Christ had been predeftinated from the beginning of the world, in the ftrict and exact fenfe of the words, has been fufficiently proved by the paffages above-quoted. Ephef.: i. 4. 1 Pet. i. 20. Rev. xiii. 8. St. Paul, in the next verse but one tells us, that this myftery was," according to the eternal purpofe which "God had purposed in Christ Jesus. He has alfo in formed us in the first chapter (even according to Mr.. Locke's own interpretation) that this eternal purpose was made, "not only before the Law, but even before the "foundation of the world." Luke i. 10. runs thus; "As he fpake by the mouth of "his holy prophets, which have been fince the world "began." The very fame words are repeated, Aɛts iii. 21. In these paffages, therefore, the word aww evidently takes in the whole period of the ancient Prophecies, and confequently muft extend beyond the age of the Law, if any Prophecies were given before this period. We are told," that the divine Laws, especially those "of the Christian difpenfation, are chiefly a declaration of "the natural and neceffary effects of fin-given to fore66 warn us of the natural confequences of our own acts "and habits, and to prevent thofe moral evils, to which "we are expofed by the very conftitution of our being." "If heaven be not fo much the reward of religion, as "the natural confequence of a religious frame of mind, and "vice verfa; then how abfurd is it *,' &c. If heaven be only the natural confequence of a religious frame of mind, it will follow, that the facrifice of Chrift was fuperfluous and unneceffary. There was only occafion for a divine Teacher, to point out, and lay open this natural and necessary connexion between virtue and eternal happiness. "Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have "enter'd into the heart of man, the things which "God has prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor. Had not the blifs and glory of heaven in ii. 9. B b finitely finitely exceeded the natural effect of human virtue, it never would have been defcribed in fo pompous and mag nificent a manner. It is ftill more difficult to fuppofe, that the Scripture. doctrine of future punishments, was chiefly a declaration of the natural effect of vice. For, on this fuppofition, we muft conclude, that they, who never heard of the Gofpel, are liable to much the fame punishment with those who live under it. And yet, this feems repugnant both to the voice of Reafon and Scripture. Our Saviour certainly knew nothing of this connexion, when he faid, "The fervant who knew his Lord's will, and prepared "not himself, neither did according to his will, fhall be "beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and "and did commit things worthy of ftripes, fhall be beaten "with few ftripes *." The learned tranflator of King afferts the eternity of future punishments †. Now, if this revelation was given to forewarn us of the natural effects of vice, it will follow, that eternal punishment was one of its natural effects. And if fo, it ought to have been promulged long before the publication of the Gofpel. For men could not be liable to thofe eternal punishments, 'till the doctrine had been revealed to them. Whether the punishments, mentioned in the New Teftament, are, or are not properly eternal; it is allowed on all hands, that they are much greater than those discovered by the light of nature. The queftion, therefore, will return, why were they not revealed fooner? For the followers of Lord Bolingbroke will fay, that God actually deceived men, if he did not fet before them the full confequences of their disobedience. According to this hypothefis, the great end of Revelation, was to point out, and lay open the natural connexion between virtue and happiness, and vice and mifery. The revelation, therefore, ought to have been univerfal, or to have extended to all times and places. For it would impeach the goodnefs, and even justice. of God, to fuppofe, that he intended to inflict punish+ P. 447. * Luke xii. 47, 48. ments, ments which had not been revealed, and were not difcoverable by the light of nature. As it was not therefore confiftent with the juftice of God, ever to leave men without the revelation given in the Gofpel; what will become of the progreffive scheme afferted by this learned writer, in which he fuppofes, that this revelation of the Gospel had been gradually opened and unfolded from the time of Adam, to that of Jefus Chrift? For, the part of it relating to future punishments, fhould have been perfectly revealed from the beginning, that men might have fair warning of the fituation in which they stood. Note 5. Chap. iii. page 169, line 6. "Eliphaz appears quite aftonished, and asks Job where he had this knowledge, whether he had the fecret "of God, and had engroffed all wisdom to himfelf; he tells him, they were no ftrangers to the ways of God, but had heard as much from their fathers, as Job: "though he pretended to the knowledge of fuch fecrét things. Art thou the firft man that was born? Or waft "thou made before the hills? Haft thou heard the fecret of "God? And doft thou reftrain wisdom to thyself? What "knowest thou that we know not? What understandeft theu " which is not in us? "After this ftrong expoftulation, he returns to his "old argument, and offers many proofs from ancient tradition, of God's immediate vengearce upon the wicked *.” But whence does it appear, that the fecret, which occafioned this ftrong expoftulation, was the knowledge of the refurrection and a future ftate? Or, why might it not be the notion of an unequal or ordinary Providence, which his Lordship affures us, had been afferted by Job, and denied by his friends? This will be no improbable fuppofition, if the principal point in difpute, between him and his friends, was, whether the afflictions of this world, are certain marks of God's difpleafure, and an indication of the wickedness of those that suffer! * Difcourfes on prophecy, p. 242. Bb The The context too feems to lead us to this fenfe, fince Eliphaz, after his expoftulation, proceeds to offer many proofs of God's immediate vengeance on the wicked. "The next (fays his Lordfhip) who answers Job, is "Bildad.-He talks in the fame ftrain, and reproaches Job with his pretence to fecret knowledge above others. Wherefore, fays he, are we counted as beafts, and re"puted vile in your fight? chap. xviii. 3. And because Fob had talked as if the heavens fhould ceafe to be, and "that the earth and its inhabitants fhould fail, and the "rock be removed out of his place; Bildad thinks him di ftracted even with paffion, and reproaches him with his "wild conceit. He teareth himself in his anger; fhall "the earth be for faken for thee, and fhall the rock be re"moved out of his place?" chap. xviii. 4. As if he had faid, "What is this wonderful man, that he expects to fee "all things defroyed, the earth and the heavens to pass "away, that there may be a proper time to do him juftice? "Is it not more reasonable to think, that God will do justice "here, than that all the works of nature should be destroyed, "to make way for judgment?" He then proceeds, " Yea, the light of the wicked fhall be put out, and the spark of "bis fire fhall not fhine." ver. 5*. What Bildad means by removing the rock out of his place, appears to be Job's pleading for the ceffation of the extraordinary Providence. For fince Bildad, according to his Lordship, afferts fuch a Providence, and makes it consist in distributing good and evil to merit and demerit, which he confiders as the immoveable terms of intercourse between God and man; the denying and disturbing such a difpenfation of things, is elegantly called the removing the rock from its place. And his proceeding immediately to affert the temporal punishment of the wicked fully fupports this interpretation. All then his Lordfhip has proved, is, that Job's friends reproached him with pretending to be wifer than all men, and arrogating to himself the fecret of God. But, that this charge arofe from his afferting the doctrine of the refurrection and a future ftate, is only fuppofed, and not proved. I *P. 242, 243. I was I was a little furprized, indeed, to find his Lordship affirming, that this knowledge was peculiar to Job, and a Jecret to his friends: But much more, to find him deserted by his old fecond, Dr. Stebbing; who maintains, that this doctrine was the common traditionary expofition of the Abrahamic Covenant. For, if this were the cafe, it could not poffibly be unknown to Job's friends, who, indeed, from the whole courfe and tenour of the book, seem to be rather better acquainted with the ancient difpenfations of Providence to mankind, than even Job himself. But, his Lordship has here the mortification even of a general defertion; for not only the ingenious and learned Dr. Grey, but even his Chaplain, Dr. Brown, fuppofes this was a common doctrine, and, as fuch, no better known to Job, than to his friends. They will therefore be much embarraffed in the defence of his Lordfhip's expofition. For, by fuppofing that Job's friends were well acquainted with the doctrine of the refurrection, they deprive his Lordfhip of the only argument, which he thinks fufficient to repel the objection brought against this interpretation of the text. The great difficulty to be accounted for, is, how Job came to be fo well acquainted with this doctrine, while it remained a secret to his friends? His Lordship obferves, that, in the age of Job, "there might poffibly be among the few faithful in the world, a traditionary expofition of the promises of God, grounded upon more exprefs "revelations, made either before, or foon after the "Flood, than have come down to our times *." Now it happens, that Job's friends were amongst the faithful of thofe times; and therefore, according to the prefent fuppofition, could be no strangers to this doctrine, if it had been the common traditionary expofition of the revelations above-mentioned. His Lordfhip fuppofes the expofition to have been common to the few faithful, as he affigns it to them without diftinction. The thing to be explained, is, how this knowledge came to be peculiar to Job, and the reafon here affigned implies, that it was not peculiar to Job, but common to the few faithful of those times. * P. 237, 238. |