Teftament, may be underftood of a future life and falvation, when the context will admit of fuch an interpretation.

We have found, that in the Patriarchal Age, among the nations, before the Jewish peculiarity, there were perfons eminent for religion and virtue, who worshipped the living God, and enjoyed extraordinary communications from him; but that many were of a different character, wicked and ungodly men; and that idolatry, captivating the minds of the ignorant, weak, and vicious, fpread fo falt, that it threatened the total extinction of good morals, and of the knowledge and pure worthip of God. How the Father of mankind counteracted this new inftance of degeneracy we shall fee, when we have fettled the Scripture-Chronology, and confidered the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

CHA P. XXV.

The SCRIPTURE-CHRONOLOGY from the DELUGE to the EXODUS. The Wickedness and Ruin of SODOM, &c. 857 Years.

GEN. xi. 26. it is faid, Terah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. But Terah was 205 years old when he died in Haran, Gen. xi. 32. After Terah's death, Abram left Haran; and then was he 75 years old, Gen. xii. 4. which being fubtracted from 205, Terah's age, gives 130, the year of Terah when Abram was born.

† Add

+ Add Ifaac's age (60) when Jacob was born, to the years from the Deluge, and you will have 512, the year after the Deluge when Jacob was born. Shem was 98 years old at the Deluge, and lived 600 years, Gen. xi. 10, 11. Take 98 from 600, and there remains 502, the years Shem lived after the Deluge; which, deducted from 512, the year after the Deluge, in which Jacob was born, leaves ten years, the time between Shem's death and faceb's birth. Hence it follows, that Ifaac lived with Shem 50, and that Abram lived with Shem 150 years. Ifaac alfo, who lived 180 years, (Gen. xxxv. 28.) lived 120 with Jacob, i. e. till within ten years of facob's going down into Egypt. And as Shem lived with Methuselah 98, and Methuselah with Adam 240, three perfons, Methuselah, Shem, and Ifaac, might bring down the account of things from Adam till within ten years of the going down of the Ifraelites into Egypt. From the Deluge to the Promile was 427 years.

From the Promife to the time when Jacob and his family went down into Egypt was 215 years. And from the Promife to the time when the children of Ifrael came out of Egypt was 430 years. Compare Exod. xii. 41. with Gal. iii. 17. Therefore the time of their continuance in Eovpt must be 215 years.

Jofeph was 30 years of age when preferred by Pharoah, Gen. xli. 45. After that there were feven years of plenty, and two of famine (Gen. xlv. 11.) before Jacob came down into Egypt. Jofeph, therefore, was then 39 years of age: after that he lived 71 years, for he lived in all 110 years, Gen. 1. 22, 26. Take 71 out of 215, and there remains 144, the time the Ifraelites remained flaves in Egypt after Jofeph's death.

Exod. i. 8.

Before we come to the promife made to Abraham, which was the foundation-tone of the grand scheme to preferve religion and morals in the world, we must turn our thoughts a while to a particular difpenfation which God inflicted upon four cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Z boim, (Gen. xiv. 2. Deut. xxix. 23.) that stood in a very extenfive, truitful, and pleafant vale, along the fides of the river Jordan. Gen. xii. 10. So far had idolatry, and the immorality which ufually attends it, infected the world, that thefe four populous cities, and Zoar, which lay not far from them, (Gen. xiv. 2. xix. 20.) were become exceffively debauched and wicked, indulging to that vileft fort of lewdness which is commonly called Sodomy, going after strange flesh, (Jude 7.) the men burning in their luft one towards another, men with men working that which is unfeemly. Rom. i. 27.

Therefore God purposed to punish them with an exemplary and total deftruction. Abraham, in the benevolence of his foul, interceded for their prefervation. Gen. xviii. 23. And fuch is the mercy of God, fo great his regard to virtuous characters, and fo ready for their fakes to beftow bleffings, even upon the unworthy, that he would have spared them, if but ten truly fober and virtuous perfons could have been found in all thofe five cities; but they were univerfally and irreclaimably corrupt. Therefore, fparing Zear for Lot's fake, (Gen. xix. 20, 21.) he destroyed the other four cities, with all their inhabitants, by pouring upon them the most dreadful ftorm of fire and brimstone from heaven; and alfo, probably, by a terrible carthquake, that broke up the very foil of the

earth,

earth, and by an irruption of bituminous waters, which turned the whole vale into one heavy, fetid, and unwholfome lake, called the dead, or falt fea, about 30 miles long, and 10 miles broad, Gen. xix. 24, 25, which remains unto this day.

This dreadful inftance of Divine Vengeance, through the mercy of God, removed the bad examples of those daring finners, had a natural fitnefs to awaken and reform the furviving impious, and was very properly intended to remain a perpetual monument of the wrath of God upon the wickedness of mankind. 2 Pet. ii. 6. Jude, ver. 7. Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Note the fire was eternal, as it totally and for ever deftroyed thofe cities never to be built again. God thus revealed his future wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighte aufness of men. And though there be no prefent appearances of it, we fhould not therefore be fecure. For, as our Lord obferves, Luke xvii. 23. The Sodomites aid eat, they drank, they bought, they fold, they planted, they builded, thoughtlefs and fecure; but the fame day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus fhall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

Gen. xix. 24. The LORD rained fire and brimfione from the LORD in heaven. This is an Hebraifm, where the noun itfelf is put inftead of the perfonal pronoun.

Gen. xix. 26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and he became a pillar of falt. Note-The fulphureous ftorm did not begin to fall upon Sodom till Lot was fafely arrived at Zoar, Gen. xix. 22.

But his wife

looked back before he reached Zoar; for the locked back from behind him, as he was going to Zoar. Therefore, when fhe looked back, Sodom, and the fine country about it, appeared in the fame pleafant and ferene ftate as ever. Confequently, the looked with a look of affection to the place, and of regret to leave it, and their goods that were in it, according to the import of the verb This implied unbelief and dif truft of what the angels had affirmed, that God would immediately deftroy the place. She did not believe, or fhe did not regard it; fhe ftopped by the way, and left her husband to go by himfelf; fhe would go no further, and might be at a confiderable diftance from Zoar, and fo near to Sodom, as, probably, to be involved in the terrible shower, and thereby turned into a nitro-fulphureous pillar. This gives the proper fenfe and force of our Lord's admonition, Luke xvii. 32. Remember Let's wife. Let the judgment of God upon her warn you of the folly and danger of hankering after, and being loath to part with small and temporal things, when your life and happiness, the greatest and most lasting concerns, are at stake.

CHAP. XXVI.

The State of RELIGION in the World, when God made the Promife to ABRAHAM.

HOUGH we may be fure, that our State of Trial hath been,

THOUGH we may of the world, perfectly well adjufted, to

the proper balance of means and temptations, for all the purposes of Divine Wisdom and Goodness, yet it is certain that the contagion of evil fo far fpread in the earlieft ages, as, in procefs of time, to threaten the total extinction of true Religion and good morals. This is evident in the cafe of the old world, where wickedness and impiety had at length, and by degrees, infected the whole race of mankind, except Noah's fingle family. And in about 450 years after the deluge, idolatry and wickedneis had fpread and corrupted the world fo far, that Sodom and four other cities, being univerfally debauched, were deftroyed (one excepted for the reafon already given) by a moft tremendous judgment. The Amorites, and feveral other neighbouring nations, were then filling up the meature of their iniquity; (Gen. xv. 16, 19, 20, 21.) which in about 400 years after was quite ful!; and God, who might have deftroyed them, as he did Sodom, &c. gave the Ifraelites a commiffion to expel, or extirpate them.

This fpreading corruption, after the deluge, is not to be affigned to fimple irreligion, but to religion directed to wrong objects and purposes. While men retained the knowledge of the true God, they cared not to glorify him by the practice of virtue and holiness, nor were thankful for his benefits. Rom. i. 21, 22. And artful men, through pride and wantonnefs, indulging to idle conceits and false reasonings, involved their own understanding, and that of others, in the thickeft clouds of error and de ufion. Probably, they reprefented the heavenly bodies, the fun, moon, and ftars, as illuftrious intelligences, who, being fo eminently exalted, must have the higheft intereft in the favour of God, the direction of human affairs, and the diftribution of all temporal bleffings; and therefore it would be fufficient to all the purposes of religion, to fecure their friendship, as mediators between God and them. Thus they might be driven, enticed, drawn in, to worship them, (Deut. iv. 19.) by fuch impious rites as were invented by the folly and ignorance of the fame fophifters, and adapted to the depraved minds of fuch as liftened to them. Thus they might be deceived into the practice of all manner of lewdnefs and vice. For the attributes of thofe fuppofed deities, and benefactors of mankind, being feigned purely by human imagination, they would naturally be represented by men, who had their own interests and lufts to ferve, in fuch manner as beft fuited the corrupt tafe and inclinations of those who were difpofed to follow them. If this was not the cafe at first, it may eafily be conceived to have been fo in process of time, by after-improvements upon the original fcheme of idolatry. And by this method men would be led to believe they might be religious,

and gain health, long life, fruitful feafons, plenty, profperity, not only without the practice of virtue and holiness, but pofitively by lewd and wicked practices; and thus religion would be turned into an encouragement to vice, and the principles of virtue and goodness would be extinguifhed.

Whether they were feduced precifely after this manner or not, the fact is certain, that their abominable idolatries were attended with abominable lufts and intemperance, 1 Pet. iv. 3. Add to this, that cunning men, who knew how to make their own advantage of the foibles of mankind, introduced into their minds notions of fate, deftiny, fortune, chance, neceffity, with many other delufions. Hence arofe profeffors of the vileft arts, pretending to look into futurity, to gratify malicious defires, to fecure good, and prevent bad luck to thofe who confulted them. Deut. xviii. 10. Diviners, obfervers of times, enchanters, witches, or fuch as pretend to work upon the mind, or body, for evil purposes, by herbs or potions; charmers, confulters with a pretended familiar spirit, wizards, necromancers. And fo far were they infatuated, that they made their fons and daughters to pafs through the fire, under the notion of facrifices to their idols; probably, to gain their bleffing upon their children, and to make them healthy and fortunate. Deut. xii. 31. xviii. 10. Lev. xviii. 21. xx. 2. Thus their hope and trust, and their regards, were diverted from God and his Providence to vain idols and the vileft impoftors,

The neglect and abufe of understanding, and the indulged irregular inclinations of the heart, were doubtlefs the fpring and principal caufe of this defection from God and virtue. But we may believe it was forwarded and completed by the fuggeftions and inftigations of the Devil and his angels; the Prince of the power of the Air, the Spirit whom God permits to work in the children of disobedience, (Ephef. ii. 2. ) and to deceive the nations. Rev. xx. 2, 3. For when men receive not the love of the truth, that they may be faved, God judicially fends them ftrong delufion, that they may believe a lie. That they may all be condemned, who believe nat the truth, but have pleafure in unrighteoufnefs. 2 Theff. ii. 9-12.

Thus we fee how idolatry firft began, and by what means it might, as it certainly did, fpread in the world; and would have prevailed univerfally, as the remaining virtuous dropped of, and as men of underftanding happened to be drawn in by various allurements. For the heart even of Solomon, the great and wife, was, by the love of ftrange women, fo far turned away after idol gods, that he built high places and altars in honour of them, even in the neighbourhood of the city Jerufalem. I Kin. xi. 1-8.

To prevent the univerfal prevalence of idolatry, and to preferve among mankind the knowledge and worship of the living and true God, the wife and gracious Father of men was pleased to advance a new and noble fcheme, which, under feveral variations and improvements, was to reach to the end of time. The fcheme was this, to choose and adopt one family, afterwards to be formed into a nation, inftructed in religious knowledge by God himself, and favoured with fuch extraordinary privileges, and honours, above all other nations of the earth, as were in their own nature adapted to engage them, by the moft rational motives, to adhere