true God the allegiance of this one nation, and their adherence to the purity of his worship.

Befides, it being abfolutely neceffary to the great purposes of the Jewish dispensation, that a special and extraordinary providence fhould conftantly attend that people, making them profperous and flourishing so long as they preferved the purity of their religion, and involving them in national calamity and diftrefs whenever they departed from it, the Ifraelites themselves would not have been fairly dealt with, if every poffible avenue had not been guarded against the introduction of fo deftructive an evil. And, after all, we fee that, even these feemingly rigorous methods, were not quite fufficient for the purpose; and that the divine being was obliged, as we may fay, to teach his useful leffons to the world by the punishment, as well as profperity of his favourite people; but in either of these cases, their example was of the fame benefit to the world at large.

It

It fhould alfo be confidered, that the idolatry of the antient Gentile world, and efpecially that of the inhabitants of Canaan, was by no means a system of merely speculative opinions; but a course of the most atrocious and abominable practices, enjoining the cruel murder of numberlefs innocent children, as well as other human victims, and the most shocking lewdness, together with other vices of the most unnatural and deteftable nature. And furely it becomes a wife legiflator, to reftrain the commiflion of fuch deftructive vices as thefe.

As to the cafe of Abraham, with refpect to the command he received to offer his fon Ifaac, it cannot, I think, be denied, that he who gave life had a right to take it away,

and in whatever manner his infinite wisdom fhould fee fit; and if, for the trial of his obedience in fo tender a point, he chose to make Abraham himself the inftrument of it, instead of a difeafe, or what we ufually call an accident, I do not know that it is inconfiftent with any thing that we already know of the divine conduct. Abraham, who had

had

had frequent communications with God, could have no doubt concerning the authority from which the order came; and knowing the divine power and justice, he might be satisfied that, notwithstanding all appearances, neither himself nor his fon would be lofers by their obedience.

Paul fays, that Abrahám knew that God was even able to raife Ifaac from the dead, and indeed it is probable that this was the very thing that Abraham expected; for the promise that was made to him, of being the father of many nations, chiefly respected Ifaac, In Ifaac fhall thy feed be called. If, therefore, Abraham believed this promife, he must have fully expected, either that God would not permit him to put his fon to death, or that he would raife him from the dead; and if he had not firmly believed the former promise, much lefs would he have regarded this harsh command.

It may also be observed, in order to leffen the difficulty which arifes from this part of the fcripture hiftory, that the Gentile

world

world was, probably, about this time, falling into the horrid cuftom of human facrifices; and that the divine being might chufe to fhew, in this inftance, that though he had a right to demand fuch offerings, they were not pleafing to him, and he would not accept of them. Upon all other occafions he is reprefented as expreffing the greatest abhorrence of fuch cruel rites, and his highest displeasure against all those nations who practifed them. See Lev. xviii. 21. Deut. xviii. 10. Jer. vii. 31. Ez. xvi. 21. XX. 26. 31.

I would obferve farther, that, with refpect to ideas of right and equity, the fentiments of thofe people who obferved any particular fact, and who were to be inftructed by it, fhould be chiefly confidered. Now it cannot be pretended that any objection was ever made to God's requiring the facrifice of Ifaac, for the trial of Abraham's faith and obedience, till the prefent age, which is above four thousand years fince the event; nor can it be made to appear that any bad confequence ever flowed from it.

VOL. II.

D

Though

Though the Ifraelites left Egypt loaded with the treasures of the country, the ungrateful ufage they had met with, and the cruel and unjuft fervitude to which they had been reduced, and the recompenfe they were fairly intitled to fhould be confidered; in order to leffen the difficulty which might arife from the account of the method which they took to recover their right. But the word which we render borrow, alfo fignifies to require, or demand; and in the fituation in which the Egyptians are represented to have been, willing to get rid of the Ifraelites at any rate, left they should all be dead men, it may easily be imagined, that they would have been as ready to give, as to lend them, whatever they should have asked.

It is also faid, that when they left the country, it was on a promise to return; but certainly that promife muft have been cancelled by the hoftile manner in which they were purfued by the Egyptians. Befides the use of ftratagems, in order to free men from unjust fervitude, is not confidered as liable to much objection in the history of human affairs.

It