in this view, all the objections against God's giving it to Abraham are absolutely enervated and overthrown1.

For thus stands the case. If the trial of Abraham's faith and obedience were the commanding a real sacrifice, then was Abraham an Agent, and not a bare Instrument; and then it might be pretended that God commanded an human agent to act against humanity. And his right over his Creatures cannot solve the difficulty, as it may when he employs a mere instrument to perform his Will upon them. But if the trial were only the commanding a scenical representation, the command had no moral import; and consequently Abraham was not put upon any thing morally wrong; as is the offering up a human sacrifice.

I have transcribed into the notes, as I have gone along, some of the most considerable Objections my Adversaries have been able to oppose to this interpretation of the COMMAND TO ABRAHAM: which, I presume, when fairly considered, will be no light confirmation of it. But, as I have no notions to advance, not founded in a sinceré desire to find out, and do honour to, Truth, I would by no means take advantage of an Adversary's weakness to recommend them to the public favour. I hold it not honest, therefore, to conceal the force of an Objection which I myself have to offer, by far more plausible than any that these learned Divines have urged against it. The objection is this, "That it is difficult to conceive why a CIRCUMSTANCE of such importance to Revelation, which removes one of the strongest arguments against its truth, and at the same time manifests a REAL CONNEXION between the two Dispensations of it, should never be directly and minutely explained and insisted on by the Writers of the New Testament, though Abraham's Historian might have had his reasons for concealing it." Now, to my own Objection, I suppose, I may have leave to reply, That many truths of great importance, for the support of Religion, against Infidelity, were taught by

Jesus

Jesus to his Disciples (amongst which, I reckon this Interpretation to be one) which never came down, by their conveyance, to the Church. But being, by the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, discoverable by those who devote themselves to the study of the Scriptures with a pure mind, have, for the wise ends of Providence (many of which are inscrutable to us) been left for the industry of men to find out: that, as occasion required, every Age might supply new evidence of God's Truth, to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: and in proportion as the powers of Darkness prevailed, so might the Gospellight break out again with fresh splendor to curb and repress them. In support of what is here said, I beg the Reader to reflect on what is told us by the Evangelist, of the conversation between JESUS (after his Resurrection) and the two Disciples journeying to Emmaus; where their Master says unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, HE EXPOUNDED UNTO THEM the things concerning himself*. Now, who can doubt but that many things were at this time revealed, which, had they been delivered down to Posterity, in Writing, would have greatly contributed to the improvement of Eusebius's Evangelical Demonstration? Yet hath Providence thought fit to order matters otherwise. But, that the Apostles used, and made a good use too, of those EXPOSITIONS, long since forgotten and lost, we have great reason to believe from their amazing success in the conversion of the world, by such an application of Moses and the Prophets, to Christ. And if I be not much deceived, amongst the Truths thus inforced, that, which I presume to have discovered in the Command to Abraham, held no inferior place. Let the unprejudiced Reader judge. St. PAUL, making his Apology before king * Luke xxiv. 25, 26, 27, D 4

Agrippa,

Agrippa, concludes his Defence in these words: Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the Prophets and MOSES DID SAY SHOULD COME: that CHRIST should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead. The Greek is rather stronger, in predicating this circumstance of Moses, ὧν τε οἱ προφῆται ἐλάλησαν μελλόντων γίνεσθαι, ΚΑΙ ΜΩΣΗΣ. Now where, let me ask, in all his Writings, but in the Command to Abraham, is there the least trace of any such circumstance, as that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead? Nor is it to be found there, unless the Command be understood in the sense I have given to it.

But this is the state in which it hath pleased Providence to place the Church of Christ: With abundant evidence in hand, to support itself against the attacks of Infidelity; yet much of this divine Treasure left sealed up, to exercise our Faith, and (in time of need) to excite our Industry: for it was not the intent of Providence that one of these virtues should thrive at the expence of the other; but that Industry should as well be rewarded by a successful search, as Faith, by peace in believing. Therefore when my learned Adversary †, in order, I will believe, to advance the Christian Faith, would discourage Christian Industry, by calumniating, and rendering suspected what he is pleased to call EXPERIMENTS in Religion, it is, I am afraid, at best but a Zeal without knowledge. Indeed, M. Pascal ascribes this contempt of experiments to a different cause" Ceux qui sont capables de inventer sont rares," says he. "Ceux qui n'inventent point sont en plus grand nombre, & par consequent, les plus fortes; et voila pourquoi, lors que les Inventeurs cherchent la ✦ Acts xxvi. 22, 23; and to the same purpose, xiii, 31. + Dr. Stebbing,

gloire qu'ils meritent, tout ce qu'ils y gagnent, c'est qu'on les traite de VISIONNAIRES." It is true, if men will come to the study of Scripture with unwashen hands, that is, without a due reverence for the dignity of those sacred Volumes, or, which is as ill, with unpurged heads, that is, beads stuffed with bigot systems, or made giddy with cabalistic flights, they will deserve that title which Pascal observes is so unjustly given to those who deserve best of the Public.

But to return to those with whom I have principal concern. I make no question but my Freethinking Adversaries, to whose temper and talents I am no stranger, will be ready to object,

I. "That the giving a solution of a difficulty in the Old Testament by the assistance of the New, considered together as making up one intire Dispensation, is an unfair way of arguing against against an Unbeliever: who supposing both the Jewish and Christian Religions to be false, of consequence supposes them to be independent on one another; and that this pretended relation was a contrivance of the Authors of the later imposture to give it strength, by ingrafting the young shoot into the trunk of an old flourishing Superstition. Therefore, will they say, if we would argue with success against them, we must seek a solution of their difficulties in that Religion alone, from which they arise."-Thus I may suppose them to argue. And I apprehend they will have no reason to say I have put worse arguments into their mouths than they are accustomed to employ against Revelation.

I reply then, that it will admit of no dispute, but that, if they may have the liberty of turning JUDAISM and CHRISTIANITY into two Phantoms of their own devising, they will have a very easy victory over Both. This is an old trick, and has been often tried with success. By this slight-of-hand conveyance TINDAL hath juggled fools out of their Religion. For, in a well-known book written. by him against Revelation, he hath taken advantage

vantage of the indiscretion of some late Divines to lay it down as a Principle, that Christianity is ONLY a republication of the Religion of Nature: The consequence of which is, that CHRISTIANITY and JUDAISM are independent Institutions. But sure the Deist is not to obtrude his own Inventions, in the place of those Religions he endeavours to overthrow. Much less is he to beg the question of their falsity; as the laying it down that the Jewish and Christian are two independent Religions, certainly is: because Christianity claims many of its numerous Titles to divinity from and under Judaism. If therefore Deists will not, yet Christians of necessity must take their Religion as they find it. And if they will remove objections to either Economy, they must reason on the Principle of Dependency. And while they do so, their reasonings will not only be fair and logical, but every solution, on such a Principle, will, besides its determination on the particular point in question, be a new proof of the divinity of Both, in general; because such a relation, connexion, and dependency between two Religions of so distant times, could not come about by chance, or by human contrivance, but must needs be the effect of Divine prevision. For a Deist, therefore, to bid us remove his objections on the principle of independency, is to bid us prove our religion true on a principle that implies its falsehood; the New Testament giving us no other idea of Christianity than as of a Religion dependent on, connected with, and the completion of Judaism.

But now suppose us to be in this excess of complaisance for our Adversaries; and then see whether the ingenuity of their acceptance would not equal the reasonableness of their demand. Without doubt, were we once so foolish to swallow their Chimeras for the heavenly Manna of Revelation, we should have them amongst the first to cry out upon the prevarication. I speak not this at random. The fact hath already happened. Cer