of which we have the cleareft evidences from hiftory, and the univerfal confent of mankind ". And, as it hath been well obferved, hiftorical certainty is as certain in its kind, as phyfical or mathematical are in their kinds; that is, we have ast great affurance (and reft as well fatisfied therein) that there have been fuch Roman emperors, and fuch kings in England, and that fuch histories were written of them by the perfons whofe names they bear, as we have of the truth of any of the most plain and clearest propofition. So the evidence for the hiftory of the Bible is as certain and full, as the fubject matter will bear; and fuch, as in other matters of like nature, makes us to reft well fatisfied, without any kind of hesitation, or doubt of the contrary; and confequently ought to be esteemed morally certain or unquestionable, because those books cannot be rejected, but upon fuch principles, whereby we might as well condemn all other authors that have no living evidence to vouch for them. Note here; the books of the Old and New Teftament, except the Apocrypha, are called canonical, from a Greek word, fignifying a rule or limit meafured out, as being a catalogue or lift of fuch books as contain the rule or meafure of faith.

Secondly, As in general we have fufficient grounds of being fully affured of the matters of fact contained in the Holy Bible; fo particularly, as to the Old Testament, it was owned and received in all ages by the ancient church of the Jews, who are the beft evidence in this cafe; and we have no reafon

So that fuch as affent not to the authority of the holy fcriptures upon the evidence produced for it, run themfelves into greater abfurdities than any they pretend to avoid, by rejecting doctrines they do not comprehend.

འ

1

reafon to doubt the truth of it. Their com mon-wealth was fettled upon the laws of Mofes ; and it is not credible they should submit to those burdensome laws and inftitutions, (fuch as circumcifion; travelling once a year, to a great diftance, to eat the paffover at Jerufalem; parting with the tenth part of their income,) and continue the exercise of them from time to time, without evident proof of their authority; or that they fhould fuffer the fundamental laws of their nation to be changed after a long fettlement; as it would be impoffible for any one to forge a new statute-book for England, which had not been seen or heard of before, and perfuade the people to believe it to be their ancient laws. Befides, the public folemn feftivals, as the paffover and pentecoft, &c. which were conftantly kept up, and yearly celebrated, as enjoined in their books, render it as abfurd to fuppofe, that those books were not always genuine ; as it would be to fancy, that, notwithstanding our conftant yearly obfervation of the feaft of Chriftmas, Eafter, and Whitfuntide, according to the appointment and direction of our Common-prayer book, ever fince the reformation; yet, that there were no fuch ordinances enjoined, nor any fuch book authorised at the beginning of the reforma

tion.

Once more; The people were commanded from time to time to ftudy themselves, and teach their children the law; fo that there could not be lefs than many thousand copies thereof; and every king, for the time being, was to write a copy of the law in a book d. And lastly, at the end of every feven years, in the feast of tabernacles,

Deut. xi. 18, 19, 20. d Deut. xvii. 18, c.

when

when all Ifrael was to appear before the Lord in the place he fhould chufe, the law was to be read before all Ifreal ". All which plainly tended to the prefervation of the Jewish religion and laws, free from all falfifying of the fame, not to mention, that the continued fucceffion of prophets rendered any alteration thereof lefs practicable.

The other books, which were univerfally allowed to have been written by fundry perfons, extraordinarily inspired at divers times, were gathered together by Ezra, and others of the Sanhedrim, or great council, among whom were the latter prophets Haggai, Zacharias, and Malachi, being all affifted by a divine prophetic fpirit, into one book, after the return from the Babylonian captivity; as it is generally agreed by the ancient Jews, from the conftant undoubted tradition of their forefathers; to which Nehemiah added f his book.

There seems indeed to have been a great neglect of the facred books in the beginning of Jofiah's reign, and fome time before, in the idolatrous reigns of his father and grandfather, Ammon and Manaffeh; infomuch, that when Hilkiah found a copy of the law, in fome part of the temple, whilst it was preparing, Jofiah was much aftonifhed, as if it was uncommon. But that might be, because it was the very copy which Mofes himself had wrote, and ordered to be put up in the fide of the ark". The Hebrew text, verbatim, is thus: Hilkiah found a book of the law, in, or by the hand of Mofes . However that was, it fuf

ficiently

Deut. xxxi. 10, &e. f Polyglot. Prolegom Num.' iv. Sect. 2, 3. Du Pin on the Canon of Script. BookI. Ch. i.

Sect. 2. 8 2 Kings xxii.

2 Chron. xxxiv. 14.

Duet. xxxi. 24, 25, 26,

ficiently appears that copies of the law were in many hands a little before, and in the captivity; and alfo copies of the prophets. Daniel cites both the law and the prophecy of Jeremiah i. And long before Ezra came to Jerufalem, the people are faid to make their offerings at the rebuilding of the temple upon their return, and the priests to execute their offices in their courfes, as it is written in the book of Mofes, which muft therefore have been in their hands. So that Ezra cannot be faid properly to restore the books of the Oid Teftament, much lefs to compofe them a-new, as if they had been all burnt by the Chaldeans with the temple; which, befides what hath been just now mentioned, we cannot conceive the divine providence would have permitted, fince they were at firft wrote for the preferving the word and will of God in the church. Further, notwithstanding the great impiety of that age, yet there must have been many copies of the law among the people of Ifrael, who were enjoined such a conftant daily ftudying of, and meditating therein', and it is not conceivable, that all of them fhould fail of their duty. Moreover, the priests, who were very numerous, and were to be teachers and interpreters of the law, muft, at leaft, have each of them a copy for that purpofe. And it cannot be conceived, that, among fo great numbers of the divine books, throughout all the land, none of them fhould be preferved, how negligent foever the late

government,

i Dan. ix. 2, II, 13. And what Jofephus makes Cyrus to own, that he had feen or read the prophecy of Ifaiah, (chap. xliv. 28.) concerning himfelf, that he fhould rebuild Jerufalem, (Jofeph. Antiq. bock xi. ch. 1.) feems very probable from Ezra i. 2. The Lord hath charged me, &c. * Ezra vi. 18. 1 Deut. vi. 7.

government, and the generality of the people had been concerning them. But Ezra, being an infpired prophet, fet forth a correct edition, and fettled the canon (or true catalogue) thereof, as they were received in his time, with the affiftance of others, that were infpired too. He also might add what appeared neceffary for the explaining, and completing fome of them ", as in the laft chapter of Deuteronomy, concerning the death and burial of Mofes, and the fucceffion of Joshua, and feveral fmaller paffages; but then it was with the affiftance of the fame fpirit, by which the books were at firft written ".

It is alfo plain, that the Hebrew Bible, which is now extant, hath remained uncorrupted by the known care and strictnefs of the Jews in writing it exactly true; and that fo nicely, as to number not the words only, but even the letters of every verfe thereof; and alfo by their general notion of the danger of corrupting it wilfully, as believing that would be a worfe crime, than to worship the Golden Calf, or facrifice their children, or kill the prophets °. Nor did Chrift, or his apoftles, accuse the Jews of any fuch corruption, (as they did of many other crimes, and fome of a lower degree.) Neither could the malice of the Jews, in oppofition to the Christian doctrine, make any alteraVOL. I. F tion

Dean Prideaux accounts for the difputed paffages in the Chronicles and Nehemiah, in his Old and New Teftament connected, part. 1. book v. An. 446. and book viii. An. 201; where alfo concerning Simon the juft: compare Cornelius a Lapide apud Pool Syn. Critic. in Nehemiah xii. 1Í. Gerard Loc. Com. Exegefis de Script. ch. 6.

Hottinger. Thefaurus lib. 1. ch. 2. Queft. 4. & lib. i. ch. 3. fect. 4. Lightf of the fall of Jerusalem, fect. 11. Du Pin on the canon of feript. book i. ch. 4. fect. 4.