But the Arabian interpreter of the Samaritans (a), brings very good arguments to prove, that that place of Scripture is to be understood of the Meffiah, and fhews that he is call'd the head of the children of Seth, because Seth was the head, and common father of all men fince the flood, and at the fame time of all the faithful before the flood; and that those words of Genefis IV. 26. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord, relate to Seth, and not to Enos, as it is commonly believed.

Befides, this prophefie by these words, I fhall fee him, but not now. I fhall behold him, but not nigh, determines, that the birth of the Messiah was not near, but was referved for a further time.

Laftly, it is a very fingular thing, that this oracle fhould be reprefented to us, as coming out of the mouth of a Prophet, who was chofen by God out of the family of Abraham; because the author of it decides thefe important queftions and differences, without any visible partiality, and without being byaffed by the pretenfions of his birth.

Now there are three things in it which clearly prove, that it could not be unknown to Mofes.

The firft is, that immediately after this prophefie, which was as publick and well known amongst the Moabites, as any prophefie could be; after the tedious preparation, and the many difficulties which Balaam made to come to Balac: after the many ceremonies and myfteries which he used upon that occafion; and notwithstanding the great and panick terror of the Moabites, at the approach of the Ifraelites: nay, and notwithstanding the exprefs threats, and ominous prophefies of Balaam against that people; notwithstanding all this, I fay, we fee the daughters of Moab imitating the carnal prudence of Lot's daughters, and courting the alliance of the Ifraelites, as if they had had a mind to make themfelves amends in that way, for the lofs and wrong they had fuffered by the fentence which Balaam pronounced in favour of Ifrael.

We fee, I fay, that Mofes immediately after he had related the prophecies of Balaam, tells us, that the daughters of Moab invited the people of Ifrael to the facrifices of their gods, and that the people of Ifrael accepted of the invitation, and accordingly feafted, and began then to defile themselves with the daughters of Moab.

Now, that fuch a thing fhould happen presently after Balaam had uttered his prophefie, fhews evidently, that there was some relation betwixt thofe two tranfactions. And this may be further made out, from the manner and nature of the punishment which God inflicted upon the Ifraelites for their criminal commerce with the Moabites, although the pretence of it might be grounded upon the defign which the daughters of Moab had formed according to the principles of their education, to fhare in the accomplishment of the promife, by their conceiving and getting children by thofe whom Balaam's prophefie had invested with the right and priviledge of accomplishing that promife.

The fecond is, that accordingly about two hundred years after Mofes, we fee that Ruth the Moabites left her own country to fettle and live at Bethlehem, and affected befides to marry there again, one of the tribe of Judah; no doubt because she had got in her own country a certain knowledge

(a) Abufaid. M.S. in the French king's library, note 4. upon Gen. iv, 24.

knowledge of that famous oracle, which afterwards made her eafily yield to the counfels, and receive inftructions both of her mother-in-law, and of her own husband, who was of the tribe of Judah, and no doubt, had the books of Mofes, wherein were inferted, both the prophefie of Jacob in favour of Judah, and that of Balaam, in favour of the Ifraelites against the Moabites.

The third is, that the Jews have now for feveral ages conftantly maintained, that Simei's curfes against David (b), which afterwards he called maledictionem peffimam, nt contained an upbraiding reflexion as well upon the meanness of his birth, as being descended from a Moab、 itefs, as upon his adultery, &c. This is related by St. Jerome, or fome other ancient author, who writ that difcourfe, de traditionibus Hebræorum, upon the second chapter of the third book of Kings. This Jewish interpretation would be very probable, if that was but true what Rabbi Salomon faith upon the II. Chap. of the first book of Kings, v. 19. that when we read there, that Solomon caused a seat to be set for the king's mother, we ought to understand it of Ruth the Moabitefs, and not of Bathsheba; we know the Jews afcribe a much longer life to Zarah the daughter of Afber, one of Jacob's fons, for they are ftill of the fame opinion as they were in St. Hierome's time, that fhe was yet alive in David's time.

No body can condemn this reflexion upon Ruth, if he will but confider, that her faith having been fo rewarded, that the Meffiah came out of her pofterity; fhe is particularly made mention of in his genealogy; and that on the other hand her hiftory hath been preferved amongft the other books of the Old Teftament, as a kind of prefcription, not only against the Moabites pretenfions, long before condemned by Balaam's prophefie, but also against those of the Ifmaelites, and Edomites who had no better claim to the promise than the Moabites, having no other than that of a general call, and of their birthright before Jacob's pofterity.

CHA P. XII.

That one may fee alfo in Moses's Law, plain Footsteps of God's Defign, in diftinguishing thefe from whom he would have the Meffiah to be born.

**T was altogether neceffary for the execution of my defign, to I establish well, the authority of Mofes's books, upon which I inxtend to make fome reflexions: it was likewife neceffary to fhew, as I think I have done fufficiently, that Mofes was perfectly acquainted with God's promife concerning the Meffiah. Therefore, I believe, I may now come to fhew, that both Mofes, and thofe that came after him, had all an eye upon the Meffiah in their chiefeft regulations.

But to give a greater infight, and understanding into the things that I am to fay, I think it may not be amifs, to remind the reader, and to lay before him once more, the feveral characters of God's conduct in that

(b) I Kings ii. 8.

that matter, that he may be the better able to judge of the whole series of his defign.

I have heretofore fhew'd, that Mofes's intention was to establish two things in the book of Genefis.

The one, that all men have derived their original from Adam, whom God created.

The other, that man having finned, God promised to reinstate him by one of his own pofterity.

The first of thefe, was then folidly proved by a plain matter of fact, when I fhew'd, that such a tradition as Mofes relates about the creation of the world, cannot reasonably be doubted of.

As for what concerns the other, viz. the promise of the Meffiah, which was the chiefest object of man's hope and comfort: I have alfo fhew'd, I think, that the notion, and expectation of it was very strong and lively, and the original caufe of all the extraordinary actions recorded by Mofes

But as this promife was not to be fulfilled for many ages; so God made it only in very general terms, and had ftill reserved to himself the revelation for after ages, as he thought fit, both as to the manner and time of its accomplithment. It is therefore abfolutely neceffary that we fhould confider alfo how God preferved all along the distinct knowledge of it amongst men.

Now in reading my reflexions upon Genefis, one muft needs have obferved that God, even in thofe early times of the world, did reftrain the priviledge of accomplishing that promise by little and little to fome particular men; till at laft he openly declared, that he had fetled it in the tribe of Judah; as we read it Gen. XLIX.

Thus we fee, that God in the very beginning of the world restrained that prerogative to Seth's family, and excluded Cain's from it; then afterwards of all Seth's family he reftrained it to Noah alone and his family; then of Noah's family to Shem alone; then afterwards of all Shem's pofterity, to Abraham alone; then of Abraham's fons, to Ifaac alone; and of Ifaac's, to Jacob alone; whofe fon Judah was alone invested with that priviledge, and all his brethren excluded.

It is moreover obfervable, that in those feven forementioned reftrictions which God made, he feems to have affected, to prefer the youngeft to the eldeft; as it is evident in his choice, if not of Noah and Shem, who was elder than the other fons; yet certainly in that of Seth, who was younger than Cain; of Abraham, who was the youngest of Terah's fons; of Ifaac who was younger than Ifmael; of Jacob who was younger than Efau; and of Judah who was one of the youngest of Leah's

fons.

So likewife if the reader would judge of God's defign, by the event alone, he might juftly conclude, that God by this affected choice intended to raise continual jealoufies betwixt the eldest (who pretended that the priviledge of accomplishing the promise, did belong to them because of their birthright) against their youngest brothers, whom they faw preferred by God's immediate choice.

One may alfo further add, that God feems to have ftrengthen'd thefe jealoufies, by introducing fometimes a fort of conformity amongst the

pretenders

pretenders to the execution of this promife: thus, for instance, as Abraham had two children, so Lot had two; as Jacob had twelve fons, so Efau alfo had twelve; and fometimes one may find, that those particular perfons who are preferred, are charged with very fevere accufations. Now after all these general reflexions, it is natural for us to confider, what care God hath upon all occafions particularly taken, to distinguish and protect, those whom he had invested with the right of accomplishing the promise, that their state and fucceffion might never be uncer

tain.

'Twas this defign, no doubt, which obliged God to make Seth the depofitary of his service and worship, that he might thereby fave Noah from the flood, and fo procure to Shem his father's bleffing.

'Twas for this reason that he call'd Abraham out of his own countrey, and made him travel from place to place to make him thereby famous in the world, and to invite men by that means to inquire after his profeffion, his hopes, and his religion.

Again, it was for this, that he obliged this Patriarch to the practice of circumcifion, which was a real diftinction, and an indelible character, and that he likewife confined him to a certain place, by fixing him in some fort to the cave of Machpela, which he had purchased of the children of Hamor.

Laftly, it was for that reason, that God would have the posterity of Jacob diftinguished from all other nations of the world, and that he prohibited all alliance with them, as alfo all imitations of the cuftoms, and religious ceremonies practifed amongst them.

Now all this being fuppofed, I fay, that whether we confider the end and principal defign of Mofes's laws, or whether we examine his several prophefies, which do particularly characterize the Meffiah; we fhall find that God did all along continue in his first design of diftinction; and confequently of keeping up the jealoufies of those that had any pretenfions to the priviledge of accomplishing the promise; or which is all one, that he hath profecuted the fame defign to Jesus Christ's time, in whom Chriftians do maintain, that the firft promife was accomplished, God having then, and not till then, both put an end to all thofe differences and diftinctions, which were only intended to make the Meffiah the better known, and the more certainly difcerned at his coming, and then to cease; juft as fcaffolds are taken away as foon as the building is finished and having alfo on the other hand rectified the principles from which flowed that spirit of jealousie, amongst those who had the fame pretenfion.

We fee, that accordingly God excluded all other nations from the right of accomplishing this promise.

We fee, that even in the family of Judah, who was himself the youngest of the first set of Leah's children, he reftrained the execution of it to the youngest brothers.

We fee, that he raised occafions of jealoufies, even amongst the tribes of Ifrael,

In a word, we fee, that of all thofe means which can distinguish any one people from all other nations of the world, or one tribe from twelve, one family from all other families of the fame tribe; and one particular

perfon,

perfon, from all the rest of his family, none were omitted, but (on the contrary) all made ufe of by God, to follow this his first design.

This I intend firmly to eftablish, by examining the thing gradually from Mofes's time, (by whofe miniftry God enacted, and published those. laws, by the means whereof, he intended the Meffiah might certainly be known) to the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift, in whom we believe, that the promise was accomplished.

CHA P. XIII.

That the Manner of God's promulgating his Law amongst the ISRAELITES, did much conduce to the diftinguishing them from all other Nations.

DO not barely defign here at first to observe the several refemblances, which are obfervable betwixt the things related by CH Mofes in Genefis, and thofe which one finds in the following

books.

Neither will I meerly establish here that, as Jacob's going down into Egypt with all his children, and the protection that they all received there, from Jofeph, did ferve to fulfil the prediction which God made of that event by fofeph's dreams; fo we may fay in general, that the fending of Mofes, his miracles, and his whole miniftry to the time of his death, when he entrufted fofbuah with the conduct of the Jews, were a litteral accomplishment of the first part of the promise, which God had formerly made to Abraham, to deliver the fourth generation of his pofterity out of the captivity, which it was to fall into, and then to bring it into the land of Canaan to poffefs it.

Mofes indeed reprefents that people according to the tenour of the prophefie, as groaning under the hard preffure of a cruel captivity in Egypt, when Jofeph and his eminent fervices were both forgotten.

Afterwards he tells us, how they were miraculously delivered out of that captivity.

And then laftly he informs us, that after he had carried them through many difficulties in the wildernefs he brought them at laft to the very borders of Canaan, and fo left them ready to conquer and poffefs it, according to God's promifes, and their pretenfions grounded upon those promises which had been so often repeated to them ever fince Abraham's time.

Joshua, Mofes fucceffour, and in all likelihood, the author of the de-fcription of his death, is he that accomplished the other part of God's promise to Abraham, by introducing the Ifraelites into Canaan, and actually poffeffing them of it: fo there is nothing can be imagined more precife in this whole matter.

But it is not all this only that renders both the perfon and miniftry of Mofes fo glorious: there are feveral other things in Exodus, and his other following books, which do much better deferve our confideration.

Thofe