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true, when every man, woman, and child could contradict him, and say that this was a notorious falsehood, for that they had not seen the Thames so divided, nor had gone over on dry land. Therefore I take it for granted (and I suppose, with the allowance of all the Deists. in the world) that no such imposition could be put upon men, at the time, when such public fact was said to be done.

4. Therefore it only remains, that such matter of fact might be invented some time after, when the men of that generation, wherein the thing was said to be done, were all past and gone; and the credulity of after ages might be so imposed upon, as to believe that things were done in former ages, which were not.

For this the two last rules secure us as much, as the two first rules in the former case; for, whenever such a matter of fact came to be invented, if not only monuments were said to remain of it, but likewise that public actions and observances were constantly used ever since the fact was said to be done, the deceit must be detected, by no such monuments appearing, and by the experience of every man, woman, and child, who must know that no such actions or observances were ever used by them. For example; suppose I should now invent a story of

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such a thing, said to be done a thousand years ago, I might perhaps get some to believe it; but, if I say that not only such a thing was done, but that, from that day to this, every man, at the age of twelve years, had a joint of his little finger cut off; and that every man in the nation did want a joint of that finger; and that this institution was said to be part of the matter of fact, done so many years ago, and vouched as a proof of it, and as having descended without interruption, and been constantly practised, in memory of such fact, from the time that such fact was done; I say, it is impossible I should be believed in such a case, because every one could contradict me, as to the mark of cutting off a joint of the finger; and that, being part of my original matter of fact, must demonstrate the whole to be false.

III. Let us now come to the second point, to show that the matters of fact of Moses, and of CHRIST, have all these rules or marks before mentioned; and that neither the matters of fact of MAHOMET, or what is reported of the heathen deities, have the like; and that no impostor can have them all.

1. As to MOSES, I suppose it will be allowed me, that he could not have persuaded 600,000 men, that he had brought them out of Egypt

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Dugh the Red Sea; fed them forty years hout bread, by miraculous manna, and the er matters of fact recorded in his books, if y had not been true. Because every man's ses, who was then alive, must have contraced it. Therefore he must have imposed n all their senses, if he could have made

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m believe it, when it was false. -e are the first and second of the above menned four marks.

For the same reason, it was equally impossifor him to have made them receive his five ks, as truth, and not to have rejected them, a manifest imposture; which told of all these ngs, as done before their eyes, if they had - been so done. See how positively he aks to them, Deut. xi. 2, to verse 8. "And w ye this day, for I speak not with your ldren, which have not known, and which 'e not seen the chastisement of the Lord r God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and stretched out arm, and his miracles, and his , which he did in the midst of Egypt unto raoh, the king of Egypt, and unto all his 1; and what he did unto the army of Egypt, › their horses, and to their chariots; how nade the water of the Red Sea to overflow n, as they pursued after you; and how the

Lord háth de what he did ye came int Dathan and of Reuben and swallo and their to

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Lord hath destroyed them unto this day; and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place ; and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance, that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel. But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord, which he did," &c.

Hence we must suppose it impossible, that these books of Moses (if an imposture) could have been invented, and put upon the people, who were then alive, when all these things were said to be done.

The utmost therefore, to which even suppo-. sition can be stretched, is, that these books were written in some age after Moses, and published in his name.

To this I say that, if it were so, it was impossible, that these books should be received, as the books of MOSES, in that age, wherein they may have been first invented. Why? Because they speak of themselves, as delivered by MOSES, and kept in the ark from his time. "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that MOSES commanded the

vites, who bare the ark of the covenant of e Lord, saying, take this book of the law, d put it in the side of the ark of the coveat of the Lord your God, that it may be there - a witness against thee." Deut. xxxi. 24, 26. And a copy of this book was likewise be left with the king. "And it shall be, men he sitteth upon the throne of his kingm, that he shall write him a copy of this law a book, out of that, which is before the Hests the Levites; and it shall be with him, d he shall read therein all the days of his e; that he may learn to fear the Lord his d, to keep all the words of this law, and ese statutes to do them." Deut. xvii. 18, 19. Here then you see that this book of the law eaks of itself, not only as a history or relan of what things were then done; but as standing and municipal law and statutes of e nation of the Jews, binding the king as well, the people.

Now, in whatever age after Moses you supse that this book was forged, it was impossie it could be received, as truth; because it as not then to be found, either in the ark, oг th the king, or any where else. For, when st invented, every body must know that he d never heard of it before.

Therefore book of the the land, and by wh Could a of statute the nation er they h the books

any age a what they statutes an Jews; an they had all along which th they ha heard o

must, in governm as being not oth vouche Deists book o of the the wo they sa

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