine Enemy be hungry give him bread to eat and if he be thirsty give him water to drink for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head and the Lord shall reward thee Prov. xxv 21 22. which words so fully express our Duty of Christian Charity that St. Paul could find none fitter to describe it by Rom. xii 20. and Exod. xxiii 4 5. If thou meet thine Enemies Ox or his Ass going
a Fire from Hâ—aâ—en devoured others there was not a Man of all the Congregation but must be an Eye-witness to this Judgment and there could be no Deceit nor Mistake in a thing of this nature For Men may as well doubt whether those whom they see live are alive as whether those whom they see taken away by so terrible and so visible a death are dead and unless they can know this there can be no Knowledge nor Proof of any thing They saw the Earth first divide it self and then close it self again upon these wicked Men they saw them go down alive into the pit they heard the Cry of them and fled away â—oâ— fear and they saw besides a Fire from the Lord consume no fewer than Two hundred and fifty Men and these the Men that offer'd Incense in opposition to Aaron Princes of the assembly famous in the congregation men of renown whose death was very remarkable upon the account of their Persons as well as for the Manner of it So many Men of that Rank and Character being taken away at once was a thing that would have been much observed and strictly enquir'd into if they had fain by any other death but their dying in this manner was so wonderful and so plain a declaration of the Divine Justice that it could neither be unknown nor forgotten by any Man in the whole Congregation Yet their Discontents against Moses still continued for He and Aaron were charged with killing the people of the Lord ver 41. and the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron and behold the cloud covered the tabernacle of the congregation and the glory of the Lord appeared And God's Wrath was so hot against the People for their Stâ—bbornness and Disobedience that notwithstanding the Intercession of Moses and Aaron in their behalf a Plague from the Lord raged so much amongst them that they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred beside them that died about the matter of Korah ver 49. And there were probably many Families in every Tribe which bore the marks of God's Displeasure and of the Truth of Moses his Mission and then Aaron's Rod alone blossom'd of all the Rods of the Twelve Tribes but by this time the people were weary of their contumacy and cried out â—â—hold we die we perish we all perish Shall we be consumed with dying Num. xvii 12 13. And thus was an end put to a Sedition which was the greatest and the most dangerous as Josephus well observes that was ever known among any People and such as that so dreadful a succession of Miracles was necessary to deliver Moses out of it And I would know of the greatest Infidel whether if he had lived at that time and had been in the Wilderness with Moses and had been of Korah's Conspiracy as it is most likely he would have been I would know of him I say whether he could have done any thing more to put Moses upon the utmost tryal of his power and Authority received from God than these rebellious Israelites did And if he could not as he must needs confess he could not then he ought to be satisfied in the Authority of Moses as they themselves afterwards were unless he has an ambition to shew that some Christians can be more refractary than Jews Yet again when they wanted Water the Peopled quarell'd with Moses and said Would God that we had died when our brethren â—ied before the Lord. And Moses brought Water out of the Rock before the whole Congregation in so great plenty that the whole People and their Cattle just ready to perish with thirst was satisfied with it Num. xx 3 10. At another time after a signal Victory over the Canaanites they made the same Complaints again and for their Murmurings were stung by fiery Serpents and many died till a Brazen Serpent being erected as many as looked on it were miraculously cured Num. xxi 6. And if the delivering the Law in so conspicuous and wonderful a manner if so remarkable Judgments upon those that questioned and opposed Moses his Authority and that transgressed his Law by committing Idolatry if a continual course of Miracles for Forty Years done before the eyes and obvious to every sense of so many thousands of People be not a plain demonstration that the Matter of Fact in all the circumstances of it necessary to prove Moses to have acted by God's immediate Authority and Commission was at first sufficiently attested it is impossible that any thing can be certainly testified We see how impossible it was for Moses to impose upon the People of Israel in things of this nature it he could have been so far forsaken of all Reason and common Sense as to hope to do it But if he had designed to put any deceit upon them he would certainly have taken another course he would have done his Miracles privately and but seldom not in the midst of all the People for Forty Years together he would never have made two Nations at the first Witnesses to them and then have proceeded in such a manner as that every Man among the Israelites must have known them to be false if thy had been so he would have chosen such Instances to shew his Miracles in as should have provoked no body not such as must have enraged the whole People against him by the death of so many thousands so often put to death if they had been slain by any other means than by the Almighty Hand of God And indeed what could destroy so many so irresistibly so suddenly and visibly but the Divine Power And what could be the Design and Intent of such Miracles but to fulfil the Will of God and make his Power to be known and his authority acknowledged in the Laws which were delivered in his Name and which were so often affronted and transgressed by these Sinners against their own Souls At their going out of Aegypt by a miraculous Providence there was not one feeble person among their tribâ—s but upon their transgressions they were punished by Diseases as miraculous We have other Evidence as I have before observed that Moses had no design to delude the People of Israel from the Meekness of his Disposition from his discovering his own Faults and Infirmities in his Writings and from his not advancing his Family but leaving his Posterity in a private condition and putting the Government into the hands of Joshua one of the Tribe of Ephraim But when all the People of Israel were Witnesses to so many Miracles wrought by him and particularly to so strange a Judgment as the cleaving asunder of the Earth and the Fire and Plague by which so many thousands perished we need not insist upon any other Proof to shew that the Miraculons Power and Divine Authority by which Moses acted and wrote was as well attested and as fully known to the whole People of Israel as it is possible for any Matter of