of Earth but this Earth was marvelously refined and purified And this is implied if not express'd in Adam's Name and in the word which is used in the Original for the EARTH out of which he was taken For the import of the Hebrew Verb Adam whence is the Noun Adamah is not only rubuit he was red or ruddy and so Adam is as much as Edom rufus which was Esau's Name because he was ruddy when he was born Gen. 25. 25. but it is of a larger signification and is as much as splenduit That it bears this sense may be gathered from the word Adamdameth Levit. 13. 19. where it must be rendred shining or glistering or else the same thing there spoken of must be very white and very red as Bochart hath noted Hieroz P. 2. l. 5. c. 6. Sometimes Adam is as much as formosus fuit Thus of the temperate and healthful Nazarites it is said Lam. 4. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were ruddy i. e. they were fair whence Arias Montanus renders it nitidi fuere And so the word Admoni which comes from the Verb Adam is taken in this sense as in 1 Sam. 16. 12. where 't is said of David that he was ruddy i. e. beautiful as is explain'd in the following words Thus Edom of the very same extraction is understood in Cant. 5. 10. where the Spouse saith of her Beloved that he is ruddy i. e. he is comely he is one of a beautiful Aspect And I could here add that the Verb Adam in other Languages bears this meaning thus Bochart acquaints us that in Arabick it is as much as splendere And by Ludolphus we are ascertain'd that in Ethiopick it signifies formosum pulchrum esse In the Latin I could observe something like this for rutilare in its more general signification is splendidum esse So purpureus is the same with splendidus pulcher whence purpureus capillus and purpurei olores I know no Oriental word that comes so near to this as Chur which is both albus fuit and erubuit And the reason I conceive is this both these colours white and red have a great deal of light mixed with them therefore the signification of them is alike and they both of them denote that which is fair and bright And as it is thus with the Hebrew Verb Adam so proportionably the Substantive Adamah doth not only signify red Earth as if it were so called from its red Colour because it is said that that was the native hew of the Earth in the East Country And Iosephus the learned Iew speaking of Adam's Make relates that the natural Mould call'd Virgin-Earth is of a red or yellow Complexion So we have a small County in England that carries Red Earth in its Name because the Soil is generally reddish but the word is of a larger extent and signifies that Earth which is bright and shining and is of the best and purest sort So that when it is said that Adam was form'd out of Adamah there is meant by this word that Earth which was of the purest and finest Composition And to this purpose it may be further observ'd that whereas other Animals are said to be made out of aretz common Earth Gen. 1. 24 25. it is particularly recorded that the first Man was made out of Adamah a peculiar and choice sort of Ground ex meliâ—re luto as the Poet speaking of this very thing fitly expresses it yea out of the dust of this ground Gen. 2. 7. i. e. the finest and most agile part of it All which is an eviction of what I at first asserted concerning the Materials of Adam's Body This was the true Terra Sigillata this was the Earth which God set his Mark and Image on that it might be known whose it was Adam in his Body as well as in his Soul outvied all his Race I attend not to the prodigious Stories which some fanciful Rabbies and Talmudick Doctors tell us of the strange Beauty and Elegancy and of the vast Proportions of Adam's Body Rabbi Solomon Iarchi avers that Adam was so tall that standing on the Earth he could touch the Heavens with his hand And several other such romantick Passages in the Writings of these fond Men I disregard nay those that are sober among themselves give no credit to it but understand it in a mystical manner for some of them tell us that when it is said Adam's Stature reached from one end of the Earth to the other it is to be understood of the Perfection of his Mind that he knew and comprehended the Nature of all things contained in the World but it is certain that as Adam's Soul was made a Transcript of God himself so his Body was framed in a most exquisite manner and the Divine Art and Skill were wonderfully discovered in the shaping of it For as Philo saith We are begot of Men but God himself made Adam The Author being better the Work must be more excellent Yea this must be said that all of us having been in Adam's Loins are part of that excellent Workmanship and have the same Image stamped upon us that Adam had We are all marked and sealed by the Divine Hand his own Impression and Signature are upon us even upon our corporeal part tho 't is true it was much defac'd by the Primitive Aopstacy Secondly The Body of Adam was God's Image as it was made Immortal He was created in full Strength and as a Person of a just Age healthful sound and flourishing For his Body was not like those of Beasts weak and corruptible but was made to be of perpetual Duration obnoxious to no Decays Diseases or Changes If Man had stood entire and kept his Innocence this had been his condition But this Image was restored to him and us who are his Posterity and not only our Souls but Bodies shall everlastingly subsist Thus by their Immortality and eternal Continuance they partake in some measure of the Divine Nature and Likeness Thirdly In the Body of Man as well as in his Soul the Image of God consisteth because the Soul worketh on the Body and by it Hence the Members of the Body are said to be Instruments of Righteousness Rom. 6. 13. As they are instrumental to so excellent a purpose as they are subservient to Grace and Holiness and as the Virtues of the Holy Spirit are exerted by them they are part of the Image of God For it is not to be questioned that the whole Man is God's Image Therefore tho the Divine Likeness doth not equally shine in all Parts yet this corporeal Part of Man in some degree shareth in that Image For which reason the Bodies of good Men are stiled the Temples of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6. 19. Fourthly God's Image is on the Body of Man as it is of that particular erect Figure which no living Creature else partaketh of Aristotle was so much
The rectified Mind said they is the Man but the sensitive Appetite is the Beast This latter they declared to be the Principle which predominateth in all vicious Men and because they wholly â—ollow their Sense and are led merely by a corporeal Appetite they resemble Brutes Accordingly Epimenides calls the Crâ—tians evil Beasts as the Apostle takes notice and for the same reason all Persons that are given to Vice deserve that Denomination For their Portion like Nebuchadnezzar's is with the Beasts You cannot reckon them in the number of Men for tho they retain the human Shape yet they are really degenerated into the nature of Brutes Nay Man is become more irrational by far than the whole Herd of Brutes who by a natural Instinct or by some certain Laws of Motion following the Apprehensions of their Senses discern what is good or hurtful to them and not only so but imbrace the one and avoid the other Man alone once the excellentest Creature in the World but now depraved knows not his Happiness or despises it which in the sacred Stile is expressed after this manner The Ox knows his Owner and the Asâ— his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my people do not consider Isa. 1. 3. These are the inword and spiritual Evils which are the effects of Adam's Degeneracy and they are usually called by Divines by the name of Spiritual Death for these also were part of that dreadful Threatning In the day thou â—atest thereof thou shalt surely die But there are not only temporal but eternal Evils which are the fruit of Man's Apostatizing Man by his Guilt and Pollution contracted by the Fall and since delighted in is liable to be excluded from Happiness in another Life and is obnoxious to eternal Punishment and Misery in the World to come for Sin of it self can never be expiated and therefore the Guilt of it must necessarily continue without any Period Accordingly we read that the Wages of Sin is Death Rom. 6. 23. i. e. eternal Death for it being oppos'd in that place to eternal Life it cannot signify less It appears then that the Sinner deserves to be â—ormented both in Body and Soul with endless and eternal pains which makes his Condition far worse than that of the Beasts who Perish and so are made uncapable of all future Sufferings This is that worst of Deaths which is another part of that direâ—ul Threatning denounced against Adam and which is the most grievous and terrible effect of his Disobedience and falling from God and from this as from the other Evils procured by Man's Apostacy there is no redemption on 〈◊〉 the merciful and meritorious Undertakings of the blessed Messias who was afterwards promised After all it might be observ'd that not only Adam and Eve were threatned to be punish'd for this Transgression but even the Serpent which the Devil made use of in order to it he was rendred the most cursed of all Creatures and condemn'd to grovel on his Belly and to feed on the Dust of the Earth Gen. 3. 14. Which was design'd to be a lasting as well as a visible Memorial of God's Displeasure against the first Sin in the World So we read afterwards that God spared not the brutâ— Beasts whom the Sinners of the old world had abused but destin'd them no less than the Offenders themselves to Destruction Gen. 6. 7. which gives us some account of the implacable Opposition of the Divine Nature to all Sin and even to all that are but instrumental and serviceable to it He that is of purer eyes than to behold Iniquity will not suffer it to go unpunish'd wherever he observes it And this might be added here that the foresaid Cursâ— on the Serpent hath reference also to the malicious Dâ—mon who actuated that Animal The doom of this impure Spirit is here included his being not able to raise up himself against the Servants of the most High so as to hurt them and his being 〈◊〉 to Hell and his being made for ever a cursâ—d Creature lâ—ath'd and abhor'd of God and Man are comprehended in this Execration Thus I have finish'd the second State of Man This I call a State as it respects Us but I call it a Dispensation as it hath respect unto God because it was his Will and Pleasure to suffer this to be Out of infinite Wisdom he permitted Man's Fall designing to make it subservient at last to the Good of Mankind and to his own Glory by inhansing his Mercy and Goodness in the 〈◊〉 and unexpected rescuing of Mankind from the Miseries which they had incur'd by this general Lapse I say general for as I asserted before concerning the first State that of Innocâ—ncy that it included all Men in it as well as our first Progenitors so I must declare the same concerning this second State and Dispensation It takes in not only Adam and Evâ— who indeed were the most conspâ—cuous Persons but all the succeeding Generations of Men and Women For by reason of our first Parents wilful sinning and transgressing the Divine Law all Persons are under the Displeasure of God the Penalty of his Law and the Power of Satan for they are all conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity they are naturally averse to all Good and prone to all Evil and therefore a Condemnation is justly pass'd on them all Here I might copâ—ously treat of Original Sin and the fatal Influence of it but I intend not at present to enlarge on any main Article or Point of Divinity this Treatise being design'd only as an 〈◊〉 to so great a Performance This only in brief is to be remembred that Adam as a common Person sinn'd for himself and his whole Posterity In him all Mankind were created and in him they all â—ell and were corrupted Adam being the Father and Root of all Successions by his sinning involv'd himself and his Progâ—ny into a State of Guilt and Enmity against God This great Banker broke and with him all his Race were beggar'd and ruin'd His particular Fault became the Catholick Crime of all Persons descended from him even before they knew what was Good and Evil i. e. before they were born They were all accurs'd in him and rendred obnoxious to the Divine Wrath and no Creature was able to deliver them from it But God the merciful Creator and indulgent Father of Mankind was pleased to contrive their Deliverance Accordingly he made an early Discovery of his Grace and Love to our first Parents and to their Posterity which leads me to the next Dispensation CHAP. III. The Nature of the Third General Dispensation The first part of which is the Adamick State The early Promise concerning the Messias Gen. 3. 15. explain'd He was expected betimes The New Testament witnesses that he was to bruise the Serpent's Head Several positive Laws were under this Oeconomy That of Oblations and Sacrifices is especially consider'd Eucharistical Sacrifices were part of the Law of Nature Expiatory
were the first Fathers that writ against this Millennary Reign and soon after this it was generally Condemn'd by the Fathers of the Roman and Greek Church and hath ever since been look'd upon as an Heterodox Opinion excepting that some Anabaptists have made bold to revive it If we consider things aright we shall see sufficient reason to condemn and explode this Doctrine for there are these two gross Errors in it 1. That Christ shall Personally Reign upon Earth 2. That the Saints shall come from Heaven and Reign with him First The Chiliasts are palpably mistaken in this that Christ shall come from Heaven and Personally Reign here and that before the General Resurrection and Day of Judgment as they also hold This is contrary to express Words of Scripture which saith concerning our Saviour That the Heaven must receive him until the times of the restitution of all things i. e. as I conceive till the finishing of those times of the restitution of all things which will be a little before the Day of Judgment We are assured that Christ from his Ascension to that time remains in Heaven From thence he shall come to Iudge the Quick and the Dead therefore he shall not come down on Earth before that time and consequently he will not Reign here in Person as those Milleâ—naries imagine It is incongruous and against reason that he should be said to come to Iudge the Men upon Earth and yet at the same time be on the Earth Nor is there any thing in this 20th Chapter of the Revelation which favours this Fancy of theirs Had a Personal Reign been intended here it would have been said that Christ shall Reign with the Saints a Thousand Years which Words might fairly intimate that Christ would descend from Heaven and come among them and Reign in the midst of them so long a time but instead of this it is only said that they shall Reign with him a Thousand Years Or suppose it were expresly said Christ shall Reign yet this doth not prove that he shall Reign in Person How often doth the coming of the Lord in Luke 12. and in other Places signifie Christ's Coming in way of Judgment and Vengeance not his Personal Coming Why then may not Christs Reigning be meant not of a Personal Reigning but of his Reigning in the Hearts and Lives of the Faithful He is with them Spiritually and they Reign with him after the same manner and no other Therefore the Inquisitive Mr. Mede who founds the Future Reign of Christ upon Earth on his Chapter in the Revelations saw no Ground here for his Visible and Corporal Reigning Whence he hath left us these Words The presence of Christ in his Kingdom shall no doubt be Glorious and Evident yet I dare not so much as imagine that it shall be a Visible Converse on Earth for the Kingdom of Christ ever hath been and shall be a Kingdom whose Throne and Kingly Residence is in Heaven I quote this Passage the rather because some have entertain'd another Opinion of this Learned Author Besides in this Chapter v. 8 12. we read that Gog and Magog intervene between the Thousand Years and the Day of Judgment Therefore the Personal Reign of Christ is not before that Day for the Heavens retain him till then Nor is it after that Day for Gog and Magog who come after the Millennium go before the Day of Judgment I conceive this is an Unanswerable Proof And as for the several Quotations of Scripture which they bring to assert the Personal Reign the Answer in brief is this that theywrest those Places which speak of Christ's First Coming and others which speak of his Last Coming to Iudgment and apply them to a Second Personal Coming of Christ before the General Resurrection and Day of Judgment From this perverting of those Texts they set up the Corporal Reign of our Saviour which they so much talk of Secondly That is another unpardonable Error that the Bodies of the deceased Saints shall be raised from below and their Souls be dismissed from above and that both shall be united here that they may Reign with Christ on Earth First this is against the constant Discovery which is made to us in Scripture that Heaven and signally the Highest Heavens are the Place of Glory and the Seat of Blessedness prepared for the departed Souls of the Faithful Those Regions above not this Earth below are the Receptacle of Glorified Spirits Yet these Men are pleased to alter the Constitution and Appointment of the All-wise God and to make the Earth the Habitation of Blessed Spirits and the Seat of Happiness This is to abrogate the Laws of God's Kingdom this is to anticipate the State of Glory this is to confound Heaven and Earth Again How absurd and ridiculous is it to assert that the departed Saints shall come to be subject after all the Joys and Ravishments of another World to Calamities and bodily Evils For Gog and Magog shall besiege them as they must needs grant from v. 9. of this Chapter Shall the Saints not only quit their heavenly Mansions and come down here on Earth but also turn Soldiers and put themselves into a Military Posture For you read there of the Camp of the Saints Shall immortal Saints fight after they have been in Heaven Yet the Chiliasts must hold this because they assert that the Reigning of the Saints a Thousand Years is meant here of their leaving of Heaven and coming down to Reign on Earth They pretend to prove this from several Passages in this Chapter as where it speaks of the Souls of them that were Beheaded and of their Living and Reigning and of the first and second Resurrection which argues say they that this Reigning is to be understood of the Saints that were before in Heaven and that there is one Resurrection a Thousand Years before the Last Judgment and another when that comes In the former the Saints rise to Reign and in the latter all other Men shall be raised But St. Iohn's Words in this Chapter signify nothing of this Nature as will appear from setting before the Reader the entire Text with a brief Comment upon it I saw the Souls of them that were Beheaded for the Witness of Iesus and for the Word of God and which had not worshipped the Beast nor his Image nor had received his Mark upon their Foreheads or in their Hands and they lived and Reigned with Christ a Thousand Years But the rest of the Dead lived not again until the Thousand Years were finished This is the first Resurrection Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second Death hath no Power ver 4 5 6. It is generally agree'd that by the Souls of them that were Beheaded are meant the Persons that were Beheaded for that is the known way of speaking among the Hebrews whom St. Iohn who was one himself here imitates And by them
our extraction from him and consequently are descended from the Earth And here before we go any further we may observe that the â—olly of the Praeadamitick Opinion is detected The Sacred History of Moses assures us that Adam and Eve were the â—irst Persons that were created on the Earth and lest any should question it our Saviour hath confirmed it From the beginning of the Creation God made them Male and Female Mark 10. 6. For it is undeniable that he speaks this of Adam and Eve because in the next Verse he alledgeth what was said by God presently after the production of this latter Therefore shall a Man leave his Father and his Mother and cleave unto his Wife Gen. 2. 24. Whence it evidently appears that the Male and Female here spoken of are Adam and Eve and that these were made from the beginning of the Creation therefore there were no Men and Women before them This is clear from Gen. 3. 20. Adam called his Wife's name Eve because she was the Mother of all living This reason of her Name is assigned by Moses for when Adam gave her this Name she was not a Mother she was so call'd â—aith he because she was the Mother of all living she was the Person that was the Root and Source of all Men and Women that ever are in the World which plainly intimates that there was no other Woman that was such â— Mother She was constituted by God's appointment the only Mother of the living yea of all living of human kind that have been or shall be upon Earth And consequently there was no Race of Men or Women before her If there were no other Text to be alledged but this one it were sufficient to consute the vain Opinion of the Author of the Praeadamites who with a great deal of straining and forcing of Texts endeavours to prove that there was another Generation besides that of Adam and Eve He tells us there is a Creation of Man and Woman spoken of in the latter end of the first Chapter of Genesis and another Creation of the Holy Race of Mankind of which the first Man and Woman were Adam and Eve spoken of Chap. 2. v. 2 22. Whereas the plain obvious and true Account is that the first Narrative is general but the second is particular that is it gives a distinct and particular account of the formation of Man and Woman Notwithstanding this a late Writer hath revived the Notion of a double Creation and attempts to prove it as Dyrerius doth The most considerable Objection that this latter makeâ— is founded on those Passages which imply a great number of People in the World at that time whereas we read saith he of none descended from Adam and Eve but Cain and Abel and Seth about that time But who knows not that the Mosaick History is silent as to several things of the like nature yea of an higher iâ—portance It is not to be doubted that Adam and Eve had more Children than are expresly mention'd by Moses yea that they had a great many Children and Grand children If we consider this we shall discover the vanity of the Praeadamitical Conceit and answer the Cavils that are rais'd about it by the first Author of it Dyrerius who indeed at last was sensible of the folly of his Opinion and as we are told recanted it Besides to think there was any Man before Adam is groundless because he is expresly call'd twice by the Apostle the first Man 1 Cor. 15. 45 47. It is ridiculous then to imagine that he was not the first of his kind but that there were Men in the World long before him even some thousands of years before him This Text and the others before-mention'd must be removed out of the Bible before we can believe such a thing or that there are others of human Race besides those that descend from Adam as some Inhabitants in the Moon or other Orbs of Heaven as a late Writer and some others fancy The fond Conceit of the Praeadamites being justly rejected let us proceed As the forming of this most excellent Creature Man was the close of the Creation so it may be observed that this was peculiar to him to have a solemn Consultation and Decree about his making which was not about any other Creature God said Let us make Man Gen. 1. 26. Philo the Jew is of the opinion that Angels were Cooperators in framing Adam's Body and to them God spake when he said Let us make Man This Platonist derived this Notion from his Master who held that lesser and created Gods made Men and all other Animals by the command of the greatest and supreme Deity But others deservedly explode this Opinion and think that these words denote God the Father's conâ—erring with the two other Persons of the Sacred Trinity concerning the making of Man This is the general Sentiment of the antient Writers of the Church who usually alledg this place to prove the Doctrin of the Trinity And certainly it is a considerable place for that purpose But however abstracting from this this way of speaking may signify to us that the making of Man was an exâ—ellent and noble Work if it were said only after the manner of Men who hold a Conference and seriously consult and call in Assistance about a Matter which is of great moment and worth Thus God is represented speaking after the same guiâ—e to acquaint us what a worthy excellent and transcendent Work this was I take Seneca's words to be a good Comment on that place Be it known to you saiâ—h he that Man is not a Work huddled over in haste and done without forethinking and great consideration for Man is the greatest and most stupendous Work of God Man hath not only a Body in common with all inferior Animals but into his Body was inâ—used a Soul of a far more noble Nature and Make a rational Principle worthy of the name of a Soul Hereby he is enabled to act according to the designs of his Creation that is to contemplate the Works of God to admire his Perfections and to worship him to live as becomes one who received his excellent Being from him to converse with his fellow Creatures that are of his own Order to maintain mutual Love and Society and to serve God in Consort Man is a wonderful Creature and not undeservedly said to be a little World a World within himself and containing whatever is found in the greater In him is the spiritual and immaterial Nature of God the Reasonableness of Angels the sensitive Power of Brutes the vegetative Life of Plants and the Virtues of all the Elements In brief he is a compound of all And hence it is that the Life of Man is difficulter than that of others for other Creatures are ruled by one single Nature but Man is made up of divers Qualities But as it is more difficult so it is more excellent to be a
Man He hath larger Capacities than other Creatures and moveth in a wider Circumference he holdeth converse with both Worlds This and That to come Thus Man is crowned with Glory and Honour he is the most remarkable Workmanship of God Among the greatest things which Nature boasteth of she hath nothing that she can glory in more than in Man Man is a great Miracle a Creature worthy of thâ— highest respect and honour He is that great and admirable Animal which is more precious to God than all other created Beings whatsoever and for which the Heaven the Earth and the Sea and the rest of the World was made Accordingly he was in a more signal eminent manner framed by God and fâ—rmed by the Advice of the Sacred Trinity yea which is yet more wonderful according to the similitude and resemblance of it â—or so we read in Gen. 1. 26. Let us make Man in our Image after our Likeness Some quaintly distinguish between Image and Likeness following herein St. Augustin in his Retractations and after him Peter Lombard and other Schoolmen But waving those Subtilties I will endeavour to shew you wherein the Image or Similitude for I take them to be both one of God in Man consisteth Negatively 1. Origen's Opinion concerning this Image is not to be imbraced for he saith here is meant the Image and Likeness of the Son of God who is the express Image of the Person of the Father Heb. 1. 3. But besides that the words in the Hebrew and this for it is but one in the Greek do not exactly answer it is to be observed first that it is said in the Plural Let us make Man after our Image and consequently it is not restrained to the Image of the Second Person of the Trinity only therefore there is no reason that we should restrain it Again when afterwards 't is spoken in the Singular yet 't is spoken generally of the Godhead as in the Verse following God created Man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him Still here is no restriction and therefore we cannot say it is to be understood only of the Image of the Second Person in the glorious Trinity 2. Philo the Iew and some of the Fathers that were Plaâ—onically dispos'd understood this Image of the Idea according to which God made all things and particularly Man For there were say they Eternal Images and Exemplars of things in God's mind there were Universal Natures of all things certain Archetypes and Patterns by looking on which God framed all things as an Artificer being to build a House first delineateth in his own mind the whole Frame and Scheme of the future Building and by this he afterwards proceeds in erecting the Fabrick God's Idea saith Philo is the Image by which Adam was made and so Man was the fairest Pourtraiture of the fairest Image a Copy of the Divine Original And Iustin the Martyr who had been educated in the Platonick Philosophy followeth this Notion asserting that the Image of God according to which Adam was made was the Exemplar of Man in the mind of God And Clemens Alexandrinus is of the same judgment and interprets the Text in the same manner Now in answer to this I will only say that the Notion of Ideas as it is generally meant by the Platonists is fond and precarious and some of their own Tribe have no great kindness for it But if the Notion of the Divine Idea be soberly understood viz. that from Eternity there were in the Mind of God Images of all things which were afterward to be made and particularly of Man I see nothing amiss in this Assertion yea 〈◊〉 take it to be a very sound and orthodox Notion and such as is of great use in Divinity it being the Foundation of all Truth as I shall shew in another place and it being the Basis on which the Doctrin of the Divine Decrees is establish'd But this then is nothing to our preâ—ent purpose for God's making of Man after his Image is meant in the forecited place of some singular and peculiar thing Neither Beasts nor Fishes nor Birds nor Plants nor any visible Being in the whole Creation mention'd in that Chapter are said to be made after God's Image or Likeness We read that Man alone was created in the Divine Image as much as to say no other Creature whatsoever on Earth resembleth God but Man Therefore it is evident that these words cannot be understood of the Idea according to which God made all things for according to that he made Beasts as well as Men and then we might have expected to read in Genesis not only Let us make Man but let us make Beasts and all other Creatures in our Image after our Likeness 3. The Anthropomorphites held this Image was in the Body of Man because they conceived that God had a Body and so they dreamt that the Shape and Figure of human Bodies answer to the same Lineaments and Proportions in God But I need not stand to conâ—ute so blasphemous and cursed an Opinion I know some would mitigate it by saying that man was made after the Image of Christ who was to come in the Flesh and was to have bodily Parts But this hath no relation to the Anthropomorphites Doctrin and consequently can be no mitigation of it Besides it is contrary to the words themselves which speak not of the Image of Christ either as God or Man but of the Godhead in general Positively then the Image of God wherein Man was created was something in his Soul chiefly something in his outward Man and it also consisted in his Dâ—minion over the Creatures 1. In the Soul of Man is God's Image or Likeness placed For this part of us is of an immaterial and spiritual Nature and such is God he is a Spirit John 4. 24. Again the Soul of Man is immortal and therein is God's Image and Representation This indeed follows upon the former Quality it being immaterial and incorporeal it must needs be in its own Nature incorruptible Herein we signally resemble the Deity and therefore it is rightly asserted by St. Augustin that because of the immortality of the Soul tho not only for that Man is said to be made according to God's Image Moreover the Soul of Man is of a rational and intelligent Nature and therein also is like unto God There was no visible or sublunary Creature before Adam that was of this kind therefore saith God Let us make Man after our Image let us frame a terrestrial Creature with a reasonable Soul with an immortal and immaterial Nature which are Resemblances of the Divinity it self Let us make him capable of conceiving things aright of arguing and discoursing and of making inferences and deductions from things which no Brutes are able to do Let us furnish him with all Divine Knowledg that he may be able to apprehend the things of
a Divine as to apprehend and acknowledg this Man only saith he of all the Animals was made upright because his Nature and Substance are Divine For this particular Figure represented the inward Uprightness and Rectitude which he was created in The Frame of the Body was to signify the Quality of the Soul The outward Man was made an Hieroglyphick of the inward Temper and Disposition of the Mind Again this erect Shape represented the Sovereâ—gnty and Power of Man over all other Animals For being not made in that low and groveling posture which these are in it is a sign he was to be distinguish'd from them and to be made a Ruler over them Which brings me to the next thing I propounded 3. God's Image in Man consisteth in his Dominion over the Creatures Observe therefore that when God had said Let us make Man in our Image after our Likeness it immediately follows Let him have dominion over the Fish of the Sea and over the Fowl of the Air c. So God created Man in his own Image Gen. 1. 26 27. Which intimates to us as St. Basil St. Chrysostom and other Fathers agree on that place that Man's Dominion over the Creatures was the Image and Representation of God's Principality and Soveraignty God constituted him Lord of the Earth and Governour over all things in it he made him Prince of the whole Creation Universal Lord and Emperor and there is nothing but is made subject to him Which David sets forth thus in Psal. 8. 6 7 8. Thou madest him to have Dominion over the Works of thy Hands thou hast put all things under his feet All Sheep and Oxen yea and the Beasts of the Field i. e. Beasts which are untamed and wild the Fowl of the Air and the Fish of the Sea and whatsoever passeth through the Paths of the Sea Here is part of God's Image and Likeness And this Power which Adam had over all Animals was exerted and manifested afterwards in a very visible and notable Instance viz. when he callâ—d them all together and gave Names to them The Lord God brought them to him by giving him this Power to summon them and to cause them to appear before him at his pleasure And when they were come Adam strook a terror into the fiercest of them At the sight of him they stood astonished the wildest of them for some may be said in comparison of others to be wild grew tame and gentle and adored him as their Lord and Ruler There is seated in the Nature of Man faith Cornelius Agrippa a certain Power of Dominion from that dread which he is able to strike into other Creatures This remains in Man at this day and he might exert it if he knew how to make use of it There is a certain Terrifick Character impress'd on Man by the Creator by which all Creatures stand in aw of him as the Image of his Creator If a Man could exercise this Power aright he might work Wonders in the World So he But the Power which Adam had over the Creatures was discover'd not only in making them appear and stand submissive before him but also in his giving of Names to them The Imposition of Names saith a learned Father was a Token of his Authority and Dominion over the Creatures as when Men buy Servants they change their Names and give them new ones this shews that they are Lords over them And there is something of this perhaps in Adam's giving the Woman her Name She shall be called Woman saith he which may imply his Primitive Power and Authority over her But tho I propound this only as probable yet the other is past all doubt viz. that Man had and hath an Empire over the inâ—erior Creatures and herein the Image of God partly consisteth Chrysostâ—m as I have said imbraceth this Opinion but therein is mistaken that the Image of God in Man is nothing else but this Dominion And he would prove it from 1 Cor. 11. 7. where the Apostle speaking of the behaviour of Christians in the Assemblies saith The Man must be uncovered on his head because he is the Image and Glory of God Uncovering was a sign of Liberty and Dominion so that the Image of God in Man is that Dominion and Superiority which God hath given him over the Woman and all things else This is but poor proof and not worth the refuting Besides that according to this Father the Image of God is peculiar to Man and the other Six is wholly excluded Which sheweth this to be a fanciful and groundless Opinion for Man and Woman are both of the same Nature in the considerations of Religion and with respect to so great and important a thing as the Divine Image is This Opinion that God's Image consists wholly or chiefly in Man's Soveraignty over the Creatures is espoused by the Socinians and strongly maintain'd by them You will find Socinus himself and Volkelius and others asserting in express terms that the Image of God is placed solely or principally in Dominion But tho this be apparently false and asserted by those Men only to uphold a belov'd Doctrin of theirs yet there is reason to believe that that Power over the rest of the Creatures which God invested Man with is part of the Divine Image Man doth eminently resemble God in this Prerogative In his presiding and ruling over them he is a lively representation of him who is the King and Ruler of all Thus you see this Image of God in Man is a complex thing It is not only in the Soul or in the Body or in Power and Dominion but it is in all of them together in opposition to those different Parties who place it in one of them singly as Origen and Theâ—doret in perfect Knowledg and Wisdom Clement of Alexandria in perfect Holines Chrysostom as you have heard and Cyril of Alexandria in Dominion over the Creatures and maugre the wild Opinion of another antient Writer who holds this Image of God is neither in Man's Body nor Soul nor in any thing else that is known to us it is not it cannot be determin'd in what it consisteth Soon after Adam and Eve were made by God and thus adorned with his Image they were placed in the Garden of Eden Gen. 2. 8. i. e. a Garden of Delight or Pleasure for so much the Hebrâ—w word denoteth Paradise is the word used by the Septuagint and is of Hebrew some say of Persian original and signifieth a place inclosed for Pleasure and Delight whether it be a Park where Beasts do range or a spot of Ground stock'd with choice Plants which is properly a Garden or curiously set with Trees yielding all manner of Fruits which is an Orchard And the word is here fitly applied to the pleasant Plantation wherein our first Parents were placed by God This was not only a delightful
which the Apostles were falsly accused for viz. that they turned the World upside down may truly be attributed to our first Parents they have by their wilâ—ul disobedience perverted the Order of Nature and disturbed the Course of the World It is by their means become a Place of Disorder and Confusion a Stage of Affliction and Misery a Scene of Sorrows Losses Disappointments Poverty Reproach Diseases Pains Tortures and Plagues of all sorts This is Man's portion till he returns unto the Ground for out of it was he taken and unto it he shall return ver 19. Death is the last of all outward and bodily Evils this was threatned in Gen. 2. 17. In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Which place alone is sufficient to refute the Socinian Conceit that Man was mortal in his first state of Innocence and that thâ— he had not fallen yet he should have died We find here Mortality pronounc'd the Effect of Adam's Transgression In the day that thou eatest of the foâ—bidden Fruit and thereby â—innest against thy Maker thou shalt surely die i. e. thou shalt immediately become subject to Death and afterwards it shall actually be inflicted on thee So we are to understand these words according to that of Theodoret God here callâ—th the Sentence of Mortality Death And so Chrysostâ—m on the place Man is said saith he to die in that the Sentence of Death is pronounc'd against him It was God's Mercy to reprieve him that he might have time to repent But he was a dead Man at first as a condemned Malefactor is reckon'd a dead Man tho his Execution be respiâ—ed for a time So is it with the whole Race of Adam they are obnoxious to Death they have the Sentence of it upon them and they daily incur that Penalty by their Sins The Great Judg is pleas'd to spare them for a time but at last the Sentence is executed on them Their Nature being corrupted and poison'd by the Fall at length the Venom and Virulency of it break forth the contrary Qualities which have been long fighting within them destroy them in the close or in some other manner their Bodies sink into the Grave and stench and rottenness are their Portion The Inward and Spiritual Evils which are the Consequences of the Fall are yet more grievous and direful Not only the Bodies but the Souls of all Adam's Race feel the cursed Effects of his Apostacy from God Hereby the Rational and Divine Moiety of Man which was the chief and noblest part of his Constitution was corrupted its original Rectitude and primitive Righteousness were defaced and all the Powers and Faculties of his Mind miserably depraved First His intellectual Powers are impaired by Ignorance and Error the Notions of Good and Evil are much obliterated Reason is weakned and can hardly do its office Man understanding not must needs be like the Beasts for it is this Faculty which differenceth him from that rank of Beings It was said of old that Man is a wise Creature And he was so questionless in the state of his first Creation and Primitive Innocency but since his vile Defection he is sunk into folly and sottishness He confutes all his Pretences and baffles all his Boastings of Knowledg and Wisdom for when he should give experiment of them he discovers plainly that he is possessor of no such thing but that his rational part is much enfeebled and that he hath very â—alse and erroneous conceptions of things especially of those which relate to the Kingdom of God Thus Man's Head is hurt by the Fall His Heart likewise his Will and Affections are exceedingly endamag'd by it There is a strange Impotency in our elective Faculty we are not only disabled in a great measure from chusing Good but we have an aversion in us to God and Goodness and an inclination on the contrary to comply with Satan and to do whatever is displeasing to our Marker We are taken captive by Satan at his will for we have lost our Liberty and we have not so much sense as to bemoan our loss This is our condition by Nature abstracted from the blessed Remedy which we have by Christ Iesus and the powerful Influences of the Holy Spirit As for our Affections and Passions they are miserably disâ—orted and dislocated they continually sally forth to undue Objects they are unruly and extravagant and put us into great disorder and disâ—raction And indeed we cannot wonder that they are very refractory and headstrong when they have slipt off that Bridle which right Reason had put upon them Our Love and Hatred our Desires our Fears our Hopes our Joys our Anger our Sorrows are all unbridled and ungovern'd they hurry us into mischief they fill us with perturbation they make us uneasy restless and unquiet and they end in vanity and vexation of Spirit These disorders in the Understanding Will and Affections make way for more visible ones in the actions of mens Lives Hence proceed Idolatry Prophaneness Blasphemy Perjury Injustice Theft Rapine Violence Slaughter Murder Drunkenness Luxury Whoredom and all kind of Lasciviousness in short Sins of all degrees Vices of all dimensions Thus it was rightly said by the Royal Prophet that Man in his lapsed condition is become like the Beasts he is sunk below his own Species He that listned to a Brute the Serpent is become like one Man the Flower and Glory of the Creation resembleth the Beasts He is as sly and crafty as a Fox as lustful and salacious as a Goat as fierce as a Lion as savage as a Bear as ravenous as a Wolf as gluttonous as a Swine as angry and barking as a Dog and sometimes as stupid and dull as an Ass. Thus Man is become like the Beasts which this Psalmist takes notice of in other places likewise where you find him representing wicked Men as fat Bulls devouring Dragons roaring Lions ravenous Dogs And this good King acknowledgeth even concerning himself that so far as he had acted sinfully against God he was not only foolish and ignorant but even as a Beast before him So Agur i. e. as some think Solomon who had been a notorious Offender confesseth that he was more brutish than any one Prov. 30. 2. The New Testament also speaks after this manner Christ calls false Prophets ravenous Wolves and Herod a Fox And Iohn Baptist stiles the wicked Jews Vipers St. Paul calls his Adversaries whom he grappled with at Ephesus Beasts he stiles false Teachers grievous Wolves and Dogs and he thanks God that he was delivered out of the Mouth of the Lion meaning Nero. And the Apocalyptick Beast is to be understood of the vilest and wickedest Body of Men under Heaven This too was the Notion and Phrase of the best Moralist among the Platonists and Stoicks They held that wicked men are a kind of Brutes that Vice transforms them into mere sensitive Animals
of the Knowledg of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ Ephes. 4. 11 c. To this Perfection and Fulness contribute the Holy Sacraments of Christ's appointment It is true the Apostle sheweth that the Israelites had the same Religion the same Covâ—nant and that they might be said to have the same Sacraâ—â—nts with us 1 Cor. 10. 1 c. and indeed the Covenant being the same the Sacraments must be so which are Seals of the Covenant But the Evangelical Sacraments were only typified by those they were never in actual use till Christ's coming Baptism and the Eucharist the two Sacraments of the Gospel may be rightly said to have been virtually in Circumcision and the Passover and so are not new but they are new in another respect viz. as by the former we are initiated and adopted into the Christian Oâ—conomy and by the latter we are confirmed in it By the pious celebrating of both which the Spiritual Benefits of the Gospel are exhibited and conferr'd sealed and assured to the Souls of the Faithful and they are found to be no contemptible Helps to Religion and Holiness But the assistance of the Holy Spirit in these and all other Duties of Christianity is the most signal Privilege of the Gospel For when Christ ascended up on high he gave Gifts unto Men especially that matchless Gift the Holy Spirit whereby not only the Apostles and Primitive Christians were enabled to speak and act in a miraculous manner but in all succeeding Ages the true Followers of Jesus feel the wonderful influence and operation of it on their Hearts and Lives whereby they are strengthned to perform what is required of them in a way far surpassing what was in the former Dispensations This is that which makes Evangelical Grace differ from Moral Virtue and Iudaical Righteousness viz. that the former is heightned not only by the Motives of the Gospel of which I spake before but by the Assistance of the Spirit By this we not only cry Abba Father but are enabled to demean our selves as those who are the Sons of God Thus our Power is mightily increased which is another great Difference between the Law and the Gospel between Judaism and Christianity This is a brief Account of the Difference between those two Dispensations the Legal and Evanâ—elical Tho it was once said by Luther There never was that Man found on Earth who could make a right Difference between the Law and the Gospel yet afterwards he gives us to understand that he thought this was no impossible thing for he tells us That whoso can rightly judg between the Law and the Gospel let him thank God and know that he is a right Divine There is great difficulty in performing this Task and therefore I have gone through it with much caution and the whole I leave to the judgment of the Learned and Judicious The Manichean Hereticks held there was one God that was the Founder of the Law and another God that was Author of the Gospel But this gross and blasphemous Error is baffled by those several Particulars which I have offered to you concerning the Law and the Gospel The same God blessed for evermore wisely appointed both these Oeconomies and tho they are different yet they are not contradictory God made those two great Lights the one to rule the Night the other the Day the former was fitted to those darker times and the latter is most sutable to the Fulness of time when a redundant Light overspread the World The Iewish Oeconomy was narrow weak and imperfect and best comported with the People that were under it but the Gospel-Dispensation is large and ample compleat and perfect and therein more adapted to the condition of the Persons who are under this Dispensation of Christ's Fulness receive and Grace for Grace John 1. 16. Frâ—m what hath been said we may know what to think and determine of that great Query Whether our Saviour hath added any new Laws and Precepts to those which were before under the Old Testament or wâ—ether his Laws and those are the same I find this Question is too peremptorily decided on both sides One positively asserts that all the Evangelical Commands are the very same with the Laws of the former Administration The others say there are New Commands added in the Gospel to those of the Law But I conceive the Question is not to be decided thus in gross but we ought to be more particular and exact in it Take it in short thus First There were many things of Religion under the Law which are abrogated under the Gospel as all Rites and Ceremonies merely Mosaick Therefore the Gospel is called the Law of Liberty Jam. 1. 25. because it â—reesus from observing those Iewish Rites These were Duties then but are no Duties now But secondly all things that are our Duty now were their Duty then Which I explain thus in these four Propositions Prop. 1. There were the same Laws and Commandments in general in the Old Testament that are in the New tho there are some particular things enjoin'd in the New Testament which were not prescribed in the Old as admitting of all Believers into the Church by Baptism which was never practis'd among the Body of the Iews tho it was used toward some Proselytes and celebrating the Lord's Death in the Holy Communion which could not be done before because Christ was not come and therefore could not die So there are some particular Preceptâ— about the Government and Discipline of the Church of Christ which were not before in the Iewish Church and indeed could not be the state and condition of things being far otherwise Likewise with the New Dispensation came a New Sabâ—ath the Seventh day of the wâ—ek was changed into the First This is very rational to believe tho there were no express mention of any such thing for now the Iewish Sabbath being repeal'd Gal. 4. 10 11. Col. 2. 16. some other day was to be celebrated in its room that as the former was set apart from the beginning for commemorating the Creation of the World so this latter might be in remembrance of the Redemption of Mankind The change of the Day and our celebrating of it are upon weighty grounds viz. 1. Christ's Resurrection from the Dead whereby Man's New Creation was perfected a. Warrantable Authority no less than that of our Saviour himself for first it is most probable that Christ himself gave particular Order concerning the observing of this day when as we read for forty days together after his Resurrection he spakâ— to his Disciples concerning the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God Acts 1. 3. This being of so great concern and so nearly relating to that Kingdom and the Occonomy of the Gospel it is to be presuâ—â—ed that our Saviour gave particular directions about it tho it is not to be denied that there may be
them in their own Land but they soon forgot his singular Kindness to them and this extraordinary Favour of God was not powerful enough with them to restrain them from the commission of the most abominable Sins and to cause them to have regard to that Holy Religion which strictly forbad all such practices In every Age they grew worse and worse and at last they arrived to the heighth of Impiety and their Sins seemed to be consummated In Iudaea the Seat of this once beloved People of God all Licentiousness Lewdness and Villany prevail'd The greatest Iews were Atheists and Epicures and not ashamed to profess themselves such as well as to live like Persons of that Character And the Talmud might well say When the Messias shall come wise Men shall be very rare in Israel but Impostors Inchanters and Magicians shall be many this Sign having been exactly verified before the Coming of Christ the design of whose being manifested was to destroy those works of the Devil The Disorders and Wickednesses of the Iewish Clergy were very remarkable before our Saviour's Coming The Antient Order of Priests being extinguished by Herod in their places were put none but obscure contemptible and unworthy Persons who made Religion a cloak for their Covertousness and devoted themselves wholly to Gain and Interest The Temple was turn'd into a place of Merchandize the High Priests Places were bought and a couple of that Order at a time were set up because they both had been Simoniacal which shews likewise that the Iewish Magistracy as well as the Ministry was corrupted There were great Corruptions among the Iewish Students and Doctors who neglecting the weighty things of the Law began to hunt after Niceties and Subtilties and strove to cherish Disputes and Controversies Hence were the Noted Schools of Hillel and Shammai which were divided into two formal Parties like Scotists and Thomists Of whose different and disagreeing Decisions concerning the Law of Moses the Mishnah pretends to give an account The Iews were divided into three Religious Sects especially the Essenes the Pharisees and the Sadduces These were unknown before the Babylonian Captivity but after that and the building of the Second Temple they sprang up both Names and Things but the two latter Sects began especially to appear and to be taken notice of about a hundred Years before Christ's Nativity either Sect endeavouring to bring their Kings as long as the Regal Power was in the Native Jews to their Opinion and accordingly great Factions arose by their Dissensions The Essenes among the Jews were a harmless sort of People they retired from the World leâ—t the publick and betook themselves to a Monastick Life daily Devotion and Hours of Prayer you may call them the Iewish Mâ—nks They came not to the Temple neither brought Sacrifices thither but pretended to use at home more Holy Ceremonies as Iâ—sâ—phus speaks They had no Wives counting the most peaceable way of Living to be alone They had no Servants thinking it to be a reproach and injury to our Common Nature to be in a servile Condition They were all Equal and mutually administred to one another This you will find in the Character which the foresaid Antiquâ—â—y if he be not mistaken concerning the Persons and Things gives of them They are not any where mentioned in the Writings of the Gospel because 1. They affected a private and recluse Life 2. They generally inhabited on the Coast of the Dead Sea remote from Ierusalem 3. They were no buâ—â—ling Zealots they made no noise in Religion 4. They were not forward in persecuting of Christ. For these Reasons they are not spoken of by any of the Evangelists But the Pharisees who were a busie Sect and lived in the heart of Iudea and were fierce Opposers of our Saviour's Doctrine are frequently mention'd in the Evangelical Writings Our Blessed Lord often encountred them and openly detected their 〈◊〉 Pride and Hypocrisie as also their fond Superstition in enjoining Fastings Washings and other Ceremonious Practices of their own invention These were the Men who wretchedly perverted the Law holding that it enjoyned only external Obedience and that by that outward Observance of the Law Men merited Remission of Sin and were just before God and Heirs of Eternal Life Their constant Custom was to corrupt the true meaning of the Decalogue by their false Interpretations and Comments as you may see in Christ's Sermon on the Mount where he explains the Moral Law and vindicates it from the corrupt Expositions which they had made of it whereby they had almost extinguished the true Sense of the Commandments They had taken away the key of Knowledg by depraving the true Doctrine which was contain'd in the Written Law and the Books of the Prophets and by adhering to that which they call'd the Oral Law the Constitutions Traditions and Expositions of the Rabbies and by making them the Rules of their Faith and Manners As to the more particular Opinions Notions and Practices of these Men we may satisfie our selves from the Account given of them by One who was of that Sect himself as he tells us in his Life The genuine Offspring of these Pharisees as Buxtâ—rf observes are now the Rabbanita Traditionary Iews or Talmudists who stick not to the pure Text of Scripture but are for New Explanations or Old Traditions The next Sect was the Sadducees who ran counter to the Pharisees and opposed all Traditions The Iews at this day who answer to these as before it was observed there is a sort among them that are the true Race of the Pharisees are the Karaeans the Scripturists who keep close to the written Letter and reject the whole Oral Law i. e. the Expositions and Glosses of the Rabbins They hold only what is expresly deliver'd in the Law and they are look'd on by the other Iews as Hereticks and Apostates But as to the Antient Sadducees of whom I am now speaking there were but few of this Sect saith the forecited Author but they were generally Persons of Wealth and Quality This was it which was faulty in them that they curtail'd the Holy Writings and rejected all the Books of the Prophets but Moses the only Canonical Scripture with them was the Pentateuch as Tertullian Origen Ierom and other Writers of good Account acquaint us Tho I find some Men of Note among the Moderns who endeavour to consute this and to prove that they received the whole Scripture but they are not very successful in this attempt Moreover they most impiously denied the Resurrection of the Dead and held that Mens Souls were mortal yea they generally denied the Existence of Spirits Mat. 22. 23. These Men won some People to them because they were contrary to the strict and superstitious Pharisee they took off the burdensom Rites and Ceremonies which the others laid on These two prevailing Sects the superstirious Pharisee and the prophane Sadducee differing so much from one
them in the least none but God could alter them who designed to do so in due time for he intended those Mosaick Precepts should continue to such a certain period of time and no longer These Words of Ieremiah are very observable Chap. 3. 16. It shall come to pass in those days saith the Lord they shall say no more the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it neither shall it be magnified any more i. e. The Mosaick Rites and External Ceremonies of the Law shall not be in request as they were before Men shall not prize and value them as they used to do yea they shall lay the use of them aside but this they must not do till they have Authority from God And God revealed to the Prophet Daniel that he would alter the Law after a certain Revolution of Years The Messias shall cause the Sacrifice and Oblation to cease Dan. 9. 27. But it was unalterable in respect of the Jews themselves 3. The Promises and Predictions in the Old Testament which are very many concerning the perpetual Duration of Ierusalem and the Temple and the Iewish Worship and their Polity and Government are to be understood of the Perpetuity of the Church of Christ and his spiritual Kingdom And to this purpose you may observe that in the Writings of the Old Testament where the Times of the Gospel are foretold the Evangelical Worship and Service of God are set forth by sacrificing and other the like Observances commanded in Moses's Law By the Ritual Worship of the Jews is express'd the reasonable and spiritual Service of the Gospel and by those Expressions which seem to denote the Perpetuity of the former the Duration of the latter is signified and ascertained to us This is a most certain Truth and the observing of it will lead us to a right understanding of a great number of Texts which speak of the Iewish Laws and Government as if they were to continue for ever without any Limitation and Restriction We are to know that those places especially the Prophesies in Isaiah concerning the glorious things that shall befal Ierusalem and the Iews are to be interpreted of the State of the Christian Church they are to be understood of the Spiritual Kingdom of the Messias and the Times of the Gospel Sacrifices and the Temple signify Spiritual Oblations and the Gospel-Church for the Evangelical Prophet is to be understood in an Evangelical Sense The Angels Words concerning Christ in Luke 1. 32 33. The Lord God shall give unto him the Throne of his Father David and he shall reign over the House of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end are a plain Comment on all those places in the Old Testament where the Perpetuity of the Mosaick Laws and the Jewish Oeconomy and Government is promis'd They shew that they are all meant of Christ and his Kingdom i. e. his Church both here and hereafter which was prefigured by David's Kingdom From what this Heavenly Messenger saith here we learn that the Prophesies concerning the endless continuance of the Throne of David of raising up to 〈◊〉 David their King Jer. 30. 9. of raising up the Tabernacle of David Am. 9. 11. of God's setting up his Servant David Ezek. 34. 23. are all accomplish'd in Christ. And indeed the Jewish Commentators themselves acknowledg that the Messias is often stiled David in these and other Prophesies of the Old Testament nor are they backward to confess that by David's Throne and Kingdom is meant the Messias's Government as is plain from Psal. 132. 11. 2 Sam. 7. 12. 1 Chron. 22. 10. where God promised David that Christ should sit on his Throne which is taken notice of and applied not only in the forenam'd place in St. Luke but in Acts 2. 30. For Christ is represented by David and the Evangelical Dispensation is express'd in Terms which relate to the Iewish Administration and Government So that it is no wonder this is said to be for ever for it shall last to the end of the World and afterwards Christ shall reign in the Kingdom of Glory to eternal Ages This if duly considered cannot but yield a satisfactory Answer to the foregoing Objection as well as give light to several Prophesies of the Old Testament But here it will be asked where hath God formally abrâ—gated the Ceremonial Law of the Jews I answer it is not necessary he should do this for the Law ceaseth when the Reason of it ceaseth Now the Reason of the Câ—râ—monial Law and all its Observances was chiâ—fly to prefigure Christ and the Gospel of which he was the Institutor and therefore they are now ceased Christ being come of whom they were but Figures and Shadows The Abrogation then of those Mosaick Rites wherein the Religion of the Iews was placed may be proved by this one Argument viz. that Christ was designed by the legal Rites that the Ceremonial Law was a Prefiguration of the Gospel-Dispensation Here it might be shew'd that the Evangelical Oeconomy was prefigured by certain Persons as Abel Noah Abraham Isaac Ioseph Melchisedec about the last of whom the Author to the Hebrews spends a whole Chapter these were Typical Persons as well as Moses and Ioshua and some others afterwards And not only Persons but Things were Typical as the Pillar of a Cloud the Red Sea the Manna and the Rock which two last were Symbols of the Evangelical Sacraments the Eucharist and Baptism 1 Cor. 10. 1 2 c. and the lifting up of the brazen Serpent signified Christs Crucifixion Iohn 3. 14. But if I should speak of those that are properly Legal Rites and Vsages it is yet further evident that they were Representations of our Saviour and of the grand things of the Gospel As for Sacrifices I have treated of them already and made it appear that they foresignified the expiatory Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. As for the Tabernacle and all the appurtenances of it I have particularly display'd their Typical Nature and how they all pointed to this Dispensation I am now speaking of I might proceed to make this good concerning the Ceremonious Washings and Purifications under the Law that they typified some greater Purity they signified the Spiritual cleansing and sanctifying of the Soul and the abstaining from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit The Apostle acquaints us that the difference of Meats and Drinks observing of a Holy Day or of the New Moon or of the Sabbath Days were a shadow of things to come but the Body of this Shadow is Christ Col. 2. 16 17. The Truth the Solidity the Substance are to be sought for in some higher things than those were even in Christ Jesus and in the Benefits of the Gospel Yea he tells us that the whole Mosaick Law is but a shadow of good things to come Heb. 10. 1. All the things contained in it are but rude
they the Negative Paracelsus philosophically attributes this Resuscitation to the mixture of a certain heat in the corrupted dead Matter as Frogs saith he are generated of Slime by the heat of the Sun This is his Blasphemous Nonsense which all Men of sober Reason deride and unanimously acknowledg that the restoring of the dead to Life is an Act of Supernatural and Divine Power and that the Key of the Grave as the Jews say belongs to God only And now to approach towards our Saviours Death a little before which he repeated that Act which he had once before done i. â— the driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple which may be justly reckoned amongst his Miracles for he could not have expell'd so many Men out of that place which they had made the place of their Merchandize and Gain without an extraordinary and omnipotent Arm. And by the same Almighty Power he struck to the Ground those that came to apprehend him Afterwards when he was on the Cross he converted one of the Thieves even just before his leaving the World which was a Miracle and a great one At the same time he caused a miraculous Eclipsâ— for it must be reckon'd as such because it happen'd not after the natural and usual way which is by the Moons interposing between the Sun and the Earth which falls out only in the New Mâ—on whereas when Christ suffered it was Fâ—ll Moon viz. the 15 th Day of the Month Nisan the Passover-day And at his Death the Earth quaked the Veil of the Temple was rent asunder the Graves â—ere open'd and the dead arose which was the forerunner of our Saviour's Resurrection which followed soon after He that raised others raised himself from the dead the third Day which was a Confirmation of all his former Miracles And after he had visibly convers'd with his Disciples for a time he ascended up to Heaven and convey'd himself through all the Regions of the upper World even to the Mansions of Glory These were some of the Miracles of our Saviour But there were innumerable more which are not recorded which occasioned that great Hyperbole used in Iohn 21. ult Indeed Christ did so many and so great Miracles that the Unbelief and Obstinacy of the Iews notwithstanding all of them may seem to be as great a Wonder and Prodigy as any thing that happen'd Secondly the Apostles as well as our Saviour himself exerted many Miracles the holy Spirit being sent to them according to Christ's Promise to inable them to do them â—hey cured all manner of diseased Persons that were brought before them yea they could cure at a distance and by proxy By St. Peter's Shadow and St. Paul's Handkerchief a sanative Virtue was conveyed to the Sick and their Diseases departed from them Acts 15. 15. Acts 19. 12. This was a Gift which was equally wonderful and useful by virtue whereof Maladies were cured without any cost and the poor Patient needed not to fear a Relapse soon after from the sight of an Apothecary's Bill If it be objected that St. Paul left Trophimus at Miletum sick 2 Tim. 4. 20. and he cured not Timothy of his weak Stomach without drinking Wine 1 Tim. 5. 23. Therefore the Apostles had no absolute Gift of healing I answer 1. The Gift of healing was for the Confirmation of the Truth and for the Conversion of Heathens rather than for the recovering of Christians and therefore it is no wonder that they could not work this Miracle always and that some were heal'd not all 2. Miracles were not designed to make Men immortal on Earth Sicknesses and Diseases were not always to be cured for then none should die But it was sufficient that sometimes the Power of Healing was exerted that thereby it might be seen that the Apostles were inabled from Heaven and that a divine Power went along with them But it pleased God that at ordinary times Diseases should be cured by the use of Means and that an extraordinary Power should not be made use of 3. Those very Instances or any the like are a great Proof that God bore witness to the Apostles for hence it appeared that this Power was at Gods pleasure and disposal and not at their own they could not do what they pleased there was a certain Limitation which shews it was absolutely a divine and supernatural Power by which they healed Diseases Again another miraculâ—uâ— and extraordinary Gift confer'd on the Primitive Church to corroborate the Truth of Christianity and to convince the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles was speaking with diverse Tongues which was more especially serviceable to this end because hereby they could be understood by Persons of diverse Countries and Languages and so by this Means the Propagation of the Gospel was further'd Thus by the same way by which the building of the Tower of Bâ—bâ—l was hindred did the Apostles afterwards pull down the strong Holds of Satan and build up the Christian Church Of this extraordinary Gratuity the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 12. 10. To another saith he 〈◊〉 given diverse kinds of Tongues to another the interpretation of Tongues i. e. one had the Ability to speak strange Languages and another was enabled to interpret them and make them intelligible So that it seems these two Gifts did not always concur in the same Person at least at this time in the Câ—rintâ—ian Church But however they were both of them the effects of a supernatural Power And by this Miraculous way the Apostles frequently dispossessed Devils who in those days tormented the Bodies as well as Souls of Men. They had power also to raise the dead which was seen in St. Peter's raising of Dorcas Nay the Miracles which the Apostles did were greater than Christ's and so he himself had promised Iohn 14. 12. He that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also and greater Works then these shall he do The Apostles were able to speak strange Languages which they never learn'd a Miracuâ—ous Gift which our Saviour never exerted thâ— he could But this is the main Reason why the Wonders which the Apostles wrought are said to be greater than those of our Saviour because they were more large and extensive they were done in all parts of the World where the Apostles preach'd Besides the Fruit and Eâ—â—ect of them were greater their Converts were more numerous they won by them far greater Multitudes of Souls to the Christian Faith Thus you have a shoâ—t account of the various Miracles both of Christ and his Apostles 2. â— am to shew that these Miracles of our Saviour and his Apostles were really true and not counterfeit Miracles Here I have two things to do 1. To shew you what are true Miracles and how they differ from ralse ones 2. To prove that the Miracles of our Saviour and his Followers were such First Let us enquire into the true Nature of a Miracle These are the five grand Properties of it 1. It is
come the Kingdom of our God which is explained by the next Words The Power of his Christ his effectual Reigning whereby he shews his Power in the Church more than ever We have not yet seen the Consequences of the Seventh Angel's Sounding when it was proclaim'd with a loud Voice from Heaven The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall Reign for ever and ever Rev. 11. 15. which in v. 17. is call'd his taking to him his great Power and his Reigning Which gives us to understand that he doth not at first exert his great Power in the Evangelical Dispensation he doth not fully Reign but that he will afterwards and upon Earth This is taking to him his c. There is one Text more which I will add and I request the Reader to consider of it He i. e. Christ must Reign till he hath put all Enemies under his Feet 1 Cor. 15. 25. The Apostle had mention'd the Resurrection of the Saints at Christ's last coming v. 23. and thereupon adds in the next Verse then cometh or then is the end viz. of this World and Present State of things when he that is Christ shall have deliver'd up the Kingdom the Saints who are the chiefest part of his Kingdom to God even the Father when i. e. after he shall have put down all Rule and all Authority and Power which oppose him and his Kingdom For he must Reign i. e. in his Church till he hath put all Enemies under his Feet Now it is plain and undeniable that this time is not yet come therefore it shall be hereafter There must be a time here on Earth when Christ shall have put all his Enemies under his Feet when he shall Reign without opposition And this is the time I am speaking of viz. the Third Exertment of the Evangelical Dispensation But the most Signal Eminent and Renowned Place on which may be Founded and Built the Future Glorious State of the Christian Church on Earth is the 20th Chapter of the Revelation where is expresly foretold the Binding of Satan a Thousand Years and the Saints Living and Reigning with Christ a Thousand Years I know full well this Chapter hath been miserably perverted not only of late but at the first setting out of Christianity Some from this place asserted a Terrene Millennary Kingdom of Christ consisting chiefly in Corporal Pleasures and Carnal Delights as if they design'd to revive the Epicurean Happiness or to antedate the Mahometan Heaven Cerinthus is said to be the Author of this Opinion for being a Man addicted to Sensuality and Pleasure he founded an Happiness here on Earth of such a Nature viz. abounding with all Delights relating to Meats and Drinks Concupiscence and Effeminacy So saith an Antient Ecclesiastical Writer Dionysius of Alexandria 1. 2. de Promis And Eusebius saith the same Eccl. Hist. 1. 7. c. 19. But this savours too much of the Flesh besides that it contradicts our Saviour who said His Kingdom was not of this World John 18. 36. and consequently the Reigning of the Saints is not Worldly and Sensual but Spiritual and Heavenly And besides these Men held that this Reign of Christ here on Earth was to be after the Resurrection yea and after the last Iudgment which renders this Opinion yet more Improbable if not Absurd as if the Saints who had enjoy'd the Pleasures of Heaven would count it a Happiness to be entertain'd with those that are Sensual and Carnal There were Others of Old who had a more Tolerable Notion of the Millennary Reign for they placed it not in Sensual and Earthly Pleasures and mere outward Peace and Prosperity though they held it was not without these There Opinion in short was this that after Six Thousand Years in this World were compleated the Saints should all rise their Bodies should ascend out of their Graves or where ever else they were and their Souls should come down from Heaven and Christ also should descend from thence and keep a Jubile with them and Reign with great joy a Thousand Years here upon Earth and that all Kingdoms should be made subject to him and that the Righteous should be Bless'd with an abundance of the Good Things of this World but without any Intemperance Excess or Immoderation whatsoever This they call'd the First Resurrection from which all the Ungodly are excluded After this Seventh Millennary of Years is compleated all Men shall rise from the Dead which is the Second Resurrection This was the Sentiment of most of the Ancient Fathers yea of all Christians who were accounted Orthodox as Iustin Martyr acquaints us He and Irenaeus and Ierom and others tell us that this Doctrine came first from Papias Bishop of Hierapolis who pretended he had it from St. Iohn whose Scholar he was and from the Disciples of the Apostles with whom he was acquainted So that the Pedegree of the Millennary Opinion is this It was first broach'd by Cerinthus then reâ—ined by Papias and others and afterwards transmitted to the Latin and Greek Fathers Or if we will be more exact in the Lineage and Descent of it we must begin it higher and say that the Apostles set it on foot first for they dreamt of an Earthly Kingdom of Christ in this World as I have shewed before Or rather we may trace it up to the Iews before Christ the Millennium was borrowed from an Antient Tradition and Perswasion among that People that the Messias should Reign a Thousand Years on Earth in all Pomp and Grandure The Babylon Talmud in Sanhedrim in the Chapter Helek doth shew this to be the Opinion of the Hebrew Doctors about the Days of the Messias And Aruch mentions it as a thing of undeniable certainty and so speaks R. Eliâ—zer in Midrash Tillim The Days of the Messias are a Thousand Years So our Learned Lightfoot The Opinion of his Personal Reign in the affluence of all Sensual and Worldly Delights was an old Iewish Error saith St. Ierom once and again And several other Writers testifie that it was a received Notion among them That the Messias after Six Thousand Years of the World were expired should Reign in Person all the time of the next Millennary with his Elect on Earth in perfect Peace and Prosperity and hence the Christians converted from Iudaism borrow'd and retain'd this Notion And truly it was kept up a long time in the Church it was almost universally believ'd no less than the first Three Hundred Years after the Apostles At last the credit of Papias who was thought to be the first Broacher of this Doctrine was call'd in question Though he was a Man oâ— great Simplicity Honesty and Integrity yet he was one of small Judgment and mean Learning saith Eusebius And he adds in another place that this Papias spoke Strange and Fabulous things and did not understand the Apostles Arguings St. Ierom and St. Augustin
by what proper Methods and Arts we can Let us lay the Axe to that Root of Bitterness which hath spread it self among us and taken such hold of some Men's Earthly Natures Let us compose our selves into a quiet posture and effectually promote Peace and Good Will in the World Let us bring out and make use of our Juleps to check that fierce that Feverish Distemper which reigns among too many Let us endeavour by mild and cooling Applications to accommodate Differences to reconcile disagreeing Parties especially in Matters referring to Religion but so as not to betrary the Truth to allay all passionate Heats and to discountenance all wilful Authors of Division And as the Word Peace in Scripture signifies according to the Usage of the Hebrews all manner of Outward Blessings so here in the present Case it is to be taken in that comprehensive way In that Kingdom of Christ on Earth there shall no kind of Earthly Conveniences and Advantages be wanting which shall be useful to the great Ends and Purposes of that Blessed State But as for any other viz. such as are serviceable to Undue Pleasures to Lust and Wantonness to Vanity and Pride to Effeminacy and Luxury no Man of sober Thoughts can reckon them in the number of those Worldly good Things which the Pious shall hereafter enjoy And therefore we must condemn that Narrative which some have given of the Millennium as too sensual and fulsome But we may with Truth and Soberness assert this That there shall be a concurrence of all those things which render Men's Lives truly pleasant comfortable and joyful It is part of the Description of that Millennary Jubilee that they shall come to Sion with Songs and everlasting joy upon their heads They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Isai. 35. 10. And again Ch. 65. v. 17. Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth which questionless is meant of this Glorious Renovation and might have been alledged among the other Texts as a Proof of it and then it follows I create Ierusalem a rejoicing and her People a ioy The voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying v. 18 19. And if we go back to Ch. 9. v. 3. we shall find that this rejoicing and this joy shall be entire Thou hast multiplied the Nation and not increased the ioy i. e. heretofore Joy and Sorrow were mingled sometimes that Nation of the Jews was visited in Mercy at other times it tasted of God's Judgments They ioy before thee according to the ioy in Harvest and as Men rejoice when they divide the Spoil i. e. there was in the times past a Medley of Joy and Trouble of Gladness and Fear as in the Services of War and Harvest but when a Child shall be born to us when a Son shall be given and the Government shall be upon his Shoulders v. 6. then there shall be Joy without any allay then there shall be such a perfect State that nothing shall be able to impair it I know most Interpreters expound the Place otherwise and make the Ioy in Harvest to be exceeding Great Joy surpassing all other But I crave leave to dissent from the common Exposition and to understand this Passage after the manner before-mentioned viz. that whereas heretofore they joy'd according to the Ioy of Harvest i. e. their Joys were mix'd with Hardships they were accompanied with Sweat and Toil And besides the Joy of Harvest doth not last long for the Husbandman as blith and cheary as he isâ— must soon return to his wonted Circle of Pains and Labour Whereas under the preceding Dispensations there was no Entire and Undisturbed Joy now it shall be otherwise there shall be a Continued and Uninterrupted Serenity without any dashes of a contrary Nature for as Christ's Government increases v. 7. so as it follows there the Peace i. e. the Success and Prosperity of it shall increase and have no end This is the Happiness of the Subjects of that Blessed Kingdom who are under the Sceptre of the Prince of Peace as he is stiled v. 6. This in general but more particularly the Safety and Security of their Habitations their Success in all their Labours and their lasting Fruition of them are mentioned as the Attendants of this Happy Time v. 21 22 23. They shall build Houses and inhabit them And they shall plant Vineyards and eat the Fruit of them Mine Elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands They shall not labour in vain c. These are the Blessings of that Adult State of the Church Farther there will be greater Strength and Soundness of Body than ordinarily I will not be positive that as in the first Ages of the World so now there will be some of a Gigantick Stature but this is not to be doubted of that there shall be bodily Strength and Vigour in an unusual degree It is one of the Privileges of the New Ierusalem for in the large and extensive sense it is spoken of that Place and State that the Inhabitants shall not say I am sick Isai. 33. 24. Many Exorbitancies before were frequently the Cause of Corporal Weakness and divers sorts of Maladies and Diseases But now those shall generally be removed and a sound and hale Temper shall be given them for their Bodies shall answer to their Souls The whole Tour of the Blood shall be laudably performed There shall be a due and regular Exercise of the natural vital and animal Functions And all Persons shall be healthful and vivacious brisk and sprightly This will be the more credible if we consider that the Curse brought upon the Earth by Adam's Fall and afterwards continued shall be revers'd The Soil every where shall become fertile and give its increase freely and plentifully and all the Fruits and Products of the Earth shall be not only numerous but wholesome God made all the Creatures Good at first as we expresly find in the repeated Approbation of this their Goodness Gen. 1. And they shall be Good at last for the World shall be restored to its Premitive State and the Earth it self shall be renewed And as for those Living Creatures which are Food for Mankind they shall arrive to greater degrees of Perfection than formerly and consequently shall yield more laudable and generous Nourishment than heretofore Besides that the continued Health of those Times will depend much upon the excellent Temper of the Air which shall then be agreeable to humane Bodies and have no ill Ferments from the continual Vicissitudes and Successions of too much Heat or too much Cold. To which may be added that the Heavenly influences as well as the Temper of the Earth shall be meliorated And so even in a literal sence there shall be New Heavens and a New Earth As the consequence of all this the People of those days shall be long-liv'd Which I gather from Isai. 65. 20. There shall be no
more an Infant of days â—or an old Man that hath not fill'd his days For though this Dispensation be no exemption from Mortality though Christ's Reign doth not unthrone and depose the King of Terrors yet it wards off his fatal Blows for a long Season And perhaps some may reach the long Ages of those that lived before the Flood And this shall happen not only from the Nature of the thing it self but by the singular Favour of God For as before in a judicial way he sometimes short'ned Men's Lives so now in the way of a Blessing he is pleased to extend them to a great length Which perhaps is the meaning of what follows in the foresaid Chapter v. 22. As the days of a Tree a long-liv'd Tree are the days of my People But supposing that this is not the strict import of the Text which I submit to the Thoughts of the Judicious yet it is certain from the reason of the thing it self that those Happy Ages shall abound with all things that conduce to the Welfare and Happiness of the Body as well as of the Soul and consequently Longaevity shall be one of the Felicities of those times And I doubt not but it will be procured by a perfect Knowledge of the true Causes and Springs of Long Life and of the more immediate Sourses of Diseases For Natural Philosophy as well as all other Parts of True Philiosophy shall be then improved to the utmost and a Vertuoso shall be no Rarity Especially the Nature of all Vegetables and Minerals wherein are laid up the great Restoratives of Life shall by exquisite Experiments be laid open to the World And the use of all the Vessels in the body which now we have but an imperfect insight into and some of which we know nothing of shall be exactly discovered And whatever else relating either to Nature or Art or Morality shall be conducible to this great End before-mentioned shall not be wanting no not that which is the choicest and most sovereign Conserver of Life viz. a well-temper'd Joy and Chearfulness a ferene and placid Spirit than which nothing can be more serviceable to uphold and maintain the vital Congruity to nourish the Lamp of Life and to give a lasting Vivacity to Nature And from the several Particulars we may gather this also that there will be a greater Number of Persons upon the Earth in that Sabbatick Reign than there is now This follows from what hath been said concerning that Universal Peace that Extraordinary Measure of Bodily Health and Strength that Duration of Men's Lives which shall be the Blessing of those Days Upon the more Cessation of Wars and Slaughters of Pestilence and Famine c. which are wont so visibly to diminish the number of Mankind there must needs be a great length'ning out of Men's Lives there must be a vast Increase of the People of the World The whole Earth will be replenish'd and even crowded with Inhabitants This will make amends as I suggested before for the great multitudes of Men that have in several Ages perished and gone to the Infernal Regions For within the compass of this Happy Time wherein we suppose Mankind to be thus extremely multiplied and all of them excepting some very few to be holy and Religious Persons there will be a larger Stock of Inhabitants for Heaven than there was of those who in all the preceding Times of the World were thrust down to the contrary Place And thus which way soever we look this Blessed Dispensation shall be eminent for the Natural as well as the Moral and Religious Emendation of all Things for Temporal and Earthly Blessings as well as those that are Spiritual and Heavenly for the present bettering of the World and for the Provision it makes for the future Mankind being free'd from all Dangers Mischiefs and Troubles shall enjoy an undisturbed Peace Quiet and Repose with a Freedom from all Pain and Sickness And their Bodies shall be more vigorous and their Beauty more lasting than ever before Which shall be attended with all outward Conveniencies Comforts and Refreshments of what nature soever together with inward Peace Pleasure and Satisfaction There is one thing more I will venture to add as belonging I verily believe to this Happy State I have been describing There shall be a Peace not only between Rational Creatures and their Brethren but between these and the most Salvage Brutes i. e. those Brutes which heretofore were so For now the hurtful Disposition and cruel Nature of all such Animals shall be taken from them and they shall become mild and gentle tame and tractable This I take to be the meaning of that Prophecy Isai. 11. 6 7. The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lion and the Fatling together and a little Child shall lead them And the Cow and the Bear shall feed their young ones shall lie down together And the Lion shall eat Straw like the Ox and the sucking Child shall play on the hole of the Asp and the weaned Child shall put his hand on the Cockatrice-den They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my Holy Mountain Which Words seem to me to be a clear Prediction concerning the peaceable Temper which even the fiercest of the Irrational Herd shall be endued with in the last Times of the World Their former Antipathies their pristine Enmities shall cease and they shall be restored to that harmlessness and Innocence which were at the first Creation I know these Words are generally by Commentators understood of that Inward Change which shall be made in Mens minds and hearts by the powerful Influence of the Gospel But I see little or no Foundation for this Interpretation for I go upon this ground which all sober Interpreters of Scripture acknowledge and own that there is no reason to fly to a Metaphorical and Mystical Sense of a Text when it appears that there is a Literal one So it is here there is no need of supposing any such thing as Metaphors and Allegories for the Words in themselves as interpreted according to the Letter are very plain and intelligible The Prophet here gives an Account of the Peaceable Kingdom of Christ and tells us that this among other things appertaining to it is part of it that there shall be a change in the Nature and Qualities of Brute Animals the Wolf Leopard Lion Bear â—erpent Adder shall be as tâ—me as Lambs Kids Calves they shall lie down and dwell and feed together they shall neither prey upon one another nor shall they be hurtful to Men. Nothing could be more plainly said to express the great Blessing and Privilege of those last Days when the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea which are the very next Words to those which I have set down and shew to what Period of Time they relate And that we