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"feed, (fays his Lordship) were reserved to be revealed in God's appointed time. The Prophets under the Law, could not be com"miffioned to declare these bleffings nakedly "and openly, without anticipating the time "of their revelation. Hence it is, that the predictions concerning Christ and his king"dom, are cloathed in fuch figures, as were proper to raise the hope and attention of the

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people, without carrying them beyond the "bounds of knowledge, prefcribed by God, " to this age of the Jewish covenant.

"reft of the world were got out of their minority, and "fit to enter on, and make a proper use of, their inhe"heritance +."

How can he fuppofe, confiftently with the order and gradation of his progreffive fcheme, that the Law affords only a dark and diftant intimation under types and emblems, of those better things, which had been plainly and explicitly revealed in the Religion of the Patriarchs ?

The learned Writer pretends that the Jews, and the reft of the world were yet in their ftate of minority, and fo not qualified to enter on their inheritance, or receive the doctrine of a future ftate. This feems very extraordinary. The people of God and the reft of the world were come to full maturity in the time of Abraham, and are returned back to their minority in the time of Mofes. Now the fuppofition of a fecond childhood, might ferve to reconcile these appearances. But what supposition will ferve to reconcile them to the Doctor's equable progreffion of truth?

+ P. 98.

In every fentence of this paragraph his Lordship supposes that the grand article of the Gospel, or the promise of life and immortality, was not plainly delivered, either in the Law, or any other previous revelation. Every sentence therefore of this paragraph is a direct contradiction to his Lordship's expofition of this famous text in the book of Job. For Job was furely a prophet, tho' not under the Law, and his prophecies were, by divine providence recorded, preserved, and published for the use of those who were. I fpeak on his Lordship's own fyftem, and on the fyftem of those who fuppofe it prior to any other part of the canon, and written by the hero of the piece.

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He fays, "The hopes of futurity were referved to be revealed, by him, whose province it was to bring life and immortality to light through the Gospel "." But how was this referved, as a province proper and peculiar to Jefus, if, as his Lordship tells us, a plain prophetical defcription of this very article was given in the book of Job?

He obferves, that the ancient Jews were unable to reconcile the prophecies promifing an everlasting kingdom to the Meffiah with

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thofe

those that fentenced him to a life of mifery and forrow, and declared that his affliction should purfue him to the grave. "The refurrection "of Chrift reconciled all these difficulties, "and feeming inconfiftencies: And we now readily admit these prophecies in their plain "literal fenfe, which was a very plain one before, tho' a very hard one to be imagined "or believed "."

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If the Jews faw a plain defcription of the general refurrection in the book of Job, and understood from the paffage in question that the Meffiah was to ftand in the later day upon the earth, in glory and triumph; they must have seen that he was fomething more than a temporal deliverer, or that he was to enjoy a Spiritual kingdom after he had been condemned, executed, and lain in the grave. And if

fo, how could the literal sense of the prophecies above mentioned, have been more hard to be imagined and believed by them then, than it is us by now?

The circumftances mentioned by my Lord Bishop could create no fort of embarras, unless the Jews had been taught to look upon the Meffiab in the light of a temporal deliverer only. And how can his Lordship suppose

P. 35.

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that they were taught to look upon him in this light only, if, as he fays, the doctrine of the general refurrection, which was the completion of his fpiritual victories, had been plainly and clearly revealed to them in the book of Job.

His Lordship is here speaking of the Jews, that lived in the time of Ifaiah," who is "frequently styled the evangelical prophet, "because of the many and exprefs prophe"cies, to be found in him, relating to Chrift, " and his Church."

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Thus he fuppofes that these prefs prophecies did not fo far enlighten the Jews, even in this later period, as to let them into the knowledge of the spiritual character of Chrift, or the genuine and real nature of his kingdom c.

Let us examine next, whether the interpretation of this paffage in Job, be confiftent with the principles advanced in his late book of Sermons.

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In these paffages his Lordship fupposes that the doctrine of life and immortality was not revealed to the ancient Jews. The paffages, therefore, may be turned against him by the Deifts, if he fhould make the doctrine of immortality effential to the Religion of that people.

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Here, he fays, "The whole defign of the "Gospel is ftyled a mystery, because it was kept fecret fince the world began, God not having opened or declared his gracious purpofes before the coming of Chrift. With refpect to this time of fecrecy and filence the Gospel is called a mystery, &c.

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"In this fenfe the Gofpel is full of my"steries, as containing the fecret purposes of "God's hidden wisdom in the redemption of "the world, which were made manifeft by Christ Jefus, who brought life and immortality to light "

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Is it not ftrange then, that his Lordship fhould, at the fame time hold, that a plain prophetical description (i. e. a plain revelation) of the grand article of the Gospel was given in these ages of fecrecy and filence? And yet, there is scarce any one confiderable important branch of the Gospel fyftem, which he does not, fomewhere or other in his writings, suppose to be revealed in these fecret and filent times; being fo far from making the whole Gofpel a mystery, that he will hardly fuffer any fingle part of it to come under that de

nomination.

But it may be, that, from these paffages in the Sermons, we are to infer, that his d Vol. i. p. 132, 133..

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