1.

of fome other god, with a view to draw them away from obedience to the God of Ifrael, to worship and ferve other gods. And every one who will attentively confider the fubject, must at once fee both the reasonableness of this injunction, and the wisdom and goodness of God in laying a proper foundation for it, and then giving it by Mofes to Ifrael. For Jehovah having given all the evidence that could be reasonably expected or defired, by a series of public inconteftible miracles, appearances, words and works, that he was the only true God; which all Ifrael had, under the fullest and most rational conviction, acknowledged, over and over again, and under this conviction, folemnly given themselves up to him, as their God; and promifed to renounce all other Gods, and cleave to, and obey Jehovah alone, as their God It became them never from that time to call in queftion what had been made fo abundantly evident, but with the greatest affurance, and the moft fincere abhorrence, reject every thing which was evidently contrary to the light and revelation they had received; and not pay the leaft regard to any wonders and miracles, pretended to be done, or really wrought, to prove that Jehovah was not the only true God, and in favor of other gods.

These things have been obferved, to fhow with what abundant evidence and affurance the church of Ifrael received the writings of Mofes, as divine oracles, the infallible dictates of heaven, which he was infpired to reveal and communicate; while it is at the fame time acknowledged there are many other things which have not been here brought into view, which ferve to ftrengthen this evidence, and fhow that to make any other fuppofition, and not to admit thefe writings as the oracles of heaven, is most abfurd, fhutting the eyes against the most glaring light, and doing violence to every principle of reason.

After Mofes, other prophets and infpired men were ifed up to write the hiftory of that nation; to declare

the will of God, in reproving, directing and exhorting; and adding threatnings and promises, to deter them from rebellion against Jehovah, and excite them to obey him, Whose writings also contain innumerable predictions of things to come, many of which are already come to pass; those in particular which foretold the coming of the Meffiah, his incarnation, death, refurrection, exaltation and reign; and the events that should attend his coming with regard both to Jews and Gentiles, &c. &c. And in these writings there is a conftant reference to the things contained in the writings of Mofes, the wonders wrought by his hand, when they were delivered from a state of bondage in Egypt, &c. and to the inftitutions and laws, which by him were given to Ifrael: And at the fame time there is a perfect confiftence and harmony, between thefe writings and those of Moles.

The last prophet, whose writings we have, lived about four hundred years before Chrift; so that the facred writings which were given to the church of Ifrael; and which they received as divine oracles, and have carefully kept and preferved, not only to the time of the incarnation of Chrift, but even down to this day, were written at different times, by different men, through the fpace of above a thousand years, from Mofes the first, to Malachi, the last writer. And yet they all agree; and the latter conftantly refer to the writings of Mofes, and what is contained in them; and therefore they mutually ftrengthen the evidence, that they all wrote by infpiration, as most of them declared they did. And Malachi concludes with foretelling the coming of Chrift, and directing the Church of Ifrael to attend to the laws and inftitutions of Moses, and obey them, until Chrift should come; and to expect no more divine revelation, till that time; plainly intimating, that then fome further revelations from God fhould be given to the church*. Thus

• Mal. iv, 4, 5.

the

the standing, written revelation, given to the Jewish church, was finished; and they were commanded not to attempt to make, or expect any addition to it, till the days of the Meffiab.

Should it be faid, that perhaps all thefe writings were forged, by fome wicked, defigning man, or set of men, and that the facts and miracles therein related never did take place, nor was Mofes, or any other men, infpired of God to write these things; but they were imposed upon that nation, and they were made to believe that which never had any reality: Such a fuppofition will appear most unreasonable, and even impoffible, on the least reflection, When, and how, could this be done? How could that nation, even all of them, old and young, learned and unlearned, at any time be made to believe that all these things related in the writings of Mofes concerning them, and which he faid took place publicly, and that they were feen and acknowledged by the whole nation; and that all thofe rites and laws had been received in a miraculous way from Jehovah, by their ancestors, and handed down, and practifed from generation to generation, if there was no truth in all this; but they were all now invented, and they never had any existence, or were heard of before, by any of them? This is perfectly incredible, and abfolutely impoffible. And it is equally incredible, that a whole nation fhould at any time receive fuch writings, and pretend they were all genuine and true, and handed down from their fathers, when at the fame time they knew there was no truth in it, but was real imposture and delufion. Who can believe, that any nation or people under heaven, could ever be brought to do this; and receive and practice all those burdenfome rites and ceremonies, and hand them down to their children as the inftitutions of heaven when they knew it was all a cheat? And this will appear yet more incredible, if poffible, when we obferve, that thefe

these writings give no agreeable, flattering idea of that nation, as a wife, excellent and honourable people; but contrary to this, they are reprefented as a very stupid, ungrateful, rebellious people, always difpofed to abuse and revolt from their God, and violate the most facred obligations, and folemn vows, by which they were conftantly incurring the displeasure of Jehovah; and were feverely punished, from time to time, for their horrid impiety, and most stupid idolatry, and their obftinate perfeverance in fhameful unrighteousness and cruelty towards each other. If a people could forge and receive a hiftory of themselves as a nation, in which there was no truth; or if it were contrived and formed by any fet of men, or by any one man among them, with a defign to impose it on the nation, to be received by them as genuine; we may be fure it would be written in favour of that nation, and fo as to flatter their selfishness, pride and vanity, instead of representing them, as thefe writings do that nation, in a difagreeable, fhameful, odious light.

Befides, these writings have no marks, not the leaft àppearance, of impofture and forgery, when moft critically examined; but all appearance that can be defired, that they are genuine ; and were written at the different times, and in the different circumstances, in which they are said to have been written, and by thofe different men: Whereas, if they were a forgery, and not written by inspiration, it cannot be fuppofed poffible they fhould carry all thofe marks of genuineness; and none of the contrary.

Moreover, they contain a fyllem of truths, and point out and enjoin commands and duties to God and our neighbour, which befpeak their divine original, and are worthy to be revealed by God; and which no ungodly, felfish, defigning impofior, and fuch thefe writers must be, if they wrote not by inspiration, would ever think of, and much less be difpofed to publish and enjoin.

THE

THE promifed Meffiah, at length made his appearance in the world, even at the very time in which it was foretold he should come; the way for his coming having been prepared by his harbinger, as was particularly predicted by Ifaiah; and by Malachi, in the laft words of the Old Teftament.

It having been abundantly proved, as has been obferved and fhown, that Jehovah, the God of Ifracl, was the only true God, and that the writings in their hands were given by divine inspiration, in which the coming of the Meffiah and his future kingdom, were foretold, and particularly defcribed; all that was now neceffary, in order to his being on good ground received as king of the church, was to give proper evidence that he was the very person, the promised Saviour of the world. This was done not only by his appearing at the time, and in the character and circumstances, which were foretold by the Prophets; but by working a series of miracles, done in a public manner: And by his predicting many things, which foon came to pass, especially his own death, and the particular circumftances of it; and that he would rife again on the third day. He was accordingly put to death, which his enemies as well as friends confefs; and if he did rife again, as he faid he would, the evidence that he was the Meffiah, the fame Jehovah who was the God of Ifrael, would be complete, and none could reafonably defire more.

That he did rife on the third day; and when he had continued on earth above forty days, converfing with his difciples and friends, and giving them inftructions and commands, left the world and afcended to heaven, there were a competent number of chofen witneffes, who declared they were eye and ear witneffes of this; and that they had the most fatisfactory, full and abundant evidence of it. And farther to prove the

truth