First, then, I defign to trace up the method that God was pleafed to ufe, to make the Meffiah known without miftake, whenever he should come into the world.

Secondly, I will make fome Reflexions upon the feveral notions he gave of him long before, in his oracles, to characterise his person, his offices, his actions, his fufferings, his glory, &c.

Laft of all, I will fhew that we have all this whole project and defign exactly accomplished in the hiftory of the Gospel, as it was written by Chrift's difciples. Now, as this method which God hath particularly chofen to make the Meffiah known, appears alfo in the other Books of Mofes; fo I think it will not be amifs for me particularly to view and examine these Books, that I may have occafion to illuftrate feveral things in them which deferve a particular attention, especially when they are confidered together, and as it were at one view.

For the prophecies being thus confidered together in their connexion and progrefs, do more plainly evidence God's defign, and may better convince or confound the Jews. Therefore I intend accordingly to confider those oracles with attention, and to join them together, that fo they may in their conjunction caft forth the brighter beams of light, to the conviction of all infidels who may happen to perufe this book.

For I am perfuaded that, after the perufal of my obfervations in it, an ordinary attention in the reading of the Gospel will be fufficient to convince any man that Jefus Chrift is the true Meffiah, which is all I intend to prove, as the conclufion of this Treatife.

Now as the examination of the Patriarchs religion according to the account Mofes hath given us of it in his book of Genefis, hath taken up the first part of it; fo I defign to examine in this fecond part the Ifraelites religion, and to follow in my fearch the account which Mofes gives of it in his other four Books.

And as, to effect this, it is very important to eftablish beforehand the authority of thofe four Books; fo I intend to fhew, firft of all, that Mofes is the true author of them, and that they have intrinfic characters of undeniable certainty.

Then, fecondly, it will be natural for me to fhew, that Mofes, in the writing of them, had the promife of the Meffiah in view, as particuJarly promifed of God to the Patriarchs of his own nation, and as being confequently the principal, if not the fole object of their hope.

Thirdly, I intend to fhew, that if we feriously examine Mofes's laws, we fhall find in them fuch a method obferved, as is both very agreeable to the manifeftation of God's defign in Genefis, and very worthy of his witdom, efpecially if we confider what he was pleafed to reveal unto us, of his intentions, by the Prophets who followed Mofes.

REFLEXIONS

That it cannot reasonably be doubted, but that MOSES is the Author of EXODUS, and of the three other following Books.

HIS is a truth which may be grounded upon feveral folid argu

THIS

ments.

I might obferve, That Mofes hath always been acknowledged, by the very heathens themfelves, not only to be the moft ancient hiftorian, but alfo the most ancient legiflator in the world.

I might likewife obferve, That there is a particular connexion betwixt the book of Genefis and the other books of Mofes, as well in regard of the general defign of their author, as of the matters treated of in them. For example, we fee that the greatest part of the laws and tranfactions which we find written and recorded there, derive their original f tranfactions and paffages that we read of in Genefis, Thus w

hofe

difcern that the pretenfion of the Ifraelites upon the land of Canaan, was grounded upon the promife that God made to Abraham to give it to his pofterity, in the fourth generation. Thus we may fee that the Ama lekites could have no other reafon to make war against the Ifraelites, than the old alliance that was formerly made betwixt Amalek and the Canaanites, which without doubt engaged his pofterity to be the firft oppofers of the establishment of the Ifraelites in the land of Canaan. Thus we see that the feditions of the Ifraelites against Mofes, under Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, did proceed from the order of the birth of the children of Ifrael, as it is fet down in Genefis, because the eldeft, thinking themselves wronged of their birthright, thought they might justly rebel against Mofes in order to recover it.

But I hafte to things more material than thefe. And, first, it is here obfervable, that thofe books were not only religiously kept in every family of Ifrael, but that they were alfo once folemnly deposited in the tabernacle as a public record, and that by Mofes himself, a little before his death, that they might be a teftimony against that people, as we read it Deuteronomy xxxi. 26.

Secondly, it cannot be denied that Mofes did ftraitly charge both Joshua and the heads of the people to read them frequently and carefully, for it is exprefsly faid fo, Joshua i. 8. Nay, we fee, about 500 years after, the holy man David, who had made, during his life, the fupreme felicity of a man to confift in the reading of the law of God day and night (n)-we fee, I fay, that holy man give on his death-bed the fame charge to Solomon, I. Kings.

Thirdly, moreover, it is certain that there were many laws and fanctions contained in those books, which are the foundation of the history of fucceeding times; and this is the reafon why we read nothing in the book of Joshua concerning the feveral bleffings and curfes which were to be pronounced upon the mounts Ebal and Gerizim, because the form of them was to be borrowed from the books of Mofes, which were public and authentic. The fame reflexion may be made upon the law of the firft-fruits, and upon the prayer which was to be made upon the tithes of the third year; as likewife upon many other laws.

Fourthly, it is certain that those books were read over every seventh year, according to the injunction of that law which we find in DeuteTonomy xxxi. 10, 11. which was commanded to be done for the inftruction of pofterity, as it is intimated in the thirteenth verfe of the fame chapter. Whereupon it may not be prepofterous to confider here God's methods, to prevent all forgery and impofture in this matter.

We fee that it was, during the longevity of human life, a conftant and universal custom amongst all the Patriarchs, to Mofes's time, to put (when they lay on their death-beds) their pofterity in mind of the moft important truths, and of the fundamental articles of religion; because, as all admonitions and exhortations made at fuch a time are always looked upon as fincere, fo they feldom fail of being favourably conftrued and better entertained than they would be at any other time. We have, as inftances of this ancient cuffom, the examples of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Jofeph, &c. who in that, I make no doubt, followed the cuftom

(x) Pfal. i.

cuftom of their pious ancestors, who, in all likelihood, derived it from Adam himfelf. That cuftom, we fee, was of an admirable ufe to perpetuate the memory of illuftrious tranfactions: what was then spoken by thofe pious venerable men, was a kind of a public fermon, because it was delivered before thofe numerous families which met then all together about the bed of their common head and father; and that, upon fuch an occafion as did extraordinarily excite their attention.

To this cuftom fucceeded another, which was, that when the greatest captains and judges of the people of Ifrael were fenfible of their approaching death, then they ufually called the people together, to give them fuch exhortations, reproofs, and admonitions, as they judged moft proper, either for their encouragement, or for their reformation; nay, and that even in fome occafions many of them have affected to have their speeches made public, and depofited in the tabernacle: thus did Mafes and Jobua, and the greatest number of the Judges, and Samuel, and Solomon, &c.

We know that the books of Mofes were formerly read every sabbathday, as St. James doth atteft it in Acts xv. And though there be no exprefs command about it in Mofes's writings, yet we find there fomething equivalent to it, in the ftrict charge given by him to all the people, to be continually converfant in his books, and to inftruct their families at all times in the laws and doctrines delivered in them; for it is plain, that if the Ifraelites were bound by that command of Mofes to read his books every day, they were more particularly obliged, by the fame command, to read them on the fabbath-day, which was made a day of reft by God, particularly on purpose that all men might the better attend on that day to the reading and meditating God's laws, and the performing all other religious duties.

We know befides that those books were continually explained both by the doctors of the law, and the Levites, who were on purpose difperfed through the whole land of Canaan, that they might the better attend and perform the duties of their miniftry.

We fee that Mofes in his writings hath exactly kept a kind of journal, which cannot eafily receive any alteration. If we read hereupon what relates to the fojourning of the Ifraelites, and the feveral removals of their tents in the defert, we shall be eafily convinced by the very form and style of those books, as we have them now, that they were formerly publicly received, and were exactly tranfcribed out of the original, and that, if in process of time they fuffered any alteration, it was only as to fome appendixes or poftfcripts inferted by Efra, or fome other Prophet, by way of explication.

We fee in those books a hiftory written without difguife or partiality, exact in relating all circumftances, of places, times, and perfons, even in the narration of things of fmall importance for the main drift of the author; there are, befides, fome paffages recorded in them, which any author who lived after Mofes's time would certainly have left out, if for no other reafon, yet at least to abolish the memory of fome actions difhonourable to fome great families, and whole tribes of Ifrael.

Again, we read in them the fongs and other public monuments

which were made upon extraordinary occafions, to preferve the memory of them the better.

I have but three obfervations more to make here, and then I have done with this chapter.

The firft is, that those books have been conftantly quoted by all the authors amongst that people who followed Mofes, and that their quotations do exactly agree with the text of thofe books, as we have them now; which is a certain fign, as well of the fincerity, as of the antiquity of that author. They were as much efteemed in Ifrael as in Judah, both people did obferve them as their law: the Prophets that arofe from time to time, did always, and upon all occafions, acknowledge and maintain their authority.

Thus we find in the book of Joshua, quoted out of them, what relates to the curfes and bleffings, to the prophecies, and divifions of the land of Canaan amongst the tribes of Ifrael. The whole hiftory of the thirteen judges whom God raised up amongst the people, is nothing, in general, but an account of the accomplishment of that promife which God hath formerly made to Mofes, to raise up from among that people fuch men, in the time of their afflictions and captivities, as would be the affertors of their liberty.

We fee there, in particular, the execution of Mofes's order concerning Caleb, and of that law in Deuteronomy which prescribes the manner of difmiffing from the army thofe that are fearful and faint-hearted, and of that other concerning the Nazarites (0), &c.

Thus we fee, that the rules and laws prescribed in those books continued in force in the time of Ruth, David's great grandmother, that appears plainly by their obfervation of those laws which enjoined the next kinfman to take to wife the widow of his deceased relation, and to redeem his inheritance. As for David and Solomon, they are continually alluding to fomething or other delivered in thofe books: Nehemiah quotes them in Chap. xiii. of his book, and that was in the year of the world 3563; and fo does Malachi in the Chapters iv. and v. of his prophecy, in the year 3580.

The fecond obfervation, which is very material, is, that the author of those books hath inferted in them an exprefs prohibition of adding any thing to them, as we fee it Deuteronomy iv. 2.

It is then impoffible, feeing that the whole people of the Jews have always acknowledged the Divine authority of those books, that they should ever have attempted the alteration of any thing in them.

Nay, we fee, not without wonder, that after the greateft part of the ten tribes of Ifrael were tranfported into Affyria, those that were fent from Affyria to inhabit their country, did receive that law, and that their pofterity have kept it all along to this day, as uncorrupted as the Jews, although they continue their mortal enemies, and have been expofed to all the changes and revolutions that can befall a nation, during the long interval of 2400 years.

The third obfervation, which deferves a fingular attention, is, that notwithstanding the great and many corruptions which the commonwealth of Ifrael fell into, yet these books have ftill been kept up in the

(0) Judg. i, 20. Judg. vii. 3. Judg. xiii. 3.

fame