■IL.II.IS'C
WORKS
JIDHNT EDWARDS,
IN EIGHT VOLUMES,
VOLUME II.
CONTAINING
1. WORK OF REDEMPTION,
il. DISSERTATION ON THE
NATURE OF VIRTUE,
III. OBSERVATIONS CON"
CERNING THE MYSTE'
HIES OF SCRIPTURE,
FIRST AMEBIC JJ\r EDITIOJST.
PUBLISHED AT WORCESTER,
By ISAIAH THOM!aS, Jun.
ISAAC SfURfEVANf^ fRIxTElf,
1808.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The Editor, in giving the History of the
Work of Redemption has followed the fourth Edin-
burgh Edition, printed in the year 1793. This is
according to the form to which the manuscript was
reduced by Dr. Erskine, and appears to ha^ue been
printed with uncommon accuracy, probably under the
eye of the Doctor. This is preferred to the London
Edition, published. in the year ^^^ by Mr. Pitcher.
The Editor of this Edition, though he appears to
ha'ue been conscientiously careful to preserve the senti-
ments of Mr » Edwards, fias so 'varied the style,
that we cease to rely that what we read is the compo-
sition of the original author. The copious notes at-
tached to this Edition were evidently designed to em-
bellish the work, and render it more acceptable among
literary men. They are thought to be of no ad'van-
tage to the reputation of the author, and but in i^ery
few instances to be of any considerable importance to
elucidate his work. Some of our subscribers may
have expected to see them inserted \ but if it had been
expedient, we had absolutely no room for them.
WoaCESTERj Jjiril, 1808.
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE EDLYBURGH EDITION
iHETwho have a relish for the study of the
scriptures^ and have access to peruse the follovding
sheets, ivill^ I ampersuaded^deem themselves rimch in-
debted to the Reverend Mr, Edwardso/' Nevj haven
for consenting to publish them. Though the acute
philosopher and deep divine appears in them, yet they
are in the general better calculated for the instruction
and improvement of ordinary Chris iians, than those of
President Edwards's writings, where the abstruse
nature of the subject, or the subtle objections of oppos-
ers of the truth, led him to more abstract and meta-
physical reasonings. The manuscript being entrusted
to my care, I have not presumed to make any change
in the sentiments or composition, I have, however ^
taken the liberty to reduce it from the form of sermons,
nuhich it originally bore, to that of a continued trea-
tise ; and I have so altered afid diversified the marks
of the several divisions and subdivisions, that each
class of heads might be easily distinguished,
JOHN ERSKINE,
Edinbuugh, v<//in7 29, 1774.
PREFACE,
J.T has long been desh-ed by the friends of Mr. Edv/ards that
a number of his manuscripts should be published ; but the
disadvantage under which all posthumous publications must
necessarily appear, and the difficulty of getting any considera-
ble work printed in this infant country hitherto, have proved
sufficient obstacles to the execution of such a proposal. The
first of these obstacles made me doubt, for a considerable time
after these manuscripts came into my hands, whether I could,
consistently with that regard which I owe to the honor of so
worthy a parent, suffer any of them to appear in the world.
However, being diffident of my own sentiments, and doubtful
■whether I were not over jealous in this matter, I determined
to submit to the opinion of gentlemen, who are fiiends both
to the character of Mr. Edwards and to the cause of truth.
The consequence was, that they gave their advice for pub-
lishing them.
The other obstacle was removed by a gentleman in the
church of Scotland, who was formally a correspondent of Mr.
Edwards. He engaged a bookseller to undertake the work,
and also signified his desire, that these following discourses in
particular might be made public.
Mr. Edwards had planned a body of divinity, in a new
method, and in the form of a history ; in which he was first
to show, how the most remarkable events, in all ages from
the fall to the present times, recorded in sacred and profane
history, were adapted to promote the work of redemption ; and
then to trace, by the Hght of scripture prophecy, hov; the same
work should be yet further carried on even to the end of the
world. His heart was so much set on executing this plan,
that he was considerably averse to accept the presidentship of
Princeton college, lest the duties of that office should put it
fiutof his power.
vi PREFACE.
The outlines of that work are now offered to the pubfic*
as contained in a series of sermons, preached at Northampton
in 1739,* Avithout any view to publication. On that account,
the reader cannot reasonably expect all that from them, which
he might justly have expected, had they been written with
such a view, and prepat^sd by the Author's own hand for the
press.
As to elegance of composition, which is now esteemed so
essential to all publications, it is well known, that the Author
did not make that his chief study. However, his other writ-
ings, though destitute of the ornaments of fine language, have
it seems that solid merit, which has procured both to them-
selves and to him a considerable reputation in the world, and
with many an high esteem. It is hoped that the reader will
find in these discourses many traces of plain good sense,
sound reasoning, and thorough knowledge of Ijie sacred ora-
cles, and real unfeigned piety ; and that, as the plan is new,
and many of the sentiments uncommon, they may afTord en-
tertainment and improvement to the ingenious, the inquisitive,
and the pious reader ; may confirm their faith in God's gov-
ernment of the world, in our holy Christian religion in gen-
eral, and in many of its peculiar doctrines ; may assist in
studying with greater pleasure and advantage the historical
and prophetical books of scripture ; and may excite to a con-
versation becoming the gospel.
That this volume may produce these happy effects in all
who shall peruse it is the hearty desire and prayer of
The reader's most humble servant,
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
Mwhaveti, Feb. 25, 1773.
♦This is necessary to be remembered by the reader, in order to understand
tome chronological observations in the followins work.
CONTENTS.
FACE.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 9
PERIOD I.
From the fall to the incarnation of Christ, ---,-----24
PART I.
From the fall to the flood, ----- -- -------25
PART II.
From the flood to the calling of Abraham, ---------44
PART III.
From the calling of Abraham to Moses, ----------54
PART IV.
From Moses to David, ---------------69
PART V.
from David to the Babylonish captivity, --------- g6
PART VI.
From the Babylonish captivity to the coming of Christ, ----- J31
IMPROVEMENT.
Inspiration, and usefulness of the books of the Old Testament, - - i63
PERIOD II.
The time of Christ's humiliation, «.---.----- i8o
PART I.
Of Christ's becoming incarnate to capacitate himself for the purchase of
redemption, ---.----.-------- iSt
PART II.
Of the purchase itself, -------- -------1 go
Sect. 1. What is intended by Christ's purchasing redemption, - - ilni.
Sect. 2. Observations concerning this purchase, ----.- lyi
SiCT. 3. Sufferings by which Christ purchased redemption, . - - - 19^
IMPROVEMENT.
Sect. 1. Reproof of unbelief, selfrighteousness, and neglect of salva-
tion, ------------._ ----- 217
Sect. 2. Encouragement to trust in Christ, for salvation, - - - - 227
PERIOD III.
From Christ's resurrection to the end of the world, ------ 229
INTRODUCTION.
General observations concerning this period, -------- 231
PART I.
Things whereby Christ was put into a capacity for accomplishing the
•nds of kis purchase, ---.-...-,-..- 2^t
♦!Lt CONTENTS.
PART 11. ,ACE.
How Clirist accomplished this success, --------- 245
Sect. i. How this success is accomplished by God's grace here, - 246
(j I. The means of this success cUabl'shed after Christ's resurrection, - ibid.
k 2. The success itself, -.------_---«.- 253
First. In the ,sufferiiig state of the Church, ------- ibid.
I. From Chriit's resurrecrion till the destruction of Jerusalem, - - 256
II. From the destruction of Jerusalem to that of the Heathen empire, - 266
Infehknce. Truth of Christianity argued from the success of the gospel, 277
III. Success from the time of Constantine till the fall of Antichrist, - s8t
1st. From Constantine till the rise of Antichrist, ------- ibid.
adly. From the rise of Antichrist till the reformation, ----- 285
j,diy. From the reformation till the present time, - - - — - 295
1. Of the reformation itself, --- -- --_--_- Hid.
2. Of the opposition made to the Reformation, ------ 298
3. What success tha gospel has lately had, - ---. -- - 306
4. Present stale of things with regard to the success of the gospel, - - 31O
APPLICATION.
1. Truthof Christianity argued from the events of this period, - - - 315
2. The spirit of true Christians a spirit of suffering, - - - - - 326
3. What reason we Iwve to expect that events foretold in scripture, not
yet fulfilled, shall be accomplished, ---------- 327
4thly. How the success of redemption shall be carried on till Antichrist's
fall, 328
SicoNDLY, Success of redemption through that space wherein the christ-
ian church shall for the most part enjoy prosperity, ----- 346
I. Prosperity of the church through the greater part of this period, - 347
II. The great apostacy that shall t^ke place towards the end of this period, 354
Sect. II. The successof redemption in glory, -------- 358
General rema'-ks on this success, ----- ------ 359
The particular manner in which this success is accomplished, - - - ibid.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE.
I. How great a work the work of redemption is, ----- _ 37^^
II. God the Alpha and Omega, of all things, -------- 37^
III. Christ in all things has the preeminence, - - ----- 381
IV. The consistency, order, and beamy of providence, - - - - ibid.
V. The scriptures the word of God, -- -------- 383
Vf. The majesty and power of God in the work of redemption, - - 385
VII. The glorious wisdom of God in the work of redemption, - - 387
VIII. The stability of God's faithfulness to his people, - - - - 38S
IX. How happy a society thechurch of Christ is, - - - - - - 389
X. The misery of those that are not interested in Christ, ----- 390
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
Chap. I. The essence of virtue, ------- ---- 395
IT. V.'hat true Virtue respects, --------- 404
III. Sccnndary kind of beauty, --------- 413
IV. SelHove, 424
V. Conscienceand the moral sense, -------- 437
VI. Instincts, _-- 447
VII. MisUkes respecting Virtue, -.----.j- 455
VIII. Of sentiment as the foundation of Virtue, ----- 464
S.rYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE, 475
REDEMPTION.
Vol. IL
REDEMPTI
ISAIAH li. 8.
TOK THE MOTH SHALL EAT THEM UP LIKE A GARMENT}
AND THE WORM SHALL EAT THEM LIKE WOOL : BUT MY
RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL BE FOREVER, AND MY SALVATION
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
X HE design of this chapter is to comfort the church under
her sufferings, andthe persecutions of her enemies; and the ar-
gument of consolation insisted on, is, the constancy and perpe^
tuity of God's mercy and faithfuhiess towards her, which shall
be manifest in continuing to work salvation for her, protecting;
her against all assaults of her enemies, and carrying her safely-
through all the changes of the world, and finally crowning her
with victory and deliverance.
In the text, this happiness of the church of God is set forth
by comparing it with the contrary fate of her enemies that op-
press her. And therein we may observe,
1 . How short lived the power and prosperity of the church's
enemies is : T/ie moth shall cat them vfi like a garment^ and the
worm shall eat them like wool; i. e. however great their prosperi-
ty is, and however great their present glory, they shall by de-
grees consume and vanish away by a secret curse of God, till
they come to nothing ; and all their power and glory, and so
their persecutions, eternally cease, and they be finally and irre-
coverably ruined : As the finest and most glorious apparel will in
Vol . I. B
10 WORK OF REDEMPTION.
lime wear away, and be consumed by moths and rottenness.
We learn who those are that shall thus consume away, by the
fore goingverse, viz. those that are the enemies of God's people :
Hearken unto me^ ye that know righteousncs/i, the Jieofile in whose
heart is my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye
afraid of their revilings.
2. The contrary happy lot and portion of God's church, ex-
pressed \n\\\t^t\\ovA?>,AIyrighteousness shall be for ever, and my
salvation from generation to generation. Who are meant as those
that shall have the benefit of this, we also learn by the preced*
ing verse, viz. They that know righteousness, and thejieofde in
ivhose heart is God's law ; or, in one word, the church of God.
And concerning this happiness of theirs here spoken of, we
may observe two things, viz. 1. Wherein it consists ; 2. Its
continuance.
(1) Wherein it consists, viz. In God's righteousness and
salvation toward them. By God's righteousness here, is
meant his faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant promises to his
church, or his faithfulness towards his church and people,
in bestowing the benefits of the covenant of grace upon
them ; which benefits, though they are bestowed of free
and sovereign grace, as being altogether undeserved ; yet
as God has been pleased, by the promises of the covenant
of grace, to bind himself to bestow them, so they are be-
stowed in the exercise of God's righteousness or justice.
And therefore the apostle says, Heb. vi. 10. God is not imright-
eous, to forget your work and labor of love. And so 1 John i. 9.
If we cofjfess our sins, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our
tins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So the word
righteous7tess is very often used in scripture for God's cove-
nant faithfulness ; so it is used in Nchem. ix. 8. Thou hast
performed thy words, for thou art righteous. So we are often to
imderstand righteousness and covenant mercy for the same
thing ; as Psal. xxiv. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the
Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psal.
xxxvi. 10. Continue thy loving kindness to them that know thee,
and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. And Psal. li. 14.
Deliver me from blood guiltiness, God, thou God of my salva-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 11
tjon ; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Dan.
ix. 16. O Lord, according to thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let
thine anger cmd thy fury be turned away. — And so in innumera-
ble other places.
The other word here used is salvation. Of these two, God's
righteousness and his salvation, the one is the cause, of which
the other is the effect. God's righteousness, or covenant mer-
cy, is the root of which his salvation is the fruit. Both of them
relate to the covenant of grace. The one is God's covenant
mercy and faithfulness, the other intends that work of God by
which this covenant mercy is accomplished in the fruits of it.
For salvation is the sum of all those works of God by which the
benefits that are by the covenant of grace are procured and be-
stowed.
(2) We may observe its continuance, signified here by two
expressions ; for ever, diiiA from generation to generation . The
latter seems to be explanatory of the former. The phrase /or
ever, is variously used In scripture. Sometimes thereby is
meant as long as a man lives. So it is said, the servant that
has his ear bored through with an awl to the door of his mas-
ter, should be hisybr ever. Sometimes thereby is meant dur-
ing the continuance of the Jewish state. So of many of the
ceremonial and Levitical laws it is said, that they should be
statutes for ever. Sometimes it means as long as the world
shall stand, or to the end of the generations of men. So it is
said, Eccles. i. 4. " One generation passeth away, and anoth-
er cometh ; but the earth abjdeth fur ever." Sometimes
thereby is meant to all eternity. So it is said, " God is bless-
ed/or evei;" Rom. i. 25. And so it is said, John vi. 51. " If
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ex'cr." And
•which of these senses is here to be understood, the next words
determine, vi?. to the end of the world, or to the end of the
generations of men. It is said in the next words, " and my
salvation /ro?n generqtion to generation." Indeed the fruits of
God's salvation shall remain after the end of the v.orld, as ap-
pears by the 6th verse : " Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath: For the heavens shall vanish
away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment,
12 WORK OF REDEMPTION.
and they that dwell therem shall die in like vaanncv, but my sal-
vation shall be for ever^ and my righteousness shall not be abol-
ished." But the woi'k of salvation itself toward the church
shall continue to be wrought till then : Till the end of the
world God will go on to accomplish deliverance and salvation
for the church, from all her enemies ; for that is Avhat the
prophet is here speaking of ; till the end of the world ; till her
enemies cease to be, as to any power to molest the church.
And this expression, yVom generation to generation^ may deter-
mine us as to the time which God continues to carry on the
work of salvation for his church, both with respect to the be-
ginning and end. It is from generation to generation, /. e.
throughout all generations; beginning with the generations of
men on the earth, and not ending till these generations end, ut
the end of the world And therefore we deduce from these
words this
DOCTRINE.
The Work of Redemption- is a work that GOD
carries on from the fall of man to the end of the
world.
THE genei-ations of mankind on the earth did not begin till
after the fall. The beginning of the posterity of our first par-
ents was after the fall ; for all their posterity, by ordinary
generation, are partakers of the fall, and of the corruption of
nature that followed from it ; and these generations, by which
the human race is propagated, shall continue to the end of the
world : So these two arc the limits of the generations of men
on the earth ; the fall of man, the beginning ; and the end
of the world, or the day of judgment, the end. The same are
the limits of the work of redemption as to those progressive
works of God, by which that redemption is brought about and
accomplished, though not as to the fruits of it ; for they, as
was said before, shall be to all eternity.
The work of redemption and the work of salvation are the
same thing. What is sometimes in scripture called God's
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 13
saving his people, is in other places called his redeeming lliem.
So Christ is called both the Saviour and the Redeemer of his
people.
Before entering on the proposed History of the Work of
Redemption, I would,
1. Explain the terms made use of in the doctrine ;...aBd,
2. Show what those things are that are designed to be ac-
complished by this great work of God.
First, I would show in what sense the terms of the doctrine
are used And, 1. 1 would show how I would be understood
when I use the word redemption y,..and, 2. hoAV I would be un-
derstood when I say, this work is a work of God carried oa
from the fall of man to the end of the world.
I. I would shoAV how I would be understood v.-hen I use Jthc
word redemption And here it may be observed, that tlic
work of redemption is sometimes understood in a more limit-
ed sense, for the purchase of salvation ; for so the v/ord strict-
ly signifies, a purchase of deliverance ; and if we take the
word in this restrained sense, the v/ork of redemption was not
so long in doing. But it was begun and finished with Christ's
humiliation. It was ail wrought while Christ was \ipon earth.
It v/as begun with Christ's incarnation, and carried on through
Christ's life, aiid finished with his death, or the time of his re-
maining vinder the power of death, which ended in his resur-
rection : And so we say, that the day of Christ's resurrection is
the day when Christ finished the work of redemption, /. c
then the purchase was finished, and the work itself, and all
that appertained to it, was -virtualbj done and finished, but not
actually.
But then sometimes the work of redemption is taken more
largely, including all that God works or accomplishes tendinc:
to this end ; not only the purchasing of redemption, but also
all God's works that were properly preparatory to the piu-
chase, or as applying the purchase and accomplishing the suc-
cess of it ; so that the whole dispensation, as it includes the
preparation and the purchase, and the application and success
of Christ's redemption, is here called the work oi redemption.
14 WORK OF REDEINIPTION,
All that Christ docs in this threat affair as mediator, in any of
his offices, either of prophet, priest, or kin;^ ; either when he
■vvas iji[ this world, in his human nature, or before, or since ;
and hot only what Christ the mediator has done, but also what
the Father, or the Holy Ghost, have done, as united or con-
federated in this design of redeeming sinful men ; or, in one
word, all that is wrought in execution of the eternal covenant
of redemption ; this is what I call the work of redemption in
the doctrine ; for it is all but one work, one design. The va-
rious dispensations or works that belong to it, are but the sev-
eral parts of one scheme. It is but one design that is formed
to which all the offices of Christ do directly tend, and in which
ail the persons of the Trinity do conspire, and all the various
dispensations that belong to it are united ; and the several
■wheels are one machine, to answer one end, and produce one
effect.
II. When I say, this Avork is carried on from the fall of
man to the end of the world ; in order to the full understand-
ing of my meaning \n it, I would desire two or three things to
be observed.
1 . That it is not meant, that nothing w as done in order to it
before the full of man. There were many things done in or-
der to this work of redemption before that. Some things werp
done before the world Avas created, yea from all eternity. The
persons of the Trinity were as it were confederated in a de-
sign and a covenant of redemption ; in which covenant the
Father had appointed the Son, and the Son had undertaken the
work ; and all things to be accomplished in the work were
stip\ilated and agreed. And besides these, there were things
done at the creation of the world, in order to that work, before
man fell ; for the Avorld itself seems to have been created in
order to it. The work of creation was in order to God's,
works of providence : So that if it be inquired, which of these
kinds of works is the greatest, the works of creation or the
works of providence ? I answer, the works oX providence ; be-
cause God's works of providence are the end of his works of
creation, as the building an house, or the forming an engine or
machine, is for its use. But God's main work of providonct
WORK OF REDEMPTION. I^
\s this great work of God that the doctrme speaks of, as may
•more fully appear hereafter.
The creation of heaven was in order to the work of redemp-
tion : It was to be an habitation for the redeeined : Matth. xxv.
34. " Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world." E\^n the angels
■were created to be employed in this w<jrk. And therefore the
apostle calls them, " ministering spirits^ sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. i. 14. As to
this lower world, it was doubtless created to be a stage upon
which this great and wonderful work of redemption should be
transacted : And therefore, as might be shown, in many res-
pects, this lower world is wisely fitted, in the formation, for
such a state of man as he is in since the fall, under a possibility
of redemption ; so that when it is said that the work of re-
demption is carried on from the fall of man, to the end of the
Avorld, it is not meant that all that ever was done in order to
redemption has been done since the fall. Nor,
2. Is it meant that there will be no remaining fruits of this
work after the end of the world. The greatest fruits of all
-will be after that. That glory ami blessedness that will be the
sum of all the fruits, vnW remain to all the saints after that....
The work of redemption is not an eternal work, i. e. it is not a
work always a doing and never accomplished. But the fruits
of this work are eternal fruits. The v/ork has an issue. But
in the issue the end will be obtained ; which end will never
have an end. As those things that were in order to this work
before the beginning of the world, as God's electing love, and
the covenant of redemption, never had a beginning ; so the
fruits of this work, that shall be after the end of the world,
never will have an end. And therefore,
3. When it is said in the doctrine, that this is a work that
God is carryingon from thefoll of man to the end of the world,
what I mean is, that those things that belong to this work it-
self, and are parts of this scheme, are all this while accomplish-
ing. There are things that arc in order to it that are before
<the begkining of it, and fruits of it that are after it is finished-
i6 WORK OF REDExMPTION.
But the work itself is so long a doing, even from the fall of
man to the end of the Avorld, it is all this while a carrying on.
It was begun immediately upon the fall, and will continue to
ihe end of the World, and then Avill be finished. The various
dispensations of God that are in this space, do belong to the
same work, and to the same design, and ha\'e all one issue ;
and therefore are all to be reckoned but as several parts of
one woi'k, as it Avere several successive motions of one ma-
chine, to bring about in the conclusion one great event.
And here also we must distinguish betAveen the parts of re-
demption itself, and the parts of the work by Avhich that re-
demption is wrought out. There is a difference between the
parts of the benefits procured and bestowed, and the parts of
tlie work of God by which those benefits Avere procured and
bestowed. As, for example, there is a diffei-ence betAveen
the parts of the benefit that the children of Israel received,
consisting in their redemption out of Egypt, and the parts
of that Avork 6f God by Avhich this Avas Avrought. The
redemption of the children of Israel out of Egypt, con-
sidered as the benefit Avhich they enjoyed, consisted of
lAAO parts, viz. their deliverance from their former Egyp-
tian bondage and misery, and their being brought into a
more happy, state, as the servants of God, and heirs of Canaan.
But tliere are many more things Avhich are parts of that Avork
of God Avhich is called his Avork of redemption of Israel out of
Egypt. To this belong his calling of Moses, his sending
him to Pharoah, and all the signs and Avonders he Avrought in
Egypt, and his bringing such terrible judgments on the
Egyptians, and many other things.
It is this Avork by Avhich God effects redemption that Ave
are speaking of. This Avork is carried on from the fall of man
to the end of the Avorld ; and it is so in two respects.
(1) With respect to the effect Avrought on the souls of the
redeemed ; AAhich is common to all ages from the fall of man
to the end of the Avorld. This effect that I here speak of, is
the application of redemption Avith respect to the souls of par-
ticular persons, in converting, justifying, sanctifying, and glo-
rifymg of them. By these things the souls of particular per-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 17
sons are actually redeemed, and do receive the benefit of the
■work of redemption in its effect in their souls. And in this
sense the work of redemption is carried on in all ages of the
world, from the fall of man to the end of the world. The
work of God in converting souls, opening blind eyes, unstop-
ping deaf ears, raising dead souls to life, and rescuing the mis-
erable captivated souls out of the hands of Satan, was begun
soon after the fall of mxan, has been carried on in the world
ever since to this day, and will be to the end of the world.
God has always, ever since the first erecting of the church of
the redeemed after the fall, had such a church in the world.
Though oftentimes it has been reduced to a very narrov/ com-
pass, and to low circumstances ; yet it has never wholly
failed.
And as God carries on the work of converting- the souls of
fallen men through all these ages, so he goes on to justify
them, to blot out all their sins, and to accept them as righteous
in his sight, through the righteousness of Christ, and adopt
and receive them from being the children of Satan, to be his
own children ; so also he goes on to sanctify, or to carry on
the work of his grace, which he has begun in them, and to
comfort them with the consolations of his spirit, and to glorify
them, to bestow upon them, when their bodies die, that eternal
glory Avhich is the fruit of the purchase of Christ. What is
said, Rom. viii. 30, « Whom he did predestinate, them he
" also called ; and whom he called, them he also justified ;
" and whom he justified, them he also glorified :" I say this
is applicable to all ages, from the fall, to the end of the world.
The way that the work of redemption, with respect to these
cflFects of it on the souls of the redeemed, is carried on from
the fall to the end of the world, is by repeating and continually
Avorking the same work over again, though in different per-
sons, from age to age. But,
(2) The work of redemption with respect to the grand de-
sign in general, as it respects the universal subject and end,
is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world in
a different manner, not merely by repeating or renewing the
same effect in the different subjects of it, but by many suc'
Vol. I. C
Ig WORK OF REDEMPTION".
cessive works and dispensations of God, all tending to ond
great end and effect,all united as the several parts of a scheme,
and all together making up one great work. Like an house
or temple that is building ; first, the workmen are sent forth,
then the materials are gathered, then the ground fitted, then
the foundation is laid, then the superstructure is erected, one
part after another, till at length the top stone is laid, and all is
finished. Now the work of redemption in that large sense
that has been explained, may be compared to such a build-
ing, that is carrying on from the fall of man to the end of the
world. God went about it immediately after the fall of man.
Some things were done towards it immediately, as may be
shown hereafter ; and so God has proceeded, as it Avere, get-
ting materials and building, ever since ; and so will proceed
to the end of the world ; and then the time Avill come when
the top stone shall be brought forth, and all will appear com-
plete and consummate. The glorious structure will then
stand forth in its proper perfection.
This work is carried on in the former respect that has been
mentioned, viz. as to the effect on the souls of particular per-
sons that are redeemed, by its being an effect that is common
to all ages. The work is carried on in this latter respect, viz.
as it respects the church of God, and the grand design in gen-
ei'al, it is carried en, not only by that which is common to all
ages, but by successive works wrought in different ages, all
parts of one whole, or one great scheme, whereby one work
is brought about by various steps, one step in one age, and
another in another. It is this carrying on of the work of re-
demption that I shall chiefly insist upon, though not exclud-
ing the former ; for one necessarily supposes the other.
Having thus explained what I mean by the terms of the
doctrine ; that you may the more clearly see how the great
design and work of redemption is carried on from the fall of
tnan to the end of the world ; I say, in order to this,
I now proceed, in the second place, to show what is the de-
feign of this great work, or what things are designed to be
done by it. In order to see how a design is carried on, we
must first know what the design is. To know how a work-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. , 19
man proceeds, and to understand the various steps he takes, in
order to accoiriplish a piece of work, we need to be informed
what he is about, or what the thing is that he intends to accom-
plish ; othei'wise we may stand by, and see him do one thing
after another, and be quite puzzled and in the dark, seeing
nothing of his scheme, and understanding nothing of what he
means by it. If an architect, with a great number of hands,
W'ere a bujlding some great palace, and one th^t was a strang-
er to such things should stand by, and see some men tligging
in the earth, others bringing timber, others hewing stones,
and the like, he might see that there was a great deal done ;
but if he knew not the design, it would all appear to him con-
fusion. And therefore, that the great Avorks and dispensa-
tions of God that belong to this great affair of redemption may
not appear like confusion to you, I would set before you
briefly the main things designed to be accomplished in this
great work, to accomplish which God began to work present-
ly after the fall of man, and will continue Avoi'king to the end
of the Avorld, when the whole Avork Avill appear completely
finished. And the main things designed to be done by it ura
these that follow.
I. It is to put all God's enemies under his feet, and that the
goodness of God should finally appear triumphing over all
evil. Soon after the world was ci-eated, eril entered into the
world in the fall of the angels and man. Presently after God
had made rational creatures, there were enemies who rose up
against him from among them ; and in the fall of man evil
entered into this lower world, and God's enemies rose up
against him here. Satan rose up against God, endeavouring
to frustrate his design in the creation of this lower world, to
destroy his Avorkmanship here, and to wrest the governmer.t
of this lower Avorkl out of his hands, and usurp the throne
himself, and set up himself as god of this world instead of the
God that made it. And tp these f nds he introduced sin into
the world ; and having made man God's enemy, he brought
guilt on m:-,n, and brought death and the most extreme and
(dreadful misery into the world.
20 WORK OF REDEMPTION.
Now one great design of God in the affair of redemption
was, to reduce and subdue those enemies of God, till they
should all be put under God's feet : 1 Cor. xv. 25. « He must
reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." Things
were originally so planned and designed, that he might dis-
appoint and confound, and triumph over Satan, and that he
might be bruised under Christ's feet. Gen. iii. 15. The
promise was given, that the seed of the woman should bruise
the serpent's head. It Avas a part of God's original design in
this work, to destroy the Avorks of the devil, and confound him
in all his purposes : 1 John iii. 8. " For this purpose was the
Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the woi-ks of
the devil." It was a part of his design, to triumph over sin,
and over the corruptions of men, and to root them out of the
hearts of his people, by -conforming them to himself. He de-
signed also, that his grace should triumph over man's guilt,
and that infinite demerit that there is in sin. Again, it was a
part of his design, to triumph over death ; and however this
is the last enemy that shall be destroyed, yet that shall finally
be vanquished and destroyed.
God thus appears gloriously above all evil ; and triumph-
ing over all his enemies, was one great thing that God intend-
ed by the Avork of redemption ; and the Avork by Avhlch this
was to be done, God immediately Avent about as soon as man
fell ; and so goes on till he fully accomplishes it in the end
of the Avorld.
II. In doing this, God's design Avas perfectly to restore all
the ruins of the fall, so far as concerns the elect part of the
world, by his Son ; and therefore Ave read of the restitution of
all t/n??gs, Acts iii. 21. « "Whom the heaven must receive, until
the times of the restitution of all things ;" and of the times of
refreshing from the presence of the Lord Jesus, Acts iii. 19.
" Repent yc therefore, and be converted, that your sins may
be blotted out, Avhen the times of refreshing shall come from
the presence of the Lord."
Man's soul Avas ruined by the fall ; the image of God Avas
ruined ; man's nature A\'as corrupted and destroyed, and man
became dead in sin. The design of God Avas, to restore the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 21
soul of man ; to restore life to it, and the image of God, in
conversion, and to carry on the restoration in sanctiiication,
and to perfect it in glory. Man's body was ruined ; by the
fall it became subject to death. The design of God was, to
restore it fi'om this ruin, and not only to deliver it from death
in the resurrection, but to deliver it from mortality itself, in
making it like unto Christ's glorious body. The Avorld was
ruined, as to man, as effectually as if it had been reduced to
chaos again ; all heaven and earth were oveithrown. But the
design of God was, to restore all, and as it were to create a
new heaven and anew earth : Isaiah Ixv. 17. " Behold, I
create new heavens, and a new earth ; and the former shall
not be remembered, nor come into mind." 2 Pet. iii. 13.
" Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new
heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
The work by which this was to be done, was begun imme-
diately after the fall, and so is carried on till all is finished at
the end, vrhen the whole world, heaven and earth, shall be
restored ; and there shall be, as it were, new heavens, and a
new earth, in a spiritual sense, at the end of the world. Thus
it is represented. Rev. xxi. 1 . " And I saw a new heaven, and
a new earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away."
III. Another great design of God in the vrork of redemp-
tion, was, to gather together in one all things in Christ, in
heaven and in earth, i. e. all elect creatures ; to bring all elect
creatures, in heaven and in earth, to an union one to another
in one body, under one head, and to unite ail together in one
body to God the Father. This v/as begun soon after the fall,
und is carried on through all ages of the world, and finished at
the end of the world.
IV. God designed by this work to perfect and complete the
glory of all the elect by Christ. It was a design of God to
advance the elect to an exceeding pitch of glory, " such as
eye. hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has ever entered into
the heart of man." He intended to bring them to perfect ex-
cellency and beauty in his image, and in holiness, which is the
proper beauty of spiritual beings ; and to advance them to a
■22 WORK OF REDEMPTION.
glorious degree of honor, and also to an ineffable pitch of
pleasure and joy ; and thus to glorify the whole church of e>
lect men in soul and l)ody, and with them to bring the glory
of the elect angels to its highest pitch under one head. The
■work Avhich tends to this, God began immediately after the
fall, and carries on through all ages, and will have perfected
at the end of the world.
V. In all this God designed to accomplish the glory of the
blessed Trinity in an exceeding degree. God had a design
of glorifying himself from eternity ; to glorify each person
in the Godhead. The end must be considered as first in the
order of nature, and then the means ; and therefore we mvist
conceive, that God having professed tliis end, had then as it
Avcre the means to choose ; and the principal mean that he
pitched upon was this great work of redemption that we are
speaking of. It was his design in this work to glorify his on-
ly begotten son, Jesus Christ ; and it was his design, by the
son to glorify the Father: John xiii. 31, 32. "Now is the
Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God
be glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and
shall straightway glorify him." It was his design that the
Son should tluis be glorified, and sho*.ild glorify the Father by
what should be accomplished by the Spirit to the glory of the
Spirit, that the whole Trinity, conjunctly, and each person
singly, might be exceedingly glorified. The work that Avas
the appointed means of this, Avas begun immediately after the
fall, and is carried on till, and finished at the end of the world,
when all this intended glory shall be fully accomplished in all
things.
Having thus explained tlic terms made use of in the doc-
trine, and shown what the things are Avhich are to be accom-
plished by this great work of God, I proceed now to the pro-
posed History ; that is, to show how what was designed by
the work of redemption is accomplished, in the various steps
of this work, from the fall of man to the end of the world.
In order to this, I would divide this whole space of time in-«
t© three periods : The
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 2S
1st. Reaching from the fall of man to the incarnation of
Christ ; — the
2d. From Christ's incarnation till his resurrection ; or the
whole time of Christ's humiliation ; — the
3d. From thence to the end of the world.
It may be some may be ready to think this a very unequal
division : And it is so indeed in some respects. It is so, be-
cause the second period is so much the greatest : For al-
though it be so much shorter than either of the other, being
but between thirty and forty years, whereas both the other
contain thousands ; yet in this affair that we are now upon, it
is more than both the others. I would therefore proceed to-
show distinctly how the work of redemption is carried on
from the fall of man to the end of the world, through each of
these periods in their order ; which I would do under three
propositions ; one concerning each period.
I. T'/iat from the fall of man till the Incarnation
of Christy God nvas doing those things that %vere pre-
paratory to Chrisfs comings and working out redemp-
tion ^ and \v^ ere forerunners and earnests of it.
II. That the time from Chrisfs incarnation, til!-
his resurrection, %vas spent in procuring and purchas-
ing redemption.
III. That the space of time from the resurrection
of Christ to the end of the world, is all taken up in-
bringing about or accomplishing the great effect or
success of that purchase.
In a particular consideration of these three propositions, the
great truth taught in the doctrine may perhaps appear in a
clear light, and we may see how the work of redemption ii
carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.
24 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
PERIOD I.
From the Fall to the Incarnation.
IVXY first task is, to shov/ how the work of redemp-
tion is cainietl on/rom the Jail of mmi to the incarjiatloyi of
Chri&t, under the Jlrst Jirojiosition, viz.
ThrJ the space of time from the fall of man to the
incarnation of Christ, was taken up in doing those
things that were forerunners and earnests of Christ'' s
coming y and working out redemption^ and were pre-
paratory to it.
The great works of God in the world during this whole
space of time, were all preparatory to this. There were many-
great changes and revolutions in the world, and they were all
only the turning of the wheels of providence in order to this,
to make way for the coming of Christ, and what he was to do
in the world. They all pointed hither, and all issued here.
Hither tended especially all God's great works towards his
church. The church was under various dispensations of prov-
idence, and in very various circumstances, before Christ
came. But all these dispensations were to prepare the way for
his coming. God wa'ought salvation for the souls of men
through all that space of time, though the number was very
small to what it was afterwards ; and all this salvation was, as
it were, by way of anticipation. All the souls that were saved
before Christ came, were only as it were the earnests of the
future harvest.
God wrought many lesser salvations and deliverances for
his church and people before Christ came. These salvations
Avere all but so many images and forerunners of the great sal-
vation Christ was to work out when he should come. God
revealed himself of old, from time to time, from the fall of
man to the coming of Christ. The church during that space
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 25
of time enjoyed the light of divine revelation, or God's word.
They had in a degree the light of the gospel. But all these
revelations Avere only so many forerunners and earnests of the
great light that he should bring w^ho came to be the light of
the world. That whole space of time was as it were the time
of night, wherein the church of God was not indeed wholly
without light : But it was like the light of the moon and stars
that wc have in the night ; a dim light in comparison of the
light of the sun, and mixed with a great deal of darkness. It
had no glory, by reason of the glory that excelleth, 2 Cor. iii-
10. The church had indeed the light of the sun ; but it was
only as reflected from the moon and stars. The church all
that while was a minor. This the apostle evidently teaches
in Gal. iv. 1, 2, 3. " Now I say that the heir, as long as he is
a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of
all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the time appoint-
ed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, Avere
in bondage under the elements of the world."
But here, for the greater clearhiess and distinctness, I
would subdivide this period, from the fall of man to the com-
ing of Christ, into six lesser periods, or parts The
1st. Extending from the fall to the flood ;...the
2d. From thence to t;he calling of Abraham ;...the
od. From thence to Moses ;...the
4th. From thence to David ;...the
5th. From David to the captivity into Babylon ;...and the
eth. From thence to the incarnation of Christ.
PART I.
Fro7n the Fall to the Flood,
THIS was a period farthest of all distant from Christ's ui^
carnation ; yet then this great work was begun to be carried
on ; then was this glorious building begun, that will not be
finished till the end of the world, as I would now show yo^
how. And to this purpose I would observe*
Vol. L D
26 WORK OF REDEMPTIOX. [Period I.
I. As soon as ever man fell, Christ entered on his mediato-
rial work. Then it was that Christ first took on him the
work and office of a mediator. He had midcrtakcn it before
the world was made. He stood engaged with the Father to
appear as man's mediator, and to take on him that office when
there should be occasion, from all eternity. But now the time
was come. When man fell, then the occasion came ; and
ibcn Christ immediately, without further delay, entered on
his work, and took on him that office that he had stood engag-
ed to take on him from eternity. As soon as ever man fell,
Christ the eteraal Son of God clothed himself with the medi-
atorial character, and therein presented himself before the
Father. He immediately stepped in between an holy, infinite,
oftended Majesty, and offending mankind ; and was accepted
in his interposition ; and so wrath was prevented from going
forth in the full execution of that amazing curse that man had
brought on himself.
It is manifest that Christ began to exercise the office of
mediator between God and man as soon as ever man fell, be-
cause mercy began to be exercised towards man immediately.
There was mercy in the forbearance of God, that he did not
destroy him, as ^e did the angels when they fell. But there
is no mercy exercised towards fallen man but through a me-
diator. If God had not in mercy restrained Satan, he would
immediately have seized on his prey. Christ began to do the
part of an intercessor for man as soon as he fell. There is no
mercy exercised towards man but what is obtained through
Christ's intercession ; so that now Christ was entered on his
work that he was to continue in throughout all ages of the
world. From that day forward Christ took on him the care
of the church of the elect ; he took on him the care of fallen
man in the exercise of all his offices ; he undertook thencc-
foi-ward to teach mankind in the exercise of his prophetical
office ; and also to intercede for fallen man in his priestly of-
fice ; and he took, on him, as it were, the care and burden of
the government of the church, and of the world of mankind,
from this day foi'ward. He from that time took upon him the
care of the defence of his elect church from all their enc-
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 27
mies. When Satan, the grand enemy, had conquered and
overthrown man, the busmess of resisting and conquering him
was committed to Christ. He thenceforward undertook to
manage that subtle powerful adversary. He was then ap-
pointed the Captain of the Lord's hosts, and the Captain of
their salvation, and always acted as such thenceforward ; and
so he appeared from time to time, and he will continue to act
as such to the end of the world. Henceforward this lower
world, with all its concerns, -vras, as it were, devolved upon the
Son of God : For when man had sinned, God the father would
have no more to do with man immediately ; he would no
more have any immediate concern with this world of man-
kind, that had apostatized from, and rebelled against him. He
would henceforvv^ard have no concern with man, but only
through a mediator, either in teaching men, or in governing
«r bestowing any benefits on them.
And therefore, when we read in sacred history v/hat God
did from time to time towards his church and people, and
what he said to them, and how he revealed himself to them,
we are to understand it especially of the second person of the
Trinity. When we read of God's appearing after the fall,
from time to time, in some visible form or outward symbol of
his presence, we are ordinarily, if not universally, to under-
stand it of the second person of the Trinity ; which may be
argued from John i. 18. " No man hath seen God at any
time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he hath declared him." He is therefore called " the
image of the invisible God," Col. i. 15; intimating, that
though God the Father be invisible, yet Christ is his image
or representation, by which he is seen, or by which the
Chvtrch of God hath often had a representation of him, that is
not invisible, and in particular that Christ has after appeared
in an himian form.
Yea not only was this lower world devolved on Christ, that
he might have the care and government of it, and order it
agreeably to his design of redemption, but also in some res-
pect the whole universe. The angels from that time were
committed to him, to be subject to him in liis mediatorial of-
28 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
ficc, to be ministering spirits to him in this affair ; and ac-
cordingly were so from this time forward, as is manifest by
the scripture history, wherein we have accounts from time to
time of their acting as ministering spirits in the affairs of the
Church of Christ.
And therefore we may suppose, that immediately on the
fall of man, it was made known in heaven among the angels,
that God had a design of redemption Avith respect to fallen
man, and that Christ had now taken upon him the office and
\york of a mediator between God and man, that they might
know their business henceforward, which was to be subser-
vient to Christ in this office, and as Christ, in this office, has since
that, as God man and Mediator, been solemnly exaltedand instal-
led the King of heaven, and is thenceforward as God man, Me-
diator, the Light, andasitwere, the Sun ofheaven, agreeable to
Rev.xxi.23. "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of ths
moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof ;" so this revelation that Avas
made in heaven among the angels, of Christ's now having
taken on him the office of a mediator between God and man,
was as it were the first dawning of this light in heaven.
When Christ ascended into heaven after his passion, and was
solemnly installed in the throne, as King of heaven, then this
sun rose in heaven, even the Lamb that is the light of the
new Jerusalem. But the light began to dawn immediately
after the fall.
IL Presently upon this the gospel was first revealed on
earth, in these words, Gen. iii. 15. " And I will put enmity
"between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed : It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
W^e must suppose, that God's intention of redeeming fallen
■man was first signified in heaven, before it was signified on
earth, because the business of the angels as ministering spirits
crfthe Mediator required it ; for as soon as ever Christ had
taken on him the work of a mediator, it was requisite that the
angels should be ready immediately to be subservient to him
in that office : So that the light first dawned in heaven ; but
very soon after the same was signified on earth. In those
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 29
words of God there was an intimation of another surety to be,
appointed for man, after the first surety had failed. This was
the first revelation of the covenant of grace ; this was the fif-st
dawning of the light of the gospel on earth.
This lower world before the fall enjoyed noonday light ;
tlie light of the knovv^ledge of God, the light of his glory, and
the light of his favor. But when man fell, all this light was
at once extinguished, and the world reduced back again to to-
tal darkness ; a worse darkness than that which was in the
beginning of the world, that we read of Gen. i. 2. " And the
earth was without form, and void, and darkne.ss was upon the
face of the deep." This was a darkness a thousand times
more remediless than that. Neither men nor angels could
find out any way whereby this darkness might be scattered.
This darkness appeared in its blackness then, when Adam and
his wife saw that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves, and
when they heard the voice of the Lord Cxod walking in the
garden, and hid themselves among the ttees of the garden ;
and Avhen God first called them to an account, and said to
jidarn, What is this that thou hast done ? " Hast thou eaten
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not
eat ?" Then we may suppose that their hearts were filled with
shame and terror. But these words of God, Gen. iii. 15. were
the first da-wning of the light of the gospel after this darkness.
Now first appeared some glimmering of iiglit after this dis-
mal darkness, which before this was without one glimpse of
light, any beam of comfort, or any the least hope. It was an
obscure revelation of the gospel ; and was not made to Jda7}i
or JEve directly, but it was in Avhat God said to the serpent....
But yet it was very comprehensive, as might be easily shown
would iii not take up too much tim.e.
Here was a certain intimation of a merciful design by " the
seed of the woman," which was like the first glimmerings of
tiie light of the sun in the east when the day first dawns. This
intimation of mercy was given them even before sentence was
pronounced on either Adam or Eve, from tenderness to them
to whom God designed mercy, lest they should be overborne
with a sentence of condemnation, Avithout having any thing
Jield forth whence they covild gather any hope.
30 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pe»iioD I.
One of those great things that were intended to be done bv
the work of redemption, is more plainly intimated here than
the rest, viz. God's subduing his enemies under the feet of his
Son. This was threatened now, and God's design of this was
now first declared, which was the work Christ had now under-
taken, and which he soon began, and carried on thencefor-
ward, and will perfectly accomplish at the end of the world.
Satan probably had triumphed greatly in the fall of man, as
though he had defeated the designs of God in the creation of
•man and the world in general. But in these words God gives
him a plain intimation, that he should not finally triumph,
but that a complete victor;/ and triumph should be obtained
over him by the seed of the Moman.
This revelation of the gospel in this verse was the first
thing that Christ did in his prophetical office. You may remem-
ber, that it was said in the first of those three propositions
that have been mentioned, that from tiie fall of man to the in-
carnation of Christ, God was doing those things that Avere
preparatory to Christ'^s coming and working out redemption,
and were forerunners and earnests of it. And one of those
things which God did in this time to prepare the way for
Christ's coming into the world, was to foretel and promise it,
as he did from time to time, from age to age, till Christ came.
This was the first promise that ever was given of it, the first
prediction that ever was made of it on earth.
III. Soon after this, the custom of sacrificing was app>oint-
cd, to be a standing type of the sacrifice of Christ till he should
come, and offer up himself a sacrifice to God. Sacrificing
-was not a custom first established by the Levitical law of Mo-
ses ; for it had been a part of God's instituted worship long
before, even from the beginning of God's visible church on
earth. We read of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
offering sacrifice, and before them Noah, and before him A-
bel. And this was by divine appointment ; for it was a part of
God's worship in his church, that was offered up in faith, and
that he accepted : Which proves that it was by his institu-
tion ; for sacrificing is no part of natural worship. The light
of nature doth not teach men to offer up beasts in sacrifice to
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 51
God ; and seeing it was not enjoined hy the law of nature, if it
was acceptable to God, it must be by some positive command
or institution ; for God has declared his abhorrence of such
worship as is taught by the precept of men without his insti-
tution ; Isa. xxix. 13. " Wherefore the Lord said, Foras-
much as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with
their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from,
me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of
men ; therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous
work," Sec. And such worship as hath not a warrant from di-
vine institution, cannot be offered up in faith, because faith
has no foundation where there is no divine appointment. It
cannot be offered up in faith of God's acceptance ; for men
have no warrant to hope for God's acceptance, in that which is
not of his appointment, and in that to which he hath not
promised his acceptance : And therefore it follows, that the
custom of offering sacrifices to God was instituted soon after
the fall ; for the sci'ipture teaches us, that Abel offered " the
firstlings of his fiock, and of the fat thereof," Gen. iv. 4 ; and
that he was accepted of God in this offering, Heb. xi. 4. And
there is nothing in the story that looks as though the institu-
tion was first given then, when Abel ofiered up that sacrifice
to God ; but it appears as though Abel only therein complied
with a custom already established.
And it is very probable that it was instituted immediately
after God had revealed the covenant of grace, in Gen. iii.
15 ; which covenant and promise was the foundation on
which the custom of sacrificing was built. That promise was
the first stone that was laid towards this glorious building, the
work of redemption, which will be finished at the end of the
world. And the next stone which was laid upon that, was the
institution of sacrifices, to be a type of the great sacrifice.
The next thing that we have an account of after God had
pronounced sentence on the serpent, on the woman, and on
the man, w^as, that God made them coats of skins, and cloth-
ed them ; which by the generality of divines, are thought to
be the skins of beasts slain in sacrifice ; for we have no ac-
count of any thing else that should be the occasion of man's
53 Work of redemption. [Period h
slaying beasts, but only to oITer ihem in sacrifice, till after thd
flood. Men were not wont to eat the flesh of beasts as their
common food till after the flood. The first food of man in
paradise before the fall was the fruit of the trees of paradise ;
and when be was turned out of paradise after the fall, then his
food was the herb of the field: Gen. iii. 18. " And thou
shalt eat of the herb of the field." The first grant that he had
to eat flesh as his common food was after the flood : Gen. ix.
3. " Every moving thing that livcth shall be meat for you ;
even as the green herb have I given you all things." So that
it is likely that these skins that Adam and Eve were clothed
■with, were the skins of their sacrifices. God's clothing them
ivith these was a lively figure of their being clothed with the
righteousness of Christ. This clothing was no clothing of
their own obtaining ; but it was God that gave it them. It is
said, " God made them coats of skins, and clothed them ;'*
as the righteousness our naked souls are clothed with, is not
our righteousness, but the righteousness -virhich is of God. It
is he only clothes the naked soul.
Our first parents, who were naked, were clothed at the cx-
pence of life. Beasts were slain, and resigned up their lives
a sacrifice to God, to afford clothing to them to cover their
nakedness. So doth Christ,to afford clothing to our naked souls.
The skin signifies the life : So Job, ii. 4. " Skin for skin, yea
all that a man hath will he give for his life ;" i. e. life for
life. Thus our first parents were covered with skins of sacri-
fices, as the tabernacle in the wilderness, which signified the
chuixh, was, when it was covered with rams skins died red,
as though they were dipped in blood, to signify that Christ's
righteousness was wrought out through the pains of death,
under which he shed his precious blood.
We observed before, that the light that the church enjoyed
from the fall of man, till Christ came, was like the light which
we enjoy in the night ; not the light of the sun directly, but as
reflected from the moon and stars ; which light did foreshow
Christ, the Sun of righteousness, that was afterwards to arise.
This light oCthe Sun of rightcousijcss to come they had chief-
ly two wajjs ; One was by predictions of Christ to come,
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 3 J
whereby his coming was foretold and promised ; the other
was by types and shadoAvs, v»hereby his coming and redemp-
tion were prefigured. The first thing that was done to pre-
pare the way for Christ in the former of these ways, Avas in
that promise that Avas just taken notice of in the foregoing
particular ; and the first thing of the latter kind, viz. of types,
to foreshow Christ's coming, was that institution of sacrifices
that we are now upon. As that promise in Gen. iii. 15. was
the first dawn Ol gospel light after the fall in prophecy ; so
the institution of sacrifices was the first hint of it in types.
The giving of that promise was the first thing that was done
after the fall, in this work, in Christ's prophetical office ; the
institution of sacrifices was the first thing that we read of af-
ter the fall, by which especially Christ exhibited himself in
;his priestly office.
The institution of sacrifices was a great thing done towards
preparing the way for Christ's coming, and working out re?
demption. For the sacrifices of the Old Testament were the
.main of all the Old Testament types of Christ and his re-
demption ; and it tended to establish in the minds of God's
visible church, the necessity of a propitiatory sacrifice, in or-
der to the Deity's being satisfied for sin ; and so prepared the
way for the reception of the glorious gospel, that reveals the
great sacrifice in tlie visible church, and not only so, but
tin-ough the world of mankind. For from this institution of
.sacrifices that Avas after the fa!!, all nations derived the cus-
tom of sacrificing. For this custom of offering up sacrifices
to the gods, to atone for their sins, Avas common to all na-
iions. No nation, howe\-er barbarous, Avas found Avithout it
iiny where. This is a great evidence of the truth of the Christ-
ian religion ; for no nation, but only the Jcavs, could tell how
they came by this custom, or to Avhat purpose it Avas, to offer
sacrifices to their deities. The light of nature did not teach
them any such thing. Tliat did not teach them that the gods
were hungry, and fed upon the flesh Avhich they burnt in sac-
rifice ; and yet they all had this custom ; of Avhich no other
account can be given, but that they derived it from Noah, who
had it from his ancestors, on Avhooi God had cnjoinied it as »
Voi. I. E
34 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
lypc of the great sacrifice of Christ. However, by this means
all nations of the world had their minds possessed with tliis
notion, that an atonement or sacrifice for sin was necessary ;
and a way was made for their more readily receiving the
great doctrine of the gospel of Christ, which teaches us the
atonement and sacrifice of Christ.
IV. God did soon after the fall begin actually to save the
souls of men through Christ's redemption. In this, Christ,
who had lately taken upon him the work of Mediator between
God and man, did first begin that work, Avhercin he appeared
in the exercise of his kingly office, as in the sacrifices he was
represented in his priestly office, and in the first prediction of
redemption by Christ he had appeared in the exercise of his
prophetical office. In that prediction the light of Christ's re-
tlemption first began to dawn in the prophecies of it ; in the
institution of sacrifices it first began to dawn in the types of
it ; in this, viz. his beginning actually to save men, it first
began to dawn in the fruit of it.
It is probable, therefore, that y\dara and Eve were the first
fruits of Christ's redemption ; it is probable by God's man-
ner of treating them, by his comforLing them as he did, after
their awakenings and terrors. They were awakened, and
©shamed with a sense of their guilt, after their fall, when their
eyes were opened, and they saw that they were naked, and
sev/ed figleaves to cover their nakedness ; as the sinner, under
the first awakenings, is wont to endeavor to hide the naked-
ness of his soul, by patching up a righteousness of his own.
Then they were further terrified and awakened, by hearing
the voice of God, as he was coming to condemn them. Their
coverings of figleaves did not answer the purpose ; but not-
withstanding these, they ran to hide themselves among the
trees of the garden, because they were naked, not daring to
trust to their figleaves to hide their nakedness from God,
Then they were further awakened by God's calling of them
to a strict account. But while their terrors were raised to
such a height, and they stood, as we may suppose, trembling
4ind astonished before their judge, without any thing to catch
ibold of -yvhcnce they could gather any hope, then God took
Part I.] . WORK OF REDEMPTION. 35
care to hold forlh some encouragement to them, to keep thera
from the dreadful eUccts of despair under their awakenings,
by giving a hint of a design of mercy by a Saviour, even be-
fore he pronounced sentence against them. And Avhen after
this he proceeded to pronounce sentence, Avhereby we may
suppose their terrors were further raised, God soon after took
care to encourage them, and to let them see, that he had not
wholly cast them off, by taking a fatherly car« of them in
their fallen, naked and miserable state, by making them coats
of skins and clothing them. Which also manifested an ac-
ceptance of those sacrifices that they offered to God for sin,
that those were the skins of, which were types of what God
had promised, when he said, " The seed of the womaii shall
bruise the serpent's head ;" which promise, there is reason
to think, they believed and embraced. Eve seems plainly to
express her hope in, and dependence on that promise, in what
she says at the birth of Cain, Gen. iv. 1 . " I have gotten a
man from the Lord ;" i. e. as God has pi-omised, that my
seed should bruise the serpent's head ; bo now has God giv-
en me this pledge and tok6n of it, that I have a seed born.
She plainly owns, that this her child was from God, and hop-
ed that her promised seed was to be of this her eldest son ;
though she was mistaken, as Abraham was with respect to
Jskmael^ as Jacob was witli respect to Esau., and as Samuil
•was with respect to the first born of Jesse, And especially does
what she said at the birth of Seth, express her hope and de-
pendence on the promise of God ; see ver. 25. " For God
liath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain
slev^."
Thus it is exceeding probable, if not evident, that as Christ
took on him the work of Mediator as soon as man fell ; so
he now immediately began his work of redemption in its ef-
iect, and that he immediately encountered his great enemy the
devil, whoiB he had undertaken to conquer, and rescued those
two first captives out of his hands ; therein baffling him, soon
after his triumph for the victory he kad obtained over them,
whereby he had made them his captives. And tliough he wag,
aeit v;crc, sure of them and all -their posterity, Christ the He-
36 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
dccnicr soon showed him, lliat he v/as mistaken, and that /ic
Avas able to subdue him, and deliver fallen man. He let him see
it, indelivering those first captives of hi*s ; and so soon gave him
an instance of the fulfilment of that threatening, " The seed
of the-woman shall bruise the serpent's head ;" and in this in-
stance a presage of the fulfilment of one great thing he had
\uidcrtaken, viz. his subdviing all his enemies under his feet.
After this avc have another instance of redemption in one
of their children, viz. in righteous Abel, as the scripture calls
him, Avhosc soul perhaps was the first that went to heaven
through Christ's redemption. In him we have at least the
first instance tjf the death of a redeemed person tliat is re-
corded in scripture. If he Avas the first, then as the redemp-
tion of Christ began to dawn before in the souls of men in their
conversion and justification, in him it first began to dawn in
glorification ; and in him the angels began first to do the part
of ministering spirits to Christ, in going forth to conduct the
fiOvils of the redeemed to glory. And in him the elect angels
in heaven had the first opportunity to see so wonderful a thing
as the soul of one of the fallen race of mankind, that had been
sunk by the fall into such an abyss of sin and misery, brought
to heaven, and in the enjoyment of heavenly glory, which was
a much greater thing than if they had seen him returned to
the earthly paradise. Thus they by this saw the glorious ef-
fect of Christ's redemption, in the great honor and happiness
that was procured for sinful miserable creatures by il.
V. The next remarkable thing that Cod did in the farther
carrying on of this great affair of redemption, that I shall take
notice of, was the first remarkable po\iring out of the Spirit
through Christ that ever was, which was in the days of Enos.
This seems to have been the next remarkable thing that' was
done toward erecting this glorious building that Cod had be-
gun and laid the foundation of in Christ the Mediator. We
read. Gen. iv. 26. " Then began men to call upon the name
of the I>ord." The meaning of these words has been consid-
erably controverted among divines. We cannot suppose the
meaning is, that that time was the first that ever men per-
formed the duty of prayer. Prayer is a duty of natural relig-
Part I.] WORK OF REDEINirTION. S7
ion, and a duly to which a spirit of piety does mt).s!: uatiii-ally
lead men. Prayer is as it were the very breath of a spirit of
piety ; and we cannot suppose therefore, that those holy men
that had been before for above two hundred years, had lived
all that while without any prayer. Therefore so-me divines
think, that the meaning is, that then men first began to per-
form public worsliip, or to call upon the name of the Lord in
public assemblies. Whether it be so to be undcrstoo<l or no,
yet so much must necessarily be understood by it, viz. that
tJiere was something new in the visi!)!!; church of God willi
respect to the duty of prayer, or calling upon the name of the
Lord ; that thei-e was a great addition to tlic performaaice of
this duty ; and that in some respect or other it was carried
far beyond what it ever had been bcfoic, v, hich must be the
consequence of a remarkable pouring cut of the Spirit of
God.
If it was now first that men were stirred up to get together
in assemblies to help and assist one another in seeking God, so
as they never had done before, it argues something extraor-
dinary as the cause ; and could be from nothing but uncom-
■mon iiiuuenccs of God's Spirit. We see by experience, that
a remarkable pouring out of (]lod's Spirit is always attended
•with such an effect, viz. a grcal ir.crr asc of the performance
of the duty of prayer. When t'-.c Spirit of God begins a
^vork on men's hearts, it immcdii-lcly sets them to calling on
the name of the Lord. As it was with Paul after the Spirit
of God had laid hold of him, then the next ne\YS is, " Behold,
he prayeth !" So it has been in all remarkable pourings out of
the Spirit of God that we have any particular account of in
scripture ; and so it is foretold it vili l;e at tlie great pouring-
out of the Spirit of God in the latter days. It is foretold, that
it will be poured out as a spirit of grace and supplication,
Zech. xii. 10. See also Zcph. iii. 9. "• For then will I turn to
the people a pure language, that they may ail call upon tlie
name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."
And M'hen it is said, " Then began men to call upon the
name of the Lord," no more can be intended by it, than that
this was the first remarkable season of this nature that ever
S8 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
■was. It was the beginning, or the first, of such a kind of
work of God, euch a pouring out of the Spirit of God. After
such a manner, such an expression is commonly used in
scriptvu'c : So, 1 Sam, xiv. 35. " And Saul built an altar un-
to the Lord ; the same was the firet altar that he built unto tlie
Lord." In the Hebrew it is, as you may see in the margin,
" that altar he began to build unto the Lord." Heb. ii. 3.
" How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which
first began to be spoken by the Lord ?"
It may here be observed, that from the fall of man, to this
clay Avhercin we live, the work of redemption in its effect lias
mainly been ciu-iied on by remarkable pourings out of the
Spirit of God. Though there be a more constant influence
of God's Spirit always in some degree attending his ordi-
nances ; yet the way in which the greatest things have been
done towards carrying on this work, always has been by re-
markable pourings out of the Spirit at special seasons of mer-
cy, as may fully appear hereafter in our further prosecution
of the subject we are upon. And this pouiing out of the
Spirit in the days of ii^jos, was the first remarkable pouring
out of the Spirit of God that ever was. Tliere had been a
saving v/ork of God on the hearts of some before ; but nov/
God was pleased to gr.ant a more large effusion of his Spirit,
for the bringing in an harvest of souls to Christ ; so that in
tliis we see that great building that is the subject of our pres-
ent discourse, which God laid the foundation of immediately-
after the fall of man, carried on further, and built higher than
ever it had been before.
VI. The next thing I shdl take notice of, is the eminently
holy life of Enoc/i, who wc have reason to think was a ^aint of
greater eminency than any ever had been before him ; so that
in this respect the v.ork of redemption v/as carried on to a
greater liei^ht than ever it had been before. With respect
to its effect in the visible church in general, we observed just
r.ov/ how it was carried higher in the days of Enos than ever
it had been before. Probably Enoch was one of the saints of
that harvest ; for he lived all the days that he did live on
earth, in the days of Evos. And with respect to the degree
-Part L] WORK OF REDEMPTION. :i9
to which this "vvork was caiTied in the soul of a particular per-
son, it was raised to a greater height in Enoch than ever be-
fore. His soul, as it was built on Christ, was built up in holi-
ness to a greater height than there had been any instance of
before. He was a wonderful instance of Christ's redemption^
and the efTicacy of his grace.
VII. In Enoch's tiijie, God did more expressly reveal the
coming of Christ than he had done before, in the prophecy of
Enoch that we have an accoimt of in the 14th and 1 5th verses
of the Epistls of Jude : " And Enoch also, the seventh fronn
Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh
with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all
and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of their un-
godly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all,
their hard speeches v/hich ungodly sinnncrs have spoken
against him." Here Enoch prophecies of the coming of
Christ. It does not seem to be confined to any ' particular
coming of Christ ; but it has rcspcct in general to Christ's
coming in his kingdom, and is fulfdled in a degree in both the
first and second coming of Christ ; and indeed in every remark-
able manifestation Christ has made of himself in the world,
for the saving of his people, and the destroying of his enemies.
It is very parallel in this respect vv'ith many other prophecies of
the coming ofChrist,that were given under the Old Testament;
and, in particular,it seems to be parallel Aviththat great prophe-
cy of Christ's coming in his kingdom that we have in the 7tli
chapter of Daniekwhence theJcws principally took their notion
of the kingdom of heaven. Sec ver. 10. ''A fiery stream issued
and came forth from before him : Thousand thousunds min-
istered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood be-
fore him: The judgment was set, and the books were opened."
And ver. 13, 14, " I saw in the night visions, and behold, one
like the son of man, came with the clouds of heaven, and cairie
to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him*
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king-
dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shalj
fiO\. pass away, and his kingdom tliut which sJafJl not be dcs-
40 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pi:riod I,
troyed." And though it is not iinlikcly that Enoch might
have a iritre immedia.te respect in this prophecy to the ap-
proachintj destruction of the old worki by the flood, Avhich w as
ct remarkable resemblance of Christ's destruction of all his en-
emies at his second coming, yet it doubtless looked beyond
the type to the antitype.
And as this prophecy of Christ's coming- is more express
than any had been before ; so it is an instance of the increase
af that gospel light that began to daAvn presently' after the fall
of man ; and is an instance of that building that is the sub-
ject of our present discourse, being yet further carried on,
and built up higher than ever it had been before.
And here, by the way, I would observe, that the increase of
gospel light, and the carrying on the work of redemption, as
it respects the elect church in general, from the first erecting
of the church to the end of the Avorld, is very much after the
same manner as the carrying on of the same work and the
same light in a particular soul, from the time of its conver-
sion, till it is perfected and croA\nied in glory. The work in a
particular soul has its ups and doAvns ; sometimes the light
shines brighter, and sometimes it is a dark time ; sometimes
grace seems to prevail, at other times it seems to languish for
a great while together, and corruption prevails, and then grace
revives again. But in general, grace is grov.ing : From its
first infusion, till it is perfected in glory, the kingdom of
Clu'ist is building iip in the soul.
So it is with respect to the great affair in general, as it re-
lates to the universal subject of it, as it is carried on from the
first beginning of it, after the fall, till it is perfected at the end
of the -world, as will more fully appear by a particular view of
this aftair from beg'inning to end, in the prosecution of this.'
subject, if Cod give opportunity to cai'ry it through as I pro-
pose.
VIII. The next remarkable thing towards carrying on this
Avork, that we have an account of in scripture, is, the transla-
tion of Enoch into heaven. The account wc have of it is in
Cen. V. 24. " And Enoch walked with G6d, and he was not ;
^ov (iod took him.'* Hero Moses, in giving an account of the
KrtI.] work of redemption. 4 J
genealogy of these that were of the Unc o{ jYoah, does not say-
concerning Enoch, he lived so long and he died, as he does of
the rest ; but, he lOas not, for God took him ; i. e. he translated
him ; in body and soul carried him to heaven without dying,
as it is explained in Heb. xi. 5. "By faith Enoch was translat-
ed that he should not see death." By this wonderful work of
God, the work of redemption was carried to a greater height,
in several respects, than it had been before.
You may remember, that when I was showing what were
the great things that God aimed at in the work of redemp-
tion, or what the main things were that he intended to bring
to pass ; I among other things mentioned the perfect restor-
ing the ruins of the fall with respect to the elect, and restoring
man from that destruction that he had brought on himself,
both in soul and body. Now this translation of Enoch was the
first instance that ever was of restoring the ruins of the fall
with respect to the body. There had been many instances of
restoi'ing the soul of man by Christ's redemption, but none of
redeeming and" actually saving the body, till now. All the
bodies of the elect are to be saved as well as their souls. At
the end of the world, all the bodies of the saints shall actually
be redeemed ; those that then shall have been dead, by a res-
urrection ; and others, that then shall be living, by causing
them to pass under a glorious change. There was a number
of the bodies of saints raised and glorified, at the resurrection
and ascension of Christ ; and before that there wa ..on instance
of a body glorified in Elijah. But the first instance of all was
this of Enoch, that we are now speaking of.
And the work of redemption by this was carried on further
than ever it had been before ; as, by this wonderful work of
God, there was a great increase of gospel light to the church
of God, in this respect, that hereby the church had a clearer
manifestation of a future state, and of the glorious reward of
the saints in heaven. We are told, 2 Tim. i. 10. « That life
and immortality are brought to light by the gospel." And
the more of this is brought to light, the more clearly does the
light shine in that respect. What was said in the Old Testa-
jnent of a future state, is very obscure, in comparison with th<?
Vol.. II. F
^2 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
more full, plain, and abundant revelation given of it in the
JCew. But yet even in those early days, the church of God,
in this event, was favored with an instance of it set before
their eyes, in that one of their brethren was actually taken up
to heaven without dying ; which we have all reason to think
the church of God knew then, as they afterwards knew Eli-
jah's translation. And as this was a clearer manifestation of
a future state than the church had had before, so it was a
pledge or earnest of that future glorification of all the saints
which God intended through the redemption of Jesus Christ.
IX. The next thing that I shall observe, was the upholding
the church of Gotl in the family of which Christ Avas to pro-
ceed, in the time of that great and general defection of the
world of mankind that was before the flood. The church of
God, in all probability, was small, in comparison with the rest
of the world, from the beginning of the time that mankind
first began to multiply on the face of the earth, or from tho
time of Cain's defection, and departing from among the peo-
ple of God; the time Ave read of, Gen. iv. 16. " When Cain
went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land
of J\W ;" which being interpreted, is the land of banishment:
I say, from this time of Cain's departure and separation from
the church of God, it is probable that the church of God was
small in comparison with the rest of the Avorld. The church
seems to have been kept up chiefly in the posterity of Seth ;
for this was the seed that God appointed instead oiMel, whom
Cain slew. But we cannot reasonably suppose, that Seth's pos-
terity were one fiftieth part of the world : " For Mam Avas
one hundred and thirty years old Avhen Seth Avas born." But
Cain^ Avho seems to have been the ringleader of those that
Avere not of the church, was Adam's eldest child, and probabljr
Avas bom soon after the fall, which doubtless Avas soon after
Adam's creation ; so that there was time for Cain to have many-
sons before Seth Avas born, and besides many other children,
that probably Adam and Eve had before this time, agreeably
to God's blessing that he gave them,Avhen he said, " Be fruit-
ful, and multiply, and replenish the earth ;" and many of
these children might have children. The story of Cain before"
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 43
Sfth was born, seems to represent as though there were great
numbers of men on the earth : Gpn- iy- 14, 15. " Behold tho^
hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth : And
from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass, that every
one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto
him. Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain^ vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark i;pon Capt^
]est any, finding him, should kill him." And all those that
|vere then in being when Seth was born, must be supposed
then to stand in equal capacity of multiplying their posterity
witli him ; and therefore, as I said before, Scth'fi posterity
■were but a small part of the inhabitants of the world.
But after the days of Enos and Enochs (for Enoch was trajns-
lated before Ems died ;) I say, after their days, the church of
God greatly diminished, in proportion as multitudes that
were of the line of Seth^ and had been born in the cliyrch of
.God, fell away, and joined with the wicked world, principally
hy means of intermarriages with them ; as Gen. vi. 1, 2, and
4. " And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the
,i^ce of the earth, and daughters Avere born unto them, that the
sons of God saw the davighters of men, that they were fair ;
^and they took them wives of all Avhich they chose. .....There
yrere giants in tKe £arth in those days ; and also after tha^t,
jyhen the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and
ihey bare children to them, the same became mighty men,
-which were of old, men of renown." By the sons of God here,
are doubtless meant the children of the church. It is a denom-
ination often given them in scripture. They intermarried
with the wicked world, and so had their he arts led away from
God ; and there was a great and continual defection from the
church. And the church .of God, that used to be a restraint
on the wicked world, diminished exceedingly, and so wicked-
ness went on without restraint. And Satan, tliat old serpent,
the devil, that tempted our first parents, and set up himself as
God of this world, raged exceedingly ; &nd eyery imagination
of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually, and
the earth was filled with violence. It seemed to t)e deluged
44 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period L
Avith Avickcdness nov/, as it was Avith water afterwards : And
mankind in general were drowned in this deluge ; almost all
Avere swallowed up in it. And now Satan made a most vio-
lent and potent attempt to swallow up the church of God ; and
had almost done it. But yet God restored it in the midst of
all this flood of wickedness and violence. He kept it up in
that line of which Christ was to proceed. He would not suffer
it to be destroyed, for a blessing -was in it. The Lord the Re-
deemer was in this branch of mankind, and was afterwards to
proceed from it. There was a particular family that was a
root in v/hich the great Redeemer of the world was, and
whence the branch of righteousness was afterwards to shoot
forth. And therefore, hov.everihe branches were lopped off,
and the tree seen^.ed to be destroyed ; yet God, in the midst
of all this, kept alive this root, by his wonderful redeeming
power and grace, so that the gates of hell could not prevail
against it.
Thus I have shown how God carried on the great affair of
redemption ; how the building went on that God began after
the fall, during this first period of the times of the Old Testa-
ment, viz. from the fall of man, till God brought the flood on
the earth. And I would take notice upon it, that though the
history which Moses gives of the great works of God during
that space be very short ; yet it is exceeding comprehen-
sive and instructive. And it may also be profitable for us
here to observe, the efficacy of that purchase of redemption
that had such great effects even in the old world so many ages
before Christ appeared himself to pvirchase redemption, that
his blood should have such great efficacy so long before it was
ehcd.
PART n.
From the Flood to the Calling of Abraham,
I PROCEED now to show how the same work was carried
on through the second period of the Old Testament, \X\iXfrom
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 45
the beginning ofthejlood till the calling of Abraham : For though
that mighty, overflowmg, universal deluge of waters over-
threw the world ; yet it did not overthrow this building of
God, the work of redemption. But this went on yet ; and in-
stead of being overthrown, continued to be built up, and was
carried on to a further preparation for the great Saviour's
coming into the world, and working out redemption for his
people. And here,
I. The flood itself was a work of God that belonged to this
great affair, and tended to promote it. All the great and
mighty works of God from the fall of man to the end of the
world, are reducible to this work, and, if seen in a right viev/
of them, will appear as parts of it, and so many steps that God
has taken in order to it, or as carrying it on ; and doubtless so
great a work, so remarkable ajid universal a catastrophe, as
the deluge was, cannot be excepted. It was a work that God
wrought in order to it, as thereby God removed out of the
way the enemies and obstacles of it, that were ready to over-
throw it.
Satan seems to have been in a dreadful rage just before the
flood, and his rage then doubtless was, as it always has been,
chiefly against the church of God to overthrow it ; and he had
filled the earth with violence and rage against it. He had
drawn over almost all the world to be on his side, and they
fisted under his banner against Christ and his church. We
read, that the earth " v/as filled with violence ;" and doubt-
less that violence was chiefly against the church, in fulfilment
of what was foretold, / tuill/iut en?nitij between thy seed and her
seed. And their enmity and violence v/as so great, and the
enemies of the church so numerous, the whole world being
against the church, that it was come to the last extremity.
Noah's reproofs, and his preaching of righteousness, were ut-
terly disregarded. God's spirit had striven with them an
hundred and twenty years, and all in vain ; and the church
was almost swallowed up. It seems to have been reduced to
so narrow limits, as to be confined to one family. And there
was no prospect of any thing else but of their totally swallov/-
ing up the church, and that in a very little time ; and bo
4<S WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Periop I.
wholly destroying that small root that had the blessing in it,
or whence the Redeemer was to proceed.
And therefore God's destroying those enemies of the
church by the flood, belongs to this affair of redemption : For
it was one thing that was done in fulfilment of the covenant of
grace, as it was revealed to Jdam : « I will put enmity be-
tween thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,
it shall bruise thy head." This destruction was only a destruc-
tion of the seed of the serpent, in the midst of their most vio-
lent rage against the seed of the woman, and so delivering the
seed of the woman from cheni, when in utmost peril by them.
We read of scarce any great destruction of nations any
where in Scripture, but tliat one main reason given for it is,
their enmity and injuries agiiinst God's Church : And doubt-
less this was one main reason of ;he deicmcvipn of aJJ nations
by the flood. The giants that were in those days, in all like-
lihood, got themselves their renown by their great exploits
against Heaven, and against Christ and his Church, the re-
mainmg sons of God that had not corrupted themselves.
We read that just before the world sha,ll be destroyed by
fire, the nations that are in the four quarters of the earth, shall
gather together against the church as the sand of the sea,
a,nd shall go \ip on the breadth of the earth, and compass the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city ; and then fire
shall come down from God out of heaven, and devour them,
Rev. XX. 8, 9. And it seems as though there was that which
was very parallel to it, just before the world was destroyed by
water. And therefore their destruction was a work of God
that did as much belong to the work of redemption, as the
destruction of the Egyptiann belonged to the redemption of
the children of Israel out of Egypt, or as the destruction of
Sennacherib's mighty army, that had compassed about Jerur
salem to destroy it, belonged to God's redemption of that city
from them.
By means of this flood, all the enemies of God's church,
against whom that little handful had no strength, were swept
off at once. God took their part, and appeared for them
against their oiemics, and drowned those of whom they had
■pAftT It.] WORK OF Redemption. 4/
fcfeeti afraid in the flood of water, as he drowned the enemies
of Israel that pursued them, in the Red Sea.
Indeed God could have taken other methods to deliver his
church : He could have converted all the world instead of
drowniiig it ; and so he could have taken another method than
drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea. But that is no argii-
ment, that the method thr.t he did take, was not a method to
show his redeeming mercy to them.
By the wicked world's being dro^Vned, the wicked, the ene-
mies of God's people, were dispossessed of the earth, and the
Avhoie earth given to Noah and his fam^ily to possess in quiet ;
as God made room for the Israelites in Canaan^ by casting out
their enemies from before them. And God's thus taking the
possession of the enemies of the church, and giving it all to
his church, was agreeable to that promise of the covenant of
grace: Psal. xxxvii. 9, 10, 11. " For evil doers shall be cut
off; but thosie that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the
earth. For yet a little while and the'wicked shall not be ;
yea, thou ishalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not
be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall deli2;ht
■themselves in the abundance of peace."
ll. Another thing here belonging to the same work, was
God's so wonderfully preserving that family of which the Re-
deemer was to proceed, when all the rest of the world was
drowned. God's drowning the world, and saving JVoah and
his family, both were works reducible to this great work.
The saving A''oah and his family belonged to it two ways. As
that family was the family of which the Redeemer Avas to
proceed, and as thai fanlily Avas the church that he had re-
deemed, it was the mystical body of Christ that was there
saved. The manner of God's saving those persons, when all
the world besides was so overthrown, was very wonderful and
remarkable. It Avas a wonderful and remarkable type uf the
redemption of Christ, of that redemption that is sealed by the
baptism of water, and is so spoken of in the Ncav Testament,
as 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. "Which sometime Avere disobedient,
Avhen once the long suffering of God Avaited in the days of
Noah, Avhile the ark Avas a preparing^, Avherein fcAVj that is.
48 WORK or REDEMPTION. [Period L
eight souls, were saved by -water. The like figure Avhereun-
to, even baptism cloth also now save us, (not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
tov/ards God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." That
water that washed away the filth of the world, that cleared the
world of wicked men, was a type of the blood of Christ, that
takes away the sin of the Avorld. That water that delivered
Noah and his sons from their enemies, is a type of the blood
that delivers God's church from their sins, their worst ene-
mies. That water that was so plentiful and abundant, that it
filled the world, and reached above the tops of the highest
mountains, was a type of that blood, the sufficiency of which
is so abundant, that it is sufficient for the whole world ; suffi-
cient to bury the highest mountains of sin. The ark that was
the refuge and hiding place of the church in this time of storm
and flood, was a type of Christ, the true hiding place of the
church, from the storms and floods of God's wrath.
III. The next thing I Avould observe is, the new grant
of the earth God made to Noah and his family immediately
after the flood, as founded on the covenant of grace. The
sacrifice of Christ Avas represented by Noah's building an al-
tar to the Lord, and offering a sacrifice of every clean beast,
and every clean fowl. And we have an account of God's ac-
cepting this sacrifice : And thereupon he blessed Noah, and
established his covenant with him, and with his seed, prom-
ising to destroy the earth in like manner no more ; signify-
ing how that it is by the sacrifice of Christ that God's favor
is obtained, and his people are in safety from God's destroying
judgments, and do obtain the blessing oi the Lord. And God
now, on occasion of this sacrifice that Noah offered to God,
gives him and his posterity a new grant of the earth ; a new
power of dominion over the creatures, as founded on that sac-
rifice, and so founded on the covenant of grace. And so it is
to be looked upon as a diverse grant from that which was
made to Adam, that we have Gen. i. 28. " And God blessed
them, and God said unto them. Bo fruitful and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it ; and have dominion over
tiie fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
nRT II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION, 4«
living thing that moveth upon the earth." Which grant was
not founded on the covenant of grace ; for it was given to
Adam while he was under the covenant of works, and there-
fore was antiquated when that covenant ceased. The first
grant of the earth to Adam was founded on tlie first covenant ;
and therefore, when that first covenant was broken, the right
€onveyed to him by that first covenant was forfeited and lost.
And hence it came to pass, that the earth was taken away
from mankind by the flood : For the first grant was forfeited ;
and God had never made another after that, till after the flood.
If the first covenant had not been broken, God never would
have drowned the world, and so have taken it away from man-
kind : For then the first grant made to mankind would have
stood good. But that was broken ; and so God after a while,
destroyed the earth, when the wickedness of man was great.
But after the flood, on Noah's offering a sacrifice that repre-
sented the sacrifice of Chiist, God in smelling a sweet savor,
or accepting that sacrifice, as it was a I'epresentation of the
true sacrifice of Christ, which is a sweet savor indeed to God,
he gives Noah a new grant of the earth, founded on that sac-
rifice of Christ, or that covenant of grace which is by that sac-
rifice of Christ, with a promise annexed, that now the earth
should no more be destroyed, till the consummation of all
things ; as you may see in Gen. viii. 20, 21, 22, and chap. ix.
I, 2, 3, 7, The reason why such a promise, that God would
no more destroy the earth, was added to this grant made to
Noah, and not to that made to Adam, was because this waa
founded on the covenant of grace, of which Christ was the
surety, and therefore could not be broken. And therefore it
comes to pass now that though the wickedness of man has
dreadfully raged, and the earth has been filled with violence
and wickedriess thousands of times, and one age after another,
and much more dreadful and aggravated wickedness than the
v/orld was full of before the flood, being against so much
greater light and mercy ; especially in these days of the gos-
pel : Yet God's patience holds out ; God does not destroy the
earth ; his mercy and forbearance abide according to his
promise ; and his grant established with Noab and his sons
Vol. II. 6
50 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period 1.
abides firm and good, being founded on the covenant of
grace.
IV. On this God renews with Noah and his sons the cove-
nant of grace, Gen. ix. 9. 10. « And I, behold, I estabUsh my
covenant Avith you, and with your seed after you, and with
every living creature that is with you," &c. ; which was the
covenant of grace ; which even the brute creation have this
benefit of, that it shall never be destroyed again until the con-
summation of all things. When we have this expression in
scripture, my covenant, it commonly is to be miderstood of
the covenant of grace. The manner of expression, « I will
establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you,"
shews plainly, that it was a covenant already in being, that had
been made already, and that Noah would understand what
covenant it was by that denomination, viz. the covenant of grace.
V. God's disappointing the design of building the city and
tower of Babel. This work of God belongs to the great work
of redemption. For that building was undertaken in opposi-
tion to this great building of God that we are speaking of.
Men's going about to build such a city and tower was an ef-
fect of the conniption that mankind were now soon fallen into.
This city and tower was set up in opposition to the city of
God, as the God that they built it to, was their pride. Being
sunk into a disposition to forsake the true God, the first
idol they set up in his room, was themselves, their own
glory and fame. And as this city and tower had their foun-
dation laid in the pride and vanity of men, and the haugh-
tiness of their minds, so it was built on a foundation exceed-
ingly contrary to the nature of the foundation of the kingdom
.of Christ, and his redeemed city, which has its foundation laid
in humility.
Therefore God saw that it tended to frustrate the design of
that great building that Avas founded, not in the haughtiness of
men, but Christ's blood ; and therefore the thing that they did
displeased the Lord, and he baffled and confounded the de-
sign, and did not suffer them to bring it to perfection ; as God
will frustrate and confound all other buildings, that are set up
in opposition to the great building of the work of redemption.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 51
In the second chapler of Isaiah, where the prophet is fore-
telling God's setting up the kingdom of Christ in the world,
he foretells how God will, in order to it, bring down the
haughtiness of men, and how the day of the Lord shall be on
every high toiver., and upon every fenced ivall, &c. Christ's
kingdom is established, by bringing down every high thing to
make way for it, 2 Cor. x. 4. 5. " For the weapons of our war-
fare are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong
holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing tliat
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." What is done
in a particular soul, to make way for the setting up of Christ's
kingdom, is to destroy Babel in that soul.
They intended to have built Babel up to heaven. That
building that is the subject we are upon, is a building that is
intended to be built so high, that its top shall reach to heaven
indeed, as it will to the highest heavens at the end of the
world, when it shall be finished: And therefore God would not
suffer the building of his enemies, that they designed to build
up to heaven in opposition to it, to prosper. If they had gone
on and prospered in building that city and toT^^er, it might have
kept the world of wicked men, the enemies of the church, to-
gether, as that was their design. They might have remained
wnited in one vast, powerful city ; and so they might have
been too powerful for the city of God, and quite swallowed
it up.
This city of Babel is the same with the city of Babylon ; for
Babylon in the original is Babel. But Babylon was a city
that is always spoken of in scripture as chiefly opposite to the
city of God. Babylon, and Jerusalem, or Zion, are often op-
posed to each other, both in the Old Testament and New,
This city was a powerful and terrible enemy to the city of
God afterwards, notwithstanding this great check put to the
building of it in the beginning. But it might have been, and
probably would have been vastly more powerful, and able to
vex and destroy the church of God, if it had not been thus
checked.
Thus it was in kindness to his church in the world, and va
prosecution of the great design of redemption, that God jrut
a stop to the building of the city and tower of Babel.
52 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I,
VI. The dispersinsj of the nations, and dividing the earth
among its inhabitants, immediately after God had caused the
building of Babel to cease. This vas done so as most to suit
that great design of redemption. And particularly, God
therein had an eye to the future propagation of the gospel a-
mong the nations. They were so placed, the bounds of their
habitation so limited round about the land of Canaan, the
place laid out for the habitation of God's people, as most suit-
ed-the design of propagating the gospel among tliem : Deut.
xxxii. 8. " When the Most High divided to the nations their
inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set
the bounds of the people according to the number of the
children of Israel." Acts xvii. 26, 27. " And hath made
of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appoint-
ed, and the bounds of their habitation ; that they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find
him." The land of Canaan was the most conveniently situ-
ated of any place in the world for the purpose of spreading
the light of the gospel thence among the nations in general.
The inhabited world was chiefly in the Roman empire in the
times immediately after Christ, which was in the countries
round about Jerusalem, and so properly situated for the pur-
pose of diflusing the light of the gospel among them from that
place. The devil seeing the advantage of this situation of
the nations for promoting the great work of redemption, and
the disadvantage of it with respect to the interests of his king-
dom, afterward led away many nations into the remotest parts
of the world, to that end, to get them out of the way of the
gospel. Thus he led some into America ; and others into
northern cold regions, that are almost inaccessible.
VII. Another thing I would mention in this period, was
God's preserving the true religion in the line from whichChrist
■was to proceed, when the world in general apostatized to idol-
atry, and the church were in imminent danger of being swal-
lowed up in the general corruption. Although God had lately
wrought 9o wonderfully for the deliverance of his church, and
)had shewn so groat mercy towards it; as for its sake even tq
5* ART II.] WORK OF REDEIVIPTION. i3
destroy all the rest of the world ; and although he had lately
renewed and established his covenant of grace with Noah and
his sons ; yet so prone is the corrupt heart of man to depart
from God, and to sink into the depths of v/ickedness, and so
prone to darkness, delusion, and idolatry, that the world soon
after the flood fell into gross idolatry ; so that before Abraham
the distemper was become almost universal. The earth was
become very corrupt at the time of the building of Babel ;
and even God's people themselves, even that line from Avhich
Christ was to come, were corrupted in a measure with idola-
try : Josh. xxiv. 2. " Your fathers dwelt on the other side of
the flood in old time, even Terrah the father of Abraham, and
^le father of Nahor ; and they served other gods." The other
side of the flood means beyond the river Euphrates, where the
ancestors of Abraham lived.
Wc are not to understand, that they were wholly drav^'n off
to idolatry, to forsake the true God. For God is said to be
the God of Nahor : Gen. xxxi. 53. " The God of Abrahanx,
and the God of Nahor, the God of their father., judge betwixt
us." But they only partook in some measure of the general
and almost universal corruption of the times ; as Solomon M'as
in a measure infected with idolatrous corruption ; and as the
children of Israel in Egypt arc said to serve other gods, though
yet there was the true church of God among them ; and as
(here were images kept for a considerable time in the family
of Jacob ; the corruption being brought from Padan Aram,
Avhcnce he fetched his wives.
This was the second time that the church was almost
brought to nothing by the corruption and general defection of
the world from true religion. "But still the true religion was
kept up in the familyfromwhichChristvras to proceed. Which
is another instance of God's remarkably preserving his church
in a time of a general deluge of Avickedness ; and wherein, al-
though the god of this Avorld raged, and had almost swallowed
up God's church, yet God did not suiTer the gates of hell to
prevail against it.
54 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PERf^D I.
PART III.
From the Calling of Abraham to Moses,
I PROCEED now to show how the work of redemption
TTOs carried on through the third Jieriod of the times of the
Old Testament, beginning Avith the calling' ofjlbraham, and ex-
tending to Moses. And here,
I. It pleased God now to separate that person of whom
Christ was to come, from the rest of the world, that his
church might be upheld in his family and posterity till Christ
should come ; as he did in calling Abraham out of his own
country, and from his kindred, to go into a distant country,
that God should show him, and bringing him first out of Ur
of the Chaldees to Charran, and then to the land of Canaan.
It was before observed, that the corruption of the world with
idolatry was now become general ; mankind were almost
wholly overrun with idolatry : God therefore saw it necessa-
ry, in order to uphold true religion in the world, that there
should be a family separated from the vest of the world. It
proved to be high time to take this course, lest the church of
Christ should wholly be carried away with the apostacy. For
the church of God itself, that had been upheld in the line of
Abraham's ancestors, was already considerably corrupted.
Abraham's own country and kindred had most of them fallen
off; and withoiat some extraordinary interposition of Provir
dence, in all likelihood, in a generation or two more, the true
religion in this line would have been extinct. And therefore
God saAv it to be time to call Abraham, the person in whose
family he intended to uphold the true religion, out of his own
country, and from his kindred, to a far distant country, that
his posterity might there remain a people separate from all
the rest of the world ; that so the true religion might be up-
held there, while all mankind besides were swallowed up in
Heathenism.
The land of the Chaldees, that Abraham was called to go
out of, was the country about Babel ; Babel, or Babylon was
the chief citv of the land of Chaldca. Learned men suppose,
Part III.] WORK OF RKOEMPTION. 55
by what they gather from some of the most ancient accounts
of things, that it Avas in this land that idolatry first began ; that
Babel and Chaldea were the original and chief seat of the wor-
ship of idols, whence it spread into other nations. And
therefore the land of the Chaldeans, or the country of Baby-
lon, is in scripture called the land of grauen images ; as you.
may sec, Jer. 1. 35, together with verse 38. « A sw'ord is up-
on the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of
Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her v/ise men A
drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up ; for it is
the land of graven images^ and they are mad upon their idols."
God calls Abraham out of this idolatrous countiy, to a great
distance from it. And when he came there, he gave him no
inheritance in it, no not so much. as to set his foot on ; but he
remained a stranger and a sojourner, that he and his family
might be kept separate from all the Avorld.
This was a new thing : God had never taken such a meth-
od beforc. His church had not in this manner been separated
from the rest of the world till now ; but wei'e wont to dweU
with them, without any bar or fence to keep them separate ;
the mischievous consequences of which had been found once
and again. The effect before the flood of God's people living
intermingled with the wiclced world, without any remarkable
wall of separation, was, that the sons of the church joined in
marriage Avith others, and thereby almost all soon became in-
fected, and the church was almost brovight to nothing. The
method that God took then to fence the church was, to dro\\ n
the wicked world, and save the church in the ark. And nov,
the world, before Abraham was called, was become corrupt
again. But now God took another method. He did not de-
stroy the wicked world, and save Abraham, and his wife, and
I.,ot, in an ark ; but he calls these persons to go and live sepa-
rate from the rest of the world.
This was a new tliing, and a great thing, that Gol did to-
ward the work of redemption. This thing was done now
about the middle of the space of timebetAveen the fall of man
and the coming of Christ ; and there v/ere about two thousand
years yet to come befoir T}--'-^" rh" --v:-:- Redeemer was to
55 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Perioi> L
come. But by this calling of Abraham, the ancestor of Christj
a foundation Avas laid for the upholdint^ the church of Christ
in the -world, till Christ should come. For the world havins^j
become idolatrous, there was a necessity that the seed of the
woman should be thus separated from the idolatrous world m
order to that.
Ai~rd then it was needful that there should be a particular
nation separated from the rest of the world, to receive the
types and prophecies that were needful to be given of Christ,
to prepare the way for his coming; that to them might be com-
Tnitted the oracles of God ; and that by them the history of
God's great works of creation and providence might be up-
held ; and that s-o Christ might be born of this nation ; and that
from hence the light of the gospel might shine forth to the
Test of the world. These ends could not be well obtained, if
God's people through all these tv.o thousand years, had lived
intermixed with the Heathen world. So that this calling of
Abraharii maybe looked upon as a kind of a new foundation laid
for the visible church of God, in a more distinct and regular
state, to be upheld and built up on this foundation from hence-
forward, till Christ should actually come, and then through
him to be propagated to all nations. So that Abraham being
tlie person in whom this foundation is laid, is represented in
scripture as though he Avere the father of all the church, the
father of all them that believe ; as it were a root whence the
visible church thenceforward through Christ, Abraham's root
and offspring, rose as a tree, distinct from all other plants ; of
which tree Christ Avas the branch of righteousness ; and from,
which tree, after Christ came, the natural branches were brok-
en off, and the Gentiles were grafted into the same tree. So
that Abraham still remains the father of the church, or root of
the tree, through Clnist his seed. It is the same tree that
flourishes from that small beginning, that was in Abraham's
time, and has in these days of the gospel spread its branches
over a great part of the earth, and will fill the whole earth in
due time, and at the end of the world shall be transplanted from
an earthly soil into the paradise of Cod,
iPART III.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 57
II. There accompanied this a more particular and full reve-
lation and confirmation of the covenant of grace than ever had
been before. There had before this been, as it were, two par-
ticular and solemn editions or confirmations of this covenant ;
one at the beginning of the first period, which was that where-
by the covenant of grace was revealed to om- first parents, soon
after the fall ; the other at the beginning of the second period,
Y/hereby God solemnly renewed the covenant of grace with
Noah ar« his family soon after the flood ; and now there is a,
third, at the beginning of the third period, at and after the
calling of Abraham. And it now being much nearer the time
of the coming of Christ than when the covenant of grace was
first revealed, it being, as was said before, about half way be-
tween the fall and the coming of Christ, the revelation of the
covenant now was much more ftill than any that had been be-
fore. The covenant was now more particularly revealed. It
was now revealed, not only that Christ should be ; but it was
revealed to Abraham, that he should be his seed ; and it was
now promised, that all the families of the earth should be
blessed in him. And God was much in the promises of this to
Abraham. The first promise was when he first called him,
Gen. xii. 2. " And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a
ble&sing." And again the same promise was renewed after he
came into the land of Canaan, chap. xiii. 14, &c. And the
covenant vvas again renewed after Abraham had returned from
the slaughter of the kings, chap. XV. 5,6. And again, after
his offering up Isaac, chap. xxii. 16, 17, 18.
In this renewal of the covenant of grace with Abraham, sev
feral particulars concerning that covenant were revealed more
fully than ever had been before ; not only that Christ was to
be of Abraham's seed, but also, the calling of the Gentiles, and
the bringing all nations into the church, that all the families of
the earth were to be blessed, was now made knov.ii. And
then the great condition of the covenant of grace, which is
iVath, was now more fully made known. Gen xv. 5, 6. " And
he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And Abraham be-
lieved God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness-"
Vol. II, H
SB WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pe*ioi> li
Which is much taken notice of in the New Testament, as
that whence Abraham was called the father of them that
believe.
And as there was now a further revelation of the covenant
of grace, so there was a further confirmation of it by seals and
pledges, than ever had been before ; as, particularly, God did
now institute a certain sacrament^ to be a steady seal of this
covenant in the visible church, till Christ should come, viz,
circumcision. Circumcision was a seal of this co-()»nant of
grace, as appears by the fii'st institution, as we have an accost
of it in the 17th chapter of Genesis. It there appears to be a
seal of that covenant by which God promised to make Abra-
ham a father of many nations, as appears by the 5th verse,
compared with the 9th and 10th verses. And we are express-
ly taught, that it was a seal of the righteousness of faith, Rom.
iv. 1 1 . Speaking of Abraham, the apostle says, " he receiv-
ed the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of
faith."
As I observed before, God called Abraham, that his family
and posterity might be kept separate from the rest of the
world, till Christ should come, which God saw to be necess a-
ry on the forementioned accounts. And this sacrament was
the principal wall of separation ; it chiefly distinguished Abra-
ham's seed from the world, and kept up a distinction and
separation more than any other particular observance whatso-
ever.
And besides this, there were other occasional seals, pledges,-
and confirmations, that Abraham had of this covenant ; as,
particularly, God gave Abraham a remarkable pledge of the
fulfilment of the promise he had made him, in his victory over
Chedorlaomer and ilic kings that were with him. Chedorlao-
mer seems to have been a great emperor, that reigned over a
great part of the world at that day ; and though he had his
seat at Elam, which was not much if any thing short of a thou-
sand miles distant from the land of Canaan, yet he extended
his empire so as to reign over many parts of the land of
Canaan, as appears by chap. xiv. 4, 5, 6, 7. It is sup-
posed by learned men, that he was a king of the Assyri-
Part III.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 5'^
an empire at that day, which had been before begun by Nim-
rod at Babel. And as it was the honor of kings in those days
to build new cities to be made the seat of their empire, as ap-
pears by Gen. x. 10, 11,12; so it is conjectured, that he had
gone forth and built him a city in Elam, and made that his
seat ; and that those other kings, who came with him, were his
deputies in the several cities and countries Avhere they reign-
ed. But yet as m.ighty an empire as he had, and as great an
army as he now came with into the land where Abraham was,
yet Abraham, only with his trained servants, that were born in
his own house, conquered, subdued, and baffled this mighty
emperor, and the kings that came with him, and all their army.
This he received of God as a pledge of what he had promised,
viz. the victory that Christ his seed should obtain over the na-
tions of the earth, whereby he should possess the gates of his
enemies. It is plainly spoken of as such in the 4 1 st of Isaiah.
In that chapter is foretold the future glorious victory the
church shall obtain over the nations of the world ; ^s you may
see in the 1st, 10th, and 15th verses. Sec. But here this victo=
ry of Abraham over such a great emperor and his mighty
forces, is spoken of as a pledge and earnest of this victory of
the church, as you may see in the 2d and 3d verses. " Who
raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his
foot, gave the nations before him, and rnadp him rule over
kings ; He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven
stubble to his bow. He pursued them, and passed safely ;
even by the way that he had not gone Avith his feet."
Another remarkable confirmation Abraham received of the
covenant of grace, was when he returned frqm the slaughter
of the kings ; when Melchisedec the king of Salem, the priest
of the most high God, that great type of Christ, met him, and
blessed him, and brought forth bread and wine. The bread
and wine signified the same blessings of the covenant of
grace, that the bread and wipe does in the sacrament of the
Lord's supper. So that as Abraham had a seal of the cove-
nant in circumcision that was equivalent to baptism, so now
he had a seal of it equivalent to the Lord's supper. And
Melchisedec's coming to meet him with such a seal of U*c
60 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I,
covenant of grace, on the occasion of this victoiy of his over
the kinf^-s of the north, confirms that that victory was a pledge
of God's fulfilment of the same covenant ; for that is the mer-
cy that Melchisedec with his bread and wine takes notice of ;
as you may see by what he says in Gen. xiv. 19, 20.
Another confirmation that God gave Abraham of the cove-
nant of grace, was the vision that he had in the deep sleep
that fell upon him, of the smoking furnance, and bmning
lamp, that passed between the parts of the sacrifice, as in the
latter part of the 1 5th chapter of Genesis. The sacrifice, as
uU sacrifices do, signified the sacrifice of Christ. The smok-
ing fumace that passed through the midst of that sacrifice
first, signified the sufferings of Christ. But the burning lamp
that folloAved, which shone with a clear bright light, signifies
the glory that followed Christ's sufferings, and was procured
by them.
Another remarkable pledge that God gave Abraham of the
fulfilment of the covenant of grace, was his giving of the child
of whom Christ was to come, in his old age. This is spoken of
as such in scripture ; Heb. xi. 11,12. and also Rom. iv. 18. kc.
Again, another remarkable pledge that God gave Abraliam
of the fulfilment of the covenant of grace, was his delivering
Isaac, after he was laid upon the wood of the sacrifice to be
slain. This was a confirmation of Abraham's faith in they,
promise that God had made of Christ, that he should be of
Isaac's posterity ; and was a representation of the resurrec-
tion of Christ; as you may see, Heb. xi. 17, 18, 19. And be-
cause this was given as a confirmation of the covenant of
grace, therefore God renewed that covenant with Abraliam
on this occasion, as you may see, Gen. xxiv. 15. &c.
Thus you see how much more fully the covenant of grace
was revealed and confirmed in Abraham's time than ever it
had been before ; by means of which, Abraliam seems to have
had a more clear understanding and sight of Christ the great
Redeemer, and the future things that were to be accomplish-
ed by him, than any of the saints that had gone before. And
therefore Christ takes notice of it, that Abraham rejoiced to
see his day, and he sa:v it, and was glad, John viii. 56. St
Part III.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 61
great an advance did it please God now to make in thi^
building, which he had been carrying on from the beginning
of the world.
III. The next thing that I would take notice of here, is
God's preserving the patriarchs for so long a time in the
midst of the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, and from all other
enemies. Tlie patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were
those of whom Christ was to proceed ; and they were now
separated from the world, that in them liis church might be
upheld. Therefore in preserving them, the great design cf
redemption was upheld and cai'ried on. lie preserved them
and kept the inhabitants of the land where they sojourned
from desti'oying them ; which was a remarkable dispensatiou
of Providence. For the inhabitants of tlie land were at that
day exceedingly wicked, though they grew more wicked af-
terwards. This appears by Gen. xv. 16. " In the fourth
generation they shall come hither again ; for the iniquity of
the Canaanites is not yet full :" As much as to say. Though
it be very great, yet it is not full. And their great wick-
edness also appears by Abraham and Isaac's aversion to their
children marrying any of the daughttMS of the land. Abra-
ham, when he was old could not be content till he had mad^
his servant swear that he vv^ould not take a wife for his son of
tlie daughters of the land. And Isaac and Rebecca were con-
tent to send away Jacob to so great a distance as Padan Aram,
to take him a Avife thence. And when Esau married some of
the daughters of the land, we are told, that they were a grief
of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.
Another argument of their great wickedness, was the in^
stances we have in Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Ze-
boim, which were some of the cities of Canaan, though tliey
were probably distinguishingly wicked.
And they being thus wicked, were likely to have the most
bitter eninity against these holy men ; agreeably to what was
declared at first, " I will put enmity between thee and the wo-
man, and between thy seed and her seed." Their holy lives
were a continual condemnation of their wickedness. And be-
sides, it could jiot be otherwise, but\hat they must be much
62 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period 11
in reproving their wickedness, as we find Lot was in Sodom ;
who, we are told, vexed his righteous soul with their unlaw-
ful deeds, and was a preacher of righteousness to them.
And they were the more exposed to them, being strangers
und sojourners in the land, and having no inheritance there as
yet. Men are more apt to find fault with strangers, and to be
irritated by any thing in them that offends them, as they were
V'ith Lot in Sodom. He very gently reproved their wicked-
ness ; and they say upon it, "^ This felloAv came in to sojourn,
and he will needs be a ruler and a judge ;" and threatened
what they would do to him.
But God wonderfully preserved' Abraham and Lot, and
Isaac and Jacob, and their families, amongst them, though
they were few in number, and they might quickly have des-
troyed them ; which is taken notice of as a wonderful in-
stance of God's preserving mercy toward his church, Psal. cv.
12. &c. " When they were but a few men in number ; yea,
very few, and strangers in it. When they Avent from one
nation to another, from one kingdom to another people. He
suffered no man to do them wrong ; yea, he reproved kings
for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my
prophets no harm."
This preservation was, in some instances especially, very
remarkable ; those instances that we have an account of,
wherein the people of the land were greatly irritated and pro-
voked ; as they were by Simeon and Levi's treatment of the
Shechemites, as you may see in Gen. xxxiv. 30. S:c. God
then strangely preserved Jacob and his family, restraining the
provoked people by an unusual terror on their minds, as you
jnay see in Gen. xxxv. 5. " And the terror of God was upon
the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue
after the sons of Jacob."
And God's preserving them, not only from the Canaanites,
is here to be taken notice of, but his preserving them from all
others that intended mischief to them : As his preserving Ja-
cob and his company, when pursued by Laban, full of rage,
sand a disposition to overtake him as an enemy : God met him.
!>ART III.] WORK OF REDEMPTIO>t. 63
ahd rebuked him, and said to him, " Take heed that thou
speak not to Jacob either good or bad." How wonderfully
did he also preserve him from Esau his brother, when he came
forth with an army, with a full design to cut him oflF ! How did
God, in answer to his prayer, when he wrestled with Christ
at Penuel, wonderfully turn Esau's heart, and make him, in-
stead of meeting him as an enemy with slaughter and des"
truction, to meet him as a friend and brother, doing him no
harm 1
And thus were this handful, this little root that had the
blessing of the Redeemer in it, presei'ved in the midst of ene-
mies and dangers ; which was not unlike to the preserving
the ark in the midst of the tempestuous deluge.
IV. The next thing I would mention is, the awful destmc-
tion of Soddm and Gomorrah, and the neighbouring cities.
This tended to promote the great design and work that is the
subject of my present undertaking, two ways. It did so, as it
tended powerfully to restrain the inhabitants of the land from
injuring those holy strangers that God had brought to sojourn
amongst them. Lot was one of those strangers ; he came
into the land with Abraham ; and Sodom was destroyed for
their abusive disregard of Lot, the preacher of righteousnesa,
that God had sent among them. And their destruction came
just upon their committing a most injurious and abominable
insult on Lot, and the strangers that were come into his
houses even those angels, whom they probably took to be
some of Lot's former acquaintance come from the country
that he came from, to visit him. They in a most outrageous
manner beset Lot's house, intending a monstrous abuse and
act of violence on those strangers that were come thither, and
threatening to serve Lot worse than them.
But in the midst of this, God smote them with blindness j
and the next morning the city and the country about it was
overthrown in a most terrible storm of fire and brimstone ;
which dreadful destruction, as it was in the sight of the rest of
the inhabitants of the land, and therefore greatly tended to re-
strain them from hurting those holy strangers any more ; it
doubtless struck a dread and terror en their minds, and made
U WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Periob L
them afraid to hurt them, and probably was one principal
•means to restrain them, and preserve the patriarchs. And
■when that reason is given why the inhabitants of the land did
not pursue after Jacob, when they were so provoked by the
destruction of the Shechemites, viz. " that the terror of the
Lord was upon them," it is very probable, that this was the
terror that was set home upon them. They remembered the
amazing destruction of Sodom, and the cities of the plain, that
came upon them upon their abusive treatment of Lot, and so
durst not hurt Jacob and his family, though they were so
much provoked to it.
Another yay that this awful destruction tended to promote
this great aftair of redemption, was, that hereby God did re-
markably exhibit the terrors of his law, to make men sensible
of their need of redeeming mercy. The work of redemption
never was carried on Avithout this. The law, from the begin-
ning, is made use of as a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ.
But imder the Old Testament there was much more need
of some extraordinary, visible, and sensible manifestation of
Cod's wrath against sin, than in the days of the gospel ; since
a future state, and the eternal misery of hell, is more clearly
revealed, and since the awful justice of God against the sins of
men has been so wonderfully displayed in the sufferings of
Christ. And therefore the revelation that God gave of him-
self in those days, used to be accompanied with much more
terror than it is in these days of the gospel. So when God
appeared at Mount Sinai to give the law, it was with thunders
and lightnings, and a thick cloud, and the voice of the trum-
pet exceeding loud. But some external awful manifestations
of God's wrath against sin were on some accounts especially
necessary before the giving of the law : And therefore before
the flood, the terrors of the law handed down by tradition from
Adam served. Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years
himself, to tell the church of God's awful threatenings de-
nounced in the covenant made with him, and how dreadful the
consequences of the fall were, as he was an eye witness and
subject ; and others that conversed with Adam, lived till the
flood. And the destruction of the world by the flood scrvec^
Part III.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 65
to exhibit the terrors of the law, and manifest the wrath of
God against sin ; and so to make men sensible of the abso-
lute necessity of redeeming mercy. And some that saw the
flood were alive in Abrahaipfi's time.
But this was now in a great measure forgotten ; now there-
fore God was pleased again in a most amazing manner, to
show his wrath against sin, in the destruction of these cities ;
which was after such a manner as to be the liveliest image of
hell of any thing that ever had been ; and therefore the apos-
tle Jude says, " They suffer the vengeance of eternal fire,"
Jude 7. God rained storms of fire and brimstone upon them.
The way that they were destroyed probably was by thick
flashes of lightning. The streams of brimstone were so thick
as to burn up all these cities ; so that they perished in the
flames of divine wrath. By this might be seen the dreadful
wrath of God against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, which tended to show men the necessity of redemp-
tion, and so to promote that great work.
V. God again renewed and confirmed the covenant of
grace to Isaac and to Jacob. He did so to Isaac, as you may
see, Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. " And I will perform the oath which
I sware unto Abraham thy father ; and I will make thy seed
to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed
all these countries ; and in thy seed sliall all the nations of
the earth be blessed." And afterwai-ds it was renewed and
confirmed to Jacob ; first in Isaac's blessing of him., wherein
he acted and spoke by extraordinary divine direction. In
that blessing, the blessings of the covenant of grace were es-
tablished with Jacob and his seed ; as Gen. xxvii. 29. « Let
people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee ; be lord over
thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee :
Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he
that blesseth thee." And therefore Esau, in missing of this
blessing, missed of being blessed as an heir of the benefits of
the covenant of grace.
This covenant was agam renewed and confirmed to Jacob at
Bethel, in his vision of the ladder that reached to heaven ;
which ladder was a svnabol of the way of salvation by Christ.
Vol. IL i
65 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period L
for the stone that Jacob rested on was a type of Christ, the
stone of Israel, whrch the spiritual Israel or Jacob rests upon ;
as is evident, because this stone was on this occasion anointedv
and was made use of as an altar. But we know that Christ is
the anointed of God, and is the only'true altar of God. While
Jacob was resting on this stone and saw this ladder, God ap-
pears to him as his covenant God, and renews the covenant
of grace with him ; as in Gen. xxviii. 14. "And thy seed
shall be as the dust of the earth ; and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south;
and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed."
And Jacob had another remarkable confirmation of this
covenant at Penuel, where he wrestled with God, and prevail-
ed ; where Christ appeared to him in a human form, in the
form of that nature which he was afterwards to receive into
a personal union with his divine nature.
And God renewed his covenant with him again, after he
was come out of Padan Aram, and was come up to Bethel, to
the stone that he had rested on, and where he had ths vision
of the ladder ; as you may see in Gen. xxxv. 10, &c.
Thus the covenant of grace was nov/ often renewed, much
often er than it had been before. The light of the gospel now
began to shine much brighter as the time drew nearer that
Christ should come.
VI» The next thing I would observe, is God's remarkably
preserving the family of which Christ was to proceed from
perishing by famine, by the instrumentality of Joseph. When
there was a seven years famine approaching, God was pleas-
ed, by a wonderful providence, to send Joseph into Egypt,
there to provide for, and feed Jacob and his family, and ta
keep the holy seed alive, which othenvise would have perish-
ed. Joseph was sent into Egypt for that end, as he observes,
Gen. 1. 20. " But as for you ye thought evil against me ; but
God meant it unto good, to save much people alive." How
often had this holy root, that had the future branch of right-
eousness, the glorious Redeemer, in it, been in danger of be-
ing destroyed ! But God wonderfully presen'cd it.
Part III.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 67
This salvation of the house of Israel by the hand of Joseph,
%vas upon some accounts very much a resemblance of the sal-
vation of Christ. The children of Israel were saved by Jo-
seph their kinsman and brother, from perishing by famine ;
as he that saves the souls of the spiritual Israel from spiritual
famine is their near kinsman, and one that is not asliamed to
call them brethren. Joseph was a brother, that they had hat-
ed, and sold, and as it Avere killed ; for they had designed to
kill him. So Christ is one that we naturally hate, and, by
our wicked lives, have sold for the vain things of the world,
and that by our sins we have slain. Joseph Avas first in a state
of humiliation ; he was a servant, as Christ appeared in the
form of a servant ; and then was cast into a dungeon, as Christ
descended into the grave ; and then when he rose out of ihe
dungeon, he was in a state of great exaltation, at the king''s
right hand as his deputy, to reign over all his kingdom, to
provide food, to preserve life ; and being in this state of exalt'
ation, he dispenses food to his brethren, and so gives them
life ; as Christ was exalted at God's right hand to be a prince
and saviour to his brethren, and received gifts for men, even
for the rebellious, and them that hated, and had sold him.
VII. After this there was a prophecy given forth of Christ,
on some accounts, more particular than ever any had been be-
fore, even that Avhich was in Jacob's blessing his son Judah.
This Avas more particular than ever any had been before, as
it shoAved of Avhose posterity he Avas to be. When God called
Abraham, it was revealed that he Avas to be of Abraham's
posterity. Before Ave haA^e no account of any rcA^elation con-
cerning Christ's pedigree, confined to narroAver limits than
the posterity of Noahi After this it Avas confined to still nar-
roAver limits ; for though Abraham had many sons, yet it was
revealed, that Christ AA'as to be of Isaac's posterity. And then
it Avas limited more still : For Avhen Isaac had two sons, it Avas
revealed that Christ Avas to be of Israel's posterity. And noAv,
though Israel had tAvelve sons, yet it is revealed that Christ
should be of Judah's posterity : Christ is the lion of the tribe
■of Judah. Respect is chiefly had to his great acts, Avhen it is said
here, Gen. xlix. 8. " Judah, thou art he Avliom thy bretiircu
68 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t
shall praise ; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies 5
thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is ali-
en's whelp ; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : He
stooped dovm, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion ; who
shall rouse him up ?" And then this prediction is more partic-
ular concerning the time of Christ's coming, than any had
been before ; as in ver. 10. « The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come ; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
The prophecy here, of the calling of the Gentiles, conse-
quent on Christ's coming, seems to be more plain than any
had been before, in the expression, to him shall the gathering
of the peofile be.
Thus you see how that gospel light which dawned immedir
ately after the fall of man, gradually increases.
VIII. The Avork of redemption was carried on in this pe-
riod, in God's wonderfully presening the children of Israel in
Egypt, when the power of Egypt was engaged utterly to des-
troy them. They seemed to be wholly in the hands of the
Egyptians ; they were their servants, and were subject to the
power of Pharaoh : And Pharaoh set himself to weaken then*
with hard bondage. And when he saw that did not do, he
set himself to extirpate the race of them, by commanding
that every male child should be drowned. But after all that
l*haraoh could do, God wonderfully preserved Xhinx ; and
not only so but increased them exceedingly ; so that instead
of being extirpated, they greatly multiplied.
IX. Here is to be observed, not only the preservation of
the nation, but God's wonderfully preserving and upholding
his invisible church in that nation, when in danger of being
overwhelmed in the idolatry of Egypt. The children of Is-
rael being long among the Egyptians, and being servants un-
der them, and so not under advantages to keep God's ordi-
nances among themselves, and maintain any public M'orship
or public instruction, whereby the true religion might be up-
held, and there being now no written word of God, they, by
degrees, in a great measure, lost the true religion, and bor-
rowed the idolatry of Egypt ; and the greater part ot the
Fart IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. p9
people fell away to the worship of their gods. This we leara
by Ezek. xx^ 6, 7, 8, and by chap, xxiii. 8,
This now was the third time that God's church v^as almost
swallowed up and carried away with the wickedness of the
world ; once before the flood ; the other time, before the
calling of Abrah-am ; and now the third time in Egypt. But
yet God did not suffer his church to be quite overwhelmed j
he still saved it, like the ark in the flood, and as he saved Mo-
ses in the midst of the waters, in an ark of bulrushes, where
he was in the utmost danger of being swallowed up. The
true religion was still kept up with some, and God had still a
people among them, even in this miserable, corrupt, and dark
time. The parents of Moses were true servants of God,
as we may learn by Heb. xi. 23. " By faith Moses, when he
was born, was hid three months of his parents, because thcy
saw that he was a proper child ; and they were not afraid of
the king's commandment."
I have now gone though the third period of the Old Testa-
ment time ; and have shown how the work of redemption was
carried on from the calling of Abraham to Moses ; in which
we have seen many great things done towards this work, and
a great advancement of this building, beyond what had been
before.
PART IV.
From Moses to Datid.
I PROCEED to the fourrh period^ which reache3 from
Moses to David I would shev/ how the work of redemption
was carried on through this also.
I. The first thing that offers itself to be considered, is the
redemption of the church of God out of Egypt ; the most re-
markable of all the Old Testament redemptions of the church
of God, and that which was the greatest pledge and forerunner
of the future redemption of Christ, of any ; and is much more
•insisted on in scripture than any other of tliose redemptions.
to WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period L
And indeed it was the greatest type of Christ's redemption of
any providential event whatsoever. This redemption was by
JesusChrist, as is evident from this, that it Avas wrought by him
that appeared to Moses in the bush ; for that was the person
that sent Moses to redeem that people. But that was Christ,
as is evident, because he is called the angel of the Lord,
Exod. iii. 2, 3. The bush represented the human nature of
Christ, that is called the bj-anch. The bush grcAv on Mount
Sinai or Horeb, which is a word that signifies a dry place,
as the human nature of Christ was a root out of a dry ground.
The bush burning with fire, represented the sufferings of
Christ, in the fire of God's wrath. It burned j^nd was not
consumed ; so Christ, though he suffered extremely, yet per-
ished not ; but overcame at last, and rose from his sufferings.
Because this great mystery of the incarnation and sufferings
of Christ was here represented, therefore Moses says, " I
will turn aside and behold this great sight." A great sight
he might well call it, when there was represented, God mani-
fest in the flesh, and suffering a dreadful death, and rising
from the dead.
This glorious Redeemer was he that redeemed the church
out of Egypt, from under the hand of Piiaroah ; as Christ, by
his death and sufferings, redeemed his people from Satan, the
spiritual Pharaoh. He redeemed them from hard semce
and cruel drudgery ; as Christ redeems his people from the
cruel slavery of sin and Satan. He redeemed them, as it is
said, from the iro?i furnace ; as Christ redeems his Church
from a furnace of fire and everlasting burnings. He redeem-
ed them with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and great
and terrible judgments on their enemies ; as Christ with
mighty power triumphs over firincifialities and /loiueis, and
executes terrible judgments on his church's enemies, bruis-
ing the serpent's head. He saved them, when others were
destroyed, by the sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb ;
as God's church is saved from death by the sprinkling of the
blood of Christ, when the rest of the world is destroyed. God
brought forth the people sorely against the will of the Egyp-
irians, Avhcn they could not bear to let them go ; so Christ- res-
Part IV J WORK OF REDEMPTION. 71
cues his people out of the hands of the devil, sorely against his
will, when his proud heart cannot bear to be overcome.
In that redemption, Christ did not only redeem the people
from the Egyptians, but he redeemed them from the devils,
the gods of Egypt ; for before, they had been in a state of ser-
vitude to the gods of Egypt, as well as to the men. And
Christ, the seed of tlie woman, did now, in a very remarkable
manner, fulfil the curse on the serpent, in bruising his head i
Exod. xii. 12. " For I will pass through the land of Egypt
this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt,
both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt will I
execute judgment." Hell was as much and more engaged in
that affair, than Egypt was. The pride and cruelty of Satan,
that old serpent, was more concerned in it than Pharoah's.
He did his utmost against the people, and to his utmost op-
posed their redemption. But it is said, that when God re-
deemed his people out of Egypt, he broke the heads of the
dragons in the waters, and broke the head of leviathan in piec-
es, and gave him to be meat for the people inhabiting the wil-
derness, Psal. Ixxiv. 12, 13, 14. God forced their enemies to
let them go, that they might serve him ; as also Zacharias ob-
serves with respect to the church under the gospel, Luke i.
74, 75.
The people of Israel went out with an high hand, and Christ
went before them in a pillar of cloud and fire. There was a
glorious triumph over earth and hell in that deliverance. And
when Pharaoh and his hosts, and Satan by them, pursued the
■people, Christ overthrew them in the Red sea ; the Lord
triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider he cast into the
spa, and there they slept their last sleep, and never followed
the children of Israel any more ; as all Christ's enemies are
overthi-own in his blood, which by its abundarit svifficiency, and
the greatness of the sufferings with which it was shed, may
well be represented by a sea. The Red sea did represent
Christ's blood, as is evident, because the apostle ccmpares^
the children of Israel's passage through the Red sea to bap-
tism, 1 Cor. X. 1,2. But we all know that the water cf bapf
tism represents Christ's bleed.
it ^VORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t
Thus Christ, the angel of God's presence, in his love and
his pity redeemed his people, and carried them in the days of
old as on eagles wings, so that none of their proud and spiteful
enemies, neither Egyptians nor devils, could touch them.
This was quite a new thing that God did towards this great
work of redemption. God never had done any thing like it
before ; Deut. iv. 32, 33, 34. This Avas a great advancement
of the work of redemption, that had been begun and carried
on from the fall of man ; a great step taken in divine provi-
dence towards a preparation for Christ's coming into the
v/orld, and working out his great and eternal redemption : For
this was the people of whom Christ was to come. And now
v/e may see how that plant flourished that God had planted in
Abraham. Though the family of which Christ was to come,
had been in a degree separated from the rest of the world be-
fore, in the calling of Abraham ; yet that separation that was
then made, appeared not to be sufficient, without further sep-
aration. For though by that separation, they were kept as
strangers and sojourners, kept from being united with other-
people in the s^me political societies ; yet they remained
mixed among them, by which means, as it had proved, they
had been in danger of wholly losing the true religion, and of
being overrun with the idolatry of their neighbors, God nov/,
therefore, by this redemption, separated them as a nation
from all other nations, to subsist by themselves in their own
political and ecclesiastical state, without having any concern
with the Heathen nations, that they maght so be kept separate
till Christ should come ; And so that the church of Christ
might be upheld, and might keep the oracles of God, till that
time ; that in them might be kept up those types and prophe-
cies of Christ, and those histories, and other divine previous
instmctions, that were necessary to prepare the way for
Christ's coming.
II. As this people were separated to be God's peculiar peo-
ple, so all other people upon the face of the whole earth were
wholly rejected and given over to Heathenism. This, so far
as the providence of God was concerned in it, belongs to the
great affair of redemption that we are upon, and was on«
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. ?3
thing that God ordered in his providence to prepare the way
for Christ's coming, and the great salvation he was to accom-
plish in the world ; for it was only to prepare the Avay for the
more glorious and signal victory and triumph of Christ's pow-
er and grace over the wicked and miserable world, and that
Christ's salvationof the world of mankind might become the
more sensible. This is the account the scripture itself gives
us of the matter, Rom. xi. 30, 31,32. The aposUe there
speaking to the Gentiles that had formerly been Heathens,
says, " As ye in times past have not believed God, yet have
now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have
these also now not believed, that through your mercy they al-
so may obtain merey. For God hath concluded them all in
unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." i. e. It v^-as the
■will of God, that the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, shou d
be concluded in visible and professed unbelief, that so God's
mercy and Christ's salvation towards them all might be visi-
ble and sensible. For the apostle is not speaking only of that
unbelief that is natural to all God's professing people as well
as others, but that which appears, and is visible ; such as the
Jews fell into, when they openly rejected Christ, and ceased
'to be a professing people. The apostle observes, how that
first the Gentiles, even the Gentile nations, were included iu
a professed unbelief and open opposition to the true religion,
before Christ came, to prepare the way for the calling of the
Gentiles, which was soon after Christ came, that God's mer-
cy might be the more visible to them ; and that the Jews
were rejected, and apostatized from the visible church, to pre-
pare the way for the calling of the Jews, which shall be in the
latter days : So that it may be seen of all nations, Jews and
Gentiles, that they are visibly redeemed by Christ, from be-
ing visibly aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, without
hope, and without God in the world.
We cannot determine precisely at what time the apos-
tacy of the Gentile nations from the true God, or their
being concluded in visible unbelief, became universal. Their
falling away was a gradual thing, as we observed before. It
was general in Abraham's tirae, but not universal : For then
Vol. II. K
n WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Persob i
we find Melchisedec, one of the Idngs of Canaan, was priert
of the most h'-gh God. And after this the true religion was
kept up for a while among some of the rest of Abraham's pos-
terity, besides the family of Jacob ; and also in some of the
posterity of Nahor, as we have instances of, in Job, and
his three friends, and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job
lived, was a land possessed by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, the
son of Nahoi', Abraham's brother, of whom we read, Gen.
xxii. 2 1 . Bildad the Shuhite Avas of the offspring of Shuah,
Abraham's son by Kcturah, Gen. xxv. 1,2; and Elihu the
Buzite, was of Buz the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham.
So the true religion lasted among some other people, besides
the Israelites, a while after Abraham. But it did not last
long ; and it is probable that the time of their total rejection,
and gh ing up to idolatry, was about the time when God separ-
ated the children of Isi'ael from Egypt to sen-e him ; for they
tire often put in mind on that occasion, that God had now sep-
arated them to be his peculiar people ; or to be distinguished
from all other people upon eaith, to be his people alone : To
be his portion, when others were rejected. This seems to
hold forth thvis much to us, that God now chose them in such
a mannei', that this visible choice of them was accompanied
with a visible rejection of all other nations in the Avorld ; that
God visibly came, and took up his residence v/ith them, as
forsaking all other nations.
And so, as the first calling of the Gentiles after Christ
came, was accompanied with a rejection of the Jews ; so the
first calling of the Jews to be God's people, when they were
called out of Egypt, was accompanied with a rejection of the
Gentiles.
Thus all the Gentile nations throughout tl^e whole world,
all nations, but only the Israelites, and thqse that embodied
themselves with them, were left and given up to idolatry ;
and so continued a great many ages, even from this time till
Christ came, which was about fifteen hundred years. They
were concluded so long a time in unl^elief, that there might
be a thorough proof of the necessity of a Saviour; that it
mijfht appear by so long a trial, past all contradiction, that
?ART IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 75
iriankind were utterly insufficient to deliver themselves from
that gross darkness and misery, and subjection to the devil,
that they had fallen under ; that it might appear that all the
wisdom of the philosophers, and the wisest men that the Hea-
then had among them, could not deliver them from their dark-
ness, for the greater glory to Jesus Christ, who, when he
came, enlightened and delivered them by his glorious gospel.
Herein the wonderful wisdom of God appeared, in thus pre-
paring the way for Christ's redemption- This the scripture
teaches us, as in 1 Cor. i. 21. « For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
Here I might consider &s another work of God, whereby
the general work of redemption Avas carried on, that wonder-
ful deliverance which he wrought for the children of Israel
at the Red Sea, when they were pursued by the hosts of the
Egyptians, and were just ready to be swallowed up by them,
there being, to human appearance, no possibility of an escape.
But as this may be referred to their redemption out of Egypt,
and considered as a part of that more general work, I shall not
further enlarge upon it.
III. The next thing that I shall take notice of here, that
was done towards the work of redemption, is God's giving the
moral hw in so awful a manner at Mount Sinai. This was
another new thing that God did, a new step taken in this great
affair. Deut. iv. 33. " Did ever a people hear the voice of
God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard,
and live ?" And it was a great thing that God did towards this
work, and that whether we consider it as delivered as a new
exhibition of the covenant of works, or given as a rule of life.
The covenant of works was here exhibited to be as a school-
master to lead to Christ, not only for the use of that nation in
the ages of the Old Testament, but for the use of God's
church throughout all ages of the world ; as an instrument
that the great Redeemer makes use of to convince men of
their sin and misery, and helpless state, and of God's awfa and
tremendous majesty and justice as a lawgiver, and se tc r^ nlcQ
men sensible of the necessity of Christ as a Savi:"t r
rs WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
work of redemption, in its saving effect on men's souls, in
all the progress of it to the end of it, is not carried on without
the use of this law that was now delivered at Sinai.
It was given in an awful manner, Avith a terrible voice, ex-
ceedingly loud and awful, so that all the people that were in
the camp trembled ; and Moses himself, though so intimate
a friend of God, yet said, I exceedingly fear and quake ; the.
voice being accompanied with thunders and lightnings, the
mountain burning with fire to the midst of heaven, and the
earth itself shaking and trembling ; to make all sensible how
great that authority, power, and justice was, that stood engag-
ed to exact the fulfilment of this law, and to see it fully exe-
cuted ; and how strictly God would require the fulfilment ;
and how temble his wrath would be against every breaker of
it ; that men being sensible of these things, might have a
thorough trial of themselves, and might prove their own
hearts, and know how impossible it is for them to have salva-
tion by the works of the law, and might see the absolute neces-
sity they stood in of a mediator.
If we regard this law now given at Mount Sinai, not as the
covenant of works, but as a rule of life ; so it is made use of
by the Redeemer, from that time to the end of the world, as a
directory to his people, to show them the way in which they
must walk as they would go to heaven : For a way of sincere
and universal obedience to this law is the narrow way that
leads to life.
IV. The next thing that is observable in this period, was
God's giving the typical law, in which I suppose to be include
cd most or all those precepts that were given by Moses, that
did not properly belong to the moral law ; not only those laws
that are commonly called ceremonial^ in distinction from judi-
cial laws, which are the laws prescribing the ceremonies and
circumstances of the Jewish worship, and their ecclesiastical
state ; but also many, if not all those divine laws that were
political, and for regulating the Jewish commonwealth, com-
monly called judicial laws ; these were at best many of them
typical. The giving this typical law was another great thing
that God did in this period, tending to build up this glorious
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 17
structure of redemption that God had been carrying on from
the beginning of the world. There had been many typical
events of Providence before, that represented Christ and his.
redemption, and seme typical ordinances, as particularly those
two of sacrifices and circumcision : But now, instead of repre-
senting the great Redeemer in a few institutions, God gives
forth a law full of nothing else but various and innumerable
typical representations of good things to come, by which that
nation were directed how, every year, month, and day, in their
religious actions, and in their conduct of themselves, in all
• that appertained to their ecclesiastical and civil state, to show
forth something of Christ ; one observance shovvang one thing,
exhibiting one doctrine, or one benefit ; another, aijother ; so
that the v/hole nation by this law was, as it were, constituted
in a typical state. Thus the gospel was abundantly held forth
to that nation ; so that there is scarce any doctrine of it, but
is particularly taught and exhibited by some observance of this
law ; though it was in shadows, and under a vail, as Moses put
a vail on his face when it shone.
To t^s typical law belong all the precepts that relate to
building the tabernacle that was set up in the Aviklerness, and
all the form, circumstances, and utensils of it.
V. About this time was given to God's church the first
written word of God that ever was enjoyed by God's people.
This was another great thing done tovv'ards the affair of re-
demption, a new and glorious advancement of the building.
Not far from this time, v/asthe beginning of the great written
rule, which God has given for the regulation of the faith, wor-
ship and practice of his church in all ages henceforward to the
end of the world ; which rule grew, and was added to from
that time, for many ages, till it was finished, and tiie canon
of scripture completed by the Apostle John. It is not very-
material, whether the first written v/ord that ever was, was the
ten commandments, written on the tables of stone with the
finger of God, or the book of Job ; and Avhether the book of
Job v/as written by Moses, as some suppose, or by Elihu, as
others. If it was written by Elihu, it was written before this
jieriod that we are now upon ; but yet could not bt far from it.
78 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period L
as appears by considering whose posterity the persons were
that are spoken of in it, together with Job's great age, that
was past before this was written.
The written word of God is the main instrument Christ
lias made use of to carry on his work of redemption in all ages
since it was given. There was a necessity now of the word
©f God's being committed to writing, for a steady rule to
God's church. Before this, the church had the word of God
by tradition, either by immediate tradition from eminent men
that were inspired, that were then living, (for it was a com-
mon thing in those days, before there was a written word, for
God to reveal himself immediately to eminent persons, as
appears by the book of Job, and many other things that might
be mentioned, in the book of Genesis) or else they had it by
tradition from former generations, which might be had with
tolerable certainty in ages preceding this, by reason of the long
lives of men. Noah might converse with Adam, and receive
traditions from him ; and Noah lived till about Abraham's
time : And the sons of Jacob lived a considerable time to de-
liver the revelations made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to
their posterity in Egypt. But the distance from the begin-
ning of things was become so great, and the lives of men be-
come so short, being brought down to the present standard
about Moses's time, and God having now separated a nation
to be a peculiar people, partly for that end to be the keepers
of the oracles of God ; God saw it to be a needful and conve-
nient time now to commit his word to writing, to remain
henceforward for a steady rule throughout all ages. And
therefore, besides the book of Job, Christ wrote the ten com-
mandments on tables of stone, with his ovm finger ; and after
this the whole law, as containing the substance of the five
books of Moses, was by God's special command committed
to writing which was called the book of the lawy and was laid
up in the tabernacle, to be kept there for the use of the
church ; as you may see, Deut. xxxi. 24, 25, 26.
VI. God was pleased now wonderfully to represent the
progress of his redeemed church through the world to their
eternal inheritance, by the journey of the children of Israel
?ART IV=] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 79
through the wildemesss, from Egypt to Canaan. Here all
the various steps of the redemption of the church by Christ
were represented, from the beginning to its consummation in
glory. The state they are redeemed from is represented by-
Egypt, and their bondage there, which they left. The pur-
chase of their redemption was represented by the sacrifice of
the paschal lamb, which was offered up that night that Go^l
slew all the first born of Egypt. The beginning of the appli-
cation of the redemption of Christ's church in their conver-
sion, was represented by Israel's going out of Egypt, and
passing through the Red sea in so extraordinary and miracu-
lous a manner. The travel of the church through this evil
world, and the various changes through whick the church
passes, in the different stages of it, were represented by the
journey of the Israelites through the wilderness. The man-
ner of their being conducted by Christ, was represented by
the Israelites being led by the pillar of cloud by day, and the
pillar of fire by night. The manner of the church's being
supported in their progress^ and supplied from the beginning
to the end of it, with spiritual food, and continual daily com-
munications from God, was represented by God's supply-
ing the children of Israel with bread, or manna.) from heaven*
and water out of the rock. The dangers that the saints must
meet with in their course through the world, were represent-
ed by the fiery flying serpents which the children of Israel
met with in the wilderness. The conflicts the church has
with her enemies^ were represented by their battle with the
A male kites, and others they met with there. And so innu-
merable other things might be mentioned, wherein the things
they met with were lively images of things which the church
and saints meet with in all ages of the world. That these
things are typical of things that pertain to the Christian church
is manifest from 1 Cor. x. II . " Now all these things hap-
pened unto them for ensamples, and they were written for
our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.'*
Here the apostle is speaking of those very things which we
have now mentioned, and he says expressly, that they hap-
pened unto them for types ; so it is in the original.
86 %VORK OF REt)EMPT10?J. [Period f.
VII. Another thing here must not be omitted, -which was
* great and remarkable dispensation of Providence, respecting
the Avhole world of mankind, which was finished in this peri-
od ; and that was the shortening the days of man's life, where-
by it was brought down from being between nine hundred and
a thousand years, to be but about seventy or eighty. The
life of man began to be shortened immediately after the flood :
It was brought down the first generation to six hundred
years ; and the next to between four and five hundred years ;
and so the life of man gradually grew shorter and shorter,
till about the time of the great mortality that was in the con-
gregation of Israel, after they had murmured at the report of
the spies, and their carcases fell in the Avildemess, whereby
all the men of war died ; and then the life of man was reduc-
ed to its present standard, as Moses observes in that Psalm
that he wrote on occasion of that mortality : Psal. xc. 10.
« The days of our years are threescore years and ten ; and if
by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their
strength labor and sorrow : For it is soon cut off, and we fly
away."
This great dispensation of God tended to promote the
grand design of the redemption of Christ. Man's life being
ci\t so very short in this world, tended to prepare the way for
pf3or, mortal, short lived men, the more joyfully to entertain
the glad tidings of everlasting life in another iitorld, that are
brought to light by the gospel ; and more readily to embrace
a .Saviour, that purchases and ofi'ers such a blessing. If men's
li^•es were still commonly about nine hundred years, how
much less would they have to move them to regard the prof-
fer s of a future life ; how much greater temptation would
the y have to rest in the things of this world, they being of such
loni ^ continuance, and to neglect any other life but this ? This
probably contributed greatly to the wickedness of the antedi-
luvi ans. But now how much greater motives have men to
seei redemption, and a better life than this, by the great Rc-
decn '.cr, since the life of man is not one twelfth part of what
it use d to be, and men now universally die at the age when
men Tormerly used to be but as it were setting out in th<'
•world ;'
Part I\'.] work OF REDEMPTION, SI
VIII. The same work was carried on in preservino; that
people, of whom Christ was to come, from totally perishing
in the wilderness, by a constant miracle of forty years contin-
Viance. I observed before many times, how God preserved
those of whom the Redeemer was to proceed in a very won-
derful manner ; as he preserved Noah and his family from
the flood ; and as he preserved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
with their families, from the wicked inhabitants of Canaan ;
?.nd as he preserved Jacob and his family from perishing by
the famine, by Joseph in Egypt. But this preservation of the
children of Israel for so long a time in the wilderness, was
on some accounts more remarkable than any of them ; for it
was by a continual miracle of so long duration. There v/as,
as may be fairly computed, at first two millions of souls in that
congregation, that could not subsist any belter without meat
and drink than other men. But if this had been withheld,
they must all have perished, every man, woman, and child,
in less than one month's tim.e, so that there would not have
been one of them left. But yet this vast multitude subsisted
for forty years together, in a dry, barren wilderness, without
sowing or reaping, or tilling any land, having their bread daily
rained down to them out of heaven, and being furnished with
"vvater to satisfy tliem all, out of a rock ; and the same clothes
with which they came out of Egypt, lasting without wearing-
but all that time. Never was any instance like this of a na-
tion's being so upheld for so long a time together. Thus
God upheld his church by a continual miracle, and kept alive
that people in whom was the blessing, the promised seed, and
great Redeemer of the world.
IX. God was pleased, in this time of the children of Is-
rael's being in the wilderness, to give a further revelation of
Christ the Redeemer in the predictions of him, than had been
before. Here are three prophecies given at this time that I
would take notice of. The first is that of Balaam, Numb.
xxiv. 17, 18, 19. « I shall see him but not now ; I shall be-
hold him, but not nigh : There shall come a Star out of Ja-
cob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the
comers of Moab, and destroy all the children of Shcth. And
Vol. II. L
82 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
EdoTtt shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession
for his enemies, and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob
shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy
him that remaineth of the city." This is a plainer prophecy
of Christ, especially with regard to his kingly office, than any
that had been before. But we have another, that God gave
by Moses, that is plainer still, especially with regard to his
prophetical office, in Deut. xviii. 18, Sec. " I will raise them up
a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will
put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all
that I command him," Sec. This is a plainer prophecy of
Christ than any that had been before, in this i-espect, that all
the prophecies that had been before of Christ, were in figura-
tive, mystical language. The first prophecy was so. That the
seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The
promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, " That in their
seed all the families of the earth should be blessed," were also-
-tnystical ; which prophecy is not so particular, because the
expression, thy seed, is general, and not plainly limited to any
particular person. The prophecy of Jacob in blessing Judah,
Gen. xlix. 8, is in mystical language ; and so is that of Ba-«
laam, which speaks of Christ under the figurative expression
of a star. But this is a plain prophecy, without being veiled
m any mystical language at all.
There are several things contained in this prophecy of
Christ. Here is his mediatorial office in general, ver. 16.
Here it is revealed hoAV he should be a person to stand be-
tween them and God, that Avas so terrible a being, a being of
such awful majesty, holiness, and justice, that they could not
have intercourse with him immediately, without a mediator
to stand between them ; because, if they came to such a
dreadful sin revenging God immediately, they should die ;
God would prove a consuming fire to them. And then here is-
a particular revelation of Christ with i-espect to his prophetical
office : " 1 will raise them up a prophet from among their
brethren like unto thee," Sec. And further, it is revealed
what kind of a prophet he should be, a prophet like Moses,
who was the head and leader of iUl the people, and who imdct
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 83
God, had been their redeemer, to bring them out of the house
of bondage, was, as it w^re, their shepherd, by whom God led
them through the Red Sea and wilderness, and was an inter-
cessor for them Avith God, and was both a prophet and a king
in the congregation ; for Moses had the power of a king
among them. It is said of him, Deut. xxxiii. 5, he was king
in Jeshurun, and he was the prophet by whom God as it were
built up his church, and delivei'ed his instructions of worship.
Thus Christ was to be a prophet like unto Moses ; so that
this is both the plainest and fullest phophecy of Christ that
ever had been from the beginning of the world to this time.
The next prophecy that I shall take notice of, respects on-
ly the calling of the Gentiles, which should be after Christ's
coming, of which God gave a very plain prophecy by Moses
in the Avilderness, Deut. xxxii. 21. Here is a vjery plain proph-
ecy of the rejection of tlie Jews, and calling the Gentiles.
They moved God to jealousy, by that Avhich was not a god,
by casting him off, and taking other gods, that v/ere no gods,
in his room. So God declares that he will move them to
jealousy in the like manner, by casting them off, and taking
other people, that had not been his people, in their room.
The Apostle Paul takes notice of this prophecy, ^s foretelling
the calling of the Gentiles, in Romans x. 19, 20. " But I say,
did not Israel know ? First, Moses saith, I will provoke you
to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation
1 will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was
found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to
them that asked not after me."
Thus you see how the light of the gospel, which first l^e-
gan to dawn and glimmer immediately after the fall, gradual-
ly increases the nearer we come to Christ's time.
X. Another thing by which God carried on this work in
this time, was a remarkable pouring out of his spirit on the
yoimg generation in the wilderness. The generation that
was grown up when they came out of Egypt, from twenty
years old and upward, was a very froward and perverse genera-
tion. They were tainted with the idolatry and Avickedness of
Egypt, and were not weaned from it. as the Prophet Ezekiel
Bl WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I-
takes notice, Ezek. xx. 6, 7, 8. Hence they made the golden
calf in imitation of the idolatry of Egypt, that was wont to
worship a bull or an ox ; and therefore cattle are called the
abomination of the E^yptianSf i. e. their idol. This generation
God was exceeding angry with, and swore in his wrath, that
they sliould not enter into his rest. But the younger genera-
tion were not so ; the generation that were under twenty
years old when they came out of Egypt, and those that were
bora in the wilderness, the generation spoken of. Numb. xiv.
31." But your little ones, whom ye said should be a prey,
them will I bring in ; and they shall know the land that y?
have despised." This was the generation with whom the
covenant was renewed, as we have an account in Deuterono-
Tny, and that entered into the land of Canaan. This genera-
tion God was pleased to make a generation to his praise, and
they were eminent for piety ; as appears by many things said
in scripture about them ; as, particularly, Jer. ii. 2, 3. « I re-
Hiember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine^
espousals, Avhen thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a
land that was not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, and
the iirst fruits of his increase." Here the generation that
w ent after God in the Avilderness, is spoken of with very high
commendations, as eminent for holiness : " Israel was holi-
ness to the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase." And
their love to God is spoken of as distinguished, like the love of
a bride at her espousals. The going after God in the wilder-
ness that is here spoken of, is not the going of the children of
Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness of Sinai, but their fol-
lowing God through that dreadful wilderness, that the congre-
gation long wandered in, after they Avent back from Kadesh
Barnea, which is spoken of Deut. viii. 15. " Who led thee
through the great and terrible Avilderness, wherein Avere fiery
serpents and scorpions, and drought, where there was no
water." Though this generation had a much greater trial
than the generation of their fathers had before they came to
Kadesh Barnea, yet they never murmured against God in any
wise, as their fathers had done : But their trials had a contrary
f ffect upon them? to awaken them, convince, and humble
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S5
them, and fit them for great mercy. They were awrikened by
those awful judgments of God that he inflicLed on their fath-
ers, whereby their carcases fell in the wilderness. And God
poured out his spirit with those awakening providences to-
wards their fathers, and their own travel in the wilderness,
and the word preached tQ them by Moses ; Avhereby tliey
were greatly awakened, and made to see the badness of their
own hearts, and were humbled, and at length multitudes of
them savingly converted ; as Deut. viii. 2, 3. " And thou
shalt remember the way which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble tliee, and to
prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou
wouldst keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled
thee," &c. And, verse 15. " Who led thee through that
great and terrible wilderness that he might humble thee,
and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter
end. And therefore it is said, Hos. xiii. 5. « I did know thee
in the wilderness, in the land of great drought." God allured
them, and brought them into that wilderness, and spake com-
fortably to them, as it was foretold that he v/ould do after-
wards, Hos. ii. 14.
Those terrible judgments that were executed in the congre-
gation after their turning back from Kadesh Barnea, in the
matter of Korah, and the matter of Peer, were chiefly on the
old generation, whom God consumed in the Avilderness.
Those rebellions were chiefly among the elders of the congre-
gation, who were of the older generation that God had given
up to their hearts' lust ; and they Avalked in their own coun-
sels, and God was grieved with their manners forty years ill
the wildei'ness.
But that this younger congregation were eminent for piety,
appears by all their history. The former generation were
wicked and were followed with curses ; but this was holy, and
wonderful blessings followed them. God did great things for
them ; he fought for them, and gave them the possession of
Canaan. And it is God's manner, when he hath very great
mercies to bestow on a visible people, first, to fit them for
fchem, and then to bestow them on them. So it was here ;
86 WORK OF REDE^MPTION. [Period X,
They believed in God, and by faith overcame Sihon and Og,
and the giants of Canaan ; and are commended for cleaving to
the Lord : Josh, xxiii. 8. " Joshua says unto them, Cleav«
tinto the Lord, as ye have done unto this day." And so Israel
did all the while that generation lived. But when Joshua an4
all that generation were dead, there arose another generation
that knew not the Lord. This pious generation showed a
laudable and fervent zeal for God on several occasions ; on oc-
casion of Achan's sin ; but especially when they suspected the
two tribes and a half had set up an altar in opposition to the
altar of burnt offering. There never Avas any generation of
Israel that so much good and so little evil is mentioned of, as
this generation. It js further observable, that in the time of
this generation was the second general circumcision, whereby
the reproach of Israel was fully rolled away, and they became
pure ; and when afterwards they were polluted by Achan,
tliey purged themselves again.
The men of the former generation being dead, ami God
having sanctified this younger generation to himself, he sol-
emnly renewed his covenant with them, as we have a particu-
lar account in the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy. We find
that such solemn renovations of the covenant commonly ac-
companied any remarkable pouring out of the Spirit, causing
a general reformation : So we find it was in Hezekiah's and
Josiah's times. It is questionable whether there ever Avas a
lime of so great a flourishing of religion in the Israclitish
church, as in that generation ; and as, in the Christian church,
religion was in its most flourishing circumstances in the day
of its espousals, or first setting up of that church, in the days
of the apostles, so it seems to have been with the Jewish
church in tlie days of its first establishment in Moses's and
Joshua's times.
Thus God at this time did gloriously advance the work of
redemption, both by his word and Spirit. By this pouring out
of the Spirit of God, the work of redemption was prompted,
not only as it was in itself a glorious instance of the carrying
on of that redemption in the application of it, but as this was
what Cod made use of as a means of the good and orderly es-
Krt IV.] WOUK OF REDEMPTION. ST
iablishment of the church of Israel at its first beginning, when
it was first settled in the regular observance of God's ordi-'
nances in Canaan : Even as the pouring out of the Spirit, in Ihs
beginning of the Christian church, was a great means GocJ
made use of for the well establishing the Christian church iii
the world in all succeeding ages.
XI. The next thing I would observe, was God's bringing
the people of Israel under the hand of Joshua, and settling
fhem in that land where Christ was to be born, and which was
the great type of the heavenly Canaan, which Christ has pur-
chased. This was done by Joshua, who was. of Joseph's pos-
terity, and was an eminent type of Christ, and is therefore
called the shepherd, the stone of Israel, in Jacob's blessing
uf Joseph, Gen. xlix. 24. Being such a tjpe of Christ, he
bore the name of Christ. Joshua and Jesus arc the same name,'
only the one is Hebrew, and the other is Greek : And there-
fore, in the New Testament, which Avas originally written in
Greek, Joshua is called Jesus, Acts vii. 45. " Which also our
fathers brought in with Jesus,'^ z. e. Joshua ; Heb. iv. S. "If
Jesus had given them rest, he would not have spoken of anoth-
er day ;" i- c. if Joshua had given them rest.
God Avonderfiilly possessed his people cf this land, con-
quering the former inhabitants of it, and the mighty giants, as
Christ conquered the devil ; first conquering the great kings
of that part of the land, that was on the eastern side of Jordan^
Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan; and tlien
dividing the river Jordan, as before he had done the Red Sea ;
causing the walls of Jericho to fall down at the sound of the
trumpets of the priests ; that sound typifying the sound of the
gospel by the preaching of gospel ministers, the walls of the
accursed city Jericho signifying the walls of Satan's kingdom;
and after this wonderfully destroying the mighty host of the
Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun and moon to*
stand still, to help the people against their enemies, at the
prayer of the typical Jesus ; plainly holding this forth, that
God would make the whole course of nature to be subservient
to the affair of redemption ; so that every thing should yield
88 WORK or REDEMPTION. [PeHioi* t
to the puijioses of that work, and givetplacc to the welfare of
God's redeemed people.
Thus did Christ show his great love to his elect, that he
Toiild make the course of nature, in the frame of the -world,
that he had made, and that he governed, to give place to their
happiness and prosperity ; and showed that the svm and moon,
and all things, visible and invisible, were theirs by his pur-
chase. At the same time, Christ fought as the captain of
their host, and cast down great hailstones upon tlieir enemies,
by wdiich more were slain than by the sword of the children of
Israel. And after this Christ gave the people a mighty victo-
ry over a yet greater army in the northern part of the land,
that were gathered together at the Avaters of Merom as the
sand of the sea shoi'e, as it is said Josh. xi. 4.
Thus God gave the people whence Christ was to proceed,
the land where he was to be born, and live, and preach, and
work miracles, and die, and rise again, and whence he was to
ascend into heaven, as the land which was a great type of
heaven ; which is another thing whereby a great advance was
made in the affair of redemption.
XII. Another thing that God did towards carrying on this
affair, was his actually setting up his stated worship among
the people, as it had been before instituted m the wilderness.
This Avorship was appointed at Mount Sinai, AvhoUy in subser-
viency to this great affair of redemption. It Avas to make Avay
for the coming of Christ; and the innumerable ceremonial ob-
servances of it Avere typical of him and his redemption. This
worship Avas chiefly instituted at Mount Sinai; but it Avas grad-
ually set up in practice. It AA'as partly set up in the Avilderness,
Avherc the tabernacle and its vessels Avere made ; but there
were many parts of their instituted Avorship that could not be
observed in the Avilderness, by reason of their unsettled, itine-
rant state there : And then there Avere many precepts that
respect the land ot Canaan, and their cities and places of habi-
tation there ; Avhich therefore could not be put in practice,
till they came into that land. But noAv, Avhen this Avas brought
to pass, God set up his tabernacle in the midst of his people,
as he had before promised them, Lev. xxvi. 11. "I Avill set
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 89
my tabernacle amongst you." The tabernacle was set up at
^hiloh, Josh, xviii. 1 . and the priests and Levites had theii|
offices appointed them, and the cities of refutje were appointed ;
and now the people were in a condition to observe their feasts
of the first fruits, and their feasts of ingathering, and to bring
all their tithes and appointed offerings to the Lord ; and most
parts of God's worship were set up, though there were some
things that were not observed till afterwards.
XIII. The next thing I Avould take notice of, was God'a
wonderfully preserving that people, fi'om this time forward,
when all the males went up, three times in the year, to the
place where God*s ark was. The people of Israel v/ere gen-
erally surrounded Avith enemies, that sought all opportunities
to destroy them, and dispossess them of their land ; and till
David's time there were great numbers in the land of the re-
mains of the Canaanites, and the other former inhabitants of
the land, that were bitter enemies to the people of Israel :
And these had from year to year, three times in the year, a
fair opportunity of overrunning their country, and getting pos-
session of their cities, when all the males were gone, and only
the women, and those who were not able to go up, were left
behind. And yet they were remarkably preserved through-
out all generations at such seasons, agreeably to the promise
that God had made, Exod. xxxiv. 24. " Neither shall any
man desire thy land, when thovi shalt go up to appear before
the Lord thy God thrice in the year." So wonderfully did
God order affairs, and influence the hearts of their enemies,
that though they were so full of enmity against Israel, and
desired to dispossess them of their land, and had so fair an op-
portunity so often in their hands, that the v/hole cbuntry was
left naked and empty of all that could resist them, and it would
have been only for them to have gone and taken possession,
and they could have had it without opposition, and they were
so eager to take other opportunities against them ; yet we
hever read, in all their history, of any of their enemies taking
these opportunities against them; which could be no less than
a continual miracle, that God, for the preservation of his
church, kept up for so many geiierations, even throu?jhout th«
Vol. II. M
90 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t
ages of the Old Testament. It was surely a wonderful dis-
pensation of divine providence to maintain and promote God's
great design of redemption.
XIV. God's preserving his church and the true religion
from being wholly extinct in the frequent apostasies of the
Israelites in the time of the judges. How prone was that
people to forsake the true God, that had done such wonderful
things'for them, and to fall into idolatry 1 And how did the
land, from time to time, seem to be almost overrun with idol-
atry I But yet God never suffered his true worship to be to-
tally rooted out : His tabernacle stood, the ark was pi-eserved,
the book of the law was kept from being destroyed, God's
priesthood was upheld, and God still had a church among the
people ; and time after time, when religion seemed to be al-
most gone, and it was come to the last extremity, then God
granted a revival, and sent some angel or prophet, or raised
up some eminent person, to be an instrument of their refor-
mation.
XV. God's preserving that nation from being destroyed,
and delivering them from time to time, although they were
so often subdued and brought under the dominion of their
enemies. It is a wonder, not only that the true religion was
not wholly rooted out, and so the church destroyed that way ;
but also that the very nation in which that church was, was
not utterly destroyed ; they were so often brought under the
power of their enemies. One while they were subdued by
Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia, another while they
were brought under the Moabites ; and then they were sold
into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan ; and then they were
under the dominion of the Midianites ; and then wei-e sorely-
distressed by the children of Ammon ,' and then by the Philis-
tines. But yet God, in all these dangers, preserved them, and
kept them from being wholly overthrown : And from time to
time, when it was come to extremity, and God saw that they
were upon the very brink of ruin, then God raised up a deliv-
erer, agreeably to Deut. xxxii. 36. « For the Lord shall judge,
his -people, and repent himself for his servants; when he
seeth their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left.'*
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. SI
Those remai'kable dispensations of Providence are very-
lively and elegantly set forth by the Psalmist, Psal. cvi. 34.
&c.
These deliverers that God raised up from time to time
were all types of Christ, the great redeemer and deliverer of
his church ; and some of them very remarkably so ; as, par-
ticularly, Barak, Jephthah, Gideon, and Samson, in very
many particulars ; and above all in the acts of Samson, as
might be shown, were it not that this would take up too much
time.
XVI. It is observable, that when Christ appeared to man-
age the affjurs of his church in this period, he often appeared
an the form of that nature that he took upon him in his incar-
nation. So he seems to Jiave appeared to Moses from time
to time, and particularly at that time when God spake to him
face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend, and he beheld
the similitude of the Lord (Numb. xii. 8.) after he had be-
sought him to show him bis glory ; which was the most
remarkable vision that ever he had of Christ. There was
a twofold discovery that Moses had of Christ : One was spirit-
ual, made to his mind by the word tliat was proclaimed,
when he proclaimed his nanxe, saying, " The Lord, the Lord
God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving-
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that Avill by no means
clear the guilty ; \isiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, and upon the childrens^ children, unto the third and
to the fourth generation." Exod. xxxiv. 6. Sec. Another
was external ; which was that which Moses saw, when Christ
passed by, and put him in a cleft of the rock, and covered him
with his hand., so that Moses saw his back parts. What he
saw was doubtless the back parts of a glorious human form,
in which Christ appeared to him, and in all likelihood the form
of his glorified human nature, in which he should afterwards
appear. He saw not his face ; for it is not to be supposed that
any man could subsist under a sight of the glory of Christ's
human nature as it now appears.
92 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
So it r.'as an human form in which Christ appeared to the
seventy elders, of which we have an account, Exod. xxiv. 9.
10, 11. " Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihti,
tvnd seventy of the Elders of Israel : And they saw the God of
Israel : And there was under his feet, as it were a paved work
of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his
clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel
he laid not his htmd : Also they saw God, and did eat and
drink." So Christ appeared afterwards to Joshua in the form
of the human nature, Joth. v. 13, 14. " And it came to pass
when Joshua v as by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and
looked, and behold, there stood a 7na7: over against him with
his sword drawn in his hand ; and Joshua went unto him, and
said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries ? And
he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord aixi I now
corne." And so he appeared to Gideon^ Judg. vi. 11, &c. and so
also to Manoah, Judg. xiii. 17... .21. Here Christ appeared to
Manoah in a representation both of his incarnation, and death ;
of his incarnation, in that he appeared in a human form ; and
of his death and sufferings, represented by the sacrifice of a
kid, and by his ascending up in the flame of the sacrifice ; in-
timating, that it was he that was the great sacrifice, that must
be offered up to God for a sweet savor, in the fire of his wrath,
as that kid was burned and ascended up in the flame. Christ
thus appeared time after time, in the form of that nature he
Avas afterwards to take upon him ; because he now appeared
on the same design, and to carry on the same work, that he
was to appear in that nature to work out and carry on.
XVII. Another thing I would mention, done in this peri-
od towards the work of redemption, is the beginning of a suc-
cession of prophets, and erecting a school of the prophets,
in Samuer^ time. There was something of this spirit of
prophecy in Israel after Moses, before Samuel. Joshua,
and many of the judges had a degree of it. Deborah was
a prophetess ; and some of the high priests were inspir-
ed with this spirit ; particularly Eli : And that space of
time was not wholly without instances of those that were
set apart of God especially to this office, and so were callccif
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. -Srj
prophets. Such an one we readof, Judg. vi. 8. " The Lord
sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto
them," &c. Such an one he seems to have been that we read
of, 1 Sam. ii. 27. " And there came a man of God to Eli," £cc.
But there was no such order of men upheld in Israel for
tiny constancy, before Samuel ; the want of it is tnken notice
of in 1 Sam. iii. 1. " And the word of the Lord was precioiit:
in those days ; there was no open vision." But in Samuel
there was begun a succession of prophets, that v/as maintain-
ed continually from that time, at least with very little inter-
jruption, till the spirit of prophecy ceased, about Malachi's
time : And therefore Samuel is spoken of in the New Testa-
ment as the beginning of this succession of prophets, Acts
iii. 24. " And ail the prophets from Samuel, and those that
follow after, as many as have spoken, have foretold of these
days." After Samuel was Nathan, and Gad, and Iddo, and
Heman, and Asaph, and others. And afterwards in the lat-
ter end gf Solomon's reign, we read of Ahijah ; and in Jero-
boam and Rehoboam's time we read of prophets ; and so
continually one prophet succeeded another, till the captivity.
We read in the writings of those prophets that are inserted
into the canon of the scriptures, of prophets as being a con-
stant order of men upheld in the land in those days : And in
the time of the captivity there were prophets still, as Ezekiel
and Daniel ; and after the captivity there were prophets, as
Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi.
And because God intended a constant succession of proph-
ets from Samuel's time, therefore in his time was begun a
school of the prophets ; that is a school of young men that
were trained up under some great prophet, Avho was their
master f.nd teacher in the study of divine things, and the
practice of holiness, to fit them for this oflice as God should
call them to it. Those young men that belonged to these
schools, were called the sona of the prophets ; and oftentimes
they are called /iro/z/zc/^. These at first v/ere under the tui-
tion of Samuel. Thus we read of Samuel's being appointed
over them, 1 Sam. xix. 20. « And when they saw the com-
pany of the prophets propliecying, and Samue! standing as
§4 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
appointed over thera." The company of prophets that we
read of 1 Sam. x. 5, were the same. Afterwards we read of
their being under Elijah. Elisha was one of his sons ; but
he desired to have a double portion of his spirit, as his suc-
cessor, as his first born, as the eldest son was wont to have a
double portion of the estate of his father; and therefore the
sons of the prophets, when they perceived that the spirit of
Elijah rested on Elisha, submitted themselves to hiin, and
owned him for their master, as they had done Elijah before
him ; as you may sec, 2 Kings ii. 15. " And when the sons
of the prophets which were to view at Jericho, saw him, they
said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they bow^
ed themselves to the ground before him."
And so after this, Elisha was their master or teacher ; he
had the care and instruction of them ; as you may see, 2
Kings iv. 38. " And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there
was a dearth in the land, and the sons of tjie prophets Avere
sitting before him : And he said unto his servant. Set on the
great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets."
In Elijah's and Elisha's time, there were several places where
there resided companies of these sons of the prophets ; as
there was one at Bethel, and another at Jericho, and another
at Gilgal, unless those at Gilgal and Jericho were the same :
And possibly that which is called the college, where the proph-
etess Huldah resided, was another at Jerusalem ; see 2 Kings
xxii. 14. It is there said of Huldah the prophetess, that she
«' dwelt in Jerusalem, in the college." They had houses
built, where they used to dwell together ; and therefore those
at Jericho being multiplied, and finding their house too little
for them, desired leave of their master and teacher Elisha,
that they might go and hew timber to build a bigger ; as you
may see, 2 Kings vi. 1,2.
At some times there were numbers of these sons of the
prophets in Israel ; for when Jezebel cut off the prophets of
the Lord, it is said, that Obadiah took an hundred of them,
and hid them by fifty in a cave, 1 Kings xviii. 4.
These schools of the prophets being set up by Samuel,
■xnd afterwards kept up by such great prophets as Elijah and
Part IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S5
EHsha, must be of divine appointment ; and accordingly ws
fed, that those sons of the prophets wei-e often favored with
a degree of inspiration, while they continued under tuition m
the schools of the prophets ; and God, commonly, when
he called any prophet to the constant exercise of the pro-
phetical office, and to some extraordinary sei'vice, took them
out of these schools ; though not universally. Hence the
prophet Amos, speaking of his being called to the propheti-
cal office, says, that he was one that had not been educated in
the schools of the prophets, and was not one of the sons of
the prophets, Amos vii. 14, 15. But Amos's taking notice of
it asi^eniarkable, that he should be called to be a prophet that
had not been educated at the schools of the prophets, shows
that it was God's ordinary manner to take his prophets out of
these schools ; for therein he did but bless liis o\ati institution.
Now this remarkable dispensation of Providence that we
are upon, viz. God's beginning a constant succession of
prophets in Samuel's time, that was to last for many ages, and
to that end, establishing a school of the prophets under Sam-
uel, thenceforward to be continued in Israel, was a step that
God took in that great affair of redemption that we are upon.
For the main business of this succession of prophets was to
foreshow Christ, and the glorious redemption that he was to
accomplish, and so to prepare the way for his coming j as ap-
pears by that forementioned place. Acts iii. 24, and by Acts
X. 43. « To him give all the prophets witness ;" and by Acts
lii. 18. « But those things v/hich God before had shewed by
the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he
hath so fulfilled."
As I observed before, the Old Testament time, v/as like a
time of night, wherein the church was not wholly without
light, but had not the light of the sun directly, but as reflected
from the stars. Now these prophets were the stars that re-
flected the light of the sun ; and accordingly they spoke abun-
dantly of Jesus Christ, as appears by what we have of their
prophecies in writing. And they made it very much theii*
business, vvhen they studied in their schools or colleges, and
elsewhere, to search out the work of redemption ; agreeably
96 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I-
to what the apostle Peter says of them, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. " Oi
which salvation the prophets have inquired, and searched
diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto
you ; searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of
Christ that wi^s in them did signify, when it testified before-
liand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should fol-
low." We are told that the church of the Redeemer is built
on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, the Redeemer
himself being the chief corner stone, Eph. ii. 20.
This was the fi,rst thing of the nature that ever was done in
the world ; and it was a great thing that God did towards
further advancing this great building of redemption. There
had been before occasional prophecies of Christ, as was shown;
but now the time drawing nearer when the Redeemer should
come, it pleased God to appoint a certain order of men, in
constant succession, whose main business it should be to fore-
shew Christ and his redemption, and as his forerunners to
prepare the way for his coming ; and God established schools,
■wherein multitudes Avere instructed and trained up to that
end, Rev. xix. 10. « I am thy fellow servant, and of thy breth-
ren that have the testimony of Jesus ; for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
PART V.
Prom Damd to the Babylonish Capthity.
\ COME now io Xheffth period oi the times of the Old
Testament, beginning with David, and extending to the Baby-
lonish captivity ; and would now proceed to shew how the
work of redemption was carried on through tliis period also
And here,
I. The first thing to be taken notice of, is God's anointing
that person that was to be the ancestor of Christ, to be king
over his people. The dispensations of Providence that have
been taken notice of through the last period, from Moses
VAnr v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 97
to this time, respect the people whence Christ was to pro-
ceed. But now the scripture history leads us to consider
God's providence towards that particular person . whence
Christ was to proceed, viz. David. It pleased God, at this
time, remarkably to select out that person of whom Christ
was to come, from all the thousands of Israel, and to put a
most honorable mark of distinction upon him, by anointing:
him to be king over his people. It was only God that coukl
iind hirn out: His father's house is spoken of as being little
in Israel, and he was the youngest of all the sons of his father,
and was least expected to be the man that God had chosen,
by Samuel. God had before, in the former ages of the world,
remarkably distinguished the persons from Avhom Christ was
to come ; as he did Seth, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob. But the last that we have any account of God's
marking out in any notable manner, the very person of whom
Christ was to come,' was in Jacob's blessing his son Judah ;
unless we reckon Nahshon's advancement in the wilderness
to be the head of the tribe of Judah. But this distinction of
the person of whom Christ was to come, in David, was very
honorable ; for it was God's anointing him to be king over
his people. And there was something further denoted by
David's anointing, than was in the anointing of Saul. God
anointed Saul to be king personally ; but God intended some-
thing further, by sending Samuel to anoint David, viz. to
establish the crown of Israel in him and in his family, as long
as Israel continued to be a kingdom ; and not only so, but
what was infinitely more stUl, establishing the crown of his
universal church, his spirittial Israel, in his seed, to the end
bf the world, and throughout all eternity.
This was a great dispensation of God, and a great step tak-
en towards a further advancing of the work of redemption,
according as the time drew near wherein Christ w^as to come.
David, as he was the ancestor of Christ, so he was the great-
est personal type of Christ of all under the Old Testament.
The types of Christ were of three sorts j types of institution
or instituted types, and providential, and personal types.
The ordinance of sacrificing was the greatest of the instituted
Vol. II. N
98 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t>
types ; and the redemption ov\t of Egypt was the greatest of
the providential types ; and David the greatest of the person-
al types. Hence Christ is often called David in the prophe-
cies of scripture ; as Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. " And I will set up
one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David : My servant David a prince among them ;"
and so in many other places : And he is very often spoken
of as the seed of David, and the son of David.
David being the ancestor and great type of Christ, his be-
ing solemnly anointed by God to be king over his people, that
the kingdom of his church might be continued in his family
forever, may in some respects be looked on as an anointing
of Christ himself. Christ was as it M-ere anointed in him ;
and therefore Christ's anointing, and David's anointing are
spoken of under one in scripture, as Psal. Ixxxix. 20' " I have
found David my servant ; with my holy oil have I anointed
him." And David's throne and Christ's are spoken of as one ;
Luke i. 32. " And the Lord shall give him the throne of his
father David." Acts ii. 30. " David.. ..knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, accord-
ing to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.'*
Thus God's beginning of the kingdom of his church in the
house of David, was, as it were, a new establishing of the
kingdom of Christ ; the beginning of it in a state of such vis-
ibility as it thenceforward continued in. It was as it were
God's planting the root, whence that branch of righteousness
was afterwards to spring up, that was to be the everlasting
king of his church ; and therefore this everlasting king is
called the branch fro7n the stem of Jesse. Isa. xi. 1. "And there
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch
shall grow out of his roots." Jer. xxiii. 5. " Behold the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a right-
eous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper." So chap,
xxxiii. 15. " In those days and at that time, I will cause the-
branch of righteousness to grow up unto David,- and he shall
execute judgment ^nd righteousness in the land." So Christ
in the New Testament, is called the root and offsjiring of Do^
v/d. Rev. xxii. 16.
Tart V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 99
It is observable^ that God anointed David after Saul to
reign in his room. He took away the crown from him and
his family, who was higher in stature than any of his people,
and was in their ey«s fittest to bear rule, to give it to David,
who was low of stature, and in comparison, of despicable ap-
pearance : So God Avas pleased to show how Christ, who ap-
peared despicable, without form or comeliness, and was des-
pised and rejected of men, should take the kingdom from the
^reat ones of the earth. And also it is observable, that David
was the youngest of Jesse's sons, as Jacob the younger broth-
er supplanted Esau, and got the birthright and blessing from
him : And as Pharez, another of Clii'ist's ancestors, supplanted
Zarah in the birth ; and as Isaac, another of the ancestors of
Christ, cast out his elder brother Ishmael ; thus was that
frequent saying of Christ fulfilled, " The last sha.ll be first
and the first last."
II. The next thing I wovild observe, is God's so preserving
David's life, by a series of wonderful providences, till Saul's
death. I before took notice of the wonderful preservation of
other particular persons that were the ancestors of Christ ;
as Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; and have observed how,
in that Christ the great Redeemer was to proceed from them,
that in their preservation the work of redemption itself may
be looked upon as preserved from being defeated, and the
fwhole church, which is redeemed through him, from being
.overthrown. But the preservation of David was no less re-
markable than that of any others that have been already taken
notice of. Hoa\ often was it so, that there was but a step be-
tween him and death. The first instance of it we have in his
encountering a lion and a bear, Avhen they had caught a lamb
out of his flock, which, without miraculous assistance, could at
once have rent this young stripling in pieces, as they could
the lamb that he deliveied from them ; so afterwards the root
and offspring of David >vas preserved from the roai'ing lion
that goes about seeking \vhom he may devour, and conquer-
ed him and rescued the poor souls of men, that were as lambs
in the mouth of this lion. Another remarkable instance was,
in preserving him from that mighty giant Goliath, who was
I(SO WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
strong enough to have taken him, and picked him to pieces
with his fingers, and gi\ en his flesh to the beasts of the field,
and to the fowls of the air, as he threatened him : But God
preserved him from him, and gave him the victory over him,
so that he cut oft" his head with his own sword, and made him
therein the deliverer of his people ; as Christ slew the spiritual
Goliath with his ov/n weapon, the cross, and so delivered his
people. And how remarkably did God preserve him from
being slain by Saul, when he first sought his life, by giving
him his daughter to be a snare to him, that the hand of the
Philistines might be upon him, requiring him to pay for her
by an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that so his lif»
might be exposed to them ; and in preserving him afterwards,
when Saul spake to Jonathan, and to all his servants, to kill
David ; and in inclining Jonathan, instead of killing him, as
bis fiither bade him, to love him as his own soul, and to be a
great instrument of his preservation, even so as to expose his
own life to preserve David ; though one would have thought
that none would have been more willing to have David killed
than Jonathan, seeing that he was competitor with him for his
father's crown ; and again saving him, when Saul threw a
javelin at him to smite him even to the wall ; and again pre-
serving him when he sent messengers to his house, to watch
him, and to kill him when Michal, Saul's daughter let him
down through a window ; and when he afterwards sent mes-
sengers, once and again, to Neiioth in Ramah, to take him,
and they were remarkably prevented time after time, by be-
ing seized with miraculous impressions of the spirit of God ;
and afterwards, when Saul being resolute in the affair, went
himself, he also was among the prophets : And after this,
liow wonderfully wivs David's life preserved at Gath among
the Philistines, when he went to Achish the king of Gath,
and was there in the hamls of the Philistines, who, one would
have thought, would have .despatched him at once, he having
so much provoked tliem by his exploits against them : And he
was again wonderfully preserved at Keilah, when he had en-
tered into a fenced town, where Saul thought he was sure of
him. And how Vvondcrhdiy Mas he preserved from Saul,
Part v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. iGl
when he pursued and hunted him in the mountains ? How re-
markably did God deliver him in 'the wilderness of Maon,
when Saul and his army were compassing David about ? Hov/
Avas he delivered in the cave of Engedi, when, instead of
Saul's killing- David, God delivered Saul into his hands in the
cave, and he cut off his sldrt, and might as easily have cut off
his head ; and afterwards delivering him in like rnanner in the.
■ivildcrness of Ziph ; and afterwards again preserving him in
the land of the Philistines, though David had fought against
the Philistines, and conquered them at Keilah, since he was
last among them ; which one would think, would have been
sufficient warning to them not to trust him, or let him escape
a second time, if ever they had him in their hands again ; but
yet now, when they had a second opportunity, God wouder-
tvilly turned their hearts to him to befriend and protect him,
instead of destroymg him.
Thus was tiie precious seed that virtually contained the Re-
deemer and all the blessings of his redemption, wonderfully
preserved, when hell and earth were conspired against it to
destroy it. How often does David himself take notice oftliis,
Avith praise and admiration in the book of Psalms ?
III. About this time, the written word of God, or the canon
of scripture, wus added to by Samuel. I have before observ-
ed, how that the canon of the scripture was begun, and the
first written word of God, the first written rule of faith and
manners that ever was, was given to the church about Moses's
time : And many, and I know not but most divines, think it
was added to by Joshua, and that he wrote the last chapter of
Deuteronomy, and most of the book of Joshua. Others think
that Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and part of the first book of Sam-
uel, were written by Samuel. However that was, this we
have good evidence of, that Samuel uuide an addition to the
canon of scripture ; for Samuel is manifestly mentioned in
the NcAV Testament, as one of the prophets whose writings
we have in the scriptures, in that forementioned Acts iii. 24.
" Yea and all the prophets from Samuel, and those that fol-
low^ after, as many as have spoken, have likevtise foretold of
thej;e days." By that expression, '■ as many as have spoken,"
102 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I,
cannot be meant, as many as have spoken by word of month ;
for never ^vas any prophet but what did that : But the mean-
ing must be, as many as have spoken by writhig, so that what
they have spoken has come down to us, that we may see what
it is.
And the way that Samuel spoke of these times of Christ
and the gospel, was by giving the history of those thmgs that
typified them, and pointed to them, particularly the things
concerning David that he wrote. The Spirit of God moved
him to commit tliose things to writing, chiefly for that reason,
because they pointed to Christ, and the times of the gospel j
and, as was said before, this was the main business of all that
succession of prophets, that began in Samuel, to foreshow
those times.
That Samuel added to the canon of the scriptures, seems
further to appear from 1 Chron. xxix. 29. " Now the acts of
Da^ id the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the
book of Samuel the seer."
Whether the book of Joshua was written by Samuel or not,
yet it is the general opinion of divines, that the books of Judg-
es, and Ruth, and part of the first book of Samuel, were
penned by him. The book of Ruth was penned for that rea-
son, because, though it seemed to treat of private affairs, yet
the persons chiefly spoken of in that book were of the family
whence David and Christ proceeded, and so pointed to Avhat
the apostle Peter observed of Samuel and the other prophets,
in the 3d chapter of Acts. The thus adding to the canon of
the scriptures, the great and main instrument of the applica-
tion of redemption, is to be looked upon as a further carrying
on of that woi*k, and an addition made to that great building.
IV. Another thing God did towards this work, at that
time, v.'as his inspiring David to show forth Christ and his re-
demption, in divine songs, which should be for the use of the
church, in public worship, throughout all ages. David was
himself endued with the spirit of prophecy. He is called a
prophet^ Acts ii. 29, 30. " Let me freely speak to you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sep-
ulchre is with us unto this day : Therefore bcinj; a prophet,
Taut IV.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 4CS
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath," occ. So that
ierein he was a type of Christ, that he was both a prophet and
a king. We have no certain account of the time when Da-
vid was first endued with the spirit of prophecy ; but it is man-
ifest that it either was at the time that Samuel anointed him,
or very soon after : for he appears soon after acted by this spirit
In the affair of Gabith : And then great part of the psahns
•were penned in the time of his troubles, before he came to
the crown ; as might be made manifest by an induction of
particulars.
The oil that was used in anointing David was a type of the
Spirit of God ; and the type and the antitype were given both
together; as we are told, 1 Sam. xvi. 13. " Then Samuel
took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his breth-
ren ; and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that
day foi'ward :" And it is probable, that it now came upon hmt
in its prophetical influences.
The way that this spirit influenced him was, to inspire hira
to show forth Christ, and the glorious things of his redemp-
tion, in divine songs, sweetly expressing the breathings of a
pious soul, full of admiration of the glorious things of the Re-
deemer, inflamed with divine love, and lifted up with praise ;
and therefore he is called the R-jeet fifiolmist of hrael. 2 Sam.
xxiii. 1. " Now these be the last words of David : David the
son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the
anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sv/eet psalmist of Israel."
The main subjects of these sweet songs were the glorious
things of the gospel ; as is evident by the interpretation that
is often put upon them, and the use that is made of them
in the New Testament ; for there is no one book of the Old
Testament that is so often quoted in the New, as the book of
Psalms. Joyfully did this holy man sing of those great
things of Christ's redemption, thai had been the hope and ex-
pectation of God's church and people from the beginning of
the church of God on earth ; and joyfully did othersToIlow
him in it, as Asaph, Heman, Ethan, and others ; for the book
of Psalms was not all penned by David, though the greater
part of it was. Hereby the canon of scripture was further
J(»4 '\VORK OF Rl^DEMPTIOX. [Pfuiod ?.
added to ; and an excellent portion of divine writ was it tha^.t
was added.
This was a great advancement that God made in this build-
ing ; and the light of the gospel, which had been gradually-
growing from the fall, was exceedingly increased by it ; for
whereas before there was but hei'c and there a prophecy given
of Christ in a great many ages, now here Christ is spoken of
by his ancestor DaA id abundantly, in multitudes of songs,
speaking of his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension
into heaven, his satisfaction, intercession ; his prophetical,
kingly, and priestly offrce ; his glorious benefits in this life and
that which is to come ; his union with the church, and the
blessedness of the church in him ; the calling of the Gentiles,
the future glory of the chtirch near the end of the world, and
Christ's coming to the final judgment. All these things, and
many more, concerning Christ and his redemption, are abund-
antly spoken of in the book of Psalms.
This was also a glorious advancement of the affair of re-
demption, as God hereby gave his church a book of divine
songs for their use in that part of their public worship, viz.
singing his praises throughout all ages to the end of the
world. It is manifest the book of Psalms was given of God
for this end. It was used in the church of Israel by God's
appointment : This is manifest by the title of many of the
psalms, in which they are inscribed to the chief musician, /. r.
to the man that was appointed to be the leader of divine songs
in the temple, in the public worship of Israel. So David is
called the sivcct psalmist of Israel^ because he penned psalms'
for the use of the church of Israel ; and accordingly we have
an account that they were actually made use of in the church
of Israel for that end, even ages after David was dead ; as 2
Chron. xxix. 30. " Moreover, Hezekiah the king, and the
princes, commanded the Lcvites to sing praises unto the Lord,
with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer." And we
find that the same arc appointed in the New Testament to be
made use of in the Christian church, in their worship : Eph.
V. 19. "Speaking to yourselves in fisalmsy hymns, and spirit-
ual songs." Gol. iii. 16. " Admonishing one another in
Fart V.] WORK 0F REDEMPTION. 105
psalms^ hymns, and spiritual songs." And so they have been,
and will to the end of the world be made use of in the church
to celebrate the praises of God. The people of God were
■wont sometimes to worship God by singing songs to his praise
before ; as they did at the Red Sea ; and they had Moses's
prophetical song, in the 32d chapter of Deuteronomy, com-
mitted to them for that end ; and Deborah, and Barak, and
Hannah, sung praises to God ; but now first did God commit
to his church a book of divine songs for their constant use.
V. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's actually
exalting David to the throne of Israel, notwithstandpg all the
opposition made to it. God was determined to do it, and he
made every tiling give place that stood i\\ the way of it. He
removed Saul and his sons out of the way ; and first set Davivl
over the tribd of Judah ; and then, having removed Ishbo-
sheth, set him over all Israel. Thus did God fulfil his word
to David. He took him from the sheepcote, and made him
king over his people Israel, Psc>l. Ixxviii. 70, 71. And now
the throne of Israel was established in that family, in which it
was to continue for ever, even for ever and ever.
VI. Now first it was that God proceeded to choose a particu-
lar city out of all the tribes of Israel to place his name there.
There is several times mention made in the law of Moses of
the children of Israel's bringing their oblations to the place
which God should choose ; as Deut, xii. 5, 6, 7, and so in
many other places ; but God had never proceeded to do it till
noAv. The tabernacle and ark were never fixed, but some-
times in one place, and sometimes in anpther ; but now God
proceeded to choose Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was
never thoroughly conquered, or taken out of the hands of the
Jebusites, till David's time. It is said in Joshua xv. 63. « As
for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of
Judah could not drive them out : But the Jebusites dwell with
the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day." But now
David wholly subdued it, as we have an account in 2 Sam. v.
And now God proceeded to choose that city to place his name
^here, as appears by David's bringing up the ark thither soon
after ; and therefore this is mentioned afterwards as the first
Voi,. II. O
106 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pruiod 1
time God prqcceded to choose a city to place his name there,
2 Chron. vi. 5, 6, and c^ap. xii. 13. Afterwards God pro-
ceeded to show David the very place where he wovild have,
his temple built, viz. in the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite.
The city of Jerusalem is therefore called the holy city ; and
>t was the greatest type of the church of Christ in all the Old
Testament. It was redeemed by David, the captain of the
hosts of Israel, out of the hands of the Jebusites, to be God's
city, the holy place of his rest for ever, where he would dwell ;
as Christ, the captain of his people's salvation, redeems liis
church out of the hands of devils, to be his holy and beloved
city. And therefore how often does the scripture, when
speaking of Christ's redemption of his church, call it by the
names oi Zion and Jerusalem ? This was the city that God had
appointed to be the place of the first gathering and erecting of
the Christian church after Christ's resurrection, of that re-
markable pouring out of the Spirit of God on the apostles and
primitive Christians, and the place whence the gospel was to
sound forth into all the world ; the place of the first Christian
church, that was to be, as it were, the mother of all other
churches through the world ; agreeably to that prophecy, Isa.
ii. 3, 4. " Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem : And he shall judge among the na-
tions, and shall rebuke many people," &c.
Thus God chose Mount Sion, whence the gospel was to be
sounded forth, as the law had been from Mount Sinai.
VII. The next thing to be observed here, is God's solemn-
ly renewing the covenant of grace with David, and promising
that the Messiah should be of his seed. We have an account
of it in the 7th chapter of the second book of Samuel. It was
done on occasion of the thoughts David entertained of build-
ing God an house. On this occasion God sends Nathan the
prophet to him, with the glorious promises of the covenant of
grace. It is especially contained in these words in the 16th
verse : " And thy house and t)iy kingdom shall be established
for ever before thee ; thy throne shall be established for ever."
Which promise has respect to Christ, the seed of David, and
Part V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. lor
is fulfilled in him only : For the kingdom of David has long
since ceased, any otherwise than as it is upheld in Christ.
The temporal kingdom of the house of David has now ceased
for a great many ages ; much longer than ever it stood.
That this covenant that God now established with David by
Nathan the prophet, was the covenant of grace, is evident by
the plain testimony of scripture, in Isa. Iv. 1, 2, 3. There wc
have Christ inviting sinners to come to the waters. Sec. And
in the 3d verse he says, " Incline your ear, come unto me ;
hear, and your souls shall live ; and I will make Avith you an
everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David." Here
Christ offers to poor sinners, if they will come to him, to give
them an interest in the same everlasting covenant that he had
made with David, conveying to them the same sure mercies.
But what is that covenant tliat sinners obtain an interest in,
when they come to Christ, but the covenant of grace ?
This was the fifth solemn establishment qf the covenant of
grace with the church after the fall. The covenant of grace
M^as revealed and established all along. But there had been
particular seasons, wherein God had in a very solemn manner
renewed this covenant with his church, giving forth a nev/
edition and establishment of it, revealing it in a new manner.
This was now the fifth solemn establishment of that covenant.
The first was Avith Adam, the second was with Noah, the
third was with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the
fourth was in the wilderness by Moses, and now the fifth is
this made to David.
This establishment of the covenant of grace with David,
David always esteemed the greatest smile of God upon him,
the greatest honor of all that God had put upon him ; he
prized it, and rejoiced in it above all the other blessings of his
reign. You may see how joyfully and thankfully he received
it, when Nathan came to him with the glorious message, in 2
Sam. vii. 18, 8cc. And so David, in his last words, declares
this to be all his salvation, and all his desire ; as you may see,
2 Sam. xxiii. 5. "He hath made with me an everlasting cov-
enant, ordered in all things and sure : For this is all my salva-
tion, and all my desire.
IDS WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period f.
VIII. It was by David that God first gave his people Israel
the possession of the whole promised land. I have before
shown, how God's giving the possession of the promised land
belonged to the covenant of grace. This was done in a great
measure by Joshua, but not fully. Joshua did not wholly sub-
due that part of the promised land that was strictly called the
land of Canaan, and that was divided by lot to the several
tribes ; but there were great numbers of the old inhabitants
left unsubdued, as we read in the books of Joshua and Judges ;
and there were many left to prove Israel, and to be thorns in
their sides, and pricks in their eyes. There were the Jebu-
sites in Jerusalem, and many of the Canaanites, and the whole
nation of the Philistines, who all dwelt in that part of the land
that was divided by lot, and chiefly in that part of the land that
belonged to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim.
And thus these remains of the old inhabitants of Canaan con-
tinued unsvibdued till David's time ; but he wholly subdued
them all. Which is agreeable to what St. Stephen ob-
serves, Acts vii. 45. " Which also our fathers brought in
with Jesus fi. e. Joshua) into the possession of the Gentiles,
whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the
days of David." They were till the days of David in driving
them out, before they had wholly subdued them. But David
entirely brought them under. He subdued the Jebusites, and
he subdued the whole nation of the Philistines, and all the rest
of the remains of the seven nations of Canaan : 1 Chron. xviii.
1. "Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the
Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns
out of the hands of the Philistines."
After this, all the remains of the former inhabitants of Ca-
naan were made bond servants to the Israelites. The poster-
ity of the Gibeonites became servants before, hewers of wood,
and drawers of water, for the house of God. But Solomon,
David's son and successor, put all the other remains of th«
seven nations of Canaan to bond service, at least made
them pay a tribute of bond service, as you may see, 1
Kings ix. 20, 21, 22. And hence wc read of the children of
SolouKJu's servants, after the return from the Babylonish cap^
Part V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. \69
tivity, Ezra ii. 55, and Neh. xi. 3. They were the children
or posterity of the seven nations of Canaan, that Solomon had
subjected to bond service.
Thus David subdued the whole land of Canaan, strictly so
called. But then that was not one half, nor quarter, of the
land God had promised to their fathers. The land that God
had often promised to their fathers, included all the countries
from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. These were
the bounds of the land promised to Abraham, Gen. xv. 18.
« In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying. Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river
of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates." So again
God promised at Mount Sinai, Exod, xxiii. 31. " And I will
set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Phi*
listines, and from the desert unto the river ; for I will deliver
the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive
them out before thee." So again, Deut. xi? 24. Every place
■whereon the soles of your feet, shall tread, shall be yours ;
from the wilderness, and Lebanon from the i-ivcr, the river
Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea, shall your coast be."
Again, the same promise is made to Joshua : Josh. i. 3, 4.
« Every place that the sole of your feet shall tread upon, have
I given unto you, as I said unto Moses ; from the wilderness
and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Eu-
phrates, all the land of the Hittitcs, and vmto the great sea, to-
wards the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." But
the land that Joshua gave the people the possession of, was
but a little pai-t of this land. And the people never had had
the possession of it, till now when God gave it them by David.
This large country did not only include that Canaan that
was divided by lot to those who came in with Joshua, but the
land of the Moabites and Ammonites, the land of the Amale-
kites, and the rest of the Edomites, and the country of Zobah.
All these nations were subdued and brought under the child-
ren of Israel by David. And he put garrisons in the several
countries, and they became David's servants, as we have a par-
ticular account in the 8th chapter of 2d Samuel ; and David
extended their border to the river Euphrates, as was pro-
11* WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.'
jnised ; sec the 3d verse : "And David smote also Hadadezer
the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his
border at the river Euphrates." And accordingly we read,
that Solomon his son reigned over all the region on this side
the river, 1 Kings iv. 24. For he had dominion over all the re-
gion on this side the river, from Tiphsah even unto Azzah,
over all the kings on this side the river." This Artaxerxes
king of Persia takes notice of long after : Ezra iv. 20.
»* There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which
have ruled over all countries beyond the river ; and toll,
tribute, and custom was paid unto them."
So that Joshua, that type of Christ, did but begin the work
tof giving Israel the possession of the promised land ; but left
it to be finished by that much greater type and ancestor of
Christ, even David, who subdued far more of that land than
ever Joshua had done. And in this extent of his and Solo-
mon's dominion was some resemblance of the great extent of
Christ's kingdom ; and therefore the extent of Christ's king-
dom is set forth by this very thing, of its being over all lands
from the Red Sea, to the sea of the Philistines, and over all
lands from thence to the river Euphrates ; as Psal. Ixxii. 8.
*' He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the
jiver unto the ends of the earth." See also 1 Kings viii. 56,
IX. God by David perfected the Jewish worship, and ad-
ded to it several new institutions. The law was given by Mo-
ses, but yet all the institutions of the Jewish worship were not
given by Moses ; some Avere added by divine direction. So
this greatest of all personal types of Christ did not only per-
fect Joshua's work, in giving Israel the possession of the
promised land, but he also finished Moses's work, in perfect-
ing the instituted worship of Israel. Thus there must be
a number of typical prophets, priests, and princes, to com-
plete one figure or shadow of Christ, the antitype, he being
the substance of all the types and shadows. Of so much more
glory was Christ accounted worthy, than Moses, Joshua, Da-
vid, and Solomon, and all the great prophets, priests, princes,
judges, and saviours of the Old Testament put together.
Part V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION* ill
The ordinances of David are mentioned as of parallel valid-
ity with those of Moses, 2 Chron. xxiii. 18. " Also Jehoiada
appointed the offices of the house of the Lord by the hand of
the pi'iests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the
house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as
it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with sing-
ing, as it was ordained by David." The worship of Israel
was perfected by David, by the addition that he made to the
ceremonial law, which we have an account of in the 23d, 24th,
25th, and 26th chapters of the first book of Chronicles, con-
sisting in the several orders and courses into which David di<
vided the Levites, and the work and business to which he ap"
pointed them, different from what Moses had appointed them
to ; and also in the divisions of the piiests the sons of Aaron
into four and twenty courses, assigning to every course their
business in the house of the Loi'd, and their particular stated
times of attendance there ; and appointing some of the Levites
to a new office, that had not been appointed before ; and that
■was the office of singers, and particularly ordering and regulat-
ing of them in that office, as you may see in the 25th chapter
of 1 Chronicles ; and appointing others of the Levites by law
to the several services of porters, treasurers, officers, and
judges : And tlTcse ordinances of David were kept up hence-
forth in the church of Israel, as long as the Jewish church last-
ed. Thus we find the several orders of priests, and the Le-
■vites, the porters, and singers, after the captivity. So we find
. the courses of the priests appointed by David still continuing
in the New Testament ; so Zacharias the father of John the
Baptist was a pi'iest of the course of Abia ; which is the same
with the course of Abijah, appointed by David, that we read of
1 Chron. xxiv. 10,
Thus David as well as Moses was made like to Clirist the^
son of David, in this respect, that by him God gave a new ec-
clesiastical establishment, and new institutions of Avorslup.
David did not only add to the institutions of Moses, but by
those additions he abolished some of the old institutions of
Moses that had been in force till that time ; particularly those
laws of Moses that appointed the business of the Levites^
\\9 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period L
which Ave hare in the 3d and 4ih chapters of Numbers, wliich
very much consisted in their charge of the several parts and
utensils of the tabernacle there assigned to them, and in car-
rying those several parts of the tabernacle. But those laws
■were now abolished by David ; and they were no more to car-
ry those things, as they had been used to do till David's time.
But David appointed them to other work instead of it ; see 1
Chron. xxiii. 26. " And also unto the Levites, they shall no
more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service
thereof:" A sure evidence that the ceremonial law given by
Moses is not perpetual, as the Jews suppose ; but might be
wholly abolished by Christ : For if David, a type of the Mes-
siah, might abolish the law of Moses in part, much more
might the Messiah himself abolish the whole.
David, by God's appointment, abolished all use of the taber-
nacle, that was built by Moses, and of which he had the pat-
tern from God : For God now revealed it to David to be his
will, that a temple should be built, that should be instead of the
tabernacle : A great presage of what Christ, the son of David,
•would do, when he should come, viz. abolish the whole Jew-
ish ecclesiastical constitution, which was but as a moveable
tabernacle to set up the spiritual gospel temple, which Avas to
be far more glorious, and of greater extent, and was to last
forever. David had the pattern of all things peitaining to the
temple showed him, even in like manner as Moses had the
pattern of the tabernacle : And Solomon built the temple ac-
cording to that pattern which he had from his father David,
which he received from God. 1 Chron. xxviii. 11, 12. " Then
David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and
of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the
upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and
of the place of the mercy seat, and the pattern of all that he
had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and
of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house
of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicate things." And
ver. 19. " All this, said David, the Lord made me understand
in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of thiji
pattern."
Part V.] WORK OP REDEMPTION. Hi
X. The canon of scripture seems at, or after the close
of David's reign to be added to by the prophets Nathan and
Gad. It appears probable by the scriptures, that they carried
on the history of the two books of Samuel from the place
where Samuel left it, and finished it. These two books of
6?imuel seem to be the book that in the scripture is called the
book of Samuel (he seer, and JS/athan the prophet, and Gad the
seer, as in 1 Chron. xxix. 29. " Now the acts of David the king,
first and last, behold they are written in the book of Samuel
the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the
book of Gad the seer."
XI. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's won-
derfully continuing the kingdom of his visible people in the
line of Christ's legal ancestors, as long as they remained an
independent kingdom. Thus it was without any interruption
worth notice. Indeed the kingdom of all the tribes of
Israel was not kept in that line ; but the dominion of that
part of Israel, in which the true worship of God was up-
held, and so of that part that were God's visible people, was
always kept in the family of David, as long as there was anr
such thing as an independent king of Israel ; according to his
promise to David : And not only in the family of David, but
always in that part of David's posterity that was the line
whence Christ was legally descended ; so that -the very per-
son that was Christ's legal ancestor was always in the throne,
excepting Jehoahaz, who reigned three months, and Zede-
kiah ; as you may see in Matthew's genealogy of Christ.
Christ was legally descended from the kings of Judah,
though he was not naturally descended from them. He was
both legally and naturally descended from David. He was
naturally descended from Nathan the son of David ; for Mary
his mother was one of the posterity of David by Nathan, as
you may see in Luke's genealogy : But Joseph, the reputed
and legal father of Christ, was naturally descended of Solo-
mon and his successors, as we have an account in Matthew's
genealogy. Jesus Christ, though he was not the natural son
of Joseph, yet, by the law and constitution of the Jews, h«
Vol. II. P
114 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Terioi> R.
was Joseph's heir ; because he was the lawRil son of Joseph's
lawful wife, conceived while she was his legally espoused wife
The Holy Ghost raised up seed to him. A person by the
law of Moses, might be the legal son and heir of another,
whose natural son he was not ; as sometimes a man raised vip
seed to his brother ; a brother in some eases, was to build up
a brother's house i so the Holy Ghost built up Joseph's
house.
And Joseph being in the direct line of the kings of Judah^
of the house of David, he was the legal heir of the crown of
David : And Christ, being legally his firstborn son, he was
his heir ; and so Christ, by the law, was the proper heir of
the crown of David, and is therefore said to sit upon the throne
of his father David.
The crown of God's people was wonderfully kept in the
line of Christ's legal ancestors. When David was old, and
r.ot able any longer to manage the affairs of the kingdom,
Adonijah, one of his sons, set up to be king and seemed to
have obtained his purpose ; all things for a while seemed fair
on his side, and he thought himself strong ; the thing hs
aimed at seemed to be accomplished. But so it was, Adoni-
jah was not the son of David that was the ancestor of Joseph,
the legal father of Christ ; and therefore, how wonderfully
did Providence work here ! What a strange and sudden revo-
lution ! All Adonijah's kingdom and glory vanished away
as soon as it was begun ; and Solomon, tlie legal ancestor of
Christ, was established in the throne.
And after Solomon's death, when Jeroboam had conspired
against the family, and Rehoboam carried himself so that it
■was a wonder all Israel was not provoked to forsake him, and
ten tribes did actually forsake him, and set up Jeroboam in
opposition to him ; and though he was a wicked man, and
deserved to have been rejected altogether from behig king ;
yet he being the legal ancestor of Christ, God kept the king-
dom of the two tribes, in which the true religion was upheld,
in his possession : And though he had been wicked, and his
son Abijam was another wicked prince ; yet they being legal
ancestors of Christ, God still continued the crown in th*
^ART v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 115
family, and gave it to Abijam's son Asa. And afterAvards,
though many of the kings of Judah were very -wicked men,
and horridly provoked God, as particularly Jelioram, Ahaziah,
Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon ; yet God did not take away the
crown from their family, but gave it to their sons, because
they were the ancestors of Christ. God's remembering his
covenant that he had established with David, is given as the
■reason why God did thus, notwithstanding their wicked lives ;
as 1 Kings xv. 4, speaking thereof Abijam's wickedness, it is
said, " Nevertheless, for David's sake did the Lord his God
give him a lamp in Jeruoalem, to set up his son after him,
and to establish Jerusalem :" So 2 Chron. xxi. 7, speaking-
there of Jehoram's great wickedness, it is said, " Kowbeit the
Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the
covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised
to give a light Unto him, and to his sons forever.'"
The crown of the ten tribes was changed from one family
to another continually. First, Jeroboam took it ; but the
crown remained in his family but for one generation after his
death ; it only descended to his son Nadab : And then Baasha,
t-hat was of another family, took it ; and it remained in his
posterity but one generation after his death : And then Zimri,
that was his servant, and not of his posterity, took it ; and
then, without descen ding at all to his posterity, Omri, that
was of another family, took it ; and the crown continued in his
family for three successions ; and then Jehu, that was of
another family took it ; and the crown continued in hi-s fami-
ly for three or four successions : And then Shallum, that was
of another family, took it : And the crown did not descend at
all to his posterity ; but Menahem, tliat v»'as of another fami-
ly, took it ; and it remained in his family but one generation
after him : And then Pekah, that was of another family took
it ; and after him Hoshea, that was still of another family,
took it : So great a difference was there between the crown of
Israel and the crown of Judah ; the one was continued ever-
more in the same family, and with very little interruption, in one
vight line ; the other Avas continually tossed about from one
family to another, as if it were the spoi-t of fortune. The
116 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t
reason was not, because the kings of Jaclah, many of them*
were better than the kings of Israel ; but the one had the
blessing in them ; they were the ancestors of Christ, whose
right it was to sit on the throne of Israel. But with the
kings cf Israel it was not so ; and therefore divine Prov-
idence exercised a continual care, through all the chang-»
es that happened through so many generations, and such a
long space of time, to keep the crown of Judah in one direct
line, in fulfdment of the everlasting covenant he had made
with David, the mercies of which covenant were sure mercies;
but in the other case there was no such covenant, and so no
such care of Providence.
And here it must not be omitted, that there was once a very
strong conspiracy of the kings of Syria and Israel, in the time
of that wicked king of Judah, Ahaz, to dispossess Ahaz and
his family of the throne of Judah, and to set one of anothei'
family, even the son of Tabeal, on it ; as you may see in Isa.
vii. 6. " Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us
make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it,
even the son of Tabeal." And they seemed very likely to ac-
complish their purpose. There seemed to be so great a like*
lihood of it, that the hearts of the people sunk witbin them ;
they gave up the cause. It is said, " The heai-t of Ahaz and
his people was moved, as the trees of the wood arc moved with
the wind." And on this occasion God sent the prophet Isaiah
to encourage the people, and tell them that it should not
come to pass. And because it looked so much like a gone
cause, that Ahaz and the people would very difficultly believe
that it would not be, therefore God directs the prophet to give
them this sign of it, viz. that Christ should be born of the le-
gal seed of Ahaz ; as Isa. vii. li. " Therefore the Lord him-
self shall give you a sign : Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This was a
c;ood sign, and a great confirmation of the truth of what God
promised by Isaiah, viz. that the kings of Syria and Israel
should never accomplish their purpose of dispossessing the
family of Ahaz of the crown of Judah, and setting up the son
of Tabeal ; for Christ the Immanuel was to be of them.
HVit v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. lit
I have mentioned this dispensation of Providence in thia
place, because, though it was continued for so long a timC)
yet it began in Solomon's succession to the throne of hia
father David.
XII. The next thing I would take notice of, is the building
of the temple : A great type of three things, viz. of Christ,
especially the human nature of Christ ; of the church of
Christ ; and of heaven. The tabernacle seemed rather to
represent the church in its moveable, changeable state, here
in this world. But that beautiful, glorious, costly structure of
the temple, that succeeded the tabernacle, and was a fixed,
and not a moveable thing, seems especially to represent the
church in its glorified state in heaven. This temple was
built according to the pattern shown by the Holy Ghost to
David, and by divine direction given to David, in the place
where was the threshing floor of Oman the Jebusite, in
Mount Moriah, 2 Chron. iii. 1 ; in the same mounttun, and
doubtless in the very same place, where Abraham offered up
his son Isaac ; for that is said to be a mountain in the land of
Moriah, Gen. xxii. 2, which mountain was called the inQuntain
of the Lord, as this mountain of the temple was, Gen. xxii. 14.
" And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh ;
as it is said to this day, In the moilnt of the Lord it shall be
seen."
This was the house where Christ dwelt, till he came to
dv/ell in the temple of his body, or human nature, which vfas
the antitype of this temple ; as appears, because Christ, on
occasion of showing him the temple of Jerusalem, says, " De-
stroy this temple, and in three days will I raise it up," speak-
ing of the temple of his body, John 'ii. 19, 20. This house, or
an house built in this place, continued to be the house of God,
the place of the worship of his church, till Christ came. Hei-e
was the place that God chose, where all their sacrifices were
offered up, till the great sacrifice came, and made the sacri-
fice and oblation to cease. Into his temple in this place the
Lord came, even the messenger of the covenant. Here he
t>ften delivered his heavenly doctrine, and wrought miracles ;
here his church was g-athered by the pouring out of the Spir-
Us WORK OF REDEMPTION. [FeAiod u
it, after his ascension. Luke xxiv. 53, speaking of the disci-
ples, after Christ's ascension, it is said, " And they were con-
tinually in the temple, praising and blessing God." And,
Acts ii. 46, speaking of the multitudes that were converted by
that great outpouring of tlie Spirit that was on the day of
Pentecost, it is said, " And they continued daily with one ac-
cord in the temple." And, Acts v. 42, speaking of the apos-
tles, " And daily in the temple, and in every house, they-
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And hence the
sound of the gospel went forth, and the church spread into all
the world.
XIII. It is here worthy to be observed, that at this time, in
Solomon's reign, after the temple was finished, the Jewish
church was risen to its highest external glory. The Jewish
church, or the ordinances and constitution of it, is compared to
the moon, in Rev. xii. 1 . " And there appeared a great won-
der in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
luider her feet, and upon her head a crov/n of twelve stars."
As this church was like the moon in many other respects, so
it was in this, that it waxed and Avaned lil;e the moon
From the first foundation of it, that Avas laid in the cove-
:nant made with Abraham, when this moon was now begin-
ning to appear, it had to this time been gradually increas-
ing in its glory. This time, Avherein the temple was finished
and dedicated, was about the middle, between the calling of
Abraham and the coming of Christ, and now it was full moon.
After this the glory of the Jewish church gradually decreased,
till Christ came ; as I shall have occasion more particularly
to observe afterwards.
Now the church of Israel was in its higlicst external glory :
Now Israel was multiplied exceedingly, so that they seemed
to have become like the sand on the sea shore, 1 Kings iv.
20 : Now the kingdom of Israel was firmly established in the
right family, the family of which Chri-st was to come : Now
God had chosen the city Avhere he would place his name : Now
God had fully given his people the possession of the promised
land : And they noAV possessed the dominion of it all in quiet-
ness and peace, even from the river ot Egypt, to the great
Part v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. HI
river Euphrates ; all those nations that had formerly been
their enemies, quietly submitted to them ; none pretended to
rebel against them :...Now the Jewish worship in all its ordi-
nances Avas fully settled :...Now, instead of a moveable tent
and tabernacle, they had a glorious temple ; the most magni-
ficent, beautiful, and costly structure, that there v/as then, ever
had been, or ever has been since : Now the people enjoyed
peace and plenty, and sat every man under his vine and figtree,
eating and drinking, and making merry, as 1 Kings iv. 20 :...
Now they were in the highest pitch of earthly prosperity, sil-
ver being as plenty as stones, and the land full of gold and
precious stones, and other precious foreign commodities,
which were brought by Solomon's ships from Ophir, and
which came from other parts of the world :...Now they had
a king reigning over them that was the wisest of men, and
probably the greatest earthly prince that ever was :...Now
their fame went abroad into all the earth, so that they came
from the lUmost parts of the earth to see their glory and their
happiness.
Thus God was pleased, in one of the ancestors of Christ,
remarkably to shadow forth the kingdom of Christ, reigning
in his glory. David, that was a man of war, a man who had
shed mvich blood, and whose life was full of troubles and con-
flicts, was more of a representation of Christ in his state of
humiliation, his militant state, wherein he was conflicting
with his enemies. But Solomon, that was a man of peace,
was a representation more especially of Christ exalted, tri-
umphing, and reigning in his kingdom of peace. And the
happy glorious state of the Jewish church at that time, did
remarkably represent two things: 1. That glorious state of
the church on earth that shall be in the latter ages of the
world ; those days of peace, when nation shall not lift sword
against nation, nor learn war any more. 2. The future glori-
fied state of the church in heaven. The earthly Canaan never
was so lively a type of the heavenly Canaan, as it was then,
when the happy people of Israel did indeed enjoy it as a land
fiowinaj with milk and honey.
12« V/ORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
XIV. After this the glory of the JcAvish church gradually
cleclined more and more till Christ came ; yet not so but that
the work of redemption still went on. Whatever failed or
declined, God still carried on this work from age to age ; this
building was still advancing higher and higher. Things still
went on, during the decline of the Jewish church, towards a
further preparation of things for the coming of Christ, as well
as during its increase ; for so wonderfully were things order-
ed by the infinitely wise governor of the world, that whatever
happened was ordered for good to this general design, and
made a means of promoting it. When the people of the
Jev.'s flourished, and were in prosperity, he made that to con-
tribute to the promoting this design ; and when they were in
adversity, God made that also to contribute to the carrying on
of the same design. While the Jewish church was in its in-*
creasing state, the work of redemption was carried on by their
increase ; and when they came to their declining state, which,
they were in from Solomon's time till Christ, God carried ox\
the w^ork of redemption by that. That decline itself was one
thing that God made use of as a further preparation for
Christ's coming.
As the moon, from the time of its full, is approaching near-
er and nearer to her conjunction with the sun ; so her light is
still more and more decreasing, till at length, when the con^
junction comes, it is wholly swallowed up in the light of the
sun. So it was with the Jewish church from the time of its
highest glory in Solomon's time. In the latter end of Solo-
mon's reign, the state of things began to darken, by Solomon's
corrupting himself with idolatry, which much obscured the
glory of this mighty and wise prince ; and withal troubles be-
gan to arise in his kingdom ; and after his death the kingdom
was divided, and ten tribes revolted, and withdrew their sub-
jection from the house of David, withal falling away from the
true worship of God in the temple at Jerusalem, and setting
up the golden calves of Bethel and Dan. And presently after
this the number of the ten tribes was greatly diminished in
the battle of Jeroboam with Abijah, wherein there fell dowr*
slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men j which
fj^tLT v.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 121
loss the kingdom of Israel probably never in any measure re«
covered.
The ten tribes finally apostatised from the true God under
Jeroboam, and the kingdom of Judah was greatly corrupted,
and from that time forward were more generally in a corrupt
State than otherwise. In Ahab's time the kingdom of Israel
did not only worship the caWes of Bethel and Dan, but the
worship of Baal was introduced. Before, they pretended to
worship the true God by these images, the calves of Jero-
boam ; but now Ahab introduced gross idolatry, and th« direct
■worship of false gods in the room of the true God ; and soon
after the worship of Baal was introduced into the kingdom of
Judah, viz. in Jehoram's reign, by his marrying Athaliah the
daughter of Ahab. After this God began to cut Israel short,
by finally destroying and sending into captivity that part of the
land that was beyond Jordan, as you may see in 2 Kii^gs x. 32.
&c. And then after this Tiglath Pilczer subdued and capti-
vated all the northern parts of the land ; 2 Kings xv. 29. And
then at last all the land of the ten tribes was subdued by Sal-
maneser, and they were finally carried captive out of their own
land. After this also the kingdom of Judah was carried cap-
tive into Babylon, and a great part of the nation never return-
ed. Those that returned Avcre but a small number, compared
with what had been carried captive ; and for the most part
after this they were dependent on the power of other states,
being subject one while to the kings of Persia, then to the
monarchy of the Grecians, and then to the Romans. And
before Christ's time, the church of the Jev/s was become ex-
ceeding corrupt, overrun with superstition and selfrighteous*-
ness. And how small a flock was the church of Christ in the
days of his incarnation !
God, by this gradual decline of the Jewish state and church
from Solomon's time, prepared the way for the coming of
Christ several ways.
1. The decline of the glory of this legal dispensation made
■way for the introduction of the more glorious dispensation of
the gospel. The decline of the glory of the legal dispensa-;
Vion, was to make way for the introduction of the evangelical
Vol. II. Q
}22 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t
dispensation, that Avas so much more glorious, that the legal
dispensation had no glory in comparison with it. The glo-
ry of the aiK^ient dispensation, such as it Avas in Solomon's
time, consisting so much in external glory, was but a- child-
ish glory, compared Avith the spiritual glory of the dispen-
sation introduced by Christ. The church under the Old Tes-
tament, was a cliild under tutors and governors, and God dealt
Avith it as a child. Those-pompous externals are called by the
apostle, "loeak and beggarly elements. It AA'as fit that those
things should be diminished as Christ approached ; as John
the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, speaking of Christ, says,
" He must increase, but I must decrease," John iii. 30. It i?
fit that the tAvinkling stars should gradually AvithdraAV their
glory, Avhen the sun is approaching tOAvards his rising. The
glory of the JcAvish dispensation must be gradually diminish-
ed, to prepare the t\'ay for the more joyful reception of the
spiritual glory of the gospel. If the Jewish church, Avheu
Christ came, had been in the same external glory that it Avas
in, in the reign of Solomon, men would have had their eyes so
dazzled with it, that they Avould not haAC been likely joyfully
to exchange such great external glory, for only the spiritual
glory of the jwor despised Jesus. Again,
2. This gradual decline of the glory of the JeA\'ish state,
tended to prepare the Avay for Christ's coming another Avay,
viz. as it tended to make the glory of God's power, in the
great effects of Christ's redemption, the more conspicuous.
God's people being so diminished and Avcakened by one step
after another, till Christ came, Avas very much like the dimin-
ishing Gideon^s army. God told Gideon, that the peoj^lc that
Avere Avith him, Avere too many for him to deliver the Midian-
ites into their hands, lest Israel should vaunt themselves
against him, saying, " My oAvn hand hath saved me." And
therefore all that Avere fearful Avere commanded to return ;
and there returned twenty and tAVO thousand, and there re-
mained ten thousand. But still they Avcre too many ; and
then, by trying the people at the Avater, they Averc reduced to
three hundred men. So the people in Solomon's time Averc
too many, and mighty, and glorious for Christ ; therefore he
Fart V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION, 12S
diminished them ; first, by sending off the ten tribes ; and
then he diminished them again by the captivity into Babylon ;
and then they were further diminished by the great and gen-
eral corruption that there was when Christ came ; so that
Christ found very few godly persons among them : And with
a small handfol of disciples, Christ conquered the world....
Thus high things wei^ brought down, that Christ might be
exalted.
3. This prepared the way for Christ's coming, as it made
the salvation of those Jews that were saved by Christ, to be
more sensible and-v visible. Though the greater part of the
nation of the Jews was rejected, and the Gentiles called in
their room ; yet there were a great many thousands of the
Jews that were saved by Christ after his resurrection. Acts
XXI. 20. They being taken from so low a state under tempo-
ral calamity in their bondage to the Romans, and from a state
of great superstitiion and wickedness, that the Jewish nation
was then fallen into ; it made their redemption the more sen-
sibly and visibly glorious.
I have taken notice of this dispensation of Providence in the
gradual decline of the Jewish church in this place, because it
began in the reign of Solomon.
XV. I would here take notice of the additions that were
made to tlie canon of scripture in, or soon after the reign of
Solomon. There were considerable additions made by Solo-
mon himself, who wrote the books of Proverbs and Ecclesias-
tcs, probably near the close of his reign. His writing the
Song of SongSj as it is called, is AvJiat is especially here to be
taken notice of, which is wholly on the subject that we are
upon, viz. Christ and his redemption, representingvthe high
and glorious relation, and union, and love, that are between
Christ arui his redeemed church. And the history of the
scripture seems, in Solomon's reign, and some of the next
succeeding reigns, to have been added to by the prophets, Na-
than and Ahijah, and Shemaiah and Iddo. It is probable that
part of the history which we have in the first of Kings was
Avritten by them, by what is said 2 Chron. ix. 29, and in chap,,
adi. I5, sdKi in chap. xiii. 22.
\U V/Q-kYL dF REDEMPTION. [Perios t
XVI. God's wonderfully upholding his church and the
true religion through this period. It was very wonderful^
considering the many and great apostasies that there were of
that people to idolatry. When the ten tribes had generally
and finally foi-saken the true worship of God, God kept up the
true religion in the kingdom of Judah ; and when they cor*
rupted themselves, as they very often did exceedingly, and
idolatry was ready totally to swallow all up, yet God kept the
lamp alive, and was often pleased, when things seemed to be
come to an extremityj and religion at its last gasp, to grant
blessed revivals by remarkable outpourings of his Spirit, par-
ticularly in Hezekiah's and Josiah's time.
XVII. God remarkably kept the book of the law from be-
ing lost in times of general and long continued neglect of, and
enmity against it. The most remarkable instance of this
kind that we have, was the preservation of the book of the law
in the time of the great apostasy, during the greatest part of
the long reign of Manasseh, which lasted fiftyfive years, and
then after that the reign of Amon his son. This, while the
book of the law was so much neglected, and such a careless
and profane management of the affairs of the temple prevail-
ed, that the book of the law, that used to be laid up by the
side of the ark in the Holy of Holies, was lost for a long time ;
nobody knew where it was. But yet God preserved it from
being finally lost. In Josiah's time, when they came to repair
the temple, it was found buried in rubbish, aft«r it had been
lost so long that Josiah himself seems to have been much a
stranger to it till now. See 2 Kings xxii. 8, Sec.
XVIII. God's remarkably preserving the tribe of which
Christ was to proceed, from being ruined through the many
and great dangers of this period. The visible church of
Christ from Solomon's reign, was mainly in the tribe of Ju-
dah. The tribe of Benjamin, that was annexed to them, tva*
hut a very sir.rvii tribe, and the tribe of Judah exceeding large ;
and as Jiwlaii took Benjamin under his covert when he went
into Egypt to bring corn, so the tribe of Benjamin seemed to
be vmdcr the covert of Judah ever after : And though, on oc-
casion of Jeroboam's setting up the calves at Bethel and Daii)
Krt v.] Work of redemption. \n
the Levites resorted to Judah out of all the tribes of Israel, (2
Chron. xi. 1 3) yet they were also small, and not reckoned
among the tribes : And thougJi many of the ten tribes did also
en that occasion, for the sake of the worship of God in the tem-
ple, leave their inheritances in their several tribes, and removed
and settled in Judah, and so were incorporated with them, as
we have an account in the chapter just quoted, and 1 6th verse J
yet the tribe of Judah was so much the prevailing part, that
they were called by one name,they were called Judu/i : There-
fore God said to Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 13. « I will not rend
away all the kingdom ; but will give one tribe to thy son, for
David my sein^ant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which I
have chosen," and so ver. 32, 35. So when the ten tribes
were carried captive, it is said, there was none left but the
tribe of Judah only : 2 Kings xvii. 18. " Therefore the Lord
was very wroth with Israel, and removed them out of his
sight : There was none left but the tribe of Judah only."
Whence they were all called Jewsi which is a word that comes
from Judah.
This was the tribe of which Christ was to come ; and in
this chiefly did God's visible church consist, from Solomon's
time : And this was the people over whom the Wngs that
were legal ancestors of Christ, and were of the house of Da"»
vid, reigned. This people was wonderfully preserved from
destruction during this period, Avhcn they often seemed to be
upon the brink of ruin, and just ready to be swallowed up. So
it was in Rehoboam's time, when Shishak king of Egypt came
against Judah with such a vast force; yet then God manifestly
preserved them from being destroyed. Of this we read in
the beginning of the 12th chapter of 2 Chronicles. So it was
again in Abijah's time, when Jeroboam set the battle in array
against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men ; a
mighty army indeed. We read of it, 2 Chron. xiii. 3, Then
God wrought deliverance to Judah, out of regard to the cove-
nant of grace established with David, as is evident by verse 4
and 5 ; and the victory they obtained was because the Lord
was on their side, as you may see verse 12. So it was again
In Asa's time, when Zerah the Ethiopian came against him
m WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
ifith a yet larger army of a thousand thousand, and three hun-
dred chariots, 2 Chron. xiv. 9. On this occasion Asa cried to
the Lord, and trusted in him, being sensible that it was noth-
ing with him to help those that had no power; ver. 1 1. « And
Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing
with thee to help, whether with many, or with those that have
. no power.'* And accordingly God gave them a glorious vic-
tory over this mighty host.
So again it was in Jehoshaphat's time, when the children of
Moab, and the children of Ammon, and the inhabitants of
Mount Seir, combined together against Judah with a mighty
army, a force vastly superior to any that Jehoshaphat could
raise ; and Jehoshaphat and his people were gi'eatly afraid ;
yet they set themselves to seek God on this occasion, and
trusted in him ; and God told them by one of his prophets,
that they need not fear them, nor should they have any occa^
sion to fight in this battle, they should only stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord. And according to his direction,
they only stood still, and sang praises to God, and God made
their enemies do the work themselves, and set them to kill-
ing one another ; and the children of Judah had nothing to
do, but to gather the spoil, which was more than they could
carry away. We have the story in 2 Chron. xx.
So it was again in Ahaz's time, when Rezin the king of Sy-
ria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, conspir-
ed against Judah, and seemed to be sure of their purpose ; of
which we have spoken already. So it was again in Hezckiah's
time, when Sennacherib, that great king of Assyria, and head
of the greatest monarchy that was then in the world, came up
against all the fenced cities of Judah, after he had conquered
most of the neighboring countries, and sent Rabshakch, the
captain of his host, against Jerusalem, who came, and in a
very proud and scornful manner msulted llezekiah and his
people, as being sure of victory ; and the people were trenii-
bling for feai', like lambs before a lion. Then God sent Isaiah
the prophet to comfort tliem, and assure them that they
should not prevail ; as a token of which he gave them this
sign, viz. that the earth, for two years successively, should
Part V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 127
bring forth food of itself, from the roots of the old stalks,
withotit their ploughing or sowing ; and then the third year
they should sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the
fruit of them, and live on the fruits of their labor, as they were
wont to do before. See 2 Kings xix. 29. This is mentioned
as a type of what is promised in ver. 30, 31. " And the rem-
nant that is escaped of the house of Judah, shall yet again take
root downward, and bear fniit upward. For out of Jerusalem
shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of Mount
Sion : The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this." The
corn's springing again after it had been cut off" with the sickle,
and bringing forth another crop from the roots, that seemed
to be dead, and so once and again, represents the church's re^
viving again, as it were, out of its own ashes, and flourishing
like a plant, after it had seemingly been cut down past recov-
ery. When the enemies of the church have done their WU
most, and seem to have gained their point, and to have over-
thrown the chiu'ch, eo that the being of it is scaixely visible,
but like a living root hid under ground ; yet there is a secret
life in it that will cause it to flourish again, and to take root
tlowTiward, and bear fruit upward. This was fulfilled now at
this time ; for the king of Assyria had already taken and car*
ried captive the ten tribes ; and Sennacherib had also taken
all the fenced cities of Judah, and ranged the country I'ound
about, and Jerusalem only remained ; and Rabshakeh had
in his own imagination already swallowed that up, as he had
also in the fearful apprehensions of the Jews themselves. But
yet God wrought a wonderful delivei^ance. He sent an angel,
that in one night smote an hundred fourscore and five thous-
and in the enemy's camp.
XIX. In the reign of Uzziah, and the following reigns, God
was pleased to raise up a set of eminent prophets, who should
commit their prophecies to writing, and leave them for the
use of his church in all ages. We before observed how that
God began a constant succession of prophets in Israel in
Samuel's time, and many of these prophets wrote by divine in*
spiration, and so added to the canon of scripture, before Uzzi-
ah's time. But none of them are supposed to have written
128 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
books of prophecies till now. Several of them wrote histo-
ries of the -wonderful dispensations of God towards his church.
This we have observed already of Samuel, who is supposed to
have written Judges and Ruth, and part of the first of Samuel,
if not the book of Joshua. And Nathan and Gad seem to
have written the rest of the two books of Samuel : And Na-
than, with Ahijah and Iddo, wrote the history of Solomon,
which is p)'obably that which we have in the first book of
Kings. The history of Israel seems to have beea further car-
ried on by Iddo and Shemaiah : 2 Chron. xii. 15. " Now the
acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the
book of Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer, concern-
ing genealogies ?" And after that the history seems to have
been further carried on by the prophet Jehu, the son of Han-
ani : 2 Chron. xx. 34. " Now the rest of the acts of Jehosh-
aphat, first and last, behold they are written in the book of Je-
hu, the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the
kings of Israel," as we find him to be, 1 Kings xvi. 1, 7. And
then it was further continued by the prophet Isaiah : 2 Chron.
xxvi. 22, «' Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last,
did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, write." He probably
did it as well in the second book of kings, as in the book of his
prophecy. And the history was carried on and finished by
other prophets after hirn.
Thus the prophets, even from Samuel's time, had from
time to time, been adding to the canon of scripture by their
historical writings. But now, in the days pf Uzziah, did God
first raise up a set of great prophets, not only to write histo-
ries, but to write books of their prophecies. The first of
these is thought to be Hosea the son of Beeri, and therefore
his prophecy, or the word of the Lord by him, is called the
ifpginm7ig of the word of the Lord ; as Hosea i. 2. " The be-,
ginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea ;" that is, the be-
ginning, or the first part, of the written word of that kind,
viz. that which is written in books of prophecy. He prophet
cied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezckiah,
kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash,
king of Israel. There was many other witnesses ; for God
Part V.] WORK OF REDEMPTION, 129
raised up about the same tirae to commit their prophecies to
writing Isaiah, and Amos, and Jonah, and Micah, and Nahum,
and probably some others ; and so from that time forward
God seemed to continue a succession of writing prophets.
This was a great dispensation of Providence, and a great ad-
vance made in the affair of redemption, which appears, if we
consider what was said before, that tJie main business of the
prophets was to foreshew Christ, and his redemption. They
were all forerunners of the great prophet. The main end
why the spirit of prophecy was given them was, that they
might give testimony to Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer,
that was to come ; and therefore the testimony of Jesus, and
the spirit of prophecy, arc spoken of as the same thing : Rev.
xix. 10. « And I fell at his feet to worship him : And he said
unto me, See thou do it not : I am thy fellow servant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : Worship God:
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And
therefore Ave find, that the great and main thing that the
most of the prophets in their v/ritten prophecies insist upon,
is Christ and his redemption, and the glorious times of the
gospel, which should be in the latter days, according to their
manner of expression. And though many other things were
spoken of in their prophecies, yet it seems to be only as intro-
ductory to their prophecy of these great things. Whatever
they prophecy of, here their prophecies commonly terminate,
as you may see by a careful perusal of their wi^itings.
These prophets were set to writing their prophecies by
the spirit of Christ that was in them, chiefly for that end, to
foreshow and prepare the way for the coming of Christ, and
the glory that should follow. And in what an exalted strain
do they all speak of those things ; many other things they
speak of in men^s usual language. But when they come up-
on this subject, what a joyful heavenly sublimity is there in
the language they use about it ! Some of them are very par-
ticular and full in their predictions of these things, and above
all the Prophet Isaiah, who is therefore deservedly called the
€vangdical prophet. He seems to teach the glorious doctrines
cf the gospel almost as plainly as the apostles did, who preach^
Vol. II. R
t«0 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PERiotj=I,
cd aftei' Christ was actually come. The Apostle Paul there*
fore takes notice, that the Prophet Esaias is very bold, Rom.
X. 20. i. e. as the meaning of the word, as used in the Ne\T
Testament, is very plain, he speaks out very plainly and
fully ; so being " very bold" is used, 2 Cor. iii. 12, we use
•' great plaiimess of speech," or " boldness," as it is in the
margin.
How plainly and fully does the prophet Isaiah describe the
manner and circumstances, the nature and end of the suffer-
ing and sacrifice of Christ, in the 53d chapter of his prophecy.
There is scarce a chapter in the New Testament itself which
is more full on it ! And how much, and in what a glorious
strain, does the same prophet speak from time to time of the
glorious benefits of Christ, the unspeakable blessings which
shall redound to his church through his redemption ! Jesus
Christ, the person that this prophet spoke so much of, once
appeared to Isaiah in the form of the human nature, the na-
ture that he should afterwards take upon him. We have an
account of it in the 6th chapter of his prophecy at the begin-
ning ; " I saw also the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lift-
ed up, and his train filled the temple," Sec. This was Christ
that Isaiah now saw, as we are expressly told in the New Tes-
tament. See John xii. 39, 40, 41.
And if we consider the abundant prophecies of this and the
other prophets, what a great increase is there of the light of
the gospel, which had been growing from the fall of man to
this day ? How plentiful are the revelations and prophecies
of Christ now, to what they were in the first period of the Old
Testament, from Adam to Noah ? Or to what they were in
the second, from Noah to Abraham ? Or to what they were
before Moses, or in the time of Moses, Joshua, and the Judg-
es ? This dispensation that we are now speaking of, was also
a glorious advance of the work of redemption by the great ad-
ditions that were made to the canon of scripture. Great part
of the Old Testament was written now, from the days of Uz-
ziah to the captivity into Babylon. And how excellent are
those portions of it ? What a precious treasure have those
prophets committed to the church of God, tending greatly to
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. iSl
confirm the gospel of Christ ? And which has been of great
comfort and benefit to God's church in all ages suice, and
.doubtless will be to the end pf the world.
PART VI.
From the Babylonish Captivity to the Coming of
Christ,
I COME now to tlie last period of the Old Testament,
viz. that which begins with the Babylonish Captivity, and ex-
tends to the coming of Christ, being the greatest part of six
hundred years, to shew how the work of redemption was carv
vied on through this period.
But before I enter upon particulars, I would observe,in three
things, wherein this period is distinguished from the preced-
ing periods of the times of the Old Testament?.
1 . Though ^ve have no account of a gr^^at part of this period
in the sci-iptui'e history, yet the events of this period are mor«
the subject of scripture prophecy, than any of the preceding
periods. There are two ways wherein the scriptures give ac-
count of the events by which the work of redemption is carried
on ; one is by history, and another is by prophecy : And in one or
the other of these ways we have contained in the scriptures an
account how the work of redemption is carried on from the be-
ginning to the end. Although the scriptures do not contain a
proper history of the whole, yet there is contained the M'hol*
chain of great events by which this affair hath been carried on
from the foundation, soon after the fall of man, to the finishing;
of it at the end of the world, either in history or prophecy.
And it is to be observed, that where the scripture is wanting in
one of these ways, it is made up in the other. Where scripture
history fails, there prophecy takes place ; so that the account
^s still carried on, and the chain is not broken, till we come ta>
the very last Unk of it in the consummation of all things.
isi WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t.
And accordingly it is obseiTable of this period or space
of time that we are upon, that though it is so much less the
subject of scripture history, that! most of the preceding peri-
ods, so that there is above four hundred years of it that tho
scriptures give us no history of ; yet the events of this period
are mere the subject of scripture prophecy, than the events
of all the preceding periods put together. ?*Iost of those re-
markable prophecies of the book of Daniel do refer to events
that were accomplished in this period: So most of those proph-
ecies in Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, against Babylon,
and Tyrus, and against Egypt, and many other nations, were
fulfilled in this period.
So that the reason why the scriptures give us no history of
so great a part of this period, is not because the events of
this period were not so important, or less worthy to be taken
notice of, than the events of the foregoing periods ; for I shall
liereafter show how great and distinguishedly remarkable the
events of this period were. But there are several other rea-
sons which may be given of it. One is that it Avas the will of
God that the spirit of prophecy should cease in this period,
(for reasons that may be given hereafter ;) so that there were
no prophets to write the history of these times ; and there-
fore God, designing this, took care that the great events of this
period should not be without mention in his word ; and so or-
dered it, that the prophecies of scripture should be more full
here, than in the preceding periods. It is observable, that
that set of writing prophets that God raised up in Israel, were
raised up at the latter end of the foregoing period, and at the
beginning of this ; which it is likely v.as partly for that reason,
that the time was now approaching, of Avhich the spirit of
prophecy having ceased, there was to be no scripture history,
and therefore no other scripture account but what was given
in propliccy.
And another reason that may be given why there was so
great a part of this period left without an historical account in
scripture, is, that God in his providence took care, that there
should be authentic and full accounts of the events of this pe-
riod preserved in pi-bfanc history. It is remarkable, and very
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. ISS
worthy to be taken notice of, that with respect to the events ot
the five preceding periods, of Avhich the scriptures give the
history, profane history gives us no account, or at least of but
Tery few of them. There are many fabulous and uncertain
accounts of things that happened before ; but the beginning
of the times of authentic profane history is judged to be but a
little before Nebuchadnezzar's time, about an hundred years
before. The learned men among the Greeks and Romans,
■used to call the ages before that, t/ie fabulous age ; but the
times after that they called, the historical age. And from about
that time to the coming of Christ, we have undoubted accounts
in profane history of the principal events ; accounts that won-
derfully agree with the many prophecies that wc have in
scripture of those times.
TliTls did the great God, that disposes all things, order iti
He took care to give an historical account of things from the
beginning of the world, through all those former ages which
profane history does not reach, and ceased not till he came to
those later ages in which profane history related things with
some certainty : And concerning those times, he gives us
abundant account in prophecy, that, by comparing profane his-
tory with those prophecies, Ave might see the agreement.
2, This period being the last period of the Old Testament,
and the next to the coming of Christ, seems to have been
remarkably distinguished from all others iii the great revolu-
tions that were among the nations of the earth, to make v.ay
for the kingdom of Christ. The time now drawing nigh,
Avherein Christ, the great King and Saviour of the world, was
to come, great and mighty were the changes that were
brought to pass in order to it. The way had been preparing
for the coming of Christ from the fall of man, through all the
foregoing periods : But now the time drawing nigh, things
began to ripen apace for Christ's coming ; and therefore di-
vine Providence wrought wonderfully now. The greatest
revolutions that any history whatsoever gives an account of,
that ever had been froi-n the flood, fell out in this period.
Almost all the then known world, i. e. all the nations that
•were round about the land of Canaan, far and near, that were
IS4 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I;
V/ithin the reach of their knoAvledge,-\vere overturned again and
again. All lands were in their turns subdued, captivated, and as
it were empi.ied,and turned upside down,and thut most of them
repeatedly, in this period ; agreeably to that prophecy, Isa.
xxiv. 1. " Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty ; he
maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, apd scaitcreth
abroad the inhabitants tliereof."
This emptying, and turning upside down, began with God'»
visible church, in their captivity by the king of Babylon. And
then the cup from them went round to all other nations, agree*
ably to what God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah, xxv. 15
—27. Here special respect seems to be had to the great re«
volutions that there were on the face of the earth in the times of
the Babylonish empire. But after that there were three general
overturnings of ihe world before Christ came, in the succes-
sion of the three great monarchies of the x^orld that were after
the Babylonish empire. The king of Babylon is represented
in scripture as overturning the world: But after that the Baby*
lonish empire was overthrown by G3TVIS ; who founded the
Persian empire in the raom of it ; which was of much great-
er extent than the Babylonish empire in its greatest glory.
Thus the world was overturned the second time. And then,
after that, the Persian empire was overthrown by Alexander,
and the Grecian empire was set up upon the ruins of it ; which
was still of much greater extent than the Persian empire :
And thus there was a general overturning of the world a third
time. And then, after that, the Grecian empire was over-
thrown by the Romans, and the Roman empire was establish-
ed ; which vastly exceeded all the foregoing empires in pow-
er and extent of dominion. And so the world was overturned
the fourth time.
These several monarchies, and the great revolutions of the
world under them, are abundantly spoken of in the prophecies
of Daniel. They are represented in Nebuchadnezzar's image
of gold, silver, brass, and iron ; and Daniel's interpretation of
it, in the second chapter of Daniel ; and then in Daniel's vision
of the four beasts, and the angel's interpretation of it in the
seventh chapter of Daniel. AikI the succession of the Pev*
Part VI.] WORK OF RED^MPTIOM/ U3
«ian and Grecian monarchies is more particularly represented
in the 8th chapter in Daniel's vision of the ram and the h©
goat, and again in the 1 1th chapter of Daniel.
And beside these four general overturnings of the world,
the world was kept in a constant tumult between whiles : And
indeed the world was as it were in a continual convulsion
through this whole period till Christ came. Before this pe-
riod, the face of the earth Avas comparatively in quietness s
Though there were many great wars among the nations, yet
we read of no such mighty and universal convulsions and
overturnings as there were in this period. The nations
of the world, most of them, had long remained on their lees a3
it were, without being emptied from vessel to vessel, as is
saidofMoab, Jer. xlviii. 11. Now these great overturnings
were because the time of the great Messiah drew nigh. That
they were to prepare the way '•br Christ's coming, is evident
by scripture, particularly by Ezek. xxi. 27. " I will overturn,
overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he come
whose right it is, and I will give it him." The prophet, by
repeating the word overturn three times, has respect to
three overturnings, as in the Revelation, viii. 13. The repe-
tition of the word wo three times, signifies three distinct
woes ; as appears by what follows, ix. 12. « One wo is past ;"
and xi. 14. " The second wo is past, and behold the third wo
cometh quickly."
It must be noted, that the prophet Ezekiel prophesied in
the time of the Babylonish captivity ; and therefore there
were three great and general overturnings of the world to
come after this prophecy, before Christ came ; the first by the
Persians, .the second by the Grecians, the third by the Ro-
mans ; and then after that, Christ, whose right it was to take
the diadem, and reign, should come. Here these great over-
turnings are evidently spoken of, as prepiu-atory to the coming
and kingdom of Christ. But to understand the words aright,
we must note the particular expression, " I will overturn,
overturn, overturn i(." i. e. the diadem and crown of Israel, or
the supreme temporal dominion over God's visible people.
This God said should be no more, i, e. the crown shotUd b©
136 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period T^
taken oH', and the diadem removed, as it is said in the forego-
ing verse. The supreme power over Israel should be no
more in the royal line of David, to which it properly belonged,
but should be removed away, and given to others, and over-
turned from one to another : First the supreme power over
Israel should be in the hands of the Persians ; and then it
should be overturned again ; and then it should be in the
hands of the Grecians ; and then it should be overturned
again, and come into the hands of the Romans, and should bo
no more in thq line of David, till that very person should
come, that was the son of David, whose proper right it was,
and then God would give it to him.
That those great shakings and revolutions of the nations of
the world were all to prepare the way for Christ's coming and
setting up his kingdom in the world, is further manifest by
Haggai, ii. 6, 7. « For thus safih the Lord of hosts. Yet once,
it is a little Avhile, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land : And I will shake all nations,
and the desire of ail nations shall come, and I will fill this
house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." And again, ver.
21, 22 and 23. It is evident by this, that these great revolur
tions and shakings of the nations, whereby the thrones of king-
doms, and armies were overthrown, and every one came down
by the sword of his brother, were to prepare the w ay for the
coming of him who is the desire of all nations.
The great changes and troubles that have sometimes been
in the visible churcjj of Christ, are in Rev. xii. 2, compared
to the church's being in travail to bring forth Christ ; so these
great troubles and mighty revolutions that were in the world
before Christ was born, were, as it were, the world's being in
travail to bring forth the Son of God. The apostle, in the 8th
of Romans, represents the whole creation as groaning and
travailing in pain together until now, to bring forth the liber-:
erty and manifestation of the children of God. So the world
as it were travailed in pain, and was in continual convulsions
for several hundred years together, to bring forth the first
born child, and the only begotten Son of God. And those
jnighty revolutions w^re as so many pangs and throes in order
Pakt VL] work of redemption. \27
to it. The world being so long a time kept in a state of war
and bloodshed, prepared the way for the coming of the Prince
of Peace, as it showed the great need the world stood in of
such a prince to deliver the world from its miseries.
It pleased God to order it in his providence, that earthly-
power and dominion should be raised to its greatest height,
and appear in its utmost glory, in those four great monarchies
that succeeded one another, and that every one should be
greater and more glorious than the preceding, before he set
up the kingdom of his Son. By this it appeared how much
more glorious his spiritual kingdom Avas than the most glo-
rious temporal kingdom. The strength and glory of Satan's
kingdom in these four mighty monarchies, appeared in it^
greatest height : For those monarchies were the monarchies
of the Heathen world, and so the strength of them was the
strength of Satan's kingdom. God suffered Satan's kingdom
to rise to so great a height of power and magnificence before
his Son came to ©verthrow it, to prepare the way for the more
glorious triumph of his Son. Goliath must have on all his
splendid armor when the stripling David comes against him
with a sling and a stone, for the greater glory of David's vic-
tory. God suffered one of those great monarchies to subdue
another, and erect itself on the other's ruins, appearing still ia
greater strength, and the last to be the strongest and mightiest
of all : That so Christ, in overthrowing that, might as it were
©verthrow them all at once ; as the stone, cut out of the mount-
ain without hands, is represented as destroying the whole
image, the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron, and the clay ;
sp that all became as the chaff of the summer threshing floor.
These mighty empires were suffered thus to overthrow the
world, and destroy one another : And though their power was
so great, yet they could not uphold themselves, but fell one
after another, and came to nothing, even the last of them, that
was the strongest, and had swallowed up the earth. It pleas-
ed God thus to show in them the instability and vanity of all
earthly power and greatness ; which served as a foil to set
forth the glory of the kingdom of his Son, which never shall
bp destroyed, as appears by Dan. ii. 44. " In the days ofthes^
Vol. II. S
isV ^^'ORK of redemption. [Period t,
Kings shall the God of heaven set up a khigdom, which shall'
never bo destroyed : And the kingdom shall not be left to
ether people, but it shall break in pieces, and consume all'
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." So greatly does-
this kingdom differ from all those kingdoms ; they vanish
away, and arc left to other people ; but this shall not be left to
other people, but shall stand for ever. God suffered the devil
to do his utmost, and to establish his interest, by setting up
the greatest, strongest, and most glorious kingdoms in the
World that he could, before the despised Jesus overthrew him
and his empire. Christ came into the world to bring down
the high things of Satan'^s kingdom, that the hand of the Lord
might be on eveiy one that is proud and lofty, and every high
tower, and every lofty mountain ; as the Prophet Isaiah says,
chap. ii. 12, he. And therefore these things were suffered to
rise very high, that Christ might appear so much the more
glorious in being above them.
Thus wonderfully did the great and wise Governor of the
world prepare the way for the erecting of the glorious king-
dom of his beloved Sou Jesus.
3. Another thing for which this last period or space of time
before Christ was particularly remarkable, was the wonderful
presei-vation of the churckthrough all those overturnings.
The preservation of the church was on some accounts more
remarkable through this period, than thi-ough any of the fore-
going. It was very wonderful that the church, which in this
period was so weak, and in so low a state, and mostly subject
to the dominion of Heathen monarchies, should be preserved
for five or si'x hundred years together, while the world was so
often overturned, and the earth was rent in pieces, and made
so often empty and waste, and the inhabitants of it came down
so often every one by the sword of his brother. I say it was
wonderful that the church, in its weak and low state, being but
a little handful of men, should be preserved in all these great
convulsions ; esprrcially considering that the land of Judea,
the chief place of the church's residence, lay in the midst of
them, as it were in the middle between the contending par-
tics, and was very much the scat of war amongst them, and
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 1S9
was often overrun and subdued, and sometimes in the hands of
one people, and sometimes another, and very much the object
of the envy and hatred of all Heathen nations, and often al-
most ruined by them, often great multitudes of its inhabitants
being slain, and the land in a great measure depopulated ;
and those Avho had them in their power, often intended the ut-
ter destruction of the whole nation. Yet they were upheld ;
they were preserved iu their captivity in Babylon, and they
were upheld again under all th-e dangers they passed through
under the kings of Persia, and the much greater dangers they
were liable to under the empire of the Greeks,. and e\ftcrwards
when the world was trodden down by th-e Romans.
And their preservation through this period was also distin-
guishingly remarkable, in that we never read of th-e church's
suffering persecution in any former period in any measure to
such a degree as they did in this, under Antiochus Epiphanes,
of which more afterwards. This wonderful preservation of
the church through all these overturnings of the world, gives
light and confirmation to what we read in the beginning
of the 46th Psalm : " God is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though
the earth be removed, and though the mountains be car-
ried into the midst of the sea ; though the Avaters thereof
roar, and be troubled ; though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof."
Thus I have *aken notice of some general things wherein
this last period of the Old Testament times was distinguished.
I come now to consider how the work of redemption was car-
ried on in particulars.. ..And,
I. The first thing that here offers is the captivity of the
Jews into Babylon. This was a great dispensation of Provi-
dence, and such as never Avas before. The children of Israel
'in the time of the judges, had often been brought under their
enemies ; and many particular persons were carried captive
at other times. But never had there been any such thing as
destroying the whole land, the sanctuary, and the city of Jeru-
salem, and all the cities and villages of the land, and carryinr^
\if) WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t,
the whole body of the people out of their own land into a coun-
try many hundred miles distant, and leaving the land of Ca-
naan empty of God's visible people. The ark had once for-
fi-'ken the tabernacle of Shiloh, and was carried captive into
the land of the Philistines : But never had there been any
such thing as burning the sangtuary, and utterly destroy-
ing the ark, and carrying away all the sacred vessels and
utensils, and breaking up all their stated worship in the land,
and the land's lying waste and empty for so many years to-
gether. How lively are these things set forth in the Lamen-
tations of Jeremiah !
The work of redemption was promoted by this remarkable
dispensation in these following ways.
1. It finally cured that nation of their !tch after idolatry.
The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the setting up of the king-
dom of Christ, chap, ii. 18, speaks of the abolishing of idolatry
as one thing that should be done to this end : " And the idols
he shall utterly abolish." When the time was drawing near,
that God would abolish Heathen idolatry, through the great-
er part of the knov/n world, as he did by the preaching of the
gospel after Christ came, it pleased him first to abolish Heath-
enism among his own people ; and he did it now by their
captivity into Babylon ; a presage of that abolishing of idols,
that God Avas about to bring to pass by Christ through so
great a part of the Heathen world.
This nation that was addicted to idolatry before for so
inany ages, and that nothing would cure them of, not all the
reproofs, and warnings, and corrections, that they had, and all
the judgments God inflicted on them for it ; yet now were
finally cured ; so that however some ilnight fall into this sin
afterwards, as they did about the time of Antiochus's perse-
cution, yet the nation, as a nation, never shewed any hanker-
ing after this sin any more. This was a remarkable and
wonderful change in that people, and what directly promoted
the work of redemption, us it was a great advancement of the
interest of religion.
2. It was one thing that prepared the way for Christ's
coming, and setting up the glorious dispensation of the gos-
^ART VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. i4l
pel, as it took away many of those things wherein consisted
the glory of the Jewish dispensation. In order to introduce
the glorious dispensation of the gospel, the external glory of
the Jewish church must be diminished, as we observed be-
fore. This the Babylonish captivity did many ways j it
brought the people very low.
First, It removed the temporal diadem of the house of
David away from them, i. e. the supreme and independent
government of themselves. It took away the crown and dia-
dem from the nation. The time now approaching when
Christ, the great and everlasting king of his church, was to
reign, it was time for the typical kings to withdraw. As God
Said by Ezekiel, chap. xxi. 26. " He removed the crown and
diadem, that it might be no more, till he should come, whose
right it was." The Jews henceforward were always depend-
ent on the governing power of other nations, until Christ
came, for near six hundred years, excepting about ninety
years, during which space they maintained a sort of independ-
ence, by continual wars, under tlie dominion of the Macca-
bees and their posterity.
Again, by the captivity, the glory and magnificence of
the temple was taken away, and the temple that was built
afterwards, was nothing in comparison with it. Thus it was
meet, when the time drew nigh tliat the glorious antitype of
the temple should appear, that the typical temple should have
its glory withdrawn.
Again, another thing that they lost by the captivity, was the
two tables of the testimony delivered to Moses, written with
the finger of God ; the two tables on which God with his own
finger wrote the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. These
seem to have been preserved in the ark till the captivity.
These Avere in the ark when Solomon placed the ark in the
temple, 1 Kings viii. 9. There was nothing in the ark, save
the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horcb. And
we have no reason to suppose any other, but that they remain-
ed there as long as that temple stood. But the Jews speak of
these as finally lost at that tinve ; though the same command-
142 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I,.
TOcnts were preserved in the book of the la\y. These tables
also were ^vithdrawn on the approach of their antitype.
Again, another thing that \vas lost that the Jews had before,
V'as the Urim and Thummim. This is evident by Ezra, ii,
63. " And the Tirshatha said \into them, that the)' should not
eat of the most holy things, till there should stand up a priest
with Urim and Thummim." And we have no account that
this was ever restored ; but the ancient writings of the Je%ys
say the contrary. What this Urim and Thummim was, J
Ehall not now inquire ; but only observe, that it was something
by which the high priest inquired of God, and received im--
mediate answers from him, or by which God gav.e forth im-
mediate oracles on particular occasions. This was now with-
drawn, the time approaching, when Christ, the antitype of thp
Urim and Thummim, the great word and oracle of God, was
to come.
Another thing that the ancient Jews say was wanting in the
second temple, was the Shechinah, or cloud of glory over the
mercy seat. This v/as promised to be in the tabernacle :
Levit. xvi. 2. " For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy
seat." Aj^d we read elsewhere of the cloud of glory descend-
ing into the tabernacle, Exod. xl. 35 ; and so we do likewise
Avith respect to Solomon's temple. Jlut we have no account
that this cloud of glory was in the second temple. And the
ancient accounts of the Jews say, that there was no such thing
in the second temple. This was needless in the second temple,
considering that God had promised that he would fill this
temple with glory another way,-viz. by Christ's coming into
it ; which was afterwards fulfillfed. See Haggai, ii. 7. " I
v.ill shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come,
and I will fdl this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts."
Another thing, that the Jews in their ancient writings men-
tion as being now withdrawn, was the fire from heaven on the
altar. When Moses built the tabernacle and altar in the wil-
derness, and the first sacrifices were offered on it, fire came
down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering, as in
Levit. ix. 24 ; and so again, when Solomon built the temple,
and offered the first sacrifices, as yeu may see in2Chron. vii. 1.
Part VI.] WORIC OF REDEMPTION. t4^
And this fire was never to go out, but with thie greatest
care to be kept alive, as God commanded, Levit. vi. 13. « The'
fire shall ever be burning upon the altar : It shall never go
out." And there is no reason to suppose the fire in Solomon*^*
time ever went out till the temple was destroyed by the Baby-
lonians. But then it was exthiguished, and nevel' was re-
stored. We have no account of its being given on the build-^
ing of the second temple, as we have at the building of the
tabernacle and first temple. But the Jews, after their return,
were forced to make use of their common fire instead of it,
according to the ancient tradition of the Jews. Thus the
lights of the Old Testament go out, on the approach of the
glorious Sun of righteousness.
o. The captivity into Babylon was the occasion of another
thing which did aftei^/ards much promote the setting up of
Christ's kingdom in the world, and that was the dispersion of
the Jews through the greater part of the kpown world, before
the coming of Christ. For the whole nation being carried
away far out of their own land, and continuing in a state of
captivity for so long a time, they got them possessions, and
built them houses, and settled themselves in the land of their
captivity, agreeably to the direction that Jeremiah gave them^
in the letter he wrote to them in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah.
And therefore, when Cyrus gave them liberty to return to the
land where they had formerly dwelt, many of them never re-
turned ; they were not Avilling to leave their settlements and
possessions there, to go into a desolate country, many hundred
miles distant, which none but the old men among them had
ever seen ; and therefore they vvcre but fevv", but a small num-
ber that returned, as we see in the accounts we have in the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Great numbers tarried behind,
though they still retained the sam.e religion with those that
returned, so far as it could be practised in a foreign land.
Those messengers that we read of in the 7th chapter of Zech-
ariah, that came to inquire of the priests and prophets in
Jerusalem, Sherezer and Regemmelech, are supposed to be
messengers sent from the Jews that remained still in Babylon,
144 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
Those Jews that remained still in that covmtry were soon,
by the great changes that happened in the Avorld, dispersed
ihence into all the adjacent countries. And hence we find,
that in Esther's time, Avhich was after the return from the
captivity, the Jews were a people that were dispersed through-
out all parts of the vast Persian empire, that extended from
India to Ethiopia ; as you may see, Esth. iii. 8. " And Ha-
inan said unto King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people
scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people in all the
provmces of thy kingdom," 8cc. And so the y continued
dispersed till Christ came, and till the apostles Avent forth to
preach the gospel. But yet these dispersed Jews retained
their religion in this dispersion. Their captivity, as I said
before, thoroughly cured them of their idolatry ; and it was
their manner, for as many of them as could from time to timC)
to go up to the land of Judea to Jerusalem at their great feasts.
Hence we read in the 2d chapter of Acts, that at the time of
the great feast of Pentecost, there were Jews abiding at Jeru-
salem out of every nation under heaven. — These Avere Jews
come up from all countries where they were dispersed, to
worship at that feast. And hence we find, in the history of
the Acts of the Apostles, that wherever the apostles went
preaching through the world, they found Jews. They came
to such a city, and to such a city, and went into the synagogue
of the Jews.
Antiochus the Great, about tv/o hundred years before
Christ, on a certain occasion, transplanted two thousand fam-
ilies of Jews from the country about Babylon into Asia the
Less ; and so they and their posterity, many of them, settled
in Pontus, Galatia, Phrygia, Pamphilia, and in Ephcsus ; and
from thence settled in Athens, and Corinth, and Rome.
Whence came those synagogues in those places that the
Apostle Paul preached in.
Now, this dispersion of the Jews through the world be-
fore Christ came, did many ways prepare the way for his
coming, and setting up his kingdom in the world.
One was, that this was a means of raising a general exr
pectation of the Messiah through the world about the time
Part VL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 143
that he actually came. For the Jews, wherever they wero
dispersed, carried the holy scriptures with them, and so the
prophecies of the Messiah ; and being conversant with the
nations among whom they lived, they, by that means, became
acquainted with these prophecies, and with the expectations
of the Jews of their glorious Messiah ; and by this means,
the birth of such a glorious person in Judea about that time
began to be the general expectation of the nations of the
world, as appears by the writings of the learned men oi the ,
Heathen that lived about that time, which are still extant ;
particularly Virgil, the famous poet that lived in Italy a
little before Christ was born, has a poem about the ex-
pectation of a great prince that was to be born, and the
happy times of righteousness and peace that he was to intro-
duce ; some of it very much in the language of the prophet
Isaiah.
Another way that this dispersed state of the Jews prepar-
ed the way for Christ, was, that it shewed the necessity of
abolishing the Jewish dispensation, and introducing a new
dispensation of the covenant of grace. It shoAved the neces-
sity of abolishing the ceremonial law, and the old Jewish
worship ; for, by this means, the observance of that ceremo-
nial law became impracticable even by the Jews themselves ;
for the ceremonial law was adapted to the state j)f a people
dwelling together in the same land, where was the city l;hat
God had chosen ; where was the temple, the only place where
they might offer sacrifices ; and where it was lawful for their
priests and Levites to officiate, where they were to bring their
first fruits, and where were their cities of refuge and the like.
Bvit the Jews, by this dispersion, lived, many of them, in oth-
er lands, more than a thousand miles distant, when Christ
came ; which made the observation of their laws of sacrifices,
and the like, impracticable. And though their forefathers
might be to blame in not going up to the land of Judea when
they were permitted by Cyrus, yet the case was now, as to
many of them at least, become impracticable ; which shew-"
jed the necessity of introducing a new dispensation, that should
Vol. II. T
146 Work of redemption, [period i.
be fitted, not only to one particular land, but to the general
circumstances and use of all nations of the world.
Again, another way that this dispersion of the Jews through
the world prepared the way for the setting up of the kingdom
of Christ in the world, was, that it contributed to the maldng,
the facts concerning Jesus Christ publicly known through the
world. For, as I observ'ed before, the Jews that lived in
other countries, used frequently to go up to Jei-usalem at
their three great feasts, which were from year to year ; and so,
by this means, they could not but become acquainted with the
news of the wonderful things that Christ did in that land. We
find that they were present at, and took great notice of that
great miracle of raising Lazarus, which excited the curiosity
of those foreign Jews, that came up to the feast of the Passo-
ver, to see Jesus ; as you may see in John xii. 19, 20, 21.
These Greeks were foreign Jews and proselytes, as is evi-
dent by their coming to worship at the feast of the Passover.
The Jews that lived abroad among the Greeks, and spoke
their language, were called Greeks, or Hellenists ; so they
are called Gretians, Acts vi. 1 . These Grecians here spoken
of were not Gentile Christians ; for this was before the call-
ing of the Gentiles.
By the same means, the Jews that went up from other
countries became acquainted with Christ's crucifixion. Thus
the disciples, going to Emmaus, say to Christ, when they did
not know him, Luke xxiv. 18. " Art thou only a stranger in
Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which have come
to pass there in these days ?" Plainly intimating, that the
things concerning Jesus were so publicly known to all men,
that it was wonderful to find any man unacquainted with
them. And so afterwards they became acquainted with the
news of his resurrection ; and when they went home again
into tlieir own countries, they carried the news with them,
and so made these facts public through the world, as they
had made the prophecies of them public before.
After this, those foreign Jews that came to Jerusalem, took
great notice of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost,
and the wonderful effects of it ; and many of them were con-
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 147
verted by it, viz. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the dwell-
ers in Mesopotamia, and in Egypt, and the parts of Lybia
about Cyvene, and the strangers of Rome, Jews and prose-
lytes, Cretes and Arabians. And so they did not only carry
back the news of the facts of Christianity, but Christianity it-
self, into their own countries with them ; which contributed
much to the spreading of it through the world.
Again, another way that the dispersion of the Jews con-
tributed to the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the
world was, that it opened a door for the introduction of the
Apostles, in all places where they came to preach the gospel.
For almost in all places where they came to preach the gos-
pel, they found Jews, and synagogues of the Jews, where the
holy scriptures were wont to be read, and the true God wor-
shipped ; which was a great advantage to the apostles in their
spreading the gospel through the world. For their way was,
into whatever city they came, first to go intp the synagogue
of the Jews, (they being people of the same nation) and there
to preach the gospel unto them. And hereby their coming,
and their new doctrine, was taken notice of by their Gentile
neighbors, whose curiosity excited them to hear what they
had to say ; which became a fair occasion to the apostles to
preach the gospel to them. It appears that it was tlius, by the
accoimt we have of things in the Acts of the Apostles. And
these Gentiles having been before, many of them, prepared in
some irteasure, by the knowledge they had of the Jews relig-
ion, and of their worship of one God, and of their prophecies,
and expectation of a Messiah ; which knowledge they derived
from the Jews, who had long been their neighbors ; this open-
ed the door for the gospel to have access to them. And the
work of the apostles with them was doubtless much easier than
if they never had heard any thing before of any expectation
of such a person as the apostles preached, or any thing about
the worship of one only true God.
So many ways did the Babylonish captivity greatly prepare
the way for Christ's coming.
II. The next particular that I would take notice of is, the
addition made to the canon of scripture in the time of th^
us WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Perio© L
captivity, in those iyi>o remarkable portions of scripture, the
prophecies of Ezekiel and Danieh Christ appeared to each
of these prophets in the form of that nature which he was af-
terwards to take upon him. The prophet Ezckiel gives an
account of his thus appearmg to him repeatedly, as Ezek. i.
26. " And above the firmament that was over their heads, was
the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone,
and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the
appearance of a man above upon it;" and so chap. viii. 1, 2.
So Christ appeared to the Prophet Daniel : Dan. viii. 15, 16.
"■ There stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I
heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called,
and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision."
There arc several things that make it evident, that this was
Christ, that I cannot now stand to mention particularly. So
Christ appeared again ^s a man to this prophet, chap. x. 5,
6. « Then I lift up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a cer-
tain man clothed in linen, whose loins Avere girded with fine
gold of Uphaz ; his body also was like the beryl, and his face
as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire,
and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and
the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." Com-
paring this vision with that of the Apostle John in the 1st
chapter of Revelation, makes it manifest that it was Christ.
And the ptophet Daniel, in the historical part of his book,
gives an account of a very remarkable appearance of Christ
in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, with Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. We have the account of it in the 3d chapter. In
the 25th verse, Christ is said to be like the Son of God ; and
it is manifest that he appeared in the form of man : « Lo I
see four ineji loose. ....and the form of the fourth is like the
Son of God."
Christ did not only here appear in the form of the human
nature, but he appeared in a furnace, saving those persons
who believed on him from that furnace ; by which is repre-
sented to us, how Christ, by coming himself into the furnace
©f God's wrath, 3aves those that believe in him from that fur-«
mice, so that it has no power on them ; and the wrath of Gcd
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 1 49
never reaches or touches them, so much as to singe the half
of their head.
These two prophets, in many respects, were more particular
concerning the coming of Christ, and his glorious gospel
kingdom, than any of the prophets had been before. They
both of them mention those three great overturnings of the
world that should be before he came. Ezekiel is particular
in several places concerning the coming of Christ. The
prophet Daniel is more particular in foretelling the time of
the coming of Christ than ever any prophet had been before,
in the 9th chapter of his prophecy ; who foretold, that it
should be seventy weeks, i. e. seventy weeks of years, or sev-
enty times seven years, or four hundred and ninety years,
from the decree to rebuild and restore the state of the Jews,
till the Messiah should be crucified ; which must be reckon-
ed from the commission given to Ezra by Artaxerxes, that
we have an account of in the 7th chapter of Ezra ; whereby
the very particular time of Christ's crucifixion was pointed
out, which never had been before.
The prophet Ezekiel is very particular in the mystical de-
scription of the gospel church, in his account of his vision of
the temple and city, in the latter part of his prophecy. The
prophet Daniel points out the order of particular events that
should come to pass relating to the Christian church after
Christ was come, as the rise of Antichrist, and the continu-
{ince of his reign, and his fall, and the glory that should fol-
low.
Thus does gospel light still increase, the nearer we come
to the time of Chi'ist's birth.
III. The next particular I would mention is, the destruc-
tion of Babylon, and the overthrow of the Chaldean empire
by Cyrus. The destruction of Babylon was in that night in
which Belshazzar the king, and the city in general, were
droAvned in a drunken festival, which they kept to their gods,
when Daniel was called to read the hand writing on the wall,
Dan. V. 30 ; and it was brought about in such a manner, as
wonderfully to ohow the hand of God, and remarkably to ful-
fil his word by his prophets, which I cannot now stand partio-
J30 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
irkrly to relate. Now that great city, which had long been an
enemy to the city of God, his Jerusalem, was destroyed, after
it had stood ever since the first building of Babel, which was
about seventeen hundred years. If the check that was put to
the building of this city at its beginning, whereby they were
prevented from carrying of it to that extent and magnificence
tliat they intended ; I say, if this promoted the work of re-
demption, as I have before shown it did, much more did this
destruction of it.
It was a remarkable instance of God's vengeance on the
enemies of his redeemed church ; for God brought this des-
truction on Babylon for the injuries they did to God's child-
ren, as is often set forth in the prophets. It also promoted
the work of redemption, as thereby God's people, that, were
field captive by thera, were set at liberty to return to their own
land to rebuild Jerusalem ; and therefore Cyrus, who did it,
is called God's shepherd therein, Isa. xliv. latter end ; and xlv.
1. And these are over and above those ways wherein the set-
ting up and overthrowing the four monarchies of the world
did promote the work of redemption, which have been before
observed.
IV. What next follov/ed this was, the return of the Jews to
tlieir own land, and rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple.
Cyrus, as soon as he had destroyed the Babylonish empire,
and had erected the Persian empire on its ruins, made a de-
cree in favor of the Jews, that they might return to their o^vn
land, and rebuild their city and temple. This return of the
Jews out of tiie Babylonish captivity is, next to the redemp-
tion oxit of Egypt, the most remarkable of all the Old Testa-
ment redemptions, and most insisted on in scripture, as a type
of the great redemption of Jesus Christ. It was under the
hand of one of the legal ancestors of Christ, viz. Zerubbabcl,
the son of Shealtiel, whose Babylonish name Avas Sheshbazzar.
He was the governor of the Jews, and their leader in their
first return out of captivity ; and, together with Joshua the
son of Jozedck the high priest, had the chief hand in rebuild-
ing the temple. This redemption was brought about by the
band of Zcrubbabel and Joshua the priest, as the redemption
l^ART VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. Isl
out of Egypt was brought about by the hand of Moses and
Aaron.
The return out of the captivity was a remarkable dispensa-
tion of Providence. It vias remarkable, that the heart of a
Heathen prince, as Cyrus was, should be so inclined to favor
such a design as he did, not only in giving the people liberty
to return, and rebuild the city and temple, but in giving
charge that they should be helped with silver and gold, and
with goods, and with beasts, as we read in Ezra, i. 4. Andaf-
terAvards God wonderfully inclined the heart of Darius to fur-
ther the bmlding of the house of God with his own tribute
money, and by commanding their bitter enemies, the Samari-
tans, who had been * striving to hinder them, to help them
without fail, by funiishing them with all that they needed in
order to it, and to supply them day by day ; making a decree,
that whosoever failed of it, timber should be pulled down out
of his house, and he hanged thereon, and his house made a
dunghill ; as we have an account in the 6th chapter of Ezra.
And after this God inclined the heart of Artaxerxes, another
king of Persia, to promote the work of preserving the state of
the Jews, by his ample commission to Ezra, which we have
an account of in the 7th chapter of Ezra ; helping them abund-
antly with silver and gold of his own bounty, and offering
more, as should be needful, out of the King's treasurehouse,
and commanding his treasurers beyond the river Euphrates
to give more, as should be needed, unto an hundred talents of
silver, and an hundred measures of wheat, an hundred baths
of wine, and an hundi'ed baths of oil, and salt, without pi'e-
scribing how much ; and giving leave to establish magis-
trates in the land ; and freeing the priests of loll, tribute, and
custom, and other things, which render this decree and com-
mission by Artaxerxes the most full and ample in the Jews
favor of any that, at any time, had been given for the restor-
ing of Jerusalem : And therefore, in Daniel's prophecy, this
is called the decree for restoring and building Jerusalem ; and
hence the seventy weeks are dated.
And then, after this, another favorable commission was
granted by the king of Persia to Nehemiah, which we have
an account of in the 2d chapter of Nehemiah,
152 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
It was remarkable, that the hearts of heathen princes
should be so inclined. It was the effect of his power, who
hath the hearts of kings in his hands, and turneth them
whithersoever he will ; and it was a remarkable instance of
his favor to his people.
Another remarkable circumstance of this restitution of the
state of the Jews to their own land, was, that it was accom-
plished against so much opposition of their bitter indefatigable
enemies the Samaritans, who, for a long time together, with
all the malice and craft they could exercise, opposed the Jews
in this affair, and sought their destruction ; one while by Bish«
lam, Mithridath, Tabeel, Rehum, and Shimshai, as in Ezra ivi
and then by Tatnai, Shetharboznai, and tlieir companions, as
in chap. v. and afterwards by Sanballat and Tobiah, as we read
in the book of Nehemiah.
We have shewed before how the Settlement of the peoplo
in this land in Joshua's time promoted the work of redemp-
tion. On tlie same accounts does their restitution belong to
the same work. The resettlement of the Jews in the land of
Canaan belongs to this work, as it was a necessary means of
preserving the Jewish church and dispensation in being, till
Christ should come. If it had not been for this restoration of
the Jewish church, and temple, and worship, the people had
remained without any temple, and land of their own, that
should be as it were their head quarters, a place of worship,
habitation, and resort ; the whole constitution, which God
had done so much to establish, would have been in danger of
utterly failing, long before that six hundred had been out,
which was from about the time of the captivity till Christ.
And so all that preparation which God had been making for
the coming of Christ, from the time of Abraham, would have
been in vain. Now that very temple was built that God
v/ould fill with glory by Christ's coming into it, as the Proph-
ets Haggai and Zechariah told the Jews, to encourage them
in building it.
V. The next particular I would observe, is the addition
made to the canon of the scriptures soon after the captivitv by
^he Prophets Haggui snd Zechariah, who were prophets sent
PAtir VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 153
to ehcourage the people in their work of rebuilding the city
and temple ; and the main argument they make use of to that
end, is the approach of the time of the coming of Christ,
Haggai foretold that Christ should be of Zerubbabel's legal
posterity ; last chapter, last verse. This seems to be the last
and most particular revelation of the descent of Christ, till the
angel Gabriel was sent to reveal it to his mother Mary.
VI. The next thing I would take notice of, was the pouring
out of the Spirit of God that acconnpanied the ministry of
Ezra the priest after the captivity. That there was such a
pouring out of the Spirit of God that accompanied Ezra's min-
istry, is manifest by many things in the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah. ^Presently after Ezra came up from Babylon,
with the ample commission which Artaxerxes gave him,
whence Daniel's seventy weeks began, he set himself to re-
form the vices and corruptions he found amOng the Jews ;
and his great success in it we have an account of in the lOtk
chapter of Ezra ; so that there appeared a very general and
great mourning of the congregation of Israel for their sins,
which was accompanied with a solemn covenant that the peo-
ple entered into with God ; and this was followed with a
great and general reformation, as we have there an account.
And the people about the same time, with great zeal, and
earnestness, and reverence, gathered themselves together to
hear the word of God read by Ezra ; and gave diligent atten-
tion, while Ezra and the other priests preached to them, by
reading and expounding the law, and were greatly affected in
the hearing of it. They wept when they heard the words of
the law, and set themselves to obsers'e the law, and kept the
feast of tabernacles, as the scripture observes, after such a
manner as it had not been kept since the days of Joshua the
son of Nun ; as we have an account in the 8th chapter of Ne-
hemiah. And after this, having separated themselves from all
strangers, they solemnly observed a fast, by hearing the word
of God, confessing their sins, and renewing their covenant
with God ; and manifested their sincerity in that transactic^
by actually reforming many abuses in religion and morals 5
^s we learn from the 9th and following chapters of Neheraifth,
Vol. XL IT
154 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PcRiaat.
It is observable, that it has been God's manner in every re-
markable new establishment of the state of his visible church,
to give a remarkable outpouring of his spirit. So it was on
the first establishment of the church of the Jews at their first
coming into Canaan under Joshua, as has been observed ; and
so it was now in this second settlement of the church in the
came land in the time of Ezra ; and so it was on the first es-
tablishment of the Christian church after Christ's resurrec-
tion ; God wisely and graciously laying the foundation of
those establishments in a work of his holy Spirit, for the last-
ing benefit of the state of his church, thenceforward contimi-
ed in those establishments. And this pouring out of the
Spirit of God, was, a final cure of that nation of that particular
sin which just before they especially run into, viz. intermar-
rying with the Gentiles : For however inclined to it they were
before, they ever after shewed an aversion to it.
VII. Ezra added to the canon of the scriptures. He wrote
the book of Ezra ; and he is supposed to kave written the two
books of Chronicles, at least to have compiled them, if he was
not the author of the materials, or all the parts of these writ-
ings. That these books were written, or compiled and com-
pleted, after the captivity, the things contained in the books
themselves make manifest ; for the genealogies contained
therein, arc brought down below the captivity ; as 1 Chron.
iii. 17. See. We have there an account of the posterity of
Jehoiachin for several successive generations. And there is
mention in these books of this captivity into Babylon, as of a
thing past, and of things that were done on the return of the
Jews after the captivity ; as you may see in tiie 9th chapter.
The chapter is mostly filled up with an account of things that
came to pass after the captivity into Babylon, as you may see
by comparing it with what is said in the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah. And that Ezra was the person that compiled
these books, is probable by this, because they conclude with
words that we know are the words of Ezra's history. The
two last verses are Ezra's words in the history he gives in the
two first verses of the book of Ezra.
Pa&t VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 155
VIII. Ezra is supposed to have collected all the books of
which the holy scriptures did then consist, and to have dispos-
ed them in their proper order. Ezra is often spoken of as a
noted and eminent scribe of the law of God, and the canon of
scripture in his time was manifestly under his special care ;
and the Jews, from the first accounts we have from them, have
always held, tliat the canon of scripture, so much of it as was
then extant, was collected, and orderly disposed and settled by
Ezra ; and from him they have delivered it down in the or-
der in which he disposed it, till Christ's time ; when th«
Christian church received it from them, an4 have delivered
it down to our times. The truth of this is allowed as undoubt-
ed by divines in general.
IX. The work of redemption was carried on and promoted
in this period, by greatly multiplying the copies of the law,
and appointing the constant public reading of th-em in all the
cities of Israel in their synagogues. It is evident, that before
the captivity, there were but few copies of the law. There
was the original, laid up beside the ark ; and the kings were
required to write out a copy of the law for their use, and the
law was required to be read to the whole congregation of Is-
rael once every seventh year. And we have no account of
any other stated public reading of the law before the captivity
but this. And it is manifest by several things that might be
mentioned, that copies of the law were exceeding rare before
the captivity. But after the captivity, the constant reading of
the law was set up in every synagogue throughout the land.
First, they began with reading the law, and then they pro-
ceeded to establish the oonfitant reading of the other books of
the Old Testament. And lessons were read out of the Old
Testament, as made up of both the law Jind the other parts of
the scripture then extant, in all the synagogues, which were
set up in every city, and every where, wherever the Jews in
any considerable number dw«lt, as our meeting houses arc.
Thus we find it was in Christ's and the apostles' time. Acts
XV. 2 1 , « Moses of old time hath in every city them that
preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.'*
Tiusxustom is universally supposed, both by Jews and Christ*
156 V/ORK OF REDEMPTION. [I'ERian I.
lans, to be begun by Ezra. There were doubtless public as-'
semblies before the captivity into Babylon. They used to
assemble at the temple at their great feasts, and were directed
■when they were at a loss about any thing in the law, to go to
the priest for instruction : And they used also to resort to the
prophets' houses : And we read of synagogues in the land
before, Psal. Ixs5v. 8. But it is not supposed that they had
fcopies of the law for constant public reading and expounding
through the land before, as afterwards. This was one great
means of their being preserved from idolatry.
X. The next thing I would mention, is God's remarkably
preserving the church and nation of the Jews, when they were
in imminent danger of being universally destroyed by Haman*
We have the story in the book of Esther, with which you are
acquainted. This series of providences was very wonderful
in preventing this destruction. Esther was doubtless born
for this end, to be the instmment of this remarkable preserva-
tion.
XI. After this the canon of scripture was further added to
in the books of Nehemiah and Esther ; the one by Nehemiah
himself ; and whether the other Avas written by Nehemiah, or
Mordecai, or Malachi, is not of importance for us to know, so
long as it is one of those books that were always admitted and
received as a part of their canon by the Jews, and Avas among
those books that the Jews called their scriptures in Chi'ist's
time, and as such was approved by him. For Christ does
often in his speeches to the Jews, manifestly approve and con-
firm those books, which amongst them went by the name of
the scriptures, as might easily be shown, if there were time
for it.
XII. After this the canon of the Old Testament was com-
pleted and sealed by Malachi. The manner of Ms concluding
his prophecy seems to imply, that they were to expect no
more prophecies, and no more written revelations from God,
till Christ should come. For in the last chapter he prophe-
sies of Christ's coming ; ver. 2, 3. « But unto you that fear
my name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in
his wings ; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the
Part VI.] WORK OF Rl^DEMPTlON. 157
stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked ; for they shall be
as ashes under the soles of your feet, m the day that I shall do
this, saith the Lord of hosts." Then we read in ver. 4. " Re-
member ye the law of Moses my servant, which I command-
ed unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and
judgments," i. e. Remember and improve what ye have ;
keep close to that written rule you have, as expecting no
more additions to it, till the night of the Old Testament is
over, and the Sun of Righteousness shall at length arise.
XIII. Soon after this, the spirit of prophecy ceased among
that people till the time of the New Testament. Thus the
Old Testament light, the stars of the long night, began apace
to hide their heads, the time of the Sun of Righteousness now
drawing nigh. We before observed, how the kings of the
house of David ceased before the true king and head of the
church came ; and how the cloud of glory withdrew, before
Christ, the brightness of the Father's glory, appeared ; and so
as to several other things. And now at last the spirit of
prophecy ceased. The time of the great Prophet of God was
now so nigh, it was time for their typical prophets to be silent.
We have now gone through with the time that we have
any historical account of in the writings of the Old Testament,
and the last thing that was ir.entioned, by which the work of
redemption was promoted, was the ceasing of tlie spirit of
prophecy.
I now proceed to show how the work of redempticn was
carried on through the remaining times that were before
Christ : In which we have not that thread of scripture history
to guide us that we have had hitherto : But have these three
things to guide us, viz. the prophecies of the Old Testament,
human histories of those times, and some occasional mention
made, and some evidence given, of some things which hap-
pened in those times, in the Nev/ Testament. Therefore,
XIV. The next particular that I shall mention under this
period, is the destruction of the Persian empire, and setting
up of the Grecian empire by Alexander. I'his came to pass
about sixty or seventy years after the times wherein th<i
158 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
Prophet Malachi is supposed to have prophesied, and about
three hundred and thirty years before Christ. This was the
third overturning of the world that came to pass in this pe-
riod, and was greater and more remarkable than either of the
foregoing. It was very remarkable on account of the sudden-
ness of that conquest of the world which Alexander made, and
the greatness of the empire which he set up, which much ex-
ceeded all the foregoing in its extent.
This event is much spoken of in the prophecies of Daniel.
This empire is represented by the third kingdom of brass, in
Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, as in Daa.
ii ; and in Daniel's vision of the four beasts, is represented by
the third beast that was like a leopard, that had on his back
four wings of a fowl, to represent the swiftness of its conquest,
• chap, vii ; and is more particularly represented by the ho
goat in the 8th chapter, that came from the west on the face
of the whole earth, and touched not the ground, to represent
how swiftly Alexander overran the world. The angel himself
does expressly interpret this he goat to signify the king of
Grecia, ver. 21. The rough goat is the king of Grecia ; and
the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king, i. e.
Alexander himself.
After Alexander had conquered the world, he soon died ;
and his dominion did not descend to his posterity, but four of
his principal captains divided his empire betAveen them, as it
there follows. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up
for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not
in his power ; so you may see in the 1 Uh chapter of Daniel.
The angel, after foretelling of the Persian empii«, then pro-
ceeds to foretel of Alexander, ver. 3. " And a mighty king
shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do ac-
cording to his will." And then he foretels, in the 4th verse,
of the dividing of his kingdom between his four captains :
" And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken,
and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven ; and not
to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he
ruled : For his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others
besides those." Two of these four captains, whose kingdoms
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 159
■were next to Judea, the one had Egypt and the neighboring
countries on the south of Judea, and the other had Syria and
the neighboring countries north of Judea ; and these two are
those that are called the kings of the north and of the south in
the 1 1th chapter of Daniel,
Now, this setting up of the Grecian empire did greatly
prepare the way for Christ's coming, and setting up his king-
dom in the world. Besides those ways common to the other
overturnings of the world in this period, that have been al-
ready mentioned, there is one peculiar to this revolution
which I would take notice of, which did remarkably promote
the work of redemption ; and that was, that it made the Greek
language common in the world. To have one common lan-
guage understood and used through the greater part of the
world, was a thing that did greatly prepare the way for the
setting up of Christ's kingdom. This gave advantage for
spreading the gospel from one nation to another, and so
through all nations, with vastly greater ease, than if every na-
tion had a distinct language, and did not understand each oth-
er. For though some of the first preachers of the gospel had
the gift of languages, so that they could preach in any lan-
guage ; yet all had not this particular gift ; and they that had,
could not exercise it when they would, but only at special sea-
sons, when the Spirit of God was pleased to inspire them in
this way. And the church in different parts of the world, as
the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, Corinth, and
©thers, which were in countries distant one from another,
could not have had that communication one with another,
•which we have an account of in the book of Acts^ if they had
had no common language. So it was before the Grecian em-
pire was set up. But after this, many in all these countries
well understood the same language, viz. the Greek language ;
which wonderfully opened the door for mutual communica-
tion between those churches, so far separated one from anoth-
er. And again, the making the Greek language common
through so great a part of the world, did wonderfully make
way for the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, beca^use it
was the language in which the New Testament was to bs
!60 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period T.
originally written. The apostles propagated the gospel
through many scores of nations ; and if they could not have
imderstood the Bible any otherwise than as it was translated
3nto so many languages, it would have rendered the spread-
ing of the gospel vastly rnorc difficult. But by the Greek
JIangnage being made common to all, they all understood the
New Testament of Jesus Christ in the language in which the
apostles and evangelists originally wrote it : So that as soon as
ever it was written by its original penmen, it immediately lay
open to the world in a language that was commonly under-
stood every where, as there Was no language that was so com-
monly understood in the world in Christ's and the apostles'
times as the Greek ; the cause of which was the setting up of
tiic Grecian empire in the v/orld.
XV. The next thing I shall take notice of is, the translate
ing of the scriptures of the Old Testament into a language that
was commonly understood l)y the Gentiles. The translation
that I here speak of is that into the Greek language, that is
comm.only called the Septuagint, or the translation of the
Seventy. This is supposed to have been made about fifty or
sixty years after Alexander's conquering the world. This is
the first translation that ever was made of the scriptures that
we have any credible account of. The canon of the Old Tes-
tament had been completed by the prophet Malachi but about
an hundred and twenty years before, in its original ; and hith-
erto the scriptures had remained locked up from all other na-
tions but the Jews, in the Hebrew tongue, which was under-
stood by no other nation. But now it was translated into the
Greek language, which, as we observed before, was a Ian?
guage that was commonly undei'Stood by the nations of th^
world.
This translation of the Old Testament is still extant, and is
commonly in the hands of learned men in these days, and is
made great use of by them. The Jews have many fables
about the occasion and manner of this translation ; but the
truth of the case is supposed to be this, that multitudes of the
Jews living in other parts of the world besides Judea, and be-
ing bcrn and bred among the Greeks, the Greek became their
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 161
common language, and they did not understand the original
Hebrew ; and therefore they procured the scriptures to he
translated for their use into the Greek language ; and so
henceforward the Jews, in all countries, except Judea,
were wont in their synagogues to make use of this translation
instead of the Hebrew.
This translation of the scriptures into a language, commonly-
understood through the world, prepared the way for Christ's
coming, and setting Up his kingdom in the world, and after-
wards did greatly promote it. For as the apostles went
preaching through the world, they made great use of the
scriptures of the Old Testament, and especially of the prophe-
cies concerning Christ that were contained in them. And by
means of this translation, and by the Jews being scattered
every where, they had the scriptures at hand in a language
that was understood by the Gentiles : And they did principally
make use of this translation in their preaching and writings
wherever they went ; as is evident by this, that in all the in-
numerable quotations that are made out of the Old Testa-
ment in their writings in the New Testament, they are almost
every where in the very words of the Septuagint. The sense
is the same as it is in the original Hebrew ; but very often the
words are different, as all that are acquainted with their Bibles
know. When the apostles in their epistles, and the evangel-
ists in their histories, cite passages out of the Old Testament,
it is very often in different words from what v/e have in the
Old Testament, as all know. But yet these citations are al-
most universally in the very words of the Septuagint version ;
for that may be seen by comparing them together, tliey being
both written in the same language. This makes it evident,
that the apostles, in their preaching and writings, commonly
made use of this translation. So this very translation was
that which was principally used in Christian churches through
most nations of the world for several hundred years after
Christ.
XVI. The next thing is the wonderful preservation of the
church when it was imminently thi-eatened and persecul-gd
under the Grecian empire.
Vol. II. W
168 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period T.
The first time they were threatened was by Alexander him-
self. When he was besieging the city of Tyre, sending to
the Jews for assistance and supplies for his army, and they
refusing, out of a conscientious regard to their oath to the
king of Persia, he being a man of a very furious spirit, agree-
able to the scripture representation of the rough he goat,
rnarched against them, with a design to cut them off. But
the priests going out to meet him in their priestly garments,
when he met them, God wonderfully turned his heart to spare
them, and favor them, much as he did the heart of Esau when
he met Jacob.
After this, one of the kings of Egypt, a successor of one of
Alexander's four captains, entertained a design of destroying
the nation of the Jews ; but was remarkably and wonderfully
prevented by a stronger interposition of Heaven for their pre-
servation.
But the most wonderful preservation of them all, in this pe-
riod, was under the cruel persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes,
king of Syria, and successor of another of Alexander's four
captains. The Jews were at that time subject to the power
of Antiochus ; and he, being enraged against them, long
strove to his utmost utterly to destroy them, and root them
out ; at least all of them that would not forsake their religion
and worship his idols : And he did indeed in a great measure
waste the country, and depopulate the city of Jerusalem ;
and profaned the temple, by setting up his idols in some
parts of it ; and persecuted the people with insatiable cruel-
ty ; so that we have no account of any persecution like his
before. Many of the particular circumstances of this perse-
cution would be very affecting, iff had time to insist on thcnv.
This cruel persecution began about an hundred and seventy
years L-. fore Christ. It is much spoken of in the prophecy
of Daniel, as you may see, Dan. viii. 9 25 ; xi. 31 3a.
These persecutions are also spoken of in the New Testa-
jnent, as, Hcb. xi. 36, 37, 38.
Antiochus intended not only to extirpate the Jew ish relig-
ion, but, as far as in him lay, the very nation ; and particu-
larly labored to the utmost to destroy all copies of tlic law.
•Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. le^S
And considering ]iow weak they were, in comparison with a
king of such vast dominion, the providence of God appears
very wonderful in defeating his design. Many times the
Jews seemed to be on the very brink of ruin, and just ready
to be wholly swallowed up : Their enemies often thought
themselves sure of obtaining their purpose. They once came
against the people with a mighty army, and with a design of
killing all, except the women and children, and of selling
these for slaves ; and they were so confident of obtaining their
pui'pose, and others of purchasing, that above a thousand mer-
chatits came with the army, with money in their hands, to
buy the slaves that should be sold. But God wonderfully stir-
red up and assisted one Judas, and others his successors, that
were called the Maccabees, who, with a small handful in
comparison, vanquished their enemies time after time, and
delivered their nation ; Avhich was foretold by Daniel, xi. 32.
Speaking of Antiochus's persecution, he says, " And such as
do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatter-
ies : But the people that do know their God, shall be strong,
and do exploits."
God afterwards brought this Antiochus to a fearful, miser-
able end, by a loathsome disease, under dreadful torments of
body, and horrors of mind ; which was foretold, Dan. xi. 45,
in these words, « Yet he shall come to his end, and none
shall help him."
After his death, there were attempts still to destroy the
church of God ; but God baffled them all.
XVII. The next thing to be taken notice of is the destruc-
tion of the Grecian empire, and setting up of the Roman em-
pire. This Avas the fourth overturning of the world that was
in this period. And th'ough it was brought to pass more grad-
ually than the setting up of the Grecian empire, yet it far ex-
ceeded that, and Avas much the greatest and largest temporal
monarchy that ever was in the world ; so that the Roman em-
pire was commonly called all the nvorld ; as it is in Luke
ii. 1 . " And there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed ;" i. c. all the Roman em=
•pire.
la WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
This empire is spoken of as much the strongest and great-
est of any of the four : Dan. ii. 40. " And the fourth king-
dom shall be strong as iron ; forasmuch as iron breaketh in
pieces and subdueth all things : And as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces, and bruise." So also Dan. vii.
r. 19.25.
The time that the Romans first conquered and brought un-
der the land of Judea, was between sixty and seventy years
before Christ was born. And soon after this, the Roman em-
pire was established in its greatest extent ; and the world con-
tinued subject to this empire henceforward till Christ came,
and many hundred years afterwards.
The nations of the world being united in one monarchy
when Christ came, and when the apostles went forth to
preach the gospel, did greatly prepare the way for the spread-
ing of the gospel, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom
in the world. For the world being thus subject to one gov-
ernment, it opened a communication from nation to nation,
and so opportunity was given for the more swiftly propagat-
ing the gospel through the Avorld. T hus we find it to be now ;
as if any thing prevails in the English nation, the communi-
cation is quick from one part of the nation to another,
throughout all parts that are subject to the English govern-
ment, much easier and quicker than to other nations, which
are not subject to the English government, and have little to
do with them. There are innumerable difficulties in travelling
through different nations, that are under different indepen-
dent governments, which there are not in travelling through
different parts of the same realm, or difterent dominions of
the same prince. So the world being under one government,
the government of the Romans, in Christ's and the apostles'
times, facilitated the apostles' travelling, and the gospel's
spreading through the world.
XVIII. About the same time learning and philosophy were
risen to their greatest height in the Heathen world. The
time of learning's flourishing in the Heathen world was prin-
cipally in this period. Almost all the famous philosophers
that we have an accoimt of among the Heathen, were after
Pxnr VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. . 165
the captivity into Babylon. Almost all the wise men of
Greece and Rome flourished in this time. These philoso-
phers, many of them, were indeed men of great temporal
wisdom ; and that which they in general chiefly professed
to make their business, was to inquire wherein man's chief
happiness lay, and the way in which men might obtain happi-
ness. They seemed earnestly to busy themselves in this in-
quiry, and wrote multitudes of books about it, many of which
are still extant. And they were exceedingly divided in their
•pinions about it. There have been reckoned up several
hundreds of different opinions that they had concerning it.
Thus they wearied themselves in vain, wandered in the dark,
not having the glorious gospel to guide them. God v/aj
pleased to suffer men to do the utmost that they could with
human wisdom, and to try the extent oi their own understand-
ings to find out the way to happiness, before the true light
came to enlighten the world ; before he sent the great Proph-
et to lead men in the right way to happiness. God sufiercd
these great philosophers to try what they could do for six
hundred years together ; and then it proved, by the events of
so long a time, that all they could do was in vain ; the world
not becoming wiser, better, or happier under their instruc-
tions, but growing more and more foolish, wicked, and ijaiser-
able. He suffered their wisdom and philosophy to come to
the greatest height before Christ came, that it might be seen
how far reason and philosophy could go in their highest as-
cent, that the necessity of a divine teacher might appear be-
fore Christ came. And God was pleased to make foolish the
wisdom of this Avorld, to shew men the folly of their best Avis-
dom,by the doctrines of his glorious gospel, which were above
the reach of all their philosophy. See 1 Cor. i. 19, 20, 21.
And after God had showed the vanity of human learning,
when set up in the room of the gospel, God was pleased to
m^ake it subservient to the purposes of Christ's kingdom, as
an handmaid to divine revelation ; and go the prevailing of
learning in the world before Christ came, made way for his
coming both these ways, viz. as thereby the vanity of human
wisdom was sh<jvvnj and the necessity of the gospel appeared ;
!6« WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
and also as hereby an handmaid Avas prepared to the gospel ;
for so it was made use of in the Apostle Paul,AvhQ was famed
for his much leaniing, as you may see Acts xxvi. 24, and was
skilled not only in the learning of the Jews, but also of the
philosophers ; and improved it to the purposes of the gospel ;
as you may see he did in disputing with the philosophers at
Athens, Acts xvii. 22. Sec. He by his learning knew how to
accommodate himself in his discourses to learned men, as ap-
pears by this discourse of his : And he knew well how to im-
prove what he had read in their writings ; and he here cites
their own poets. And now Dionysius, that was a philosopher,
was converted by him, and, as ecclesiastical history gives uc
an account, made a great instrument of promoting the gospel.
And there were many others in that: and the folloAving ages,
who were eminently useful by their human learning in pro-
moting the interest of Christ's kingdom.
XIX. Just before Christ was born, the Roman empire was
raised to its greatest height, and also settled in peace. About
four and twenty years before Christ was born, Augustus Cae-
sar, the first Roman emperor, began to rule as emperor of the
world. Till then the Roman empire had of a long time been
a commonwealth, under the government of the senate : But
then it became an absolute monarchy. This Augusus Caesar,
as he was the first, so he was the greatest of all the Roman
emperors : Pie reigned in the greatest glory. Thus the pow-
er of the heathen world, which was Satan's visible kingdom,
was raised to its greatest height, after it had been rising high-
er and higher, and strengthening itself more and more from
the days of Solomon to this day, which was about a thousand
yean. Now it appeared at a greater height than ever it ap-
peared from the first beginning of Satan's heathenish kingdom
which was probably about the time of the building of Babel.
Nov/ the heathen world was in its greatest glory for strength,
wealth, and learning.
God did two things to prepare the wav for Christ's coming,
wherein he took a contrary method from that which human
wisdom would have taken. He brought his own visible peo-.
pic very lov/jtind made them weak; but tlie heathen, thit
Part VI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 157
were his enemies, he exalted to the greatest height, for the
more glorious triumph of the ci'oss of Christ. With a small
number, in their greatest, weakness, he conquered his ene-
mies in their greatest glory. Thus Christ triumphed over
principalities and powers in his cross.
Augustus Cesar had been for many years establishing the
state of the Roman empire, subduing his enemies in one part
and another, till the very year that Christ was born ; when all
his enemies being subdued, and his dominion over the world
seemed to be settled in its greatest glory. All was established
in peace ; in token whereof the Romans shut the temple of
Janus, which was an established symbol among them of there
being universal peace throughout the Roman empire. And
this universal peace, which was begun that year that Christ
Was born, lasted twelve years, till the year that Christ disputed
with doctors in the temple.
Thus the \VGrld, after it had been, as it were, in a continual
convulsion for so many hundred years together, like the four
winds striving together on the tumultuous raging ocean,
whence arose those four great monarchies, being now estab-
lished in the greatest height of the fourth and last monarchy,
and settled in quietness ; now all things are ready for the birth
of Christ. This remarkable universal peace, after so many
ages of tumult amd war, Avas a fit prelude for the ushering of
the glorious Prince of Peace into the world.
Thus I have gone through the first grand period of the
whole space between the fall of man and the end of the world,
Tiz. that from the fall to the time of the incarnation of Christ ;
and have shown the truth of the first proposition, viz. That
from the fall of man to the incarnation of Christ f God was doing
those things that were prcparatory to Christ's coming, and
were forerunners of it.
168 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
IMPROVEMENT.
BEFORE I proceed to the next proposition, I would mak*
some few remarks, by way of improvement, upon what has
been said under this.
I. From what has been said, we may strongly argue, that
Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God, and the Saviour
of the world ; and so that the Christian religion is the true re-
ligion, seeing that Christ is the veiy person so evidently
pointed at, in all the great dispensations of Divine Providence,
from the fall of man, and was so undoubtedly in so many in-
stances foretold from age to age, and shadowed forth in a vast
variety of types and figures. If we seriously consider the
course of things from the beginning, and observe the motions
of all the great wheels of Providence from one age to another,
we shall discern that they all tend hither. They are all as
so many lines, whose course, if it be observed and accurately
followed, it will be found that every one centres here. It is
so very plain in many things, that it would argue stupidity to
deny it. This therefore is undeniable, that this person is a
divine person, sent from God, that came into the world with
his commission and authority, to do his work, and to declare
his naind. The great Governor of the woild, i^i all his great
works before and since the flood, to Jews and Gentiles, down
to the time of Christ's birth, has declared it. It cannot be any
vain imagination, but a plain and evident truth, that that per-
son that was born at Bethlehem, and dwelt at ^I^azareth, and
at Capernaum, and Avas crucified without the gates of Jerusa-
lem, must be the great Messiah, or anointed of God. And
blessed are all they that believe in, and confess him ; and mis-
erable are all that deny him. This shews the unreasonable-
ness of the Deists, who deny revealed religion, and of the
Jews, who deny that this Jesus is the Messiah foretold and
promised to their fathers.
Here it may be some persons may be ready to object, and
say, That it may be, some subtle, cunning men contrived this
kistory, and these prophecies, so that they should all point to
i>tPR.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 169
Jesus Christ on purpose to confirm it, that he is the Messiah.
To sxich it may be replied, How could sucli a thing be con-
trived by cunning men to point to Jesus Christ, long before he
ever was born ? How could they know that ever any such
person would be born ? And how could their craft and subtilty
help them to foresee and point at an event that was to come
to pass many ages afterwards ? For no fact can 1>e more evi-
dent, than that the Jews had those writings long before Christ
•vvas born ; as they have them still in great veneration, wher-
ever they are, in all their dispersions through the world ; and
they would never have received such a contrivance from Christ-
ians, to point to and confirm Jesus to be the Messiah, whom
they always denied to be the Messiah ; and much less would
they have been made to believe that tliey always had had those
books in their hands, when they were first made and imposed
upon them.
n. What has been said, affords a strong argument for the
divine authority of the books of the Old Testament, from that
admirable harmony there is in them, whereby they all point
to the same thing. For we may see by what has been said,
how all the parts of the Old Testament, though written by so
many different penmen, and in ages distant one from another,
do all harmonize one with another ; all agree in one, and all
centre in the same thing, and that a future thing ; an event
■which it Avas impossible any one of them should know but by
divine revelation, even the future coming of Christ. This is
most evident and manifest in them, as appears by wlwt has
been said.
Now, if the Old Testament was not inspired by God, what
account can be given of such an agreement ? For if these
books were only human writings, written without any divine
direction, then none of these penmen knew that there would
come such a person as Jesus Christ into the world ; his com-
ing was only a mere figment of their own brain : And if so,
how happened it, that this figment of theirs came to pass ?
How came a vain imagination of theirs, which they foretold
■without any manner of ground for their prediction, to be so ex-
actly fulfilled ? And especially how did they Gome all to agre».
VoL.n. X
170 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period t.
in it, all pointing exactly to the same thing, though many ef
them lived so many hundred years distant one from another ?
This admirable consent and agreement in a future event,
is therefore a clear and certain evidence of the divine author-
ity of those writings.
III. Hence we may learn what a weak and ignorant objec-
tion it is that some make against some parts of the Old Tes-
tament's being the word of God, that they consist so much of
histoi'ies of the wars and civil transactions of the kings and
people of the nation of the Jews, Some say. We find
here among the books of a particular nation, histories which-
they kept of the state of their nation, from one age to another;
histories of their kings and inilers, histories of their wars with
the neighboring nations, and histories of the changes that hap-
pened from time to time in their state and government ; and
so we find that other nations used to keep histories of their
public affairs, as Avell as they ; and why then should we think
that these histories which the Jews kept are the word of God,
more than those of other people ? But Avhat has been said,
shows the folly and vanity of such an objection. For hereby
it appears that the case of these histories is very different
from that of all other histories. This history alone gives u&
an account of the first original of all things ; and this history
alone deduces things down in a wonderful series from that
original, giving an idea of the grand scheme of divine provi-
dence, as tending to its great end. And together with the
doctrines and prophecies contained in it, the same book gives
a view of the whole series of the great events of divine provi-
dence, from the first original to the last end and consummation
of all things, giving an excellent and glorious account of the
wise and holy designs of the governor of the Avorid in all.
No common history has such penmen as this history, which
was all written by men who came with evident signs and tes-
timonies of their being prophets of the most high God, im-
mediately inspired.
And the histories that were written, as we have seen from
what has been said under this proposition, do all contain those
great events of Providence, by which it appears how God
Impr.] . WORK OF REDEMPTION. iri
has been carrying on the glorious divine work of redemp-
tion from age to age. Though they are histories, yet they are
no less full of divine instruction, and of those things that show
forth Christ, and his glorious gospel, than other parts of the
holy scriptures, which are not historical.
To object against a book's being divine, merely because it
is historical, is a poor objection ; just as if that could not be
the word of God which gives an account of what is past ; or
as though it were not reasonable to suppose,that God, in a rev-
elation he should give mankind, would give us any relation of
the dispensations of his own providence. If it be so, it must
be because his works are not worthy to be related ; it must be
because the scheme of his government, and series of his dis-
pensations towards his church, and towards the world that he
has made, whereby he has ordered and disposed it from agQ
to age, is not worthy that any record should be kept of it.
The objection that is made. That it is a common thing
for nations and kingdoms to write histories and keep records
of their wars, and the revolutions that come to pass in their
territories, is so far from being a weighty objection against
the historical part of scripture, as though it were not the Avord
of God, that it is a strong argument in favor of it. For if rea-^
son and the light of nature teaches all civilized nations to keep
records of the events of their human government, and the
series of their administrations, and to publish histories for the
information of others ; how much more may we expect that
God would give the world a record of the dispensations of his
divine government, which doubtless is infinitely more worthy
of an history for our information ? If wise kings have taken
care that there should be good histories Avritten of the nations
over which they have reigned, shall we think it incredible,
that Jesus Christ should take care that his church, which is his
nation, his peculiar people, should have in their hands a cer-
tain infallible history of their nation, and of his government
of them ?
If it had not been for the history of the Old Testament, how
wofully should we have been left in the dark about many
things which the church of God needs to know I How ignos
172 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Periob 1.
rant should we have been of God's dealings towards mankind,
and towards his church, from the beginning ! And we should,
have been wholly in the dark about the creation of the world,
the fall of man, the first rise and continued progress of the dis-
pensations of grace towards fallen mankind 1 And we shoukl
have known nothing how God at first set up a church in the
•world and how it was preserved ; after what manner he gov-
erned it from the beginning ; how the light of the gospel first
began to da^^Tl in the Avorld ; how it increased, and how thing!*
were preparing for the coming of Christ,
If we are Christians, we belong to that building of God that
has been the subject of our discourse from this text : But if it
had not been for the history of the Old Testament, we should
never have known what was the first occasion of God's going ^
about this building, and how the foundation of it was laid at
first, and how it has gone on from the beginning. The times
of the history of the Old Testament are mostly times that no
other history reaches up to ; and therefore, if God had not
taken cure to give and preserve an account of thesq things for
us, we should have been wholly without them.
Those that object against the authority of the Old Testa-
ment history of the nation of the Jews, may as well make it
an objection against INIoses's account of the creation, that it is
historical ; for in the other, w c have an history of a work na
less important, viz. the work of redemption. Yea, this is a far
greater and more glorious work, as we observed before ; that
if it be inquired which of the two works, the work of creation
or the work of providence, is greatest ; it must be answered
the work of providence ; but the work of redemption is the
greatest of the works of providence.
And let those who make this objection consider what part
of the Old Testament history can be spared without making
a great breach in that thread or scries of events by which this
glorious work has been carried on This leads mc to ob*.
serve,
IV. Thut, from what has been said, we may see much of
the wisdom of God in the composition of the scriptures of the
Old Testament, i. e. in the parts of which it consists. By
Impr.] work of redemption, 173
%vhat has been said, we may see tluit God hath wisely given
us such revelations in the Old Testament as we needed. Let
us briefly take a view of the several parts of it, and of the need
there was of them.
Thus it was necessary that we should have some account
of the creation of the world, and of our first parents, and their
primitive state, and of the fall, and a brief account of the old
world, and of the degeneracy of it, and of the universal deluge,
and some account of the origin of nations after this destruc-
tion of mankind.
It seems necessary that there should be some account of the
succession of the church of God from the beginning : And
seeing God suffered all the world to degenerate, and only
took one nation to be his people, to preserve the true worship
and religion till the Saviour of the world should come, that in
them the world might gradually be prepared for that great
light, and those wonderful things, that he was to be the author
pf,and that they might be a typical nation, and that in themGod
might shadow forth and teach, as under a veil, all future glorious
things of the gospel ; it was therefore necessary that v»'e should
have some account of this thing, how it was first done by the
tailing of Abraham, and by their being bond slaves in Egypt,
?ind how they were brought to Canaan. It was necessary that
we should have some account of the revelation which God
made of himself to that people, in giving their law, and in the
appointment of their typical worship, and those things where-
in the gospel is veiled, and of the forming of that people, both
as to their civil and ecclesiastical state.
It seems exceeding necessary that we should have some
account of their being actually brought to Canaan, the country
that was their promised land, and where they always dwelt.
It seems very necessary that we should have an history of the
successions of the church of Israel, and of those providences
of God towards them, which were most considerable and full-
est of gospel mystery. It seems necessary that we should
have some account of the highest promised external glory of
that nation under David and Solomon, and that we should have
a very particular account of David, whose history is so full of
174, WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period T.
the gospel, and so necessary in order to introduce the gospel
into the world, and in -whom began the race of their kings j
and that we should have some account of the building of th©
temple, which was also so full of gospel mystery.
And it is a matter of great consequence, that we should have
some account of Israel's dividing from Judah, and of the ten
tribes' captivity and utter rejection, and a brief account why,
and therefore a brief history of them till that time. It is ne-.
cessary that we should have an account of the succession of
the kings of Judah, and of the church, till their captivity intOi
Babylon ; and that we should have some account of their re-
turn from their captivity, and resettlement in their own land»
and of the origin of the last state that the church was in be-
fore Christ came.
A little consideration Avill convince every one, that all these
things wf.re necessary, and that none of them could be spared ;
and in the general, that it was necessary that we should have
an history of God's church till such times as are within the
reach of human histories ; and it w^s of vast importance that
we should have an inspired history of those times of the Jew-
ish church, wherein there was kept up a more extraordinary
intercourse between God and them, and while he used to
dwell among them as it were visibly, revealing himself by the
Shechina, by Urim and Thummim, and by prophecy, and sa
more inmiediately to order their affairs. And it was neces-
sary that we should have some account of the great dispen-
sations of God in prophecy, which Avere to be after the finish-
ing of inspired historv ; and so it was exceeding suitable and
needful that there should be a number of prophets raised up
who should foretel the coming of the Son of God, and the na-
ture and glory of his kingdom, to be as so many harbingers
to make way for him, and that their prophecies should remair\
in the church.
It was also a matter of great conscciuence that the church
should have a book of divine songs given by inspiration from
God, wherein there should be a lively representation of the
true spirit of devotion, of faith, hope, and divine love, joy, re-
sip;uation, humility, obedience, repentance, 8ic. ; and alsQ
Tmpr.] work of REDEMI*TiO?^. \ri
that wc should have from God such books of moral mstruc*
tions as we have m Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, relating to thd
affairs and state of mankind, and the concerns of human lifC)
containing rules of true wisdom and prudence for our con-
duct in all circumstances ; and that we shovild have particu-
larly a sDng representing the great love between Christ and
his spouse the church, particularly adapted to the disposition
and holy affections of a true Christian soul towards Christ*
and representing his grace and marvellous love to, and delight
in his people ; as we have in Solomon's Song ; and especial-
ly that we should have a book to teach us how to conduct
ourselves under afflictioh, seeing the church of God here is in
a militant state, and God's people do, through much tribula-
tion^ enter into the kingdom of heaven ; and the church is foi*
so long a time under trouble, and meets with such exceeding-
ly fiery trials, and extreme sufferings, before her time of peace
and rest in the latter ages of the world shall come : There-
fore God has given us a book most proper in the^e circum-
stances, even the book of Job, written upon occasion of the
afflictions of a particular saint, and was probably at first given
to the church in Egypt under her afilictions there ; and is made
■use of by the Apostle to comfort Christians under persecutions,
James v. 1 1 . "Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and
have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful^
and of tender mercy." God was also pleased, in this book of
Job, to give some view of the ancient divinity, before the giv-
ing of the law-
Thus from this brief reviev/, I think it appears that every
part of the scriptures of the Old Testament is very useful
and necessary, and no part of it can be spared, without loss to
the church. And therefore, as I said, the wisdom of God is
conspicuous in ordering that the scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment should consist of those very books of which tkey do
consist.
Before I dismiss this particular, I would add, that it is very
observable, that the history of the Old Testament is large and
particular, where the great affair of redemption required it ;
a& where there was most done towcu'ds this work, and most to
1^6 Work of redemption. [Period I,
typify Clii'ist, and to prepare the way for him; Thus it is
Very large and particular in the history of Abraham and the
other patriarchs ; but very short in the account wc have of
the time which the cliildren of Israel spent in Egypt. So
again it is large in the account of the redemption out of
Egypt, and the first settling of the afiairs of the Jewish church
and nation in Moses and Joshua's time ; but much shorter in
the account of the times of the judges. So again, it is large
and particular in the account of David's and Solomon's times,
and then very short in the history of the ensuing reigns. Thus
the accounts are large or short, just as there is more or less
of the aftair of redemption to be seen in them.
V. From what has been said, we may see, that Christ and
his redemption are the great sv;bject of the Avhole Bible. Con-
cerning the New Testament, the matter is plain ; and by
what has been said on this subject hitherto, it appears to be so
also with respect to the Old Testament. Christ and his re-
demption is the great subject of the prophecies of the Old
Testament, as has been shown. It has also been shown, that
he is the great subject of the songs of the Old Testament ; and
the moral rules and precepts are all given in subordination to
him. And Christ and his redemption are also the great sub-
ject of the history of the Old Testament, from the beginning
all along ; and even the history of the creation is brought in,
as an introduction to the history of redemption that immedi-
ately follows it. The whole book, both Old Testament and
New, is filled up with the gospel ; only with this difTerence,
that the Old Testament contains the gospel tinder a veil, but
the New contains it unveiled, so that we may see the glory
of the Lord with open face.
VI. By what has been said, we may see the usefulness and
excellency of the Old Testament. Some are ready to look on
the Old Testament as being,as it were out of date, and as if we,
in these days of the gospel, have but little to do with it ; which
is a very great mistake, arising from want of observing the
nature and design of the Old Testament, which, if it were
observed, ■would appear full of the gospel of Christ, and Mould
iu an e:<ccllent manner illustrate and confirm the glorious
IjiPR.] WORK OF REiDEMPTiON. irV
doctrines and promises of the New Testament. Those parts
of the Old Testament which are commonly lo6ked upon as
containing the least divine instruction, are as it were mines
and treasures of gospel knowledge ; and the reason why they
are thought to contain so little, is, because persons do but su-
perficially read them. The treasures which are hid under-
neath are not observed. They only look on the top of the
ground, and so suddenly pass a judgment that there is i*thing
there. But they never dig into the mine : If they did, they
would find it richly stored with silver and gold, and would be
abundantly requited for their pains.
What has been said, may show Us what a precious treasure
God has comriiitted into out' hands, in that he has given us
the Bible. How little do most persons consider, how much
they enjoy, in that they have the possession of that holy book
the Bible, which they have in their hands, and may converse
with it as they please. What an excellent book is this, and
how far exceeding all human writings, that reveals God to us,
and gives us a view of the grand design and glorious scheme
of Providence from the beginning of the world, either in his-
tory or proghecy ; that reveals the great Redeemer and his
glorious redemption, and the various steps by which God ac-
complishes it from the first foundation to the topstone ! ShaJI
we prize an history which gives us a clear account of some
great earthly prince, or mighty warrior, as of Alexander the
Great, or Julius Cesar, or the Duke of Marlborough ? And
shall we not prize the history that God gives us of the glo-
rious kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ, the Prince and Sav-
iour, and of the wars and other great transactions of that King
of kings, and Lord of armies, the Lord mighty in battle ?
The history of the things which he has wrought for the re-
demption of his chosen people ?
VIL What has been said, may make us sensible how much
most persons are to blame for their inattentive, unobservant
way of reading the scriptures. How much do the scriptures
contain, if it were but observed ? The Bible is the most com-
prehensive book in the world. But what will all this signify
to us, if we read it without observing what is the drift of the
VoL.n. Y
\7S WORK GF REDEMPTION. [Period I.
Holy Ghost in it ? The Psalmist, Psal. cxix. 18, begs of God,
" That he -w'ould enlighten his eyes, that he might behold
■wondrous things out of his law." The scriptures are full of
wondrous things. Those histories which are commonly read as
if they were only histories of the private concerns of such and
such particular persons, such as the histories of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and the history of Ruth, and the
histories of particular lawgivers and princes, as the history of
Joshua and the Judges, and David, and the Israelitish princes,
are accounts of vastly greater things, things of greater import-
ance, and more extensive concernment, than they that read
them ate commonly aware of.
The histories of scripture are commonly read as if they
were stories written only to entci'tain men's fancies, and to
while away their leisure hours, when the infinitely great
things contained or pointed at in them are passed over and
never taken notice of. Whatever treasures the scriptures
contain, we shall be never the better for them if v/e do not
observe them. He that has a Bible, and does not observe
what is contained in it, is like a man who has a box full of sil"
ver and gold, and does not know it, does not observe'that it is
any thing more than a vessel filled with comiaion stones. As
long as it is thus with him, he will be never the better for his
treasure : For he that knows not that he has a treasure, will
never make use of what he has, and s6 might as well be with-
out it. He who has a plenty of the choicest food stored up in
his house, and does not know it, will never taste what he has,
and Avill be as likely to starve as if his house were empty.
VIII. What has been said, may show us how great a per-
son Jesus Christ is, and how great an errand he came into the
world upon, seeing there was so much done to prepare the
way for his coming. God had been doing nothing else but
prepare the way for his coming, and doing the work which he
had to do in the world, through all ages of the Avorld from the
very beginning. If we had notice of a certain stranger's be-
ing about to come into a country, and should observe that a
great preparation was made for his coming, that many months
were taken up in it, and great things were done, many great
alterations were made in the slate of the v.'hole country, and
iuvR.-j WORK OF REDEMPTION. 179
that many hands yveve employed, and persons of great note
were engaged in making preparation for the coming of this
person, and tlie Avhole country was overturned, and all the af-
fairs and concerns of the country were ordered so as to be
subservient to the design of entertaining that person Avhen he
should come ; it would be natural for us to think Avith our-
selves, why, surely, this person is some extraordinary person
indeed, and it is some very great business that he is coming
upon.
How great a person then must he be, for whose coming in-
to the world the great God of heaven and earth, and governor
of all things, spent four thousand years in preparing the way,
going about it soon after the world was created, and from age
to age doing great things, bringing mighty events to pass, ac-
complishing wonders without number, often overtm-ning the
world in order to it, and causing every thing in the state of
mankind, and all revolutions and changes in the habitable
world from generation to generation to be subservient to this
great design ? Surely this must be some great and extraordi-
nary person indeed, and a great work indeed it must needs be
that he is coming about.
We read, Matth. xxi. 8, 9, 10, that wlien Christ was com-
ing into Jerusalem, and the multitudes ran before him and cut
down branches of palm trees, and strewed them in the way,
and others spread their garments in the way, and cried, " Ho-
sannah to the son of David," that the whole city was moved,
saying. Who is this ? They wondered Avho that extraordinary
person should be, that there should be such an ado made on
occasion of his coming into the city, and to prepare the v/ay
before him. But if we consider what has been said on this
subject, what great things were done in all ages to pre-
pare the way for Christ's coming into the v/orld, and how
ihe world was ofteii overturned to make way for it, much
more may we cry out, Who is this ? What great person is
this I And say, as in Psal. xxiv. 8. 10. « Who is this King of
glory," that God should show such respect, and put such vast
honor upon him ? Surely this person is honorable indeed in
God's eyes, and greatly beloved of him ; and surely it is a
great errand upon which he is sent into the world.
183 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IL
PERIOD II.
JriAVING shown how the work of redemption
was carried on through the first period, from the fall of man
to the incarnation of Christ, I come now to the second period,
viz. the time of Christ's htimiliation, or the space from the in-
carnation of Christ to his resurrection. And this is the most
remarkable article of time that ever was or ever will be....
Though it was but between thirty and forty years, yet more
was done in it than had been done from the beginning of the
1'orld to that time. We have observed, that all that had been
done from the fall to the incarnation of Christ, Svas only pre-
paratory for what was done now. And it may also be obser\'--
ed, that all that was done before the beginning of time, in the
eternal counsels of God, and that eternal transaction there was
between the persons of the Trinity, chiefly respected this pe-
riod. We therefore now proceed to consider the second projw-
sition, viz.
That during the time of Christ's humiliation,
from his incarnation to his resurrection, the pur-
chase of redemption was made.
Though there were many things done in the affair of re-
demption from the fall of man to this time, though millions of
sacrifices had be^n offered up ; yet nothing was done to pur-
chase redemption before Christ's incarnation : No part of the
purchase was made, no part of the price was offered till now.
But as soon as Christ was incarnate, then the purchase began
immediately without any delay. And the whole time of
Christ's humiliation, from the morning that Christ began to
be incarnate, till the morning that he rose from the dead, was
taken up in this purchase. And then the purchase was en-
tirely and completely finished. As nothing was done before
Christ's incarnation, so nothing was done after his resurrcc,.
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 1-81
tion, to purchase redemption for men. Nor will there ever
be any thing more done to all eternity. But that very mo-,
ment that the human nature of Christ ceased to remain under
the power of death, the xitmost farthing was paid of the price
of the salvation of every one of the elect.
But for the more orderly and regular consideration of th©
great things done by our Redeemer to purchase redemption
for us,
1. I would speak of Christ's becoming incarnate to capac-
itate himself for this purchase ; — and,
2. I would speak of the purchase itself.
PART I.
FIRST, I would consider Christ's coming into the world,
or his taking upon him our nature to put himself in a capacity
to purchase redemption for us. Christ became incarnate, or,
which is the same thing, became man, to put himself in a ca-
pacity for working out our redemption : For though Christ,
as God, was infinitely sufficient for the work, yet to his being
in an immediate capacity for it, it was needful that he should
not only be God, but man. If Christ had remained only in
the divine nature, he would not have been in a capacity to have
purchased our salvation ; not from any imperfection of the
divine nature, but by reason of its absolute and infinite perfec-
tion : For Christ, merely as God, was not capable either of
that obedience or suffering that was needful. The divine na-
ture is not capable of suffering ; for it is infinitely above all
suffering. Neither is it capable of obedience to that law that
was given to man. It is as impossible that one who is only
God, should obey the law that was given to man, as it is that
he should suffer man's punishment. •
And it was necessary not only that Christ should take upon
him a created nature, but that he should take upon him our
Liature. It would not have sufficed for us for Christ to have
181^ WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period ll.
become an angel, and to have obeyed and suffered in the an^
geUc nature. But it was necessary that he should become a
xnan, and that upon three accounts.
1 . It was needful to answer the lawy that that nature should
obey the law, to which the law was given. Man's law could not
be answered, but by being obeyed by man. God insisted up-
on it, that the law which he had given to man should be hon-
ored and submitted to, and fulfilled by the nature of man, oth-
erwise the law could not be answered for men. The words
that were spoken, Thou shalt not eat thereof, Thou shalt, or
Thou shalt not do thus or thus, were spoken to the race of
mankind, to the human nature ; and therefore the human na-
ture must fulfil them.
'2. It was needful to answer the law, that the nature that siU"
ned should die. These words, " Thou shalt surely die," re-
spect the human nature. The same nature to which the
command was given, was the nature to which the threatening
was directed.
3. God saw meet, that the same world which was the stage of
man's fall and ruin^ should also be the stage of his redemfition.
We read often of his coming into the world to save sinners,
and of God's sending him into the world for this purpose It
was needful that he should come into this sinful, miserable,
undone world, to restore and save it. In order to man's re-
covery, it was needful that he should come down to man, to
the world that was man's proper habitation, and that he should
tabernacle with us : Johni. 14. " The V/ord was made j3esh>
and dwelt among us."
C&NCERKiNG the incarnation of Christ, I would observe
these following things.
I. The incarnation itself ; in which especially two things
are to be coiisidcrcd, viz.
1 . His conception, which was in the womb of one of the
race of mankind, whereby he became truly the Son of man>
as he was often called. He was one of the posterity of Adam,
and a child of Abraham, and a son of David, according to
God's promise. .But his conception was not in the way of or-
l>AiiT 1.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 18 J
dinary generation, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. Christ
was formed in the womb of the Virgin, of the substance of her-
body, by the power of the Spirit of God. So that he was the
immediate son of the woman, but not the immediate son of
any male whatsoever ; and so was the seed of the woman?
and the son of a virgin, one that had never known man.
2. His birth Though the conception cf Christ was su-
pernatural, yet after he was conceived, and so the incarnation
of Christ begun, his human nature was gradually perfected in
the womb of the virgin, in a way of natural progress ; and so
his birth was in the way of nature. But his conception being
supernatural, by the power of the Holy Ghost, he was both
conceived and born without sin.
II. The second thing I would observe concerning the incar-
nation of Christ, is the fullness of the time in which it was
accomplished. It was after things had been preparing for it
from the very first fall of mankind, and when all things were
ready. It came to pass at a time, which in infinite wisdom
was the most fit and proper : Gal. iv. 4. " But Avhen the full-
ness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a
woman, made under the law."
It was now the m.ost proper time on every account. Any
time before the flood would not have been so fit a time. For
then the mischief and ruin that the fall brought on mankind,
was not so fully seen. The curse did not so fully come on
the earth before^he flood, as it did afterwards : For though
the ground was cursed in a great measure before, yet it
pleased God that the curse should once, before the restoration
by Christ, be executed in an universal destruction, as it were,
of the very form of the earth, that the dire effects of the fall
might once in such a way be seen before the recovery by
Christ. Though mankind were mortal before the flood, yet
their lives were the greater part of a thousand years in
length, a kind of immortality in compaiison with what the
life of man is now. It pleased God, that that curse, " Dust
thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return," should have its
full accomplishment, and be executed in its greatest degree
on mankind, before the Redeemer came to purchase a nev-
er ending life for man
184 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PerioU II,
It would not have been so fit a time for Christ to eome, af-
ter the flood, before IMoscs's time : For till then mankind
■were not so universally apostatized from the true God ; they
were not fallen universally into Heathenish darkness ; and so
tiie need of Christ, the light of the world, was not so evident :
And the woful consequence of the fall with respect to n^an's
mortality, was not so fully manifest till then ; for man's life
was not so shortened as to be reduced to the present standard
till about Moses's time.
It was most fit that the time of the Messiah's coming should
not be till many ages after Moses's time ; till all nations, but
the children of Israel, had lain long in Heathenish darkness ;
that the remedilessness of their disease might by long expe-
rience be seen, and so the absolute necessity of the heavenly
phvsician, before he came.
Another reason Avhy Christ did not come soon after the
flood probably was, that the earth might be full of people, that
Christ might have the more extensive kingdom, and that the
eff'ects of his light, and power, and grace, might be glo-
rified, and that liis victory over Satan might be attended
with the more glory in the multitude of his conquests. It
was also needful that the coming of Christ should be many
ages after Moses, that the church might be prepared Avhich
was formed by Moses for his coming, by the Messiala's being
long prefigured, and by his being many ways foretold, and
by his being long expected. It was not proper that Christ
should come before the Babylonish captivity, because Sa-
tan's kingdom was not then come to the height. The
Heathen world before that consisted of lesser kingdoms.
But God saw meet that the INIessiah should come in the time
of one of the four great monarchies of the world. Nor was
it proper that he should come in the time of the Babylonish
monarchy ; for it was God's will that several general mon-
archies should follow one another, and that the coming of the
Messiah should be in the time of the last, which appeared
above them all. The Persian monarchy, by overcoming the
Babylonian, appeared above it : And so the Grecian, by over-^
coming the Persian, appeared above that ; and for the same
Part t.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 185
reason, the Roman above the Grecian. Now it was the will
of God, that his Son should make his appearance in the world
in the time of this greatest and strongest monarchy, which
was Satan's visible kingdom in the world ; that, by overcom-
ing this, he might visibly overcome Satan's kingdom in its
greatest strength and glory, and so obtain the more complete
triumph over Satan himself.
It was not proper that Christ should come before the Baby-
lonish captivity. For, before that, we have not histories of
the state of the Heathen world, to give us an idea of the need
of a Saviour. And besides, before that, learning did not much
Sourish, and so there had not been an opportunity to show the
insufficiency of human learning and wisdom to reform and save
mankind. Again, before that, the Jews were not dispersed
over the world, as they were afterwards ; and so things were
not prepared in this respect for the coming of Christ. The
necessity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation was not then
so apparent as it was afterwards, by reason of the dispersion
of the Jews ; neither was the way prepared for the propaga-
tion of the gospel, as it was afterwards, by the same disper-
sion. Many other things might be mentioned, by which it
would appear, that no other time before that very time in
Svhich Christ did come, would haA'e been proper for his ap-
pearing in the world to purchase the redemption of men.
III. The next thing that I would observe concerning the
incai^nation of Christ, is the greatness of this event. Christ's
incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing tlian ever
had come to pass ; and there has been but one that has ever
Come to pass which Avas greater, and that was the death of
Christ, which was afterwai'ds. But Christ's incarnation was
a greater thing than had ever come to pass before. The cre-
ation of the world v.as a very great thing, but not so great a
thing as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for
God to make the creature, but not so great as for God, as for
the Creator himself, to become a creature. We have spoken
of many great things that were accomplished from one age to
another, in the ages between the fall of man and the incarna-
tion of Christ : But God's becoming man wag a greater tlung
Vol. IL Z
1S5 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pariod If,
than they all. When Christ was born, the greatest person
was born that ever was, or ever will be born.
IV. What I would next observe concerniatj the incarna-
tion of Christ, are the remarkable cireumstances of it ; such
as his being born of a poor virgin, that was a pious holy per-
son, but poor, as appeared by her offering at her purification :
Luke ii. 24. " And to offer a sacrifice according to that which
is said in the law ot the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two
young pigeons." Which refers to Lev. v. 7. " And if she
be not able to bring a himb, then she shall bring two turtle
doves, or two young pigeons." And this poor virgin was es-
poused to an husband who was a poor man. Though they
were both of the royal family of David, the most honorable
family, and Joseph Avas the rightful heir to the crown ; yet
the family was reduced to a very low state ; which is repre-
sented by the tabernacle of David's being fallen or broken
down, Amos ix. 11. " In that day wHl I raise up the taberna-
cle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof,
and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days
of old."
He was born in the town of Bethlehem, as was foretold :
And there was a very remarkable providence of God to bring
about the fulfilment of this prophecy, the taxing of all the
world by Augustus Cesar, as in Luke ii. He was born in a
very low condition, even in a stable, and laid in a manger.
V. I would observe the concomitants of this great event,
or the remarkable events with which it was attended And,
1. The first thing I would take notice of that attended the
incarnation of Christ, was the return of the Sjiirit ; which in-
deed began a little before the incarnation of Christ ; but yet
was given on occasion of that, as it was to reveal either his
birth, or the birth of his forerunner John the Baptist. I have
before observed how the spirit of prophecy ceased, not long
after the book of Malachi was written. P'rom about the same
lime, visions and immediate revelations ceased also. But now,
on this occasion, they are granted anew, and the Spirit in these
operations returns again. The first instance of its restoration
that wc hava anv account of is in the vision of Zacharias, the
Part I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. IS7
father of John the Baptist ; which we read of in the 1st chap«
ter of Luke. The next is in the vision which the Virgin
Mary had, of which we read also in the same chapter. The
third is in the vision which Joseph had, of which we read in
the 1st chapter of Matthew. In the next place, the Spirit was
given to Elisabeth, Luke i. 44. Next, it was given to Mary,
as appears by her song, Luke i. 46, &c. Then to Zachariah
again, z3irf. ver. 64. Then it was sent to the shepherds, of
which we have an account in Luke ii. 9. Then it was given
to Simeon, Luke ii. 25. Then to Anna, ver. 36. Then to
the wise men in the east. Then to Joseph again, directing
him to flee into Egypt, and after that directing his return.
2. The next concomitant of Christ's incarnation that I
Tvould observe is, the great notice that was taken of it in heav-
en, and on earth. How it was noticed by the glorious inhabit-
ants of the heavenly world, appears by their joyful songs on
this occasion, heard by the shepherds in the night. This was
the greatest event of Providence that ever the angels had be-
held. We read of their singing praises when they saw the
formation of this lower world : Job xxxviii. 7. " When the
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
|br joy." And as they sang praises then, so they do now, on
this much greater occasion, of the birth of the Son of God,
•who is the Crpator of the world.
The glorious angels had all along expected this event....
They had taken great notice of the prophecies and promises
of these things all along : For we are told, that the angels de-
sire to look into the affairs of redemption, 1 Pet. i. 12. They
had all along been the ministers of Christ in this affair of re-
demption, in all the several steps of it down from the very fall
of man. So we read, that they were employed in God's deal-
ings with Abraham, and in his dealings with Jacob, and in his
dealings with the Israelites from time to time. And doubtless
they had long joyfully expected the coming of Christ j but
now they see it accomplished, and therefore greatly rejoice,
and sing praises on this occasion.
Notice was taken of it by some among the Jews ; as par-
ticularly by Elisabeth and the Virgin Mary, before the birth
188 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peuiod IL
of Christ ; not to say by John the Baptist before he was born,
when he leaped in his ni&ther's womb as it were for joy, at the
voice of the salutation of Maiy. But Elisabeth and Mary do
most joyfully praise God together, when they meet with
Christ and his foreininner in their wombs, and the Holy Spirit
in their souls. And afterwai'ds what joyful notice is taken of
this event by the shepherds, and by those holy persons, Zacha-
rias, and Simeon, and Anna ! How do they praise God on this
occasion 1 Thus the church of God in heaven, and the church
on earth, do as it were unite in their joy and praise on this oc-
casion.
Notice was taken of it by the Gentiles, which appears in the
•wise men of the east. Great part of the universe does as it
were take a joyful notice of the incarnation of Christ. Heav-
en takes notice of it, and the inhabitants sing for joy. This
lower world, the world of mankind, does also take notice of it
in both parts of it, Jews and Gentiles. It pleased God to put
honor on his Son, by wonderfully stirring up some of the
wisest of the Gentiles to come a long journey to see and wor-
ship the Son of God at his birth, being led by a miraculous
star, signifying the birth of that glorious person, who is the
bright and morning star, going before, and leading them to
the very place where the young child was. Some think they
were instructed by the prophecy of Balaam, who dwelt in the
eastern parts, and foretold Christ's coming as a star that should
rise out of Jacob. Or they might be instructed by that gen-
eral expectation there was t^f the Messiah's coming about that
time, before spoken of, fron\ the notice they had of it by the
prophecies the Jews had of him in their dispersions in all
parts of the world at that time.
3. The next concomitant of the birth of Christ was his cir-
cumcision. But this may mote properly be spoken of under
another head, and so I will not insist upon it now.
4. The next concomitant was his first coming into the sec-
ond temple, which was his being brought thither when an in-
fant, on occasion of the purification of the blessed Virgin,
We read, Hagg. ii. 7. " The desire of all nations shall
come, and I Avill fill this house (ortcmpk) with glory." Ancl
Part L] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 189
in Mai. iii. 1. " The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant."
And now was the first instance of the fulfilment of these proph-
ecies.
5. The last concomitant I shall mention is the sceptre's de-
parting from Judah, in the death of Herod the Great. The
sceptre had never totally departed from Judah till now. Ju-
dah's sceptre was greatly diminished in the revolt of the ten
tribes in Jeroboam's time ; and the sceptre departed from
Israel or Ephraim at the time of the captivity of the ten
tribes by Shalmaneser. But yet the sceptre remained in the
tribe of Judah, under the kings of the house of David.
And when the tribes Judah and Benjamin were carried
captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the sceptre of Judah ceased
for a little while, till the return from the captivity under
Cyrus : And then, though they were not an independent
government, as they had been before, but owed fealty to
the kings of Persia ; yet their governor was of themselves,
who had the power of life and death, and they were governed
by their own laws; and so Judah had a. lawgiver from be-
tween his feet during the Persian and Grecian monarchies.
Towards the latter part of the Grecian monarchy, the people
were governed by kings of their own, of the race of the Mac-
cabees, for the greater pait of an hundred years ; and after
that they were subdued by the Romans. But yet the Romans
sufFered them to be governed by their own laws, and to have a
king of their own, Herod the Great, who reigned about forty
years, and governed with proper kingly authority, only paying
homage to the Romans. But presently after Christ was born
he died, as we have an account Mutth. ii. 19, and Archelaus
succeeded him ; but was soon put down by the Roman Em-
peror ; and then the sceptre departed from Judah. There
were no more temporal kings of Judah after that, neither had
that people their governors from the midst of themselves after
that, but Avere ruled by a Roman governor sent among them ;
and they ceased any more to have the power of life and death
among themselves. Hence the Jews say to Pilate, " It is not
190 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IL
lawful for us to put any man to death," John xviii. 31. Thus
the sceptre departed from Judah when Shiloh came.
PART II.
HAVING thus considered Christ's coming into the world,
and his taking on him our nature, to put himself in a capacity
for the purchase of redemption, I come now, secondly,
to speak of the purchase itself. And in speaking of this I
would,
1 . Show what is intended by the purchase of redemption.
2. Observe some things in general concerning those things
by which this purchase was made.
3. I would orderly consider those things which Christ did
3Uid suffered, by which that purchase was madfe. •
SECTION I.
I WOULD show Avhat is here intended by Christ's pur-
chasing redemption. And there are two things that are in-
tended by it, viz. his satisfaction, and his merit. All is done
by the price that Christ lays down. But the price that Christ
laid down does two things : It pays our debt, and so it satis-
Jies : By its intrinsic value, and by the agreement between the
Father and the Son, it procures a title to us for happiness, and
so it merits. The satisfaction of Christ is to free us from mis-
ery, and the merit of Christ is to purchase happiness for us.
The word fiur chase, as it is used with respect to the pur-
chase of Christ, is taken either more strictly, or more largely.
It is oftentimes used more strictly, to signify only the merit of
Christ ; and sometimes more largely, to signify both his satis-
faction and merit. Indeed most of the words which are used
in this affair have various significations. Thus somotimcs
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. IPt
divines use TwenV in this affair for the whole price that Christ
offered, both satisfactory, and also positively meritorious.
And so the word satisfaction is sometimes used, not only for
his propitiation, but also for his meritorious obedience. For
in some scnsej not only suffering the penalty, but positively
obeying, is needful to satisfy the law. The reason of this va-
rious use of these terms seems to be, that satisfaction and
merit Ao not differ so much really as relatively. They both
consist in paying a valuable price, a price of infinite value ; but
only that price, as it respects a debt to be paid, is called satis"
faction ; and as it respects a positive good to be obtained, is
called merit. The difference between paying a debt and
making a positive purchase is more relative than it is essential.
He who lays down a price to pay a debt, does in some sense
make a purchase : He purchases liberty from the obligation.
And he who lays down a price to purchase a good, does as it
were make satisfaction : He satisfies the conditional demands
of him to whom he pays it. This may suffice concerning;
what is meant by the purchase of Christ.
SECTION H.
I NOW proceed to some general observations concerning
those things by which this purchase was made And here,
1. I would observe^ that whatever in Christ had the nature
of satisfaction, it was by virtue of the suffering or humiliation
that was in it. But whatever had the nature of merit, it was
by virtue of the obedience or I'ighteousness there was in it.
The satisfaction of Christ consists in his answering the de-
mands of the law on man, which were consequent on the
breach of the law. These were answered by suffering the
penalty of the law. The merit of Christ consists in what he
did to answer the demands of the law, which were prior to
man's breach of the law, or to fulfil what the laAv demanded
before man sinned, which was obedience.
192 WORK OF REDEMPTION. (Teriod I.
The satisfaction or propitiation of Christ consists either in
^lis suffering evil, or his being subject to abasement. For
Christ did not only make satisfaction by proper suffering, but
by whatever had the nature of humiliation, and abasement
of circumstances. Thus Christ made satisfaction for sin, by
contin\iing under the power of death, while he lay buried in
the grave, though neither his body nor soul properly endured
any suffering after he was dead. Whatever Christ was sub-
ject to that was the judicial fruit of sin, had the nature of satis-
faction for sin. But not only proper suffering, but all abase-
Tnent and depression of the state and circumstances of mankind
l^eloAv its primitive honor and dignity, such as his body's re-
maining under death, and body and soul remaining separate,
and other things that might be mentioned, are the judicial
fruits of sin. And all that Christ did in his state of humilia-
tion, that had the nature of obedience or moral virtue or good-
ness in it, in cne respect or another had the nature of merit
4n it, and was part of the price with which he purchased hap-
piness for the elect.
2. I would observe, that both Christ's satisfaction for sin,
and also his meriting happiness by his righteousness, Avere
carried on through the whole time of his humiliation.
Christ's satisfaction for sin was not only by his last sufferings,
though it was principally by them ; but all his sufferings, and
all the humiliation that he was subject to, from the first mo-
ment of his incarnation to his resurrection, were propitiatory
or satisfactory. Christ's satisfaction was chiefly by his death,
because his sufferings and humiliation in that was greatest.
But all his other sufferings, and all his other humiliation, all
along had the nature of satisfaction. So had the mean cir-
cumstances in Avhich he was born. His being born in such a
low condition, was to make satisfaction for sin. His being
born of a poor virgin, in a stable, ahd his being laid in a man-
ger ; his taking the human nature upon him in its low state,
and under those infirmities brought upon it by the fall ; his
being born in tlie form of sinful flesh, had the nature of satis-
faction. And so all his sufferings in his infancy and child-
hood, and all that labor, and contempt, and reproach, and
Part ll.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 193
temptation, and difficulty of any kind, or that he suffered
through the whole course oi his life, was of a propitiatory
and satisfactory nature.
And so his purchase of happiness by his righteousness was
also carried on through the whole time of his humiliation till
his resurrection ; not only in that obedience he performed
through the course of his life, but also in the obedience he
performed in laying down his life.
3. It was by the same things that Christ Iiath satisfied
bod's justice, and also purchased eternal happiness. This
satisfaction and purchase of Christ were not only both carried
on through the whole time of Christ's humiliation, but they
were both carried on by the same things. He did not make
satisfaction by some things that he did, and then work out a
righteousness by other different things ; but in the saine acts
by which he wrought out righteousness, he also m.ade satis-
faction, but only taken in a different relation. One and the
same act of Christ, considered with respect to the obedience
there was in it, was part of his righteousness, and purchased
heaven : But considered with respect to the self denial, and
difficulty, and humiliation, with which he performed it, had
the nature of satisfaction for sin, and procured our pardon.
Thus his going about doing good, preaching the gospel, and
teaching his disciples, was a part of his righteousness, and
purchase of heaven, as it was done in obedience to the Fath-
er ; and the same was a part of his satisfaction, as he did it
with great labor, trouble, and weariness, and under great
temptations, exposing himself hereby to reproach and con-
tempt. So his laying down his life had the nature of satis-
faction to God's offended justice, considered as his bearing
our punishment in our stead : But considered as an act of
obedience to God, who had given him this command, that he
should lay down his life for sinners, it was a part of his right-
eousness, and purchase of heaven, and us much the principal
part of his righteousness as it was the principal part of his sat-
isfaction. And so to instance in his circumcision, what he
suffered in that, had the nature of satisfaction : The blood
that was shed in his circumcision was propitiatory blood j but
Vol. II. 2 A
194 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period lU
as it was a conformity to the law of Moses, it was part of his
ineritorious righteousness. Though it was not properly the
act of his human nature, he being an infant ; yet it behig
what the human nature was the subject of, and being the act
of that person, it was accepted as an act of his obedience as
our mediator.
And so even his being born in such a low condition had the
nature of satisfaction, by reason of the humiliation that was in
it, and also of righteousness, as it was the act of his person in
obedience to the Father, and what the human nature was the
subject of, and what the will of the human nature did acqui-
esce in, though there was no act of the will of the human na-
ture prior to it.
These things may suffice to have observed in the general
concerning the purchase Christ made of redemption.
SECTION III.
I NOW proceed to speak more particularly of those things
which Christ did, and was the subject of, during the time of
his humiliation, Avhereby this purchase was made And the
nature of the purchase of Christ, as it has been explained,
leads us to consider these things under a twofold view, viz.
1 . With respect to his righteousness, which appeared in
them.
2. With respect to the siifferings and humiliation that he
was subject to in them in our stead.
§1.1 will consider the things that passed during the time
of Christ's humiliation, with respect to the obedience and right-
eousness that he exercised in them. And this is subject to a
threefold distribution. I shall therefore consider his obedi-
ence.
1 . With respect to the Imv* which he obeyed.
Paut II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 193
2. With respect to the different stages of his life \\\ which
he performed it.
3. With respect to the virtues he exercised in his obedi-
ence.
I. The first distribution of the acts of Christ's righteous-
ness is with respect to the laws nvhich Christ obeyed in that
righteousness which he performed. But here it must be ob-
served in general, that all the precepts which Christ obeyed
may be reduced to one law, and that is that which the apostle
calls the lanv ofworks^ Rom. iii. 27. Every command that
Christ obeyed may be reduced to that great and everlasting
law of God that is contained in the covenant of works, that
eternal rule of right which God had established between him-
self and mankind. Christ came into the world to fulfil and
answer the covenant of works ; that is, the covenant that is
to stand forever as a rule of judgment ; and that is the cove-
nant that Ave had broken, and that was the covenant that must
be fulfilled.
This law of works indeed includes all the laws of God which
ever have been given to mankind ; for it is a general rule of
the law of works, and indeed of the law of nature. That God is
to be obeyed, and that he must be submitted to in whatever
positive precept he is pleased to give us. It is a rule of the
law of works, That men should obey their earthly parents ;
and it is certainly as much a rule of the same law. That we
should obey our heavenly Father : And so the law of works
requires obedience to all positive commands of God. It re-
quired Adam's obedience to that positive command. Not to
eat of the forbidden fruit ; and it required obedience of the
Jews to all the positive commands of their institution. Wlien
God commanded Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh, the law of
•works required him to obey : And so it required Christ's obe-
dience to all the positive commands which God gave him.
But, more particularly, the commands of God which Christ
obeyed-, were of three kinds ; they were either such as he was
subject to merely as man, or such as he was subject to as he
was a Jew, or such as he was subject to purely as Mediatgr,
196 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period II.
1 . He obeyed those commands which he was subject to
merely as man : And they were the commands of the moral
law, Avhich was the same with that which was given at Mount
Sinai, written in two tables of stone, which are obligatory on
mankind of all nations and all ages of the world.
2. He obeyed all those laws he was subject to as he was a
Jenv. Thus he was subject to the ceremonial law, and was
conformed to it. He was conformed to it in his being circum-
cised the eighth day ; and he strictly obeyed it in going up to ,
Jerusalem to the temple three times a year ; at least after he
was come to the age of twelve years, which seems to have
been the age when the males began to go up to the temple.
And so Christ constantly attended the service of the temple,
and of the synagogues.
To this head of his obedience to the law that he was subject
to as a Jew, may be reduced his submission to John's baptism.
For it was a special command to the Jews, to go forth to John
the Baptist, and be baptized of him ; aiid therefore Christ be-
ing a Jew, was subject to this command ; and therefore, when
he came to be baptized of Jolm, and John objected, that he had
more need to come to him to be baptized of him, he gives this
reason for it, that it was needful that he should do it, that he
might fulfil all righteousness. See Matt. iii. 13, 14, 15.
3. Another law that Christ was subject to was the mediatori-
al law, which contained those commands of God to which
he was subject not merely as man, nor yet as a Jew, but
which related purely to his mediatorial office. Such were
the commands which the Father gave him, to teach such doc-
trines, to preach the gospel, to work such iTiiracles, to call
such disciples, to appoint such ordinances, and finally .to lay
down his life : For he did all these things in obedience to com-
mands he had received of tlie Father, as he often tells us.
And these commands he was not subject to merely as man ;
for they did not belong to other men ; nor yet was he subject
to them as a Jew ; for they were no part of the Mosaic law ;
but they were commands that he had received of tlie father,
that purely respected tlie woi'k he was to do iu tlic woi'ld in
liis mediatorial office.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 19?
And it is to be observed, that Christ's rii^hteousness, by
which he merited heaven for himself, and all who believe in
him, consists principally in his obedience to this mediatorial
law : For in fulfilling this law consisted his chief work and
business in the world. The history of the Evangelists is
chiefly taken up in giving an account of his obedience to this
law : And this part of his obedience was that which was at-
tended with the greatest difficulty of all ; and therefore his
obedience in it was most meritorious. What Christ had to
do in the world by virtue of his being Mediator, was infinitely
more difficvilt than what he had to do merely as a man, or as a
Jew. To his obedience to this mediatorial law belongs liis
going through his last sufferings, beginning with his agony in
the garden, and ending with his resurrection.
As the obedience of the first Adam, wherein his righteous^
ness would have consisted, if he had stood, would have mainly
consisted, not in his obedience to the moral law, to which he
was subject merely as man, but in his obedience to that spec-
ial law that he was subject to as moral head and surety of
mankind, even the command of abstaining from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil ; so the obedience of the second
Adam, Avherein his righteousness consists, lies mainly, not in
his obedience to the law that he was subject to merely as man,
but to that special law which he was subject to in his ofBce as
Mediator and surety for man.
Before I proceed to the next distribution of Christ's right-
•eousness, I would observe three things concerning Christ's
obedience to these laws.
1. He performed that obedience to them which was in
jevery respect iierfect. It was universal as to the kinds of laws
that he was subject to ; he obeyed each of these three laws ;
said it was universal with respect to every individual precept
contained in these laws, and it was perfect as to each com-
mand. It was perfect as to positive transgressions avoided :
For he never transgressed in one instance ; he was guilty of no
sin of commission. And it was perfect with respect to the
work commanded : He perfected the whole work that eacti.
m WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period II.
command required, and never was guilty of any sin of omis-
sion. And it was perfect with respect to the principle from
which he obeyed : His heart was perfect, his principles were
wholly right, there was no corruption in his heart. And it
was perfect with respect to the ends he acted for : For he
never had any by ends, but aimed perfectly at such ends as
the law of God required. And it was perfect with respect to
the manner of performance : Every circumstance of each act
was perfectly conformed to the command. And it was per-
fect with respect to the degree of the performance : He acted
wholly up to the rule. And it Avas perfect with respect to the
constancy of obedience : He did not only perfectly obey some-
times, but constantly, without any interruption. And it was
perfect with i-espect to perseverance : He held out in perfect
obedience to the very end, through all the clianges he passed
and all the trials that were before him.
The meritoriousness of Christ's obedience, depends on the
perfection of it. If it had failed in any instance of perfection,
it could not have been meritorious : For imperfect obedience
is not accepted as any obedience at all in the sight of the law
of works, which was that law that Christ was subject to ; for
that is not accepted as an obedience to a law that does not
answer that law.
2. The next thing I would observe of Christ's obedience is,
that it was performed through the greatest trials and tempta-
tions that ever any obedience was. His obedience was attend-
ed with the greatest difficulties, and most extreme abasement
and sufferings that ever any obedience was ; which Avas
another thing that rendered it more meritorious and thank
worthy. To obey another when his commands are easy, is
not so worthy, as it is to obey when it cannot be done without
great difficulty.
3. He performed this obedience with infinite respect to
God, and the honor of his law. The obedience he perform-
ed was with infinitely greater love to God, and regard to his
authority, than the angels perform their obedience with. The
angels perform their obedience with that love which is perfect,
with sinless perfection : But Christ <lid not do so, but he per-
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 199
formed his obedience with much greater love than the angels
do theirs, even infinite love ; for though the human nature of
Christ was not capable of love absolutely infinite, yet Christ's
obedience that was performed in that human nature, is not to
be looked upon as merely the obedience of the human nature,
but the obedience of his person as God man ; and there was
infinite love of the person of Christ manifest in that obedience.
And this, together with the infinite dignity of the person tliat
obeyed, rendered his obedience infinitely meritorious.
II. The second distribution of the acts of Christ's obe-
dience, is with respect to the different parts of his life., wherein
they were performed. And in this respect they may be divi-
ded into those which were performed in private life, and those
which were performed in his public ministry.
\st. Those acts he performed during his /z/vfc^e life. He
was perfectly obedient in his childhood. He infinitely difter-
cd from other children, who, as soon as they begin to act, be-
gin to sin and rebel. He was subject to his earthly parents,
though he was Lord of all, Luke ii. 51. He was found about
his Father's business at twelve years of age in the temple,
Luke ii. 42. He then began that Avork that he had to do in
fulfilment of the mediatorial law, which the Father had given
him. He continued his private life for about thirty years,
dwelling at Nazareth in the house of his reputed father Jo-
seph, where he served God in a private capacity, and in fol-
lowing a mechanical trade, the business of a carpenter.
2dlij. Those acts which he performed during his public
ministrtj, which began when he was about thirty years of age,
and continued for the three last years and an half of his life.
Most of the history of the evangelists is taken up in giving an
account of what passed during these three years and an half;
so is all the history of the Evangelist Matthew, excepting the
two first chapters. So is the whole of the history of the Evan-
gelist Mark ; it begins and ends with it. And so also is all
the gospel of John, and all the gospel of Luke, excepting the
two first chapters ; excepting also what we find in the evan-
gelists concerning the ministry of John the Baptist. Christ's
20O WORK GF REDEMPTION. [Period it.
first api)earing in his public ministry, is what is often called
his coming in scripture. Thus John speaks of Christ's
coraing as what is yet to be, though he had been born long
before.
Concerning the public ministry of Christ, I would observe
the following things. 1. The forerunner of it. 2. The
manner of his first entering upon it. 3. The works in Avhich
he was employed during the course of it ; and, 4. The man-
lier of his finishing it.
1. The forerunner of Christ's coming in his public minis-
try was John the Baptist : He came preaching repentance for
the remission of sins, to make^ way for Christ's coming,
agreeably to the prophecies of him, Isa. xl. 3, 4, 5, and IMatL
iv. 5, 6. It is supposed that John the Baptist began his minis-
try about three years and an half before Christ ; so that John's
ministry and Christ's put together, made seven years, a\ hich
Was the last of Daniel's v/eeks ; and this time is intended in
Dan. ix. 27. « He will confirm the covenant with many for
one week." Christ came in the midst of this week, viz. in
the beginning of the last half of it, or the last three years, and
an half, as Daniel foretold, as in the verse just now quoted :
*' And in the midst of the Aveek he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease."
John Baptist's ministry consisted principally in preaching
the law, to awaken men and convince them of sin, to prepare
men for the coming of Christ, to comfort them, as the law is
to prepare the heart for the entertainment of the gospel.
A very remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God attended
John's ministry ; and the effect of it was, that Jerusalem, and
all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, were awak-
ened, convinced, went out to him, and submitted to his bap-
tism, confessing their sins. John is spoken of as the greatest
of all the prophets who came before Christ: Matth. xi. 11.
♦' Among those that are born of women, there hath not risen
a greater than John the Baptist ;" i. e. he had the most hon-
orable office. He was as the morning star, which is the har-
binger of the approaching day, and forerunner of the rising
sun. The other prophets were stars that were to give light
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 201
ih the night ; but we have heard how those stars went out on
the approach of the gospel day- But now the coming of
Christ being very nigh, the morning star comes before him,
the brightest of all the stars, as John the Baptist was the
greatest of all the prophets.
And when Christ came in his public ministry, the light of
that morning star decreased too ; as we see when the sua
rises, it diminishes the light of the morning star. So John
the Baptist says of himself, John iii. 30. « He must increase,
but I must decrease." And soon after Christ began his pub-
lic ministry, John the Baptist was put to death ; as the morn-
ing star is visible a little while after the sun is risen, yet soorl
goes out.
2. The next thing to be taken notice of is Christ's entrance
on his public ministry, which was by baptism, followed with
the temptation in the wilderness. His baptism was as it
were his solemn inauguration, by which he entered on his
ministry ; and was attended with his being anointed with the
Holy Ghost, in a solemn and visible manner, the Holy Ghost
descending upon him in a visible shape like a dove, attended
with a voice from heaven, saying, " This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased," Matth, iii. 16, 17.
After this he was led by the devil into the wilderness. Sa-
tan made a violent onset upon him at his first entrance on his
work ; and now he had a remarkable trial of his obedience ;
but he got the victory. He who had such success with the
first Adam, had none with the second.
3. I would take notice of the work in which Christ was
employed during his miliistry. And here are three things
chiefly to be taken notice of, viz. his preaching, his working
miracles, and his calling and appointing disciples and minis-
ters of his kingdom.
(I.) His preaching the gospel. Great part of the work .-<f
his public ministry consisted in this ; and much of that obe-
dience by which he purchased salvation for us, was in his
speaking those things which the Father commanded him.....
He more clearly and abundantly revealed the mind and will of
God, than ever it had been revealed before. He came from
Vol. n. Z B
i02 WORK OF REDEMPTIOJ^. [Period It.
the bosom of the Father, and perfectly knew his mind, and
was in tlie best capacity to reveal it. As the sun, as soon as it
is risen, begins to shine ; so Christ, as soon as he came into
his public ministry, began to enlighten the world with his
doctrine. As the law was given at Mount Sinai, so Christ de-
livered his evangelical doctrine, full of blessings and not
curses, to a multitude on a mountain, as we have an account
in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew.
When he preached, he did not teach as the scribes, but he
taught as one having authority ; so that his hearers were
astonished at his doctrine. He did not reveal the mind and
will of God in the style which the prophets used to preach, as
not speaking their own words but the words of another ; and
used to speak in such a style as this, " Thus saith the Lord ;"
but Christ, in such a style as this, " I say unto you," thus or
thus ; " Verily, verily, I say unto you." He delivered his
doctrines, not only as the doctrines of God the Father, but as-
his own doctrines. He gave forth his commands, not as the
prophets were wont to do, as God's commands, but as his own
commands. He spake in such a style as this, " This is 7ny
com/)ia7idment," John xv. 12. "Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I conunand you," ibid 14.
(2.) Another thing that Christ was employed in during the
course of his ministry, was working miracles. Concerning
which wc may observe several things.
Theif multitude. Besides particular instances, we often-
have ar>' account of multitudes coming at once with diseases,-
and his healing tliem.
They were works of v\crcy. In them was displayed not
only his infinite ix>Aver and greatness, but his infinite mercy
and goodness. He m cut about doing good, healing the sick,
restoring sight to tbiC blind, hearing to the deaf, and the prop-
er use of their limbs to the lame and halt ; feeding the hun-
gry, cleansing the leprous, and raismg the dead.
They were almost all of them stich as had been sfioken of as
the fifculiar works of Qod, in the Old Testament. So with re-
spect to stilling the sea, Psal. cvii. 29. " He makcth tlic
storm a calm, so th.at the waves thereof are still." So as to-
t^ART IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 203
walking on the sea in a storna : Job ix. 8. « Which alone....
treadeth upon the waves of the sea." So as to casting out
devils: Psal. Ixxiv. 14. « Thou breakest the heads of levia-
than in pieces." So as to feeding a muhitude in a wilderness :
Deut. viii. 16. « Who fed thee in the wildei'ness with man-
na." So as to telling man's thoughts : Amos iv. 13. « Lo, he
that....declareth unto man what is his thought.. ..the Lord, the
God of hosts is his name." So as to raising the dead : Psal.
Ixviii. 20. « Unto God the Lord belong the issues from
death." So as to opening the eyes of the bhnd : Psal. cxlvL
.8. " The Lord opcneth the eyes of the blind." So as to
healing the sick : Psal. ciii. 3. « Who healeth all thy dis-
eases." So as to lifting up those Avho are bowed together :
Psal. cxlvi. 8. " The Loixl raiseth them that ai'e bowed
down."
They were in general sxtch works as were images of the
great nvork nvhich he came to, work on man's heart : Represent-
ing that inward, spiritual cleansing, healing, renovation, and
resurrection, which all his redeemed are the subjects of.
He ivrought them in such a manner as to show, tJiat he did
them by his oivn fioiver, and not by the poiver of another, as the
other prophets did. They were wont to Avork all their mira-
cles in the name of the Lord ; but Christ wrought in his own
name. Moses was forbidden to enter into Canaan, because he
seemed by his speech to assume the honor of working only
one miracle to himslf. Nor did Christ work miracles as the
apostles did, who wrought them all in the name of Christ ;
but he wrought them in his own name, and by his own author-
ity and will : Thus saith he, " I Avill, be thou clean," Matth.
viii. 3. And in the same strain he put the question, " Believe
ye that I am able to do this ?" Matth. ix. 28.
(3.) Another thing that Christ did in the course of his min-
istry, was to call his disciples. He called many disciples.
There were many that he employed as ministers ; he sent
seventy disciples at one time in this work : But there were
twelve that he set apart as apostles, who were the grand min-
istei-s of his kingdom, and as it were the twelve foundations of
his church. See Rev. xxi. 14. These were the main instru-
204 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period JL
mcnts oF setting up his kingdom in the world, and therefore
shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
A. I would obsei-vc how he finished his ministry. And this
was,
( 1 .) In giving his dying counsels to his disciples, and all that
should be his disciples, which we have recorded particularly
in the 14th, 15th, and 16th chapters of John's gospel.
(2.) In instituting a solemn memorial of his death. This he
did in instituting the sacrament of the Lord's supper, Avhere-
in we have a representation of his body broken, and of his
blood shed.
(3.) In offering up himself, as God's high priest, a sacri-
fice to God, which he did in his last sufferings. This att he
did as God's minister, as God's anointed priest ; and it was
the greatest act of his public ministry, the greatest act of
his obedience by which he purchased heaven for believers.
The priests of old used to do many other things as God'?
ministers ; but then were they in the highest execution of
their office when they were actually offering sacrifice on the
filtar. So the greatest thing that Christ did in the execution
of his priestly office, and the greatest thing that he ever did,
and the greatest thing that ever was done, was the offering
up himself a sacrifice to God. Herein he was the antitype of
fvll that had been done by all the priests, and in all their
sacrifices and offerings, from the beginning of the world.
III. TijK third distribution of the acts by which Christ pur-
chased redejnption, regards rhe -virtues that Christ exercised
mid manifested \v\ them. And here I would observe, that
Christ, in doing the work that he had to do here in the world
for our redemption, exercised every possible virtue and
grace. Indeed there are some particiilar virtues that sinful
man may have that were not in Christ ; not from any want or
defect of virtue, but because his virtue was perfect and with-
out defect. Such is the virtue of repentance, and brokenness
of heart for sin, and mortification, and denying of lust. Those
virtues were not in Christ, because he had no sin of his own
tq repent of, nor any lust to deny. But all virtues which ds.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 205
not presuppose sin -were in him. and that in a higher degree
than ever tlicy were in any other man, or any mere creature.
Every virtue in him was perfect. Virtue itself was greater
in him than in any other ; and it was under greater advanta-
ges to shine in him than in any other. Strict virtue shines
most when most tried : But never any virtue had such trials
as Christ's had.
The virtue that Christ exercised in the work he did, may
be divided into three sorts, viz. the virtues which more im-
mediately respect God, those which immediately respect
himself, and those which immediately respect men.
1. Those virtues ivliich viore imviecUatdy resjiect God, ap-
peared in Christ in the work that he did for our redemption.
There appeared in him an koly fear and reverence towards
God the Father. Christ had a greater trial of his virtue in
this respect than any other had, from the honorablencss of his
person. This was the temptation of the angels that fell, to
cast off their worship of God, and reverence of his majesty,
that they were beings of such exalted dignity and worthiness
themselves. But Christ was infinitely more v/orthy and hon-
orable than they ; for he was the eternal Son of God, and his
person was equal to the person of God the Father : And yet,
as he had taken on him the office of mediator, and the nature
of man, he was full of reverence towards God. He adored
him in the most reverential manner, time after time. So he
manifested a wonderful love towards God. The angels give
great testimonies of their love towards God, in their constan-
cy and agility in doing the will of God ; and many saints
have given great testimonies of their love, who, from love to
God, have endured great labors and sufferings : But none ev-
er gave such testimonies of love to God as Christ has given ;
none ever performed such a labor of \o\t as he, and suffered
so much from love to God. So he manifested the most won-
derful submission to the will of God. Never was any one's
submission so tried as his was. So he manifested the most
Avondei'ful spirit of obedience that everAvas manifested.
2. In this work he most AvonderfuUv manifested those vir-
tues which more immediatdy renpected himiclf ; as particularly
^06 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period If.
humility, patience, and contempt of the world. Christ,
though he was the most excellent and honorable of all men,
yet was the most humble ; yea, he was the most humble of
all creatures. No angel or man ever equalled him in humil-
ity, though he was the highest of all creatures in dignity and
honorableness. Christ would have been under the greatest
temptations to pride, if it had been possible for any thing to
be a temptation to him. The temptation of the angels that
fell was the dignity of their nature, and the honorableness of
their circumstances ; but Christ was infinitely more honora>
ble than they. The human nature of Christ was so honored
as to be in the same person with the eternal Son of God, who
was equal with God ; and yet that human nature was not at
all lifted up with pride. Nor was the man Christ Jesus at all
lifted up Avith pride with all those Avonderful works which he
wrought, of healing the sick, curing the blind, lame, and
maimed, and raising the dead. And though he knew that
God had appointed him to be the king over heaven and earth,
angels and men, as he says, Matth. xi. 27. " All tilings are de-
livered unto me of my Father ;" though he knew he was
such an infinitely honorable person, and thought it not robr
bery to be equal with God ; and though he knew he was the
heir of God the Father's kingdom ; yet such Avas his humili-
ty, that he did not disdain to be abased and depressed down
into lower and viler circumstances and sufferings than ever
any other elect creature was ; so that he became least of all,
and lowest of all. The proper trial and evidence of humility,
is stooping or complying with those acts or circumstances,
when called to it, which are very lo^^', and contain great abase-
ment. But none ever stooped so low as Christ, if we consid^
er either the infinite height that he stooped from, or the great
depth to Avhich he stooped. Such was his humility, that
though he knew his infinite worthiness of honor, and of be-
ing honored ten thousand times as much as the highest prince
on earth, or angel in heaven ; yet he did not think it too much
when called to it, to be bound as a cursed malefactor, and to
become the laughing stock and spitting stock of the vilest of
ineuj and to be crowned with thorns, and to have a mock robo
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. iof
put upon him, and to be cmcified like a slave and malefactor,
and as one of the meanest and worst of vagabonds and mis-
creants, and an accursed enemy of God and men, who was not
fit to live on the earth : And this not for himself, but for
some of the meanest and vilest of creatures, some of those ac-"
cursed wretches that crucified him. Was not this a wonder-
ftU manifestation of humility, when he cheerfully' and most
freely submitted to this abasement ?
And how did his patience shine forth uiftler all the terrible
sufferings which he endured, when he was dumb, and openet!
not his mouth, but went as a lamb to the slaughter, and was
like a patient lamb under all the sufferings he endured from-
first to last ?
. And what contempt of the glory of this world was there,-
when he rather chose this contempt, and meanness, and suf--
fering, than to wear a temporal crov, n, and be invested Avith
the external glories of an earthly prince, as the multitude of-
Lcn solicited him ?
3. Christ, in the work which he wrought out, in a wonder-'
ful manner exercised those virtues ivhich mare immediately res-f
pect other men. And tliese may be summed up under two
heads, viz. meekness and love.
Christ's meekness was his humble calmness of spirit under
the provocations that he met with. None ever met with so
great provocations as he did. The greatness of provocation
lies in two things, viz. in the degree of opposition by which
the provocation is given ; and, secondly, in the degree of
the unreasonableness of that opposition, or in its being
very causeless, and v/ithout reason, and the great degree
of obligation to the contrary. Now, if we consider both these
things, no man ever met with such provocations as Christ
did, when he was upon earth. If we consider how much he
was hated, what abuses he suffered from the vilest of men,
how great his sufferings from men were, and how spiteful and
how contemptuous they were, in offering him these abuses ;
and also consider how causeless and unreasonable these abu-
ses were, how undeserving he was of them, and how much
Reserving of the contrary, via, of love, and honor, and good
^08 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pkkiod IT-
treatment at their hands : I say, if wc consider these things,
no man ever met with a thousandth part of the provocation
that Christ met with from men : And yet how meek was he
under all 1 How composed and quiet his spirit ! How far from
being in a ruffle and tumult ! When he was reviled, he reviled
not again ; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he
opened not his mouth. No appearance was there of a re-
vengeful spirit ; on the contrary, what a spirit of forgiveness
did he exhibit 1 So that he fervently and effectually prayed
for their forgiveness, when they were in the highest act of
provocation that ever they perpetrated, viz. nailing him to the
cross : Luke xxiii. 34. " Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do."
And never did there appear such an instance of love to men.
Christ's love to men that he showed when on earth, and es-
pecially in going through his last sufferings, and offering up
his life and soul under those sufferings, which was his great-
est act of love, was far beyond all parallel. There have been
very remarkable manifestations of love in some of the saints,
as in the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John, and others : But the
love to men that Christ showed when on earth, as much ex-
ceeded the love of all other men, as the ocean exceeds a
small stream.
And it is to be observed, that all the virtues which appeared
in Christ sho^vn brightest in the close of his life, under the tri-
als he met with then. Eminent virtue always shows biight-
est in the fire. Pure gold shows its purity chicfiy in the fur-
nace. It was chiefly under those trials which Christ under-
went in the close of his life, that his love to God, his honor of
God's majesty, and his regard to the honor of his law, and his
spirit of obedience, and his humility, and contempt of the
world, and his patience and his meekness, and his spirit of
forgiveness towards men, appeared. Indeed every thing that
Christ did to work out redemi)tion for us appears mainly in
the close of his life. Here mainly is his satisfaction for sin.
and here chiefly is his merit of eternal life for sinners, and here
chiefly appears the briglitness of his example, which he hath
set us to foUov/-.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 209
Thus we have taken a brief view of the things whereby the
purchase of redemption was made with respect to his right-
eousness that appeared in them I proceed now,
§ II. To take a view of them with respect to the satisfaction
that he thereby made for sin, or the sufferings a7id huviiliation
that he was the subject of in them on our account. And
here,
I. He was subject to uncommon humiliation and sufferings
in his infancy. He was born to that end that he might die ;
and therefore he did as it were begin to die as soon as he was
born. His mother suffered in an uncommon manner in bear-
ing him. When her travail came upon her, it is said, there
was no room in the inn," Luke ii. 7. She was forced to be-
take herself to a stable ; and therefore Christ was born in the
place of the bringing forth of beasts. Thus he suffered in his
birth, as though he had been meaner and viler than a man,
and not possessed of the dignity of the human nature, but had
been of the rtmk of the brute creatures. And we may con-
clude, that his mother's circumstances in other respects were
pi'oportionably strait and difficult, and that she was destitute of
the conveniencies necessary for so young an infant which oth-
ers were wont to have ; for want of which the new born babe
without doubt suffered much.
And besides, he was persecuted in his infancy. They be-
gan to seek his life as soon as he was born. Herod, the chief
man of the land, was so engaged to kill him, that, in order to
it} he killed all the children in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts
thereof, from two years old and under. And Christ suffered
banishment in his infancy, was driven out of his native coun-
try into Egypt, and without doubt suffered much by being
carried so long a journey, when he was so young into a strange
country.
II. Christ was subject to great humiliation in his private
life at Nazareth. He there led a servile obscure life, in a
mean laborious occupation : For he is called not only the
carpenter's son., but the carpenter : Mark vi. 3. " Is not this
the carpenter, the brother of James and Joses, and Juda, and
Simon ?" He, by hard labor, earned his bread before he ate it,
Vol. II. 2 C
210 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period if.
and so suffered that curse which God pronounced on Adam,
Gen. iii. 13. " In the SAveat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
Let us consider how great a degree of humiliation the glori-
ous Son of God, the creator of heaven and earth, was subject
to in this, that for about thirty years he should live a private
obscure life among laboring men, and all this while be over-
looked, and not taken notice of in the world, as more than oth-
er common laborers. Christ's humiliation in some respects
was greater in private life than in the time of his public min-
istry. There were many manifestations of his glory in the
word he preached, and the great miracles he wrought : But
the first thirty years of his life he spent among mean ordinary
men, as it were in silence, without those manifestations of
his glory, or any thing to make him to be taken notice of more
than any ordinary mechanic, but only the spotless purity and
eminent holiness of his life ; and that was in a great measure
hid in obscurity ; so that he was little taken notice of till after
his baptism.
III. Christ was the subject of great humiliation and suffer-
ing during his public life, from his baptism till the night
wherein he was betrayed. As particularly,
1. He suffered great poverty, so that he had not " where,
to lay his head," Matth. viii. 20 ; and commonly used to
lodge abroad in the open air, for want of a shelter to betake
himself to ; as you will see is manifest, if you compare the
following places together, which I shall but name to you,
even Matth. viii. 20, and John xviii. 1, 2, and Luke xxi. 37, and
chap. xxii. 39. So that what was spoken of Christ in Cant. v.
2. " My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops
of the night," was literally fulfilled. And through his poverty
he doubtless was often pinched with hunger, and thirst, and
cold. We read Matth. iv. 2, that he was an hungred : And so
again in Matth. xxi. 18. His mother and natural relations
were poor, and not able to help him ; and he was maintained
by the charity of some of his disciples while he lived. So wc
read hi Luke viii. at the beginning, of certain women that
followed him, and ministered to him of their substance. He
was so poor, that he was not able to pay the tribute that was
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 211
demanded of him, without the miraculous coming of a fish to
bring him the money out of the sea in his mouth. See Matth.
xvii. 27. And when he ate his last passover, it was not at his
own charge, but at the charge of another, as appears by Luke
xxii. 7, Sec. And from his poverty he had no grave of his own
to be buried in. It was the manner of the Jews, unless they
vere very poor, and were not able, to prepare themselves a
sepulchre while they lived. But Christ had no land of his
own, though he was possessor of heaven and earth ; and there-
fore was buried by Joseph of Arimathea's charity, and in his
tomb, which he had prepared for himself.
2. He suflFered great hatred and reproach. He was despis-
ed and rejected of men. He was by most esteemed a poor,
insignificant person ; one of little account, slighted for his low
parentage, and his mean city Nazareth. He was reproached as
a glutton and drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners ; was
called a deceiver of the people ; sometimes a madman, and a
Samaritan, and ^one possessed with a devil, John vii. 20, and
viii. 48, and x. 20. He Avas called a blasphemer, and was ac-
counted by many a wizzard, or one that wrought miracles by
the black art, and by communication Avith Beelzebub. They
excommunicated him, and agreed to excommunicate any man
that should own him, as John ix. 22. ' They wished him dead
and were continually seeking to murder him ; sometimes by
force, and sometimes by craft. They often took up stones to
stone him, and once led him to the brow of a hill, intending to
throw him down the precipice, to dash him in pieces against
the rocks.
He was thus hated and reproached by his own visible peo-
ple : Johni. 11. "He came to his own, and his own received
him not." And he was principally despised and hated by
those who were in chief repute, and were their greatest men.
And the hatred wherewith he was hated was general. Into
whatever part of the land he went, he met with hatred and
contempt. He met with these in Capernaum, and when he
went to Jericho, when he went to Jerusalem, Avhich was the
holy city, when he went to the temple to worship, and also in
Nazareth, his own city, and among his own relations, and his
old neighbors.
212 WORK GF REDEMPTION. [Period II.
3. He suffered the buffettings of Satan in an uncommon
manner. We read of one time in particular, when he liad a
long conflict with the devil, when he was in the wilderness
forty days, with nothing but wild beasts and devils ; and was
so exposed to the devil's power, that he was bodily carried
about by him from place to place, while he was otherwise in a
very suffering state.
And so much for the humiliation and suffering of Christ's
public life, from his baptism to the night wherein he was be-
trayed.
IV. I come now to his last humiliation and sufferings, from
the evening of the night wherein he was betrayed to his resur-
rection. And here was his greatest humiliation and suffering,
by which principally he made satisfaction to the justice of God
for the sins of men. First, his life was sold by one of his own
disciples for thirty pieces of silver, which was the price of the
life of a servant, as you may see in Exod. xxi. 32. Then he
was in that dreadful agony in the garden. Thete came such
a dismal gloom upon his soul, that he began to be sorrowful
and very heavy, and said, his " soul was exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death, and was sore amazed." So violent was the
agony of his soul, as to force the blood through the pores of
his skin ; so that whilf. his soul was overwhelmed with amaz-
ing sorrow, his body was all clotted with blood. The disci-
ples, who used to be as his friends and family, at this time,
above all, appeared cold towards him, and unconcerned for
him, at the same time that his father's face Avas hid from him.
Judas, to whom Christ had been so very merciful, and treated
as one of his family, or familiar friends, comes and betrays him
in the most deceitful, treacherous manner. The officers and
soldiers apprehend and bind him ; his disciples forsake him
and flee ; his own best friends do not stand by him to comfort
him, in this time of his distress. He is led away as a male-
factor to appear before the priests and scribes, his venomous,
mortal enemies, that they might sit as his judges, who sat up
all night, to have the pleasure of insulting him, now they had
pot him into their hands. But because they aimed at nothing
bhort of his life, they set themselves to find some color to put
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 213
him to death, and seek for -witnesses against him. When none
appeared, they set some to bear false -w ituess ; and when their
witness did not agree together, then they go to examining hini
to catch something out of his own mouth. They hoped he
would say, that he was the Son of God, and then they thought
they should have enough. But because they see they are not
like to obtain it without it, they then go to force him to say it,
by adjuring him in the name of God, to say whether he was or
not : And when he confessed that he was, then they suppos-
ed they had enough ; and then it was a time of rejoicing with
them, which they show, by falling upon Christ and spitting in
his face, and blindfolding him, and striking him in the face
with the palms of their hands, and then bidding him prophecy
who it was that struck him : Thus ridiculing him for pretend-
ing to be a prophet. And the very servants have a hand in
the sport : Mark, xiv. 65. " And the servants did strike him.
with the palms of their hands."
During the sufferings of that night, Peter, one of the chief
,«f his own disciples, instead of standing by him to comfort
him, appears ashamed to own him, and denies and renounces
him with oaths and curses. And after the chief priests and
elders had finished the night in so shamefully abusing him,
when the morning was come, which was the morning of the
■most wonderful day that ever Avas, they led him away to Pi-
late, to be condemned to death by him, because they had not
the power of life and death in their own hands. He is
brought before Pilate's judgment seat, and there the priests
and elders accuse him as a traitor. And when Pilate, upon
examining into the matter, declared he found no fault in him,
the Jews were but the more fierce and violent to haA^e him
condemned. Upon which Pilate, after clearing him, very un-
justly brings him upon a second trial ; and then, not finding
any thing against him., acquits him again. Pilate treats him
as a poor worthless fellow ; but is ashamed on so little pre-
tence to condemn him ur, a traitor.
And then he was sent to Herod to be tried by him, and Avas
brought before Herod's judgment seat ; and his enemies fol-
lowed, and virulently accused him before Herod. Herod
2U WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period II,
does not condemn hira as a traitor, or one that would set up
for a king, but looks upon him as Pilate did, as a poor worth-
less creature, not worthy to be taken notice of, and does but
make a mere laugh of the Jews accusing him as a dangerous
person to Cesar, as one that was in danger of setting up to be
a king against him ; and therefore, in derision, dresses him
up in a mock robe, and makes sport of him, and sends him
back through the streets of Jerusalem to Pilate, with the mock
robe on.
The Jews prefer Barabbas before him, and are instant and
violent with loud voices to Pilate, to crucify him. So Pilate,
after he had cleared him twice, and Herod once, very unright-
eously brings him on trial the third time, to try if he could
not find something agamst him sufficient to crucify him. Christ
was stripped and scourged : Thus he gave his back to the
smiter. After that, though Pilate still declared that he found
no fault in him ; yet so unjust was he, that for fear of the
Jews he delivered Christ to be crucified. But before they
execute the sentence, his spiteful and cruel enemies take the
pleasure of another spell of mocking him ; they get round
him, and make a set business of it. They stripped him, and
put on him a scarlet robe, and a reed in his hand, and a crown
of thorns on his head. Both Jews and Roman soldiers were
united in the transaction ; they bow the knee before him, and
in derision cry, " Hail, king of the Jews." They spit upon
him also, and take the reed out of his hand and smite him on
the head. After this they led him away to crucily him, and
made him carry his own cross, till he sunk under it, his
strength being spent ; and then they laid it on one Simon a
Cyrenian.
At length, being come to Mount Calvary, they execute the
sentence which Pilate had so unrighteously pronounced.
They nail him to his cross, by his hands and feet, then raise
it erect, and fix one end in the ground, he being still suspend-
ed on it by the nails which pierced his hands and feet. And now
Christ's sufferings arc come to the extremity : Now the cup
which he so earnestly prayed that it might pass from liim, is
come, and he must, he does drink it.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 21^
In those days crucifixion was the most tormenting kind of
death by -which any were wont to be executed. There was
no death wherein the person expired so much of mere tor-
ment : And hence the Roman word which signifies tor7ne7iti
is taken from this kind of death. And besides what our Lord
endured in this excruciating death in his body, he endured
Vastly more in his soul. Now was that travail of his soul, of
which we read in the prophet ; now it pleased God to bruise
him) and to put him to grief ; now he poured out his soul unto
death, as in Isa. liii. And if the mere forethought of this cup
made him sweat blood, how much more dreadful and excru-
ciating must the drinking of it have been ! Many martyrs
have endured much in their bodies, while their souls have been
joyful, and have sung for joy, whereby they have been support-
ed under the sufferings of their outward man, and have tri-
umphed over them. But this was not the case with Christ ;
he had no such support ; but his sufferings were chiefly those
of the mind, though the other were extremely great. In his
erucifixion Christ did not sweat blood, as he had before, be-
cause his blood had vent otherwise, and not because his agony-
Was now not so great. But though he did not sweat blood,
yet such was the suffering of his soul, that probably it rent his
vitajs ; as seems probable by this, that when his side was
pierced, there came forth blood and water. And so here was
a kind of literal fulfilment of that in Psal. xxii. 14. "lam
poured out like water : My heart is like wax, it is melted in
the midst of my bowels.'*
Now, under all these sufferings, the Jews still mock him ;
^nd wagging their heads say, " Thou that destroyest the
temple, and bulkiest it in three days, save thyself : If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross." And even the
chief priests, scribes, and ciders, joined in the cry, saying,
« He saved others ; himself he cannot save." And probably
the devil at the same time tormented him to the utmost of
his power ; and hence it is said, Luke xxii. 53. « This is your
houi', and the power of darkness."
Under these sufferings, Christ having cried out once and
again with a loud voice, at last he said, " It is finished," (John
216 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IL
xix. SO.) « nnd bowed the head, and gave up the ghost." And
thus -was finished the greatest and most wonderful thing that
ever was done. Noav the angels beheld the most wonderful
sight that ever they saw. Now was accomplished the main
thing that had been pointed at by the various institutions of
the ceremonial law, and by all the typical dispensations, and by
all the sacrifices from the beginning of the Avorld.
Christ being thus brought under the power of death, con-
tinued under it till the morning of next day but one ; and then
was finished that great work, the purchase of our redemption,
for M hich such great preparation had been made from the be-
ginning of the world. Then was finished all that was requir-
ed in order to satisfy the threatenings of the law, and all that
was necessary in order to satisfy divine justice ; then the ut-
most that vindictive justice demanded, even the whole debt
Avas paid. Then was finished the whole of the purchase of
eternal life. And now there is no need of any thing more to
be done towards a purchase of salvation for sinners ; nor has
ever any thing been done since, nor will any thing more be
done for ever and ever.
IMPROVEMENT.
IN surveying the history of redemption, from the fall of
man to the end of the world, we have now shown how this
work Avas carried on through the two former of the three
main periods into Avhich this Avholc space of time was divided,
viz. from the fall to the incarnation of Christ, and from thence
to the end of the time of Christ's humiliation ; and have par-
ticularly explained how in the first of these periods God pre-
pared the way for Christ's appearing and purchasing redemp-
tion ; and how in the second period, that purchase was made
and finished. I would now make some improvement of what
has been said on both these subjects, considered conjunctly.
And this I would do,
1. In a use of reproof.
2. In a use of encouragement.
tsiPR I.] WORK OF REDF3IPTI0N. 21?
SECTION I.
I BEGIN with a use of reproof ; a reprcof of three things :
1. Of unbelief.
2. Of self righteousness.
3. Of a careless neglect of the salvation of Christ.
I. If it be as we have heard, how greatly do these things
reprove those who do not believe in, but reject the Lord Jesus
Christ ! i. e. all those who do not heartily receive him. Persons
inay receive him in profession, and carry well outwardly tov.ards
him, and may wish that they had some of those benefits that
Christ has purchased, and yet their hearts not receive Christ :
They may be hearty in nothing that they do towards Christ ;
they may have no high esteem of Christ, nor any sincere hon-
or or respect to Christ ; they may never have opened the
door of their heart to Christ, but have kept him shut out all
their days, ever since they first heard <?f him, and his salvation
has been offered to them. Though their hearts have been
opened to others, their doors have been flung wide open to
them, and they have had free admittance at all times, and have
been embraced and made much of, and the best room in their
hearts has been given them, and the throne of their hearts has
been allowed them ; yet Christ has always been shut out, and
they have been deaf to all his knocks and calls. They never
could find an inclination of heart to receive him, nor would
they ever trust in him.
Let me now call upon you with whom it is thus, to consid-
er how great your sin, in thus rejecting Jesus Christ, appears
to bcv from those things that have been said. You slight the
glorious person, for whose coming God made such great prep-
aration in such a series of wonderful providences from the
beginning of the world, and whom after all things were made
ready, God sent into the world, bringing to pass a thing be-
fore unknown, viz. the union of the divine nature with the
human, in one person. You have been guilty of slighting that
great Saviour, who after such preparation, actually accom-
plished the purchase of rede^mption ; and who, after he had
Vol. II. 2 D
218 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period H.
spent three or fovir and thirty years in poverty, labor, and con-
tempt, in purchasing redemption, at last finished the purchase
by closing his life under such extreme sufferings as you have
heard ; and so by his death, and continuing for a time under
the power of death, completed the whole. This is the person
you reject and despise. You make light of all the glory of
his person, and of all the glorious love of God the Father, in
sending him into the world, and all his wonderful love appear-
ing in the whole of this affair. That precious stone that God
hath laid in Zion for a foundation in such a manner, and by
such wonderful works as you have heard, is a stone set at
nought by you.
Sinners sometimes are ready to wonder why the sin of un-
belief should be looked upon as such a great sin : But if you
consider what you have heard, how can you wonder ? If it be
so, that this Saviour is so great a Saviour, and this work so
great a work, and such great things have been done in order
to it, truly there is no cause of wonder that the sin of unbelief,
or the rejection of this Saviour, is spoken of in scripture as
such a dreadful sin, so provoking to God, and what brings
greater guilt than the sins of the worst of the Heathen, who
never heard of those things, nor have had this Saviour offered
to them.
II. What has been said, affords matter of reproof to those,
who, instead of believing in Christ, trust in themselves for
salvation. It is a common thing with men to take it upon
themselves to purchase salvation for themselves, and so to do
that great work which Christ came into the world to do. Are
there none such here who trust in their prayers, and their
good conversations, and the pains they take in religion, and
the reformation of their lives, and in their self acnial, to re-
commend them to God, to make some atonement for their past
sins, and to draw the heart of God to them ?
Consider three things :
1. How great a thing that is which you take upon you....
You take upon you to do the work of the great Saviour of the
world. You trust in your own doings to appease (iod for
your sins, and to incline the heart of God to you. Though
you are poor, worthless, vile, polluted worms of the dust ; yet
Impr. I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 219
so arrogant are you, that you take upon you that very work
that the only begotten Son of God did when upon earth, and
that he became man to capacitate himself for, and in order to
which God spent four thousand years in all the great dispen-
sations of his providence in the government of the world,
aiming chiefly at this, to make way for Christ's coming to do
this work. This is the Avork that you lake upon yourself, and
foolishly think yourself sufficient for it ; as though your pray-
ers, and other performances, were excellent enough for this
purpose. Consider how vain is the thought which you enter-
tain of yourself. How must such arrogance appear in the
sight of Christ, whom it cost so much to make a purchase of
salvation, when it was not to be obtained even by him, so
great and glorious a person, at a cheaper rate than his wading
through a sea of blood, and passing thi'ough the midst of the
furnace of God's Avrath. And how vain must your arrogance
appear in the sight of God, when he sees you imagining your-
self sufficient, and your Avorthless, polluted performances ex-
cellent enough for the accomplishing of that work of his own
Son, to prepare the way for which he was employed in order-
ing all the great affairs of the world for so many ages I
2. If there be gi'ound for you to trust, as you do, in your
own righteousness, then all that Christ did to purchase salva-
tion when on earth, and all that God did from the first fall of
man to that time to prepare the way for it, is in vain. Your
self righteousness charges God with the greatest folly, as
though he has done all things in vain, even so much in vain,
that he has done all this to bring about an accomplishment of
that which you alone, a little worm, with your poor polluted
prayers, and the little pains you take in religion, mingled with
all that hypocrisy and filthiness, are sufficient to accomplish
for yourself without Christ's help. For if you can appease
God's angei', and can commend yourself to God by these
means, then you have no need of Christ ; but he is dead in
vain : Gal. ii. 21. " If righteousness come by the law, then
Christ is dead in vain."
If you can do this by your prayers and good works, Christ
Height have spared his pains, he might have spared his blood s
220 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period U.
He might have kept within the bosom of his Father, without
coming down into this evil world to be despised, reproached,
and persecuted to death ; and God needed not to have busied
liimself, as he did for four thousand years together, causing so
]nany changes in the state of the world all that while, in order
to the bringing about that which you, as little as you are, can
accomplish in a few days, only with the trouble of a few
sighs, and groans, and prayers, and some other religious per-
formances. Consider with yourself what greater folly could
you have devised to charge upon God than this, to do all those
things before and after Christ came into the world so need-
lessly ; when, instead of all this he might only have called
you forth, and committed the business to you, which you
think you can do so easily.
Alas ! How blind are natural men ! How sottish are the
thoughts they have of things ! And especially how vain arc
the thoughts which they have of themselves ! How ignorant
of their own littleness and pollution ! How do they exalt them-
selves up to heaven ! What great things do they assume to
themselves !
3. You that trust to your own righteousness, arrogate to
yourselves the honor of the greatest thing that ever God him-
self did ; not only as if you were sufficient to perform divine
works, and to accomplish some of the great Avorks of God ;
but such is your pride and vanity, that you are not content
Avithout taking upon you to do the very greatest Avork that
ever God hii-nself wrought, even the Avork of redemption....
You see by what has been said, how God has subordinated all
his other works to this work of redemption. You see how
God's works of proAddence arc greater than his Avorks of crea-
tion, and that all God's Avorks of providence, from the begin-
ning of the generations of men, Avere in order to this, to make
Avay for the purchasing of redemption. But this is Avhat you
lake u^on yourself. To take on yourself to Avork out redemp-
tion, is a greater thing than if you had taken it upon you to
create a world. Consider Avith yourself what a figure you, a
poor Avorm, Avould make, if you should seriously go about to
create such a Avorld as God did, should swell iii vour OAvn con-
Impb. I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 33 J
ceit of yourself, should deck yourself v/ith majesty, pretend to
speak the word of power, and call an universe out of nothing,
intending to go on in order, and say, '' Let there be light :
Let there be a firmament," Sec. But then consider, that in
attempting to work out redemption yourself, you attempt a
greater thing than this, and are serious in it, and will not be
beat off from it ; but strive in it, and are full of the thought of
yourself that you are sufficient for it, and ahvays big wilh
hopes of accomplishing it.
You take upon you to do the very greatest and most diffi-
cult part of this work, viz. to purchase redemption. Christ
can accomplish other parts of this v.'ork' without cost, without
any trouble and difficulty : But this part cost him his life as
ivell as innumerable pains and labors, with very great igno-
miny and contempt besides. Yet this is that part which self-
righteous persons go about to accomplish for themselves. If
all the angels in heaven had been sufficient for this work,
would God have set himself to effect such things as he did in
order to it, before he sent his Son into the world ? And Avould
he ever have sent his own Son, the great Creator and God of
the angels, into the world, to have done and suffered such
things ?
What selfrighteous persons take to themselves, is the same
work that Christ was engaged in when he was in his agony
and bloody sweat, and when he died on the cross, which was
the greatest thing that ever the eyes of angels beheld. This,
as great as it is, they imagine they can do the same that
Christ accomplished by it. Their selfrighteousness does in
effect charge Christ's offering up himself in these sufferings,
as the greatest instance of folly that ever men or angels saw,
instead of being the most glorious display of the divine wis-
dom and grace that ever was seen. Yea, selfrighteousness
makes all that Christ did through the whole course of his life,
and all that he said and suffered through that whole time, and
his incarnation itself, and not only so, but all that God had
been doing in the great dispensations of his providence from
the beginning of the world to that time, as all nothing, but a
scene of the most wild, and extreme, and transcendent folly.
222 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IL
Is it any -wonder, then, that a selfrighteous spirit is so
represented in scripture, and spoken of, as that which is mosl
fatal to the souls of men ? And is it any wonder, that Christ is
represented in scripture as being so provoked with the Phari-
sees and others, who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and Averc proud of their goodness, and thought that
their own performances were a valuable price of God's favor
and love ?
Let persons hence be warned against a selfrighteous spirit
You that are seeking your salvation, and taking pains in relig-
ion, take heed to yourselves that you do not trust in what you
do ; that you do not harbor any such thoughts ; that God now,
seeing how much you are reformed, how you take pains in re-
ligion, and how you are sometimes affected, will be i>acified
towards you with respect to your sins, and on account of it
will not be so angry for your former sins ; and that you shall
gain on him by such things, and draw liis heart to show you
unercy ; or at least that God ought to accept of what you do,
so a& to be inclined by it in some measure to forgive you, and
have mercy on yovt. If you entertain this thought, that God
is obliged to do it, and does not act justly if he refuse to re-
gard yovu' prayers and pains, and so quarrel with God, and
complain of him for not doing, this shows what your opinion is
of your own righteousness, viz. that it is a valuable price of
solvation, and ought to be accepted of God as such. Such
complaining of God, and quarrelling with him, for not taking
inore notice of your righteousness, plainly shows that you arc
guilty of all that arrogance that has been spoken of, thinking
yourself sufficient to offer the price of your own salvation.
III. What has been said on this subject, affords matter of
reproof to those Avho carelessly neglect the salvation of Christ ;
such as live a senseless kind of life, neglecting the business of
religion and their own souls for the present, not taking any
course to get an interest in Christ, or what he has done ^nc^
suffered, or any part in that glorious salvation he has purchas-
ed by that price, but rather have their minds taken up aljout
the gains of the world, or about the vanities and pleasures of
youth, and so make light of what they hear from time to time
IiTPR. I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 253
of Christ's salvation, that they do not at present so much as
3eek after it. Let me here apply myself to you in some ex-
postulatory interrogations.
I . Shall so many prophets, and kings, and righteous men,
have their minds so much taken up with the prospect, that
the purchase of salvation was to be wrought out in ages long
after their death ; and will you neglect it v/hen actually
accomplished ? You have heard what great account the
church in all ages made of the future redemption of Christ ;
how joyfully they expected it, how they spoke of it, how they
studied and searched into these things, hoAV they simg joyful
songs, and had their hearts greatly engaged about it, and yet
never expected to see it done, and did not expect that it would
be accomplished till many ages after their death, 1 Pet. i. 10,
11, 12. How much did Isaiah and Daniel, and other proph-
ets speak conceraing this redemption ! And how much %vere
their hearts engaged, and their attention and study fixed upon
it I How was David's mind taken up in this subject ! He de-
clared that it was all his salvation, and all his desire ; 2 Sam.
xxiii. 5. How did he employ his voice and harp in celebrat-
ing it, and the glorious display of cUvine grace therein exhib-
ited ! And all this although they beheld it not as yet ac-
complished, but saw that it was to be brought to pass so long
a time after their day. And before this, how did Abraham
and the other patriarch's rejoice in the prospect of Christ's
day, and the redemption Avhich he was to purchase ! And
even the saints before the flood were affected and elated in the
expectation of this glorious event, though it was then so long
future, and it was so very faintly and obscurely revealed to
them. ■
Now these things are declared to you as actually fulfilled.
The church now has seen accomplished all those great
things which they so joyfully prophesied of ; and you are
abundantly shown how those things were accomplished :
Matth. xiii. 17. " Verily I say imto you that many prophets
and righteous men have desired to see those things v/hich ye
see, and have not seen ; and to hear those things which ye
bear, and have not heard them." And yet when these things
924 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Perjod IL
are thus abundantly set before you as already accomplished,
how do you slight them I How light do you make of theni !
How little are they taken notice of by you ! How unconcern-
ed are you about them, following other things, and not so
much as feeling any interest in them ! Indeed your sin is ex-
tremely aggravated in the sight of God. God has put you
under great advantages for your eternal salvation, far greater
than those saints of old enjoyed. He has put yon under a
more glorious dispensation ; has given you a more clear rev-
elation of Christ and his salvation ; and yet you neglect all
these advantages, and go on in a ^careless course of life,
as though nothing had been done, no such proposals and of-
fers had been made you.
2. Have the angels been so engaged about this salvation
which is by Christ ever since the fall of man, though they are
not immediately concerned in it, and Avill you, who need it,
and have it oiTiered to you, be so careless about it ? You have
heard how the angels at first were subjected to Christ as me-
diator, and how they have all along been ministering spirits to
him in this affair. In all the great dispensations wliich you
have heard of from the beginning of the world, they have been
active, and as a fiame of fire in this affair, being most diligent-
ly employed as ministering spirits to minister to Christ in
this great affair of man's redemption. And when Christ
came, how engaged were their minds ! They came to Zach*
arias, to inform him of the coming of Christ's forerunner.
They came to the Virgin Mary, to inform her of the ap-
proaching birth of Christ : They came to Joseph to warn him
of the danger which threatened the new born Saviour, and to
point out to him the means of safety. And how were their
minds engaged at the time of the birth of Christ ? The whole"
multitude of the heavenly host sang praises upon the occa-
sion, saying, " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, and ijood will towards men." And afterwards from
time to lime, they ministered to Christ when on earth ; they
did so at the lime of his temptation, at the time of his agony
in the garden, at his resurrection, and at his ascension. All
these things show, that they were greatly engaged in th.is af-
Impr. I.] WORK OF REDEMPTIOX. 225
Tair ; and the scripture informs us, that they pry into these
things: 1 Pet. i. 12. "Which things the Angels desire to
look into." And how are they represented in the Revelation
as being employed in heaven in singing praises to him that
sittcth on the throne, and to the Lamb. Now shall these take
so much notice of this redemption, and of the purchaser, who
need it not for themselves, and have no immediate concern
or interest in it, or offer of it ; and will you to Avhom it is of-
fered, and who are in such extreme necessity of it, neglect and
take no notice of it ?
S. Was it worth the Avhile for Christ to labor so hard, and
do and suffer so much to procui'e this salvation, and is it not
worth the while for you to be at some labor in seeking it ?
Yv as it a thing of so great importance, that salvation should
be procured for sinners, as that it v.as worthy to lie with such
weight on the mind of Christ, as to induce him to become
man. and to suffer such contempt, and labor, and even death
itself, in order to procure it, though he stood in need of noth-
ing, though he v/as like to gain no addition to his eternal
happiness, though he could get nothing by those that he sav-
ed ; though he did not need them ; was it of such importance
that sinners should be saved, that he might properly be induc-
ed to submit to such humiliation and suffering ; and yet is it
not worth the while for you v/ho are one of those miserable
sinners that need this salvation, and must perish eternally
without it, to take earnest pains to obtain an interest in it after
it is procured, and all things are ready ?
4. Shall the great God be so concerned about this salvation,
as so often to overturn the world to make way for it : and
when all is done, is it not worth your seeking after ? How has
the Lord of heaven and earth been as it were engaged about
this affair ! What great, what Avonderful tilings has he done
from one age to another, removing kings and setting up kings,
raising up a great number of prophets, separating a distinct
nation from the rest of the world, overturning one nation and
kingdom, and another, and often overturning the state of the
world ; and so has continued bringing about cue change and
revolution after another for fortv centuries in succession^ to
VoL.IL 2E '
'JSS WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period I'^-
make way for the procuring of this salvation ! And when h-z
has done all ; and M'hen, at the close of these ages, the great
Saviour comes, and becoming incarnate, and passing through
a long series of reproach and suffering, and then suffering all
the waves and billows of God's wrath for men's sins, insomuch
that they overwhelmed his soul : After all these things done
to procure salvation for sinners, is it not worthy of your taking
so much notice of, or being so much concerned about, though
you are those persons who need this salvation, but that it
should be thrown by, and made nothing of in comparison of
worldy gain, or gay clothing, or youthful diversions, and other
such trifling things ?
O ! that you who live negligent of this salvation, would
consider what you do ! What you have heard from this sub-
ject, may show you Avhat reason there is in that exclamatioTi
of the Apostlc) Heb. ii. 3. « How shall we escape, if we ne-
glect so great salvation ?" And in that. Acts xiii. 41. « Behold
ye despisers, and wonder, and perish ; for I work a work in
your days, a work which you shall in no wise believe, though
a man declare it unto you." Cod looks on such as you a»
great enemies of the cross of Christ, and adversaries and des-
pisers of all the glory of this great work. And if God has made
such account of the glory of Salvation as to destroy many na-
tions, and so often overturn all nations, to prepare the way for
the glory of his Son in this affair ; how little account will he
make of the lives and souls of ten thousand such opposers and
despisers as you that continue impenitent, in comparison of
that glory when he shall hereafter come and find that your
welfare stands in the way of that glory ? Why surely you shall
be dashed to pieces as a potter's vessel, and trodden down as
the mire of the streets. God may, through wonderful pa-
tience bear with hardened, careless sinners for a while ; but
he will not long bear a\ ith such despisers of his dear Son, and
lus great salvation, the glory of Avhich he has had so much at
heart, before he will utterly consume without remedy or mer-
er.
Impr. II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. -227
SECTION IL
I WILL conclude with a second use, of cncouragen>ent
to burdened souls to put their trust in Christ for salvation. To
ajl such as are not careless and negligent, but do make seek-
ing an interest in Christ their main business, being sensible in
some measure of their necessity of an iaiterest in Christ ; be-
ing afraid of the wrath to come ; to such, what has been said
on this subject holds forth great matter of encouragement, to
come and venture their souls on the Lord Jesus Christ : And
as motives proper to excite you so to do, let me lead you to
consider two things in {^rxicular.
1. The completeness of tljc purchase which lias been madco
As you have heard, this work of purchasing salvation was
wholly finished during the time of Christ's humiliation.
When Christ rose from the dead, and was exalted from that
abasement to which he submitted for our salvation, the pur-
chase of eternal life was completely made, so that there was
no need of any thing more to be done in order to it. But now
the servants were sent forth with the message which we have
account of in Matt. xxli. 4. " Behold, I have prepared my din-
ner : My oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready : Come unto the marriage." Therefore all things be=
ing ready, are your sins many and great ? Here is enough
done by Christ to procure their pardon. There is no need of
any righteousness of yours to obtain your pardon and justifica-
tion : No, you may come freely, without money and without
price. Since therefore there is such a free and gracious in-
vitation given you, come ; come naked as you are ; come as
a poor condemned criminal ; come and cast yourself doAvn at .
Christ's feet, as one justly condemned, and utterly helpless in
yourself. Here is a complete salvation wrought out by Christ,
and through him offered to you. Comp, therefore, accept of
it and be saved.
2. For Christ to reject one that thus comes to him, would
be to frustrate all those great things which you have heard that
God brought to pass from the fall of man to the incarnation of
C'SS WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period XL
Clirist. It v.ould also frustrate all that Christ did and suffered
■while on earth ; yea, it Avould frustrate t!ie incarnation of
Christ itself, and all the great things done in preparation foi
l:is incarnation ; for all these things ucre for that end, tliat
tliose might be saved who should come to Christ. Therefore,
you may be sure Christ will not be backward in saving those
who come to him, and trust in him ; for he has no desire to
frustrate himself in his own work ; it cost him too dear for
that. Neither will God the Father refuse you ; for he has no
desire to frustrate himself in all that he did for so many hun-
dreds and thousands of years, to prepare the way for the sal-
vation of sinners by Christ. Come, therefore, hearken to the
sweet and earnest calls of Christ to your soul. Do as he in-
vites, and as he commands you, Matth. xi. 28, 29, 30. " Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ;
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy
:<•;.! -IV burden is l^!:at."
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 555
PERIOD III.
In discoursing on this subject, we have already
shown how the work of redemption was carried on through
the two first of the three periods into which we divided the
v.hole space of time from the fall to the end of the world ; and
we are now come to
The third and last period, beginning with Christ's resurrec-
tion, and reaching to the end of the world ; and would now
show how this work was also carried on through this period
from this
Proposition, That the space of time from the
end of Christ's humiliation to the end of the world,
is all taken up in bringing about the gr^sat effect or
success of Christ's purchase.
Not but that there were great effects and glorious success of
Christ's purchase of redemption before, even from the begin-
ning of the generations of men. But all that success of
Christ's redemption which was before, was only preparatory,
and was by way of anticipation, as some few fruits are gather-
ed before the harvest. There was no more success before
Christ came than God saw needful to prepare the way for his
coming. The proper time of the success or effect of Christ's
purchase of redemption is after the purchase has been made,
as the proper time for the world to enjoy the light of the sun
is the day time, after the sun is risen, though we may have
Eome small matter of it reflected from the jiioon and planets
before. And even the success of Christ's redemption while
he himself was on earth, was very small in comparison of
what it was after the conclusion of his humiliation.
But Christ, having finished that greatest and most difficult
of all works, the v/ork of the purchase of redemption, now is
come the time for obtaining the end af it, the glorious effect
SSa WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
©f It. This is the next work he goes about. Having gone
through the whole course of his sufferings and humiliation,
there is an end to all things of that nature : He is never to
suffer any more. But now is the time for him to obtain the
joy that M'as set before him. Having made his soul an offer-
ing for sin, now is the time for him to sec his seed, and tp
have a portion divided to him with the great, and to divide the
spoil with the strong.
One design of Christ in what he did in his humiliation, was
to lay a foundation for the overthrow of Satan's kingdom ;
and now is come the time to effect it, as Christ, a little before
his crucifixion, said, John xii. 31, " Now is the judgment
of this world ; now shall the prince of this world be cast
out.'* Another design was, to gather together in one all
things in Christ. Now is come the time for this also : John
xii. 32. " And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto
me i" which is agreeable to Jacob's prophecy of Christ, that
when " Shiloh should come, to him should the gathering of
the people be," Gen. xlix. 10. Another design is the salva-
tion of the elect. Now when his sufferings are finished, and his
humiliation is perfected, the time is come for that also : Heb.
Y. 8, 9. <^ Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by
the things which he suffered : And being made perfect, he be-^
came the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey
him." Another design was, to accomplish by these things
great glory to the persons of the Trinity. Now also is come
the time for that : John xvii. 1. " Father, the hour i^ come ;
glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." Anoth-*
cr design was the glory of the saints. Now is the time also
for this : John xvii. 2. "As thou hast given him power over
all flesli, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him." And all the dispensations of God's provi-
dence henceforward, even to the final consummation of all
things, arc to give Christ his reward, and fulfil his end in what
he did and suffered upon earth, and to fulfil the joy that wa-j
:iet before him.
Utvib.-] WORK OF REDEMPTION; 33;
INTRODUCTION.
BEFORE I enter on the consideration of any particular
things accomplished in this period, I would briefly observe
some things in general concerning it ; and particularly hovf
the times of this period are represented in scripture.
I. The times of this period, for the most part, arethosd
which in the Old Testament are called the latter days. Wft
often, in the prophets of the Old Testament, read of such and
such things that should come to pass in the latter days, and
sometimes in the last days. Now these expressions of the
prophets are most c6mm6nly to be understood of the times oX
the period that we are now upon. They ai'e called the tatter
days, and the last days ; because this is the last period of the
series of God's providences on earth, the last period of that
great work of providence, the work of redemption ; which is
as it were the sum of God's works of f)rovidence, the tim6
wherein the church is under the last dispensation of the cove-
nant of grace that ever it will be under on earth.
II. The whole time of this period is sometimes in scrip-
ture called the end of the ivorld, as, 1 Cor. x. 11. " Now all
these things happened unto them for ensamples : And they
are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
world are come." And the Apostle, Heb. ix. 26, in this ex-
pression of the end of the world, means the whole of the gos*
pel day, from the birth of Christ to the finishing of the day of
Judgment : " But now once, in the end of the world, hath he
appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." This
space of time may well be called the end of the i-jorld ; for this
whole time is taken up in bringing things to their great end
and issue, that great issue that God had been preparing the
way for, in all the great dispensations of providence, from the
first fall of man to this time. Before, things were in a kind of
preparatory state ; but now they are in a finishing state. It
is the winding up of things which is all this while accomplish*
ing. An end is now brought to the former carnal state of
things, which by degrees vanishes, and a spiritual state begins
23^ WORK or REDEMPTIOIn. LrERioD in'.
to be established, and to be established more and more. Fiis;-
an end is brought to the former state of the church, vhich.
Tnay be called its -worldly state, the state wherein it Avas sub-
ject to carnal ordinances, and the rudiments of the -world :
And then an end is brought to the Je-\vish state, in the dcsti'uc-
tion of their city and country : And then, after that, an end is
brought to the old Heathen empire in Constantine's time ;
V'hich is another and further degree of the winding up and
finishing of the world i And the next step is the finishing of
Satan's visible kingdom in the Avorld, upon the fall of Anti-
christ, and the calling of the Jews : And last will come the
destruction of the outAvard frame of the world itsell", at the
conclusion of the day of judgment. But the world is all this
while as it were a finishing, though it comes to an end by sev-
eral steps and degrees. Heaven and earth began to shake,
in order to a dissolution, according to the prophecy of Haggai,
before Christ came, that so only those things that cannot be
shaken may remain, i. e. that those things thai are to come to
an end may come to an end, and that only those tilings may
remain which are to remain to all eternity.
So, in the first place, the carnal ordinances of the Jewish
worship came to an end, to make Avay for the establishment
of that spiritr.al worship, the worship of the heart, which is tc
endure to all eternity : John iv. 21. "Jesus saith unto the
wom^an, Believe m.e, the hour cometh when ye shall neither
in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.'
Vcr. 23. " But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true-
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth :
For the Father seeketh such to worship him." This is one
instance of the temporary Avorld's coming to an end, and the
eternal world's beginning. And then after that, the outwai d
temple and the outward city Jerusalem, came to an end, to
give place to the setting up of the spiritual temple and il.c
spiritual city, which are to last to eternity ; Avhich is anotlicr
instance of removing those things which are ready to vanish.
aAvay, that these things which cannot be shaken may remain.
And then, after that, the old Heathen empire comes to an end,
to make way for the empire of Christ, which shall last to all
Intr.J work of redemption. 233
eternity ; which is another step of bringing the temporal world
to an end, and of the beginning of the world to come, which
is an eternal world. And after that, upon the fall of Anti-
christ, an end is put to Satan's visible kingdom on earth, to
establish Christ's kingdom, which is an eternal kingdom ; as
the prophet Daniel says, chap. vii. 27. " And the kingdom
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom imder the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the
Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
all dominions shall serve and obey him ; which is another in-
stance of the ending of the temporary world, and the begin-
ning of the eternal one. And then, lastly, the very frame of
this corruptible world shall come to an end, to make way for
the church to dwell in another dwelling place, which shall last
to eternity ; which is the last instance of the same thing.
Because the world is thus coming to an end by various steps
and degrees, the Apostle perhaps uses this expression, that
the ends of the world are come on us ; not the end, but the
ends, of the plural number, as though the world has several
endings one after another.
The gospel dispensation is the last state of things in the
world ; and this state is a finishing state : It is all spent in fin-
ishing things off which before had been preparing, or abolish-
ing things which before had stood. It is all spent as it were
in summing things up, and bringing them to their issues, and
their proper fulfilment. Now all the old types are fulfilled,
and all the prophecies of all the prophets from the beginning
of the world shall be accomplished in this period.
III. That state of things which is attained in the events of
this period is called a 7ieiv heaven mid a new earth : Isa. Ixv.
17, 18. " For behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth :
And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into
mind. But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that Avhich I
create : For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her
people a joy." And ch. Ixvi. 22. " For as the new heavens
and the new earth which I make, shall remain before me ; sa
shall your seed and your name remain." See also ch. li. 16,
As the former state of things, or the old world, by one step
Vol. II. 2 F
25i WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period Ilf.
after another, is through this period coming to an end ; so
the new state of things, or the new world, which is a spiritual
wr)rlcl, is beginning and setting up.
The heaven and eai'th which are corruptible, are shaking,
that the new heavens and new earth, which cannot be shaken,
maybe established and remain.
In consequence of each of these finishings of the old state
of things, there is a new beginning of a new and eternal state
of things. So was that which accompanied the destruction of
-Tcntsalem, which was an establishing of the spiritual Jeru-
salem, instead of the literal. So with respect to the des-
truction of the old Heathen empire, and all the other endings
of the old state of things, till at length the very outward form
of the old world itself shall come to an end ; and the church
shall dwell in a world new to it, or to a great part of it, even
heaven, Avhich will be a nev/ habitation ; and then shall the
utmost be accomplished that is meant by the new heavens
and the new earth. See Rev. xxi. 1.
The end of God's creating the world was to prepare a king-
dom for his Son, (for he is appointed heir of the world) and
that he might have the possession of it, and a kingdom in it,
which should remain to all eternity. So that, so far forth as
the kingdom of Christ is set up in the world, so far is the
world brought to its end, and the eternal state of things set
up. So far are all the great changes and revolutions of the
ages of the world brought to their everlasting issue, and all
things come to their ultimate period. So far are the waters
of the long channel of divine providence, which has so many
branches, and so many windings and turnings, emptied out
into their proper ocean, which they have been seeking from
the beginning and head of their course, and so arc come to
their rest. So far as Christ's kingdom is established in the
Avorld, so far are things wound up and settled in their everlast-
ing state, and a period put to the course of things in this
changeable world ; so far are the first heavens and the first
earth come to an end, and the new heavens and the new earth,
the everlasting heavens and earth, established in their room.
This leads me to observe-
Intr.] work of redemption. 235
IV. That the state of things -which is attained by the events
of this period, is what is so often called the kingdom ofhecwen^
or the kingdom of God. We very often read in the New Tes'
iatnentof the kingdom of heaven. John the Baptist preach-
ed, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand ; and so did
Christ, and his disciples after him ; referring to something
that the Jews in those days expected, and very much talked of,
which they called by that name. They seem to have taken
their expectation and the name chiefly from that prophecy of
Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Dan. ii, 44. " And in the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king-
dom ;" together with that in chap. vii. 13, 14.
Now this kingdom of heaven is that e\angelicaJ slate of
things in his church, and in the world, Avherein consists the
success of Christ's redemption in this period. There had
been often great kingdoms set up before, which were earthly
kingdoms ; as the Babylonish, the Persian, the Grecian, and
the Roman monarchies. But Christ came to set up the last
kingdom, which is not an earthly kingdom, but an heavenly,
and so is the kingdom of heaven : John xviii. 36. " My king-
dom is not of this world." This is the kingdom of which
Christ speaks, Luke xxii. 29. " My Father hath appointed to
me a kingdom." This kingdom began soon after Christ's
resurrection, and was accomplished in various steps from that
time to the end of the world. SometiiTies by the kingdom of
heaven^ is meant that spiritual state of the church which be-
gan soon after Christ's resurrection ; sometimes that more
perfect state of the church which shall obtain after the down-
fall of Antichrist ; and sofmetimes that glorious and blessed
state to which the church shall be received at the day of
judgment : 1 Cor. xv. 50, the apostle, speaking of the resur-
rection, says, « This I say, that flesh and blood cannot inher-
it the kingdom of God."
Under this head I would observe several things particular-
ly, for the clearer understanding of what the scripture says
concerning this period,
1. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is chiefly ac-
cpjnplished by four successive great events, each of which i*
236 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
in scripture called Christ's coming in his kingdon. The whole
success of Christ's redemption is comprehended in one word,
viz. his setting up his kingdom. This is chiefly done by four
great successive dispensations of providence ; and every one
of them is represented in scripture as Christ's coming in his
kingdom. The first is Christ's appearing in those wonderful
dispensations of providence in the apostles days, in setting up
his kingdom, and destroying the enemies of his kingdom,
which ended in the destruction of Jenisalem. This is called
Christ's coming in his kingdom, Matth. xvi. 28. " Verily I
say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not
taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his king-
dom." And so it is represented in Matth. xxiv. The sec-
ond is that which was accomplished in Constantino's time, in
the destruction of the Heathen Roman empire. This is re-
presented as Christ's coming, and is compared to his coming
to judgment, in the 6th chapter of Revelation at the latter
end. The third is that which is to be accomplished at the
destruction of Antichrist. This also is represented as Christ's
coming in his kingdom in the 7th chapter of Daniel, and in
other places, as I may possibly show hereafter, when I come
to speak of it. The fourth and last is his coming to the last
judgment, which is the event principally signified in scrip-
ture by Christ's coming in his kingdoin.
2. I would observe, that each of the three former of these
is a lively im.age or type of the fourth and last, viz. Christ's
coming to the final judgment, as the principal dispensations
of pi'ovidence before Christ's first coming, were types of that
first com.ing As Christ's last coming to judgment is ac-
companied with a resurrection of the dead, so is each of the
three foregoing with a spiritual resurrection. That coming
of Christ which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, was
preceded by a glorious spiritual resurrection of souls in the
calling of the Gentiles, and bringing home such multitudes
of souls to Christ by the preaching of the gospel. So Christ's
coming in Constantinc's time, was accompanied with a glori-
ous spiritual resurrection of the greater part of the known
world, in a restoration of it to a visible church .state, from a
IsTK.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. !S5T
state of Heathenism. So Christ's coming at the destruction
of Antichrist, will be attended with a spiritual resurrection of
the church after it had been long as it were dead in the times
of Antichrist. This is called the^rst resurrection in the SOtlj
chapter of Revelation.
Again, as Christ in the last judgment will gloriously^ man-
ifest himself, coming in the glory of his Father, so in each of
the three foregoing events, Christ gloriously manifested him^
self in sending judgments upon his enemies, and in showing
grace and favor to his church ; and as the last coming of
Christ will be attended with a literal gathering together of thp
elect from the four v/inds of heaven, so were each of the pre-
ceding attended with a spiritual gathering in of the elect.
As this gathering together of the elect will be effected by
God's angels, with a great sound of a trumpet, as in Matth.
xxiv. 31 ; so were each of the preceding spiritual ingather-
ings effected by the trumpet of the gospel, sounded by the
ministers of Christ. As there shall precede the last appear-
ance of Christ, a time of great degeneracy and wickedness,
so this has been, or will be, the case with each of the other
■appearances. Before each of them is a time of great oppo-
sition to the church : Before the first, by the Jews, in their
persecutions that we read of in the New Testament ; before
the second, viz. in Constantine's time, by the Heathen, in sev-
eral successive persecutions raised by the Roman emperors
against the Christians ; before the third, by Antichrist ; and
before the last, by Gog and Magog, as described in the Reve-
lation.
By each of these comings of Christ, God works a glorious
^deliverance for his church. Each of them is accompanied
with a glorious advancement of the state of the church. The
first, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, was attend-
ed with bringing the church into the glorious state of the
gospel, a glorious state of the church very much prophesied
of old, whereby the church was advanced into far more glori-
ous circumstances than it was in before under the Jewish dis-
pensation. The second, which was in Constantine's time,
was accompanied with an advancement of the church into a
2S8 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
state of liberty from persecution, and the countenance of civil
authority, and triumph over their Heathen persecutors. The
third, which shall be at the downfall of Antichrist, will be ac-
companied with an advancement of the church into that state
of the glorious prevalence of truth, liberty, peace, and joy,
that we so often read of in the prophetical parts of scripture.
The last Avill be attended with the advancement of the church
to consummate glory in both soul and body m heaven.
Each of these comings of Christ is accompanied with a ter-
rible destruction of the wicked, and the enemies of the
church : The first, with the destruction of the persecuting
■Jews, which -was amazingly terril^le ; the second, with dread-
ful judgments on the Heathen persecutors of the church, of
which more hereafter ; the third, with the awful destruction of
Antichrist, the most cruel and bitter enemy that ever the
church had ; the fourth, with divine wrath and vengeance on
all the ungodly.
Further, there is in each of these comings of Christ an end-
ing of the old heavens and the old earth, and a beginning of
new heavens and a new earth ; or an end of a temporal stale
of things, and a beginning of an eternal state.
3. I would observe, that each of those four great dispensa-
tions which are represented as Christ's coming in his king-
dom, are but so many steps and degrees of ihe accomplishment
of one event. They are not the setting up of so many distinct
kingdoms of Christ ; they are all of them only several degrees
of the accomplishment of that one event prophesied of, Dan.vii.
13, 14. " And I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like
the Son of man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king-
dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
him : His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his king-
dom that which shall not be destroyed." This is what the
Jews expected, and called " The coming of the kingdom of
heaven ;" and what John the Baptist and Christ had respect
to, when they said, '♦ The kingdom of heaven is at hand.''
This great event is gradually accomplished, or is accompUsh*
Intk.] work of REDEMPTIOK: 2S3
ed by several steps. Those four great events which havo
been mentioned, Avere several steps towards the accomplish-'
ment of this grand event.
When Christ came with the preaching of the apostles, to
set up his kingdom in the world, which dispensation ended
with the destruction of Jerusalem, then it Avas accomplished in
a glorious degree ; when the Heathen empire was destroyed
in Constantine's time, it was fulfilled in a further degree ;
when Antichrist shall be destroyed, it will be accomplished in
A yet higher degree : But when the end of the -world is come,
then will it be accomplished in its most perfect degree of all ;
then it Avill be finally and completely accomplished. And be-
cause these four great events are but images one of another^
and the three former but types of the last, and since they are
all only several steps of the accomplishment of the same
thing ; hence we find theiTti all from time to time prophesied
of under one, as they are in the prophecies of Daniel, and as
they are in the 24th chapter of Matthew, Avhere some things
seem more applicable to.one of them, and others to another.
4. I would observe, that, as there are several steps of the
accomplishment of the kingdom of Christ, so in each one of
them the event is accomplished in a further degree than in
the foregoing. That in the time of Constantino was a greater
and further accomplishment of the kingdoiii of Christ, than
that which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem ; that Avhich
shall be at the fall of Antichrist, will be a further accomplish-
ment of the same thing, than that which took place in the time
©f Constantino ; and so on with regard to each : So that the
kingdom of Christ is gradually prevailing and growing by
these several great steps of its fulfilment, from the time of
Christ's resurrection, to the end of the world.
5. And lastly, it may be observed, that the great providen-
ces of God between these four great events, are to make way
for the kingdom and glory of Christ in the great event follow-
ing. Those dispensations of providence which were towards
the church of God and the Avorld, before the destruction of the
heathen empire in the time of Constantine, seem all to have
feeen to make way for the glory of Christ, and the happiness
240 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
of the cluircli in that event. And so the great providences of
God vhich are after that, fill the destruction of Antichrist,
and the beginning of the glorious times of the church which
follow, seem all to be to prepare the way for the greater glory
of Christ and his church in that event ; and the providences
of God which shall be after that to the end of the world,
seem to be for the greater manifestation of Christ's glory at
the endof tl^ world, and in the consummation of all things.
Thus I thought it needful to observe those things in general
concerning this last period of the scries of God's providence,
before I take notice of the particular providences by which
the work of redemption is carried on through this period, in
ihcir order : And before I do that, I will also briefly answer
to aH iNquiRY, viz:. Why the setting up of Christ's kingdom
after his humiliation, should be so gradual, by so many steps
that are so long in accomplishing, since God could easily have
finished it at once ?
Though it would be presumption in us to pretend to declare
all the ends of God in this, yet doubtless much of the wisdom
of God may be seen in it by us ; and particularly in these two
things.
1. In this way the glory of God's wisdom, in the manner of
doing this, is more visible to the observation of creatures. If
it had been done at once, in an instant, or in a very short time,
there would not have been such opportunities for creatures to
perceive and observe the particular steps of divine wisdom, as
when the woi'k is gi-adually accomplished, and one effect of his
wisdom is held forth to observation after another. It is wise-
ly determined; of God,to accomplish his great design by a won-
derful and long series of events, that the glory of his wisdom
may be displayed in the whole series, and that the glory of his
perfections may be seen, appearing, as it were, by parts, and in
particular successive manifestations : For if all that glory
which appears in all these events had been manifested at once,
it vvfculd have been too much for us and more than we at
once could lake notice of ; it would have dazzled our eyes,
and ovei-powered our sight.
J>ART I.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 241
2. Satan is more gloriously triumphed over God could
easily, by an act of almighty power, at once have crushed Sa-
tan. But by giving him time to use his utmost subtilty to hin«
der the success of what Christ had done and suffered, he is
not defeated merely by surprise, but has large opportunity to
ply his utmost power and subtilty again and again, to strength-
en his own interest all that he can by the work of many ages,
Thus God destroys and confounds him, and sets up Christ's
kingdom time after time, in spite of all his subtle machina-
tions and great works, and by every step advances it still
higher and higher, till at length it is fully set up, and Satan
perfectly and etei'nally vanquished in the end of all things.
1 NOW proceed to take notice of the particular events,
whereby, from the end of Christ's humiliation to the end of
the world, the success of Christ's purchase has been or shall
be accomplished.
1 . I would take notice of those things whereby Christ was
put into an immediate capacity for accomplishing the end of
his purchase.
2. I would show how he obtained or accomplished that sue*
cess.
PART I.
I WOULD take notice, first, of those things by which
Christ was put into a capacity for accomplishing the end of
his purchase. And they are two things, viz. his resurrection,
and his ascension. As we observed before, the incarnation of
Christ was necessary in order to Christ's being in a near ca-
pacity for the purchase of redemption ; so the resuri-cction
and ascension of Christ were requisite, in order to his accom-
plishing the success of his purchase.
I. His resurrection. It was necessary, in order to Christ's
obtaining the end and effect of his purchase of redemption,
that he should rise from the dead. For God th^ Father bad
Vol. IL 2 G
242 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period OU
committcfi the Tvh6ic affair of redemption, not only the j)ur-
chasing of it but the bestowing of the blessings purchased, to
his SoJi, that he should not only purchase it as priest, but ac-
tually bring it about as king ; and that he should do this as
(iodman. For God the Father would have nothing to do with
fallen man in a way of mercy, but by a mediator. But in or-
der that Christ mighs carry on the v/ork of redemption, and
accomplish the success of his own purchase as Godman, it was
necessary that lie should be alive, and so that he should rise
from the (lead. Therefore Christ, after he had finished this
purchase by death, and by continuing for a time under the
powerof death, rises from the dead, to fulfil the end of his
purchase, and himself to bring about that for which he died :
For this matter God the Father had comiiiitted unto him, that
he might, as Lord of all, manage all to his own purposes :
Rom. xiv. 9. " For to this end Christ both died and rose, and
revived, that he might be Lord botli of the dead and the liv-
ing."
Indeed Christ's resurrection and so his ascension, was part
of the success of what Christ did and suffered in his humilia-
tion. For though Christ did not properly purchase redemp-
tion for himself, yet he purchased eternal life and glory
for himself, by what he did and suffered ; and this eternal life
and gloi7 was given him as a reward of what he did and suff'er-
ed : Phil. ii. 8, 9. « He humbled himself and became obedi-
ent unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him." And it may be looked upon as
part of the success of Christ's purchase, if it be considered,
that Christ did not rise as a private person, but as the head of
the elect church ; so that they did, as it were, all rise with him.
Christ was justified in his resurrection, i. e. God acquitted and
discharged him hereby, as having done and suff'ered enough
for the sins of all the elect : Rom. iv. 25. " Who was deliver-
ed for our offences, and raised again for our justification."
And God i>ut him in possession of eternal life, as the head of
the church, as a sure earnest that they should follow. For
■when Christ rose from the dead, that was the beginning of
eternal life in him. His life before his death was a mortal
?ART L] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 243
life, a temporal life ; but his life after his resurrection was an
eternal life : Rom. vi. 9. « Knowii^g that Christ being raised
from the dead, dieth no more : Death hath no more dosninion
over him.'* Rev. i. 18. " I am he that liveth and v,as dead ;
and behold I am aave forevermore, Amen."... .....But he v:a.s
put in possession of this eternal life, as the head of the body ;
and took possession of it, not only to enjoy himself, but to he-
stow on all who believe in him : So that the -whole church, as
it were, rises in him. And noAV he who lately suflered so
much, after this is to suffer no more for ever, but to enter into
eternal glory. God the Father neitlier expects nor desires
any more suffering.
This resurrection of Christ is the most joyful event that
ever came to pass ; because hereby Christ rested from the
great and difficult work of purchasing redemption, and received
God's testimony, that it was finished. The death of Christ
was the greatest and most wonderful event that ever came xa
pass ; but that has a great deal in it that is sorrowful. But
by the resurrection oi Christ, that sorrow is turned into joy.
The head of the whole church, in that great event enters on
the possession of eternal life ; and the whole church is, as it
were, « begotten again to a lively hope," 1 Pet. i. 3. Weep-
ing had continued for a night, but now joy cometh in the
morning, the most joyful morning that ever was. This is the
day of the reigning of the head of the church, and all the
church reigns with him. This is spoken of as a day which
was worthy to be commemorated with the greatest joy of
all days : Psal, cxviii. 24. " This is the day which the Lord
hath made, Ave will rejoice and be glad in it.'* And therefore
this above all other days, is appointed for the day of tlie
church's spiritual rejoicing to the end of the world, to be week-
ly sanctified, as their day ol holy rest and joy, that the church
therein may rest and rejoice with her head. And as ihe 3d chap-
ter of Genesis is the most sorrowful chapter in the Bible ; so
those chapters in the evangelists, that give an account of the
resurrection of Christ, may be looked upon as the most joyful
chapters in all the Bible : For those chapters give an account
of the finishing of the purchase of redemption, and the begin-"
244 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III:
ning of the glory of the head of the church, as the greatest-
seal and earnest of the eternal glory of all the rest.
It is further to be observed, that the day of the gospel most
properly begins with the resurrection of Christ. Till Christ
rose from the dead, the Old Testament dispensation remained;
But now it ceases, all being fulfilled that was shadowed forth
in the typical ordinances of that dispensation : So that here
most properly is the end of the Old Testament night, and
Christ rising from the grave with joy and glory, was as the
joyful bridegroom of the church, as a glorious conqueror, to
subdue their enemies under their feet ; or was like the sun,
rising, as it were from under the earth, after a long night of
darkness, and coming forth as a bridegroom, prepared as a
strong man to run his race, appearing in joyful light to enlight-
en the world. Now that joyful and excellent dispensation be-
gins, that glorious dispensation, of which the prophets pro-
phesied so much ; now the gospel sun is risen in glory, « and
with healing in his wings," that those Avho fear God's name,
■may " go forth and grow up as calves of the stall."
II. Christ's ascension into heaven. In this I would include
his sitting at the right hand of God. For Christ's ascension,
and sitting at the right hand of God, can scarcely be looked
upon as two distinct things : For Christ's ascension was noth-
ing else, but ascending to God's right hand ; it was his com-
ing to sit down at his Father's right hand in glory. This was
another thing whereby Christ was put into a capacity for the
accomplishing the effect of his purchase ; as one that comes
to be a deliverer of a people as their king, in order to it, and
that he may be under the best capacity for it, is first installed
in his throne. We are told that Christ was exalted for this
end, that he might accomplish the success of his redemption :
Acts V. 31. " Him hath God exalted with his right hand, for
to give repentance unto Israel, and the remission of sins."
Christ's ascension into heaven was, as it were, his solemn
enthronization, whereby the Father did set him upon the.
throne, and invest him with the glory of his kingdom which
he had purchased for himself, that he might thereby obtain
tlie success of his redemption in conquering all his enemies :
Paht II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. £45
Psal. ex, 1 . " Sit tliou at my right hand, until I malce thine
enemies thy footstool." Christ entered into heaven, in order
to obtain the success of his purchase, as the high priest of old,
after he had offered sacrifice, entered into the holy of holies
■with the blood of the sacrifice, in order to obtain the success of
the sacrifice which he had offered. See Heb. ix. 12. He
entered into heaven, there to make intercession for his peo-
ple, to plead the sacrifice which he had made in order to the
sucess of it, Heb. vii. 25.
And as he .ascended into heaven, God the Father did in a
visible manner set him on the throne as king of the universe.
He then put the angels all under him, and subjected heaven
and earth under him, that he might govern them for the good
of the people for whom he had died, Eph. i. 20, 2 1, 22.
And as Christ rose from the dead, so he ascended into
heaven as the head of the body and forerunner of all the
church ; and so they, as it were ascend with him, as well as
rise with him : So that we are both raised up together, and
made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ, Eph. ii. 6.
The day of Christ's ascension into heaven was doubtless a
joyful, glorious day in heaven. And as heaven received
Christ, God man, as its king, so doubtless it received a great
accession of glory and happiness, far beyond what it had be-
fore. So that the times in both parts of the church, both that
part which is in heaven, and also that which is on. earth, are
become more glorious since Christ's humiliation than before.
So much for those things whereby Christ was put into the
best capacity for obtaining the success of redemption.
PART IT.
I NOW pi'oceed to show how he accomplished this suc-
cess. And here I would observe, that ibis success consists in
two things, viz. either in Gi'ace, or in Glory. That success
which consists in the former, is to be seen in those works of
Ood which are wrought during those ages of the church
245 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pkmod HL
wherein the church is continued under the outward means of
Grace. That success which consists in the latter of thc-scv
Tiz, Glory, has its chief acconjplishment at the day of yad^-
ment.
SECTION L
I WOULD first consider the former kind of success^
consisting in God's grace here ; which mainly appears in the
works of God during the time that the Christian church con-
tini5es under the means of grace ; Ti'hich is from Christ's res-,
urrection to his appearing in the clouds of heaven to judg-
ment ; which includes the three former of those great events
of providence before mentioned, which are called Chrisfs coiw
mg in his /chig-dovi. In speaking of this success, I would,
1, Mention those things by which the means of this success
•were established after Christ's resurrection ; and>
2. Consider the success itself.
§ I. I would consider those dispensations of providence,
hy which the means of this success Avere established after
Christ's resurrection.
I. The abolishing of the Jewish dispensation. This indeed
was gradually done, but it began from the time of Christ's
resurrection, in Avhich the abolition of it is founded. This
was the first thing done towards bringing the fonmer state of
the world to an end. This is to be looked upon as the great
means of the success of Christ's redemption. For the Jew-
ish dispensation was not fitted for more than one nation : It
was not fitted for the practice of the world in general, or for a
church of God dwelling in all parts of the Avorld : Nor would
it have been in any Mise practicable by them : It woidd have
teen impossible for men, living in all parts of the world
to go to Jerusalem three times a year, as was prescribed in
that constitution. When therefore God had a design of en-
larjjing his church, as he did after Christ's resurrection, it was
Pakt II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 247
jv©cessary that this tlispensation should be abolished- if it
had been continued, it %vould iiave been a great block and hin-
derance to the enlargenient of the church. And besides, their
cereinonial law, by reason of its burdensomeness, and great
peculiarity of some of its rites, was, as it were, a wall of par-
tition, and was the ground of enmity between the Jews and
Gentiles, and would have kept the Gentiles from complying
with the true religion. This wall therefore was broken down
to make way for the mor^ extensive success of the gx)spel ;
asEph. ii. 14^ 15.
II. The next thing in order of time seems to be the ap-
pointn>ent of the Christian sabbath. For though this was
.gracbially established in the Christian church, yet those things
by which the revelation of God's mind and will was made,
began on the day of Christ's resvu-rection, by his appearing
then to his disciples, John xx. i 9 ; and was afterwards con-
firmed by his api>eaiing from time to time on that day rather
than any other, John xx. 26, and by his sending down the
Holy Spirit so i-emarkably on that day. Acts ii. 1 , and after-
wards in directing that public assemblies and the public wor-
ship of Christians should be on that day, which may be con-
cluded from Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 1,2, and Rev. i. 10. And
so the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead,
that joyful day, is appointed to be the day of the church's ho-
ly rejoicing to the end of the world, and the day of their stat-
ed public woi'ship. And this is a very great and principal
means of the success w hich the gospel has had in the world.
III. The next thing was Clirist's appointment of the gospei
ministry, and commissionating and sending forth his apostles
to teach and baptize all nations. Of these things we have an
account in Malth. xxviii. 19, 20. " Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to ob-
ser%'e all things whatsoever I have commanded you : And lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."....
There were three things done by this one instruction and
commission of Christ to his apostles, viz.
248 WORK OF llEDEMPTIO:s^ [Pkriod IIL
1. The appointment of the office of the gospel ministry.
For this commission which Christ gives to his apostles, in the
■most essential parts of it, belongs to all ministers ; and the
apostles, by virtue of it, were ministers or elders of the church.
2, Here is something peculiar in this commission of the apos-
tles, viz. to go forth from one nation to another, preaching the
gospel in all the world. The apostles had something above
what belonged to their ordinary character as ministers ; they
had an extraordinary power of teaching and ruling, which ex-
tended to all the churches ; and not only all the churches
which then were, but all that should be to the end of the
world by their ministry. And so the apostles were, as it
wxre, in subordination to Christ, made foundations of the
Christian church. See Eph. ii. 20, and Rev. xxi. 14.
3. Here is an appointm^t of Christian baptism. This or-
dinance indeed had a beginning before ; John the Baptist and
Christ both baptized. But now especially by this institution
is it established as an ordinance to be upheld in the Christian
church to the end of the world. The ordinance of the Lord's
supper had been established before, just before Christ's cruci-
fixion.
IV. The next thing to be observed, is the enduing the apos.
ties, and others, with extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the
Holy Ghost ; such as the gift of tongues, the gift of healing,
of prophecy, Sec. The Spirit of God was poured out in great
abundance in this respect ; so that not only ministers, but a
very great part of the Christians through the world wei'c en^
dued with them, both old and young ; not only officers, and
more honorable persons, but the meaner sort of people, ser-
vants and handmaids, were commonly endued with them,
agreeable to Joel's prophecy, Joel ii. 28, 29, of which prophe-
cy the Apostle Peter takes notice, that it is accomplished in
this dispensation. Acts ii. 16.
How wonderful a dispensation was this 1 Under the Old
Testament, but few had such honors put upon them by God.
Moses wished that all the Lord's people were prophets,
Numlj. xi. 29 ; whereas Joshua thought it much that Eldad
s^nd Mcdad prophesied. But now wc find the wish of Moses
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 249
fulfilled. And this continued in a very considerable degred
to the end of the apostolic age, or the first hundred years after
the birth of Christ, which is therefore called the age of miv
acle-s.
This was a great nieans of the succfess of the gospel in that
age, and of establishing the Christian church in- all parts of
the world ; and not only in that age, but in all ages to the end
of the world : For Christianity being by this means establish-
ed through so great a part of the known world by miracles, it
was after that more easily continued by tradition ; and then,
by means of these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, the
apostles, and others, were enabled to write the New Testa-
ment, to be an infallible rule of faith and manners to the
church, to the end of the Avorkl. And furthermore, these
miracles stand recorded in those writings as a standing proof
and evideiice of the truth of the Christian religion to all ages,
V. The next thing I would observe is the revealing those
glorious doctrines of the gospel fully and plainly, which had
under the Old Testament been obscurely revealed. The
doctrine of Christ's satisfaction and righteousness, his
ascension and glory, and the way of salvation, under the
Old Testament, were in a great measure hid under ths
yail of types and shadows and more obscure revelations, as
Moses put a vail on his face to hide the shining of it ; but
nbw the vail of the temple is rent from the top to the bottom ;
and Christ, the antitype of Moses, shines : The shining of
his face is without a vail ; 2 Cor. iii. 12, 13, and 18. Now
these glorious mysteries are plainly revealed, which were in
a great measure kept secret from the foundation of the world,
Eph. iii. 3, 4, 5 ; Rom. xvi. 25. « According to the revelation
of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began,
but now is made manifest ;" and Col. i. 26. " Even the mys-
tery which hath been hid from ages, and generations, but now
is made manifest to his saints."
Thus the Sun of righteousness, after it is risen from under
the earth, begins to shine forth clearly, and not only by a dim
reflection as it did before. Christ, before his death, revealed
niany things more clearly than ever they had been revealed
Vol. XL 2 H
850 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
in the Old Testament ; but the great mysteries of Christ's
redemption, and reconciliation by his death, and justification
by his righteousness, were not so plainly revealed before
Christ's resurrection. Christ gave this reason for it, that he
would not put new wine into old bottles ; and it was gradually
done after Christ's resurrection. In all likelihood, Christ
much more clearly instructed them personally after his resur-
rection, and before his ascension ; as we read that he continu-
ed with thcrn forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom, Acts i. 3 ; and that " he opened their under-
standings, that they might understand the scriptures," Luke
xxiv. 45. But the clear revelation of these things was prin-
cipally after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pente-
cost, agreeable to Christ's promise, John xvi. 12, 13. « I have
yet many things to -say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now. Howbeit, when he the Spirit of truth is come, he shall
guide you into all tnith." This clear revelation of the mys-
teries of the gospel, as they are delivered, Ave have chiefly
through the hands of the Apostle Paul, by whose writings a
child may come to know more of the doctrines of the gospel,
in many respects, than the greatest prophets knew under the
darkness of the Old Testament.
Thus we see how the light of the gospel, which began to dawn
immediately after the fall, and gradually grew and increased
through all the ages of the Old Testament, as we observed as
we went along, is now come to the light of perfect day, and the
brightness of the sun shining foith in his unvailed glory.
VI. The next thing that I would observe, is the appoint-
ment of the office of deacons in the Christian church, which
we have an account of in the 6th chapter of the Acts, to take
care for the outward supply of the members of Christ's church,
and the exercise of that great Christian virtue of charity.
VII. The calling, and qualifying, and sending the Apostle
Paul. This whs begun in his conversion as he was going to
Damascus, and M'as one of the greatest means of the success
of Christ's redemption that followed : For this success was
more by the labors, preaching, and writings of this Apostle,
than all the other apostles put together. For, as he says.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 251
1 Cor. XV. 10, he " laboured more abundantly than they all ;"
so his success was more abundant than that of them all. As
h« was the apostle of the Gentiles, so it was mainly by his
ministry that the Gentiles were called, and the gospel spread
through the woiid ; and our nation, and the other nations of
Europe, have the gospel among them chiefly through his
means ; and he was more employed by the Holy Ghost in re-
vealing the glorious doctrines of the gospel by his writings,
for the use of the church in all ages, than all the other apos-
tles taken together.
VIII. The next thing I would observe, is the institution of
ecclesiastical councils, for deciding controversies, and order-
ing the affairs of the church of Christ, of which we have an
account in the l5th chapter of Acts.
IX. The last thing I shall mention under this head, is the
committing the New Testament to* writing. This was all
written after the resurrection of Christ ; and all written, either
by the apostles, or by the evangelists, who were companions
of the apostles. All the New Testament was written by the
apostles themselves, excepting what was written by Mark and
Luke, viz. the gospels of Mark and Luke, and the book of the
Acts of the Apostles. He that wrote the gospel of Mark, is
supposed to be he whose mother was Mary, in Avhose house
they were praying for Peter, when he, brought out of prison
by the angel, came and knocked at the door ; of which we
read, Acts xii. 12. " And when he had considered the thing
he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose sir-
name was Mark, where many were gathered together, pray-
ing." He was the companion of the apostles Barnabas and
Saul : Acts xv. 27. " And Barnabas determined to take with
them John, whose sirname was Mark." He was Barnabas's sis-
ter's son, and seems sometimes to have been a companion of the
Apostle Paul : Col. iv. 10, « Aristarchus, m.y fellow prison-
er, saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas ; touch-
ing whom ye received commandment : If he come unto you
receive him." The apostles seem to have made great account
of him, as appears by those places, and also by Acts xii. 25.
" And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, and took
252 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pekiod III-
vith them John, whose siraame was Mark ;" and Acts xiii. 5 .
'« And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of
God in the synagogues of the Jews ; and they had also John
to their minister ;" and, 2 Tim. iv. 11. " Only Luke is with
me : Take INIark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable
to me for the ministry."
This Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of
Acts, was a great companion of the Apostle Paul. He is
spoken of as being with him in the last mentioned place, and
speaks of himself as accompanying him in his travels in the
history of the Acts; and therefore he speaks in the fii-st person
plural, when speaking of Paul's travels, saying, We ' went to
such and such a place : We set sail : We launched from such
a place ; and landed at such a place. He was greatly beloved
by the Apostle Paul : He is that beloved physician spoken of,
Col. iv. 14. The Apostle ranks Mark and Luke among his
fellow laborers, Philemon, 24. " Marcus, Aristarchus, De-
mas, Lucas, my fellow laborers."
The rest of the books were all written by the apostles them-
selves. The books of the New Testament are either histori-
cal, or doctrinal, or prophetical. The historical books are the
writings of the four evangelists, giving tis the history of Christ
and his purchase of redemption, and his resurrection and as-
cension ; and the Acts of the Apostles, giving an account of
the great things by which the Christian church was first estab-
lished and propagated. The doctrinal books are the epistles.
These, most of them, we have from the great Apostle Paul.
And we have one prophetical book, which takes place after
the end of the history of the whole Bible, and gives an account
of the great events which were to come to pass, by which the
work of redemption was to be carried on to the end of the
world.
All these books arc supposed to have been written before
the destruction of Jerusalem, excepting those which were
written by the Apostle John, who lived the longest of all
the apostlrs, and wrote what he wrote alter the destruction of
Jerusalem, as is supposed. And to this beloved disciple it was
that Christ revealed those wonderful things which were to
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 253
come to pass in his church to the end of time ; and he was
the person that put the finishing hand to the canon of the scrip-
tures, and sealed the whole of it. So that now the canon of
scripture, that great and standing written I'ule, which was be-
gun about Moses's time, is completed and settled, and a curse
denounced against him that adds any thing to it, or diminishes
any thing from it. And so all things are established and com-
pleted which relate to the appointed means of grace. All the
stated means of grace were finished in the apostolical age, or
before the death of the Apostle John, and are to remain un-
altered to the day of judgment.
■ Thus far we have considered those things by which the
means of grace were given and established in the Christian
church.
§ II. The other thing proposed, relating to the success of
Christ's redemption during the church's continuance under
means of grace, was to show how this success was carried on ;
which is what I would now proceed to do.
And here it is worthy to be remembered, that the Christian
chvu'ch, during Its continuance under nieans of grace, is in
t>yo very difterent states.
1. In a suffering, afflicted, persecuted state ; as, for the
most part it is, from the resurrection of Christ till the fall of
Antichrist.
2. In a state of peace and prosperity ; which is the state
that the church, for the most part, is to be in after the fall of
Antichrist.
First, I would show how the success of Christ's redemp-
tion is carried on during the continuance of the church's suf-
fering state, from the resurrection of Christ to the fall of An-
tichrist. This space of time, for the most part, is a state of
the church's sufferings, and is so represented in scripture.
Indeed God is pleased, out of love and pity to his elect, to
grant many intermissions of the church's sufferings during
this time, Avhereby the days of tribulation are as it were short-
ened. But from Christ's resurrection till the fall of Anti-
254 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PEnioi* BJ.
Christ, is the appointed clay of Zion's troublea. During this
space of time, for the most part, some part or other of the
church is under persecution ; and great part of the time, the
•whole church, or at least the generality of God's people, have
been persecuted.
For the first three hundred years after Christ, the church
was for the most part in a state of great afilictioii, the object
of reproach and persecution ; first by the Jews, and then by
the Heathen, After this, from the beginning of Constan-
tinc's time, the church had rest and prosperity for a little
while ; which is i^epresentcd in Rev. vit. at the beginning, by
the angel's holding the four winds for a little while. But pre-
sently after, the church again suffered persecittion from the
Arians ; and after that. Antichrist rose, and the church w^as
driven away into the wilderness, and v/a:s kept down in obscu-
rity, and contempt, and suffering for a long time, vmder Anti-
christ before the reformation by Luther and others. And
since the Reformation, the churches persecutions have been
beyond all that ever were before. And though some parts of
God's church sometimes have had rest, yet to this day, for the
most part, the true church is very much kept under by its en-
emies, and some parts of it under grievous persecution ; and
so we may expect it will continue till the fall of Antichrist ;
and then will come the appointed day of the church's pros-
perity on earth, the set time in which God will favor Zion,
the time when the saints shall not be kept under by Avicked
men, as it has been hitherto ; but wherein they shall be up-
permost, and shall reign on earth, as it is said. Rev. v. 10.
*' And the kingdom shall be given to the people of the saints
of the Most High," Dan. vii. 27.
This suffering state of the church is in scripture represent-
ed as a state of the church's travail, John xvi. 20, 2 1, and Rev.
xii. 1, 2. What the church is in travail striving to bring forth
during this lime, is that glory and prosperity of the church
which shall be after the fall of Antichrist, and then shall she
bring forth her child. This is a long time of the church's trou-
ble and affliction, and is so spoken of in scripture, though it be
spoken of as being but for a little season, in comparison of the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 25-"
eternal prosperity of the church. Hence the church, under
the long; continuance of this afiliction, cries oat, as in Rev. vi.
iO. « How long, O I^ord, holy and true, dost thou not judge
and avenge our blood on theni that dwell on the earth ?" And
we are told, that " white robes were given unto every one of
them j and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet
for a little season, until their fellow servants also, and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfill-
ed." So, Dan. xlL 6. « How long shall it be to the end of
these wonders I"
It is to be observed, that during the time of these sufferings
of the church, the main instrument of their sufferings has been
the Roman government : Her afflictions have almost all along
been from Rome. That is therefore in the New Testament
called Babylon ; because, as of old, the troubles of the city
Jerusalem were mainly from that adverse city Babylon, so
the troubles of the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem,
during the long time of its tribulation, is mainly from Rome,
Before the time of Constantine, the troubles of the Christian
church were from Heathen Rome : Since that lime, its trou-
bles have been mainly from Antichristian Rome. And as of
old, the captivity of the Jews ceased on the destruction of
Babylon, so the time of the trouble of the Chriilian chui'ch
will cease with the destruction of the church of Rome, that
spiritual Babylon.
In showing how the success of Christ's redemption is car-
ried on, during this time of the church's tribulation, I would,
1. Show how it was carried on till the destruction of Jeru-
salem, with which ended the first great dispensation of Provi-
dence which is called Christ's coining in his kingdom.
2. How it was carried on from thence to the destruction of
the Heathen empire in the time of Constantine, which is the
second dispensation called Christ'' s coming.
3, How it is carried on from thence to the destruction of
Antichrist, when will be accomplished the third great event
called Christ's comings and with which the days of the
church's tribulation and travail end.
S58 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peuiod iif.
I. I WOULD show how. Ihe success of Christ's purchase of
redemption was carried on from Christ's resurrection to the
destruction of Jerusalem- In speaking of this, I would, 1 , take
notice of the success itself : And, 2, the opposition made
against it by the enemies of it : And, 3, the terrible judg-
ments of Gqd on those enemies.
1. I would observe the success itself. Soon after Christ
had finished the purchase of redemption, and was gone into
heaven, and entered into the holy of holies with his own blood,
there began a glorious success of what he had done and suf-
fered. Having undermined the foundation of Satan's king-
dom, it began to fall apace. Swiftly did it hasten to ruin in
the world, which might well be compared to Satan's fidling
like lightning from heaven. Satan before had exalted his
throne very high in this world, even to the very stars of heaven,
reigning with great glory in his Heathen Roman empire :
But never before had he such a downfal as he had soon after
Christ's ascension. He had, we may suppose, been very
lately triumphing in a supposed victory, having brought about
the death of Christ, which he doubtless gloried in as the
greatest feat that ever he did ; and probably imagined he had
totally defeated God's design by him. But he was quickly
made sensible, that he had only been ruining his own king-
dom, when he saw it tumbling so fast so soon after, as a con-
sequence of the death of Christ. For Christ, by his death,
having purchased the Holy Spirit, and having ascended, and
received the Spirit, he poured it forth abundantly for the con-
version of thousands and millions of souls.
Never had Christ's kingdom been so set up in the world.
There probably were more souls converted in the age of the
apostles than had been before from the beginning of the world
till that time. Thus God so soon begins gloriously to accom-
plish his promise to his Son, wherein he had promised, that
he should see his seed, and that the pleasure of the Lord
should prosper in his hand, if he would make his soul an of-
fering for sin. And,
(1) Here is to be observed the suacess which the gospel
had among the Jews : For God first began with them. He
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. Ssf
being about to reject the main body of that people, first calls
in his elect from among them, before he forsook them, to
turn to the Gentiles. It was so in former great and dreadful
judgments of God on that nation : The bulk of them were
destroyed, and only a remnant saved, or reformed. So it
was in the rejection of the ten tribes, long before this rejec-'
tion : The bulk of the ten tribes were rejected,when they left
the true worship of God in Jeroboam's. time, and afterwards
more fully in Ahab's time. But yet there was a remnant of
them that God reserved. A number left their possessions in
these tribes, and went and settled in the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, And afterwards there were seven thousand in A"
hab's time, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. And so, in
the captivity into Babylon, only a remnant of them ever re-
turned to their own land. And so now again, by far the
greater part of the people were rejected entirely, but some
few were saved. And therefore the Holy Ghost compares
this reservation of a number that were converted by the
preaching of the apostles, to those former remnants : Rom.
ix. 27. ''Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, T hough the
number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a
remnant shall be saved." See Isa. x. 22,
The glorious success of the gospel among the Jews after
Christ's ascension, began by the pouring out of the Spirit
upon the day of Pentecost, of which we read in Acts ii. So
wonderful was this pouring out of the Spirit, and so remark-
able and swift the effect of it, that we read of three thousand
who were converted to the Christian faith in one day, Actsii.
4 1 . And probably the greater part of these were savingly
converted. And after this, we read of God's adding to the
church daily such a*,should be saved verse 47. And soon after,
we read, that the number of them were about five thousand.
Thus were not only a multitude converted, but the church
was then eminent in piety, as appears by Acts ii. 46, 47,
and iv. 32.
Thus the Christian church was first of all of the nation of
Israel; and therefore, when the Gentiles were called,' they
were but as it were added to Israel, to the seed of Abraham.
Vol. II. 2 1
258 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
They were added to the Christian church of Israel, as the
proselytes of old were to the Mosaic church of Israel ; and
so were as it were only grafted on the stock of Abraham, and
were not a distinct tree ; for they are all still the seed of Abra-
ham and Israel ; as Ruth the Moabitess, and Uriah the Hit-
tite, and other proselytes of old, were the same people, and
ranked as the seed of Israel.
So the Christian church at first began at Jerusalem, and
from thence Avas propagated to all nations : So that this
church of Jerusalem was the church that was as it were the
mother of all other churches in the world; agreeable to the
prophecy, Isaiah ii. 3, 4. " Out ef Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ; and he
shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people." So
that the whole church of God is still God's Jerusalem ; they are
his spiritual Jerusalem, and are as it were only added to the
church, which was be,u:un in the literal Jerusalem.
After this, we read of many thousands of Jews that believ-
ed in Jerusalem, Acts xxi. 20, And so we read of multitudes
of Jews who were converted in other cities of Judea ; and not
only so, but even in other parts of the world. For wherever
Ihe apostles went, if there were any Jews there, their manner
was first to go into the synagogues of the Jews, and preach the
fvospel to them, and many in one place and another believed ;
as in Damascus and Aniioch, and many other places that wc
read of in the Acts of the Apostles.
In this pouring out of the spirit, which began at the Pente-
cost following Christ's ascension, began that first great dis-
pensation which is called C/irist's co7?iii!g in his kingdom —
Christ's coming thus in a spiritual manner for the glorious
setting up of his kingdom in the world, is represented by
Christ himself as his coming down from heaven, Mhither
he had ascended, John xiv. 18. There Christ having been
speaking of his ascension says, " I will not leave you
comfortless ; I will come unto you," speaking of his coming
by the coming of the comforter, the spirit of truth. And,
verse 28. " Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away
and come again unto you." And thus the apostles began t»
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 239
see the kingdom of heaven come with power, as he promisecj
they should, Mark ix. 1.
(2) What is next to be observed is the success of the gos-
pel among the Samaritans. After the success of the gospel
had been so gloriously begun among the proper Jews, the
spirit of God was next wonderfully poured out on the Sa-
maritans, who were not Jews by nation, but the posterity of
those whom the king of Assyria removed from difiei'cnt
parts of his dominions, and settled in the land that was in-
habited by the ten tribes whom he carried captive. But yet
they had received the five books of Moseg, and practised
most of the rites of the law of Moses, and so were a sort of
mongrel Jews. We do not find them reckoned as Gentiles
in the New Testament : For the calling of the Gentiles is
spoken of as a new thing after this, beginning with, the con-
version of Cornelius. But yet it was an instance of making
that a people that were no people : For they had corrupted
the religion which Moses commanded, and did not go up to
Jerusalem to worship, but had another temple of their own
in mount Gerizzim ; which is the mountain of which the wo-
man of Samaria speaks, when she says, " Our fathers wor-
shipped in this mountain." Christ there does not approve
of their separation from the Jews; but tells the woman of
Samaria, that they worshipped they knew not what, and that
salvation is of the Jews. But now salvation is brotight from
the Jews to them by the preaching of Philip, (excepting
that before Christ had some success among them) with
whose preaching there was a glorious pouring out of the
spirit of God in the city of Samaria ; where we are told that
" the people believed Philip, preaching the things concern-
ing the kingdom of Christ, and were baptized, both men and
women ; and that there was great joy in that city." Acts
viii. 8 — 12.
Thus Christ had a glorious harvest in Samaria ; Avhich is
what Christ seems to have ha^ respect to, in what he said to
his disciples at Jacob's well, three or four years before, on oc-
casion of the people of Samaria's appearing at a distance in
the fields coming to the place where Christ was, at the insti-
260 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
gation of the woman of Samaria. On that occasion he bids
his disciples lift up their eyes to the fields, for that they were
M'hite to the harvest, John iv. 35, 36. The disposition which
the people of Samaria showed towards Christ and his gospel,
showed that they were ripe for the harvest. But now the
harvest is come by Philip's preaching. There used to be a
inost bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans ; but
now, by their conversion, the Christian Jews and Samaritans
are all happily united ; for in Christ Jesus is neither Jew nor
Samaritan, but Christ is all in all. This was a glorious in-
stance of the wolfs dwelling v/ith the lamb, and the leopard's
lying down with the kid.
(3) The next thmg to be observed is the success there was
of the gospel in calUng the Gentiles. This was a great and
glorious dispensation of divine providence, much spoken of in
the prophecies of the Old Testament, and spoken of by the
apostles, time after time, as a most glorious event of Christ's
redemption. This was begun in the conversion of Cornelius
and his family, greatly to the admiration of Peter, who was
•used as the instrument of it, and of those Avho M-ere with him,
and of those Avho were informed of it ; as you may see, Acts
3f. & xi. And the next instance of it that we have any account
of, was in the conversion of great numbers of Gentiles in Cy-
prus, and Cyrene, and Antioch, by the disciples that were
scattered abroad by the persecution which arose about Ste-
phen, as we have an account in Acts xi, 19, 20, 21. And
presently upon this the disciples began to be called Chris-
tians first at Antioch, verse 26.
And after this, vast multitudes of Gentiles were converted
in many different parts of the world, chiefly by the ministry of
the Apostle Paul, a glorious pouring out of the Spirit accom-
panying his preaching in one place and another. Multitudes
flocked into the church of Christ in a great number of cities
•where the Apostle came. So the number of the members of
the Christian church that were Gentiles, soon far exceeded
the number of its Jewish members ; yea so, that in less than
ten years time after Paul was sent forth from Antioch to
preach to the Gentiles, it was said of him and his companions,
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S6l
that they had turned the world upside down : Acts x^'ii. 6.
" Theser that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also." But the most remarkable pouring out of the
Spirit in a particular city that Ave have any account of in the
New Testament, seems to be that in the city of Ephesus,
which was a very great city. Of this we have an account in
Acts xix. There was also a very extraordinary ingathering
of souls at Corinth, one of the greatest cities in all Greece.
And after this many were converted in Rome, the chief city
of all the world ; and the gospel was propagated into all parts
of the Roman empire. Thus the gospel sun, which had late-
ly risen on the Jews, now rose upon, and began to enlighten
the Heathen Avorld, after they had continued in gross Heath-
enish darkness for so many ages.
This was a great thing, and a new thing, such as never had
been before. All nations but the Jews, and a few who had at
one time and another joined with them, had been rejected
from about Moses's time. The Gentile world had been cov-
ered, over Avith the thick darkness of idolatry : But now, at
the joyful glorious sound of the gospel, they began in all parts
to forsake their old idols, and to abhor them, and to cast them
to the moles and to the bats, and to learn to worship the true
God, and to trust in his Son Jesus Christ ; and God owned
' them for his people : Those who had so long been afar off,
were made nigh by the blood of Christ. Men Avere changed
from being Heathenish and brutish, to be the children of
God ; Avere called out of Satan's kingdom of darkness, and
brought into God's marvellous light ; and in almost all coun-
tries throughout the knoAvn Avorld Avere assemblies oi the peo-
ple of God ; joyful praises Avere sung to the true God, and Jesus
Christ the glorious Redeemer. Noav that great building
Avhich God began soon after the fall of man, rises gloriously,
not in the same manner that it had done in former ages, but
in quite a ncAV manner ; now Daniel's prophecies concerning
the last kingdom, Avhich should succeed the four Heathenish
monarchies, begins to be fulfilled ; now the stone cut out of
the mountain Avithout hands, began to smite the image on its
£eet, and to break it in pieces, and to groAV great, and to make
S63 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
great advances loAvards filling the eartli ; and now God gath-
ers together the elect from the four winds of heaven, by the
preaching of the apostles and other ministers, the angels of
the Christian chnrch sent forth with the great soimd of the
gospel trumpet, before the destruction of Jerusalem, agreea-
ble to what Christ foretold, Matth. xxiv. 3 1 .
This was the success of Christ's purchase during this first
period of the Christian church, which terminated in the de-
struction of Jerusalem.
2. I would proceed now, in the second place, to take notice
of the opposition which was made to this success of Christ's
purchase by the enemies of it Satan, who lately was so
ready to triumph and exult, as though he had gained the vic-
tory in putting Christ to death, now findhig himself fallen in-
to the pit which he had digged, and finding l»is kingdom fall-
ing so fast, and seeing Christ's kingdom make such amazing
progress, such as never had been before, we may conclude he
•was filled with the greatest confusion and astonishment, and
hell seemed to be effectually alarmed by it to make the jjiost
violent opposition against it. And, first, the devil stirred up
the Jews, who had before crucified Christ, to persecute the
church : For it is observable, that the persecution which the
church suffered during this period, was mostly froin the
Jews. Thus we read in the Acts, when, at Jerusalem, the
Holy Ghost was poured out at Pentecost, how the Jews mock-
ed, and said, " These men are full of new wine ;" and how
the scribes and Pharisees, and the captain of the temple, were
alarmed, and bestirred themselves to oppose and persecute
the apostles, and first apprehended and threatened them, and
afterwards imprisoned and beat them ; and breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,
they stoned Stephen in a tumultuous rage ; and were not con-
tent to persecute those that they could find in Judea, but sent
abroad to Damascus and other places, to persecute all that
they could find every where. Herod, who was chief among
them, stretched forth his hands to vex the church, and killed
James with the sword, and proceeded to take Peter also, and
cast him into prison.
Fart II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 265
So in other countries, we find, that almost wherever the
apostles came, the Jews opposed the gospel in a most malig-
nant manner, contradicting and blasphciuing. How many-
things did the blessed Apostle Paul suffer at their hands in
one place and another ! How violent and blood thirsty did
they shew themselves towards hiin, when he came to bring
Jilms to his nation ! In this persecution and cruelty was ful-
filled that of Christ, Matth. xxiii. 34. " Behold, I send you
prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye
shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall y« scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city."
3. I proceed to take notice of those judgments which were
executed on those enemies of Christ, the persecuting Jews.
(1) The bulk of the people were given up to judicial blind-
ness of mind and hardness of heart. Christ denounced such
a wo upon them in the days of his flesh ; as Matth. xiii. 14,
15 This curse Avas also denounced on them by the Apos-
tle Pavil, Acts xxviii. 25, 26, 27 ; and under this curse, under
this judicial blindness and hardness, they remain to this very-
day, having been subject to it for about 1700 years, being the
most awful instance of such a judgment, and monuments of
God's terrible vengeance, of any people that ever were. That
they should continvie from generation to generation so obsti-
nately to reject Christ, so that it is a vejy rare thing that any
one of them is converted to the Christian faith, though their
©wn scriptures of the Old Testament, which they acknowl-
edge, are so full of plain testimonies against them, is a re-
markable evidence of their being dreadfully left of God.
(2) They were rejected and cast off from being any longer
God's visible people. They were broken off from the stock
6f Abraham, and since that have no more been reputed his
seed, than the Ishmaelites or Edomites, who are as much his
natural seed as they. The greater part of the two tribes were
now cast off, as the ten tribes had been l^efore, and another
people were taken in their room, agreeable to the predictions
of their own prophets ; as of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 21. " They
have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God ; they
Lave provoked me to anger with their vanities ; and I will
264 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
move thcni to jealousy with those which are not a people, I
will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation ;" and of
Isa. Ixv. 1. « I am soui^ht of them that asked not forme;
*' I am found of them that sought me not." They were visi-
bly rejected and cast off, by God's directing his apostles to
turn away from them, and let them alone ; as Acts, xiii. 46,
47. " Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, it was
necessary that the word of God should first have been spok-
en to you : But seeing ye put it from you, and judge your-
selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, Ave turn to the Gen-
tiles : For so hath the Lord commanded us." And so Acts
xviii. 6, and xxviii. 28.
Thus far we have had the scripture history to guide us :
Henceforward we shaU have the guidance only of two things,
viz. of scripture prophecy, and God's providence, as related
in human histories But I proceed.
(3) The third and last judgment of God on those enemies
of the success of the gospel which I shall mention, is the ter-
rible destruction of their city and country by the Romans.
They had great warnings and many means used with them
before this destruction. First, John the Baptist warned them,
and told them, that the axe was laid at the root of the tree ;
and that every tree which should not bring forth good fruit,
should be hewn down, and cast into the fire. Then Christ
warned them very particularly, and told them of their ap-
proaching destruction, and at the thoughts of it wept over
them. And then the apostles after Christ's ascension abund-
antly warned them. But they proved obstinate, and went
on in their opposition to Christ and his- church, and in their
bitter persecuting practices. Their so malignantly persecut-
ing the Apostle Paul, of which we have an account towards
the end of the Acts of the Apostles, is supposed to have been
not more than seven or eight years before their destruction.
And after this God \; as pleased to give them one more very
remarkable warning by the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the
Hebrews, which is an epislle written to that nation of the
Jews, as is supposed, about four years before their destruc-
tion ; wherein the plainest and clearest arguments are set
PsuT II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 265
before them from iheir own law, and from their prophets,
for whom they professed such a regard, to prove that Christ
Jesvis must be the Son of God, and that all their law pointed
to him and typified him, and that their Jewish dispensation
must needs have now ceased. For though the epistle was
' more immediately directed to the Christian Hebrews, yet the
matter of the, epistle plainly shows that the apostle intended
it for the use and conviction of the unbelieving Jews. And in
this epistle he mentions particularly the, approaching destruc-
tion, as chap. x. 25. "So much the more, as ye see the day
approaching ;" and in verse 27, he speaks of the approaching
judgment and fiery indignation which should devour the ad-
versaries.
But the generality of them refusing to receive conviction,
God soon destroyed them with such terrible circumstances as
the destruction of no country or city since the foundation of
the world can parallel ; agreeably to what Christ foretold,
Matth. xxiv. 2i. " For then shall be tribulation, such as was
not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be." The first destruction of Jerusalem by the Baby-
lonians was very terrible, as it is in a most affecting manner
described by the Prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations ; but
ihis was nothing to the dreadful misery and wrath Mdiich they
suffered in this destruction : God according as Christ foretold,
bringing on them all the righteous blood that had been shed
from the foundation of the world. Thus the enemies of
Christ are made his footstool after his ascension, agreeably to
God's promise in Psal. ex. at the beginning ; and Christ rules
them with a rod of iron. They had been kicking against
Christ, but they did but kick against the pricks. The briars
and thorns set themselves against him in battle : But he went
through them ; he bound them together.
This destruction of Jerusalem was in all respects agreeable
to what Christ had foretold of it, Matth. xxiv. by the account
which Josephus gives of it, wlio was then present, and was
one of the Jews, who had a share in the calamity, and wrote
the history of their destruction. Many circumstances of this
destruction resembled the destruction of the wicked at tht*.
Vol. il. 2 K
265 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peuiod III.
day of judgment, by his account, being accompanied with
many fearful sights in the heavens, and with a separation of
the righteous from the wicked. Their city and temple Avere
burnt, and tased to the ground, and the ground on which the
city stood, was ploughed ; and so one stone was not left upon
another, Matth. xxiv. 2,
The people had ceased for the aiost part to be an independ-
ent government after the Babylonish captivity : But the
sceptre entirely departed from Judah on the death of Arche-
laus ; and then Judea was made a Roman province ; after
this they were cast off from being the people of God ; but
now their very city and land are utterly destroyed, and they
carried away from it ; and so have continued in their disper-
sions through the ivorld for now above 1600 years.
Thus there was a final end to the Old Testament world :
All was finished with a kind of day of judgment, in which the
people of God were saved, and his enemies terribly destroy-
ed llius does he who was so lately mocked, despised, and
spit upon by these Jews, and whose followers they so malig-
nantly persecuted, appear gloriously exalted over his en*
emies.
Having thus shown how the success of Christ's purchase
was carried on till the destruction of Jerusalem, I come now,
II. To show how it was carried on from that tiriie till the
destruction of the Heathen empire in the time of Constantine
the Great, which is the second great event which is in scrip-
ture compared to Christ's coming to judgment.
Jerusalem was destroyed about the year of our Lord 68,
and so before that generation passed away which was contem-
porary with Christ ; and it was about thirtyfive years after
Christ's death. The destruction of the Heathen empire un-
der Constantine, was about 260 years after this. In showing
how the success of the gospel was carried on through this
time, I would, 1. Take notice of the opposition made against
it by the Roman empire. 2. How the work of the gospel
went on notwithstanding all that opposilion. 3. The peculiar
circumstances of tribulation and distress that the church was
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 267
in, just before tlieir deliverance by Constantine. 4. The
great revolution in Constantine's lime.
1 . I would briefly show what opposition was made against
the gospel, and the kingdom of Christ, by the Roman empire.
The opposition that was made to the gospel by the Heathen
Roman empire, was mainly after the destruction of Jerusa-
lem, though their opposition began before ; but the opposi-
tion that was before the destruction of Jerusalem, was mainly
by the Jews. But when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews
were put out of a capacity of much troubling the church.
No-vr therefore the devil turns his hand elsewhere, and uses
other instruments. The opposition which was made in the
Roman empire against the kingdom of Christ, was chiefly of
two kinds.
(1) They employed all their learning, and philosophy, and
wit, in opposing it. Christ came into the world in an age
wherein learning and philosophy were at their height in the
Roman empire. This was employed to the utmost against
the kingdom of Christ. The gospel, which held forth a cru-
cified Saviour, was not at all agreeable to the notions of the
philosophers. The Christian scheme of trusting in such a
crucified Redeemer, appeared foolish and ridiculous to them.
Greece was a country the most famous for learning of any in
the Roman empire ; but the apostle observes, that the dec-
trine of Christ crucified appeared foolishness to the Greeks,
1 Cor. i. 23 ; and therefore the wise men and philosophers
opposed the gospel M'ith all the wit they had. We have a
specimen of their manner of opposing, in the story we have
of their treatment of the Apostle Paul at Athens, which was a
city that had been for many ages the chief seat of philoso-
phers of any in the whole world. We read in Acts xvii. 18,
that the philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoicks encoun-
tered him, saying, " What Avill this babler say ? He seemeth
to be a setter forth of strange gods." So they were wont to
deride and ridicule Christianity. And after the destruction
of Jerusalem, several of these philosophers published books
against it ; the chief of whom were Celsus and Porphyry,
These wrote books against the Christian religion with a ftvcat
268 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
deal of virulence and contempt, inuch after the manner that
the Deists of the present aJ^e oppose and ridicule Christiuni-
t}'. Something of their writings yet remains. As great ene-
mies and despisers as they were of the Christian religion, vet
they never denied the facts recorded of Christ and his apos-
tles in the New Testament, particularly the miracles which
they wrought ; but allowed them. They lived too near the
times wherein these miracles Averc wrought to deny them ;
for they were so publicly done, and so lately, that neither
Jews nor Heathens in those days appeared to deny them ; but
they ascribed them to the power of magic.
(2) The authority of the Roman empire employed all their
strength, lime after ♦? ric, to persecute, and if possible to root
out Christianity. This they did in ten general successive
persecutions. We have heretofore observed, that Christ
came into the world when the strength of Heathen dominion
and authority was the greatest that ever it was under the Ro-
man monarchy, the greatest and strongest human monarchy
that ever was on earth. All the strength of this monarchy
was employed for a long time to oppose and persecute the
Christian church, and if possible to destroy it, in ten succes-
sive attempts, which are called the ten Heathen fierstcutions^
which were before Constantine.
The first of these, which was the persecution under Nero,
was a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, in Avhich the
Apostle Peter was crucified, and the Apostle Paul beheaded,
soon after he wrote his seccnd epistle to Timothy. When
he wrote that epistle, he was a prisoner at Rome under Nero,
and was soon after he wrote it beheaded, agreeably to what he
says, chap. iv. 6, 7. " I am now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course, I have kept the faith " And
there were many thousands of other Christians slain in that
persecution. The other nine persecutions were all after the
destruction of Jerusalem. Some of these Avere very terrible
indeed, and far exceeded the first persecution under Nero.
One emperor after another set himself with the utmost rage
to root out the Christian church from the earth, that there
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 269
should not be so much as the name of Christian left in the
world. And thousands and millions were put to cruel deaths
in these persecutions ; for they spared neither sex nor age,
but killed them as fast as they could.
Under the second general persecution, that which was next
after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Apostle John was ban-
ished to the isle of Patmos, where he had those visions of
which he has given an account in the Revelation. Under
that persecution it was reckoned, that about 40,000 suffered
martyrdom ; which yet was nothing to what were put to
death under some succeeding persecutions. Ten thousand
suffered that one kind of cruel death, crucifixion, in the third
persecution under the Emperor Adrian. Under the fourth
persecution, which began about the year of Christ 162, many
suffered martyrdom in England, the land of our forefathers,
where Christianity had been planted very early, and, as is
supposed, in the days of the apostles. And in the lateir per-
secutions, the Roman emperors being vexed at the frustration
of their predecessors, who Mere not able to extirpate Chris-
tianity, or hinder its progress, were enraged to be the more
violent in their attempts.
Thus a great part of the first three hundred years after
Christ was spent in violent and cruel persecutions of the
church by the Roman powers. Satan was very unwilling to
let go his hold of so great a part of the world, and every way
the chief part of it, as the countries contained in the Roman
empire were, of which he had had the quiet possession for so
many ages ; and therefore,whcn he saw it going so fast out of
his hands, he bestirred himself to his utmost : All hell was,
as it were, raised against it to oppose it with its utmost power-
Satan thus exerting himself by the power of the Heathen
Roman empire, is called the great red dra^^on in scripture,
having seven heads and ten horns, fighting against the woman
clothed with the sun, as in the 12th of Rev. And the terrible
conflict there was between the church of Christ and the powers
of the Heathen empire before Constantine's time, is there, in
verse 7, represented by the war between Michael and his an-
gels, and the dragon and his angels : " And there was war
270 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peri&d III,
in heaven ; Michael and his angels fought, and the dragon
fought and his angels."
2. I would take notice what success the gospel had in the
■world before the time of Constantinc, notwithstanding all this
opposition Though the learning and power of the Roman
empire were so great, and both v/ere employed to the utmost
against Christianity to put a stop to it, and to root it out for so
long a time, and in so many repeated attempts ; yet all was
in vain, they could neither root it out, nor put a stop to it....
But still, in spite of allthat they could do, the kingdom of Christ
■wonderfully prevailed, and Satan's Heathen kingdom mould-
ered and consumed away before it, agreeably to the words of
the text, " The moth shall cat them up like a garment, and
the worm shall eat them like wool." And it was very ob-
servable, that for the most part the more they persecuted the
church, the more it increased ; insomuch that it became a
common saying. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
church. Herein the church of Christ proved to be like a palm
tree ; of which tree it is remarked, that the greater weight
is laid upon it, or hung to its branches, the more it grows and
flourishes ; on which account probably the church is com-
pared to a palm tree in Cant. vii. 7. " This thy stature is
like to a palm tree." Justin Martyr, an eminent father in
the Christi'an church, who lived in the age next after the apos-
tles, in some writings of his, which are yet extant, says, that
in his days there was no part of mankind, Avhether Greeks or
barbarians, or by what name soever they were called, even the
most rude and unpolished nations, where prayers and thanksi-
givings were not made to the great Creator of the world,
through the name of the crucified Jesus. Tertullian, another
eminent father in the Christian church, who lived in the begin-
ning of the following age, in some of his writings which are yet
extant, sets forth how that in his day the Christian religion had
extended itself to the utmost bounds of the then known world,
in whicli he reckons Britain, the country of our forefathers j
and thence demonstrates, that the kingdom of Christ was then
more extensive than any of the four great monarchies ; and
moreover says that tliough the Christians were as strangers
1? ART II.] WORK OF REDE MPtlOJiJ. ^71
of no long; standing, yet they had filled all places of the Ro-
■man dominions, their cities, islands, castles, corporations,
councils, armies, tiibes, ihe palace, senate, and courts of jndi-
cature ; only they had left to the Heathen their temples ;
and that if they should all agree to retire out of the Roman
empire, the world would be amazed at the solitude and deso-'
lation that would ensue upon it, there would be so few left ;
and that the Christians were enough to be able easily to de-
fend themselves, if they were disposed to rise up in arms a-
gainst the Heathen magistrates. And Pliny, a Heathen who
lived in those days, says multitudes of each sex, every age and
quality, were become Christians ; this superstition, says he,
having infected and overrun not th.e city only, but towns and
countries, the temples and sacrifices are generally desolate
and forsaken.
And it was remarked by both Heathen and Christian writ-
ers in those days, that the famous Heathen oracles in their
temples, where princes and others for many past ages had
been wont to inquire and receive answers with an audible
voice from their gods, which were indeed answers from the
devil ; I say, those oracles were now silenced and struck
dumb, and gave no more answers ; and particularly the ora-
cle at Delphos, which was the most famous Heathen oracle
in the whole world, which both Greeks and Romans used to
consult, began to cease to give any answers, even from the
birth of Christ ; and the false deity who was worshipped, and
tised to give answers from his oracle in that temple, being
once inquired of why he did not now give answers as he was
wont to do ? Made this reply, as several Heathen historians
who lived about those times relate, There is an Hebrew boy,
says he, who is king of the gods, who has commanded me to
leave this house, and be gone to hell, and therefore you are to
expect no more answers. And many of the Heathen writers
who lived about that time spdak much of the oracles being
silenced, as a thing at which they wondered, not knowing
what the cause should be. Plutarch, a Heathen writer of
those times, v/rote a particular tri^atise about it, which is still
extant. And Porphyry, one of the Heathen writers before
372 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
mentioned, who opposed the Christian religion, in his writings
has these words : " It is no wonder if the city for these so
many years has been overrun with sickness ; Esculapius, and
the rest of the gods, having withdrawn their converse with
men ; for since Jesus began to be worshipped, no man has
received any public help or benefit by the gods."
Thus did the kingdom of Christ prevail against the king^
dom of Satan.
3. I now proceed to take notice of the peculiar circumstan-
ces of tribulation and distress just before Constantine the
Great came to the throne. This distress they suffered under
the tenth Heathen persecution, which, as it was the last, so it
was by far the heaviest and most severe. The church before
this, after the ceasing of the ninth persecution, had enjoyed a
time of quietness for about forty years together ; but abusing
their liberty, began to grow cold and lifeless in religion and
carnal, and contentions prevailed among them ; by which they
offended God to suffer this dreadful trial to come upon them.
And Satan having lost ground so much, notwithstanding all
his attempts, now seemed to bestir himself with more than
ordinary rage. Those who were then in authority set them-
selves with the utmost violence to root out Christianity,
by burning all Bibles, and destroying all Christians ; and
therefore they did not stand to try or convict them in a formal
process, but fell upon them wherever they could ; sometimes
setting fire to houses where multitudes of them were as-
sembled, and burning them all together ; and at other times
slaughtering multitudes together ; so that sometimes their
persecutors were quite spent with the labor of killing and
tormenting them ; and in some populous places, so many
were slain together, that the blood ran like torrents. It is re-
lated, that seventeen thousand martyrs were slain in one
month's time ; and that during the continuance of this per-
secution, in the province of Egypt alone, no less than one
hundred and fortyfour thousand Christians died "by the vio-
lence of their persecutors, besides 700,000 that died through
the fatigues of banishment, or the public works to which they
were condemned.
Part II.] WORK 6F llEDEMPTION. 273
This persecution lasted for ten years together ; and as it
exceeded all foregoing persecutions in the number of mar-
tyrs, so it exceeded them in the variety and multitude of inven-
tions of torture and cruelty. Some authors who lived at that
time, say, they were innumerable, and exceed all account
and expression.
This persecution in particular was very severe in England ;
and this is that persecution which was foretold in Rev. vi. 9,
10. " And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried
with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell
on the earth ?"
And at the end of the ten years, during which this persecu-
tion continued, the Heathen persecutors thought they had fin-
ished their work, and boasted that they had utterly destroyed
the name and superstition of the Christians, and had restored
and propagated the worship of the gods.
Thus it was the darkest time with the Christian church
just before the break of day. Tkey were brought to the great-
est extremity just before God appeared for their glorious de-
liverance, as the bondage of the Israelites in Epypt was the
most severe and cruel, just before their deliverance by the
hand of Moses. Their enemies thought they had swallowed
them up just before their destruction, as it was with Pharaoit
and his host, when they had hemmed in the children of Is'
rael at the Red sea.
4. I come now, in the fourth place, to the great revolution
which was in the world in the days of Constantine, which was
in many respects like Christ's appearing in the clouds of
heaven, to save his people and judge the world. The people
of Rome being weary of the government of those tyrants to
whom they had lately been subject, sent to Constantine, who
was then in the city of York in England, to come and take the
throne. And he being encouraged, as is said, by a vision of
a pillar of light in the heavens, in the form of a ci'oss, in the
sight of his whole army, with this inscriptipn, Tauiw ^x*, Ir,
Vd. II. 2 L
274 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Perioh liL
this overcome ; and the night following, by Chiist's appearing
to him in a dream with the same cross in his hand, who di-
rected him to make a cross like that to be his royal standard,
that his army might fight under that banner, and assured him
that he should overcoVne. Accordingly he did, and over-
came his enemies, and took possession of the imperial throne,
and embraced the Christian religion, and was the first Chris-
tian emperor that ever reigned. He came to the throne about
320 years after Christ. There are several things which I
would take notice of which attended or immediately followed
Constantino's coming to the throne.
(1) The Christian church was thereby M'holly delivered
from persecution. Now the day of her deliverance came af-
ter such a dark night of affliction : Weeping had continued
for a night, but now deliverance and joy came in the morning.
Now God appeared to judge his people, and repented himself
for his servants when he saw their power was gone, and that
there was none shut up or left. Christians had no persecu-
tions now to fear. Their persecutors now were all put down,
and their rulers were some of them Christians like them-
selves.
(2) God now appeared to execute terrible judgments on
their enemies. Remarkable are the accovmts which history
gives us of the fearful ends to which the Heathen emperors
and princes, and generals, and captains, and other great men
came, who had exerted themselves in persecuting the Christ-
ians ; dying miserably, one and another, under exquisite
torments of body, and horrors of conscience, with a most vis-
ible hand of God upon them. So that what now came to
pass might very fitly be compared to their hiding themselves
in the dens and rocks of the mountains.
(3) Heathenism now was in a great measure abolished
throughout the Roman empire. Images were now destroyed
and Heathen temples pulled down. Images of gold and sil-
ver were melted down and coined into money. Some of the
chief of their idols, which were cunously wrought, wore
broxight to Constantinople, and there drawn with ropes up
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 275
and down the streets for the people to behold and laugh at.
The Heathen priests were dispersed and banished.
(4) The Christian chuixh was brought into a state of great
peace and prosperity. Now all Heathen magistrates were put
down, and only Christians were advanced to places of [author-
ity all over the empire. They had now C hristian presidents,
Christian governors, Christian judges and officers, instead of
their old Heathenish ones. Constantine set himself to put
honor upon Christian bishops or ministers, and to build and
adorn churches ; and now large and beautiful Christian
churches were erected in all parts of the world, instead of the
old Heathen temples.
This revolution Avas the greatest revolution and change in
the face of things that ever came to pass in the world since
the flood. Satan, the prince of darkness, that king and god of
the Heathen world, was cast out. The roaring lion was con-
quered by the Lamb of God, in the strongest dominion that
■ever he had, even the Roman empire. This was a remark-
able accomplishment of, Jer. X. 11. "The gods that have
not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish
from the earth, and from under these heavens." The chief
part of the world Avas now brought utterly to cast off" their
old gods and their old religion, to which they had been accus-
tomed much longer than any of their histories give an ac-
count of. They had been accustomed to worship the gods
so long that they knew not any beginning of it. It was former-
ly spoken of as a thing unknown for a nation to change their
gods, Jer. ii. 10, 11, but now the greater part of the nations
of the known world were brought to cast off all their former
gods. That multitude of gods that they worshipped were
all forsaken. Thousands of them were cast away for the
worship of the true God, and Christ the only Saviour : And
there was a most remarkable fulfilment of that in Isa. ii. 17,
18. " And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and
the haughtiness of men shall be made low ; and the Lord a-
lone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall ut-
terly abolish." And since that it has come to pass, that
those gods that w^re once so famous m tlie world, as Jupiter,
2r6 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
and Saturn, and Minerva, and Juno, &c. are only heard of as
things which were of old. They have no temples, no altars,
no worshippers, and have not had for many hundred years.
Now is come the end of the old Heathen world in the
principal part of it, the Roman empire. And this great rev-
olution and change of the state of the world, with that terri-
ble destruction of the great men who had been persecutors,
is compared, in Rev. vi. to the end of the world, and Christ
coming to judgment ; and is what is most immediately sig-
nified under the sixth seal, which followed upon the souls un-
der the altar crying, " How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the
earth ?" This vision of the sixth seal, by the general consent
of divines and expositors, has respect to this downfal of the
Heathen Roman empire ; though it has a more remote re-
spect to the day of judgment, or this was a type of it. The
day of judgment cannot be what is immediately intended ;
because we have an account of many events which were to
come to pass under the seventh seal, and so were to follow
after those of the sixth seal.
What caine to pass now is also represented by the devil's
being cast out of heaven to the earth. In his great strength
and glory, in that mighty Roman empire, he had as it were
exalted his throne up to heaven. But now he fell like light-
ning from heaven, and was confined to the earth. His king-
dom was confined to the meaner and more barbarous nations,
or to the lower parts of the world of mankind. This is the
event foretold. Rev. xii. 9. &c. " And the great dragon was
cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world : He was cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him," &c. Satan tempted
Christ, and promised to give him the glory of the kingdoms
of the world ; but now he is obliged to give it to him even
against his will. This was a glorious fulfilment of that prom-
ise which God made to his Son, that we have an account of
in Isa. liii. 12. " Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil AVith the strong ; be-
cause he hath poured out his soul unto death : And he was
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION, itf
numbered ^vith the transgressors, and he bare th© sin of
many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Thii
was a great fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament
concerning the glorious time of the gospel, and particularly of
the prophecies of DanieL Now the kingdom of heaven is
come in a glorious degree. It pleased the Lord God of heav-
en to set up a kingdom on the ruins of Satan's kingdom. And
such success is there of the purchase of Christ's redemption,
and such honor does the Father put upon Christ for the dis-
grace he suffered when on earth. And now see to what a
height that glorious building is erected, which had been build"
ing ever since the fall.
Inference. From what has been said of the success of
the gospel from Christ's ascension to the time of Constantine,
we may deduce a strong argument of the truth of the Chiist-
ian religion, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is really frona
God. This wonderful success of it which has been spoken
of, and the circumstances of it which have been mentioned,
are a strong argument of it several ways.
1 . We may gather from what has been said, that it is the
gospel, and that only, which has actually been the means of
bringing the world to the knowledge of the true God. That
those are no gods whom the Heathen worshipped, and that
there is but one only God, is what now since the gospel has
so taught us, we can see to be truth by our own reason : It is
plainly agreeable to the light of natvu'e : It can be easily
shown by reason to be demonstrably true. The very Deists-
themselves acknowledge, .that it can be demonstrated, that
there is one God, and but one, who has made and governs the
world. But now it is evident that it is the gospel, and that
only, which has actually been the means of bringing men to
the knowledge of this truth : It was not the instructions of
philosophers. They tried in vain ; " The world by wisdom
knew not God." Till the gospel and the holy scriptures came
abroad in the world, all the world lay hi ignorance of the true
God, and in the greatest dai'kness with respect to the things
of religion, embracing the absui'dest opinions and practices,
jrs WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
•which all civilized nations now acknowledge to be childish
fooleries. And so they lay one age after another, and nothing
proved effectual to enlighten them. The light of nature, and
their own reason, and all the wisdom of learned men, signifi-
ed nothing till the scriptures came. But when these came
abroad, they were successful to bring the world to an ac-
knowledgment of the one only true God, and to worship and
serve him.
And hence it is that all that part of the world which now
does ovm one only true God, Christians, Jews, Mahometans,
and even Deists too, originally came by the knowledge of
him. It is owing to this that they are not in general at this
day left in Heathenish darkness. They have it all, first of all,
either immediately from the scriptures, or by tradition from
their fathers, who had it first from the scriptures. And doubt-
less those who now despise the scriptures, and boast of the
strength of their own reason, as being sufficient to lead into
the knowledge of the one true God, if the gospel had never
come abroad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, Avould
have been as sottish and brutish idolators as the world in gen-
eral was before the gospel came abroad. The Mahometans,
who own but one true God, at first borrowed the notion from
the scriptures : For the first Mahometans had been educated
in the Christian religion, and apostatized from it. And this
is evidential, that the scriptures were designed of God to be
the proper means to bring the world to the knowledge of him-
self, rather than human reason, or any thing else. For it is
imreasonable to suppose, that the gospel, and that only, which
God never designed as the proper mean for obtaining this ef-
fect, should actually obtain it, and that after human reason,
which he designed as the proper mean, had been tried for a
great many ages without any effect. If the scriptures be not
the word of God, then they arc nothing but darkness and de-
lusion, yea, the greatest delusion that ever was. Now, is it
jcasonable to suppose, that God in his providence would make
use of falsehood and delusion, and that only, to bring the
world to the knowledge of himself, and that no part of it
should be brought to the knowledge of him any other way ?
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 27*
2. The gospel's prevailing as it did against such powerful
opposition, plainly shows the hand of God. The Roman gov-
ernment, that did so violently set itself to hinder the sviccess
of the gospel, and to subdue the church of Christ, was the
most powerful human government that ever was in the world ;
and not only so, but they seemed as it were to have the
church in their hands. The Christians were mostly their
subjects, under their command, and never took up arms to
defend themselves : They did not gather together, and stand
in their own defence ; they armed themselves with nothing'
but patience, and such like spiritual weapons : And yet this
mighty power could not conquer them ; but on the contrary,
Christianity conquered them. The Roman empire had sub-
dued the world ; they had subdued many mighty and potent
kingdoms ; they subdued the Grecian monarchy, when they
were not their subjects, and made the utmost resistance ; and
yet they could not conquer the church which was in their
hands ; but, on the contrary, were subdued, and finally tri-
umphed over by the church.
3. No other sufficient cause can possibly be assigned of this
propagation of the gospel, but only God's own power. Noth-
ing else can be devised as the reason of it but this. There
was certainly some reason. Here was a great and wonderful
effect, the most remarkable change that ever Avas in the face
of the world of mankind since the flood ; and this effect was
not without some cause. Now, what other cause can be de-
vised but only the divine power ? It was not the outward
strength of the instruments which were employed in it. At
first, the gospel was preached only by a few fishermen, who
were without power and worldly interest to support them. It
was not their craft and policy that produced this wonderful ef-
fect ; for they were poor illiterate men. It was not the agree-
ableness of the story they had to tell to the notions and prin-
ciples of mankind. This was no pleasant fable : A crucified
God and Saviour was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to
the Greeks foolishness. It was not the agreeableness of their
doctrines to the dispositions of men : For nothing is more
contrary to the corruptions of men than the pure doctrines of
!SSO WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
the gospel. This effect therefore can have proceeded frorrt
no other cause than the power and agency of God : And if
the power of God was what was exercised to cauae the gos-
pel to prevail, then the gospel is his word ; for surely God
does not use his almighty power to promote a mere impos-
ture; and delusion.
4. This success is agreeable to Avhat Christ and his apostles
foretold Matth. xvi. 18. " Upon this rock will I build my
church : And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
John xii. 24. " Verily verily I say unto you, except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone : But if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit." And vers. 31, 32. « Now
is the judgment of this world : " Now shall the prince of
this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men unto me." John xvi. 8, " When he (the
comforter) is corrte, he will reprove the world of sin, of right-
eousness, and of judgment because the prince of tliis world
is judged. "
So the apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. chap. i. 21. 28, declares, ho-wr
that after the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God,
by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe ; and
that God chose the foolish things of the world, to confound
the wise ; and weak things of the world, to confound the
things which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and
things which are despised, yea and things Avhich are not, to
bring to nought things that are If any man foretells a
thing, very likely in itself to come to pass, from causes which
can be foreseen, it is no great argument of a revelation from
God : But when a thing is foretold which is very unlikely ev-
er to come to pass, is entirely contrary to the common course
of things, and yet it does come to pass just agreeable to the
prediction, this is a strong argument that the prediction was
from God.
Thus the consideration of the manner oi the propagation
and success of the gospel during the time which has been
spoken of, affords great evidence that the scriptures arc the
word of God.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 281
III. I AM now to show how the success of Chi'ist's redemp-
tion is carried on from the time of the overthrow of the
Heathen Roman empire in the time of Constantine the Great,
till the fall of Antichrist, and the destruction of Satans's visi-
ble kingdom on earth, which is the third great dispensation
•which is in scripture compared to Christ's coming to judg-
ment. This is a period wherein many great and wonderful
things are brought to pass. Herein is contained a long series
of wonders of divine providence towards the Christian
church. The greater part of the book of Revelation is taken
up in foretelling the events of this period.
The success of Christ's purchase of redemption in this pe-
riod, appears mainly at the close of it, when Antichrist conies
to fall, when there vi^ill be a far more glorious success of the
gospel than ever was before ; and that long series of events
which are before, seem to be only to prepare the way for it.
And in order to a more clear view of the great Avorks of God
in accomplishing the success of Christ's redemption, and our
seeing the glory of them, it will be necessary, as we have
done in the foregoing periods, to consider not only the success
itself, but the opposition made to it, and the great works of
Satan in this period against the church and kingdom of
Christ : And therefore, in taking a view of this period, I
Would take notice of events which may be referred to either
of these heads, viz. either to the head of Satan's opposition to
the success of Christ's redemption, or to the head of the suc-
cess of Christ's redemption : And for the more orderly con-
sideration of the events of this period, I would divide it into
these four parts : The first reaching from the destruction of
the Heathen empire to the rise of Antichrist j the seconds
from the rise of Antichrist to the reformation in Luther's
time ; the third, from thence to the present time ; the fourth,
from the present time, till Antichrist is fallen, and Satan's
visible kingdom on earth is destroyed.
1st. I Avould consider the events of the first part of this pe-
riod, reaching from the destruction of the Heathen empire to
the rise of Antichrist. And here,/rs^, I would take notice
ot the opposition Satan made in this space of time to the
Vol.. 11. 2 M
282 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
church : And, secondly, the success that the gospel had
in it.
1. The opposition. Satan being cast out of his old Heath-
en empire, the great red dragon, after so sore a conflict with
Michael and his angels, for the greater pait of three hundred
yeai-s, being at last entirely routed and vanquished, so that no
place was found any more in heaven for him, but he was cast
down, as it were from heaven to the earth ; yet does not give
over his opposition to the woman, the church of Christ, con-
cerning which all this conflict had been. But he is still in
a rage, and renews his attempts, and has recourse to new de-
vices against the church. The serpent, after he is cast out of
heaven to the earth, casts out of his rnouth water as a flood, to
cause the woman to be carried away of the flood. The oppo-
sition that he made to the church of Christ before the rise of
Antichrist, was principally of two sorts. It was either by cor-
rupting the church of Christ with heresies., or by new endeav-
ors to restore Paganism.
(1) I would observe, that after the destruction of the
Heathen Roman empire, Satan infested the church with here-
sies. Though there had been so glorious a work of God in
delivering the church fmm her Heathen persecutors, and
overthrowing the Heathen empire ; yet the days of th«
church's travail not being ended, and the set time of her
prosperity not being yet come, as being what was to suc-
ceed the fall of Antichrist, therefore the peace and prosperi-
ty which the church enjoyed in Constantine's time, was but
very short : It was a respite, which gave the church a time
of peace and silence, as it wei'e/&r half an hour, wherein the
four an?,els held the four winds from blowing, till the servants
of God shovild be sealed in their foreheads. But the church
soon began to be greatly infested with heresies ; the two prin-
cipal, and those which did most inftst the church, were the
Arian and Pelagian heresies.
The Arians began soon after Constantine came to the
throne. They denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and the di-
vinity of Christ and the Holy Cihost, and maintained, that they
were but mere creatures. This hercsy increased more and
Tart II.] WOKK OF HEDEMPTION. 283
more in the church, and prevailed like a flood, which threat-
ened to overflow all, and entirely to carry away the churclt,
insomuch that before that age was out, that is, before the
fourth century after Christ was finished, the greater part of
the Christian church were become Arians. There were
some emperors, the successors of Constandne, who were
Arians ; so that the Arians being the prevailing party, and
having the civil authority on their side, did raise a great per-
secution against the true chinxh of Christ ; so that this here-
sy might well be compared to a flood out of the mouth of the
serpent, which threatened to overthrow all, and quite carry
away the woman.
The Pelagian heresy arose in the beginning of the next
century. It began by one Pelagius^ wlio was born in Britam :
His British name was Morgan. He denied original sin, and
the influence of the Spirit of God in conversion, and held the
power of free will, and many other things of like tendency ;
and this heresy did for a while greatly infest the church.
Pelagius's principal antagonist, who wrote in defence of the
orthodox faith, was St. Augustin,
(2) The otlier kind of opposition, which Satan made against
the church, was in his endeavors to restore Paganism. And
his first attempt to restore it in the Roman empire, was by
Julian the apostate. Julian was nephew to Constantine the
Great. When Constantine died he left his empire to his three
sons, and when they were dead, Julian the apostate reigned
in tlieir stead. He had been a professed Christian : but he
fell from Christianity, and turned Pagan ; and therefore is
called the apostate. When he came to the throne, he used
his utmost endeavors to overthrow the Christian church, and
set up Paganism again in the empire. He put down the
Christian magistrates, and set up Heathens in their room :
He rebuilt the Heathen temples, and set up the Heathen wor-
ship in the empire, and became a most notorious persecutor
of the Christians, and, as is thought, against his own light ;
He used to call Christ, by way of reproach, the Gah'lean. He
was killed with a lance in his wars with the Persians. When
he saw that he was mortally wounded, he took a handful of his
284 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
blood, and threw it up towards heaven, crying out, Thou hast
overcome, O Galilean. And he is commonly thought by di-
vines to have committed the unpardonable sin.
Another way that Satan attempted to restore Paganism in
the Roman empire, Avas by the invasions a?td conquests of
Heathen nations. For in this space of time that we are upon,
the Goths and Vandals, and other Heathen barbarous nations,
that dwelt in the north of the Roman empire, invaded the
empire, and obtained great conquests, and even overran the
empire, and in the fifth century took the city of Rome, and
finally subdued and conquered, and took possession of the
Western empire, as it was called, or the western half of the
empire, and divided it amongst them ; divided it into ten
kingdoms, with which becran the ten horns of the beast ; for
we are told that the ten horns are ten kings, who should rise
in the latter part of the Roman empire : These are also rep-
resented by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzai"'s image. The
invasion and conquests of these Heathen nations are supposed
to be foretold in the 8th chapter of Revelation, in what came
to pass under the sounding of the four first trumpets. Now
these nations, who now took possession of the Western em-
pire, were Heathens ; so that by their means Heathenism
was again for a while restored, after it had been rooted out.
So much for the opposition of Satan against the success of
the gospel during this space before the rise of Antichrist. I
proceed,
2. To show what success there was of the gospel in this
space, notwithstanding this opposition.
(1) I would observe that the opposition of Satan in those
things was baffled. Though the dragon cast out of his mouth
such a flood after the Avoman to carry her away, yet he could
not obtain liis design ; but the earth helped the woman, and
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the
dragon cast out of his mouths These heresies which for a
while so much prevailed, yet after a while dwindled away,
and orthodoxy was again restored : And his attempt by Juli-
an was baffled at his death.
(2) The gospel, during this space of time, was further
propagated amongst many barbarous Heathen nations in the
Part II.] . WORK OF REDEMPTION. 235
confines of the Roman empire. In the time of Constantine
there was a considerable propagation of the gospel in the
East Indies, chiefly by the ministry of one Framentius...,
Great numbers of the Iberians, an Heathen people, Avere con»
verted to Cliristianity by a Christian woman of eminent piety,
whom they had taken captive. And some account is given
of several other barbarous nations who were not within the
Roman empire, that great numbers of them were brought to
receive the gospel by the teaching and example of captives
whom they had taken in war. And after this, about the year
of Christ, 372, the gospel was propagated among the barbar-
ous people that dwelt in Arabia ; as it was also among;
some of the northern nations ; particularly a prince of the
country of the Goths about this time became Christian, and
a great number of his people with him. Tov/ards the latter
end of this century, the gospel was also further propagated
among the Persians, and also the Scythians, a barbarous peo-
ple, that the apostle mentions in Col. iii. 11. "Barbarian,
Scythian,. bond nor free."
And after this, about the year 430, there was a remarkable
conversion of a Heathen people, called the Biirgundlans^ to
the Christian faith. About the same tim.e, in this age, the
gospel began to be propagated in Ireland ; and the Irish, who
till now had been Heathen, began to receive the Christian
faith. About the same time it was fu.rthev propagated among
some barbarous people in Scotland, and also in some other
places. In the next century to this, one Zathus^ a Heathen
king, who ruled over a people called the Cokhlans^ was
brought to renounce his Heathenism, and to embrace the
Christian religion. Several other barbarous nations are re-
corded to have renounced Heathenism and embraced Chris-
tianity about this time, that I cannot stand to mention.
Thus I have briefly considered the principal events of
providence which concern the success of the gospel of Christ,
from Constantine to the rise of Antichrist.
'idly. I come now to the second part of the time from Con-
stantine to the destruction of Antichrist, viz. that M'hich reach-
es from the rise of Antichrist to the reformation by Luther
2.5-5. WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pkmco HI.
and others. And tliis i« the darkest and rrxist disir.al day
that crer the Christian church saw, and probably the darkesc
tliat ever it will see. The tirae of the chrirch's affliction and
persecution, as was observed before, is from Chrlst'"s resur-
rection till the destructica of Antichrist, excelling that the
(slay is, as it were, shortened by some intermissions and times
of respite, which God gives for the elect's sake. But this,
time, from the rise of Antichrist till the Reformation, was a
apace wherein the Christian church was in its greatest depth
■nf depression, and in its darkest time of all. The true church
in this space was for many hundred years in a state of great
obscurity, like the woman in the wilderness : Indeed she was
almost hid from sight and observation. In speaking of the
events of this space of tirae, I would, 1 . Take notice of the
great machinations and works of the devil against the king-
dom of Christ during this time ; 2. Shov/ how the church of
Christ was upheld duiing this time.
1. I would take notice of the great works of the devil against
the kingdom of Christ dunng this time. Satan had done
great things against the Christian church before, but had
Been b-affled once and again. Michael and his angels had
©btained a glorious victory. How terrUde v/as his opposition,
aluring the continuance of the Heathen empire ; and how
ajlorious was Christ's victory aiid triumph over him in the
time of Constantine ! It pleased God now to prepare the way
J^r a jiet more glorious victory over him, to suffer him to re-
Dew his strength, and to do the utmost that his power and
subtilty can help him to ; and therefore he suffers him to
liave a long time to lay his schemes, and to establish his in-
terest, and makft his matters strong ; and suffers him to carry
his designs a great length indeed^ almost to tlie swallowing
up of his church ; and to exercise a high, and pi-Qud, and al-
most uncontroled dominion, in the world, a long time be-
fore Christ finally conquers, and subdues, and utterly ruins his
visible kingdom on earth, as he will do in the time of the de-
struction of Antichrist : Thus gloriously triumphing over him
uftcr he has done the utmost that his poNver ajid subtilty cat*
Fast IL] WORK OF REDEMFTIO.N. ^W
■extend to, and sliowi.ng that he is above him, after he has
dealt most proudly, and lifted himself highest of all.
Tlie two g^reat ^vorks of the devil which he in this space
■of time wrought against the kingdom of Christ, are his creat-
ing his Antichristian and Mahometan kingdoms, which have
been, and still are, two kingdoms of great extent and strength,
trath together swallowing up the ancient Roman empire 5
the kingdom of Antichrist swallowing up the Western em-
pire, and Satan's Mahometan kingdom the Eastern empirco
As the scriptures in the book of the Revelation represent it,
it is in the destruction of these that the glorious victory of
Christ, at the introduction of the glorious times of the church
will mainly consist. And here let us briefly observe how
Satan erects and maintains these two great kingdoms of
Ms in opposition to the kingdom of Christ.
(1) With respect to the kingdom of Antichrist. This
seems to he the masterpiece of all the contrivances of the
devil against the kingdom of Christ, and is evidently so spok-
en of in scripture, and therefore Antichrist is the man of sin,
•or r/fcr man of sin, 2. Thess, ii. 3. He is so called emphat-
ically, as though he were so eminently. So he is called ^/z-
lichrist^ which signifies the opponent or adversary of Christ,
Not that he is the only opponent of Christ ; there were many
others besides him. The Apostle John observes, that m.
his days there were many Antichrists ; but yet this is called
the Antichrist.) as though there were none but he, because he
■was so eminently, and above all others. So this contrivance
of the devil, is called the mystery of iniquity, 2. Thess. ii. 7,
And we find no enemy of Christ one half so much spoken of
in the prophecies of Revelation as this ; and the destruction
of no enemy is spoken of as so glorious and happy for the
church. The craft and subtilty of the devil, above all, ap-
pears in this Avork of his ; as might be shown, were it not
that it would consume too mtich time.
This is a contrivance of the devil to turn the ministry of
the Christian church into a ministry of the devil, and to turn
these angels' of the churches into fallen angels, and so into
devils. And in the tyranny and superstition, and idolatry, and
288 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
persecution, -which he sets up, he contrives to make an image
of ancient Paganism, and more than to restore what was lost
in the empire by the overthrow of Paganism in the time of
Constantino : So that by these means the head of the beast
•which was wounded unto death in Constantino, has his deadly
■wound healed in Antichrist, Rev. xiii. 3. And the dragon
that formerly reigned in the Heathen Roman empire, being
east out thence, after the beast with seven heads and ten horns
rises up out of the sea, gives him his power, and seat, and
great authority ; and all the world wonders after the beast.
I am far from pretending to determine the time when the
reign of Antichrist began, which is a point that has been so
much controverted among divines and expositors. It is cer-
tain that the 1260 days or years, which are so often in scrip-
ture mentioned as the time of the c(?ntinuance of Antichrist's
reign, did not commence before the year of Christ 479 ; be-
cause if they did, they would have ended, and Antichrist
would have fallen before now. But I shall not pretend to de-
termine precisely how long it was after this that that period
began. The rise of Antichrist was gradual. The Christian
church corrupted itself in many things presently after Con-
stantino's time, growing more and more superstitious in its
worship, by degrees bringing in many ceremonies into the
worship of God, till at length they brought in the worship of
saints, and set up images in their churches, and the clergy in
general, and especially the bishop of Rome, assumed more
and more authority to himself. In the primitive times he-
was only a minister of a congregation ; then a standing mof>-
erator of a presbytery ; then a diocesan bishop ; then a hm-
tropolitan, which is equivalent to an archbishop ; then he was
a patriarch, then afterwards he claimed the power of univei-
sal bishop over the whole Christian church through the
world ; wherein he was opposed for a while, but afterwards
was confirmed in it by the civil power of the Emperor in the
year 606. After that he claimed the power of a temporal
prince ; and so was wont to carry two swords, to signify that
both the temporal and spiritual sword was his ; and claim-
ed more and more authority, till at length he, as Christ'*
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 289
vicegerent on earth claimed the very same power that Christ
would have if he was present on earth, and reigned on his
throne, or the same power that belongs to God, and used to
be called God on earth ; and used to be submitted to by all
the princes of Christendom. He claimed power to crown
princes, and to degrade them at his pleasure ; and this power
■was owned : And it came to that, that kings and emperors
used to kiss his feet. The emperors were wont to receive
their crowns at his hands, and princes were wont to dread
the displeasure of the Pope, as they would dread a thunder-
bolt from heaven ; for if the Pope was pleased to excommu-
nicate a prince, all his subjects were at once freed from their
allegiance to him ; yea, and obliged not to own him any-
more, on pain of excommunication ; and not only so, but any
man might kill him wherever he found him. And further,
the Pope was believed to have power to damn men at pleas-
ure ; for whoever died under his excommunication, was
looked upon as certainly damned. And several emperors
were actually deposed, and ejected, and died miserably by
his means ; and if the people of any state or kingdom did
not please him, he had power to lay that state or kingdom
under an interdict, which was a sentence pronounced by the
Pope against that state or kingdom, whereby all sacred ad-
ministrations among them could have no validity. There
could be no valid baptisms, or sacraments, or prayers, or
preachings, or pardons, till that interdict was taken off ; so
that that people remained, in their apprehension, in a miser-
able, damnable state, and therefore dreaded it as they would
a storm of fire and brimstone from heaven. And in order to
execute his wrath on a prince or people with whom the Pope
was displeased, other princes must also be put .o a great deal
of trouble and expense.
And as the Pope and his clergy robbed the people of their
ecclesiastical and civil liberties and privileges, so they also
robbed them of their estates, and drained all Christendom of
their money, and engrossed the most of their riches into their
own coffers, by their vast revenues, besides pay for pardons
and indulgences, baptisms, and extreme unctions, deliverance
Vol. II. 2 N
290 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period m.
out of purgatorv, and an hundred other things See how
well this agrees with the prophecies, 2. Thess. ii. 3, 4. Dan.
vii. 20, 21. Rev. xiii. 6, 7, and chap. xvii. 3, 4.
During this time also superstition and ignorance more and
more prevailed. The holy scriptures by degrees were taken
out of the hands of the laity, the better to promote the un-
scriptural and wicked designs of the Pope arnl the clergv ;
and instead of promoting knowledge among the people, they
industriously promoted ignorance. It was a received maxim
among them, That ignorance is the mother of devotion : And
so great was the darkness of those times, that learning was
almost extinct in the world. The very priests themselves,
most of them were barbarously ignorant as to any commend-
able learning, or any other knowledge than their hellish craft,
in oppressing and tyrannizing over the souls of the people.
The superstition and wickedness of the church of Rome, kept
growing worse and worse till the very time of the Reforma-
tion ; and the whole Christian world were led away into this
great defection, excepting the remains of the Christian
church in the Eastern empire that had not been utterly over-
thrown by the Turks, as the Greek church, and some others,
which Avere also sunk into great darkness and gross supersti-
tion, excepting also those few that were the people of God,
\vho are represented by the woman in the wilderness, and
God's two witnesses, of which more hereafter.
This is one of those two great kingdoms which the devil
in this period erected in opposition to the kingdom of Christ,
and was the greatest and chief. I come now,
(2) To speak of the other, the second, which is in many re-
spects like unto it, viz. his Mahometan kingdom, which is
another great kingdom of mighty power and vast extent, set up
by Satan sgainst the kingdom of Christ : He set this up in
the Eastern empire, as he did that of Antichrist in the West-
ern.
Mahomet was born in the year of Christ 570, in Arabia....
When he was about forty years of age, he began to give forth
that he was the great prophet of («od, and began to teach his
new invented religion, of which he was to be worshipped as
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 291
the he&d next under God. He published his Alcoran, which
he pretended he received from the angel Gabriel ; and being
a subtle crafty man, and possessed of considerable wealth,
and living among a people who Avere very ignorant, and great-
ly divided in their opinions of religious matters, by subtilty
and fair promises of a sensual paradise, he gained a number
to be his followers, and set up for their prince, and propagated
his religion by the sword, and made it meritorious of paradise
to fight for him. By which means his party grew, and went
pn fighting till they conquered and brought over the neighbor-
ing countries ; and so his party gradually grew till they over-
ran a great part of the world. First, the Saracens, who were
some of his followers, and were a people of the country of
Arabia, where Mahomet lived, about the year 700, began
dreadfully to waste the Roman empire. They overran a
great many countries belonging to the empir.e, and conunucd
their conquests for a Ipng time. These are supposed to be
meant by the locusts that we read of jn the 9th chapter of
Revelation.
And then after this the Turks, who were originally another
people different from the Saracens, but were followers of
Mahomet, conquered all the Eastern empire. They began
their empire about the year of Christ 1296, and began to in-
vade Europe in 1300, and took Constantinople, and so became
masters of all the Eastern empire in the year 1453, which is
near three hundred years ago. And thus all those cities and
countries where were those famous churches of old, that we
read of in the New Testament, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephe-
sus, Corinth, Sec. now all became subject to the Turks. And
they took possession of Constantinople, which was named af-
ter Constantino the Great, being made by him the head ( ity
of the Roman empire, whereas Rome had been tjU then.....
These are supposed to be prophesied of by the horsemen in
the 9th chapt.er of Revelation, beginning with the 15th verse.
And the remains of the Christians that are in those parts of
the world, who are jnostly of the Greek church, are in miser-
able slavery under these Turks, and treated with a great de^l of
292 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
barbarity and cruelty, and are become mostly very ignorant
and superstitious.
Thus I have shown what great works of Satan were wrought
during this space of time in opposition to the kingdom of
Christ.
2. I come now to show how the church of Christ was up-
held through this dark time And here,
(1) It is to be observed, that towards the former part of this
space of time, some of the nations of Christendom held out
a loi.g time before they complied with the corruptions and
usurpations of the church of Rome.Though all the world won-
dered after the beast, yet all nations did not fall in at once.
Many of the principal corruptions of the church of Rome
were brought in with a great deal of struggle and opposition ;
ai;dparticularly,whenthe Pope gave out that he was universal
bishop, many churches greatly opposed him in it ; and it was a
long time before they would yield to his exorbitant claims.
And so when the worship of images was first brought into
the churches, there were many who greatly opposed it, and
long held out against it. And so with respect to other cor-
ruptions of the church of Rome. Those people that dwelt
nearer to the city of Rome complied sooner, but some that
■were more remote, were a long time before they could be in-
duced to put their necks under the yoke ; and particularly
ecclesiastical history gives an account, that it was so with
great part of the churches in England and Scotland, and
France, who retained the ancient purity of doctrine and wor-
ship much longer than many others who were nearer the
chief seat of Antichrist.
(2) In every age of this dark time, there appeared partic-
ular persons in all parts of Christendom, who bore a testimo-
ny against the corruptions and tyranny of the Church of
Rome. There is no one age of Antichrist, even in the dark-
est limes of all, but ecclesiastical historians mention a great
many by name who manifested an abhorrence of the Pope,
and his idolatrous worship, and pleaded for the ancient puri-
ty of doctrine and worship. God was pleased to maintain an
uninterrupted succession of witnesses through the whole time,
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 293
in Germany, France, Britain, and other covtntries ; as histo-
rians demonstrate, and mention them by name, and give an
account of the testimony which they held. Many of them
were private persons, and many of them ministers, and some
inagistrates, and persons of great distinction. And there were
numbers in every age who were persecuted and put to death
for this testimony.
(3) Besides these particular persons dispersed here and
there, there was a certain people, called the Waldenses, who
lived separate from all the rest of the world, who kept them-
selves pure, and constantly bore a testimony against the
church of Rome through all this dark time. The place where
they dwelt was the Vaudois, or the five valleys of Piedmont, a
very mountainous country, between Italy and France. The
place where they lived was compassed about with those ex-
ceeding high mountains called the J!/is, which were almost
impassable. The passage over these mountainous desert
countries, was so difficult, that the valleys v;here this people
dwelt were almost inaccessible. There this people lived for
many ages, as it were, alone, in a slate of separation from all
the world, having very little to do with any other people.
And there they served God in the ancient purity of his wor-
ship, and never submitted to the church of Rome. This
place in this desert mountainous country, probably was the
place especially meant in the 12th chapter of Revelation, 6th
verse, as the place prepared of God for the woman, that they
should feed her there during the reign of Antichrist.
Some of the Popish writers themselves own, that that peo-
ple never submitted to the church of Rome. One of the Pop-
ish writers, speaking of the Waldenses, says, the heresy of
the Waldenses is the oldest heresy in the world. It is sup-
posed that this people first betook themselves to this desert,
secret place among the mountains, to hide themselves from the
severity of the Heathen persecutions which were before Con-
stantine the Great. And thus the woman fled into the wilder-
ness from the face of the serpent, Rev. xii. 6. And so, verse
1 4. " And to the woman were given two wings of a great ea-
gle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place :
?94 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
Where she is nourished for a time, and tinnes, and half a time,
from the face of the serpent." And the people being settled
there, their posterity continued there from age to age aftcr-
Mards : And being, as it were, by natural walls, as well as by
God's grace, separated from the rest of the world, never par-
took of the overflowing corruption.
These especially Avere those virgins who were not defiled
with the rest of women, or when other Avomen prostituted
themselves and were defiled ; but they kept themselves pure
for Christ alone : They followed the Lamb, their spiritual
husband, whithersoever he went : They followed him into
tins hideous wilderness, Rev. xiv. 4, 5 Their doctrine and
their worship, as there still remain accounts of them, appear
to be the same Avith the Protestant doctrine and worship ; and
by the confession of Popish Avriters, they Avere a people re-
markable for the strictness of their lives, for charity and oth-
er Christian virtues. They lived in external poverty in this
hideous country ; but they chose this rather than to comply
with the great corruptions of the rest of the Avorld.
They living in so secret a place, it Avas a long time before
they seem to have been rnuch taken notice of by the Romanists ;
but at last falling under observation, they went out in mighty
armies against them, and fell upon them Avith insatiable cru-
elty, barbarously massacring and putting to death men, avo-
mcn, and children, Avith all imaginable tortures ; and so con-
tinued persecuting them Avith but little intermission for seA'er-
al hundred years ; by Avhich means many of them Avcre driv-
en out of their old haVjitations in the valleys of Piedmont, and
fled into all parts of Europe, carrying Avith them their doc-
trine, to Avhich many Avere brought over. So their persecu-r
tors could not by all their cruelties extirpate the churph of
God; so fulfilling his word, "that the gates of h.cU should
not prevail against it.
(4) ToAvards the latter part of this dark time, several noted
divines openly appeared to defend the truth, and bear testimo-
ny against the corruptions of the church of Rome, and had
many folloAvers. The first and principal of these Avas a cer-
tain English divine, Avhosc name Avas John ]Vicklijlf\ A\ho ap-
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 295
peared about 140 yearsMjefore the Reformation, and strenu-
ously opposed the Popish religion, and taught the same doc-
trine that the Reformers afterwards did, and had many follow-
ers in England. He was hotly persecuted in his life time,
yet died in peace ; and after he was buried, his bones v/erc
dug up by his persecutors, and burnt. His followers remain-
ed in considerable numbers in England till the Reformation,
and were cruelly persecuted, and multitudes put to death for
their religion.
Wickliff had many disciples and followers, not only in
England, but in other parts of Europe, whither his books were
carried and particularly in Bohemia, among whom were
two eminent divines, the hame of one was John Huss, the
other's name was Jerom, a divine belonging to Prague, the
chief city of Bohemia. These strenuously opposed the church'
of Rome, and had rnany who adhered to them. They were
both burnt by the Papists for their doctrine ; and their follow-
ers in Bohemia were cruelly persecuted, but never extirpated
till the Reformation.
Thus having gone through this dark time of the church,
which is the second part of the space from Constantlne the
Great to the destruction of Antichrist, I cOme now,
Mly. To the third part, viz. that which begins with the Re-
formation, and reaches to the present time. And here I
would, 1. Speak of the Reformation itself ; 2. The opposition
which the devil has made to the Reformed church ; 3. What
success there has lately been of the gospel in one place and
another ; 4. What the state of things is now in the world Avitli
regard to the church of Christ, and the success of his pur-
chase.
1. Here the first thing to be taken notice of is the Rcfor-^
tnation. This was begun about 220 years ago : First in Sax-
ony in Germany, by the preaching of Mailin Luther, who,
being stirred in his spirit, to see the horrid practices of the
Popish clergy, and having set himself diligently to inquire af-
ter truth, by the study of the holy scriptures, and the writings
of the ancient fathers of the church, very openly and boldly
decried the corruptions and usurpatioi>s of the Romish church
296 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
in his preaching and writings, and had soon a great number
that fell in with him ; among whom was the Elector of Sax-
ony, the sovereign prince of the country to which he belong-
ed. This greatly alarmed the church of Rome ; and it did
as it were rally all its force to oppose him and his doctrine,
and fierce wars and persecutions were raised against it : But
yet it went on, by the labors of Luther, and Melancthon in
Germany, and Zuinglius in Switzerland, and other eminent
divines, who were cotemporary with Luther, and fell in with
him ; and particularly Calvin, who appeared something after
the beginning of the Reformation, but was one of the most
eminent Reformers.
Many of the princes of Germany soon fell in with the Re-
formed religion, and many other states and kmgdoms in Eu-
rope ; as England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, great
part of France, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Low
Countries. So that it is thought, that heretofore about half
Christendom were of the Protestant religion ; though, since,
the Papists have gained ground : So that the Protestants now
have not so great a proportion.
Thus God began gloriously to revive his church again, and
advance the kingdom of his Son, after such a dismal night of
darkness as had been before from the rise of Antichrist to that
time. There had been many endeavors used, by the witnesses
for the truth, for a reformation before. But now, when God's
appointed time M'as come, his work was begun, and went on
with a swift and wonderful progress ; and Antichrist, who
had been rising higher and higher from his very first begin-
ning till that time, was swiftly and suddenly brought down,
and fell halfway toAvards utter ruin, and never has been able
to rise again to his former height. A certain very late expos-
itor (Mr. Lowman) who explains the five first vials, in the
16th chapter of Revelation, with greater probability perhaps
than any who went before him, explains the fifth vial, which
was poured out on the seat of the beast, ©f what came to pass
in the Reformation ; explaining the four preceding vials of
certain great judgments Ciod brought on the Popish domin-
ions before the Reformation. It is said, Rev. xvi. 10, that
Part It.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 297
" the fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat of the beast ;"
in the original, it is the throne of the beast ; " and his king-*
dom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for
pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their
pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." He
poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast, i. e. on the
authority and dominion of the Pope : So the word throne is
*ften used in scripture ; so 1 Kings i. 37. " As the Lord hath
been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and
make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King
David ;" i. e. nfiake his dominion and authority greater, and
his kingdom more glorious.
But now, in the Reformation, the vials of God's wrath were
poured out on the throne of the beast. His throne was terri-
bly shaken and diminished. The Pope's authority and do-
iminion was greatly diminished, both as to the extent and de-
gree. He lost, as v/as said before, about half his dominions.
And besides, since the Reformation, the Pope has lost great
part of that authority, even in the Popish dominions, which
he had before. He is not regarded, and his power is dreaded
in no measure as it was wont to be. The powers of Europe
have learned not to put their necks under the Pope's feet, as
formerly they were wont to do. So that he is as a lion that
has lost his teeth, in comparison of what he was once. And
when the Pope and his clergy, enraged to see their authority
so diminished at the Reformation, laid their heads together,
and joined their forces to destroy the Reformation ; their pol-
icy, which was wont to serve them so well, failed i and they
found their kingdom full of darkness, so that tliey could do
nothing, any more than the Egyptians,who rose not from their
seats for three days. The Reformed church was defended as
Lot and the angels were in Sodom by smiting the Sodomites
with darkness or blindness, that they could not find the door.
God then fulfilled that in Job v. 11, &c. " To set up on high
those that be low ; that those which mourn may be exalted
to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that
their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the
wise in their own craftiness : And the counsel of the froward
Vol. XL 2 O
^98 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III,
is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the dav
time, and grope in the noon day as in the night. But he sav-
eth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the
hand of the mighty."
Those proud enemies of God's people, being so disappoint-
ed, and finding themselves so unable to uphold their own do-
minion and authority, this made them as it were to gnaw their
tongues for pain, or bite their tongues for mere rage.
2. I proceed therefore to show Mhat opposition has been
made to this success of Christ's purchase by the Reformation
by Satan and his adherents ; observing, as we go along, hovy
far they have been baffled, and how far they have been suc-
cessful.
The opposition which Satan has made against the Reform-
ed religion has been principally of the following kinds, viz.
that which was made, 1, by a general council of the church of
Rome ; 2, by secret plots and devices ; 3, by open Avars and
invasions ; 4, by cruel oppression and persecution ; and 5, by
bringing in corrupt opinions.
( 1 ) The first opposition that I shall take notice of is that
which was made by the clergy of the church of Rome uniting
together in a general council. This was the famous council
of Trent, Avhich the Pope called a little while after the Refor-
mation. In that council, there met together six cardinals,
thirtytwo archbishops, two hundred and twentyeight bishops,
besides innumerable others of the Romish clergy. This coun-
cil, in all their sittings, including the times of intermission be-
tween their sittings, was held for twentyfive years together.
Their main business all this while was to concert measures
for establishing the church of Rome against the Reformers,
and for destroying the Reformation. But it proved that they
were not able to perform their enterprise. The Reformed
church, notwithstanding their holding so great a council, and
for so long a time together against it, remained, and remains
still. So that the counsel of the froward is carried headlong,
and their kingdom is full of darkness, and they weary them-
selves to find the door.
Thus the church of Rome, instead of repenting of their
dfteds, when such clear light was held forth to them by Lu-
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 299
ther, and other servants of God, the Reformers, does, by gen-
eral agreement in council, persist in their vile corruptions and
■wickedness, and obstinate opposition to the kingdom of
Christ. The doctrines and practices of the church of Rome,
^vhich were chiefly condemned by the Reformed, were con-
firmed by the decrees of their covmcil ; and the corruptions,
in many respects were carried higher than ever before ; and
they uttered blasphemous reproaches and curses against the
Reformed religion, and all the Reformed church was excom-
municated ancl anathematized by them ; and so, according to
the prophecy, " they blasphemed God." Thus God harden-
ed their hearts, intending to destroy them.
(2) The Papists have often endeavored to overthrow the
Reformation by secret plots and conspiracies. So there were
many plots against the life of Luther. The Papists were en-
gaged in contriving to despatch him, and to put him out of
their way ; and he, as he was a very bold man, often very
much exposed himself in the cause of Christ : But yet they
were wonderfully prevented from hurting him, and he at last
died in his bed in peace. And so there have been from time
to time innumerable schemes secretly laid for the overthrow
of the Protestant religion ; among which, that which seems
to be most considerable, and which seemed to be the most
likely to have taken effect, was that which was in the time of
King James II. of England, which is within the memory of
many of us. There was at that time a strong conspiracy be-
tween the King of England and Lewis XIV. of France, who
were both Papists, to extirpate the Northern heresy, as they
called the Protestant religion, not only out of England, but
out of all Europe ; and had laid their schemes so, that they
seemed to be almost sure of their purpose. They looked up-
on it, that if the Reformed religion were suppressed in the
Brhish realms, and in the Netherlands, which were the
strongest part, and chief defence of the Protestant interest,
they should have easy work with the rest. And just as their
matters seemed to be come to a head, and their enterprise
ripe for execution, God, in his providence, suddenly dashed
all their schemes in pieces by the Revolution, at the coming
300 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
in of Kinc; William and Queen Mary ; by which all their de-
signs were at an end ; and the Protestant interest was more
strongly established, by the crown of England's being estab-
lished in the Protestant house of Hanover, and a Papist being,
by the constitution of the nation, for ever rendered incapable
of wearing the crown of England. Thus they groped in dark-
ness at noon day as in the night, and their hands could not
perform their enterprise, and their kingdom was full of dark-
ness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.
After this, there Avas a deep design laid to bring the same
thing to pass in the latter end of Queen Anne's reign, by the
bringing in of the Popish pretender ; which was no less sud-
denly and totally baffled by divine Providence ; as the plots
against the Reformation, by bringing in the pretender, have
been from time to time.
(3) The Reformation has often been opposed by open wars
and invasions. So in the beginning of the Reformation, the
Emperor of Germany, to suppress the Reformation, declared
war "with the Duke of Saxony, and the principal men who fa-
vored and received Luther's doctrine. But they could not
obtain their end ; they could not suppress the Reformation.
For the same end, the King of Spain maintained a long war
wiUi Holland and the Low Countries in the century before last.
But those cruel wars issued greatly to the disadvantage of the
Romish church,as they occasioned the setting up of one of the
most powerful Protestant states in Europe,which next to Great
Britain, is the chief barrier of the Protestant religion. And
the design of the Spanish invasion of England in Queen Eliz-
abeth's time, was to suppress and root out the Reformed re-
ligion ; and therefore they brought in their fleet all manner
of instruments of cruelty wherewith to torture the Protestants
w-ho would not renounce the Protestant religion. But their
design was totally baffled, and their mighty fleet in a great
measure ruined.
(i) Satan has opposed the Rcformalion with cruel persecu-
tions. The persecutions with which the Protestants in one
kingdom and another have been persecuted by the church of
Rome, have in many respects been far beyond any of the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 20l
Heathen persecutions Avhich were before Constantine the
Great, and beyond all that ever -were before. So that Anti-
christ has pi'oved the greatest and crudest enemy to the
church of Christ that ever was in the world, in this, as well as
in all other respects ; agreeably to the description given of
the church of Rome, Rev. xvii. 6. « And I saw the woman
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus." And, chap, xviii. 24. <« And in her was
found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that
were slain upon the earth."
The Heathen persecutions had been very dreadful ; but
now persecution by tbe church of Rome was improved and
studied, and cultivated as an art or science. Such ways of
afflicting and tormenting were found out, as are beyond the
thought and invention of ordinary men, or men who are un-
studied in those things, and beyond the invention of all former
ages. And that persecution might be managed the more ef-
fectually, there were certain societies of men established in
various parts of the Popish dominions, whose business it
should be to study, and improve, and practise persecution in
its highest perfection, which are those societies called the
courts of inquisition. A reading of the particular histories of
the Romish persecution, and their courts of inquisition, will
give that idea which a few words cannot express.
When the Reformation began the beast v/ith seven heads
and ten horns began to rage in a dreadful manner. After the
Reformation, the church of Rome renewed its persecution of
the poor Waldenses, and great multitudes of tliem were cru-
elly tortured and put to death. Soon after the Reformation there
were terrible persecutions in various parts of Germany ; and
especially in Bohemia, which lasted for thirty years together i
in which so much blood was shed for the sake of religion,
that a certain writer compares it to the plenty of waters of the
great rivers of Germany. The countries of Poland, Lithua-
nia, and Hungary, were in like manner deluged with Protest-
ant blood.
By means of these and other cruel persecutions, the Pro-
testant religion was in a great measure suppressed in Bohe-
302 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
mia, and the Palatinate, and Hungary? which before were as it
were Protestant countries. Thus was fulfilled what was fore-
told of the little horn, Dan. vii. 20, 21. " — and of the ten
horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up,
and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes,
and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was
Tnore stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn
made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." And
what was foretold of the beast having seven heads and ten
horns. Rev. xiii. 7. " And it was given unto him to make
•war with the saints, and to overcome them : And power was
given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
Also Holland and the other Low Countries Avere for many
years a scene of nothing but the most affecting and amazmg
cruelties, being deluged with the blood of Protestants, under
the merciless hands of the Spaniards, to whom they were
then in subjection. But in this persecution the devil in a
great measui'e failed of his purpose ; as it issued in a great
part of the Netherlands casting off the Spanish yoke, and set-
ting up a wealthy and powerful Protestant state, to the great
defence of the Protestant cause ever since.
France also is another country, which, since the Reforma-
tion, in some respects, perhaps more than any other, has
been a scene of dreadful cruelties suffered by the Protestants
there. After many cruelties had been exercised towards the
Protestants in that kingdom, there was begun a persecution
of them in the year 1571, in the reign of Charles IX. King of
France. It began with a cruel massacre, wherein 70,000 Pro-
testants were slain in a few days time; as the King boasted :
And in all this persecution, he slew, as is supposed, 300,000
martyrs. And it is reckoned, that about this time, within
thirty years, there were martyred in this .kingdom, for the
Protestant religion, 39 princes, 148 counts, 234 barons,
147,518 gentlemen, and 760,000 of the common people.
But all these persecutions were, for exquisite cruelty, far
exceeded by those which followed in the reign of Lewis
XIV. which indeed are supposed to exceed all others that
ever have been ; and being long continued, by reason of the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 303
long reign of that king, almost wholly extirpated the Protes-
tant religion out of that kingdom, where had been before a
multitude of fomous Protestant churches all over the king-
dom. Thus it was given to the beast to make war with the
saints, and to overcome them.
There was also a terrible persecution in England in Queen
Mary's time, wherein great numbers in all parts of the king-
dom were burnt alive. And after this, though the Protestant
religion has been for the most part established by law in Eng-
land, yet there have been very severe persecutions by the
high church men, who symbolize in many things witli the
Papists. Such a persecution was that which occasioned our
forefathers to flee from their native country, and to come and
settle in this land, Avhich was then an hideous howling wilder-
ness. And these persecutions Avere continued with little in-
termission till King William came to the throne.
Scotland has also been the scene, for many years together,
of cruelties and blood by the hands of high churchmen, such
as came very little short of Ijie Popish persecution in Queen
Mary's days, and in many things much exceeded it, which
continued till they Avere delivered by King William.
Ireland also has been as it were overwhelmed with Protes-
tant blood. In the days of King Charles I. of England, above
200,000 Protestants were cruelly murdered in that kingdom
in a few days ; the Papists by a secret agreement, rising all
over the kingdom at an appointed time, intending to kill ev-
ery Protestant in the kingdom at once.
Besides these there have been very cruel persecutions in
Italy, and Spain, and other places, which I shall not stand to
relate.
Thus did the devil and his great minister Antichrist, rage
with such violence and cruelty against the church of Christ !
And thus did the whore of Babylon make herself drunk with
^ the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus ! And thus by these
persecutions, the Protestant church has been much diminish-
ed 1 Yet with all have they not been able to prevail ; but still
the Protestant church is upheld, and Christ fulfils his prom-
S04 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
ise, « That the gates of hell shall not prevail against his
church."
(5) The last kind of opposition that Satan has made to the
Reformation is by con'upt opinions. Satan has opposed the
light of the gospel which shone forth in the Reformation
with many corrupt opinions, which he has brought in and
propagated in the M'orld.
And here in the first place, the first opposition of this kind
was by raising up the sect of the Anabaptists, which began a-
bout four or five years after the Reformation itself began
This sect, as it first appeared in Germany, were vastly more
extravagant than the present Anabaptists are in England.
They held a great many exceeding corrupt opinions. One
tenet of theirs was, That there ought to be no civil authority,
and so that it was lawful to rebel against civil authority. And
on this principle, they refused to submit to magistrates, or
any human laws ; and gathered together in vast armies, to
defend themselves against their civil rulers, and put all Ger-
many into an uproar, and so kept it for some time.
The next opposition of this kind to the Reformation was
that which was made by enthusiasts. Those are called en-
thusiasts who falsely pretend to be inspired by the Holy
Ghost as the prophets were. These began in Germany,
about ten years after Luther began the Reformation ; and
there arose various sects of them who were exceeding wild
and extravagant. The followers of these are the Quakers in
England, and other parts of the British dominions.
The next to these were the Socinians, who had their begin-
ning chiefly in Poland, by the teaching of tAvo men ; the
name of the one was Lxlius Sociritis, of the other Faustus
Socinus. They held tliat Christ was a mere man, and denied
Christ's satisfaction, and most of the fundamental floctriaes of
the Christian religion. Their heresy has since been greatly
propagated among Protestants in Poland, Germany, Holland,
England, and other p aces.
After these arose the Arminians. These first appeared in
Holland about 1 30 years ago. They take their name from
a Dutchman, whose name was Jacobus Fanl£a7-mi>2,y\h\ch,
Vaut II.] WOIIK OF REDEMPTION. 305
turned into Latin is called Jacobus Arininius ; and from his
name the whole sect are called Arminlans. This Jacobus
Arminius was first a minister at Amsterdam, and then a pro-
fessor of divinity in the University of Leyden. He had ma,-
iiy followers in Holland. There was upon this a synod of all
the Reformed churches called together, who met at Dort, in
Holland. The synod of Dort condemned them ; but yet they
spread and prevailed. They began to prevail in England in
the reign of Charles I, especially in the church of England.
The church of England divines before that, were almost uni-
versally Calvinists ; but since that, Arminianism has gradu-
ally more and more prevailed, till they are become almost
universally Arminians. And not only so, but Arminianism
has greatly prevailed among the Dissenters, and has spread
greatly in New England, as well as Old.
Since this, Arianism has been received. As I told you be-
fore, Arianism, a little after Constantine's time, almost swal-
lowed up the Christian world, like a flood out of the mouth
of the serpent which threatened to swallow up the woman.....
And of late years this heresy has been revived in England,
and greatly prevails there, both in the church of England,
and among Dissenters. These hold that Christ is but a mere
creature ; though they grant that he is the greatest of all crea-
tures.'
Again, another thing which has of late exceedingly pre-
vailed among Protestants, and especially in England, is De-
ism. The Deists wholly cast off the Christian religion, and
are professed infidels. They are not like the Heretics, Ari-
ans, Socinians, and others, who own the scriptures to be the
w^ord of God, and hold the Christian religion to be the true re-
ligion, but only deny these and these fundamental doctrines
of the Christian religion : They deny the whole Christian
religion. Indeed they own the being of God ; but deny that
Christ was the son of God, and say he was a mere cheat ;
and so they say all the prophets and apostles v/ere : And
they deny the whole scripture. They deny that any of it is
the word of God. They deny any revealed religion, or any
word of God at all ; and say that God iias given mankind no
Vol. II. 2 P
.•T06 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
other licrht to walk by but their own reason. These sentiments
and opinions our nation, which is the principal nation of the
Reformation, is very much overrun Avith, and they prevail
more and more.
Thus much concerning the opposition that Satan has made
against the Reformation.
3. I proceed now to show what success the gospel has more
lately had, or what success it has had in these later times of the
Reformed church. This success may be reduced to these
three heads : 1. Reformation in doctrine and worship in
countries called Christian : 2. Propagation of the gospel a-
inong the Heathen : 3. Revival of religion in the power and
practice of it.
(1) As to the first, viz. Reformation in doctrine, the most
considerable success of the gospel that has been of late of
this kind has been in the empire of Muscovy, which is a coun-
try of vast extent. The people of this country, so many of
them as call themselves Christians, professed to be of the
Greek church ; but were barbarously ignorant, and very su-
perstitious till of late yeai's. Their late Emperor Peter the
Great, who reigned till within these twenty years, set himself
to reform the people of his dominions, and took great pains
to bring them out of their darkness and to have them instruct-
ed in religion. And to that end, he set up schools of learn-
ing, and ordered the Bible to be printed in the language of
the country, and made a law that every family should keep
the holy scriptures in their houses, and that every person
should be able to read the same, and that no persons should
be allowed to marry till they were able to read the scriptures.
He also reformed the churches of his country of many of
their superstitions, whereby the religion professed and practis-
ed in Muscovy, is much nearer to that of the Protestants than
formerly it used to be. This emperor gave great encourage-
ment to the exercise of the Protestant religion in his domin-
ions. And since that, Muscovy has become a land of light,
in comparison of what it was before. Wonderful alterations
have been brought about in the face of religion for the better
within these fifty years past.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 307
(2) As to the second kind of success which the gospel has
lately had, viz. its propagation among the Heathen, I would
take notice of three things.
[1] The propagation there has been of the gospel among
the Heathen here in America. This American continent on
which we live, which is a very great part of the world, and,
together with its neighboring seas adjoining, takes up one
side of the globe, was wholly unknovm to all Christian nations
till these later times. It Avas not known that there was any
such part of the world, though it was very full of people ; and
therefore here the devil had the people that inhabited this
part of the world as it Avere secure to himself, out of the reach
of the light of the gospel, and so out of the way of moles-
tation in his dominion over them. And here the many na-
tions of Indians worshipped him as God from age to age,
while the gospel was confined to the opposite side of the
globe. It is a thing, which, if I remember right, I have some-
where lit of, as probably supposed, from some remaining ac-
counts of things, that the occasion of the first peopling Amer-
ica was this, that the devil, being alarmed and surprized by
the Avonderful success of the gospel which there Avas the first
three hundred years after Christ, and by the doAvnfal of the
Heathen empire in the time of Constantine ; and seeing thq
gospel spread so fast, and fearing that his Heathenish king-
dom Avould be Avholly overthroAvn through the world, led
BAvay a people from the other continent into America, that
they might be quite out of the reach of the gospel, that here he
might quietly possess them, and reign over them as their god.
It is Avhat many writers give an account of, that some of the
nations of Indians, when the Europeans first came into Amer-
ica, had a tradition among them, that their god first led them
into this continent, and went before them, in an ark.
Whether this was so or not, yet it is certain that the devil
did here quietly enjoy his dominion over the poor nations of
Indians for many ages. But in later times God has sent the
gospel into these parts of the world, and now the Christian
church is set up here in New England, and in other parts of
America, where before had been nothing but the grossest
SOS WORK OF REDEMPTIOK. [Pehiod III.
Heathenish darkness. Great part of America is now full of
Bibles, and full of at least the form of the worship of the true
God, and Jesus Christ, where the name of Christ before had
not been heard of for many ajjes, if at all. And though there
has been but a small propagation of the gospel among the
Heathen here, in comparison of what were to be wished for ;
yet there has been something worthy to be taken notice of.....
There was som.ething remarkable in the first times of New
England, and something remarkable has appeared of late here,
and in other parts of America among many Indians, of an in-
clination to be instructed in the Christian religion.
And however small the propagation of the gospel among
the Heathen here in America has been hitherto, yet I think
we may well look upon the discovery of so great a part of the
world as America, and bringing the gospel into it, as one
thing by which divine providence is preparing the way for
the future glorious times of the church ; when Satan's king-
dom shall be overthrown, not only throughout the Roman
empire, but throughout the whole habitable globe, on every
side, and on all its continents. When those times come, then
doubtless the gospel, which is already brought over into A-
merica, shall have glorious success, and all the inhabitants of
this new discovered world, shall become subjects of the Idng-
dom of Christ, as well as all the other ends of the earth ; and
in all probability providence has so ordered it, that the marin-
er's compass, Avhich is an inveniion of later times, whereby
men are enabled to sail over the widest ocean, when before
they durst not venture far from land, should prove a prepara-
tion for what God intends to bring to pass in the glorious times
of the church, viz. the sending forth the gospel wherever any
of the children of men dwell, how far soever off, and however
separated by wide oceans from tliose parts of the world which
are already Christianized.
(2) There has of late years been a very considerable prop-
agation of the gospel among the Heathen in the dominions
of Muscovy. I have already observed the reformation which
there has lately been among those who are (ialled Christians
there : But I now speak of the Heathen. Great part of the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. .-^og
vast dominions of the Emperor of Muscovy are gross Heath-
ens. The greater part of Great Tartary, a Heathen country,
has in later times been bi'ought under the Muscovite govern-
ment ; and there have been of late great numbers of those
Heathen who have renounced their Heathenism, and have
embraced the Christian religion.
[3] There has been lately a very considerable propagation
of the Christian religion among the Heathen in the East In-
dies ; particularly, many, in a country in the East Indies cal-
led Malabar, have been brought over to the Christian Protes-
tant religion, chiefly by the labors of certain missionaries
sent thither to instruct them by the King of Denmark, who
have brought over many Heathens to the Christian faith, and
have set up schools among them, and a printing press, to print
Bibles and other books for their instruction, in their own lan-
guage, with great success.
(3) The last kind of success which there has lately been of
the gospel, which I shall take notice of, is the revivals of the
power and practice of religion which have lately been. And
here I shall take notice of but two instances.
[1] There has not long since been a remarkable revival of
the power and practice of religion in Saxony in Germany,
through the endeavors of an eminent divine there, whose
name was August Herman Franks professor of divinity at
Hall in Saxony, who, being a person of eminent charity, the
great work that God wrought by him, began with his setting
on foot a charitable design. It began only with his placing
an alms box at his study door, into which some poor mites
were thrown, whereby books were bought for the instruction
of the poor. And God vyas pleased so wonderfully to smile
on his design, and so to pour out a spirit of charity on people
there on that occasion, that with their charity he Avas enabled
hi a little time to erect public schools for the instruction of
poor children, and an orphan house for the siipply and instruc-
tion of the poor ; so that at last it came to that, that near five
hundred children were maintained and instructed in learning
and piety by the charity of others ; and the number continu-
ed to increase more and more for many years, and till the
5ia WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III,
last account I have seen. This was accompanied wiih a won-
derful reformation and revival of religion, and a spirit of pie-
ty, in the city and university of Hall ^ and thus it continued.
Which also had great influence in many other places in Ger-
many. Their example seemed remarkably to stir up multi-
tudes to their imitation.
[2] Another thin^^, which it would be ungrateful in us not
to take notice of, is that remai-kable pouring out of the Spirit
©f God Avhich has been of late in this part of New England,
©f which we, in this town, have had such a share. But it is
needless for me particularly to describe it, it being what you
liave so lately been eye witnesses to, and I hope multitudes of
you sensible of the benefit of.
Thus I have mentioned the more remarkable instances of
the success which the gospel has lately had in the world.
4. I proceed now to the last thing that was proposed to be
considered relating to the success of Christ's redemption dur-
ing this space, viz. what the state of things is now in the world
■with regard to the church of Christ, and the success of Christ's
purchase. And this I would do, by showing how things arc
BOW, compared with the first times of the Reformation. And,
1. I would shoAv wherein the state of things is altered for the
■worse ; and, 2. How it is altered for the better.
(1) I would show wherein the state of things is altered
from what it was in the beginning of the Rcformc;tion, for the
worse ; and it is so especially in these three respects.
[1] The reformed church is mxich diminished. The Re-
formation in the former times of it, as was observed before,
was supposed to take place through one half of Christendom,
excepting the Greek church, or that there were as many Pro-
testants as Papists. But now it is not so ; the Protestant
church is much diminished. Heretofore there have been
multitudes of Protestants in France ; many famous Protestant
churches were all over that country, who used to meet togeth-
er in synods, and maintain a very regular discipline ; and
great part of that kingdom were Protestants. The Protestant
church of France was a great part of the glory of the Reforma-
tion. But now it is far otherwise : Thi schurch is all broken to
Part IT.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 211
pieces and scattered. The Protestant religion is almost whol-
ly rooted out of that kingdom by the cruel persecutions which
have been there, and there are now but very few Protestant as-
semblies in all that kingdom. The Protestant interest is also
greatly diminished in Germany. There were several sov-
ereign princes there formerly who were Protestants, whose
successors are now Papists ; as particularly, the Elector Pal-
atine, and the Elector of Saxony. The kingdom of Bohe-
Biia was formerly a Protestant kingdom, but is now in the
hands of the Papists : And so Hungary was formerly a Pro-
testant country ; but the Protestants there have been greatly
reduced, and in a great measure subdued, by the persecutions
that have been there. And the Protestant interest has no
way remarkably gained ground of late of the church of Rome.
[2] Another thing wherein the state of things is altered for
the worse from what was in the former times of the Reforma-
tion, is the prevailing of licentiousness in principles and opin-
ions. There is not now that spirit of orthodoxy which thei'e
was then : There is very little appearance of zeal for the
mysterious and spiritual doctrines of Christianty ; and they
never were so indiculed, and had in contempt, as they are in
the present age ; and especially in England, the principal
kingdom of the Reformation. In this' kingdom, those princi-
ples, on which the power of godliness depends, are in a great
measure exploded ; and Arianism, and Socinianism, and Ar-
minianism, and Deism, are the things which prevail, and
carry almost all before them. And particularly history gives
no account of any age wherein there was so great an apostacy
of those who had been brought up under the light of the gos-
pel, to infidelity ; never was there such a casting off of the
Christian, and all revealed religion ; never any age wherein
was, so much scoffing at, and ridiculing the gospelo f Christ,
by those who have been brought up under gospel light, nor
any thing like it, as there is at this day.
[3] Another thing wherein things are altered for the worse,
is, that there is much less of the prevalency of the power of
godliness, than there was at the beginning of the Reforma-
tion. There was a glorious outpouring of the Spirit of God
312 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
that accompanied the first Reformation, not only to convert
multitudes in so short a time from Popery to the true religion,
but to turn many to God and true (godliness. Religion glori-
ously flourished in one country and another, as most remai'k-
ably appeared in those times of terrible persecution, which
have already been spoken of. But now there is an exceeding
great decay of vital piety ; yea, it seems to be despised, cal-
led enthuHiasvi^ ivhimsy^ and fa77aticis?n. Those who are truly
religious, are commonly looked upon to be crack brained, and
beside their right mind ; and vice and profaneness dreadfully
prevail, like a flood which threatens to bear down all before
it But I proceed nov/ to show,
(2) In what respect things are altered for the better from
what they were in the first Reformation.
[1] The power and influence of the Pope is much dimin-
ished. Although, since the former times of the Reformation,
he has gained ground in extent of dominion ; yet he has lost
in degree of influence. The vial Avl.ich, in the beginning of
the Reformation was poured out on the throne of the beast,
to the great diminishing of his power and authority in the
world, has continued running ever since. The Pope, soon
after the Reformation, became less regarded by the princes
of Europe than he had been before ; and so he has been since,
less and less. Many of the Popish princes themselves seem
now to regard him very little more than they think v/ill serve
their own designs ; of which there have been several remark-
able proofs and instances of late.
[2] There is far less persecution now than there was in the
first limes of the Reformation. You have heard already hovr
dreadfully persecution raged in the iormer limes of the Re-
formation ; and there is something of it still. Some parts of
the Protestant church are at this day under persecution, and
so probably will be till the day of the cliurch's suffering and
travail is at an end, which will not be till the fall of Antichrist.
But it is noAv in no measure as it was heretofore. There does
not seem to he the same spirit of persecution prevailing j
it is become more out of fashion even among the Popish
princes. The wickedness of the enemies of Christ, and the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 313
opposition against his cause, seem to rvm in another channel.
The humor now is, to despise and laugh at all religion ; and
there seems to be a spirit of indifferency about it. However,
so far the state of things is better than it has been, that there
is so much less of persecution.
[3] There is a great increase of learning. In the dark
times of Popery before the Reformation, learning was so far
decayed, that the Avorld seemed to be overrun with barbarous
ignorance. Their very priests Avere many of them grossly
ignorant. Learning began to revive with the Reformation,
which was owing very much to the art of printing, which was
invented a little before the Reformation ; and since that, learn-
ing has increased more and more, and at this day is undoubt-
edly raised to vastly a greater height than ever it was before :
And though no good use is made of it by the greater part of
learned men, yet the increase of learning in itself is a thing to
be rejoiced in, because it is a good, and, if duly applied, an
excellent handmaid to divinity, and is a talent which, if God
gives men an heart, affords them a great advantage to do
great things for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ,
and the good of the souls of men. That learning and knowl-
edge should greatly increase before the glorious times, seems
to be foretold, Dan. xii. 4. " But thou, O Daniel, shut up the
words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end : Many
shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." And
however little now learning is applied to the advancement of
religion ; yet wc may hope that the days are approaching,
v/herein God will make great use of it for the advancement
of the kingdom of Christ.
God in his providence now seems to be acting over again
the same part which he did a little time before Christ came.
The age wherein Christ came into the world, was an age where-
in learning greatly prevailed, and was at a greater height than
ever it had been before ; and yet wickedness never prevailed
more than then. God was pleased to suffer human learning-
to come to such a height before he sent forth the gospel into
the world, that the Avorld might see the insufficiency of all
their own wisdom for the obtaining the knowledge of God,
Vol. II. a Q
514 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Petitoi> III.
■without the gospel of Christ, and the teachings of his Spirit ~
And then, after that, in the -wisdom of God, the world by wis-
dom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of
preaching, to save them that believe. And when the gospel
came to prevail first ^yithout the help of man's wisdom, then
God was pleased to make use of learning as an handmaid. So
now learning is at a great height at this day in the world, far
beyond what it was in the age when Christ appeared ; and
now the world, by their learning and wisdom, do not know
God ; and they seem to wander in darkness, are miserably
deluded, stumble and fall in matters of religion, as in mid-
night darkness. Trusting to their learning, they grope in the
day time as in the night. Learned men are exceedingly di-
lided in their opinions concerning the matters of religion*
run into all manner of corrupt opinions, and pernicious and
foolish errors. They scorn to submit their reason to divine
revelation, to believe any thing that is above their comprehen-
sion ; and so, being wise in their own eyes, they become fools,
and even vain in their imaginations, and turn the truth of God
into a lie, and their foolish hearts are darkened. See Rom.
1.21. Sec.
But yet, when God has sufficiently shov^n men the insuffi-
ciency of human wisdom and learning for the purposes of re-
ligion, and when the appointed time comes for that glorious
outpouring of the Spirit of God, when he will himself by his
own immediate influence enlighten men's minds ; then may
we hope that God will make use of the great increase of
learning as an handmaid to religion, as a means of the glori-
ous advancement of the kingdom of his Son. Then shall hu-
man learning be subservient to the understanding of the scrip-
tures, and to a clear explanation and a glorious defence of the
doctrines of Christianity, And there is no doubt to be made
of it, that God in his providence has of late given the world
the art of printing, and such a great increase ot learning, to
prepare for what he designs to accomplish for his church in
the approaching days of its prosperity. And thus the wealth
of the wicked is laid up for the just, agreeable to Prov. xiii. 22.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. SIS
Having now shown how the work of redemption has been
carried on from the fall of man to the present time, before I
proceed any further, I would make some Application.
1. From what has been said, we may see great evidence of
the truth of the Christian religion, and that the scriptures are
the word of God. There are three arguments of this, which
I shall take notice of, which may be drav,^n from what has
been said.
(1) It may be argued from that violent and inveterate op-
position there has always appeared of the wickedness of the
world against this religion. The religion that the church of
God has professed from the first founding of the church after
the fall to this time, has always been the same. Though the
dispensations have been altered, yet the religion which the
church has professed has always, as to its essentials, been the
same. The church of God, from the beginning, has been
one society. The Christian church which has been since
Christ's ascension, is manifestly the same society continued,
with the church, that was before Christ came. The Christian
church is grafted on their root : They are built on the same
foundation. The revelation on which both have depended, is
essentially the same : For as the Christian church is built on
the holy scriptures, so was the Jewish church, though now
the scriptures be enlarged by the addition of the New Testa-
ment ; but still it is essentially the same revelation with that
which was given in the Old Testament, only the subjects of
divine revelation are now more clearly revealed in the New
Testament than they were in the Old. But the sum and sub-
stance of both the Old Testament and New, is Christ and his
redemption. The religion of the church of Israel, was essen-
tially the same religion with that of the Christian church, as
evidently appears from what has been said. The groundwork
of the religion of the church of God, both before and since
Christ has appeared, is the same great scheme of redemption
by the Son of God ; and so the church that was before the Is-
raelitish church, was still the same society, and it was essen-
tially the same religion that was professed and practised in it.
Thus it was from Noah to Abraham, and thus it was befove
316 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
the flood. And this society of men that is called the churchy
has always been built on the foundation of those revelations
which we have in the scriptures, which have always been es ■
seniially the same, thousjh gradually increasing. The church
before the flood, was built on the foundation of those rejrela-
tions of Christ which were given to Adam, and Abel, and
Enoch,of which we have an account in the former chapters
of Genesis, and others of the like import. The church after
the flood, was built on the foundation of the revelations made
to Noah and Abraham, to Melchisedeck, Isaac, and Jacob, to
Joseph, Job, and other holy men, of whom we have an account
in the scriptures, or other revelations that were to the same
purpose. And after this the church depended on the scrip-
tures themselves as they gradually increased ; so that the
church of God has always been built on the foundation of di-
vine revelation, and always on those revelations that were es-
sentially the same, and which arc summarily comprehended
in the holy scriptures, and ever since about Moses's time
have been built on the scriptures themselves.
So that the opposition which has been made to the church
of God in all ages, has always been against the same religion,
and the same revelation. Now therefore the violent and per-
petual opposition that has ever been made by the corruption
and wickedness of mankind agamst this church, is a strong ar-
guinent of the truth of this religion, and this revelation, upon
•which this church has always been built. Contraries are well
argued one from another. We may well and safely argue,
that a thing is good, according to the degree of opposition in
which it stands to evil, or the degree in which evil opposes it,
and is an enemy to it. We may well argue, that a thing is
light, by the great enmity which darkness has to it. Now it
is evident, by the thiiygs Avhich you have heard concerning
the church of Christ, and that holy religion of Jesus Christ
which it has professed, that the wickedness of the world has
had a perpetual hatred to it, and has made most violent oppo-
sition against it.
That the church of God has always met with great opposi-
tion in the >vorld, none can deny. This is plain by profane
PartIL] work of redemption. sir
history as far as that reaches ; and before that, divine history-
gives us the same account. The church of God, and its relig-
ion and worsliip, began to be opposed in Cain's and Abel's
time, and was so when the earth Avas filled with violence in
Noah^time. And after this how was the church opposed in
Egypt ! And how was the church of Israel always hated by the
nations round about, agreeable to that in Jer. xii. 9. " Mine
heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about
are against her." And after the Babylonish captivity, how
was this church persecuted by Antiochus, Epiphanes and oth-
ers ! And how was Christ persecuted "vvhen he was on earth !
And how were the apostles and other Christians persecvited
by the Jews before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro-
inans ! How violent were that people against the church !
And how dreadful was the opposition of the Heathen world a-
gainst the Christian church after this before Constantine ! How
great was their spite against the true religion I And since that,
how yet more violent, and spiteful, and cruel, has been the
opposition of Antichrist against the church !
There is no other such instance of opposition. History
gives no account of any other body of men that have been so
hated, and so maliciously and insatiably pursued and pesecut-
ed, nor any thing like it. No other religion ever was so ma-
ligned age after age. The nations of other professions have
enjoyed their religions in peace and quietness, however they
have diifered from their neighbors. One nation has worship-
ped one sort of gods, and others another, without molesting
or disturbing one another about it. All the spite and opposi-
tion has been against this religion, which the church of Christ
has professed. All other religions have seemed to show an
implacable enmity to this ; and men have seemed to have,
from one age to another, such a spite against it, that they
have seemed as though they could never satisfy their cruelty.
They put their inventions upon the rack to find out torments
that should be cruel enough ; and yet, after all, never seemed
to be satisfied. Their thirst, has never been satisfied with
blood.
S18 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
So that this is out of doubt, that this religion, and these
scriptures have always been malignantly opposed in the world.
The only question that remains, is, What it is that has made
this opposition ? Whether or not it has been good or bad ?
Whether it be the mckcdness and corruption of the »i^orld,
or not, that has done this ? But of this there can be no greater
doubt than of the other, if we consider how causeless this
cruelty has always been, who the opposers have been, and
the manner in which they have opposed. The opposition has
chiefly been from Heathenism and Popery ; which things
certainly are evil. They are both of them very evil, and the
fruits of the blindness, corruption, and wickedness of men, as
the very Deists themselves confess. The light of nature
shows, that the religion of Heathens, consisting in the wor-
ship of idols, and sacrificing their children to them, and in
obscene and abominable rites and ceremonies, is wickedness.
And the superstitions, and idolatries, and usurpations of the
church of Rome, are no less contrary to the light of nature.
By this, it appears that this opposition whicli has been made
against the church of God, has been made by wicked men.
And with regard to the opposition of the Jews in Christ's and
the apostle's times, it was in a most corrupt time of that
nation, when the people were generally become exceeding
wicked, as some of the Jewish writers themselves, as Jose-
phus and others, who lived about that lime, do expressly
say. And that it has been mere wickedness that has made
this opposition, is manifest, from the manner of opposition,
the extreme violence, injustice, and cruelty, with which the
church of God has been treated. It seems to show the hand
cf malignant infernal spirits in it.
Now what reason can be assigned, why the corruption
and wickedness of the world should so implacably set itself
against this religion of Jesus Christ, and against the scrip-
tures, but only that they are contrary to wickedness, and con-
sequently are good and holy ? Why should the enemies of
Christ, for so many thousand years together, manifest such a
mortal hatred of this religion, but only that it is the cause of
Sod ? If the scriptures be not the word of God, and the re-
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 319
ligion of the church of Christ, be not the true religion, then
it must follow, that it is a most wicked religion ; nothing
but a pack of lies and abominable delusions, invented by the
enemies of God themselves. And if this were so, it is not
likely that the enemies of God, and the Avickedness of the
world, would have maintained such a perpetual and implaca-
ble enmity against it.
(2) It is a great argument that the Christian church and
its religion is from God, that it has been upheld hitherto
through all the opposition and dangers it has passed through.
That the church of God and the true religion, which has been
so continually and violently opposed, with so many endeavors
to overthrow it, and which has. so often been brought to the
brink of ruin, and almost swallov/ed up, through the greatest
part of six thousand years, has yet been upheld, does most
remarkably show the hand of God m favor of the church. If
we consider it, it Avill appear one of the greatest wonders and
miracles that ever came to pass. There is nothing else like
it upon the face of the earth. There is no other society of
men that has stood as the church has. As to the old Avorld
which was before the flood, that was overthrown by a deluge
of waters ; but yet the church of God was preserved. Sa-
tan's visible kingdom on earth Avas then once entirely over-
thrown ; but the visible kingdom of Christ never has been
overthroAvn. All those ancient human kingdoms and mon-
archies of Avhich Ave read, and Avhich have been in former
ages, they are long since come to an end. Those kingdoms
of Avhich Ave read in the Old Testament, of the Moabites, the
Ammonites, the Edomites, &c. they are all long ago come to
an end. Those four great monarchies of the world have
been overthroAvn, one after another. The great empire of
proud Babylon Avas overthroAvn by the Persians ; and tlien the
Persian empire was ovorthroAvn by the Greeks ; after this
the Grecian empire was overthroAvn by the Romans ; and,
finally, the Roman empire fell a sacrifice to various barbarous
nations. Here is a remarkable fulfilment of the Avords of
the text Avith respect to other things, even the greatest and
most glorious of them : They have all grown old aiid have van-
320 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
ished away : " The moth has eaten them up like a garmentj,
and the worm has eaten them like wool ;" but yet God's
church remains.
Never were there so many and so potent endeavors to de-
stroy any thing else, as there have been to destroy the church.
Other kingdoms and societies of men, which have appeared
to be ten times as strong as the church of God, have been de-
stroyed with an hundredth part of the opposition which the
church of God has met with ; which shows, that it is God
who has been the protector of the church. For it is most
plain, that it has not upheld itself by its own strength. For
the most part it has been a very weak society. They have
been a little fiock : So they were of old. The children of Israel
were but a small handful of people, in comparison of the ma-
ny Vv'lio often sought their overthrow. And so in Christ's time,
and in the beginning of the Christian church after Christ's
resurrection, they were but a remnant : Whereas the whole
multitude of the Jewish nation Avere against them. And so
in the beginning of the Gentile church, they were but a small
number in comparison with the Heathen, Avho sought their
overthrow. And so in the dark times of Antichrist, before the
Reformation, they were but a handful ; and yet their enemies
could not overthrow them. And it has commonly been so, that
the enemies of the church have not only had the greatest num-
ber of their side, but they have had the strength of their side in
other respects. They have commonly had all the civil authori-
ty of their side. So it was in Egypt : The civil authority was
of the side of the Egyptians, and the church were only their
slaves, and were in their hands ; and yet they could not over-
throv/ them. And so it was in the time of the persecution of
Antiochus Epiphanes : The authority was all on the side of
the persecutors, and the church was under their dominion ;
and yet all their cruelty could not extirpate it. And so it
was afterwards in the time of the Heathen Roman govern-
ment. And so it was in tlie time of Julian the apostate, who
did his utmost to overthrow the Christian church, and to re-
store Heathenism. And so it has been for the most part
smce the rise of Antichrist : For a great many ages, the civ-
*ARt It.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S2t
ii authority was all on the side of Antichrist, and the church
seemed to be in their hands.
And not only has the sti'ength of the enemies of the church
been greater than the strength of the church, but ordinarily
the church has not used Avhat strength they have had in their
own defence, but have committed themselves v/hoUy to God.
So it was in the time of the Jewish persecutions before the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; and so it was in
the time of the Heathen persecutions before Constantine ;
the Christians did not only not rise up in arms to defend
themselves, but they did not pretend to make any forcible re-
sistance to their Heathen persecutors. So it has for the most
part been under the Popish persecutions ; and yet they have
never been able to overthrow the church of God ; but it
stands to this very day.
And this is still the more exceeding wonderful, if we con-
sider how often the church has been brought to the brink of
ruin, and the case seemed to be desperate, and all hope gone,
and they seemed to be swallowed up. In the time of the old
world, when wickedness so prevailed, as that but one family
was left, yet God wonderfully appeared, and overthrew the
wicked world with a flood, and preserved his church. And
so at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and his host thought they
were quite sure of their prey ; yet God appeared, and de-
stroyed them, and delivered his church. And so was it from
time to time in the church of Israel, as has been shown. So
under the tenth and last Heathen persecution, their persecu-
tors boasted that now they had done the business for the
Christians, and had overthrown the Christian church ; yet in
the midst of their triumph, the Christian church rises out of
the dust and prevails, and the Heathen empire totally falls
before it. So when the Christian church seemed ready to
be swallowed up by the Arian heresy ; so when Antichrist
rose and prevailed, and all the world wondered after the beast,
and the church for many hundred yeai^s was i-educed to such
a small number, and seemed to be hidden, and the power of
the world was engaged to destroy those little remainders of
the church ; yet they could never fully accoir-plish their de-
VoL. II. 2 R
322 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
sign, and at last God wonderfully revived his church in the
time of tlie Reformation, and made it to stand as it were on
its feet in the sight of its enemies, and raised it out of their
reach. And so since, when the Popish powers have plotted
the overthrow of the Reformed church, and have seemed just
about to bring their matters to a conclusion, and to finish their
design, then God has wonderfully appeared for the deliverance
of his church, as it was in the time of the Revolution by-
King William. And so it has been from time to time ; pres-
ently after the darkest times of the church, God has made
his church most gloriously to flourish.
If such a preservation of the church of God, from the bc-
o-inningof the world hitherto, attended with such circumstan-
ces, is not sufficient to show a divine hand in favor of it, what
can be devised that would be sufficient ? But if this be from
the divine hand, then God owns the church, and owns her re-
ligion, and owns that revelation and those scriptures on which
she is built ; and so it will follow, that their religion is the
true religion, or God's religion, and that the scriptures,
which they make their rule, are his word.
(3) We may draw this further argument for the divine
authority of the scriptures from what has been said, viz. that
God has so fulfilled those things which are foretold in the
scriptures.... I have already observed, as I went along, how the
prophecies of scripture Avere fulfilled : I shall now therefore
single out but two instances of the fulfilment of scripture
prophecy.
[1] One is in preserving his church from being ruined.
I have just now shown what an evidence this is of the divine
authority of the scriptures in itself considered : I now speak
of it as a fulfilment of scripture prophecy. This is abundant-
ly foretold and promised in the scriptures, as particularly in
the text : There it is foretold, that other things shall fail,
other kingdoms and monarchies which set themselves in op-
position, should come to nothing : " The moth should eat
them up like a garment, and the worm should cat them like
wool." And so it has in fact come to pass. But it is here
foretold, that God's covenant mercy to his church should con-
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 323
tihue forever ; and so it hath hitherto proved, though now it
be so many ages since, and though the church has passed
through so many dangers. The same is promised, Isa. liv.
17. « No vi^eapon that is formed against thee, shall prosper ;
and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment,
thou shalt condemn." And again, Isa. xlix. 14, 15, 16. <•' But
Zion said. The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath
forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that
she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ?
Yea, they may forget, but yet will I not forget thee. Behold,
I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands, thy walls are
continually before me." The same is promised again, in
Isa. lix. 21, and Isa. xliii. 1, 2, and Zech. xii. 2, 3. So Christ
promises the same, when he says, " On this rock will I build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Now if this be not from God, and the scriptures be not the
word of God, and the church of Christ, built on the founda-
tion of this word be not of God, hov/ could the persons who
foretold this, know it ? For if the church wer-e not of God, it
was a very unlikely thing ever to come to pass. For they
foretold the great opposition, and the great dangers, and also
foretold that other kingdoms should come to nought, and
that the church should often be almost swallowed up, as it
•were easy to show, and yet foretold that the church should re-
main. Now how could they foresee so unlikely a thing but
by divine inspiration ?
[2] The other remarkable instance which I shall mention
of the fulfilment of scripture prophecy, is in fulfilling what is
foretold concerning Antichrist, a certain great opposer of
Christ and his kingdom. And the way that this Antichrist
should arise, is foretold, viz. not among the Heathen or those
nations that never professed Christianity ; but that he should
arise by the apostacy and falling away of the Christian church
into a corrupt state : 2. Thess. ii. 3. « For that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." And it is proph^
esied, that this Antichrist, or man of sin, should be one, that
should set himself up in the temple or visible church of God
324 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
pretending to be vested with tlie power of God himseir,
as head of the church, as in the same chapter, verse 4.
And all this is exactly come to pass in the church of Rome.
Again, it is intimated, that the rise of Antichrist should be
gradual, as there, verse 7. « For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work ; only he who now letteth, will let, until he be
taken out of the way." This also came to pass Again, it
is prophesied of such a great and mighty enemy of the
Christian church, that he should be a great prince or mon-
arch of the Roman empire : So he is represented as an horn
of the fourth beast in Daniel, or fourth kingdom or monarchy
upon earth, as the angel himself explains it, as you may see
of the little horn in the 7th chapter of Daniel. This also
came to pass Yea, it is prophesied, that the seat of this
great prince, or pretended vicar of God, and head of his
church, should be in the city of Rome itself. In the 17th
chapter of Revelation, it is said expressly, that the spiritual
whore, or false church, should have her seat on seven moun-
tains, or hills ; Rev. xvii. 9. "The seven heads are seven
mountains, on Avhich the woman sitteth :" And in the last
verse of the chapter, it is said expressly, " The woman which
thou sawest, is that great city which reigneth over the kings
of the earth ;" which it is certain was at that time the city of
Rome. This prophecy has also come to pass in the church
of Rome.
Further, it was prophesied, that this Antichrist should reign
over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, Rev.
xvii. 15 ; and that all the world should wonder after the beast.
Rev. xiii. 3. This also came to pass in the church of Rome.
It was foretold tliat this Antichrist should be eminent and re-
markable for the sjn of pride, pretending to great things, and
assuming very nmch to himself : So in the forementioned
place in Thessalonians, « That he should exalt himself above
all that is called God," or that is worshipped. So Rev. xiii. 5.
« And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things, and blasphemies." Dan. vii. 20, the little horn is said
to have a mouth speaking very great things, and his look to
be more stout than his fellows. This also came to pass in
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S25
the Pope, and the church of Rome It was also prophesied^
that Antichrist should be an exceeding cruel persecutor,
Dan. vii. 21. The same horn made Avar with the saints, and
prevailed against them : Revelations xiii. 7. " And it wa»
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to over-
come them." Revelations xvii. 6. " And I saw the woman,
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus." This also came to pass in tho
church of Rome It was foretold, that Antichi'ist should ex-
cel in craft and policy : Dan. vii. 8. " In this horn were eyes
like the eyes of a man." And verse 20. " Even of that hom
that had eyes." This also came to pass in the church of
Rome It was foretold, that the kings of Christendom
should be subject to Antichrist : Rev. xvii. 12, 13. « And
the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one
hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give
their power and strength unto the beast." This also came to
pass with respect to the Romish church It was foretold,
that he should perform pretended miracles and lying won-
ders : 2 Thess. ii. 9. " Whose coming is after the working of
Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders." Rev.
xiii. 13, 14. " And he doth great wonders, so that he maketli
fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men,
and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of
those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast." This also came to pass in the church of Rome.
Fire's coming down from heaven, seems to have reference to
jtheir excommunications, which were dreaded like fire from
heaven It was foretold, that he should forbid to marry, and
to abstain from meats : 1 Tim. iv. 3. « Forbidding to marry,
and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath cre-
ated to be received with thanksgiving.^ This also is exactly
fulfilled in the church of Rome It was foretold, that he
should be very rich, and arrive at a great degree of earthly
splendor and glory : Rev. xvii. 4. " And the woman was ar-
rayed in purple, and scarlet color, and decked with gold and
precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand."
52« WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
And so chap, xviii. 7. 12, 13. 16. This also is come to pass
with respect to the church of Rome It was foretold, that ht
should forbid any to buy or sell> but those that had his mark :
Rev. xiii. 17. " And that no man might buy or sell, save lie
ihat had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name." This also is fulfilled in the church of Rome.
It was foretold, that he should sell the souls of men, Rev.
xviii. 13, where, in enumerating the articles of his merchan-
dise, the soids of men are mentioned as one. This also is ex-»
actly fulfilled in the same church It was foretold, that Anti-
christ would not suffer the bodies of God's people to be put
into graves : Rev. xi. 8, 9. " And their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city. ...and they. ...shall not suffer their
dead bodies to be put in graves." Tliis also has literally come
to pass with respect to the church of Rome I might men-
tion many other things which were foretold of Antichrist, or
that great enemy of the church so often spoken of in scrip-
ture, and show that they were fulfilled most exactly in the
Pope and the church of Rome.
How strong an argument is this, that the scriptures arc the
■word of God ?
2. But I come now to a second inference ; which is this :
From what has been said, we may learn what the spirit of
true Christians is, viz. a spirit of suff"ering. Seeing God has
so ordered it in his providence, that his church should for so
long a time, for the greater part of so many ages, be in a suf-
fering state, yea, and often in a state of such extreme suffer-
ing, we may conclude, that the spirit of the true church is a
suffering spirit, otherwise God never would have ordered so
much sufl'ering for the church ; for doubtless God accommo-
tlates the stale and circumstances of the church to the spirit
that he has given them. We see by what has been said, how
many and great sufferings the Christian church for the most
part has been under for these 1700 years : No wonder there-
fore that Christ so much inculcated upon his disciples, that it
w as necessary, that if any would be his disciples, " they must
deny themselves, and l^ke up their cross and follow him."
Part H.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 52?
And wc may argue, that the spirit of the tnie church of
Christ is a suffering spirit, by the spirit the church has shown
and exercised under her sufferings. Slie has actually, under
those terrible persecutions throiigh which she has passed),
rather chosen to undergo those dreadful torments, and to sell
all for the pearl of great price, to suffer all that her bitterest
enemies could inflict, than to renounce Christ and his relig-
ion. History furnishes us with a great number of remarkable
instances, sets in view a great cloud of witnesses. This abund-
antly confirms the; necessity of being of a spirit to sell all for
Christ, to renounce our own ease, our own worldly profit, and
honor, and our all, for /»'w, and for the gospel.
Let us inquire, whether we are of such a spirit. How does
it prove upon trial ? Does it prove in fact that we are willing
to deny ourselves, and renounce our own worldly interest, and
to pass through the trials to which we are called in provi-
dence ? Alas, how small are our trials, compared with those
of many of our fellow Christians in former ages ! And I would
on this occasion apply that in Jer. xii. 5. " If thou hast run
■with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst
thou contend with horses ?" If you have not been able to en-
dure the light trials to which you have been called in this age,
and in this land, how would you be able to endure the far
greater trials to which the church has been called in former
ages ? Every true Christian has the spirit of a martyr, and
would suffer as a martyr, if he were called to it in providence.
3. Hence we learn what great reason we have, assuredly to
expect the fulfillment of what yet remains to be fulfilled of
things foretold in scripture. The scriptures foretel many
great things yet to be fulfilled before the end of the world.
But there seem to be great difiicullies in the way. We seem
at present to be very fiu- from such a state as is foretold in the
scriptures ; but we have abundant reason to expect, that
these things, however seemingly difficult, will yet be accom--
plished in their season. We see the faithfulness ©f God to
his promises hitherto. How true has God been to his church,
and remembered his mercy from generation to generation !
We may say concerning v/hat God has done hitherto for his
S28 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period HL
church, as Joshua said to the children of Israel, Josh, xxiii.
14. « That not one thing hath failed of all that the Lord our
God hath spoken concerning his church ;" but all things arc
hitherto come to pass agreeably to the divine prediction.'
This should strengthen our faith in those promises, and en-
courage us, and stir us up to earnest prayer to God for the ac-
complishment of the great and glorious things which yet re-
main to be fulfilled.
It has already been shown how the success of Christ's re-
demption v;as carried on through various periods down to the
present time.
A-thly. I come now to show how the success of Christ's re-
demption will be carried on from the present time, till Anti-
christ is fallen, and Satan's visible kingdom on earth is des-
troyed And with respect to this space of time, we have
nothing to guide us but the prophecies of scripture. Through
most of the time from the fall of man to the destruction of
Jerusalem by the Romans, we had scripture history to guide
us ; and from thence to the present time we had prophecy,
together with the accomplishment of it in providence, as re-
lated in human histories. But henceforward we have only
prophecy to guide us. And here I would pass by those things
that are only conjectural, or that arc surmised by some from
those prophecies which are doubtful in their interpretation,
and shall insist only on those tilings v/hich are more clear and'
evident.
We know not what particular events are to come to pass
before that glorious work of God's Spirit begins, by which
Satan's kingdom is to be overthrown. By the consent of
most divines, there are but few things, if any at all, that are
foretold to be accomplished before the beginning of that glori-
ous work of God. Some think the slaying of the witnesses,
Rev. xi. f, 8, is not yet accomplished. So divines differ with
respect to the pouring out of the seven vials, of Avhich we
have an account, Rev. xvi. how many arc already peured out,
or how many remain to be poured out ; though a late exposi-
tor, whom I have before mentioned to you, seems to make it
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 329
very plain and evident, that all are already poured out but two,
TJz. the sixth on the river Euphrates, and the seventh into the
air. But I will not now stand to inquire what is intended by
the pouring out of the sixth vial on the river Euphrates, that
the way of the kings of the east may be prepared ; but only
would say, that it seems to be somethirig immediately prepar-
ing the way for the destruction of the spiritual Babylon, as
the drying up of the river Euphrates, which ran through th«
midst of old Babylon, was what prepared the way of the kings
of the Medes and Persians, the kings of the cast, to come in
tinder the walls, and destroy that city.
But whatever this be, it docs not appear that it is any thing
which shall be accomplished before that work of God's Spirit
is begun, by which, as it goes on, Satan's visible kingdom on
earth shall be utterly overthrown. And therefore I would
proceed directly to consider what the scripture reveals con-
cerning the work of God itself, by which he will bring about
this great event, as being the next thing which is to be accom-
plished that we are certain of from the prophecies of scrip-
ture.
And, first, 1 would observe two things in general concern-
ing it.
1. We have all reason to conclude from the scriptures,
that just before this work of God begins, it will be a very dark
time with respect to the interests of religion in the world.
It has been so before those glorious revivals of religion that
have been hitherto. It was so when Christ came ; it was an
exceeding degenerate time among the Jews : And so it was
a very dark time before the Reformation. And not only so,
but it seems to be foretold in scripture, that it shall be a time
of but little religion, when Christ shall come to set up his
kingdom in the world. Thus when Christ spake of his com-
ing, to encourage his elect, who cry to him day and night, in
Luke xviii. 8, he adds this, " Nevertheless when the Son of
man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?" Which seems
to denote a great prevalency of infidelity just before Christ's
coming to avenge his suffering church. Though Christ^s
coming at the last judgment is not here to be excluded, yet
Vol. II. 9. ^ ■
330 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PEraon IH,
there seems to be a special respect to his coming to deliver
liis church from their long continued, suffering, pei'secuted
state, which is accomplished only at his coming at the des-
truction of Antichrist. That time that the elect cry to God, as-
in Rev. vi. 10. <' How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou
not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on th»
earth ?" And the time spoken of in Rev. xviii. 20. " Rejoice
gver her, thou heaven, and yc holy apostles, and prophets, for
God hath avenged you ou her," will then be accomplished.
It is now a very dark time with respect to the interests of
religion, and such a time as this prophesied of in this place ;
wherein there is but a little faith, and a groat prevailing of in-
fidelity on the earth. There is now a remarkable fulfilment
of that in 2 Pet. iii. 3. « Knowing this, that there shall come
in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." And
so Jude, 17, 18. " But beloved, remember yc the words which
Avere spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ ;
how that they told you there should be mockers in the last
time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." Wheth-
er the times shall be any darker still, or how much darker, be-
fore the beginning of this glorious work of God, we cannot
tell.
2. There is no reason from the word- of God to think any
other, than that this great Avork of God will be wrought,
though very swiftly, yet gradually. As the children of Israel
were gradually brought out of the Babylonish captivity, first
Due company, and then another, and gradually rebuilt tlieir
city and temple ; and as the Heathen Roman empire was de-
stroyed by a gradual, though a very swift prevalency of the
gospel ; so, though there arc many things which seem to
hold forth as though the work of God would be exceeding-
swift, and many gieat and wonderful events should very sud-
denly be brought to pass, and some great parts of Satan's vis-
ible kingdom should have a very sudden fall, yet all will not
be accomplished at once, as by some great miracle, as the
resurrection of the dead at the end of the world will be all ut
once ; but this is a work which will be accomplished by
means, by the preaching of the gospel, and the use of the or-
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 5S1
dinary means of grace, and so shall be gradually brought to
pass. Some shall be converted, and be the means of others
conversion. God's Spirit shall be poured out first to raise up
instruments, and then those instruments shall be used and
succeeded. And doubtless one nation shall be enlightened
and converted after another, one false religion and false way of
■worship exploded after another. By the representation in
Dan. ii. 3, 4, the stone cut out of the mountain without hands
gradually grows. So Christ teaches us, that the kingdom of
heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, Matth. xiii. .ll, 32, and
like leaven hid in three measures of meal, verse 33. The
same representation we have in Mark iv. 26, 27, 28, and in
the vision of the waters of the sanctuary, Ezek. xlvii The
scriptures hold forth as though there should be several suc-
cessive great and glorious events by which this glorious work
shall be accomplished. The angel, speaking to the prophet
Daniel of those glorious times, mentions two glorious periods,
at the end of which glorious things should be accomplished :
Dan. xii. 11. « And from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh deso-
late set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety
days." But then he adds in the next verse, "Blessed is he that
waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five
and thirty days ;" intimating, that something very glorious
should be accomplished at the end of the former period, but
something much more glorious at the end of the latter.
But I now proceed to show how this glorious work shall be
accomplished.
1. The Spirit of God shall be gloriously poured out for the
w-onderful revival and propagation of religion. This great
work shall be accomplished, not by the authority of princes,
nor by the wisdom of learned men, but by God's Holy Spirit :
Zech. iv. 6, 7. " Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great moun-
tain ? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, and he
shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying
■Grace, grace unto it." So the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of
this great work of God, says, chap, xxxix. 29. " Neither wili
332 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
I hide my face any more from them ; for I have poured ouv
my Spirit on the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." Wc
know not where this pouring out of the Spirit shall begin, oi
whether in many places at once, or whether, what hath al-
ready been, be not some forerunner and beginning of it.
This pouring out of the Spirit of God, when it is begun,
shall soon bring great multitudes to forsake that vice and
wickedness which now so generally prevails, and shall cause
that vital religion which is now so despised and laughed at in
the world, to revive. The work of conversion shall break
forth and go on in such a manner as never has been hitherto ;
agreeable to that in Isa. xUv. 3, 4, 5 God, by pouring out
his Holy Spirit, will furnish men to be glorious instruments
of carrying on this work ; will fill theni with knowledge and
%visdom, and fervent zeal for the promoting the kingdom of
Christ, and the salvation of souls, and propagating the gospel
in the world. So that the gospel shall begin to be preached
Avith abundantly greater clearness and power than had here-
tofore been : For this great \vork of God shall be brought to
pass by the preaching of the gospel, as is represented in Rev.
xiv. 6, 7, 8. That before Babylon falls, the gospel shall be
powerfully preached and propagated in the world.
This was typified of old by the sounding of the silver trum-
pets in Israel in the beginning of their jubilee : Lev. xxv. 9.
" Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on
the tenth day of the seventli month ; on the day of atonement
shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land."
The glorioiis times which are approaching, are as it were the
church's jubilee, which shall be introduced by the sounding
of the silver trumpet of the gospel, as is foretold in Isa. xxvii.
13. " Audit shall come to pass in that day, that the great
trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which wer^s
ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts of the
land of Egypt, and shall ■yvorship the Lord in the holy mount
at Jerusalem." And there shall be a glorious pouring out ol
the Spirit with this clear and powerful preaching of the gos-
pel, to make it successful for reviving those holy doctrines of
religion which are now chiefly ridiculed in the world, and
finTlI.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 333
turning many from heresy, and from Popery, and from otlior
false religions ; and also for turning many from their vice and
profaneness, and for bringing vast multitudes savingly home
to Christ.
The work of conversion shall go on in a wonderful man-
ner, snd spread more and more. Many shall flow together to
the goodness of the Lord, and shall come as it were in flocks,
one flock and multitude after another continually flowing in, as
in Isa. Ix. 4, 5. " Lift up thine eye round about, and see ; all
they gather themselves together, they come to thee ; thy sons
shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy
side. Then thou shalt see and flow together.'' And so verse
8. " Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to
their windows ?" And it being represented in the foremen^
tioned place in the Revelation, that the gospel shall be preach-
ed to every tongue, and kindred, and nation, and people, be-
fore the fall of Antichrist ; so we may suppose, that it ^nll
soon be gloriously successful to bring in multitudes from ev-
ery nation ; and it shall spread more and more vvith wonder-
ful swiftness, and vast numbers shall suddenly be brought la
as it were at once, as you may see, Isa. Ixvi. 7, 8, 9.
2, This pouring out of the spirit of God vrili not eff'ect the
overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom, till there has first been
a violent and mighty opposition made. In this the scripture
is plain, that when Christ is thus gloriously corning forth,
and the destruction of Antichrist is ready at hand, and Satan's
kingdom begins to totter, and to appear to be imminently
threatened, the powers of the kingdom of darkness will rise
up, and mightily exert themselves to prevent their kingdom
being overthrown. Thus after the pouring out of the sixth vial,
which was to dry up the river Euphrates, to prepare the way
for the destruction of spiritual Babylon, it is represented in
Rev. xvi. as though the powers of hell will be mightily alarrn-
ed,and should stir up themselves to oppose tlie kingdom of
Christ, before the seventh and last vial shall be poured aui,
which shall give them a final and complete ovcithrow. We
have an account of the pouring out of the sixth in verse 12.
And then upon this, the beloved disciple informs us in thf>, '
Z'i WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pet^iod III.
fb]]o^vinc: verses, that, " three iincleati spirits like frogs shall
550 forth imto the kings of the earth, to gather them together
to the battle of the great clay of God Almighty." This seems
to be tlie last and greatest effort of Satan to save his kingdom
fiom being overthrown ; though perhaps he may make as
great towards the end of the world to regain it.
When the spirit begins to be so gloriously poured forth,
and the devil sees such multitudes flocking to Christ in one
nation and another, and the foundations of his kingdom daily
uixlermining, and the pillars of it breaking, and the whole
ready to come to swift and sudden destruction, it will greatly
alarm all hell. Satan has ever had a dread of having his
kingdom overthrown, and he has been opposing of it ever
since Christ's ascension, and has been doing great wprks to
fortify his kingdom, and to prevent it, ever since the day of
Constantine the Great. To this end he has set up those two
mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, and brought
in all the heresies, and superstitions and corrupt opinions,
which there are in the world. But when he sees all begins
to fail, it will ronse him up exceedingly. If Satan dreaded he-
rn^ cast out of the Roman empire, how much more does he
dread being cast out of the whole world '.
It seems as though in this last great opposition which shall
be made against the church to defend the kingdom of Satan,
all the forces of Antichrist, and Mahometanism, and Heathen-
ism, will be united ; all the forces of Satan's visib e kingdom
tlirough the whole world of mankind. And therefore it is
said, that, «' spirits of devils shall go forth unto the kings of
the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to
the battle of the great day of God Almighty." And these
spirits are said to come out of the mouth of the drag-
on, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the
jnouth of the false prophet ; i. e. there shall be the spir-
it of Popery, and tlie spirit of Mahometanism, and the spirit
of Heathenism all united. By the beast is meant Antichrist ;
by the dragon, in this book, is commonly meant the devil,
its he reigns over his Heathen kingdom ; by the false proph-
et, in this book, is sometimes meant the Pope and his clergy ;
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 335
But here an eye seems to be had to Mahomet, -whom his fol-
lowers call the great prophet of God. This will be as it
were the dying struggles of the old serpent ; a battle whereiiv
he will fight as one that is almost desperate.
We know net particularly in what manner this opposition
shall be made. It is represented as a battle ; it is called the
battle of the great day of God Almighty. There will be some
way or other a mighty struggle between Satan's kingdom and
the church, and probably in all ways of opposition that can
be ; and doubtless great opposition by external force ; where-
in the princes of the world who are on the devil's side shall
join hand in hand : For it is said, " The kings of the earth
are gathered together to battle," Rev. xix. 19. And proba-
bly withaJ there will be great opposition of subtil disputers
and carnal reasoning, and great persecution in many places,
and great opposition by virulent reproaches, and also great op-
position by craft and subtlety. The devil nov/ doubtless will
ply his skill as well as strength to the utmost. The dev-
ils, and those who belong lo their kingdom, will every where
be stirred up, and engaged to make an united and violent op-
position against this holy religion, which they see prevailing
so mightily in the world. ...But,
3. Christ and his church shall in this battle obtain a com-
plete and entire victory over their enemies. They shall be
totally routed and overthrown in this their last efFoit. When
tlic powers of hell and earth are thus gathered together
against Christ, and his armies shall come forth against them
by his word and Spirit to fight with them, in how august and
pompous, and glorious a manner is this coming forth of
Christ and his church to this battle described. Rev. xix. II,
Sec. ! And to represent to us how great the victory should be
which they should obtain, and how -mighty the overthrow of
their enemies, it is said, verse 17, and 18, that " all the fowls
of heaven are called together, to eat the great supper given
them, of the flesh of kings, and captains, and mighty men,"
Sec. and then, in the following verses, v.e lu-ve an account of
the victory and overthrow.
3.15 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Perio© III,
In this victory, the seventh vial shall be poured out.- It is*
said, Rev. xvi. 16, ot the great army that should be gathered
together against Christ : " And life gathered them together into
a- place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon " and then
Tt is said, "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the
^ir J and there came a great voice out of the temple of heav-
en, from the throne, saying. It is done." Now the business is
done for Satan and his adherents. When this victory is obtain-
ed, all is in eflect done. Satan's last and greatest opposition is
conquered ; all his measures are defeated ; the pillars of his
lungdom broken asunder, and will fall of course. The devil
is utterly baffled and confounded, and knows not what else to
do. He now sees his Antichristian, and Mahometan, and
Heathenish kingdoms through the world, all tumbling about
his ears. He and his most powerful instruments are taken
captive. Now that is in effect done which the church of God
had been so long Avaiting and hoping for, and so earnestly
crying to God for, saying, " How long, O Lord, holy and
true ?" Now the time is come.
The angel who set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot
on the earth, lift up his hand to heaven, and swore by him
that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and alt
things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that
therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,-
fhat when the seventh angel should come to sound, the time
should be no longer. And now the time is come ; now the
seventh trumpet sounds,and the seventh vial is poured out, both
together ; intimating, that now all is finished as to the over-
throw of Satan's visilile kingdom on earth. This victory shall
be by far the greatest that ever was obtained over Satan and
his adherents. By this blow, with which the stone cut out of
the mountain without hands shall strike the image of gold, and"'
silver, and brass, and iron, and clay, it shall all be broken to
pieces. This will be a finishing blow to the image, so that it
shall become as the chaffof the summer threslnng floor.
In this victory will be a most glorious display of divine pow-
er. Christ shall therein appear in the character of King of
kings, and Lord of lords, as in Rev. xix. 16. Now Christ
VMr IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. ?^7
shall (lash his enemies even the strongest and proudest of
them, ih pieces ; as a potter's vessel shall they be broken to
shivers. Then shall strength be shown out of weakness, and
Christ shall cause his chur<th as k were to thresh the mount-
ains, as in Isa. xli. 15. "Behold,! will make thee a new
sharp threshing instrument having teeth : Thou shalt thresh
the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills
as chaff." And then shall be fulfilled that in Isa. xlii. 13,
14, 15.
4. Consequent on this victory, Satan's visible kingdom on
earth shall be destroyed. When Satan is conquered in this
last battle, the church of Christ will have easy work of it ; as
when Joshua and the children of Israel had obtained that
great victory over the five kings of the Amorites, when the
sun stood still, and God sent great hail stones on their ene-
mies, they after that went from one city to another, and burnt
them with fire : They had easy work of subduing the cities
and country to which they belonged. So it was also after that
other great battle that Joshua had with that great multitude
at the waters of Meram. So after thrs glorious victory of
Christ and his church over their enemies, over the chief pow-
ers of Satan's kingdom, they shall destroy that kingdom in all
those cities and countries to which they belonged. After this
the word of God shall have a speedy and swift progress
through the earth ; as it is said, that on the pouring out of
the seventh vial, " the cities of the nations fell, and every
island fled away, and the mountains were not found," Rev.
xvi. 19, 20. When once the stone cut out of the mountain
without hands had broken the image in pieces, it was easy to
abolish all remains of it. The very wind will carry it away
as the chaff of the summer threshing floor. Because Satan's
visible kingdom on earth shall now be desti-oyed, therefore it
is said, that the seventh vial, by which this shall be done, shall
be poured out into the air ; Avhich is represented in scripture
as the special seat of his kingdom ; for he is called the prince
of the power of the air, Eph. ii. 2. Now is come the time for
punishing leviathan, that piercing serpent, of which we read-
in Isa. xxvii. 1. " In that day the Lord with his sore and great
Vol. II. ^ T
338 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent,
even leviathan, that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the
dragon that is in the sea."
Concerning this overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom on
earth, I would, 1 . Show wherein this overthrow of Satan's
visible kingdom Avill chiefly consist ; 2. The extent and uni-
versality of this overthrow%
1. I woiild show wherein this overthrow of Satan's king-
dom will chiefly consist. I shall mention the particular things
in which it will consist, without pretending to determine in
what order they shall come to pass, or which shall be accom-
plished first, or whether they shall be accomplished together.
(1) Heresies, and infidelity, and superstition, among those
who have been brought up under the light of the gospel, will
then be abolished. Then there will be an end of Socinian-
ism, and Arianism, and Quakerism, and Arminianism ; and
Deism, which is now so bold and confident, in infidelity^ shall
then be crushed, and driven away, and vanish to nothing ; and
all shall agree in the same great and important doctrines of
the gospel ; agreeable to that iii Zech. xiv. 9. " And the
Lord shall be king over all the earth : In that day shall there
be one Lord, and his name one." Then shall be abolished
all siipierstitious ways of wdrship, and all shall agree in wor-
shipping God in his own ways : Jer. xxxii. 39. « And I will
give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for
ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them."
(2) The kingdom of Antichrist shall be utterly over-
thrown. His kingdom and dominion has been much brought
down already by the vial poured out on his throne in the Ref-
ormation ; but then it shall be utterly destroyed. Then
shall be proclaimed, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen." When
the seventh angel sounds, the time, times and half, shall be
out, " and the time shall be no longer." Then shall be ac-
complished concerning Antichrist the things which are writ-
ten in the 18th chapter of Revelation, of the spiritual Baby-
lon, that great city Rome, or the idolatrous Roman govern-
ment, that has for so many ages been the great enemy of the
Christian church, first under Heathenism, then under Pope-
■?ART II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 339
vv : That proud city, which lifted herself up to heaven, and
at)Ove God himself in her pride and haughtiness ; that cruel,
bloody city, shall come down to the ground. Then shall
that be fulfilled, Isa. xxvi. 5. " For he bringeth down them
that dwell on high, the lofty city he layeth it low, he lay-
eth' it low, even to \he ground, he bringeth it even to the
dust. She shall be thrown down with violence, like a greyt
millstone cast into the sea, and shall be found no more at all,
and shall become an habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."
Now shall she be stripped of all her glory, and riches, and or-
naments, and shall be cast out as an abominable branch, and
shall be troden down as the mire of the streets. All her poli-
cy and «craft, in which she so abounded, shall not save her.
And God shall make his people, who have been so perse-
cuted by her, to come and put their foot on the neck of Anti-
christ, and he shall be their footstool. All the strength and
wisdom of this great whore shall fail her, and there shall be
none to help l>er. The kings of the earth, who before gave
their power and strength to the beast, shall now hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat
her flesh, and burn her with fire. Rev. xvii. 16.
(o) That other great kingdom which Satan has set up in
.opposition to the Christian church, viz. his Mahometan king-
dom, shall be utterly overthrown. The locusts and horsemen,
in the 9th of Revelation, have their appointed and limited time
set them there, and the false prophet shall be taken and de-
stroyed. And then, though Mahometanism has been so vastly
propagated in the world, and is upheld by such a great empire,
this snioke which has ascended out of the bottomless pit, shall
be utterly scattered before tlie light of that glorious day, and
the IVIahornetan empire shall fall at the sound of the great
trumpet which shall then be blown.
(4) Jewish infidelity shall then be overthrown. However
obstinate they have been now for above 1700 years in their
rejection of Christ, and instances of the conversion of any of
that nation have been so very rare ever since the destruction
of Jerusalem, but tli,ey have against the plain teachings oi
340 ' WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
their own prophets, continued to approve of the cruelty of
their forefathers in crucifying Christ : Yet when this day-
comes, the thick vail that blinds their eyes shall be removed,
2 Cor. iii. 16 ; and divine grace shall melt and renew their
hard hearts, " And they shall look on him whom they have
pierced,- and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for
his only son, and shall be in bitterness as one that is in bitter-
ness for his first born," Zech. xii. 10, Sec. And then shall the
.house of Israel be saved : The Jews, in all their dispersions
shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall wonderfully have
their hearts changed, and abhor themselves for their past un-
belief and obstinacy ; and shall flow together to the blessed
Jesus, penitently, humbly, and joyfully owning him as their
glorious King, and only Saviour, and shall with all their hearts,
as with one heart and voice, declare his praises unto other
nations.
Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national con-
version of the Jews is in the 1 1th chapter of Romans. And
there are also many passages of the Old Testament which
cannot be interpreted in any other sense, which I cannot now
stand to mention. Besides the prophecies of the calling of
the Jews, we have a remarkable seal of the fulfilment of this
great event in providence, by a thing which is a kind of con-
tinual miracle, viz. their being preserved a distinct nation
in such a dispersed condition for above 1600 years. The
v/orld affords nothing else like it. There is undoubtedly a
remarkable hand of providence in it. When they shall be
called, then shall that ancient people, that were alone God's
people for so long a time, be God's people again, never to be
rejected more : They siiall then be gathered into one fold to-
gether Avith the Gentiles ; and so also shall the remains of the
ten tribes, wherever they be, and though they have been re-
jected much longer than the Jews, be brought in with their
brethren the Jews. The prophecies of Hosea especially
seem to hold this forth, that in the future glorious times of
the church, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judah and the ten
tril)es, shall be brought in together, and shall be united as one
people, as they formerly were under David and Solomon j a«
Fart II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 8il
Hos. i. 1 1 ; and so in the last chapter of Hosea, and other
parts of his prophecy.
Though we do not know the time in which this conversion
of the nation of Israel will come to pass ; yet thus much we
may determine by scripture, that it will be before the glory
of the Gentile part of the church shall be fully accomplish-
ed ; because it is said, that their coming in shall be life from
the dead to the Gentiles, Rom. xi. 12, 15.
(5) Then shall also Satan's Heathenish kingdom be over-
thrown. Gross Heathenism now possesses a great part of tho
earth, and there are supposed to be more Heathens now in
the world, than of all other professions taken together, Jews,
Mahometans, or Christians. But then the Heathen nations
shall be enlightened with the glorious gospel. There will be
a wonderful spirit of pity towards them, and zeal for their in-
struction and conversion put into maltitudes, and many shall
go forth and carry the gospel unto them, and then shall the
joyful sound be heard among them, and the Sun of righteous-
ness shall then arise with his glorious light shining on those
many vast regions of the earth that have been covered with
Heathenish darkness for many thousand years, nr^any of them
doubtless ever since the times of Moses and Abraham, and
have lain thus long in a miserable condition, under the cruel
tyranny of the devil, who has all this while blinded and befool-
ed them, and domineered over them, and made a prey of
them from generation to generation. Now the glad tidings
of the gospel shall sound there, and they shall be brought out
of darkness into marvellous light.
It is promised, that Heathenism shall thus be destroyed in
many places. God has said, That the gods that have not
made these heavens and this earth, shall perish from the
eaith, and from under these heavens, Jer. x. 11, and that he
v,'ill utterly abolish idols, Isa. ii. 1 8... .Then shall the many na-
tions of Africa, the nations of negroes, and other Heathens
who chiefly fill that quarter of the world, who now seem to
"be in a state but little above the beasts, and in many respects
much below them, be enlightened with glorious light, and de-
•iivered from all theii' darkness, and shall become a civile
542 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
Christian, understanding, and holy people. Then shall the vast
continent of America, which now in so great a part of it is cov-
ered with barbarous ignorance and cruelty, be every where
covered with glorious gospel light and Christian love ; and in-
stead of worshipping the devil, as now they do, they shall servo
God and praises shall be sung every where to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the blessed Saviour ©f the world. So may we expect
it will be in that great and populous part of the world, the East
Indies, which are nov/ mostly inhabited by the worshippers of
the devil ; and so throughout that vast cotmtry Great Tartary :
And then the kingdom of Christ will be established in those
continents which have been more lately discovered towards
the north and south poles, where now men differ very little
from the wild beasts, excepting that they worship the devil,
and beasts do not. The same will be the case with respect to
those covmtries which have never yet been discovered. Thus
will be gloriously fulfilled that in Isa. xxxv. 1 . " The wilder-
ness and the solitary place shall be glad for them : And the
desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." See also
ver. 6. 7.
2. Having thusshown wherein this overthrov/ of Satan's king-
dom will consist, I come now to the other thing to be obsei-ved
concerning it, viz. its universal extent. The visible kingdom of
Satan ^hall be overthrown, and the kingdom of Christ set upon
the ruins of it, every where throughout the whole habitable
globe. Now shall the promise made to Abraham be fulfilled,
that " In him and in his seed ail the families of the earth shall be
blessed ;" and Christ wow shall become the desire of all nations,
agreeable to Hag. ii. 7. Now the kingdom of Christ shall in the
n"K)st strict and literal sense be extended to all nations, and the
v.hole earth. There are many passages of sciipture that can
be understood in no other sense. What can be more univer-
sal than that in Isa. xi. 9. " For the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Ac
much as to say, As there is no part of the channel or cavity of
the sea any where, but what is covered with water ; so there
shall be no part of the world of mankind but Avhat shall be cov-
ered with tlve knowledge of God. So it h foretold in Isa. xlv.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 54S
"22, that all the ends of the earth shall look to Christ, and be
saved. And to show that the words are to be understood in
the most universal sense, it is said in the next verse, " I have
sworn by myself, the tvord is gone out of my mouth in right-
eousness, and shall not return, that unto mc every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear."
So the most universal expression is used, Dan. vii. 27,
" And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people
of the saints of the Most High God." You see the expres-
sion includes all under the ivhoie heaven.
When the devil was cast out of the Roman empire^ because
that was the highest and principal part of the world, and the
other nations that were left were low and mean in compari-
ison of those of that empire, it was represented as Satan's be-
ing cast out of heaven to the earth. Rev. xii. 9 ; but it is rep-
resented that he shall be cast out of the earth too, and shut up
in hell, Rev. xx. 1, 2, 3 This is the greatest revolution by
far that ever came to pass : Therefore it is said in Rev. xvi.
17,18. That on the pouring out of the seventh vial, there
was a great earthquake, such as Avas not since men were upon
"earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And this is the
third great dispensation of providence which is in scripture
compared to Christ's coming to judgment. So it is in Rca'.
xvi. 15. There, after the sixth vial, and after the devil's
armies were gathered together to their great battle, and just
before Christ's glorious victory over them, it is said, " Behold
I come quickly ; blessed is he that watcheth, and keepcth his
garments." So it is called Christ's co?ning in 2 Thess. ii. 8.
Speaking of Antichrist, it is said, " And then shall that wick-
ed be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming." See also Dan. vii. 13, 14, where Christ's coming
to set up his kingdom on earth, and to destroy Antichrist, is
called coining with clouda of heaxten. And this is more like
Christ's last coming to judgment, than any of the preceding
tlispensatious which are so called on those accounts.
344 WORK or REDEMPTION. [PERtOD Ilf.'
(1) That the dispensation is so much greater and more'
universal, and so more like the day of judgment, which res-
pects the whole world.
(2) On account of the great spiritual resurrection there
will be of the church of God accompanying it, more resem-
bling the general resurrection, at the end of the world than
any other. This spiritual resurrection, is the resurrection
spoken of as attended with judgment, Rev. xx. 4.
(3) Because of the terrible judgments and fearful destruc-
tion which shall now be executed ch God's enemies. There .
will doubtless at the introducing of this dispensation be a visi-
ble and awful hand of God against blasphemers. Deists, and
obstinate heretics, and other enemies of Christ, terribly de-
stroying them, with remarkable tokens of wrath and ven-
geance ; and especially will this dispensation be attended
with terrible judgments on Antichrist ; and the cruel persecu-
tors who belong to the church of Rome, shall in a most awful
manner be destroyed ; which is compared to a casting of An-
tichrist into the burning flame, Dan. vii. II, and to casting
him alive into the lake that burns with fne and brimstone^
Rev. xix. 20.
Then shall this cruel persecuting church suffer those judg-
ments from God, which shall be far more dreadful than her
crudest persecutions of the saints, agreeable to Rev. xviii. 6,
7. The judgments which God shall execute on the enemies
of the church, are so great, that they ai'e compared to God's
sending great hailstones from heaven upon them, every one
of the weight of a talent, as it is said on the ix>uri"ng out of the
seventh vial. Rev. xvi. 21. « And there fell upon men a great
hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent :
And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ;
for the plague thereof was exceeding great." And now shall
be that treading of the wine press spoken of. Rev. xiv. !9, 2Q.
(4) This shall put an end to the church's suftering state,
and shall be attended with their glorious and joyful praises.
The church's afllicted state is long, being continued, except-
ing some short intermissions, from the resurrection of Christ
to this time. But now shall a final end be put to her suffering;
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 345
state. Indeed after this near the 6nd of the world, the church
ghall be greatly threatened ; but it is said, it shall be but for a
little season, Rev. xx. 3 ; For as the times of the churcli's
rest are but short, before the long day of her afflictions are at
an end ; so whatever afftiction she may suffer after this, it will
be very short ; but otherwise the day of the church's affliction
and persecution shall now come to a final end. The scrip-
tures, in many places, speak of this time as the end of the suf-
fering state of the church. So. Isa. li. 2-2. God says to his
church with respect to this time, " Behold, I have taken out
of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup
of my fury, thou shalt no more drink it again." Then shall
that be proclaimed to the church, Isa. xl, 1, 2. " Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accom-
plished, that her iniquity is pardoned : For she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Also thatin Isa-.
liv. 8, 9, belongs to this time. And so that in Isa. Ix. 20.
" The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of
thy mourning shall be ended." And so Zeph. iii. 15. " The
Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine
enemy : The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst
of thee : Thou shalt not see evil any more."
The time which had been before this, had been the church's
sowing time, wherein she sowed in tears and in blood ; but
now is her harvest, wherein she will come again rejoicing,
bringing her sheaves with her. Now the time of the travail
of the v/oman clothed with the sun is at an end : Now she hath
brought forth her son ; for this glorious setting up of the
kingdom of Christ through the world, is what the church had
been in travail for, with such terrible pangs, for so many ages :
Isa. xxvi. 17. « Like as a woman with child that draweth
near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cricth out in her
pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord." See Isa. Ix.
20, and Ixi. 10, 11. And now the church shall forget her
sorrows, since a man child is born into the world : Now suc-
ceed her joyful praise and triumph. Her praises shall then
go up to God from all parts of the earth, as Isa. xlii. 10, ll!,
Vol. IL 3 U
346 WORK OF REDEMPtlON. [Period IIL
12. And praise shall not only fill the earth, but also heaven.
The church on earth, and the church in heaven, shall both
gloriously rejoice and praise God, as with one heart, on
that occasion. Without doubt it will be a time of very distin-
guished joy and praise among the holy prophets and apostles^
and the other saints in heaven : Rev. xviii. 20. « Rejoice over
her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God
hath avenged you on her." See how universal these praises'
will be in Isa. xliv. 23. " Sing, O ye heavens ; for the Lord
hath done it : Shout ye lower parts of the earth : Break forth
into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein :
For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in
Israel." See what joyful praises are sung to God on this oc-
casion by the universal church in heaven and earth, in the be-
ginning of the 19th chapter of Revelation.
(5) This dispensation is above all preceding ones like
Christ's coming to judgment, in that it so puts an end to the
former state of the world, and introduces the everlasting
kingdom of Christ. Now Satan's visible kingdom shall be
overthrown, after it had stood ever since the building of Ba-
bel ; and the old heavens and the old earth shall in a greater
measure be passed away then than before, and the new heav-
ens and new earth set up in a far more gloi'ious manner than
ever before.
Thus I have sho"\vn how the success of Christ's purchase
has been carried on through the times of the afflicted state of
the Christian church, from Christ's resurrection, till Anti-
christ is fallen, and Satan's visible kingdom on earth is over-
thrown. Therefore I come now,
Secondly, To show how the success of redemption will
be carried on through that space wherein the Christian rhureh
shall for the most part be in a state of peace and prosperity.
And in order to this, I would,
1. Speak of the prosperous state of the church through the
greater part of this period.
Part II.] WORK OF REBEMPTiON. 34T
2. Of the great apostacjr there shall be towards the close of
it : How greatly then the church shall be threatened by her
enemies for a short time.
I. I would speak of the prosperous state of the church
through the greater part of this period. And in doing this, I
would, 1 . Describe this prosperous state of the church ; 2..
Say something of its duration.
\st. 1 would describe the prosperous state the church shall
be in.
And, in the general, I would observe two things.
1. That this is most properly the time of the kingdom of
heaven upon earth. Though the kingdom of heaven was in a
degi'ee set up soon after Christ^s resurrection, and in a fur-"
ther degree in the time of Constantine ; and though the
Christian church in all ages of it is called the kingdom of
fieaven ; yet Uiis time that we are upon, is the principal time
of the kingdom of heaven upon earth, the time principally in-
tended by the prophecies of Daniel, which speak of the king*-
dom of heaven, whence the Jews took the name of the kmg^
dom of heaven.
2. Now is the principal fulfilment of all the prophecies of
the Old Testament which speak of the glorious times of the
gospel which shall be in the latter days. Though there has
been a glorious fulfilment of those prophecies already, in the
times of the apostles, and of Constantine ; yet the expressions
are too high to suit any other time entirely, but that which is
to succeed the fall of Antichrist. This is most properly the
glorious day of the gospel- Other times are only forerun-
ners and preparatorbs to this : Other times were the seed
time, but this is the harvest. But more particularly,
(1) It will be a time of great light and knowledge. Th^
present days are days of darkness, ii^ comparison of those days.
The light of that glorious time shall be so great, that it is
represented as though there then should be no night, but only
day ; no evening nor darkness. So Zech. xiv- 6, 7. " And it
shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear
nor dark. But it shall be one day, which shall be known to
the Lord, not day, nor night : But it shall come to pass, that at
348 WORK OF REDEMPTION. fPERioD III.
evenings time it shall be light." It is further represented, as
though God would then give such light to his church, that it
should so much exceed the glory of the light of the sun and
moon, that they should be ashamed : Isa. xxiv. 23. « Then
the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when
the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusa-
lem, and before his ancients gloriously."
There is a khid of vail now cast over the greater part of the
world, which keeps them in darkness : But then this vail shall
be destroyed : Isa. xxv. 7. " And he will destroy in this
nriountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the
vail that is spread over all nations." And then all countries
and nations, even those which are now most ignorant, shall be
full of light and knowledge. Great knowledge shall prevail
every where. It may be hoped, that then many of the Ne-
groes and Indians will be divines, and that excellent books
will be published in Africa, in Ethiopia, in Tartary, and other
now the most barbarcrus countries ; and not only learned men,
but others of more ordinary education, shall then be very
knowing in religion : Isa. xxxii. 3, 4, " Th& eyes of them that
see, shall not be dim ; and the ears of them that hear, shall,
hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowl-
edge." Knowledge then shall be very universal among all
sorts of pei-sons ; agreeable to Jer. xxxi. 34. « And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord : For they shall all know mc
from the least of them unto the greatest of them."
There shall then be a wonderful unravelling of the difficult-
ies in the doctrines of religion, and clearing up of seeming in-
consistencies : " So crooked things shall be made straight,
and rotigh places shall be made plain, and darkness shall be-
come light before God's people." DifTicultics in scripture
shall then be cleared up, and wonderful things shall be dis-
covered in the word of God, which were never discovered be-
fore. The great discovery of those things in religion which
had been before kept hid, seems to be compared to removing
the vail, and discovering the ark of the testimony to the peo-
ple, A^hich before used to be kept in the secret part of thx"
J^ART II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 349
temple, and was never seen by them. Thus, at the sounding
of the seventh angel, v/hen it is proclaimed, " That the king-
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and
of his Christ, it is added, that " the temple of God was open-
ed in heaven ; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his
testament." So great shall be tli-e increase of knowledge in
this time, that heaven shall be as it were opened to the church
of God on earth.
(2) It shall be a time of great holiness. Now vital religion
«hall every where prevail and reign. Religion shall not be
an empty profession, as it now mostly is, but holiness of heart
and life shall abundantly prevail. Those times shall be an
exception from what Christ says of the ordinary state of the
church, viz. that there shall be but few saved ; for now holi-
ness shall become general : Isa. Ix. 21. " Thv people also
shall be all righteous." Not that there will be none remain-
ing in a Christless condition ; but that visible wickedness
shall be suppressed every where, and true holiness shall be-
come general, though not universal. And it shall be a won-
derful time, not only for the multitude of godly men, but for
eminency of grace : Isa. Ixv. 20. « There shall be no more
thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his
•days : For the child sliall die an hundred years old, but the
sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed." And
Zech. xii. 8. " He that is feeble among them at that day shall
be as David ; and the house of David shall be as God, as the
angel of the Lord befoi'e them." And holiness shall then
be as it were inscribed on every thing, on all men's common
business and employments, and the common utensils of life :
AH shall be as it were dedicated to God, and applied to holy
"purposes : Every thing shall then be done to the glory of
God: Isa. xxiii. 18. « And her merchandise and her hire
shall be holiness to the Lord." And so Zech. xiv. 20, 21
And as God's people then siiall be eminent in holiness of
•heart, so they shall bo also in holiness of life and practice.
(3) It shall be a time wherein religion shall in everv res-
pect be uppermost in the Avorld. It shall be had in great es-
teem and honor. The saints have hitherto for the mo-st part
S50 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IH.
been k<^pt under, and wicked men have governed. But now
ihcy will be uppermost. The kingdoms shall be given into
the hands of the saints of the " Most High God," Dan. vii.
27. « And they shall reign on earth," Rev. v. 10. « They
shall li\-e and reign with Christ a thousand years," Rev. xx. 4.
In that day, such persons as are eminent for true piety and
religion, shall be chiefly promoted to places of trust and au-
thority. Vital religion shall then take possession of king's
palaces and thrones ; and those who are in highest advance-
ment shall be holy men : Isa. xlix. 23. " And kings shall be
thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers."
Kings shall employ all their power, and glory, and riches, for
the advancement of the honor and glory of Christ, and the
good of his church : Isa. Ix. 1 6. " Thou shalt also suck tlie
unilk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings."
And the great men of the world, and the rich merchants, and
others who have great wealth and influence, shall devote all
to Christ and his church : Psal. xlv. 12. « The daughter of
Tyre shall be there with a gift, even the rich among the peo-
ple shall intreat thy favor."
(4^) Those will be times of great peace and love. There
shall then be universal peace and a good understanding among
the nations of the world, instead of such confusion, wars, and
bloodshed, as have hithertobeen from one age toanother : Isa.
ii. 4. " And he shall judge among the nations, and shall re-
buke many people : And they shall beat their swords mto
ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks : Nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more." So it is represented as if all instruments of
war should be destroyed, as being become useless : Psal. xlvi.
9. " He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth : He
breakelh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder, he l)uni-
cth the chariot in the fire." See also Zech. ix. 10. Then
shall all nations dwell quietly and safely, without fear of any
enemy. Isa. xxxii. 18. " And my people shall dvk'cU in a
peaceable habitation, aiul in sure dwellings, and in quiet re»t-
i:ig places." Also Zcch. viii. 10, 11.
^AKT II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 35 1
And then shall malice, and envy, and wrath, and revenge,
be suppressed every where, and peace and Io'\'€ shall prevuiS
between one man and another ; v/hich is most elegantly set
forth in Isa. xi. 6 10. Then shall there be peace and lover
between riilers and ruled. Rulers shall love their people, anct
with all their might seek their best good ; and the people
shall love their rulers, and shall joyfully submit to them, and
give them that honor which is their d\ie. And so shall there
be an happy love between ministers and their people : Mai,
iv. 6, " And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the chil-
dren, and the heart of the children to their fathers." Then
shall flourish in an eminent manner those Christian virtues
of meekness, forgiveness, long suffering, gentleness, good-
ness, brotherly kindness, those excellent fruits of the Spirits
Men, in their temper and disposition, shall then be like the
Lamb of God, the lovely Jesus. The body shall be conform-
ed to the head.
Then shall all the world be united in one amiable society.
All nations, in all parts of the world, on every side of the
globe,^ shall then be knit together in sweet harmony. All
parts of God's church shall assist and promote the spiritual
good of one another. A communication shall then be upheld
between all parts of the world to that end ; and the art of nav-
igation, which is cov^ applied so^ much to favor men's covetous-'
ness and pride, and is used so much by wicked debauched
men, shall then be consecrated to God, and applied to holy
uses, as we read in Isa. Ix. 5. ...9. And it will then be a time
wherein men will be abundant in expressing their love one to
another, not only in words, but in deeds of charity, as we
learn, Isa. xxxii. 5, »' The vile person shall be no more call-
ed liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful ;" and, verse 8.
« But the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things
shall he stand."
(5) It will be a time of excellent order in the church of
Christ. The true government and discipline of the church
will then be settled and put into practice. All the world shall
then be as one church, one orderly, regular, beautiful society.
And as the body shall be one, so the members shall be 115
355 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peujod Ilf,
beautiful proportion to each other. Then shall that be verifi-
ed in Psal. cxxii. 3. " Jerusalem is builded as a city, that » is
compact together."
(6) The church of God shall then be beautiful and glorious
on these accounts ; yea, it will appear in perfection of beau-
ty : Isa. Ix. 1. " Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Isa. Ixi. 10. " He hath
covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom,
dccketh himself with orntimcnts, and as a bride adorneth her-
self with her jewels." On these forementioncd accounts, the
church will then be the greatest image of heaven itself.
(7) That Avill be a time of the greatest temporal prosperi-
ty. Such a spiritual state as we have just described, has a
natural tendency to temporal prosperity : It has a tendency
to health and long life ; and that this will actually be the case,
is evident by Zech. viii. 4. " Thus saith the Lord of hosts.
There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets
of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for
very age." It has also a natural tendency to procure ease,
quietness, pleasantness, and cheerfulness of mind, and also
wealth, and great increase of children ; as is intimated in
Zech. viii. 5. "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys
and girls playing in the streets thereof." But further, the
temporal prosperity of the people of God will also be promot-
ed by a remarkable blessing from heaven : Isa. Ixv. 2 1 .
" They shall build houses, and inhabit them ; and they shall
plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." And in jNIic. iv.'
4, " But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under
his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid." Zech. viii.
12. « Fop the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give her
fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens
shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this peo-
ple to possess all these things." See also Jer. xxxi. 12, 13,
and Amos ix. 13. Yea, then they shall receive all manner of
tokens of God's presence, and acceptance and favor : Jer.
xxxiii. 9. " And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and
an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear
all the good that I do unto them : And they shall fear and
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 353
tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I
procure unto it." Even the days of Solomon were but an im-
age of those days, as to the temporal prosperity which shall
obtain in them.
(8) It will also be a time of great rejoicing : Isa. xxxv. 10.
" And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to
Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads : They
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall
flee away." Chap. Iv. 12. « For ye shall go out with joy, and
be led forth with peace : The mountains and the hills shall
break forth before you." Chap. Ixvi. 11. "That ye may
suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations :
That ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance
of her glory." Chap. xii. 3. " With joy shall ye draw water
out of the wells of salvation." Then will be a time of feast-
ing. That will be the church's glorious wedding day, so far
as her wedding with Christ shall ever be upon earth : Rev.
xix. 7. " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him ;
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready." Vers. 9. " Blessed are they which are
called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." But I
come now,
"Idly. To say something of the duration of this state of the
church's prosperity. On this I shall be very brief The
scriptures every where represent it to be of long continuance.
The former intervals of rest and prosperity, as we before
observed, are represented to be but short ; but the represent-
ations of this state are quite different : Rev. xx. 4. " And I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years." Isa. Ix. 15. « Whereas thou hast been forsaken and
hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an
eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.'"
This may suffice as to the prosperous state of the church
through the greater part of the period from the destruction of
Satan's visible kingdom in the world to Christ's appearing in'
the clouds of heaven to judgment.
Vol. IL 2 W
354 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [PEtiioD Ilf.
II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy there shoukt
be towards the close of this period, and how imininently the
church should be for a short time threatened by her enemies.
And this 1 shall do under three particulars.
1. A little before the end of the world, there shall be a
very great apostasy, wherein great part of the world shall fall
away from Christ and his chuTch. It is said in Rev. xx. 3,
that Satan should be cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up,
and have a seal set upon him, that he should deceive the na-
tions no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled ; and
that after that he must be loosed out of his prison for a little
season. And accordingly we are told, in the 7th and 8th ver-
ses, that when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison, and should go forth to deceive the
nationsj which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog. Which seems to show as though the apostasy would
be very general. The nations of the four quarters of the
earth shall be deceived ; and the number of those who shall
now turn enemies to Christ shall be vastly great, as the army
of Gog and Magog is represented in Ezekiel, and as it is said
in Rev. xx. 8, that the number of them is as the sand of the
sea, and that they went upon the breadth of the earth, as
though they were an army big enough to reach from one side
of the earth to the other.
Thus after such an happy and glorious season, such a long
day of light and holiness, of love, and peace, and joy, noAv it
shall begin again to be a dark time. Satan shall begin to
set up his dominion again in the world. This world shall
again become a scene of darkness and wickedness. The bot-
tomless pit of hell shall be opened, and devils shall come up
again out of it, and a dreadful smoke shall ascend to darken
the world. And the church of Christ, instead of extending
to the utmost bounds of the world, as it did before, shall be re-
diircd to narrow limits again. The world of mankind being
continued so long in a state of such great prosperity, shall
now begin to abuse their prosperity, to serve their lust and
corruption. This wc learn from Luke xvii. 26, Sec.
Fart II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 35x5
2. Those apostates shall make great opposition to the
church of God. The chucch shall seem to be imminently
.threatened with a sudden and entire overthrow by them. It
is said, Satan shall gather them together to battle, as the sand
on the sea shore ; and they went up on the breadth of the
earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city. So that this beloved city shall seem just ready
to be swallowed up by them : For her enemies shall not only
threaten her, but shall actually have gathered together against
her ; and not only so, but shall have besieged her, shall have
compassed her about on every side.
There is nothing in the prophecy which seems to hold forth
as though the church had actually fallen into their hands, as
the church had fallen into the hands of Antichrist, to whom it
was given to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them. God will never suffer this to be again after the fall of
Antichrist ; for then the day of her mourning shall be ended.
But the church shall seem most imminently threatened with
utter and sudden destruction.
3. Now the state of things will seem most remarkably to
call for Christ's immediate appearance to judgment. For
then the world shall be filled with the most aggravated wick-
edness that ever it was. For much the greater part of the
world shall have become visibly wicked and open enemies to
Christ, and their wickedness shall be dreadfully aggravated by
their apostasy. Before the fall of Antichrist, most of the
world was full of visibly wicked men. But the greater part
of these are poor Heathens, who never enjoyed the light of
tlie gospel ; and others are those that have been bred up in
the Mahometan or Popish darkness. But these are those
that have apostatised from the Christian church, and the visi-
ble kingdom of Christ, in which they enjoyed the great light
and privileges of the glorious times of the church, which shaU
be incomparably greater than the light and privileges which
the church of God enjoys now. This apostasy will be most
like the apostasy of the devils of any that ever had before
been : For the devils apostatatised, and turned enemies to
Christ, though they enjoyed the light of heaven ; and these
556 W6RK of redemption. [Period Hi.
will apostatise, and turn enemies to him, though they have en-
joyed the light and privileges of the glorious times of the
church. That such should turn open and avowed enemies
to Christ, and should seek the ruin of his church, will cry
aloud for such immediate vengeance as was executed on the
devils when they fell.
The wickedness of the world will remarkably call for
Christ's immediate appearing in flaming fire to take ven-
geance on them, because of the way in which they shall man-
ifest their wickedness, which will be by scoffing and blasphem-
ing Christ and his holy religion ; and particularly, they will
scoff at the Jiotion of Christ's coming to judgment, of which
the church shall be in expectation, and of which they will
warn them. For, how doubtless will be another fulfilment,
and the greatest fulfilment, of 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. « Knowing this
first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking
after their own lusts, and saying. Where is the promise of his
coming? For, since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning of the creation.'-' They
shall be in no expectation of the coming of Christ to judg-
ment, and shall laugh at the notion. They shall trainple all
such things under foot, and shall give up themselves to their
lusts, or to eat and drink, and wallow in sensual delights, as
though they were to be liere forever. They shall despise
the warnings the church shall give them of the coming of
Christ to judgment, as the people of the old world despised
what Noah told them of the approaching flood, and as the
people of Sodom did when Lot said to them, « The Lord will
destroy this city.*' Their wickedness on this account will cry
aloud to heaven for Christ's appearing in flaming fire to take
vengeance of his enemies ; and also because another way that
they shall exercise their wickedness will be in the Avicked de-
sign and violent attempt they shall be engaged in against the
holy city of God, against that holy city, wherein lately, and
for so long a time, so much of the religion of Christ had been
seen. They shall then be about to perpetrate the most hor-
rid design against this church.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. Ssf
And the numerousness of the wicked that shall then be, is
another thing which shall especially call for Christ's coming; :
For the world will doubtless then be exceeding full of people,
having continued so long in so great a sate of prosperity, with-
out such terrible desolating extremities, as' wars, pestilences,
and the like, to diminish them. And the most of this world,
which shall be so populous, will be such wicked contemptu-
ous apostates from God. Undoubtedly that will be a day
wherein the world will be by far fuller of wickedness than ever
before it was from the foundation of it. And if the wicked-
ness of the old world, when men began to multiply on the
earth, called for the destruction of the world by a deluge of
waters, this wickedness will as much call for its destruction by
a deluge of fire.
Again, the circumstances of the church at that day -will also
eminently call for the immediate appearing of Christ, as they
will be compassed about by their b]asphemous,murderous ene-
mies, just ready to be swallowed up by them. And it will be
a most distressing time with the church, excepting the com-
fort they will have in the hope of deliverance from God : For
all other help will seem to fail. The case will be come to the
last extremity, and there will be an immediate need that
Christ should come to their deliverance. And though the
church shall be so imminently threatened, yet so Mill Provi-
dence order it, that it shall be preserved till Christ shall ap-
pear in his immediate presence, coming in the glory of his
Father with all his holy angels. And then will come the
time when all the elect shall be gathered in. That work of
conversion which has been carried on from the beginning of
the church after the fall through all those ages, shall be car-
lied on no more. There never shall another soul be convert-
ed. Every ene of those many millions, whose names were
written in the book of life before the foundation of the world,
shall be brought in ; not one soul shall be lost. And the
mystical body of Christ, which has been growing since it firsi
began in the days of Adam, will be complete as to number of
parts, having every one of its members. In this respect the
work of redemption will now be finished. And now the end
558 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
for which the means of grace have been instituted shall be ob-
tciined. All that effect which Avas intended to be accomplish-
ed by them shall now be accomplished.
SECTION IL
THUS I have shown how the success of Christ's redemp-
tion has been accomplished during the continuance of the
Christian church under the means of grace. We have seen
•what great revolutions there have been, and are to be, during
this space of time ; how the great wheels of providence have
gone round for the accomplishment oi that kina of success of
Christ's purchase, which consists in the bestowmcnt of grace
on the elect : And we are, in the prosecution of the subject,
come to the time when all the wheels have gone round ; the
course of things in this state of it is finished, and all things are
ripe for Christ's coming to judgment.
You may remember, that when I began to discourse of this
third proposition, viz. That from the resurrection of Christ
to the end of the world, the whole time is taken up in procur-
ing the success and effect of Christ's purchase of redemption,
I observed, that the success of Christ's purchase is of two
kinds, consisting either in grr.ce or glory ; and that the suc-
cess consisting in the former of these, is to be ^een in those
works of God which are wrought during those ages that the
chi rch is continued under the means of grace ; and that the
success, consisting in the latter, will chiefly be accomplished
at the day of judgment.
Having already shown how the former kind of success has
been accomplished, I come now, in the second place, to the
latter, viz. that kind of success which is accomplished in the
bestowmcnt of glory on the church, which shall chiefly be be-
stowed on the church at the day of judgment. And here I
would mention two or three things in the general concerning
this kind of success of Christ's purchase.
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 35?
1. How great the success of Christ's purchase is, chiefiy
appears in this. The success of Christ's purchase does sum-
marily consist in the salvation of the elect. But this bestow-
mentof glory is eminently called their salvation : Heb. ix. 28.
" To them that look for him, shall he appear the second time,
■without sin unto salvation." So it is called redcnnption, being
eminently that wherein the redemption of the church con-'
sists, So inEph. iv. 30. " Sealed unto the day of redemption ;"
and Luke xxi. 28, and Eph. i. 14. " Redemption of the pur-
chased possession."
2. All that is before this, while the church is under the
means of grace, is only to make way for the success which is
to be accomplished in the bestowment of glory. The means
of grace are to fit for glory ; and God's grace itself is bestow-
ed on the elect to make them meet for glory.
3. All those glorious things which were brought to pass for
the church while under the means of grace, are but images
and shadows of this. So were those glorious things which
tvere accomplished for the church in the days of Constantine
the Great ; and so is all that glory which is to be accomplish-
ed in the glorious times of the church which are to succeed
the fall of Antichrist. As great as it is, it is all but a shadow
of what will be bestowed at the day of judgment : And there-
fore, as I have already often observed, all those preceding
glorious events, by which God wrought glorious things for his
church, are spoken of in scripture as images of Christ's last
coming to judgment.
But I hasten more particularly to show how this kind of
success of Christ's purchase is accomplished.
1. Christ will appear in the glory of his Father, with a'l his
holy angels, coming in the clouds of heaven. When the
world is thus revelling in their wickedness, and compassing
the holy city about, just ready to destroy it, and when the
church is reduced to such a great strait, then shall the glori-
ous Redeemer appear. He through whom this redemption
has all along been carried on, he shall appear in the sight of
the world ; the light of his glory shall break forth ; the whole
world shall immediately have notice of it, and they shall lift
^60 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period lit
■up their eyes and behold this wonderful sight. It is said,
« Every eye shall see him," Rev. i. 7. Christ shall appeal
eoiTiing in his human nature, in that same body which was
brought forth in a stable, and laid in a manger, and which af'
terwards was so cruelly used, a^ld nailed to the cross.
Men shall now lift up their eyes, and see him coming in
such majesty and glory as now is to us utterly inconceivable.
The glory of the sun in a clear firmament, will be but dark-
ness in comparison of it ; and all'the glorious angels and arch-
angels shall attend upon him, thousand thousands ministering
to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand roundabout him.
How different a person will he then appear from what he did
at his first coming, v;hen he was as a root out of a dry ground,
a poor, despised, afflicted man ! How different now is his ap-
pearance, in the midst of those glorious angels, principalities,
and powers, in heavenly places, attending him as his ordinary
servants, from what it was when in the midst of a ring of sol-
diers, with his mock robe and his crown of thorns, to be buf-
fettcd and spit upon, or hanging on the cross between two
iJiieves, vith a muUitude of his enemies about him triumph-
ing over him !
This sight will be a most unexpected sight to the wicked
world : It will come as a cry at midnight : They shall be tak-
en in the midst of their wickedness, and it will give them a
dreadful alarm. It will at once break up their revels, their
eating, and drinkmg, and carousing. It will put a quick end
to the design of the great army that will then be compassing
the camp of the saints : It will make them let drop their
weapons out of their hands. The world, which will then be
very full of people, most of whom will be wicked men, will
tl-en be filled with dolorous shrieking and crying ; for all the
kindreds of the earth sliull v> ail because of him, Rev. i. 7
And where shall they hide themselves ? How will the sight
of that awful majesty terrify them when taken in the midst of
their wickedness ? Then they shall see who he is, what kind
of a person he is, whom they have mocked and scoffed at, and
whose church they have been endeavoring to overthrow
This sif=ht will change their voice. The voice of their laugh-
t»AiiT II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. S6l
ter and singing, while they are marrying and giving in mar-
Hage, and the voice of their scoffing, shall be changed into
hideous, yea hellish yelling. Their countenances shall be
changed from a show^ of carnal mirth, haughty pride, and con-
tempt of God's people ; it shall put on a shew of ghastly ter-
ror and amazement ; and trembling and chattering of teeth
shall seize upon them.
But with respect to the saints, the church of Christ, it shall
be a joyful and most glorious sight to them : For this sight
will at once deliver them from all fear of their enemies, who
were before compassing them about, just ready to swallow
them up. Deliverance shall come in their extremity : The
glorious Captain of their salvation shall appear for them at a
time when no other help appeared. Then shall they lift up
their heads, and their redemption shall be drawing nigh, Luke
xxi. 28. And thus Christ will appear with infinite majesty,
and yet at the same time they shall see infinite love in his
countenance to them. And thus to see their Redeemer coming
in the clouds of heaven, will fill their hearts full of gladness.
Their countenances also shall be changed, but not as the coun-
tenances of the wicked, but shall be changed from being sor-
rowful, to be exceeding joyful and triumphant. And now the
work of redemption will be finished in another sense, viz.
that the whole church shall be completely and eternally
freed from all persecution and molestation from wicked men
and devils.
2. The last trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised, and the living changed. God sent forth his angels
•with a great sound of a trumpet, to gather together his elect
from the four corners of the earth in a mystical sense, before
the destruction of Jerusalem ; i. e. he sent forth the apostles,
and others, to preach the gospel all over the world. And so
in a mystical sense the great trumpet was blown at the begin-
ning of the glorious times of the church. But now the great
trumpet is blown in a more literal sense, with a mighty sound,
which shakes the earth. There will be a great signal given
by a mighty sound made, which is called the voice of the arch'
ej/gcl, as being the angel of greatest 'Strength, 1 Thes. iv. 1&.
Vol. II 2 X "
362 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
" For llie Lord himself shall descend from heaven -with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and v/ilh the trump of
God." On the sound of the great trumpet, the dead shall be
raised every where. Now the number of the dead is very-
great. How many has death cut do\vn for so long a time as
since the world has stood ! But then the number will be
much greater after the world shall have stood so much longer,
and through most of the remaining time will doubtless be
much fuller of inhabitants than ever it has been. All these
shall now rise from the dead. The graves shall be opened
every where in all parts of the world, and the sea shall give up
the innumerable dead that are in it. Rev. xx. 13.
And now all the inhabitants that ever shall have been upon
the face of the earth, from the beginning of the world to that
time, shall all appear vipon earth at once ; all that ever have
been of the church of God in all ages, Adam and Eve, the first
parents of mankind, and Abel and Seth, and Methuselah, and
all the saints who were their contemporaries, and Noah, and
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets of Israel, and the
saints in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and all that were
of the church in their times ; and all the holy apostles of Je-
sus Christ, and all the saints of their times ; and all the holy
martyrs under the ten Heathen persecutions ; and all who be-
longed to the church in its v.'ilderness state, during the dark
times of Antichrist, and all the holy martyrs who have suffer-
ed under the cruelty of the Popish persecutions ; and all the
saints of the present time, and all the saints who are here in
this assembly among the rest ; and all that shall be from
hence to the end of the world Now also all the enemies of
the church that have or shall be in all the ages of the world,
shall appear upon the face of the earth again ; all the wicked
killed in the Hood, and the multitudes that died all over the
world among God's professing people, or others ; all that di-
ed in all the Heathen nations before Christ, and all wicked
Heathens, and Jews, and Mahometans, and Papists, that have
died since ; all shall come together. Sinners of all sorts ;
demure hypocrites, those who have the fairest and best out-
side, and open profane drunkards, whoremasters, heretics,
Part IL] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 3^S
Deists, and all cruel persecutors, and all that have died or
shall die in sin amongst us.
And at the same time that the dead are raised, the livinfj
shall be changed. The bodies of the wicked who shall then
be living, shall be so changed as to fit them for eternal tor-
ment without corruption ; and the bodies of all the living-
saints shall be changed to be like Christ's glorious body, 1 Cor.
XV. 51, 52, 53 The bodies of the saints shall be so changed
as to render them for ever incapable of pain, or affliction, or
uneasiness ; and all that dullness and heaviness, and all that
deformity, which their bodies had before, shall be put off ;
and they shall put on strength, and beauty, and activity, and
incorruptible unfading glory. And in such glory shall the
bodies of all the risen saints appear.
And now the work of redemption shall be finished in an-
other respect, viz. that all the elect shall now be actually re-
deemed in both soul and body. Before this, the work of re-
demption, as to its actual success, was but incomplete and
imperfect ; for only the souls of the redeemed were actually
saved and glorified, excepting in some few instances : But
now all the bodies of the saints shall be saved and gloi-ified
together ; all the elect shall be glorified in the whole man,
and the soul and body in union one with the other.
3. Now shall the whole church of saints be caught up in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and all wicked men
and devils shall be arraigned before the judgment seat.
When the dead saints arc raised, then the whole church,
consisting of all the elect through all ages, will be standing
together, on the face of the earth, at least all excepting those
few whose bodies were glorified before ; and then they shall
all mount up as with wings in the air to meet Christ ; for it
seems that Christ, when he comes to judgment, will not come
quite down to the ground, but his throne will be fixed in the
air, in the region of the clouds, whence he may he seen by
all that vast multitude that shall be gathered Ijefore him.
The church of saints therefore shall be taken up from the
eanh to ascend up to their Saviour. Thus the apostle tells
us, that when the dead in Christ are raised, and the living
364 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
changed, then those who are alive and remain, shall be caught
up together -with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so
shall we be ever with the Lord, 1 Thes. iv. 16, 17. What a
wonderful sight will that be, when all the many millions
of saints are seen thus mounting up from all parts of the
world !
Then shall the work of redemption be finished in another
respect : Then shall the whole church be perfectly and for
CA'er delivered from this present evil world, for ever forsake
this cursed ground : They shall lake their everlasting leave
of this earth, where they have been strangers, and which has
been for the most part such a scene of their trouble and sor-
row ; where the devil for the most part has reigned as god,
and has greatly molested them, and which has been such a
scene of wickedness and abomination, where Christ their
Lord has been cruelly used ; and where they have been so
hated, and reproached, and persecuted, from age to age,
through most of the ages of the world. They shall leave it
imder foot to go to Christ, and never shall set foot on it again.
And there shall be an everlasting separation made between
them and wicked men. Before they were mixed together,
and it was impossible in many instances to determine which
•were which ; but now all shall become visible ; both saints
and sinners shall appear in their true characters.
Then shall all the church be seen flocking together in the
air to the place where Christ shall have fixed his throne, com-
ing from the east and west, and north and south, to the right
hand of Christ. What a mighty cloud of them will there be,
when all that ever have been of the church of God, all that
were before Christ, all that multitude of saints that were in
the apostles' time, and all that were in the days of Constantine
the Great, and all that were before and since the Reforma-
tion, and also all that great multitude of saints that shall be in
all the glorious times of the church, when the whole earth
shall for so many generations be full of saints, and also all that
shall be then living when Christ siiall come ; I say, what a
cloud of them will there be, when all these arc seen flocking
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 365
together in the region of the clouds at the right hand of
Christ !
And then also the work of redemption will be finished in
another respect, viz. that then the church shall all be gather-
ed together. They all belonged to one society before, but
yet were greatly separated with respect to the place of their
habitation ; some being in heaven, and some on earth ; and
those who were on earth together were separated one from
another, many of them by wide oceans, and vast continents.
But now they shall all be gathered together, never to be sep-
arated any more. And not only shall all the members of the
church now be gathered together, but all shall be gathered
unto their Head, into his immediate glorious presence, never
to be separated from him any more. This never came to
pass till nov/.
At the same time, all wicked men and devils shall be
brought before the judgment seat of Christ. These shall be
gathered to the left hand of Christ, and, as it seems, will still
remain upon the earth, and shall not be caught up into the
air, as the saints shall be. The devil, that old serpent, shall
now be dragged up out of hell. He^ that first procured the
fall and misery of mankind, and has so set himself against
their redemption, and has all along shown himself such an in-
veterate enemy to the Redeemer ; now he shall never more
have any thing to do with the church of God, or be suffered
in the least to afflict or molest any member of it any more
for ever. Instead of that, now he must be judged, and re-
ceive the due reward of his deeds. Now is come the time
which he has always dreaded, and trembled at the thought
of; the time wherein he must be judged, and receive his full
punishment. He who by his temptation maliciously procur-
ed Christ's crucifixion, and triumphed upon it, as though he
had obtained the victory, even he shall see the consequences
of the death of Christ which he procured : For Christ's com-
ing to judge him in his human nature is the consequence of
it ; for Christ obtained and purchased this glory to himself
by that death. Now he must stand before that same Jesus
whose death he procured, to be judged, condemned, and eter-
SS6 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
Daily destroyed by him. If Satan, the prince of hell, trem-
fcles at the thought of it thousands of years beforehand, how
nauch more will he tremble, as proud and as stubborn as he
is, when he comes to stand at Christ's bar.
Then shall he also stand at the bar of the saints, whom he
has so hated, and afflicted, and molested : For the saints shall
judge him with Christ : i Cor. vi. 3. " Know ye not that we
shall judge angels ?" Now shall he be as it were subdued un-
der the church's fcef, agreeable to Rom. xvi. 20.. ..Satan, when
he first tempted our first parents to fall, deceitfully and lying-
ly told them, that they should be as gods : But little did he
think that the consequence should be, that they should indeed
be so much as gods, as to be assessors with God to judge him.
Much less did he think, that that consequence would follow,
that one of that nature which he then tempted, one of the pos-
terity of those persons whom he tempted, should actually be
united to God, and that as God he should judge the world,
and that he himself must stand trembling and astonished be-
fore his judgment scat. But thus all the devils in hell, who
have so opposed Christ and his kingdom, shall now at last
stand in utmost amazement and horror before Christ and his
church, who shall appear to condemn them.
Now also shall all Christ's other enemies be brought to ap-
pear before him. Now shall wicked, proud, scribes and Phar-
isees, who had such a malignant hatred of Christ while in his
state of humiliation, and who persecuted Christ to death,
those before whose judgment seat Christ was once called and
stood, as a malefactor at their bar, and those who mocked
him, and bxiffeted him, and spit m his face ; now shall they
see Christ in his glory, as Christ forewarned them in the
time of it, Matth. xxvi. 64, 65. Then Christ was before their
judgment scat ; but 7iow it is their turn. They shall stand
before his judgment seat with inconceivable horror and
amazement, with ghastly countenances, and quaking limbs,
and chattering teeth, and knees smiting one against another.
Now also all the cruel enemies and persecutors of the
church that have been in all ages, shall come in sight togeth-
er. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Antiochus Epiphanes, the
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 36f
persecuting scribes and Pharisees, the persecuting Heathen
Emperors, Julian the apostate, the cruel persecuting Popes
and Papists, Gog and Magog, shall all appear at once before
the judgment seat of Christ. They and the saints who have
m every age been persecuted by them, shall come in sight
one of another, and must confront one another now before
the great Judge. And now shall the saints on their glorioua
thrones be made the judges of those unjust kings and rulers
who have before judged and condemned them, and cruelly-
put them to death. Now shall those persecutors behold the
the glory to which they are arrived whom they before so cru-
elly despised and so cruelly used ; and Chiist will make those
holy martyrs as it were to come and set their feet on the
necks of their persecutors ; they shall be made tlieir
footstool.
Thus wonderfully will the face of things be altered from
■what used to be in the former times of the world ; now will
all things be coming to rights.
4. The righteousness of the church shall be manifested^
and all the wickedness of their enemies shall be brought to
light. Those saints who had been the objects of hatred, re-
proach, and contem.pt in the world, and were reviled and con-
demned by their persecutors without a cause, shall now be
fully vindicated. They shall now appear clothed with the
glorious robe of Christ's righteousness. It shall be most
manifest before the world, that Christ's righteousness is
theirs, and they shall as it were gloriously shine forth in it.
And then also shall their inherent holiness be made manifest,
and all their good works shall be brought to light. The good
things which they did in secret shall now be manifested open-
ly. Those holy ones of God, who had been treated as thouglr
they were the filth and offscouring of the earth, as though
they were not fit to live upon earth, as worse than beasts or
devils, shall now, when things shall appear as they are, ap-
pear to have been the excellent of the earth. Now God will
bring forth their righfeousness as the light, and their judg-
ment as the noonday. And now it shall appear who were
those Vvicked persons that were not St to live, when all the
368 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III,
wickedness of the enemies of Christ and his church, their
pride, their malice, their cruelty, their hatred of true religion,
shall be set forth in all the horrid acts of it, and with all its
aggravations in its proper colors.
And now the righteous may be heard before this great
Judge, who could not be heard before those unjust judges.
Now they shall declare their cause, and shall rise up in judg-
ment against their persecutors, and shall declare how they
have been treated by them. And now all the wickedness of
the wicked of the Avhole world shall be brought to light. All
their secret wickedness, and their very hearts, shall be open-
ed to view, and as it were tui'ned inside out before the bright
light of that great day : And things that have been spoken in
the ear, in the closet, and done in the dark, shall be manifested
in the light, and proclaimed before all angels and men that
are, ever were, or shall be.
5. The sentence shall be pronounced on the righteous and
the wicked. Christ, the glorious judge, shall pass that bless-
ed sentence on the church, at his right hand, " Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world." This sentence shall be
pronounced with infinite love, and the voice will be most
sweet, causing every heart to flow with joy. Thus Christ
shall pronounce a sentence of justification on thousands and
millions, who have before had a sentence of condemnation
passed upon them by their persecuting rulers. He will thus
put honor upon those who have been before despised : He
will own them for his, and will as it were put a crown of glory
tipon their heads before the world ; and then shall they shine
forth as the sun with Jesus Christ in glory and joy, in the
sight of all their enemies.
And then shall the sentence of condemnation be passed on
the wicked, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepar-
ed for the devil and his angels." Thus shall the church's en-
emies be condemned ; in which sentence of condemnation,
the holy martyrs, who have suffered from them, shall concur.
When the words of this sentence are pronounced, they will
strike every heart of those at the left hand with inconceivable
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 369
horror ar.d amazement. Every syllable of it will be more
terrible than a stream of lightning through their hearts. We
can conceive but very little of those signs and expressions of
horror which there will be ubon it, of shrieking, quaking,
gnashing of teeth, distortions of countenance, hideous looks,
hideous actions, and hideous voices, through all that vast
throng.
6. Upon this Christ and all his church of saints, and all the
holy angels ministering to them, shall leave this lower world,
and ascend up towards the highest heavens. Christ shall as-
cend in as great glory, as he descended, and in some respects
greater : For now he shall ascend with his elect church with
him, glorified in both body and soul. Christ's first ascension
to heaven soon after his own resurrection was very glorious.
But this his secotid ascension, the ascension of his mystical
body, his whole chvnxh shall be far more glorious. The re-
deemed church shall all ascend with him in a most joyful and
triumphant manner ; and all their ehemies and persecutors,
who shall be left behind ori the accursed ground to be con-
sumed, shall see the sight, and hear their songs.
And thus Christ's church shall forever leave this accursed
world, to go into that more glorious world, the highest heav-
ens, into the paradise of God, the kingdom that was prepared
for them from the foundation of the world.
7. When they are gone, this world shall be set on fire, and
be tufned into a gt-eat furnace, A^herein all the enemies of
Christ and his church shall be tormented forever and ever.
This is manifest by 2 Pet. iii. 7. " But the heavens and the
earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, re-
served unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of
ungodly men." When Christ and his church are ascended
to a distance from this world, that miserable company of
wicked being left behind, to have their sentence executed up-
on them here, then, some way or other, this Avhole lower
Avorld shall be set on fire, either by fire from heaven, or by
fire breaking out of the bowels of the earth, or both, as it was
with the water in the time of the deluge. However, this
lower world shall be set all on fire. How will it strike the
Vol. II. 2 Y
370 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
V. icked "vvith horror, when the fire begins to lay hold upon
them, and they find no way to escape it, or flee or hide from
it ! Wliat shrieking and ci-ying will there be among those
many thousands and millions, when they begin to enter into
this great furnace, when the whole world shall be a furnace
of the fiercest and most raging heat ! Insomuch that the A-
postle Peter says, (2 Pet. iii. 10. 12.) that « The heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are
therein shall be burnt up ;" and that the " heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fer-
vent heat." And so fierce shall be its heat that it shall burn
the earth into its very centre ; which seems to be what is
meant, Deut. xxxii. 22. " For a fire is kindled in my anger,
and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the
earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the
mountains."
And here shall all the persecutors of the church of God
burn in everlasting fire, who have before burnt the saints at
the stake, and shall suffer torments far beyond all that their
utmost wit and malice could inflict on the saints. And here
the bodies of all the wicked shall burn, and be tormented lo
all eternity, and never be consumed ; and the v.rath of God
shall be poured out on their souls. Though the souls of the
v/icked in hell do novi^ suffer dreadful punishment, yet their
punishment will be so increased at the day of judgment, that
what they suffered before, is, in coinparison of it, as an im-
prisoniTient to the execution which follows it.. And now the
devil, that old serpent, shall receive his full pimishment ;
now shall that which he before trembled for fear of, fully
come upon him. This world, which formerly used to be
the place of his kingdom, where he set up himself as God,
shall now be the place of his complete punishment, and full
and everlasting torment.
And in this, one design of the work of redemption which
has been mentioned, viz. putting Christ's enemies under his
feet, shall be perfectly accomplished. His enemies shall
now be made his footstool in the fullest degree. Now shall
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 371
be the most perfect fulfilment of that in Gen. iii. 15. " It
shall bruise thy head."
8. At the same time all the church shall enter with Christ,
their glorious Lord, into the highest heaven, and there shall
enter on the state of their highest and eternal blessedness and
glory. While the lower world, which they have left under
their feet, is seized with the fire of God's vengeance, and
flames are kindling upon it, and the wicked are entering into
everlasting fire, the whole church shall enter, with their glo-
rious head, and all the holy angels attending, in a joyful man-
ner into the eternal paradise of God, the palace of the great
Jehovah, their heavenly Father. The gates shall open v.ide
for them to enter, and there Christ will bring them into his
chambers in the highest sense. He will bring them into his
Father's house, into a world not like that which they havs
left. Here Christ will bring them, and present them in glo-
ry to his Father, saying, " Here am I, and the children Avhich
thou hast given me ;" as much as to say. Here am I, with
every one of those whom thou gavest me from eternity to
take the care of, that they might be redeemed and glorified,
and to redeem whom I have done and sufiered so much, and
to make way for the redemption of whom I have for so many
ages been accomplishing such great changes. Here they are
now perfectly redeemed in body and soul ; I have perfectly
delivered them from all the ill fruits of the fall, and perfectly
freed them from all their enemies ; I have brought them al-
together into one glorious society, and united them all in my-
self : I have openly justified them before all angels and men,
and here I have brought them all away from that accursed
world where they have suffered so much, and have brought
them before thy throne : I have done all that for them which
thou hast appointed me : I have perfectly cleansed them
from all filthiness in my blood, and here they are in perfect
holiness, shining with thy perfect image.
And then the Father will accept of them, and own them all
for his children, and will welcome them to the eternal and
perfect inheritance and glory of his house, and will on this
occasion give more glorious manifestations of his love than
37-2 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IU.
ever before, and -will admit them to a more full and perfect
enjoyment of himself.
And now shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the most
perfect sense. The commencement of the glorious times of
the church on earth, ^fter the fall of Antichrist, is represent-
ed as the marriage of the Lamb ; and this shall be the mar-
riage of the Lamb in the highest sense that ever shall be on
earth ; But after this we read of another marriage of the
Lamb at the close of the day of judgment. After the beloved
disciple had given an account of the day of judgment, in the
close of the 20th chap, of Revelation, then he proceeds to give
an account of what follows in the 21st and 22d chapters :
And in the 2d verse of the 21st chapter, he gives an account
that he saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, prepared as a
biide adorned for her husband. And when Christ shall bring
his church into his Father's house in heaven, after the judg-
ment, he shall bring her thither as his bride, having there
presented her, whom he loved and gave himself for, to him-
self without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.
The bridegroom and the bride shall then enter into heaven,
both having on their wedding robes, rttended with all the glori-
ous angels. And there they enter on the feast and joys of their
marriage before the Father ; they shall then begin an everlast-
ing wedding day. This shall be the day of 'the gladness of
Christ's heart,wherein he Avill greatly rejoice and all the saints
shall rejoice with him. Christ shall rejoice over his bride,
and the bride shall rejoice in her husband, in the state of her
consummate and everlasting blessedness, of which Ave have a
particular description in the 21st and 22d chap, of Revelation.
And now the whole work of redemption is finished. We
have seen how it has been carryhig on from the fall of man
to this time. But now it is complete with respect to all that
belongs to it. Now the topstone of the building is laid. In
the progress of the discourse on this subject, we have fol-
lowed the church of God in all the great changes, all her toss-
ings to and fro that she has been subject to, in all the storms
and tempests through the many ages of the world, till at
lengih we have seen an end to all these storm?- V> e have
Part II.] WORK OF REDEMPTION. 373
seen her enter the harbor, and landed in the highest heavens,
in complete and eternal glory in all her members, soul and
body. We have gone through time, and the several ages of
it, as the providence of God, and the word of God, have led us ;
and now we have issued into eternity after time shall be no
more. We have seen all the church's enemies fixed in end-
less misery, and have seen the church presented in her per-
fect redemption before the Father in heaven, there to enjoy
this most unspeakable and inconceivable glory and blessed-
ness ', and there we leave her to enjoy this glory throughout
the never ending ages of eternity.
Now all Christ's enemies will be perfectly put under his
feet, and he shall have his most perfect triumph over sin and
Satan, and all his instruments, and death, and hell. Now
shall all the promises made to Christ by God the Father be-
fore the foundation of the world, the promises of the cove-
nant of Redemption, be fully accomplished. And Christ
shall now perfectly have obtained the joy that was set before
him, for which he undertook those great sufferings which he
underwent in his state of humiliation. Now shall all the
hopes and expectations of the saints be fulfilled. The state
of things that the church was in before, was a progressive and
preparatory state : But now she is arrived to her most per-
fect state of glory. All the gloiy of the glorious times of
the church on earth is but a faint shadow of this her consum-
mate glory in heaven.
And now Christ the great Redeemer shall be most perfect-
ly glorified, and God the father shall be glorified in him, and
the Holy Ghost shall be most fully gloi ined in the perfection
of his work on the hearts of all the church And now shall
that new heaven and new earth, or that renewed state of
things, which had been building up ever since Christ's resur-
rection, be completely finished, after the very material frame
of the old heavens and old earth are destroyed : Rev. xxi. 1.
" And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth : For the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away."'.. ..And now v/ill
the great Redeemer have perfected every thing that apper-
tains to the work of redemption, which he began so soon af..
374 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III,
ter the fall of man. And who can conceive of the triumph of
those praises which shall be sung in heaven on this great oc-
casion, so much greater than that of the fall of Antichrist,
which occasions such praises as we have described in the 19th
chapter of Revelation ! The beloved disciple John seems to
want expressions to describe those praises, and says, " It was
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thun-
derings, saying, Allelujah : For the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth," But much more inexpressible will those praises
be, which will be sung in heaven after the final consumma-
tion of all things. Now shall the praises of that vast and glo-
ricus multitude be as mighty thunderings indeed !
And now how are all the former things passed away, aiid
what a glorious state are things fixed in to remain to all eter-
nity ! And as Christ, when he first entered upon the work
of redemption after the fall of man, had the kingdom com-
mitted to him of the Fathei', and had took oii himself the
administration of the affairs of the universe, to manage all so
as to subsei've the purposes of this affair ; so now, the work
being finished, he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even
the Father, 1 Cor. xv. 24. " Then comcth the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Fath-
er ; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority
and power." Not that Christ shall cease to reign or have a
kingdom after this ; for it is said, Luke i. 33-. " He shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom
there shall be no end." So in Dan. vii. 14. " That his domin-
ion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." But the
meaning is, that Christ shall deliver up that kingdom or do-
minion which he has over the world, as the Father's delegate
or vicegerent, which the Father committed t© him, to be
managed in subserviency to this great design of redemption.
The end of this commission, or delegation, which he had
from the Father seems to be to subserve this particular design
of redemption ; and therefore, when that design is fully ac-
complished, the commission will cease, and Christ will deliv-
er it up to the Father, from whom he received it.
Ihpr.] work of redemption. 57>
IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE.
I PROCEED now to enter upon some Improvement of
the whole that has been said from this doctrine.
I. Hence we may learn how great a work this work of re-
demption is. We have now had it in a very imperfect man-
ner set forth before us, in the whole progress of it, from its
first beginning after the fall, to the end of the v»^orld, when it
is finished. We have seen how God has carried on this
buikUng from the first foundation of it, by a long succession
of wonderful works, advancing it higher and higher from one
age to another, till the top stone is laid at the end of the
world. And novs^ let us consider how great a work this is.
Do men, when they behold some great palaces or churches,
sometimes admire their magnificence, and are almost aston-
ished to consider how great a piece of v/ork it was to build
such an house ? Then how well may we admire the great-
ness of this building of God, which he builds up age after age,
by a series of such great things which he brings to pass ?
There are three things that have been.ejchibited to us in what
has been said, which do especially show the greatness of the
work of redemption.
1. The greatness of those particular events, and dispensa-
tions of providence, by which it is accomplished. How great
are those things which God has done, which are but so many
parts of this great work ! What great things were done in
the world to prepare the way for Christ's coming to pur-
chase, and what great things were done in the purchase of
redemption ! What a Avonderful thing was that which was
accomplished to put Christ in an immediate capacity for
this purchase, viz. his incarnation, that God slionld be-
come man ! And what great things were done in that pur-
chase, that a person who is the eternal Jehovah, should
live upon earth for four or five and thirty years together,
in a mean despised condition, and that he should spend
his life in such labors and sufferings, and that at last he'
should die upon the cross 1 And what great things have been
?76 WORK OF RT:DEMPTI0N. [Period lU.
done to accomplish the success of Christ's redemption ;
What great things to put him into a capacity to accomplish
this success ! For this purpose he rose from the dead, and as-
cended up into heaven, and all things were made subject to
hiin. How many miracles have been wrought, what mighty
revohuions have been brought to pass in the world already,
and how much greater shall be broug;ht to pass, in order to it I
2. The number of those great events by which God car-
ries on this work, shows the greatness of the work. Those
ii>ighty I'e volutions are so many as to fill up many ages.
The particular wonderful events by which the work of crea-
tion was carried on filled up six days : But the great dispen-
sations l)y which the work of redemption is carried on, are so
many, that they fill up six or seven thousand years at least, as
we have reason to conclude from the word of God There
were great things wrought in this affair before the flood, and
in the flood the world was once destroyed by water, and God's
church was so wonderfully preserved from the flood in order
to carry on this work. And after the flood, Avhat great things
did God work relating to the resettling of the Avorld, to tlie
building of Babel, the dispersing of the nations, the shorten-
ing of the days of man's life, the calling of Abraham, the des-
truction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that long series of won-
derful providences relating to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and Joseph, and those wonders in Egypt, and at the Red sea^
and in the wilderness, and in Canaan in Joshua's time, and by
along succession of wonderful providences from age to age,
towards the nation of the Jews !
What great things were wrought by God, in so often over-
turning the world before Christ came, to make way for his
coming ! What great things were done also in Christ's time,
and then after that in overturning Satan's kingdom in the
Heathen empire, ar.d in so preserving his church in the dark
tii-ncs of Popery, and in bringing about a Reformation !
How many great and wonderful things will be effected in ac-
complishing the glorious times of the church, and at Christ's
last coming on the day of judgment, in the destruction of the
world, and in cari'ying the whole church into heaven.
Impr.] work of redemption. 577
3. The glorious issue of this whole affair, in the perfect
and eternal destruction of the wicked, and in the consummate
glory of the righteous. And now let us once more take a
view of this building, now all is finished and the top stone laid.
It appealed in a glorious height in the apostles' time, and
much more glorious in the time of Constantine, and will ap-
pear much more glorious still after the fall of Antichrist ;
but at the consummation of all things, it appears in an im-
mensely more glorious height than ever before. Now it ap-
pears in its greatest magnificence, as a complete lofty struc-
ture, whose top reaches to the heaven of heavens ; a building
worthy of the great God, the King of kings.
And from what has been said, one may argue that the work
of redemption is the greatest of all God's works of which we
have any notice, and it is the end of all his other works. It
appears plainly from what has been said, that this work is the
principal of all God's works of providence, and that all other
works of providence are reducible hither ; they are all subor-
dinate to the great affair of redemption. We see that all the
revolutions in the world are to subserve this grand design ; so
that the work of redemption is, as it v/ere, the sum of God's
works of providence.
This shows us how much greater the work of redemption
is, than the work of creation : For I have several times ob-
served, that the work of providence is greater than the work
of creation, because it is the end of it ; as the use of an house
is the end of the building of the house. But the work of re-
demption, as I have just said, is the sum of all God's works
of providence ; all are subordinate to it : So the work of the
new creation is more excellent than the old. So it ever is,
that when one thing is removed by God to make way for an-
other, the new one excels tlie old. Thus the temple excelled
the tabei-nacle ; the new covenant, the old ; the new dispensa-
tion of the gospel, the dispensation of Moses ; the throne of
David, the throne of Saul ; the priesthood of Christ, the priest-
hood of Aaron ; the new Jerusalem, the old ; and so the new
fereation far excels the old.
Vol. II. 2 Z
378 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
God has used the creation which he has made, for no other
purpose but to subserve the designs of this affair. To answer
this end, he hath created and disposed of mankind, to this
the angels, to this the earth, to this the highest heavens.
God created the world to provide a spouse and a king-
dom for his Son : And the setting up of the kingdom of
Christ, and the spiritual marriage of the spouse to him, is
what the whole creation labors and travails in pain to bring to
pass. This work of redemption is so much the greatest of
all the works of God, that all other works are to be looked up-
on either as parts of it, or appendages to it, or are some way
reducible to it ; and so all the decrees of God do some way
or other belong to that eternal covenant of redemption Avhich
was between the Father and the Son before the foundation of
the world. Every decree of God is some way or other redu-
cible to that covenant.
And seeing this work of redemption is so great a work,
hence we need not wonder that the angels desire to look into
it. And we need not wonder that so much is made of it in
scripture, and that it is so much insisted on in the histories,
and prophecies, and songs of the Bible ; for the work of re-
demption is the great subject of the Avhole, of its doctrines, its
promises, its types, its songs, its histories, and its prophecies.
II. Hence we may learn how God is the Alpha and Ome-
ga, the beginning and ending of all things. Such are the
characters and titles we find often ascribed to God in scripture,
in those places where the scripture speaks of the course of
things, and series of events in providence : Isa. xli. 4. " Who
hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning ? I the Lord, the first, and with the last ; I am he."
And particularly does the scripture ascribe such titles to God,
where it speaks of the providence of God, as it relates to, and
is summed up in the great work of redemption : As Isa. xliv.
6, 7, and xlviii. 12, with the context, beginning with the 9th
verse. So God eminently appears as the first and the last, by
considering the whole scheme of divine providence as we
have considered it, viz. as all reducible to that one great work
of redemption.
Impr.] work of redemption. 579
And therefore, when Christ reveals the future great events
of providence relating to his church and people, and this af-
fair of redemption to the end of the world, to his disciple
John, he often reveals himself under this character. So Rev.
i. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to
come, the Almighty." So again, verse 10, 1 1. "I heard be-
hind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last." Alpha and Omega, are
the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,
as J and Z are of ours ; and therefore it signifies the same as
his being the first and the last, and the beginning and the end-
ing.
Thus God is called in the beginning of this book of Revela-
tion, before the course of the prophecy begins ; and so again
lie is called at the end of it, after the course of events is gone
through, and the final issue of things is seen : As Rev. xxi.
6. " And he said unto me. It is done. I am Alpha and Ome-
ga, the beginning and the end." And so chap. 5cxii. 12, 13.
" And behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his woi'k shall be. I am Al-
pha and Omega, the beginning and the end, tlie first and the
last."
We have seen how this is true in the course of what I have
laid before you upon this subject. We have seen how things
■were from God in the beginning ; on what design God began
the course of his providence in the beginning of the genera-
tions of men upon the earth ; and we have seen how it is God
that has all along carried things on agreeable to the same de-
signs without ever failing ; and how at last the conclusion and
final issue of things are to God ; and so we have seen how all
things are of him, and through him, and to him ; and there-
fore may well now cry out with the apostle, Rom. xi. 33. « O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out !** And verse 36. " For of him, and through
him, and to him, are all things ; to ^vhom be glory for ever.
Amen."
S80 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
We have seen how other things came to an end one after
another ; how slates, and kingdoms, and empires, one after
another, fell and came to nothing, even the greatest and
strongest of them ; we have seen how the world has been oft-
en overturned, and will be more remarkably overturned than
ever it has been yet ; we have seen how the world comes to
an end, how it was first destroyed by water, and how at last it
shall be utterly destroyed by fire : But yet God remains the
same through all ages. He was before the beginning of this
course of things, and he will be after the end of them ; agree--
ably to Psal. cii. 25, 26 Thus God is he that is, and that
was, and that is to come.
We have seen, in a variety of instances, how all other gods
perish ; we have seen how the ancient gods of the Heathen, in
the nations about Canaan, and throughout the Roman empire,
ai'c all destroyed, and their worship long since overthrown ;
"vve have heard how Antichrist, who has called himself a god
on earth, and how Mahomet, who claims religious honors,
and how all the gods of the Heathen through the v/orld, will
come to an end ; and how Satan, the great dragon, that old
serpent, who has set up himself as god of this world, will be
cast into the lake of fire, there to suffer his complete punish-
ment : But Jehovah remains, and his kingdom is an everlast-
ing kingdom, and of his dominion there is no end. We have
seen what mighty changes there have been in the world ; but
God is unchangeable, " the same yesterday, to day and for
ever."
We began at the head of the stream of divine providence,
and have followed and traced it through its various windings
and turnings, till we are come to the end of it, and we see
where it issues. As it began in God, so it ends in God
God is the infinite ocean into which it empties itself.. ...Prov-
idence is like a mighty wheel, whose circumference is so
high that it is dreadful, with the glory of the God of Israel
above upon it ; as it is represented in Ezekiel's vision. We
have scon the revolution of this wheel, and how, as it was
from God, so its return has been to God again. All the
Impr.] work of redemption. 331,
events of divine providence are like the links of a chain ; the
first link is from God, and the last is to him.
III. We may see by what has been said, how Christ in all
things has the preeminence. For this great work of redemp-
tion is all his work : He is the great Redeemer, and there-
fore the work of redemption, being as it were the sum of
God's works of providence, this shews the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ, as being above all, and through all, and in all.
That. God intended the world for his Son's use in the affair of
redemption, is one reason that is to be given why he created
the world by him, which seems to be intimated by the apos-
tle in Eph.iii. 9.... 12, What has been said, shows how all the
purposes of God are purposed in Christ, and how he is before
all and above all, and all things consist by him, and are gov-
erned by him, and are for him, Colos. i. 15, 16, 17", 18. We
see by what has been said, how God makes him his first
l)orn, higher than the kings of the earth, and sets his throne
above their thrones ; how God has always upheld his king-
dom, when the kingdoms of others have come to an end ; ho\T
that appears at last above all, however greatly opposed for so
many ages ; how finally all other kingdoms fell, and his king-
dom is the last kingdom, and is ^ kingdom that never gives-
place to any other.
We see, that whatever clianges there are, and however
highly Christ's enemies exalt themselves, that yet finally all
his enemies become his footstool, and he reigns in uncon-
troled power and immense glory : In the end his people are
all perfectly saved and made happy, and his enemies all be-
come his footstool. And thus God gives the world to his
Son for his inheritance.
IV. Hence we may see what a consistent thing divine
providence is. The consideration of what has been said, may
greatly serve to shew us the consistency, order, and beauty,
of God's works of providence. If we behold the events of
providence in any other view than that in which it has been
set before us, it will all look like confusion, like a number of
jumbled events coming to pass without any order or method,
like tlie tossing of the waves of the sea ; things will look as
3^2 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Pekiod III.
&ough one confused revolution came to pass after another,
merely by blind chartce, without any regular or certain end.
But if we consider the e\'ents of providence in the light in
which they have been set before us under this doctrine, in
which the scriptures set them before us, they appear far from
feeing jumbled and confused, an orderly series of events, all
•wisely ordered and directed in excellent harmony and consist-
ence, tending all to one end. The wheels pf providence are
not turned rouad by blind chance, but they are full of eyes
round about, as Ezckiel represents, and they are guided by
the Spirit of God : Where the Spirit goes, they go: And
all God's works of providence through all ages meet in one
at last, as so many lines meeting in one centre.
It is with God's work of providence, as it is with his work
«f creation; it is but one work. The events of providence
are not so many distinct, independent works of providence,
l)ut they are rather so many different parts of one work of
providence : It is all one work, one regular scheme. God's
■works of providence are not disunited and jumbled, without
connexion or dependence, but are all united, just as the
several parts of one building : There are many stones, many-
pieces of timber, but all are so joined, and fitly framed togeth-
er, that they make but one building : They have all but one
foundation, and are united at last in one top stone.
God's providence may not unfitly be compared to a large
and long river, having innumerable branches, beginning iix
different regions, and at a great distance one from another,
and all conspiring to one common issue. After their very-
diverse and conti'ary courses which they held for a while, yet
they all gather more and mere together, the nearer they come
to their common end, and all at length discharge themselves
at one mouth into the same ocean. The different streams of
this river are apt to appear like mere jumble and confusion to
-tis, because of the limitedness of our sight, whereby we cannot
see from one branch to another, and cannot see the whole at
once, so to as see how all are united in one. A man who sees
but one or two streams at a time, cannot tell what their course
tends to. Their course seems very crooked, and different
Impr.] WOKK of REDE^IPTION, 38S
streams seem to run for a while different and contrary ways s
And if we view things at a distancet there seem to be innum-
erable obstacles and impediments in the way to kindei' their
ever uniting and coming- to the ocean, as. ix)cks and mountain*
and the like ; but yet if we trace them, they all unite at last,
and all come to the same issue, disgorging themselves in on«?
into the sanoe great ocean. Not one of all the streams fail x>f
coming hither at last.
V. From the whole that has been said, we may strongly
argue, that the scriptures are the word of God, because thej-
alone inform us what God is about, or what he aims at in these
works which he is doing in the world, God doubtless is pur-
suing some design, and carrying on some scheme, in the
various changes and revolutions which from age to age come
to pass in the world. It is most reasonable to suppose, that
there is some certain great design to which Providence sub-
ordinates all the great successive changes in the aflfaii^ of
the world which God has made. It is reasonable to suppose
that all revolutions from the beginning of the world to the
end of it, are but the various parts of the same scheme, all
conspirhig to luring to pass that great event which the great
Creator and Governor of the world has ultimately in view ;
and that the scheme will not be finished, nor the design fully
accomplished, and the great and ultimate event fully brought
to pass till the end of the world, and the last revolution is
brought about.
Now there is nothing- else that informs us what this scheme
and design of God in his v^orks is, but only the holy scrip-
tures. Nothing else pretends to set in view the whole series
of God's works of providence from beginning to end, and to
inform us how ail things v\^ere from God at first, and for what
end they are, and how they were ordered from the beginning,
and how they will proceed to the end of the world, and what
they will come to at last, and how then all things shall be to
God. Nothing else but the scriptures has any pretence for
showing any manner of regular scheme or drift in those rev-
olutions which God orders from age to age. Nothing else
pretends to show what God would by the things which he
384 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
has (lone, and is doing, and will do ; what he seeks and intends'
by thum. Nothing else pretends to show, with any distinct-
ness or certainty, how the world began at first, or to tell us
the original of things. Nothing but the scriptures sets forth
how God governed the world from the beginning of the gen-
erations of men upon the earth, in an orderly history ; and
nothing else sets before us how he will govern it to the end by
an oredrly prophecy of future events ; agreeable to the
challenge which God makes to the gods, and prophets, and
teachers of the Heathen, in Isa. xli. 22, 23. «« Let them
bring them forth, and shew us AVhat shall happen : Let them
shew the former things what they be, that we may consider
them, and know the latter end of them ; or declare us things
for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter,
that we may knoAv that ye are gods."
Reason shows that it is fit and requisite, that the intelligent
and rational beings of the world should know something of
God's scheme and design in his works ; for they doubtless
are the beings that are principally concerned. The thing
that is God's great design in his Avorks, is doubtless something
concerning his reasonable creatures, rather than brute beasts
and lifeless things. The revolutions by which God's great
design is brought to pass, are doubtless revolutions chiefly
among them, and which concern their state, and not the state
of things without life or reason. And therefore surely it is
requisite that they should know something of it ; especially
Seeing that reason teaches that God has given his rational
creatures reason, and a capacity of seeing God rn his works ;
for this end that they may sec God's glory in them, and give
him the glory of them. But how can they see God's glory
in his works, if they do not know what God's design in them
is, and what he aims at by what he is doing in the world ?
And further, it is fit that mankhid should be informed some-
thing of Clod's design in the government of the world, because
they arc nip.de capable of actively falling in with that design,
and promoting of it, and acting herein as his friends and sub-
jects ; it is therefore reasonable to suppose, that God has
given iiiankii>d some revelation to inform them of this ; but
Impr.} work of redemption. 385
there is nothing else that does it but the Bible. In the Bible
this is done. Hence we may learn an account of the first
original of things, and an orderly account of the scheme of
God's works fi-om the first beginning through those ages that
are beyond the reach of all other histories. Here we are told
what God aims at in the whole, what is the great end, how he
has contrived the grand design he drives at, and the great
things he would accomplish by all. Here we have a most
rational, excellent account of this matter, worthy of God, and
exceedingly shewing forth the glory of his perfections, his maj-
esty, his wisdom, his glorious holiness, and grace and love, and
his exaltation above all, showing how he is the first and the last.
Here we are shewn the connexion of the various parts of
the work of providence, and he ,v all harmonizes, and is con-
nected together in a regular, beautiful and glorious frame
In the Bible we have an account of the whole scheme of pi'ov-
idence, from the beginning of the world to the end of it,
either in history or prophecy, and are told what will become
of things at last ; how they will be finished off by a great day
of judgment, and will issue in the subduing of God's enemies,
and in the salvation and glory of his church, and setting up of
the everlasting kingdom of his Son.
How rational, worthy, and excellent a revelation is this !
And how excellent a book is the Bible, which contains so
much beyond all other books in the world ! And what charac-
ters are here of its being indeed a divine book ! A book that
the great Jehovah has given to mankind for their insti-uction,
without which we should be left in miserable darkness and
confusion.
VI. From what has been said, we may see the glorious
majesty and power of God in this affair of redemption : Es-
pecially is God glorious in power. His glorious power ap-
pears in upholding his church for so long a time, and carrying
on this work ; upholding it often times when it was but as a
little spark of fire, or as smoking flax, in which the fire was
almost gone out, and the powers of earth and hell were com-
bined to destroy it. Yet God has never suffered them t»
Vol. II. 3 A
386 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period IIL
quench it, and finally will bring forth judgment unto victory.
God glorifies his strength in his church's weakness ; in caus-
ing his people, who are like a number of little infants, finally
to triumph over all earth and hell; so that they shall tread
on the lion and adder ; the young lion and dragon shall they
trample under foot. The glorious power of God appears in
conquering his many and mighty enemies by that person who
was once an infant in a manger, and appeared as a poor, weak,
despised man. He conquers them and triumphs over them
in their own weapon, the cross.
The glorious majesty of God appears in conquering all
those mighty enemies of the church one age after another ;
in conquering Satan, that proud and strong spirit, and all his
hellish host ; in bringing him down under foot, long after he
had vaunted himself as God of this world, and when he did
his utmost to support himself in his kingdom-
God's power gloriously appears in conquering Satan when
exalted in that strongest and most potent Heathen kingdom
that ever he had, the Roman empire. Christ, our Michael,
has overcome him, and the devil was cast out, and there was
found no more place for him in heaven ; but he was cast out
unto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Again,
his power gloriously appears in conquering him in that king-
dom wherein his pride, and subtlety, and cruejty, above all
appears, viz. the kingdom of Antichrist. It gloriously ap-
pears in conqviering him in that greatest and strongest com-
bination and opposition of the devil and his adherents against
Christ and his church, just before the fall of Antichrist, where-
in his visible kingdom has a fatal blow given it, on which an
universal dov/nfall of it follows all over the world.
The glorious power of God appears in thus conquering the
devil, and bringing him under foot, time after time, after long
time given him to strengthen himself to his utmost, as he
■was once overthrown in his Heathen Roman empire, after he
had been making himself strong in those parts of the world,
ever since the building of Babel. It appears also in over-
throwing his kingdom more fatally and universally all over
iMPR-l WORK OF REDEMPTION. 38?
the world, after he had again another opportunity given him to
strengthen himself to his utmost for many ages by setting up
those two great kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, and to
establish his interest in the Heathen world. We have seen
how these kingdoms of God's enemies, that, before God ap-
pears, look strong, as though it was impossible to overthrow
them ; yet, time after time, when God appears, they seem to
melt away, as the fat of lambs before the fire, and are driven
away as the chaff before the whirlwind, or the smoke out of
the chimney.
Those mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, which
have made such a figure for so many ages together, and have
trampled the world under foot, when God comes to appear,
will vanish away like a shadow, and will as it were disappear
of themselves, and come to nothing, as the darkness in a
room does, when the light is brought in. What are God's
enemies in his hands ? How is their greatest strength weak-
ness when he rises up I And how weak will they all appear
together at the day of judgment ! Thus we may apply those
words in the song of Moses, Exod. xv. 6. " Thy right hand,
O, Lord, is become glorious in power ; thy right hand. O
Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." And how great doth
the majesty of God appear in overturning the world from
time to time, to accomplish his designs, and at last in caus-
ing the earth and heavens to flee away, for the advancement
of the glory of his king;dom!
Vn. From what has been said, we may see the glorious
wisdom of God. It shows the wisdom of God in creating the
world, in that he has created it for such an excellent use, to
accomplish in it so glorious a work. And it shows the wis-
dom of divine providence, that he brings such great good out
of such great evil, in making the fall and ruin of mankind,
which in itself is so sorrowful and deplorable, an occasion of
accomplishing such a glorious work as this -work of redemp-
tion, and of erecting such a glorious building, whose top
should reach unto heaven, and of bringing his elect to a state
of such unspeakable happiness. And how glorious doth the
388 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Peuiod III.
■w isdom of God appear in that long course and series of great
changes in the world, in bringing such order out of confusion,
in so frustrating the devil, and so wonderfully turning all his
most subtle machinations to his own glory, and the glory of
his Son Jesus Christ ! And in causing the greatest works of
Satan, those in which he has most vaunted himself, to be
wholly turned into occasions ot so much the more glorious
triumph of his Son Jesus Christ ? And how wonderful is the
wisdom of God, in bringing all such manifold and various
changes and overturnings in the world to such a glorious pe-
riod at last, and in so directing all the wheels of providence
by his skilful hand, that every one of them conspires, as the
mianifold wheels of a most curious machine, at last to strike
out such an excellent issue, such a manifestation of the divine
glory, such happiness to his people, and such a glorious and
everlasting kingdom to his Son I
VIII. From what has been said, we may see the stability
of God's mercy and faithfulness to his people ; how he never
forsakes his inheritance, and remembers his covenant to them
through all generations. Now we may see what reason there
was for the words of the text, " The moth shall eat them up
like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool ;
but my righteousness shall endure for ever and ever, and my
salvation from generation to generation." And now we may
see abundant reason for that name of God which he reveals to
Moses, Exod. iii. 14. « And God said unto Moses, / am
that I am ; i. e. I am the same that I was when I entered in-
to covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ever shall
be the same : I shall keep covenant forever : I am selfsuf-
ficient, allsuificient, and immutable.
And now we may see the truth of that, Psal. xxxvi. 5, 6.
" Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens ; and thy faithfulness
reachcth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the
great mountains ; thy judgments are a great deep." And if
we consider what has been said, we need not wonder that the
Psalmist, in the 136th Psal. so often repeats this. For his mer-
cy endurethfor ever ; as if he were in an ccstacy at the con-
Impr.] work of redemption. 389
sideration of the perpetuity of God's mercy to his church, and
dehghted to think of it, and knew not how but continually to
-express it, Let us with like pleasure and joy celebrate the
everlasting duration of God's mercy and faithfulness to his
church and pc ^ple, and let us be comforted by it under the
present dark circumstances of the church of God, and all the
uproar and confusions that are in the world, and all the threat-
enings of the church's enemies. And let us take encourage-
ment earnestly to pray for those glorious things which God
has promised to accomplish for his church.
IX. Hence we may learn how happy a society the church
of Christ is. For all this great work is for them. Christ un-
dertook it for their sakes, and for their sakes he carries it on,
from the fall of man to the end of the world ; it is because he
has loved them with an everlasting love. For their sakes he
overturns states and kingdoms. For their sakes he shakes
heaven and earth. He gives men for them, and people for
their life. Since they have been precious in God's sight,
they have been honorable ; and therefore he first gives the
blood of his own Son to them, and then, for their sakes, gives
the blood of all their enemies, many thousands and millions,
jkll nations that stand in their way, as a sacrifice to their good.
For their sakes he made the world, and for their sakes he
will destroy it : For their sakes he built heaven, and for their
sakes he makes his angels ministering spirits. Therefore the
Apostle says, as he does, i Cor. iii. 21, &c. " All things are
yours : Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world,
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are
yours." How blessed is this people who are redeemed from
among men, and are the first fruits unto God, and to the
Lamb ; who have God in all ages for their protection and
help ! Deut. xxxiii. 29. « Happy art thou, O Israel : Who
is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of
thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency ! And thine
enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread
upon their high places."
Let who will prevail now, let the enemies of the church
exalt themselves as much as they wiil, these are the people
390 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
that shall finally prevail. The last kingdom shall finally be
theirs ; the kingdom shall finally be given into their hands,
and shall not be left to other people. Wc have seen what a
blessed issue things shall finally be brought to as to them, and
•what glory they shall arrive at, and remain in possessipn of,
for ever and ever, after all the kingdoms of the world are
come to an end, and the earth is removed, and mountains are
carried into the depth of the sea, or where the sea was, and
this lower earth shall all be dissolved. O happy people, and
blessed society 1 Well may they spend an eternity in praises
and hallelujahs to him who hath loved them from eternity,
and will love them to eternity.
X. And, lastly, hence all wicked men, all that are in a
Christless condition, may see their exceeding misery. You
that are such, whoever you are, you are those who shall
have no part or lot in this matter. You are never the better for
any of those things of Avhich you have heard : Yea, your guilt is
but so much the greater, and the misery you are exposed ta
so much the more dreadful. You are some of that sort, against
whom God, in the progress of the work, exercises so much
manifest wrath ; some of those enemies who are liable to be
made Christ's footstool, and to be ruled with a rod of iron,
and to be dashed in pieces. You arc some of the seed of the
serpent, to bruise the head of which is one great design of all
this work. Whatever glorious things God accomplishes for
his church, if you continue in the state you are now in, they
Avill not be glorious to you. The most glorious times
of the church are always the most dismal times to the
wicked and impenitent. This we are taught in Isa. Ixvi. 14.
And so we find, whereever glorious things are foretold
concerning the church, there terrible things are foretold con-
cerning the wicked, its enemies. And so it ever has been
in fact ; in all remarkable deliverances wrought for the
church, there has been also a remarkable execution of Avrath
on its enemies. So it was Avhcn God delivered the children
of Israel out of Egypt ; at the same time he remarkably
poured out his wrath on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. So
Impr.] work of redemption. S91
when he brought them into Canaan by Joshua, and gave them
that good land, he remarkably executed wrath upon the Ca-
naanites. So when they were delivered out of their Baby-
lonish captivity, signal vengeance was inflicted on the Baby-
lonians. So when the Gentiles were called, and the elect of
God were saved by the preaching of the apostles, Jerusalem
and the persecuting Jews Avere destroyed in a most awful
manner. I might observe the same concerning thfe glory ac-
complished to the church in the days of Constantine, at the
overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom in the downfall of Anti-
christ, and at the day of judgment. In all these instances,
and especially in the last, there have been, or will be, exhibit-
ed most awful tokens of the divine wrath against the wicked.
And to this class of men you belong.
You are indeed some of that sort that God will make use
of in this affair ; but it will be for the glory of his justice, and
not of his mercy. You are some of those enemies of God
who are reserved for the triumph of Christ's glorious power
in overcoming and punishing them. You are some of that
sort that shall be consumed with this accursed world after the
day of judgment, when Christ and his church shall triumph-
antly and gloriously ascend to heaven.
Therefore let all that are in a Christless condition amongst
us seriously consider these things, and not be like the foolish
people of the old world, who would not take warning, when
Noah told them, that the Lord was about to bring a flood of
waters upon the earth ; or like the people of Sodom, who
would not regard, when Lot told them, that God Vv^ould de-
stroy that city, and would not flee from the wrath to come, and
so were consumed in that terrible destruction.
And now I would conclude my whole discourse on this sub-
ject, in words like those in the last of the Revelation :
« These sayings are faithful and true, and blessed is he that
keepeth these sayings. Behold, Christ cometh quickly, and
his reward is with him, to render to every man according as
his work shall be. And he that is unjust, shall be unjust still ;
S92 WORK OF REDEMPTION. [Period III.
and he that is filthy, shall be filthy still ; and he that is holy,
shall be holy still. Bessed are they that do his command-
ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city : For without, are
dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever lovcth and maketh a lie. He that
testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen j
even so come, Lord Jesus."
DISSERTATION
Vol. II. SB
THE
NATURE OF TRUE VIRTUE.
CHAPTER I.
SHEWING WHEREIN THE ESSENCE OF TRUE VIRTUE CONSISTS
W H ATEVER controversies and variety of opin-
ions there are about the nature of virtue, yet all (excepting
some sceptics, who deny any real difference between virtue
and vice) mean by it, something beautiful,OY rather some kind
of beauty, or excellency It is not all beauty, that is called
virtue ; for instance, not the beauty of a building, of a flower,
or of the rainbow : But some beauty belonging to Beings that
have perception and 7w7/....It is not all beauty of mankind, that
is called virtue ; for instance, not the external beauty of the
countenance, or shape, gracefulness of motion, or harmony of
voice : But it is a beauty that has its original seat in the mind.
But yet perhaps not every thing that may be called a beau-
ty of mind, is properly called virtue. There is a beauty of un-
derstanding and speculation. There is something in the
ideas and conceptions of great philosophers and statesmen,
that may be called beautiful ; which is a different thing from
Avhat is most commonly meant by virtue. But virtue is the
beauty* of those qualities and acts of the mind, that are of a
vioral nature, i. e. such as are attended with desert or worthi-
ness of praise, or blame. Things of this sort, it is generally
agreed, so far as I know, are not any thing belonging merely
to speculation ; but to the disposition and ivill, or (to use a
* It is to be questioned whetber it would not be more conect to say that
virtue consists in those acts of the miad in themselves ; beauty properly de-
noting their quality. — Editor,
596 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
general word, I suppose commonly -well understood) the
heart. Therefore I suppose, I shall not depart from the com-
mon opinion, when I say, that virtue is the beauty of the qual-
ities and exercises of the heart, or those actions which pro-
ceed from them. So that -when it is inquired, what is the na-
ture of true -virtue ? This is t^ie same as to inquire, what that
is which renders any habit, disposition, or exercise of the
heart truly beautiful ? I use the phrase true virtue, and speak
of things truly beautiful, because I suppose it will generally
"be allowed, that there is a distinction to be made between
some things which are truly virtuous, and others which only
seem to be virtuous, through a partial and imperfect view of
things : That some actions and dispositions appear beautiful,
if considered partially and superficially, or with regard to
some things belonging to them, and in some of their circum-
stances and tendencies, which would appear otherwise in a
3nore extensive and comprehensive view, wherein they are
seen clearly in their whole nature and the extent of their con-
Ticxions in the universality of things There is a general
and a particular beauty. By a particular beauty, I mean that
by which a thing appears beautiful when considered only with
regard to its connexion with, and tendency to some particu-
lar things within a limited, and as it were, a private sphere.
And a general beauty is that by which a thing appears beauli-
' ful when viewed most perfectly, comprehensively and univer-
sally, with regard to ail its tendencies, and its connexions
with every thing it stands related to The former may be
without and against the latter. As, a few notes in a tunc,
taken only by themselves, and in their relation to one another,
may be harn\onious ; which, when considered Avith respect
to all the notes in the tune, or the entire series of sounds,
they are connected with, may be very discordant and disa-
greeable. (Of which more afterwards).... ..77;a/r only there-
fore, is what I mean by true virtue, which is //w.', belonging
to the heart of an intelligent Being, that is bcaiuiful by a gcr.-
erul beauty, or beautiful in a comprehensive view as it is in
itself, and as related to every thing that it stands in connex-
ion ■\\ith. And therefore when we arc inquiring concerning
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 397
the nature of true virtue, viz. wherein this true and general
beauty of the heart does most essentially consist... .this is my
answer to the inquiry
True virtue most essentially consists in benevolence lo Be-
ing in general. Or perhaps to speak more accurately, it is
that consent, propensity and union of heart to Being in gen-
eral, that is immediately exercised in a general good will.
The things which v/ere before obsei'ved of the nature of
true virtue, naturally lead us to such a notion of it. If it has
its seat in the heart, and is the general goodness and beauty
of the disposition and exercise of that, in the most compre-
hensive view, considered with regard to its universal tenden-
cy, and as related to every thing that it stands in connexion
■with ; what can it consist in, but a consent and good will to
being in general ? Beauty does not consist in discord and
dissent, but in consent and agreement. And if every intelli-
gent Being is some way related to Being in general, and is a
part of the universal system of existence ; and so stands in
connexion Xvith the whole ; Avhat can its general and true
beauty be, but its imion and consent Avith the great whole.
If any such thing can be supposed as an union of heart to
some particular Being, or number of Beings, disposing it to
benevolence to a private circle or system of Beings, Avhich
are but a small part of the whole ; not implying a tendency to
an union with the great system, and not at all inconsistent
with enmity towards Being in general ; this I suppose not to
be of the nature of true virtue : Although it may in some
respects be good, and may appear beautiful in a confined and
contracted view of things But of this more afterwards.
It is abundantly plain by the holy scriptures, and generally
allowed, not only by Christian divines, but by the more con-
siderable deists, that virtue most essentially consists in love.
And I suppose, it is owned by the most considerable Avriters,
to consist in general love of benevolence, or kind affection :
Though it seems to me, the meaning of some in this affair is
not sufficiently explained wliich perhaps occasions some error
or confusion in discourses on this stibjcct.
398 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
When I say, true virtue consists in love to being in generf
al, 1 shall not be likely to be understood, that no one act of
the mind or exercise of love is of the nature of true virtue,
but what has Being in general, or the great system of univer-
sal existence, for its direct and immediate object : So that no
exercise of love or kind affection to any one particular Being,
that is but a small part of this whole, has any thing of the na-
ture of true virtue. But, that the nature of true virtue con-
sists in a disposition to benevolence towards Being in general.
Though, from such a disposition may arise exercises of love
to particular Beings, as objects are presented and occasions
arise. No wonder, that he who is of a generally benevolent
disposition, should be more disposed than another to have his
heart moved with benevolent affection to particular persons,
whom he is acquainted and conversant with, and from whom
arise the greatest and most frequent occasions for exciting
hig benevolent temper. But my meaning is, that no affec-
tions towards particular persons, or Beings, are of the nature
of true virtue, but such as arise from a generally benevolent
temper, or from that habit or frame of mind, Avherein consists
a disposition to love Being in general.
And perhaps it is needless for me to give notice to my read-
ers, that when I speak of an intelligent Being's having a heart
united and benevolently disposed to Being in general, I there-
by mean intelligent Being in general. Not inanimate things,
or Beings that have no perception or will, which are not prop-
erly capable objects of benevolence.
Love is commonly distinguished into love of benevolence
and love of complacence. Love of be77evole?ice is that affection
or propensity of the heart to any Being, which causes it to in-
cline to its AvcU being, or disposes it to desire and take pleas-
ure in its happiness. And if I mistake not, it is agreeable to
the common opinion, that beauty in the object is not always
the ground of this propensity : But that tliere may be such a
thing as benevolence, or a disposition to tlic welfare of those
that are not considered as beautiful ; unless mere existence
be accounted a beauty. And benevolence or goodness in the
di\ine Being is generally supposed, not only to be prior lo the
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE 39f
beauty of many of its objects, but to their existence J So as to
be the ground both of their existence and their beauty, rather
than they the foundation of God's benevolence ; as it is sup-
posed that it is God's goodness which moved him to give them
both Being and beauty. So that if all virtue primarily con-
sists in that affection of heart to Being, w^hich is exercised in
benevolence, or an inclination to its good, then God's virtue is
so extended as to include a propensity, not only to Being actu-
ally existing, and actually beautiful, but to possible Being, so
as to incline him to give Being, beauty and happiness. But
not now to insist particularly on this. What I would have
obsei'vcd at present, is, that it must be allowed, benevolence
doth not necessarily presuppose beauty in its object.
What is commonly called love of complacence, presupposes
beauty. For it is no other than delight in beauty ; or compla-
cence in the person or Being beloved for his beauty.
If virtue be the beauty of an intelligent Being, and virtue
Consists in love, then it is a plain inconsistence, to suppose
that virtue primai'ily consists in any love to its object for its
beauty ; either in a love of complacence, which is delight in a
Being for his beauty, or in a love of benevolence, that has the
beauty of its object for its foundation. For that would be to
suppose, that the beauty of intelligent Beings primarily con-
sists in love to beauty ; or, that their virtue first of all consists
in their love to virtue. Which is an inconsistence, and going
in a circle. Because it makes virtue, or beauty of mind, the
foundation or first motive of that love Avherein virtue originally
consists, or wherein the very first virtue consists ; or, it sup-
poses the first virtue to be the consequence and effect of vir-
tue. So that virtue is originally the foundation and exciting
cause of the very beginning or first Being of virtue. Which
makes the first virtue, both the ground, and the consequence,
both cause and effect of itself.* Doubtless virtue primarily
* Mr. E's idea here appears to be that virtue must exist prior to the existence
of any virtuous object on which it can complaisantly terminate. This is
undoubtedly true with respect to the duty. But this does not appear incon-
sistent with the supposition that the first act (?f virtue in a creature may be de»
light in virtue as it i« ia (Jod,-.'£d,
40© THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
consists in something else besides any efiect or consequence
of virtue. If virtue consists primarily in love to virtue, then
virtue, the thing loved, is the love of virtue : So that, virtue
must consist in the love of the love of virtue. And if it be in-
quired, Avhat that virtue is, which virtue consists in the love of
the love of, it must be answered, it is the love of virtue. So
that there must be the love of the love of the love of virtue,
and so on in infinitum. For there is no end of going back in a
circle. We never come to any beginning, or foundation. For
it is without beginning and hangs on nothing.
Therefore if the essence of virtue or beauty of mind lies in
love, or a disposition to love, it must primarily consist in
something different both from complacence, which is a delight
in beauty, and also from any benevolence that has the beauty
of its object for its foundation. Because it is absurd, to say
that virtue is primarily and first of all the consequence of
itself. For this makes virtue primarily prior to itself.
Nor can virtue primarily consist in gratitude ; or one Be-
ing's benevolence to another for his benevolence to him.
Because this implies the same inconsistence. For it suppos-
es a benevolence prior to gratitude, that is the cause of grati-
tude. Therefore the first benevolence, or that benevolence
which has none prior to it, cannot be gratitude.
Therefore there is room left for no other conclusion than
that the primary object of virtuous love is Being, simply
considered ; or, that true virtue primarily consists, not in love
to any particular Beings, because of their virtue or beauty,
nor in gratitude, because they love us ; but in a propensity
and union of heart to Being simply considered ; exciting ab-
solute benevolence (if I may so call it) to Being in general....!
say, true virtue primarily consists in this. For I am far from
asserting that there is no true virtue in any other love than
this absolute benevolence. But I would express what appears
to me to be the truth on this subject, in the following par-
* ticulars.
The first object of a virtuous benevolence is Being, simply
considered : And if Being, si7nUly considered, be its object,
then Being in general is its object ; and the thing it has an
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 40i
Ultimate propensity to, is the highest good of Being in general.
And it will seek the good of every InSividual Being unless it
be conceived as not consistent with the highest good of Being
in general. In which case the good of a particular Being, or
some Beings, may be given up for the sake of the highest
good of Being in general. And particularly if there be any
Being that is looked upon as statedly and irreclaimably oppo-
site and an enemy to Being in general, then consent and adher-
ence to Being in general will induce the truly virtuous heart
to forsake that Beitig, and to oppose it.
And further, if Being, simply considered, be the first object
of a truly virtuous benevolence, then that Being who has 77ioet
of Being, or has the greatest share of existence, other things
being equal, so far as slich a being is exhibited to our facul-
ties or set in our vie\v, will have the greatest share of the pro-
pensity and benevolent affection of the heart. I say, other
ihmgs being equal, especially because there is a secondary ob-
ject of virtuous benevolence, that I shall take notice of pres-
ently. Which is one thing that must be considered as the
ground or motive to a purely virtuous benevolence. Pure be-
nevolence in its first exercise is nothing else but Being's unit-
ing consent, or propensity to Being; appearing true and pure
by its extending toBeuig in general, and inclining to the gen-
eral highest good, and to each Being, whose welfare is con-
sistent with the highest general good, in proportion to the de-
gree oi existence* understood, other things being equal.
The seco«f/ object of a virtuous propensity of heart '\%he7iet'-
tknt Being. A secondary ground of pure benevolence is vir-
tuous benevolence itself in its object. When any one under
the influence of geneiTd bencvoMnce, sees another Being pos-
* I say— in proportion to the degree of existence, because one Being may
have more existence than another, as he may be greater than another. ThaC
which is ^rMi, has more existence, and is further from nothing, than that
■which is little. One Being may have every thing positive belonging to it, or
every thing which goes to it's positive existence ^In opposition to defect) in aa
higher degree than another ; or a greater capacity and power, greater understand-
ing, every faculty and every positive quality in an higher degree. An ji?-cA~
angel must be supposed to have more existence, and to be every way fnnh»r
removed from nojttntL'y, than a worm, or aflie.
Vot. II. r. e
i03 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
sessecl of the like general benevolence, this attaches his heart
to him, and draws forth greater love to him, than merely his
having existence : Because so far as the Being beloved ha*
love to Being in general, so far his own Being is, as it werci
enlarged, extends to, and in some sort comprehends, Being
in general : And therefore he that is governed by love to Being
in general, must of necessity have complacence in him, and
the greater degree of benevolence to him, as it were out of
gratitude to him for his love to general existence, that his own
heart is extended and united to, and so looks on its interest "sjf
its own. It is because his heart is thus united to Being in ggn-
eral, that he looks on a benevolent propensity to Being in
general, wherever he sees it> as the beauty of the Being in
whom it is; an excellency, that renders him worthy of esteem,
complacence, and the greater good will.
But several things may be noted more particularly concern-
ing this secondary ground of a truly virtuous love.
1. That loving a Being on this ground necessarily arises
from pure benevolence to Being in general-, and comes to the
same thing. For he that has a simple and pure good will to
general entity or existence, must love that temper in others,
that agrees and conspires with itself. A spirit of consent to
Being must agree with consent to Being. That which truly
and sincerely seeks the good of others, must approve of, and
love, that which joins with him in seeking the good of others.
2. This which has been now mentioned as a secondary
ground of virtuous love, is the thing wherein true moral or
spiritual beauty^v'rm&xWy consists. Yea, spiritual beauty con-
sists wholly in this, and the various qualities and exercises of
mind which proceed from it, and the external actions which
proceed from these internal qualities and exercises. And in
these things consists all true virtue^ viz. in this love of Being,
and the qualities and acts which arise from it.
3. As all spiritual beauty lies in these virtuous principles
and acts, so it is primarily on t/iis account they are beautiful,
viz. that they imply consent and union with Being in general.
This is the primary and most essential Beauty of every thing
that can justly be called by the name of virtue, or is any moral
excellency in the eye of one that has a perfect view of things.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 405
I say — the iirimary and viost essential beauty — ^because there
is a secondary and inferior sort of beauty ; which I shall take
notice of afterwards.
4. This spiritual beauty, that is but a secondary ground of a
virtuous benevolence, is the ground, not only of benevolence,
but comjilacence, and is the /irhnary ground of the latter ; that
is, when the complacence is truly virtuous. Love to us in
particular, and kindness received, may be a secondary ground :
But this is the primary objective foundation of it.
5. It must be noted, that the degree of the amiableness or
valuableness of true virtue, primarily consisting in consent and
a benevolent propensity of heart to Being in general, in the eyes
of one that is influenced by such a spirit, is not in the simple
proportion of the degree of benevolent affection seen, but in a
proportion co?«/jo«;2c/r^(/ of the greatness of the benevolent Being
or the degree of Being and the degree of benevolence. One
that loves Being m general, will necessarily value good will to
Being in general, wherever he sees it. But if he sees the
same benevolence in tivo Beings, he will value it more in two,
than in one only. Because it is a greater thing, more favora^
ble to Being in general, to have two Beings to favor it, than
only one of them. For there is more Being, that favors Be-
ing : Both together having more Being than one alone. So,
if one Being be as great as two, has as much existence as both
together, and has the same degree of general benevolence, it
is more favorable to Being in general than if there were gen-
eral benevolence in a Being that had but half that share of ex-
istence. As a large quantity of gold, with the same degree
of preciousness, i. e. with the same excellent quality of mat-
ter, is more valuable than a small quantity of the same metal.
6. It is impossible that any one should truly relish this beau-
ty, consisting in general benevolence, who has not that tem-
per himself. I have observed, that if any Being is possessed
of such a temper, he will unavoidably be pleased with the
same temper in another. And it may in like manner be de-
monstrated, that it is such a spirit, and nothing else, v/hich
will relish such a spirit. For if a Being, destitute of benevo-
lence, ehould love benevolence to Bein^ in general, it woulcj
404 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
prize and seek that which it had no value for. Because to
love an inclination to the good of Being in general, would im^
ply a loving and prizing the good of Being in general. For
how should one love and value a diafiosition to a thing, or a
tendency to promote a thing, and for that very reason, because
it tends to promote it when the thing itself is what he is
regardless of, and has no value for, nor desires to have pro-
moted.
CHAPTER IL •
Shewing how thathove, wherein true Virtue consists,
respects the Divine Being and created Beings.
FROM what has been said, it is evident, that true virtue
TTiust chiefly consist in" love to God ; the Being of Beings, in-
finitely the greatest and best of Beings. This appears, Avhether
we consider the primary or secondary groundof virtuous love.
It was observed, that the first objective ground of that love,
wherein true virtue consists, is Being, simply considered :
And as a necessary consequence of this, that Being who has
the most of Being, or the greatest share of universal existence,
has proportionably the greatest share of virtuous benevolence,
so far as such aBeing is exhibited to the faculties of our minds,
other things being equal. But God has infinitely the greatest
share of existence, or is infinitely the greatest Being. So
that all other Being, even that of all created things whatsoever,
throughout the whole universe, is as nothing in comparison of
the divine Being.
And if we consider the secondary ground of love, viz. beauty,
or moral excellency, the same thing will appear. For as God
as infinitely the greatest Being, so he is allowed to bo infinitely
the most beautiful and excellent : And all the beauty to be
found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of
the diffused beams of that Being who hath an infinite fulness
cf brightness and glory, God's beauty is infinitely more vaV-
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE 40^5
nable, than that of all other Behigs upon both those accounts
mentioned, viz. the degree of his virtue, and the greatness of
the Being possessed of this virtue. And God has sufficiently-
exhibited himself, in his Being, his infinite greatness and ex-
cellency : And has given us faculties, whereby v/e are capable
of plainly discovering immense superiority to all other Beings,
in these respects. Therefore he that has true virtue, consist-
ing in benevolence to Being in general, and in that compla-
cence in virtue, or moral beauty, and benevolence to virtuou|
Being, must necessarily have a supreme love to God, both of
benevolence and complacence. And all true virtue must rad-
ically and essentially, and as it were summarily, consist ia
this. Because God is not only infinitely greater and more ex-
cellent than all other Being, but he is the head of the univer-
sal system of existence ; the foundation and fountain of all
Being and all Beauty ; from whom all is perfectly derived,
and on Avhom all is most absolutely and perfectly dependant ;
(jf ivhom and through u^hom, and to who?n is all Being and all
perfection ; and whose Being and beauty is as it were the sum
and comprehension of all existence and excellence : Much
more than the sun is the fountain and summary comprehen-
sion of all the light and brightness of the day.
Ifit should be objected, that virtue consists primarily in
benevolence, but that our fellow creatures, and not God, seem
to be the most proper objects of our benevolence ; inasmuch
as our goodness extendeth not to Cod, and v/e cannot be prof-
itable to him. ....To this I answer,
1. A benevolent propensity of heart is exercised not only in
seeking to promote the happiness of the Being, towards
ivhom it is exercised, but also in rejoicing in his happiness.
Even as gratitude for benefits received will not only excite en-
deavors to requite the kindi>ess we receive, by equally benefiting
our benefactor, but also if he be above any need of us, or we
have nothing to bestow, and are unable to repay his Idndness
it wiil dispose us to rejoice in his prosperity.
2. Though v/e are not able to give any thing to God, which
we have of our own, independently ; yet v/e may be in-
struments of promoting his glory, in which he takes a true and
406 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE,
proper delight. [As was shewn at large in the treatise, on
God's end in creating the world. Chapter 1. sect. 4.
Whither I must refer the reader for a more full answer to this
objection."]
Whatever influence such an objection may seem to have
on the minds of some, yet is there any that owns the Being of
a God, who will deny that any love or benevolent affection, is
due to God, and proper to be exercised towards him ? If na
ie?ievolnice is to be exercised towards God, because we can-
not proht him, then for the same reason, neither is gratitude
to be exercised towards him for his benefits to us ; because
we cannot requite him. But where is the man, who believes
a God and a providence, that will say this ?
There seems to be an inconsistence in some writers on mo-
rality, in this respect that they do not wholly exclude a re-
gard to the Deity out of their schemes of morality, but yet
mention it so slightly, that they leave me room and reason
to suspect they esteem it a less important and a subordinate
part of true morality ; and insist on benevolence to the creat-
ed sxjutem in such a manner as would naturally lead one to sup-
pose, they look upon that as by far the most impsrtant and
essential thing. But why should this be ? If true virtue con-
sists partly in a respect to God, then doubtless it consists
chiefly in it. If true morality requires that we should have
some regard, some benevolent affection to our Creator, as
well as to his creatures, then doubtless it requires the first
regard to be paid to him ; and that he be every way the su-
preme object of our benevolence. If his being above our
reach, and beyond all capacity of being profited by us, does not
hinder but that nevertheless he is the proper object of our
love, then it does not hinder that he should be loved accord-
ing to his dignity, or according- to the degree in which he has
those things wherein worthiness of regard consists so far
as we arc capable of it. But this worthiness none will deny
consists in these two things, greatness and moral goodness.
And those that own a God, do not deny that he infinitely ex-
ceeds all other Beings in these. If the Deity is to be looked
open as within that system oi' Beings which properly terrain-
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 40f
ates our benevolence, or belonging to that whole, certainly he*
is to be regarded as the head of the system, and the chief ^oxt
of it ; if it be proper to call him ^jiar^ who is infinitely more
than all the rest, and in comparison of whom and without
whom all the rest are nothing, either as to beauty or existence.
And therefore certainly, unless we will be atheists, we must
allow that true virtue does primarily and most essentially con-
sist in a supreme love to God ; and that where this is want-
ing there can be no true virtue.
But this being a matter of the highest importance, I shall
say sometliing further to make it plain, that love to God is
most essential to true virtue ; and that no benevolence what-
soever to other Beings can be of the nature of true virtue,
without it.
And therefore let it be supposed, that some Beings, by nat-
ural instinct, or by some other means, have a determination
of mind to union and benevolence to a /iari'zVw/o'r/ier.soTz, or
jirivate system^* which is but a small part of the universal
system of Being : And that this disposition or determination
of mind is independent on, or not subordinate to benevolence,
to Being in general. Such a determination, disposition, or
affection of mind is not of the nature of true virtue.
This is allowed by all with regard to self love ; in which,
good will is confined to one single person only. And there
are the same reasons, why any other private affection or good
will, though extending to a society of persons, independent
of, and unsubordinate to, benevolence to the universality,
should not be esteemed truly virtuous. For, notwithstanding
it extends to a number of persons, which taken together are
more than a single person, yet the whole falls infinitely short
* It may be here noted, that when hereafter I use such a phrase as pri-
vate system of Beings, or others similar, I thereby intrnd any system ot soci*
ety of Beings that contains but a small part of the great system comprehend-
ing the universality of existence. I think, that may well be called a
private system, which is but an infinitely small part of this great whole we
•tand related to. I therefore also call that affection, private ajfection, which
is limited to so narrow a circle ; a«d \}m\. general affection or benevolente
wiiich has Being in general fer its object.
40S THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
of the universality of existence ; and if put in the scales witb
it, has no greater proportion to it than a single person.
However, it may not be amiss more particularly to considev
the reasons why private affections, or ^ood m'WI limited to a
particular circle of Beings, falling infinitely short of the whole
existence, and not dependent upon it, nor subordinate to gen-
eral benevolence, cannot be of the nature of true virtue.
1. Such a private affection, detached from general benevo-
lence and independent on it, as the case may be, will he against
general benevolence, or of a contrary tendency ; and will set
a person against general existence, and make him an enemy
to it.. As it is v/ith selfishness, or when a man is governed
by a regard to his own private interest, independent of regard
to the public good, such a temper exposes a man to act the
part of an enemy to the public. As, in every case wherein
his private interest seems to clash with the public ; or in all
those cases wherein such things are presented to his view,
that suit his personal appetites or private inclinations, but are
inconsistent with the good of the public. On which account
a selfish, contracted, narrow spirit is generally abhorred, and
is esteemed base and sordid. «But if a man's affection takes
'ii\ half a dozen more, and his regards extend so far beyond
his own single person as to take in his children and faniily ;
or if ic reaches further still, to a larger circle, but falls infi-
nitely short of the universal system, and is exclusive of being
in general ; his private affection exposes him to the same
thing, viz. to pursue the interest of its particular object in o/i-
poaition to general existence ; which is certainly contrary to
the tendency of true virtue ; yea, directly contrary to the
main and most essential thing in its nature, the thing on ac-
count of which chiefly its nature and tendency is good. For
the chief and most essential good that is in virtue, is its favor-
ing Being in general. Now certainly, if private affection to a
limited system had in itself the essential nature of virtue, it
would be impossible, that it should in any circumstance what-
scewr have a tendency and inclination directly contrary tcr
Cb,at Vf herein the essence of virtue chiefly consists.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 409
2. Pi'ivate afTectlon, if not subovdiBatc to general affection,
is not only liable, as the case may 1)e, to issue in enmity to
Being in general, but baa a tendency to it as the case certainly
/s, and must necessarily be. For he that is influenced by pri-
vate affection, not subordinate to regard to Being in general,
sets up its particular or limited object above Being in gen-
eral ; and this most naturally tends to enmity against the lat-
ter, which is by right the great supreme, ruling, and absolutely
sovereign object of our regard. Even as the setting up an-
other prince as supreme in any kingdom, distinct from the
lawful sovereign, naturally tends to enmity against the lawful
sovereign. Wherever it is sufficiently published, that the
supreme, infinite, and all comprehending Being requires a
supreme regard to himself ; and insists upon it, that our res-
pect to him should universally rule in our hearts, and every
other affection be subordinate to it, and this under the pain of
his displeasure (as wc must suppose it is in the world of in-
telligent creatures, if God maintains a moral kingdom in the
world) tlien a consciousness of our having chosen and set up
another prince to rule over us, and subjected our hearts to
him, and continuing in such an act, must unavoidably excite
enmity, and fix us in a stated opposition to the Supreme Be-
ing. This demonstrates, that affection to a private society or
system, independent on general benevolence, cannot be of the
nature of true virtue. For this would be absurd, that it has
the nature and essence of true virtue, and yet at the same
time has a tendency of'fw&ite to true virtue.
3. Not only would affection to a private system, unsubordi-
nate to regard to Being in general, have a tendency to oppc-
tition to the supreme object of virtuous affection, as its effect
and consequence, but would become itself an opposition to
that object. Considered by itself in its nature, detached from
its effects, it is an instance of great opposition to the riglnful
supreme object of our respect. For it exalts its private ob-
ject abo\'e the other great and infinite object ; and sets that
up as supreme, in opposition to this. It puts down Being in
general, which is infinitely superior in itself and infinitely
more important, in an inferior place j yea, subjects the su-
VoL. II. 3D
410 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
preme crcncra! oljject to this private infinitely inferior object :,
which is to treat it with great contempt, and truly to act in
opposition to it, and to act in opposition to the true order of
things, and in opposition to that -which is infinitely the su-
preme interest ; making this supreme and infinitely impor-
tant interest, as far as in us lies, to be subject to, and dependent
on, an interest infinitely inferior. This is to act against it,
and to act the part of an enemy to it. He that takes a sub-
ject, and exalts him above his prince, sets him as supreme
instead of the prince, and treats his prince wholly as a subject,
therein acts the part of an enemy to his prince.
From these things, 1 think, it is manifest, that no affection
limited to any private system, not dependent on, nor subordi-
nate to Being in general, can be of the nature of true virtue ;
and this, whatever the private system be, let it be more or
less extensive, consisting of a greater or smaller number of
individuals, so long as it contains an infinitely little part of
universal existence, and so bears no proportion to the great
all comprehending system. .....And consequently, that no af-
fection whatsoever to any creature, or any system of created
Beings, which is not dependent on, nor subordinate to a pro-
pensity or union of the heart to God, the supreme and iiifinite
Being can be of the nature of true vii'tue.
From hence also it is evident, that the divine virtue, or the
virtue of the divine mind, must consist primarily in love to
himself, or in the mutual love and friendship which subsists
eternally and necessarily between the several persons in the
Godhead, or that infinitely strong propensity there is in these
divine persons one to another. There is no need of multi-
plying words, to prove that it must be thus, on a suppositiiia
that virtue in its most essential nature, consists in benevolent
affection or propensity of heart towards Being in general ;
and so flowing out to particular Beings, in a greater or less
degree, according to the measure of existence and beauty
which they are possessed of. It will also follow from the
foregoing things, that God's goodness and love to created
Beings, is derived from, and subordinate to his love to him-
s«lf. [In what manner it is so, I have endeavored in some
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 411
wieasure to explain in the preceding discourse of God's end in
treating the world.']
With respect to the manner in which a virtuous love in ere-
cted Beings, ojie to another, is dependent on, and derived froni
love to God, this will appear by a proper consideration ot
what has been said ; that \i is sufficient to render love to any
created Being virtuous, if it arise from the temper of mind
wherein consists a disposition to love God supremely. Be-
cause it appears from what has been already observed, all that
lQ\e io particular Beings, which is the fruit of a benevolent
propensity of heart to Being in general, is virtuous love. But,
as has been remarked, a benevolent propensity of heart to
Being in general, and a temper or disposition to love God su-
premely, are in efTect the same thing. Therefore, if love to
a created Being comes from that temper or propensity of the
heart, it is virtuous However, every particular exercise of
love to a creature may not sensibly arise from any exercise cf
love to God, or an explicit consideration of any similitude,
conformity, union or relation to God, in the creature beloved.
The most proper evidence of love to a created Being, its
arising from that temper of mind wherein consists a supreme
propensity of heart to God, seems to be the agreeableness of
the kind and degree of our love to God's end in our creation
and in the creation of all things, and the coincidence of the
exercises of our love, in their manner, order, and measure,
with the manner, in which God himself exercises love to the
creature, in the creation and government of the workt, and
the way in which God, as the first cause and supreme dispos-
er of all things, has respect to the creature's happiness, in
subordination to himself as his own supreme end. For the
true virtue of created Beings is doubtless their highest excel-
lency, and their true goodness, and that by vhich they are es-
pecially agreeable to the mind of their Creator But the
true goodness of a thing (as was observed before) must be its
agreeableness to its end, or its fitness to answer the design ibr
which it was made. Or, at least, this must be its goodness
in the eyes of the workman Therefore they arc good moral
agents whose temper of mind or propensity of heart is a^-ree-
412 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
able to the rr.d for which God made inoval agents. But, as
has been shewn, the last end for Avhich God has made moral
agents, munt be the last end for which God has made all
things ; it being evident, that the moral world is the end of
the rest of the Avorld ; the inanimate and unintelligent world
being made for the rational and moral world, as much as a
house is prepai'ed for the inhabitants.
Ey these things it appears, that a truly virtuous mind, be-
ing, as it were, under the sovereign dominion o^lovc to Gody
does above all things seek the f^^lonj of God., and makes this
Lis supreme, governing, and ultimate end ; consisting in the
expression of God's perfections in their proper efiects, and in
the m.anifestation of God's glory to created understandings,
r.nd the communications of the infmite fulness of God to the
creature ; in the creatures highest esteem of God, love to
God, and joy in God, and in the proper exercises and expres-
sions of these And so far as a virtuous mind exercises true
virtue in benevolence to created Beings, it chiefly seeks the
good of the creature, consisting in its knowledge or view of
God's glory and beauty, its union with God, and conformity
to him, love to him, and joy in him And that temper or
disposition of heart, that consent, union, or propensity of mind
to Being in general, which appears chiefly in such exercises,
is virtue, truly so called ; or in other words, true grace and
real holiness. And no other disposition or affection but this
is of the nature of true virtue.
Corollary. Kcnce it appears, that those schemes of re-
ligion or moral philosophy, which, however well in some res-
pects, they mr.v treat of benevolence to mankind., and other
virtues depending on it, yet have not a supreme regard to
God, and love to him, laid in the f'jundation, and all other vir-
tues handled in a connexion with this, and in a mbordination to
this, are not true schemes of philosophy, but are fundament-
ally and essentially defective. And whatever other benevo-
lence or generosity towards mankiml, and other virtues, or
moral qualiucaiions which go by that name, any arc possessed
of, that arc not attended with a love to God which is altogether
above them, and to which thcv arc subordinate, and on M'hich
THE NATURE OF VIRTUF.. 41S
they arc dependent, there is nothing of the nature of true
■virtue or religion in them And it may be asserted in gener-
al that nothing is of the nature of true virtue in which God
is not the Jirst and the last ; or which with regard to their
exercises in general, have not their first foundation and source
in apprehensions of God's supreme dignity and glory, and iii
answerable esteem and love of him, and have not respect to
Cod as the supreme end.
CHAP. III.
Concerning the Secondary andlnki'ior kind of Beauty.
THOUGH this which has been spoken of, alone, is justly
esteemed the true beauty of moral agents, or spiritual Beings ;
this alone beiiig what would appear beautiful in them, upon
a clear and comprehensive view of things ; and therefore
alone is the moral amiableness of Beings that have under-
standing and will in the eyes of him that perfectly sees all
things as they are ; yet there are other qualities, other sensa-
tions, propensities and affections of mind, and principles of
action, that often obtain the epithet of virturjiis^ and by many
are supposed to have the nature of true virtue ; m liich are
entirely of a distinct nature from t'lis, and have nothing of
that kind ; and therefore are erroneously confounded with re-
al virtue as may particularly and fully appear from things
which will be observed in this and the following chapters.
That consent, agreement, or union of Being to Being,
which has been spoken of viz. the union or propensity of
7ninds to mental or spiritual existence, may be called the
highest, and first, or primary beauty that is to he found among
things that exist : Being the proper and peculiar beauty of
spiritual and moral Beings, which arc the highest and first
part of the universal system, for whose sake all the rest has
existence. Yet there is another inferior, secondary beauty,
which is some image of this, and whicii i^; not paculiar to
414 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
«piritua] Beinj;s, but is found even in inanimate things ; which
•consists in a mutual consent and agreement of different things
in form, manner, quantity, and visible end or design ; culled
by the various names of regularity, order, uniformity, sym-
metry, proportion, harmony. Sec. Such is the mutual agree-
ment of tiie various sides of a square, or equilateral triangle,
or of a regular polygon. Such is, as it Avere, the mutual con-
sent of the different parts of the periphery of a circle, or sur-
face of a sphere, and of the con-esponding parts of an ellipsis.
Such is the agreement of the colors, figures, dimensions and
distances of the different spots on a chess board. Such is
the beauty of the figures on a piece of chints, or brocade
Such is the beautiful proportion of the various parts of an
liuman body, or countenance. And such is the sweet mutual
consent and agreement of the various notes of a melodious
tune. This is the same that Mr. Hutcheson, in his treatise
on beauty, expresses by uniformity in the midst of variety.
Which is no other than the consent or agreement of differ-
ent things, in form, quantity, 8cc. He observes, that the great-
er the variety is, in equal uniformity, the greater the beauty.
Which is no more than to soy, the more there are of different
mutually agreeing things, the greater is the beauty. And
the reason of that is, because it is more considerable to have
many things consent one with another, than a few only.
The beauty which consists in the visible fitness of a thing
to its use and unity of design, is not a distinct sort of beauty
from this. For it is to be observed, that one thing which con-
tributes to the beauty of the agreement and proportion of
various things, is their relation one to another ; which con-
nects th'cm, and introduces them together into view and con-
sideration, and whereby one suggests the other to the mind,
and the mind is led to compare them and so to expect and
desire agreement. Thus the uniformity of two or more pil-
lars, as they may happen to be found in different places, is
not an equal degree of beauty, as that uniformity in so many
pillars in the corresponding parts of the same building. So -
means and an intended effect are related one to another. The
iuswcrablcncss of a things to its u^c is only the proportion.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 415
fitness, and agreeing of a cause or means to a visibly design-'
ed effect, and so an effect suggested to the mind by the idea
of the means. This kind of beauty is not entirely different
from that beauty ^vhich there is in fitting a mortise lo its
tenon. Only Avhen the beauty consists in unity of design, or
the adaptedness of a variety of things to promote one intend-
ed effect, in which all conspire, as the various parts of an in-
genious complicated machine, there is a double beauty, as
there is a twofold agreement and conformity. First, there is
the agreement of the various parts to the designed end. Sec-
ondly, through this, viz, the designed end or effect, all the
various particulars agree one with another, as the general
medium of their union, whereby they being united in this
third, they thereby are all united one to another.
The reason, or at least one reason why God has made this
kind of mutual consent and agreement of things beautiful and
grateful to those intelligent Beings that perceive it, probably
is, that there is in it some image of the true, spiritual origin-
al beauty which has been spoken of ; consisting in Being's
consent to Being, or the union of minds or spiritual Beings in
a mutual propensity and afTection of heart. The other is an
image of this, because by that uniformity, diverse things be-
come as it were one, as it is in this cordial union. And it
pleases God lo observe analogy in his works, as is mianifest
in fact in innumerable instances ; and especially to establish
inferior things in an analogy to superior. __ Thus, in how
many instances has he formed brutes in analogy to the nature
of mankind ? And plants in analogy to animals with respect
to the manner of their generation, nutrition, Sec. And so he
has constituted the external world in an analogy to things iu
the spiritual world, in numberless instances ; as might be
shewn, if it were necessary, and here were proper place and
room for it Why such analogy in God's works pleases him,
it is not needful now to inquire. It is sufficient that he makes
an agreement or consent of different things, in their form,
manner, measure, &c. to appear beautiful, because here is
some image of an higher kind of agreement and consent of
spiritual Beings. It has pleased him to establish a law of na-
416 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
ture, by virtue of which the uniformity and mutual corres-
pondence of a beautiful plant, and the respect Avhich the vari-
ous parts of a regular building seem to have one to another,
I'.nd their agreement and union, and the consent or concord of
the various notes of a melodious tune, should appear beauti-
ful ; because therein is some image of the consent of mind,
of the different members of a society or system of intelligent
Beings, sweetly united in a benevolent agreement of heart
And here by the way, I would further observe, probably it is
with regard to this image or resemblance, -which secondary
beauty has of true spiritual beauty, that God has so constituted
nature, that the presenting of this inferior beauty, especially
in those kinds of it which have the greatest resemblance of
the primary beauty, as the harmony of sounds, and the beau-
ties of nature, have a tendency to assist those whose hearts
are under the influence of a truly virtuous temper, to dispose
them to the exercises of divine love, and enliven in them a
sense of spiritual beauty.
From what has been said we may sec, that there are two
sorts of agreement or consent of one thing to another. (1)
There is a cordial agreement ; that consists in concord and
union of mind and heart ; which, if not attended (viewing
things in general) with more discord than concord, is true
virtue, and the original or primary beauty, which is the only
true //2ora/ beauty (2.) There is q. natural xxmon ov agree-
ment ; Avhich, though some image cf the other, is entirely a
distinct thing ; the will, disposition, or affection of the heart
having no concern in it, but consisting only in uniformity and
consent of nature, form, quantity, ^c. (as before described)
wherein lies an inferior secondary sort cf beauty, which may,
in distinction from the other, be called natural heixwly This
may be suflPxient to let the reader know how I shall hereafter
use the ph'/ases of cordial, and natural agreement ; and moral,
^piritual, divine, and primary original bcauly, and secondarv,
or natural beauty.
Concerning this hitter, inrcricr kind of beauty, the follow-
ing: thin'-s mav be observed ;
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 417
1. The cawse why secondary beauty is grateful to men, is
only a lam of nature^ which God has fixed, or an instinct he has
given to mankind ; and not their perception of the same
thing which God is pleased to have regard to, as the ground
or rule by which he has established such a law of nature
This appears in two things,
(1.) That which God has respect to, as the rule or ground
of this law of nature he has given us, whereby things hav-
ing a secondary beauty are made grateful to men, is their mu-
tual agreement and proportion, in measure, form, &:c. But
in many instances persons that are gratified, and have their
minds affected, in presenting this beauty, do not reflect on
that particular agreement and proportion which, according to
the law of nature is the ground and rule of beauty in the case,
yea, are ignorant of it. Thus, a man may be pleased with
the harmony of the notes in a tune, and yet know nothing of
that proportion or adjustment of the notes, which by the law
of nature is the ground of the m.elody. H« knows not, that
the vibrations in one note regularly coincide with the vibra-
tions in another ; that the vibrations of a note coincide in
time with two vibrations of its octave ; and that two vibra-
tions of a note coincide with three of its fifih, &c. Yea, he
mav not know, that there are vibrations of the air in the case,
ov any corresponding motions in the organs of hearing, in the
auditory nerve, or animal spirits So, a man may be affected
and pleased Avith a beautiful proportion of the features in a
face, and yet not know what that proportion is, or what meas-
ures, quantities, and distances it consists in.
In this a sensation of secondary beauty differs from a sen-
sation of primary and spiritual beauty, consisting in a spirit-
ual union and agreement. What makes the latter grateful,
is perceiving the union itself. It is the immediate view of
that wherein the beauty fundamentally lies, that is pleasing
to the virtuous mind.
(2.) As was observed before, God, in establishing such
a law that mutual natural agreement of different things, in
form, quantity, 8cc. should appear beautiful or grateful to
men, seems to have bad regard to the image and resemblance
Vol. II. 3 E
4i8 THE NATURE OF VIRTUK.
there is in such a natural agreement, of that spiritual cordlai
a"-reenicnt, -wherein original beauty consists, as one reason
\vhy he established such a law But it is not any reflection
upon, or preception of, such a resemblance of this to spirtual
beaut} , that is the reason why such a form or state of objects
appears beautiful to men : But their sensation of pleasure, on
a view of this secondary beauty is immediately owing to the
law God has established, or the instinct he has given.
2. Another thing observable concerning this kind of beau-
ty, is, that it aliects the mind more (other things being equal)
•when taken notice of in objects which are of considerable im-
portance, than in little trivial matters. Thus, the symmetry
of the parts of a human body, or countenance, affects the mind
more than the beauty of a flower. So, the beauty of the solar
systern, more than as great and as manifold an order and uni-
formitv in a tree. And the proportions of the parts of a
church, or a palace, more than the same proportions in some
little slight compositions, made to please children.
3. It may be observed (which was hinted before) that not
only uniformity and proportion, &c. of different things is re-
quisite in order to this inferior beauty, but some relation or
connexion, of the things thus agreeing one with another. As,
the uniformity or likeness of a number of pillars, scattered
hither and thither, does not constitute beauty, or at least by
mo means in an equal degree as uniformity in pillars con-
nected in the same building, in parts that have relation one to
another. So, if we see things unlike, and very disproportioned,
in distant places, which have no relation to each other, this
excites no such idea of deformity, as disagreement and inequal-
ity or disproportion in things related and connected : And
the nearer the relation, and the stricter the connexion, so
much the greater and more disgustful is the deformity, con-
sisting in their disagreement.
4. This secondary kind of beauty, consisting in uniformi-
ty and proportion, not only takes place in material and exter-
nal things, but also in things immaterial ; and is, in very-
many things, plain and sensible in the latter, as well as the
former ; And -when it is so, there is no reason why it should
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 41*
»ot be grateful to them that behold it, in these as well as the
other, by virtue of the same sense, or the same determination
of mind to be gratified with uniformity and proportion. If
uniformity and proportion be the things that effect, and ap-
pear agreeable to, this sense of beauty, then why should not
uniformity and proportion affect the saijie sense in immate-
rial things as well as material, if there be equal capacity o-f
discerning it in both ? And indeed more in spiritual things
(cccteris paribus) as these are more important than things
merely external and material ?
This is not only reasonable to be supposed, but it is evident
in fact, in numberless instances. There is a beauty of order
in society, besides what consists in benevolence, or can be re--
ferred to it, which is of the secondary kind. As, when the
different members of society have all their appointed office,
place and station, according to their several capacities and tal-
ents, and every one keeps his place, and conthmes in his
proper business. In this there is a beauty, not of a different
kind from the regularity of a beautiful building, or piece of
skilful architecture, where the strong pillars are set in their
proper place, the pilasters in a place fit for them, the square
pieces of marble in the pavement, in a place suitable for them,
the pannels in the walls and partitions in their proper places,
the cornices in places proper for them, 8cc. As the agreement
of a variety in one common design, of the parts of a building,
or complicated machine, is one instance of that regularity,
which belongs to the secondary kind of beauty, so there is the
same kind of beauty in immaterial things, in what is called
nvisdo?}}., consisting in the vinited tendency of thoughts, ideas,
and particular volitions, to one general purpose : Which is
a distinct thing from the goodness of that general purpose, as
being useful and benevolent.
So there is a beauty in the virtue called Jms.'/cc, which con-
sists in the agreement of different things, that have relation
to one another, in nature, manner and measure : And there-
fore is the very same sort of beauty with that uniformity and
proportion, which is observable in those external and material
things that are esteemed beautiful. There is a natural agree=
420 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
ment and aclaptedncss of things that have relation one to an-
other, and an harmonious corresponding of one thing to anoth-
er : That he -which from his will does evil to others, should
receive evil from the will of others, or from the will of him or
them whose business it is to take care of the injured, and to
act in their behalf : And that he should suffer evil in propor-
tion to the evil of his doings. Things are in natural regular-
ity and mutual agreement, not in a metaphorical but literal
sense, when he whose heart opposes the general system,
should have the hearts of that system, or the heart of the
head and ruler of the system, against him : And that
in consequence, he should receive evil in proportion to the
evil tendency of the opposition of his heart So, there is a
like agreement in nature and measure, when he that loves,
has the proper returns of love ; when he that from his heart
promotes the good of another, has his good promoted by the
other ; as there is a kind of justice in a becoming gratitude.
Indeed most of the duties incumbent on us, if well consid-
ered, will be found to partake of the nature of justice. There
is some natural agreement of one thing to another ; some
adaptedness of the agent to the object ; some answerableness
of the act to the occasion; some equality and proportion in
things of a similar nature, and of a direct relation one to an-
other. So it is in relative duties ; duties of children to par-
ents, and of parents to children ; duties of husbands and
wives ; duties of rulers and subjects ; duties of Iriendsliip
and good neighborhood : And all duties that we owe to God,
cvu' Creator, preserver, and benefactor ; and all duties what-
soevei", considered as required by God, and as branches of
our duty to him, and also considered as what are to be per-
formed with a regard to Christ, as acts of obedience to his
precepts, and as testimonies of respect to him, and of our re-
gard to what he has done for us, the virtues and temper of
mind he has exercised towards us, and the benefits we have
or hope for therefrom.
It is this secondary kind of beauty, which belongs to the
virtues and duties required of us, that Mr. Wollaston seems to
have had in his eye, when he resolved all virtue into an agree-
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 421
tnent of inclinations, volitions and actions with truth. He
evidently has respec*^ to the justice there is in the virtues and
duties that are proper to be in one Being towards another ;
which consists in one Being's expressing such affections and
using such a conduct towards another, as hath a natural agree-
ment and proportion to what is in them, and what w^e receive
from them ; which is as much a natural conformity of affec-
tion and action with its ground, object and occasion, as that
which is between a true proposition and the thing spoken of in it.
But there is another and higher beauty in true virtue, and
in all truly virtuous dispositions and exercises, than what con-
sists in any uniformity or similarity of various things, viz. the
union of heart to Being in general, or to God the Being of Be-
ings, which appears in those virtues ; and which those vir-
tues, when true, are the various expressions or effects of.....
Benevolence to Being in general, or to Being simply consid-
ered, is entirely a distinct thing from uniformity in the midst
of variety, and is a superior kind of beauty.
It is true, that benevolence to Being in general, when a
person hath it, will naturally incline him to justice, or propor-
tion in the exercises of it. He that loves Being, simply con-
sidered, will naturally (as was observed before) other things
being equal, love particular Beings, in a proportion com-
pounded of the degree of Being, and the degree of virtue or
benevolence to Being, wdiich they have. And that is {o love
Beings in proportion to their dignity. For the dignity of any-
Being consists in those two things. Respect to Being, in this
proportion, is the first and most general kind of justice ; which
will produce all the subordinate kinds. So that, after benev-
olence to Being in general exists, the proportion which is ob-
served in objects, may be the cause of the proportion of be-
nevolence to those objects : But no proportion is the cause
or ground of the existence of such a thing as benevolence to
Being. The tendency of objects to excite that degree of be-
nevolence, which is proportionable to the degree of Being,
fee. is the consequence of the existence of benevolence ; and
not the ground of it. Even as a tendency of bodies, one to
another, by mutual attraction, in proportion to the quantity of
422 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
matter, is the consequence of the Being of such a thinfv as
mutual attraction ; and not attraction the effect of proportion.
By this it appears, that juat affections and acts have a beauty
in them, distinct from, and superior to, the uniformity and
equality there is in them ; for which, he that has a truly vir-
tuous temper, relishes and delit^hts in them. And that is the
expression and manifestation there is in them of benevolence
to Being in general And besides this, there is the agree-
ment of pisHce to the will and command of God ; and also
something in the tendency and consequences of justice, that
is agreeable to general benevolence, viz. as in many respects
it tends to the glory of God, and the general good. Which
tendency also makes it beautiful to a truly virtuous mind. So
that the tendency of general benevolence to produce justice,
also the tendency of justice to produce effects agreeable to
general benevolence, both render justice pleasing to a virtu-
ous mind. And it is on these accounts chief y^ thiit justice is
grateful to a virtuous taste, or a truly benevolent heart. But,
though it be true, there is that in the uniformity and propor-
tion there is in justice, which is grateful to a benevolent heart,
ris this uniformity and proportion tends to the general good ;
yet that is no argument, that there is no other beauty in it
but its agreeing with benevolence. For so the external reg-
ularity and order of the natural world gratifies benevolence,
as it is profitable, and tends to the' general good ; but that is
no argument, that there is no other sort of beauty in external
uniformity and proportion, but only its suiting benevolence by
tending to the general good.
5. From all that has been observed concerning this second-
ary kind of beauty, it appears that that disposition or sense of
the mind, which consists in determination of mind to approve
and be pleased with this beauty, considered simply and by it-
self, has nothing of the nature of true virtue, and is entirely a
different thing from a truly virtuous taste. For it has been
shewn, that this kind of beauty is entirely diverse from the
beauty of true virtue, whether it takes place in material or
immaterial things. And therefore it will follow, that a taste
»f this kind of beauty is entirely a different thing from a tas*e
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 423
of true virtue. Who will affirm, that a disposition to approve
of the harmony of good music, or the beauty of a square, or
equilateral triangle, is the same M'ith true holiness, or a truly
virtuous disposition of mind ! It is a relish of uniformity and
proportion, that determines the mind to approve these thing's.
And if this be all, there is no need of any thing higher, or of
any thing in any respect diverse, to determine the mind to
approve and be pleased Avith equal uniformity and pvopori.iou
among spiritual things which are equally discerned. It is
virtuous to love true virtue, as that denotes an agreement of
the heart with virtue. But it argues no virtue, for the heart
to be pleased with that which is entirely disinct from it.
Though it be true, there is some analogy in it to spiritual
and virtuous beauty, as much as material things can have
analogy to things spiritual (of which they can have no more
than a shadow) yet, as has been observed, men do not approve
it because of any such analogy perceived.
And not only reason, but experience plainly shews, that
men's approbation of this sort of beauty, does not spiing from
any virtuous temper, and has no connexion with virtue. For,
otherwise, men's delight in the beauty of squares, and cubes,
and regular polygons, in the regularity of buildings, and the
beautiful figures in a piece of embroidery, would increase in
proportion to men's virtue ; and would be raised to a great
height in some eminently virtuous or holy men ; but Avould
be almost wholly lost in some otliers that are very vicious and
lewd. It is evident in fact, that a relish of these things does
not depend on general benevolence, or any benevolence at all
to any being whatsoever, any more than a man's loving the
taste of honey, or his being pleased with the smell of a rose.
A taste of this inferior beauty in things immaterial, is one
thing which has been mistaken by some moralists, for a true
virtuous principle, implanted naturally in the lic.^.rts of al!
mankind.
424 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
CHAPTER IV.
Of Self Love y and its various Influence, to cause
Love to others^ or the contrary.
MANY assert, that all lo\e arises from self love. In order
to dcterniine tins point, it should be clearly ascertained what
is meant by self love.
Self love, I think, is generally defined a man's love of
his own happiness. Which is short, and may be thought
very plain : But indeed is an ambiguous definition, as the pro-
noun, his o-,vn, is equivocal, and liable to be taken in two very
different senses. For a man's own hafipiness may either be
taken universally, for all the happiness or pleasure which the
mind is in any regard the subject of, or whatever is grateful
and pleasing to men ; or it may be taken for the pleasure a
man takes in his own proper, private, and separate good
And so, self love may be taken two ways.
1. Self love may be taken for the same as his loving what-
soever is grateful or pleasing to him. Which comes only to
this, that self love is a man's liking, and being suited and
pleased in that which he likes, and which pleases him ; or^
that it is a man's loving what he loves. For whatever a man
loves, that thing is grateful and pleasing to him, Avhether that
be his own peculiar happiness, or the happiness of others.
And if this be all that they mean by self love, no wonder they
suppose that all love may be resolved into self love. For it is
imdoubtedly true, that whatever a man loves, his love may be
resolved into his loving Avhat he loves if that be proper
speaking. If by self love is meant nothing else but a man's
loving what is grateful or pleasing to him, and being averse
to what is disagreeable, this is calling !/ia: self love, which is
only a general capacity of loving, or hating ; or a capacity of
being either pleased or displeased ; which is the same thing
as a man's having a facully of will. For if nothing could be
either pleasing or displeasing, agreeable or disagreeable to a
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 425
Man, then he could incline to nothing, and will nothing. But
if he is capable of having inclination, will and choice, then
what he inclines to, and chooses, is grateful to him ; whatever
that be, whether it be his own private good, the good of his
neighbors, or the glory of God. And so far as it is grateful
or pleasing to him, so far it is a part of his pleasure, good, or
happiness.
But if this be what is nieant by self love, there is an im-
propriety and absurdity even in the putting of the question,
Whether all our love, or our love to each particular object of
our love, does not arise from self love ? For that would be the
same as to inquire. Whether the reason why our love is fixed
on such and such particular objects, is not, that we have a ca-
pacity of loving some things ? This may be a general reason
why men love or hate any thing at all ; and therein differ
from stones and trees, which love nothing, and hale nothing.
But it can never be a reason Avhy men's love is placed on such
and such objects. That a man, in general, loves and is pleas-
ed with happiness, or (which is the same thing) has a capacity
of enjoying happiness, cannot be the reason why such and
such things become his happiness : As for instance, why the
good of his neighbor, or the happiness and glory of God, is
grateful and pleasing to him, and so becomes a part of his
happiness;
Or if what they mean, who say that all love comes from
self love, be not, that our loving such and such particular per-
sons and things, arises from our love to happiness in general,
but from a love to love our own happiness, which consists in
tliese objects ; so, the reason why we love benevolence to our
friends, or neighbors, is, because we love our happiness, con-
sisting in their happiness, which we take pleasure in : Still
the notion is absurd. For here the effect is made the cause
of that, of which it is the effect : Our happiness, consisting
in the happiness of the person beloved, is made the cause of
our love to that person. Whereas, the truth plainly is, that
our love to the person is the cause of our delighting, or being
happy in his happiness. How comes cur happiness to consist
in the happiness of such as we love, but by our hearts being
Vol. n. 3 F
42'6 THE NATURE OF VIRTUf;.
first united to them in affection, so that we as it were, look Oir-
them as ourselves, and so on their happiness as our own ?
Men who have benevolence to others, have pleasure when
they see others' happiness, because seeing their happiness
gratifies some inclination that was in their hearts before
They before inclined to their happiness ; which was by be--
nevolencc or good will ; and therefore when they see their
happiness, their inclination is suited, and they are pleased.
But the Being of inclinations and appetites is prior to any
pleasure in gratifying these appetites.
2. Self love, as the phrase is used in common speech, most
commonly signifies a man's regard to his confined jirivate
self^ or love to himself with respect to h'ls firivate interest.
By private interest I mean that which most immediately
consists in those pleasures, or pains, that are pergonal. For
there is a comfort, and a grief, that some have in others pleas-
ures, or pains ; which are in others originally, but are derived
to them, or in some measure become their's, by virtue of a
benevolent union of heart with others. And there are other
pleasures and pains that are oiiginally our own, and not what
■we have by such a participation with others. Which consist
in perceptions agreeable, or contrary, to certain personal in-
clinations implanted in our nature ; such as the sensitive ap-
petites and aversions. Such also is the disposition or the
determination of the mind to be pleased with external beauty,
and with all inferior secondary beauty, consisting in uniform-
ity, proportion, &:c. whether in things external or internal,
and to dislike the contrary deformity. Such also is the natural
disposition in men to be pleased in a perception of their being
the objects of the honor and love of others, and displeased
with others hatred and contempt. For pleasures and uneasi-
nesses of this kind are doubtless as much owing to an imme--
diate determination of the mind by a fixed law of our nature,
as any of the pleasures or pains of external sense. And these
pleasures are properly of the private and personal kind ; being
not by any participation of the happiness or sorrow of others,
through benevolence. It is evidently mere self love, that ap-
pears in this disposition. It is easy to see, that a man's love
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 427
io himself will make him love love to himself, and hate hatred
to himself. And as God has constituted our nature, self love
is exercised in no one disposition more than in this. Men,
probably, are capable of much more pleasure and pain through
this determination of the mind, than by any other personal
inclination, or aversion, whatsoever. Though perhaps we do
not so very often see instances of extreme suffering by this
means, as by some others, yet we often see evidences of men's
dreading the contempt of others more than death : And by
such instances may conceive something what men would suf-
fer, if universally hated and despised ; and may reasonably
infer something of the greatness of the misery, that would
arise under a sense of universal abhorrence, in a great view of
intelligent Being in general, or in a clear view of the Deity,
as incomprehensibly and immensely great, so that all other
Beings are as nothing and vanity. ...together with a sense of
his immediate continual presence, and an infinite concern
with him and dependence upon him and living constantly
in the midst of most clear and strong evidences and manifest-
ations of his hatred and contempt and wrath.
But to return These things may be sufficient to explain
Avhat I mean by private interest ; in regard to which, self
love, most properly so called, is immediately -exercised.
And here I would observe, that if we take self love in this
sense, so love to some others may truly be the effect of self
love ; i. e. according to the common method and order, which
is maintained in the laws of nature. For no created thing-
has power to produce an effect any otherwise than by virtue
of the laws of nature. Thus, that a man should love those
that are of his party, when there are <liflferent parties con-
tending one with another ; and that are warmly engaged on
his side, and promote his interest. ...this is the natural conse-
quence of a private self love. Indeed there is no metaphvs-
ical necessity, in tiie nature of things, that because a man
loves hin^self,and regards his own interest, he therefore should
love those that love him, and promote his interest ; i. e. to
suppose it to be otherwise, implies no contradiction. It will
act follow from any absolute metaphysical necessity, that be-
423 THE NATURE OF VmTUE.
cause bodies have solidity, cohesion, and gravitation towards
the centre of the earth, therefore a weight suspended on the
beam of a balance should have greater power to counter bal-
ance a weight on the other side, when at a distance from the
fulcrum, than when it is near. It implies no contradiction,
that it should be otherwise : But only as it contradicts that
beautiful proportion and harmony, which the author of nature
observes in the laws of nature he has established. Neither
is there any absolute necessity, the contrary implying a con-
tradiction, that because there is an internal mutual attraction
of the parts of the earth, or any other sphere, whereby the
Avhole becomes one solid coherent body, therefore other bodies
that are around it, should also be attracted by it, and those
that are nearest, be attracted most. But according to the or-
der and proportion generally observed in the laws of nature,
one of these effects is connected with the other, so that it is
justly looked upon as the same power of attraction in the
globe of the earth, which draws bodies about the earth towards
its centre, with that which attracts the parts of the earth them-
selves one to another ; only exerted under different circum-
stances. By a like order of nature, a man's love to those that
love him, is no more than a certain expression or effect of
self love. No other principle is needful in order to the effect,
if nothing intervenes to covmtervail the natural tendency of
self love. Therefore there is no more true virtue in a man's
thus loving his friends merely from self love, than there is in
self love itself, the principle from whence it proceeds. So, a
man's being disposed to hate those that hate him, or to resent
injuries done him, arises from self love in like manner as the
loving those that love us, and being thankful for kindness
shewn us.
But it is said by some, that it is apparent, there is some
other principle concerned in exciting the passions of gratitude
and anger, besides self love, viz. a moral sense, or sense of
moral beauty and deformity, determining the minds of all
mankind to approve of, and be pleased with virtue, and to dis-
approve of vice, and behold it with displicence ; and that their
seeing or supposing this moral beauty or deformity, in the
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 429
kindness of a bencfactoi', or opposition of an adversary, is the
occasion of these afTections of p;ratitiide or anger. Otherwise,
why are not these affections excited in us towards inanimate
things, that do us good, or hurt ? Why do we not experience
gratitude to a garden, or fruitful field ? And why are we not
angry with a tempest, or blasting mildew, or an overflowing
stream ? We are very differently affected towards those that
do us good from the virtue of generosity, or hurt us from the
vice of envy and malice, than towards things that hurt or help
us, which are destitute of reason and will Now concerning
this, I would make several remarks.
1. Those who thus argue, that gratitude and anger cannot
proceed from self love, might argue in the same way, and
with equal reason, that neither can these affections arise from
love to others ; which is contrary to their own scheme.
They say that the reason why we are affected with grati-
tude and anger towards men, rather than things without life,
is moral sense ; which they say, is the effect of that principle
of benevolence or love to others, or love to the public, which
is naturally in the hearts of all mankind. But now I might
say, according to their own way of arguing, gratitude and an--
ger cannot arise from love to others, or love to the public, or
any sense of mind that is the fruit of public affection. For
how differently are we affected towards those that do good or
hurt to the public from understanding and will, and from a
general public spirit, or public motive I say, how different-
ly affected are we towards these, from what wc are towards
such inanimate things as the sun and the clouds, that do good to
the public by enlightening and enlivening beams and refresh-
ing showers ; or inildew, and an overflowing stream, that
does hurt to the public, by destroying the fruits of the earth ■
Yea, if such a kind of argument be good, it will prove that
gratitude and anger cannot arise from the united influence of
self love, and public love, or moral sense arising from the
public affection. For, if so, why are we not affected towards
inanimate things, that are beneficial or injurious both to us
and the public, in the same manner as to them that are profit-
able or hurtful to both on choice and design, and from benev-
elence, or malice ?
430 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
2. On the supposition of its being indeed so, that men love
those w ho love ihem, and are angry with those who hate them,
from the natural influence of sell" love ; it is not at all strange
that the author of nature, who observes order, uniformity and
harmony in establishing its laws, should so order that it should
be natural for self love to cause the mind to be affected dif-
fcrenlly towards exceedingly different objects; and that it
should cause our heart to extend itself in one manner towards
inanimate things, which gratify self love, without sense or
will, and in another manner towards Beings which we look
upon as having mulerstanding and will, like ourselves, and
exerting these faculties in our favor, and promoting our inter-
est from love to us. No wonder, seeing Ave love ourselves,
that it shoukUbc natural to us to extend something of that
same kind of love Avhich we have for ourselves, to them who
are the same kind of Beings as ourselves, and comply with
the inclinations of our self love, by expressing the same sort
of love towards us.
. 3. If we should allow that to be universal, that in gratitude
and anger there is the exercise of some kind of moral sense
(as it is granted, there is something that may be so called.)
All the moral sense, that is essential to those affections, is a
sense of Desert ; Avliich is to be referred to that sense of
justice, before spoken of, consisting in an apprehension of that
secondary kind of beauty, that lies in uniformity and propor-
tion : Which solves all the difficulty in the objection This,
or some appearance of it to a narrow private view, indeed at-
tends all anger and gratitude. Others love and kindness to
us, or their ill will and injuriousness, appears to us to deserve
cur love, or our resentment. Or, in other words, it seems to
us no other than^w.'./, that as they love us, and do us good, we
also should love them, and do them good- And so it seems
7/<,v^', that when others' hearts oppose us, and they from their
h.earts do us hurt, our hearts should oppose theiri, and that
■we should desire they themselves may suffer in like manner
as we have suffered ; i. e. there appears to us to be a natural
agreement, piopoiticn, and ad\istmeni between these things.
Which is indeed a kind of moral sense or sense of a beauty in
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 431
iiioral things. But as was before shewn, it is a moral sense of a
secondary kind, and is entirely different from a sense or relislv
of the original essential beauty of true virtue ; and may be
v;ithout any principle of true virtue in the heart. Therefore
doubtless it is a great mistake in any to suppose, ail that moral
sense which appears and is exercised in a sense of desert^
is the same thing as a love of virtue, or a disposition and de-
termination of mind to be pleased with true virtuous beauty,-
consisling in public benevolence. Which may be further con-
firmed, if it be considered that even with respect to a sense
of justice or desert^ consisting in uniformity [and agreement
between others actions towards us, and our actions towards
them, in a way of vv'ell doing, or of ill doing] it is not abso-
lutely necessary to the being of these passions of gratitude
and anger, that there should be any notion of justice in them,
in any public or general view of things ; as will appear by
what shall be next observed.
4. Those authors who hold that that moral sense which is
natural to all mankind, consists in a natural relish of the beau-
ty of virtue, and so arises from a principle of true vir-
tue implanted by nature in the hearts of all... ..They hold
that true virtue consists in public benevolence. There-
fore, if the affections of gratiti'de and anger necessarily im-
ply such a moral sense as they suppose, then these affections
imply some delight in the public good, and an aversion of the
mind to public evil. And if this were so, then every time
any man feels anger for opposition he meets with, or grati-
tude for any favor, there must be at least a supposition of:',
tendency to public injury in that opposition, and a tendency
to public benefit in the favor that excites his gratitude. But
how far is thi^ from being true? As, in such instances as
these, which I presume, none will deny to be possible, or un-
like to any thing that ever happens among nnankind. A
ship's crew enter into a conspiracy against the master, to mur-'
der him, and run away with the ship and turn pirates ; but
before they bring their matters to a ripeness for execution,
one of them repents and opens the whole design ; whereupon
the rest are apprehended and brought to justice. The crew
4^2 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
are enras^ed A\ilh liim that has betrayed them, and earnestly
Kcek opportunity to revenge themselves upon him... .And for
an instance of i^raLilude, a gang of robbers that have long in-
fested the neighboring country, have a particular house
■whither they resort, and where they meet from time to time,
to divide theh' booty or prey, and hold their consultations for
carrying on their pernicious designs. The magistrates and
officers of the country, after many fruitless endeavors to dis-
cover their secret haunt and place of resort, at length by
some means are well infoimed where it is, and are prepared
■with sufficient force to surprize them, and seize them all, at
the place of rendezvous, at an hour appointed when they un-
derstand they will all be there. A little before the arri-al of
the appointed \t<mv, Avhile the officers with their bands are ap-
proaching, acme person is so kind to these robbers as to give
them notice of their danger, so as just to give them opportu-
nity to escape. They are thankful to him, and give him a
handful of money for his kindness Now in such instances,
1 think it is plain, that there is no supposition of a public in-
jury in that which is the occasion of their a7}gcr ; yea, they
know the contrary. Nor is there any supposition of public
good in tliat which excites their gratitude ; neither has pub-
lic benevolence, or moral sense, consisting in a determination
to approve of what is for the public good, any influence at all
in the affair. And though there be some affection, besides a
sense of uniformity and proportion, that has influence in such
anger and gratitude, it is not public affection or benevolence,
but private affection ; yea, that affection which is to the high-
est degree private, consisting in a man's love of his own
person.
5. The passion of miffn; in particular, seems to have been
unluckily chosen as a medium to pro^e a sense and determin-
ation to delight in virtue, consisting in benevolence, natural
to all mankind.
For, if that moral sense which is exercised in anger, were
that which arose from a benevolent temper of heart, being
no other than a sense or relish of the beauty of benevolence,
one would think a disjwsiiion to anc-er should increase, ut
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 4S3
least in some proportion, as a man had more of a sweet,
benign, and benevolent temper ; which seems something
disagreeable to reason, as well as contrary to experience,
which shews that the less men have of benevolence, and the
more they have of a contrary temper, the more are they dis-
posed to anger and deep resentment of injuries.
And though gratitude be that which many speak of as a
certain noble principle of virtue, which God has implanted
in the hearts of all mankind ; and though it be true, there is
a gratitude, that is truly virtuous, and the want of gratitude
or an ungrateful temper, is truly vicious, and argues an abom-
inable depravity of heart (as I may have particular occasion
to sliew afterwards) yet, I think what has been observed, may
serve to convince such as impartially consider it, not only that
not all anger, or hating those which hate us, but also that not
all gratitude, or loving those which love us, arises from a truly-
virtuous benevolence of heart.
Another sort of affections, which maybe properly referred
to self love, as their source and which might be expected to be
the fruit of it, according to the general analogy of nature's
laws, are affections to such as are near to us by the ties of na-
ture ; that we look upon as those whose Beings we have been
the occasions of, and that Ave have a very peculiar propriety
in, and whose circumstances, even from the first beginning of
their existence, do many ways lead them, as it were, necessa-
rily, to an high esteem of us, and to treat us with great de-
pendence, submission and compliance ; and whom the con-
stitution of the world makes to be united in interest, and ac-
cordingly to act as one in innumerable affairs, with a com-
munion in each other's affections, desires, cares, friendships,
enmities, and pursuits. Which is the case of men's affec-
tion to their children. And in like manner self love will also
beget in a man some degree of affections, towards others,
with whom he has connexion in any degree parallel. As to
the opinion of those that ascribe the natural affection there is
between parents and children, to a particular zMs^'mr/ ofnature>
J shall take notice of it afterwards.
Vol. II. 3 G
4U THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
And as men may love persons and things from self love.
so may love to qualities and characters arise from the same
source. Some represent as though there were need of a
great degree of metaphysical refining to make it out, that meii
approve of others from self love, whom they hear of at a dis-
tance, or read of in history, or see represented on the stage,
from whom they expect no profit or advantage. But perhaps
it is not considered, that what we approve of in the first place
is the character, and from the character we approve the per-
son, and is it a .range thing, that men should, from self love,
like a temper or character, which in its nature and tendency-
falls in with the nature and tendency of self love ; and which,
v.'e know by experience and self evidence, without metaphys-
ical refining, in the general, tends to men's pleasure and ben-
efit ? And on the contrary, should dislike what they see
tends to men's pain and misery ? Is there need of a great
degree of subtilty and abstraction, to make it out, that a child,
which has heard and seen much, strongly to fix an idea, of the
pernicious deadly nature of the rattlesnake, should have aver-
sion to that species or form, from self love ; so as to have a
degree of this aversion and disgust excited by seeing even the
picture of that animal ? And that from the same self love
it should be pleased and entertained with a lively figure and
representation of some pleasant fruit which it has often tasted
the sweetness of ? Or, with the image of some bird, which
it has always been told, is innocent, and whose pleasant sing-
ing it has often been entertained with ? Though the child
neither fears being bitten by the picture of the snake, nor
expects to eat of the painted fruit, or to hear the figure of the
bird sing. I suppose none Avill think it difficult to allow, that
such an approbation or disgust of a child may be accounted
for from its natural delight in the pleasures of taste and hear-
ing, and its aversion to pain and death, through self love, to-
gether with the habitual connexion of these agreeable or ter-
rible ideas with the form and qualities of these objects,
the ideas of which are impressed on the mind of the child
by their images.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 435
And where is the difficulty of allowing, that a child or man
may hate the general character of a spiteful and malicious
man, for the like reason, as he hates the general nature of a
serpent ; knowing, from reason, instruction and experience,
that malice in men is pernicious to mankind, as well as spite
or poison in a serpent ? And if a man may, from self love,
disapprove the vices of malice, envy, and others of that sort,
which naturally tend to the hurt of mankind, why may he not
from the same principle approve the contrary virtues of meek-
ness, peaceableness, benevolence, charity, generosity, justice,
and the social virtues in general ; which he as easily and
clearly knows, naturally tend to the good of mankind ?
It is undoubtedly true that some have a love to these vir^
tues from a higher principle. But yet I think it as certainly
true, that there is generally in mankind a sort of approbation
of them, which arises from self love.
Besides what has been already said, the same thing further
appears from this ; that men commonly are most affected to-
wards, and do most highly approve, those virtues which
agree with their interest most, according to their various con-
ditions in life. . We see that persons of low condition are es-
pecially enamored with a condescending, accessible, affable
temper in the great ; not only in those whose condescension
has been exercised towards themselves ; but they A\ill be pe-
culiarly taken with such a character when they have accounts
of it from others, or when they meet with ii in history or even
in romance. The poor will most highly approve and com-
mend liberality. The weaker sex v/ho especially need assist-
ance and protection, will peculiarly esteem and applaud fortir
tude and generosity in those of the other sex, they read or
hear of, or have represented to them on a stage.
As I think it plain from what has bejen observed, that men
may approve and be disposed to commend a benevolent tem-
per, from self love, so the higher the degree of benevolence
is, the more may they approve of it. Which will account
for some kind of approbation, from this principle, even of
love to enemies, viz. as a man's loving his enemies is ais
436 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
evidence of a high degree of benevolence of temper ; the
degree of it appearing from the obstacles it overcomes.
And it may be here observed, tliat the consideration of the
tendency and influence of self love may shew, how men in
general may approve of justice from another ground, besides
that approbation of the secondary beauty there is in uniformi-
ty and proportion, which is natural to all. Men from their
infancy see the necessity of it, not only that it is necessary for
others, or for human society ; but they find the necessity of it
for themselves, in instances that continually occur : Which
tends to prejudice them in its favor, and to fix an habitual apr
probation of it from self love.
And again, that forementioned approbation of justice and
desert, arising from a sense of the beauty of natural agree-
ment and proportion, will have a kind of reilex, and indirect
influence to cause men to approve benevolence, and disap-
prove malice ; as men see that he who hates and injures
others, deserves to be hated and punished, and that he who is
benevolent, and loves others, and does them good, deserves
himself also to be loved and rewarded by others, as they see
the natural congruity or agreement and mutual adaptedness
of these things. And having always seen this, malevolence
becomes habitually connected in the mind with the idea of
being hated and punished, which is disagreeable to self love ;
and the idea of benevolence is habitually connected and asso-
ciated with the idea of being loved and rewarded by others,
•which is grateful to self love. And by virtue of this associa-
tion of ideas, benevolence itself becomes grateful, and the
contrary displeasing.
Some vices may become in a degree odious by the influ-
ence of self love, through an habitual connexion of ideas of
contempt v/ith it ; contempt being what self love abhors.
So it may often be with drunkenness, gluttony, sottishness,
cowardice, sloth, niggardliness. The idea of contempt becomes
associated with the idea of such vices,both because we are used
toobservc that those things are commonly objects of contempt,
and also find that they excite contempt, in ourselves.. ..Some of
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 437
ttiem appear mavks of littleness, i.e. of small abilities, and
weakness of mind, and insufficiency for any considerable ef-
fects among mankind By others, men's influence is con-
tracted into a narrow sphere, and by such means persons be-
come of less importance, and more insignificant among man-
kind. And things of little importance are naturally little
accounted of.. ..And some of these ill qualities are such as
mankind find it their interest to treat with contempt, as they
are very hurtful to human society.
There are no particular moral virtues whatsoever, but what
in some or other of these ways, and most of them in several
of these ways, come to have some kind of approbation from
self love, without the influence of a truly virtuous principle ;
nor any particular vices, but what by the same means meet
with some disapprobation.
This kind of approbation and dislike, through the joint in-
fluence of self love and association of ideas, is in very many
vastly heightened by education ; as this is the means of a
strong, close, and almost irrefragable association, in innumer-
able instances, of ideas which have no connexion any other
way than by education ; and of greatly strengthening that as-
sociation, or connexion, which persons are led into by other
means ; as any one would be convinced, perhaps more elTect-
ually than in most other ways, if they had opportunity of any
considerable acquaintance with American savages and their
children.
CHAPTER V.
Of Natural Conscience^ and the Moral Sense.
THERE is yet another disposition or principle, of great
importance, natural to mankind ; which, if we consider the
consistence and harmony of nature's laws, may also be looked
upon as in some sort arising from self love, or self union :
And that is a disposition in man to be uneasy in a conscious*
438 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
ness of being inconsistent with himself, and as it were, against
himself, in his own actions. This appears particularly in the
inclination of the mind to be uneasy in the consciousness of
doing that to others, wliich he should be angry with them for
doing to him, if they were in his case, and he in theirs ; or,
of forbearing to do that to them, which he Avould bo displeased
with them for neglecting to do to him.
I have observed from time to time, that in pure love to
others (i. e. love not arising from self love) there is an union
of the heart with others ; a kind of enlargement of the mind,
vhereby it so extends itself as to take others into a man's
»elf : And therelore it implies a disposition to feel, to desire,
and to act as though others were one with ourselves. So,
self love implies an inclination to feel and act as one with our-
selves ; which naturally renders a sensible inconsistence with
ourselves, and self opposition, in what we ourselves choose
and do, to be uneasy to the mind ; which will cause uneasi-
ness of mind to be the consequence of a malevolent and un-
just behavior towards others, and a kind of disapprobation of
acts of this nature, and an approbation of the contrary. To
do that to another, which we should be angry with him for
jdoing to us, and to hate a person for doing that to us, which
we should incline to, and insist on doing to him, if we were
exactly in the same case, is to disagree with ourselves, and
contradict ourselves. It would be, for ourselves both to choose
jind adhere to, and yet to refuse and utterly reject, as it were
the very same thing. No wonder, this is contrary to nature,
^o wonder, that such a self opposition, and inward war with a
man's self, naturally begets unquietness, and raises disturb-
ance in his mind.
A thus approving of actions, because we therein act as in
agreement with ourselves, or as one with ourselves. ...and a
thus disapproving and being uneasy in the consciousness of
disagreeing and being inconsistent with ourselves in what we
do is quite a different thing from approving or disapproving
actions because in them we agree and are united with Being
jn general ; which is loving or hating actions from a sense of
the primary beauty of tnjc virtue, and odiousncss of sin.....
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 439
The former of these principles is private : The latter is pub-
lic and truly benevolent in the highest sense. The former
(i. e. an inclination to asjree with ourselves) is a natural prin-
ciple : But the latter (i. e. an agreement or union of heart to
the great system, and to God, the head of it, who is all in all
in it) is a divine principle.
In that uneasiness now mentioned, consists very much of
that inward trouble men have from reflections of conscience :
And when they are free from this uneasiness, and are con-
scious to themselves, that in vfhat they have acted towards
others, tl\ey have done the same which they should have ex-
pected from them in the same case, then they have what is
called peace of conscience, with respect to these actions....
And there is also an approbation of conscience, of the conduct
of others tov.'ards ourselves. As when v/e are blamed, con-
demned, or punished by them, and are conscious to ourselves
that if we were in their case, and they in ours, we should in
like manner blame, condemn, and punish them. And thus
men's consciences may justify God's anger and condemna-
tion. When they have the ideas of God's greatness, their
relation to him, the benefits they have received from him, the
n^nifestations he has made of his will to them. Sec. strongly
impressed on their minds, a consciousness is excited within
them of those resentments, Avhich would be occasioned in
themselves by an injurious treatment in any wise parallel.
There is such a consciousness as this oftentimes within
men, implied in the thoughts and views of the mind, which
perhaps on reflection they could hardly give an account of.
Unless men's consciences are greatly stupified, it is naturally
and necessarily suggested ; and does habitually, spontane-
ously, instantaneously, and as it were insensibly arise in the
mind. And the more so for this reason, viz. that we have
not, nor ever had from our infancy, any other way to conceive
of any thing w'hich other persons act or sufler, or of any thing
about intelligent, moral agents, but by recalling and exciting
the ideas of what we ourselves are conscious of in the acts,
passions, sensations, volitions. Sec. which Me have found in
our own minds ; and by putting the ideas v. hich we obtain by
UO THi: NATURE OF VIRTUE.
this means, in the place of anolhcr ; or as it were substituting
ourselves in their place. Thus, we have no conception, ii-^
any degree, what understanding, perception, love, pleasure,
pain, or desire are in others, but by putting ourselves as it
•nere in their stead, or transfen'mg the ideas we obtain of such
things in our own minds by consciousness, into their place ;
making such an alteration, as to degree and circumstances, as
what we observe of them requires. It is thus in all moral
things that we conceive of in others, which are all mental,
and not corporeal things ; and every thing that we conceive
of, belonging to others, more than shape, size, complexion^
situation, and motion of their bodies. And this is the only
way that we come to be capable of having ideas of any percep-
tion or act even of the Godhead. We never could have any
notion what understanding or volition, love or hatred are^
either in created spirits or in God, if we had never experi-
enced what understanding and volition, love and hatred, are in
our own minds. Knowing what they are by consciousness, we
can add degrees, and deny limits, and remove changeablencss
and other imperfections, and ascribe them to God. Which
is the only way we come to be capable of conceiving of any
thing in the Deity.
But though it be so, that men in thinking of others do, as
it Avere, put themselves in their place, they do it so naturally,
or rather habitually, instantaneously, and without set purpose,
that they do it insensibly, and can scarce give any account of
it, and many would think strange if they were told of it. So-
it may be in men's substituting themselves in others place in
such exercises of conscience as have been spoken of ; and the
former substitution leads to the latter, in one whose con-
science is not greatly stupifisd. For in all his thoughts of
the other person, in whatever he apprehends or conceives of
his moral conduct to others or to himself, if it be in loving or
hating him, approving or condemning him, rewarding or pun-
ishing him, he necessarily as it were puts himself in his stead,
for the forementioned reason ; and therefore the more natu-
rally, easily and quietly sees whether he, being in his placcj-
should approve or condcnm, be angry or pleased as he is.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 44 1
Natural conscience consists in these two things :
1. In that v/hich has now been spoken of: That disposi-
tion to approve or disapprove the moral treatment which
passes between us and others, from a determination of the
mind to be easy? or uneasy, in a consciousness of our being
tonsistent, or inconsistent with ourselves. Hereby we have
a disposition to approve our own treatment of another, when
■we are conscious to ourselves that we treat him so as we
should expect to be treated by him, were he in our case and
we in his ; and to disapprove of our own treatment of another,
when we are conscious that we should be displeased, with the
like treatment from him, if we were in his case. So we in
our consciences approve of another's treatment of us, if wc
are conscious to ourselves, that if we were in his case, and he
in ours, we should think it just to treat him as he treats us ;
and disapprove his treatment of us, when we are conscious
that we should think it unjust, if we were in his case. Thus
xnen's consciences approve or disapprove the sentence of
their judge, by which they are acquitted or condemned... ..
But this is not all that is in natural conscience. Besides this
approving or disapproving from uneasiness as being incon-
sistent with ourselves, there is another thing that must pre-
cede it, and be the foundation of it. As for instance, when
my conscience disapproves my own treatment of another, be-
ing conscious to myself that were I in his case, I should be
displeased and angry with him for so treating me, the ques-
tion might be asked. But what would be the ground of that
Supposed disapprobation, displeasure and anger, which I am
conscious would be in me in that case ? That disapprobation
must be on some other grounds. Therefore,
2. The other thing ■which belongs to the approbation or
disapprobation of natural conscience, is the sense of desert)
■which was spoken of before ; consisting, as was observed, in
a natural agreement, proportion and harmony between malev-
olence or injury, and resentment and punishment ; or between
loving and being loved, between shewing kindness and being-
rewarded, he. Both these kinds of approving or disapprav- .
Vol. IL 3 H
442 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
ing concur in the approbation or disapprobation of conscience ;
the one founded on the other. Thus, when a man's con-
science disapproves of his treatment of his neighbor, in the
first place he is conscious that if he were in his neighbor's
stead, he should resent such trejitment, from a sense of just-
ice, or from a sense of uniformity and equality between such
treatment and resentment and punishment, as before explain-
ed. And then in the next place he perceives, that therefore
he is not consistent with himself, in doing what he himself
should resent in that case ; and hence disapproves it, as being
naturally averse to opposition to himself.
Approbation and disapprobation of conscience, in the sense
«ow explained, will extend to all virtue and vice ; to every
thing whatsoever that is morally good or evil, in a mind which
does not confine its view to a private sphere, but will take
things in general into its consideration, and is free from spec-
ulative error. For, as all virtue or moral good may be re-
solved into love to others, either God or creatures, so men
easily see the uniformity and natural agreement there is be-
tween loving others, and being accepted and favored by others.
And all vice, sin, or moral evil, summarily consisting in the
want of this love to others, or in the contrary, viz. hatred or
malevolence, so men easily sec the natural agreement there
is between hating and doing ill to others, and' being huted by
them and suffering ill from them, or from him that acts for
all and has the care of the whole system. And as this sense
of equality and natural agreement extends to all moral good
and evil, so this lays a foundation of an equal extent with the
other kind of approbation and disapprobation, which is ground-
ed upon it, arising from an aversion to self inconsistence and
opposition. For in all cases of benevolence or the contrary to-
wards others, we are capable of putting ourselves in the place
of others, and are naturally led to do it, and so of reflecting,
or being conscious to ourselves, how we should like or dislike
such treatment from others. Thus natural conscience, if the
xmderstanding be properly enlightened, and errors and blind-
ing stupifying prejudices are removed, concurs with the la^T
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 442
df God, and is of equal extent with it, and joins its voice with
it in every article.
And thus, in particular, we may see in what respect this
natural conscience that has been described, extends to true
virtue, consisting in union of heart to Being in general, and
supreme love to God. For, although it sees not, or rather
does not taste its primary and essential beauty, i. e. it tastes
no sweetness in benevolence to Being in general, simply con-
sidered, or loves it not for Being in general's sake (for noth-
ing but general benevolence itself can do that) yet this natural
conscience, common to mankind, may approve of it from that
uniformity, equality and justice, which there is in it, and the
demerit which is seen in the contrary, consisting in the nat-
ural agreement between the contrary and being hated of Be-
ing in general. Men by natural conscience mjiy see the
justice (or natural agreement) there is in yielding all to God,
as we receive all from God ; and the justice there is in being
his that has made us, and being Avillingly so, which is the
same as being dependent on his will, and com'brmed to his
will in the manner of our Being, as wc are for our Being it-
self, and in the conformity of our will to his will, on whose
will we are universally and most perfectly dependent ; and
also the justice there is in our supreme love to God, from his
goodness. ...the natural agreement tlier.e is between our hav-
ing supreme respect to him who exercises infinite goodness
to us, and from whom we receive all v/ell being.. ..Besides
that disagreement and discord appears worse to natural sense
(as was observed before) in things nearly related and of great
importance ] and therefore it must appear v«ry ill, as it res-
pects the infinite Being, and in that infinitely great relation
which there is between the Creator and his creatures. And
it is easy to conceive how that sense which is in natural con-
science, should see the desert of punishment, which there is
in the contrary of true virtue, viz. opposition and enmity to
Being in general. For, this is only to see the natural agree-
ment there is between opposing Being in general, and being
opposed by Being in general ; with a consciousness how that
if we were infinitely great, we should expect to be regarded
444 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
accordinj^ to our greatness, and should proportionably resent
contempt. Thus natural conscience, if well informed, -\vili
approve of true virtue, and will disapprove and condemn the
Avant of it, and opposition to it ; and yet without seeing- the
true beauty of it. Yea, if men's consciences were fully en-
lightened, if they were delivered from being confined to a
private sphere, and brought to view and consider things in
general, and delivered from being stupified by sensual objects
and appetites, as they will be at the day of judgment, they
Avould approve nothing but true virtue, nothing but general
benevolence, and those affections and actions that are consist-
ent with it, and subordinate to it. For they must see that
consent to Being in general, and supreme i-espect to the Be-
ing of Beings, is most just ; and that every thing which is in-
consistent with it, and interferes with it, or flows from the
want of it, is unjust, and deserves the opposition of universal
existence.
Thus has God established and ordered, that this principle
of natural conscience, which, though it implies no such thing
as actual benevolence to Being in general, nor any delight in
such a principle, simply considered, and so implies no truly
spiritual sense or virtuous taste, yet should approve and con-
demn the same things that are approved and condemned by
a spiritual sense or virtuous taste.
That moral sense which is natural to mankind, so far as it
is disinterested and not founded in association of ideas, is the
same with this natural conscience that has been described.
The sense of moral good and evil, and that disposition to ap-
prove virtue and disapprove vice, which men have by natural
conscience, is that moral sense, so much insisted on in the
writingsof many of late : A misunderstanding of which seems
to have been the thing that has misled those moralists who
have insisted on a disinterested moral sense, universal in the
■world of mankind, as an evidence of a disposition to true vir-
tue, consisting in a benevolent temper, naturally implanted in
the minds of all men. Some of the arguments made use of
by these writers, do indeed prove that there is a moral sense
•r taste, universal among men, distinct from what arises from
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 445
self love. Though I humbly conceive, there is some confu-
sion in their discourses on the subject, and not a proper dis-
tinction observed in the instances of men's approbation of
virtue, which they produce. Some of which are not to their
purpose, being instances of thr.t approbation of virtue, that
was described, Avhich arises from self love. But other instan-
ces prove that there is a moral taste, or sense of moral good
and evil, natural to all, which does not properly arise from self
love- Yet I conceive there are no instances of this kind which
^lay not be referred to natural conscience, and particularly to
that which I have observed to be primary in the approbation of
natural conscience, viz. a sense of desert and approbation of
that natural agreement there is, in manner and measure in
justice. But I think it is plain from what has been said, that
neither this or any thing else wherein consists the sense of
moral good and evil, which there is in natural conscience is
of the nature of a truly virtuous taste, or determination of
raind to relish and delight in the essential beauty of true vir-
tue, arising from a virtuous benevolence of heart.
But it further appears from this. If the approbation of
conscience were the same with the approbation of the inclina-
tion, of the heart, or the natural disposition and determina-
tion of the mind, to love and be pleased with virtue, then ap-
probation and condemnation of conscience would always be ii^
proportion to the virtuous temper of the mind ; or rather the
degree Avould be just the same. In that person who had a
high degree of a virtuous temper, therefore, the testimony of
conscience in favor of virtue would be equally full : But he
that had but little, would have as little a degree of the testi-
mony of conscience for virtue, and against vice. But I think
the case is evidently otherwise. Some men through the
strength of vice in their hearts, will goon in sin against clear-
er light and stronger convictions of conscience, than others.
If conscience's approving duty and disapproving sin, were the
same thing as the exercise of a virtuous principle of the heart,
in loving duty and hating sin, then i-emorse of conscience will
be the same thing as repentance ; and just in the same degree
as the sinner feels remorse of conscience for sin, in the same
446 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
degree is his heart turned from the love of sin to the hatred
of it, inasmuch as they are the very same thing.
Christians have the gi'catest reason to beli3vc, from the
scriptures, that in the future day of the revelation of the right-
eous judgment of God, when sinners shall be called to answer
before their judge, and all their wickedness in all its aggra^
"vations, brought forth and clearly manifested in the perfect
light of that day, and God will reprove ihem and set their
sins in order before them, their consciences will be greatly
awakened and convinced, their mouths will be stopped, all
stupidity of conscience will be at an end, and conscience will
have its full exercise : And therefore their consciences will
approve the dreadful sentence of the judge against them,
and seeing that they have deserved so great a punishment,
will join Avith the judge in condeiraiing them. And this, ac-
cording to the notion I am opposing, would be tlie same thing
as their being brought to the fullest repentance ; their hearts
•being perfectly changed to hate sin and love holiness ; and
virtue or holiness.of heart in them will be brought to the most
full and perfect exercise. But hov/ much otherwise, have we
reason to suppose, it will then be ? viz. That the sin and
wickedness of their heart will come to its highest dominion
and completest exercise ; that they shall be wholly left of
God, and given up to their wickedness, even as the devils are !
When God has done waiting on sinners, and his spirit done
striving with them, he will not restrain their wickedness, as
he does now. But sin shall then rage in their hearts, as a
lire no longer restrained or kept under. It is proper for ^i
judge when he condemns a criminal, to endeavor so to set his
guilt before him as to convince his conscience of the justice
x)f the sentence. This the Almighty will do effectually, and
do to perfection, so as most thoroughly to awaken and con-
convince the conscience. But if natural conscience, and thp
disposilion of the heart to be pleased with virtue, were the
same, then at the same time that the conscience was brought
to its perfect exercise, the heart would be made perfectly ho-
ly ; or, would have the exercise of true virtue and holiness
in perfect benevolence of temper. But instead of this, thcic
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 447
■wickedness will then be brought to perfection, and wicked
men will become very devils, and accordingly will be sent
away as cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
jhis angels.
But supposing natural conscience to be what has been de-
scribed, all these difficulties and absurdities are Avholly avoid-
ed. Sinners, when they see the greatness of the Being, whom
they have lived in contempt of, and in rebellion and opposi-
tion to, and have clearly set before them tiieir obligations to
him, as their Creator, preserver, benefactor, &c. together
"with the degree in which they have acted as enemies to him,
may have a clear sense of the desert oi their sin, consisting in
the natural agreement there is between such contempt and
opposition of such a Being, and his despising and opposing
tliem ; between their being and acting as so great enemies to
such a God, and their suffering the dreadful consequences of
his being and acting as their great enemy : And their being
conscious within themselves of the degree of anger, M'hich
■nould naturally arise in their own hearts in such a case if
they v.ere in the place and state of their judge. In order to
these things there is no need of a virtuous benevolent temper,
relishing and delighting in benevolence, and loathing the con-
trary. The conscience may see the natural agreement he-
tween opposing and being opposed, between hating and be-
ing hated, without abhorring malevolence from a benevolent
temper of mind, or without loving God from a view of the
beauty of his holiness. These things have no necessary de-
pendence one on the other.
CHAPTER VI.
Of particular Instincts of Nature^ 'which in some
respects resemble Virtue.
THERE are various dispositions and inclinations natural to-
Bien, wlxich depend on particular laws of nature, determining
448 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
their minils to certain affections and actions towards particu-
lar objects ; which laws seem to be established chiefly fo«-
the preservation of mankind, though not only for this, but al-
so for their comfortably subsisting in the world. Which dis-
positions may be called instincts.
Some of these instincts respect only ourselves personally ;
such are many of our natural appetites and aversions. Some
of them are not wholly personal, but more social, and extend
to others ; such ai"e the mutual inclinations between the sexesj
See Some of these dispositions arc more external and sensi-
tive ; such are some of our natural inclinations thr\t are per-
sonal.. ..as those that relate to meat and drink. And of this
sort also are some dispositions that are more social, and in
some respects extend to others ; as, the more sensitive incli-
nations of the sexes towards each other. Besides these in-
stincts of the sensitive kind, there are others that are more
internal and mental ; consisting in affections of the mind,
-which mankind naturally exercise towards some of their fel-
low creatures, or in some cases towards men in general.
Some of tiiese instincts that are mental and social, are what
may be called kind affections ; as having something in them
of benevolence, or a resemblance of it. And others are of a
different sort, having something in them that carries an angry
appearance ; such as the passion of jealousy between the
sexes, especially in the male towards the female.
It is only the former of these two last mentioned sorts, that
it is to my purpose to consider in this place, viz. those natur-
al instincts which appear in benevolent affections, or which
liave the appearance of benevolence and so in some respects
resemble virtue. These I shall therefore consider ; and
shall endeavor to shew that none of them can be of the nature
of true virtue.
That kind affection which is exercised towards those who
are near one to another in natural relation, particularly the
love of parents to their children, called natural affection, is
by many referred to instinct. I have already considered this
sore of love as an affection that arises from self love ; and in
that \ lew, and in that supposition have shewn, it cannot bt
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 449
of the nature of true virtue. But if any think, that natural
affecticn is more properly to be referred to a particular in-
stinct of nature, than to self love, as its cause, I shall not think
It a point worthy of any controversy or dispute. In my opin-
ion, both are true, viz. that natural affection is owing to nat-
ural instinct, and also that it arises from self love. It may be
said to arise from instinct, as it depends on a law of nature.
But yet it may be truly reckoned as an affection arising from
self love ; because, though it arises from a law of nature, yet
that is such a law as according to the order and harmony ev-
ery where observed among the laws of nature, is connected
with, and follows from self love, as was shewn before. How-
ever, it is not necessary to my present purpose, to insist on
this. For if it be so, that natural affection to a man's chil-
dren or family, or near relations, is not properly to be ascribed
to self love, as its cause, in any respect, but is to be esteemed
an affection arising from a particular independent instinct of
nature, which the Creator in his wisdom has implanted in
men for the preservation and well being of the world of man-
kind, yet it cannot be of the nature of true virtue. For it has
been observed, and I humbly conceive, proved before (Chap.
II.) that if any Being or Beings have by natural instinct, or
any other means, a determination of mind to benevolence, ex-
tending only to some particular persons, or private system,
however large that system may be, or however great a num-
ber of individuals it may contain, so long as it contains but an
infinitely small part of universal existence, and so bears no
proportion to this great and universal system such limited
private Ijenevolence, not arising from, nor being subordinate
to benevolence to Being in general, cannot have the nature of
true virtue.
However, it may not be amiss briefly to observe now, that
it is evident to a demonstration, those affections cannot be of
the nature of true virtue, from these two things.
First, That they do not arise from a principle of virtue
A principle of virtue, I think, is owned by the most consider-
able of late writers on morality to be general benevolcQce ov
Vol.. II. o I
450 THE NATURE OF VIRTCE.
public affection : And I think it has been proved to be unu..;
of heart to Being simply considered ; -which implies a dispo-
sition to benevolence to Being in general. Now by the sup-
position, the affections -vve are speaking of do not arise from
this principle ; and that, Avhether we suppose 'they arise from
self love, or from particular instincts ; because cither of
those sources is diverse from a principle of general benevo-
lence. And,
. Secondhj, These private affections, if they do not arise front
general benevolence, and they are not conliected with it in
their first existence, have no tendency to produce it. This
appears from what has been observed : For being not de-
pendent on it, their detached and unsubordinate operation
rather tends to, and implies opposition to Being in general,
than general benevolence ; as every one sees and owns with
respect to self love. And there ai'e the very same reasons
why any other private affection, confined to limits infinitely
short of universal existence, should have that influence, as
■well as love that is confined to a single person. Now upon
the whole, nothing can be plainer than that affections which
do not arise from a virtuous principle, and have no tendency
to true virtue, as their effect, cannot be of the nature of true
virtue.
For* the reasons which have been given, it is undeniably
true, that if persons by any means come to have a benevolent
affection limited to a party that is very large, or to the coun-
try or nation in general, of ^\Jlich they are a part, or the pub-
lic community they belong to, though it be as large as the
Roman empire was of old, yea, if there could be an instinct or
other cause determining a person to benevolence towards the
whole world of mankind, or even all created sensible natures
throughout the universe, exclusive of union of heart to gen-
eral existence and of love to God, nor derived from that
temper of mind which disjwses to a supreme regard to hii)»,
nor subordinate to such divine love, it cannot be of the nature
of true virtue.
If what is called natural aflcction, arises from a particular
natural instinct, so, much more indisputably, docs that mutual
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 451
affection which naturally arises between ihe sexes. I agree
with HiUchcson and Hume in this, that there is a foundation
laid in nature for kind affections between the sexes, that are
truly diverse from all inclinations to sensitive pleasure, and do
not properly arise from any such inclination. There is doubt-
less a disposition both to a mutual benevolence and mutual
complacence, that are not naturally and necessarily connected
with any sensitive desires. But yet it is manifest such affec-
tions as are limited to opposite sexes, are from a particular
instinct, thus directing and limiting them ; and not arising
from a principle of general benevolence ; for this has no ten-
dency to any such limitaiion. And though these affections
do not properly arise from the sensitive desires which are be-
tween the sexes, yet they are implanted by the Author of na-
ture chiefly for the same purpose, viz. the preservation or
continuation of the world of mankind, to make persons willing
to forsake father and mother, and all their natural relations in
the fomilies where they were born and brought up, for the
sake of a stated union with a companion of the other sex, and
to dispose to that union in bearing and going through with
that series of labors, anxieties, and pains requisite to the Be-
ing, support and education of a family of children. Though
not only for these ends, but partly also for the comfort of man-
kind as united in a marriage relation. But I suppose, few (if
any) will deny, that the peculiar natural dispositions there are
to mutual affection between the sexes, arise from an instinct
or partictilar law of nature. And therefore it is manifest
from what has been said already, that those natural disposi-
tions cannot be of the nature of true virtue.
Another affection which is owing to a particular instinct,
implanted in men for like purposes with other instincts, is
that pity which is natural to mankind, when they see others
in great distress. It is acknowledged, that such an affection
is natural to mankind. But I think it evident, that the pity
\<rhich is general and natural, is owing to a particular instinct,
and is not of the nature of true virtue. I am far from saying,
that there is no such thing as a truly virtuous pity among
mankind. For I am far from thinking, that all the pity or
452 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
mercy which is any Ivhere to be found among them, arises
merely from natural instinct, or, that none is to be found,
which arises from that truly virtuous divine principle of gen-
eral benevolence to sensitive Beings. Yet at the same time
I think, this is not the case with all pity, or with that disposi-
tion to pity which is natural to mankind in common. I think
I may be bold to say, this does not arise from general benev-
olence, nor is truly of the nature of benevolence, or properly
called by that name.
If all that uneasiness on the sight of others extreme dis-
tress, which we call pit-. , were properly of the nature of be-
nevolence, then they who arc the subjects of this passion,
must needs be in a degree of uneasiness in being sensible of
the total want of happiness, of all such as they would be dis-
posed to pity in extreme distress. For that certainly is the
most direct tendency and operation of benevolence or good
•will, to desire the happiness of its object. But now this is not
the case universally, where men are disposed to exercise pity.
There are many men, with whom that is the case in respect
to some others in the world, that it would not be the occasion
of their being sensibly affected with any uneasiness, to know
they were dead (yea men who are not influenced by the con-
sideration of a future state, but view death as only a cessation
of all sensibility, and consequently an end of all happiness)
who yet would have been moved with pity towards the same
persons, if they had seen them under some very extreme an-
guish. Some men would be moved with pity by seeing a
brute creature under extreme and long torments, Avho yet
suffer no uneasiness in knowing that many thousands of them
every day cease to live, and so have an end put to all their
pleasure, at butchers sliambles in great cities. It is the na-
ture of true benevolence to desire and rejoice in the prosper-
ity and pleasure of the object of it ; and that, in some propor-
tion to its degree of prevalence. But persons may greatly
pily those that are in extreme pain, whose positive pleasure
ihev may still be very indifferent about. In this case a man
may be much moved and affected with uneasiness, who yet
-«vould be affected with no sensible joy in seeing signs of lh»
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 453
same person's or Being's enjoyment of very high degrees of
pleasure.
Yea, pity may not only be -without benevolence, but may
consist with true malevolence, or with such ill will as shall
cause men not only not to desire the positive happiness of an-
other, but even to desire his calamity. They may pity such
an one when his calamity goes beyond their hatred. A man
may have true malevolence towards another, desiring no pos-
itive good for him, but evil ; and yet his hatred not be infinite,
hut only to a certain degree. And when he sees the person
whom he thus hates, in misery far beyond his ill will, he may
then pity him ; because then the natural instinct begins to
operate. For malevolence will not overcome the natural in-
stinct, inclining to pity others in extreme calamity, any fur-
ther than it goes, or to the limits of the degree of misery it
wishes to its object. Men may pity others under exquisite
torment, when yet they would have been grieved if they had
seen their prosperity. And some men have such a grudge
against one or another, that they would be far from being un-
easy at their very death, nay, would even be glad of it. And
when this is the case with them, it is manifest that their heart
is void of benevolence towards such persons, and under the
power of malevolence. Yet at the same time they are capa-
ble of pitying even these very persons, if they should see
them under a degree of misery very much disproportioned
to their ill will.
These things may convince us that natural pity is of a na-
ture very difTerent from true virtue, and not arising from a
disposition of heart to general benevolence ; but is owiog to a
particular instinct, which the Creator has implanted in man-
kind, for the same purposes as most other instincts, viz. chief-
ly for the preservation of mankind, though not exclusive of
their well being. The giving of tliis instinct is the fruit of
God's mercy, and an instance of his love of the world of man-
kind, and an evidence that though the world be so sinful, it is
not God's design to make it a world of punishment ; and
therefore has many ways made a merciful provision for men's
relief in extreme calamities : And among others has given
454 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
Biankiod in general a disposiuon to pity ; the natural exer-
cises whereof extend beyond those whom we are in a near
connexion with, especially in case of great calamity ; because
commonly in such cases men stand in need of the help of
ethers beside their near frierids> and because commonly those
calamities which are extreme, without relief, tend to men's
destruction. This may be given as the reason why men are
so made by the author of nature, that they have no instinct in-
clining as much to rejoice at the sight of others great pros-
perity and pleasure, as to be grieved at their extreme calam-
ity, viz. because they do not stand in equal necessity of such
an instinct as that in order to their preservation. But if pure
benevolence were the source of natural pity, doubtless it
\yGuld operate to as great a degree in congratulation, in cases
of others great prosperity, as in compassion towards them in
great misery.
The instincts God has given to m.ankind in this world,
which in some respects resemble a virtuous benevolence, are
agteeable to the state that God designed mankind for here,
•where he intends their preservation, and comfortable subsist-
ence. But in the world of punishment, where the state of
the wicked inhabitants will be exceeding difterent, and God
wjjl have none of these merciful designs to answer, there,
we have great rec.son to think, Avill be no such thing as a dis-
position to pity, in any case ; as also there will be no natural
affection toward near relations, and no mutual aftection be-
tween opposite sexes.
To conclude what I have to say on the natural instinct dis-
poning men to pity others in misery, I would observe, that
this is a source of a kind of abhorrence in men of some vices,
as cruelly and oppression ; and so, of a sort of approbation of
the contrary virtues, humanity, mercy, kc. Which aversion
and approbation, however, so far as they arise from this cause
only, are not from a principle of true virtue.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 455
CHAPTER VII.
iChe Reasons lo/ry those things that ha'oe been men*
tioned, 'which have not the Essence of Firlue^
have yet by many been mistaken for True Virtue.
THE first reason that may be given of this, is, tliat al*
though they have not the specific and distinguishing nature
and essence of virtue, yet they have something that belo7ig^
to the general nature o^\'\vX.\\e. The general nature bf true
virtue is love. It is expressed both in love of benevolence
and complacence ; biit primarily in benevolence to persons
and Beings, and consequently and secondarily in complacence
in virtue. ...as has been shewn. There is sometliing of the
general nature of virtue in those natural affections and princi-
ples that have been mentioned, in both those respects.
In many of these natural affections there is something of
the appearance of love to persons. In some of them there
appears the tendency and effect of benevolence, in part. Oth*
ers have truly a sort of benevolence in them, though it be a
private benevolence, and in several respects falls short of
the extent of true virtuous benevolence, both in its nature and
object.
The last mentioned passion, natural to mankind in their
present state, viz. that of pity to others in distress, though not
properly of the nature of love, as has been demonstrated, yc^
has partly the same influence and effect with benevolence.
One effect of true benevolence is to cause persons to be un*
easy, vi^hen the objects of it are in distress, and to desire their
relief. And natural pity has the same effect.
Natural gratitude, though in every instance wherein it ap*
pears it is not properly called love, because persons may be
moved with a degree of gratitude towards persons on certain
occasions, Avhom they have no real and proper friendship foi*,
as in the instance of Sciul towards David, once and attain, after
456 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
David's sparing his life, when he had so fair an opportunity to
kill him : Yet it has the saine or like operation and effect
■with friendship, in part, for a season, and with regard to so
much of the welfare of its object, as appears a deserved re-
quital of kindness received. And in other instances it may
liave a more general and abiding influence, so as more prop-
erly to be called by the name of love. So that many times
men fi'om natural gratitude do really with a sort of benevo-
lence love those who love them.. From this, together with
some other natural principles, men may love their near
friends, love their own party, love their country, Sec.
The natural disposition there is to mutual afl'ection between
the sexes, often operates by what may properly be called love.
There is oftentimes truly a kind both of benevolence and
complacence. As there also is between parents and chil-
dren.
Thus these things have something of the general nature of
Virtue, which is love ;* and especially the thing last mention-
ed has something of a love of benevolence. What they arc
essentially defective in, is, that they are private in their na-
ture, they do not arise from any temper of benevolence to
Being in general, nor have they a tendency to any such effect
in their operation. But yet agreeing with virtue in its gene-
ral nature, they are beautiful wiihin their own private sphere,
i. e. they appear beautiful if we confine our vicv/s to that prir
vate system, and while we shut all other things they stand in
any relation to, out of our consideration. If that private sys-
tem contained the sum of universal existence, then their be-
nevolence would have true beauty ; or, in other M'ords, would
be beautiful, all things considered ; but now it is not so. These
private systems are so far from containing the sum of univer-
sal Being, or comprehending all existence which we stand
related to, that it contains but an infinitely small part of it.
The reason why men are so ready to take these private affec-
tions for true virtue, is the narrowness of their views ; and
♦ It claims to be considered, whether these things can be of the nature of
•»irtue, even according to the distinctions the author has made Ed.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 457
above all, that they are so ready to leave the divine Being out
ot their view, and to neglect him in their consideration, or to
regard him in their thoughts, as though he were not pi'operly
belonging to the system of real existence, but as a kind of
shadov/y, imaginary Being. And though most men allow
that there is a God, yet in their ordinary view Of things, his
Being is not apt to come into the account, and to have the in-
fluence and effect of a real existence, as it is with other Beings
which they see, and are conversant with by their external
senses. In their views of beauty and deformity, and in the
inward sensations of displicence and approbation which rise
in their minds, it is not a thing natural to them to be under
the influence of a view of the Deity, as part of the system,
and as the head of the system, and he Avho is all in all, in com-
parison of whom all the rest is nothing, and with regard to
whom all other things are to be viewed, and their minds to be
accordingly impressed and affected.
Yea, Ave are apt through the narrowness of our views, in
judging of the ber.uty of affections and actions to limit our
consideration to only a small part of the created system
When private aff'ections extend themselves to a considerable
number, we are very ready to look upon them as truly virtu-
ous, and accordingly to applaud them highly. Thus it is
•with respect to love to a large party, or a man's love to his
country. For though his private system contains but a small
part even of the world of mankind, yet being a considerable
number, through the contracted limits of the mind and the
narrowness of his views, they are ready to fill his mind and
engross his sight, and to seem as if they Avere all. Hence
among the Romans love to their country was the highest vir-
tue ; though this affection of theirs, so much extolled among
them, was employed as it were for the destruction of the rest
of the world of mankind. The larger the number is, that pri-
vate affection extends to, the more apt men are, through the
narrowness of their sight, to mistake it for true virtue ; be-
cause then the private system appears to have more of the
image of the universal system. Whereas, when the circle
Vol. II. 3 K
458 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
it extends to, is very small, it is not so apt to be looked upon
virtuous, di- not so virtuous. As, a man's love to his own
children
x\nd this is the reason why self love is by nobody mistaken
for true virtue. For though there be something of the gen-
eral nature of virtue in this, here is love and good will, yet
the object is so private, the limits so narrow, that it by no
means engrosses the view ; unless it be of the person him-
self, who, through the greatness of his pride, may imagine
himsslf as it were (.'//. The minds of men are large enough
to take in a vastly greater extent ; and though self love is far
from being useless in the world, yea, it is exceeding necessary
to society, besides its directly and greatly seeking the good of
one, yet every body sees that if it be not subordinate to, and
regulated by, another more extensive principle, it may make
a man a common enemy to the system he is related to. And
though this is as true of any other private affection, notwith-
standing its extent may be to a system that contains thousands
of individuals, and those private systems bear no greater pro-
portion to the whole of universal existence, than one alone,
yet they bear a greater proportion to the extent, to the view
and comprehension of men's minds, and are more apt to be
regarded as if they were «//, or at least as som.e resemblance
of the universal system.
Thus I have observed how many of these natural princi-
ples, which have been spoken of, resemble virtue in its pri-
inary operation, which is benevolence. Many of them also
liave a resemblance of it in its secondary operation, which is
its approbation of and complacence in virtue itself. Several
kinds of approbation of virtue have been taken notice of, as
common to mankind, which are not of the nature of a truly
virtuous approbation, consisting in a sense and relish of the
essential beauty of virtue, consisting in a Being's cordial uni-
on to Being in general, from a spirit of love to Being in gen-
eral. As particularly, the approbation of conscience, from a
sense of the inferior and secondary beauty which there is in
virtue, consisting in uniformity, and from a sense of desert,
consisting in a sense of the natural agreement of loving; and
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 459
being beloved, shewing kindness and receiving kindness. So
from the same principle, there is a disapprobation of vice,
from a natural opposition to deformity and disproportion, and
a sense of evil desert, or the natural agreement there is be-
tween hating and being hated, opposing and being opposed,
Sec. together with a painful sensation naturally arising in a
sense of self opposition and inconsistence. Approbation of
conscience is the more readily mistaken for a truly, virtuous
approbation, because by the wise constitution of the great gov-
ernor of the world (as was observed) Avhen conscience is well
informed, and thoroughly awakened, it agrees with the latter
fully and exactly, as to the object approved, though not as to
the ground and reason of approving. It approves all virtue,
and condemns all vice. It approves true virtue, and uideed
approves nothing that is against it, or that falls short of it ; as
was shewn before. And indeed natural conscience is im-
planted in all mankind, there to be as it were in God's stead,
and to be an internal judge or rule to all, whereby to distin-
guish right and wrong.
It has also been observed, how that virtue, consisting in be-
nevolence, is approved, and vice, consisting in ill will, is dis-
liked, from the influence of self love, together with associa-
tion of ideas, in the same manner as men dislike those quali-
ties in things without life or reason, with which they have al-
ways connected the ideas of hurtfulness, malignancy, perni-
ciousness ; but like those things with v/hich they habitually
connect the ideas of profit, pleasantness, comfortableness. Sec.
This sort of approbation or liking of virtue, and dislike of
vice, is easily mistaken for true virtue, not only because those
things are approved by it that have the nature of virtue, and
the things disliked have the nature of vice, but because here
is much of resemblance of virtuous approbation, it being
complacence from love ; the difference only lying in this,
that it is not from love to Being in general, but from self
love.
There is also, as has been shewn, a liking of some virtues^
and dislike of some vices, from the influence of the natural in-
stinct of pity. This, men are apt to mistake for the exercise
460 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
of true virtue, on many accounts. Here is not only a kind of
complacence, and the objects of complacence are what have
the nature of virtue, and the virtues indeed very amiable,
such as humanity, mercy, tenderness of heart. Sec. and the
contrary very odious ; but besides, the approbation is not
merely from self love, but from compassion, an affection
that respects others, and resembles benevolence, as has been
shevi'n.
Another reason, Avhy the things which have been mention-
ed are mistaken for true virtue, is, that there is indeed a true
negative moral goodness in them. By a negative moral good-
ness, I mean the negation or absence of true moral evil
They have this negative moral goodness, because a being
without them v/ould be an evidence of a much greater moral
evil. Thus, the exercise of natural conscience in such and
such degrees, wherein appears such a measure of an awaken-
ing or sensibility of conscience, though it be not of thp nature
of real positive virtue or true moral goodness, yet has a nega-
tive moral goodness ; because in the present state of things, it
is an evidence of the absence of that higher degree of wicked-
ness, which causes great insensibility or stupidity of con-
science. For sin, as was observed, is not only against a spir-
itual and divine sense of virtue, but is also against the dictates
of that moral sense which is iii natural conscience. No won-
der, that this sense being long opposed and often conquered,
grows weaker. All sin has its source from selfishness, or
from self love, not subordinate to regard to Being in general.
And natural conscience chiefly consists in a sense of desert,
or the natural agreement between sin and misery. But if
self were indeed all, and so more considerable than all the
world besides, there would be no ill desert in his regarding
himself above all, and making all other interests give place to
private interest. And no wonder that men by long acting
from the selfish principle, and by being habituated to treat
themselves as if they were all, increase in pride, and come as
it were naturally to look on themselves as all, and so to lose
entirely the sense of ill desert in their making all other inter-
ests give place to their own And no wonder that men by
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE, 461
often repeating acts of sin, without punishment, or any visible
appearance of approaching punishment, have less and less
sense of the connexion of sin with punishtnent. That sense
Avhich an awakened conscience has of the desert of sin, con-
sists chiefly in a sense of its desert of resentment of the Dei-
ty, the fountain and head of universal existence. But no
wonder that by a long continued worldly and sensual life,
men more and more Jose all sense of the Deity, who is a spir-
itual and invisible Being. The mind l^eing long involved in,
and engrossed by sensitive objects, becomes sensual in all its
operations, and excludes all views and impressions of spiritual
objects, and is unfit for their contemplation. Thus the con-
science and general benevolence are entirely different princi-
ples, and sense of conscience differs from the holy compla-
cence of a benevolent and truly virtuous heart. Yet wicked-
ness may, by long habitual exercise, greatly diminish a sense
of conscience. So that there may be negative moral good-
ness, in sensibility of conscience, as it may be an argument of
the absence of that higher degree of wickedness, which caus-
eth stupidity of conscience.
So with respect to natural gratitude, though there may be no
virtup merely in loving them that love us, yet the contrary may
be an evidence of a great degree of depravity, as it may argue
a higher degree of selfishness, so that a man is come to look
upon himself as all, and others as nothing, and so their respect
and kindness as nothing. Thus an increase of pride dimin-
ishes gratitude.. ...So does sensuality, or the increase of sensu-
al appetites, and coming more and more under the power
and impression of sensible objects, tends by degrees to make
the mind insensible to any thing else ; and tiiose appetites
take up the whole soul ; and through habit and custom the
water is all drawn out of other channels, in which it naturally
Hows, and is all carried as it were into one channel.
In like manner natural affection and natural pity, tliough
not of the nature of virtue, yet may be diminished greatly by
the increase of those two principles of pri<lc and sensuality,
and as the consequence of this, being habitually disposed to
envy, malice, Sec. These lusts when they prevail to a hioh
462 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
ilegree may overcome and diminish the exercise of those nat-
ural principles : Even as they often overcome and diminish
eommon prudence in a man, as to seeking his own private
interest, in point of health, wealth or honor, and yet no one
•will think it proves that a man's being cunning, in seeking his
©wn personal and temporal interest has any thing of the na-
ture and essence of true virtue.
Another reason why these patural principles and affections
are mistaken for true virtue, is, that in several respects they
have the same effect which true virtue tends to ; especially
iu these two ways
1. The present state of the world is so ordered and consti-
tuted by the wisdom and goodness of its supreme ruler, that
these natural principles for the most part tend to the good of
the world of mankind. So do natural pity, gratitude, parent-
al affection, Sec. Herein they agree with the tendency of gen-
eral benevolence, which seeks and tends to the general good.
But this is no proof that these natural principles have the
nature of true virtue. For self love is a principle that is ex-
ceeding useful and necessary in the world of mankind. So
ure the natural appetites of hunger and thirst, Sec. But yet
nobody will assert, that these have the nature of true virtue.
2. These principles have a like effect with true virtue in
this respect, that they tend several ways to restrain vice, and
prevent many acts of wickedness. So, natural affection, love
to our party, or to particular friends, tends to keep us from acts
of Injustice towards these persons ; which would be real wick-
edness. Pity preserves from cruelty, which would be real
and great moral evil. . Natural conscience tends to restrain
sin in general, in the present state of the world. But neither
can this prove these principles themselves to be of the nature
of true virtue. For so is this present state of mankind order-
ed by a merciful God, that men's self love does in innumerable
respects restrain from acts of true wickedness ; and not only
so, but puts men upon seeking true virtue ; yet is not itself
true virtue, but is the source of all the wickedness that is in
the world.
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 4&S
Another I'eason why these inferior affections especially
some of them, are accounted virtuous, is, that there are affec-
tions of the same denomination, which are truiy virtuous ..«
Thus, for instance, there is a truly virtuous fiity, or a compas-
sion to others under affliction or misery from general benevo«
lence. Pure benevolence would be sufficient to excite pity to
another in calamity, if there were no particular instinct, or any-
other principle determining the mind thereto. It is easy tos
see how benevolence, which seeks another's good should
cause us to desire his deliverance from evil. And this is a
source of pity far more extensive than the other. It excites
compassion in cases that are overlooked by natural instinct*
And even in those cases to which instinct extends, it mixes its
influence with the natural principle, and guides and regulates
its operations. And when this is the case, the pity which is ex-
ercised may be called a virtuous compassion. So there is a
vii tucus gratitude, or a gratitude that arises not only from self
love, but from a superior principle of disinterested general be-
nevolence. As it is manifest, that when we receive kindness
from such as we love already, we are more disposed to grati-
tvide, and disposed to greater degrees of it than when the mind
is destitute of any such friendly prepossession. Therefore, when
the superior principle of virtuous love has a governing hand,
and regulates the affair, it may be called a virtuous gratitude.
So there is a virtuous love of yzis^^ce, arising from pure benevo-
lence to Being in general, as that naturally and necessarily in-
clines the heart, that every particular Being should have such
a share of benevolence as is proportioned to its dignity, con«
sisting in the degree of its Being, and the degree of its virtue.
Which is entirely diverse from an apprehension of justice,
from a sense of the beauty of uniformity in variety : As has
been particularly shewn already. And so it is easy to see how
there may be a virtuous sense of desert different from what is
natural and common. And so a virtuoiis conscienciousness ov 7X
sanctified conscience. And as when natural affections have their
operations mixed with the influence of virtuous benevolence,
and are directed and determined hereby, they may be called
virtuous, so there may be a virtuous love of parents to chil-
46i THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
<3ren, and between other near relatives, a virtuous love of our
town, or country, or nation. Yea, and a virtuous love between
the sexes, as there may be the influence of virtue mingled
with instinct, and virtue may govern with regard to the panic-*
ular manner of its operation, and may guide it to such ends as
are agreeable to the great ends and purposes of true virtue.
Genuine virtue prevents that increase of the habits of pride
and sensuality, which tend to overbear and greatly diminish
the exercises of the forementioned useful and necessary prin-
ciples of nature. And a principle of general benevolence
softens and sweetens the mind, and makes it more susceptible
of the proper influence and exercise of the gentier natural in-
stincts, and directs every one into its proper channel, and de-
termines the exercise to the proper manner and measure,
and guides all to the best purposes.
CHAPTER VIII.
/// ivhat respects Virtue or moral good is founded in
Sentiment ; and how far it is founded in the Rea-
son and Nature of things.
THAT which is called wrrwe, is a certain kind of beauti-
ful nature, form or quality that is observed in things. That
form or quality is called beautiful to any one beholding it
to whom it is beautiful, which appears in itself agreeable
or comely to him, or the view or idea of which is imme-
diately pleasant to the mind. I say agreeable in itself, and
iinmediately pleasant, to distinguish it from things which in
ihemselves are not agreeable nor pleasant, but either indifl"cr-
ent or disagreeable, which yet appear eligible and agreeable
indirectly for something else that is the consequence of them,
or with which they are connected. Such a kind of indirect
agrceableness or eligibleness in things, not for themselves,
but for some thing else, is not what is called beauty. But
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 465
when a form or quality appears lovely, pleasing and delight-
ful in itself, then it is called beautiful ; and this agreeable-
ness or gatefulness of the idea is Avhat is called beauty. It is
evident therefore by this, that the way we come by the idea
or sensation of beauty, is by immediate sensation of the grate-
fulness of the idea called beautiful ; and not by finding out by
argumentation any consequences, or other things that it
stands connected with ; any more than tasdng the sweetness
of honey, or perceiving the harmony of a tune,is by argument-
ation on connexions and consequences. And this manner
of being affected with the immediate presence of the beauti-
ful idea depends not," therefore, or any reasonings about the
idea, after we have it, before we can find out whether it be
beautiful or not ; but on the frame of our minds, whereby
they are so made that such an idea, as soon as we have it, is
grateful, or appears beautiful.
Therefore, if this be all that is meant by them who affirm
Tirtue is founded in sentiment, and not in reason, that they
who see the beauty there is in true virtue, do not perceive it
by argumentation on its connexions and consequences, but by
the frame of their own minds, or a certain" spiritual sense giv-
en them of God, whereby they immediately perceive pleasure
in the presence of the idea of true virtue in their minds, or
are directly gratified in the view or contemplation of this ob-
ject, this is certainly true.
But if thereby is meant, that the frame of mind, or ijiward
sense given them by God, whereby the mind is disposed to
delight in the idea or view of true virtue, is given arbitrarily,
so that if he had pleased he might haA'e given a contrary sense
and determination of mind, which v.ovild have agreed as well
with the necessary nature of things, this I think is not true.
Virtue, as I have observed, consists in the cordial consent
or union of Being to Being in general. And as has also beerr
observed, that frame of mind, whereby it is disposed to rel-
ish and be pleased v/ith the view of this, is benevolence or
union of heart itself to Being in general, or a universally be-
nevolent frame of mind : Because he whose temper is to
love Being in general, therein must have a disposition to ap--
Vol. II, 3 L
i6^ THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
prove and be pleased -with the love to Being in general...,.
Therefore now the question is, whether God, in giving this
temper to a created mind, whereby it unites to or loves Being
in general, acts so arbitrarily, that there is nothing in the nec-
essary nature of things to hinder but that a contrary temper
might have agreed or consisted as v/ell with that nature of
things as this ?
And in the Jlist placti I observe, that to assert this, would
be a plain absurdity, and contrary to the very supposition
For here it is supposed, that virtue in its very essence con-
sists in agreement or consent of Being to Being. Now cer-
tainly agreement itself to Being in general must necessarily
agree better with general existence, than opposition and con-
trariety to it.
I observe, secondly^ that God in giving tothe creature such
a temper of mind, gives that which is agreeable to what is by
absolute necessity his own temper and nature. For, as has
been often observed, God himself is in effect Being in gener-
al; and without all doubt it is in itself full necessary and impos-
sible it should be otherwise, that God should agree with him-
self, be united with himself or love himself: And therefore,
when he gives the same temper to his creatures, this is more
agreeable to his necessary nature, than the opposite temper ;
Yea, the latter would be infinitely contrary to his nature.
Let it be noted, thirdly^ by this temper only can created Be-
ings be united to, and agree with one another. This appears,
because it consists in consent and union to Being in general ;
which implies agreement and union with every particular
Being, except such as arc opposite to Being in general, or
excepting such cases wherein union with them is by some
means inconsistent with union with general existence. But
certainly if any particular created Being were of a temper to
oppose Being in general, that would infer the most universal
and greatest possible discord, not only of creatures with their
Creator, but of created Beings one witli another.
Fourthly.) I observe, there is no other temper but this, that
a man can have, and agree with himself or be without self
inconsistence, i. e. without having some inclinations and rel-
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 467
ishes repugnant to others. And that for these reasons. Ev-
ery Being; that has understancUnt^ and -uill, necessarily loves
happiness. For to suppose any Being not to love happiness,
would be to suppose he did not love what was agreeable to
him ; which is a contradiction : Or at least would inxply,
that nothing Avas agreeable or eligible to him, which is the
same as to say, that he has no such thing as choice, or any
faculty of will. So that every being who has a faculty of will
must of necessity have an inclination to happiness. And
therefore, if he be consistent with himself, and has not some
inclinations repugnant to others, he must approve of those in-
clinations whereby Beings desire the happiness of Being in
general, and must be against a disposition to the misery of Be-
ing in general : Because otherwise he would approve of oppo-
sition to his own happiness. For, if a temper inclined to the
misery of Being in general prevailed universally, it is appar-
ent, it would tend to universal misery. But he that loves a.
tendency to universal misery, in effect loves a tendency to
his own misery ; and as he necessarily hates his oAvn misery,
he has then one inclination repugnant to another. And be-
sides it necessarily follows from self love, that men love to be
loved by others ; because in this others love agrees with their
own love. But if men loved hatred to Being in general,
they would in efiect love the hatred of themselves ; and so
would be inconsistent with themselves, having one natural in-
clination contrary to another.
These things may help us to understand why that spiritual
and divine sense, by which those that are truly virtuous and
holy, perceive the excellency of true virtue, is in the sa-
cred scriptures called by the name of light, knowledge, under-
standing, &c. If this divine sense were a thing arbitrarily
given, without any foundation in the nature of things, it would
not properly be calledl)y such names. For, if there were no
correspondence or agreement in such a sense with the nature
of things any more than there would have liieen in a diverse
or contrary sense, the idea we obtain by this spiritual sense
could in no respect be said to be a knowledge or perception of
any thing besides what was in our own minds. For this idea
4CS THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
■fi'ould be no representation of any thing without. But since
h is otherwise, since it is agreeable in the respects abovemen-
ticned, to the nature of things, and especially since it is the
representation and image of the moral perfection and excel-
lency of the divine Being, hereby we have a perception of
that moral excellency, of which we could have no true idea
V/lthout it. And it being so, hereby persons have that true
knowledge of God, which greatly enlightens the ir.ind in the
knowledge of divine things in general, and does (as might be
shewn, if it were necessary to the iTiain purpose of this dis-
course) in m.any respects assist persons to a right understand-
ing of things in general, to understand which our faculties
were chictty given us, and which do chiefly concern our inter-
est ; and assists us to see the nature of them, and the truth
of them, in llieir proper evidence. Whereas, the want of
this spiritual sense, and the prevalence of those dispositions
that are contrary to i^ tend to darken and distract the mind,
and dreadfully to delude and confound men's understandings.
And as to tliat moral sense, common to mankind, which
there is in natural conscience^ neither can this be truly said to
be no more than a sentiment arbitrarily given by the Creator,
without any relation to the necessary nature of things : But
is established in an agreement with the nature of things ; so
as no sense cf mind that can be supposed, of a contrary na-
ture and tendency could be. This will appear by these two
things
1, This moral sense, if the understanding be well informed,
and be exercised at liberty, and in an extensive manner, with-
out being restrained to a private sphere, approves the very
same things which a spiritual and divine sense approves ; and
those things only : though net on the same grounds, nor with
the same kind of approbation. Therefore, as that divine
sense has been already shewn to be agreeable to the necessa-
ry nature of things, so this inferior moral sense, being so far
correspondent to that, must also so far agree witii the nature
of things.
2. It has been shewn, that this moral sense consists in ap-
proving the uniformity and nalunU agreement there is be-
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 459
tween one thing and another. So that by the supposition it
is agreeable to the nature of things. For therein it consists,
viz. a disposition of mind to consent to, or like, the agreement
of the nature of things, or the agreement of the nature and
form of one thing with another. And certainly such a tem-
per of mind as likes the agreement of things to the nature of
things, is more agreeable to the nature of things than an op-
posite temper of mind.
Here it may be observed As the use of language is for
mankind to express their sentiments or ideas to each other,
so that those terms in language, by which things of a moral
nature are signified, are to express those moral sentiments
or ideas that are common to mankind ; therefore it is, that
moral sense which is in natural conscience, that chiefly gov-
erns the use of language among mankind, and is the mind's
rule of language in these matters among mankind ; it is in-
deed the general natural rule which God has given to all
men, whereby to judge of moral good and evil. By such
woi'ds, right and wrong, good and evil, when used in a moral
sense, is meant in common speech that which deserves praise
or blame, respect or resentment. But as has been often ob-
served, mankind in general have a sense of desert, by this
natural moral sense.
Therefore here may arise a question, which may deserve
to be considered, viz. Seeing it is thus, that sentiment among
mankind is the rule of language, as to what is called bv the
name of good and evil, worthy and unworthy ; and it is appar-
ent, that sentiment, at least as to many particulars, by some
means or other is different in different persons, in different
nations ; that being thought to deserve praise by one, which
by others is thought to be worthy of blame ; how therefore
can virtue and vice be any other than arbitrary, not at all de-
termined by the nature of things, but by the sentiments of
men with relation to the nature of things ?
In order to the answering this question v. iih clearness, it
may be divided into two, viz. Whether men's sentiments of
moral good and evil are not arbitrary, or rather casual and
aocidental ? And, whether the way of their using words in
470 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE.
what they call good and evil, is not arbitrary, without respect
to any common sentiment m all> confornied to the nature of
things ?
As to the first, I would observe, that tlu^. general disposition
or sense of mind exercised in a sense ot" desert of esteem or
resentment, may be the same in all ; though as to particular
objects and occasions -with regard to which it is exercised, it
may be very various in difiercnt men or bodies of men,
through the partiality or error that may attend the view or at-
tention of the mind. . In all, a notion of desert of love, or re-
sentment, may consist in the same thuig, in general, viz. a
suitableness, or natural uniformity and agreement between
the affections and acts of the agent, and the affections and
treatment of others some way concerned ; or the natural
agreement between love (or something that some way im-
plies love, or proceeds from it, or tends to it) and love ; a nat-
ural agreement between treating well, and being well treated ;
the natural agreement between hating (or something that
some way partakes of the nature of hatred) and being hated,
Sec. I say, this general notion of desert may be the same ;
and yet occasions and objects through variety of apprehen-
sions about these occasions and objects, and the various man-
ner in which they are viewed, by reason of the partial atten-
tion of the mind, may be extremely various ; and example,
custom, education, and ass6ciation may have a hand in this,
in ways innumerable. But it is needless to dwell long on
this, since things which have been said by others (Mr. Hutch-
eson in particular) may abundantly shew, that the differences
which are to be found among different persons and nations,
concerning moral good and evil, are not inconsistent with a
general moral sense, connnon to all mankind.
Nor, secondly, is the use of the words, good and evil, right
and wrong, when used in a moral sense, altogether unfixed
and arbitrary, according to the variety of notions, opinions,
and views, that occasion the forcmentioned variety of senti-
ment. For though the signification of words is determined
by use, yet that which governs i)i the use of terms is general
•r common use. And manldnd, in what they would signify
THE NATURE OF VIRTUE. 4n
by terms, are obliged to aim at a consistent use ; because it
is easily found that the end of ]anp;ua;^e, which is to be a com-
mon medium of manifesting ideag and sentiments, cannot be
obtained any other way than by a consistent use of words ,
both that men should be consistent with themselves, and one
\Tith another, in the use of them. But men cannot call any
thing right or wrong, worthy or ill deserving, consistently,
any other way than by calling things so, which truly deserve'
praise or blame, i. e. things, wherein (all things considered)
there is most uniformity in connecting with them praise or
blame. There is no other way that they can use these terms
consistently with themselves. Thus, if thieves or traitors
may be angry with informers', that biing them to justice, and
call their behavior by odious names, yet herein they are in-
consistent with themselves ; because, when they put them-
selves in the place of those that have injured them, they ap-
prove the same things they condemn. And therefore such
are capable of being convinced, that they apply these odious
terms in an abusive manner. So, a nation that prosecutes an
ambitious design of universal empire, by subduing other na-
tions with fire and sword, may affix terms that signify the
highest degrees of virtue, to the conduct of such as shew the
most engaged, stable, resolute spirit in this affair, and do most
of this bloody work. But yet they are capable of being con-
vinced, that they use these terms inconsistently, and abuse
language in it, and so having their mouths stopped. And not
only will men use such words inconsistently v.'ith themselves,
but also with one another, by using them any otherwise than
to signify true merit or ill deserving, as before expkdned^
For there is no way else, wherein men have any notion of
good or ill desert, that mankind in general can agree in.
Mankind in general seem to suppose some general standard
or foundation in nature for an universal consistence in the use
of the terms whereby they express moral good and evil ;
which none can depart from but through error and mistake.
This is evidently supposed in all disputes they may have onc^
with another, about right and wrong ; and in all endeavors
used to evince or prove that any thing is either good or evil,.
in a moral sense.
CONCERNING THE
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
Vot. ii. S M
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
1. If we seek for any thing in the dark by so low
a faculty of discerning as the sense of feeling, or by the sense
of seeing with a dim light, sometimes we cannot find it ;
though it be there, it seems to us to be impossible that it
should be there. But yet, when a clear light comes to shine
into the place, and we discern by a better faculty, viz. ef sight,
or the same faculty in a cjearer manner, the thing appears
very plain to us. So, doubtless, many truths will hereafter
appear plain, when we come to look on them % the bright
light of heaven, that now are involved in mystery and dark-
ness.
2, How are we ready to trust to the determinations of ^
man, that is universally reputed a man of great genius, of vast
penetration and insight into things, if he be positive in any
thing that appears to us very mysterious, a;id is quite contrary
to what we thought ourselves clear and certain in befo*'e ?
How are we ready in such a case to suspect ourselves ; espe-
cially if it be a matter wherein he has been very much versed ;
has had much more occasion to look into it than we ; and has
been under greater advantages to know the truth ? How much
more still, if one should be positive in it, as a thing tliat he
had clearly and undoubtedly seen to be true, if hp were still
of ten times greater genius, and of a more penetrating in-
sight into things, than any that ever have appeared ? And, in
matters of fact, if some person whom we had long known,
that was a person of great judgment and discretion, justice,
integrity and fidelity, and had always been universally so re-
puted by others, should declare to us, that he had seen and
known that to be true which appeared to us very strange and
mysterious, and concerning which we could not see how it
was possible that it should be j how, in such a case, should
476 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
we be ready almost to suspect ovsr own faculties, and to give
credit to such a testimony, in that which, if he had not posi-
tively asserted it, and persisted in it, we should have looked
upon as perfectly incredible, and absurd to be supposed ?
3. From that text, John iii. 12, " If I have told you earthly
things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you
of heavenly things ?" several things are manifest concerning
mysteries in religion. (1.) That there are mysteries in re-
ligion, or that there are things contained in those doctrines
that Christ came into the world to teach, which are not only
so far above human cotnprehension, that men cannot easily
spprehend all that is to be understood concerning them ; but
which are difficult to the understanding, in that sense, that
thev are difficult to bQ received by the judgment or belief:
" How shaU ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things ?"
Difficult, upon the same account that the doctrine of the new
birth was difficult to Nicodemus, because it was so strange,
and seemingly impossible. (2.) We may from the words
in^er, that the more persons or beings are, in themselves, and
in their own nature, above us ; the more that the doctrines or
truths concerning them are mysterious to us, above our com-
prehension, and difficult to our belief ; the more do those
things that are really true concerning them, contain seeming
inconsistencies and impossibiUlies. For Christ, in the pre-
ceding verses, had been speaking of something that is true
concerning man, being of the same nature, an inhabitant of
the same world with ourselves ; which, therefore, Christ
calls an earthly thing. And this seemed very mysterious and
impossible, and to contain great seeming inconsistencies. He
says, " How can a man be born when he is old ?" This seem-
ed to be a contradiction. And after Christ had somewhat ex-
plained himself, still the doctrine seemed strange and impos-
sible ; v. 9, '< How can these things be ?" Nicodemus still
looked upon it incredible ; and, on that account, did not be-
lieve it at that time, as is implied in these words of Christ ;
" If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not." But
Christ here plainly signifies, that he had other truths to teach
that were not about man, an earthly inhabitant, but about a
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. •I7f
person vastly above man, even about himself, who is from
heaven, and in heaven, as in the next verse : '' And no man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven ; even the Son of man which is in heaven." Which,
therefore, it would be most reasonable to suppose, should be
much more difficult to men's understanding and judgment,
seeming to contain greater impossibilities and inconsisten-
cies ; as he then proceeds immediately to declare to him an
heavenly thing, as he calls it, viz. that Christ, an heavenly and
divine person, should die; ver. 14, 15. Such a mysterious
doctrine, so strange, and seemingly inconsistent and impossi-
ble, that a divine person should die, is mor£ strange than that
men should be born again. Hence, when divines argue, from
the mysterious nature of many things here below, with which
we are daily conversant, that it would be very unreasonable to
suppose but that there should be things concerning God which
are much more mysterious ; and that, therefore, it is unrea-
sonable to object against the truth of the doctrines of the Trin-
ity, Incarnation, kc....they argue justly, because they argue
as Christ argued.
4. The wiser heathens were sensible, that the things of the
gods are so high above us, that no other is to be expected,
than that what appertains to them should appear exceedingly
mysterious and wonderful to us ; and that it is therefore un-
reasonable to disbelieve what we are taught concerning them
on that account. This i$ fully expressed by that great sym-
bol of Pythagoras, viz. " Concerning the gods, disbelieve nothing
nvonderful, nor yet concerning divine tilings." This, says Jam-
blicus, declarcth the superlative excellency of God's instruct-
ing us, and puts us in mind, that we ought not to estimate the
divine power by our own judgment. The Pythagoreans
stretched this rule beyond the line of divine revelation, to the
belief of every oriental tradition." Gale's Court of the Gen-
tiles, p. 2. b. 2.C. 8. p. 190.
5. It is not necessary that persons should have clear ideas
of the things that are the subject of a proposition, in order to
their being rationally convinced of the truth of the proposi-
tion. There are many truths of which mathemalicians are
478 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
convinced by strict demonstration, concerning many kinds of
quantities, as, surd quantities and fluxions ; but concerning
■which they have no clear ideas.
6. Supposing that mankind in general were a species of
far less capacity than they are ; so much less, that, when
men are come to full ripeness of judgment and capacity, they
arrived no higher than that degree to which children gene-
rally arrive at seven years of age ; and supposing a revelation
to be made to mankind, in such a state and degree of capacity,
of many such propositions in philosophy as are now looked
•upon as undoubted truths ; and let us suppose, at the same
time, the same degree of pride and sell confidence as there is
now ; what cavilling and objecting, Sec. would there be !
Or, supposing a revelation of these philosophical truths had
been made to mankind, with their present degree of natural
capacity, in some ancient generation ; suppose that which
was in Joshua's time ; in that degree of acquired knowledge
and learning which the world had arrived at then, how incred-'
idle would those truths have seemed !
7. If things, which fact and experience make certain, such
as the miseries infants sometimes are the subjects of in this
world. Sec. had been exhibited only in a revelation of things in
an unseen state, they would be as much disputed as the Trin-
ity and other mysteries revealed in the bible.
8. There is nothing impossible or absurd in the doctrine of
the Incarnation of Christ. If God can join a body and a ra-
tional soul together, which are of natures so heterogeneous
and opposite, that they cannot, of themselves, act one upon
another ; may he not be able to join two spirits together,
which are of natures more similar ? And, if so, he may, for
aught we know to the contrary, join the soul or spirit of a man
to himself. Had reason been so clear in it, that a God can-
not be incarnate, as many pretend, it could never have suffer-
ed such a notion to gain ground, and possess the minds of so
many nations : Nay, and of Julian himself, who says that
" Jupiter begat Esculapius out of his own proper substance,
and sent him down to Epidaurus, to heal the distempers of
mankind." Reason did not hinder Spinosa, Blount, and many
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 479
ctlier modern philosophers from asserting, that God may-
have a body ; or rather that the universe, or the matter of the
wniverse, is God. Many nations believed the incarnation
of Jupiter himself. Reason, instead of being- utterly averse
to the notion of a divine incarnation, hath easily enough ad-
mitted that notion, and suffered it to pass almost without con-
tradiction, among the most philosophical nations of the world.
9. " In thinking of God's raising so many myriads of
spirits, and such prodigious masses of matter out of nothing,
v/e are lost and astonished, as much as in the contemplation
of the Trinity. We can follow God but one or two steps in
his lowest and plainest works, till all becomes mystery and
matter of amazement to us. How, then, shall we compre-
hend Himself ? How shall we understand His nature, or ac-
count for His actions ? In that he contains what is infinitely
more inconceiveable than all the wonders of his creation put
together." Deism revealed, edit, 2. vol. ii. p. 93, 94.
Those that deny the Trinity, because of the mysterious-
ness of it, and its seeming inconsistence, yet, generally own
God's certain prescience of men's free actions, which they
suppose to be free in such a sense, as not to be necessary
So that we may do, or may not do, that which God certainly
foresees. " They also hold, that such a freedom without ne-
cessity, is necessary to morality ; and that virtue and good-
ness consist in any one's doing good when he might do evil.
And yet they suppose that God acts according to the eternal law
of nature and reason, and that it is impossible that he should
transgress that law, and do evil ; because that would be a con-
tradiction to his own nature, which is infinitely and unchange-
ably virtuous. Now this seems a flat contradiction. To say, that
the infinite goodness of God's nature makes it utterly impossi-
ble for God to do evil, is exactly the same as to say, he is under
a natural necessity not to do evil. And to say he is morally
free, is to say, he may do evil. Therefore the necessity and
freedom in this case being both moral, the contradiction is
flat and plain ; and amounts to this, that God, in respect to
good and evil actions, is both a necessary and free agent. Dr.
Clark, in his treatise on the Attributes, labors to get clear of
4S0 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
this contradiction upon these principles of liberty, but ■with-
out success ; and leaves it just where all men, who hold the
same principles, must be forced to leave it.
" Therefore, they hold such mysteries, in respect to Deity
that arc even harder to be conceived of, or properly express-
ed and explained, than the doctrine of the Trinity.
" When we talk of God, who is infinite and incomprehen-
sible, it is natural to run into notions and terms which it is
impossible for us to reconcile. And in lower matters, that
are more within our knowledge and comprehension, we shall
not be able to keep ourselves clear of them. To say that a
Curve line, setting out from a point within a hair's breadth of
a right line, shall run towards that right line as swift as thought,
aiKl yet never be able to touch it, seems contrary to comtiion
sense ; and were it not clearly demonstrated in the conchoid
of Nechomedes, could never be believed. Matter is infinitely
divisible ; and therefoi'c a cubical inch of gold may be divid-
ed into an infinity of parts ; and there can be no number
greater than that which contains an infinity. Yet another cu-
bical inch of gold may be infinitely divided also ; and there-
fore, the parts of both cubes must be more numerous than
the parts of one only. Here is a palpable contrariety of ideas,
and a flat contradiction of terms. We are confounded and
lost in the consideration of infinites ; and surely most of all,
in the consideration of that Infinite of infinites. We justly ad-
mire that saying of the philosopher, that God is a Being whose
centre is every 'Ti'here^ and circumference no nvhere, as one of the
noblest and most exalted flights of human understanding ;
and yet, not only the terms are absurd and contradictory, but
the very ideas that constitute it, when considered attentively,
are repugnant to one another. Space and duration are mys-
terious abysses in which our thoughts are confounded with de-
monstrable propositions, to all sense and reason flatly contra-
dictory to one another. Any two points of time, though
never so distant, are exactly in the middle of eternity. The
remotest points of space that can be imagined or supposed,
are each of them precisely in the centre of infinite space."
Deism revealed, vol. ii. p. 109, 110, 111.
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 481
tlcYC might have been added the mysteries of God's eter-
hal duration, it being without succession, present, before and
after, a!! at once : Vita interminabilis tota simul et Jierfectapos-
teseio. See the nature of ihe human soul on this head.
10. To reject every thing- but what we can first see to be
agreeable to our reason, tends, by degrees, to bring every
thing relating not only to revealed religion, but even natural
religion, into doubt ; to make -all its doctrines appear with
dim evidence, like a shadow, or the ideas of a dream, till they
are all neglected as worthy of no regard. It tends to make
men doubt of the several attributes of God, and so, in every
respect, to doubt what kind of being God is ; and to make
men doubt about the forgiveness of sin, and about the duties
of religion, prayer, And giving thanks, social, worship, Sec, It
will tend at last, to make men esteem the science of relig-
ion as of no value, and so totally neglect it ; and from step to
step it will lead to scepticism, atheism, ignorance and at
length to barbarity. Sec.
11. Concerning common sense, it is to be observed, that
common inclination, or the common dictates of inclination'
arc often called common sense. When any thing is shock-
ing to the common dispositions or incUnations of men, that is
called a contradicting of common sense. So, the doctrine of
the extreme and everlasting torments of hell, being contrary
to men's common felly and stupidity, is often called contrary
to common sense. Men, through stupidity are insensible of
the great evil of sin ; and so the punishment of sin threaten-
ed in the Avord of God disagrees with this insensibility, and is
said to be contradictory to common sense. In this ease, that
turn of mind which arises from a wicked disposition, goes for
common sense.
" We ought never to deny, because we cannot conceive.
If this were not so, then a man born blind would reason right
when he forms this sylogism, " We know the figure of bodies
only by handling them ; but it is impossible to handle them
at a great distance ; therefore it is impossible to know the fig-
ure of far distant bodies." To undeceive the blind man, we
jnay prove to him that this is so, from the concurrent testim**
Vol. II. r. N
482 MYSTERIES OE SCRIPTURE'.
ny of all who surround him. But Ave can never make him'
perceive how this is so. It is therefore a fundamental max-
im in all true philosophy, that many things may be incom-
prehensible, and yet demonstrable ; tliat though seeing clear-
ly be a suflicient reason for -affirming, yet, not seeing at all,
can never be a reason for denying." Ramsay's Philosophi-
cal Principles of Religion, vol. i. p. 22, 23.
12, One method used to explode every thing that is in the
least difficult to the understanding, out of religion, is to ridi-
cule all distinctions in religion. The unreasonableness of
this may appear from what Mr. Locke observes concerning
discerning and judgment. Hum. Underst. book ii. chap 2.
« Accurately discriminating ideas one from another, is of that
consequence to the other knowledge of the mind, that, so far
as this faculty is in itself dull, or not rightly made use of, for
distinguishing one thing from another, so far our notions are
confused, and our reason and judgment disturbed or misled.
If in having ideas in the memory ready at hand, consists quick-
ness of parts ; in this of having them unconfused, and being
able nicely to distinguish one thing from another, where there
is but the least difference, ccnsis'-.i in a great measure the
exactness of judgment, and clearness of reason, which is to be
observed in one man above another. Judgi«ent lies in separ-
ating carefully cne from another ideas, Avherein can be found
the least difference, thereby to avoid being misled by simili-
tude, and by affinity to take one thing for another."
So Dr. Turnbull in his Pi"inciplc;i of Mora! Philosophy,
part i. chap, 3. p. 94. " Judgment is rightly said to lie in nice-
ly distinguishing the disagreements anl variances or differen-
ces of ideas ; tVosc ecpecialiy which lie more remote from
common observation, and are not generally adverted to. The
man of judgment or discretion (for so discretion properly
signifies) may be defined to be one who has a particular apti-
tude to de?cry differences of all kinds between objects, even
the most hidden and remote from vulgar eyes."
13. If any respect to the Divine Bcin^; is of importance,
then speculative points are of importance; for the onlv way
whereby we know -what he is, is by speculation. He is a
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. , 48 S
speculative being in that sense. If our doctrines concerning
him are not right, it will not be that Being, but some other,
that we have respect for. So it may be said concerning our
respect for Christ. If our doctrines concerning him, con-
cerning his divinity, for instance, are false, we have not re-
spect for the Christ of whom the Scriptures speak, but for au
imaginary person, infiriitely diverse. When it is said by some
that the only fundamental article of faith is, that Jesus is the
Messiah ; if thereby be meant, that a person called by that
name, or that lived at such a time or place, was the Messiah ;
that name not implying any properties or qualities of his per-
son, the doctrine is exceedingly unreasonable ; for surely the
name and the place are not of so great importance as some
other things essential in his person, and have not so great coa-
cern in the identity of the object of our ideas and respect,
as the person the gospel reveals. If that Jesus the gospel
tells us of be a divine person, then to suppose a Jesus that is
a mere man, makes the object of our ideas and regard infin-
itely more diverse from the gospel Jesus, than to have a diifer-
ent name, and to suppose him to be of a different time and
place. It is one great reason why speculative points are
thought to be of so little importance, that the modern relig-
ion consists so little in respect to the divine Being, and almost
wholly in benevolence to men.
14. Concerning this which is often said by some, that all
things that are necessary to salvation are plain and clear, let
us consider how, and in what sense this is true, and in what
sense it is not true. 1st, It is true tliat all things that are nec-
essary to salvation are clearly and plainly revealed. But it
does not follow, that they shall appear to be plainly revealed
to all men. Nothing, no divine thing, can have evidence
sufficient to appear evident to all men, however great their
prejudices are, and however perverse their dispositions. 2dly,
If thereby is meant that all things necessary to be believed
are easily comprehended, there is no reason in such an asser- .
tion, nor is it true.
Some late writers insist, that, for a thing to be revealed^
^d yet remain mysterious, is a contradiction ; that it is as
484 • MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
•much as to say, a thing is revealed, and yet hid. I answer :
The thing revealed is the truth of the doctrine ; so that the
truth of it no longer remains bid, though many things con-
cerning the manner may be so. Yet many things concern-
ing the nature of the things revealed may be clear, though
many things concerning the nature of the same things may
remain hid. God requires us to understand no more than is
intelligibly revealed. That which is not distinctly revealed,
■\ve are not required distinctly to understand. It may be nec-
essary for U8 to know a thing in part, and yet not necessary to
know it perfectly.
15. The importance of all Christian doctrines whatsoever,
■will naturally be denied, in consequence of denying that one
great doctrine of the necessity of Christ's satisfaction to Di-
vine justice, and maintaining those doctrines that establish
men's own righteousness, as that on which, and for which,
they are accepted of God. For that great Christian doctrine
of Christ's satisfaction, his vicarious sufferings and righteous-
ness, by which he offered an infinite price to God for our par-
don and acceptance to eternal favor and happiness, is what all
evangelical doctrines, all doctrines beside the truths of natur-
al religion, have relation to ; and they are of little impor-
tance, comparatively, any other way than as they have respect
to that. This is, as it were, the centre and hinge of all doc-
trines of pure revelation.
1 6. Indeed, the Papists, who are very far from having such
a notion of that evangelical faith, which is the special condi-
tion of salvation in opposition to works, and have forsaken the
evangelical notion of true saving religion, yet, Avith fiery zeal,
insist on the profession of a great number of doctrines, and
several of the doctrines of pure revelation, as the Trinity, &c.
But this in them flows not from any regard to their influence
in internal saving religion, but from quite another view, i. e.
to uphold their tyranny. These arc the doctrines which have
been handed down among them by their church from ancient
•tradition ; and, to maintain the credit of the infallibility, and
divine authority and dominion, of their hierarchy, over men's
faith, they must be zealous against ny that presums to deny
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 485
Christ's doctrines, because they look vipon it as an infringe-
ment on the high authority they claim. And some Protest-
ants have a zeal for doctrines from like views ; doctrines that
indeed they have no great value for,in themselves considered.
17. That it is not alone sufficient to believe that one article,
that a person of the name oi Jesus came from God to reveal
his will to man, without knowing or determining what he
was, or concerning his nature and qualities, is evident from,
this, that it is often spoken of as necessary to know Christ.
It is said, " This is eternal life, to know thee, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent."
18. There are two things especially that make modern
fashionable divines look on doctrines of revealed religion of
little importance. One is, their mistake about the conditions
of salvation ; another is, their mistake about the nature of
true virtue, placing it chiefly, and most essentially, in benev-
olence to men, and so little in respect to God and Christ. If
Christian virtue consists very much in a proper respect to
Christ, then certainly it is of great importance to know what
sort of person he is, at least, as to that particular wherein his
excellency or worthiness of regard consists, which is surely
his divinity, if he be a divine person. Another thing on which
a proper respect to him depends, is his relation to us, and our
dependence upon him. ; which surely chiefly depends on his
satisfaction and merits for us, if he has satisfied and merited
for us. The reasons or grounds of the love and honor to
Christ required of us, consist chiefly in two things: (1.) In
what he is : And, (2.) In what he has done for us. There-
fore, with regard to the latter, it concerns us greatly to know,
at least as to the principal things, what they are. And if he
has satisfied for our sins ; if he has suffered in our stead ; if
he has truly purchased eternal life and happiness for us ; if
he has redeemed us from an extremely and perfectly sinful,
miserable, helpless state, a state wherein we deserved no
mercy, but eternal misery without mercy ; then these are
principal things.
Another reason why doctrines are thought to be of little
importance, is a notion of dncerity wherein true virtue con=
486 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
sists, as what may be prior to any means of it that God granls ■,
as if it was what every man had in his power, antecedently to
all means ; and so the means are looked upon as of little im-
portance. But the absurdity of this may be easily manifested,
if it be independent of all means, then it may be independent
of natural information, or of the truths of the light of nature,
as well as of revealed religion ; and men may sincerely re-
gard and hoiior they know not what. The trutlis of natural
religion, wherein Christians differ from the most ignorant,
brutish, and deluded idolaters, the most savage and cruel of
the heathen nations, may be of little importance. And tho
reason why they have this notion of sincerity antecedent to
means, and so independent on means, is, that they have a no-
tion that sincerity 'is independent on God, any otherwise thaa
as they depend on him for their creation. They conceive it
to be independent on his sovereign will and pleasure. If they
were sensible that they depend on God to give it according to
his pleasure, it would be easy and natural to acknowledge,
that God gives it in his own way, and by his own means.
19. If any article of failh at all concerning Jesus Christ be
of importance, it must be of importance to know or believe
something concerning his person ; who he is, and what he
\vas ; what sort of a person or being he was. And if any thing
concerning him be of importance to be known and believed,
it must be something wherein his excellency or worthiness of
^•egard consists : For nothing can be of importance to be
known or believed about him, but in order to some regard or
respect of heart. But most certainly, if any thing of his ex-
cellency and dignity be of importance to be known or believed,
it must be of importance at least to know so much about him,
as to know whether he he God or a mere creature ; for here-
in lies the greatest dificrencc, as to dignity, that possibly can
be. This dificrence is infinite. If it I)e of importance to
know how worthy he is, then it doubtless is of importance that
■we should not be ignorant of, and deny, as it were, all his dig-
nity, or so much of it, that what remains shall be absolutely
as nothing to that which is denied. It is of importance that
•vve love Christ, or have respect to him as one that is excellent^
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 48f
^nd worthy of esteem and love. The apostle says, " If ftny
man Icve not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema
Tnaranatha." And doubtless, true love to Christ is in some
respect suitable to the v/orthiness and excellency of his per-
son. Therefore it is of importance to believe, and not to
deny those doctrines which exhibit his worthiness. It is of
importance that we do not in effect deny the Avhole of his
worthiness.
20. HoviT many things- were believed by the ancient philos-
ophers about divine matters, even the most rational of them
more mysterious than the doctrine of the Trinity, chiefly be-
cause such things were handed to them by the Phoenicians,
Egyptians, Chaldeans, or Persians, or on the authority of
some great master ? Yet these things were imbibed without
much difficulty, the incomprehensibleness of the doctrines be-
ing no objection to their receiving- them.
21. There are things evidently true concerning the nature
of our ov.-n souls, that seem strange paradoxes, and are seem-
ing contradictions ; as, that our souls are in no place, and yet
have a being ; or, if t'lcy are supposed to be in a place, that
yet they are not confined to place, and limited to certain
spac^ ; or, if they be, that they are not of a certain figure ;
or, if they are figurate, that their properties, faculties, and
acts, should or should not be so too.
22. If many things we all see and luiow of the mortality of
mankind, the extreme sufferings of infants, and other things
innumerable in the state of the world of mankind, were only
matter of doctrine which we had no notice of any other way
than by revelation, and not by fact and experience ; have we
not reason to think, from what we see of the temper of this
age, that they v/ould be exceedingly rjuarrelled with, objected
mightily against, as inconsistent with God's moral perfec-
tions, not tending to amiable ideas of the Godhead, Sec. Sec.
23. The definition of a mystery^ according to Sta/iferus,
Theol. Polem. p. 263, and 85S, is this : A myatery is a relig-
ious doctrine, which must be made knov/n by immediate rev-
elation, and cannot be known and demonstrated from the prin-
ciples of reason, but is above reason, and which in this whole
*
4S8 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
universe has nothing like itself, but differs from all thos.*;
truths Avhich we discover in this system of the world.
Ibid. p. 859. It appears from the definition, that whatCA-er
is known by divine revelation, and is not certain from the
principles of reason, is a mystery ; otherwise it could not be
said to be revealed.
Revelation cannot be conceived of without mysteries ; and
mysteries are the first thing which we conceive concerning
revelation ; for no revelation can be conceived without mys-
teries, and therefore they constitute the sum and essence of
revelation.
It is to be observed, that v/e ought to distinguish between
those things which were written in the sacred books by the
immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and those which
were only committed to -writing by the direction of the Holy
Spirit. To the former class belong all the mysteries of salva-
tion, or all those things which respect the means of our deliv-
erance taught in the gospel, which could not be known from
the principles of reason, and therefore must be revealed. But
to the other class those things belong, which eitker are al-
ready known from natural religion, bixt are of service to incul-
cate duty on man, and to demonstrate the necessity of a reve-
lation of the means of salvation ; or are histories, useful to
illustrate and to assure us of the doctrines revealed, and which
■Doint out the various degrees of revelation, the different dis-
pensations of salvation, and the various modes of governing
the church of God ; all which are necessary to be known in
the further explanation of mysteries.
Mysteries constitute the criterion of divine revelation : So
absurdlv do they act, who allow a revelation and deny mys-
teries ; or deny revelation for this reason, that it contains
■mysteries. What the sum and essence of revelation, or of
revealed religion, arc, J^ plain from the end of it, which is
this, to point out to sinful man the mean of obtaining salva-
tion, and of recovering the divine favor. But this mean is,
that Jesus Christ is the only and most perfect cause of salva-
tion, to be received by a true faith. This doctrine, however,
is a mystery of godliness manifestly great ; 1 Tina. iii. l$-
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 489
And thus that great mystery constitutes the sum and essence
of revelation. The essence of revealed religion consists in
this, that men by a true faith receii'e this doctrine, which the
apostle calls a mystery manifestly great. Therefore the
knov/ledge of the greatest mystery belongs to the very es-
sence of the religion of a sinner.
How absurd do many of the doctrines of mathematicians
and astronomers appear to ignorant men, when they cannot
see the reason of those doctrines, although they are most true
and evident, so that not the least doubt concerning them can
remain in the mind of a thorough mathematician ? Ibid. torn.
iii. p. 560.
Since, in religion, there are some primary truths, and oth-
ers more remote, which are deduced from the former by rea-
soning, and so are secondary, and these last may not be
known, though the primary are known, but when once ihcv
ar6 known they cannot be denied ; it follows, that those arti-
cles which constitute religion, and so are fundamental, are to
be distinguished into primary and secondary. The primary
are those of AVhich a man cannot be ignorant, consistently
■vvith true religion and his own salvation ; and they are neces-
sary with a necessity of means. The secondary are those of
-which a man may be i-gnorant, consistently with his resting
upon the foundation of true religion, and with his own salva-
tion ; and those are necessary with a necessitv of commanch
Therefore, to the same man, certain doctrines may be now
fundamental, which were not fundamental to him before he
knew them. Ibid. tom. i. p. 524, 525.
Joh. Chr. Kirchmejerus., in his Dissert, concerning funda-
mental articles, says, " They maybe either reduced to fewer,
or extended to more ; as often one article may include the
rest, and so all may be reduced to that one ; and on the other
hand, that one, according to the various truths contained in it,
may be divided into several. Therefore^ autliors do not con-
tradict themselves, who reduce all fundatnental articles to
one : For they cannot well be determined by their number ;
because as many fundamental truths are contained in one fun-
damental truth, as there are essential properties belonging to
Vol. II. 5 O
496 MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE.
llic truths thus contauied. Therefore, the holy scripture
often sums up all fundamental articles in one, as in John xvii.
3. « This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Some;-
limes it distinguishes them into several ; as in 1 Tim. i. 5.
" Now the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Ibid,
tom. i. p. 528.
On account of the various degrees of men's capacities, and
the various circumstances of the times in which they live, one
man may know truths which another cannot know- Whence
it follows that the very same articles are not fundamental to
all men ; but accordingly as revelation hath been more or
less complete, according to the several dispensations under
•which men have lived, thfcir various natural abilities, and their
various modes and circumstances of living, different articles
are, and have been, fundamental to different men. This is
very plain from the different degrees of knowledge before and
since the coming of Christ ; for before his coming, many
truths lay hid, which are now set in the most clear light :
And the instance of the apostles, abundantly shows the truth
of what I have now advanced ; who, although they were al-
ready in a state of grace, and their salvation was secured, yet
for some time Avere ignorant of the necessity of the sufferings
and death of Christ, and of the true nature of his kingdom.
Whereas, he who now does not acknowledge, or perhaps de-
nies, the necessity of Christ's death, is by all means to be
considered as in a fundamental error. Therefore, as a man
hath received of God greater or less natural abilities, so let the
number of articles to which he shall give his assent be greater
or smaller ; and as revelation hath been made, or information
hath been given, to a man, more clearly or obscurely, in the
same proportion is more or less required of him. There-
fore, in our own case, we ought to be cautions of even the
smallest errors, and to aim at the highest degree of knowl-
edge in divine truths. In the case of others, we ought t©
judge concerning them with the greatest prudence, mildness,
and benevolence. Hence we see, that a certain precise num-
MYSTERIES OF SCRIPTURE. 491
ber of articles, which shall be necessary and fundamental to
every man, cannot be determined. Ibid. p. 531.
If one single article of faith be so comprehensive, that in it
are involved all things necessary to salvation, a man is not to
be condemned as a latitudinarian, or as indifferent to all other
doctrines, because he says that one article only is fundament-
al. For instance. That by the grace of the Triune God, Jesus,
the true and eternal God, having assumed the human nature,
became, through his satisfaction for sin, by his sufferings and
death, the only and most perfect cause of our salvation ; who,
therefore, together with the whole sacred Trinity, is, in the
way of self denial, to be sought, loved and worshipped. Ibid.
p. 532.
END OF VOL. II.
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