follow; that the covenant of the age given to Noah had, ftrictly speaking, nothing to do with the hopes of futurity, which were referved to be the matter of another covenant in another age, and to be revealed by him, whose province it was to bring life and im mortality to light through the Gospel.

The law of Mofes, though a divine revelation, and introduced to ferve and advance the great ends of Providence with respect to mankind, yet, being given in the age of the firft covenant, was in all things made conformable to it; and was founded in no other express promifes, than those of temporal happiness and prosperity; in no other exprefs threatenings, than thofe of temporal lofs and mifery. Abraham's temporal covenant was the fame in kind with Noah's, though much enlarged and reeftablished upon further promifes and affurances: as the curfe upon the ground for the wickedness of Cain was of the very fame kind with the curse of the fall; differing from it not in kind, but in degree.

But though the firft covenant given to Noah, and the law of Mofes, founded upon the terms of that covenant, contain no exprefs promises of future rewards, yet is it not to be imagined that all who lived under this covenant were void of fuch hopes and expectations. If there were any such hopes before the flood, grounded upon the prophecy confequent to the fall, the coming in of the flood could not destroy them; and the covenant of temporal bleffings given to Noah was fo far from fuperfeding better hopes, that it did mightily ftrengthen and confirm them. For if Noah and his forefathers expected deliverance from the whole curfe of the fall, the actual deliverance

from one part of it was a very good pledge of a further deliverance to be expected in due time. Man himself was curfed as well as the ground; he was doomed to return to duft; and fruitful feafons are but a fmall relief, compared to the greatness of his lofs but when fruitful feafons came, and one part of the curfe was evidently abated, it gave great affurance that the other fhould not laft for ever.

That Noah had fuch expectations himself, and transmitted them to his pofterity, feems evident from the peculiar bleffing which he beftows on Shem. Bleffed, fays he, be the Lord God of Shem: Canaan Shall be his fervant. God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he fhall dwell in the tents of Shem. Gen. ix. 26, 27. Why the God of Shem, and not the God of Japhet? As to the behaviour of these two fons toward their father, it was the fame; they joined in the pious office done to him; in this refpect then they were. equal, and equally deferving of a bleffing: if any preference was due to either from the father, it was to Japhet his firstborn; for fo he was, though commonly last named when the fons of Noah are mentioned together. This being the cafe, how comes Shem to be preferred? And what is the bleffing conveyed to him? The temporal covenant it could not be, for that was before confirmed with all the fons of Noah. Day and night, fummer and winter, feed-time and harveft, were a common gift to the world, bestowed, as our bleffed Lord obferves, on the evil as well as on the good. The bleffing therefore peculiar to Shem was no part of the temporal covenant; nor was it any thing in the power of his father to beftow; for then his elder brother, equally obe

dient and respectful to his father, must have been served before him. Of what other bleffing Noah had any notion, can never be imagined, unless we feek for it among the hopes he conceived of further deliverance from the curfe, grounded upon the divine promise, that the feed of the woman should finally prevail; the right to which promife was conveyed to him before the flood, With thee will I eftablifh my covenant, Gen vi. 18. For Noah had, not only the temporal covenant given to him and his fons, but he was alfo, as the Apoftle to the Hebrews tells us, heir of the righteousness which is by faith, ch. 7. If this be the cafe, then Noah's bleffing is like unto Lamech's prophecy; for as Lamech forefaw that Noah fhould receive from God the covenant of the earth's restoration; fo Noah forefaw, that the greater bleffing still behind, even the covenant that should reftore man to himself and to his Maker, should be conveyed through the pofterity of Shem. This accounts for the preference given to Shem; for Noah spoke not his own choice, but declared the counfel of God, who had now, as the frequently did afterwards, chofen the younger before the elder.

xi.

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DISCOURSE V

To what purposes the ancient prophecies were

given, and upon what foot religion ftood from the beginning to the restoration, or new establishment of the world, in Noah and his pofterity, has been already confidered. We are now advancing to times of greater light, to clearer and more diftinct prophecies, and more nearly relating to God's great difpenfation of mercy and goodness towards mankind, manifested by the revelation of his Son. This period begins at the call of Abraham, and runs through the Law and the Prophets, ending where the Gospel of Chrift Jefus commences. It contains fuch a variety and number of prophecies, that I cannot propofe to myself so large and extenfive a fubject to be the matter of short discourses from this place. But it may perhaps be of fome ufe to inquifitive minds, to suggest to them the great and general defign of Providence in the prophecies of this period; to fhew them the ftate of religion during this feason; and how well the light of prophecy, afforded to this generation, correfponded to the state and neceffity of the times. If in this method of inquiring we can arrive at the knowledge of God's defign in giving the word of prophecy to the old world, we fhall the more

eafily discern of what use these ancient oracles are to the present world; and how far the truth of the Gospel, which we believe and profefs, depends upon the authority and evidence of ancient prophecy. In order to this inquiry, it is neceffary, firft, to confider the ftate of true religion, and the fupports it had during this period; for prophecy being relative to the state of religion in the world, we must know the one to understand the other.

How foon the world after the deluge corrupted their ways, and loft the knowledge of the true ·God, and changed the glory of the incorruptible-into an image made like to corruptible man, we cannot certainly know; but this we certainly know, that in Abraham's time idolatry had fpread far and wide, and taken deep root even in the family of Shem, and in that branch of it particularly from which Abraham defcended. This being the cafe, it is highly probable that true religion had entirely failed in the world, had not God vifibly interpofed to preferve fuch a sense of it as was neceffary for the accomplishment of his great defign to restore mankind.

Neceffary I fay to this end; for moft evident it is, that it was not the intention of Providence in the call of Abraham, or in giving the law of Mofes, to propagate or reftore true religion among all nations of the old world; fo far from it, that the covenant with Abraham is founded upon the condition, not of reforming, but of deftroying the idolatrous nations in the land of Canaan; and the fign of circumcifion was given to feparate Abraham and his pofterity from the reft of mankind; which fhews that the rest of mankind were not called to that covenant, of