greatest part of mankind, it pleased the Supreme Being not to leave himself without a particular as well as a general witness; and therefore he again chofe one of the few families, who preferved their belief and knowledge of him, and trusted them with the promifes of his mercy. And left this again fhould fuffer by the vague nature of all tradition; he, before the recollection of their father Abraham had faded from the minds of any of his defcendants, and while the history of the world and of the earlier Patriarchs, which had been brought down in regular fucceffion through but very few generations, was well known to them, appointed Mofes to explain the creation and the state of man on earth; to record the intentions of God towards man, and to be under him the lawgiver of this family, now becoming a nation, and destined to preferve this history, thefe records, and thefe laws, to the end of the

The tradition was conveyed from Adam through Methufelah, Noah, Abraham, Ifaac, Jofeph, and Amram, to Mofes, feven intermediate perfons and of these feven, feveral were a long time contemporary with each other. Methuselah was contemporary with both Adam and Noah; Shem with Noah and Abraham; Ifaac with Abraham and Jofeph; and Amram the grandfon of Levi (who was the brother of Jofeph) was the father of Moses.

world. From this period, therefore, is to be dated the beginning of written Prophecy.

Mofes, the firft and greatest of the Prophets whose works have been tranfmitted to us, recorded the wonders of creation and providence, from the beginning of time, till the arrival of the Ifraelites at the borders of the land promised to the children of Abrahama period of above 2500 years-established the covenant of God with his chosen people -fet before them the conditional promises of God-drew a ftrong and accurate picture of their national character and fate for a feries of ages, which are still running their course and predicted the appearance of another

Prophet like unto himself" (by which, according to all antient interpretation, is to be understood another Lawgiver), to whom he commanded them "to hearken," under pain, of the heavy displeasure of the Lord their God. The Prophets, who followed Mofes in continual fucceffion for above a thousand years, were employed in preferving the remembrance of the gracious promises of future Redemption to fallen man, and the knowledge of a future ftate of retribution-in keeping up a sense of the constant fuperintending providence of God over all the world-in gra

dually

f

dually explaining the spiritual and typical meaning of the Mofaical Law, and in preparing the Jews for the reception of that second difpenfation, which it prefigured, and was defigned to introduce at the appointed time, as the promised univerfal bleffing. The -great object of Prophecy being a defcription of the Meffiah, and of his kingdom, the prophetic ministry ceased when that object had been fufficiently displayed. At the period allotted by the Prophet Daniel, for fealing up the Vision and the Prophecy"-after the peaceable re-establishment of the Jews in their own land-and within about 400 years of the time appointed for the appearance of Christ, Malachi clofed the prophetic volume in a manner which ftrikingly confirms this truth," that the teftimony of Jefus is the fpirit of Prophecy." He threatens the Jews with punishment and rejection; declaring that God would "make his name great among the Gentiles," for that he was wearied with the impiety of Ifrael; he exhorts them earneftly to repent, and to obferve the law of Mofes, till that prophetic meffenger should appear, who, like "a harbinger, was to prepare the way of the Lord, whom they fought," i. e. for the Meffiah who would fuddenly come to his temple”—and

whofe

whofe approach was hailed, as that "Sun of righteousness, who should arife with healing in his wings."

nants

It is obvious, that if the Prophecies in the antient Scriptures relating to the first advent of the Meffiah were fulfilled in Chrift-and if "the wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles was then thrown down," many of the principal fubjects of the Prophecies under the Law can have no place in the Prophecies under the Gofpel. We accordingly find the kingdom of Chrift to be the fole great object of Prophecy in the New, Teftament; and this distinction gives fresh evidence to the unity of defign, which pervades both coveefpecially as it is certain that many of the Prophecies in both upon this ever important fubject exactly correfpond: and none can be found, in which there is the fhadow of contradiction. Of the prophecies which are contained in the New Teftament, 1 fhall only briefly remark, that they extend to the end of the world, and particularly describe the state of the Church - its trials, increase, profperity, corruption, fufferings, and purification from the time of its lowly origin (for lowly did it seem to mortal eyes) to its univerfal prevalence and triumphant entrance

into glory and conclude this sketch of the history of Prophecy with obferving, that fince the Revelation by St. John closed the New Teftament, 1700 years have elapsed without the appearance of any Prophet in the world.

-It may be observed of the Prophecies themfelves, that they were not only neceffarily miraculous, but of that fpecies of miracles which is the most lafting, and confequently the most convincing to the later ages, as well as peculiarly adapted to the keeping up among a people difpofed, as the Jews were, to idolatry and rebellion, that conftant dependence upon their God and King, which was neceffary to preferve them diftinct and feparate from the reft of the world, according to the declared purpose of God.-They appear to be sometimes plain, and fometimes metaphorical they have often a first or partial, and an ultimate completion, of which the former may generally be confidered as an earneft of the latter- they having often an immediate reference to prefent circumstances, or to things that were very foon to happen, and yet being in their nature predictive of remotely future events. "It is this double. character of Prophecy, which occafions those

unex