PROP. VII. Demoniacal poffeffions, (whe ther they are fuppofed to be real or imagi nary), and the disorders imputed to them, were not peculiar to the country of Judea, and the time of Chrift; nor doth it appear, that they abounded more in that country, or at that time, than any other.

T hath been confidently afferted, that

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there were no demoniacs, or not fo many, amongst any other people as the Jews; nor amongst them but about our Saviour's time. Hence unbelievers (unhappily prejudiced against the Gospel by such misrepresentations of it) have asked, "How came it to pass, that the devil had

more power over the worshippers of the "true God, than over those who had ré"nounced their allegiance to him? And "how came the devil to exert his power "at the appearance of his judge and "avenger,

en he might do it with more hopes mpunity? Or, can we regard Christ he Saviour of mankind, if he gave devil new powers to deftroy them?" nswering these objections, Chriftian s, inftead of inquiring into the of the fact, have chofen rather to for granted, and fet themselves to t for it.

here might be poffeffions in former fay they, though there are none A greater liberty and power might wed the evil fpirit in the age of than in any other, on account of mate relation that demoniacal poffve to the doctrine of redemption", other weighty reasons, such as the hat accrued to God, and the testithat was borne to Jefus ", when

op Warburton's Serm. vol. iii. p. 229. P. 217. Dr. Macknight's Truth of the fiftory, p 169. Stillingflect, Orig. Sacr. This laft very learned writer is at a lofs

affirms, that "in the poffeffion of the bodies of men, he feems to have been, in part, FORCED upon the employment.” Nevertheless, according to the fame writer, there could have been no great backwardness on the part of the devil to torment mankind; for he fays, "It would be ftrange, could we find no marks of the rage of his expiring tyranny"."

to determine whether frequent poffeffions,` at and after the time of Chrift, were owing to the malice of the devil, in order to disparage the miracles of our Saviour, or to the providence of God, in order to augment his glory.

* Warburton, p. 220, 221.

P. 217. Dr. Jortin thought, (as Jenkins alfo did) that Providence fuffered evil fpirits to exert their malignant powers fo much at that time, to give a check to Sadduceifm amongst the Jews, and to Epicurean atheism amongst the Gentiles, Remarks on Ecclefiaftical History, vol. i. p. 14. In the 2d volume, p. 17, 18, he fays, that Chrift cured poffeffed perfons, to fhew that he came to deftroy the empire of Satan, and to remove all suspicion of a confederacy with evil fpirits. Semlerus like

the natural power of feizing and enting the bodies of mankind, (a more eafily affumed than proved), hat (malevolent as they are) they or very feldom exerted it, before Coming of Chrift; either because were immediately reftrained by

(P. 2 note 1) admits that the devil might allowed fome unufual power: Minime tam homines fingulari quadam diaboli ipfius one male habitos fuiffe.-Paucos autemOvo atque antea inaudito mali vehementis a diabolo vexatos fuiffe; ut appareret, adSadducæorum errorem, &c. See alfo p. 48, hé Scripture hath given no intim a tion of il's being allowed any unusual power in e of the Gospel, As to poffeffions, to our prefent; inquiry relates, they are always to demons in the facred writings. And it be in vain to attempt merely to reduce the

of demoniacs; for if you can prove the of poffeffion in one inftance from the language oture, you may prove it in all. And if you ount for the Scripture-language concerning ons in any inftance, without allowing their you may account for them in every inftance. God,

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however, thefe wicked fpirits, it seems, forefaw, that they were going to be deprived of a power they had scarce ever ufed; and being fired with rage and refentment against their conqueror, they began to exert those latent faculties they had hitherto ineffectually poffeffed. They had, indeed, very little reafon to complain of their conqueror, because it was upon his account that they enjoyed a favour that had hitherto been denied them, viz. the temporary liberty of using their native powers; and becaufe that ftate of inaction to which they were afterwards to be condemned, was no new punishment. The devil, however, according to this account, was reduced to great difficulties. If, on the one hand, he did not use the liberty he now enjoyed of doing mifchief to mankind, how could he affwage his malice? If, on the other hand, he affuaged

his