ment, which fhews that all the writers of these books, although living in different ages, and differing in their natural tempers, geniufes and difpofitions, were yet moved and animated by the fame holy fpirit, and had their minds all impreffed with the fame views and fentiments of moral and divine things*.

THE

I CANNOT help thinking, that this unity of defign, fentiments and principles, which is obvious to every attentive reader throughout the whole canon of the old teftament fcriptures, affords a more powerful argument of their truth and divinity, than is commonly imagined. There is a period of more than a thousand and fifty years between the date of Mofes's writings and thofe of Malachi; and the intervening penmen of fcripture, these included, are, at leaft, twenty-three in number, moft of which lived in different ages, and wrote upon different occafions and emergencies, and yet what a wonderful harmony is there between all thefe writers in the main principles and fundamentals of the Mofaic religion? Choofe out twenty, or half that number, of the followers of Zeno, Plato, or Ariftotle, who have wrote in fucceffive ages, and fome of them at the distance of a thousand years after their mafter, and upon examining their writings and comparing them. with each other, and with thofe of the founder of their fect, you will find little elfe but perpetual wranglings and altercations; one of them differing from another, and almost all of them varying and fwerving, more or less, from the diftinguishing and fundamental tenets of their founder; either difputing or controverting his principles, or gloffing them in different manners, and construing them into different and contrary fenfes. Now how comes it, that the difciples of Mofes, I mean the fubfequent infpired writers of the old teftament fcriptures, are at one

THE only difficulty which remains is, whether thefe books have been fafely handed down to us without any material alteration. But this cannot be reasonably doubted, if we confider that the greatest care imaginable was taken to preserve the books of Mofes from being loft or corrupted. A fair copy of them was fafely depofited in or near the ark, and appealed to as a standard of other copies. Every king was obliged to write out a copy with his own hand. Not only the priefts, but also the elders and heads of the tribes were obliged to have each a copy. The laws were constantly read and explained before the people†, and inftilled into the tender minds of their children,

with their founder and among themselves, while the difciples of Plato vary fo much from him, and from each other? I confefs, I cannot imagine any other reafon than this, namely, that Mofes and his followers were animated and infpired with one and the fame fpirit of truth and concord; whereas the Platonic philofophers had no fuch bond of union, and wrote under no fuch guidance and direction, but followed each the natural impulfe of their own minds.

Ir is a difputed point among the learned, at what time the fynagogue worfhip was fet up among the Jews, fome fay, from the times of Mofes; others during the Babylonifh captivity, and others fhortly after their return to Jerufalem, and by the appointment of Ezra. It is certain, upon the whole, that the inftitution of the fynagogue worship has been of long standing among the Jews, Acts xv. 21. And it is as certain, that the reading and explaining of the fcriptures to all the people, was the principal and effential part of the fynagogue worship. Prid. Con. p. 1, b. 6.

with

with the greatest care and diligence P. Indeed the whole drift of Mofes's directions in this particular, and a variety of other injunctions scattered up and down through the old teftament fcriptures, neceffarily fuppofe that it was the duty of every Ifraelite to have a copy of the facred writings in his poffeffion, that he might make them the matter of his conftant ftudy and meditation, both for the regulation. of his own conduct, and the direction of all fuch who might be any way under his care and influence.

NAY, fo curious were the Jews of this facred depofitum, after their return from the Babylonish captivity, and fo careful to preferve it uncorrupted and entire, that, fhortly after Ezra's time, they appointed a profeffion of men, called Maforites, whofe whole business and study it was to examine and criticise upon the true orthography of the canonical books of fcripture, to determine, preferve and hand down to pofterity, the true reading and pronunciation of the Hebrew, which was now no longer the vulgar language of the Jews, by affixing to it proper accents and vowel points. And to fuch a length did their care and fcrupulofity run in this matter, that they numbered the verfes, words and letters of every book in the Hebrew bible, and marked out which was the middle verfe, word and letter in each; fo that by this means, it became morally impoffible that even a jot or tittle of the law, as our faviour terms it, could be loft or corrupted after the Maforah was compleated..

See Deut. vi. 6—9. xi. 18—21.

THERE

..THERE are but two periods of the Jewish church, in which there can be the leaft fufpicion of the lofs or corruption of thefe facred writings. Firft, in the wicked reigns of Manaffeh, Ammon, and in the minority of good Jofiah. Or, fecondly, during the time of the Babylonish captivity, when the city and temple of ferufalem were deftroyed, and the Jews carried captive into the kingdom of Affyria, where they continued, fome of them seventy, others forty-eight years in exile from their own land, and the most essential acts of their public worship. But there is abundant reason to believe, that no fuch thing happened at either of thefe times. For,

Ift. It is evident from the hiftory itself, that Hilkiah, in the eighteenth year of Jofiah's reign, found Mofes's original copy of the law in the temple, which might be easily known and diftinguished from all counterfeits by its form, antiquity and the peculiarity of the character in which it was wrote; and we may be very certain that fuch pious and zealous reformers as Johah and Hilkiah would foon difperfe genuine copies of it through the whole kingdom. So that we have no reason to believe that the book of Mofes were either loft, or adulterated at that time *.

92 Kings xxii. 2 Chron. xxxiv.

adly.

Ir is indeed fufficiently evident by the furpeize which both Jofiah and Hilkiah, the priest, expreffed upon finding the book of the law, that neither of them had feen any copy of it before. And this may be well accounted for, if we confider the two extremely corrupt reigns which preceded, which, including the eighteen years of Jofiah's reign elapfed before this

discovery,

2dly. NOR have we any greater reason to believe that these books were loft or altered, during

difcovery, endured for feventy-five years. During all this while the law and worship of the true GOD were ftrange things at Jerufalem, and idolatry, tyranny and oppreffion fucceeded in their place and were the only things in fashion at court. We are not therefore to wonder at the fcarcity of bibles at that time among the nobility and gentry of Jerufalem, who had no doubt paid their court to their rulers by a contempt and difrelish of all true religion, and given themselves wholly over to idolatry and forcery; nor at the novelty of that original copy of the law, accidentally discovered in the temple by Hilkiah, where it had been probably hid by fome pious prieft in the former reigns. But it may be well fuppofed, that, at that very time, there were many copies of the law in the hands of private perfons, who dared not probably avow or publish them, either for fear of lofing fo precious a treasure, or of incurring the displeasure of their idolatrous rulers; feeing, that even in the beft governments, it is always a dangerous, or, at least, a difgraceful thing to profefs a veneration for any thing which differs from the religion in vogue at court. And this may be the true reason why any private perfons, who might have fuch copies in their hands, might not be willing to make them public. See an inftance fomewhat parallel to this, or which may, at leaft, fupport this reafoning, 1 Kings xix.

10-18.

IF it be objected, that the thirty-two laft years of Manaffeh's reign were spent in penitency and a reformation of thofe corruptions in religion, which had been introduced in the beginning of his reign, and that of Jofiah, from his first advancement to the throne, expreffed the most fervent zeal, and the most hearty defire for a public and general reformation of religion,