deavouring to resolve other miracles, as that of Sodom and Gomorrah, &c. into mere natural causes, are translated into English by the well known T. Brown, for the edification of the Deists in England.

But these gentlemen have forgotten that the Israelites had great herds of many thousand cattle with them; which would be apter to stray and fall into those holes and oozy places in the strand, than horses with riders, who might direct them.

But such precarious and silly suppositions are not worth answering. If there had been no more in this passage through the Red Sea, than that of a springtide, &c. it had been impossible for Moses to have made the Israelites believe that relation, given of it in Exodus with so many particulars, which themselves saw to be true.

All those scriptures also, which magnify this action, and appeal to it, as a full demonstration of the miraculous power of God, must be reputed, as romance or legend.

I say this for the sake of some Christians, who think it no prejudice to the truth of the Holy Bible, but rather an advantage, as rendering it more easy to be believed, if they can solve, whatever seems miraculous in it, by the

power of second causes; and so make all, as they speak, natural and easy. Wherein, if they could prevail, the natural and easy result would be, not to believe one word in all those sacred oracles. For, if things be not, as they are told in any relation, that relation must be false; and, if false in part, we cannot trust to it, either in whole or in part.

Here are to be excepted mistranslations and errors, either in copy or in press. But, where there is no room for supposing these, as where all copies agree; there we must either receive all, or reject all. I mean any book, that pretends to be written from the mouth of GOD. For in common histories we may believe part, and reject part, as we see cause.

But to return. The passage of the Israelites over Jordan, in memory of which those stones at Gilgal were set up, is free from all those little carpings before mentioned, that are made as to the passage through the Red Sea. For notice was given to the Israelites the day before of this great miracle to be done. It was done at noon day before the whole nation; and, when the waters of Jordan were divided, it was not at any low ebb, but at the time, when that river overflowed all its banks; and it was done, not by winds, or in length of time, which

winds must take to do it; but all on a sudden, as soon as the "feet of the priests, that bare the ark, were dipped in the brim of the water, then the waters, which came down from above, stood and arose up upon an heap, very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those, that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people passed over right against Jericho. The priests stood in the midst of Jordan, till all the armies of Israel had passed over. And it came to pass, when the priests, that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priest's feet were lift upon the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho; and those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, when your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean these stones? Then shall ye let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up

gal were set up on some other occasion, in some after age; and that some designing man invented this book of Joshua, and said that it was written by Joshua at that time, and gave this stonage at Gilgal for a testimony of the truth of it. Would not every body say to him, " we know the stonage at Gilgal, but we never heard before of this reason for it; nor of this book of Joshua? Where has it been all this while? Where and how came you, after so many ages, to find it? Beside, this book tells us that this passage over Jordan was ordained to be taught our children from age to age; and therefore that they were always to be instructed in the meaning of that stonage at Gilgal, as a memorial of it. But we were never taught it, when we were children; nor did ever teach our children any such thing. It is not likely that could have been forgotten, while so remarkable a stonage did continue, which was set up for that, and no other end."

If for the reasons, before given, no such imposition could be put upon us as to the stonage in Salisbury plain; how much less could it be to the stonage at Gilgal?

And, if where we know not the reason of a bare naked monument, such a sham reason cannot be imposed; how much more impossible is