have they burnt in the fire to their gods. See chap. xviii. 10...2 Kings xvii. 17" *And Ahaz made his fon to pass through the fire, according to the abomination of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Ifrael." 66 + Moreover Ahaz burnt incenfe in the valley of the fon of Hinnom, and burnt his children [his fon in Jofephus] in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord caft out before the children of lírael." " And the Sepharites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Ananimelech, the gods of Sepharvaim," &c. " And Jofiah defilca Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom that no man might make his fon or his daughter to pafs through the fire unto Moloch." Yea he facrificed their fons and their daughters unto demons; and fhed innocent blood, the blood of their fons and of their daughters. whom they facri ced unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. See Ifa. Ivii. 5" The children of Judah hath done evil in my fight. faith the Lord; they have fet their abominations in the houfe which is called by my name to pollute it And they have built the high places of Topheth which is in the valley of the fon of Hinnom, to burn their fons and their daughters in the fire, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." **Thus faith the Lord of Hofts, the God of Ifrael, Behold I will bring evil upon this place, the which whofoever heareth his ears shall tingle, because thou haft foríaken me, and have eftranged this place, and have burnt incenfe unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of 'udah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents. They have built alfo the high places of Baal, to burn their fons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor fpake it, neither came it into my mind," &c. Y CL "++ They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the fon of innom, to caufe their fons and their daughters to pafs through the fire unto Moloch, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind that they should do this abomination, to caufe Judah to fin." "It Moreover thou haft taken thy fons and thy daughters, whom thou haft borne unto me, and thefe halt thou facrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a fmall matter, that thou haft flain my children, and delivered them to, cause them to pass through the fire for them?" See chap. xx. 26... Cor. v. 20. "Thou hateft the old inhabitants of thy holy land, for doing most odious works of witchcraft, and wicked facrifices; and alfo there merciless murderers of children, and devourers of man's flesh, and feafts of blood, with their prieits, out of the midst of their idolatrous crew, and the parents that killed with their own hands fouls deftitute of help." 6. That Almighty God never permitted, in any one inftance, that fuch a human facrifice fhould actually be offered to himself (though he had a right to have required it, if he had fo pleased) under the whole Jewish difpenfation, which yet was full of many other kinds of facrifices, and this at a time when mankind generally thought fuch facrifices of the greatest virtue for the procuring pardon of fin, and the di 2 Chron. xxviii 3.- 2 Kings xv. 3. Kings xxii. 10. xix. 3, 4, 5Avi. 20, 21. - 2 Kings xvii. 31.Jer vit. 30, 31, 32. Wild. xii. 4, 5, 9. Jer. Ezek vine favor. This the ancient records of the heathen world attest. Take their notion in the words of Philo Byblius, the tranflator of Sanchoniatho: "It was the cuftom of the ancients, in the greatest calamities and danger, for the governors of the city or nation, in order to avert the deftruction of all, to devote their beloved fon to be slain, as a price of redemption to the punishing [or avenging] dæmons: And thofe fo devoted were killed after a myftical manner" This the hiftory of the king of Moab,† when he was in great diftrefs in his war againft Ifrael and Judah, informs us of; who " then took his eldeft fon, that fhould have reigned in his ftead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the city wall." This alfo the Jewith prophet Micah implies, when he enquires, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of fat kids of the goats? Shall I give my first born for my tranfgreffion, the fruit of my body for the fin of my foul?" No certainly, For he hath thewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juftly, and to love mercy, and to humble thyfelf to walk with thy God?" It is true God did here try the faith and obedience of Abraham to himself, whether they were as ftrong as the Pagans exhibited to their dæmons or idols, yet did he withal take effectual care, and that by a miraculous interpofition alfo, to prevent the execution, and provided himfelf a ram, as a vicarious fubftitute, to fupply the place of Ifaac immediately :|| And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said. Here am I And he faid, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou feareft God, feeing thou haft not withheld thy son, thine only fon, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his fon." Thus though Jepthaf has, by many, been thought to have vowed to offer up his only daughter and child for a facrifice, and that as bound on him, upon fuppofition of his vow, by a divine law, Levit. xxvii. 28, 29, of which opinion I was once myfelf, yet upon more mature confideration I have, for fome time, thought this to be a miftake, and that his vow extended only to her being devoted to ferve God at the tabernacle, or elsewhere, in a state of perpetual virginity; and that neither that law did enjoin any human facrifices, nor do we meet with any example of its execution in this fenfe afterwards. Philo never mentions any fuch law, no more than Jofephus: And when Jofephus thought that Jeptha had made fuch a vow, and executed it, he is fo far from hinting at its being done in compliance with any law of God, that he exprefsly condemns him for it, as having acted contrary thereto; or, in his own words, ¶ "as having offered an obligation neither conformable to the law, nor acceptable to God, nor weighing with himfelf what opinion the hearers would have of fuch a practice. 7. That Ifaac being at this time, according to Jofephus,** who is herein juftly followed by Archb. Uher,++ no lefs than twentyfive years of age, and Abraham being by confequence, one hundred and twentyfive, it is not to be fuppofed that Abraham could bind Ifaac, in order to offer him in facrifice, but by his own free confent; which free confent of the party who is to fuffer feems abfolutely necellary in all fuch cafes; and which free confent St. Clement, as well as Jofephus, dif have they burnt in the fire to their gods. See chap. xviii. 10...2 Kings xvii. 17 And Ahaz made his fon to pass through the fire, according to the abomination of the heathen, whom the Lord caft out before the children of Ifrael." "Moreover Ahaz burnt incenfe in the valley of the fon of Hinnom, and burnt his children [his fon in Jofephus] in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord caft out before the children of Iírael." " And the Sepharites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelec. and Anaumelech the gods of bepharvaim," &c. "And Jofiah defilca Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom that no man might make his fou or his daughter to pafs through the fire unto Moloch." Yea he facrificed their fons and their daughters unto damons; and fhed innocent blood, the blood of their fons and of their daughters. whom they facri ced unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blocd. See Ifa. lvii. 5 " "The children of Judah hath done evil in my fight, faith the Lord; they have fet their abominations in the houfe which is called by my name to pollute it And they have built the high places of Topheth which is in the valley of the fon of Hinnom, to burn their fons and their daughters in the fire, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." **Thus faith the Lord of Hofts, the God of Ifrael, Behold I will bring evil upon this place, the which whofoever heareth his ears thall tingle, because thou haft foríaken me, and have eftranged this place, and have burnt incenfe unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of udah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents. They have built alfo the high places of Baal, to burn their fons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor fpake it, neither came it into my mind," &c. "++ They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the fon of innom, to caufe their fons and their daughters to pafs through the fire unto Moloch, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to fin." "It Moreover thou haft taken thy fons and thy daughters, whom thou haft borne unto me, and these halt thou facrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a fmall matter, that thou haft flain my children, and delivered them to, caufe them to pass through the fire for them?" See chap. xx. 26... Cor. v. 20. "Thou hateft the old inhabitants of thy holy land, for doing moft odious works of witchcraft, and wicked facrifices; and alfo thofe merciless murderers of children, and devourers of man's flesh, and feafts of blood, with their priests, out of the midft of their idolatrous crew, and the parents that killed with their own hands fouls destitute of help." 6. That Almighty God never permitted, in any one inftance, that fuch a human facrifice fhould actually be offered to himself (though he had a right to have required it, if he had fo pleafed) under the whole Jewish ditpenfation, which yet was full of many other kinds of facrifices, and this at a time when mankind generally thought fuch facrifices of the greatest virtue for the procuring pardon of fin, and the di vine favor. This the ancient records of the heathen world attest. Take their notion in the words of Philo Byblius, the tranflator of Sanchoniatho: "It was the cuftom of the ancients, in the greatest calamities and danger, for the governors of the city or nation, in order to avert the destruction of all, to devote their beloved fon to be flain, as a price of redemption to the punishing [or avenging] dæmons: And thofe fo devoted were killed after a myftical manner" This the hiftory of the king of Moab,† when he was in great distress in his war againft Ifrael and Judah, informs us of; who "then took his eldeft fon, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the city wall." Tls alfo the Jewish prophet Micah implies, when he enquires, “Wherewith fhall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of fat kids of the goats? Shall I give my first born for my tranfgreffion, the fruit of my body for the fin of my foul?" No certainly, For he hath thewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juftly, and to love mercy, and to humble thyfelf to walk with thy God?" It is true God did here try the faith and obedience of Abraham to himself, whether they were as ftrong as the Pagans exhibited to their dæmons or idols, yet did he withal take effectual care, and that by a miraculous interpofition alfo, to prevent the execution, and provided himfelf a ram, as a vicarious fubftitute, to fupply the place of Ifaac immediately: || "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he faid. Here am I: And he faid, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou feareft God, feeing thou haft not withheld thy fon, thine only fon, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his fon." Thus though Jeptha has, by many, been thought to have vowed to offer up his only daughter and child for a facrifice, and that as bound on him, upon fuppofition of his vow, by a divine law, Levit. xxvii. 28, 29, of which opinion I was once myself, yet upon more mature confideration I have, for fome time, thought this to be a miftake, and that his vow extended only to her being devoted to serve God at the tabernacle, or elsewhere, in a state of perpetual virginity; and that neither that law did enjoin any human facrifices, nor do we meet with any example of its execution in this fenfe afterwards. Philo never mentions any fuch law, no more than Jofephus: And when Josephus thought that Jeptha had made fuch a vow, and executed it, he is fo far from hinting at its being done in compliance with any law of God, that he exprefsly condemns him for it, as having acted contrary thereto; or, in his own words, ¶ "as having offered an obligation neither conformable to the law, nor acceptable to God, nor weighing with himfelf what opinion the hearers would have of fuch a practice. 7. That Ifaac being at this time, according to Jofephus,** who is herein juftly followed by Archb. Usher,++ no lefs than twentyfive years of age, and Abraham being by confequence, one hundred and twentyfive, it is not to be fuppofed that Abraham could bind Ifaac, in order to offer him in facrifice, but by his own free confent; which free confent of the party who is to fuffer feems abfolutely necellary in all fuch cafes; and which free confent St. Clement, as well as Jofephus, dif Ap. Marth. p. #6, Gen. xxii. 11-13.* Antiq. B. I. chap. ii. 77. + 2 Kings iii. 27.- - Micah vi. 6-8.Judg. xi. 36-39.- Antiq. B. V. 7-10.-++ Ush. Annal. ad A. M. 2133. A tinctly takes notice of on this occafion. St Clement describes it thus: "Ifaac being fully perfuaded of what he knew was to come, cheerfully yielded himfelf up for a facrifice." And for Jofephus,t after introducing Abraham in a pathetic fpeech, laying before Ifaac the divine command, and exhorting him patiently and joyfully to fubmit to it, he tells us, that Ifaac very cheerfully confented;" and then introduces him in a short, but very pious anfwer, acquiefcing in the propofal; and adds, that "he then immediately and readily went to the altar to be facrificed." Nor did Jepthat perform his rash vow, whatever it were, till his daughter had given her confent to it. 8. It appears to me that Abralm never defpaired entirely of the interpofition of Providence for the prefervation of Ifaac, although in obedience to the command he prepared to facrifice him to God. This feems to me intimated in Abraham's words to his fervants, on the third day, when he was in fight of the mountain on which he was to offer his fon Ifaac, "We will go and worship, and we will come again to you." As alfo in his anfwer to his fon, when he inquired, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham faid, My fon, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Both these paffages look to me somewhat like fuch an expectation. However, 9. It appears moft evident, that Abraham, and I suppose Isaac alfo, firmly believed, that if God fhould permit Ifaac to be actually flain as a facrifice, he would certainly and fpeedily raife him again from the dead. This, to be fure, is fuppofed in the words already quoted, that both he and his fon would go and worship, and come again to the fervants;" and is clearly and juftiy collected from this history by the author to the Hebrews, chapter xi. 17, 18, 19. "By faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Ifaac, and he that had received the promifes offered up his only begotten, of whom it was faid, that in Ifaac hall thy feed be called, accounting, or reasoning, that God was able to raife him from the dead." And this reafoning was at once very obvi. ous, and wholly undeniable, that fince God was truth itfelf, and had over and over promifed that he would "multiply Abraham exceed. ingly; that he should be a father of many nations; that his name hould be no longer Abram but Abraham, becaufe a father of many nations God had made him, &c. that Sarai his wife fhould be called Sarah, that he would blefs her, and give Abraham a fon also of her; and that he would blefs him, and the fhould become nations, and kings of people thould be of her, &c. and that in Ifaac fhould his feed be called." And fince withal it is here fuppofed, that Ifaac was to be flain as a facrifice, before he was married, or had any feed, God was, for certain, obliged by his promifes, in these circumstances, to raife Ifaac again from the dead: And this was an eminent instance of that faith whereby** “ Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteoufnefs," viz. that if God fhould permit Ifaac to be facrificed, he would certainly and quickly raife him up again from the dead,†† "from whence alfo he received him in a figure," as the author to the Hebrews here juftly obferves. 10. That the firm and just foundation of Abraham's faith and affurance in God for fuch a resurrection, was this befides the general confideration of the divine veracity, that during the whole time of his fojourning in ftrange countries, in Canaan and Egypt, ever fince he had been called out of Chaldea or Mefopotamia at feventy five years of age, he had had conflant experience of a special, of an overruling, of a * Clem, fect. 3. ·--+ Antiq. B.1. chap.xii. fect. 3.Gen. xxii. 5, 7. Gen. xvii. 2, 4, 5, 6, 16. **Gen. xv. 6.- -++ Heb, xi, 19.- -§§ Gen. xii. 4. -‡ Judg. xi. 36, 37* Gen. xxi. 12. |