given a plainer or more graphical defcription of the character and genius of the ritual law, that in thefe words-Wherefore I gave them alfo Statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live. Yet to fuit it to Theologic purposes, we are told, Syftem-makers have endeavoured, in their usual manner, to interpret it away, as if it only fignified God's fuffering the Ifraclites to fall into Idolatry.

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Now, fays the Dean, if it were not indulged to these men, to make use of any arms they can catch hold of, fhould be a little fcandalized to find, that they had borrowed this forced interpretation from the Rabbins; who holding their law to be perfect, and of eternal obligation, were indeed much concerned to remove this opprobrium from it.-As the last inforcer of this fpurious pilfered interpretation is the late Author of the Connexion between facred and prophane History, who takes the honour of it to himself, our Author examines his reafoning at large.

Dr. Shuckford thinks it undeniably plain, that the Prophet could not, by the Statutes not good, mean any part of the ritual law for the whole law was given to the Fathers of those whom the Prophet now fpeaks of; but thefe Statutes were not given to the Fathers, but to the Defcendants. If we go on, and compare the narrative of the Prophet with the Hiftory of the Ifraelites, the Doctor fays, we fhall fee further, that the Statutes and Judgments not good, are fo far from being any part of Mofes's law, that they were not given earlier than the times of the Judges.

The occafion of the prophecy, in the twentieth chapter of Ezekiel, Dr. Warburton fays, was this-The Jews, by certain of their Elders, had, as was ufual in their diftrefles, recourfe to the God of Ifrael for direction and affiftance, ver. 1. On this we are informed, ver. 3, that the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, bidding him tell the Elders, that God would not be enquired of by them: for that their continued rebellions, from their coming out of Egypt, to that time, had made them unworthy of his patronage and protection. Their idolatries are then recapitulated, and divided into three periods. The firft, from God's meffage to them while in Egypt, to their entrance into the promised land. Thus faith the Lord God, in the day when I chofe Ifrael, and lifted up mine hand unto the feed of facob, &c. from the fifth to the twenty-fixth verfe inclufively. The fecond period contains all the time from their taking poffeffion of the land of Canaan, to their prefent condition when this prophecy was delivered.-Therefore, Son of man speak unto the house of Ifrael, and fay unto them, thus faith the Lord God, yet in this your fathers have blafphemed me, and fq on, from the

twenty

twenty-feventh to the thirty-fecond verfe inclufively. The third period concerns the iniquities, and the confequent punishment of the prefent generation, which had now applied to him in their diftreffes. As I live, faith the Lord God, furely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you, &c. And this is the fubject of what we find between the thirty-third and the forty-fourth verse, inclufively.

This fhort, but exact, analysis of the prophecy, Dr. Warburton thinks, is more than fufficient to overturn Dr. Shuckford's fyftem, founded on a distinction between the Fathers and the Children in the eighteenth verfe, (which is within the first period) as if the Fathers related to what happened in the Wildernefs, and the Children to what happened under the Judges; whereas common fenfe is fufficient to convince us, that the whole is confined to the two generations, between the Exodus from Egypt and the entrance into Canaan.

But the confutation of a foolish fyftem, difhonourable indeed to Scripture, the Doctor tells us, is the least of his concern. Such things will die of themfelves. His point, in delivering the truths of God as they lie in his word, is to illuftrate the amazing wisdom of that difpenfation to which they belong. He obferves, therefore, as a matter of much greater moment, that this diftinction, which the text has made between the Fathers and the Children, in the firft period, during their abode in the Wilderness, affords us a very noble inftance of that divine Mercy which extends to thousands.

The Prophet, he fays, thus reprefents the fact. When God brought his chofen people out of Egypt, he gave them his ftatutes, and fhewed them his judgments, which if a man do, he fhall live in them. Moreover alfo he gave them his Sabbaths, to be a fign between him and them. That is, he gave them the moral law of the Decalogue, in which there was one pofitive inftitution, (the Sabbath) and no more; but this one, absolutely neceffary to preserve them a felect people, unmixed with the nations. What followed fo gracious and generous a difpenfation to the house of Ifrael? Why, they rebelled against him in the Wilderness, &c. verfe 13. On which he threatned to pour out his fury upon them in the Wilderness, and confume them. But, in regard to his own glory, left the Heathen, before whom he brought them out of Egypt, fhould blafpheme, he thought fit to fpare them; ver. 14. Yet fo far punished that generation, as never to fuffer them to come into the land of Canaan. Their Children he fpared, that the race might not be confumed as he had first threatned; verfe 17. And hoping better things of

them

them than of their fathers, he faid to them in the Wilderness, Walk ye not in the ftatutes of your fathers, &c. verles 18, 19, 20.

Here we fee, the children, or immediate progeny, were again offered, as their fole rule of government, what had been given to, and had been violated by their fathers; namely, the moral law of the decalogue, and the pofitive inftitution of the fabbath. Well, and how did they behave on this occafion? Just as their fathers had done before them.-Notwithstanding (the repetition of this offered grace) the children rebelled against me, they walked not in my ftatutes, they polluted my fabbaths.-What followed? The fame denunciation which had hung over their fathers, utter deftruction in the Wilderness, verfe 21. However, mercy again prevails over judgment; and the fame reason for which he fpared. their fathers inclines him to fpare them; left his name fhould be polluted in the fight of the heathen, verle 22. However, due punishment attended their tranfgreffions, as it had done their fathers. Their fathers left their bones in the wilderness: but this perverse race being pardoned as a people, and still poffeffed of the privilege of a select and chosen nation, were neither to be fcattered among the heathen, nor to be confined for ever in the Wilderness: Almighty wifdom therefore ordained, that their punishment should be fuch, as fhould continue them, even against their wills, a feparated race, in poffeffion of the land of Canaan. What this punishment was, the following words declare-Because they had not executed my judgments, &c. IGAVE

THEM ALSO STATUTES THAT WERE NOT GOOD, AND JUDGMENTS WHEREBY THEY SHOULD NOT LIVE. That is, because they had violated my first system of laws, the decalogue, I added to them (I GAVE THEM ALSO, Words which imply the giving as a fupplement) my fecond fyftem, the RITUAL LAW; very aptly characterifed (when fet in oppofition to the MORAL LAW) by flatutes that were not good, and by judgments whereby they fhould not live.

What is here obferved, we are told, opens to us the admirable reasons of both punishments: and why there was a forbearance, or a second trial, before the yoke of the ordinances was impofed. For we must never, our author fays, forget that the God of Ifrael tranfacted with his people according to the mode of human governours. Let this be kept in mind, and we fhall fee the admirable progrefs of this difpenfation. God brought the father's out of Egypt, to put them in poffeffion of the land of Canaan. He gave them the moral law, to diftinguish them for the worfhippers of the true God; and he gave them the pofitive law of the fabbath, to diftinguifh them for God's peculiar people. Thefe fathers proving perverfe and rebellious, their punishment was death in the Wilderness, and exclufion

from

from that good land which was reserved for their children: but then these children, in that very Wilderness, the fcene of their father's crime and calamity, fell into the fame tranfgreffions. What was now to be done? It was plain, fo inveterate an evil could be only checked or fubdued by the curb of some severe inftitution. A fevere inftitution was prepared; and the ritual law was established. For the firft offence, the punishment was perfonal; but when a repetition fhewed it to be inbred, and, like the leprofy, fticking to the whole race, the punishment was properly changed to national.

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The famous text And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass thro' the fire all that openeth, the womb, &c. our author tells us, may be thus aptly paraphrafed.—I loaded the religious worship due to me, as their God, with a number of operofe ceremonies, to punish their paft, and to oppofe to their future idolatries; the most abominable of which was, their making their children to pass thro' the fire to Moloch: and further, that I might have the ceremonial law always at hand as an inftrument for itill more fevere punishments, when the full meafure of their iniquities fhould bring them into captivity in a ftrange land, I fo contrived, by the conftitution of their religion, that it fhould then remain under an interdict, and all ftated intercourfe be cut off between me and them: from which evil would neceffarily arife this advantage, an occafion to manifeft my power to the Gentiles, in bringing my people again, after a due time of penance, into their own land.

The text, thus interpreted, the Doctor fays, connects and compleats the whole relation, concerning the impofition of the ritual law, and its nature and confequences, from the 21ft to the 26th verfe inclufively; and opens the hiftory of it by due degrees, which thofe juft and elegant compofitions require. We are firft informed of the threatned judgment, and of the prevailing mercy in general:-we are then told the fpecific nature of that judgment, and the circumstance attending the accorded mercy:-and laftly, the prophet explains the nature and genius of that attendant circumftance; together with its adverfe as well as benignant effects.

We have thus given a pretty full account of the most material additions that are made to the first part of the fecond volume of the Divine Legation; the fecond must be deferred to

our next.

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Four

Four Efays upon the English language: namely, 1. Obfervations on the orthography. 2. Rules for the divifion of fyllables. 3. The ufe of the articles. 4. The formation of the verbs, and their analogy with the Latin. By John Ward, D. LL. R. P. G. C. F. R. and A. SS. and T. B. M. To thefe is fubjoined a catalogue of the English verbs, formed through their radical tenfes. 8vo. 3s. Ward.

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Regular and compleat grammar has been long wanting, to facilitate the progrefs and improvement of our language. Such a performance, well executed, would not only be of infinite fervice to literature in this kingdom, but might prove of general benefit to the nation, by encouraging foreigners to ftudy English; by which means the French lifp might, in time, grow out of fashion, and the advantages which our enemies reap by fpreading their language all over Europe, in a great measure be defeated. Befides, if foreigners were acquainted with our tongue, it might, by degrees, become cuftomary for them to vifit London, as it is now for us to refort to Paris.

But it is the misfortune of grammarians, that they generally write for the benefit of tolerable proficients in the language, rather than of entire novices: fo that a man must be previously mafter of English, in no fmall degree, to understand the grammars written in our tongue.

The learned author of the Effays before us, is not exempt from this failing and we may venture to fay, that the reader, to whom they are intelligible, muft be poffeffed of more than common knowledge in the language. This fault is the more to be regretted in our author, as he appears to be accurately fkilled in the English tongue, and admirably qualified to inftruct others, if he would take pains to adapt his inftructions to the capacities of young beginners.

The method he has purfued in the course of these essays will beft appear from the account he has given in the preface, of the order in which he has treated his fubject.

"That the English tongue,' fays he, abounds with confonants, ⚫ which frequently occafion a roughnefs in the pronunciation, has ⚫ been taken notice of in the firft effay relating to the orthography, • as a matter of complaint, by a very good judge of our language.

One thing, which has very much contributed to this, has been ⚫ the custom of doubling the last letter in words of one fyllable, < which end in a fingle confonant; whenever they increase a fyllable, either by inflection or derivation. And the like me

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