was to ceafe, as demonftrably appears by GoD's enacting the positive laws against marrying within certain degrees of confanguinity and affinity; fubject nevertheless, like all other of His general laws, to fuch exceptions, reftraints, or qualifications, as He in his infinite wisdom fhould fee expedient. Some of them carry their own reafons with them, others do not, but doubtless all equally wife, as equally the difpenfations of Omniscience.

By the way, I cannot help obferving it as a very extraordinary thing, that the Chriftian churches fhould adopt one part of the law refpecting marriages, and pay no regard to the reft of it. They have made the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus, from ver. 6 to ver 18, inclufive, a part of our religion; fo Exod. XX. 14. and fome other paffages of the law. But why this, and not the rest of the whole law of God, where marriage, as His ordinance relating to all mankind, is concerned? Is not this proceeding of Christian churchmen, like that of the Jewish, Mal. ii. 9. where GoD complains-Ye have not kept my ways, but bave been partial in the law? The man who

wives from among the idolatrous nations with whom they lived.

This was the reafon which Abraham gave, for chufing a wife for Ifaac from his own kindred, Gen. xxiv. 3, & feq. and his defcendents for following his example, Gen. xxviii. 1, & alib. but which was now entirely ceased, by their being fo multiplied; fo that they could easily find wives, without being neceffitated to marry their near relations, or to contract marriages with the heathen. See Ant. Univ. Hift. vol. . p. 140.

renders

renders a folid reafon for adopting Exod. xx. to ver. 17, inclufive, and Lev. xviii. from ver. 6 to ver. 18, inclufive, as well as many other parts of that chapter, and at the fame time rejecting Exod. xxii. 16. and Deut. xxii. 28, 29, as touching the moral intendment of them, will perform a very difficult talk, unless he can prove that marrying a wife's fifter, for instance, is a greater crime, and of more evil tendency to mankind, as well as more inimical to the interefts of civil fociety, than enticing a virgin-debauching her-and then* abandoning her to infamy and profitutution; or, that though this was a fin in the days of Mofes, yet it is no fin now, and therefore the pofitive commandments which Gop enacted to prevent it, are no longer to be confidered of any force or obligation.

It is true, that we do not keep precifely the Seventh day, as the Chriftian Sabbath, looking

upon

This is what the Jews do not fuffer to be done to this hour-if a fingle man debauches a virgin, he is obliged to marry herif a married man does fo, he is obliged to maintain her as long as he lives. This in countries where polygamy is not allowed; in others, where it is allowed, he muft marry her. Surely, in this refpect, they may rife in judgment against this generation, and condemn

it.

+ I have lately feen a MS. of that laborious calculator and chronologift, Mr. Kennedy, in which he would prove, that what we call Sunday, is the true original Sabbath. This is very clear, that the week was divided into fever days, fo early as at the creation of the world (fee Gen. i.); that each day is diftinguished by the works which GoD wrought therein; that the day on which Gon is faid to

rest

upon the fourth commandment, in that refpect, as ceremonial, typical, or prefigurative of fomething else (whether rightly or no does not come within my prefent defign to confider); but as to the moral part, which fanctifies a given portion of our time for the public worship of Him to whom we stand indebted for all, we very rightly look upon this as the bounden duty and fervice of Chriftians, as well as Jews, till time fhall be no more. So with regard to the fum of fifty fhekels, or the dower according to the dowry of virgins, (fee Exod. xxii. 16. Deut. xxii. 29.) this may be fet down among the ceremonial or temporary obfervances of what may be called, to this purpose, the Jewish law. But with refpect to the moral intendment of those laws in Exodus and Deuteronomy, which was to establish, ratify, and confirm the marriage-ordinance in the fullness of its obligation-they shall be one flesh-to prevent men from abandoning women to whoredom and prostitution, and all the bitter confequences of feduction and dereliction, those laws ought to be as binding on the consciences of mankind, as the morality of the fourth

reft from all His work that He had made, is called the feventh day, which he hallowed and fanctified on that account; that the fourth commandment recites all this, as the reason for its being kept holy; that the Jews have at all times obferved our Saturday as the feventh day or Sabbath; that its Greek name Ed66alov, and its Latin name Dies Sabbathi, always denoted the Jewish SABBATH; and that the day we call Sunday, is in the New Testament called Mia Zabbalar, the first day of the week-ergo, it cannot be the feventh. commandment

3

commandment, or of any other law of GoD whatsoever. To thefe purposes they are as much moral laws as any of the ten commandments. If this be not the cafe, why do we waste the time of public worship in caufing these chapters to be red over to the people? Deut. xxii. is our first leffon for the eveningservice every 4th of March; as is Exod. xxii. for every 8th of February in the morning. But it would be very ftrange if the minifter was to preface with" Good people, ye are "affembled here to hear the word of GOD; "but ye are not to mind what ye hear, be"cause the protection of females from the luft, villainy, treachery, and cruelty of

men, is no longer an object of the "laws which I am going to read to you. "They bound the Jews, but we Chriftians "have nothing to do with them." Dreadful as fuch language would be to hear, it says no more, than every man does, who contends for the obfoleteness and abolition of these wife, holy, and falutary provifions for female fecurity.

With respect to the New Teftament, the fubject of polygamy, fimply confidered, is not fo much as mentioned, either as good or bad. The more I have fearched, the more I am convinced that it is not to be found, unless incidentally in the epiftles to Timothy and Titus, and there only hinted at as the poffible fituation of certain people. Nor is there the leaft occafion it should be mentioned, as it was amply explained and deterVOL. I. minately

M

minately fettled in the law which was given by Mofes (fee John i. 17.); where we do not find it faid, that one law was given by Mofes, and another law by Jefus Chrift; but 'O vouos, νόμος, THE LAW-which, in the connection it ftands, muft fignify the whole law-all the law which GOD ever ordained or revealed to mortals-was given by MOSES; Grace-to pardon the tranfgreffions of that law; Truth -to fulfil and anfwer every demand of its moral requirements, as well as every ceremonial prefiguration-came by JESUS CHRIST. Heb. ix. 15. Col. ii. 17. So that CHRIST is the end of THE LAW for righteousness to every one that believeth. Rom. x. 4.

However, as it is almoft univerfally taken for granted, that "though polygamy might "be allowed under the Old Teftament, yet "it is forbidden under the New Tefta-"ment;" and as this opinion is as prevalent as that of tranfubftantiation, and the worfhip of the Virgin Mary, are in the church of Rome, and for centuries were in the church of England, let us proceed farther to examine the foundation upon which it stands.

In the first place, I cannot find, or even conceive, an inftance in which the writings of the apostles of CHRIST Contradict those of MOSES and the PROPHETS. If there could be fuch a thing, both must be rendered fufpicious-one must be falfe-both fides of a contradiction cannot be true. The adverfaries of revelation have long tried, as they have earnestly wifhed, to find fuch a thing,