*ances. The writings, which these men of God have 'tranfmitted down to us, will be eminently useful in every age of the Chriftian church; not only as they ⚫ contain illuftrious prophecies of many events and efpecially of our Blessed Lord's appearance, but for their magnificent descriptions of the Deity, for their animat"ing leffons of piety and virtue, and for the indignation ' which they express and the punishments which they denounce against idolatry and vice: which particular 'topics, among many other inftructive and important ones, are treated by them with uncommon variety, beauty and fublimity, and with an authority becoming ⚫ambaffadors of The Moft High".'

In enumerating the uses of prophecy in ancient times, Dr. Jortin fays,

1. It ferved to fecure the belief of a God and of a

' providence. As God is invifible and spiritual, there

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was cause to fear, that in the first and ruder ages of the world, when men were bufier in cultivating the earth 'than in cultivating arts and sciences, and in feeking the neceffaries of life, than in the study of morality, they might forget their creator and governor; and therefore God maintained amongst them the great ar'ticle of faith in him, by manifestations of himself; by fending angels to declare his will; by miracles; and by 'prophecies. These were barriers against atheism.'

2. It was intended to give men the profoundest veneration for that amazing knowledge from which ' nothing was concealed, not even the future actions of creatures, and the things which as yet were not. How 'could a man hope to hide any counfel, any defign, or

15 An Attempt towards an Improved Verfion of the Twelve Minor Prophets, 1785, pref. p. 5.

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3. It contributed to keep up devotion and true religion, the religion of the heart, which confifts partly ' in entertaining just and honourable notions of God and of his perfections, and which is a more rational and a 'more acceptable fervice than rites and ceremonies.'

4. It excited men to rely upon God, and to love him, who condescended to hold this mutual intercourse ' with his creatures 16.'

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With respect to the Hebrew prophets, whose infpired writings ftill continue to inftruct mankind, it 'may,' fays Mr. Gray, be affirmed, that in the long and illuftrious fucceffion from Mofes to Malachi, not one appears, who was not entitled to confiderable reverence by the display of great and extraordinary virtues. Employed in the exalted office of teaching and reforming mankind, they appear to have been animated with a becoming and correfpondent zeal.-The most intem'perate princes were fometimes compelled unwillingly 'to hear and to obey their directions, though often so 'incensed by their rebuke, as to resent it by the severest perfecutions. Then it was, that the prophets evinced *the integrity of their characters, by zealously encountering oppreffion, hatred, and death, in the cause of religion. Then it was, that they firmly supported trial of cruel mockings and fcourgings; yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were ftoned, they were fawn afunder, were tempted, were flain with the fword: they wandered about, deftitute, afflicted, tormented". To the fame purpose speaks Mr. Lowth. With what ⚫ undaunted courage and conftancy did they reprove the 'popular vices of the times they lived in? Not sparing 'the greatest persons either out of fear or flattery. And if

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16 Rem. on Eccl. Hift. 2d ed. vol. I. p. 60.
17 Heb. xi. 36, 37. Key to the Old Test, p. 328.

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we fuppose them to have acted like men in their wits '(and there is no 'tolerable reason to fufpect the con

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trary), we must conclude, that nothing but a fense of 'their duty could prompt them to do this; for they 'could propofe no advantage to themselves by it, but on ⚫ the contrary were to expect all the fcorn and misery, ' which the angry and revengeful temper of wicked men in power, whom they had offended, could bring upon 'them. And it could certainly be no pleafure to be continually reproving men, when there was little or no hopes of reclaiming them; nay when they had not fo much civility as to thank them for their good intentions, ' and take the good advice, which they offered, kindly at their hands. If it had not been purely out of a prin'ciple of confcience, and that they were perfuaded of ' the truth and great concern of these things, and there'fore fpoke, they might, with much more advantage to themselves, have let men be quiet and go on fecurely

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in their fins. Many of their troubles and fufferings we find recorded in their own books, but feveral other * fcripture-writers affure us, that they were generally martyrs for the truth's fake, and yet none of these fuf. ferings could prevail with them to retract any thing they had said, or to confess that they had been deluded themselves, or imposed upon others, and said, the Lord *faith, though he had not spoken.'

We find, fays the fame writer, that they set forth thẹ abfurdity of Pagan idolatry with great ftrength of argument: and endeavour to give men clear and diftin&t ⚫ notions of God's fpirituality, unity, omniprefence, uni'verfal providence,-and justice in rewarding men açcording to their works. They unfold the methods of providence in disposing of kingdoms, and making use ⚫ of wicked princes and nations to be the inftruments of God's juftice in punifhing the fins of others. Such

discourses do not look like the idle dreams of a melancholy and disturbed fancy, but do indeed answer the ⚫ character they pretend to".'

Whilft other nations,' fays Dr. Priestley,' were ad'dicted to the moft wretched fuperftitions, having re'courfe to various divinations, and arts of witchcraft, 'whenever they wanted to get intelligence concerning 'future events, or the affiftance of fuperior powers, the Jewish people were taught to hold all these things in ' deserved contempt and abhorrence. They were in* ftructed to expect no information concerning future events, or affistance in any undertaking, but from thè one living and true God; and they were commanded to punish all thofe who pretended to the abominable Aarts of divination and witchcraft with death. It is ob'ferved, alfo, that the Jewish prophets delivered them

felves with gravity and seriousness, worthy of the ma'jefty of him that fent them, and did not use those violent convulfions, foamings at the mouth, and extravagant gestures, which the heathen diviners had recourse to, in order to dazzle and impose upon those who confulted them. So far is there from being any pretence for faying, that the Jews were naturally more intelligent than their neighbours, and attained those just no⚫tions of religion and morality by their own reafon and ' good sense, that their own history always represents them as ftiff-necked, and flow of understanding; and to this very day their enemies conftantly reproach 'them as being the most stupid of mankind. Befides, their hiftory fhews, that the Jews were naturally as ' prone to idolatry and fuperftition as any other people 'could be; and their frequent relapses into the idolatry

"Lowth's Vindication of the Divine Authority and Infpication of the Old and New Teftament, 1692, p. 118, 121.

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of their neighbours-demonftrate, that, had it not been for divine inftructions, inculcated again and again, they would have been far from fhewing an example of a 'purer religion, or more rational worship, than fuch as · prevailed in other countries','

'The characters of the eminent perfons mentioned in the scriptures arise,' fays Dr. Hartley, so much, in an indirect way, from the plain narrations of facts,' and their fins and imperfections are so fully set forth by themselves, or their friends, with their condemnation and punishment,-that we have in this a remarkable additional evidence for the truth of this part of the 'fcripture-history.' At the fame time the character of the prophets in general was uncommonly excellent. Far too excellent, indeed, to allow the fuppofition of an im'pious fraud and imposture; which must be the cafe, if they had not divine authority?'

If the prophetic writings of the Jews were the fabrications of fanaticifm or impofture, what imaginable reason is there,' asks a divine of the laft century, why 'the oracles of all the Heathen nations fhould never' have been much regarded, and now, in a manner, be 'utterly loft, and that the books of the Jews fhould ftill ⚫ be preserved in their full authority; but the power and advantage of truth in these, and the want of it in ⚫ them 21 ?'

The great variety obfervable in the style of the books of the Old Testament makes it improbable,' fays Dr. Doddridge, they should have been the work of one, and the unity of defign, that they should have been the invention of many: for if these supposed inventors

lived in different ages, they could not have confulted

19 Inftitutes, vol. I. p. 366.

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20 On Man, vol. II. p. 170.

Jenkin's Reasonableness and Certainty of the Chr. Rel. 1698, vol. I.

D. 253.

⚫ with