One fee's there an account of Xerxes's great undertaking against Greece (c), as Daniel had foretold it, Chap. XI.

Here then is an agreement which is perfect enough in feveral articles, to which we might add a greater number, if we had a greater number of Pagan hiftorians: but as we cannot find after the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, hiftories amongst the Jews of equal authority with thofe which were written by and after Mofes, as Jofephus the Jewish hiftorian obferves; so we cannot compare the Jewish and Pagan hiftories together afterwards, in that form we have done hitherto.

But it is eafie to obferve four things, which are very confiderable, upon this head.

I. That the credit of the facred hiftorians may be grounded upon the great number of remarks we have made already, or elfe nothing will ever eftablish it. For how can we conceive that all forts of hiftorians of all nations and all ages, Babylonians, Affyrians, Tyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks, could agree fo exactly with the Jews in thofe facts they relate, if the Jewish authors had not exactly follow'd the rules of truth?

II. That as the prophecies of Zechariah and Daniel defcribe, with an almoft incredible exactness the confiderable events which happened in the countries near to Judea, and in Judea it self, in a time which was not expired until the facred writers had given over writing amongst the Jews, so there was need of almost nothing else, but to look over the books of Daniel, to fee what happened from day to day. And here we may observe, that the reason why Porphyry thought the book of Daniel was forged after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, was because this book feem'd to him to be rather a history than a prediction, which he justify'd in making a fort of commentary upon this prophecy, by comparing with it the Pagan historians which were then extant.

III. That as the Jewish commonwealth came under the power of the Greeks, who were masters of learning, and of the art of writing hiftories, fo there is little need of any other witnesses beside the Greek authors, as Jofephus demonftrates, in effect, by proving that the Greeks were well enough acquainted with the affairs of the Jewish nation.

IV. That we do really find after the time of Artaxerxes, a very great part of the Jewish hiftory composed by the care of fome particular men, with fufficient exactness, tho' it be not of equal authority with the facred writers.

CHA P. III.

That there is an uninterrupted Series of Events foretold by the facred Oracles, of which we may fee a very great Number accomplished in every Age.

S we may very reasonably fay, that all the history of the people of Ifrael, has a very exact dependence upon the writings of that famous legislator; so we may also observe, that there are fearce

(c) Herod. lib. vii. cap. 5, 6.

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confiderable events which make up the body of this hiftory, which do not deferve a particular remark, either as a fulfilling of Mofes's prophecies, or of those other Prophets whom God raised up after him to reform the errors of that nation. And it is a very confiderable thing, that in all the series of events foretold by the Prophets, there was not one generation amongst all the offspring of the people, but what faw the accomplishment of feveral of thefe oracles. A little attention and care in comparing the chronology of the oracles with that of the events, will fufficiently juftifie what I fay. I fhall content my self with observing their different orders, which will fatisfie a judicious reader, fince my defign do's not engage me neceffarily to do a thing which would carry me too far, and which may be done with little application.

We may confider four forts of oracles; 1. Thofe which have refpect to particular facts nigh at hand. 2. Those which have respect to particular facts, but at a greater diftance. 3. Thofe which have refpect to facts which belong to the whole Jewish nation. 4. Those which have refpect to facts which belong to foreign nations, either bordering upon Palestina, or further from it. Now there is nothing fo exactly fulfilled, as thefe four forts of oracles.

You have, for particular facts, which were nigh at hand, and foretold by the Prophets, the oracle of Mofes concerning the advancement of fofhua, and the conqueft of Palestine, which happened foon after. You have Debora's oracle of the victory promifed to Barak.

You have Samuel's oracle of the advancement and rejection of Saul. You have an oracle of the fame Samuel, of the advancement of David.

You have Nathan's oracle concerning Abfalom's revolt.

You have Abijah's oracle concerning the advancement of Jeroboam, and the divifion of Solomon's kingdom into ten tribes, and into two tribes, whereof the leffer part was to continue in the poffeffion of Solomon's heirs.

You have Abijah's prediction of the death of Jeroboam's fon.

You have a prediction of the advancement of Jehu in the place of Je horam king of Ifrael.

You have Elijah's prediction of the exemplary punishment of Ahab and Jezabel.

You have the prediction of Jehoiakim's death made by Jeremiah, Chap. XXII. 18, 19. and Chap. XXXVI. 30. which happened ten years

after.

You have the prediction of Fechoniah's miferies made by Jeremiah, Chap. XXII.

3.

You have Jeremiah's prediction of the death of the falfe Prophet Ananiah, but feven months before it happened.

You have an express defignation of Zorobabel to conclude the re-building of the temple, made by Zechariah, Chap. IV. 9. and which was compleated in four years.

It is therefore fully evident, that the prediction of particular facts, which were to happen in a very fhort time, ferved to establish the authority of the Prophets. And in effect one fee's that they proceeded

upon the authority which thofe predictions of nearer events gave them, to foretell other particular events at a greater diftance.

So you fee that Mofes foretold after a fort, after Jacob, the manner how the land of Canaan was to be divided, tho' the thing was to be done by lot.

You fee the fame Mofes foretelling the feveral captivities which the people of Ifrael fuffered after the conqueft, and the method of God's raifing up feveral judges, to the number of fourteen, to bring them out of thofe calamities.

You see the fame Mofes foretelling that the temple fhould be built in the tribe of Benjamin, tho' it was the least.

You have Joshua's prediction of the way how the re-builder of Jericho fhould be exemplarily punished, which was accomplished in Ahab's time, (I Kings XVI, 34.) about 570 years after this prophetical imprecation of Joshua.

You have the prediction of a Prophet, who was contemporary to Jeroboam, about the birth of Jofiah, which was not till 350 years after, (1 Kings XIII.) and of the manner of his destroying the altar which Jeroboam built.

One fee's a prediction of the overthrow of the kingdom of Samaria, within 65 years by Ifaiah, in the reign of Jotham.

One fee's the deftruction of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, foretold by several of the Prophets.

One fee's the taking of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, foretold by Ifaiah, Chap. XXIII. 15, 17.

One fee's the promise of its re-establishment, feventy years after its

deftruction.

One fee's the promise of Cyrus's birth made by Isaiah, Chap. XLIV. 45. as of one that should reftore liberty to the Jews, and give them opportunities of re-building their temple at Jerufalem.

One fee's the prediction of the manner how Antiochus Epiphanes would treat the Jews in his life time, and how he should be punished for his cruelties and facriledges.

One fee's the prediction of the courage of the Maccabees, who should oppose the tyranny of that prince, and purifie anew the Divine worship.

So that it is plain, that the foretelling of these particular facts, which were at so great a distance, revived the memory of these Prophets amongst the Jews in every age, and made them read them with a fingu-, lar attention.

One ought alfo to make the fame reflexion upon thofe oracles which have respect to the particular events of the state of the Jews, and its continuance until the time of the Meffiah, after which the Prophets foretel its ruin and deftruction without remedy.

In fhort, one may say, that there was no revolution never fo little confiderable, of which we do not find very many, and very particular predictions, foretold by feveral Prophets upon very different occafions, and particular circumstances.

One fee's in the books of Mofes exact descriptions of the pilgrimages of Abraham's pofterity, of their continuance in Egypt, of the oppreffion they were there to undergo, of their prodigious increase, of their rob

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bing the Egyptians at their departure, of their methods in conquering the land of Canaan, of the way how kings should arife from Abraham; which was accomplished in the Ishmaelites and Edomites, and at last in the Ifraelites.

One fee's exprefs predictions of the feveral judges whom God should raife up to the people of Ifrael.

One fee's an exprefs prediction of the advancement of the tribe of Juda to the kingdom.

One fee's a prediction of the future subjection of the Edomites to the power of the kings of Juda, and of their conquering of the countries which lye along the banks of Euphrates, which was fulfilled in David's

time.

One fee's an exprefs divifion of that kingdom into two very unequal

parts.

One fee's great numbers of predictions concerning the ftate of the kings of Juda and Ifrael: for inftance, you have an oracle concerning the deftruction of Jehu's family in the fourth generation (d).

The deftruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes is exprefly foretold, and the term is very exactly fet down.

The ruin of Jerufalem, and of its kings, is also exprefly foretold.
The time of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and

Their re-eftablishment by Cyrus after feventy years are also very diftinctly foretold.

The defolation of Judea under the empire of Alexander's fucceffors, is foretold very exactly.

Their re-establishment after thefe defolations, and the way by which they were to be defended by the Maccabees, who fhould become their kings is likewife foretold:

In fhort, one fee's exprefs predictions of the ruin of Jerufalem, and of the whole nation under the Roman empire, after the coming of the Meffiah.

As the people of Ifrael had always great quarrels with the neighbouring nations; fo one finds that amongst the oracles which particularly regard the state of the Jews, the Prophets have interwoven a great number, which concern thofe ftrange people, with relation to thofe differences which were kept up between the people of Ifrael, and them.

So one fee's the Egyptians and the Canaanites punifhed, in the execution of the oracles pronounced against the defcendants of Cham.

One fee's the prediction of the ruin of Benhadad king of Syria, and of his house, foretold to the tenth generation.

One fee's the prediction of the ruin of Egypt and Tyre, which happened under Nebuchadnezzar.

One fee's the prediction of the ruin of the Moabites, which was under the fame Nebuchadnezzar, after that kingdom had fubfifted almost fourteen ages from its firft foundation.

One fee's frequent oracles concerning the ruin of Nineveh, and its empire.

One fee's oracles concerning the ruin of Babylon, which happened under Cyrus.

(d) II Kings x. 30.

One

One fee's oracles of the deftruction of the Perfian empire by Alexander." One fee's oracles concerning the manner of this princes conquering the greatest part of the world, and of his leaving his empire divided into four kingdoms.

One fee's frequent oracles concerning the state of the empire of the Seleucida, and the Ptolemees, who had particular quarrels with the Jewish commonwealth.

One fee's the alliances which were to be between the two kingdoms foretold, and the small fuccefs which should arise thence in terminating their differences.

One fee's predictions of the treatment which the Jews should meet with in thofe kingdoms.

One fee's a prediction of the retreat which Egypt was to give to the Jews, and of the temple they were to build there.

One fee's an exact prediction of the manner of the prophanation of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes for three years together.

One fee's the prediction of the ruin of thefe two governments by the arms of the Roman empire.

It is very natural to make fome reflexions upon fuch a various multitude of oracles.

I. That there are no books in the world which are formed like those which we find in the hands of the Jews.

One finds there a hiftory exactly pursued, and in a natural dependancce, from the beginning of the world, for 3500 years.

One finds there a series of oracles which foretel all forts of events, fo infeparably united with the hiftory, that it is impoffible to find by what means the prophecies could have been fo brought to fupport the hiftory, and the history to support the authority of the prophecies.

. One finds oracles fo clear, and so particular, especially in the book of Daniel, that Porphyry a mortal enemy to the Chriftians, was forc'd to affert that the book of Daniel was forged after Antiochus Epiphanes's time; a ridiculous imagination! For this prophecy was tranflated into Greek more than one hundred years before, and was in the hands, not only of the Jews, but of the Egyptians alfo, mortal enemies to the whole Jewish

nation.

This alfo is very surprizing, that fince the Jews, after their dispersion, preserve these hiftories wherever they are, as the accomplishments of the oracles, and thefe oracles as predictions of thofe events of which their history is very full, they should never think of propofing to us any books of a like nature, confidering that now for one and twenty ages. they have had no paralel authors, who have both writ history, and pronounced oracles.

II. But, as these reflexions lead us on to others, fo we ought to enter upon them by confidering what the most unreasonable obftinacy can oppose to the authority of the Hiftorical and Prophetical Books of Scrip

ture.

CHAP. IV.