e

d

6. The Son often reigning with the Father, his Reign is fometimes put down as commencing from his Partnership with his Father in the Kingdom, and in other places, from his reigning alone after his Father's decease. Thus the difficulties are explained concerning the beginning of the Reigns of Jehoram King of Ifrael, Son of Ahab, and Jehoram King of Judah, Son of Jehofaphat, 2 Kings i. 17. iii. 1. For it is faid exprefly, that Jehofaphat being then King of Judah, Jehoram the Son of Jehofaphat, King of Judah, began to reign, 2 Kings viii. 16. It is likewife manifeft, that Fehoafh, the Son of Jehoabaz, King of Ifrael, muft reign with his Father three Years, 2 Kings xiii. 1, 10. This is also applyed in the explication of other Questions by St. Jerom. The Reign of Azariah is computed from his taking the Government upon himself at fixteen Years of Age, in the 27th Year of Jeroboam King of Ifrael, for then he is faid to begin to reign, 2 Kings xv. i. whereas his Father Amaziah lived but to the fifteenth Year of Jeroboam's Reign, 2 Kings xiv. 17. In the Kingdom of Ifrael, there was a long Interregnum between Jeroboam the Second and Zachariah, 2 Kings xiv. 23. xv. 8. Some align a threefold computation of the Years of Nebuchadnezzar's Reign, the first from his laying Siege to Jerufalem, the fecond from his taking it, and the beginning of the Captivity, the third from his entire Monarchy after the Conqueft of Egypt. Others affign two beginnings of Nebuchadnezzar's Reign, the one from his coming with his

Quod commodiùs explicari non poteft, quàm illâ admiffâ Hypothefi, quæ eodem illo Anno 17. Jehofaphati, Jehoramum ejus filium Judæ Proregem conftitutum fuiffe, ejufque vicariæ poteftatis Anno 2. Jehofaphati patris definente 18.) mortuo fratri Achazia fucceffiffe in Regno Ifraelitico Jehoramum alterum, ex Prorege jam Regem factum. Cujus deinde ita regnantis Anno 5. Jehoramum quoque Judæ Proregem à vivente Patre Jehofaphato, jam feniore, Regni factum fuiffe confortem, & quafi ex Cæfare creatum Auguftum, Uffer. Chron. Sacr. p. 7.

Army into Syria, during the Life of his Father, the other from his Father's Death.

7. The Terms of Time in Computation, are fometimes taken inclufively, and at other times exclufively, Matth. xvii. 1. we read, After fix days Jefus taketh Peter, James, and John his Brother, and bringeth them up into an high Mountain apart; and in like manner, Mark ix. 2. But this is faid, Luke ix. 28. to come to pass about an eight days after; which is very confiftent with what the other Evangelifts write. For St. Matthew and St. Mark speak exclufively, reckoning the fix days between the time of our Saviour's Discourse, which they there relate, and his Transfiguration; but St. Luke includes the day in which he had that difcourse with his Difciples, and the day of his Tranffiguration, and reckons them with the fix intermediate days. The Rabbins also obferve, that the very first day of a Year may ftand in computation for that Year and by this way of reckoning, mistakes of Years current for Years compleat, or Years compleat for 8 Years current, in the fucceffions of fo many Kings, and the Tranfactions of Affairs for fo long a time, may amount to a confiderable number of Years. For this reafon Thucydides fays, he computes the Years of the Peloponnefian War, not by the Magistrates yearly chofen during that time, but by fo many Summers and Winters: Whereas Polybius, Jofephus, and Plutarch, have been thought to contradict themselves, because they sometimes reckon by current, and fometimes by compleat Years.

h

f

Thefe, and feveral other ways, by which Difputes in Chronology may be occafioned, are a fufficient Argument to us, that they do not imply, that there were

f Lightf. Harm. of the N. Teft. §. ix.

8 Ἡμεῖς τὸ ἀκριβές ἴσως ο Γνούμω ἁπάντων τέ αριθμόν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀναξεγράφθαι εν ἱεροῖς βίβλοις του ἐπιτρέχοντας ptwas is sureas. Theoph, ad Eutolych: 1. 3. h Thucyd, lib. v. C. 20.

Ruald. in Plut. Animadv. 45.

originally

originally Chronological Mistakes in the Books themfelves. And if they might fo many ways arife without any Error in the Original Writings; if the fame difficulties occur upon fo very nice and intricate a Subject in all Books in the World, and it could be by no means neceffary, that Books of Divine Authority should be either at first so penned, as to be liable to no wrong Interpretations, or be ever after preferved by Miracle from all corruption, it is great rafhnefs to deny the Divine Authority of the Scriptures upon the account of any difficulties in Chronology.

CHAP. VII.

Of the Obfcurity of fome Places in the Scriptures, particularly of the Types and Prophefies.

Here it mult in the first place be remembred, that

it has been a common and true obfervation, that all Authors are rather perplex'd and obfcured, than explained by a multitude of Commentators; and this is fo true of no Book as of the Scriptures: for as none has had fo many Gloffes and Comments put upon it by Men of all Ages and Nations, fo moft of thein endeavour to find out fome new Explication, or to serve a Cause, and maintain fome particular Opinions by their Expofitions. So that it is a wonder that any part of the Scriptures fhould be clear, after Volumes have been written, I may truly fay, upon every Text, rather than that difficulties fhould be found in them. But at the fame time it must be acknowledged, that we find it declared in the Scriptures them felves, that there are places of difficulty in them: which makes it but fo much the more unreasonable, that this should be urged as an Objection against them. For what is acknowledged and profefs'd, muft be fuppos'd to be

L 2

with

with a design, and for fome good reason; and the reafon and defign ought to be inquired into, before this be used as an Objection. St. Peter fpeaking of Christ's coming to Judgment, fays, that St. Paul in his Epiftles had delivered some things hard to be understood; and St. Paul himself intimates, that there had been mistakes concerning what he had written in this matter, 2 Theff. ii. 1, 2, 3. St. Peter on this occafion fays, that it fo happened not only to St. Paul's Epiftles, but to other Books of the Scriptures, thro' the ignorance and rashnefs of unlearned and unftable Men, that they were wrefted by them to their own deftruction, 2 Pet. iii. 16. And it happens more especially in thofe places of Scripture, which are concerning things of this nature, or contain whatever Prophecies of things to come. Therefore I fhall, I. give an account how it comes to pafs, that there are things hard to be understood in the Scriptures in general. II. I fhall in particular confider the obfcurity of Prophecies, and fhall prove the certainty of the Types made ufe of by the Prophets, and fhew that there is great force and evidence in the Arguments brought from them. III. I fhall prove that the obfcurity of fome places of the Scriptures is no prejudice to the Authority of them, nor to the end and design of them.

I. I shall give an account in general, how it comes to pass, that there are fome things in the Scriptures hard to be understood.

1. Some Doctrines, which it mightily concerns us to be acquainted withal, could not be delivered in fo plain a manner, but that they must needs have great difficulties in them; as the Doctrine of the Bleffed Trinity, of the Incarnation of Christ, of the Refurrection, and of the Joys of Heaven and of the Torments of Hell. There are feveral things which we are capable of knowing, and which are neceffary to be known, of which yet we cannot have fo perfect and abfolute a knowledge, but that fomething of them will

ftill

ftill remain unknown to us. As there is no Object more visible, or better known to us than the Sun is; but to calculate the dimenfions and the distance of the Sun from us, to know how its Light is communicated, and suddenly spread over the Face of the Earth, are things of great difficulty, and can never perhaps be fully accounted for: In like manner, what the Scriptures deliver to us concerning the Nature of God, and the state of the World to come, must needs have difficulties in it, tho' we are never fo well aslured that there is a God, and a Future State, because thefe are things above our Understandings: we may perfectly understand that there are fuch things, but can have no full and clear conception of all that may be fit to be delivered to us concerning them. Nothing can be made plainer to us, than we are capable of knowing it, or than the Nature of it, and the proportion our Faculties bear to it, will allow. God being incomprehenfible, whatever is delivered concerning him, can never be without all difficulty; and whilst we are in this World, we can never understand the state of the next fo fully, as we shall do hereafter. And thefe are difficulties which muft be, unless the Nature of the things, or our own Nature were different from what it is.

Nevertheless, the greatest Mysteries in the Chriftian Religion, fo far as they are revealed, and fo far as they are required to be known by us, contain no inexplicable difficulties; but if we will needs know more of the Mysteries of Religion than is revealed, and more than is required to be known, no wonder if we meet with difficulties. What is meant, for instance, by the Doctrine of the Trinity, is capable of being very well understood, as the oppofers of this Doctrine must own, unless they will confefs, that they oppose they know not what. He that fays a thing is not true, understands what it is which he pretends not to be true, if he knows what he fays. The thing

L3

then