fecuring their integrity and purity, if we could fuppofe any defign to corrupt them.

Fourthly, The hesitation and difficulty with which a few books of the New Teftament were received into the canon, fhew the great concern of the primitive Christians about their canon, i. e. the high importance of the books received into it; and are therefore a strong evidence, firft, for the genuineness and truth of the books which were received without hefitation; and then for thefe others, fince they were received universally at last.

Fifthly, The great religious hatred and animofity which fubfifted between the Jews and Samaritans, and between several of the ancient fects amongst the Chriftians, fhew of what importance they all thought their facred books; and would make them watch over one another with a jealous eye.

THE LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND MANNER OF WRITING, USED IN THE BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, ARE Argu

MENTS OF THEIR GENUINENESS.

HERE I obferve, first, That the Hebrew language, in which the Old Teftament was written, being the language of an ancient people, and, one that had little intercourfe with their neighbours, and whose neighbours also fpake a language that had great affinity with their own, would not change fo faft as modern languages have done, fince nations have been varioufly mixed with one another, and trade, arts, and sciences, greatly extended. Yet fome changes there muft be, in paffing from the time of Mofes to that of Malachi. Now, I apprehend that the Biblical Hebrew correfponds to this criterion with fo much exactnefs, that a confiderable argument may be deduced thence in favour of the genuineness of the books of the Old Tefta

ment.

Secondly, The books of the Old Teftament have too confiderable a diverfity of style to be the work either of one Jew (for a Jew he muft be, on account of the language), or of any fet of contemporary Jews. If therefore they be all forgeries, there must be a fucceffion of impoftors in different ages, who have concurred to impofe upon pofterity, which is inconceivable. To fuppofe part forged, and part genuine, very harsh; neither would this fuppofition, if admitted, be fatisfac

is

tory.

Thirdly, The Hebrew language ceafed to be spoken, as a living language, foon after the time of the Babylonifh captivity: but it would be difficult or impoffible to forge any thing in it, after it was become a dead language. For there was no grammar made for the Hebrew till many ages after; and, as it is difficult to write in a dead language with exactness, even by the help of a grammar, so it seems impoffible without it. All the books of the Old Teftament muft therefore be, nearly, as ancient as the Babylonifh captivity; and, fince they could not all be written in the fame age, fome must be con

fiderably

fiderably more ancient; which would bring us again to a fucceffion of confpiring impoftors.

Fourthly, This laft remark may perhaps afford a new argument for the genuineness of the book of Daniel, if any were wanting. But indeed the Septuagint tranflation fhews both this, and all the other books of the Old Teftament, to have been confidered as ancient books, foon after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, at least.

Fifthly, There is a fimplicity of ftyle, and an unaffected manner of writing, in all the books of the Old Teftament; which is very ftrong evidence of their genuineness, even exclufively of the fuitablenefs of the circumftance to the times of the fuppofed authors.

Sixthly, The ftyle of the New Teftament is alfo fimple and unaffected, and perfectly fuited to the time, places, and perfons. Let it be obferved farther, that the ufe of words and phrafes is fuch, also the ideas, and method of reafoning, as that the books of the New Teftament could be written by none but perfons originally Jews; which would bring the inquiry into a little narrower compass, if there was any occafion for this.

One may also observe, that the narrations and precepts of both Old and New Teftament are delivered without hesitation; the writers teach as having authority; which circumftance is peculiar to thofe who have both a clear knowledge of what they deliver, and a perfect integrity of heart.

PROP. VIII.

THE VERY GREAT NUMBER OF PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES OF TIME, PLACE, PERSONS, &C. MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES,

ARE ARGUMENTS BOTH OF THEIR GENUINENESS AND TRUTH.

THAT the reader may understand what I mean by thefe particular circumftances, I will recite fome of the principal heads, under which they may be claffed.

There are, then, mentioned, in the book of Genefis, the rivers of Paradife, the generations of the antediluvian patriarchs, the deluge with its circumstances, the place where the ark refted, the building of the tower of Babel, the confufion of tongues; the difperfion of mankind, or the divifion of the earth amongst the pofterity of Shem, Ham, and Japhet; the generations of the poffdiluvian patriarchs, with the gradual fhortening of human life after the flood; the fojourn ings of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, with many particulars of the ftate of Canaan, and the neighbouring countries, in their times; the deftruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; the state of the land of Fdom, both before and after Efau's time; and the defcent of Jacob into Egypt, with the state of Egypt before Mofes's time.

In the book of Exodus are the plagues of Egypt, the inftitution of the paffover, the paffage through the Red Sea, with the deftruction of Pharaoh and his hoft there, the miracle of manna, the victory over the Amalekites, the folemn delivery of the law from mount Sinai, many particular laws both moral and ceremonial, the worship of the golden calf, and a very minute defcription of the tabernacle, priefts garments, ark, &c.

VOL. V.

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In

In Leviticus we have a collection of ceremonial laws, with all their particularities, and an account of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu.

The book of Numbers contains the first and fecond numberings of the feveral tribes, with their genealogies, the peculiar offices of the three feveral families of the Levites, many ceremonial laws, the journeyings and encampments of the people in the wilderness during forty years; with the relation of fome remarkable events which happened in this period, as the fearching of the land, the rebellion of Korah, the victories over Arad, Sihon, and Og, with the divifion of the kingdoms of the two laft among the Gadites, Reubenites, and Manaffites, the hiftory of Balak and Balaam, and the victory over the Midianites, all defcribed with the feveral particularities of time, place, and perfons.

The book of Deuteronomy contains a recapitulation of many things contained in the three laft books, with a fecond delivery of the law, chiefly the moral one, by Mofes upon the borders of Canaan, juft before his death, with an account of this.

In the book of Jofhua, we have the paffage over Jordan, the conqueft of the land of Canaan in detail, and the divifion of it among the tribes, including a minute geographical defcription.

The book of Judges recites a great variety of public tranfactions, with the private origin of fome. In all, the names of times, places, and perfons, both among the Ifraelites, and the neighbouring nations, are noted with particularity and fimplicity.

In the book of Ruth is a very particular account of the genealogy of David, with feveral incidental circumftances.

The books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, contain the tranfactions of the kings before the captivity, and governors afterwards, all delivered in the fame circumftantial manner. And here the particular account of the regulations facred and civil eftablished by David, and of the building of the temple by Solomon, the genealogies given in the beginning of the first book of Chronicles, and the lifts of the perfons who returned, fealed, &c. after the captivity, in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, deferve efpecial notice, in the light in which we are now confidering things.

The book of Efther contains a like account of a very remarkable event, with the inftitution of a feftival in memory of it.

The book of Pfalms mentions many hiftorical facts in an incidental way; and this, with the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclefiaftes, and Canticles, allude to the manners and cuftoms of ancient times in various ways.

In the Prophecies there are fome hiftorical relations; and in other parts the indirect mention of facts, times, places, and perfons, is interwoven with the predictions in the moft copious and circumftantial

manner.

If we come to the New Teftament, the fame obfervations prefent themselves at first view. We have the names of friends and enemies, Jews, Greeks, and Romans, obfcure and illuftrious, the times, places, and circumftances of facts, fpecified directly, and alluded to

indirectly,

indirectly, with various references to the customs and manners of those

times.

Now here I obferve, firft, that in fact we do not ever find, that forged or falfe accounts of things fuperabound thus in particularities. There is always fome truth where there are confiderable particularities related, and they always feem to bear fome proportion to one another. Thus there is a great want of the particulars of time, place, and perfons, in Manetho's account of the Egyptian dynafties, Ctefias's of the Affyrian kings, and thofe which the technical chronologers have given of the ancient kingdoms of Greece; and, agreeably thereto, thefe accounts have much fiction and falfhood, with fome truth: whereas Thucydides's hiftory of the Peloponnefian war, and Cæfar's of the war in Gaul, in both which the particulars of time, place, and perfons, are mentioned, are universally esteemed true to a great degree of exactness.

Secondly, a forger, or a relater of falfhoods, would be careful not to mention fo great a number of particulars, fince this would be to put into his readers hands criterions whereby to detect him. Thus we may fee one reafon of the fact mentioned in the laft paragraph, and which in confirming that fact confirms the propofition here to be proved.

Thirdly, a forger, or a relater of falfhoods, could scarce furnish out fuch lifts of particulars. It is easy to conceive how faithful records kept from time to time by perfons concerned in the tranfactions should contain fuch lifts; nay, it is natural to expect them in this cafe, from that local memory which takes ftrong poffeffion of the fancy in those who have been prefent at tranfactions; but it would be a work of the highest invention, and greatest ftretch of genius, to raise from nothing fuch numberlefs particularities, as are almost every where to be met with in the fcriptures. The account given of memory, imagination, and invention, in the foregoing part of these observations, fets this matter in a ftrong light.

There is a circumftance relating to the Gospels, which deferves particular notice in this place. St. Matthew and John were apostles; and therefore, fince they accompanied Chrift, muft have this local memory of his journeyings and miracles. St. Mark was a Jew of Judea, and a friend of St. Peter's; and therefore may either have had this local memory himself, or have written chiefly from St. Peter, who had. But St. Luke, being a profelyte of Antioch, not converted perhaps till feveral years after Chrift's refurrection, and receiving his accounts from different eye-witneffes, as he fays himself, could have no regard to that order of time, which a local memory would fuggeft. Let us fee how the Gofpels answer to thefe pofitions. St. Matthew's then appears to be in exact order of time, and to be a regulator to St. Mark's and St. Luke's, fhewing St. Mark's to be nearly to, but St. Luke's to have little or no regard to the order of time in his account of Chrift's miniftry. St. John's Gospel is, like St. Matthew's, in order of time; but as he wrote after all the reft, and with a view only of recording fome remarkable particulars, fuch as Chrift's ac

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tions

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tions before he left Judea to go to preach in Galilee, his difputes with the Jews of Jerufalem, and his difcourfes to the apoftles at his laft fupper, there was lefs opportunity for his local memory to fhew itself. However, his recording what pafied before Chrift's going into Galilee, might be in part from this caufe, as St. Matthew's omiffion of it was probably from his want of this local memory. For it appears, that St. Matthew refided in Galilee, and that he was not converted till fome time after Chrift's coming thither to preach. Now this fuitableness of the four Gofpels to their reputed authors, in a circumftance of fo fubtle and reclufe a nature, is quite inconfiftent with the fuppofition of fiction or forgery. This remark is chiefly taken from Sir Ifaac Newton's chapter concerning the times of the birth and pasfion of Chrift, in his comment on Daniel.

Fourthly, if we could fuppofe the perfons who forged the books of the Old and New Teftaments, to have furnished their readers with the great variety of particulars above mentioned, notwithstanding the two reasons here alledged against it, we cannot however conceive, but that the perfons of thofe times when the books were published, muft, by the help of thefe criterions, have detected and exposed the forgeries or falfhoods. For thefe criterions are fo attefted by allowed facts, as at this time, and in this remote corner of the world, to esta- . blifh the truth and genuineness of the fcriptures, as may appear even from this chapter, and much more from the writings of commentators, facred critics, and fuch other learned men as have given the hiftorical evidences for revealed religion in detail; and by parity of reason, they would fuffice even now to detect the fraud, were there any whence we may conclude, à fortiori, that they must have enabled the perfons who were upon the spot, when the books were publifhed, to do this; and the importance of many of thefe particulars, confidered under Prop. VI. would furnish them with abundant motives for this purpofe. And upon the whole, I infer, that the very great number of particulars of time, place, perfons, &c. mentioned in the fcriptures, is a proof of their genuineness and truth, even previously to the confideration of the agreement of these particulars with hiftory, natural and civil, and with one another, of which I now proceed to treat.

PROP. IX.

THE AGREEMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES WITH HISTORY, NATURAL AND CIVIL, IS A PROOF OF THEIR GENUINENESS AND

TRUTH.

THUS the hiftory of the fall agrees in an eminent manner both with the obvious facts of labour, forrow, pain, and death, with what we fee and feel every day, and with all our philofophical inquiries into the frame of the human mind, the nature of focial life, and the origin of evil, as may appear from thefe papers amongst other writings of the fame kind. The feveral powers of the little world within a man's own breast are at variance with one another, as well as thofe of the great world; we are utterly unable to give a co

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