probably several affembled at new moons, and alternately inftructed the whole company. Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and by him, as an (6) inftrument, Chrift by his fpirit preached to the difobedient fouls of men, imprifoned in ignorance and vice, and continued with great long-fuffering to do fo all the while the ark was preparing. (7) Abraham commanded his boufhold after him to keep the way of the Lord, and to do justice and judgment; (8) and Jacob, when his house lapfed to idolatry, remonstrated against it, and exhorted them, and all that were with him, to put away ftrange gods, and to go up with him to Bethel, to that God, who had anfwered him in the day of his distress. In all these (9) records of matters of fact, we perceive, fhort as they are, the fame great leading truths, that were taught by Enoch, the general truths of natural religion, and along with them the peculiar principles of revelation. They faw a heavenly country, and were mindful of it, they had fight of a me- (1) diator, and were glad, and they had the pro- (2) mife of the appearance of him upon earth, which promise exercised their fpeculations, made a principal part of their publick informations, and they all died in the faith of its accomplishment. (3) How charming upon a primitive mountain, beneath the fhade of a venerable grove, muft the voice of a Melchifedeck have been, the father, the prince, and the priest of his people, now publishing to his attentive audience good tidings of falvation, peace between God and man, and then lifting up holy

(6) 2 Pet. ii. 5. (7) 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. (8) Gen. xviii. 19. (9) Gen. x. xxv. 2, 3. (1) Heb. xi. 15, 16. (2) John viii. 56. (3) Heb. xi. 13.

VOL. II.

holy hands and calling upon the name of the Lord (4) the everlasting God! A few plain truths, propofed in fimple ftyle, addreffed to the reafon, and expounded by the feelings of mankind, enforced by nothing but fraternal argument and example animated by the holy fpirit, and productive of genuine moral excellence, accompanied with facrifices, comprized the whole fyftem of patriarchal religion. Such was the venerable fimplicity of hoary antiquity, before ftatefmen ftole the ordinances of religion, and hungry hirelings were paid to debase them.

The fcripture, fpeaking in general terms, fays, (5) by Mofes came the law: but, ftrictly speaking, the religion, that Mofes taught, contained two parts, the one the law, that is, the religion of nature clearly explained in written precept, and terribly enforced by threatnings and penalties; the other the gospel, a promife of a mediator, and an exhibition of him in vicarious facrifices; the latter affifted fenfe, the former required faith. whole compofed a fine body of religious fcience; it was like twilight, light in comparifon with the night of paft ages, and darkness in contraft with the fucceeding day of the chriftiam œconomy.

The

This great man had much at heart the promulgation of his doctrine, he directed it to be infcribed on pillars, to be transcribed in books, and to be taught both in publick and private by word of (6) mouth. Himself fet the example of each, and

how he, and Aaron fermonized, we may fee by several parts of his writings. The firft difcourfe was

beard

33.

(4) Ifa. lii. 7. Rom. x. 15. Gen. xiv. 18, 19, 20. xxi. (5) John i. 17. (6) Deut. xxviii. 8. Deut. vi. 9. xxxi. 19. xvii. 18. Numb. v. 23. Deut. iv. 9.

beard with profound reverence and attention, (7) the laft was both uttered, and received in rap

tures.

(8)

Publick preaching does not appear under this œconomy to have been attached to the priesthood, priests were not officially preachers, and we have innumerable inftances of difcourfes delivered in religious affemblies by men of other tribes, befides that of Levi. The Lord gave the word, and great was the company of those, that published it. Jofhua was an Ephraimite: but, being full of the Spirit of wisdom, he gathered the tribes to Shechem, (9) and harangued the people of God. Solomon (1) was a prince of the house of Judah, Amos a herdman of Tekoa, yet both were preachers, and one at least was a prophet.

Before Mofes, revelation was fhort, and might fafely be depofited in the memory: but when God faw fit to blefs the church with the large and neceffary additions of Mofes, a book became neceffary. This book was the ftandard, and they, who spoke not according to this word, were justly accounted to have no light in them. Hence the dif tinction between fcriptural inftructors, who taught according to the law and the teftimony, and were called Seers; and fanciful declaimers, who uttered visions out of their own hearts, and were deemed blind, and thought to be in a dream, that is under deception.

The ignorant notions of pagans, the vices of their practice, and the idolatry of their pretended worship,

(7) Exod. iv. 31. (8) Deut. xxxiii. xxxiv. 7, 8. (9) Deut. xxxiv. 9. (1) Josh. xxiv. (3) 1 Sam. ix, 9. Ifa. Ivi. 10. Jer. xxiii. 28.

(2)

1

worship, were in fome fad periods incorporated into the Jewish religion by the princes of that nation. Ordinances were inftituted to ferve fecular purposes, and mercenary men were employed to give fanction to practices, which the religion of (3) Mofes forbad.

All the prophets, and all the feers protested against (4) this apoftacy, and they were perfecuted for doing fo. The apoftacy became the established worship, and they, who adhered to the pure original ftandard, either fled their country, or concealed themselves, or lived under difgrace. First the ten tribes, forming the kingdom of Ifrael, revolted thus from God, and last the little kingdom of Judah, confifting of the other two tribes, followed their bad example. Before the defection of Judah, numerous refugees from Ifrael found fanctuary in Judah but after it, they were harraffed in (5) both.

:

All this time the feers, as often as they could, preached against the crimes of their countrymen. Shemaiah preached to Rehoboam, the princes, and (6) all the people at Jerufalem. Azariah and Ha(7) nani preached to Afa, and his army. Micaiah to Ahab. Some of them opened schools, or houses of inftruction, and there to their fons, that is, difciples, taught the pure religion of Mofes. At Naioth, in the fuburbs of Ramah, there was one, where Samuel dwelt, there was another at Jericho, and a third at Bethel, to which Elijah and Elifha often reforted. Thither the people went on Sabbath-days, and at

new

(3) 1 Kings xii. 25. 33. 2 Kings xvi. 10. (4) 2 Kings xvii. 13. (5) 2 Chron. xi. 13 17. (6) 2 Chron. xii. 5. (7) 2 Chron. xv. 1. &c. xvi. 7.

new moons, and received publick leffons of piety and morality. These schools were places of wor (8) ship, in which prayer was offered to God, and the divine word taught to the people.

Through all this period, there was a difmal confufion of the ufeful ordinance of publick preaching. Sometimes they had no open vifion, and the word of the Lord was precious, or scarce, the people heard it only now and then. At other times, they were left without a teaching priest, and without law. And at other feafons again, itinerants, both princes, priefts, and Levites, were fent through all the country to carry the book of the law, and to teach in the cities. In a word, preaching flourished (9) when pure religion grew, and when the laft decayed the first was fuppreffed.

The doctrines taught in this period, were chiefly thefe, the perfections of one God-the government of the whole univerfe by his providence-the moral obligations of men-the precepts of the law, and the penalties of difobedience the depravity of man, and the neceffity of renovation-the good tidings of falvation, the approach of a redeemer, and the neceffity of faith, repentance, and univerfal obedience to him,-a ftate of future rewards and punishments-and, in effect, the fame gospel, that was afterwards more clearly revealed by Jefus Chrift and his apostles.

(1) Mofes had not appropriated preaching to any order of men, he had given a general command, thou shalt teach the words of this law, which was equal

(8) 1 Sam. xix. 18. 2 Kings ii. 3. 5. 2 Kings. iv. 23. (9) Sam. iii. 1. 2 Chron. xv. 3. 2 Chron. xvii. 7, 8, 9. (1) Heb. iv. 2. 1 Pet. iv. 6. Gal. iii. 8.