SlIS TOR ^ 



WORK OF REDEMPTION 



COMPRISING 



AN OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY. 



BY PRESIDENT EDWARDS. 



_> AND SUSHl'LI i3P.IM33. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

A M K R i C A N T R A (J T S O C I E T Y \ 

J j J N A g S A U S T II E E T . N E VV -YORK. 



This inestimable work was written by President Edwards in 1739, in 
a series cf sermons preached at Northampton, and left by him in man- 
uscript at his death, which occurred in 1758. In 1773, his son, the younger 
President Edwards, committed the manuscript to Rev. Dr. John Eks 
kine, of Edinburgh, who reduced it from the form of sermons to that of 
a continued treatise, and published it in 1774. 

This edition is a reprint from the standard edition of Edwards' Works 
now generally circulated in Great Britain and the United States, and has 
been compared throughout with the first American edition, publish) 
Worcester in 1808. Some additional improvements have been ma 
the language ar.d form of the sub divisions, and a new table of coi. 
prepared ; with the omission (indicated by * * ) of a few lines alluding 
to points on which evangelical christians differ. 



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CONTENTS 



General Introduction — prosperity of the enemies of 
Christ short — happy portion of God's people- 
work of redemption carried on from the fall to 
the end of the world — explanation of the term 
Redemption — in what sense the work is here 
viewed — its design — divided into three periods, 11 



PERIOD 1.— FROM THE FALL TO THE LXCARNATION 

Chap. I. From the fall to the flood — Christ en- 
ters on his mediatorial work — first revelation of 
the Gospel — institution of sacrifices — salvation of 
individuals begun— first outpouring of the Spirit — 
Enoch's holy life, prediction of Christ and trans- 
lation—preservation of the church from the deluge ; 28 

Chap. II. From the flood to the calling of Abra- 
ham — the flood itself— Noah's preservation — new 
grant of the earth to Noah and his family — renew- 
al of the covenant of grace — destruction of Babel — 
dispersion of the nations — preservation of the 
church from idolatry, 48 

Chap. III. From the calling of Abraham to Moses 
— call of Abraham — renewal of the covenant of 
grace — preservation of the patriarchs — destruc- 
tion of Sodom and Gomorrah — renewal of cove- 
nant of grace to Isaac and Jacob — preservation 
from famine by Joseph — Jacob's prophecy of 
Christ — preservation of the church in Egypt, 59 

Chap. IV. From Moses to David — redemption of 
the church from Egypt — other nations given up to 
heathenism— moral law given at Sinai — typical 
law — first written word of God— journey in the 
wilderness — shortening of man's life — preserve 



6 CONTENTS. 

tion forty years by miracle — further predictions of 
' Christ by Balaam and Moses — piety of the young- 
er generation in the wilderness — establishment in 
Canaan — stated worship of the tabernacle — the 
land preserved while the males go up to worship 
— the church preserved during their frequent apos- 
tasies, and when subdued by enemies — Christ ap- 
pears in the form of human nature — beginning of 
a succession of prophets, and school of the prophets, 77 

Chap. V. From David to the Babylonish captivity — 
David, the ancestor of Christ, anointed — his life 
wonderfully preserved — canon of Scripture en- 
larged by Samuel — David foreshows Christ in 
songs — is exalted to the throne — city of Jerusalem 
chosen, a type of Christ — covenant of grace re- 
newed with David — whole promised land possess- 
ed — Jewish worship perfected — canon enlarged 
by Nathan and Gad — the kingdom preserved in 
the line of Christ's legal ancestors — building of 
the temple — Jewish church risen to its highest 
glory — its decline till Christ came — additions to 
canon of Scripture — true religion upheld, book of 
the law kept, and tribe of Judah preserved, amid 
great apostasies and convulsions — succession of 
eminent prophets, 109 

Chap. VI. From the captivity to Christ — a period 
much the subject of prophecy, and one of great re- 
volutions—captivity in Babylon— cures the Jews 
of idolatry — glory of the Jewish dispensation lost — 
effects of their dispersion — additions to canon ot 
Scripture by Ezekiel and Daniel — return of the 
Jews — further additions to the canon — the minis- 
try of Ezra — copies of the law multiplied — canon 
of Old Testament completed and sealed — destruc- 
tion of the Persian empire and establishment of 
the Grecian — the Septuagint — preservation of the 
church — destruction of the Grecian, and establish- 
ment of the Roman empire — prevalence of learn- 
ing and philosophy — Roman empire settled in 
peace, 149 

Chap. VII. Improvement of the first period, 192 



CONTENTS. 



PERIOD II.— FROM CHRIST'S INCARNATION TO HIS 
RESURRECTION. 

Chap. I. Christ's Incarnation — accomplished in the 
fullness of time — greatness of the event — remark- 
able circumstances attending it — the return of the 
Spirit — the sceptre departing from Judah, 207 

Chap. II. The purchase of Redemption — Christ's sa- 
tisfaction and merit — his sufferings and humilia- 
tion — his obedience and righteousness — his fore- 
runner — his preaching — his miracles — sending out 
his disciples — the virtues he exercised — sufferings 
of his infancy — private life, and public life — his 
last humiliation and sufferings, 218 

Chap. III. Improvement or the second period — for 

reproof— for encouragement, 247 



PERIOD III.— FROM CHRIST'S RESURRECTION TO THE 
END OF THE WORLD. 

Introduction to this period— Scriptural representa- 
tions of it — how Christ was capacitated for ac- 
complishing the end of his purchase — means of 
success — abolishing the Jewish dispensation — in- 
stituting the Sabbath — the ministry — gift of the 
Holy Ghost — revelation of gospel truth — appoint- 
ment of deacons — mission of apostle Paul — writ- 
ing of the New Testament — how the success was 
carried on, 261 

Chap. I. From Resurrection of Christ to the de- 
struction of Jerusalem — success of the Gospel 
among the Jews — Samaritans — Gentiles — opposi- 
tion encountered — judgments on the persecuting 
Jews, 290 

Chap. II. From the destruction of Jerusalem to the 
time ofConstantine — opposition from the Roman 
empire — success of the Gospel — bitter persecu- 



B CONTENTS. 

tions- -great revolution by Constantine — argu- 
ments for truth of Christianity, 303 

Ciiap. III. From Constantine to thk rise of Anti- 
christ — opposition from heresies and paganism — 
propagation of the Gospel, 319 

Chap. IV. From rise of Antichrist to the Reforma- 
tion — rise of kingdom of Antichrist, "the mys- 
tery of iniquity " — the Mohammedan kingdom- 
some nations and individuals long remain stead- 
fast in the faith— the Waldenses — Wickliif, Huss, 
Jerome of Prague, 324 

Chap. V. From the Preformation to the present 
time — the reformation — Luther, Melancthon, Zu- 
inglius, Calvin — nations embracing the reformed 
religion — the Pope's authority diminished — Coun- 
cil of Trent — secret plots of the Papists — open war 
against Protestants — cruel persecutions — courts 
of Inquisition — corrupt opinions — reformation in 
doctrine and worship — spread of the Gospel among 
the heathen — revival of the power and practice of 
religion — the reformed church diminished — pre- 
vailing licentiousness and fanaticism — diminu- 
tion of influence of the Pope and persecution — 
prevalence of learning, 335 

Chap. VI. Improvement of past events — evidence 
that the Scriptures are the word of God, from op- 
position of the world, the stability of the church, 
and fulfillment of prophecies especially those re- 
specting Antichrist — from the spirit of suffering 
exhibited by Christians — prophecies remaining to 
be fulfilled, 357 

Chap. VII. From present time to fall of Anti- 
christ — a very dark time must first come — the glo- 
rious work of God will be introduced swiftly but 
gradually — by the revival and propagation of re- 
ligion — violent and mighty opposition — Satan's 
kingdom destroyed — heresies, infidelity, and su- 
perstition vanish— Antichrist, Mohammedanism, 
Judaism, and paganism overthrown— Satan's king- 
dom universally demolished. 372 



C0NTENT9. 9 

Chap. VIII. Period of the Church's prosperity — 
the kingdom of heaven comes— prophecies ful- 
filled — knowledge, holiness, peace, love, and order 
prevail — temporal prosperity — joy and gladness — 
tor a thousand years — Great Apostasy, 394 

Chap. IX. The General Judgment — salvation and 
glory of the redeemed — Christ comes in glory of 
his Father — the last trumpet sounds — saints meet 
the Lord in the air — wicked men and devils ar- 
raigned — all characters revealed — the sentence 
pronounced — the world on fire — the church enter 
with Christ into the highest heavens, 408 

Chap. X. Improvement of the whole — greatness of 
the work of redemption — its progress through all 
time, and glorious issue — God the Alpha and 
Omega of all things — exaltation of Christ — con- 
sistency, order, and beauty of God's works of pro- 
vidence — the Scriptures, which show God's de- 
sign in all these works, must be divine— display of 
God's majesty and power in redemption — his wis- 
dom — mercy and faithfulness — happiness of God's 
people — miser)' of his enemies, 427 



A HISTORY 



OF THE 



WORK OF REDEMPTION 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the 
worm shall eat them like wool : but my righteousness 
shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to 
generation. — Isaiah, 51 : 8 

The design of this chapter is to comfort the 
church under her sufferings, and the persecutions 
of her enemies ; and the argument of consolation 
insisted on, is the constancy and perpetuity of God's 
mercy and faithfulness, which shall be manifest in 
continuing to work salvation for her, protecting her 
against all assaults of her enemies, carrying her 
safely through all the changes of the world, and 
finally, crowning her with victory and deliverance. 

This happiness of the church of God is here set 
forth by comparing it with the contrary fate of her 
enemies that oppress her : and we may observe, 

I. How short-lived are the power and prosperity 
of the enemies of the church: " The moth shall eat 
them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat 
them like wool :" however great their prosperity, 
and their present glory, they shall by degrees con- 
sume and vanish away by a secret curse of God, 
till they come to nothing, and all their power and 



12 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

glory ; and so their persecution, eternally cease, and 
they be finally and irrecoverably ruined : as the finest 
and most glorious apparel will in time wear away, 
and be consumed by the moth and worm. The preced- 
ing verse shows that those who shall thus consume 
away, are the enemies of God's people: ■• Hearken 
unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in 
whose heart is my law, fear ye not the reproach of 
men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." 

II. The contrary happy lot and portion of GooVs 
church is: "My righteousness shall be for ever, 
and my salvation from generation to generation." 
The preceding verse also shows who shall have 
the benefit of this : they " that know righteous- 
ness," and "the people in whose heart is God's 
law:" or, in one word, the church of God. And 
concerning their happiness, we may observe, where- 
in it consists ; and its continuance. 

1. It consists in God's " righteous?iess " and ** sal- 
vation." By God's righteousness is here meant his 
faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant-promises to 
his church, or, his faithfulness to his church and 
people, in bestowing the benefits of the covenant of 
grace upon them. Though these benefits are be- 
stowed of free and sovereign grace ; yet as God has 
been pleased, by the promises of the covenant of 
grace, to bind himself to bestow them, they are 
bestowed in the exercise of God's righteousness or 
justice. And therefore the apostle says, Heb. 6: 
10. " God is not unrighteous, to forget your work 
and labor of love." And 1 John, 1:9. " If we con- 
fess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 
our si ns, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
So the word righteousness is very often used in Scrip- 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 13 

ture for God's covenant-faithfulness ; as in Nehem. 
9:8. " Thou hast performed thy words, for thou art 
righteous." So we are often to understand righte- 
ousness and covenant-mercy for the same thing ; as 
Psalm 24 : 5. " He shall receive the blessing from 
the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his 
salvation." Psalm 36 : 10. " Continue thy loving- 
kindness to them that know thee, and thy righteous- 
ness to the upright in heart." And Psalm 51 : 14. 
" Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou 
God of my salvation ; and my tongue shall sing 
aloud of thy righteousness." Dan. 9 : 16. " O Lord, 
according to thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let 
thine anger and thy fury be turned away." 

God's salvation here spoken of is the effect, of which 
his righteousness is the cause. His righteousness, 
or covenant-mercy, is the root, of which his salva- 
tion is the fruit. Both of them relate to the cove- 
nant of grace. The one is God's covenant-mercy 
and faithfulness, the other intends that work of God 
by which this covenant-mercy is accomplished in its 
fruits. For salvation is the sum of all those works 
of God by which the benefits of the covenant of 
grace are procured and bestowed. 

2. Its continuance is here signified by two expres- 
sions : for ever, and from generation to generation : 
the latter seeming to be explanatory of the former. 
The phrase for ever, is variously used in Scripture. 
Sometimes it means as long as a man lives. It is 
said, that the servant who had his ear bored through 
with an awl to the door of his master, should be his 
for ever. Sometimes it means during the contiau- 
of the Jewish state. Of many of the ceremo- 
nial and Levitical laws it is said that they should be 



14 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

statutes for ever. Sometimes it means as long as the 
world shall stand, or to the end of the generations 
of men. Thus Eccles. 1:4. " One generation 
passeth away, and another cometh ; but the earth 
abideth for ever." Sometimes it means to all eter- 
nity. So it is said, " God blessed for ever," Rom. 
1 : 25. " If any man eat of this bread, he shall live 
for ever. u John, 6:51. Which of these senses is 
here to be understood, the next words determine, 
namely, to the end of the world, or to the end of the 
generations of men : — " and my salvation/rtm gene- 
ration to generation" Indeed the fruits of God's 
salvation shall remain after the end of the world, as 
appears by ver. 6 : " Lift up your eyes to the heavens, 
and look upon the earth beneath : for the heavens 
shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall 
wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein 
shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be 
for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abo- 
lished." But the work of salvation itself shall con- 
tinue to be wrought till then : till the end of the 
world God will go on to accomplish deliverance 
and salvation for the church, from all her enemies : 
till the end of the world, till her enemies cease to be, 
or to have any power to molest the church. And 
this expression, from generation to generation, may 
determine us as to the time which God continues to 
carry on the work of salvation for his church, both 
with respect to the beginning and end. It is "from 
generation to generation," that is, throughout all 
generations ; beginning with the generations of men 
on the earth, and not ending till those generations 
end. And therefore we deduce from these words 
'his doctrine : 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 15 

THE WORK OF REDEMPTION IS A WORK THAT GOD 
CARRIES ON FROM THE FALL OF MAN TO THE 
END OF THE WORLD. 

The generations of mankind which began after 
the fall, by ordinary generation, are partakers of the 
corruption of nature that followed from it ; and these 
generations, by which the human race is propaga- 
ted, shall continue to the end of the world. These 
two are the limits of the generations of men on the 
earth ; the fall of man, and the end of the world, 
or the day of judgment. The same are the limits 
of the work of redemption, as to those progressive 
works of God by which that redemption is accom- 
plished, though not as to the fruits of it; for they 
shall be eternal. 

The work of redemption and the work of salva- 
tion are the same thing. What is sometimes in 
Scripture called God's saving his people, is in other 
places called his redeeming them. So Christ is 
called both the Savior and the Redeemer of his 
people. 

Before entering on the proposed History of the 
Work of Redemption, I would show in what sense 
the term redemption is used ; how this work is car- 
ried on ; and what is its design. 

The work of redemption is sometimes under- 
stood in a more limited sense, for the -purchase of 
salvation ; for the word strictly signifies a purchase 
of deliverance. If we take the word in this re- 
strained sense, the work of redemption was not so 
long in doing ; but was begun and finished with 
Christ's humiliation. It was begun with Christ's 
incarnation, carried on through his life, and finished 



16 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

with the time of his remaining under the power of 
death, which ended in his resurrection. Thus we 
say, that on the day of his resurrection Christ finish- 
ed the work of redemption : then the purchase was 
completed, and the work itself, and all that apper- 
tained to it, was virtually done and finished, but not 
actually. 

But sometimes the work of redemption is taken 
more largely, as including all that God accomplishes 
tending to this end; not only the purchase itself, 
but also all God's works that were properly prepa- 
tory to the purchase, and accomplishing the success 
of it. So that the whole dispensation, as it includes 
the preparation and purchase, the application and 
success of Christ's redemption, is here called the 
work of redemption : all that Christ does in this 
great work as Mediator, in any of his offices, either 
of Prophet, Priest, or King ; either when he was in 
this world in his human nature, or before or since. 
And it includes not only what Christ the Mediator 
has done, but also what the Father or the Holy 
Ghost has done, as united or confederated in this 
design of redeeming sinful men : or in one word, 
all that is wrought in execution of the eternal cove- 
nant of redemption. It is in this large sense that 
I here speak of the work of redemption ; for it is 
all but one work, one design. The various dispen- 
sations of works that belong to it, are but the seve- 
ral parts of one scheme. It is but one design that 
is formed, to which all the offices of Christ directly 
tend, and in which all the persons of the Trinity 
conspire. All the various dispensations that belong 
to it are united; and the several wheels are one 
machine, to answer one end, and produce one effect. 



GEIEBAL INTRODUCTION. 17 

When I say, this work is carried on from the 

FALL OF MAN TO THE END OF THE WORLD, I do 

not mean, that nothing was done in order to it before 
the fall of man. Some things were done before the 
world was created; yea, from eternity. The persons 
of the Trinity were, as it were, confederated in a 
design, and a covenant of redemption. In this cove- 
nant the Father had appointed the Son, and the Son 
had undertaken the work ; and all things to be ac- 
complished in the work were stipulated and agreed. 
There were things done at the creation of the world, 
bearing on this work; for the world itself seems to 
have been created in order to it. The work of crea- 
tion was in order to God's work of providence. So 
that if it be inquired, which are greatest, the works of 
creation or those of providence ; I answer, the works 
of providence ; because those of providence are the 
endoi the works of creation; as the building of a 
house, or the forming of a machine, is for its use. 
But God's main work of providence is this of re- 
demption, as will more fully appear. The creation 
of heaven was in order to this work ; as a habita- 
tion for the redeemed ; Matt. 25 : 34. " Then shall 
the King say unto them on his right hand, come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world." Even 
the angels were created to be employed in this work. 
And therefore the apostle calls them " ministering 
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be 
heirs of salvation:" Heb. 1 : 14. As to this lower 
world, it was doubtless created to be a stage upon 
which this great and wonderful work' of redemption 
should be transacted: and therefore, as might be 
shown in many respects, this world is wisely fitted, 

Ro.lomption. O 



18 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

in its formation, for such a state of man as he is in 
since the fall, under a possibility of redemption. 

Nor is it meant that there will be no remaining 
fruits of this work after the end of the world. That 
glory and blessedness that will be the sum of all the 
fruits, will remain to all the saints for ever. The 
work of redemption is not a work always doing and 
never accomplished. The fruits of it are eternal, 
but the work has an issue. In the issue the end will 
be obtained ; which end will last for ever. As those 
things which were in order to this work — God's 
electing love, and the covenant of redemption — 
never had a beginning ; so the fruits of this work 
will never have an end. And therefore, 

When I say that this is a work that God is car- 
rying on from the fall of man to the end of the 
world, I mean that those things which belong to this 
work itself and are parts of the scheme, are all this 
while accomplishing. There were some things done 
preparatory to its beginning, and the fruits of it will 
remain after it is finished. But the work itself was 
begun immediately upon the fall, and will continue 
to the end of the world. The various dispensations 
of God during this space belong to the same work, 
and to the same design, and have all one issue ; and 
therefore are all to be reckoned but as several suc- 
cessive motions of one machine to bring about in 
the conclusion one great event. 

And here also we must distinguish between the 
parts of redemption itself, and the parts of the work 
by which that redemption is wrought out. There 
is a difference between the benefits, and the work of 
God by which those benefits were procured and be- 
stowed. For example, the redemption of Israel out 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 19 

of Egypt, considered as the benefit which they en- 
joyed, consisted of their deliverance from bondage 
and misery ; and their being brought into a more 
happy state, as the servants of God and heirs of 
Canaan. But there are many more things which 
are parts of that work. To this belong his calling 
of Moses, his sending him to Pharaoh, the signs 
and wonders he wrought in Egypt, his bringing 
such terrible judgments on the Egyptians, and many 
other things. 

Such is this work by which God effects redemp- 
tion, and it is carried on from the fall of man to the 
end of the world, in two respects. 

1. With respect to the effect wrought on the souls 
of the redeemed; which is common to all ages. 
This effect is the application of redemption with re- 
spect to the souls of particular persons, in converting, 
justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying them. By 
these things they are actually redeemed, and re- 
ceive the benefit of the work in its effects. And in 
this sense the work of redemption is carried on in 
all ages, from the fall of man to the end of the 
world. The work of God in converting souls, open- 
ing blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, raising the 
spiritually dead to life, and rescuing miserable cap- 
tives out of the hands of Satan, was begun soon 
after the fall, has been carried on ever since, and 
will be to the end of the world. God has always 
had such a church in the world. Though often- 
times it has been reduced to a very narrow com- 
pass, and to low circumstances; yet it has never 
wholly failed. 

And as God carries on the work of converting 
the souls of fallen men through all ages, so he goes 



20 HISTORY OF EBDEMFTION. 

on to justify them, to blot out all their sins, and to 
accept them as righteous in his sight, through the 
righteousness of Christ. He goes on to adopt and 
receive them from being the children of Satan, to be 
his own children, to carry on the work of his grace 
which he has begun in them, to comfort them with 
the consolations of his Spirit, and to bestow upon 
them, when their bodies die, that eternal glory which 
is the fruit of Christ's purchase. What is said, 
Rom. 8 : 30, " Whom he did predestinate, them 
he also called ; and whom he called, them he also 
justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glori- 
fied ;" — is applicable to all ages, from the fall to the 
end of the world. And the way of effecting this, 
is by repeating continually the same work over 
again, though in different persons, from age to age. 
But, 

2. The work of redemption with respect to the 
grand design in general, as it respects the univer- 
sal subject and end, is carried on — not merely by re- 
peating or renewing the same effect in the different 
subjects of it, but — by many successive works and 
dispensations of God, all tending to one great effect, 
united as the several parts of a scheme, and alto- 
gether making up one great work. Like a temple 
that is building ; first the workmen are sent forth, 
then the materials are gathered, the ground is fitted, 
and the foundation laid; then the superstructure is 
erected, one part after another, till at length the top- 
stone is laid, and all is finished. The work of re- 
demption, in this large sense, may be compared to 
such a building. God began it immediately after 
the fall, and will proceed to the end of the world. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 21 

Then shall the top-stone be brought forth, and all 
will appear complete and glorious. 

This work is carried on in the former respect as 
being an effect common to all ages ; and in the lat- 
ter respect, the grand design in general, not only by 
that which is common to all ages, but by successive 
works wrought in different ages, all parts of one 
great scheme. It is this last that I shall chiefly in- 
sist upon, though not excluding the former ; for one 
necessarily supposes the other. 

I proceed to show what is the design of this 
great work, or what is to be accomplished by it. In 
order to see how any design is carried on, we must 
first know what it is. To know how a workman 
proceeds, and to understand the various steps he 
takes in order io accomplish a piece of work, we 
need to be informed what he intends to accomplish ; 
otherwise we may stand by, seeing him do one thing 
after another, and be quite puzzled, because we see 
nothing of his scheme. Suppose an architect, with 
a great number of hands, were building a palace ; 
and a stranger to such things should stand by, and 
see some men digging in the earth, others bringing 
timber, others hewing stones, and the like ; he might 
see that there was a great deal done, but if he knew 
not the design, it would all appear to him confusion. 
And therefore, that the great works and dispensa- 
tions of God which belong to this great work of re- 
demption may not appear like confusion to you, I 
wouid notice briefly the main things designed to be 
accomplished. 

1. It is to put all God's enemies under his feet, 
and that his goodness may finally appear triumphani 



22 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

over all evil. Soon after the world was created evil 
entered into the world in the fall of the angels and 
man. Presently after God had made rational crea- 
tures, enemies rose up against him from among 
them ; and in the fall of man evil entered into this 
world ; where also God's enemies rose up against 
him. Satan endeavored to frustrate his design in the 
creation of this world, to destroy his workmanship, 
to wrest the government of it out of his hands, to 
usurp the throne, and set up himself as the god of 
this world, instead of him who made it. To these 
ends he introduced sin into the world ; and having 
made man God's enemy, he introduced guilt, and 
death, and the most dreadful misery. 

One great design of God, in the work of redemp- 
tion, was to subdue those enemies. " He must reign 
till he hath put all enemies under his feet." 1 Cor. 
15 : 25. Things were originally so planned, that he 
might disappoint, confound, and triumph over Satan; 
and that he might be bruised under Christ's feet. 
Gen. 3: 15. The promise was given, that the seed 
of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. It 
was a part of God's original design in this work, to 
destroy the works of the devil, and confound him in 
all his purposes : " For this purpose was the Son 
of God manifested, that he might destroy the works 
of the devil." 1 John, 3:8. It was a part of his de- 
sign to triumph over sin, and over the corruptions 
of men, and to root them out of the hearts of his 
people, by conforming them to himself. He designed 
also that his grace should triumph over man's guilt, 
and sin's infinite demerit. Again, it was a part of 
his design to triumph over death ; and though this 
is the last enemy that shall be overcome, yet this 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 23 

shall finally be vanquished and destroyed. Thus 
God appears glorious above all evil, and triumphant 
over all his enemies by the work of redemption. 

2. God's design was perfectly to restore all the 
ruins of the fall, so far as concerns the elect part 
of the world, by his Son ; and therefore we read 
of the restitution of all things, " Whom the hea- 
ven must receive until the times of restitution of 
all things," Acts, 3:21; and of the times of re- 
freshing from the presence of the Lord Jesus, 
" Repent ye and be converted, that your sins may 
be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall 
come from the presence of the Lord." Acts, 3 : 19. 

Man's soul was ruined by the fall ; the image of 
God was defaced ; man's nature was corrupted, and 
he became dead in sin. The design of God was to 
restore the soul of man to life, and the divine image 
in conversion, to carry on the change in sanctifica- 
tion, and to perfect it in glory. Man's body was 
ruined ; by the fall it became subject to death. 
The design of God was to restore it from this ruin, 
and not only to deliver it from death in the resur- 
rection, but to deliver it from mortality itself, in 
making it like unto Christ's glorious body. The 
world was ruined, as to man, as effectually as if it 
had beee reduced to chaos again ; all heaven and 
earth were overthrown. But the design of God 
was to restore all, and as it were create a new 
heaven and a new earth : " We, according to his 
promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, 
wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Pet. 3:13; 
lsa. 65 : 17. 

The work by which this was to be done was be- 



24 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 



gun immediately after the fall, and so is carried on 
till all is finished, when the whole world, heaven 
and earth, shall be restored. There shall be, as it 
were, new heavens, and a new earth, in a spiritual 
sense, at the end of the world. Thus it is represent- 
ed, Rev. 21:1. " And I saw a new heaven, and a 
new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth 
were passed away." 

3. Another great design of God in the work of 
redemption, was to " gather together in one all things 
in Christ, in heaven and in earth," and to unite all 
in one body to God the Father. This was begun 
soon after the fall, and is carried on through all ages, 
and shall be finished at the end of the world. 

4. God designed by this work to perfect and com- 
plete the glory of all the elect by Christ — glory, 
"such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has 
entered into the heart of man." He intended to 
bring them to perfect excellency and beauty in his 
holy image, which is the proper beauty of spiritual 
beings ; and to advance them to a glorious degree of 
honor, and raise them to an ineffable height of 
pleasure and joy. Thus he designed to glorify the 
whole church in soul and body, and with them to 
bring the glory of the elect angels to its highest ele- 
vation under one head. 

5. In all this God designed to accomplish the 
glory of the blessed Trinity in an eminent degree. 
God had a design of glorifying himself from eter- 
nity ; yea, to glorify each person in the Godhead. 
The end must be considered as first in order of 
nature, and then the means ; and therefore we must 
conceive that God having professed this end, had 
then as it were the means to choose ; and the prin- 









GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 25 

fcipal means that he adopted was this great work of 
redemption. It was his design in this work to glori- 
fy his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ ; and by the 
Son to glorify The Father. John, 13:31, 32. " Now 
is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in 
him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also 
glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify 
him." It was his design that the Son should thus 
be glorified, and should glorify the Father by what 
should be accomplished by the Spirit to the glory of 
the Spirit, that the whole Trinity conjunctly, and 
each person singly, might be exceedingly glorified. 
The work that was the appointed means of this, was 
begun immediately after the fall, and is carried on 
till the end of the world, when it will be finished, and 
all this intended glory shall be fully accomplished in 
all things. 

With these explanations, I proceed to the proposed 
History: to show how what was designed by the 
work of redemption is accomplished, in its progress 
from the fall of man to the end of the world. And 
in order to this I would divide this whole space of 
time into three periods : 1. from the fall of man to 
the incarnation of Christ: 2. from Christ's incar- 
nation till his resurrection ; or the whole time of 
Christ's humiliation: 3. from thence to the end of 
the world. Some may be ready to think this a very 
unequal division ; but the second period, although so 
much shorter than either of the others, in this work 
embraces more than both. 

I proceed to show distinctly how the work of re- 
demption is carried on through each of these periods 
:'n their order, under three propositions. 



26 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

I. That from the fall of man to the incarnation 
of Christ, God was doing those things which were 
•preparatory to his coming, as forerunners and ear- 
nests of it. 

II. That the time from Christ's incarnation to his 
resurrection, was spent in procuring and purchasing 
redemption. 

III. That the space of time from the resurrection 
of Christ to the end of the world, is all taken up in 
bringing about or accomplishing the great effect or 
success of that purpose. 



PERIOD Z. 

FROM THE FALL TO THE INCARNATION. 

The great works of God in the world, during this 
whole space of time, were all preparatory. There 
were many great changes and revolutions, and they 
were all only the turning of the wheels of providence 
to make way for the coming of Christ. Hither tend- 
ed especially all God's great works towards his 
church. The church was under various dispensa- 
tions, and in very various circumstances, before 
Christ came ; but all these dispensations were to pre- 
pare the way for his coming. God wrought salva- 
tion for the souls of men through all that space of 
time, though the number was very small to what it 
was afterwards ; and all this was by way of antici- 
pation. All the souls that were saved before Christ 
came, were only the earnests of the future harvest. 

God wrought many deliverances for his church 






THE FALL TO THE INCARNATION. 27 

and people before Christ came ; but these were only 
so many images and forerunners of the great salva- 
tion he was to work out. The church during that 
space of time enjoyed the light of divine revelation. 
They had in a degree the light of the Gospel. But 
all these revelations were only so many earnests of 
the great light that he should bring who came to be 
the Light of the world. That whole space of time 
was the time of night, wherein the church of God 
was not indeed wholly without light ; but it was like 
the light of the moon and stars ; a dim light in com- 
parison of the light of the sun, and mixed with a 
great deal of darkness. It " had no glory by reason 
of the glory that excelleth." 2 Cor. 3: 10. The 
church had indeed the light of the sun, but it was 
only as reflected from the moon and stars. The 
church all that while was a minor. Gal. 4 : 1-3. 
" Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, 
differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord 
of all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the 
time appointed of the father. Even so we, when 
we were children, were in bondage under the ele- 
ments of the world." 

Fof greater clearness and distinctness, I shall sub- 
divide this period into six lesser periods: 

First. From the fall to the flood ; 

Second. From the flood to the calling of Abraham ; 

Third. From the calling of Abraham to Moses; 

Fourth. From Moses to David ; 

Fifth. From David to the captivity in Babylon ; 

Sixth. From the captivity to the incarnation of 
Christ. 



23 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

CHAPTER I. 

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 

Though this period was the most distant from 
Christ's incarnation, yet then was this glorious 
building begun. 

I. As soon as man fell, Christ entered on his me- 
diatorial work. Then it was that he began to exe- 
cute the work and office of a Mediator. He had un- 
dertaken it before the world was made. He stood 
engaged with the Father from eternity, to appear as 
man's Mediator, and to take on him that office, when 
there should be occasion. And now the time was 
come. Christ the eternal Son of God clothed him- 
self with the mediatorial character, and therein im- 
mediately presented himself before the Father as 
Mediator between a holy, infinite, offended Majesty, 
and offending mankind. He was accepted in his in- 
terposition ; and thus wrath was prevented from 
going forth in the full execution of the amazing 
curse that man had brought on himself. 

It is manifest that Christ began to exercise the 
office of Mediator between God and man as soon as 
man fell, because mercy began to be exercised to- 
wards man immediately. There was mercy in the 
forbearance of God, that he did not destroy him, as he 
did the angels when they fell. But there is no mercy 
exercised towards fallen man except through a Medi- 
ator. If God had not in mercy restrained Satan, he 
would immediately have seized on his prey. Christ 
began to do the part of an intercessor for man as soon 
as he fell ; for there is no mercy exercised towards 



THE PALL TO THE FLOOD 29 

man but what is obtained through Christ's interces- 
sion. From that day Christ took on him the care of 
the church, in the exercise of all his offices. He 
undertook to teach mankind in the exercise of his 
prophetical office: to intercede for fallen man in 
his priestly office ; and to govern the church and 
the world as a King. He from that time took upon 
him the defence of his people from all their enemies. 
When Satan, the grand enemy, had conquered and 
overthrown man, the business of resisting and con- 
quering him was committed to Christ. He thence- 
forward undertook to manage that subtle, powerful 
adversary. He was then appointed the Captain of the 
Lord's hosts, the Captain of their salvation. Hence- 
forward this world, with all its concerns, devolved 
upon the Son of God: for when man had sinned, 
God the Father would have no more to do immedi- 
ately with this world of mankind, that had aposta- 
tized from and rebelled against him. He would 
henceforward act ^nly through a Mediator, either 
in teaching men, or in governing, or bestowing any 
benefits on them. 

And therefore, when we read in sacred history 
what God did, from time to time, for his church and 
people, and how he revealed himself to them, we are 
to understand it especially of the second person of 
the Trinity. When we read of God appearing after 
the fall, in some visible form or outward symbol of 
his presence, we are ordinarily, if not universally, to 
understand it of the Son of God. John, 1:18. " No 
man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten 
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath 
declared him." He is therefore called " the image 
of the invisible God," Col. 1:15; intimating-, that 



30 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

though God the Father be invisible, yet Christ is his 
image or representation, by which he is seen. 

Yea, not only this world devolved on Christ, that 
he might have the care and government of it, and 
order it agreeably to his design of redemption, but 
also in some respect the whole universe. The angels 
from that time are subject to him in his mediatorial 
office, as is manifest by the Scripture history, where- 
in we have accounts of their acting as ministering 
spirits in the affairs of the church. 

And therefore we may suppose, that immediately 
on the fall of Adam, it was made known in heaven 
among the angels, that God had a design of redemp- 
tion with respect to fallen man ; that Christ had now 
taken upon him the office and work of a Mediator 
between God and man ; and that they were to be sub- 
servient to him in this office. And as Christ, in this 
office, has been solemnly installed the King of hea- 
ven, and is thenceforward as God-man, the Light, 
the Sun of heaven, (agreeable to Rev. 21 : 23,) so this 
revelation made in heaven among the angels, was as 
it were the first dawning of this light there. When 
Christ ascended into heaven, after his passion, and 
was solemnly enthroned, then this sun arose in hea- 
ven, even the Lamb, that is the light of the New 
Jerusalem. 

II. Presently upon this the Gospel ivas first re- 
vealed on earth, in these words, Gen. 3:15, " And 
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy 
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." We must sup- 
pose that God's intention of redeeming fallen man 
was first signified in heaven, before it was on earth, 
because the business of the angels, as ministering 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 31 

Spirits of the Mediator, required it ; for as soon as 
Christ had taken on him the work of a Mediator, it 
was requisite that the angels should be ready imme- 
diately to be subservient to him in that office : so that 
the light first dawned in heaven ; but very soon af- 
terwards, the same was signified on earth. In those 
words of God there was an intimation of another 
surety to be appointed for man, after the first surety 
had failed. This was the first revelation of the cove- 
nant of grace; the first dawning of the light of the 
Gospel on earth. 

This world before the fall enjoyed noon-day light ; 
the light of the knowledge of God, of his glory, and 
of his favor. But when man fell, all this light was 
at once extinguished, and the world reduced again 
to total darkness ; a darkness worse than that which 
was in the beginning of the world, Gen. 1:2. " Dark- 
ness was upon the face of the deep," a darkness a 
thousand times more remediless than that. Neither 
men nor angels could find out any way whereby this 
darkness might be scattered. It appeared in its black- 
ness when Adam and his wife saw that they were 
naked, and sewed fig-leaves to cover themselves ; 
when they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking 
in the garden, and hid themselves among the trees. 
When God first called them to an account, and said 
to Adam, " What is this that thou hast done 1 Hast 
thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that 
thou shouldst not eat 1 ?" Then we may suppose that 
their hearts were filled with shame and terror. But 
these words of God, Gen. 3 : 15, were the first dawn- 
ing of gospel light, after this dismal darkness. Be- 
fore this there was not one glimpse of light, any 
beam of comfort, or the least hope. It was an obscure 



O'Z HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

yet comprehensive revelation of the Gospel ; not in. 
deed made to Adam or Eve directly, but contained 
in what God said to the serpent. 

Here was a certain intimation of a merciful design 
by "the seed of the woman," which was like the 
first glimmerings of the light in the east when the 
day first dawns. This intimation of mercy was 
given even before sentence was pronounced on either 
Adam or Eve, from tenderness to them, lest they 
should be overborne with a sentence of condemna- 
tion, without having any thing held forth whence 
they could gather any hope. 

One of those great things intended to be done by 
the work of redemption, is more plainly intimated : 
God's subduing his enemies under the feet of his Son. 
God's design of this was now first declared. Satan 
probably triumphed greatly in the fall of man, as 
though he had defeated the designs of God in his 
creation. But in these words God gives him a 
plain intimation that he should not finally triumph, 
but that a complete victory and triumph should be. 
obtained over him by the seed of the woman. 

This revelation of the Gospel was the first thing 
that Christ did in his prophetical office. From the 
fall of man to the incarnation of Christ, God was 
doing those things that were preparatory to Christ's 
coming to effect redemption, and were forerunners 
and earnests of it. And one of those things was to 
foretell and promise it, as he did from age to age, 
till Christ came. This wns the first promise given, 
the first prediction made of it. 

III. Soon after this, the custom of sacrifici/tg 
was appointed, to be a standing type of the sacrifice 
of Christ till he should come and offer up himself 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 33 

n. sacrifice to God. Sacrificing was not a custom 
first established by the Levitical law, for it had 
been a part of God's instituted worship from the 
beginning. We read of the patriarchs, Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, offering sacrifice, and before them 
Noah and Abel. And this was by divine appoint- 
ment ; for it was part of God's worship in his 
church, which was offered up in faith, and which 
he accepted. This proves that it was by his insti- 
tution ; for sacrificing is no part of natural worship. 
The light of nature does not teach men to offer up 
beasts in sacrifice to God ; and seeing it was not 
enjoined by the law of nature, it must, to be accept- 
able to God, be by some positive command or insti- 
tution ; for God has declared his abhorrence of such 
worship as is taught by the precept of men without 
his will. Isa. 29 : 13. And such worship as has 
not a warrant from divine institution, cannot be 
offered up in faith, because faith has no foundation 
where there is no divine appointment. Men have 
no warrant to hope for God's acceptance, in that 
which is not of his appointment, and to which he 
has not promised his acceptance : and therefore it 
follows, that the custom of offering sacrifices to God 
was instituted soon after the fall; for the Scripture 
teaches us, that Abel offered " the firstlings of his 
flock, and of the fat thereof," Gen. 4:4; and that 
he was accepted of God in this offering, Heb. 11:4. 
And there is nothing in the story intimating that 
the institution was first given when Abel offer- 
ed up that sacrifice to God ; but it appears that 
he only therein complied with a custom already 
established. 

It is very probable that sacrifice was instituted 

Redemption. 3 



34 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

immediately after God had revealed the covenant of 
grace, Gen. 3 : 15, as the foundation on which the 
custom of sacrificing was built. That promise was 
the first stone laid towards this glorious building, 
the work of redemption ; and the next stone was 
the institution of sacrifices, to be a type of the great 
Sacrifice. 

The next thing of which w r e have an account, 
after God had pronounced sentence on the serpent, 
on the woman, and on the man, was, that God made 
them coats of skins, and clothed them ; which are 
generally thought to be the skins of beasts slain in 
sacrifice. For we have no account of any thing else 
that should be the occasion of man's slaying beasts, 
except to ofTer them in sacrifice, till after the flood. 
Men were not wont to eat the flesh of beasts as their 
common food till after the flood. The food of man 
before the fall, was the fruit of the trees of paradise ; 
and after the fall, his food was the produce of the 
field. Gen. 3:18. "And thou shalt eat the herb 
of the field.' 1 The first grant that he had to eat 
flesh as his common food, was after the flood. Gen. 
9 : 3. "Every moving thing that liveth shall be 
meat for you ; even as the green herb have I given 
you all things." So that it is likely these skins 
with which Adam and Eve were clothed, were the 
skins of their sacrifices. God's clothing them with 
these was a lively figure of their being clothed with 
the righteousness of Christ. This clothing was not 
of their own obtaining; but God gave it them. It 
is said, " God made them coals of skins, and clothed 
them" as the righteousness with which we are 
clothed is of God. It is he only clothes the naked 
soul. 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 35 

Our first parents, who were naked, were clothed 
at the expense of life. Beasts were slain, to afford 
them clothing. So was Christ, to afford clothing 
to our naked souls. The tabernacle in the wilder- 
ness, which signified the church, was covered with 
rams' skins dyed red, as though they were dipped 
in blood, to signify that Christ's righteousness was 
wrought out through the pains of death, under which 
he shed his precious blood. 

We observed before, that the light which the 
church enjoyed from the fall of man till Christ 
came, was like the light which we enjoy in the 
night ; not the light of the sun directly, but as re- 
flected from the moon and stars; which light pre- 
figured Christ, the Sun of righteousness afterwards 
to arise. This light they had chiefly two ways ; one 
by predictions of Christ to come ; the other by types 
and shadows, wherein his coming and redemption 
were prefigured. The first thing done to prepare 
the way for Christ in the former method, was in the 
promise above considered; and the first thing of the 
latter kind, was the institution of sacrifices. As 
that promise in Gen. 3:15, was the first dawn of 
gospel light after the fall in prophecy ; so the insti- 
tution of sacrifices was the first hint of it in types. 
The former was done in pursuance of Christ's pro- 
phetical office ; in the latter, Christ exhibited him- 
self in his priestly office. 

The institution of sacrifices was a great thing 
done towards preparing the way for Christ's com- 
ing, and working out redemption. For the sacri- 
fices of the Old Testament were the principal of all 
the Old Testament types of Christ and his redemp- 
tion ; and it tended to establish in the minds of 



30 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

God's visible church the necessity of a propitiatory 
sacrifice, in order to the Deity's being satisfied for 
sin ; and so prepared the way for the reception of 
the glorious Gospel, that reveals the great sacrifice 
not only in the visible church, but through the 
world of mankind. For from this institution of 
sacrifices, all nations derived the custom of sacri- 
ficing to the gods, to atone for their sins. No nation, 
however barbarous, was found without it. This is 
a great evidence of the truth of revealed religion ; 
for no nation, except the Jews, could tell how they 
came by this custom, or to what purpose it was to 
offer sacrifices to their deities. The light of nature 
did not teach them any such thing. That did not 
teach them that the gods were hungry, and fed 
upon the flesh which they burnt in sacrifice ; and 
yet they all had this custom : of which no other 
account can be given, but that they derived it from 
Noah, who had it from his ancestors, on whom God 
had enjoined it as a type of the great sacrifice of 
Christ. However, by this means all nations of the 
world had their minds possessed with this notion, 
that an atonement or sacrifice for sin was necessary ; 
and a way was made for their more readily receiv- 
ing the great doctrine of the Gospel, the atonement 
and sacrifice of Christ. 

IV. God soon after the fall began actually to save 
the souls of men through Christ's redemption. In 
this, Christ, who had lately taken upon him the work 
of Mediator between God and man, did first begin 
that work, wherein he appeared in the exercise of 
his kingly office ; as in the sacrifices he was repre- 
sented in his priesth/ office, and as in the first pre- 
diction of redemption by Christ, he had appeared in 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 37 

the exercise of his prophetical office. In that pre 
diction the light of Christ's redemption first began 
to dawn in the prophecies of it ; in the institution 
of sacrifices it first began to dawn in the types of it ; 
in this, viz. his beginning actually to save men, it' 
first began to dawn in the fruit of it. 

It is probable, therefore, that Adam and Eve 
were the first fruits of Christ's redemption ; it is 
probable by God's manner of treating them, by his 
comforting them as he did, after their awakenings 
and terrors. They were awakened, and ashamed 
with a sense of their guilt, after their eyes were 
opened, and they saw that they were naked, and 
sewed fig-leaves to cover their nakedness ; as the 
sinner, under the first awakenings, is wont to en- 
deavor to hide the nakedness of his soul by a fan- 
cied righteousness of his own. Then they were 
further terrified and awakened, by hearing the voice 
of God as he was coming to condemn them. Their 
coverings of fig-leaves did not answer the purpose ; 
they ran to hide themselves among the trees of the 
garden, because they were naked, not daring to trust 
to their fig-leaves to hide their nakedness from God. 
Then they were further awakened by God's calling 
ihem to a strict account. But while their terrors 
were raised to such a height, and they stood, as we 
may suppose, trembling and astonished before their 
Judge, without any expedient whence they could 
gather hope, then God took care to hold forth some 
encouragement, to keep them from the dreadful 
effects of despair under their awakenings, by giving 
a hint of a design of mercy by a Savior, even before 
he pronounced sentence against them. And when 
after this he proceeded tc pronounce sentence, where* 



38 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

by we may suppose their terrors were further raised, 
God soon after took care to encourage them, and to 
let them see that he had not wholly cast them off, 
by taking a fatherly care of them in their fallen, 
naked, and miserable state, by making them coats 
of skins and clothing them. This also manifested 
an acceptance of those sacrifices that they offered to 
God, which were types of what God had promised, 
when he said, " The seed of the woman shall bruise 
the serpent's head;" which promise, there is reason 
to think, they believed and embraced. Eve seems 
plainly to express her hope in and dependance on 
that promise, in what she says at the birth of Cain, 
Gen. 4 : 1, "I have gotten a man from the Lord ;" 
that is, as God has promised that my seed should 
bruise the serpent's head ; so now has God given me 
this pledge and token of it, that I have a seed born. 
She plainly owns that this child was from God, and 
hoped that her promised seed was to be of this, her 
eldest son ; though she was mistaken, as Abraham 
was with respect to Ishmael, Isaac with respect to 
Esau, and Samuel with respect to the first-born of 
Jesse. And especially does what she said at the 
birth of Seth, express her hope and dependance on 
the promise of God : " For God hath appointed me 
another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." 

Thus it is very probable, if not evident, that as 
Christ took on him the work of Mediator as soon as 
man fell; so he now immediately be^an his work 
of redemption in its effect, encountering his great 
enemy the devil, whom he had undertaken to con- 
quer, and rescuing those two first captives out of his 
Hands ; therein baffling him soon after his triumph 
over them, whereby he had made them his captives. 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 39 

And though he seemed sure of them and all their 
posterity, Christ the Redeemer soon showed him 
that he was mistaken. He let him see it, in deliv- 
ering those first captives, and so soon gave him an 
instance of the fulfillment of that threatening, The 
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, 
and in this instance a presage of his subduing all 
his enemies under his feet. 

After this we have another instance of redemp- 
tion in one of their children, " righteous Abel," as 
the Scripture calls him ; whose soul perhaps was the 
first that went to heaven through Christ's redemp- 
tion. In him we have at least the first recorded in- 
stance of the death of a redeemed person. If he was 
the first, then as the redemption of Christ began to 
dawn before in the souls of men in their conversion 
and justification, in him it first began to dawn in 
glorification ; and at his death the angels began first 
to act as ministering spirits to Christ, in going forth 
to conduct to glory the souls of the redeemed. In 
him they had the first opportunity to see so wonder- 
ful a thing as the soul of one of the fallen race of 
man, that had been sunk by the fall into such an 
abyss of sin and misery, brought to heaven, and in 
the enjoyment of heavenly glory, which was a 
much greater thing than if they had seen him re- 
turned to the earthly paradise. Thus they saw the 
glorious effect of Christ's redemption, in the great 
honor and happiness that was procured for sinful, 
miserable creatures. 

V. The next remarkable thing that God did in 
farther carrying on this great redemption, was the 
first uncommon outpouring of the Spirit, through 
Christ, in the days of Enos. We read, Gen. 4 : 26, 



40 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

" Then began men to call upon the name of the 
Lord." The meaning of these words has been con- 
siderably controverted. We cannot suppose the 
meaning is, that then first men performed the duty 
of prayer. Prayer is a duty of natural religion, 
and a duty to which a spirit of piety most naturally 
leads men. Prayer is the very breath of a spirit of 
piety; and we cannot suppose that holy men, for 
above two hundred years, had lived without prayer. 
Therefore some divines think that the meaning is, 
that then men first began to perform public worship, 
or to call upon the name of the Lord in public assem- 
blies. However, thus much must necessarily be 
understood by it, that there was something naw in 
the visible church of God with respect to calling 
upon the name of the Lord ; that there was a great 
addition to the performance of this duty; and that 
in some respect or other it was carried far beyond 
what it ever had been before, which must be the 
consequence ofaTemarkable outpouring of the Spirit 
of God. 

If it was now first that men were stirred up to 
meet in assemblies to assist one another in seeking 
God as they had never done before, it argues some- 
thing extraordinary as the cause ; and could be from 
nothing but the uncommon influences of God's Spirit, 
which are always attended with a great increase of 
prayer. When the Spirit of God begins a work on 
men's hearts, it immediately inclines them to call 
on the name of the Lord. As it was with Paul af- 
ter the Spirit of God had arrested him ; M Behold, he 
prayeth !" so it has been in all remarkable effusions 
of the Spirit of God recorded in Scripture ; and so it 
will be in the latter days. It is foretold that the 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 41 

Holy Spirit will be poured out as a spirit of grace 
and supplication, Zech. 12 : 10. See also Zeph. 3: 
9. " For then will I turn to the people a pure lan- 
guage, that they may all call upon the name of the 
Lord, to serve him with one consent." 

And when it is said, " Then began men to cal\ 
upon the name of the Lord," no more can be intend- 
ed by it than that this was the first remarkable sea- 
son of this nature. It was the beginning of such a 
work of God. In this manner such an expression 
is commonly used in Scripture. So 1 Sam. 14 : 35. 
" And Saul built an altar unto the Lord ; the same 
was the first altar that he built unto the Lord." In 
the Hebrew it is, as may be seen in the margin, that 
altar he began to build unto the Lord. So Heb. 2 : 3. 
" How shall we escape if we neglect so great salva- 
tion, which first began to be spoken by the Lord ?" 

It may here be observed, that from the fall of man 
to our day, the work of redemption in its effects has 
mainly been carried on by remarkable outpourings 
of the Spirit of God. Though there be a more con- 
stant influence of God's Spirit always in some de- 
gree attending his ordinances, yet the way in which 
the greatest things have been done towards carrying 
on this work, has always been by remarkable effu- 
sions at special seasons of mercy, as may fully ap- 
pear in our further prosecution of the subject. And 
this in the days of Enos, was the first remarkable 
outpouring of the Spirit recorded. There had been 
a saving work of God on the hearts of some before ; 
but now God was pleased to bring in a harvest of 
souls to Christ ; so that in this we see that great 
building, of which God laid the foundation immedi- 



42 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ately after the fall, carried on further, and built high- 
er, than it had been before. 

VI. The next thing I notice, is the eminently holy 
life of Enoch, who, we have reason to think, was a 
saint of greater eminence than any that had been be- 
fore him ; so that in this respect the work of re- 
demption was carried on to a still greater height. 
With respect to its effect in the visible church in 
general, we observed above, that it was carried high- 
er in the days of Enos than ever before. Probably 
Enoch was one of the saints of that harvest ; for he 
lived, all the days that he did live on earth, in the 
days of Enos. And with respect to the degree to 
which this work was carried in the soul of a par- 
ticular person, it was raised to a greater height in 
Enoch than ever before. His soul, built on Christ, 
was built up in holiness to a greater height than 
any preceding him. He was a wonderful instance 
of Christ's redemption and of the efficacy of his 
grace. 

VII. In Enoch's time, God more expressly re- 
vealed the coming of Christ than he had before done. 
Jude, ver. 14, 15. "And Enoch also, the seventh 
from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the 
Lord comcth with ten thousand of his saints, to exe- 
cute judgment upon all, and to convince all that arc 
ungodly among them, of their ungodly deeds which 
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against 
him." This prophecy does not seem to be confined 
to any particular coming of Christ; but it has re- 
spect in general to Christ's coming in his kingdom, 
and is fulfilled in a degree in both his first and 
second coming ; and indeed in every remarkable 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 43 

manifestation Christ has made of himself in the 
world, for the saving of his people and the destruc- 
tion of his enemies. It is very parallel in this re- 
spect with many other prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment ; and, in particular, with that great prophecy 
of Christ's coming in his kingdom, whence the 
Tews principally took their notion of the kingdom of 
heaven. Daniel, 7 : 10. "A fiery stream issued, and 
came forth from before him : thousand thousands 
ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten 
thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, 
and the books were opened." And ver. 13, 14. "1 
saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the 
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him 
near before him. And there was given him domin- 
ion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, na- 
tions, and lan^ua^es should serve him : his domin- 
ion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be de- 
stroyed." And though it is not unlikely that Enoch 
might have a more immediate respect in this prophe- 
cy, to the approaching destruction of the old world 
by the flood, which was a remarkable resemblance 
of Christ's destruction of all his enemies at his 
second coming, yet it doubtless looked beyond the 
type to the antitype. 

And as this prophecy of Christ's coming is more 
express than any preceding it; so it is an instance 
of the increase of that gospel light which began to 
dawn presently after the fall. 

And here, by the way, I would observe, that the 
increase of gospel light, and the progress of the 
work of redemption, as it respects the church in 



44 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

general, from its erection to the end of the world, is 
very similar to the progress of the same work, and 
the same light, in a particular soul, from the time 
of its conversion till perfected and crowned in glory. 
Sometimes the light shines brighter, and at other 
times more obscurely ; sometimes grace prevails, at 
other limes it seems to languish for a great while 
together ; now corruption prevails, and then grace 
revives again. But in general grace is growing: 
from its commencement till perfected in glory, the 
kingdom of Christ is building up in the soul. So it 
is with the great work of redemption generally, as 
it is carried on from its first beginning till it is per- 
fected at the end of the world. 

VIII. The next remarkable thing in carrying on 
this work, was the translation of Enoch into heaven. 
"And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; 
for God took him." Gen. 5 : 24. Moses, in giving 
an account of the genealogy of those that were of the 
line of Noah, does not say concerning Enoch, he 
lived so long and he died, as he does of the rest : 
but, " he was not, for God took him :" he translated 
him ; in body and soul carried him to heaven with- 
out dying, as it is explained, Heb. 11:5. " By faith 
•Enoch w;is translated that he should not see death." 
By this wonderful work of God the work of redemp- 
tion was carried to a greater height, in several re- 
spects, than it had been before. 

When showing what were the great things God 
intended in the work of redemption, I mentioned 
anions others, the perfect restoration of the ruins of 
the fall, with respect to the elect, both in soul and 
body. This translation of Enoch was the first in« 
stance of restoration with respect to the body. There 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 45 

had been many instances of restoring the soul of man 
by Christ's redemption, but none of redeeming and 
actually saving the body, till now. At the end of 
the world, all the bodies of the saints shall actually 
be redeemed ; those that shall be dead, by a resur- 
rection ; and others, that shall then be living, by 
causing them to undergo a glorious change. A 
number of the bodies of saints were raised and glori- 
fied at the resurrection of Christ ; and before that 
there was an instance of a body glorified in Elijah. 
But the first instance of all was this of Enoch. 

By this the work of redemption was carried on 
still further ; as thereby God afforded a great increase 
of gospel light to the church, a clearer manifestation 
of a future state, and of the glorious -reward of the 
saints in heaven. We are told, 2 Tim. 1:10," That 
life and immortality are brought to light by the Gos- 
pel." What was said in the Old Testament of a future 
state, is very obscure, in comparison with the more 
full, plain, and abundant revelation of it in the New. 
But yet, even in those early days, the church of God, 
in this instance, was favored with an evidence of it 
set before their eyes, in that one of their brethren was 
actually taken up to heaven without dying; which 
we have reason to think the church of God knew 
then, as they afterwards knew Elijah's translation. 
And as this was a clearer manifestation of a future 
state than the church had enjoyed before, so it was 
a pledge or earnest of that future glorification of all 
the saints which God intended through the redemp- 
tion of Jesus Christ. 

IX. The next thing I observe, was the upholding 
of the church of God in that family frcm which 
Christ was to proceed, during that great and gene- 



46 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ral defection which preceded the flood. The church 
of God, in all probability, was small, in comparison 
with the rest of the world, from the time that man- 
kind began to multiply ; or from the time (Gen. 4 : 
1(3) " when Cain went out from the presence of the 
Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod ; which, being 
interpreted, is the land of banishment. The church 
seems to have been continued chiefly in the posterity 
of Seth; for this was the seed that God appointed in- 
stead of Abel, w r hom Cain slew. But we cannot rea- 
sonably suppose that Seth's posterity were one fifti- 
eth part of the world; for Adam was one hundred 
and thirty years old when Seth was born. But Cain, 
who seems to have been the leader of those that were 
not of the church, was Adam's eldest child, and pro- 
bably was born soon after the fall, which doubtless 
was soon after Adam's creation; so that there was 
time for Cain to have many sons before Seth was 
born ; besides many other children that probably 
Adam and Eve had before this time, agreeably to 
God's blessing, " Be fruitful and multiply, and re- 
plenish the earth ;" and many of these children might 
have children. The history of Cain before Seth was 
bprn, seems to imply that there were great numbers 
of men on the earth. Gen. 4 : 14, 15. " Behold, thou 
hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth : 
and from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugi- 
tive and a vagabond in the earth: and it shall come 
to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever 
slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven- 
fold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any 
finding him should kill him." And all who existed 
when Seth was born, must be supposed to stand in 



THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 47 

equal capacity of multiplying their posterity with 
him ; and thus Seth's posterity were probably but a 
small part of the inhabitants of the world. 

But after the days of Enos and Enoch, (for Enoch 
was translated before Enos died) the church of God 
greatly diminished, in proportion as multitudes of 
the line of Seth, born in the church of God, fell 
away, and joined with the wicked world, principally 
by means of intermarriages with them ; as Gen. 6 : 
1. 2, 4. "And it came to pass, when men began to 
multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters 
were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the 
daughters of men, that they were fair ; and they took 
them wives of all which they chose. — There were 
giants in the earth ijn those days ; and also after that, 
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters 
of men, and they bare children to. them, the same 
became mighty men, which were of old men of re- 
nown." By the sons of God here are doubtless meant 
the children of the church. It is a denomination often 
given them in Scripture. They intermarried with the 
wicked world, and so had their hearts led away from 
God ; and there was a great and continual defection. 
The church, that used to be a restraint on the wick- 
ed world, diminished exceedingly, and so wickedness 
prevailed. Satan, that old serpent the devil, that 
tempted our first parents, and set up himself as the 
God of this world, raged exceedingly; every im- 
agination of the thoughts of man's heart was only 
evil continually, and the earth w T as filled with vio- 
lence. It seems to have been deluged with wicked- 
ness then, as it was with water afterwards : and man- 
kind in general were swallowed up in it. And 
now Satan made a most violent attempt to devour 



48 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the church of God ; and had almost done it. But 
yet God preserved it, in the midst of all this flood of 
wickedness and violence, in that line of which Christ 
was to proceed. He would not suffer it to be destroy- 
ed, for a blessing was in it. There was a particular 
family, a root whence the branch of righteousness 
was afterwards to shoot forth. And therefore, how- 
ever the branches were lopped off, and the tree seem- 
ed to be destroyed, yet God in the midst of all kept 
alive this root, by his wonderful redeeming power 
and grace, so that the gates of hell could not prevail 
against it. 

Thus I have shown how God carried on the great 
work of redemption during this first period, from 
(he fall of man till God brought the flood on the 
earth. And I would observe, that though the Mosaic 
history during that space be very short, yet it is ex- 
ceedingly comprehensive and instructive. And it 
may also be profitable here to observe, the efficacy 
of that purchase of redemption which had such 
great effects so many ages before Christ actually 
appeared. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE FLOOD TO THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM. 

I proceed now to show how the same work was 
carried on from the beginning of the flood till the 
calling of Abraham. For though that universal de- 
luge overthrew the world, it did not overthrow this 



THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 49 

building of God, the work of redemption. This went 
on; and instead of being overthrown, continued to 
be built up, in order to a further preparation for the 
great Savior's coming into the world for the redemp- 
tion of his people. 

I. The flood itself was a work of God that be- 
longed to this great design, and tended to promote 
it. All the mighty works of God, from the fall to the 
end of the world, rightly viewed, will appear as parts 
of this grand work, and so many steps for carrying 
it on ; and doubtless so great a work, so remarkable 
and universal a catastrophe, as the deluge, cannot 
be excepted. Thereby God removed out of the way 
the enemies and obstacles that were ready to over- 
throw it. 

Satan seems to have been in a dreadful rage just 
before the flood, and his rage then doubtless was, as 
it always has been, chiefly against the church of 
God to overthrow it; and he had filled the earth 
with violence and rage against it. He had drawn 
over almost all the world to be enlisted under his 
banner against Christ and his church. We read, that 
the earth was filled with violence ; and doubtless that 
violence was chiefly against the church, in fulfillment 
of what was foretold, " I will put enmity between 
thy seed and her seed." Their enmity and violence 
were so great, and the enemies of the church so 
numerous, the whole world being against it, that it 
was come to the last extremity. Noah's reproofs, and 
his preaching of righteousness, were utterly disre- 
garded. God's Spirit had striven with them a hun- 
dred and twenty years, but all in vain ; and the 
church was reduced to so narrow limits, as to be 
confined to one family. There was no prospect of 

Redemption. 4 



50 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

any thing else but of their totally swallowing up the 
church, and that in a very little time ; and so wholly 
destroying that small root that had the blessing in it, 
or whence the Redeemer was to proceed. 

And, therefore, God's destroying those enemies 
of the church by the flood, belongs to this design of 
redemption ; for k was one thing that was done in 
fulfillment of the covenant of grace, as it was reveal- 
ed to Adam : " I will put enmity between thee and 
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it 
shall bruise thy head." This was only a destruction 
of the seed of the serpent in the midst of their ut- 
most violent rage against the seed of the woman, 
when in the utmost peril. 

We scarcely read in Scripture of any destruction 
of nations, but one main reason given for it is, their 
enmity and injuries against God's church ; and 
doubtless this was one main reason of the destruc- 
tion of all nations by the flood. The giants that were 
in those days, in all probability got themselves re- 
nown by their great exploits against heaven, and 
against "Christ and his church, the remaining sons 
of God that had not corrupted themselves. 

We read, that just before the world shall be de- 
stroyed by tire, " the nations that are in the four 
quarters of the earth shall gather together against 
the church as the sand of the sea, and shall go up 
on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp 
of the saints about, and the beloved city ; and then 
fire shall come down from God out of heaven and 
devour them." Rev. 20 : S, 9. And it seems there was 
what was very parallel to it, just before the world 
was destroyed by water. And therefore their destruc- 
tion was a work of God that as much belonged 



THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 51 

to the work of redemption, as the destruction of the 
Egyptians belonged to the redemption of the chil- 
dren of Israel out of Egypt, or as the destruction of 
Sennacherib's mighty army, which had compassed 
about Jerusalem to destroy it, belonged to God's re- 
demption of that city from them. 

By means of this flood, all the enemies of God's 
church, against whom that little handful had no 
strength, were swept ofTat once. God took their part, 
appeared for them against their enemies, and drown- 
ed those of whom they had been afraid, in this flood, 
as he drowned the enemies of Israel that pursued 
them in the Red Sea. 

Indeed God could have taken other methods to de- 
liver his church : he could have converted all the 
world instead of drowning it; and so he could have 
taken another method than drowning the Egyptians 
in the Red Sea. But that is no argument that the 
method he did take was not a method to show his 
redeeming mercy to his people. 

By the deluge, the enemies of God's people were 
dispossessed, and the whole earth given to Noah and 
his family to possess in quiet; as God made room 
for the Israelites in Canaan, by casting out their 
enemies from before them. And God thus taking the 
possession of the enemies of the church, and giving 
it all to his people, was agreeable to that promise of 
the covenant of grace, Ps. 37:9-11. "For evil 
doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the 
Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little 
while and the wicked shall not be : yea, thou shalt 
diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But 
the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight 
themselves in the abundance of peace." 



52 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

II. Another thing belonging to the same work, 
was God's wonderfully 'preserving that family of 
which the Redeemer was to proceed,when all the rest 
of the world was drowned. God's drowning the 
world, and saving Noah and his family, had both 
respect to this great work. The saving of Noah 
and his family belonged to it, in two respects : as 
from that family the Redeemer was to proceed, and 
that family was the church, the mystical body of 
Christ. The manner of saving those persons, when 
all the world besides was so overthrown, was very 
wonderful. It was a remarkable type of the redemp- 
tion of Christ, of that redemption sealed by the bap- 
tism of water, and so spoken of in the New Testa- 
ment, as 1 Pet. 3 : 20, 21. " Which sometimes were 
disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God 
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a 
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were 
saved by water. The like figure whereunto, even 
baptism, doth also now save us, (not the putting 
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a 
good conscience towards God,) by the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ." That water which washed away 
the filth of the world, that cleared the world of wick- 
ed men, was a type of the blood of Christ, that takes 
away the sin of the world. That water which deliv- 
ered Noah and his sons from their enemies, is a type 
of the blood that delivers God's church from their 
sins, their worst enemies. That water which was so 
abundant that it filled the world and reached above 
the tops of the highest mountains, was a type of that 
blood, which is sufficient for the whole world — suf- 
ficient to bury the highest mountains of sin. The ark, 
that was the refuge and hiding-place of the church 



THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 53 

in this time of storm and flood, was a type of Christ, 
the true hiding-place of the church from the storms 
and floods of God's wrath. 

III. The next thing I observe is, the ncio grant 
of the earth God made to Noah and his family im- 
mediately after the flood, as founded on the covenant 
of grace. The sacrifice of Christ was represented 
by Noah's building an altar to the Lord, and offer- 
ing a sacrifice of every clean beast, and every clean 
fowl. And we have an account of God's accepting 
this sacrifice: and thereupon he blessed Noah, and 
established his covenant with him, and with his seed, 
promising to destroy the earth in like manner no 
more; signifying that it is by the sacrifice of Christ 
God's favor is obtained, and his people are in safety 
from destroying judgments, and have the blessing of 
the Lord. And God now, on occasion of this sacri- 
fice that Noah offered, gives him and his posterity a 
new grant of the earth ; a new power of dominion 
over the creatures, as founded on that sacrifice, and 
so oii the covenant of grace. And thus it is to be 
regarded as a distinct grant from that grant of the 
earth which was made to Adam, Gen. 1 : 28. " And 
Cod blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruit- 
ful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue 
it ; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing 
that moveth upon the earth." That grant was not 
founded on the covenant of grace ; for it was given 
to Adam while he was under the covenant of icorks, 
and therefore was rendered void when that cove- 
nant ceased. Hence it came to pass that the earth 
was taken a way from mankind by the flood; for the 
first grant was forfeited, and God had never made 



54 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

another after that, till after the flood. If the first cove- 
nant had not been broken, God never would have, 
drowned the world, and so have taken it away from 
mankind ; for then the first grant would have stood 
good. But that being broken, God, after a while, de- 
stroyed the earth, when the wickedness of man was 
great. 

But after the flood, on Noah's offering a sacrifice 
that represented the sacrifice of Christ, God, in smell- 
ing a sweet savor, or accepting the sacrifice — as it 
was a representation of the true sacrifice of Christ, 
which is a sweet savor indeed to God — gives Noah 
a new grant of the earth, founded on that covenant of 
grace which is by the sacrifice of Christ, with a pro- 
mise annexed, that now the earth should no more be 
destroyed till the consummation of all things. Gen. 
8 : 20-22. and chap. 9 : 1-7. The reason why such 
a promise, that God would no more destroy the earth, 
was added to this grant made to Noah, and not to 
that made to Adam, was that this was founded on the 
covenant of grace, of which Christ was the surety, 
and therefore could not be broken. And hence it 
comes to pass now, that though the wickedness of 
man has dreadfully raged, and the earth been filled 
with violence and wickedness, one age after another, 
and much more dreadful and aggravated wicked- 
ness, being against so much greater light and mercy, 
especially in these days of the Gospel: yet God's 
patience holds out : he does not destroy the earth : 
his mercy and forbearance abide according to his 
promise: and his grant established w r ith Noah and 
his sons remains firm and good, being founded on 
the covenant of grace. 

IV. On this God renews with Noah and his tons 



THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 55 

Ihe covenant of grace, Gen. 9:9, 10. " And I, be- 
hold I, establish my covenant with you, and with 
your seed after you, and with every living creature 
that is with you,' : &c. ; which was the covenant of 
grace ; of which even the brute creation have this be- 
nefit, that the earth shall never be destroyed again un- 
til the consummation of all things. By this expres- 
sion in Scripture, my covenant, is commonly to be 
understood the covenant of grace. The manner of 
expression, " I will establish my covenant with you, 
and with your seed after you," shows plainly that it 
was a covenant already in being, and that Noah 
would understand by that denomination the cove- 
nant of grace. 

V. God's disappointing the design of building the 
city and tower of Babel belongs to the great work of 
redemption ; for that was undertaken in opposition to 
this great building of God. Men's going about to build 
such a city and tower, was an effect of the corrup- 
tion into which mankind were now fallen. This 
city and tower were set up in opposition to the city 
of God, as the god to whom they built it was their 
pride. Being sunk into a disposition to forsake the 
true God, the first idol they set up in his room was 
their own fame. And as this city and tower had their 
foundation in the pride and vanity of men, and the 
haughtiness of their minds, so it was built on a foun- 
dation exceedingly contrary to the nature of the king- 
dom of Christ, and his redeemed city, which has its 
foundation in humility. 

God saw that it tended to frustrate the design of. 
that great building which was founded in Christ's 
blood ; and therefore the thing displeased the Lord, 
and he baffled and confounded the design ; as God 



56 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

will frustrate and confound all other designs, formed 
10 opposition to the great work of redemption. 

Isaiah, (chap. 2,) representing God setting up the 
kingdom of Christ in the world, foretells how, in or- 
der to it, he will bring down the haughtiness of men, 
and how the day of the Lord shall' be on every high 
tower, and upon every fenced wall, &c. Christ's 
kingdom is established, by bringing down every high 
thing to make way for it. 2 Cor. 10 : 4, 5. " For the 
weapons of our warfare are mighty, through God, to 
the pulling down of strong holds, casting down ima- 
ginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself 
against the knowledge of God." What is done in a 
particular soul, to make way for the setting up of 
Christ's kingdom, is to destroy Babel in that soul. 

They intended to have built Babel up to heaven. 
That building of which we speak shall reach to 
heaven indeed, the highest heavens, at the end of the 
world, when it shall be finished ; and therefore God 
would not suffer the building of his enemies, in op- 
position to it, to prosper. If they had prospered in 
building that city and tower, it might have kept the 
world of wicked men, the enemies of the church, to- 
gether, as was their design. They might have re- 
mained united in one vast, powerful city; and so 
have been too powerful for the city of God. 

This Babel is the same with the city of Babylon ; 
for Babylon in the original is Babel. But Babylon 
is always spoken of in Scripture as chiefly opposite 
to the city of God, as a powerful and terrible enemy, 
notwithstanding this great check put to the building 
of it in the beginning. But it probably would have 
been vastly more powerful, and able to vex, if not 
to destroy the church of God, if it had not been thus 
checked. 



THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 57 

VI, The dispersing of the nations, and dividing 
the earth among its inhabitants, immediately after 
God had caused the building of Babel to cease. 
This was done so as most to suit the great design 
of redemption. And particularly, God therein had an 
eye to the future propagation of the Gospel among 
the nations. They were so placed, their habitation 
so limited, round about the land of Canaan, as most 
suited that design. Deut. 32: 8. " When the Most 
High divided to the nations their inheritance, when 
he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds 
of the people according to the number of the chil- 
dren of Israel." Acts, 17 : 26, 27. " And hath made 
of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all 
the face of the earth, and hath determined the times 
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation ; 
that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might 
find him." The land of Canaan was situated 
the most conveniently of any place in the world, for 
the purpose of spreading revealed light among the 
nations in general. The Roman empire, the chief 
part of the civilized world, in the apostolic age, was 
in the countries round about Jerusalem. The devil 
seeing the advantage of this situation of the nations 
for promoting the great work of redemption, and the 
disadvantage of it with respect to the interests of his 
kingdom, afterwards led away many nations into the 
remotest parts of the world, to get them out of the 
way of the Gospel. Thus he led some into America; 
and others into cold northern regions, almost inac- 
cessible. 

VII. Another thing I would mention in this pe- 
riod, was God's preserving the true religion in that 
line from which Christ was to proceed, when the 



53 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

world in general apostatized to idolatry, and the 
church was in imminent danger of being swallowed 
up in the general corruption. Though God had 
lately wrought so wonderfully for the deliverance of 
his church, and had shown so great mercy towards 
it, as for its sake even to destroy all the rest of the 
world; and though he had lately renewed and es- 
tablished his covenant of grace with Noah and his 
sons ; yet so prone is the corrupt heart of man to de- 
part from God, and to sink into the depths of wick- 
edness, darkness, and delusion, that the world soon 
after the flood fell into gross idolatry ; so that before 
Abraham it was almost universal. The earth had 
become very corrupt at the time of the building of 
Babel : even God's people themselves, that line of 
which Christ was to come, were corrupted in a mea- 
sure with idolatry. Josh. 24 : 2. " Your fathers dwelt 
on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah 
the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor ; 
and they served other gods." " The other side of the 
flood " means beyond the river Euphrates, where 
the ancestors of Abraham lived. 

We are not to understand that they were wholly 
drawn ofTlo idolatry, to forsake the true God. For 
God is said to be the God of Nahor. Gen. 31 : 53. 
" The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, 
the God of their father, judge betwixt us." But 
they partook in some measure of the general and 
almost universal corruption of the times; as Solo- 
mon was in a measure infected with idolatrous cor- 
ruption ; and as the children of Israel in Egypt are 
said to serve other gods, though there was the true 
church of God among them; and as there were 
images ^ e pt for a considerable time in the family 



from Abraham to moses. 59 

of Jacob ; the corruption being brought from Pa- 
clan-Aram, whence he obtained his wives. 

This was the second time that the church was 
almost brought to nothing by the. corruption and 
general defection of the world from irue religion. 
But still the true religion was continued in the 
family from which Christ was to proceed ; which 
is another instance of God's remarkably preserving 
his church in a time of a general deluge of wicked- 
ness ; and wherein, though the god of this world 
raged, and had almost swallowed up God's church, 
yet he did not suffer the gates of hell to prevail 
asrainst it. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 

I. It pleased God now to separate that person of 
whom Christ was to come, from the rest of the 
world, that his church might be upheld in his family 
and posterity till that time. He called Abraham 
out of his own country and from his kindred, to go 
into a distant country that God should show him ; 
and brought him first out of Ur of the Chaldees to 
Charran, and then to the land of Canaan. 

It was before observed, that the corruption of the 
world with idolatry was now become general ; man- 
kind were almost wholly overrun with it. God 
therefore saw it necessary, in order to uphold true 
religion in the world, that there should be a family 
separated from all others, lest the church of Christ 



60 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

should wholly be carried away with the apostacy 
For Abraham's own country and kindred had most 
of them fallen off; and without some extraordinary 
interposition of Providence, it seemed that, in a ge- 
neration or two more, the true religion in this line 
would have been extinct. And therefore God called 
Abraham, the person in whose family he intended to 
uphold the true religion, out of his own country, and 
from his kindred, to a far distant country, that his pos- 
terity might there remain a people separate from all 
the rest of the world ; that so the true religion might 
be upheld there, while all mankind besides were 
swallowed up in Heathenism. 

The land of the Chaldees, whence Abraham was 
called, was the country about Babel : Babel, or Ba- 
bylon, being the chief city of Chaldea. Learned 
men suppose, that it was in this land idolatry first 
began ; that Babel and Chaldea were the original 
and chief seats of the worship of idols, whence it 
spread into other nations. And therefore the land 
of the Chaldeans, the country of Babylon, is in Scrip- 
ture called the land of graven images. Jer. 50 : 35, 33. 
"A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, 
and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her 
princes, and upon her wise men. A drought is 
upon her waters, and they shall be dried up ; for it is 
the land of graven images, and they are mad upon 
their idols." God calls Abraham out of this idola- 
trous country, to a great distance from it; and when 
he came there, "he gave him no inheritance in it, 
no, not so much as to set his foot on ;" but he re- 
mained a stranger and a sojourner, that he and his 
family might be kept separate from all the world. 

This was a new thine: : God had never taken 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 61 

such a method before. His church had not in this 
mitnner been separated from the rest of the world till 
now ; but were wont to dwell with them, the mis- 
chievous consequences of which had been found 
repeatedly. Before the flood the effect of God's 
people living intermingled with the wicked world, 
without any remarkable wall of separation, was, 
that the sons of the church joined in marriage with 
others, and thereby almost all soon became infect- 
ed, and the church was almost brought to nothing. 
The method God then took to protect the church 
was, to drown the wicked world, and save the church 
in the ark. Before Abraham was called, the world 
had again become corrupt. But now God took an- 
other method ; he did not destroy the wicked world, 
and save Abraham, and his wife, and Lot, but called 
these persons to go and live separate from the rest 
of the world. 

This was a new and great thin<* that Q d did to- 
wards the work of redemption. Tt was about the 
middle of the space of time between the fall of man 
and the coming of Christ ; about two thousand 
years before the great Redeemer was to appear. 
But by this calling of Abraham, the ancestor of 
Christ, a foundation was laid for upholding the 
church in the world till Christ should come. For 
the world having become idolatrous, there was a 
necessity in order to this, that the seed of the woman 
should be thus separated from it. 

And then it was needful that there should be a 
particular nation separated from the rest of the 
world, to receive the types and prophecies that were 
to be given of Christ, to prepare the way for his 
coming ; that to them might be committed the ora- 



G2 HISTORY OF REDEJIPTION. 

cles of God ; that by them the history of God's 
great works of creation and providence might bo 
preserved ; that Christ might be born of this nation ; 
and that from hence the light of the Gospel might 
shine forth to the rest of the world. These ends 
could not well be obtained, if God's people, through 
all these two thousand years, had lived intermixed 
with the heathen world. So that the call of Abra- 
ham may be looked upon as a kind of new founda- 
tion laid for the visible church of God, in a more 
distinct and regular state. Abraham, being the 
person in whom this foundation is laid, is represent- 
ed in Scripture as though he were the father of all 
the church, the father of all them that believe; a 
root whence the visible church rose as a tree, dis- 
tinct from all others. Of this tree Christ was the 
branch of righteousness ; and from it, after Christ 
came, the natural branches were broken off, and the 
Gentiles grafted in. So that Abraham still remains, 
through Christ, %e father, the root of the church. 
It is the same tree which, from that small beginning 
in Abraham's time, has in these days of the Gospel 
spread its branches over a great part of the earth, 
will fill the whole in due time, and at the end of the 
world shall be transplanted from an earthly soil into 
the paradise of God. 

II. There accompanied this a more particular 
and full revelation and confirmation of the covenant 
of grace than ever before. There had been before 
this two particular and solemn editions or confirma- 
tions of this covenant-; one, to our first parents, 
soon after the fall ; the other to Noah and his family, 
soon after the flood. And now there is a third, at 
and after the calling of Abraham. It was now re- 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 63 

vealed to Abraham, not only that Christ should 
come, but that he should be his seed ; and promis- 
ed that all the families of the earth should be bless- 
ed in him. And God repeated the promises of this 
to Abraham. The first promise was when he first 
called him. Gen. 12 : 2. " And I will make of thee 
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy 
name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing." The 
same promise was renewed after he came into the 
land of Canaan. Chap. 13: 14, &c. Again after 
Abraham had returned from the slaughter of the 
kings. Chap. 15:5, 6. And a fourth time after his 
offering up Isaac. Chap. 22: 16-18. 

In this renewal of the covenant of grace with 
Abraham, several particulars concerning it were re- 
vealed more fully than before: not only that Christ 
was to be of Abraham's seed, but also the calling 
of the Gentiles, that all nations should be brought 
into the church, all the families of the earth be bless- 
ed. And then the great condition of the covenant 
of grace, which is faith, was now more fully made 
known. Gen. 15:5,6. "And he said unto him, 
So shall thy seed be. And Abraham believed in 
the Lord ; and he counted it to him for righteous- 
ness ;" which is much noticed in the New Tes- 
tament, as that for which Abraham was called the 
father of believers. 

And as there was now a further revelation of the 
covenant of grace, so there was a further confirma- 
tion of it by seals and pledges ; particularly circum- 
cision, which was a seal of the covenant of grace, as 
appears by the first institution of it. Gen. 17. It 
there appears to be a seal of that covenant by which 
God promised to make Abraham a father of many 



64 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nations. Ver. 5, 9, 10. And we are expressly taught, 
that it was " a seal of the righteousness of faith." 
Rom. 4:11. Speaking of Abraham, the apostle 
says, " he received the sign of circumcision, a seal 
of the righteousness of faith." 

Abraham's family and posterity must be kept 
separate from the rest of the world till Christ should 
come ; and this sacrament was the principal wall 
of separation. Besides, God gave Abraham a re- 
markable pledge of the fulfillment of the promise he 
had made him, in his victory over Chedorlaomer 
and the kings that were with him. Chedorlaomer 
seems to have reigned over a great part of the world 
at that day ; and though he had his seat at Elam, 
perhaps a thousand miles from the land of Canaan, 
yet he extended his empire so as to reign over many 
parts of the land of Canaan, as appears by chap. 14 : 
4, 5, 6, 7. It is supposed by learned men, that he 
was a king of the Assyrian empire at that day, 
which had been begun by Nimrod at Babel. And 
as it was the honor of kings in those days to build 
cities for the seat of their empire, (Gen. 10 : 10-12,) 
so it is conjectured that he had gone forth and built 
him a city in Elam, and made that his seat; and 
that those other kings who came with him, were 
his deputies in the several cities and countries where 
they reigned. But yet, as mighty an empire as he 
had, and as great an army as he came with, Abra- 
ham, only with his trained servants, that were born 
in his house, conquered and subdued them all. 
This he received of God as a pledge of what he had 
promised: the victory that Christ his seed should 
obtain over the nations of the earth, whereby he 
should possess the gates of his enemies. It is plainly 



FKOM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 65 

spoken of as such in the 41st of Isaiah, where is 
foretold the future glorious victory the church shall 
obtain over the nations of the world. This victory 
of Abraham is spoken of as*a pledge and earnest of 
victory to the church. " Who raised up the righte- 
ous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave 
the nations before him, and made him rule over 
kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, 
and as driven stubble to his bow. He pursued 
them, and passed safely ; even by the way that he 
had not gone with his feet." 

Another remarkable confirmation Abraham re- 
ceived of the covenant of grace, was when he return- 
ed from the slaughter of the kings; when Melchise- 
dec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, 
that great type of Christ, met him, and blessed him, 
and brought forth bread and wine. The bread and 
wine signified the same blessings of the covenant 
of grace, that the bread and wine does in the Lord's 
supper.** And Melchisedec's coming to meet him 
with such a seal of the covenant of grace, on the 
occasion of this victory, evinces that it was a pledge 
of God's fulfillment of the same covenant. Gen. 14 : 
19, 20. 

Another confirmation of the covenant of grace, 
was the vision he had, in the deep sleep that fell 
upon him, of the smoking furnace, and burning lamp, 
that passed between the parts of the sacrifice. Gen. 
15. The sacrifice signified that of Christ. The 
smoking furnace that first passed through the midst 
of that sacrifice, signified the sufferings of Christ. 
But the burning lamp that followed, which shone 
with a clear bright light, signifies the glory that fol- 
lowed Christ's sufferings, and was procured by them. 

Redemption. 5 



66 IIISTOKY OF REDEMPTION. 

Another remarkable pledge that God gave Abra- 
ham of the fulfillment of the covenant of grace, was 
his giving that child of whom Christ was to come, 
in his old age; (Heb. 11 : 11, 12, and Rom. 4 : 18, 
&c.) and his delivering Isaac, after he was laid upon 
the wood of the sacrifice to be slain. This was a 
confirmation of Abraham's faith in the promise that 
God had made of Christ, that he should be of Isaac's 
posterity ; and was a representation of the resurrec- 
tion of Christ. Heb. 11 : 17-19. And because this 
was given as a confirmation of the covenant of grace, 
therefore God renewed that covenant with Abraham 
on this occasion. Gen. 24 : 15, &c. 

Thus it appears how much more fully the cove- 
nant of grace was revealed and confirmed in Abra- 
ham's time than ever it had been before ; by means 
of which Abraham seems to have had a clear view 
of Christ the great Redeemer, and the future things 
that were to be accomplished by him. And there- 
fore Christ informs us that " Abraham rejoiced to 
see his day, and he saw it, and was glad." John, 8 : 
56. So great an advance did it please God now to 
make in this building, which he had been carrying 
on from the beginning of the world. 

III. The next thing is God's preserving the pa- 
triarchs for so long a time in the midst of the wicked 
inhabitants of Canaan, and from all other enemies. 
The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were 
those of whom Christ was to proceed ; and they 
were now separated from the world, that in them 
his church might be upheld. Therefore, in pre- 
serving them, the great design of redemption was 
carried on. He preserved them, and kept the in- 
habitants of the land where they sojourned from do 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 67 

stroying them ; which was a remarkable dispensa- 
tion of Providence. For the inhabitants of the land 
were at that day very wicked, though they grew 
more wicked afterwards. This appears by Gen. 15 : 
16. " In the fourth generation they shall come 
hither again ; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not 
yet full :" as much as to say, though it be very 
great, it is not yet full. And their grea^ wick- 
edness also appears by Abraham and Isaac's aver- 
sion to their children marrying any of the daughters 
of the land. Abraham, when he was old, could not 
be content till he had made his servant swear that 
lie would not take a wife for his son of the daugh- 
ters of the land. And Isaac and Rebecca were con- 
tent to send away Jacob to so great a distance as 
Pailan-Aram, to take him a wife. And when Esau 
married some of the daughters of the land, we are 
told that they were "a grief of mind to Isaac and 
Rebecca." 

Another argument of their great wickedness, was 
the instances we have in Sodom and Gomorrah, Ad- 
mah and Zeboim, which were some of the cities of 
Canaan, though they were probably the most noto- 
riously wicked, and likely to have the most bit- 
ter enmity against these holy men ; agreeable to 
what was declared at first, " I will put enmity be- 
tween thee and the woman, and between thy seed 
and her seed." Their holy lives were a continual 
condemnation of the prevailing wickedness. They 
must have been often reproving such wickedness, as 
we find Lot was in Sodom; who, we are told, vexed 
his righteous soul with their unlawful deeds, and 
was to them a preacher of righteousness. 

And they were the more exposed to them, being 



b8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

strangers and sojourners in the land, and having as 
yet no inheritance there. Men are more apt to find 
fault with strangers, and to be irritated by any thing 
in them that offends, as they were with Lot in Sodom. 
He very gently reproved their wickedness; and 
they say upon it, "This fellow came in to sojourn, 
and he will needs be a ruler and a judge ;" and 
threatened what they would do to him. 

But God wonderfully preserved Abraham and 
Lot, Isaac and Jacob, and their families, amongst 
them, though they were few in number, and they 
might quickly have destroyed them ; which is no- 
ticed as a wonderful instance of God's preserving 
mercy towards his church. Psalm 105 : 12-15. 
" When they were but a few men in number ; yea, 
very few, and strangers in it. When they went 
from one nation to another, from one kingdom to 
another people. He suffered no man to do them 
wrong ; yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, say- 
ing, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets 
no harm." 

This preservation was in some instances very re- 
markable, when the people of the land were very 
greatly irritated and provoked ; as by Simeon and 
Levi's treatment of the Shechemites, Gen. 34 : 30, 
&c. God strangely preserved Jacob and his family, 
restraining the provoked people by an unusual ter- 
ror on their minds. " And the terror of God was 
upon the cities that were round about them, and they 
did not pursue after the sons of Jacob." Gen. 35 : 5. 

And God preserved them not only from the Ca- 
naanites, but from all others that intended mischief 
to them. He preserved Jacob and his company when 
pursued by Laban, full of rage, and a disposition to 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 69 

overtake him as an enemy. God met him, rebuk- 
ed him, and said to him, " Take heed that thou 
speak not to Jacob, either good or bad." How won- 
derfully did he also preserve him from Esau his 
brother, when he came forth with an army, with a 
full design to cut him off! How did God, in answer 
to his prayer, when Jacob wrestled with Christ at 
Penuel, wonderfully turn Esau's heart, and make 
him, instead of meeting him as an enemy with 
slaughter and destruction, meet him as a friend and 
brother, doing him no harm ! 

Thus was this handful, this little root that had the 
blessing of the Redeemer in it, preserved in the 
midst of enemies and dangers ; which was not un- 
like preserving the ark in the midst of the tempestu- 
ous deluge. 

IV. The next thing I mention is the awful de- 
struction of Sodom and Gomorr ah, and the neigh- 
boring cities. This promoted the great work design- 
ed in two ways : 

First, it tended powerfully to restrain the inhabi- 
tants of the land from injuring those holy strangers 
that God had brought to sojourn amongst them. 
Lot was one of those strangers ; he came into the 
land with Abraham : and Sodom was destroyed for 
their abusive disregard of Lot, the preacher of right- 
eousness. And their destruction came upon their 
committing a most injurious and abominable insult 
on Lot, and the strangers that were come into his 
house, even those angels, whom they probably took 
to be some of Lot's former acquaintance come to visit 
him. They in a most outrageous manner beset 
Lot's house, intending a monstrous abuse of those 
strangers, and threatening to serve Lot worse than 



70 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

them. But in the midst of this God smote them 
with blindness ; and the next morning the city and 
the country about it was overthrown in a most terri- 
ble storm of fire and brimstone. This dreadful de- 
struction was in the sight of the rest of the inhabi- 
tants of the land, and doubtless struck a dread and 
terror on their minds, and made them afraid to hurt 
those holy strangers ; and probably was one princi- 
pal means of restraining them, and preserving the 
patriarchs. When the reason is given, why the in- 
habitants of the land did not pursue after Jacob, in 
their provocation by the destruction of the Shechem- 
ites, that the terror of the Lord was upon them, it is 
very probable this was the terror referred to. They 
remembered the amazing destruction of Sodom, and 
the cities of the plain, that came upon them for their 
abusive treatment of Lot, and so durst not hurt Jacob 
and his family. 

Another way that this awful destruction tended to 
promote the great work of redemption, was, that 
hereby God remarkably exhibited the terrors of his 
law, to make men sensible of their need of redeem- 
ing mercy. The work of redemption never was 
carried on without this. The law, from the begin- 
ning, is made use of as a schoolmaster to bring men 
to Christ. 

But under the Old Testament there was much 
more need of some extraordinary, visible, and sen- 
sible manifestation of God's wrath against sin, than 
in the days of the Gospel, since a future state, and 
the eternal misery of hell, is more clearly revealed, 
and the awful justice of God against the sins of men 
has been so wonderfully displayed in the sufferings 
of Christ. And therefore the revelation God ga\\* 



FROM nBRAHAM TO MOSES. 71 

of himself in those days, used to be accompanied 
with much more terror. So when God appeared at 
Mount Sinai to give the law, it was with thunders 
and lightning, and a thick cloud, and the voice of 
the trumpet exceeding loud. Some external, awful 
manifestations of God's wrath against sin, were on 
some accounts especially necessary before the giv- 
ing of the law : and before the flood, the terrors 
of the law handed down by tradition from Adam 
served for that purpose. Adam lived nine hundred 
and thirty years himself, to proclaim God's awful 
threatenings denounced in the covenant made with 
him, and how dreadful were the consequences of 
the fall ; and others, that conversed with Adam, lived 
till the flood. The destruction of the world by the 
flood served to exhibit the terrors of the law, and 
manifest the wrath of God against sin ; in order to 
make men sensible of the absolute necessity of re- 
deeming mercy. And some that saw the flood were 
alive in Abraham's time. 

But this was now in a great measure forgotten; 
therefore God was pleased again, in a most amaz- 
ing manner, to show his wrath against sin, in the 
destruction of these cities; which was the liveliest 
image of hell ever exhibited, and hence the apos- 
tle Jude says, they " suffer the vengeance of eternal 
fire." Jude, 7. God rained storms of fire and brim- 
stone upon them; probably by thick flashes of 
lightning. The streams of brimstone burned up all 
these cities ; so that they perished in the flames of 
divine wrath. By this might be seen the dreadful 
wrath of God against the ungodliness and unright- 
eousness of men ; which tended to show the neccs- 



72 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

sity of redemption, and so to promote that great 
work. 

V. God again renewed and confirmed the cove* 
nant of grace to Isaac and to Jacob. To Isaac in 
these words ; Gen. 26 : 3, 4 ; " And I will per- 
form the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy fa- 
ther ; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the 
stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these 
countries ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of 
the earth be blessed. 1 ' And afterwards to Jacob ; 
first, in Isaac's blessing him and his seed, wherein 
he acted and spoke by extraordinary divine direc- 
tion. Gen, 27 : 29. " Let people serve thee, and 
many nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy 
brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to 
thee ; cursed be every one that curseth thee, and 
blessed be he that blesseth thee." And therefore 
Esau, in losing this blessing, failed of being blessed 
as an heir of the benefits of the covenant of grace. 

This covenant was again renewed and confirmed 
to Jacob at Bethel, in his vision of the ladder that 
reached to heaven ; which was a symbol of the way 
of salvation by Christ. The stone that Jacob rested 
on was a type of Christ, the stone of Israel, on which 
the spiritual Israel rests ; as is evident, because it 
was anointed, and made use of as an altar. But we 
know that Chrjst is the anointed of God, and is the 
only true altar. While Jacob was resting on this 
j-tone, and saw this ladder, God appears to him as 
his covenant God, and renews the covenant of grace 
with him, as in Gen. 28 : 14. " And thy seed shall 
be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread 
abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, 



FROM ABRAHAM TO M09E9. 73 

Mid to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall 
ail the families of the earth be blessed." 

Jacob had another remarkable confirmation of 
this covenant at Penuel, where he wrestled with 
God, and prevailed ; where Christ appeared to him in 
theformof that nature which he was afterwards to re- 
ceive into a personal union with his divine nature. 
And God renewed his covenant with him again, af- 
ter he left Padan-Aram, and was come up to Bethel, 
where he had the vision of the ladder. Gen. 35 : 
10, &c. 

Thus the covenant of grace was now renewed 
much oftener than it had been before. The light of 
the Gospel now began to shine much brighter as 
the time ot Christ's appearing grew nearer. 

VI. The next thing 1 would observe, is God's re- 
markably preserving the family of which Christ was 
to 'proceed from perishing by famine, by the instru- 
mentality of Joseph. When there was a seven'years' 
famine approaching, God was pleased, by a wonder- 
ful providence, to send Joseph into Egypt, there to 
provide for Jacob and his family, and to keep the 
holy seed alive, which otherwise would have perish- 
ed. Joseph was sent into Egypt for that end, as he 
observes, Gen. 50 : 20, " But as for you, ye thought 
evil against me ; but God meant it unto good, to save 
much people alive." How often had this holy root 
that had in it the future branch of righteousness, the 
glorious Redeemer, been in danger of being destroy- 
ed ! But God wonderfully preserved it. 

This salvation of the house of Israel, by the hand 
of Joseph, was upon some accounts very much a re- 
semblance of the salvation of Christ. The children 
of Israel were saved by Joseph, their kinsman and 



74 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

brother, from perishing by famine ; as he who saves 
the souls of the spiritual Israel from spiritual famine 
is their near kinsman, and one that is not ashamed 
to call them brethren. Joseph was a brother they 
had hated, sold, and as it were killed ; for they had 
designed to kill him. So Christ is one whom we 
naturally hate, and by our wicked lives have sold 
for the vain things of the world, and by our sins 
have slain. Joseph was first in a state of humilia- 
tion ; he was a servant, as Christ appeared in the 
form of a servant ; and then was cast into a dungeon, 
as Christ descended into the grave. When he rose 
out of the dungeon, he was in a state of great exal- 
tation at the king's right hand as his deputy, to reign 
over all his kingdom, to provide food, to preserve 
life. So Christ was exalted at God's right hand 
to be a Prince and a Savior to his brethren, receiv- 
ed gifts for men, even for the rebellious, them that 
had hated and sold him. 

VII. After this was a 'prophecy of Christ, in Ja- 
cob's blessing his son Judah, which was more par- 
ticular than any before, as it showed of whose pos- 
terity he was to be. When God called Abraham, it 
was revealed that he was to be of Abraham's poste- 
rity. Before, we have no account of any revelation 
concerning Christ's pedigree confined to narrower 
limits than the posterity of Noah. After this it was 
confined to still narrower limits; for though Abra- 
ham had many sons, yet it was revealed that Christ 
was to be of Isaac's posterity. And then it was 
limited still more ; for when Isaac had two sons, it 
was revealed that Christ was to be of Israel's pos- 
terity. And now, though Israel had twelve sons, 
yet it is revealed that Christ should be of Judah's 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 4 5 

posterity. Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 
Respect is chiefly had to his great acts, when it 
is said here, Gen. 49 : 8, 9, "Judah, thou art ho 
whom thy brethren shall praise : thy hand shall be 
in the neck of thy enemies ; thy father's children 
shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's 
whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : 
he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an 
old lion; who shall rouse him up?" And then 
this prediction is more particular concerning the 
time of Christ's coming, as in verse 10. "The 
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto 
him shall the gathering of the people be." The 
prophecy here, of the calling of the Gentiles conse- 
quent on Christ's coming, seems to be more plain 
than any had yet been, in the expression, "to him 
shall the gathering of the people be." Thus it ap- 
pears how that gospel light which dawned imme- 
diately after the fall of man, gradually increases. 

VIII. The work of redemption was carried on in 
this period, in God's wonderfully preserving the 
children of Israel in Egypt, when the power of 
Egypt was engaged utterly to destroy them. They 
seemed to be wholly in the hands of the Egyptians : 
they were their servants, and were subject to the 
power of Pharaoh, who set himself to weaken them 
with hard bondage. And when he saw that did 
not succeed, he set himself to extirpate the race, by 
commanding that every male child should be drown- 
ed. But after all that Pharaoh could do, God won- 
derfully preserved them ; and not only so, but in- 
creased them exceedingly: so that, instead of being 
extirpated, they greatly multiplied. 



76 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

IX. Here is to be observed, not only the preser- 
vation of the nation, but God's wonderfully 'preserv- 
ing and upholding his invisible church in that na- 
tion, when in danger of being overwhelmed in the 
idolatry of Egypt. The children of Israel being 
long among the Egyptians, and servants under 
them, and so not having advantages to keep God's 
ordinances among themselves, and maintain any pub- 
lic worship or instruction, whereby the true religion 
might be upheld; and there being now no written 
word, they by degrees, in a great measure, lost the 
true re-ligion, and borrowed the idolatry of Egypt; 
and the greater part of the people fell away to the 
worship of their gods. See Ezek. 20 : 6-8 ; 23 : 8. 

This now was the third time that God's church 
was almost swallowed up and carried away with 
the wickedness of the world : once before the flood ; 
the second time, before the calling of Abraham ; and 
now in Egypt. But yet God did not suffer his 
church to be quite overwhelmed : he still saved it, 
like the ark in the flood, and as he saved Moses in 
the midst of the waters, in an ark of bulrushes, 
where he was in the utmost danger of being swal- 
lowed up. The true religion was still preserved by 
some , and God had still a people among them, even 
in this miserable, corrupt, and dark time. The pa- 
rents of Moses were true servants of God, as we 
learn by Heb. 1 1 : 23. " By faith Moses, when he 
was born, was hid three months of his parents, be- 
cause they saw that he was a proper child ; and 
they were not afraid of the king's commandment." 

I have now shown how the work of redemption 
w.-is carried on from the calling of Abraham to 
Moses ; in which we have seen many great things 



FROM ABRAHAM TO MOSES. 77 

done towards this work, and a great advancement 
of this building, beyond what had preceded. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 

I. The first thing that offers itself here is the 
redemption of the church of God out of Egypt ; 
the most remarkable of all the Old Testament re- 
demptions, the greatest pledge and forerunner of 
the future redemption by Christ, and much more 
insisted on in Scripture than any other. It was 
the greatest type of Christ's redemption of any pro- 
vidential event whatsoever. This was by Jesus 
Christ, who appeared to Moses in the bush, and 
sent him to redeem that people, as is evident from 
his being called the Angel of the Lord, Exod. 3 : 2, 
3. The bush represented the human nature of 
Christ, who is called the branch. This bush grew 
on Mount Sinai or Horeb, a word which signifies 
a dry place, as the human nature of Christ was a 
root out of dry ground. The bush burning with 
fire represented the sufferings of Christ in the fire 
of God's wrath. It burned, and was not consumed : 
so Christ, though he suffered extremely, yet perish- 
ed not, but overcame at last, and rose from his suf- 
ferings. Because this great mystery of the incar- 
nation and sufferings of Christ was here represent- 
ed, therefore Moses says. " I will turn aside, and 



73 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

behold this great sight." A great sight he might 
well call it, when there was represented God mani- 
fest in the flesh, suffering a dreadful death, and 
rising from the dead. 

This was the glorious Redeemer who redeemed 
the church out of Egypt, from under the hand of 
Pharaoh ; as Christ, by his death and sufferings, 
redeemed his people from Satan, the spiritual Pha- 
raoh. He redeemed them from hard service and 
cruel drudgery ; so Christ redeems his people from 
the cruel slavery of sin and Satan. He redeemed 
them, as it is said, from the iron furnace ; so Christ 
redeems his church from a furnace of fire and ever- 
lasting burnings. He redeemed them with a strong 
hand and outstretched arm, and great and terrible 
judgments on their enemies ; so Christ with mighty 
power triumphs over principalities and powers, 
and executes terrible judgments on his church's 
enemies, bruising the serpent's head. He saved 
them when others were destroyed, by the sprinkling 
of the blood of the paschal lamb; so God's church 
is saved from death by the sprinkling of the blood 
of Christ, when the rest of the world is destroyed. 
God brought forth the people sorely against the 
will of the Egyptians, when they could not bear to 
let them go ; so Christ rescues his people out of 
the hands of the devil, sorely against his will, when 
his proud heart cannot bear to be overcome. 

In that redemption, Christ not only redeemed 
the people from the Egyptians, but from the devils, 
the gods of Egypt ; for before they had been in a 
state of servitude to the gods of Egypt, as well as to 
the Egyptians. And Christ, the seed of the woman, 
now, in a very remarkable manner, fulfilled the 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 79 

curse on the serpent, in bruising his head. Exod. 
13 : 12. "For I will pass through the land of 
Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in 
the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and' against 
all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment." 
Hell was as much, nay more engaged in that affair 
than Egypt was. The pride and cruelty of Satan, 
that old serpent, was more concerned in it than 
Pharaoh's. He did his worst against the people, 
and to the utmost opposed their redemption. But 
it is said, that when God redeemed his people out 
of Egypt, he " broke the heads of the dragons in 
the waters, and broke the head of Leviathan in 
pieces, and gave him to be meat for the people in- 
habiting the wilderness." Psalm 74: 12-14. God 
forced their enemies to let them go, that they might 
serve him, as Zacharias observes with respect to 
the church under the Gospel. Luke, 1 : 74, 75. 

The people of Israel went out with a high hand, 
and Christ went before them in a pillar of cloud 
and fire. There was a glorious triumph over earth 
and hell in that deliverance. When Pharaoh and his 
hosts, and Satan by them, pursued the people, Christ 
overthrew them in the Red Sea : the Lord triumph- 
ed gloriously : the horse and his rider he cast into 
the sea, and there they slept their last sleep, and 
never followed the children of Israel any more ; 
as all Christ's enemies are overthrown in his blood, 
which by its abundant sufficiency, and the great- 
ness of the sufferings with which it was shed, may 
well be represented by a sea. The Red Sea re- 
presented Christ's blood, for the apostle compares 
the children of Israel's passage through the Red 
Sea to baptism, (1 Cor. 10 : 1,2,) and we know 



80 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

that the water of baptism represents Christ's blood. 

Thus Christ, the angel of God's presence, in his 
love and pity, redeemed his people, and carried 
them in the days of old as on eagle's wings, so that 
none of their proud and malicious enemies, neither 
Egyptians nor devils, could touch them. 

This was another new thing that God did to 
wards this great work of redemption. God never 
had done any thing like it before. Deut. 4 : 32, 34. 
This was a great advancement of the work that 
had been begun and carried on from the fall of man ; 
a great step taken in divine providence towards a 
preparation for Christ's coming into the world, and 
working out his great and eternal redemption ; for 
this was the people of whom Christ was to come. 
And now we may see how that plant flourished 
which God had planted in Abraham. Though the 
family of which Christ was to come had been in a 
degree separated from the rest of the world before, 
in the calling of Abraham ; yet that separation ap- 
peared not to be sufficient. For though by that 
separation they were kept, as strangers and so- 
journers, from being united with other people in 
the same political societies ; yet they remained 
mixed among them, by which means they had been 
in danger of wholly losing the true religion, and of 
being overrun with the idolatry of their neighbors. 
God now, therefore, by this redemption, separated 
them as a nation from all others, to subsist by them- 
selves in their own political and ecclesiastical state, 
without having any concern with the heathen na- 
tions, that the church of Christ might be upheld, 
and might keep the oracles of God ; that in them 
might be kept up those types and prophecies of 



PROM MOSES TO DAVID. 81 

Christ, and those histories and other divine previous 
instructions, which were necessary to prepare the 
way for Christ's coming. 

II. As this people were separated to be God's 
peculiar people, so all other 'people upon the face of 
the vihole earth were wholly rejected and given over 
to heathenism. This was one thing that God or- 
dered in his providence to prepare the way for 
Christ's coming, and the great salvation he was to 
accomplish ; for it was only to prepare the way for 
the more glorious and signal victory and triumph 
of Christ's power and grace over the wicked and 
miserable world, and that Christ's salvation of man- 
kind might become the more sensible. This is the 
account the Scripture itself gives of the matter. Rom. 
1 1 : 30, 32. The apostle, speaking to the Gentiles 
that had formerly been heathens, says, H As ye in 
times past have not believed God, yet have now ob- 
tained mercy through their unbelief; even so have 
these also now not believed, that through your 
mercy they may also obtain mercy. For God 
hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might 
have mercy upon all:" that is, it was the will of 
God that the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, 
should be concluded in visible and professed unbe- 
lief, that so God's mercy and Christ's salvation to- 
wards them all might be visible. For the apostle 
is not speaking only of that unbelief that is natural 
to all God's professing people as well as others, but 
that which is apparent and visible; such as the 
Jews fell into when they openly rejected Christ, 
and ceased to be a professing people. The apostle 
observes, how that first the Gentiles were included 
in a professed unbelief and open opposition to the 

Redemption. 6 



82 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

true religion before Christ came to prepare the way 
for the calling of the Gentiles, which was soon 
after, that God's mercy might be the more visible to 
them ; and that the Jews were rejected and aposta- 
tized from the visible church, to prepare the way 
for the calling of the Jews, which shall be in the 
latter days. So that it may be seen of all nations, 
Jews and Gentiles, that they are redeemed by Christ, 
from being visibly aliens from the commonwealth of 
Israel, without hope, and without God in the world. 
We cannot determine precisely at what time the 
apostacy of the Gentile nations from the true God, 
or their being concluded in visible unbelief, became 
universal. Their falling away was a gradual thing, 
as we observed before. It was general in Abra- 
ham's time, but not universal ; for then we find 
Melchisedec, one of the kings of Canaan, was priest 
of the most high God. And after this the true reli- 
gion was preserved for a while among some of the 
rest of Abraham's posterity besides the family of 
Jacob : and also in some of the posterity of Nahor, 
as we have instances in Job, and his three friends, 
and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job lived, was 
possessed by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, the son of 
Nahor, Abraham's brother, of whom we read, Gen. 
22:21. Bildad the Shuhite was of the offspring 
of Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen. 25: 1, 
2 ; and Elihu the Buzite w r as of Buz, the son of 
Nahor, the brother of Abraham. So the true reli- 
gion lasted among some other people besides the 
Israelites, a while after Abraham. But it did not 
last long ; and it is probable that their total rejection, 
and being given up to idolatry, was about the time 
when God separated the children of Israel from 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 83 

Egypt to serve him. For they are often put in 
mind on that occasion, that God had now separated 
them to be his peculiar people, or to be distin- 
guished from all other people upon earth, to be 
his people alone ; to be his portion, when others 
were rejected. This seems to imply, that God now 
chose them in such a manner as was accompanied 
with a visible rejection of all other nations in the 
world ; that God visibly came, and took up his re- 
sidence with them, forsaking all other nations. As 
the first calling of the Gentiles, after Christ came, 
was accompanied with a rejection of the Jews ; so the 
first calling of the Jews to be God's people, when 
they left Egypt, was accompanied with a rejection 
of the Gentiles. 

Thus all the nations in the world, except the 
Israelites, and those who embodied themselves with 
them, were given up to idolatry; and so continued 
till Christ came, which was about fifteen hundred 
years. They were concluded so long a time in un- 
belief, that there might be a thorough proof of the 
necessity of a Savior; that it might appear by so 
long a trial, past all contradiction, that mankind were 
utterly insufficient to deliver themselves from that 
gross darkness, and misery, and subjection to the 
devil, in which they were involved ; and that all the 
wisdom of the heathen philosophers could not deli- 
ver them from their darkness, for the greater glory 
to Jesus Christ, who, when he came, enlightened 
and delivered them by his glorious Gospel. Herein 
the wonderful wisdom of God appeared, in thus 
preparing the way for Christ's redemption. This 
the Scripture teaches us. 1 Cor. 1:21. " For after 
that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom 



84 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of 
preaching- to save them that believe." 

III. The next thing done towards the work of re- 
demption, is God's giving the moral law in so awful 
a manner at Mount Sinai. This was another new 
thing that God did. Deut. 4 : 33. " Did ever peo- 
ple hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst 
of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?" And it 
was a great thing, whether we consider it as a new 
exhibition of the covenant of works, or given as a 
rule of life. 

The covenant of works was here exhibited as a 
schoolmaster to lead to Christ, not only for the use 
of that nation under the Old Testament, but for the 
use of God's church throughout all ages of the 
world. It is an instrument that the great Redeemer 
makes use of to convince men of their sin, misery, 
and helpless state, and of God's awful and tremen- 
dous majesty and justice as a Lawgiver, in order to 
make men sensible of the necessity of Christ as a 
Savior. This work of redemption, in its saving 
effect on men's souls, in all its progress, is not 
carried on without the use of this law delivered 
at Sinai. 

It was given in an awful manner, with a terrible 
voice, so exceedingly loud and awful, that all the peo- 
ple in the camp trembled ; and even Moses himself, 
though so intimate a friend of God, said, J exceed- 
ingly fear and qvake. The voice was accompanied 
with thunders and lightnings, the mountain burning 
with fire to the midst of heaven, and the earth itself 
shaking and trembling. This was done to make 
all sensible how great were that authority, power, 
and justice that stood engaged to exact the fulfillment 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 85 

of this law, and to see it fully executed, and how ter- 
rible would be his wrath against every transgressor ; 
that men, being sensible of these things, might 
thoroughly prove their own hearts, and know how 
impossible it is for them to obtain salvation by the 
works of the law, and might see their absolute need 
of a mediator. 

If we regard the law given at Mount Sinai not as 
a covenant of works, but as a rule of life, it is em- 
ployed by the Redeemer, from that time to the end 
of the world, as a directory to his people, to show 
them the way in which they must walk, if they 
would reach heaven: for a way of sincere and uni- 
versal obedience to this law is the narrow way that 
leads to life. 

IV. The next thing observable in this period, was 
God's giving the typical law, those precepts that 
did not properly belong to the moral law. Not only 
those laws which are commonly called ceremonial, 
which prescribe the ceremonies and circumstances 
of the Jewish worship, and their ecclesiastical state; 
but also those that were political, for regulating the 
Jewish commonwealth, commonly called judicial 
laws, were many of them typical. The giving of 
this typical law was another great thing that God 
did in this period, tending to build up the glorious 
structure of redemption. There had been many 
typical events of providence before, that represented 
Christ, and his redemption, and some typical ordi- 
nances, as particularly those two of sacrifices and 
circumcision : but now, instead of representing the 
great Redeemer in a few institutions, God enacts a 
law full of typical representations of good things to 
come. By these that nation were directed eveiy 



86 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

year, month, and day, in their religious actions, and 
in their conduct, in all that appertained to their 
ecclesiastical and civil state, to something of Christ ; 
one observance exhibiting one doctrine, or one bene- 
fit ; another, another ; so that the whole nation by 
this law was, as it were, constituted in a typical 
state. Thus the Gospel was abundantly held forth 
to that nation; so that there is scarcely any doctrine 
of it but is particularly taught and exhibited by some 
observance of this law ; though it was in shadows, 
and under a vail, as Moses put a vail on his face 
when it shone. To this typical law belong all the 
precepts which relate to building the tabernacle set 
up in the wilderness, and all its form, circumstances, 
and utensils. 

V. About this time was given to the church the 
first written word of God. This was another great 
thing done towards the work of redemption, a new 
and glorious advancement of the building. It was 
the beginning of that written rule, which God has 
given for the regulation of faith, worship, and prac- 
tice, to the end of the world. This rule grew, and 
was added to from that time, for many ages, till it 
was finished, and the canon of Scripture completed 
by the apostle John. It is not very material whether 
the first written word was the ten commandments, 
written on the tables of stone with the finger of God, 
or the book of Job, nor whether the book of Job was 
written by Moses, as some suppose, or by Elihu, as 
others. If it was written by Elihu, it must have 
been before this period ; but yet could not be fai 
from it, as appears by considering whose posterity 
the persons spoken of in it were, together with Job's 
great age before it was written. 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 87 

The written word of God is the main instrument 
employed by Christ to carry on his work of redemp- 
tion in all ages. There was a necessity now of the 
word of God being committed to writing, for a steady 
rule to God's church. Before this, the church had 
the word by tradition, either immediately from emi- 
nent men inspired, who were living, or else by tra- 
dition from former generations, which might be had 
with tolerable certainty in ages preceding this, by 
reason of men's long lives. Noah might converse 
with Methuselah, who lived in the time of Adam, 
and receive traditions from him ; and Noah lived 
till about Abraham's time : and the sons of Jacob 
lived a considerable time to deliver the revelations 
made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to their posterity 
in Egypt. But the distance from the beginning of 
things was now become so great, and the lives of 
men so short — being brought down to the present 
standard about the time of Moses — and God having 
now separated a nation to be a peculiar people, to be 
the keepers of his oracles ; he saw it to be a conve- 
nient time now to commit his word to writing, to 
remain henceforward for a steady rule throughout 
all ages. And therefore, besides the book of Job, 
Christ wrote the ten commandments on tables of 
stone, with his own finger. After this, the whole 
law, as containing the substance of the five books of 
Moses, was by God's special command committed to 
writing, which was called " the book of the law," 
and was laid up in the tabernacle, to be kept there 
for the use of the church. Deut. 31 : 24-26. 

VI. God was pleased now wonderfully to repre- 
sent the progress of his redeemed church through 
the world to their eternal inheritance, by the jour- 



88 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ney of the children of Israel through the wilderness 
from Egypt to Canaan. Here all the various steps 
of the redemption of the church by Christ were 
represented, from the beginning to its consumma- 
tion in glory. The state they are redeemed from 
is represented by Egypt, and their bondage there, 
which they left. The purchase of their redemption 
was represented by the sacrifice of the paschal 
lamb, which was offered up that night in which God 
slew all the first-born of Egypt. The beginning of 
the application of the redemption of Christ's church 
in tr^eir conversion, was represented by Israel's go- 
ing out of Egypt, and passing through the Red Sea 
in so extraordinary and miraculous a manner. The 
travel of the church through this evil world, and the 
various changes through which the church passes, 
was represented by the journey of the Israelites 
through the wilderness. The manner of their be- 
ing conducted by Christ, was represented by the 
Israelites being led by the pillar of cloud by day, 
and the pillar of fire by night. The manner of the 
church's being supported in their progress, supplied 
with spiritual food, and daily communications from 
God, was represented by his supplying the children 
of Israel with manna from heaven, and water out 
of the rock. The dangers that the saints must meet 
in their course through the world, were represented 
by the fiery flying serpents in the wilderness. The 
conflicts the church has with her enemies, were 
represented by their battle with the Amalekites and 
others. And innumerable other particulars might 
be mentioned, which were lively images of what 
the church and saints meet in all ages of the world. 
That these things were typical, is manifest from 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID 89 

1 Cor. 10 : 11. " Now all these things happened 
unto them for ensamples, and they are written for 
our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world 
are come." Here the apostle is speaking of those 
very things which we have now mentioned, and he 
says expressly, that they happened unto them for 
types ; so it is in the original. 

VII. Another thing must not he omitted, which 
was a great and remarkable dispensation of Provi- 
dence, respecting the whole world of mankind, in 
this period : the shortening of man! s life. It was 
now brought down from being between nine hun- 
dred and a thousand years, to about seventy or 
eighty. The life of man began to be shortened im- 
mediately after the flood. It was brought down the 
first generation to six hundred years, and the next 
to between four and five hundred. So the life of 
man gradually grew shorter and shorter, till about 
the time of the great mortality which was in the 
congregation of Israel, after they had murmured at 
the report of the spies, and their carcasses fell in the 
wilderness, whereby all the men of war died. Then 
the life of man was reduced to its present standard, 
as Moses observes in the Psalm he wrote on the oc- 
casion of that mortality. Psalm 90:10. " The 
days of our years are threescore years and ten ; 
and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, 
yet is their strength labor and sorrow ; for it is 
soon cut off, and we fly away." 

Man's life being cut so very short, tended to pre- 
pare the way for poor short-lived men the more 
joyfully to entertain the glad tidings of everlasting 
life, brought to light by the Gospel; and more 
readily to embrace a Savior, that purchases and 



90 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

offers such a blessing. If men's lives were still 
commonly about nine hundred years, how much 
less would be the inducement to regard the proffers 
of a future life ; how much greater the temptation 
to rest in the things of this world, and to neglect 
any other life but this ? This probably contributed 
greatly to the wickedness of the antediluvians. But 
now how much greater motives have men to seek 
redemption, and a better life than this, by the great 
Redeemer, since the life of man is not one-twelfth 
part of what it used to be, and men now universally 
die at the age when formerly they used to be but 
setting out in the world. 

VIII. The same work was carried on in preserv- 
ing that 'people of whom Christ was to come, from 
totally perishing in the loilderness, by a constant 
miracle of forty years continuance. I observed be- 
fore how God preserved those of whom the Redeem- 
er was to proceed in a very wonderful manner; as 
Noah and his family from the flood ; Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, with their families, from the wicked 
inhabitants of Canaan ; and Jacob and his family 
from perishing by the famine, by Joseph in Egypt 
But this preservation of Israel in the wilderness, 
was on some accounts more remarkable than any of 
them; it was by a continual miracle of so long du- 
ration. There were, as may be fairly computed, at 
first two millions of souls in that congregation. But 
if miraculous support had been withheld, they must 
all have perished in less than a month's time, so that 
there would not have been one of them left. But yet 
this vast multitude subsisted for forty years in a dry 
barren wilderness, without sowing, reaping, or till- 
age. Their bread was daily rained down to them 



FROM MOSES TO D4 VID. 91 

out of heaven, and they were furiished with water 
out of a rock ; and the same clothes with which they 
came out of Egypt, lasted all that time. Never was 
an instance like this, of a nation, being so upheld 
for so long a time. Thus God upheld his church by 
a continual miracle, and kept alive that people in 
whom was the blessing, the great Redeemer of the 
world. 

IX. God was pleased, during this time, to give a 
further revelation of Christ the Redeemer in the pre- 
dictions of him. Three prophecies deserve particu- 
lar notice. The first is that of Balaam. Numb. 24 : 
17-19. " I shall see him, but not now: I shall be- 
hold him, but not nigh : there shall come a Star out 
of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and 
shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the 
children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, 
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies, and 
Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come 
he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him 
that remaineth of the city." This is a plainer pro- 
phecy of Christ, especially with regard to his kingly 
office, than any former one. But we have another, 
that God gave by Moses, plainer still, especially 
with regard to his prophetical office, in Deut. 18: 
18, &c. " I will raise up a prophet from among their 
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in 
his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I 
command him," &c. This is a plainer prophecy of 
Christ than any before, as all the preceding prophe- 
cies were in figurative, mystical language. The first 
prophecy was so, That the seed of the woman should 
bruise the serpent's head. The promises made to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that " in their seed all 



92 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the families of the earth should be blessed," were 
also mystical ; and not so particular, because the 
expression, thy seed, is general, and not plainly- 
limited to any particular person. The prophecy of 
Jacob in blessing Judah, Gen. 49 : 8, is in mystical 
language ; and so is that of Balaam, which speaks 
of Christ under the figurative expression of a star. 
But this is a plain prophecy, without being veiled at 
all in any mystical language. 

There are several things contained in this pro- 
phecy of Christ. Here is his mediatorial office in 
general. Ver. 16. Here it is revealed how he should 
be a person to stand between them and God, a being 
of such awful majesty, holiness, and justice, that they 
could not come to him, and have intercourse with him 
immediately, without a Mediator to stand between 
them; because, if they came to such a sin-avenging 
God immediately, they should die ; God would prove 
a consuming fire to them. Here also is a particular 
revelation of Christ, with respect to his prophetical 
office: " I will raise up a prophet from among their 
brethren, like unto thee" &c. It is revealed what 
kind of a prophet he should be; a prophet like unto 
Moses, who was the head and leader of all the peo- 
ple, and who, under God, had been their redeemer, 
to bring them out of the house of bondage. He was 
their shepherd by whom God led them through the 
Red Sea and the wilderness, was an intercessor for 
them with God, and was both a prophet and a king 
in the congregation : for Moses had the power of a 
king among them. It is said of him, Deut. 33 : 5, 
that "he was a king in Jeshurun;" and he was the 
prophet by whom God built up his church, and de- 
livered his instructions of worship. Thus Christ was 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 93 

to be a prophet like unto Moses ; so that this is both 
the plainest and fullest prophecy of Christ that had 
been from the beginning of the world. 

The next prophecy respects the calling of the Gen- 
tiles, which should be after Christ's coming. Deut, 
32 : 21. Here is a very plain prophecy of the rejec- 
tion of the Jews and' calling the Gentiles. As they 
moved God to jealousy, by that which was not God, 
by casting him off, and taking others that were no 
gods in his room : so God declares that he will move 
them to jealousy in like manner, by casting them off, 
and taking others, who had not been his people, in 
their room. The Apostle Paul takes notice of this 
prophecy, as foretelling the calling of the Gentiles. 
Horn. 10 : 19, 20. "But I say, Did not Israel know? 
First, Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by 
them that are no people, and by a foolish nation [ 
will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, 
I was found of them that sought me not ; I was made 
manifest to them that asked not after me." 

Thus you see how the light of the Gospel, which 
first began to dawn immediately after the fall, gradu- 
ally increases the nearer we come to Christ's time. 

X. Another thing by which God carried on this 
work in this time, was a remarkable outpouring of 
his Spirit on the -young generation in the wilderness. 
The generation that was grown up when they came 
out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, 
were very fro ward and perverse. They were tainted 
with the idolatry and wickedness of Egypt, and were 
not weaned from it. Ezek. 20 : 6-8. Hence they 
made the golden calf in imitation of the idolatry of 
the Egyptians, who were wont to worship a bull or 
an ox ; and therefore cattle are called the abomina^ 



94 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

tion of the Egyptians ; that is, their idol. With this 
generation God was exceedingly angry, and swore 
in his wrath, that they should not enter into his rest. 
But the younger generation, who were under twenty 
years old when they came out of Egypt, were not 
so. Numb. 14:31. " But your little ones, whom ye 
said should be a prey, them will I bring in ; and they 
shall know the land that ye have despised." This 
was the generation with whom the covenant was re- 
newed, as we have an account in Deuteronomy, and 
that entered into the land of Canaan. This genera- 
tion God was pleased to make a people to his praise, 
and they were eminent for piety; as appears by 
many things said about them ; particularly, Jer. 2 : 
2, 3. " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, 
the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after 
me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits 
of his increase." Here the generation that went af- 
ter God in the wilderness, is spoken of with very 
high commendations, as eminent for holiness. Their 
love to God is distinguished like the love of a bride at 
her espousals, when they followed him through that 
dreadful wilderness, after they went back from Ka- 
desh-Barnea. Deut. 8: 15. " Who led thee through 
that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery 
serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there 
was no water." Though this generation had a much 
greater trial than the generation of their fathers had 
before they came to Kadesh-Barnea, yet they never 
murmured against God, as their fathers had done; 
but their trials had a contrary effect upon them, to 
awaken, convince, and humble them, and fit them for 
great mercy. They were awakened by those awful 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 95 

j ldgments of God, inflicted on their fathers, where- 
by their carcasses fell in the wilderness. God poured 
out his Spirit with those awakening providences, and 
their own travel in the wilderness, and the word 
preached to them by Moses ; whereby they were 
made to see the vileness of their own hearts, were 
humbled, and at length multitudes of them savingly 
converted ; as Deut. 8:2, 3. " And thou shalt re- 
member the way which the Lord thy God led thee 
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, 
and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, 
whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or 
no. And he humbled thee," &c. And ver. 15. "Who 
led thee through that great and terrible wilderness — 
that he might humble thee, and that he might prove 
thee, to do thee good at thy latter end." And there- 
fore it is said, Hos. 13 : 5, " I did know thee in the 
wilderness, in the land of great drought." God al- 
lured them, and brought them into that wilder- 
ness, and spake comfortably to them, as it was fore- 
told that he would do afterwards. Hos. 2: 14. 

Those terrible judgments executed in the congre- 
gation after their turning back from Kadesh-Barnea, 
in the matter of Korah, and the matter of Peor, were 
chiefly on the old generation, whom God consumed 
in the wilderness. Those rebellions were chie^fly 
among the elders of the congregation, who were 
given up to their hearts' lust ; and they walked in 
their own counsels, and God was grieved with their 
manners forty years in the wilderness. 

That this younger generation were eminent for 
piety, appears by all their history. The former gene- 
ration were wicked, and were followed with curses ; 
but this was holy, and wonderful blessings followed 



96 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

them. God did great things for them ; he fought for 
them, and gave them the possession of Canaan. And 
it is God's manner, when he has very great mercies 
to bestow on a visible people, first, to fit them for such 
mercies, and then to confer them. So it was here: 
they believed in God, and by faith overcame Sihon 
and Og, and the giants of Canaan ; and are com- 
mended for cleaving to the Lord, Josh. 23 : 8. 
Joshua says unto them, " Cleave unto the Lord, as 
ye have done unto this day." But when Joshua and 
all that generation were dead, there arose another 
that knew not the Lord. This pious generation 
showed a laudable and fervent zeal for God in seve- 
ral instances; as on occasion of Achan's sin; but 
especially when they suspected the two tribes and a 
half had set up an altar in opposition to the altar of 
burnt-offering. There never was any generation of 
Israel of which so much good and so little evil is 
mentioned. It is further observable, that in the lime 
of this generation was the second general circumci- 
sion, whereby the reproach of Israel was fully rolled 
away, and they became pure; and when afterwards 
they were polluted by Achan, they purged them- 
selves again. 

The men of the former generation being dead, and 
God having sanctified this to himself, he solemnly 
renewed his covenant with them, as we have a par- 
ticular account in the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy. 
We find that such solemn renovations of the covenant 
commonly accompanied any remarkable outpouring 
of the Spirit, causing a o-eneral reformation: so we 
find it was in Hezekiah's and Josiah's times. It is 
questionable whether there ever was a time when re- 
ligion so flourished in the Israelitish church as in that 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 97 

generation ; and as, in the Christian church, religion 
was in its most flourishing circumstances in the day 
of its espousals, in the apostles' time, so it seems to 
have been with the Jewish church in the days of its 
first establishment in the times of Moses and Joshua. 

Thus God, at this time, gloriously advanced the 
work of redemption, both by his word and Spirit. 
Hereby the work of redemption was promoted, not 
only as it was in itself a glorious instance of re- 
demption in its application, but as this was what 
God used for the orderly establishment of the Is- 
raelitish church, when it was first settled in the re- 
gular observance of God's ordinances in Canaan : 
even as the outpouring of the Spirit in the beginning 
of the Christian church, was a great means for es- 
tablishing the Christian church in all succeeding 
ages. 

XL The next thing I would observe, was God's 
bringing the people of Israel by Joshua, and settling 
them in that land where Christ ivas to be born, and 
which was the great type of the heavenly Canaan 
which Christ has purchased. Joshua was of Jo- 
seph's posterity, and was an eminent type of Christ, 
and is therefore called the shepherd, the stone of 
Israel. Gen. 49 : 24. Being such a type, he bore 
the name of Christ. Joshua and Jesus are the 
same name, the one Hebrew, the other Greek ; and 
therefore, in the New Testament, originally written 
in Greek, Joshua is called Jesus, Acts, 7 : 45, ,c which 
also our fathers brought in with Jesus," that is, 
Joshua ; Heb. 4 : 8, " If Jesus (that is, if Joshua) 
had given them rest, he would not have spoken of 
another day.'" 

God wonderfully gave his people possession of 

Redemption. "7 



98 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ihis land, conquering its former inhabitants and the 
mighty giants, as Christ conquered the devil. He 
first conquered the great kings on the eastern side 
of Jordan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og 
king of Bashan ; and then divided the river Jordan, 
as before he had done the Red Sea ; causing the 
Avails of Jericho to fall down at the sound of the 
trumpets of the priests. That sound typified the 
sound of the Gospel by the preaching of gospel 
ministers, the walls of the accursed city Jericho 
signifying the walls of Satan's kingdom. After 
this he wonderfully destroyed the mighty host of 
the Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun 
and moon to stand still, to help the people against 
their enemies, at the prayer of the typical Jesus ; 
plainly intimating that God would make the whole 
course of nature to be subservient to the work of 
redemption ; and that every thing should give place 
to the welfare of God's redeemed people. 

Thus did Christ show his great love to his peo- 
ple, that he would make the course of nature to 
give place to their happiness and prosperity : and 
showed that the sun and moon, and all things visi- 
ble and invisible, were theirs by his purchase. At 
the same time Christ fought as the Captain of their 
host, and cast down great hailstones upon their 
enemies, by which more were slain than by the 
sword of Israel. And after this Christ gave the peo- 
ple a mighty victory over a yet greater army in the 
northern part of the land, gathered together at the 
waters of Merom, as the sand of the sea-shore 
Josh. 11:4. 

Thus God gave the people whence Christ was to 
proceed, the land where he was to be born ; where 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 99 

he was to live, preach, and work miracles ; to die, 
and rise again ; and whence he was to ascend into 
heaven, as the land which was a great type of 
heaven. 

XII. Another thing that God did towards carry- 
ing on this work, was his actually establishing his 
stated worship among the people, as it had been 
before instituted in the wilderness. This worship 
was appointed at Mount Sinai ; it was to make way 
for the coming of Christ ; and the innumerable cere- 
monial observances of it were typical of him and 
his redemption. But there were many parts of 
their instituted worship that could not be observed 
in the wilderness, by reason of their unsettled state 
there. And there were many precepts that respect- 
ed the land of Canaan, and their places of habita- 
tion there, which could not be put in practice till 
they came into that land. But now, when this was 
brought to pass, God set up his tabernacle in the 
midst of his people, as he had before promised them. 
Lev. 26: 11. "I will set my tabernacle amongst 
you." The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, (Josh. 
18: 1,) and the priests and the Levites had their 
offices appointed them, and the cities of refuge, and 
now the people were in a condition to observe their 
feasts of first-fruits, and their feasts of ingathering, 
and to bring all their tithes and appointed offerings 
to the Lord ; and most parts of God's worship were 
now observed, though some were not till afterwards. 

XIII. The next thing was God's wonderfully 
preserving that people, from this time forward, when 
all the males went up, three times in the year, to the 
place where God's ark was. The people of Israel 
were generally surrounded with enemies, who 



100 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

sought all opportunities to destroy thern, and dis- 
possess them of their land. Till David's time, there 
were great numbers in the land of the remains of 
the Canaanites and the other former inhabitants, who 
were bitter enemies to the people of Israel : and 
these had, three times in the year, a fair opportunity 
of overrunning their country, and getting posses- 
sion of their cities, when only the women, and 
those who were not able to go up, were left behind. 
And yet they were remarkably preserved throughout 
all generations at such seasons, agreeably to the 
promise, Exod. 34 : 24, " Neither shall any man 
desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear 
before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." So 
wonderfully did God order affairs, and influence 
the hearts of their enemies. They were full of 
enmity against Israel, desired to dispossess them of 
their land, and often had so fair an opportunity, that 
the whole country was left naked and empty of all 
that could resist them. It would have been only 
for them to go and take possession ; and yet we 
never read in all their history, of any of their ene- 
mies taking these opportunities against them ; which 
could be no less than a continual miracle, which 
God, for the preservation of his church, wrought 
for so many generations. It was surely a wonder- 
ful dispensation of divine Providence to maintain 
and promote God's great design of redemption. 

XIV. God's preserving his church and the true 
religion from being wholly extinct in the frequent 
apostasies of the Israelites in the time of the judges. 
How prone was that people to forsake the true God, 
who had done such wonderful things for them, and 
to fall into idolatry ! and how did the land, from 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 101 

time to time, seem to be almost overrun with it ! 
But yet God never suffered his true worship to be 
totally rooted out: his tabernacle stood, the ark was 
preserved, the book of the law was kept from being 
destroyed, God's priesthood was upheld, and he 
still had a church among the people. Time after 
time, when religion seemed to be almost gone, God 
granted a revival, and sent some angel, or raised up 
some eminent person, to be an instrument of their 
reformation. 

XV. God's preserving that nation from being de- 
stroyed, although they were so often subdued and 
brought under the dominion of their enemies. It is 
a wonder, not only that the true religion was not 
wholly rooted out, and so the church destroyed, 
but also that the very nation in which that church 
was, was not utterly destroyed ; they were so often 
brought under the power of their enemies. One 
while they were subdued by Chushan-rishathaim, 
king of Mesopotamia ; another while they were 
brought under the Moabites ; now they were sold 
into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan ; then they 
were under the dominion of the Midianites ; now 
they were sorely distressed by the children of Am- 
nion ; and then by the Philistines. But yet God, 
in all these dangers, preserved them, and kept them 
from being wholly overthrown. From time to time, 
when it was come to extremity, and God saw that 
they were upon the very brink of ruin, then he 
raised up a deliverer, agreeable to Deut. 32 : 36. 
" For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent 
himself for his servants ; when he seeth their power 
is gone, and there is none shut up or left." Those 
remarkable dispensations of Providence are set forth 



102 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

in a very lively and beautiful manner by the Psalm- 
ist, Psal. 106 : 34, &c. These deliverers were all 
types of Christ, the great Redeemer and Deliverer of 
his church ; and some of them very remarkably so ; 
as Barak, Jephthah, Gideon, and Samson, in very 
many particulars ; especially Samson. 

XVI. It is observable, that when Christ appeared 
to manage the affairs of his church in this period, he 
often appeared in the form of that nature which he 
took upon him in his incarnation. So he seems to 
have appeared repeatedly to Moses, and particularly 
at that time when God spake to him face to face, as 
a man speaketh to his friend, and he beheld the si- 
militude of the Lord, Num. 12 : 8, after he had be- 
sought him to show him his glory; which was the 
most remarkable vision that ever he had of Christ. 
There was a twofold discovery that Moses had of 
Christ : one was spiritual, by the word that was 
proclaimed: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful 
and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in good- 
ness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiv- 
ing iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will 
by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity 
of the fathers upon the children, and upon the chil- 
dren's children, unto the third and fourth genera- 
tion." Exod. 34 : 6, &c. Another was external ; 
which was that which Moses saw. when Christ 
passed by, and put him in a cleft of the rock. What 
he saw was doubtless a glorious human form, in 
which Christ appeared to him, and probably the form 
of his glorified human nature, in which he should 
afterwards appear. He saw not his face ; for it is 
not to be supposed that any man could subsist under 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 103 

a sight of the glory of Christ's human nature as it 
now appears. 

So it was a human form in which Christ appeared 
to the seventy elders. Exod. 24 : 9, 11. " Then went 
up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy 
of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of 
Israel : and there was under his feet, as it were, a 
paved work of a sapphire-stone, and as it were the 
body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the no- 
bles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: 
also they saw God, and did eat and drink." So 
Christ appeared afterwards to Joshua in the form of 
the human nature. Josh. 5 : 13, 14. "And it came 
to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted 
up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there stood a 
man over against him, with his sword drawn in his 
hand : and Joshua went unto him, and said unto 
him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And 
he said, Nay, but as Captain of the host of the Lord 
am I now come." And so he appeared to Gideon, 
Judges, 6:11; and so also to Manoah, Judg. 13: 
17-21. Here Christ appeared to Manoah in a 
representation both of his incarnation and death ; of 
his incarnation, in that he appeared in a human form ; 
and of his death and sufferings, represented by the 
sacrifice of a kid, and by his ascending up in the 
flame of the sacrifice; intimating that he was the 
great sacrifice, that must be offered up to God for a 
sweet savor, in the fire of his wrath, as that kid was 
burned and ascended up in the flame. Thus Christ 
appeared time after time, in the form of that nature 
he was afterwards to assume ; because he now ap- 
peared on the same design and to carry on the same 
work. 



104 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

XVII. Another thing done in this period towards 
the work of redemption, is the beginning of a succes- 
sion of prophets, and the erection of a school of the 
prophets, in Samuel's time. There was something 
of this spirit of prophecy in Israel after Moses, be- 
fore Samuel. Joshua and many of the judges had 
a degree of it. Deborah was a prophetess ; and 
some of the high-priests were inspired with this 
spirit, particularly Eli. That space of time was not 
wholly without instances of those who were set apart 
of God especially to this office, and so were called 
prophets. Such an one we read of, Judg. 6 : 8. 
11 The Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Is- 
rael, which said unto them," &c. Such an one he 
seems to have been of whom we read, 1 Sam, 2 : 27. 
" And there came a man of God to Eli." 

But there was no such order of men upheld in Is- 
rael, for any constancy, before Samuel : the want 
of it is taken notice of, 1 Sam. 3 : 1. "And the 
word of the Lord was precious in those days ; there 
was no open vision." But in Samuel there was 
begun a succession of prophets, maintained con- 
tinually from that time, at least with very little in- 
terruption, till the spirit of prophecy ceased, about 
the time of Malachi : and therefore Samuel is spok- 
en of in the New Testament as the beginning of this 
succession of prophets. Acts, 3 : 24. " And all the 
prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, 
as many as have spoken, have foretold of these 
days." After Samuel was Nathan, Gad, Iddo, He- 
man, Asaph, and others. And afterwards, in the 
end of Solomon's reign, we read of Ahijah ; and in 
Jeroboam and Rehoboam's time, we read of prophets; 
and so continually one prophet succeeded another 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 105 

till the captivity. In the writings of those prophets 
who are inserted in the canon of Scripture, we 
read of prophets as being a constant order of men 
upheld in the land. And even during the captivity- 
there were prophets still, a? Ezekiel and Daniel; 
and after the captivity, as Zechariah, Haggai, and 
Malachi. 

And because God intended a constant succession 
of prophets from Samuel, in his time was begun a 
school of the prophets ; that is, a school of young 
men, trained up under some great prophet, who 
was their master and teacher in the study of divine 
things, and the practice of holiness, to fit them for 
this office as God should call them to it. Those 
young men were called the sons of the prophets; 
and oftentimes they are termed prophets. These at 
first were under the tuition of Samuel. Thus we 
read of Samuel's being appointed over them, 1 Sam. 
19 : 20. "And when they saw the company of the 
prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as ap- 
pointed over them." The company of prophets of 
whom we read, 1 Sam. 10:5, were the same. Af- 
terwards we read of their being under Elijah. Eli- 
sha was one of these sons ; but he desired to have 
a double portion of his spirit, as his successor, 
as the eldest son was wont to have a double por- 
tion of the estate of his father; and therefore the 
sons of the prophets, when they perceived that the 
spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, submitted them- 
selves to him, and owned him for their master, as 
they had done Elijah before him. 2 Kings, 2 : 15. 
" And when the sons of the prophets which were to 
view at Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit ol 
Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they bowed them- 



106 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

selves to the ground before him." Elisha being 
their master or teacher, he had the care of them. 2 
Kings, 4 : 38. " And Elisha came again into Gilgal, 
and there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of 
the prophets were sitting before him ; and he said 
unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe 
pottage for the sons of the prophets." In Elijah's 
and Elisha's time, there were several places where 
companies of these sons of the prophets resided: as 
at Bethel, at Jericho, and at Gilgal, unless these at 
Gilgal and Jericho were the same: and possibly that 
which is called the college, where the prophetess 
Huldah resided, was another at Jerusalem. See 
2 Kings, 22 : 14. It is there said of Huldah the 
prophetess, that " she dwelt in Jerusalem, in the col- 
lege." They had houses built, where they used to 
dwell together; and therefore those at Jericho being 
multiplied, and finding their house too little for them, 
desired leave of their master and teacher Elisha, to 
go and hew timber to build a larger. 2 Kings, 6 : 1, 
2. At some times there were numbers of these sons 
of the prophets in Israel ; for when Jezebel cut ofT 
the prophets of the Lord, it is said that Obadiah 
took a hundred of them and hid them by fifty in a 
cave. 1 Kings, 18:4. 

These schools of the prophets being set up bj 
Samuel, and afterwards continued by such as Elijah 
and Elisha, must be of divine appointment ; and ac- 
cordingly we find that those sons of the prophets 
were often favored with a degree of inspiration 
while they continued under tuition ; and God com 
monly, when he called any prophet to the constant 
exercise of the prophetical office, and to some extra- 
ordinary service, took them out of these schools, 



FROM MOSES TO DAVID. 107 

though not universally. Hence the prophet Amos, 
speaking of his being called to the prophetical office, 
says, that he had not been educated in the schools 
of the prophets, and was not one of the sons of the 
prophets. Chap. 7 : 14, 15. Amos taking notice of 
it as remarkable that he should be so called, shows 
that it was God's ordinary manner to take his pro- 
phets out of these schools ; for therein he did but 
bless his own institution. 

Now this remarkable dispensation of Providence 
— God's beginning a constant succession of prophets 
in Samuel's time, which was to last for many ages ; 
and to that end, establishing a school of the prophets 
under Samuel, thenceforward to be continued in Is- 
rael — was to further the great work of redemption. 
For the main business of this succession of prophets 
was, to foreshow Christ, and the glorious redemp- 
tion he was to accomplish, and so to prepare the way 
for his coming. Acts, 3 : 24, and 10 : 43, h To him 
give all the prophets witness;" and 3 : 18, "But 
those things which God before had showed by the 
mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, 
he hath so fulfilled." 

The Old Testament church had a degree of light, 
not from the sun directly, but only as reflected. 
These prophets were the luminaries that reflected the 
light of the sun ; and accordingly they spoke abun- 
dantly of Jesus Christ, as appears by what we have 
of their prophecies. And they made it very much 
their business, when they studied in their schools 
or colleges, and elsewhere, to search out the work 
of redemption ; agreeable to what the apostle Peter 
says of them, 1 Pet. 1 : 10, 11. "Of which salva- 
tion the prophets have inquired, and searched dili« 



108 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

gently, who prophesied of the grace that should 
come unto you ; searching what, or what manner 
of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them did sig- 
nify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of 
Christ and the glory that should follow." We are 
told that the church of the Redeemer is built on the 
foundation of the prophets and apostles, the Re- 
deemer himself being the chief corner-stone. Eph. 
2: 20. 

This was the first thing of this nature ever done in 
the world : and a great thing towards the work of re- 
demption. There had before been occasional prophe- 
cies of Christ, as was shown ; but now the time draw- 
ing nearer when the Redeemer should come, it pleas- 
ed Ggd to appoint a certain order of men, in con- 
stant succession, whose main business it should be 
to foreshow Christ and his redemption, and as his 
forerunners to prepare the way for his coming; and 
God established schools, wherein multitudes were 
instructed and trained up to that end. Rev. 19 : 10. 
" I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that 
have the testimony of Jesus; for the testimony of 
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM DAVID TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. 

I. The first thing here to be noticed, is God's 
anointing that person who was to be the ancestor of 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 109 

Christ, to be king over his people. The dispensa- 
tions of Providence through the last period, respect 
the people whence Christ was to proceed ; but now 
the Scripture leads us to consider God's providence 
towards that particular person from whom Christ 
was to descend, David. It pleased God at this time 
remarkably to select this person, from all the thou- 
sands of Israel, and to put a most honorable mark 
of distinction upon him, by anointing him to be 
king over his people. It was only God that could 
find him out. His father's house is spoken of as 
being little in Israel, and he was the youngest of all 
the sons of his father, and was least expected by 
Samuel to be the man whom God had chosen. God 
had before remarkably distinguished the persons 
from whom Christ was to come; as Seth, Noah, 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; But the last account 
we have of God's marking out in any notable man- 
ner the very person of whom Christ was to come, 
was in Jacob's blessing his son Judah; unless we 
reckon Nashon's advancement in the wilderness to 
be the head of the tribe of Judah. But this distinc- 
tion of the person of whom Christ was to come, in 
David, was very honorable ; for it was God's anoint- 
ing him to be king over his people. There was 
something further denoted fey this, than in the 
anointing of Saul. God anoTnted Saul to be king 
personally; but by sending Samuel to anoint Da- 
vid, he intended to establish the crown of Israel in 
him and his family, as long as Israel continued to be 
a kingdom ; and not only so, but what was infinitely 
more, to establish the crown of his universal church, 
his spiritual Israel, in his seed, to the end of the 
world, and throughout eternity. 



110 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

This was a great dispensation of God in advancing 
the work of redemption, as the time drew near 
wherein Christ was to come. David, as he was the 
ancestor of Christ, so he was the greatest person- 
al type of Christ under the Old Testament. The 
types of Christ were of three sorts — instituted, pro- 
vidential, and personal. The ordinance of sacri- 
ficing was the greatest of the instituted types ; the 
redemption out of Egypt was the greatest of the pro- 
vidential ; and David the greatest of the personal 
ones. Hence Christ is often called David in the 
prophecies of Scripture, as Ezek. 34: 23, 24, " And 
I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall 
feed them, even my servant David; — My servant 
David a prince among them;" and so in many 
other places. He is very often spoken of as the seed 
and the Son of David. 

David being the ancestor and great type of Christ, 
his being solemnly anointed by God to be king over 
his people, that the kingdom of his church might 
be continued in his family for ever, may, in some 
respects, be regarded as an anointing of Christ him- 
self. Christ was, as it were, anointed in him ; and 
therefore Christ's anointing and David's anointing 
are spoken of under one in Scripture. Psalm 89 : 20. 
" I have found David my servant: with my holy 
oil have I anointed him." And David's throne and 
Christ's are spoken of as one. Luke, 1:32. "And 
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his 
father David." Acts, 2 : 30. " David — knowing that 
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit 
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise 
up Christ to sit on his throne." 

Thus God's beginning the kingdom of his church 



FROM DAVID 10 CAPTIVITY. Ill 

in the house of David, was, as it were, a new estab- 
lishing of the kingdom of Christ the beginning of 
it in a state of such visibility, as it thenceforward 
continued in. It was planting the root whence that 
branch of righteousness was afterwards to spring 
up, the everlasting king of his church ; and there- 
fore this everlasting king is called " the branch from 
the stem of Jesse." Isa. 11:1. "And there shall 
come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a 
branch shall grow out of his roots." Jer. 23 : 5. 
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
raise up unto David a righteous branch, and a king 
shall reign and prosper." So chap. 33: 15. "In 
those days, and at that time, I will cause the branch of 
righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall 
execute judgment and righteousness in the land." 
So Christ, in the New Testament, is called the root 
and offspring of David. Rev. 22 : 16. 

It is observable that God anointed David after 
Saul to reign in his room. He took away the crown 
from him and his family, who was higher in sta- 
ture than any of his people, and was, in their eyes, 
fittest to bear rule — to give it to David, who was 
low of stature, and in comparison of despicable ap- 
pearance. So God was pleased to show how Christ, 
who appeared without form or comeliness, and was 
despised and rejected of men, should take the king- 
dom from the great ones of the earth. And also it 
is observable that David was the youngest of Jesse's 
sons, as Jacob the youpger brother supplanted Esau, 
and got the birthright and blessing from him; and 
as Pharez, brother of Christ's ancestor, supplanted 
Zarah in the birth ; and as Isaac, another of the an 
cestors of Christ, cast out his elder brother Ishmael : 



112 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

thus was that frequent saying" of Christ fulfilled, 
" The last shall be first, and the first last." 

II. The next thing I would observe, is God's 
preserving David's life, by a series of wonderful 
providences, till Saul's death. I before took notice 
of the wonderful preservation of other ancestors ci 
Christ, as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; and have 
observed how, in their preservation, the work of 
redemption itself may be looked upon as preserved 
from being defeated, and the whole church, which 
is redeemed through him, from being overthrown. 
But the preservation of David was no less remark- 
able than that of any other. How often was there 
but a step between him and death. The first in- 
stance of it Ave have in his encountering- a lion and 
a bear, when they had caught a lamb out of his 
flock, which, without miraculous assistance, could 
at once have rent this young stripling in pieces, as 
easily as they could the lamb that he delivered from 
them. So the " Root and offspring " of David was 
preserved from the roaring lion that goes about 
seeking whom he may devour, and conquered him, 
and rescuedfne souls of men. that were as lambs in 
the mouth of this lion. Another remarkable in- 
stance was, in preserving him from that mighty 
giant Goliath, who was strong enough to have torn 
him to pieces, and given his flesh to the beasts of 
the field and to the fowls of the air, as he threatened. 
But God preserved him, and gave him the victory 
over Goliath, so that he cut off his head with his 
own sword, and thus v%is made the deliverer of 
Israel. So Christ slew the spiritual Goliath with 
his own weapon, the cross, and delivered his people. 
And how remarkably did God preserve David from 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 113 

being slain by Saul, when he first sought his life, 
by giving his daughter to be a snare to him, that 
the hand of the Philistines might be upon him, re- 
quiring of him a hundred foreskins of the Philis- 
tines, that so his life might be exposed to them. 
The same divine care was evident in preserving 
him afterwards, when Saul spake to Jonathan and 
to all his servants to kill David; and in inclining 
Jonathan, instead of killing him, as his father com- 
manded, to love him as his own soul, and to be a 
great instrument of his preservation, even so as to 
expose his own life to preserve David : though one 
would have thought that none would be more will- 
ing to have David killed than Jonathan, seeing he 
was competitor with him for the crown. Again, 
Saul threw a javelin at him, to smite him even to 
the wall ; and sent messengers to his house, to 
watch, and to kill him, when Michal, Saul's daugh- 
ter, let him down through a window. He after- 
wards sent messengers, once and again, to Naioth 
in Ramah, to take him, and they were remarkably 
prevented by miraculous impressions of the Spirit of 
God ; and when Saul, being resolute ill/ the affair, 
went himself, he also was among the prophets. 
How wonderfully was David's life preserved at 
Gath among the Philistines, when he went to 
Achish the king of Gath, and was there in the 
hands of the Philistines, who, one would have 
thought, would have despatched him at once, he 
having so much provoked them by his exploits 
against them. He was agajn wonderfully preserved 
at Keilah, when he had entered into a fenced town, 
where Saul thought he was sure of him. And how 
wonderfully was he preserved from Saul, when ho 

Redemption. 8 

* 



114 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

pursued and hunted him in the mountains. How 
remarkably did God deliver him in the wilderness 
of Maon, when Saul and his army were compassing 
David about. How was he delivered in the cave of 
Engedi, when, instead of Saul's killing David, God 
delivered Saul into his hands in the cave. David 
cut off his skirt, and might as easily have cut off his 
head. He was delivered in like manner in the 
wilderness of Ziph ; and afterwards preserved in 
the landof the Philistines, though David had fought 
against the Philistines, and conquered them at 
Keilah, since he was last among them. This, one 
would think, would have been sufficient warning to 
them not to trust him, or let him escape a second 
time ; but yet now God wonderfully turned their 
hearts to befriend and protect, instead of destroy- 
ing him. 

Thus was the precious seed that virtually contain- 
ed the Redeemer, and all the blessings of his re- 
demption, wonderfully preserved, when hell and 
earth conspired to destroy it. How often does David 
himself take notice of this, with praise and admira- 
tion, in the book of Psalms. 

III. About this time, the written word of God, or 
the canon of Scripture, was enlarged by Samuel. I 
have before observed, that the canon of Scripture was 
begun, and the first written rule of faith and practice 
was given to the church about the time of Moses. 
Joshua probably enlarged it, and wrote the last chap- 
ter of Deuteronomy, and most of the book of Joshua. 
Some think that Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and part of 
the first book of Samuel, were written by Samuel 
However that was, of this we have good evidence, 
that Samuel made an addition to the canon of Scrip* 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 115 

ture; for Samuel is manifestly mentioned in the 
New Testament, as one of the prophets whose writ- 
ings we have in Scripture, Acts, 3 : 24. " Yea, arid 
all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow 
after, as many as have spoken, have likewise fore- 
told of these days." By that expression, "as many 
as have spoken," is meant, as many as have written. 

And the way that Samuel spoke of these times of 
Christ and the Gospel, was by giving the history of 
those things that typified, and pointed to them, par- 
ticularly what he wrote concerning David. The 
Spirit of God moved him to commit those things to 
writing, chiefly because they pointed to Christ, and 
the times of the Gospel ; and, as was said before, 
this was the main business of all that succession of 
prophets that began in Samuel. That Samuel added 
to the canon of the Scriptures seems further to appear 
from 1 Chron. 29 : 29. " Now the acts of David the 
king, first and last, behold they are written in the 
book of Samuel the seer." 

Whether the book of Joshua was written by Sam- 
uel or not, yet it is the general opinion of divines, 
that the books of Judges and Ruth, and part of the 
first book of Samuel, were penned by him. The 
book of Ruth was written for this reason, that though 
it seemed to treat of private affairs, the persons chief- 
ly spoken of were of the family whence David and 
Christ proceeded, and so pointed to what the apos- 
tle Peter observed of Samuel and the other prophets, 
in the third chapter of Acts. These additions to the 
canon of Scripture, the great and main instrument of 
the application of redemption, are to be considered 
as a further continuation of that work, and an addi- 
tion made to that great building. 



1 16 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

IV. Another thing God did towards this work, 
at that time, was his inspiring David to show forth 
Christ and his redemption, in divine songs, which 
should be for the use of the church, in public wor- 
ship, throughout all ages. David was himself en- 
dued with the spirit of prophecy. He is called a 
prophet, Acts, 2 : 29, 30. " Let me freely speak to 
you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day; 
therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God 
had sworn with an oath," &c. So that he was a 
type of Christ, in that he was both a prophet and 
a king. 

The oil that was used in anointing David was a 
type of the Spirit of God ; and the type and the an- 
titype were given together ; as we are told, 1 Sam. 
16: 13. "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and 
anointed him in the midst of his brethren ; and the 
Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day 
forward ;" and it is probable, that it now came upon 
him in its prophetical influences. One way that this 
Spirit influenced him, was by inspiring him to show 
forth Christ, and the glorious things of his redemp- 
tion, in divine songs, sweetly expressing the breath- 
ings of a pious soul, full of admiration of the glo- 
rious things of the Redeemer, inflamed with divine 
love and elevated praise; and therefore he is called 
the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 Sam. 23: 1. The 
main subjects of these songs were the glorious 
things of the Gospel ; as is evident by the interpre- 
tation given, and the use made of them in the New 
Testament ; for there is no one book of the Old 
Testament that is so often quoted in the New, as the 
book of Psalms. Joyfully did this holy man sing of 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 117 

those great things of Christ's redemption, that had 
been the hope and expectation of God's church and 
people from the beginning : and joyfully did others 
follow him in it, as Asaph, Heman, Ethan, and 
others ; for the book of Psalms was not all penned 
by David, though the greater part of it was. Here- 
by the canon of Scripture was further enlarged by 
an excellent portion of divine writ. 

This was a great advancement that God made in 
this building; and the light of the Gospel, which 
had been gradually brightening, was exceedingly 
increased by it : for whereas before, there was but 
here and there a prophecy given of Christ in a 
great many ages, here Christ is spoken of by his 
ancestor David, abundantly in multitudes of songs, 
speaking of his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, 
ascension into heaven, his satisfaction and interces- 
sion ; his prophetical, kingly, and priestly office; 
his glorious benefits in this life and that which is to 
come ; his union with the church, and the blessed- 
ness of the church in him ; the calling of the Gen- 
tiles, the future glory of the church near the end of 
the world, and Christ's coming to the final judgment. 
All these things, and many more, concerning Christ 
and his redemption, are abundantly spoken of in the 
book of Psalms. 

This was also a glorious advancement of the work 
of redemption, as God hereby gave his church a 
book of divine songs for their use in public worship, 
in singing his praises throughout all ages to the end 
of the world. It is manifest the book of Psalms was 
given of God for this end. It was used in the church 
of Israel by God's appointment, as appears by the 
title of many of the Psalms, in which they are in 



118 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

scribed to the chief musician, the man appointed to 
be the leader of divine songs in the temple, in the 
public worship of Israel. So David is called the 
sweet psalmist of Israel, because he penned psalms 
for the use of the church of Israel ; and accordingly 
we have an account that they were sung in the church 
of Israel for that end, even ages after David was 
dead ; as 2 Chron. 29 : 30. " Moreover, Hezekiah the 
king, and the princes, commanded the Levites to 
sing praises unto the Lord with the words of David, 
and of Asaph the seer." And we find that the same 
are appointed in the New Testament to be made use 
of in the Christian church, in their worship. Eph. 
5:19. "Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and 
hymns, and spiritual songs." Col. 3 : 16. " Admon- 
ishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spi- 
ritual songs." So they have been, and will be, to the 
end of the w r orld, used in the church to celebrate 
the praises of God. The people of God were wont 
sometimes to worship God by singing songs to his 
praise before, as they did at the Red Sea ; and they 
had Moses' prophetical song, in the 32d chapter of 
Deuteronomy, committed to them for that end ; and 
Deborah, Barak, and Hannah sung praises to God; 
but now first did God commit to his church a book 
of divine songs for their constant use. 

V. The next thing I would notice, is God's actu- 
ally exalt big David to the throne of Israel, notwith- 
standing all the opposition made to it. God was de- 
termined to do it, and he made every thing give 
place that stood in the way. He removed Saul and 
his sons ; and first set David over the tribe of Judah; 
and then having removed Ishbosheth, set him over 
all Israel. Thus did God fulfill his word to David. 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 119 

He took him from the sheep-cote, and made him 
king over his people Israel. Psalm 78 : 70, 71. And 
now the throne of Israel was established in that 
family in which it was to continue for ever. 

VI. Now God first chose a particular city out 
of all the tribes of Israel to place his name there. 
There is several times mention made in the law of 
Moses, of the children of Israel bringing their ob- 
lations to the place which God should choose ; 
as Deut. 12: 5-7; but God had never proceeded to 
do it till now. The tabernacle and ark were never 
fixed, but sometimes in one place and sometimes in 
another ; but now God proceeded to choose Jerusa- 
lem. The city of Jerusalem was never thoroughly 
conquered, or taken out of the hands of the Jebusites, 
till David's time. It is said, Joshua, 15 : 63, " As for 
the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the chil- 
dren of Judah could not drive them out ; but the 
Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jeru- 
salem unto this day." But now David wholly sub- 
dued it, as we have an account in 2 Sam. 5. And 
God proceeded to choose that city to place his name 
there, as appears by David's bringing up the ark 
thither soon after; which is mentioned as the first 
time God chose a city to that end. 2 Chron. 6 : 5, 6, 
and 12: 13. Afterwards God proceeded to show 
David the very place where he would have his 
temple built : the threshing-floor of Araunah the 
Jebusite. 

This city of Jerusalem is therefore called the holy 
city ; and it was the greatest type of the church of 
Christ in all the Old Testament. It was redeemed by 
David, the captain of the hosts of Israel, out of the 
hands of the Jebusites, to be God's city, the holy 



120 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

place of his rest for ever, where he would dwell. 
So Christ, the Captain of his people's salvation, re- 
deems his church out of the hands of devils, to be 
his holy and beloved city. And therefore how often 
does the Scripture, when speaking of Christ's re- 
demption of his church, call it by the names of Zion 
and Jerusalem. This was the city that God had 
appointed to be the place of the first gathering and 
erecting of the Christian church after'Christ's resur- 
rection, the place of that remarkable effusion of the 
Spirit of God on the apostles and primitive Chris- 
tians, and the place whence the Gospel was to sound 
forth into all the world ; the place of the first Chris- 
tian church, that was to be, as it were, the mother 
of all other churches through the world ; agreea- 
ble to that prophecy, Is. 2 ; 3, 4. " Out of Zion shall 
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Je- 
rusalem ; and he shall judge among the nations, 
and shall rebuke many people." Thus God chose 
Mount Zion whence the Gospel was to be sounded 
forth, as the law had been from Mount Sinai. 

VII. The next thing to be observed here, is God's 
solemnly renewing the covenant of grace with Da- 
vid, and promising that the Messiah should be of his 
seed. We have an account of it in 2 Sam. 7. It was 
done on occasion of the thoughts David entertained 
of building God a house. On this occasion God 
sends Nathan the prophet to him, with the glorious 
promises of the covenant of grace. It is especially 
contained in these words, " And thy house and thy 
kingdom shall be established for ever before thee; 
thy throne shall be established for ever." Which 
promise has respect to Christ, the seed of David, 
and is fulfilled in him only : for the kingdom of 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 121 

David has long since ceased, any otherwise than as 
it is upheld in Christ. 

That this covenant, now established with David 
by Nathan the prophet, was the covenant of grace, 
is evident by the plain testimony of Scripture. Is. 
55: 1-3. There we have Christ inviting sinners 
to come to the waters, &c. And in the 3d verse he 
says, '• Incline your ear and come unto me ; hear, 
and your souls shall live; and I will make with 
you an everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies 
of David." Here Christ offers to poor sinners, if 
they will come to him, to give them an interest in 
the same everlasting covenant that he had made 
with David, conveying to them the same sure mer- 
cies. But what is that covenant, in which sinners 
obtain an interest when they come to Chiist, but 
the covenant of grace ? 

This was the fifth solemn establishment of the 
covenant of grace with the church after the fall. It 
was revealed and established all along. But there 
had been particular seasons, wherein God had in a 
very solemn manner renewed this covenant with his 
church, giving forth a new edition and establish- 
ment of it, revealing it in a new manner. The first 
was with Adam ; the second with Noah , the third 
with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; the 
fourth was in the wilderness by Moses ; and now 
the fifth is made to David. 

This establishment of the covenant of grace, Da- 
vid always esteemed the greatest favor and honor 
that God had conferred upon him ; he prized it, and 
rejoiced in it above all other blessings of his reign. 
Observe how joyfully and thankfully he received it, 
when Nathan came to him with the glorious mes- 



122 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

sage. 2 Sam. 7 : 18. And so David, in his last words, 
declares this to be all his salvation, and all his de- 
sire. 2 Sam. 23 : 5. " He hath made with me an 
everlasting 1 covenant, ordered in all things and sure : 
for this is all my salvation and all my desire." 

VIII. It was by David that God first gave his 
people Israel Ike possession of the whole promised 
land. I have before shown, how God's giving pos- 
session of the promised land belonged to the cove- 
nant of grace. This was done in a great measure 
by Joshua, but not fully. Joshua did not wholly 
subdue that part of the promised land which was 
strictly called the land of Canaan, and which was 
divided by lot to the several tribes ; but there were 
great numbers of the old inhabitants left unsubdued, 
as we read in the books of Joshua and Judges : and 
there were many left to prove Israel, and to be as 
thorns in their sides. There were the Jebusites in 
Jerusalem, and many of the Canaanites, and the 
whole nation of Philistines, who all dwelt in that 
part of the land which was divided by lot, and chief- 
ly in that which belonged to the tribes of Judah and 
Ephraim. 

And thus these remains of the old inhabitants of 
Canaan continued unsubdued till David's time ; but 
he wholly subdued them all. Which is agreeable to 
what St. Stephen observes, Acts, 7 : 45, " Which 
also our fathers brought in with Jesus (Joshua) into 
the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out 
before the face of our fathers, unto the days of Da- 
vid." They were till the days of David in driving 
them out; but David entirely brought them under. 
He subdued the Jebusites, the whole nation of the 
Philistines, and all the remains of the seven nations 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 123 

of Canaan. 1 Chron. 18: 1. "Now after this it 
came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and 
subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of 
the hands of the Philistines." 

After this, all the remains of the former inhabi- 
tants of Canaan were made bond-servants to the 
Israelites. The posterity of the Gibeonites became 
servants before, hewers of wood and drawers of 
water for the house of God. But Solomon, David's 
son and successor, put all the other remains of the 
seven nations of Canaan to bond-service; at least 
made them pay a tribute of bond-service. 1 Kings, 
9 : 20-22. And hence we read of the children of 
Solomon's servants, after the return from the Baby- 
lonish captivity. Ezra, 2:55; and Neh. 11:3. 
They were the children or posterity of the seven 
nations of Canaan that Solomon had subjected to 
bond-service. 

Thus David subdued the whole land of Canaan, 
strictly so called. But then that was not one half, 
nor quarter, of the land God had promised to their 
fathers. The land often promised to their fathers, 
included all the countries from the river of Egypt 
to the river Euphrates. These were the bounds of 
the land promised to Abraham. Gen. 15 : 18. " In 
that same day the Lord made a covenant with 
Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this 
land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, 
the river Euphrates." So again God promised at 
Mount Sinai. Exod. 23 : 31. " And I will set thy 
bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the 
Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for 
I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your 
hand ; and thou shalt drive them out before thee." 



124 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

So again, Deut. 11:24. "Every place whereon 
the soles of your feet shall tread, shall be yours: 
from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, 
the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea, 
shall your coast be." Again, the same promise is 
made to Joshua, Josh. 1 : 3, 4. " Every place that 
the sole of your feet shall tread upon have I given 
unto you, as I said unto Moses ; from the wilder- 
ness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, 
the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and 
unto the great sea, towards the going down of the 
sun, shall be your coast." But the land of which 
Joshua gave the people possession, was but a small 
part of this land. And the people never had pos- 
session of it, till God gave it them by David. 

This large country not only included that Ca- 
naan which was divided by lot to those who came 
in with Joshua, but the land of the Moabites and 
Ammonites, the land of the Amalekites, and the rest 
of the Edomites, and the country of Zobah. All 
these nations were subdued and brought under the 
children of Israel by David. And he put garrisons 
in the several countries, and they became David's 
servants, as we have a particular account in 2 Sam. 
8 : and David extended their border to the river Eu- 
phrates, as was promised. "And David smote also 
Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he 
went to recover his border at the river Euphrates." 
And accordingly we read that Solomon his son 
reigned over all the region on this side of the river. 
1 Kings, 4 : 24. " For he had dominion over all the 
region on this side the river, from Tiphsha even 
unto Azzah, over all the kings on this side the 
river." This Artaxerxes, king of Persia, notices 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 125 

long after. Ezra, 4 : 20. " There have been mighty 
kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over 
all countries beyond the river ; and toll, tribute, and 
custom was paid unto them." 

So that Joshua, that eminent type of Christ, did 
but begin the work of giving Israel the possession 
of the promised land : and left it to be finished by 
that much greater type and ancestor of Christ, even 
David, who subdued far more of that land than ever 
Joshua had done. And in this extent of his and 
Solomon's dominion was some resemblance of the 
great extent of Christ's kingdom ; which is set forth 
by this very thing, Psal. 72 : 8. " He shall have 
dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river 
unto the ends of the earth." See also 1 Kings, 8 : 56. 

IX. God, by David, perfected the Jewish ivorship, 
and added to it several new institutions. The law 
was given by Moses, but all the institutions of the 
Jewish worship were not ; some were added by di- 
vine direction. So this greatest of all personal types 
of Christ did not only perfect Joshua's work, in 
giving Israel the possession of the promised land, 
but also finished Moses' work, in perfecting the in- 
stituted worship of Israel. Thus there must be a 
number of typical prophets, priests, and princes, to 
complete one figure or shadow of Christ the ante- 
type, he being the substance of all the types and 
shadows. Of so much more glory was Christ ac- 
counted worthy, than Moses, Joshua, David, Solo- 
mon, and all the great prophets, priests, princes, 
judges, and saviors of the Old Testament. 

The ordinances of David are mentioned as of 
equal validity with those of Moses. 2 Chron. 23 : 
18. ,; Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the 



126 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

house of the Lord by the hand of the priests, the 
Levites, whom David had distributed in the house 
of the Lord, to offer the burnt-offerings of the Lord, 
as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing 
and with singing, as it was ordained by David." 
The worship of Israel was perfected by David, by 
the addition he made to the ceremonial law, 
(1 Chron. 23, &c.) consisting in the several orders 
and courses into which the Levites were divided, 
and the work and business to which he appointed 
them, different from what Moses had done ; and 
also in the divisions of the priests, the sons of Aaron, 
into four and twenty courses, assigning to every 
course their business in the house of the Lord, and 
their particular stated times of attendance there. 
He also appointed some of the Levites to a new of- 
fice, that of singers, particularly ordering and regu- 
lating them in that office. 1 Chron. 25. " Others 
of the Levites he appointed by law to the several 
services of porters, treasurers, officers, and judges ; 
and these ordinances of David were continued 
thenceforth in the church of Israel, as long as the 
Jewish church lasted. . Thus we find the several 
orders of priests, and the Levites, the porters, and 
singers, after the captivity. And we find the cour- 
ses of the priests appointed by David still continu- 
ing in the New Testament : Zacharias the father 
of John the Baptist was a priest of the course of 
Abia ; which is the same with the course of Abijah 
appointed by David. 1 Chron. 24 : 10. 

Thus David as well as Moses was made like to 
Christ the son of David, in this respect, that by him 
God gave in some degree a new ecclesiastical estab- 
lishment, and new institutions of worship. David 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 127 

did not only add to the institutions of Moses, but by 
those additions he abolished some of the old institu- 
tions that had been in force till that time ; particularly 
those laws that appointed the business of the Le- 
vites, which we have in Numb. 3 and 4: which very 
much consisted in their charge of the several parts 
and utensils of the tabernacle. But those laws 
were now abolished ; and they were no more to 
carry those things, as they had been used to do. 
But David appointed them to other work instead of 
it. . Chron. 23 : 26. " And also unto the Levites, 
they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any 
vessels of it for the service thereof." A sure evi- 
dence that the ceremonial law given by Moses is not 
perpetual, as the Jews suppose ; but might be wholly 
abolished by Christ ; for if David, a type of the Mes- 
siah, might abolish the law of Moses in part, much 
more might the Messiah himself abolish the whole. 
David, by God's appointment, abolished all use of 
the tabernacle built by Moses, and of which he had 
the pattern from God ; for God now revealed it to 
David to be his will, that a temple should be built 
instead of the tabernacle. This was a great presage 
of what Christ, the son of David, would do when he 
should come, namely, abolish the whole Jewish 
ecclesiastical constitution, which was but as a move- 
able tabernacle, to set up the spiritual gospel-temple, 
which was to be far more glorious, of greater extent, 
and was to last for ever. David had the pattern of 
all things pertaining to the temple shown him, even 
in like manner as Moses had the pattern of the 
tabernacle ; and Solomon built the temple according 
to that pattern which he had from his father David, 
which hi received from God. 1 Chron. 28 : 11, 12. 



128 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

" Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern 
of the porch and of the houses thereof, and of the 
treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof 
and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of 
the mercy-seat, and the pattern of all that he had by 
the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, 
and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries 
of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedi- 
cated things." And ver. 19. " All this, said David, 
the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand 
upon me, even all the works of this pattern." 

X. The canon of Scripture seems to have been 
farther enlarged about the close of David's reign by 
the prophets Nathan and Gad. It appears probable 
by the Scriptures, that they continued the history of 
the two books of Samuel from the place where Sam- 
uel left it, and finished them. These seem to be call- 
ed " the book of Samuel the seer, and Nathan the 
prophet, and Gad the seer." 1 Chron. 29 : 29. " Now 
the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, 
they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and 
in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book 
of Gad the seer." 

XI. The next thing I would notice, is God's 
wonderfully continuing the kingdom of his visible 
people in the line of Christ's legal ancestors, as long 
as they remained an independent kingdom. Thus 
it was without any interruption worth notice. In- 
deed the kingdom of all the tribes of Israel was not 
kept in that line; but the dominion of that part in 
which the true worship of God was upheld, who 
were God's visible people, was always kept in the 
family of David, as long as there was any such thing 
as an independent king of Israel ; according to his 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 129 

promise to David ; and not only in the family of 
David, but always in that part of David's posterity 
whence Christ was legally descended. So that 
Christ's legal ancestor was always on the throne, 
excepting Jehoahaz, who reigned three months, 
and Zedekiah, as appears in Matthew's genealogy 
of Christ. 

Christ was legally descended from the kings of 
Judah, though not naturally. He was both legally 
and naturally descended from David. He was natu- 
rally descended from Nathan the son of David ; for 
Mary his mother was one of the poster^ of David 
by Nathan, as may be seen in Luke's genealogy; 
but Joseph, the reputed and legal father of Christ, 
was naturally descended of Solomon and his suc- 
cessors, as we have an account in Matthew's gene- 
alogy. Jesus Christ, though he was not the natu- 
ral son of Joseph, yet by the law and constitution of 
the Jews, was Joseph's heir ; because he was the 
lawful son of Joseph's lawful wife, conceived while 
she was his legally espoused wife. The Holy 
Ghost raised up seed to him. A person, by the law 
of Moses, might be the legal son and heir of another, 
whose natural son he was not; as sometimes a man 
raised up seed to his brother : a brother, in some- 
cases, was to build up a brother's house ; so the 
Holy Ghost built up Joseph's house. Joseph being 
in the direct line of the kings of Judah, of the house 
of David, he was in this respect the legal heir of the 
crown of David ; and Christ being legally his first- 
born son, he was his heir; and so Christ, by the 
law, was the proper heir of the crown of David, and 
is therefore said to sit upon the throne of his father 
David. 

Redemption 9 



1 30 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

The crown of God's people was wonderfully kept 
in the line of Christ's legal ancestors. When David 
was old and not able any longer to manage the af- 
fairs of the kingdom, Adonijah, one of his sons, 
claimed to be king, and seemed to have obtained his 
purpose. All things for a while seemed fair on his 
side, and he thought himself strong. But Adonijah 
was not the ancestor of Joseph, the legal father of 
Christ ; and therefore how wonderfully did Provi- 
dence work here ! what a strange and sudden revo- 
lution ! All Adonijah's kingdom and glory vanished 
away as soon as it was begun ; and Solomon, the 
legal ancestor of Christ, was established in the 
throne. 

And after Solomon's death, when Jeroboam had 
conspired against the family, and Rehoboam so con- 
ducted, that it was a wonder all Israel was not pro- 
voked to forsake him, (as ten tribes actually did,) 
and set up Jeroboam in opposition to him; and 
though he was a wicked man, and deserved to have 
been rejected altogether from being king, yet he be- 
ing the legal ancestor of Christ, God kept the king- 
dom of the two tribes, in which the true religion 
was upheld, in his possession. And though his son 
Abijam was another wicked prince, yet God still 
continued the crown in the family, and gave it to 
Abijam's son, Asa. And afterwards, though many 
of the kings of Judah were very wicked, and hor- 
ribly provoked God, as particularly Jehoram, Aha- 
ziati, Ahaz, Manasseh, and Anion; yet God did not 
take away the crown from their family, but gave it 
to their sons, because they were the ancestors of 
Christ. God's remembering his covenant established 
with David, is given as the reason why God did 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 131 

thus, notwithstanding their wicked lives. Speaking 
of Abijam's wickedness, it is said, 1 Kings, 15 : 4, 
" Nevertheless, for David's sake did the Lord his 
God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son 
after him. and to establish Jerusalem :" so 2 Chron. 
21:7, speaking of Jehoram's great wickedness, it 
is said, " Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the 
house of David, because of the covenant that he had 
made with David, and as he promised to give a light 
to him, and to his sons for ever." 

The crown of the ten tribes was changed from 
one family to another continually. First, Jeroboam 
took it; but the crown descended only to his son 
Nadab. Then Baasha, who was of another family, 
took it; and it remained in his posterity but one ge- 
neration after his death. And then Zimri, who was 
his servant, and not of his posterity, took it; from 
whom Omri, who was of another family, took it. 
The crown continued in his family for three succes- 
sions ; and then Jehu, who was of another family, 
took it. The crown continued in his family for three 
or four successions; and then Shallum, who was of 
another family, took it. The crown did not descend 
at all to his posterity; but Menahern, who was of 
another family, took it ; and it remained in his family 
but one generation. Then Pekah, who was of an- 
other family, took it ; and after him Hoshea, that was 
still of another family. So great a difference was 
there between the crown of Israel and the crown of 
Judah ; the one was continued evermore in the same 
family, and with very little interruption, in one right 
line; the other was continually tossed about from 
one family to another. The reason was not because 
Vhe kings of Judah, at least many of them, were bet- 



i32 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ter than the kings of Israel ; but the one had the 
blessing in them ; they were the ancestors of Christ, 
whose right it was to sit on the throne of Israel 
But with the kings of Israel it was not so ; and there* 
fore divine Providence exercised a continual care 
through all the changes that happened in many ge- 
nerations, and such a long space of time, to keep the 
crown of Judah in one direct line, in fulfillment of 
the everlasting covenant made with David, the mer- 
cies of which covenant were sure; but in the other 
case there was no such covenant, and so no such in- 
terposing care of Providence. 

And here it must not be omitted, that there was 
once a very strong conspiracy of the kings of Syria 
and Israel, in the time of that wicked king of Judah, 
Ahaz, to dispossess him and his family of the throne 
of Judah, and to set one of another family, even the 
son of Tabeal, on it; as Is. 7 : G. "Let us go up 
against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach 
therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even 
the son of Tabeal." And they seemed very likely to 
accomplish their purpose; insomuch that the hearts 
of the people sunk within them; they gave up the 
cause. It is said, " The heart of Ahaz and his peo- 
ple was moved as the trees of the wood are moved 
with the wind." And on this occasion God sent the 
prophet Isaiah to encourage the people, and tell 
them that it should not come to pass. And because 
it looked so much like a lost cause to Ahaz and the 
people, God directs the prophet to give them this 
sign of it, that Christ should be born of the legal 
seed of Ahaz; as Isaiah, 7 : 14. "Therefore the 
Lord himself shall give you a sign : behold a vir- 
gin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 133 

name lmmanuel." This was a good sign, and a 
great confirmation of the truth of what God pro- 
mised by Isaiah, that the kings of Syria and Israel 
should never accomplish their purpose of dispossess- 
ing the family of Ahaz of the crown of Judah, and 
setting up the son of Tabeal ; for Christ the lm- 
manuel was to be of them. 

XII. The building of the temple was a great type 
of three things, viz. of Christ, especially his human 
nature; of the church ; and of heaven. The taber- 
nacle seemed rather to represent the church in its 
moveable, changeable state, in this world. But that 
beautiful, glorious, costly structure, the temple, that 
succeeded the tabernacle, seems especially to repre- 
sent the church in its glorified state in heaven. This 
temple was built according to the direction and the 
pattern shown by the Holy Ghost to David, in the 
place where was the threshing-floor of Oman the 
Jebusite, in Mount Moriah, 2 Chron. 3:1; the same 
mountain (and probably in the very same place) 
where Abraham o fie red up his son Isaac ; for that 
is said to be in the land of Moriah, Gen. 22 : 2, and 
was called the mountain of the Lord, as this of the 
temple was, Gen. 22 : 14. "And Abraham calied 
the name of that place Jehovah-jireh ; as it is said to 
this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. 

This was the house where Christ dwelt, till he 
came to dwell in human nature. That his body 
was the antitype of this temple, appears from what 
he says, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I 
will raise it up," speaking of the temple of his body. 
John, 2 : 19, 20. This continued to be the house 
of God, the place of worship for his church, till 
Christ came ; the place that God chose, where all 



134 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

their sacrifices were offered, till the great sacrifice 
came. Into his temple in this place, the Lord 
came, even the messenger of the covenant. Here 
he often delivered his heavenly doctrine and wrought 
miracles ; here his church was gathered by the pour- 
ing out of the Spirit, after his ascension. Luke, 24 : 
53. " And they were continually in the temple, 
praising and blessing God." And (Acts, 2 : 46) re- 
specting the multitudes that were converted by that 
great effusion of the Spirit on the day of pentecost, 
it is said, " And they continued daily with one ac- 
cord in the temple." And the sacred historian, 
(Acts, 5 : 42,) speaking of the apostles, says, u And 
daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased 
not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And thence 
the sound of the Gospel went forth, and the church 
was spread into all the world. 

XIII. It is here worthy to be observed, that in 
Solomon's reign, after the temple was finished, the 
Jewish church was risen to its highest external glory. 
The Jewish church, as to its ordinances and con- 
stitution, is compared to the moon, Rev. 12 : 1. 
" And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a 
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under 
her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 
This church was like the moon in many other re- 
spects, but especially that it waxed and waned like 
the moon. From its formation, which was in the co- 
venant made with Abraham, when this moon began 
to appear, it had been gradually increasing in its glo- 
ry. This time, wherein the temple was finished and 
dedicated, was about the middle between the calling 
of Abraham and the coming of Christ, and now it 
was full moon After this the glory of the Jewish 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 135 

church gradually decreased, till Christ came; as i 
shall have occasion to show more particularly. 

Now the church of Israel was in its highest ex- 
ternal glory. Now Israel was multiplied exceeding- 
ly, so that they seemed to have become like the sand 
upon the sea-shore. 1 Kings, 4 : 20. Now the king- 
dom of Israel was firmly established in the right fami- 
ly, the family of which Christ was to come. Now God 
had chosen the city where he would place his name ; 
and had fully given his people the possession of the 
promised land. They now possessed the dominion of 
it all, in quietness and peace, even from the river of 
Egypt to the great river Euphrates ; all those na- 
tions which had formerly been their enemies, quiet- 
ly submitted to them ; none pretended to rebel 
against them. Now the Jewish worship in all its 
ordinances was fully settled: instead of a moveable 
tabernacle, they had a glorious temple ; the most 
magnificent, beautiful, and costly structure that ever 
had been, or has been since. Now the people en- 
joyed peace and plenty, and sat every man under his 
vine and fig-tree. 1 Kings, 4 : 20. They were in 
the height of earthly prosperity, silver being plenty 
as stones, and the land full of gold and precious 
stones, and other precious foreign commodities, 
which were brought by Solomon's ships from Ophir 
and from other parts of the world. Now they had 
a king reigning over them who was the wisest of 
men and probably the greatest earthly prince that 
ever was: their fame went abroad into all the earth, 
so that many came from the utmost parts of the 
earth to see their glory and their happiness. 

Thus God was pleased, in one of Messiah's an- 
cestors, remarkably to shadow forth the kingdom of 



J36 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Christ reigning in his glory. David, a man of war 
who had shed much blood, and whose life was full 
of troubles and conflicts, was a more suitable repre- 
sentation of Christ in his state of humiliation, where- 
in he was conflicting with his enemies. But Solo- 
mon, a man of peace, was a representation more es- 
pecially of Christ exalted, triumphing and reigning 
in his kingdom of peace. And the happy, glorious 
state of the Jewish church at that time, remarkably 
represented two things: 1. A glorious state of the 
church on earth, in the latter ages of the world ; 
those days of peace, when nation shall not lift sword 
against nation, nor learn war any more. 2. The fu- 
ture glorified state of the church in heaven. The 
earthly Canaan was never so lively a type of the 
heavenly Canaan as then, when the happy people 
of Israel indeed enjoyed it as a land flowing with 
milk and honey. 

XIV. After this the glory of the Jewish church 
gradually declined till Christ came ; yet the work 
of redemption went on. Whatever failed or declined, 
God still carried on this work from age to age ; this 
building was advancing higher and higher. It 
went on, during the decline of the Jewish church, 
towards a further preparation for the coming of 
Christ, as well as during its increase; for so won- 
derfully were things ordered by the infinitely wise 
Governor of the world, that whatever happened was 
ordered for good to this general design, and made a 
means of promoting it. When the Jews flourished, 
and were in prosperity, he made that contribute to 
the promoting of this design ; and when they were 
in adversity, God made this also contribute to the 
same. While the Jewish church was in its increas 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 137 

ing state, the work of redemption was carried on by 
their increase ; and when they came to their declin- 
ing- state, from Solomon's time till Christ, God car- 
ried on the work of redemption by that. The very 
decline itself was one thing that God employed as a 
further preparation for Christ's coming. 

As the moon, from the time of its full, is approach- 
ing nearer and nearer to her conjunction with the 
sun, her light is still more and more decreasing, till 
at length when the conjunction comes, it is wholly 
swallowed up in the light of the sun. So it was 
with the Jewish church from its highest glory in 
Solomon's time. In the latter end of Solomon's 
reign, the state of things began to darken, by his 
corrupting himself with idolatry, which much ob- 
scured the glory of this mighty and wise prince ; 
and troubles also began to arise in his kingdom. 
After his death the kingdom was divided, and ten 
tribes revolted, and withdrew their subjection from 
the house of David, apostatizing also from the true 
worship of God in the temple at Jerusalem, and set- 
ting up the golden calves of Bethel and Dan. And 
presently after this the number of the ten tribes was 
greatly diminished in the battle of Jeroboam with 
Abijab, wherein there fell down slain of Israel five 
hundred thousand chosen men; which loss the 
kingdom of Israel never recovered. 

The ten tribes finally apostatized from the true 
God under Jeroboam. The kingdom of Judah was 
greatly corrupted, and from that time forward more 
generally in a corrupt state than otherwise. In 
Ahab's time the kingdom of Israel not only wor 
shiped the calves of Bethel and Dan, but the wor- 
ship of Baal was introduced. They had before pre- 



138 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

tended to worship the true God by these images, the 
calves of Jeroboam ; but now Ahab introduced gross 
idolatry, and the direct worship of false gods in the 
room of the true God ; and soon after, the worship 
of Baal was introduced into the kingdom of Judah, 
in Jehoram's reign, by his marrying Athaliah, the 
daughter of Ahab. After this God began to cut 
Israel short, by finally destroying and sending 
into captivity, that part which was beyond Jordan. 
2 Kings, 10 : 32, &c. Then Tiglath-Pileser subdued 
and captivated all the northern parts, 2 Kings, 15 - 
29 ; and at last all the ten tribes were subdued by 
Shalmaneser, and they were finally carried away 
captive out of their own land. After this also the 
kingdom of Judah was carried captive into Babylon, 
and a great part of the nation never returned. Those 
who returned were but a small number, compared 
with what had been carried captive ; and for the 
most part after this they were dependent on the 
power of other states. They were subject one while 
to the kings of Persia, then to the monarchy of the 
Grecians, and then to the Romans. And before 
Christ's time, the Jewish church was become ex- 
ceedingly corrupt, overrun with superstition and 
self-righteousness. And how small a flock was the 
church of Christ in the days of his incarnation ! 

God, by this gradual decline of the Jewish state 
and church from Solomon's time, prepared the way 
for the coming of Christ in several respects. 

1. The decline of the glory of this legal dispen- 
sation made way for the introduction of the more 
glorious dispensation of the Gospel. The evangeli- 
cal dispensation was so much more glorious, that 
the legal dispensation had no glory in comparison 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 139 

with it. The ancient dispensation, even as it was 
in Solomon's time, was but an inferior glory, com- 
pared with the spiritual glory of the dispensation 
introduced by Christ.. The church, under the Old 
Testament, was a child under tutors and governors, 
and God dealt with it accordingly. Those pompous 
externals are called by the apostle, "weak and beg- 
garly elements." It was fit that those things should 
be diminished as Christ approached ; as John the 
Baptist, his forerunner, speaking of Christ, says, 
" He must increase, but I must decrease." John, 3 : 
30. It is fit that the twinkling stars should gradu- 
ally withdraw their glory, when the sun is ap- 
proaching towards his rising. The glory of the 
Jewish dispensation must be gradually diminished, 
to prepare the way for the more joyful reception of 
the spiritual glory of the Gospel. If the Jewish 
church, when Christ came, had been in the same 
external glory as in the reign of Solomon, men 
would have had their eyes so dazzled with it, that 
they would not have been likely joyfully to exchange 
such external grandeur, for only the spiritual glory 
of the despised Jesus. Again, 

2. This gradual decline of the glory in the Jew- 
ish state, tended to make the glory of God's power, 
in the great effects of Christ's redemption, the more 
conspicuous. God's people being so diminished and 
weakened by one step after another, till Christ came, 
was very much like the diminishing of Gideon's 
army. God told Gideon, that the people with him 
were too many for the conquest of the Midianites, 
lest Israel should vaunt itself, saying, " My own 
hand hath saved me." And therefore all that were 
fearful were commanded to return ; and there re 



140 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

turned twenty and two thousand, and there remain* 
ed ten thousand. But still they were too many; 
and then, by trying the people at the water, 
they were reduced to three hundred men. So the 
people in Solomon's time were too many, and 
mighty, and glorious for Christ ; therefore he di- 
minished them ; first, by sending off the ten tribes ; 
then by the captivity into Babylon ; and then they 
were further diminished by their great and general 
corruption when Christ came ; so that Christ found 
very few godly persons among them. With a small 
handful of disciples, Christ conquered the world. 
Thus high things were brought down, that Christ 
might be exalted. 

3. This prepared the way for Christ's coming, as 
it made the salvation of those Jews who were saved 
by Christ, more sensible and visible. Though the 
greater part of the Jewish nation was rejected, and 
the Gentiles called in their room ; yet a great many 
thousands of the Jews were saved by Christ after 
his resurrection. Acts, 21 : 20. Their being taken 
from so low a state under temporal calamity in their 
bondage to the Romans, and from a state of so great 
superstition and wickedness, made their redemption 
the more sensibly and visibly glorious. 

XV. I would here notice the additions made to 
the canon of Scripture in or soon after the reign of 
Solomon. There were considerable additions made 
by Solomon himself, who wrote the books of Pro- 
verbs and Ecclesiastes, probably near the close of his 
reign. His Song of Songs, as it is called, is wholly 
on the subject of Christ and his redemption, repre- 
senting the high and glorious relation, union, and 
love, between Christ and his redeemed church. 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 141 

And the sacred history seems, in Solomon's reign, 
and some of the next succeeding, to have been en« 
larged by the prophets Nathan and Ahijah, Shem- 
aiah and Idilo. It is probable that part of the his- 
tory which we have in the first of Kings, was writ- 
ten by them. See 2 Chron. 9 : 29; 12 : 15; 13 : 22. 

XVI. God's upholding his church and the true 
religion through this period, was very wonderful, 
considering the many and great apostasies of that 
people to idolatry. When the ten tribes had gene- 
rally and finally forsaken the true worship, God 
preserved the true religion in the kingdom of Judah ; 
and when they corrupted themselves, as they very 
often did exceedingly, and idolatry was ready totally 
to swallow up all, yet God kept the lamp alive. 
When things seemed to be come to an extremity, 
and religion at its last gasp, he was often pleased to 
grant blessed revivals by remarkable outpourings 
of his Spirit, particularly in Hezekiah and Josiah's 
time. 

XVII. God remarkably kept the book of the law 
from being lost in times of general and long-continu- 
ed neglect of it. The most remarkable instance of 
this kind was its preservation in the time of the 
great apostasy, during the greatest part of the long 
reign of Manasseh, which lasted fifty-five years, and 
the reign of Amon his son. It was so much neg- 
lected, and such a careless and profane management 
of the affairs of the temple prevailed, that the book 
which used to be laid up by the side of the ark in 
the holy of holies, was lost for a long time; no- 
body knew where it was. But yet God preserved 
it from being finally lost. In Josiah's time, when 
they came to repair the temple, it was found buried 



142 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

in rubbish. It had been lost so long that Josiah 
himself seems to have been much a stranger to it. 
See 2 Kings, 22 : 8, &c. 

XVIII. God remarkably preserved the tribe of 
which Christ was to proceed, from being ruined 
through the many and great dangers of this period. 
The visible church of Christ, from Solomon's reign, 
was mainly in the tribe of Judah. The tribe of 
Benjamin, which was annexed to it, was very small, 
and that of Judah exceedingly large; and as Judah 
took Benjamin under his protection when he went 
into Egypt to bring corn, so the tribe of Benjamin 
seemed to be under the covert of Judah ever after. 
And though, on occasion of Jeroboam's setting up 
the calves at Bethel and Dan, the Levites resorted 
to Judah out of all the tribes of Israel, (2 Chron. 
1 1 : 13,) yet they were also small, and not reckoned 
among the tribes. Many of the ten tribes, it is true, 
on that occasion, for the sake of worshiping God in 
the temple, left their inheritances in their several 
tribes and settled in Judah, and so were incorpora- 
ted with them; yet the tribe of Judah was so much 
the prevailing part, that they were called by one 
name, Judah. Therefore God said to Solomon, 
1 Kings, 11 : 13, "I will not rend away all the 
kingdom : but will give one tribe to thy son, for Da- 
vid my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, 
which I have chosen." So when the ten tribes 
were carried captive, it is said, there was none left 
but the tribe of Judah. 2 Kings, 17: IS. "Therefore 
the Lord was very wroth with Israel and removed 
them out of his sight : there was none left but the 
tribe of Judah only." Whence they were all called 
Jews, a word derived from Judah. 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 143 

This was the tribe of which Christ was to come ; 
and in this chiefly did God's visible church consist, 
from Solomon's time. This people, over whom the 
kings who were legal ancestors of Christ, and of the 
house of David, reigned, was wonderfully preserved 
from destruction during this period, when they often 
seemed to be upon the brink of ruin, and just ready 
to be swallowed up. So it was in Rehoboam's time, 
when Shishak king of Egypt came against Judah 
with a vast force. 2 Chron. 12. So it was again in 
Abijah's time, when Jeroboam set the battle in array 
against him with eight hundred thousand chosen 
men ; a mighty army ! 2 Chron. 13:3. Then God 
wrought deliverance to Judah, out of regard to the 
covenant of grace established with David, and the 
victory they obtained was because the Lord was on 
their side So it was again in Asa's time, when Zerah 
the Ethiopian came against him with a yet larger 
army of a thousand thousand and three hundred 
chariots. 2. Chron. 14:9. On this occasion Asa 
cried to the Lord, and trusted in him, being sensible 
that it was nothing with him to help those that had 
no power. " And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, 
and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whe- 
ther with many, or with those that have no power." 
And accordingly God gave them a glorious victory 
over this mighty host. 

So again it was in Jehoshaphat's time, when the 
children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and 
the inhabitants of Mount Seir, combined together 
against Judah with a mighty army, a force vastly 
superior to any that Jehoshaphat could raise ; and 
Jehoshaphat and his people were greatly afraid : yet 
they set themselves to seek God on this occasion, 



144 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

and trusted in him ; and God told them hy one of 
his prophets, that they need not fear, nor should 
they have any occasion to fight in this battle, they 
should only "stand still and see the salvation of the 
Lord." And according to his direction, they stood 
still and sang praises to God ; and God made their 
enemies do the work themselves by killing one 
another ; and the children of Judah had nothing to 
do, but to gather the spoil, which was more than 
they could carry away. 2 Chron. 20. 

So it was again in Ahaz's time, when Rezin king 
of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of 
Israel, conspired against Judah, and seemed to be 
sure of their purpose; of which we have spoken 
already. So it was again in Hezekiah's time, when 
Sennacherib, that great king of Assyria, and head 
of the greatest monarchy then in the world, came 
up against all the fenced cities of Judah, after he 
had conquered most of the neighboring countries. 
He sent Rabshakeh, the captain of his host, against 
Jerusalem, who in a very proud and scornful man- 
ner insulted Hezekiahand his people, as being sure 
of victory ; and the people were trembling for fear, 
like lambs before a lion. Then God sent Isaiah the 
prophet to comfort them, and assure them that their 
enemies should not prevail ; as a token of which he 
gave them this sign : that the earth, for two years 
successively, should bring forth food of itself, from 
the roots of the old stalks, without their ploughing 
or sowing; and then the third year they should 
sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit 
of them, and live on the fruits of their labor, as they 
were wont to do before. See 2 Kings, 19 : 29. This 
is mentioned as a type of what is promised in verses 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 145 

30, 31. "And the remnant that is escaped of the 
house of Judah, shall yet again take root downward, 
and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall 
go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of 
Mount Zion : the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do 
this." The corn springing again after it had been 
cut off with the sickle, and bringing- forth another 
crop from the roots, represents the church reviving 
again, and flourishing, like a plant after it had 
seemingly been cut down past recovery. When the 
enemies of the church have done their utmost, and 
seem to have gained their point ; when they have 
overthrown the church, so that its being is scarcely 
visible, but is like a living root hid under ground ; 
there is in it a secret life that will cause it to flour- 
ish again, and to take root downward, and bear fruit 
upward. This was now fulfilled. The king of As- 
syria had already carried captive the ten tribes; and 
Sennacherib had also taken all the fenced cities of 
Judah, and ravaged the country round about; Jeru- 
salem only remained: and Rabshakeh had in his 
own imagination already swallowed that up, as he 
had also in the fearful apprehensions of the Jews 
themselves. But God wrought a wonderful deliver- 
ance; he sent an angel, that in one night smote 
a hundred fourscore and five thousand in the ene- 
my's camp. 

XIX. In the reign of Uzziah, and the following 
reigns, God was pleased to raise up a set of eminent 
prophets, who should commit their prophecies to writ- 
ing, and leave them for the use of his church in all 
ages We before observed, that God began a con- 
stant succession of prophets in Israel in Samuel's 
time, and many of these prophets wrote by divine in- 

Redemptiou. 1 : J 



146 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

spiration, and so added to the canon of Scripture-. 
But none of them are supposed to have written book% 
of prophecies till now. Several of them wrote his- 
tories of the wonderful dispensations of God towards 
his church. This we have observed already of 
Samuel, who is supposed to have written Judges and 
Ruth, and part of the first of Samuel, if not the book 
of Joshua. And Nathan and Gad seem to have 
written the rest of the two books of Samuel : and 
Nathan, with Ahijah and Iddo, wrote the history of 
Solomon, which is probably that which we have in 
the first book of Kings. The history of Israel seems 
to have been further carried on by Lddo and Shem- 
aiah. 2 Chron. 12 : 15. "Now the acts of Reho- 
boam, first and last, are they not written in the book 
of Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer, concern- 
ing genealogies?" And after that by the prophet 
Jehu, the son of Hanani. 2 Chron. 20 : 34. " Now 
the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, 
behold they are written in the book of Jehu, son of 
Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings 
of Israel." 1 Kings, 1G : 1,7. And then it was fur- 
ther continued by the prophet Isaiah. 2 Chron. 26 : 
22. " Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and 
last, did Isaiah the prophet the son of Amos write." 
He probably did it as well in the second book of 
Kings, as in the book of his prophecy. And the 
history was carried on and finished by other prophets 
alter him. 

Thus the prophets, even from Samuel's time, had 
been adding to the canon of Scripture by their his- 
torical writings. But now, in the days of Uzziah, 
God first raised up great prophets, not only to write 
histories, but to write books of their prophecies. The 



FROM DAVID TO CAPTIVITY. 147 

first of these is thought to be Hosea the son of Beeri, 
and therefore his prophecy, or the word of the Lord 
by him, is called the beginning of the word of the 
Lord. Hos. 1:2. ** The beginning of the word of 
the Lord by Hosea ;" that is, the first part of that 
which is written in books of prophecy. He prophe- 
sied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and He- 
zekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, 
the son of Joash, king of Israel. There were many 
other witnesses for God raised up about the same 
time to commit their prophecies to writing — Isaiah, 
Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and probably some 
others : and so from that time forward God continued 
a succession of writing prophets. 

This was a great dispensation of Providence, and 
a creat advance made in the work of redemption, 
which will appear if we consider that the main busi- 
ness of the prophets was to point out Christ and his 
redemption. They were all forerunners of the great 
Prophet. The great end of the spirit of prophecy 
being given them was, that they might give testimony 
to Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer, who was to 
come. Therefore the testimony of Jesus and the 
spirit of prophecy are spoken of .as the same thing. 
Rev. 19 : 10. "And I fell at his feet to worship him : 
and he said unto me, See thou do it not : I am thy fel- 
low-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testi- 
mony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of 
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And therefore we 
find that the main thing that most of the prophets 
insist upon, is Christ and his redemption, and the 
glorious times of the Gospel. And though many 
other things were spoken of in their prophecies, yet 
they seem to be only as introductory to their prophe< 



148 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

cy of these great things. Whatever they predict, 
here their prophecies commonly terminate. 

These prophets, inspired by the Spirit of Christ, 
wrote chiefly to prepare the way for his coming, and 
to exhibit the glory that should follow. And in what 
an exalted strain do they all speak of those things I 
Many other things they speak of in men's usual lan- 
guage. But when they enter upon this subject, what a 
joyful, heavenly sublimity is there in their language! 
Some of them are very particular and full in their 
predictions of these things, and above all, the prophet 
Isaiah, who is therefore deservedly called the evan- 
gelical prophet. He seems to teach the glorious 
doctrines of the Gospel almost as plainly as the 
apostles did. The apostle Paul therefore takes notice 
that the prophet Esaias is very bold, Rom. 10 : 20; 
that is, as the word is used in the New Testament, 
v ex y plain ; so 2 Cor. 3 : 12; we use great plainness 
of speech, or boldness, as in the margin. 

How plainly and fully does the prophet Isaiah 
describe the manner and circumstances, the nature 
and end, of the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ, in 
the 53d chapter of his prophecy. There is scarcely 
a chapter in the New Testament itself more full! 
And how much, and in what an exalted strain does 
the same prophet speak from time to time, of the glo- 
rious benefits of Christ, the unspeakable blessings 
which shall redound to his church through his 
redemption ! Jesus Christ, of whom this prophet 
spoke so much, once appeared to him in the form of 
human nature, the nature he should afterwards take 
upon him. Isa. 6:1. "I saw also the Lord sitting 
3n a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled 
the temple," &c. This was Christ, as we are express- 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 149 

ly told in the New Testament. John, 12 : 39-41. 
And if we consider the abundant prophecies of 
this and the other prophets, what a great increase is 
there of gospel light ! How plentiful are the reve- 
lations and prophecies of Christ, compared with 
what they were in the first period of the Old Testa- 
ment, from Adam to Noah ; or in the second, from 
Noah to Abraham ; or to what they were before 
Moses, or in the times of Moses, Joshua, and the 
Judges ! This dispensation was also a glorious ad- 
vance of the work of redemption by the great addi- 
tions made to the canon of Scripture. Great part 
of the Old Testament was written now from the 
days of Uzziah to the captivity into Babylon. And 
how excellent are those portions of it ! What a pre- 
cious treasure have those prophets committed to the 
church of God, tending greatly to confirm the Gos- 
pel of Christ ! and which has been of great comfort 
and benefit to God's church in all ages since, and 
doubtless will be to the end of the world. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY TO THE COM- 
ING OF CHRIST. 

I. Before I enter upon particulars, I would ob- 
serve three things wherein this period, embracing 



150 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nearly six hundred years, is distinguished from the 
preceding. 

1. Though we have no account of a great part 
of this period in the Scripture history, yet the events 
of it are more the subject of Scripture prophecy than 
any of the preceding periods. There are two ways 
wherein the Scriptures give account of the events 
by which the work of redemption is carried on — - 
history, and prophecy : and in one or the other of 
these ways we have in the Scriptures an account 
how the work of redemption is carried on from the 
beginning to the end. Though the Scriptures do not 
contain the proper history of the whole, yet the 
whole chain of great events by which this work is 
carried on from its commencement to its completion, 
is found either in history or prophecy. And it is to 
be observed, that where the Scripture is wanting in 
one of these ways, it is made up in the other. Where 
Scripture history fails, there prophecy takes place ; 
so that the account is still carried on, and the chain 
is not broken, till we come to the very last link of 
it in the consummation of all things. 

And accordingly it is observable of this space of 
time, that though it is so much less the subject of 
Scripture history than most of the preceding periods, 
(there being above four hundred years, of which the 
Scriptures give us no history,) yet its events are 
more the subject of prophecy, than those of all the 
preceding periods together. Most of thuse remark- 
able prophecies of the book of Daniel, and most 
of those in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, against 
Babylon, Tyrus, Egypt, and many other nations, 
were fulfilled in this period. 

Hence the reason why the Scriptures give us no 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 151 

history of so great a part of this time, is not that the 
events were not so important, or less worthy of no 
tice, than those of the foregoing periods ; for they 
were great and remarkable. But there are several 
reasons which may be given for it. One is, that it 
was the will of God that the spirit of prophecy should 
cease in this period, (for reasons that may be given 
hereafter;) so that there were no prophets to write 
the history of these times ; and therefore God de- 
signing this, took care that the great events of this 
period should not be without mention in his word. 
It is observable that the writing prophets in Israel, 
were raised up at the latter end of the foregoing pe- 
riod, and at the beginning of this ; for the time was 
now approaching, when, the spirit of prophecy hav- 
ing ceased, there was to be no inspired history, and 
therefore no other Scripture account but what was 
given in prophecy. 

Another reason for the suspension of inspired his- 
tory may be, that God in his providence took care 
that there should be authentic and full accounts of 
the events of this period preserved in profane histo- 
ry. It is very worthy of notice, that with respect 
to the events of the five preceding periods, of which 
the Scriptures give the history, profane history is 
silent, or gives us but very imperfect accounts. 
There are many fabulous and uncertain accounts of 
things that happened before: but the commence- 
ment of authentic profane history is judged to be 
about a hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar's 
time. The learned Greeks and Romans used to 
call the ages before that, the fabulous age ; the times 
after it, the historical age. And from about that 
time to the coming of Christ we have undoubted 



152 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

accounts in profane history of the principal events: 
accounts that wonderfully agree with the many 
prophecies relating to those times. 

Thus the great God who disposes all things, took 
care to give an historical account of things from 
the beginning of the world, through all those for- 
mer ages concerning which profane history is si- 
lent ; and ceased not till he came to those ages in 
which profane history related things with some cer- 
tainty. And concerning those later times he gives 
us abundant accounts in prophecy, that by compar- 
ing profane history with those prophecies we might 
see the agreement. 

2. This last period of the Old Testament seems 
to have been remarkably distinguished from all 
ethers by great revolutions among the nations of the 
earth, to make way for the kingdom of Christ. The 
time now drawing nigh, wherein Christ, the great 
King and Savior of the world, was to come, great 
and mighty were the changes brought to pass in 
order to it. The way had been preparing for the 
coming of Christ from the fall of man, through all 
the foregoing periods ; but now, the time drawing 
nigh, things began to ripen apace for his coming; 
and therefore divine Providence now wrought won- 
derfully. The greatest revolutions that any history 
has recorded, since the flood, occurred in this pe- 
riod. Almost all nations far and near, within the 
knowledge of the Jews, were overturned again and 
again. All lands were in their turn subdued, capti- 
vated, and as it were emptied, and turned upside 
down, and most of them repeatedly, in this period; 
agreeable to that prophecy, Is. 24 : 1. " Behold, the 
Lord maketh the earth empty; he maketh it waste, 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 153 

nnd turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad 
the inhabitants thereof." 

This began with God's visible church, in their 
captivity by the king of Babylon. And then the cup 
from them went round to all other nations, agreea- 
ble to what God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah, 
25 : 15-27. Here special respect seems to be had 
to the great revolutions in the times of the Baby- 
lonish empire. But after that, there were three 
general overturnings before Christ came, in the suc- 
cession of the three great monarchies of the world, 
after the Babylonish empire. The king of Babylon 
is represented in Scripture as overturning the world ; 
but after that, the Babylonish empire was over- 
thrown by Cyrus, who founded the Persian empire 
in the room of it ; which was of much greater ex- 
tent than the Babylonish empire in its greatest 
glory. Thus the world was overturned the second 
time. And then, the Persian empire was over- 
thrown by Alexander, and the Grecian set up, 
which was still of much greater extent than his 
Persian. And thus there was a general overturn- 
ing of the world a third time. After that, the Gre- 
cian empire was overthrown by the Romans, and 
the Roman empire established ; which vastly ex- 
ceeded all the foregoing empires in power and 
extent of dominion. And so the world was over- 
turned the fourth time. 

These several monarchies, and the great revolu- 
tions of the world under them, are abundantly spo- 
ken of in the prophecies of Daniel. They are repre- 
sented in Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold, silver, 
brass, and iron, and Daniel's interpretation of it, 
Dan. 2 ; in the vision of the four beasts, and the an 



154 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

gel's interpretation of it, Dan, 7. And the succes- 
sion of the Persian and Grecian monarchies is 
more particularly represented in the 8th chapter, in 
Daniel's vision of the ram and the he-goat, and 
again in the 1 1th chapter. 

Besides these four general overturnings, the 
world was, as it were, in a continual convulsion 
through this w r hole period. Before, the face of the 
earth was comparatively in quietness; though there 
were many great wars among the nations, yet we 
read of no such mighty and universal convulsions 
and overturnings as there were in this period. The 
nations of the world, most of them, had long remain- 
ed on their lees, without being emptied from vessel 
to vessel, as is said of Moab, Jer. 48 : 11. These 
great overturnings were because the time of the 
great Messiah drew nigh. That they were to pre- 
pare the way for Christ's coming, is evident by 
Scripture, particularly by Ezek. 21 : 27. "I will 
overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no 
more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give 
it him." The prophet, by repeating the word over- 
turn three times, has respect to three overturnings; 
as in Revelation, 8 : 13, the repetition of the word 
wo three times, signifies three distinct woes; as 
appears by what follows, 9 : 12, " One wo is past;" 
and 11 : 14, "The second wo is past, and behold 
the third wo cometh quickly." 

It must be noted that Ezekiel prophesied in the 
time of the Babylonish captivity ; and therefore there 
were three great and general overturnings to come 
after this prophecy, before Christ came ; the first by 
the Persians, the second by the Grecians, the third 
by the Romans; and then Christ, whose right it 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 155 

was to take the diadem, and reign, should come. 
Here these great revolutions are evidently spoken 
of as preparatory to the coming and kingdom of 
Christ. But to understand the words aright, we 
must note the particular expression — " I will over- 
turn, overturn, overturn it ;" that is, the diadem and 
crown of Israel, or the supreme temporal dominion 
over God's visible people. This God said should 
be no more : the crown should be taken ofT, and 
the diadem removed, as it is said in the foregoing 
verse. The supreme power over Israel should be 
no more in the royal line of David, to which it 
properly belonged, but should be removed away, 
and given to others, and overturned from one to 
another ; first the supreme power over Israel should 
be in the hands of the Persians; then it should be 
overturned, and be in the hands of the Grecians ; 
and then it should be overturned again, and come 
inio the hands of the Romans, and be no more in 
the line of David, till that very person should come 
who was the Son of David, whose proper right it 
was, and then God would give it to him. 

That those great revolutions of the nations were 
all to prepare the way for Christ's coming, and set- 
ting up his kingdom in the world, is further mani- 
fest by Haggai, 2 : 6, 7. " For thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will 
shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and 
the dry land : and I will shake all nations, and the 
Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this 
house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." See 
also verse 21-23. It is evident by this, that these 
commotions, whereby the thrones of kingdoms and 
their armies were overthrown, and every one camo 



156 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

down by the sword of his brother, were to prepare 
the way for the coming - of him who is the Desire of 
all nations. 

The great changes and troubles that have some- 
times been in the visible church of Christ, are com- 
pared, Rev. 12 : 2, to the church's being in travail 
to bring forth Christ; so these great troubles and 
mighty revolutions were, as it were, the world's 
being in travail to bring forth the Son of God. The 
apostle in the 8th of Romans, represents the whole 
creation as groaning and travailing in pain together 
until now, to bring forth the liberty and manifesta- 
tion of the children of God. So the world, as it 
were, travailed in pain, and was in continual con- 
vulsions, for several hundred years, to bring forth 
the first-born child, and the only begotten Son of 
God. And those mighty revolutions were as so 
many pangs and throes in order to it. The world 
being so long a time kept in a state of war and 
bloodshed, also prepared the way for the coming 
of the Prince of peace, as it showed the great 
need of such a prince, to deliver the world from its 
miseries. 

It pleased God to order it in his providence, that 
earthly power and dominion should be raised to its 
grt-atest height, and appear in its utmost glory, in 
those four great monarchies that succeeded one 
another, and that every one should be greater and 
more glorious than the preceding, before he set up 
the kingdom of his Son. By this it appeared how 
much more glorious was his spiritual kingdom 
than the most glorious temporal kingdom. The 
strength and glory of Satan's kingdom in these four 
mighty monarchies, appeared in its greatest height, 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 157 

for, being - the monarchies of the Heathen world, the 
strength of them was the strength of Satan's king- 
dom. God suffered Satan's kingdom to rise to so 
great a height of power and magnificence before his 
Son came to overthrow it, to prepare the way for his 
more glorious triumph. Goliath must have on all 
his splendid armor when the stripling David comes 
against him with a sling and a stone, for the greater 
glory of David's victory. God suffered one of those 
great monarchies to subdue another, and erect itself 
on its ruins, appearing still in greater strength, and 
the last to be the strongest and mightiest of all ; that 
so Christ, in overthrowing that, might as it were 
overthrow them all at once. The stone cut out of 
the mountain without hands, is represented as de- 
stroying the whole image, the gold, the silver, the 
brass, the iron, and the clay: so that all became as 
the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. 

These mighty empires were suffered thus to con- 
vulse the world, and destroy one another. And 
though their power was so great, yet they could 
not uphold themselves, but fell one after another, 
and came to nothing: even the last of them, which 
was the strongest and had swallowed up the earth. 
It pleased God thus to show in them the instability 
and vanity of all earthly power and greatness, there- 
by the more strikingly to set forth the glory of the 
kingdom of his Son, which never shall be destroyed. 
Dan. 2 : 44. " In the days of these kings shall the 
God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never 
be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to 
other people, but it shall break in pieces, and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for 
ever." So greatly does this kingdom differ from all 



158 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

those kingdoms : they vanish away, and are left to 
other people ; but this shall stand for ever. God 
suffered the devil to do his utmost, and to establish 
his interest, by setting- up the greatest, strongest, 
and most glorious kingdoms in the world, before 
the despised Jesus overthrew him and his empire. 
Christ came into the world to bring down the high 
things of Satan's kingdom, that the hand of the 
Lord might be on everyone that is proud and lofty, 
and every high tower, and every lofty mountain. 
Isa. 2 : 12. And therefore these things were suf- 
fered to rise very high, that Christ might appear so 
much the more glorious in being above them. Thus 
wonderfully did the great and wise Governor of the 
world prepare the way for erecting the glorious 
kingdom of his beloved Son. 

3. Another thing for which this last space of time 
before Christ was particularly remarkable, was the 
ivonderful preservation of the church through all 
those overturnings. This preservation was on some 
accounts more remarkable through this period, than 
through any of the foregoing. It was very wonder- 
ful that the church, which now was so weak, and in 
so low a state, and mostly subject to the dominion 
of Heathen monarchies, should be preserved for five 
or six hundred years, while the world was so often 
overturned, and the earth was rent in pieces, and 
made so often empty and waste, and the inhabitants 
of it came down so often every one by the sword of 
his brother ; especially considering that the landcf 
Judea, the chief place of the church's residence, lay 
in the midst of the contending parties, was very much 
the seat of war amongst them, and was often over- 
run and subdued. It was sometimes in the hands 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 159 

of one people, and sometimes another, and very 
much the object of the envy and hatred of all heathen 
nations. It was often almost ruined by them, great 
multitudes of its inhabitants being slain, and the land 
in a great measure depopulated ; and those who had 
them in their power, often intended the utter destruc- 
tion of the whole nation. Yet they were upheld ; they 
were preserved in their captivity in Babylon, in all 
the dangers they passed through under the kings of 
Persia, in the much greater dangers under the em- 
pire of the Greeks, and afterwards when the world 
was trodden down by the Romans. 

Their preservation through this period was also 
peculiarly remarkable, in that we never read of the 
church suffering persecution in any former period 
to any such degree as in this, under Antiochus Epi- 
phanes, of which more hereafter. This wonderful 
preservation of the church through all these over- 
turnings of the world gives light and confirmation 
to what we read Psalm 46 : " God is our refuge 
and strength, a very present help in trouble. There- 
fore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, 
and though the mountains be carried into the midst 
of the sea ; though the w r aters thereof roar, and be 
troubled ; though the mountains shake with the 
swelling thereof." Thus I have taken notice of 
some general things wherein this last period of the 
Old Testament times was distinguished. I come 
now to consider how the work of redemption was 
carried on in 'particulars. 

I. The first thing that here offers, is the captivity 
of the Jevjs into Babylon. This was a great dispen- 
sation of Providence, and such as never was beforo 



160 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

The children of Israel, in the time of the Judges, had 
often heen brought under their enemies; and many 
particular persons were carried captive at other 
times. But never had there been any such thing as 
destroying the whole land, the sanctuary, and the 
city of Jerusalem, and all the cities and villages of 
the land, aud carrying the whole body of the people 
out of their own land, into a country many hundred 
miles distant, and leaving the land of Canaan empty 
of God's visible people. The ark had once forsaken 
the tabernacle of Shiloh, and was carried captive into 
the land of the Philistines : but never had there been 
any such thing as burning the sanctuary, utterly de- 
stroying the ark, carrying away all the sacred ves- 
sels and utensils, breaking up all their stated worship 
in the land, and the land's lying waste and empty for 
so many years together. How lively are these things- 
set forth in the lamentations of Jeremiah ! The 
work cf redemption was promoted by this remarka- 
ble dispensation in the following ways. 

1. It finally cured that nation of their idolatry. 
The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the setting up of 
the kingdom of Christ, chap. 2: 18, mentions the 
abolishing of idolatry as one thing that should be 
done to this end : " the idols he shall utterly abolish." 
When the time was drawing near, that God would 
abolish Heathen idolatry through the greater part 
of the known world, as he did by the preaching of 
the Gospel, it pleased him first to abolish Heathen- 
ism among his own people; which he did by their 
captivity in Babylon. This was a presage of that 
abolition of idols which God was about to bring to 
pass by Christ through so great a part of the Hea- 
then world. 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. lfil 

This nation, that was addicted to idolatry for so 
many ages, notwithstanding all reproofs, warnings, 
corrections, and judgments God inflicted on them 
for it, were now finally cured. So that however 
some might fall into this sin afterwards, as they did 
about the time of Antiochus' persecution, yet the na- 
tion, as a nation, never showed any propensity to this 
sin any more. This was a remarkable and wonder- 
ful change in that people, and what directly pro- 
moted the work of redemption, as it was a great ad- 
vancement of the interests of religion. 

2. One thing that prepared the way for Christ's 
coming, and for setting up the glorious dispensation 
of the Gospel, was the taking away of many of those 
things wherein consisted the glory of the Jewish dis- 
pensation. In order to introduce the glorious dis- 
pensation of the Gospel, the external glory of the 
Jewish church must be diminished. This the Baby- 
lonish captivity did in many respects. 

First, it removed the temporal dominion of the 
house of David, the supreme and independent go- 
vernment of themselves. It took away the crown 
and diadem from the nation. The time now ap- 
proaching when Christ, the great and everlasting 
King of his church, was to reign, it was time for the 
typical kings to withdraw. As God said by Ezekiel, 
chap. 21 : 26, " He removed the crown and diadem, 
that it might be no more, till he should come whose 
right it was." The Jews henceforward were al- 
ways dependent on the governing power of other 
nations, until Christ came, for near six hundred 
years ; except about ninety years, during which 
space they maintained a sort of independence by 

Reiemptiou. \ { 



1V4 HIsroUY OF REDEMPTION. 

continual wars under the dominion of the Macca- 
bees and their posterity. 

' Again, by the captivity, the glory and magnify 
ce/ice of the temple were taken away, and the temple 
that was built afterwards, was nothing in comparison 
with it. Thus it was meet, when the time drew nigh, 
that the glorious antitype of the temple should ap- 
pear, that the typical temple should have its glory 
withdrawn. 

They also lost by the captivity the tico tables of 
the testimony delivered to Moses, on which God with 
his own finger wrote the ten commandments on 
Mount Sinai. These seem to have been preserved 
in the ark till the captivity They were there when 
Solomon placed the ark in the temple. 1 Kings, 8 : 9. 
" There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables 
of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb." And 
we have reason to suppose they remained there as 
long as that temple stood. The Jews speak of them 
as finally lost at that time ; though the same com- 
mandments were preserved in the book of the law. 
These tables also were withdrawn on the approach 
of their antitype. 

Another thing lost was the Urim and Thummim. 
Ezra, 2 : 63. " And the Tirshatha said unto them, 
that they should not eat of the most holy things till 
there should stand up a priest with Urim and Thum- 
mim." We have no account that this was ever re- 
stored ; though the ancient writings of the Jews say 
the contrary. What this Urim and Thummim was, 
I shall not now inquire ; but only observe, that it was 
something by which the high priest inquired of God, 
and received immediate answers from him, or by 
which God gave forth immediate oracles on particu- 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CUIUS 1'. 163 

lar occasions. This was now withdrawn, the time 
approaching when Christ, the antitype of the Urim 
and Thummim, the great word and oracle of God, 
was to come. 

Another thing that the ancient Jews say was want- 
ing in the second temple, was the Shechi?iah, or cloud 
of glory over the mercy-seat. This was promised 
to be in the tabernacle. Lev. 16:2. " For I will 
appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat." And we 
read of the cloud of glory descending into the taber- 
nacle; Exod. 40 : 35 ; and so likewise with respect to 
Solomon's temple. But we have no account that 
this cloud of glory was in the second temple. And 
the ancient accounts of the Jews say, that there was 
no such thing in it. This was needless in the second 
temple, considering that God had promised that he 
would fill this temple with glory another way, by 
Christ's coming into it; which was afterwards ful- 
filled. See Haggai, 2 : 7. "I will shake all nations, 
and the Desire of all nations siiall come, and I will 
fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." 

When Moses built the tabernacle and altar in the 
wilderness, and the first sacrifices were offered on it, 
fire came down from heaven and consumed the 
burnt-offering, as in Lev. 9 : 24 ; also when Solo- 
mon built the temple, and offered the first sacrifices. 
2 Chron. 7:1. And this fire was never to go out, 
but to be kept alive with the greatest care, as God 
commanded. Lev. 6:13. ■• The fire shall ever be 
burning upon the altar ; it shall never go out." And 
there is no reason to suppose the fire kindled in Solo- 
mon's time ever went out till the temple was destroy- 
ed by the Babylonians. But then it was extinguish- 
ed, and never restored. We have no account of its 



164 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

being given on building the second temple, as we 
have at the building of the tabernacle and first temple. 
But the Jews, after their return, were forced to make 
use of their common fire instead of it, according to 
the ancient tradition of the Jews. Thus the lights of 
the Old Testament go out on the approach of the 
glorious Sun of righteousness. 

3. The captivity into Babylon occasioned the dis- 
persion of the Jews through the greater part of the 
known world, before the coming of Christ. For the 
whole nation being carried away far out of their own 
land, and continuing in a state of captivity for so 
long a time, they got possessions, built houses, and 
settled themselves in the land of their captivity, agree- 
able to the direction of Jeremiah, in the letter he wrote 
them. Jer. 29. And therefore, when Cyrus gave 
them liberty to return to the land where they had 
formerly dwelt, many of them never returned ; they 
were not willing to leave their settlements and pos- 
sessions there, to go into a desolate country, many 
hundred miles distant, which none but the old men 
among them had seen; and therefore but a small 
number returned, as Ave see in the books of Ezra and 
Nehemiah. Great numbers tarried behind, though 
they still retained the same religion with those who 
returned, so far as it could be practiced in a foreign 
land. Those messengers (Zech. 7) that came to 
inquire of the priests and prophets in Jerusalem, She- 
rezer and Regemelech, are supposed to be messengers 
sent from the Jews that remained still in Babylon. 

Those Jews who remained in that country were 
soon, by the great changes in the world, dispersed 
into all the adjacent countries. Hence we find that 
in Esther's time, whbh was after the return from 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 165 

the captivity, the Jews were dispersed throughout 
all parts of the vast Persian empire, which extended 
from India to Ethiopia. Esth. 3 : 8. "And Haman 
said unto King Ahasuerus, There is a certain peo- 
ple scattered abroad, and dispersed among the peo- 
ple in all the provinces of thy kingdom." And so 
they continued dispersed till Christ came, and till 
the apostles went forth to preach the Gospel. But 
yet these dispersed Jews retained their religion. 
Their captivity, as before observed, thoroughly cured 
them of their idolatry: and it was their manner, 
as many of them as could, to go up to Jerusalem at 
their great feasts. Hence we read, Acts 2, that at 
the great feast of Pentecost, there were Jews abiding 
at Jerusalem out of every nation under heaven. 
These had come up from all countries where they 
were dispersed, to worship at that feast. And hence 
we find, in their history, that wherever the apostles 
went preaching through the world, they found 
Jews. They came to one city, and to another city, 
and went into the synagogue of the Jews. 

Antiochus the Great, about two hundred years 
before Christ, on a certain occasion, transplanted 
two thousand families of Jews from the country 
about Babylon into Asia Minor ; and so they and 
many of their posterity settled in Pontus, Galatia, 
Phrygia, Pamphylia, and in Ephesus ; and from 
thence settled in Athens, and Corinth, and Rome : 
whence came the synagogues in those places in 
which the apostle Paul preached. 

This dispersion of the Jews through the world 
Defore Christ came, in various respects prepared the 
way for his coming, and setting up his kingdom. 

This was a means of raising a general exyecta- 



iG6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

t ion of the Messiah through the world, about the 
time that he actually came. For the Jews, wherever 
they were dispersed, carried the holy Scriptures 
with them, and so the prophecies of the Messiah ; 
and being - conversant with the nations among whom 
they lived, they, by that means, became acquainted 
with these prophecies, and with the expectations of 
the Jews concerning their glorious Messiah. Hence, 
the birth of such a glorious person in Judea, about 
that time, began to be the general expectation of all 
nations, as appears by the writings of the learned 
Heathens, which are still extant; particularly the 
famous poet Virgil, who lived in Italy a little before 
Christ, has a poem about the expectation of a great 
prince that was to be born, and the happy times of 
righteousness and peace he was to introduce ; some 
of it much resembling the language of the prophet 
Isaiah. 

This dispersed state of the Jews also prepared the 
way for Christ, as it showed the necessity of abol- 
ishing the Jewish dispensation, and introducing the 
new one of the covenant of grace. It showed the 
necessity of abolishing the ceremonial law. and the 
old Jewish worship : for, by this means, the obser- 
vance of that ceremonial law became impracticable 
even by the Jews themselves. The ceremonial law 
was adapted to the state of a people dwelling togeth- 
er in the same land, where was the city which God 
had chosen ; where was the temple, the only place 
where they might offer sacrifices ; and where alone 
it was lawful for their priests and Levites to officiate, 
where they were to bring their first fruits, where 
were their cities of refuge, and the like. But by this 
dispersion many of the Jews lived more than a thou- 



FROM OATTIVITY TO CHRIST. J 67 

sand miles distant when Christ came ; which made 
the observance of their laws of sacrifices, and the 
like, impracticable. And though their forefathers 
might be to blame in not going up to the land of 
iudea when they were permitted by Cyrus, yet the 
case was now, as to many of them at least, become 
impracticable ; which showed the necessity of in- 
troducing a new dispensation, that should be fitted, 
not only to one particular land, but to the general 
circumstances and use of all nations of the world. 

Again, this universal dispersion of the Jews con- 
tributed to make the facts concerning Jesus Christ 
publicly known through the world. For, as observ- 
ed before, the Jews who lived in other countries, 
used frequently to go up to Jerusalem at their three 
great feasts, from year to year ; by which means 
they could not but become acquainted with the won- 
derful things that Christ did in that land. We find 
that the great miracle of raising Lazarus excited the 
curiosity of those foreign Jews who came up at the 
feast of the Passover to see Jesus. John, 12: *9-21. 
These Greeks were foreign Jews and proselytes, as 
is evident by their coming to worship at the feast of 
the Passover. The Jews who lived abroad among 
the Greeks, and spoke their language, were called 
Greeks, Helenists, and Grecians. Acts, 6: 1. These 
were not Gentile Christians ; for this occurred be- 
fore the calling of the Gentiles. 

By the same means the Jews who went up from 
other countries became acquainted with Christ's cru- 
cifixion. Thus the disciples going to Emmaus say- 
to Christ, whom they did not then know, (Luke f 
24 : 18,) "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, 
and hast not known the things which have come to 



168 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

pass therein these days?" plainly intimating that 
the things concerning Jesus were so publicly known 
to all men, that it was wonderful to find any man 
unacquainted with them. And so afterwards they 
became acquainted with the news of his resurrec- 
tion ; and when they returned into their own coun- 
tries, they carried the news with them, and made 
these facts public through the world, as before they 
had made the 'prophecies of them. 

After this, those foreign Jews who came to Jeru- 
salem took great notice of the pouring out of the 
Spirit at Pentecost, and the wonderful effects of it ; 
and many of them were converted by it. There were 
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the dwellers in 
Mesopotamia, and in Egypt, and the parts of Libya 
about Cyrene, and the strangers of Rome, Jews and 
proselytes, Cretes and Arabians. And so they not 
only carried back the news of these facts, but Chris- 
tianity itself, into their own countries with them ; 
which contributed much to the spreading of it 
through the world. 

Again, the dispersion of the Jews opened a door for 
the introduction of the apostles in all places where 
they came to preach the Gospel. For almost every 
where they found synagogues of the Jews, where 
the holy Scriptures were wont to be read, and the 
true God worshiped ; which was a great advantage 
to the apostles in spreading the Gospel. For their 
way was, into whatever city they came, first to go 
into the synagogue of the Jews, (they being of the 
same nation,) and there to preach the Gospel unto 
them. And hereby their new doctrine was noticed 
by their Gentile neighbors, whose curiosity excited 
them to hear what they had to say ; which became 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 169 

a fair occasion to the apostles to preach the Gospel 
to them. This is the account we have in the Acts 
of the Apostles. And these Gentiles had been before, 
many of them, prepared in some measure, by the 
knowledge they had of the Jewish religion, of their 
worship of one God, their prophecies, and expecta- 
tion of a Messiah. This knowledge they derived 
from the Jews who had loner been their neighbors ; 
which opened the door for the Gospel to have access 
to them. And the work of the apostles with them 
was doubtless much easier, than if they never had 
heard of such a person as the apostles preached, or 
any thing about the worship of one only true God. 
In so many respects did the Babylonish captivity 
greatly prepare the way for Christ's coming. 

II. The next particular that I would notice is, the 
addition made to the canon of Scripture in the time 
of the captivity, in those two remarkable portions, 
the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel. Christ ap- 
peared to each of these prophets in the form of that 
nature which he was afterwards to take upon him. 
The prophet Ezekiel gives an account of his thus 
appearing to him repeatedly, as Ezek. 1 : 26. "And 
above the firmament that was over their heads, was 
the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sap- 
phire-stone, and upon the likeness of the throne was 
the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon 
it." So Christ appeared to the prophet Daniel. Dan. 
8 : 15, 16. " There stood before me as the appear- 
ance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between 
the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, 
make this man to understand the vision." There 
are several things which make it evident that this 
was Christ ; but I cannot now mention particu* 



170 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

lars. Christ appeared again as a man to this prophet. 
Dan. 10 : 5, 6. " Then I lifted up mine eyes and 
looked, and behold, a certain man elothed in linen, 
whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz : 
his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the 
appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, 
and his arms and his feet like in color to polished 
brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a 
multitude." Comparing this vision with that of the 
apostle John, Rev. 1:13, makes it manifest that this 
person was Christ. And the prophet Daniel, in the 
historical part of his book, gives an account of a 
very remarkable appearance of Christ in Nebuchad- 
nezzar's furnace, with Shadrach,Meshach, and Abed- 
nego. Dan. 3 : 25. " Lo, I see four men loose, — 
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." 

Christ not only appeared here in the form of hu- 
man nature, but he appeared in a furnace, saving 
those persons who believed on him therefrom ; by 
which is represented to us, how Christ, by coming 
himself into the furnace of God's wrath, saves those 
that believe in him; and the wrath of God never 
reaches or touches them, so much as to singe the hair 
of their head. 

These two prophets, in many respects, were more 
particular concerning the coming of Christ, and his 
glorious gospel-kingdom, than any of the prophets 
had been before. They both mention those three 
great revolutions of the world that should be before 
he came. Ezekiel is particular in several places 
concerning the coming of Christ. The prophet 
Daniel, chap. 9, foretold that it should be seventy 
weeks, that is seventy weeks of years, or seventy 
times seven years, which is four hundred and ninety 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 171 

years from the decree to rebuild and restore the 
state of the Jews, till the Messiah should be cruci- 
fied. This must be reckoned from the commission 
given to Ezra by Artaxerxes, whereby the very par- 
ticular time of Christ's crucifixion was pointed out, 
which never had been before. Ezra, 7. 

The prophet Ezekiel is very particular in the 
mystical description of the gospel-church, in his vi- 
sion of the temple and city, in the latter part of his 
prophecy. The prophet Daniel points out the order 
of particular events that should come to pass relating 
to the. Christian church after Christ was come, as 
the rise of Antichrist, the continuance of his reign, 
his fall, and the glory that should follow. Thus 
does the gospel-light still increase, the nearer we 
come to the time of Christ's birth. 

III. The next particular I would mention is, the 
destruction of Babylon, and the overthrow of the 
Chaldean empire by Cyrus. The destruction of 
Babylon took place on that night in which Belshaz- 
zar the king, and the city in general, were drown- 
ed in a drunken festival, kept in honor of their gods, 
when Daniel was called to read the hand-writing 
on the wall, Dan. 5:30; and it was brought about 
in such a manner, as wonderfully to show the hand 
of God, and remarkably to fulfill his words by his 
prophets, which I cannot now particularly relate. 
Now that great city, which had long been an enemy 
to the city of God, was destroyed, after it had stood 
ever since the first building of Babel, which was 
about seventeen hundred years. If the check which 
was put to the building of this city at its beginning, 
whereby men were prevented from carrying it to 
that extent and magnificence they intended, promoted 



172 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the work of redemption, much more did this de- 
struction of it. 

This was a remarkable instance of God's venge- 
ance on the enemies of his redeemed church; for 
God brought destruction on Babylon for the injuries 
they did to his children, as is often set forth in the 
prophets. It also promoted the work of redemption, 
us thereby God's people held captive by them, were 
set at liberty to return to their own land to rebuild 
Jerusalem ; and therefore Cyrus who did it, is call- 
God's shepherd, Isa. 44, and 45 : 1. And these are 
over and above those ways wherein the setting up 
and overthrowing of the four monarchies of the 
world promoted the work of redemption. 

IV. What next followed was the return of the 
Jews to their own land, and the rebuilding of Jeru- 
salem and the temple. Cyrus, as soon as he had de- 
stroyed the Babylonish, and erected the Persian em- 
pire on its ruins, made a decree in favor of the Jews, 
that they might return to their own land, and rebuild 
their city and temple. This return of the Jews out 
of the Babylonish captivity is, next to the redemp- 
tion out of Egypt, the most remarkable of all the 
Old Testament redemptions, and most insisted on in 
Scripture, as a type of the great redemption of Jesus 
Christ. It was under the hand of one of the legal 
ancestors of Christ, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel. 
whose Babylonish name was Sheshbazzar. He was 
the governor of the Jews, and their leader in their 
first return out of captivity; and together with 
Joshua the son of Josedek the high priest, had the 
chief agency in rebuilding the temple. This redemp- 
tion was brought about by the hand of Zerubbabel 
and Joshua the priest, as the redemption out of Egypt 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 173 

was brought about bv the hand of Moses and Aaron. 
The return out of the captivity was a remarkable 
dispensation of Providence. It was remarkable, that 
the heart of a Heathen prince, Cyrus, should be so 
inclined to favor such a design. He not only gave 
the people liberty to return, and rebuild the city and 
temple, but gave charge that they should be helped 
with silver and gold, with goods and beasts. Ezra, 
1 : 4. And afterwards God wonderfully inclined 
the heart of Darius to further the building of the 
house of God with his own tribute-money, and to 
command their bitter enemies, the Samaritans, who 
had been striving to hinder them, to help them with- 
out fail, by furnishing them with all that they need- 
ed in order to it, and to supply them day by day. He 
made a decree that whosoever failed of it, timber 
should be pulled down out of his house, and he hang- 
ed thereon, and his house made a dunghill. Ezra, 
6. After this God inclined the heart of Artaxerxes, 
another king of Persia, to promote the work of pre- 
serving the state of the Jews, by his ample commis- 
sion to Ezra. Ezra, 7. He helped them abundantly 
with silver and gold out of his own bounty, and of- 
fered more, as should be needful, out of the king's 
treasure-house, commanding his treasurers beyond 
the river Euphrates to give more as should be need- 
ed, unto a hundred talents of silver, a hundred mea- 
sures of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred 
baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 
He gave leave to establish magistrates in the land ; 
freeing the priests of toll, tribute, custom, and other 
things, which render this decree by Artaxerxes the 
most full and ample of any given for restoring Jeru- 
salem; and therefore in Daniel's prophecy this is 



174 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION, 

called the decree for restoring and building Je- 
rusalem ; and hence the seventy weeks are dated. 

After this another favorable commission was 
granted by the king of Persia to Nehemiah. Chap. 
2. It was remarkable that the hearts of Heathen 
princes should be so inclined. It was the effect of 
his power who hath the hearts of kings in his hands, 
and turneth them whithersoever he will ; and it was 
a striking instance of his favor to his people. 

Another remarkable circumstance of this restitu- 
tion of the Jews to their own land was, that it was 
accomplished against so much opposition of their 
bitter indefatigable enemies, the Samaritans, who, 
for a long time, with all malice and craft, opposed 
the Jews, and sought their destruction. One while 
they were opposed by Bishlam, Mithridath, Tabeel, 
Rehum, and Shimshai, Ezra, 4 ; and then by Tatnai, 
Shetharboznai, and their companions, chap. 5 ; and 
afterwards by Sanballat and Tobiah, as we read in 
the book of Nehemiah. 

We have shown before, how the settlement of the 
people in this land in Joshua's time promoted the 
work of redemption. On the same accounts does 
their restitution belong to the same work. The re- 
settlement of the Jews in the land of Canaan belongs 
to this work, as it was a necessary means of pre- 
serving the Jewish church and dispensation in be- 
ing, till Christ should come. If it had not been for 
this restoration of the Jewish church, temple, and 
worship, the people had remained without any tem- 
ple, or land of their own, that should be as it were 
their head quarters, a place of worship, habitation, 
and resort. The whole constitution, which God had 
done so much to establish, would have been in dan- 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 175 

ger of utterly failing, long before the six hundred 
years had expired, which was from about the time 
of the captivity till Christ; and so all the prepara- 
tion God had been making for the coming of Christ, 
from the time of Abraham, would have been in vain. 
Now that very temple was built that God would fill 
with glory by Christ's coming into it, as the pro- 
phets Haggai and Zechariah told the Jews to en- 
courage them in building it. 

V. The next particular I would observe, is the 
addition made to the canon of the Scriptures, soon 
after the captivity, by the prophets Haggai and Ze- 
chariah, who were prophets sent to encourage the 
people in their work of rebuilding the city and tem- 
ple ; and the main argument they use to that end, is 
the approach of the coming of Christ. Haggai fore- 
told that Christ should be of Zerubbabel's legal pos- 
terity. This seems to be the last and most particu- 
lar revelation of the descent of Christ, till the angel 
Gabriel was sent to reveal it to his mother Mary. 

VI. The next thing is the outpouring of the 
Spirit of God that accompanied the ministry of Ezra 
the priest, after the captivity. That there was such 
an effusion of the Spirit is manifest by many things 
in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Presently 
after Ezra came up from Babylon with the ample 
commission which Artaxerxes gave him, whence 
Daniel's seventy weeks began, he set himself to re- 
form the vices and corruptions he found among the 
Jews ; and of his great success we have an account 
in the 10th chapter of Ezra. So that there appeared 
a very general and great mourning of the congre- 
gation of Israel for their sins, which was accom- 
panied with a solemn covenant that the people en- 



176 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

tered into with God ; and this was followed by a 
great and general reformation. And the people 
about the same time, with great zeal, earnestness, 
and reverence, gathered themselves together to hear 
the word of God read by Ezra; and gave diligent 
attention, while Ezra and the other priests preached 
to them, by reading and expounding the law, and 
were greatly affected in the hearing of it. They wept 
when they heard the words of the law, and set them- 
selves to observe it, and kept the feast of tabernacles, 
as the Scripture observes, after such a manner as it 
had not been kept since the days of Joshua the son 
of Nun. Nehem. 8. After this, having separated 
themselves from all strangers, they solemnly ob- 
served a fast, by hearing the word, confessing their 
sins, and renewing their covenant with God. And 
they manifested their sincerity in that transaction 
by actually reforming many abuses in religion and 
morals. See Nehem. 9, &c. 

It is observable, that it has been God's manner, 
in every remarkable new establishment of the state 
of his visible church, to give a remarkable outpour- 
ing of his Spirit. So it was on the first establish- 
ment of the church of the Jews at their coming into 
Canaan under Joshua ; so it was now in this second 
settlement of the church in the time of Ezra; and 
so it was on the first establishment of the Christian 
church after Christ's resurrection ; God wisely and 
graciously laying the foundation of those establish- 
ments in a work of the Holy Spirit, for the lasting 
benefit of his church, thenceforward continued in 
those establishments. And this pouring out of the 
Spirit was a final cure to the nation of that particu- 
lar sin which just before was especially prevalent, 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 177 

intermarrying with the Gentiles : for however in- 
clined to it they were before, they ever after showed 
an aversion to it. 

VII. Ezra added to the canon of the Scriptures. 
He wrote the book of Ezra ; and he is supposed to 
have written the two books of Chronicles, at least 
to have compiled them, if he was not the author of 
the materials, or all the parts of these writings. 
That these books were written, or compiled and 
completed, after the captivity, the things therein 
contained make manifest ; for the genealogies are 
brought down below the captivity ; as 1 Chron. 
3:17, &c. We have there an account of the pos- 
terity of Jehoiakim for several successive genera- 
tions. And there is mention in these books of this 
captivity into Babylon, as of a thing past, and of 
things that were done on the return of the Jews after 
the captivity. 1 Chron. 9. The chapter is mostly 
filled up with an account of things that came to pass 
after the captivity into Babylon, as appears from 
comparing it with what is said in the books of Ezra 
and Nehemiah. And that Ezra was the person who 
compiled these books, is probable from their con- 
cluding with words that we know are the words of 
Ezra's history: the last two verses of Chronicles 
being the same as the first two in the book of Ezra. 

VIII. Ezra is supposed to have collected all the 
books of which the holy Scriptures then consisted, 
and f> have disposed them in their proper order. 
Ezra is often spoken of as a noted and eminent 
scribe of the law of God, and the canon of Scripture 
in his time was manifestly under his special care. 
The Jews, from the first accounts we have from 
them, have always held, that so much of the canon 

Redemption. JO 



178 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

of Scripture as was then extant, was collected and 
orderly disposed and settled by Ezra ; and that from 
him it was delivered down in the order in which he 
disposed it, till Christ's time ; when the Christian 
church received it from them, and have delivered it 
down to our times. The truth of this is allowed as 
undoubted. 

IX. The work of redemption was carried on and 
promoted in this period, by greatly multiplying the 
copies of the law, and appointing the constant public 
reading of them, in all the cities of Israel, in their 
synagogues. It is evident, that before the captivity 
there were but few copies of the law. The original 
was laid up beside the ark ; and the kings were re- 
quired to write out a copy of it for their own use, 
and the law was required to be read to the whole 
congregation of Israel once every seventh year. And 
we have no account of any other stated public read- 
ing of the law before the captivity. It is manifest by 
several things that might be mentioned, that copies 
of the law were then exceedingly rare. But after 
the captivity, the constant reading of the law was 
introduced in every synagogue throughout the 
land. First, they began with reading the law, and 
then they proceeded to establish the constant reading 
of the other books of the Old Testament. And les- 
sons were read out of the Old Testament, as made 
up of both the law and the other parts of the Scrip- 
ture then extant, in all the synagogues, which were 
set up in every city, and wherever the Jews in any 
considerable number dwelt. Thus we find it was 
in the time of Christ and the apostles. Acts, 15 : 21. 
44 Moses of old time hath in every city them thai 
preach him, being read in the synagogues every 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 17 f J 

sabbath-day." This custom is universally supposed, 
both by Jews and Christians, to have been begun by 
Ezra. There were doubtless public assemblies be- 
fore the captivity. They used to assemble at the 
temple at their great feasts, and were directed, when 
they were at a loss about anything in the law, to go 
to the priest for instruction ; and they used also to 
resort to the prophets' houses: and we read of syna- 
gogues in the land before. Psal. 74 : 8. But it is 
not supposed that they had copies of the law for 
constant public reading and expounding through the 
land till afterwards. This was one great means of 
their being preserved from idolatry. 

X. The next thing I would mention is, God's re- 
markably 'preserving the church and nation of the 
Jews, when they were in imminent danger of being 
universally destroyed by Haman, as in the book of 
Esther. This series of providences was very won- 
derful in preventing this destruction. Esther was 
doubtless born for this end, to be the instrument of 
this remarkable preservation. 

XI. After this the canon of Scripture was further 
enlarged in the books of Nehemiah and Esther ; 
the one by Nehemiah himself. Whether the other 
was written by Nehemiah, or Mordecai, or Malachi, 
is not of importance for us to know, so long as it is 
one of those books that were always admitted and 
received as a part of their canon by the Jews, and 
was among those books which the Jews called their 
Scriptures in Christ's time, and as such was approv- 
ed by him. For Christ often, in his speeches to the 
Jews, manifestly approves and confirms those books 
which amongst them went by the name of the Scrip- 
cures, as might easily be shown. 



180 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

XII. After this the canon of the Old Testament 
teas completed and sealed by Malachi. The man- 
ner of his concluding his prophecy seems to imply 
that they were to expect no more prophecies, and 
no more written revelations from God, till Christ 
should come. For in the last chapter he prophesies 
of Christ's coming-. Ver. 2, 3. " But unto you that 
fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise 
with healing in his wings ; and ye shall go forth 
and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall 
tread down the wicked ; for they shall be as ashes 
under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall 
do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Then we read in 
ver. 4. " Remember ye the law of Moses my ser- 
vant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for 
all Israel, with the statutes and judgments ;" that is, 
Remember and improve what ye have ; keep close 
to your written rule, as expecting no more additions 
to it till the night of the Old Testament is over, and 
the Sun of righteousness shall at length arise. 

XIII. Soon after this, the spirit of prophecy ceas- 
ed among that people till the time of the New Tes- 
tament. Thus the Old Testament lights, the stars 
of the long night, began apace to hide their heads, 
the time of the Sun of righteousness now drawing 
nigh. We before observed, how the kings of the 
house of David ceased before the true King and 
head of the church came; and how the cloud of 
glory withdrew, before Christ, the brightness of the 
Father's glory, appeared. And now the spirit of 
prophecy ceased. The time of the great Prophet 
of God was so nigh, it was time. for their typical 
prophets to be silent. 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHKIST. 181 

We have now gone through the time of which 
we have any historical account in the writings of 
the Old Testament : and the last thing mentioned 
hy which the work of redemption was promoted, was 
the ceasing of the spirit of prophecy. 

I now proceed to show how the work of redemp- 
tion was carried on through the remaining times 
before Christ. In this we have not the thread of 
Scripture history to guide us as hitherto ; but have 
three things, the prophecies of the Old Testament, 
human histories, and some occasional evidence of 
things which happened in those times, in the .New 
Testament. 

XIV. The next particular that I shall mention 
under this period is, the destruction of the Persian 
empire, and setting up of the Grecian by Alexander. 
This came to pass about sixty or seventy years after 
the times wherein the prophet Malachi is supposed 
to have prophesied, and about three hundred and 
thirty years before Christ. This was the third revo- 
lution in this period, and greater and more remark- 
able than either of the foregoing. It was very re- 
markable on account of the suddenness of the con- 
quest by Alexander, and the greatness of the empire 
he set up, which much exceeded in extent all the 
foregoing. 

This event is much spoken of in the prophecies 
of Daniel. This empire is represented by the third 
kingdom of brass in Daniel's interpretation of Nebu- 
chadnezzar's dream. Dan. 2. And in Daniel's vi- 
sion of the four beasts, it is intended by the third 
beast that was like a leopard, that had on his back 
four wings of a fowl, to represent the swiftness of 



182 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

its conquest, chap. 7 ; and is more particularly re- 
presented by the he-goat in the 8th chapter, that carne 
from the west on the face of the whole earth, and 
touched not the ground, to represent how swiftly 
Alexander overran the world. The angel himself 
expressly interprets this he-goat to signify the king 
of Grecia. Ver. 21. " The rough goat is the king of 
Grecia ; and the great horn that is between his eyes 
is the first king," that is, Alexander himself. 

After Alexander had conquered the world, he 
soon died; and his dominion did not descend to his 
posterity, but four of his principal captains divided 
his empire between them. Now that being broken, 
whereas four stood up for it, " four kingdoms stand 
up out of the nation, but not in his power;" as in 
chap. 11. The angel, after foretelling the Persian 
empire, proceeds to foretell Alexander. Ver. 3. " And 
a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with 
great dominion, and do according to his will." 
Then he foretells, ver. 4, the dividing of his king- 
dom between his four captains : M And when he 
shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and 
shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven ; 
and not to his posterity, nor according to his do- 
minion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be 
plucked up, even for others besides those." Of 
these four captains, one had Egypt and the neigh- 
boring countries on the south o( Judea ; and another 
had Syria and the neighboring countries north of 
Judea; and these two are called the kings of the 
north and of the south. Dan. 11. 

Now this setting up of the Grecian empire greatly 
prepared the way for Christ's coming, and for the 
erection of his kingdom ; and more especially as it 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 183 

made the Greek language common in the world. 
This gave advantage for spreading the Gospel 
through all nations, with vastly greater ease than if 
every nation had a distinct language. For though 
some of the first preachers of the Gospel had the 
gift of tongues, so that they could preach in any 
language, yet all had not this particular gift ; and 
they who had, could not exercise it when they 
would, but only at special seasons, when the Spirit 
of God was pleased to inspire them in this way. 
And the churches in different and distant parts of 
the world, as at Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, Cor- 
inth, could not have had that communication of 
which we have an account in the book of Acts, 
without a common language. After the Grecian 
empire was set up, many in all these countries well 
understood the Greek language, which wonderfully 
opened the door for mutual communication between 
those churches which were so far separated from 
one another. 

Again, making the Greek language common 
through so great a part of the world, wonderfully 
prepared the way for the kingdom of Christ, as it 
was the language in which the New Testament 
was to be originally written. The apostles propa- 
gated the Gospel through many scores of nations ; 
and if those nations could not have understood the 
Bibie otherwise than as it was translated into so 
many languages, it would have rendered the spread- 
ing of the Gospel vastly more difficult. But by the 
Greek being made common to all, they all under- 
stood the New Testament of Jesus Christ in the lan- 
guage in which the apostles and evangelists origi- 
nally wrote it. As soon as it was written by its origi- 



184 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nal penmen, it immediately lay open to the world in 
a language commonly understood. 

XV. The next thing I notice is the translating 
of the Old Testament into the Greek language, 
which was commonly called the Septuagint, or the 
translation of the seventy; and is supposed to have 
been made about fifty or sixty years after Alexan- 
der's conquests. This is the first translation of the 
Scriptures of which we have any credible account. 
The canon of the Old Testament had been com- 
pleted by the prophet Malachi in its original, but 
about a hundred and twenty years before. Hitherto 
the Scriptures had remained locked up among the 
Jews in the Hebrew tongue, which was understood 
by no other nation ; but now it was translated into 
the Greek, a language commonly understood by the 
nations of the world. 

This translation of the Old Testament is still ex- 
tant, and is of great use. The Jews have many fa- 
bles about the occasion and manner of this transla- 
tion ; but the truth of the case is supposed to be, 
that multitudes of the Jews living in other parts of 
the world besides Judea, and being born and bred 
among the Greeks, the Greek became their com- 
mon language. These not understanding the origi- 
nal Hebrew, they procured the Scriptures to be trans- 
lated for their use into the Greek ; and so hencefor- 
ward the Jews, in all countries, except Judea, were 
wont in their synagogues to make use of this trans- 
lation instead of the Hebrew. 

This translation of the Scriptures into a language 
so commonly understood through the world, greatly 
prepared the way for Christ's kingdom. For the 
apostles, commissioned to preach through the world, 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 185 

made great use of the Scriptures of the Old Testa- 
ment, and especially of the prophecies concerning 
Christ. By means of this translation, and by the 
wide dispersion of the Jews, they had the Scriptures 
at hand in a language understood by the Gentiles. 
Hence they principally made use of this translation 
in their preaching and writings wherever they went, 
as is evident from the fact, that almost all the nu- 
merous quotations out of the Old Testament in their 
writings, are made in the very words of the Septua- 
gint. The sense is the same as in the original 
Hebrew, though the words are different. And this 
translation was principally used in Christian church- 
es through most nations of the world, for several 
hundred years after Christ. 

XVI. The next thing is the wonderful preserva- 
tion of the church when it was eminently threatened 
and persecuted under the Grecian empire. The 
first time they were threatened was by Alexander 
himself. When besieging the city of Tyre, he sent 
to the Jews for assistance and supplies for his army. 
Out of a conscientious regard to their oath to the 
king of Persia, they refused ; and he being a man of a 
very furious spirit, agreeable to the Scripture repre- 
sentation of the rough he-goat, marched against them 
with a design to cut them off. But when he met 
the priests going out to him in their priestly gar- 
ments, God wonderfully turned his heart to spare 
and favor them, as he did the heart of Esau when 
he met Jacob. 

After this, one of the kings of Egypt, a successor 
of one of Alexander's four captains, entertained a 
design of destroying the Jewish nation, but was re- 



186 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

markably and wonderfully prevented by the inter- 
position of heaven for their preservation. 

But their most wonderful preservation in this pe- 
riod was under the cruel persecution of Antiochus 
Epiphanes, king of Syria, and successor of another 
of Alexander's four captains. The Jews were at 
that time subject to the power of Antiochus ; and he 
being enraged against them, long strove to his ut- 
most utterly to destroy them, and root them out — at 
least all of them that would not forsake their re- 
ligion and worship his idols. He did indeed in a 
great measure waste the country and depopulate the 
city of Jerusalem ; profaned the temple, by setting 
up his idols in some parts of it ; and persecuted the 
people with insatiable cruelty ; so that we have no 
account of any persecution like this before. Many 
of the particular circumstances of this cruel perse- 
cution were very affecting. It began about a hun- 
dred and seventy years before Christ. It is much 
spoken of in the prophecy of Daniel, Dan. 8:9, 25 ; 
11 : 31-38; and in the New Testament, Heb. 11 : 
36-38. 

Antiochus intended not only to extirpate the Jew- 
ish religion, but, as far as in him lay, the very na- 
tion ; and particularly labored to the utmost to de- 
stroy all copies of the law. And considering how 
weak they were, in comparison with a king of such 
vast dominion, the providence of God appears very 
wonderful in defeating his design. Many times the 
Jews seemed to be on the very brink of ruin, just 
ready to be swallowed up ; and their enemies often 
thought themselves sure of obtaining their pur- 
pose. They once came against the people with a 
mighty army, with a design of killing all, except the 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 187 

women and children, and of selling these for slaves ; 
and so confident were they of obtaining their pur- 
pose, and others of purchasing, that above a thousand 
merchants came with the army, with money in their 
hands, to buy the slaves that should be sold. But 
God wonderfully stirred up and assisted one Judas, 
and others his successors, called the Maccabees, 
who, with a small handful in comparison, vanquish- 
ed their enemies time after time, and delivered their 
nation. This also was foretold by Daniel, 1 1 : 32. 
Speaking of Antiochus' persecution, he says, " And 
such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he 
corrupt by flatteries : but the people that do know 
their God shall be strong and do exploits." 

God afterwards brought this Antiochus to a fear- 
ful, miserable end, by a loathsome disease, under 
dreadful torments of body and horrors of mind ; 
which was foretold, Dan. 11 : 45, in these words, 
" Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help 
him." After his death there were attempts still to 
destroy the church; but God baffled them all. 

XVII. The next thing is the destruction of the 
Grecian, and setting up of the Roman empire. This 
was the fourth revolution in this period. And 
though it was brought to pass more gradually than 
the setting up of the Grecian empire, yet it far ex- 
ceeded that, and was much the greatest and largest 
temporal monarchy of any age ; so that the Roman 
empire was commonly called all the icorld ; as in 
Luke, 2:1. "And there went out a decree from 
Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be tax- 
ed :" that is, all the Roman empire. 

This empire is spoken of as much the strongest 
and greatest of the four. Dan. 2: 40. 'And the 



188 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron : foras- 
much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all 
things : and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it 
break in pieces and bruise." Dan. 7 : 7, 19, 23. 
The time when the Romans first conquered and 
subdued the land of Judea, was between sixty and 
seventy years before Christ. Soon after this, the 
Roman empire was established in its greatest ex- 
tent; and the world continued subject to it hence- 
forward till Christ came, and many hundred years 
after. 

The nations being thus united under one monar- 
chy when Christ came, and when the apostles went 
forth to preach, greatly prepared the way for the 
spreading of the Gospel, and the setting up of 
Christ's kingdom in the world. For the world 
being thus subject to one government, it opened a 
general communication, and so opportunity was 
given for the more swift propagation of the Gospel. 
There are innumerable difficulties in traveling 
through nations under different independent govern- 
ments, which there are not in traveling through dif- 
ferent parts of the same realm, or different domin- 
ions of the same prince. So the world being under 
one government, that of the Romans, facilitated the 
apostles' traveling and the spread of the Gospel. 

XVIII. About the same time learning and phi- 
losophy were risen to their greatest height in the 
heathen world. Almost all the famous philosophers 
among the Heathen were after the captivity into 
Babylon. Almost all the wise men of Greece and 
Rome flourished in this time. What these philoso- 
phers in general chiefly professed as their business, 
was to inquire wherein man's chief happiness lay, 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 189 

and how to obtain it. They seemed earnestly to 
busy themselves in this inquiry, and wrote multi- 
tudes of books about it, many of which are still ex- 
tant; but they were exceedingly divided, there hav- 
ing been reckoned several hundred different opinions 
which they had concerning it. Thus they wearied 
themselves in vain, wandering in the dark, not having 
the glorious Gospel to guide them. God was pleas- 
ed to suffer men to do the utmost they could do with 
human wisdom and to try the utmost extent of their 
understandings to find out the way to happiness, 
before the true light came to enlighten the world. 
God suffered these great philosophers to try what 
they could do for six hundred years ; and then it 
proved by the events of so long a time that all they 
could do was in vain ; the world not becoming 
wiser, better, or happier under their instructions, but 
growing more and more foolish, wicked, and mise- 
rable. He suffered this, that it might be seen how 
far reason and philosophy could go in their highest 
ascent, that the necessity of a divine teacher might 
more convincingly appear. God was pleased to 
make foolish the wisdom of this world — to show men 
the folly of their best wisdom — by the doctrines of 
his glorious Gospel, which were above the reach of 
all their philosophy. 1 Cor. 1 : 19-21. 

After God had showed the vanity of human learn- 
ing without the Gospel, he was pleased to make it 
subservient to the purposes of Christ's kingdom, as a 
handmaid to divine revelation. An instance of this 
we have in the apostle Paul, who was famed for his 
much learning, Acts, 26 : 24, being skilled in the 
learning not only of the Jews, but also of the phi- 
losophers. This he improved to subserve the Gos* 



190 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

pel ; as he did in disputing with the philosophers 
at Athens. Acts, 17 : 22, &c. By his learning he 
knew how to accommodate himself in his discourses 
to learned men, having read their writings ; and -he 
cites their own poets. Dionysius, a philosopher, 
was converted by him, and was made a great instru- 
ment of promoting the Gospel, and there were many 
others in that and the following ages, who were emi- 
nently useful, by their human learning, in promoting 
the interests of Christ's kingdom. 

XIX. Just before Christ was born the Roman 
empire was raised to its greatest height, and also 
settled in peace. About four and twenty years before 
Christ, Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, 
began to rule as emperor of the world. Till then 
the Roman empire had of a long time been a com- 
monwealth under the government of the senate, but 
now it became an absolute monarchy. This person- 
age, as he was the first, so he was the greatest of all 
the Roman emperors ; he reigned in the greatest 
glory. Thus the power of the heathen world, 
which was Satan's visible kingdom, was raised to its 
greatest height, after it had been strengthening itself 
more and more from the days of Solomon, which 
was about a thousand years. Now the heathen 
world was in its greatest glory for strength, wealth, 
and learning. 

God did two things to prepare the way for Christ's 
coming, wherein he took a contrary method from 
that which human wisdom would have taken. He 
brought his own visible people very low, and made 
them weak ; but the Heathen, his enemies, he ex- 
alted to the greatest height, for the more glorious 
triumph of the cross of Christ. With a small nura« 



FROM CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 191 

ber in their greatest weakness, he conquered his ene- 
mies in their greatest glory. Thus Christ triumphed 
over principalities and powers in his cross. 

Augustus Caesar had been for many years estab- 
lishing his empire, and subduing his enemies, till the 
very year that Christ was born ; when, all his enemies 
being subdued, his dominion over the world seemed 
to be settled in its greatest glory. All was establish- 
ed in peace ; in token whereof the Romans shut the 
temple of Janus, which was an established symbol 
among them of there being universal peace through- 
out the empire. And this universal peace, which 
was begun that very year in which Christ was born, 
lasted twelve years, till the year that Christ disputed 
with the doctors in the temple. 

Thus the world, after it had been, as it were, in a 
continual convulsion for so many hundred years — 
like the four winds striving together on the tumul- 
tuous raging ocean, whence arose those four great 
monarchies — was now established in the greatest 
height of the fourth and last monarchy, and settled 
in quietness. Now all things were ready for the 
birth of Christ. This remarkable universal peace, 
after so many ages of tumult and war, was a fit pre- 
lude for ushering the glorious Prince of Peace into 
the world. 

Thus I have gone through the first grand period 
of the whole space between the fall of man and the 
end of the world, and have shown the truth of the 
first proposition: That from the fall of man to the 
incarnation of Christ, God was doing those things 
which were preparatory to Christ's coming, and wert 
forerunners of it. 



192 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 



CHAPTER VII. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE FIRST PERIOD. 

Before I proceed to the ne.\t period, I would 
make some few remarks by way of improvement 
upon what has been said under this. 

I. From what has been said, we may strongly 
argue that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son oj 
God, and the Savior of the world ; and that the 
Christian is the true religion, seeing that Christ is 
the very person so evidently pointed at, in all the 
great dispensations of divine Providence from the 
fall of man, and was so undoubtedly in so many 
instances foretold from age to age, and shadowed 
forth in a vast variety of types and figures. If we 
seriously consider the course of things from the be- 
ginning, and observe the motions of all the great 
wheels of Providence, we shall discern that they all 
tender hither. They are all as so many lines, whose 
course, if it be observed and accurately followed, will 
be found to centre here. It is so very plain in many 
things, that it would argue stupidity to deny it. This 
Person, sent from God, came into the world with his 
commission and authority to do his work, and to 
declare his mind. The Governor of the world, in 
all his great works towards Jews and Gentiles, down 
to the time of Christ's birth, has declared it. It is a 
plain and evident truth, that he who was born at 
Bethlehem, who dwelt at Nazareth and Capernaum, 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 193 

and who was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem, 
must be the great Messiah. Blessed are all they that 
believe in and confess him, and miserable are all that 
deny him. This shows the unreasonableness of 
Deists, who deny revealed religion ; and of the Jews, 
who deny that this Jesus is the Messiah foretold and 
promised to their fathers. 

Here should any object, that it may be some 
cunning men contrived this history and these pro- 
phecies, on purpose to prove that he is the Messiah, 
it may be replied, How could such a thing be con- 
trived by cunning men to point to Jesus Christ, long 
before he was born? How could they know that 
any such person would be born ? And how could 
their subtlety help them to foresee and point out an 
event that was to come to pass many ages after- 
wards ? For no fact can be more evident, than that 
the Jews had those writings long before Christ was 
born ; as they have them still in great veneration, 
in all their dispersions through the world. They 
would never have received such a contrivance from 
Christians, to prove Jesus to be the Messiah, whom 
they always denied; and much less would they 
have been made to believe that they always had 
these books in their hands, if they had been an im- 
position. 

II. What has been said affords a strong argu- 
ment for the divine authority of the books of the Old 
Testament, from, the admirable harmony whereby 
they all point to the same thing. For we may seo 
by what has been said, how all the parts of the Old 
Testament, though written by so many different pen- 
men, and in ages so distant, harmonize one with 
another. All agree in one, and centre in the same 

Redemption 13 



194 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

event ; which it was impossible for any one of them 
to foreknow, but by divine revelation. 

Now, if the Old Testament was not inspired by 
God, what account can be given of such an agree- 
ment?- for if these books were written without any 
divine direction, then none of these penmen knew 
that there would come such a person as Jesus 
Christ into the world ; his coming was only a mere 
figment of their own brain: and if so, how hap- 
pened it that this imagination of theirs, which they 
foretold without any manner of ground for their 
prediction, was exactly fulfilled ? and especially, 
how did they all come to agree in it, all pointing 
exactly to the same thing, though they lived so 
many hundred years distant from one another? 
This admirable consent and agreement in a future 
event, is therefore a clear and certain evidence of 
the divine authority of those writings. 

III. Hence we may learn how tveak and ignorant 
the objection is, against the Old Testament being 
the word of God, because it consists so much of 
warlike histories and civil transactions. Here, say 
some, we have histories of their kings and rulers, 
their wars with neighboring nations, and the 
changes that happened in their state and govern- 
ment : but other nations used to keep histories of 
their public affairs, as well as the Jews ; why then 
should we think that these histories are the word of 
God, more than those of other people 1 What has 
been said, shows the folly and vanity of such an ob- 
jection. For hereby it appears that the case of these 
histories is very different from that of all others. 
This history alone gives us an account of the origi- 
nal of all things ; and this alone deduces things 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 195 

down to us in a wonderful series from that original, 
giving an idea of the grand scheme of divine Provi- 
dence, as tending to its great end. And, together 
with the doctrines and prophecies contained in it, 
the same book gives a view of the whole series of 
the great events of divine Providence, from the ori- 
gin to the consummation of all things ; exhibiting 
an excellent and glorious account of the wise and 
holy designs of the supreme Governor in all. No 
common history has had such penmen. This his- 
tory was all written by men who came with evident 
signs and testimonies of their being prophets of the 
most high God, immediately inspired; and though 
histories, yet containing those great events of provi- 
dence by which it appears how God has been car- 
rying on the glorious work of redemption from age 
to age, they are no less full of divine instruction, 
and of those things that show forth Christ and his 
glorious Gospel, than the other parts of the holy 
Scriptures. 

To object against a book's being divine, merely 
because it is historical, is a poor fanay; as if that 
could not be the word of God which gives an ac- 
count of what is past ; or as though it were not 
reasonable to suppose that God, in a revelation to 
mankind, would gi e us any relation of the dispen- 
sations of his o\v providence. If so, it must be 
because his works are not worthy to be related ; or 
because the scheme of his government, and the 
series of his dispensations towards his church, and 
the world he has made, are not worthy that any re- 
cord of them should be preserved. 

The objection, that it is a common thing for na- 
tions and kingdoms to write histories and keep re- 



196 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

cords of their wars, and the revolutions that come 
to pass in their territories, is so far from being a 
weighty objection against the historical part of 
Scripture, as though it were not the word of God, 
that it is a strong argument in favor of it. For if 
the light of nature teaches all civilized nations to 
keep records of the events of their government and 
the series of their administrations, and to publish 
histories for the information of others, how much 
more may we expect that God would give the 
world a record of the dispensations of his govern- 
ment, which doubtless is infinitely more worthy of 
a history for our information? If wise kings have 
taken care that there should be good histories writ- 
ten of the nations over which they have reigned, 
shall we think it incredible that Jesus Christ should 
take care that his church, which is his kingdom, 
his peculiar people, should have in their hands a 
certain infallible history of their nation, and of his 
government of them 1 

But for the history of the Old Testament, how 
wofully ignorant should we have been about many 
things which the church of God needs to know ! 
How ignorant of God's dealings towards mankind, 
and towards his church, from the beginning ! — ot 
the creation of the world, the fall of man, and the 
rise and progress of the dispensations of grace to- 
wards fallen mankind ! We should have known 
nothing how God at first set up a church in the 
world, and how it was preserved ; after what man- 
ner he governed it from the beginning ; how the 
light of the Gospel first began to dawn in the world; 
how it increased, and how things were preparing 
for the coming of Christ. 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 197 

If we are Christians, we belong to this great build- 
ing of God ; and but for the history of the Old Tes- 
tament, we should never have known what was the 
first occasion of God's going about this building, 
how the foundation of it was laid, and how it has 
gone on from the beginning. The times of the 
history of the Old Testament are mostly such as no 
other history includes ; and therefore, if God had 
not preserved an account of these things in his 
word, we should have been wholly without them. 

Those that object against the authority of the Old 
Testament history, may as well object against Mo- 
ses' account of the creation ; for, in the former, we 
have a history of a work no less important, viz. 
the work of redemption. Nay, this is a far greater 
and more glorious work. If it be inquired which 
of the two works, that of creation, or that of provi- 
dence, is the greatest 1 it must be answered, the 
work of providence ; but the work of redemption is 
the greatest of the works of providence. And let 
those who make this objection, consider what part 
of the Old Testament history can be spared, without 
making a great breach in that thread or series of 
events by which this glorious work has been car- 
ried on. This leads me to observe, 

IV. That, from what has been said, we may see 
much of the wisdom of God in the structure of the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament. Let us briefly 
take a view of the several parts of it, and of the need 
there was of them. 

It was necessary, for instance, that we should 
have some account of the creation of the world, of 
our first parents, and their primitive state ; of the 
fall, of the old world and its degeneracy ; of the 



198 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

universal deluge, and the origin of nations after this 
destruction of mankind. 

It seems necessary, moreover, that there should 
be some account of the succession of the church of 
God from the beginning. God suffered all the world 
to degenerate, and took one nation only to be his 
people, to preserve the true worship and religion 
till the Savior of the world should come. In them 
the world was gradually prepared for that great 
light, and those wonderful things of which he was 
to be the author. Thus they were a typical nation, 
that in them God might shadow forth and teach, as 
under a veil, all the future glories of the Gospel. It 
was therefore necessary that we should have some 
account of this ; how it was first effected by the call 
of Abraham, and by their being bond-slaves in 
Egypt, and how they were brought to Canaan. It 
was necessary that we should have some account of 
the revelation which God made of himself to that 
people, in giving their law, in the appointment of 
their typical worship, wherein the Gospel is veiled, 
and of the formation of their civil and ecclesiastical 
state. 

It seems necessary that we should have some ac- 
count of their being actually brought to Canaan, the 
country promised them, and where they always 
dwelt ; that we should have a. history of the succes- 
sions of the church of Israel, and of those provi- 
dences towards them, which were most considera- 
ble and fullest of gospel mystery; that Ave should 
have some account of the promised external glory 
of that nation under David and Solomon, and a very 
particular account of David, whose history is so fui 
of the Gospel, and in whom began the race of then 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 199 

kings ; and that we should have some account of 
the building of the temple, which was also full of 
gospel mystery. 

And it is of consequence, that we should have 
some account of Israel's separation from Judah, and 
of the ten tribes' captivity and utter rejection, and 
therefore a brief history of them till that time; that 
we should have an account of the succession of the 
kings of Judah, and of the church, till their captivity 
into Babylon; of their return from captivity, and 
re-settlement in their own land, with the origin of 
the last state of the church before Christ came. 

A little consideration will convince any one, that 
all these things were necessary, and that none of 
them could be spared ; and in the general, that it 
was necessary we should have a history of God's 
church till the times reached by human histories. 
It was important that we should have an inspired 
history of those times of the Jewish church, wherein 
there existed a more extraordinary intercourse be- 
tween God and them, while he used to dwell among 
them as it were visibly, revealing himself by the 
Shechinah, by Urim and Thummim, and by pro- 
phecy, and so more immediately to order their af- 
fairs. And it was necessary that we should have, 
in prophecy, some account of the great dispensa- 
tions of God after the finishing of inspired history; 
for which it was needful there should be raised up 
a number of prophets, who should foretell the com- 
ing of the Son of God, and the nature and glory of 
his kingdom, as so many harbingers to make way 
for him, and that their prophecies should remain in 
the church. 

It was also desirable that the church should have 



200 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

a book of divine songs given by inspiration from 
God, wherein there should be a lively representa- 
tion of the true spirit of devotion, of faith, hope, and 
divine love, of joy, resignation, humility, obedience, 
repentance, &c. as in the Psalms ; also that we 
should have from God such books of moral instruc- 
tion as those of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, relating 
to the affairs and state of mankind, and the concerns 
of human life, containing rules of true wisdom and 
prudence for our conduct in all circumstances ; and 
that we should have particularly a song respect- 
ing the great love between Christ and his spouse 
the church, adapted to the disposition and holy af- 
fections of a true Christian soul towards Christ, and 
representing his grace and marvelous love to, and 
delight in his people, as in Solomon's Song. It is 
important that we should have a book to teach us 
how to conduct ourselves under affliction, seeing the 
church of God here is in a militant state, and God's 
people through much tribulation enter into the 
kingdom of heaven. The church is for a long time 
under trouble, meets with fiery trials and extreme 
sufferings, before her time of peace and rest in the 
latter ages of the world. Therefore God has given 
us a book most proper in these circumstances, the 
book of Job; and though written on occasion of the 
afflictions of a particular saint, it was probably at 
first given to the church in Egypt under her afflic- 
tions there ; and is made use of by the Apostle to 
comfort Christians under persecutions. James, 5 : 
11. "Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and 
have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is 
very pitiful and of tender mercy." God was also 
pleased, in this book of Job, to give some view of 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 201 

the ancient divinity before the giving of the law. 

Thus, even from this brief review, I think it ap- 
pears that every part of the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament is very useful and necessary, and no part 
of it can be spared without loss to the church. And 
therefore the wisdom of God is conspicuous in or- 
dering that the Scriptures of the Old Testament 
should consist of those very books of which they do 
consist. 

Before I dismiss this point, I would add, that it is 
very observable that the history of the Old Testa- 
ment is large and particular where the great work 
of redemption required it ; even where there was 
most done towards this work, most to typify Christ, 
and to prepare the way for him. Thus it is very 
particular in the history of Abraham and the other 
patriarchs ; but very short in the account of the time 
which the children of Israel spent in Egypt. It is 
large in the account of the redemption out of Egypt, 
and the first settling of the affairs o( the Jewish 
church and nation in the time of Moses and Joshua ; 
but much shorter in the times of the Judges. So 
again, it is large and particular in the times of Da- 
vid and Solomon, and then very short in the history 
of the ensuing reigns. Thus the accounts are large 
or short, just as there is more or less of the work of 
redemption to be seen in them. 

V. From what has been said, we may see that 
Christ and his redemption are the great subject of 
the whole Bible. Concerning the New Testament, 
the matter is plain ; and by what has been said, it ap- 
pears to be so also with respect to the Old. Christ 
and his redemption is the great subject of the prophe- 
cies, as well as the songs, of the Old Testament, as 



202 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

has been shown ; and the moral rules and precepts 
are all given in subordination to him. Christ and 
his redemption are also the great subject of the his- 
tory of the Old Testament from the beginning all 
along ; and even the history of the creation is given 
as an introduction to the history of redemption that 
immediately follows it. The whole book, both Old 
Testament and New, is filled up with the Gospel, 
only with this difference, that the Old Testament 
contains the Gospel under a vail, but the New con- 
tains it unvailed, so that we may see the glory of the 
Lord with open face. 

VI. By what has been said, we may see the use- 
fulness and excellency of the Old Testament. Some 
are ready to look on it as being out of date, and as if 
we, in these days of the Gospel, have but little to do 
with it. But this is a very great mistake, arising 
from a want of observing the nature and design of 
the Old Testament, which, if it were observed, would 
appear full of the Gospel of Christ, and would in an 
excellent manner illustrate and confirm the glorious 
doctrines and promises of the New Testament, 
Those parts of the Old Testament which are com- 
monly looked upon as containing the least divine in 
struction, are mines and treasures of gospel know- 
ledge; and the reason why they are thought to con- 
tain so little is, that persons do but superficially read 
them. The treasures which are hid underneath are 
not observed. They only look on the top of the 
ground and suddenly pass a judgment that there is 
nothing there. But they never dig into the mine : if 
they did, they would find it richly stored with what 
is more valuable than silver and gold, and would 
be abundantly requited for their pains. 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 203 

What has been said may show us what a precious 
treasure God has committed into our hands, in that 
he has given us the Bible. How little do most per- 
sons consider what a privilege they enjoy, in the 
possession of that holy book, which they have in 
their hands, and may converse with as they please. 
What an excellent book is this, and how far exceed- 
ing all human writings ! It reveals God to us, and 
gives us a view of the grand design and glorious 
scheme of Providence from the beginning of the 
world, either in history or prophecy. It reveals the 
great Redeemer, his glorious redemption, and the va- 
rious steps by which God accomplishes it from the 
foundation to the top-stone ! Shall we prize a history 
which gives us a clear account of some great earthly 
prince or mighty warrior, as of an Alexander, a 
Caesar, or a Marlborough ? and shall we not prize 
the history that God gives us of the glorious king- 
dom of his Son Jesus Christ, the Prince and Savior, 
and of the great transactions of that King of kings, 
and Lord of armies, the Lord mighty in battle ; and 
what he has wrought for the redemption of his cho- 
sen people ? 

VII. What has been said may make us sensible 
how much most persons are to blame for their inat- 
tentive, unobservant way of reading the Scriptures. 
How much do the Scriptures contain, if it were but 
observed! The Bible is the most comprehensive book 
in the world. But what will this avail to us, if we 
read it without observing what is the drift of the 
Holy Ghost in it? The Psalmist, Psalm 119: 18, 
begs of God that he would enlighten his eyes that he 
might "behold wondrous things out of his law." The 
Scriptures are full of wondrous things. Those his- 



204 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

tories which are too commonly read as if they were 
only private concerns of particular persons, such as 
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph ; of Ruth, 
Joshua, the Judges, David, and the Israelitish prin- 
ces, are accounts of vastly greater things, and of far 
more extensive concern. 

The histories of Scripture are but too commonly 
read as if they were written only to entertain men's 
fancies, and the infinitely great things contained in 
them are passed over without notice. Whatever trea- 
sures the Scriptures contain, we shall be never the 
better for them if we do not observe them. He who 
has a Bible, and does not observe what it contains, 
is like a man who has a box of silver and gold, and 
does not know it. He will be never the better for 
his treasure, and so might as well be without it. He 
who has plenty of the choicest food stored up in his 
house, and does not know it, will never taste what 
he has, and will be as likely to starve as if his house 
were empty. 

VIII. What has been said may show us how great 
a person is Jesus Christ, and how great his errand 
into the world, seeing there was so much done to 
prepare the way for his coming. God had been pre- 
paring the way for him through all ages of the world 
from the very beginning. If we had notice of a 
stranger being about to come into a country, and 
should observe that great preparation was made for 
him, alterations made in the state of the whole 
country, many hands employed, persons of great note 
engaged in the preparation ; and all the affairs and 
concerns of the country so ordered as to be subser- 
vient to the design of entertaining him ; it would be 
natural for us to think, this is some extraordinary per- 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIRST PERIOD. 205 

son, and it is some very great business upon which 
he is coming. How great a person then must he be, 
for whose coming the great God of heaven and earth, 
and Governor of all things, employed four thousand 
years in preparing the way! Soon after the world was 
created, and from age to age, he has been doing great 
things, bringing mighty events to pass, accomplish- 
ing wonders without number, often overturning the 
world in order to it. He has been causing every 
thing in the state of mankind, and all revolutions and 
changes in the habitable world, from generation to 
generation, to be subservient to this great design. 
Surely this must be some great and extraordinary 
person, and a great work indeed it must needs be for 
which he came. 

We read, Matt. 21 : 8-10, when Christ was 
coming into Jerusalem, and multitudes ran before 
him, having cut down branches of palm-trees, and 
strewed them in the way ; and others spread their 
garments in the way, crying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David, that the whole city was moved, saying, Who 
is this ? They wondered who that extraordinary 
person should be, that such preparation should be 
made for him. But if we consider what great things 
were done in all ages to prepare the way for Christ's 
coming, how the world was often overturned for it, 
much more may we cry out, Who is this ? What 
great person is this ? and say, as Psalm 24 : 8, 10, 
Who is this Ki?ig of glory, that God should show 
him such respect, and confer on him such honor ? 
Surely he is honorable in God's eyes, and greatly 
beloved ; and surely it is a grand errand upon which 
he is sent. 



206 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 



PERIOD XI. 

FROM CHRIST'S INCARNATION TO HIS 
RESURRECTION. 

Having shown how the work of redemption was 
carried on through the first period, from the fall of 
man to the incarnation of Christ, I come now to the 
second period, the time of Christ's humiliation, or 
the space from his incarnation to his resurrection. 
And this is the most remarkable period of all time. 
Though it was but between thirty and forty years, 
yet more was done in it than had been done from the 
beginning of the world to that time. We have ob- 
served that all events from the fall to the incarnation 
of Christ were only preparatory for what was now 
done. And it may also be observed, that what was 
done before the beginning of time in the eternal 
counsels between the persons of the blessed Trinity, 
chiefly respected this period. We therefore now 
proceed to consider the second 'proposition, viz. 

That during the time of Christ's humiliation, 
from his incarnation to his resurrection, the pur- 
chase of redemption vms made. 

Though many things had been done in the work 
of redemption, though millions of sacrifices had been 
offered ; yet nothing was done to purchase redemp- 
tion before Christ's incarnation. No part of the 
purchase was made, no part of the price was offered 



Christ's incarnation. 207 

till now. But as soon as Christ was incarnate, the 
purchase began. And the whole time of Christ's hu- 
miliation, till the morning that he rose from the dead, 
was taken up in this purchase. Then the purchase 
was entirely and completely finished. As nothing 
was done before Christ's incarnation, so nothing 
was done after his resurrection, to purchase redemp- 
tion for men. Nor will there ever be any thing more 
done to all eternity. That very moment when the 
human ♦nature of Christ ceased to remain under the 
power of death, the utmost farthing was paid of the 
price of salvation for every one of the redeemed. 

But for the more orderly and regular considera- 
tion of the great things done by our Redeemer to 
purchase redemption for us, I would speak of his 
becoming incarnate to capacitate himself for his 
purchase — and of the purchase itself. 



CHAPTER I. 

of Christ's incarnation. 

Christ became incarnate, or, which is the same 
thing, became man, to put himself in a capacity for 
working out our redemption. For though Christ, 
as God, was infinitely sufficient for the work, yet to 
his being in an immediate capacity for it, it was need- 
ful that he should not only be God, but man. If 



208 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Christ had remained only in the divine nature, he 
would not have been in a capacity to have purchas- 
ed our salvation ; not from any imperfection of the 
divine nature, but by reason of its absolute and infi- 
nite perfection : for Christ, merely as God, was not 
capable either of that obedience or suffering that was 
needful. The divine nature is not capable of suffer- 
ing ; for it is infinitely above all suffering. Nei- 
ther is it capable of obedience to that law which 
was given to man. It is as impossible that one 
who is only God, should obey the law that was 
given to man, as it is that he should suffer man's 
punishment. 

And it was necessary not only that Christ should 
take upon him a created nature, but that he should 
take upon him our nature. It would not have suf- 
ficed for Christ to have become an angel, and to have 
obeyed and suffered in the angelic nature. But it 
was necessary that he should become a man, upon 
three accounts. 

1 . It was needful in order to answer the law, that 
the very nature to which the law was given should 
obey it. Man's law could not be answered but by be- 
ing obeyed by man. God insisted upon it, that the 
law which he had given to man should be honored, 
and fulfilled by the nature of man, otherwise the 
law could not be answered for men. The words, 
" Thou shalt not eat thereof," &c. were spoken to 
mankind, to the human nature; and therefore the 
human nature must fulfill them. 

2. It was needful to answer the law, that the na- 
ture that sinned should die. These words, M Thou 
shalt surely die," respect the human nature. The 
same nature to which the command was given, 



CHRIST'S INCARNATION. 209 

was that to which the threatening was directed. 
3. God saw fit that the same world which was 
the stage of man's fall and ruin, should also be the 
stage of his redemption. We read often of Christ's 
coining into the world to save sinners, and of God s 
sending him into the world for this purpose. It was 
needful that he should come into this sinful, miser- 
able, undone world, to restore and save it. For man's 
recovery, it was needful that he should come down 
to man, to man's proper habitation, that he should 
tabernacle with us. John, 1:14. " The word was 
made flesh and dwelt among us." 

Concerning the incarnation of Christ, I would 
observe these following things. 

I. The incarnation itself ; in which especially two 
things are to be considered. 

1. His conception; which was in the womb of 
one of the race of mankind, whereby he became truly 
the Son of man, as he was often called. He was one 
of the posterity of Adam, a child of Abraham, and 
a son of David, according to God's promise. But 
his conception was not in the way of ordinary ge- 
neration, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. Christ 
was formed in the womb of the virgin, of the sub- 
stance of her body, by the power of the Spirit of God. 
So that he was the immediate son of the woman, but 
not the immediate son of any man ; and so was the 
seed of the woman, and the son of a virgin, one that 
had never known man. 

2. His birth. Though the conception of Christ 
was supernatural, yet after he was conceived, his 
human nature was gradually perfected in the womb 
of the virgin, in a way of natural progress : and so 

Redemption. 14 



210 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

his birth was in the way of nature. But his con- 
ception being supernatural, by the power of the 
Holy Ghost, he was both conceived and born with- 
out sin. 

II. The second thing I would observe concerning 
the incarnation of Christ, is the fullness of the time 
in which it was accomplished. It was after things 
had been preparing for it from the very fall of man- 
kind, and when all things were ready. It came to 
pass at a time which in infinite wisdom was the most 
fit and proper. Gal. 4:4. " But when the fullness 
of time was come. God sent forth his Son, made of 
a woman, made under the law." 

It was now the most proper time on every account. 
Any time before the flood would not have been so 
fit a time. For then the mischief and ruin that the 
fall brought on mankind were not so fully seen. 
The curse did not so fully come on the earth before 
the flood, as it did afterwards : for though the ground 
was cursed in a great measure before, yet it pJeased 
God that the curse should once, before the restora- 
tion by Christ, be executed in a universal destruc- 
tion, as it were of the very form of the earth, that 
the dire effects of the fall might be seen before the 
recovery. Though mankind were mortal before the 
flood, yet their lives were almost a thousand years in 
length, a kind of immortality in comparison with 
what the life of man is now. It pleased God that 
the curse, " Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt 
return," should have its full accomplishment, and 
be executed in its greatest degree on mankind, 
before the Redeemer came to purchase a never-end- 
ing life. 

It would not have been so fit a time for Christ to 



Christ's incarnation. 211 

come, before Moses; for till then mankind were not 
so universally apostatized from the true God ; they 
were not fallen universally into heathenish dark- 
ness ; and so the need of Christ, the light of the 
world, was not so evident. The woful consequence 
of the fall with respect to man's mortality, was not 
so fully manifest till then; for man's life was not so 
shortened, as to be reduced to the present standard, 
till about Moses' time. 

It was most fit that the time of the Messiah's com 
ing should not be till all nations, but the children of 
Israel, had lain long in heathenish darkness; that 
the remedilessness of their disease might by long ex- 
perience be seen, and so the absolute necessity of the 
heavenly Physician. 

Another reason why Christ did not come soon after 
the flood, probably was, that the earth might be full 
of people; that he might have the more extensive 
kingdom; that the effects of his light, power, and 
grace might be glorified ; and that his victory over 
Salan might be attended with the more glory in the 
multitude of his conquests. It w T as also needful that 
the coming of Christ should be many ages after 
Moses, that the church might be prepared by the 
Messiah's being long prefigured, foretold, and ex- 
pected. It was not proper that Christ should come 
before the Babylonish captivity, because Satan's 
kingdom was not then come to- its height. The hea- 
then world before that consisted of lesser kingdoms. 
But God saw fit that the Messiah should come in 
the time of one of the four great monarchies. Nor 
was it proper that he should come in the time of the 
Babylonish, the Persian, or the Grecian monarchy. 
It was the will of God that his Son should make his 



212 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

appearance in the world in the time of the Roman. 
the' greatest and strongest monarchy, which was 
Satan's visible kingdom in the world; that, by over- 
coming this, he might visibly overcome Satan's 
kingdom in its greatest strength and glory, and so 
obtain the more complete triumph over Satan him- 
self. 

It was not proper that Christ should come before 
the Babylonish captivity. For, before that, we have 
not histories of the state of the heathen world, to 
give us an idea of the need of a Savior. Besides, 
learning did not much flourish, and so there had not 
been opportunity to show the insufficiency of human 
learning and wisdom to reform and save mankind. 
Again, the Jews were not dispersed over the world, 
as they were afterwards; and so things were not 
prepared in this respect for the coming of Christ. 
The necessity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation 
was not then. so apparent as it was afterwards, by 
reason of the dispersion of the Jews; neither was 
the way prepared for the propagation of the Gospel, 
as it was afterwards, by the same dispersion. Many 
other things might be mentioned, by which it would 
appear that no other time before that very time in 
which Christ came, would have been proper for 
his appearing. 

III. The next thing that I would observe con- 
cerning the incarnation of Christ, is the greatness of 
this event. Christ's incarnation was a greater and 
more wonderful thing than ever had yet come to 
pass. The creation of the world was a very great 
thing, but not so great as the incarnation of Christ. 
It was a great thing for God to make the creature, 
but not so great as for the Creator himself to be 



CHRIST'S INCARNATION. 213 

come a creature. We have spoken of many great 
things that were accomplished between the fall of 
man and the incarnation of Christ; but God's be- 
coming man was greater than all. Then the great- 
est person was born that ever was or ever will be. 

IV. Next observe, the remarkable circumstances 
of the incarnation of Christ. He was born of a 
virgin, pious and holy ; but poor, as appeared by 
her offering at her purification. Luke, 2 : 24. 
" And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is 
said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves, 
or two young pigeons." Which refers to Lev. 5 : 7. 
" And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall 
bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons." And 
this poor virgin was espoused to a husband who 
was but a poor man. Though they were both of 
the royal family of David, which was the most 
honorable, and Joseph was the rightful heir to the 
crown j yet the family was reduced to a very low 
state ; which is represented by the tabernacle of 
David being fallen. Amos, 9:11. "In that day 
will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, 
and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise 
up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of 
old." 

He was born in the town of Bethlehem, as was 
foretold, Mich. 5:2; and there was a very re- 
markable providence of God to bring about the ful- 
fillment of this prophecy, the taxing of all the world 
by Augustus Caesar. Luke, 2. He was born in a 
very low condition, even in a stable, and laid in a 
manger. 

V. Observe the concomitants of this great event. 

1. The return of the Spirit ; which indeed began 



214 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

a little before, but yet was given on occasion of his 
birth. I have before observed how the spirit of 
prophecy ceased, not long- after Malachi. From 
about the same time visions and immediate revela- 
tions also ceased. But on this occasion they are 
granted anew, and the Spirit in these operations re- 
turns again. The first revealed instance of its re- 
storation is the vision of Zacharias, the father of 
John the Baptist. Luke, 1. The next is the vision 
which the Virgin Mary had. The third the vision 
which Joseph had. Matt. 1. Then the Spirit was 
given to Elizabeth. Luke, 1: 41. Next, it was 
given to Mary, as appears by her song. Luke, 1 : 
46. Then to Zacharias again. Verse 64. Then it 
was sent to the shepherds. Luke, 2 : 9. Then it 
was given to Simeon. Luke, 2 : 25. Then to 
Anna. Verse 36. Then to the wise men in the east. 
Then to Joseph again, directing him to flee into 
Egypt; and after that directing his return. 

2. The next concomitant of Christ's incarnation 
is, the great notice taken of it in heaven and on 
earth. How it was noticed by the glorious inhabi- 
tants of the heavenly world, appears by their joyful 
songs on this occasion, heard by the shepherds in 
the night. This was the greatest event of provi- 
dence that ever the angels had beheld. We read 
of their singing praises when they saw the forma- 
tion of this lower world. Job, 38 : 7. " When the 
morning stars sang together and all the sons of God 
shouted for joy." And so they do, on this much 
greater occasion, the birth of the Son of God, who 
is the Creator of the world. 

The glorious angels had all along expected this 
event. They had taken great notice of the prophe- 



Christ's incarnation. 215 

cies and promises of these things ; for we are told 
that they desire to look into the affairs of redemp- 
tion 1 Pet. 1 : 12. They had been the ministers 
of Christ in this work, in all the several steps of it, 
from the very fall of man ; as in God's dealings 
with Abraham, with Jacob, and with the Israelites. 
And doubtless they had long joyfully expected the 
coming of Christ; but now they see it accomplished, 
and therefore greatly rejoice, and sing praises on 
this occasion. 

Notice was taken of it by Elizabeth and the vir- 
gin Mary before the birth of Christ ; not to say by 
John the Baptist before he was born, when he 
leaped in his mother's womb as it were for joy, at 
the voice of the salutation of Mary. Elizabeth and 
Mary most joyfully praise God together when they 
meet, about to become mothers of Christ and his 
forerunner, filled with the Holy Spirit. And after- 
wards what joyful notice is taken of this event by 
the shepherds, and by those holy persons Zacharias, 
Simeon, and Anna ! How do they praise God on 
the occasion ! Thus the church of God in heaven, 
and on earth, unite in their joy and praise. 

Great part of the universe takes joyful notice of 
the incarnation of Christ. Heaven takes notice of 
it, and the inhabitants sing for joy. This lower 
world, both Jews and Gentiles, take notice of it. It 
pleased God to put honor on his Son, by wonder- 
fully stirring up some of the wisest of the Gentiles 
to come a long journey to see and worship him at 
his birth. They were led by a miraculous star, 
signifying the birth of that glorious person who is 
the bright and morning star, going before and lead- 
ing them to the very place where the young child 



216 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

was. Some think they were instructed by the pro- 
phecy of Balaam, who dwelt in the eastern parts, 
and who foretold Christ's coming as a star that 
should rise out of Jacob. Or they might be excited 
by the general expectation of the Messiah's coming 
about that time, from the prophecies the Jews had 
of him in their dispersions in all parts of the world 

3. The next concomitant of the birth of Christ 
was his circumcision. But this may more properly 
be spoken of under another head. 

4. Another circumstance was his first coming in- 
to the second temple, when an infant, on occasion of 
the purification of the blessed virgin. We read, 
Hag. 2:7, " The Desire of all nations shall come, 
and I will fill this house (or temple) with glory." 
And in Mai. 3 : 1. " The Lord whom ye seek, shall 
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of 
the covenant." And now was the first instance of 
the fulfillment of these prophecies. 

5. The last concomitant I shall mention is the 
sceptre's departing from Judah, in the death of He- 
rod the Great. The sceptre had never totally de- 
parted from Judah till now. Judah's sceptre was 
greatly diminished in the revolt of the ten tribes in 
Jeroboam's time ; and the sceptre departed from Is- 
rael or Ephraim at the time of the captivity of the ten 
tribes by Shalmaneser. But it remained in the tribe of 
Judah, under the kings of the house of David. And 
when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were car- 
ried captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the sceptre of Ju- 
dah ceased for a little while, till the return from the 
captivity under Cyrus ; and then, though they were 
not an independent government, as they had been 
before, but owed fealty to the kings of Persia ; yet 



Christ's incarnation. 217 

their governor was of themselves, who had the pow- 
er of life and death, and they were governed by 
their own laws ; and so Judah had " a lawgiver from 
between his feet " during the Persian and Grecian 
monarchies. Towards the latter part of the Gre- 
cian monarchy, the people were governed by kings 
of their own, of the race of the Maccabees, for near a 
hundred years ; and after that they were subdued by 
the Romans. But the Romans suffered them to 
be governed by their own laws, and to have a king 
of their own, Herod the Great, who reigned about 
forty years, and governed with kingly authority, 
only paying homage to the Romans. But shortly 
after Christ was born he died, as we have an ac- 
count, Matt. 2 : 19 ; and Archelaus succeeded him ; 
but was soon put down by the Roman emperor; 
and then the sceptre departed from Judah. There 
were no more temporal kings of Judah after that, nei- 
ther had that people their governors from the midst of 
themselves, but were ruled by a Roman governor 
sent among them ; and they ceased to have the pow- 
er of life and death among themselves. Hence the 
Jews say to Pilate, " It is not lawful for us to put 
any man to death." John, 18: 31. Thus the sceptre 
departed from Judah when Shiloh came. 



218 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 

Having thus considered Christ's coming into 
the world, and his taking on him our nature, to put 
himself in a capacity for the purchase of redemp- 
tion, I come now to show what is intended by the 
purchase of redemption ; to make some general ob- 
servations concerning those things by which this 
purchase was made ; and then to consider those 
things more particularly which Christ did and suf- 
fered, by which that purchase was made. 

I. The Purchase itself. 

By Christ's purchasing redemption, two things 
are intended, his satisfaction, and his merit. All 
is done by the price that Christ lays down, which 
does two things : it pays our debt, and so it satisfies : 
by its intrinsic value, and by the agreement be- 
tween the Father and the Son, it procures our title 
to happiness, and so it merits. The satisfaction of 
Christ is to free us from misery, and the merit of 
Christ is to purchase happiness for us. 

The word purchase, in this connection, is taken 
either more strictly or more largely. It is often 
used more strictly, to signify only the merit of 
Christ ; and sometimes more largely, to signify both 
his satisfaction and merit. Indeed most of the words 
used respecting redemption, have various significa- 
tions. Thus sometimes divines use merit for the 
whole price that Christ offered, both satisfactorily 
and positively meritorious. And so the word satis- 
'faction is sometimes used, not only for his propitia- 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 219 

tion, but also for his meritorious obedience. For in 
some sense, not only suffering the penalty, but posi- 
tively obeying, is needful to satisfy the luw. Tho 
reason of this various use of these terms seems to 
be, that satisfaction and merit do not differ so much 
really as relatively. They both consist in paying a 
valuable price, a price of infinite value: but that 
price, as it respects a debt to be paid, is called satis- 
faction ; and as it respects a positive good to be ob- 
tained, is called merit. The difference between 
paying a debt and making a positive purchase, is 
more relative than essential. He who lays down a 
price to pay a debt, does in some sense make a pur- 
chase ; he purchases liberty from the obligation. 
And he who lays down a price to purchase a good, 
does as it were make satisfaction : he satisfies the 
conditional demands of him to whom he pays it. 
This may suffice concerning what is meant by the 
purchase of Christ. 

II. General Observations concerning those things 
by which this Purchase was made. 

1. And here observe, that whatever in Christ 
had the nature of satisfaction, was by virtue of his 
suffering or humiliation ; but whatever had the 
nature of merit, was by virtue of his obedience or 
righteousness. The satisfaction of Christ consists 
in his answering the demands of the law on man, 
which were consequent on the breach of the law. 
These were answered by suffering the penalty of 
the law. The merit of Christ consists in what he 
did to answer the demands, which were 'prior to 
man's breach of the law, or to fulfill what the law 
demanded before man sinned, which was obedience. 



220 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

The satisfaction or propitiation of Christ consists 
either in his suffering evil, or his being subject to 
abasement. Christ did not only make satisfaction 
by proper suffering, but by whatever had the nature 
of humiliation and abasement of circumstances. 
Thus he made satisfaction by continuing under the 
power of death while he lay buried in the grave ; 
though neither his body nor soul properly endured 
any suffering after he was dead. Whatever Christ 
was subject to that was the judicial fruit of sin, had 
the nature of satisfaction for sin. But not only proper 
suffering, but all abasement and depression of his 
state and circumstances below his primitive honor 
and dignity, such as his body remaining under 
death, his body and soul remaining separate, &c. 
are the judicial fruits of sin. And all that Christ 
did in his state of humiliation, that had the nature 
of obedience, moral virtue, or goodness, had the na- 
ture of merit in it, and was part of the price with 
which he purchased happiness for the redeemed. 

2. Both Christ's satisfaction for sin, and also his 
meriting happiness by his righteousness, were car- 
ried on through the whole time of his humiliation. 
Christ's satisfaction for sin was not by his last sur- 
ferings only, though it was principally by them ; 
but all his sufferings, and all his humiliation, from 
the first moment of his incarnation to his resurrec- 
tion, were propitiatory or satisfactory. Christ's sat- 
isfaction was chiefly by his death, because his suf- 
ferings and humiliation in that were greatest. But 
all his other sufferings, and all his other humilia- 
tion, all along had the nature of satisfaction : the 
mean circumstances in which he was born: his 
Doing born of a poor virgin, in a stable, and laid in a 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 221 

manger ; his taking- human nature upon him in its 
low estate, and under those infirmities brought upon 
it by the fall ; his being born in the form of sinful 
flesh, &c. And so all his sufferings in his infancy 
and childhood, and ail that labor, contempt, reproach, 
temptation, and difficulty of any kind which he suf- 
fered through the whole course of his life, was of a 
propitiatory and satisfactory nature. And so his 
purchase of happiness by his righteousness was also 
carried on through the whole time of his humilia- 
tion till his resurrection : not only in that obedience 
he performed through the course of his life, but also 
in the obedience he performed in laying down 
his life. 

3. It was by the same things that Christ both 
satisfied God's justice, and also purchased eternal 
happiness. He did not make satisfaction by some 
things, and then work out righteousness by other 
different things ; but in the same acts by which he 
wrought out righteousness, he also made satisfac- 
tion, only taken in a different relation. One and the 
same act of Christ, considered with respect to his 
obedience, was part of his righteousness, and pur- 
chased heaven : but considered with respect to the 
self-denial, and difficulty, and humiliation with 
which he performed it, had the nature of satisfac- 
tion for sin, and procured our pardon. Thus his 
going about doing good, preaching the Gospel, and 
teaching his disciples, was a part of his righteous- 
ness, and the purchase of heaven, as it was done iji 
obedience to the Father ; and the same was a part 
of his satisfaction, as he did it with great labor, 
trouble, and weariness, and under great temptations, 
exposing himself thereby to reproach and contempt. 



222 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

So his laying down his life had the nature of satis- 
faction to God's offended justice, considered as his 
bearing punishment in our stead : but considered as 
an act of obedience to God, who had given him this 
command, that he should lay down his life for sin- 
ners, it was a part of his righteousness and pur- 
chase, and as much the principal part of his righte- 
ousness as it was the principal part of his satisfac- 
tion. And to instance in his circumcision, what he 
suffered in it, had the nature of satisfaction : the 
blood that was shed therein was propitiatory blood ; 
but as it was a conformity to the law of Moses, it was 
part of his meritorious righteousness. Though it 
was not properly the act of his human nature, he 
being an infant ; yet the human nature being the 
subject of it, and being the act of his person, it was 
accepted as an act of his obedience, as our Mediator. 
And even his being born in such a low condition, 
has the nature of satisfaction by reason of the hu- 
miliation that was in it; and of righteousness, as it 
was the act of his person in obedience to the Father, 
what the will of the human nature did acquiesce in, 
though there was no act of the will of the human 
nature prior to it. 

III. Those things in particular by which the Pur- 
chase was made — Christ's Obedience and Righteous- 
ness. 

I now proceed to consider the things that passed 
during the time of Christ's humiliation, and first, 
with respect to his obedience and righteousness 
And this is subject to a threefold distribution. I 
shall therefore consider his obedience with respect 
to the laws which he obeyed — the different stages of 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 223 

his life in which he performed it — and the virtues he 
exercised in his obedience. 

I. The first distribution of the acts of Christ's 
righteousness is with respect to the laws he obeyed. 
But here it must be observed in general, that all the 
precepts which Christ obeyed may be reduced to 
one law, which the apostle calls the law of works. 
Rom. 3 : 27. Every command that Christ obeyed 
may be reduced to that great and everlasting law of 
God contained in the covenant of works, that eternal 
rule of right which God had established between 
himself and mankind. Christ came into the world 
to fulfill and answer the covenant of works, that is, 
the covenant that is to stand for ever as a rule of 
judgment. The covenant that we had broken, was 
the covenant that must be fulfilled. 

This law of works indeed includes all the laws 
of God that ever have been given to mankind; for 
it is a general rule of the law of works, and indeed 
of the law of nature, that God is to be obeyed, 
and that he must be submitted to in whatever posi- 
tive precept he is pleased to give. It is a rule of 
the law of works, that men should obey their earthly 
parents : and it is certainly as much a rule of the 
same law, that we should obey our heavenly Father ; 
and so the law of works requires obedience to all 
the positive commands of God. It required Adam's 
obedience to that positive command, not to eat of the 
forbidden fruit; and it required obedience of the 
Jews to all the positive commands of their institu- 
tion. When God commanded Jonah to arise and go 
to Nineveh, the law of works required him to obey ; 
and so it required Christ's obedience to all the posi- 
tive commands which God gave him. 



224 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION'. 

But, more particularly, the commands of God 
which Christ obeyed, were of three kinds; they were 
such as he was subject to, either merely as man, or 
as he was a Jew, or purely as Mediator. 

1. He obeyed those commands to which he was 
subject merely as man. These were the commands 
of the moral law, which was the same with that 
given at Mount Sinai, written in two tables of stone, 
which are obligatory on mankind of all nations and 
all ages of the world. 

2. He obeyed all those laws to which he was 
subject as a Jew. Thus he was subject to the cere- 
monial law, and was conformed to it. He was con- 
formed to it in his being circumcised the eighth day; 
and he strictly obeyed it in going up to Jerusalem to 
the temple three times a year : at least after he was 
come to the age of twelve years, which seems to have 
been the age when the males began to go up to the 
temple. And so Christ constantly attended the ser- 
vice of the temple, and of the synagogues. 

To this head of his obedience may be reduced 
his submission to John's baptism. For it was a spe- 
cial command to the Jews, to go forth to John the 
Baptist, and be baptized of him ; and therefore, when 
Christ came to be baptized of John, and John object- 
ed that he had more need to come to him to be bap- 
tized of him, he gives this reason for it, that it was 
needful that he should do it, that he might " fulfill 
all righteousness." Matt. 3: 13-15. 

3. Christ was subject to the mediatorial law ; 
or that which related purely to his mediatorial of- 
fice. Such were the commands which the Father 
gave him to teach such doctrines, to preach the Gos- 
pel, to work such miracles, to call such disciples, to 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 225 

appoint such ordinances, and finally to lay down his 
life : for he did all these things in obedience to the 
commands he had received of the Father, as he 
often tells us. John, 10 : 18; 14 : 31. These com- 
mands he was not subject to merely as man ; for 
they did not belong to other men : nor yet was he 
subject to them as a Jew ; for they were no part of 
the Mosaic law: but they were commands he had 
received of the Father, that purely respected his me- 
diatorial office. 

Christ's righteousness, by which he merited 
heaven for himself, and all who believe in him, 
consists principally in his obedience to this media- 
torial law; for in fulfilling this law consisted his 
chief work and business in the world. The history 
of the evangelists is chiefly taken up in giving an 
account of his obedience to this law. This part of 
his obedience was attended with the greatest diffi- 
culty ; and therefore his obedience in it was most 
meritorious. What Christ had to do in the world 
as Mediator, Was infinitely more difficult than what 
he had to do merely as a man or as a Jew. To his 
obedience to this mediatorial law belongs his going 
through his last sufferings, beginning with his agony 
in the garden, and ending with his resurrection. 

As the obedience of the first Adam, wherein his 
righteousness would have consisted, if he had stood, 
would have mainly consisted in his obedience to 
that special law to which he was subject as moral 
head and surety of mankind, even the command 
of abstaining from the tree of knowledge of good 
and evil ; so the obedience of the second Adam, 
wherein his righteousness consists, lies mainly 
in his obedience to that special law to which he 

Rp(l'm;ition. 15 



226 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION, 

was subject as Mediator and surety for man. 
Before I proceed to the next distribution of 
Christ's righteousness, I would observe three things 
concerning his obedience to these laws. 

1. His obedience to them was in every respect 
'perfect. It was perfect with respect to the work 
commanded, and the principle from which he 
obeyed. It was perfect with respect to the ends he 
acted for; he never had any by-ends, but aimed 
perfectly at such as the law of God required. It was 
perfect with respect to the manner of performance ; 
every circumstance of each act was perfectly con- 
formed to the command. It was perfect with respect 
to the degree of the performance : he acted wholly 
up to the rule. It was perfect with respect to the con- 
stancy of obedience, without any interruption ; and 
with respect to perseverance. He held out in perfect 
obedience to the very end, in all the changes he pas- 
sed through, and all the trials that were before him. 

The meritoriousness of Christ's obedience de- 
pends on the perfection of it. If it had failed in any 
instance, it could not have been meritorious ; for 
imperfect obedience is not accepted as any obe- 
dience at all in the sight of the law of works, to 
which Christ was subject. That is not accepted as 
obedience to a law which does not fully answer it. 

2. Christ's obedience was performed through the 
greatest trials and temptations. His obedience was 
attended with the greatest difficulties, and most ex- 
treme abasement; which was another thing that 
rendered it more meritorious and thank-worthy. To 
obey another when his commands are easy, is not 
so worthy, as to obey when it cannot be done with- 
out great difficulty. 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 227 

3. He performed this obedience with infinite 
respect to God, and the honor of his law. The obe- 
dience he performed was with infinitely greater love 
to God, and regard to his authority, than that of 
angels. The angels perform their obedience with 
perfect love, with a sinless perfection ; but Christ 
performed his with infinite love. Though the hu- 
man nature of Christ was not capable of love ab- 
solutely infinite, yet Christ's obedience in that na- 
ture, is the obedience of his person as God-man ; 
and therefore there was infinite love manifest in that 
obedience. And this, together with the infinite dig- 
nity of the person who obeyed, rendered his obe- 
dience infinitely meritorious. 

IE. The second distribution of the acts of Christ's 
obedience, regards the different parts of his life, 
wherein they were performed. And in this respect 
they may be divided into those which were per " 
formed in his private life, and those which were 
performed in his public ministry. 

1. Those acts he performed during his private 
life. He was perfectly obedient in his childhood. 
He infinitely differed from other children, who, as 
soon as they begin to act, begin to sin and rebel. 
He was subject to his earthly parents, though he 
was Lord of all. I^uke, 2:51. And was found 
about his Father's business even when a child. 
Luke, 2 : 42. He then began to fulfill the mediato- 
rial law, which the Father had given him. He 
continued his private life for about thirty years, 
dwelling at Nazareth, in the house of his reputed 
father Joseph, where he served God in a private 
capacity, and in following a mechanical trade, the 
business of a carpenter. 



228 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

2. Those acts which he performed during- his pub- 
lic ministry, which began when he was about thirty- 
years of age, and continued for the last three years 
and a half of his life. Most of the evangelical histo- 
ry is taken up in giving an account of what passed 
during that time : indeed all the history of Matthew, 
except the first two chapters ; the whole of Mark and 
John, and all of Luke, except the two first chapters ; 
excepting also what we find in the evangelist concern- 
ing the ministry of John the Baptist. Christ's first 
appearing in his public ministry, is what is often 
called his coming in Scripture. Thus John speaks 
of Christ's coming as future, though he had been 
born long before. 

Concerning the public ministry of Christ, I would 
observe the following things : 

1. The forerunner of Christ's coming in his pub- 
lic ministry was John the Baptist. He came preach- 
ing repentance for the remission of sins, to make 
way for Christ's coming, agreeably to the prophe- 
cies of him. Isa. 40 : 3-5, and Matt. 3 : 5, 6. It is 
supposed that John the Baptist began his ministry 
about three years and a half before Christ ; so that 
John's ministry and Christ's put together, made 
seven years, which was the last of Daniel's weeks. 
Dan. 9 : 27. " He will confirm the covenant with 
many for one week." Christ came in the midst of 
this week of years, as Daniel foretold : " And in the 
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and 
the oblation to cease." 

John the Baptist's ministry was designed to awa- 
ken and convince men of sin, to prepare them for 
the coming of Christ, and to comfort them. A very 
remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God attended 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 229 

John's ministry : and the effect of it was, that " Jeru- 
salem and all Judea, and all the region round about 
Jordan, went out to him, and were baptized of him 
in Jordan, confessing their sins." John was the 
greatest of all the prophets who came before Christ. 
Luke, 7 : 23. ' Among those that are born of wo- 
men, there is not a greater prophet than John the 
Baptist ;" that is, he had the most honorable office. 
He was as the morning star, which is the harbinger 
of the approaching day, and forerunner of the rising 
sun. The other prophets were stars that gave light 
in the night; but those stars went out on the ap- 
proach of the gospel-day. Now the coming of 
Christ being very nigh, the morning star comes be- 
fore him, the brightest of all the stars, as John the 
Baptist was, in the sense mentioned, the greatest of 
all the prophets. And when Christ came in his 
public ministry, the light of that morning star de- 
creased too ; as we see, when the sun rises, it di- 
minishes the light of the morning star. So John 
the Baptist says of himself, John, 3 : 30, " He must 
increase, but I must decrease." And soon after 
Christ began his public ministry, John the Baptist 
was put to death; as the morning star is visible a 
little while after the sun is risen, but soon disappears. 
2. Christ's entrance on his public ministry was 
by his baptism, followed with the temptation in the 
wilderness. His baptism was as it were the solemn 
inauguration by which he entered on his ministry; 
and was attended with his being anointed with the 
Holy Ghost in a solemn and visible manner, the 
Holy Ghost descending upon him in a visible shape, 
like a dove, attended with a voice from heaven, say* 
ing, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 



230 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION'. 

pleased." Matt. 3 : 16, 17. After this he was led 
by the devil into the wilderness. Satan made a vie 
lent attack upon him at his first entrance on his 
work ; and he had a remarkable trial of his obe- 
dience ; but he got the victory. He who had such 
success with the first Adam, had none with the 
second. 

3. The work in which Christ was employed dur- 
ing his ministry. And here are three things chiefly 
to be noticed, viz. his preaching, his working of 
miracles, and his calling and appointing disciples 
and ministers of his kingdom. 

(1.) His preaching the Gospel. Great part ol 
the work of his public ministry consisted in this ; 
and much of that obedience by which he purchased 
salvation for us, was in his speaking those things 
which the Father commanded him. He more clear- 
ly and abundantly revealed the mind and will of 
God than ever it had been. He came from the bo- 
som of the Father, perfectly knew his mind, and 
was in the best capacity to reveal it.* As the sun, 
as soon as it is risen, begins to shine, so Christ, as 
soon as he came into his public ministry, began to 
enlighten the world with his doctrine. As the law 
was given at Mount Sinai, so Christ delivered his 
evangelical doctrine (full of blessings and not 
curses) to a multitude on a mountain. Matt. ch. 5-7. 

When he preached, he did not teach as the 
scribes, but as one having authority ; so that his 
hearers were astonished at his doctrine. He did 
not reveal the mind and will of God in the style of 
the prophets, as, " Thus saith the Lord ;" but in 
such a style as this, "^ say unto you," " Verily 
verily, I say unto you." He delivered his doctrines 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 231 

not only as the doctrines of God the Father, but as 
his own. He gave forth commands, not merely (as 
the prophets were wont to do) as God's commands, 
but as his own. " This is my commandment" 
John, 15:12. " Ye are my friends, if ye do what- 
soever / command you." Ver. 14. 

(2.) Another thing- that Christ was employed ia 
during the course of his ministry, was working mi- 
racles. Concerning which we may observe several 
things : 

Their multitude. Besides particular instances, we 
often have an account of multitudes coming at once 
with diseases, and his healing them. 

They were works of mercy. In them was dis- 
played not only his infinite power and greatness, but 
his infinite mercy and goodness. He went about 
doing good, healing the sick, restoring sight to the 
blind, hearing to the deaf, and the proper use of their 
limbs to the lame and halt; feeding the hungry, 
cleansing the leprous, and raising the dead. 

They were almost all of them such as had been 
spoken of as the peculiar works of God, in the Old 
Testament. Such w-ere stilling the sea, Psalm 107 : 
29, ** He maketh the storm a calm, so that the 
waves thereof are still;" walking on the sea in a 
storm, Job, 9 : 8, " Which alone — treadeth upon 
the waves of the sea ;" and casting out devils, Psalm 
74 : 14, " Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in 
pieces." So as to feeding a multitude in a wilder- 
ness, Deut. 8 : 16, " Who fed thee in the wilder- 
ness with manna;" telling man's thoughts, Amos, 
4 : 13, " Lo, he that declareth unto man what is his 
thought — the Lord, the God of hosts is his name;" 
and raisinsr the dead. Psalm 68 : 20, " Unio God 



232 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the Lord belong the issues from death." So as to 
opening the eyes of the blind, Psalrn 146: 8, "The 
Lord openeth the eyes of the blind;" healing the 
sick, Psalm 103 : 3, "Who healeth all thy dis- 
eases;" and lifting up those who are bowed toge- 
ther, Psalm 146 : 8, " The Lord raiseth them that 
are bowed down." 

They were in general such works as were images 
of the great work which he came to work on man 1 ^ 
heart; representing that inward, spiritual cleansing, 
healing, renovation, and resurrection, of which all 
his redeemed are the subjects. 

He wrought them by his own power, and not as 
the other prophets did. They were wont to work all 
their miracles in the name of the Lord; but Christ 
wrought in his own name. Moses was forbidden to 
enter into Canaan, because he seemed by his speech 
to assume to himself the honor of working only one 
miracle. Nor did Christ work miracles as the apos- 
tles did; but by his own authority and will: Thus, 
saith he, " I will; be thou clean." Matt. 8 : 3. And 
in the same strain he put the question, " Believe ye 
that Jam able to do this?" Matt. 9 : 28. 

(3.) Another thing that Christ did in the course 
of his ministry, was to call his disciples. He called 
many disciples, whom he employed as ministers. 
He sent seventy at one time into his work : but 
there were twelve whom he set apart as apostles, 
who were the grand ministers of his kingdom, and 
as it were the twelve foundations of his church. 
Rev. 21 : 14. These were the main instruments of 
setting up his kingdom in the world, and therefore 
shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel. 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 233 

4. I would observe how he finished his ministry. 
And this was, in giving his dying counsels to his 
disciples, and all that should be his disciples, which 
we have recorded particularly in the 14th, 15th, and 
16th chapters of John. In instituting a solemn me- 
mortal of his death, the Lord's supper, wherein we 
have a representation of his body broken, and of his 
bloodshed. In offering up himself as God's high- 
priest, a sacrifice to God, in his last sufferings. This 
act he did as God's minister, as God's anointed priest; 
and it was the greatest act of his public ministry, the 
greatest act of his obedience, by which he purchased 
heaven for believers. The priests of old used to do 
many things as God's ministers : but the highest exe- 
cution of their office was their actually offering sacri- 
fice on the altar. So the greatest thing that Christ did 
in the execution of his priestly office, and the greatest 
thing he ever did, and that ever was done, was the 
offering up of himself a sacrifice to God. Herein he 
was the antitype of all that had been done by all the 
priests, in all their sacrifices and offerings, from the 
beginning of the world. 

III. The third distribution of the acts by which 
Christ purchased redemption, regards the virtues he 
exercised and manifested in them, which were every 
possible virtue and grace. Indeed, there are some 
particular virtues that sinful man may have, which 
were not in Christ ; not from any defect of virtue, but 
because his virtue was perfect, and without defect. 
Such is the virtue of repentance, brokenness of heart 
for sin, mortification, and denying of lust. Christ 
had no sin of his own to repent of, nor any lust to 
deny. But all virtues which do not presuppose sin, 
were in him in a higher degree than in any mere 



234 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

creature. Every virtue in him was perfect. Virtue 
itself was greater in him than in any other; and it 
was under greater advantages to shine in him than 
in any other. Strict virtue shines most when most 
tried ; but never had any virtue such trials as 
Christ's had. 

The virtues that Christ exercised in his work 
may be divided into three classes : those which more 
immediately respect God, those which respected 
himself, and those which respect men. 

1. Those virtues which more immediately respect 
God. There appeared in him a holy fear and re- 
verence towards God the Father. Christ had a 
greater trial of his virtue in this respect than any 
other had, from the honorableness of his person. 
This was the temptation of the angels that fell to 
cast off their worship of God and reverence of his 
majesty, that they were beings of such exalted dig- 
nity themselves. But Christ was infinitely more 
worthy and honorable than they; for he was the 
eternal Son of God, and his person was equal to the 
person of the Father; and yet, as he had taken on 
him the office of Mediator, and the nature of man, he 
was full of reverence towards God. He manifested 
a wonderful love towards God. The angels give 
great testimony of their love towards God, in their 
constancy and agility in doing his will ; and many 
saints have given great testimonies of their love to 
God, by having endured great labors and sufferings ; 
but none ever gave such testimonies of love to God as 
Christ has given. None ever performed such a la- 
bor of love as he, and suffered so much from lovo 
to God. He manifested the most wonderful submis- 
sion to the will of God. Never was any one's sub 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 235 

mission so tried as his. And he manifested the most 
wonderful spirit of obedience. 

2. In this work he most wonderfully manifested 
those virtues ivhich more immediately respected 
himself; as humility, patience, and contempt of the 
world. Christ, though he was the most excellent 
and honorable, yet was the most humble of all crea- 
tures. No angel or man ever equalled him in hu- 
mility, though he was the highest in dignity and 
honor. Christ would have been under the greatest 
temptations to pride, if it had been possible for any 
thing to have tempted him. The temptation of the 
angels that fell was the dignity of their nature and 
the honorableness of their circumstances ; but Christ 
was infinitely more honorable than they. The hu- 
man nature of Christ was so honored as to be in the 
same person with the eternal Son of God, who was 
equal with God ; and yet that human nature was 
not at all lifted up with pride. Nor was the man 
Christ Jesus at all lifted up with pride, by all those 
wonderful works he wrought, of healing the sick, 
curing the blind, lame, and maimed, and raising the 
dead. And though he knew that God had ap- 
pointed him to be the King- over heaven and earth, 
angels and men, as he says, Matt. 1 1 : 27, " All 
things are delivered unto me of my Father ;" 
though he knew he was such an infinitely honora- 
ble person, and " thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God;" and though he knew he was the heir of 
the Father's kingdom: yet," such was his humility, 
that he did not disdain to be abased and depressed 
into lower and viler circumstances and sufferings 
than ever any other elect creature was ; so that he 
became least of all, and lowest of all. The pioper 



236 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

trial and evidence of humility is, stooping or com 
plying, when called to it, with those acts or circum- 
stances which are very low, and contain great abase- 
ment. But none ever stooped so low as Christ, if 
we consider either the infinite height from which, 
or the great depth to which he stooped. Such was 
his humility, that though he knew himself to be in- 
finitely worthy of being honored ten thousand times 
as much as the highest prince on earth, or angel in 
heaven, yet he did not think it too much when called 
to it, to be bound as a malefactor, to become the 
laughingstock of the vilest of men, to be crowned 
with thorns, to have a mock robe put upon him, and 
io be crucified like a slave and malefactor, as one of 
the meanest and worst of vagabonds and miscre- 
ants, and an accursed enemy of God and men, who 
was not fit to live. And this not for himself, but 
for some of the meanest and vilest of creatures, even 
some of those accursed wretches that crucified him. 
Was not this a wonderful manifestation of humility, 
when he cheerfully and most freely submitted to 
this abasement 1 And how did his patience shine 
forth under all the terrible sufferings which he en- 
dured ; when he was dumb and opened not his 
mouth, but went as a lamb to the slaughter ! And 
what contempt of the glory of this world was there, 
when he rather chose this meanness and suffering, 
than to be invested with the external glories of an 
earthly prince, as the multitude often solicited him! 

3. Christ, in a wonderful manner, exercised those 
virtues which more immediately respect other men. 
And these may be summed up under two heads : 
meekness and love. 

Christ's meekness was his humble calmness of 






PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 237 

spirit under the provocations he met. The great- 
ness of provocation lies in two things: the degree 
of opposition by which the provocation is given ; 
and the degree of the unreasonableness of that op- 
position, or its being causeless, and without reason, 
and the great degree of obligation to the contrary. 
Now, if we consider both these things, no man ever 
met with such provocations as Christ when he was 
upon earth. How much he was hated, what abuses 
he suffered from the vilest of men ; how great his 
sufferings, and how spiteful and contemptuous they 
were in offering him those abuses! How causeless 
and unreasonable were these abuses, how unde- 
serving he was of them, yea, how much deserving 
of the contrary, of love, and honor, and good treat- 
ment at their hands. If we consider these things, 
no man ever met with a thousandth part of the pro- 
vocation that Christ met with from men ; and yet 
how meek was he under all ! how composed and 
quiet his spirit ! how far from being ruffled and in 
a tumult! When he was reviled, he reviled not 
again : and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 
so he opened not his mouth. No appearance was 
there of a revengeful spirit; on the contrary, what 
a spirit of forgiveness did he exhibit ! so that he fer- 
vently and effectually prayed for their forgiveness, 
when they were in their highest act of provocation, 
nailing him to the cross. Luke, 23 : 34. " Father, 
forgive them; for they know not what they do." 

And never did there appear such an instance of 
love to men. Christ's love to men, especially in 
going through his last sufferings, and offering up 
his life and soul under those sufferings, which was 
his greatest act of love, was far beyond all parallel. 



238 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

There have been very remarkable manifestations of 
love in some of the saints, as in the apostle Paul, 
the apostle John, and others ; but the love to men 
that Christ showed when on earth, as much ex- 
ceeded the love of all other men, as the ocean ex- 
ceeds a small stream. 

And it is to be observed, that all the virtues which 
appeared in Christ shone brightest in the close of 
his life, under the trials he then met. Eminent 
virtue always shows brightest in the fire. Pure 
gold shows its purity chiefly in the furnace. It 
was chiefly under those trials which Christ endured 
in the close of his life, that his love to God, his 
honor of God's majesty, his regard to the honor of 
his law, his spirit of obedience, his humility, con- 
tempt of the world, his patience, meekness, and spirit 
of forgiveness towards men, appeared. Indeed, every 
thing that Christ did to work out redemption for us 
appears mainly in the close of his life. Here mainly 
is his satisfaction for sin, and here chiefly is his 
merit of eternal life for sinners, and here chiefly ap- 
pears the brightness of his example, which he has 
set us for imitation. Thus we have taken a brief 
view of the things whereby the purchase of redemp- 
tion was made with respect to his righteousness that 
appeared in them. 

IV. Christ's Sufferings and Humiliation. 

Among those things in particular by which the 
purchase was made, we must reckon the sufferings 
and humiliation to which Christ was subject, 
whence arose the satisfaction he made for sin. 

I. He was subject to uncommon humiliation and 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 239 

suffering in his infancy. He was born to the end 
that he might die; and therefore, as it were, began 
to die as soon as he was born. His mother not 
only suffered in bearing him, but when her travail 
came upon her, it is said, "there was no room in the 
inn." Luke, 2 : 7. She was forced to betake herself 
to a stable, where Christ was born. Thus he suf- 
fered in his birth, as though he had been meaner and 
viler than a man. And we may conclude that his 
mother's circumstances in other respects were pro- 
portionably strait and difficult, and that she was des- 
titute of the conveniences necessary for so young an 
infant which others were wont to have. Besides, 
he was persecuted in his infancy. They began to 
seek his life as soon as he was born. Herod, the 
chief man of the land, was so engaged to kill him 
that, in order to it, he killed all the children in Beth 
lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years 
old and under. And Christ suffered banishment in 
his infancy, was driven out of his native country 
into Egypt, and without doubt suffered much by 
being carried so long a journey, when he was so 
young, into a strange country. 

II. Christ was subject to great humiliation in his 
private life at Nazareth. He there led a servile, 
obscure life, in a mean, laborious occupation: for 
he is called not only the carpenter's son, but the car- 
f enter. Mark, 6:3. " Is not this the carpenter, the 
brother of James and Joses, and Juda, and Simon ?" 
By hard labor he earned his bread, and so suffered 
that curse which God pronounced on Adam. Gen. 
3 : 19. " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread." Let us consider how great a degree of hu- 
miliation the glorious Son of God, the Creator oi 



240 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

heaven and earth, was subject to in this, that for 
about thirty years he should live a private obscure 
life among laboring men, and all this while be over- 
looked and not more regarded than other common 
laborers. Christ's humiliation, in some respects, 
was greater in private life than in the time of his 
public ministry. There were many manifestation's 
of his glory in the word he preached, and the mira- 
cles he wrought : but the first thirty years of his 
life he spent among ordinary men, as it were in 
silence. There was nothing to distinguish him but 
the spotless purity and eminent holiness of his life; 
and that was in a great measure hid in obscurity, 
so that he was little noticed till after his baptism. 

III. Christ was the subject of great humiliation 
and suffering during his public life, from his bap- 
tism till the night wherein he was betrayed. 

1. He suffered great poverty, so that he had not 
whereto lay his head. Matt. 8 : 20. John, 18: 1, 2. 
Luke, 21 : 37 ; 22 : 39. So that what was spoken 
of Christ in Cant. 5:2, "My head is filled with 
dew, and my locks with the drops of the night," 
was literally fulfilled. And through his poverty he 
doubtless was often tried with hunger, thirst, and 
cold. Matt. 4:2; 21: 18. His mother and na- 
tural relations were poor, not able to help him ; and 
he was maintained by the charity of some of his dis- 
ciples while he lived. So we read, Luke, 8 : 2, 3, 
of certain women that followed him, and ministered 
unto him of their substance. He was so poor that 
he was notable to pay the demanded tribute without 
a miracle. Matt. 17 : 27. When he ate his last 
passover, it was not at his own charge, but that of 
another. Luke, 22 : 7. And from his poverty he 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 241 

had no grave of his own to be buried in. It was 
the manner of the Jews, unless they were poor, to 
prepare themselves a sepulchre while they lived. 
But Christ had no land of his own, though he was 
Possessor of heaven and earth ; and therefore was 
buried by Joseph of Arimathea's charity, in his 
tomb, which he had prepared for himself. 

2. He suffered great hatred and reproach. He 
was " despised and rejected of men ;" one of little 
account, slighted for his low parentage, and his mean 
city Nazareth. He was reproached as a glutton and 
drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners; was 
called a deceiver of the people; sometimes a mad- 
man, and a Samaritan, and one possessed with a 
devil. John, 7 : 20 ; 8 : 48 ; 10 : 20. He was called a 
blasphemer, and accounted by many a wizard, or one 
that wrought miracles by communication with Beel- 
zebub. They excommunicated him, and agreed to 
excommunicate any man that should own him. John, 
: 22. They wished him dead, and were continually 
seeking to murder him — sometimes by force and 
sometimes by craft. They often took up stones to 
stone him, and once led him to the brow of a hill, 
intending to throw him down the precipice, to dash 
him in pieces against the rocks. 

He was thus hated and reproached by his own 
visible people. John, 1:11. "He came to his own, 
and his own received him not." And he was princi- 
pally despised and hated by those who were in chief 
repute, and were their greatest men. Indeed the ha- 
tred was general. Into whatever part of the land he 
went, he met with hatred and contempt ; in Caperna- 
um, and Jericho ; in Jerusalem, which was the holy 
city, even when be went to the temple to worship ; 

Redemption. J Q 



242 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

also in Nazareth, his own city, among his own rela- 
tions and his neighbors. 

3. He suffered the bufferings of Satan in an un- 
common manner. One time in particular he had a 
long conflict with the devil, when he was in the 
wilderness forty days with wild beasts and devils ; 
and was so exposed to the devil's power, that he was 
carried about by him from place to place, while he 
was otherwise in a very suffering state. 

IV. I come now to his last humiliation and suf- 
ferings, from the evening of the night wherein he 
was betrayed, to his resurrection. And here was 
his greatest humiliation and suffering, by which 
principally he made satisfaction to the justice of God 
for the sins of men. First, his life was sold by one 
of his own disciples for thirty pieces of silver ; which 
was the price of the life of a servant. Exod. 21 : 32. 
Then he was in dreadful agony in the garden. 
There came such a dismal gloom upon his soul, 
that he began to be sorrowful and very heavy, and 
said that his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death, and was sore amazed. So violent was the 
agony of his soul, as to force the blood through the 
pores of his skin ; so that while his soul was over- 
whelmed with amazing sorrow, his body was co- 
vered with blood. The disciples, who used to be 
as his friends and family, at this time, above all, ap- 
peared cold towards him, and unconcerned for him, 
at the same time that his Father's face was hid from 
him. Judas, to whom Christ had been so very mer- 
ciful, and who was treated as -one of his lamily or 
familiar friends, comes and betrays him in the most 
deceitful, treacherous manner. The officers and 
soldiers apprehend and bind him; his disciples for- 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 243 

Bake him and flee ; his own best friends do not stand 
by him to comfort him in this time of his distress. 
He is led away as a malefactor to appear before the 
priests and scribes, his venomous mortal enemies, 
that they might sit as his judges. Now they had 
got him into their hands, they sat up all night, to 
have the pleasure of insulting him. But because 
they aimed at nothing short of his life, they set them- 
selves to find some color to put him to death, and 
seek for witnesses against him. When none ap- 
peared, they set some to bear false witness ; and 
when their witness did not agree 'together, they ex- 
amined him, in hope to catch something out of his 
own mouth. They hoped he would say that he 
was the Son of God, and then they thought they 
should have enough. But because they see they 
are not like to obtain this, they adjure him, in the 
name of God, to say whether he was or not; and 
when he confessed that he was, then it was a time 
of rejoicing with them, which they show by spitting 
in his face, blindfolding him, striking him in the 
face with the palms of their hands, and then bidding 
him prophesy who it was that struck him ; thus 
ridiculing him for pretending to be a prophet. And 
the very servants have a hand in the sport. Mark, 
14 : 65. "The servants did strike him with the 
palms of their hands." 

During the sufferings of that night, Peter, one of 
the chief of his own disciples, instead of standing by 
to comfort, appears ashamed to own him, and denies 
and renounces him with oaths and curses. And 
after the chief priests and elders had finished the 
night in so shamefully abusing him, in the morning 
(the morning of the most wonderful day that ever 



244 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION 

was) they led him away to Pilate, to be condemned 
to death by him, because they had not the power of 
life and death in their own hands. He is brought 
before Pilate's judgment-seat, and there the priests 
and elders accuse him as a traitor. And when 
Pilate, upon examining into the matter, declared he 
found no fault in him, the Jews were but the more 
fierce and violent to have him condemned. Upon 
which Pilate, after clearing him, very unjustly 
brings him to a second trial; and then not finding 
any thing against him, acquits him again. Pilate 
treats him as a poor worthless fellow ; but is 
ashamed, on so little pretence, to condemn him as a 
traitor. 

And then he was sent to Herod to be tried by 
him, and was brought before his judgment-seat ; his 
enemies following and virulently accusing him as a 
traitor, or one that would be a king. Herod does 
not condemn him, but looks upon him as Pilate did, 
as a poor worthless creature, not w r orthy to be 
noticed, and makes a mere laugh of the Jews accu- 
sing him as dangerous to Caesar ; and therefore, in 
derision, dresses him in a mock robe, makes sport of 
him, and sends him back through the streets of 
Jerusalem to Pilate, with the mock robe on. 

Then the Jews prefer Barabbas before him, and are 
instant and violent with loud vociferations to Pilate, 
to crucify him. So Pilate, after he had cleared him 
twice, and Herod once, very unrighteously brings 
him on trial the third time, to try if he could not find 
something sufficient to crucify him. Christ was 
stripped and scourged; thus he gave his "back to 
the smiters." After that, though Pilate still declared 
that he found no fault in him, yet, so unjust was he, 



PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 245 

that, for fear of the Jews, he delivered Christ to be 
crucified. But before they execute the sentence, his 
spiteful and cruel enemies take the pleasure of 
mocking him again ; they get round him, and make 
a set business of it. They strip him, put on him a 
scarlet robe, a reed in his hand, and a crown of 
thorns on his head. Both Jews and Roman soldiers 
unite in the transaction ; they bow the knee before 
him, and in derision cry, "Hail, king of the Jews." 
They spit upon him also, take the reed out of his 
hand, and smite him on the head. After this they 
led him away to crucify him ; made him carry his 
own cross, till he sunk under it, his strength being 
spent ; and then they laid it on one Simon, a Cyre- 
nian. 

At length, being come to Mount Calvary, they 
execute the sentence which Pilate had so unright- 
eously pronounced. They nail him to the cross by 
his hands and feet, then raise it erect, and fix one 
end in the ground, he being still suspended on it by 
the nails which pierced his hands and feet. Now 
Christ's sufferings are come to the extremity : now 
the cup, which he so earnestly prayed might pass 
from him, is come ; he must, he does drink it. In 
those days crucifixion was the most tormenting 
death by which any were executed. There was no 
death wherein the person expired so much from 
mere torment; and hence the Roman word, which 
signifies torment, is taken from this kind of death. 
Besides what our Lord endured in this excruciating 
death of his body, he endured vastly more in his 
soul. Now was that "travail of his soul," of 
which we read in the prophet ; now it pleased God 
to bruise him, and to put him to grief; now he 



246 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

poured out his soul unto death, as ia Isa. 53. And 
if the mere forethought of this cup made him sweat 
blood, how much more dreadful and excruciating 
must the drinking of it have been ! Many martyrs 
have endured much in their bodies, while their souls 
have been joyful, and have sung for joy, whereby 
they have been supported under the sufferings of 
their outward man, and have triumphed over them. 
But this was not the case with Christ; he had no 
such support ; but his sufferings were chiefly those 
of the mind, though those of his body were extreme- 
ly great. In his crucifixion Christ did not sweat 
blood, as he had done before ; not because his agony 
was now not so great, but his blood had vent another 
way. But though he did not sweat blood, yet such 
was the suffering of his soul, that probably it rent 
his vitals ; when his side was pierced, there came 
forth blood and water. And so here was a kind of 
literal fulfillment of Psalm 22 : 14. "I am poured 
out like water : — my heart is like wax, it is melted 
in the midst of my bowels." 

Now, under all these sufferings, the Jews still 
mock him ; and wagging their heads, say, " Thou 
that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three 
days, save thyself: if thou be the Son of God, come 
down from the cross." Even the chief priests, 
scribes, and elders, joined in the cry, saying, " He 
saved others, himself he cannot save." And probably 
the devil at the same time tormented him to the 
utmost of his power; and hence it is said, Luke, 
22 : 53, " This is your hour, and the power of 
darkness." 

Under these sufferings, Christ, having cried out 
once and again with a loud voice, at last said, It is 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 247 

finished, John, 19 : 30, and "bowed the head 
and gave up the ghost." And thus was finished 
the greatest and most wonderful thing that ever was 
done. Now the angels beheld the most wonderful 
sight that ever they saw. Now was accomplished 
the main thing that had been pointed at by the 
various institutions of the ceremonial law, by all the 
typical dispensations, and by all the sacrifices from 
the beginning of the world. 

Christ being thus brought under the power of 
death, continued under it till the morning of the next 
day but one. Then was finished that great work, 
the purchase of our redemption, for which such 
great preparation had been made from the beginning 
of the world. Then was finished all that was 
required in order to satisfy the threatenings of the 
law, and all that was necessary in order to satisfy 
divine justice ; then the utmost that vindictive justice 
demanded, even the whole debt, was paid. Then 
was finished the whole of the purchase of eternal 
life. And now there is no need of any thing more 
to be done towards a purchase of salvation for 
sinners ; nor has ever any thing been done since 
nor will any thing more be done for ever and ever. 



CHAPTER III. * 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE SECOND PERIOD. 

In surveying the history of redemption, we have 
now shown how this work was carried on through 



248 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the two former of the three main periods into which 
this whole space of time was divided, viz. from the 
fall to the incarnation of Christ, and from thence to 
the end of the time of Christ's humiliation. In the 
first of these periods we have particularly explained 
how God prepared the way for Christ's appearing 
andpurchasing redemption; and in the second period 
how that purchase was made and finished. I would 
now make some improvement of what has been 
said on both these subjects considered conjointly. 

I. An Use of Reproof. 

A reproof of unbelief, of self-righteousness, and 
of a careless neglect of the salvation of Christ. 

I. How greatly do these things reprove those who 
do not believe in, but reject the Lord Jesus Christ! 
all who do not heartily receive him. Persons may 
receive him in profession outwardly, and may wish 
that they had some of those benefits that Christ has 
purchased, and yet their hearts not receive him. 
They may be hearty in nothing that they do to- 
wards Christ; they may have no high esteem of, 
nor any sincere respect to Christ; they may never 
have opened the door of their heart to him, but have 
kept him shut out all their days ever since his sal- 
vation has been offered to them. Though their 
hearts have been opened wide to others, with free 
admittance at all times, yet Christ has always been 
shut out, and they have been deaf to all his calls. 
They never could find an inclination of heart to re* 
ceive him, nor would they ever trust in him. 

Let me now call upon you to consider how great 
is your sin in thus rejecting Jesus Christ. You 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 2-19 

slight the glorious Person for whose coming God 
made such great preparation in such a series of 
wonderful providences from the beginning of the 
world, and whom, after all these things were made 
ready, God sent into the world, bringing to pass a 
thing before unknown, the union of the divine na- 
ture with the human in one person. You have been 
guilty of slighting that great Savior, who, after such 
preparation, actually accomplished the purchase of 
redemption ; and who, after he had spent three or 
four and thirty years in poverty, labor, and con- 
tempt, in purchasing redemption, at last finished the 
purchase by closing his life under such extreme suf- 
ferings ; and so by his death, and continuing for a 
time under the power of death, completed the whole. 
This is the Savior you reject and despise. You make 
light of all the glory of his person, and of all the 
love of God the Father in sending him into the 
world, and all his wonderful love appearing in the 
whole of this work. That precious stone which God 
has laid in Zion for a foundation in such a manner, 
and by such wonderful works, is by you set at 
naught. » 

Sinners sometimes are ready to wonder why un- 
belief should be looked upon as a great sin ; but if 
you consider what has been said, how can you won- 
der ? If this Savior is so great, and this work so 
great, and such great things have been done in or- 
der to it, truly there is no cause of wonder that the 
rejection of this Savior is so provoking to God. It 
brings greater guilt than the sins of the worst of 
heathen who never heard of those things, nor have 
had this Savior offered to them. 

II. What has been said, affords matter of reproof 



250 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION, 

to those who, instead of believing Christ, trust in 
themselves for salvation. Is it not a common thing 
with men to take it upon themselves to do that great 
work which Christ came into the world to do ? to 
trust in their prayers, the pains they take in religion, 
the reformation of their lives, and their self-denial, 
to recommend them to God, to make some atonement 
for their past sins ? Let such consider three things : 
1. How great a thing that is which you take 
upon you. It is to do the work of the great Savior 
of the world. You trust in your own doings to ap- 
pease God for your sins, and to incline the heart of 
God to you. Though you are poor, worthless, vile, 
and polluted, yet you arrogantly take upon you that 
very work for which the only-begotten Son of God 
became man ; and in order to which God employed 
four thousand years in all the great dispensations of 
his providence, aiming chiefly to make way for 
Christ's coming to do this work. This is the work 
that you foolishly think yourself sufficient for : as 
though your prayers and other performances were 
excellent enough for this purpose. Consider how 
vain is the thought which you entertain of yourself. 
How must such arrogance appear in the sight of 
Christ, whom it cost so much. It was not to be ob- 
tained even by him, so great and glorious a person, 
at a cheaper rate than his wading through a sea of 
blood, and passing through the midst of the furnace 
of God's wrath. And how vain must your arrogance 
appear in the sight of God, when he sees you ima- 
gining yourself sufficient, and your worthless, pol- 
luted performances excellent enough for the accom- 
plishing of that work of his own Son, to prepare the 
way for which he was employed in ordering all 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 251 

the great affairs of the world for so many ages ! 

2. If there be ground for you to trust, as you do, 
in your own righteousness, then all that Christ did 
to purchase salvation, and all that God did from the 
fall of man to prepare the way for it, is in vain. 
Your self-righteousness charges God with the great- 
est folly, as though he has done all things in vain, 
to bring about an accomplishment of what you alone, 
with your poor polluted prayers, and the little pains 
you take in religion, are sufficient to accomplish for 
yourself. For if you can appease God's anger, and 
commend yourself to him by these means, then you 
have no need of Christ. Gal. 2:21. " If righteous- 
ness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." 

If you can do this by your prayers and good 
works, Christ might have spared his pains; he might 
have spared his blood; he might have kept within 
the bosom of his Father, without coming down to 
this evil world, to be despised, reproached, and per- 
secuted to death. God needed not to have been, for 
four thousand years, causing so many changes in the 
state of the world, to bring about what you can ac 
complish in a few days, only with the trouble of a 
few religious performances. Consider what greater 
folly could you have devised to charge upon God 
than this, that all those things were done so need- 
lessly; when, instead of all this, he might only have 
called you forth, and committed the business to you 
which you think you can do so easily. Alas ! how 
blind are natural men ! and especially how vain are 
the thoughts they have of themselves ! How igno- 
rant of their own littleness and pollution ! What 
great things do they assume to themselves ! 

3. You that trust to your own righteousness, ar- 



252 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

rogate to yourselves the honor of the greatest thing 
that ever God himself did. You seem not only suf- 
ficient to perform divine works, but such is your 
pride and vanity, that you are not content without 
taking upon you to do the very greatest work that 
ever God himself wrought. You see, by what has 
been said, how God has subordinated all his other 
works to this of redemption. God's works of pro- 
vidence are greater than those of creation ; and all 
his works of providence, from the beginning of the 
generations of men, were in order to make way for 
the purchasing of redemption. To take on yourself 
to work out redemption, is a greater thing than if 
you had taken it upon you to create a world. What 
a figure you would make, if you should seriously 
attempt to create a world ; or, decking yourself with 
majesty, should pretend to speak the word of power, 
and call a universe out of nothing, intending to go 
on in order, and say, " Let there be light; let there 
be a firmament," &c. But then consider, that in at- 
tempting to work out redemption for yourself, you 
attempt a greater thing than this, and are serious in 
it, and will not be dissuaded from it. You strive in 
it, are full of the thought that you are sufficient for 
it, and big with hopes of accomplishing it. 

You take upon you to do the very greatest and 
most difficult part of this work, to purchase redemp- 
tion. Christ could accomplish other parts of this 
work without cost ; but this part cost him his life, as 
well as innumerable pains and labors. Yet this is 
that part which self-righteous persons go about to 
accomplish for themselves. If all the angels in hea- 
ven had been sufficient for this work, would God 
have set himself to effect such things as he did in or- 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD 253 

der to it ? and would he ever have sent his own Son, 
the Creator of angels, into the world, to have done 
and suffered such things 1 

What self-righteous persons take to themselves, is 
the same work that Christ was engaged in when he 
was in his agony and bloody sweatt and when he 
died on the cross, which was the greatest thing that 
ever the eyes of angels beheld. Great as it is, they 
imagine they can do the same that Christ accom- 
plished by it. Their self-righteousness does in effect 
charge Christ's offering up himself in these suffer- 
ings as the greatest instance of folly that ever men 
or angels saw, instead of being the most glorious dis- 
play of the divine wisdom and grace. Yea, self- 
righteousness makes all that Christ did through the 
whole course of his life, all that he said and suffer- 
ed, and his incarnation itself, and not only so, but all 
that God had been doing in the great dispensations 
of his providence from the beginning of the world to 
that time, as nothing but a scene of the most wild, 
extreme, and transcendent folly. 

Is it any wonder, then, that a self-righteous spirit 
is so represented in Scripture, and spoken of, as that 
which is most fatal to the souls of men ? And is 
it any wonder that Christ is represented in Scrip- 
ture as being so provoked with the Pharisees and 
others, who trusted in themselves that they were 
righteous, and were proud of their goodness, and 
thought that their own performances were a valua- 
ble price of God's favor and love % 

Let persons hence be warned against a self- 
righteous spirit. You that are seeking salvation, 
and taking pains in religion, take heed that you do 
not trust in what you do. Harbor no such thoughts, 



254 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

that God now, seeing how much you are reformed, 
how you are sometimes affected, will be pacified 
towards you, and will not be so angry for your 
former sins ; that you shall gain on him by such 
things, and draw his heart to show you mercy ; or 
at least that God ought to accept of what you do, 
so as to be inclined by it in some measure to for- 
give you, and have mercy on you. If you enter- 
tain the thought that God is obliged to do it, and 
does not act justly if he refuse to regard your prayers 
and pains; if you quarrel with God, and complain 
of him for not doing it, this shows what your opin- 
ion is of your own righteousness — that it is a valu- 
able price of salvation, and ought to be accepted of 
God as such. Such complaining of God, and quar- 
reling with him, for not taking more notice of your 
righteousness, plainly shows that you are guilty of 
the arrogance of thinking yourself sufficient to offer 
the price of your own salvation. 

III. What has been said on this subject, affords 
matter of reproof to those who carelessly neglect 
the salvation of Christ. These live a senseless kind 
of life, neglect the business of religion and their 
own souls, not taking any course to get an interest 
in Christ, or what he has done and suffered, or any 
part in that glorious salvation he has purchased. 
They have their minds taken up about the gains of 
the world, or the vanities and pleasures of youth, 
make light of what they hear of Christ's salvation, 
and at present do not so much as seek after it. Let 
me here apply myself to you in some expostulatory 
interrogations. 

I. Shall so many prophets, and kings, and righte- 
ous men, have had their minds so much taken up 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 255 

with the prospect that the purchase of salvation was 
to be wrought out in ages long after their death ; 
and will you neglect it when actually accomplished ? 
You have heard what great account the church in 
all ages made of the future redemption of Christ ; 
how joyfully they expected it, how they spoke of it, 
how they studied and searched into these things, 
how they sung joyful songs, and had their hearts 
greatly engaged about it, though they did not expect 
that it would be accomplished till many ages after 
their death. 1 Pet. 1:10-12. How much did Isaiah 
and Daniel, and other prophets, speak concerning 
this redemption ! and how much were their hearts 
engaged, and their attention and study fixed upon it ! 
How was David's mind absorbed in this subject! 
he declared that it was all his salvation, and all his 
desire. 2 Sam. 23 : 5. How did he employ his 
voice and harp in celebrating it, and the glorious 
display of divine grace therein exhibited ! — and all 
this, though they beheld it not as yet accomplished, 
but saw that it was to be brought to pass so long a 
time after their day. And before this, how did 
Abraham and the other patriarchs rejoice in the 
prospect of Christ's day, and the redemption which 
he was to purchase ! And even the saints before 
the flood were affected and elated in the expectation 
of this glorious event, though it was then so long 
future, and was so faintly and obscurely revealed to 
them. 

Now these things are declared to you as actually 
fulfilled. The church now has seen accomplished 
all those great things of which they so joyfully 
prophesied : and you are abundantly shown how 
those things were accomplished. Matt. 13 : 17. 



256 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

'" Verily I say unto you, that many prophets and 
righteous men have desired to see those things 
which ye see, and have not seen ; and to hear those 
things which ye hear, and have not heard them." 
And yet, when these things are thus abundantly set 
before you as already accomplished, how light do 
you make of them! How unconcerned are you 
about them, following other things, and not so much 
as feeling any interest in them ! Indeed your sin 
is extremely aggravated in the sight of God. God 
has put you under great advantages for your eter- 
nal salvation, far greater than those saints of old 
enjoyed. He has put you under a more glorious 
dispensation ; has given you a more clear revelation 
of Christ and his salvation ; and yet you neglect all 
these advantages, and go on in a careless course of 
life, as though nothing had been done, no such pro- 
posals and offers had been made you. 

2. Have the angels been so engaged about this 
salvation by Christ ever since the fall of man, though 
they are not immediately concerned in it, and will 
you, who need it, and have it offered to you, be so 
careless about it % You have heard how the angels 
at first were subjected to Christ as Mediator, and 
how they have all along been ministering spirits to 
him in this work. In all the great dispensations of 
which you have heard from the beginning of the 
world, they have been active and as a flame of fire, 
being most diligently employed as ministering spirits 
to minister to Christ in this great work of man's 
redemption. And when Christ came, how engaged 
were their minds ! They came to Zacharias, to 
inform him of the coming of Christ's forerunner. 
They came to the Virgin Mary, to inform her of 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 257 

the approaching - birth of Christ. They came to 
Joseph, to warn him of the danger which threat- 
ened the now-born Savior, and to point out to him 
the means of safety. And how were their minds 
engaged at the time of the birth of Christ! The 
whole multiiude of the heavenly hosts sang praises, 
saying, " Glor}' to God in the highest, on earth 
peace, good will towards men." And afterwards, 
from time to time, they ministered to Christ when 
on earth ; at the time of his temptation, of his agony 
in the garden, at his resurrection, and at his ascen- 
sion. All these things show that they were greatly 
engaged in this work; and the Scripture informs 
us that they pry into these things. 1 Pet. 1 : 12. 
" Which things the angels desire to look into." 
And how are they represented in the Revelation as 
being employed in heaven in singing praises to Him 
that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb! Now, 
shall these take so much notice of this redemption, 
and of the Purchaser, who need it not for them- 
selves, and have no immediate concern or interest 
in it, or offer of it; and will you to whom it is 
offered, and who are in such extreme necessity, 
neglect and take no notice of it? 

3. Did Christ labor so hard, and suffer so much 
to procure this salvation, and is it not worth the 
while for you to be at some labor in seeking it? 
Did our salvation lie with such weight on the mind 
of Christ, as to induce him to become man, to suffer 
even death itself, in order to procure it? And is it 
not worth the while for you, who need this salvation, 
and must perish eternally without it, to take earnest 
pains to obtain an interest in it after it is procured, 
and all things are ready? 

Redemption J 7 



258 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

4. Shall the great God be so concerned about thif, 
salvation, as often to overturn the world to make 
way for it ; and when all is done, is it not worth 
your seeking ? What great, what wonderful things 
has he done: removing and setting up kings, rais- 
ing up a great number of prophets, separating a dis- 
tinct people from the rest of the world, overturning 
nations and kingdoms, and often the state of the 
world ; and so has continued bringing about one 
change and revolution after another for forty centu- 
ries in succession, to make way for the procuring of 
this salvation ! And when at the close of these ages 
the great Savior comes, passing through a long series 
of reproach and suffering, and then enduring all the 
waves and billows of God's wrath for men's sins, in- 
somuch that they overwhelmed his soul: after all 
these things done to procure salvation for sinners, is 
it not worthy of your being so much concerned about 
it, that it should not be thrown by, and made nothing 
of, in comparison of worldly gain, gay clothing, or 
youthful diversions, and other such trifling things ? 

O! that you who live negligent of this salvation, 
would consider what you do ! What has been said 
on this subject, may show you what reason there is 
in that exclamation of the apostle, Heb. 2:3," How 
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" 
and Acts, 13 : 41, "Behold, ye despisers, and won- 
der, and perish ; for I work a work in your days, a 
work which you shall in no wise believe, though a 
man declare it unto you." God looks on you as great 
enemies of the cross of Christ, as adversaries and 
despisers of all the glory of this great work. And 
if God has made such account of the glory of salva- 
tion as to destroy many nations to prepare the way 



IMPROVEMENT OF SECOND PERIOD. 259 

for the glory of his Son in this work ; how little ac- 
count will he make of the lives and souls of ten 
thousand of such opposers and despisers as you, 
who continue impenitent, when your welfare stands 
in the way of that glory 1 Surely you shall be dash- 
ed to pieces as a potter's vessel, and trodden down as 
the mire of the streets. God may, through wonder- 
ful patience, bear with hardened careless sinners for 
a while ; but he will not long bear with such despi- 
sers of his dear Son and his great salvation, the 
glory of which he has had so much at heart, before 
he will utterly consume them without remedy or 
mercy. 

II. An Use of Encouragement. 

I will conclude with a second use of encourage- 
ment to burdened souls to put their trust in Christ 
for salvation. To all such as are not careless and 
negligent, but make seeking an interest in Christ 
their main business, being sensible in some measure 
of their necessity, and afraid of the wrath to come": 
to such, what has been said on this subject holds forth 
great encouragement to venture their souls on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And as motives proper to ex- 
cite you so to do, let me lead you to consider two 
things in particular. 

1. The completeness of the purchase which has 
been made. You have seen that this work of pur- 
chasing salvation was wholly finished during the 
time of Christ's humiliation. When Christ rose 
from the dead, and was exalted from that abasement 
to which he submitted for our salvation, tho pur- 
chase of eternal life was completed, so that there 
was no need of any thing more to be done in order 



26U HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

fb it. But now the servants were sent forth with 
the message, Matt. 22 : 4, " Behold, I have pre- 
pared my dinner : my oxen and my fatlings are 
killed, and all things are ready : come unto the 
marriage." Therefore, are your sins many and 
great? Here is enough done by Christ to procure 
their pardon. There is no need of any righteous- 
ness of yours to obtain your pardon and justification ; 
no, you may come freely, without money and with- 
out price. Since therefore there is such a free and 
gracious invitation given you, come, come naked as 
you are ; come as a poor condemned criminal ; 
come and cast yourself down at Christ's feet, as one 
justly condemned, and utterly helpless. Here is 
a complete salvation wrought out by Christ, and 
through him offered to you. Come, therefore, ac- 
cept of it, and be saved. 

2. For Christ to reject one who thus comes to 
him, would be to frustrate all those great things 
which God brought to pass from the fall of man to 
the incarnation of Christ. It would also frustrate 
all that Christ did and suffered while on earth; 
yea, it would frustrate the incarnation itself. All 
the great things done were for this end, that those 
might be saved who should come to Christ. There- 
fore you may be sure Christ will not be backward 
in saving those who come to him, and trust in him ; 
for he has no desire to frustrate himself in his own 
work. Neither will God the Father refuse you ; 
for he has no desire to frustrate himself in all that 
he did for so many hundreds and thousands of years, 
to prepare the way for the salvation of sinners by 
Christ. Come, therefore, hearken to the sweet and 
earnest calls of Christ to your soul. Do as he in- 



INTRODUCTION TO PERIOD THIRD. 26J 

rites and as he commands you. Matt. 11 : 28-30 
" Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 
upon you, and learn of me ; and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my 
burden is light." 



PERIOD III. 

FROM CHRIST'S RESURRECTION TO THE END 
OF THE WORLD. 

We have already shown how the work of re- 
demption was carried on through the two first of 
the three periods into which we divided the 
whole space of time from the fall to the end of the 
world. We are now come to the third and last pe- 
riod, beginning with Christ's resurrection ; and 
would show, that the space of time from the end of 
Christ's humiliation to the end of the world is all 
taken up in bringing about the great effect or suc- 
cess of Christ's purchase. 

introduction to period third. 

Not but that there were great effects and glorious 
success of Christ's purchase of redemption before, 
even from the beginning of the generations of men. 
But till that success was only preparatory, by way 
of anticipation, as some few fruits are gathered be- 



262 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

fore the harvest. There was no more success be- 
fore Christ came, than God saw needful to prepare 
the way for his coming. The proper time of the 
success or effect of Christ's redemption is after the 
purchase has been made, as the proper time for the 
world to enjoy the light of the sun is the day-time, 
after the sun is risen, though we may have some 
small matter of it reflected from the moon and pla- 
nets before. And even the success of Christ's re- 
demption while he himself was on earth, was very 
small in comparison of what it was afterwards. 

But, Christ having finished that greatest and most 
difficult of all works, now is come the time for ob- 
taining the end, the glorious effect of it. Having 
gone through the whole course of his sufferings 
and humiliation, he is to suffer no more. But now 
is the time for him to obtain the joy that was set be- 
fore him. Having made " his soul an offering for 
sin," now is the time for him to "see his seed,' 3 to 
have " a portion with the great," and to " divide the 
spoil with the strong." 

One design of Christ in what he did in his hu- 
miliation, was to lay a foundation for the overthrow 
of Satan's kingdom ; and now is come the time to 
effect it, as Christ, a little before his crucifixion, said, 
John, 12 : 31, " Now is the judgment of this world ; 
now shall the prince of this world be cast out." 
Another design was to gather together in one all 
things in Christ. Now is come the time for this 
also. John, 12 : 32. " And I, if I be lifted up, will 
draw all men unto me ;" which is agreeable to Ja- 
cob's prophecy of Christ, that " when Shiloh should 
come, to him should the gathering of the people 
be." Gen. 49 : 10. Another design is the salvation 



SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATIONS. 263 

of his people. Now when his sufferings are finished, 
and his humiliation perfected, the time is come for 
that also. Heb. 5 : 8, 9. " Though he were a Son, 
yet learned he obedience by the things which he 
suffered : and being made perfect, he became the 
author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey 
him." Another design was, to accomplish by these 
things great glory to the persons of the Trinity. 
John, 17 : I. "Father, the hour is come; glorify 
thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." An- 
other design was the glory of the saints. John 17 : 
2. " As thou hast given him power over all flesh, 
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou 
hast given him." And all the dispensations of God's 
providence henceforward, even to the final consum- 
mation of all things, are to give Christ his reward, 
and fulfill his end in what he did and suffered upon 
earth, and the joy that was set before him. 

I. Scriptural Representations of this Period. 

Before I enter on the consideration of any par- 
ticular things accomplished in this period, I would 
briefly observe how the times of this period are re- 
presented in Scripture. 

I. The times of this period, for the most part, are 
in the Old Testament called the latter days. We 
often, in the prophets of the Old Testament, read of 
things that should come to pass in the latter days, 
and sometimes in the last days, evidently referring 
to gospel times. They are called the latter days, 
and the last days, because this is the last period of 
the series of God's providences on earth, the last 
period of the great work of redemption; which is, as 



264 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

it were, the sum of God's works of providence ; the 
last dispensation of the covenant of grace on earth. 

II. The whole time of this period is sometimes in 
Scripture called the end of the world. 1 Cor. 10: 11. 
" Now all these things happened unto them for 
ensamples : and they are written for our admonition, 
upon whom the ends of the world are come." And 
the apostle, Heb. 9 : 26, in this expression the end 
of the world, means the whole of the gospel-day, 
from the birth of Christ to the day of judgment : 
" But now once in the end of the world hath he 
appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of him- 
self." This space of time may well be called the 
end of the world ; for this whole time is taken up in 
bringing things to their great end and issue. Before, 
things were in a kind of preparatory state ; but now 
they are in a finishing state. An end is now brought 
to the former carnal state of things, which by de- 
grees vanishes, and a spiritual state begins to be 
established more and more. Particularly, an end is 
brought to the former state of the church, which may 
be called its worldly state, in which it was subject to 
carnal ordinances and the rudiments of the world. 
Then an end is brought to the Jewish common- 
wealth, in the destruction of their city and country. 
After that, an end is brought to the olcl Heathen 
empire in Constantine's time. The next step is the 
finishing of Satan's visible kingdom in the world, 
upon the fall of Antichrist, and the calling of the 
Jews. And last will come the destruction of the 
outward frame of the world itself, at the conclusion 
of the day of judgment. Heaven and earth began 
to shake, in order to a dissolution, according to the 
prophecy of Haggai, before Christ came, that so only 



SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATIONS. 265 

"those things which cannot be shaken" may re- 
main, Heb. 1 2 : 27; that is, that those things which 
are to come to an end may terminate, and that only 
those things may remain which are to remain eter- 
nally. 

In the first place, the carnal ordinances of the 
Jewish worship came to an end, to make ivay for 
the establishment of that spiritual worship which is 
to endure to all eternity. John, 4: 21. "Jesus saith 
unto the woman, Believe me, the hour cometh, 
when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at 
Jerusalem, worship the Father." Verse 23. " But 
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true wor- 
shipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him." 
This is one instance of the temporary world coming 
to an end, and the eternal world beginning. And 
then the outward temple and the city of Jerusalem 
came to an end, to give place to the setting up of the 
spiritual temple and city, which are to last for ever. 
Another instance of removing those things which 
are ready to vanish away, that those things which 
cannot be shaken may remain, is the bringing to an 
end the old Heathen empire, to make way for the 
empire of Christ, which shall last to all eternity. 
After that, upon the fall of Antichrist, an end will be 
put to Satan's visible kingdom on earth, to establish 
Christ's kingdom, which is an eternal kingdom. 
Dan. 7 : 27. "And the kingdom and dominion, 
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of 
the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey 
Uim;" which is another instance of the ending of 



266 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the temporary world, and the beginning of the 
eternal one. And then, lastly, the very frame of 
this corruptible world shall come to an end, to make 
way for the church to dwell in another dwelling 
place, which shall last to eternity. 

Because the world is thus coming to an end by 
various steps and degrees, the apostle perhaps uses 
this expression, that not the end but the ends of the 
world are come on us ; as though the world has 
several endings one after another. The gospel 
dispensation is a finishing state; it is all spent in 
finishing things which before had been preparing, 
or abolishing things which before had stood. It is 
all spent, as it were, in summing things up, and 
bringing them to their issues, and their proper ful- 
fillment. Now all the old types are fulfilled, and the 
predictions of all the prophets from the beginning of 
the world shall be accomplished in this period. 

III. That state of things which is attained in the 
events of this period is called a new heaven and a 
new earth. Isa. 65 : 17, 18. "For behold, I cre- 
ate new heavens, and a new earth: and the former 
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But 
be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I 
create: for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, 
and her people a joy. And chap. 66 : 22. " For 
as the new heavens and the new earth which I will 
make, shall remain before me; so shall your seed 
and your name remain." See also chap 51 : 16. As 
the former state of things, or the old world, by one 
step after another, is through this period coming to 
an end ; so the new state of things, or the new world, 
which is a spiritual world, is beginning and setting 
up. In consequence of each of these finishings of 



SCRITTTJRAL REPRESENTATIONS. 207 

ihc old state of things, there is the beginning of a 
new and eternal state. So that which accompanied 
the destruction of the literal Jerusalem, was an 
establishing of the spiritual. So with respect to the 
destruction of the old Heathen empire, and all the 
other endings of the old state of things ; till at length 
the very outward frame of the world itself shall 
come to an end ; and the church shall dwell in 
heaven, which will be a new habitation. Then 
shall the utmost be accomplished that is meant by 
the new heavens and the new earth. See Rev. 
21 : 1. 

The end of God's creating the world, was to pre- 
pare a kingdom for his Son, (for he is appointed heir 
of the world,) which should remain to all eternity. 
So far as the kingdom of Christ is set up in the world, 
so far is the world brought to its end, and the eter- 
nal state of things set up — so far are all the great 
changes and revolutions in the world brought to 
their everlasting issue, and all things come to their 
ultimate period — so far are the waters of the long 
channel of divine Providence, which has so many 
branches, and so many windings, emptied into their 
proper ocean, which they have been seeking from 
the beginning of their course, and so are come to 
their rest. So far as Christ's kingdom is established 
in the world, so far are things woundup and settled 
in their everlasting state, and a period put to the 
course of things in this changeable world ; so far 
are the first heavens and the first earth come to an 
end, and the new heavens and the new earth, the 
everlasting heavens and earth, established in their 
room. — This leads me to observe, 

IV. That the state of things which is attained by 



268 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the events of this period, is what is so often called 
the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. 
We very often read in the New Testament of the 
kingdom of heaven. John the Baptist preached 
that the kingdom of heaven was at hand ; and so 
did Christ and his disciples after him ; referring to 
something that the Jews in those days expected and 
called by that name. They seem to have taken 
their expectation and the name chiefly from the 
prophecy of Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 
Dan. 2 : 44. " And in the days of these kings 
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." See 
also chap. 7 : 13, 14. 

Now this kingdom of heaven is that evangelical 
state of things in the church, and in the world, 
wherein consists the success of Christ's redemption 
in this period. There had been often great king- 
doms set up before ; as the Babylonish, the Per- 
sian, the Grecian, and the Roman monarchies. But 
Christ came to set up the last, which is not an 
earthly kingdom, but a heavenly. John, 18 : 36. 
" My kingdom is not of this world." This is the 
kingdom of which Christ speaks, Luke, 22 : 29, 
" My Father hath appointed to me a kingdom." 
This kingdom began soon after Christ's resurrec- 
tion, and is accomplished in various steps from that 
time to the end of the world. Sometimes by the 
kingdom of heaven, is meant not only that spiritual 
state of the church which began soon after Christ's 
resurrection ; but also that more perfect state which 
shall obtain after the downfall of Antichrist; and 
sometimes that glorious and blessed state to which 
the church shall be received at the day of judg- 
ment. So 1 Cor. 15 : 50. " This I say, that flesh 



SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATIONS. 209 

and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." — 
Under this head I would observe several things 
particularly, for the clearer understanding of what 
the Scriptures say concerning this period. 

1. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is 
chiefly accomplished by four successive great events, 
each of which is in Scripture called Christ's coming 
in his kingdom. The first is Christ's appearing in 
those wonderful dispensations of providence in the 
apostle's days, in setting up his kingdom and de- 
stroying its enemies, which ended in the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. This is called Christ's coming 
in his kingdom. Matt. 16 : 28. " Verily I say 
unto you, there be some standing here, which shall 
not taste of death till they see the Son of man com- 
ing in his kingdom." And Matt. 24. The second 
was accomplished in Constantine's time, in the de- 
struction of the Heathen Roman empire. This is 
represented as Christ's coming, and is compared to 
his coming to judgment. Rev. 6: 13-17. The 
third is to be accomplished at the destruction of 
Antichrist, which is represented as Christ's coming 
in his kingdom. Dan. 7 : &c. The fourth is his 
coming to the last judgment, which is the event 
principally signified in Scripture by Christ's coming 
in his kingdom. 

2. Each of the three former of these is a lively 
image, or type, of the fourth and last — Christ's com- 
ing to the final judgment ; as the principal dispen- 
sations of providence before, were types of his first 
coming. As Christ's last coming to judgment is 
accompanied with the resurrection of the dead, so 
is each of the three foregoing with a spiritual resur- 
rection. That coming of Christ which ended in the 



270 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

destruction of Jerusalem, was preceded by a glo- 
rious spiritual resurrection of souls in the calling 
of the Gentiles through the preaching of the Gos- 
pel. Christ's coming in Constantine's time, was 
accompanied with a glorious spiritual resurrec- 
tion of the greater part of the known world, in a 
restoration of it to a visible church state, from a 
state of Heathenism. Christ's coming at the de- 
struction of Antichrist, will be attended with a 
spiritual resurrection of the church after it shall 
have been long as it were dead, in the times of An- 
tichrist. This is called the first resurrection. Rev. 
20 : 5. ; 

Again, as Christ in the last judgment will glo- 
riously manifest himself, coming in the glory of his 
Father, so in each of the three foregoing events 
Christ gloriously manifests himself in sending judg- 
ments upon his enemies and in showing favor to 
his church. As the last coming of Christ will be 
attended with a literal gathering together of the 
elect from the four winds of heaven, so were each 
of the preceding attended with a spiritual ingather- 
ing. As this gathering together of the elect will be 
effected by God's angels with a great sound of a 
trumpet; Matt. 24 : 31 ; so were each of the pre- 
ceding spiritual ingatherings effected by the trum- 
pet of the Gospel, sounded by the ministers of Christ. 
As there shall precede the last appearance of Christ, 
a time of great degeneracy and wickedness, so this 
has been, or will be, the case with each of the other 
appearances. Before each of them is a time of great 
opposition to the church : before the first, by the 
Jews ; before the second, in Constantine's time, by 
the Heathen ; before the third, by Antichrist ; and 



SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATIONS. 271 

before the last, by Gog and Magog, as described in 
the Revelation. 

By each of these comings of Christ, God works 
a glorious deliverance for his church. The firsts 
which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, was 
attended with bringing the church into the glorious 
state of the Gospel. The second, in Constantine's 
time, was accompanied with an advancement of the 
church into a state of liberty from persecution, the 
countenance of civil authority, and her triumph over 
Heathen persecutors. The third, which shall be 
at the downfall of Antichrist, will be accompanied 
with an advancement of the church into that state of 
the glorious prevalence of truth, liberty, peace, and 
joy, of which we so often read in the prophetical 
parts of Scripture. The last will be attended with 
the advancement of the church to consummate glory 
in heaven. 

Each of these comings of Christ is accompanied 
with a terrible destruction of the wicked, and the 
enemies of the church: the^rs^, with the destruction 
of the persecuting Jews, which was amazingly terri- 
ble ; the second, with dreadful judgments on the Hea- 
then persecutors of the church ; the third, with the 
awful destruction of Antichrist, the most cruel and 
bitter enemy that ever the church had ; the fourth, 
with divine wrath and vengeance on all the ungodly. 
Further, there is in each of these comings of Christ 
an ending of the old, and a beginning of new heavens 
and a new earth; or an end of a temporal, and a 
beginning of an eternal state. 

3. I would observe, that each of those four great 
dispensations which are represented as Christ's 
coming in his kingdom, are but so many steps and 



272 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

degrees of the accomplishment of that one event 
predicted. Dan. 7 : 13, 14. "And I saw in tb.G 
night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before 
him. And there was given him dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
languages should serve him : his dominion is an 
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom that which 
shall not be destroyed." This is what the Jews 
expected, and called "the coming of the kingdom of 
heaven ;" and what John the Baptist and Christ had 
respect to, when they said, " The kingdom of heaven 
is at hand." This great event is accomplished by 
several steps. 

4. When Christ came with the preaching of the 
apostles to set up his kingdom in the world, which 
dispensation ended with the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, then it was accomplished in a glorious degree 
when the Heathen empire was destroyed in Con 
stantine's time, it was fulfilled in a further degr.ee 
when Antichrist shall be destroyed, it will be accom- 
plished in a yet higher degree: but when the end 
of the world is come, then will it be accomplished in 
its most perfect degree of all. And because these 
four great events are but images one of another, and 
the three former but types of the last, and since they 
are all only several steps of the accomplishment of 
the same thing ; hence we find them all from time to 
time prophesied of under one, as in the prophecies 
of Daniel, and in the 24th chapter of Matthew, 
where some things seem more applicable to one of 
them, and others to another. 

Thus it appears, that as there are several steps of 



SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATIONS. 273 

the accomplishment of the kingdom of Christ, so in 
each one of them the event is accomplished in a 
further degree than in the foregoing. That in the 
time of Constantine was a greater and further accom- 
plishment of the kingdom of Christ, than that which 
ended in the destruction of Jerusalem ; that which 
shall be at the fall of Antichrist, will be a further 
accomplishment of the same thing, than that which 
took place in the time of Constantine ; and so on with 
regard to each : so that the kingdom of Christ is 
gradually prevailing and growing by these several 
great steps of its fulfillment, from the time of Christ's 
resurrection to the end of the" world. 

5. The great providences of Godbeiween these four 
events, are to make way for the kingdom and glory 
of Christ in the great event following. Those dis- 
pensations of providence towards the church and the 
world, before the destruction of the Heathen empire 
in the time of Constantine, seem all to have been to 
make way for the glory of Christ, and the happiness 
of the church in that event. And so the great 
providences after that, till the destruction of Anti- 
christ, and the beginning of the glorious times of the 
church which follow, seem all to be to prepare the 
way for the greater glory of Christ and his church 
in that event ; and the following ones to the end of the 
world, seem to be for the greater manifestation of 
Christ's glory at the consummation of all thing*. 
Thus I thought it needful to observe these things in 
general concerning this last period, before I take 
notice of particular providences by which the work 
of redemption is carried on through this period, in 
their order. 

Before I proceed, I will briefly answer an In- 

Redemption 18 



Si74 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

quiry, viz. Why the setting up of Christ's king- 
dom after his humiliation, should be so gradual, 
since God could easily have finished it at once? — 
Though it would be presumption in us to pretend 
to declare all the ends of God in this, yet doubtless 
much of his wisdom may be seen in it ; and par- 
ticularly in these two things. 

1. In this way the glory of God's wisdom is more 
visible to the observation of creatures. If it had been 
done at once, or in a very short time, there would 
not have been such opportunities to perceive and 
observe the particular steps of divine wisdom, as 
when the work is gradually accomplished, and one 
effect of his wisdom is held forth to observation after 
another. It is wisely determined of God, to accom- 
plish his great design by a wonderful and long se- 
ries of events, that the glory of his wisdom may be 
displayed in the whole series, and seen in particu- 
lar successive manifestations. If all that glory 
which appears in these events had been manifested 
at once, it would have been too much for us; it 
would have overpowered our sight and capacities. 

2. Satan is more gloriously triumphed over. God 
could easily, by an act of almighty power, at once 
have crushed Satan. But by giving him time to 
use his utmost subtiltyto hinder the success of what 
Christ had done and suffered, he is not defeated 
merely by surprise, but has large opportunity to ply 
his utmost power and subtilty again and again, to 
strengthen his own interest all that he can by the 
work of many ages. Thus God destroys and con- 
founds him, and sets up Christ's kingdom time after 
time, in spite of all his subtle machinations and great 
works, and by every step advances it still higher and 



CHRIST CAPACITATED. 275 

higher, till at length it is fully set up, and Satan per- 
fectly and eternally vanquished. — I now proceed to 
notice the particular events, whereby, from the end 
of Christ's humiliation to the end of the world, the 
success of Christ's purchase has been or shall be 
lccomplished. 

II. How Christ was capacitated for accomplishing 
the end of his Purchase. 

As the incarnation of Christ was necessary m 
order to his being in a capacity for the purchase of 
redemption ; so his resurrection and ascension were 
requisite in order to the success of^fs purchase. 

I. His resurrection. It was necessary in order 
to Christ's obtaining the end and effect of his pur- 
chase of redemption, that he should rise from the 
dead. For God the Father had committed the whole 
work of redemption to his Son, that he should not 
only purchase it as priest, but actually bring it about 
as king; and that he should do this as God-man. 
God the Father would have nothing to do with 
fallen man in a way of mercy but by a mediator. 
But in order that Christ might accomplish the suc- 
cess of his own purchase as God-man, it was neces- 
sary that he should rise from the dead. Therefore 
Christ, after he had finished this purchase by death, 
rises from the dead, to fulfill the end of his purchase. 
This matter God the Father had committed unto 
him, that he might, as Lord of all, manage all to 
his own purposes. Rom. 14: 9. " For to this end 
Christ both died and rose, and revived ; that he 
might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." 

Indeed Christ's resurrection (and so his ascen- 



276 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

sion) was part of the success of what Christ did and 
suffered in his humiliation. For though Christ did 
not properly purchase redemption for himself, yet 
he purchased eternal life and glory for himself, as 
a reward of what he did and suffered. Phil. 2 : 8, 
9. "He humbled himself, and became obedient 
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore 
God also hath highly exalted him." And it may 
be looked upon as part of the success of Christ's 
purchase, since he did not rise as a private person, 
but as the head of his church ; so that they did, as 
it were, all rise with him. Christ was justified in 
his resurrection : God acquitted and discharged him 
hereby, as having done and suffered enough for the 
sins of all his people. Rom. 4 : 25. " Who was 
delivered for our offences, and raised again for our 
justification." And God put him in possession of 
eternal life, as the head of the church, as a sure 
earnest that they should follow. For when Christ 
rose from the dead, that was the beginning of eter- 
nal life in him. His life before his death was a 
mortal life, a temporal life ; but after his resurrec- 
tion it was an eternal life. Rom. G : 9. " Know- 
ing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth 
no more; death hath no more dominion over him." 
Rev. 1 : 18. " I am he that liveth, and was dead; 
and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen." Biit 
he was put in possession of this eternal life, as the 
head of the body ; so that the whole church, as it 
were, rises in him. And now he, who lately suf- 
fered so much, is to suffer no more for ever, but has 
entered into eternal glory. 

The resurrection of Christ is the most joyful of 
all events ; because hereby Christ rested from the 



CHRIST CAPACITATED. 277 

great and difficult work of purchasing redemption, 
and received God's testimony that it was finished. 
The death of Christ was the greatest and most won- 
derful of events, but has in it a great deal that is 
sorrowful. But by the resurrection of Christ, that 
sorrow is turned into joy. The Head of the church, 
in that great event, enters on the possession of eter- 
nal life ; and the whole church is, as it were, " be- 
gotten again to a lively hope." 1 Pet. 1 : 3. Weep- 
ing had continued for a night, but now joy cometh 
in the morning. This is the day of his reigning 
as the head of the church, and all the church reigns 
with him. This day was worthy to be commemo- 
rated with the greatest joy. Psal. 1 18 : 24. " This 
is the day which the Lord hath made, we will re- 
joice and be glad in it." And therefore this, above 
all other days, is appointed to the end of the world, 
to be weekly sanctified as a day of holy rest and 
joy, that the church therein may rest and rejoice 
with her head. And as the third chapter of Gene- 
sis is the most sorrowful chapter in the Bible, so 
those chapters in the evangelists that give an ac- 
count of the resurrection of Christ, may be looked 
upon as the most joyful. These give an account 
of the finishing of the purchase of redemption, and 
the beginning of the glory of the Head of the church, 
as the greatest seal and earnest of the eternal glory 
of all the members. 

It is further to be observed, that the day of the 
Gospel most properly begins with the resurrection of 
Christ. Till Christ rose from the dead, the Old 
Testament dispensation remained : but now it ceases, 
all being fulfilled that was shadowed forth in the 
typical ordinances of that dispensation. Here most 



278 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION 

properly is the end of the Old Testament night ; and 
Christ's rising from the grave with joy and glory, 
was like the sun rising after a long night of dark- 
ness, appearing in joyful light to enlighten the 
world. Now that joyful dispensation begins, that 
glorious dispensation of which the prophets testified 
so much. Now the gospel-sun is risen in glory, 
and "with healing in his wings," that those who 
fear God's name may "go forth, and grow up as 
calves of the stall." 

II. Christ's ascension into heaven. In this I 
would include his sitting at the right hand of God. 
For Christ's ascension was nothing else but ascend- 
ing to God's .right hand in glory. A deliverer of a 
people as their king, in order that he may be under 
the best capacity for it, is first installed in his throne. 
We are told that Christ was exalted for this end, 
that he might accomplish the success of his redemp- 
tion. Acts, 5:31. " Him hath God exalted with his 
right hand, for to give repentance unto Israel, and 
the remission of sins." 

Christ's ascension into heaven was, as it were, 
his solemn coronation, when the Father set him 
upon the throne, and invested him with the glory of 
the kingdom he had purchased for himself, that he 
might thereby obtain the success of his redemption 
in conquering all his enemies. Psalm 110: 1. "Sit 
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies 
thy footstool." Christ entered into heaven in order 
to obtain the success of his purchase, as the high 
priest of old, after he had offered sacrifice, entered 
into the holy of holies with the blood of the sacrifice, 
in order to obtain the success of the sacrifice which 
he had offered. Heb. 9 : 12. He entered into 



MEANS OF SUCCESS. 279 

heaven, there to make intercession for his people, to 
plead the sacrifice which he had made in order to 
the success of it. Heb. 7 : 25. And as he ascended 
into heaven, God the Father in a visible manner set 
him on the throne as King of the universe. He 
then put the angels all under him, and subjected to 
him heaven and earth, that he might govern them 
for the good of the people for whom he died. Eph. 
I : 20-22. And as Christ rose from the dead, so 
he ascended into heaven, as the head of the body, 
and forerunner of all the church ; and they, as it 
were, ascend with him ; so that we are both raised 
up together, and made to sit together in heavenly 
places in Christ. Eph. 2 : 6. 

The day of Christ's ascension was doubtless a 
joyful, glorious day in heaven. And as heaven 
received Christ, God-man, as its king, doubtless it 
received a great accession of glory and happiness. 
So that the times in both parts of the church, that 
part which is in heaven, and that which is on earth, 
are become more glorious since Christ's humiliation 
than before. This may suffice in respect to the 
things whereby Christ was put into the best capacity 
for obtaining the success of redemption. 

III. Established Means of Success. 

I would now consider those dispensations of Pro- 
vidence by which the means of this success were 
established after Christ's resurrection. 

I. The abolishing of the Jewish dispensation. 
This indeed was gradually done, but it began from 
the time of Christ's resurrection, in which the abo- 
lition of it is founded. For the Jewish dispensation 



280 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

was not fitted for the practice of the world in gene- 
ral, or for a church of God dwelling in all parts of 
the earth. It would have been impossible for men 
living in all parts of the world to go to Jerusalem 
three times a year, as was prescribed in that consti- 
tution. When therefore God had a design of enlarg- 
ing his church, as he did after Christ's resurrection, 
it was necessary that this dispensation should be 
abolished. If it had been continued, it would have 
been a great hinderance to the enlargement of the 
church. Besides, their ceremonial law, by reason 
of its burdensomeness and the great peculiarity of 
some of its rites, was a wall of partition between the 
Jews and Gentiles, and would have kept the Gentiles 
from complying with the true religion. This wall 
therefore was broken down to make way for the 
more extensive success of the Gospel. Eph. 2 ; 
14, 15. 

II. The next thing in order of time seems to be 
the appointment of the Christian Sabbath. For 
though this was gradually established in the chris- 
tian church, yet those things by which the revelation 
of God's mind and will was made, began on the day 
of Christ's resurrection, by his appearing then to his 
disciples. John, 20 : 19. And this appointment was 
afterwards confirmed, by his appearing from time to 
time on that day rather than any other, John, 20 : 26; 
by his sending down the Holy Spirit so remarkably 
on that day, Acts, 2:1; and afterwards by directing 
that the public worship of Christians should be on 
that day, which may be concluded from Acts, 20 : 
7. 1 Cor. 16 : 1, 2. and Rev. 1 : 10. And so the 
day of the week on which Christ rose from the 
dead, that joyful day, is appointed to be the day of 



MEANS OF SUCCESS. 281 

the church's holy rejoicing- to the end of the world, 
and the day of their stated public worship. And 
this is a very great and principal means of the suc- 
cess which the Gospel has had in the world. 

III. The next thing was Christ's appointment of 
the gospel ministry, by commissioning and sending 
forth his apostles to teach and baptize all nations. 
Matt. 28 : 19, 20. " Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching 
mem to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world." There were three things 
done by this one commission of Christ to his apos 
ties: 

1. The appointment of the office of the gospel- 
ministry. For this commission which Christ gives 
to his apostles, in the most essential parts of it, 
belongs to all ministers ; and the apostles, by virtue 
of it, were ministers or elders of the church. 

2. Something peculiar in this commission: to go 
forth from one nation to another, preaching the Gos- 
pel in all the world. The apostles had something 
above what belonged to their ordinary character 
as ministers ; they had an extraordinary power 
of teaching and ruling, which extended to all the 
churches; and not only all the churches that then 
were, but all that should be to the end of the world 
by their ministry. And so the apostles were, in 
subordination to Christ, made foundations of the 
Christian church. See Eph. 2 : 20, and Rev. 
21 : 14. 

3. Here is an appointment of Christian baptism. 
This ordinance indeed had a be^innins: before. Both 



282 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

John the Baptist and Christ baptized. But now 
especially by this institution is it established as an 
ordinance to be upheld in the Christian church to 
the end of the world. The ordinance of the Lord's 
supper had been established just before Christ's 
crucifixion. 

IV. The next thing is the enduing of the apos- 
tles, and others, with extraordinary and miraculous 
gifts of the Holy Ghost ; such as the gift of tongues, 
the gift of healing, of prophecy, &c. The Spirit of 
God was poured out abundantly in this respect; so 
that not only ministers, but a very great part of the 
Christians through the world were endued with 
them, both old and young ; not only officers and 
more honorable persons, but servants and hand- 
maids, agreeably to Joel's prophecy, ch. 2 : 28, 29 ; 
of which the apostle Peter takes notice, that it is 
accomplished in this dispensation. Acts, 2 : 11. 

How wonderful a dispensation was this ! Under 
the Old Testament but few had such honor put 
upon them by God. Moses indeed wished that all 
the Lord's people were prophets, Numb. 11 : 29 ; 
whereas Joshua thought it much that Eldad and 
Medad prophesied. But now we find the wish of 
Moses fulfilled. And this continued in a very con- 
siderable degree to the end of the apostolic age, or 
the first hundred years after the birth of Christ, 
which is therefore called the age of miracles. 

This was a great means of the success of the 
Gospel, and of establishing the Christian church, not 
only in that age, but in all ages to the end of the 
world. For Christianity being established through 
so great a part of the known world by miracles, it 
was after that more easily continued by tradition ; 



MEANS OF SUCCESS. 283 

and by means of these extraordinary gifts of the 
Holy Ghost, the apostles and others were enabled 
to write the New Testament, to be an infallible and 
perpetual rule of faith and practice to the church. 
And these miracles recorded in those writings are a 
standing proof of the truth of Christianity to all ages. 

V. The next thing is the revealing of {hose glo- 
rious doctrines fully and plainly, which had under 
the Old Testament been obscurely revealed. The 
doctrine of Christ's satisfaction and righteousness, 
his ascension and glory, and the way of salvation, 
were, under the Old Testament, in a great measure 
hid under the vail of types and shadows, and more 
obscure revelations, as Moses put a vail on his face, 
to hide the shining of it ; but now the vail of the 
temple is rent from the top to the bottom. Christ, 
the antitype of Moses, shines; his face is without a 
vail. 2 Cor. 3 : 12, 13, and 18. Now these glori- 
ous mysteries, which were in a great measure kept 
secret from the foundation of the world, are clearly 
revealed. Eph. 3 : 3-5. Rom. 16:25. "Accord- 
ing to the revelation of the mystery which was kept 
secret since the world began, but is now made mani- 
fest." Col. 1 : 26. " Even the mystery which hath 
been hid from ages and generations, but now is 
made manifest to his saints." 

Thus the Sun of righteousness, after it is risen, 
begins to shine forth clearly, and not by a dim re- 
flection as before. Christ, before his death, revealed 
many things more clearly than ever they had been 
in the Old Testament; but the great mysteries of 
Christ's redemption, reconciliation by his death, and 
justification by his righteousness, were not so plainly 
revealed before Christ's resurrection Christ gave 



284 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

this reason for it, that he would not put new wine into 
old bottles ; and it was gradually done even after 
his resurrection. In all probability, Christ much 
more clearly instructed them personally after his 
resurrection, and before his ascension ; as we read 
that he continued with them for forty days, speaking 
of the things pertaining to the kingdom, Acts, 1:3; 
and that " he opened their understandings, that they 
might understand the Scriptures." Luke, 24 : 45. 
But the clear revelation of these things was princi- 
pally after the outpouring of the Spirit on the day 
of Pentecost, agreeable to Christ's promise. John, 
16 : 12, 13. "I have yet many things to say unto 
you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when 
the Spirit of truth is come, he shall guide you into 
all truth." This clear revelation of the mysteries of 
the Gospel, as they are delivered, we have chiefly 
through the hands of the apostle Paul, by whose 
writings a child may come to know more of the doc- 
trines of the Gospel, in many respects, than the 
greatest prophets knew under the darkness of the 
Old Testament. 

Thus we see how the light of the Gospel, which 
began to dawn immediately after the fall, and gra- 
dually increased through all the ages of the Old 
Testament, is now come to the light of perfect day, 
as the brightness of the sun shining forth in his un- 
varied glory. 

VI. The next thing that I would observe, is the 
appointment of the office of deacons in the christian 
church, of which we have an account in the 6th 
chapter of the Acts, to take care for the outward 
supply of the members of Christ's church, and the 
exercise of that great christian virtue, charity. 



MEANS OF SUCCESS. 285 

VII. The calling, qualifying and sending of the 
apostle Paul. This was begun in his conversion as 
he was going to Damascus, and was one of the 
greatest means of the success of Christ's redemp- 
tion that followed ; for this success was more by 
the labors, preaching and writings of this apostle, 
than all the other apostles together : he " labored 
more abundantly than they all." As he was the 
apostle of the Gentiles, so it was mainly by his 
ministry that the Gentiles were called and the Gos- 
pel spread through the world. Our nation and the 
nations of Europe have the Gospel among them 
chiefly through his means ; and he was more em- 
ployed by the Holy Ghost in revealing the glorious 
doctrines of the Gospel by his writings, for the use 
of the church in all ages, than all the other apostles. 

VIII. The institution of ecclesiastical councils 
for deciding controversies and ordering the affairs 
of the church of Christ, as described, Acts, 15 : 9. 

IX. The committing of the New Testament to 
writing. This was all written after the resurrec- 
tion of Christ by the apostles themselves, except 
the gospels of Mark and Luke, and the book of the 
Acts. He that wrote the gospel of Mark is sup- 
posed to be the son of Mary, in whose house they 
were praying for Peter when he, brought out of 
prison by the angel, came and knocked at the door. 
Acts, 12 : 12. " He came to the house of Mary, 
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, 
where many were gathered together praying." 
He was the companion of the apostles Barnabas 
and Paul. Acts, 15 : 37. He was Barnabas' sister's 
son, and seems some time to have been a compa- 



286 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nion of the apostle Paul. Col. 4 : 10. "Aristarchus, 
my fellow-prisoner, saluteth you and Marcus, sister's 
son to Barnabas: touching whom ye received com- 
mandment : if he come unto you receive him." The 
apostles seem to have made great account of him, 
as appears by those places, and also by Acts, 12: 
25 ; " And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jeru- 
salem, and took with them John, whose surname 
was Mark;" and Acts, 13:5; "And when they 
were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in 
the synagogues of the Jews ; and they had also John 
to their minister ;" and 2 Tim. 4:11; " Only Luke 
is with me : take Mark and bring him with thee ; 
for he is profitable to me for the ministry." 

He who wrote the gospel of Luke and the book 
of Acts was a great companion of the apostle Paul. 
He is spoken of as being with him in the last-men- 
tioned place, and speaks of himself as accompany- 
ing Paul in his travels, and therefore speaks in the 
first person plural We went to such a place ; ice 
set sail, &c. He was greatly beloved by the apostle 
Paul ; he is that beloved physician spoken of, Col. 
4: 14. The apostle ranks Mark and Luke among 
his fellow-laborers. Philemon, 24. " Marcus, Aris- 
tarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow-laborers." 

The books of the New Testament, are either histo- 
rical, doctrinal, or prophetical. The historical books 
are the writings of the four evangelists, giving us 
the history of Christ, in his purchase of redemption, 
his resurrection and ascension ; and the Acts of the 
Apostles, giving an account of the great things by 
which the Christian church was first established 
and propagated. The doctriml books are the epis- 
tles ; most of which we have from the great apostle 



HOW SUCCESS GAINED. 287 

Paul. And we have one prophetical book, which 
takes place after the end of the history of the whole 
Bible, and gives an account of the great events by 
which the work of redemption was to be carried on 
to the end of the world. 

All these books are supposed to have been writ- 
ten before the destruction of Jerusalem, excepting 
those written by the apostle John, who lived the 
longest of all the apostles, and wrote, as is supposed, 
after the destruction of Jerusalem. To this beloved 
disciple it was that Christ revealed those wonderful 
things which were to come to pass in his church to 
the end of time ; and he put the finishing hand to 
the canon of Scripture, and sealed the whole of 
it. So that now the canon of Scripture, that great 
and standing written rule, which was begun about 
Moses' time, is completed and settled, and a curse 
denounced against him that adds any thing to it, or 
diminishes any thing from it. And so all the stated 
means of grace were finished in the apostolical age, 
or before the death of the apostle John, and are to 
remain unaltered to the day of judgment. Thus 
far we have considered those things by which the 
means of grace were given and established in the 
christian church. 

IV. Hoio the Success was carried on. 

From Christ's resurrection till the fall of Anti- 
christ, is the appointed day of Zion's troubles. Du- 
ring this period, some part or other of the church is 
under persecution ; and a great part of the time this 
is true of the whole church, or at least the great 
body of God's people. For the first three hundred 



288 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

years after Christ, the church was generally in a 
state of great affliction, the object of reproach and 
persecution — first by the Jews, and then by the 
Heathen. After this, from the beginning of Con- 
stantine's time, the church had rest and prosperity 
for a little while: which is represented, Rev. 7, by 
the angel's holding the four winds for a little while. 
But presently after, the church again suffered per- 
secution from the Ari-ans. After that, Antichrist 
rose ; the church was driven away into the wilder- 
ness ; was kept down in obscurity, contempt, and 
suffering, for a long time before the reformation by 
Luther and others. And since the Reformation, 
the church's persecutions have been beyond all that 
ever were before. And though some parts of God's 
church sometimes have had rest, yet, to this day, for 
the most part, the true church is very much kept 
under by its enemies, and some parts of it under 
grievous persecution. And so we may expect it 
will continue till the fall of Antichrist. Then will 
come the appointed day of the church's prosperity 
on earth, the set time in which God will favor 
Zion,the time when the saints shall notbe keptundei 
by wicked men, but wherein they shall reign, as it 
is said, Rev. 5 : 10. "And the kingdom shall be 
given to the people of the saints of the Most High." 
Dan. 7 : 27. 

The suffering state of the church is in Scripture 
represented as a state -of the church's travail, (John, 
16 ■ 20, 21, and Rev. 12 : 1, 2,) striving to bring 
forth that glory and prosperity which shall be after 
the fall of Antichrist, and then shall she bring forth 
her child. This is a long time of the church's 
trouble and affliction though it be but for a little 



HOW SUCCESS GAINED. 289 

season, in comparison of the eternal prosperity of the 
church. Hence, under the continuance of this af- 
fliction, she cries out, Rev. 6 : 10, "How long, O 
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge 
our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" And 
we are told that " white robes were given unto every 
one of them ; and it was said unto them that they 
should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow- 
servants also, and their brethren that should be 
killed as they were, should be fulfilled." So Dan. 
12:6. " How long shall it be to the end of these 
wonders ?" 

It is to be observed, that during the time of these 
sufferings of the church, the main instrument of 
their sufferings has been the Roman government. 
Rome, therefore, in the New Testament, is called 
Babylon ; because, as of old, the troubles of the city 
of Jerusalem were mainly from that adverse city 
Babylon, so the troubles of the christian church, the 
spiritual Jerusalem, during the long time of its tri- 
bulation, are mainly from Rome. Before the time 
of Constantine, the troubles of the christian church 
were from Heathen Rome ; since that time, its trou- 
bles have been mainly from Antichristian Rome. 
And as of old, the captivity of the Jews ceased oa 
the destruction of Babylon, so the time of the trou- 
ble of the christian church will cease with the de- 
struction of the church of Rome, that spiritual Ba- 
bylon. 

Redemption. 1 9 



290 HISTORV OF REDEMPTION. 



CHAPTER I. 



FROM THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST TO THE 
DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

In speaking of the success of Christ's redemption 
in this period, I shall notice, 1. the success itself; 2. 
the opposition made against it by its enemies ; and, 
3. the terrible judgments of God on those enemies. 

I. The success itself. Soon after Christ had enter- 
ed into the holy of holies with his own blood, there 
began a glorious success of what he had done and 
suffered. Having undermined the foundation of Sa- 
tan's kingdom, it began to fall apace. Swiftly did it 
hasten to ruin, which might well be compared to Sa- 
tan's falling like lightning from heaven. Satan had 
exalted his throne very high in this world, even to 
the stars of heaven, reigning with great glory in his 
heathen Roman empire ; but never had he such a 
downfall as soon after Christ's ascension. We may 
suppose he had been triumphing in the death of 
Christ, as the greatest victory he had ever gained ; 
and probably he imagined he had totally defeated 
God's design. But he was quickly made sensible 
that he had only been ruining his own kingdom, 
when he saw it falling so fast as aconsequence of the 
death of Christ. For Christ, having ascended, and 
received the Holy Spirit, poured it forth abundantly 
forthe conversion of thousands and millions of souls. 

Never had Christ's kingdom been so advanced. 
Probably more souls were converted in the age of 
the apostles than had been before from the betrin 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 291 

ning of the world till that time. Thus God so soon 
began gloriously to accomplish his promise to his 
Son, that he should see his seed, and that the plea- 
sure of the Lord should prosper in his hand, if he 
would make his soul an offering for sin. And, 

1. Here is to be observed the success which the 
Gospel had among the Jews; for God began with 
them. Being about to reject the main body of that 
people, he first calls in his elect from among them. 
It was so in former great and dreadful judgments of 
God on that nation: the bulk of them were destroy- 
ed, and only a remnant saved or reformed. The bulk 
of the ten tribes was rejected when they left the true 
worship of God under Jeroboam, and more fully in 
Ahab's time ; but yet a remnant of them was reserv- 
ed. Many left their possessions in these tribes, and 
settled in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin ; but 
there were seven thousand in Ahab's time who had 
not bowed the knee to Baal. From the captivity in- 
to Babylon, only a remnant of them ever returned 
to their own land. So now the greater part of the 
people were rejected entirely, but some few were 
saved. And the Holy Ghost compares this reserva- 
tion of a number converted by the preaching of the 
apostles, to those former remnants. Rom. 9 : 27 : 
" Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, though the 
number of the children of Israel be as the sand of 
the sea, a remnant shall be saved." See Isa. 10 : 22. 

The glorious success of the Gospel among the 
Jews after Christ's ascension, began by the pouring 
out of the Spirit upon the day of Pentecost. Acts, 2. 
So wonderful was this effusion, that we read of three 
thousand converted to the christian faith in one day. 
Acts, 2:11. And after this, God added to the church 



292 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

daily such as should be saved. Soon after, the num- 
ber of them was about five thousand. Thus were not 
only a multitude converted, but the church was then 
eminent in piety, as appears by Acts, 2: 46,47; 4 : 32. 

Thus the christian church was first formed from 
the nation of Israel, and when the Genti^s were 
called they were added to the christian church of 
Israel, as the proselytes of old were to th». Mosaic 
church of Israel. They were grafted on the stock of 
Abraham, and were not a distinct tree : they were 
all still the seed of Abraham and Israel ; as Ruth 
the Moabitess, and Uriah the Hittite, and other pro- 
selytes of old, were the same people, and ranked as 
the seed of Israel. 

The christian church began at Jerusalem, and 
from thence was propagated to all nations ; so that 
this church of Jerusalem was the mother of all other 
churches in the world ; agreeable to the prophecy, 
Isa. 2 : 3, 4, " Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem : and he shall 
j udge among the nations, and rebuke many people." 
So that the whole church of God is still his spiritual 
Jerusalem. 

After this we read of many thousands of Jews 
that believed in Jerusalem, (Acts, 21 : 20,) in other 
cities of Judea, and in other parts of the world. For 
it was the manner of the apostles to go first into the 
synagogues of the Jews and preach the Gospel to 
them ; and many in one place and another believed, 
as in Damascus, Antioch, and many other places. 

In this outpouring of the Spirit at the Pentecost, 
began that first great dispensation which is called 
Christ's coining in his kingdom. Christ's coming 
thus in a spiritual manner for the glorious erection 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 293 

of his kingdom in the world, is represented as his 
coming- down from heaven, whither he had ascend- 
ed. John, 14: 18. "I will not leave you comfortless ; 
I will come to you." And verse 28. " Ye have 
heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come 
again unto you.' : And thus the apostles began to 
see the kingdom of heaven come with power, as he 
promised them. Mark, 9:1. 

2. After the success of the Gospel had been so 
gloriously begun among the Jews, the Spirit of 
God was next wonderfully poured out on the Sama- 
ritans, who were the posterity of those whom the 
king of Assyria removed from different parts of his 
dominions, and settled in the land which had been 
inhabited by the ten tribes, whom he carried captive. 
These had received the five books of Moses, and 
practiced most of the Mosaic rites, and so were a 
sort of mongrel Jews. We do not find them reck- 
oned as Gentiles in the New Testament: for the 
calling of the Gentiles is spoken of as a new thing 
after this, beginning with the conversion of Corne- 
lius. But yet it was an instance of making those a 
people who were no people; for they had corrupted 
the religion of Moses, and did not go up to Jerusa- 
lem to worship. They had another temple of their 
own in Mount Gerizim ; which is the mountain of 
which the woman of Samaria speaks, when she says, 
"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain." Christ 
there does not approve of their separation from the 
Jews; but says that they worshiped they knew not 
what, and that salvation is of the Jews. But now 
salvation is brought from the Jews to them by the 
preaching of Philip, (excepting that before Christ 
had some success among them,) with whose preach- 



294 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ing there was a glorious effusion of the Spirit of 
God in the city of Samaria; where we are told 
that "the people believed Philip preaching the 
things concerning the kingdom of Christ, and were 
baptized, both men and women ; and that there was 
great joy in that city." Acts, 8 : 8-12. 

Thus Christ had a glorious harvest in Samaria; 
according to what he said to his disciples at Jacob's 
well, three or four years before, on occasion of the 
people of Samaria appearing at a distance in the 
fields coming to the place where he was. John, 4 : 
35, 36. The disposition which the people of Sama- 
ria manifested towards Christ and his Gospel showed 
that they were ripe for the harvest ; and now the 
harvest is come by Philip's preaching. There used 
to be a most bitter enmity between the Jews and 
Samaritans; but now, by their conversion, the 
Christian Jews and Samaritans are happily united ; 
for in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Samari- 
tan, but Christ is all in all. This was a glorious 
instance of the wolf dwelling with the lamb, and the 
leopard lying down with the kid. 

3. The next thing to be observed is the calling 
the Gentiles. This was a great and glorious dis- 
pensation, much spoken of in the Old Testament, 
and by the apostles. It was begun in the con- 
version of Cornelius and his family, greatly to 
the admiration of Peter, who was used as the in- 
strument of it, and of those who were with him. 
Acts, 10 and 11. The next instance was the con- 
version of great numbers of Gentiles in Cyprus, 
Cyrene, and Antioch, by the disciples who were 
scattered abroad by the persecution which arose 
about Stephen. Acts, 11: 19,20,21. And presently, 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 295 

upon this, the disciples began to be called Christians 
first at Antioch. 

After this vast multitudes of Gentiles were con- 
verted in different parts of the world, chiefly by the 
ministry of the apostle Paul, which was accompa- 
nied by a glorious outpouring of the Spirit. Mul- 
titudes flocked into the church of Christ in a great 
number of cities where the apostle came. So the 
number of Gentile members of the Christian church 
soon far exceeded that of its Jewish members ; yea, 
in less than ten years after Paul was sent forth from 
Antioch to preach to the Gentiles, it was said of him 
and his companions, that they had turned the world 
upside down. Acts, 17:6. " These that have turned 
the world upside down are come hither also." But 
the most remarkable instance seems to be that in 
Ephesus, which was a very great city. Acts, 19. 
There was also a very extraordinary ingathering of 
souls at Corinth, one of the greatest cities of Greece. 
And after this many were converted in Rome, then 
the chief city of the known world ; and the Gospel 
was propagated into all parts of the Roman empire. 
Thus the gospel-sun which had lately risen on the 
Jews, now rose upon and began to enlighten the 
Heathen world, after they had continued in gross 
heathenish darkness for so many ages. 

This was a great thing, such as never had been 
before. All nations but the Jews, and a few who 
had occasionally joined them, had been rejected from 
about the time of Moses. The Gentile world had 
been covered with the thick darkness of idolatry; 
but now, at the joyful sound of the Gospel, they 
began in all parts to forsake their idols, and to cast 
them to the moles and to the bats. They now learn- 



206 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ed to worship the true God, and to trust in his Son 
Jesus Christ. God owned them for his people ; and 
those who had so Jong been afar off, were made 
nigh by the blood of Christ. Men, from being hea- 
thenish and brutish, became the children of God ; 
were called out of Satan's kingdom of darkness, and 
brought into God's marvelous light. In almost all 
countries throughout the known world there were 
Christian assemblies, and joyful praises were sung 
to the true God, and Jesus Christ the glorious Re- 
deemer. Now that great building which God be- 
gan soon after the fall of man, rises gloriously, in 
a new manner; now Daniel's prophecies concern- 
ing the last kingdom, which should succeed the 
four heathenish monarchies, begin to be fulfilled ; 
now the stone cut out of the mountain without 
hands, begins to smite the image on its feet, to 
break it in pieces, and to make great advances to- 
wards filling the earth; and now God gathers 
together his elect from the four winds of heaven, by 
the preaching of the apostles and other ministers, 
(the angels of the christian church sent forth with 
the great sound of the gospel-trumpet,) before the 
destruction of Jerusalem, agreeably to what Christ 
had foretold. Matt. 24: 31. 

II. I would now notice the opposition made to 
this success of Christ's purchase by its enemies. 
Satan, who lately was so ready to triumph and ex- 
ult, as though he had gained the victory in putting 
Christ to death, now finding himself fallen into the 
pit which he had digged, and his kingdom falling 
so fast, and seeing Christ's kingdom make such 
amazing progress, was filled with the greatest con- 
fusion and astonishment ; and hell seemed to bo 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 297 

effectually alarmed to make the most violent oppo- 
sition against it. And, first, the devil stirred up the 
Jews, who had before crucified Christ, to persecute 
the church ; for it is observable, that the persecu- 
tion which the church suffered during this period, 
was mostly from the Jews. Thus we read in the 
Acts, when the Holy Ghost was poured out at Pen- 
tecost, how the Jews mocked, and said, M These 
men are full of new wine;" and how the scribes 
and Pharisees, and the captain of the temple, were 
alarmed, and bestirred themselves to oppose and 
persecute the apostles. They first apprehended and 
threatened them, and afterwards imprisoned and beat 
them ; and breathing out threatenings and slaughter 
against the disciples of the Lord, they stoned Ste- 
phen in a tumultuous rage; and were not content 
to persecute those they could find in Judea, but sent 
abroad to Damascus and other places, to persecute 
all they could find every where. Herod, who was 
chief among them, stretched forth his hands to vex 
the church, and killed James with the sword, and 
proceeded to take Peter also, and cast him into 
prison. 

So, in other countries, almost wherever the apos- 
tles came, the Jews opposed the Gospel in a most 
malignant manner, contradicting and blaspheming. 
How many things did the blessed apostle Paul suf- 
fer at their hands! How violent and bloodthirsty 
did they show themselves towards him, when he 
came to bring alms to his nation ! In this perse- 
cution and cruelty was fulfilled that saying of Christ, 
Matt. 23 : 34, " Behold, I send unto you prophets, 
and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye 
shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye 



298 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them 
from city to city." 

III. The judgments executed on those enemies of 
Christ, the persecuting Jews. 

1. The bulk of the people were given up to ju- 
dicial blindness of mind and hardness of heart. 
Christ denounced such a wo upon them in the days 
of his flesh. Matt. 13 : 14, 15. This curse was 
also denounced on them by the apostle Paul, Acts, 
28 : 25, 26, 27 ; and under this curse, this judicial 
blindness and hardness, they remain to this very 
day, having been subject to it for about seventeen 
hundred years, being the most awful instance of 
such a judgment and monument of God's terrible 
vengeance. That they should continue from gene- 
ration to generation so obstinately to reject Christ, 
so that it is a very rare thing that any one of them 
is converted to the christian faith — though their 
own Scriptures of the Old Testament are so full of 
plain testimonies against them — is a remarkable 
evidence of their being dreadfully left of God. 

2. They were rejected from being any longer 
God's visible people. They were broken off from 
the stock of Abraham, and since that have no more 
been reputed his seed, than the Ishmaelites or 
Edomites, who are as much his natural seed as 
they. The greater part of the two tribes were now 
cast off, as the ten tribes had been before, and an- 
other people were taken in their room, agreeable to 
the predictions of their own prophets. Deut. 32 : 
21. " They have moved me to jealousy with that 
which is not God ; they have provoked me to an- 
ger with their vanities ; and I will move them to 
jealousy with those which are not a people ; I will 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 299 

provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." 
Isaiah, 65 : 1. "I am sought of them that asked 
not for me ; I am found of them that sought me not." 
They were visibly rejected by God's directing his 
apostles to turn away from them, and let them alone. 
Acts, 13 : 36, 47. " Then Paul and Barnabas 
waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the 
word of God should first have been spoken to you ; 
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves 
unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gen- 
tiles ; for so hath the Lord commanded us." Acts, 
18 : 6, and 28 : 28. 

Thus far we have the scripture history to guide 
us : henceforward we shall have the guidance only 
of scripture prophecy and human history. 

3. The third and last judgment of God on those 
enemies of the success of the Gospel which I shall 
mention, is the terrible destruction of their city and 
country by the Romans. They had great warn- 
ings and many means used with them before this 
destruction. First, John the Baptist warned them, 
and told them, that the axe was laid at the root of 
the tree ; and that every tree which should not 
bring forth good fruit, should be hewn down, and 
cast into the fire. Then Christ warned them very 
particularly, and told them of their approaching de- 
struction, at the thoughts of which he wept over 
them. And then the apostles, after Christ's ascen- 
sion, abundantly warned them. But they proved 
obstinate, and continued their opposition to Christ 
and his church, and their bitter persecuting prac- 
tices. Their so malignantly persecuting the apos 
tie Paul, of which we have an account towards the 



300 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

end of the Acts of the Apostles, is supposed to have 
been not more than seven or eight years before 
their destruction. 

After this, God was pleased to give them one 
more very remarkable warning by the apostle Paul, 
in his epistle to the Hebrews, written, it is supposed, 
about four years before their destruction ; wherein 
the plainest and clearest arguments are set before 
them from their own law, and from their prophets, 
for whom they professed such a regard, to prove 
that Christ Jesus must be the Son of God, that all 
their law typified him, and that the Jewish dispen- 
sation must needs have ceased. For though the 
epistle was more immediately directed to the Chris- 
tian Hebrews, yet the matter of the epistle plainly 
shows that the apostle intended it for the use and 
conviction of the unbelieving Jews. And in this 
epistle he mentions particularly the approaching 
destruction. Chap. 10 : 25. "So much the more, as 
ye see the day approaching ;" and in ver. 27, he 
speaks of the approaching judgment and "fiery in- 
dignation which should devour the adversaries." 

But the mass of them, refusing to receive con. 
viction, God soon destroyed with such terrors, 
as the destruction of no country or city since the 
foundation of the world can parallel : agreeable to 
what Christ foretold. Matt. 24 : 21. " For then shall 
be tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of 
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The 
destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was ve- 
ry terrible, as it is in a most affecting manner descri* 
bed by the prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations; 
but that was as nothing to the dreadful misery and 
wrath which they suffered in this destruction. God, 



TO DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 301 

as Christ foretold, brought on them all the righteous 
blood that had been shed from the foundation of the 
world. Thus the enemies of Christ are made his 
footstool after his ascension, agreeable to God's 
promise, Psalm 110 ; and he rules them with a rod 
of iron. The briars and thorns set themselves against 
him in battle ; but he went through them ; he burned 
them together. 

This destruction of Jerusalem was in all respects 
agreeable to what Christ had foretold of it, Matt. 24 ; 
as appears by the account which Josephus gives of 
it, who was then present, had a share in the calami- 
ty, and wrote the history of their destruction. Many 
circumstances resembled the destruction of the wick- 
ed at the day of judgment ; by his account, it was 
accompanied with many fearful sights in the heavens, 
and with a separation of the righteous from the wick- 
ed. Their city and temple were burnt, and razed 
to the ground; and the ground on which the city 
stood was ploughed, so that one stone was not left 
upon another. Matt. 24 : 2. 

The people had ceased for the most part to be an 
independent government after the Babylonish cap- 
tivity ; but the sceptre entirely departed from Judah 
on the death of Archelaus, when Judea was made a 
Roman province. After this, they were cast off from 
being the people of God : but now their very city and 
land are utterly destroyed, and they carried away 
from it; and so have continued in their dispersions 
through the world for now above sixteen hundred 
years. 

Thus there was a final end put to the Old Testa- 
ment world : all was finished with a kind of day of 
judgment, in which the people of God were saved, 



302 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

and his enemies terribly destroyed. Thus does 
Christ, who was so lately mocked, despised, and spit 
upon by these Jews, and whose followers they so 
malignantly persecuted, appear gloriously exalted 
over his enemies. 



CHAPTER II 



FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM TO THE 
TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 

Jerusalem was destroyed about the year of our 
Lord sixty-eight, and so before that generation 
passed away which was contemporary with Christ. 
The destruction of the Heathen empire under Con- 
stantine was about two hundred and sixty years 
after this. In showing how the success of the Gospel 
was carried on through this time, I would notice, 1. 
The opposition made against it by the Roman em- 
pire ; 2. How the work of the Gospel progressed, 
notwithstanding all that opposition; 3. The pecu- 
liar circumstances of tribulation and distress to the 
church just before their deliverance by Constantine ; 
and 4. The great revolution in Constantine's time. 

I. The opposition made against the Gospel, and 
the kingdom of Christ, by the Roman empire. This 
opposition was mainly after the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, though it began before j but that which was 
before the destruction of Jerusalem, was mainly by 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 303 

the Jews. When Jerusalem was destroyed, the 
Jews were much incapacitated for troubling the 
church ; the devil therefore used other instruments. 
The opposition made in the Roman empire against 
the kingdom of Christ, was chiefly of two kinds. 

1 . They employed all their learning, philosophy, 
and wit, in opposing it. Christ came into the world 
in an age wherein learning and philosophy were at 
their height in the Roman empire. The Gospel, 
which held forth a crucified Savior, was not at all 
agreeable to the notions of the philosophers. The 
christian scheme of trusting in such a crucified Re- 
deemer, appeared to them foolish and ridiculous. 
Greece was a country the most famous for learning 
of any in the Roman empire : but the apostle ob- 
serves, that the doctrine of Christ crucified appeared 
foolishness to the Greeks, 1 Cor. 1 : 23 ; and there- 
fore the wise men and philosophers opposed the 
Gospel. We have a specimen of their manner of 
opposing, in their treatment of the apostle Paul at 
Athens, which was, and had been for many ages, 
the chief seat of philosophers in all the world. We 
read, Acts, 17 : 18, that the philosophers of the 
Epicureans and Stoics encountered him, saying, 
" What will this babbler say 1 He seemeth to be a 
setter forth of strange gods." Thus they were 
wont to deride and ridicule Christianity ; and, after 
the destruction of Jerusalem, several philosophers 
published books against it. The chief of these were 
Celsus and Porphyry, who wrote with a great deal 
of virulence and contempt, much after the manner 
of the Deists of the present age. As great enemies 
and despisers as they were of the christian religion, 
they never denied the facts recorded of Christ and 



304 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

his apostles in the New Testament, particularly the 
miracles which they wrought, but allowed them. 
They lived too near the times of these miracles to 
deny them ; for they were so publicly done, and so 
lately, that neither Jews nor Heathens in those days 
appeared to deny them ; but they ascribed them to 
the power of magic. 

2. The authority of the Roman empire employed 
all their strength, time after time, to persecute and 
if possible to root out Christianity. We have here- 
tofore observed that Christ came into the world 
when the strength of Heathen dominion and author- 
ity was the greatest under the Roman monarchy. 
All the strength of this monarchy was employed for 
a long time to oppose and persecute the christian 
church, and if possible to destroy it, in ten succes- 
sive attempts, which are called the ten Heathen per- 
secutions. 

The first of these, which was the persecution 
under Nero, was a little before the destruction of 
Jerusalem, in which the apostle Peter was crucified, 
and the apostle Paul beheaded, soon after he wrote 
his second epistle to Timothy. When he wrote 
that epistle, he was a prisoner at Rome under 
Nero, and says, chap. 4 : 6, 7, " I am now ready to 
be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith." There were many 
thousands of other Christians slain in that persecu- 
tion. The other nine persecutions were all after 
the destruction of Jerusalem. Some of these were 
terrible indeed, and far exceeded the first persecu- 
tion under Nero. One emperor after another set 
himself with the utmost rage to root out the chris- 



TO TIME OF COXSTANTINE. 305 

tian church from the earth, that there should not be 
so much as the name of Christian left in the world. 
Thousands, yea millions were put to cruel deaths: 
for they spared neither sex nor age. 

In the second general persecution, (under Do- 
mitian,) that which was next after the destruction 
of Jerusalem, the apostle John was banished to the 
isle of Patmos, where he had those visions which 
he has recorded in the Revelation. Under that per- 
secution it was reckoned that about forty thousand 
suffered martyrdom ; which yet were few compared 
with the number put to death in some succeeding 
persecutions. Ten thousand suffered that one kind 
of cruel death, crucifixion, in the third persecution 
under the emperor Adrian. Under the fourth per- 
secution, which began about the year of Christ 162, 
many suffered martyrdom in England, the land o. 
our forefathers, where Christianity had been planted, 
it is supposed, in the days of the apostles. And in 
the later persecutions, the Roman emperors, being 
vexed at the failure of their predecessors, who were 
not able to extirpate Christianity or hinder its pro- 
gress, were enraged to be the more violent in their 
attempts. 

Thus a great part of the first three hundred years 
after Christ was spent in violent and cruel perse- 
cutions of the church by the Roman powers. Satan 
was very unwilling to quit his hold of so great and 
distinguished a part of the world as the countries 
contained in the Roman empire, of which he had 
had the quiet possession for so many ages : and 
therefofe, when he saw it going so fast out of his 
hands, he bestirred himself to his utmost. All hell 
was raised to oppose it with its utmost power. 

Redemption. 20 



S06 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Satan thus exerting himself by the power of the 
Heathen Roman empire, is called the great red 
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, fighting 
against the woman clothed with the sun. Rev. 12. 
And this terrible conflict between the church of 
Christ and the powers of the Heathen empire before 
Constantine, is represented by the war between Mi- 
chael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels, 
" And there was war in heaven ; Michael and his an- 
gels fought, and the dragon fought and his angels." 

II. I w r ould notice what success the Gospel had 
in the world before the time of Constantine, notwith- 
standing all this opposition. Though the learning 
and power of the Roman empire were so great, 
and both were employed to the utmost against 
Christianity; yet all was in vain. They could 
neither root it out, nor stop its progress. In spite 
of all, the kingdom of Christ wonderfully pre- 
vailed, and Satan's Heathen kingdom mouldered 
and consumed away before it, agreeable to the 
text, " The moth shall eat them up like a gar- 
ment, and the worm shall eat them like wool." 
And it was very observable, that for the most part 
the more they persecuted the church, the more 
it increased; insomuch that it became a com- 
mon saying, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of 
the church. Herein the church of Christ proved to 
be like a palm-tree ; of which it is said, that the 
greater weight is hung to its branches, the more it 
grows and flourishes. On this account, probably, 
the church is compared to a palm-tree. Cant. 7: 
7. " This thy stature is like to a palm-tree." Jus- 
tin Martyr, an eminent father in the christian 
church, who lived in the age next after the apostles, 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 307 

says, that in his days there was no part of mankind, 
whether Greeks or barbarians, or by what name 
soever they were called, even the most rude and 
unpolished nations, where prayers and thanks- 
givings were not made to the great Creator of the 
world, through the name of the crucified Jesus. 
Tertullian, another eminent father in the Chris- 
tian church, who lived in the beginning of the fol- 
lowing age, testifies, that in his day the Christian 
religion had extended itself to the utmost bounds of 
the then known world, in which he reckons Bri- 
tain ; and thence demonstrates that the kingdom of 
Christ was then more extensive than any of the four 
great monarchies. He moreover says, that though 
the Christians were as strangers of no long stand- 
ing, yet they had filled all places of the Roman do- 
minions, their cities, islands, castles, corporations, 
councils, armies, tribes, the palace, senate, and 
courts of judicature; they had left to the Heathen 
their temples only. He adds, that if they should all 
agree to retire out of the Roman empire, the world 
would be amazed at the solitude and desolation that 
would ensue upon it, there would be so few left ; and 
that the Christians were enough to be able easily to 
defend themselves, if they were disposed to rise up 
in arms against the Heathen magistrates. And 
Pliny, a heathen who lived in those days, says, 
that multitudes of each sex, of every age and qual- 
ity, were become Christians. This superstition, 
says he, having infected and overrun not the city 
only, but towns and countries, the temples and sac- 
rifices are generally desolate and forsaken. 

And it was remarked by both heathen and chris- 
tian writers in those days, that the famous Heathen 



308 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

oracles in their temples, where princes and others for 
many ages had been wont to inquire and receive an- 
swers in an audible voice, as was supposed, from their 
gods, were now struck dumb, and gave no more an- 
swers ; and particularly the oracle at Delphos, the 
most famous in the whole world, which both Greeks 
and Romans used to consult, began to cease to give 
any answers, even from the birth of Christ. The false 
deity who was worshiped, and who used to give an- 
swers from his oracle in that temple, being once in- 
quired of, why he did not now give answers as he was 
wont to do ? made this reply, (as several heathen his- 
torians who lived about those times relate,) " There is 
a Hebrew boy who is king of the gods, who has com- 
manded me to leave this house, and begone to hell, 
and therefore you are to expect no more answers." 
And many heathen writers who lived about that time 
speak much of the oracles being silenced, at which 
they wondered, not knowing what the cause should 
be. Plutarch wrote a particular treatise about it, 
which is still extant. And Porphyry, who opposed 
the christian religion, has these words: " It is no 
wonder if the city for these so many years has been 
overrun with sickness, Esculapius and the rest of 
the gods having withdrawn their converse with 
men ; for since Jesus began to be worshiped, no 
man has received any public help or benefit by the 
gods." Thus did the kingdom of Christ prevail 
against the kingdom of Satan. 

III. The peculiar circumstances of tribulation and 
distress just before Const antine the Great came to 
the throne. This distress was suffered under the 
tenth heathen persecution, which, as it was the last, 
so it was by far the heaviest and most severe. The 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE 309 

church before this, after the ceasing of the ninth per- 
secution, had enjoyed a time of quietness for about 
forty years; but, abusing - their liberty, they began 
to grow cold and lifeless in religion, and conten- 
tions prevailed among them ; by which they pro- 
voked God to suffer this dreadful trial to come upon 
them. And Satan having lost ground so much, 
notwithstanding all his attempts, now seemed to be- 
stir himself with unwonted rage. Those who were 
then in authority set themselves with the utmost vio- 
lence to root out Christianity, by burning all Bibles, 
and destroying all Christians; and therefore they 
did not stand to try or convict them in a formal pro- 
cess, but fell upon them wherever they could. Some- 
times they set fire to houses where multitudes of 
them were assembled, burning them all together; 
at other times they slaughtered such multitudes that 
their persecutors were quite spent with the labor of 
killing and tormenting them ; and in some populous 
places so many were slain together, that the blood 
ran like torrents. It is related, that seventeen thou- 
sand martyrs were slain in one month ; and that dur- 
ing the continuance of this persecution, in the pro- 
vince of Egypt alone, no less than one hundred and 
forty-four thousand Christians died by the violence 
of their persecutors, besides seven hundred thousand 
that died through the fatigues of banishment, or the 
public works to which they were condemned. 

This persecution lasted for ten years ; and as it 
exceeded all foregoing persecutions in the number 
of martyrs, so it exceeded them in the variety and 
multitude of inventions of torture and cruelty. Some 
authors who lived at that time, say they were innu- 
merable, and exceed all account and expression. 



310 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

This persecution in particular was very severe in 
England ; and is that which was foretold, Rev. 6 : 9, 
10. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw 
under the altar the souls of them that were slain for 
the Word of God, and for the testimony which they 
held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not 
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 
the earth ?" And at the end of the ten years, during 
which this persecution continued, the heathen per- 
secutors thought they had finished their work, and 
boasted that they had utterly destroyed the name and 
superstition of the Christians, and had restored and 
propagated the worship of the gods. 

Thus it was the darkest time with the christian 
church, just before the break of day. They were 
brought to the greatest extremity before God appear- 
ed for their glorious deliverance, as the bondage of 
the Israelites in Egypt was the most severe and 
cruel just before their deliverance by the hand of 
Moses. Their enemies thought they had swallow- 
ed them up, and sealed their destruction, as Pharaoh 
and his host thought when they hemmed in the chil- 
dren of Israel at the Red Sea. 

IV 7 . I come now to the great revolution by Con- 
stantine, which was in many respects like Christ's 
appearing in the clouds of heaven to save his peo- 
ple, and judge the world. The people of Rome be- 
ing weary of the government of those tyrants to 
whom they had lately been subject, sent to Constan- 
tine, who was then in the city of York in England, 
to come and take the throne. He was encouraged, 
it is said, by a vision of a pillar of light in the 
heavens, in the form of a cross, in the sight of his 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 311 

whole army, with this inscription, •> roura> xi*, % n 
this overcome ; and the night following, by Christ's 
appearing to him in a dream with the same cross in 
his hand, who directed him to make a cross like that 
to be his royal standard, that his army might fight 
under that banner, and assured him that he should 
conquer. Accordingly he overcame his enemies, 
took possession of the imperial throne, embraced the 
christian religion, and was the first christian empe- 
ror that ever reigned. He came to the throne about 
three hundred and twenty years after Christ. There 
are several thin-gs which I would notice that attend- 
ed, or immediately followed, Constantine's coming 
to the throne. 

1. The christian church was thereby wholly de- 
livered from persecution. Now the day of her de- 
liverance came after such a dark night of affliction : 
weeping had continued for a night, but now deliver- 
ance and joy came in the morning. Now God ap- 
peared to judge his people, and repented himself for 
his servants, when he saw their power was gone, and 
that there was none shut up or left. Christians had 
no persecutions now to fear. Their persecutors now 
were all put down, and their rulers were some of 
them Christians like themselves. 

2. God now appeared to execute terrible judg- 
ments on their enemies. Remarkable are the ac- 
counts which history gives of the fearful ends to 
which the heathen emperors, princes, generals, 
captains, and other great men were brought, who 
had exerted themselves in persecuting the Chris- 
tians ; dying miserably, one after another, under ex- 
quisite torments of body, and horrors of conscience, 
with a most visible hand of God upon them. So that 



312 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

what now came to pass, might very fitly be com- 
pared to their hiding themselves in the dens and 
rocks of the mountains. 

3. Heathenism now was in a great measure abol- 
ished throughout the Roman empire. Images were 
destroyed, and Heathen temples pulled down. Ima- 
ges of gold and silver were melted down and coined 
into money. Some of the chief of their idols, which 
were curiously wrought, were brought to Constan- 
tinople, and there drawn with ropes up and down 
the streets for the people to behold and laugh at. 
The Heathen priests were dispersed and banished. 

4. The Christian church was brought into a state 
of great peace and prosperity. Now all Heathen ma- 
gistrates wer*e put down, and only Christians were 
advanced to places of authority all over the empire. 
They had now christian presidents, christian gov- 
ernors, christian judges and officers, instead of 
their old heathenish ones. Constantine set himself 
to put honor upon christian bishops or ministers, 
and to build and adorn churches ; and large and 
beautiful christian churches were erected in all 
parts of the world, instead of the old Heathen 
temples. 

This revolution was the greatest that had occur- 
red since the flood. Satan, the prince of darkness, 
that king and god of the Heathen world, was cast 
out. The roaring lion was conquered by the Lamb 
of God, in the strongest dominion that ever he had. 
This was a remarkable accomplishment of Jer. 10 : 
1 1. " The gods that have not made the heaven and 
the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and 
from under these heavens." The chief part of the 
world was now brought utterly to cast off their old 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 313 

gods and their old religion, to which they had been ac- 
customed much longer than any of their histories re- 
late — so long, that they knew not any beginning of 
it. It was formerly spoken of as a thing unknown 
for a nation to change their gods, Jer. 2 : 10, 11 ; 
but now the greater part of the nations of the known 
world were brought to cast off their former gods. 
That multitude of gods which they worshiped, 
were all forsaken. Thousands of them were cast 
away for the worship of the true God, and Christ 
the only Savior ; and there was a most remarkable 
fulfillment of Isa. 2 : 17, 18. " And the loftiness of 
man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of 
men shall be made low : and the Lord alone shall be 
exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly 
abolish." And since that, those gods which were 
once so famous in the world, as Jupiter, and Saturn, 
and Minerva, and Juno, are only heard of as things 
of old. They have had no temples, no altars, no 
worshipers, for many hundred years. 

Now is come the end of the old Heathen world 
in its principal part, the Roman empire. And this 
great revolution, with that terrible destruction of the 
great men who had been persecutors, is compared, 
Rev. 6, to the end of the world, and Christ's coming 
to judgment; and is most immediately signified un- 
der the sixth seal, which followed upon the souls 
under the altar crying, "How long, O Lord, holy 
and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them 
that dwell on the earth?" This vision of the sixth 
seal, by the general consent of expositors, has re- 
spect to this downfall of the Heathen Roman em- 
pire ; though it has a more remote respect to the day 
of judgment, of which this was a type. The day of 



314 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

judgment cannot be what is immediately intended; 
because we have an account of many events which 
were to be after those of the sixth seal. 

What came to pass now is also represented by the 
devil's being cast out of heaven to the earth. In his 
great strength and glory, over that mighty Roman 
empire, he had exalted his throne up to heaven. 
But now he fell like lightning from heaven, and his 
kingdom was confined to the meaner and more bar- 
barous nations, or to the lower parts of the world. 
This is the event foretold. Rev. 12 : 9. "And the 
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called 
the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole 
world : he was cast out into the earth, and his an- 
gels were cast out with him." Satan had formerly 
tempted Christ, and promised to give him the glory 
of the kingdoms of the world ; but now he is obliged 
to give it to him against his will. This was a glo- 
rious fulfillment of the promise which God made to 
his Son. Isa. 53 : 12. " Therefore will I divide 
him a portion with the great, and he shall divide 
the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured 
out his soul unto death : and he was numbered with 
the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and 
made intercession for the transgressors." This was 
a great fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the 
glorious time of the Gospel, and particularly those 
of Daniel. Now it pleased the Lord God of heaven 
to set up a kingdom on the ruins of Satan's king- 
dom. Such is the success of Christ's redemption, 
and such honor does the Father give him for the 
disgrace he suffered when on earth. 

From what has been said of the success of the 
Gospel from Christ's ascension to the time of Con- 



TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 315 

stantine, we may deduce a strong argument for the 
truth of the Christian religion, and that the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ is really from God. Particularly, 
1. We may gather from what has been said, that 
I the Gospel, and that only, has actually been the means 
1 of bringing the world to the knowledge of the true 
\God. That those are no gods whom the Heathen 
worshiped, and that there is but one only God, is 
iwhat, since the Gospel has so taught us, we can now 
i see to be truth by our own reason. It is plainly 
agreeable to the light of nature, and it can easily be 
i shown to be reasonably true. Deists themselves ac- 
knowledge that it can be demonstrated that there is 
'one God, and but one, who has made and governs 
jthe world. But now it is evident that it is the Gos- 
!pel, and that only, which has actually been the 
j means of bringing men to the knowledge of this 
! truth. It was not the instructions of philosophers ; 
they tried in vain : The world by wisdom knew not 
[God. Till the Gospel and the holy Scriptures were 
[spread abroad, all the world lay in ignorance of the 
■ true God, and in the greatest darkness with respect 
jto religion, embracing the most absurd opinions and 
practices, which all civilized nations now acknow- 
ledge to be childish fooleries. The light of nature, 
their own reason, and all the wisdom of learned 
men, availed nothing till the Scriptures came. But 
these were successful to bring the world to an ac- 
knowledgment of the one only true God, and to wor- 
ship and serve him. 

And hence it is, that all that part of the world 
'which now acknowledges one only and true God — 
j Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, and even Deists — 
originally came to own him. It is owing to this 



316 HISTORY OF RKDEMPTION. 

that they are not in general at this day left in hea- 
thenish darkness. All the light they have, is either 
immediately from the Scriptures, or by tradition 
from their fathers, who had it first from the Scrip- 
tures. And doubtless those who now despise the 
Scriptures, and boast of the strength of their own rea- 
son, as sufficient to lead to the knowledge of the one 
true God, if the Gospel had not been spread abroad in 
the world to enlighten their forefathers, would have 
been as sottish and brutish idolaters as the world 
in general were before the Gospel. The Mohamme- 
dans, who own but one true God, received the idea 
from the Scriptures ; for the first Mohammedans had 
been educated in the christian religion, and aposta- 
tized from it. It is evident that the Scriptures were 
designed of God to be the proper means of bringing 
the world to the knowledge of himself, rather than 
human reason, or any thing else. For it is unrea- 
sonable to suppose that the Gospel, unless God de- 
signed it as the proper means for obtaining this ef- 
fect, should actually obtain it, and that after human 
reason for many ages had been tried in vain. If 
the Scriptures be not the word of God, they are no- 
thing but darkness and delusion, yea, the greatest 
delusion. And is it reasonable to suppose that God 
in his providence would make use of falsehood and 
delusion to bring the world to the knowledge of 
himself, and that no part of it should be brought 
to the knowledge of him any other way 1 

2. The Gospel prevailing as it did against such 
powerful opposition, plainly shows the hand of God. 
The Roman government, that so violently set itself 
to hinder the success of the Gospel, and to subdue 
the Church of Christ, was the most powerful of go- 






TO TIME OF CONSTANTINE. 317 

vernments ; and not only so, but they seemed to 
have the church in their hands. The Christians 
> who were under their command, never took up 
arms to defend themselves; they armed themselves 
, with nothing but patience, and such like spiritual 
, weapons; and yet this mighty power could not eon- 
1 quer, but, on the contrary, Christianity conquered 
them. The Roman empire had subdued many 
I mighty and potent kingdoms ; they subdued the 
Grecian monarchy, though it made the utmost re- 
sistance ; and yet they could not conquer the church, 
; which was in their hands ; but, on the contrary, were 
i subdued, and finally triumphed over by the church, 
i 3. No other sufficient cause can possibly be as- 
signed for this propagation of the Gospel, but the 
■ power of God. Here was a great and wonder- 
j ful effect ; and this effect was not without some 
cause. What other cause can be devised but the 
; divine power ? It was not the outward strength of 
j the instruments employed in it. At first the Gospel 
I was preached only by a few fishermen, who were 
. without power and worldly interest to support them. 
| It was not their craft and policy that produced this 
; wonderful effect ; for they were poor illiterate men. 
It was not the agreeableness of their story to the no- 
tions and principles of mankind. This was no plea- 
sant fable: a crucified God and Savior was to the Jews 
a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness. It 
was not the agreeableness of their doctrines to the 
dispositions of men ; for nothing is more contrary to 
j the corruptions of men than the pure doctrines of the 
| Gospel. This effect, therefore, can have proceeded 
' from no other cause than the power and agency of 
: God; and if the power of God was thus exercised 



318 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

to cause the Gospel to prevail, then the Gospel is 
his word ; for surely God does not use his almighty 
poVer to promote a mere imposture and delusion. 

4. This success is agreeable to what Christ and 
his apostles foretold. Matt. 16 : 18. " Upon this rock 
will I build my church ; and the gates of hell shall 
not prevail against it." John, 12: 24. " Verily, ve- 
rily, 1 say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into 
the ground, and die, it abideth alone : but if it die, it 
bringeth forth much fruit." And ver, 31, 32. " Now 
is the judgment of this world : now shall the prince 
of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up 
from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John, 
16 : 8. " When he (the Comforter) is come, he will 
reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and 
of judgment — because the prince of this world is 
judged." 

So the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. 1 : 21-28, declares, 
that after " the world by wisdom knew not God, 
it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to 
save them that believe ;" and that God chose " the 
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; 
and weak things of the world to confound the things 
which are mighty ; and base things of the world, 
and things which are despised, yea, and things 
which are not, to bring to nought things that are." 
— If any man foretells a thing, very likely in itself 
to come to pass, from causes which can be foreseen, 
it is no great argument of a revelation from God : 
but when a thing is foretold which is entirely con- 
trary to the common course of things, and yet comes 
to pass just agreeable to the prediction, this is a 
strong argument that the prediction is from God. 
Thus the consideration of the manner of the propa- 



TO THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST. 319 

gation and success of the Gospel during the time 

which has been spoken of, affords great evidence 
that the Scriptures are the word of God. 



CHAPTER III. 



FROM THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE TO THE RISB 
OF ANTICHRIST. 

I am now to show the success of Christ's redemp- 
tion from the overthrow of the Heathen Roman em- 
pire, in the time of Constantine the Great, till the 
rise of Antichrist. And in order to a more clear 
view of the great works of God in it, and our seeing 
the glory of them, it will be necessary, as in the 
foregoing periods, to consider not only the success 
itself, but the opposition made to it. 

I. The opposition. Satan, the great red dragon, 
after so sore a conflict with Michael and his angels 
for the greater part of three hundred years, was at 
last entirely routed and vanquished ; so that he was 
cast down, as it were, from heaven to earth. Yet 
he does not give over his opposition to the woman, 
the church of Christ, concerning which all this 
conflict had been; but is still in a rage, renews his 
attempts, and has recourse to new devices against 
the church. The serpent, after he is cast out of 
heaven to the earth, casts out of his mouth water as 
a flood, to cause the woman to be carried away of 



320 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

the flood. The opposition he made to the church 
of Christ, before the rise of Antichrist, was princi- 
pally of two kinds. It was either by corrupting the 
church of Christ with heresies, or by new endeavors 
to restore Paganism. 

1. After the destruction of the Heathen Roman 
empire, Satan infested the church with heresies. 
Though there had been so glorious a work of God 
in delivering the church from her Heathen persecu- 
tors, and overthrowing the Heathen empire; yet 
the days of the church's travail not being ended, 
and the set time of her prosperity (frhich was to 
succeed the fall of Antichrist) not beJSg yet come, 
the peace and prosperity which the church enjoyed 
in Constantine's time was but very short. It was a 
respite, which gave the church a time of peace and 
silence, as it were, for half an hour, wherein the 
four angels held the four winds from blowing, till 
the servants of God should be sealed in their fore- 
heads. But the church soon began to be greatly 
infested with heresies; the two principal, and most 
injurious of which were the Arian and Pelagian. 

The Arians began soon after Constantine came 
to the throne. They denied the doctrine of the Tri- 
nity, and the divinity of Christ and the Holy Ghost, 
maintaining that they were but mere creatures. This 
heresy increased more and more in the church, and 
prevailed like a flood which threatened to overthrow 
all, and entirely to carry away the church, insomuch 
that before the close of the fourth century, the greater 
part of the christian church were become Arians. 
Some emperors, the successors of Constantine, were 
Arians ; so that being the prevailing party, and 
having the civil authority on their side, they raised a 



TO THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST. 321 

great persecution against the true church of Christ ; 
so that this heresy might well be compared to a flood 
out of the mouth of a serpent, which threatened to 
overthrow all, and quite carry away the woman. 

The Pelagian heresy arose in the beginning of 
(he next century. It began with one Pelagius, 
who was born in Britain: his British name was 
Morgan. He denied original sin and the influ- 
ence of the Spirit of God in conversion, and held the 
power of free will, and many other things of like 
tendency; and this heresy for a while greatly in- 
fested the church. Pelagius' principal antagonist, 
who wrote in defence of the orthodox faith, was St 
Augustine. 

2. The other kind of opposition which Saian 
made against the church, was in his endeavors to 
restore Paganism. His first attempt was by Julian 
the Apostate. Julian was nephew to Constantine 
the Great. When Constantine died, he left his em- 
pire to three sons ; and after their death, Julian the 
Apostate reigned in their stead. He had been a pro- 
fessed Christian, but he fell from Christianity, and 
turned Pagan ; and therefore is called the apostate. 
When he came to the throne, he used his utmost en- 
deavors to overthrow the christian church, and set 
up Paganism a^ain in the empire. He put down the 
christian magistrates, and set up Heathens in their 
room. He rebuilt the heathen temples, set up the 
heathen worship, and became a most notorious per- 
secutor of the Christians. He used to call Christ, 
by way of reproach, the Galilean. He was killed 
by a lance in his wars with the Persians. When 
he saw that he was mortally wounded, he took a 
handful of his blood and threw it up towards hea- 

Redemption. 21 



322 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ven, crying" out, " Thou hast overcome, Galilean.' 
He is commonly thought by divines to have com- 
mitted the unpardonable sin. 

Another way that Satan attempted to restore Pa- 
ganism in the Roman empire, was by the invasions 
and conquests of heathen nations. For in this space 
of time the Goths and Vandals, and other barbarous 
nations from the north, invaded the empire, and ob- 
tained great conquests. They even overran the em- 
pire, and in the fifth century took the city of Rome, 
and finally conquered and took possession of the 
western half of the empire, and divided it among 
them. It was divided into ten kingdoms, with which 
began the ten horns of the beast ; for we are told, 
that the ten horns are ten kings, who should rise 
in the latter part of the Roman empire : these are 
also represented by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's 
image. The invasion and conquests of these hea- 
then nations are supposed to be foretold in the 8th 
chapter of Revelation, in what came to pass under 
the sounding of the four first trumpets. Now by 
their means Heathenism was again for a while re- 
stored after it had been rooted out. 

II. I proceed to show what success the Gospel 
had in this space, notwithstanding this opposition. 

1. I would observe that the opposition of Satan 
in those things was baffled. Though the dragon 
cast out of his mouth such a flood after the woman 
to carry her away, yet he could not obtain his de- 
sign ; but the earth helped the woman, and opened 
her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the 
dragon cast out of his mouth. These heresies, 
which for a time so much prevailed, after a while 
dwindled away, and orthodoxy was again restored. 



TO THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST. 323 

2. The Gospel, during this space of time, was 
further propagated among many barbarous heathen 
nations in the confines of the Roman empire. In 
ihe time of Constantino there was a considerable 
propagation of the Gospel in the East Indies, chiefly 
by the ministry of one Frumentius. Great numbers 
of the Iberians were converted to Christianity by a 
christian woman of eminent piety whom they had 
taken captive. And some account is given oi seve- 
ral other barbarous nations who were not within the 
Roman empire, that great numbers of them were 
brought to receive the Gospel by the teaching and 
example of captives whom they had taken in war. 
About the year of Christ 372, the Gospel was propa- 
gated among the barbarous inhabitants of Arabia; 
and among some of the northern nations; particu- 
larly a prince of the Goths about this time became 
Christian, and a great number of his people with 
him. Towards the latter part of this century, the 
Gospel was also further propagated among the Per- 
sians; and among the Scythians, a barbarous peo- 
ple, whom the apostle mentions. Col. 3 : 11. "Bar- 
barian, Scythian," &c. 

And after this, about the year 430, was a remark- 
able conversion of the Burgundians to the christian 
faith. Now the Gospel began 4p be propagated in 
Ireland ; and the Irish, who till now had been Hea- 
then, began to receive the christian faith. About 
the same time it was further propagated among some 
barbarous people in Scotland, and in some other 
places. In the next century, Zaihus, a Heathen 
king, who ruled over the Colchians, was brought 
to renounce his Heathenism, and to embrace the 
christian religion. Several other barbarous nations 



324 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

are recorded to have renounced Heathenism and 
embraced Christianity about this time, that I cannot 
now mention. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FROM THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST TO THE 
REFORMATION. 

I come now to the darkest and most dismal day 
the christian church ever saw, and probably the 
darkest that ever it will see — from the rise of Anti- 
christ till the Reformation by Luther and others. 
The true church in this space was for many hun- 
dred years in a state of great obscurity : like the wo- 
man in the wilderness, she was almost hid from 
sight and observation. In speaking of the events of 
this space of time, I would notice, 1. The great ma- 
chinations and works of Satan against the kingdom 
of Christ ; 2. How the church of Christ was upheld. 

1. The great machinations and works of Satan 
against the kingdgm of Christ during this time. 
Satan had done great things against the christian 
church before, but had been baffled once and again. 
Michael and his angels had obtained a glorious vic- 
tory. How terrible was his opposition during the 
continuance of the Heathen empire; and how glo- 
rious was Christ's victory and triumph over him in 
the time of Constantine ! It pleased God now to pre- 
pare the way for a yet more glorious victory ovei 



TO THE REFORMATION. 325 

him ; he is suffered to renew his strength, and to do 
vhe utmost that his power and subtilty can effect. 
He has a long time to lay his schemes, to establish 
his interest, and make his matters strong. God suf- 
fers him to carry his designs a great length indeed, 
almost to the swallowing up of his church; and to 
exercise a high, proud, and almost uncontrolled do- 
minion in the world a long time, before Christ final- 
ly conquers, and utterly ruins his visible kingdom. 
This he will do in the time of the destruction of An- 
tichrist : thus gloriously triumphing over Satan, after 
he has done to the utmost of his power and subtilty ; 
after he has lifted himself highest of all, and dealt 
most proudly. 

The two^great works of the devil, in this space of 
time, against the kingdom of Christ, are his creat- 
ing his Antichrisiian and Mohammedan kingdoms ; 
which both together comprehend the ancient Roman 
empire; the kingdom of Antichrist the western, and 
the Mohammedan kingdom the eastern empire. As 
the Scriptures in the book of Revelation represent it, 
it is in the destruction of these that the glorious vic- 
tory of Christ, at the introduction of the glorious 
times of the church, will mainly consist. And here 
1st us briefly observe how Satan erects and main- 
tains these two great kingdoms of his in opposition 
to the kingdom of Christ. 

1. With respect to the kingdom of Antichrist. 
This seems to be the masterpiece of all the contri- 
vances of the devil against the kingdom of Christ, 
and is evidently so spoken of in Scripture. Anti- 
christ is that man of sin, 2 Thess. 2 : 3, emphati- 
cally, as though he were so eminently. He is called 
Antichrist, which signifies the opponent or adver- 



326 HISTORt OF REDEMPTION. 

sary of Christ, not because he is the only opponent 
of Christ; for the apostle John observes, that in his 
days there were many Antichrists ; but this is called 
the Antichrist, as though there were none but he, be- 
cause he was so eminently, and above all others. So 
this contrivance of the devil is called the mystery of 
iniquity. 2 Thess. 2 : 7. We find no enemy of Christ 
one half so much spoken of in the propheciesof Reve- 
lation as this ; and the destruction of no enemy is spo- 
ken of as so glorious, and so happy for the church. 

This is a contrivance to turn the ministry of the 
christian church into a ministry of the devil, and 
the angels of the churches into fallen angels. In 
the tyranny, superstition, idolatry, and persecution, 
which he sets up, he contrives to make an image of 
ancient Paganism, and more than to restore what was 
lost by the overthrow of Paganism in the time of Con 
stantine. By these means, the head of the beast, which 
was wounded unto death in Constantine, has his 
deadly wound healed in Antichrist. Rev. 13:3. And 
the dragon, that formerly reigned in the Heathen 
Roman empire, being cast out thence, after the beast 
with seven heads and ten horns rises up out of the 
sea, gives him his power, and seat, and great authori- 
ty ; and all the world wonders after the beast. 

I am far from pretending to determine the time 
when the reign of Antichrist began, which is a point 
that has been so much controverted among divines 
and expositors. It is certain that the twelve hun- 
dred and sixty days, or years, which are. so often in 
Scripture mentioned as the time of the continuance 
of Antichrist's reign, did not commence before the 
year of Christ four hundred and seventy-nine; be- 
cause if they did, they would have ended, and Anti- 



to TiiL nr.i'on.MATio.v. 327 

cfarisl would have fallen before now, (A. D. 1739.) 
The rise of Antichrist was gradual. The chris- 
tian church corrupted itself in many things pre- 
sently after Constantino's time; growing more 
and more superstitious in its worship, and by de- 
crees bringing in many ceremonies into the wor- 
ship of God, till at length they brought in the 
worship of saints, and set up images in their 
churches. The clergy in general, and especial- 
ly the bishop of Rome, assumed more and more 
authority. * * * At length he claimed the power 
of universal bishop over the whole christian church; 
wherein he was opposed for a while, but after- 
wards was confirmed in it by the civil -power of 
the Emperor, in the year six hundred and six. 
After that he claimed the power of a temporal 
prince, and so was wont to carry two swords, 
to signify that both the temporal and spiritual 
sword was his. He claimed more and more au- 
thority, till at length, as Christ's vicegerent on 
earth, he claimed the very same power that Christ 
would have done, if he was present on earth, reign- 
ing on his throne; or the same power that belongs 
to God, and was used to be called God on earth; 
to be submitted to by all the princes of Christen- 
dom. He claimed power to crown princes, and to 
degrade them at his pleasure ; and this power was 
owned — yea, kings and emperors used to kiss 
his feet. The emperors received their crowns 
at his hands ; and princes were wont to dread 
the displeasure of the Pope as they would dread a 
thunderbolt from heaven. If the Pope was pleased 
to excommunicate a prince, all his subjects were 
at once freed from their allegiance to him ; and 



328 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

obliged not to own him any more, on pain of excon> 
munication : and not only so, but any man might 
kill him wherever lie found him. Further, the 
Pope was believed to have power to damn men at 
pleasure ; for whoever died under his exeommunica 
tion, was looked upon as certainly damned. Seve- 
ral emperors were actually deposed, and ejected, and 
died miserably by his means; and if the people of 
any state or kingdom did not please him, he had 
power to lay that state or kingdom under an inter- 
dict, which was a sentence pronounced by the Pope 
against it, whereby all sacred administrations among 
them could have no validity. There could be no 
valid baptisms, or sacraments, or prayers, or preach- 
ing, or pardons, till that interdict was taken off: so 
that that people remained, in their apprehension, in 
a miserable, damnable state, and therefore dreaded 
the Pope's interdict as they would a storm of fire 
and brimstone from heaven. And in order to exe- 
cute his wrath on a prince or people with whom he 
was displeased, other princ-es must also be put to a 
great deal of trouble and expense. 

And as the Pope and his clergy robbed the peo- 
ple of their ecclesiastical and civil liberties and privi- 
leges, so they also robbed them of their estates, and 
drained all Christendom of their money. They en- 
grossed most of their riches into their own coffers, 
by vast revenues, besides pay for pardons and indul- 
gences, baptisms and extreme unctions, deliverance 

out of purgatory, and a hundred other things. 

See how well this agrees with the prophecies, 2 
Thess. 2 : 3, 4. Dan. 7 : 20, 21. Rev. 13 : 6, 7 ; and 
chap. 17 : 3, 4. 

During this time also superstition and ignorance 



TO THE REFORMATION. 329 

more and more prevailed. The holy Scriptures by 
degrees were taken out of the hands of the laity, the 
better to promote the unscriptural and wicked designs 
of the Pope and the clergy; and instead of promot- 
ing knowledge among the people, they industriously 
promoted ignorance. It was a received maxim 
among them, That ignorance is the mother of devo- 
tion : and so great was the darkness of those times, 
that learning was almost extinct in the world. The 
very priests themselves, most of them, were bar- 
barously ignorant as to any commendable learning, 
or any other knowledge than their hellish craft in 
oppressing and tyrannizing over the souls of the 
people. The superstition and wickedness of the 
church of Rome, grew worse and worse till the very 
time of the Reformation, and the whole Christian 
world were led away into this great defection, except 
the remains of the christian church in the Eastern 
Empire that had not been utterly overthrown by the 
Turks. The Greek church, and some others, were 
also sunk into great darkness and gross supersti- 
tion, excepting also those few that were the people 
of God, who are represented by the woman in the 
wilderness, and God's two witnesses, of which more 
hereafter. This is one of those two great king- 
doms which the devil in this period erected in op- 
position to the kingdom of Christ, and was the great- 
est and chief. 

2. The Mohammedan kingdom is another of 
mighty power and vast extent, set up by Satan 
against the kingdom of Christ. He set this up in 
the Eastern empire, as he did that of Antichrist in 
the Western. 

Mohammed was born in the year of Christ 570, 



330 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

in Arabia. When he was about forty years of age 
he began to announce that he was the great prophet 
of God ; and proceeded to teach his new-invented 
religion, of which he was to be worshiped as the 
head next under God. He published his Alcoran, 
which he pretended he received from the angel Ga- 
briel ; and being a subtle crafty man, possessed of 
considerable wealth, and living among a people who 
were very ignorant and greatly divided in their opin- 
ions on religious matters, he, by subtilty and fair 
promises of a sensual paradise, gained a number to 
be his followers. He set himself up as their prince, 
propagated his religion by the sword, and made it 
meritorious of paradise to fight for him. By such 
means his party grew, and went on fighting till they 
conquered and brought over the neighboring coun- 
tries ; and so his party gradually increased till they 
overran a great part of the world. First the Sa- 
racens were some of his followers, who were a peo- 
ple of Arabia, where Mohammed lived, and who, 
about the year 700, dreadfully wasted the Roman 
empire. They overran a great many countries be- 
longing to the empire, and continued their con- 
quests for a long time. These are supposed to be 
meant by the locusts mentioned in the 9th chapter 
of Revelation. 

And then the Turks, who were originally dif- 
ferent from the Saracens, became followers of Mo- 
hammed, and conquered all the Eastern empire. 
They began their empire about the year of Christ 
1296; began to invade Europe in the year 1300; 
took Constantinople, and so became masters of all 
the Eastern empire, in the year 1453. And thus 
all the cities and countries where stood those fa- 



TO THE REFORMATION. 331 

mous churches of which we read in the New Tes- 
tament, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, 
&c. now became subject to the Turks. These are 
supposed to be prophesied of by the horsemen in 
Rev. 9 : 15, &c. And the remains of the Chris- 
tians in those parts of the world, who are mostly of 
the Greek church, are in miserable slavery under 
these Turks; are treated with a great deal of bar- 
barity and cruelty, and are become mostly very ig- 
norant and superstitious. 

Thus 1 have shown what great works of Satan 
were wrought during this space of time in opposi- 
tion to the kingdom of Christ. 

II. I come now to show how the church of 
Christ was upheld through this dark time. 

I. It is to be observed, that towards the former 
part of this space of time, some of the nations of 
Christendom held out a long time before they com- 
plied with the corruptions and usurpations of the 
church of Rome. Though all the world wondered 
after the beast, yet all nations did not fall in at once. 
Many of the principal corruptions of the church of 
Rome were brought in with a great deal of struggle 
and opposition ; and particularly when the Pope 
gave out that he was universal bishop, many church- 
es greatly opposed him in it ; and it was a long 
time before they would yield to his exorbitant 
claims. When the worship of images was first 
brought into the churches there were many who 
greatly opposed it, and long held out against it. 
And so with respect to other corruptions of the 
church of Rome. Those who dwelt nearer to the 
city of Rome complied sooner ; but some that were 
more remote were a long time before they could bo 



332 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

induced to put their necks under the yoke: and par- 
ticularly a great part of the churches in England, 
Scotland, and France retained the ancient purity of 
doctrine and worship much longer than many others 
who were nearer the chief seat of Antichrist. 

2. In every age of this dark time there appeared 
particular persons in all parts of Christendom, who 
bore a testimony against the corruptions and tyran- 
ny of the church of Rome. There is no age of An- 
tichrist, even in the darkest times, but ecclesiastical 
historians mention many by name who manifested 
an abhorrence of the Pope and his idolatrous wor- 
ship, and pleaded for the ancient purity of doctrine 
and worship. God was pleased to maintain an un- 
interrupted succession of many witnesses through 
the whole time, in Germany, France, Britain, and 
other countries; private persons and ministers, some 
magistrates and persons of great distinction. And 
there were numbers in every age who were perse- 
cuted and put to death for this testimony. 

3. Besides these various individuals, there was 
a people called the Waldenses, who lived sepa- 
rate from all the rest of the world, and con- 
stantly bore a testimony against the church of 
Rome through all this dark time. The place 
whei*3 they dwelt was the Vaudois, or the five 
valleys of Piedmont, a very mountainous country 
between Italy and France ; it was compassed about 
with those exceeding high mountains the Alps, 
which were almost impassable, and therefore the 
valleys were almost inaccessible. There this peo- 
ple lived for many ages, in a state of separation 
from all the world, having very little to do with any 
other people. And there they served God in the 



TO THE REFORMATION. 333 

ancient purity of his worship, and never submitted 
to the church of Rome. This probably was the 
place especially meant, Rev. 12 : 6, as prepared of 
God for the woman, that they should feed her there 
during the reign of Antichrist. 

Some of the popish writers themselves own that 
this people never submitted to the church of Rome. 
One of the popish writers, speaking of the Walden- 
ses, says, the heresy of the Waldenses is the oldest 
heresy in the world. It is supposed that they first be- 
took themselves to this place among the mountains, 
to hide themselves from the severity of the Heathen 
persecutions which existed before Constantine the 
Great. And thus the woman fled into the wilder- 
ness from the face of the serpent. Rev. 12 : 6, 14. 
11 And to the woman were given two wings of a 
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, 
into her place : where she is nourished for a time, 
and times, and half a time, from the face of the ser- 
pent." The people being settled there, their pos- 
terity continued there from age to age: and being, 
as it were, by natural walls, as well as by God's 
grace, separated from the rest of the world, they 
never partook of the overflowing corruption. 

These especially were those virgins who were 
not defiled, when other churches prostituted them- 
selves; but they kept themselves pure for Christ 
alone. They followed the Lamb, their spiritual hus- 
band, whithersoever he went: they followed him 
into this hideous wilderness. Rev. 14 : 4, 5. Their 
doctrine and worship appear to be the same with 
the protestant doctrine and worship ; and by the 
confession of popish writers, they were a people re« 
markable for the strictness of their lives, for charity 



334 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

and other christian virtues. They lived in external 
poverty in this hideous country ; but they chose thia 
rather than comply with the great corruptions of the 
rest of the world. 

Living in so secret a place, it was a long time 
before they were noticed. But at last, falling under 
observation, the Romanists went out in mighty ar- 
mies against them, fell upon them with insatiable 
cruelty, barbarously massacreing and putting to 
death men, women, and children, with all imagina- 
ble tortures. Their enemies continued persecuting 
them with but little intermission for several hundred 
years; by which means many were driven out of 
the valleys of Piedmont. These fled into all parts 
of Europe, carrying with them their doctrine, to 
which many were brought over. Their persecutors 
could not by all their cruelties extirpate the church 
of God ; so fulfilling his word, that "the gates of 
hell should not prevail against it." 

4. Towards the latter part of this dark time seve- 
ral noted divines openly appeared to defend the truth, 
and bear testimony against the corruptions of the 
church of Rome. The first and principal of these 
was John Wickliff, an English divine, who appear- 
ed about one hundred and forty years before the Re- 
formation ; he strenuously opposed the popish reli- 
gion, taught the same doctrine that the Reformers 
afterwards did, and had many followers in England. 
He was hotly persecuted in his lifetime, yet died in 
peace ; but after he was buried, his bones were dug 
up by his persecutors and burnt. His followers re- 
mained in considerable numbers in England till the 
Reformation ; they were cruelly persecuted, and 
multitudes were put to death for their religion. 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 335 

Wickliff had many disciples, not only in Eng- 
land, but in other parts of Europe, whither his books 
were carried; and particularly in Bohemia, among 
whom were two eminent divines, John Huss and Je* 
rotne, a divine of Prague, the chief city of Bohemia. 
These strenuously opposed the church of Rome, and 
had many who adhered to them. They were both 
burnt by the Papists for their doctrine; and their 
followers in Bohemia were cruelly persecuted, but 
never extirpated till the Reformation. 



CHAPTER V. 



FROM THE REFORMATION* TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

Thus having gone through the dark time of the 
church, I come now to consider that part which be- 
gins with the Reformation, and reaches to the pre- 
sent time. And here 1 would notice, 1. The Reforma- 
tion itself; 2. The opposition which the devil has 
made to the reformed church; 3. The recent suc- 
cess of the Gospel in one place and another; 4. 
What the state of things is now in the world with 
regard to the church of Christ, and the success of 
his purchase. 

I. The Reformation itself. This was begun in 
Germany, about the year 1515, by the preaching of 
Martin Luther, who being stirred in his spirit to 
see the horrid practices of the popish clergy, and 
having set himself diligently to inquire after truth 



336 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

by the study of the holy Scriptures, and the writings 
of the ancient fathers of the church, very openly and 
boldly decried the corruptions and usurpations of 
the Romish church in his preaching and writings. 
He had soon a great number who agreed with him ; 
among whom was the Elector of Saxony, the 
sovereign prince of the country to which he belong- 
ed. This greatly alarmed the church of Rome, 
which rallied all its force to oppose him and his 
doctrine, and raised fierce wars and persecutions 
against him. But yet the truth spread by means of 
the labors of Luther and Melancthon in Germany, 
Zuinglius in Switzerland, and other eminent di- 
vines, who were cotemporary with Luther, particu- 
larly Calvin, who appeared after the beginning of 
the Reformation, but was one of the most eminent 
Reformers. 

Many of the princes of Germany soon received 
the reformed religion, and many other states and 
kingdoms in Europe, as England, Scotland, Swe- 
den, Denmark, Norway, great part of France, Po- 
land, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Low Coun- 
tries. So that it is thought that at one time about 
half Christendom were of the Protestant religion ; 
though since, the Papists have gained ground: so 
that the Protestants now have not so great a pro- 
portion. 

Thus God began gloriously to revive his church 
again, and advance the kingdom of his Son, after 
such a dismal night of darkness from the rise of 
Antichrist to that time. There had been many en- 
deavors used by the witnesses for the truth for a re- 
formation before. But now when God's appointed 
time was come, his work went on with a swift and 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 337 

wonderful progress; and Antichrist, who had been 
rising higher and higher from his beginning till 
that time, was swiftly and suddenly brought down : 
he fell half-way towards utter ruin, and never has 
been able to rise again to his former height. A late 
expositor (Mr. Lowman) who explains the five first 
vials in the 16th chapter of Revelation with greater 
probability perhaps than any who went before him, 
explains the fifth vial, which was poured out on the 
seat of the beast, of what came to pass in the Refor- 
mation ; having explained the four preceding vials of 
certain great judgments which God brought on the 
popish dominions before the Reformation. It is 
said, Rev. 16 : 10, that "the fifth angel poured out 
his vial on the seat of the beast;" in the original, it 
is the throne of the beast; "and his kingdom was 
full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for 
pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of 
their pains and their sores, and repented not of their 
deeds." He poured out his vial upon the throne of 
the beast, that is, on the authority and dominion oi 
the Pope : so the word throne is often used in Scrip- 
ture. 1 Kings, 1 : 37. " As the Lord hath been 
with my lord the king, even so be he with Solo- 
mon, and make his throne greater than the throne 
of my lord king David ;" i. e. make his dominion 
and authority greater, and his kingdom more glo- 
rious. 

But now, in the Reformation, the vials of God's 
wrath were poured out on the throne of the beast, 
till it was terribly shaken and diminished. The 
Pope's authority and dominion were so greatly re- 
duced, both as to extent and degree, that he lost 
about half his dominions ; besides that authority 

Redemption. 22 



338 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

even in Popish dominions, which he had before. 
He is not now regarded, nor is his power dreaded 
as it was wont to be. The powers of Europe have 
learned not to put their necks under the Pope's feet. 
He is as a lion that has lost his teeth, in comparison 
of what he once was. And when the Pope and 
his clergy, enraged to see their authority so diminish- 
ed at the Reformation, united their plans, and joined 
their forces to destroy the Reformation ; their policy, 
which was wont to serve them so well, failed. 
They found their kingdom full of darkness, so that 
they could do nothing ; like the Egyptians, who 
rose not from their seats for three days. The Re- 
formed church was defended, as Lot and the angels 
were in Sodom, by God's smiting the Sodomites 
with darkness or blindness, so that they could not 
find the door. God then fulfilled that in Job, 5:11, 
&c. " To set up on high those that be low, that 
those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He 
disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their 
hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh 
the wise in their own craftiness ; and the counsel of 
the froward is carried headlong. They meet with 
darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noon-day 
as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the 
sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the 
mighty." Those proud enemies of God's people 
being so disappointed, and finding themselves so un- 
able to uphold their own dominion and authority 
were made as it were to gnaw their tongues for 
pain, or to bite them for mere rage. 

II. I proceed to show what opposition has been 
made by Satan and his adherents, to this success of 
Christ's purchase by the Reformation ; observing 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 339 

as we go along, how far they have been baffled, 
and how far they have been successful. 

The opposition which Satan has made against 
the Reformed religion has been principally of the 
following kinds: 1. By a general council of the 
church of Rome; 2. By secret plots and devices; 
3. By open wars and invasions ; 4. By cruel oppres- 
sion and persecution ; and, 5. By bringing m cor- 
rupt opinions. 

I. The first opposition that I shall notice is that 
made by the clergy of the church of Rome in a 
general council. This was the famous council of 
Trent, which the Pope called a little while after the 
Reformation. In that council there met six cardi- 
nals, thirty-two archbishops, two hundred and twen- 
ty-eight bishops, besides innumerable others of the 
Romish clergy. This council, in all their sittings, 
including the times of intermission, was held for 
twenty-five years. Their main business all this 
while was to concert measures for establishing the 
church of Rome against the Reformers, and for de- 
stroying the Reformation. But it proved that they 
were not able to perform their enterprise. The 
reformed church, notwithstanding their great coun- 
cil, remained, and still remains. So that the coun- 
cil of the froward is earned headlong ; their king- 
dom is full of darkness, and they weary themselves 
to find the door. 

Thus the church of Rome, instead of repenting 
of their deeds, when such clear light was held forth 
to them by Luther and other servants of God, per- 
sisted, by general agreement in council, in their vile 
corruptions and wickedness, and obstinate opposi- 
tion to the kingdom of Christ. The doctrines and 



340 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

practices of the church of Rome, which were chief 
ly condemned by the Reformed, were confirmed by 
the decrees of their council; and the corruptions, in 
many respects, were carried higher than ever be- 
fore. They uttered blasphemous reproaches and 
curses against the reformed religion, and all the 
reformed church was excommunicated and anathe- 
matized. According to the prophecy, they blas- 
phemed God. Thus God hardened their hearts, 
intending to destroy them. 

2. The Papists have endeavored to overthrow 
the Reformation by secret plots and conspiracies. 
There were many plots against the life of Luther. 
The Papists we^e contriving to dispatch him out of 
their way; and he, being a very bold man, often 
very much exposed himself in the cause of Christ ; 
but yet they were wonderfully prevented from hurt- 
ing him, and he at last died in his bed in peace. 
There have been innumerable schemes secretly laid 
for the overthrow of the protestant religion ; one of 
the most considerable, and which seemed to be the 
most likely to take effect, was that in the time of 
king James II. of England. There was at that 
time a strong conspiracy between the king of Eng- 
land and Louis XIV. of France, who were both 
Papists, to extirpate the northern heresy, as they 
called the protestant religion, not only out of Eng- 
land, but out of all Europe ; and they had so laid 
their schemes that they seemed to be almost sure of 
their purpose. They thought that if the reformed 
religion were suppressed in the British realms and 
in the Netherlands, which were the strongest part, 
and chief defence of the protestant interest, they 
should have easy work with the rest. And just as 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 341 

their matters seemed to be come to a head, and their 
enterprise ripe for execution, God', in his provi- 
dence, suddenly dashed all their schemes in pieces 
by the revolution, at the coming in of king Wil- 
liam and queen Mary; by which all their designs 
were at an end. Now the protestant interest was 
more strongly established, by the crown of England 
being transferred to the protestant house of Hano 
ver, and a Papist being, by the constitution of the 
nation, for ever rendered incapable of wearing the 
crown of England. Thus they groped in dark- 
ness at noonday as in the night, and their hands 
could not perform their enterprise, and their king- 
dom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their 
tongues for pain. 

After this there was a deep design laid to bring 
the same thing to pass in the latter end of Q,ueen 
Anne ; s reign, by the bringing in of the popish pre- 
tender ; which was no less suddenly and totally baf- 
fled by divine Providence ; as all the plots against 
the Reformation by bringing in the pretender have 
been. 

3. The Reformation has often been opposed by 
open wars and invasions. The emperor of Ger- 
many declared war with the duke of Saxony, and 
the principal men who favored and received Lu- 
ther's doctrine. But they could not obtain their 
end; they could not suppress the Reformation. For 
the same end, some time after, the king of Spain 
maintained a long war with Holland and the Low 
Countries. But those cruel wars issued greatly to 
the disadvantage of the Romish church, as they oc 
casioned the setting up of one of the most powerful 
protestant states in Europe. The design of the 



342 HISTORY GF REDEMPTION. 

Spanish invasion of England in queen Elizabeth's 
time, was to suppress and root out the reformed 
religion ; and therefore they brought in their fleet 
all manner of instruments of cruelty wherewith to 
torture the protestants who would not renounce the 
protestant religion. But their design was totally baf- 
iled, and their mighty fleet in a great measure ruined. 

4. Satan has opposed the Reformation with cruel 
persecutio?is. The persecutions with which the 
protestants have been harassed by the church of 
Rome, have in many respects been far beyond any 
of the Heathen persecutions. So that Antichrist 
has proved the greatest and most cruel enemy to 
the church of Christ that ever was in the world, in 
this as well as in all other respects ; agreeable to 
the description given of the church of Rome, Rev. 
17:" And I saw the woman drunken with the blood 
of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of 
Jesus." And 18 : 24; "And in her was found the 
blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all them that 
were slain upon the earth." 

The Heathen persecutions had been very dread 
ful ; but now persecution by the church of Rome 
was improved, and studied, and cultivated, as an art 
or science. Such ways of afflicting and tormenting 
were found out, as are beyond the invention of or- 
dinary men, or men unstudied in those things, and 
beyond the invention of all former ages. And that 
persecution might be managed the more effect ually, 
there were certain societies of men established in 
various parts of the popish dominions, whose busi- 
ness it should be to study, and improve, and prac- 
tice persecution in its highest perfection, namely, 
the courts of inquisition. The particular histories 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 343 

of the Romish persecution, and their courts of in- 
quisition, will give an idea of their cruelties, which 
a few words cannot express. 

When the Reformation commenced, the beast 
with seven heads and ten horns began to rage in a 
dreadful manner. The church of Rome renewed 
its persecution of the poor Waldenses, and great 
multitudes of them were cruelly tortured and put 
to death. Soon after the Reformation there were 
terrible persecutions in various parts of Germa- 
ny; and especially in Bohemia, which lasted for 
thirty years ; in which so much blood was shed 
for the sake of religion, that a certain writer com- 
pares it to the plenty of waters of the great riv- 
ers of Germany. The countries of Poland, Lithu- 
ania, and Hungary, were in like manner deluged 
with protestant blood. 

By means of these and other cruel persecutions, 
the protestant religion was in a great measure sup- 
pressed in Bohemia, the Palatinate, and Hungary, 
which before were protestant countries. Thus was 
fulfilled what was foretold of the little horn, Dan. 
7 : 20, 21. " — and of the ten horns that were in 
his head, and of the other which came up, and be- 
fore whom three fell, even of that horn that had 
eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, 
whose look was more stout than his fellows. I be- 
held, and the same horn made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them." And what was fore- 
told of the beast having seven heads and ten horns, 
Rev, 13:7. " And it was given unto him to make 
war with the saints, and to overcome them; and 
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, 
and nations." 



344 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Holland and the other Low Countries were fox 
many years a scene of nothing but the most affect- 
ing and amazing cruelties, being deluged with the 
blood of protestants, under the merciless hands 
of the Spaniards, to whom they were then in sub- 
jection. But in this persecution the devil in a 
great measure failed of his purpose, as it issued in 
a great part of the Netherlands casting off the 
Spanish yoke, and setting up a wealthy and pow- 
erful protestant state, to the great defence of the 
protestant cause ever since. 

France also is another country, which, since the 
Reformation, in some respects, perhaps more than 
any other, has been a scene of dreadful cruelties 
suffered by the protestants. After many cruelties 
had been exercised toward the protestants in that 
kingdom, there was begun a persecution of them in 
the year 1571, in the reign of Charles IX. king of 
France. It began with a cruel massacre, wherein 
seventy thousand protestants were slain in a few 
days, as the king boasted ; and in all this persecu- 
tion he slew, as is supposed, three hundred thou- 
sand martyrs. And it is reckoned that about this 
time, within thirty years, there were martyred in 
this kingdom, for the protestant religion, thirty- 
nine princes, one hundred and forty-eight counts, 
two hundred and thirty-four barons, one hundred 
and forty-seven thousand five hundred and eighteen 
gentlemen, and seven hundred and sixty thousand 
common people. 

But all these persecutions were, for exquisite cru- 
elty, far exceeded by those which followed in the 
reign of Louis XIV. which indeed are supposed to 
exceed all others ; and being long continued, by 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 345 

the long reign of that king, they almost wholly 
extirpated the protectant religion from that king- 
dom, where had flourished a multitude of protest- 
ant churches. Thus it was given to the beast to 
make war with the saints, and to overcome them. 

There was also a terrible persecution in Eng- 
land in queen Mary's time, wherein great num- 
bers in all parts of the kingdom were burnt alive. 
And after this, though the protestant religion was 
for the most part established by law, yet there were 
very severe persecutions by high- churchmen, who 
symbolized in many things with the Papists. Such 
was that which occasioned our forefathers to flee 
from their native country, and come and settle in 
this land, then a howling wilderness. And these 
persecutions were continued with little intermis- 
sion till king William came to the throne. 

Scotland was also the scene for many years of 
cruelties and blood by the hands of the high-church- 
men, such as came very little short of the popish 
persecution in queen Mary's days, and in many 
things much exceeded it, which continued till they 
were delivered by king William. 

Ireland also was, as it were, overwhelmed with 
protestant blood. In the days of king Charles I. of 
England, above two hundred thousand protestants 
were cruelly murdered in that kingdom in a few 
days ; the papists, by a secret agreement, rising 
at an appointed time, intending to kill every pro- 
testant in the kingdom at once. 

Besides these, there have been very cruel perse- 
cutions in Italy and Spain, and other places, which 
1 cannot now relate. — Thus did the devil, and his 



346 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

great minister Antichrist, rage with such violence 
and cruelty against the chuich of Christ ! and thus 
did the whore of Babylon make herself drunk with 
the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus ! By 
these persecutions the protestant church has been 
much diminished ! Yet have they not been able to 
prevail ; but still the protestant church is upheld, 
and Christ fulfils his promise, that the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it. 

5. The last kind of opposition that Satan has 
made to the Reformation is by corrupt opinions. 
The first opposition of this kind was by the fol- 
lowers of Minister and other fanatics who arose in 
Germany about four or five years after the begin- 
ning of the Reformation.** They were very wild 
and extravagant, and held many exceedingly cor- 
rupt opinions. One tenet of theirs was, That 
there ought to be no civil authority, and that it 
was lawful to rebel against it. And on this prin- 
ciple they refused to submit to magistrates or any 
human laws ; and gathered together in vast ar- 
mies, to defend themselves against their civil ru 
lers, and put all Germany into an uproar, and so 
kept it for some time. 

The next opposition of this kind to the Refor- 
mation was that which was made by enthusiasts. 
Those are called enthusiasts who falsely pretend 
to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, as the prophets 
were. These began in Germany about ten years 
after Luther began the Reformation ; and there 
arose various sects of them, who were exceeding 
wild and extravagant.** 

The next of these were the Socinians, who had 
their beginning chiefly in Poland, by the teaching 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 347 

of Laifius Socinus and F(i?(stus Socinus. They held 
that Christ was a mere man, and denied Christ's sat- 
isfaction and most of the fundamental doctrines of 
tln» christian religion. Their heresy has since been 
itlv propagated among Protestants in Poland, 
Germany, Holland, England, and other places.*** 
Since this, Arianism has been revived, an error 
that, a little afier Constantine's time, almost swal- 
lowed up the christian world, like a flood out of the 
mouth of the serpent which threatened to swallow 
! up the woman. Of late years this heresy has been 
j extensively spread. Its advocates hold that Christ 
I is but a mere creature, though they grant that he is 
the greatest of all creatures. 

Another thing which has of late exceedingly pre- 
i vailed among Protestants, and especially in Eng- 
: land, is Deism. The Deists wholly cast off the 
christian religion, and are professed infidels. Indeed 
j they own the being of God, but deny any revealed 
I religion, or any word of God at all ; and say that 
I God has given mankind no other light to walk by 
} but their own reason. 

\ III. I proceed now to show what success the 
! Gospel has had in these latter times of the reformed 
j church; including, 1. Reformation in doctrine and 
worship in countries called Christian; 2. Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel among the Heathen; 3. Revival 
I of religion in the power and practice of it. 

1. As to reformation in doctrine, the most consi- 

I derable success of late has been in the empire of 

j Russia, a country of vast extent. So many of the 

people as called themselves Christians, professed to 

be of the Greek church ; but were very ignorant 

and superstitious. Their late emperor, Peter the 



348 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Great, set himself to reform his dominions, took 
great pains to bring them out of their darkness, and 
to have them instructed in religion. To that end 
he set up schools of learning, ordered the Bible to 
be printed in the language of the country, made a 
law that every family should have the holy Scrip- 
tures, and that no one should marry until able to 
read them. He also reformed the churches of many 
of their superstitions, whereby the religion professed 
and practiced is much nearer than it was to that of 
the Protestants. This emperor gave great encou- 
ragement to the exercise of the protestant religion 
in his dominions. And since that, Russia has be- 
come a land of light, in comparison of what it was 
fifty years since. 

2. As to the propagation of the Gospel among the 
Heathen, I would notice three things. 

(1.) Its propagation herein America. This vast 
continent was wholly unknown to all Christian na- 
tions till these latter times. It was not known that 
there was any such part of the world, though it was 
very full of people ; and therefore the devil had this 
part of the world, as it were, secure to himself, out of 
the reach of the light of the Gospel, and so out of 
the way of molestation in his dominion over them. 
Here the many nations of Indians worshiped him 
as God from age to age, while the Gospel was con- 
fined to the opposite side of the globe. It has been 
supposed that the devil, being alarmed and surprised 
by the wonderful success of the Gospel the first three 
hundred years after Christ, and by the downfall of 
the Heathen empire in the time of Constantine — 
seeing the Gospel spread so fast, and fearing that 
his heathenish kingdom would be wholly over- 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 349 

thrown through the world — led away a people from 
the other continent into America, that they might bo 
quite out of the reach of the Gospel, that here he 
might quietly possess them, and reign over them as 
their god. — Many writers intimate, that some of the 
Indian nations, when the Europeans first came into 
America, had a tradition among them that their god 
first led them into this continent, and went before 
them in an ark. 

However, it is certain that the devil here quietly 
enjoyed his dominion over the poor Indians for many 
ages. But in later times, God has sent the Gospel 
into these parts, and now the christian church exists 
here in America, where before had been nothing but 
the grossest heathenish darkness. Great part, of the 
land is now full of Bibles, and at least the form of 
the worship of the true God and Jesus Christ, where 
the name of Christ before had not been heard. And 
though there has been but a small propagation of the 
Gospel among the Heathen here, in comparison of 
what were to be desired, yet there has been something 
worthy of notice. Many Indians, both at first and 
of late, have exhibited a remarkable inclination to be 
instructed in the Christian religion. 

However small the propagation of the Gospel 
among the Heathen here in America has been hi- 
therto, yet I think we may well look upon the 
discovery of so great a part of the world, and bring- 
ing the Gospel into it, as one thing by which divine 
Providence is preparing the way for the future glo- 
rious times of the church, when Satan's kingdom 
shall be overthrown throughout the whole habitable 
Globe, on every side, and on all its continents. 
When those times come, then doubtless the Gospel 



350 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

shall have glorious success, and all the inhabitants 
of this new-discovered world shall become subjects 
of the kingdom of Christ, as well as all the other 
ends of the earth. In all probability, Providence 
has so ordered it, that the mariner's compass (which 
is an invention of later times, whereby men are 
enabled to sail over the widest ocean, when before 
they durst not venture far from land) should prove a 
preparation for what God intends to bring to pass in 
the glorious times of the church, the sending forth of 
the Gospel wherever any of the children of men dwell, 
however distant, and however separated by wide 
oceans from parts of the world already christianized. 

(2.) There has been of late a very considerable 
propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen in the 
Russian empire. I have already observed the re- 
formation among those who are called Christians 
there: but I now speak of the Heathen. The greater 
part of Tartary, a heathen country, has in later times 
been brought under the Russian government ; and 
great numbers of late have renounced their heathen- 
ism, and embraced the christian religion. 

(3.) There has lately been a very considerable 
propagation of the christian religion among the Hea- 
then in the East Indies; particularly, many on the 
coast of Malabar have been brought over to the 
protestant religion, chiefly by the labors of mission- 
aries from Denmark, who have established schools 
among them, and a press to print Bibles and other 
books for their instruction, in their own language, 
with great success. 

3. The last kind of success which I shall notice, 
is the revival of the power and practice of religion 
And here I shall mention but two instances. 






TO THE PRESENT TIME. 351 

(1.) There has recently been a remarkable revi- 
val of the power and practice of religion in Germa- 
ny, through the endeavors of an eminent divine there, 
1 gustus Herman- Frank, professor of divinity at 
Halle in Saxony. Being a person of eminent cha- 
rity, the great work that God wrought by him began 
with his placing an alms-box at his study door, into 
which some mites were thrown, whereby books were 
bought for the instruction of the poor. And God 
was pleased so wonderfully to smile on his design, 
and so to awaken a spirit of charity, that he was en- 
abled in a little time to erect public schools for the 
benefit of poor children, and an orphan-house for 
their supply and instruction. At last, near five hun- 
dred children were maintained and instructed in 
learning and piety by the charity of others ; and the 
number continued to increase more and more for 
many years. This was accompanied with a wonder- 
ful reformation and revival of religion, and a spirit 
of piety, in the city and university of Halle ; which 
had great influence in many other places in Germa- 
ny. Their example seemed remarkably to excite 
multitudes to their imitation. 

(2.) Another thing which it would be ungrateful 
in us not to notice, is the remarkable outpouring of 
the Spirit of God of late in this part of New-Eng- 
land. But I will not particularly describe it. Many 
have been eye-witnesses of it, and I hope multitudes 
are sensible of the benefit. 

IV. I proceed to consider the present state of 
things in the world, with regard to the church of 
Christ, and the success of his purchase. And this I 
would do by showing how things are now, compar- 
ed with the first times of the Reformation. And, 1. 



352 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Wherein the state of things is altered for the worse : 
and, 2. How it is altered for the better. 

1. The state of things is altered from what it was 
in the beginning of the Reformation, for the worse; 
especially in these three respects. 

(1.) The reformed church is much diminished. 
The Reformation in former times was supposed to 
take place through one half of Christendom, except- 
ing the Greek church: or that there were as many 
Protestants as Papists. But now it is not so ; the 
protestant church is much diminished. Heretofore 
there have been multitudes of Protestants in France ; 
many famous protestant churches were planted all 
over that country, who used to meet together in sy- 
nods, and maintain a very regular discipline. The 
protestant church of France was a great part of the 
glory of the Reformation. But now it is far other- 
wise; this church is all broken and scattered, and 
there are now few protestant assemblies in all that 
kingdom. The protestant interest is also greatly di- 
minished in Germany. There were formerly several 
protestant sovereign princes, whose successors are 
now Papists ; as, particularly, the Elector Palatine, 
and the Elector of Saxony. The kingdom of Bohemia 
was formerly a protestant kingdom, but is now in the 
hands of the Papists. Hungary was formerly a 
protestant country ; but the Protestants there have 
been greatly reduced, and in a great measure sub- 
dued by persecutions. And the protestant interest 
has no way of late remarkably gained ground of 
the church of Rome. 

(2.) Another thing is the prevailing licentiousness 
in principles and opinions. There is not now that 
spirit of orthodoxy which then prevailed ; there is 



TO THE PRESExNT TIME. 353 

very little appearance, of zeal for the mysterious and 
spiritual doctrines of Christianity; and they never 
were so held in contempt as they are in the present 
age ; and especially in England, the principal king- 
ol the Reformation. In this kingdom, those princi- 
ples on which the power of godliness depends are 
in a great measure exploded.*** History gives no 
account of any age wherein there was so great an 
infidel apostasy of those who had been brought up 
under the light of the Gospel ; never was there such 
a disavowal of all revealed religion ; never any 
ftge wherein there was so much scoffing and ridi- 
culing of the Gospel of Christ by those who have 
betMi brought up under its light. 

(3.) There is much less prevalence of the power 
of godliness than there was at the beginning of the 
Reformation. A glorious out-pouring of the Spirit 
of God accompanied the first Reformation, not only 
to convert multitudes in so short a time from Popery 
to the true religion, but to turn many to God and 
true godliness. But now there is a great decay of 
vital piety; yea, it seems to be despised, called en- 
thusiasm, and fanaticism. Those who are truly- 
religious, are commonly looked upon to be beside 
themselves; and vice and profaneness dreadfully 
prevail, like a flood which threatens to bear down 
all before it. But I proceed now to show, 

2. In what respects things are altered for the 
better from what they were in the beginning of the 
Reformation. 

(1.) The power and influence of the Pope is 
much diminished. Although, since the former times 
of the Reformation, he has gained ground in extent 

Rpdomption. 23 



354 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

of dominion, yet he has lost in degree of influence. 
The vial which in the beginning of the Reformation 
was poured out on the throne of the beast, to the 
great diminishing of his power and authority in the 
world, has continued running ever since. The Pope, 
soon after the Reformation, became less regarded by 
the princes of Europe than he had been before ; and 
he has been since less and less. Many of the popisli 
princes themselves seem now to regard him very 
little more than they think will serve their own 
designs ; of which there have been several remark- 
able proofs and instances of late. 

(2.) There is far less persecutic7i now than there 
was in the first times of the Reformation. Some 
parts of the protestant church are at this day under 
persecution, and so probably will be till the day of 
the church's suffering and travail is at an end, 
which will not be till the fall of Antichrist. But it 
is not now such as it was heretofore. There does 
not seem to be the same spirit of persecution pre- 
vailing ; its virulence is abating, even among popish 
princes. The wickedness of the enemies of Christ, 
and the opposition against his cause, seem to run 
in another channel. The humor now is to despise 
and laugh at all religion ; and there seems to be a 
spirit of indifference about it. However, so far the 
state of things is better than it has been, that there is 
so much less of persecution. 

3. There is a great increase of learning. In the 
dark times of Popery, before the Reformation, learn- 
ing was so far decayed that the world seemed to 
be overrun with barbarous ignorance. The very 
priests were many of them grossly ignorant. Learn- 
ing began to revive with the Reformation, owing 



TO THE PRESENT TIME. 355 

very much to the art of printing, which was invented 
a little before that period. Since then, learning has 
increased more and more, and at this day is un- 
doubtedly raised to a vastly greater height than ever 
it was before : and though no good use is made of 
it by the greater part of learned men, yet the in- 
crease of learning in itself is to be rejoiced in, be- 
cause it is a good, and, if duly applied, an excellent 
handmaid to religion. It is a talent which, if God 
gives men a heart, affords them great advantage to 
do much for the advancement of the kingdom of 
Christ and the good of the souls of men. That 
learning and knowledge should greatly increase 
before the glorious times, seems to be foretold, Dan. 
\% : 4. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, 
and seal the book, even to the time of the end : 
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be 
increased." And however little learning is now r ap- 
plied to the advancement of religion, yet we may 
hope that the days are approaching wherein God 
will make great use of it for the advancement of the 
kingdom of Christ. 

God in his providence seems now to be acting 
over again what he did a little before Christ came. 
When Christ came into the world, learning greatly 
prevailed ; and yet wickedness never prevailed more 
than then. God was pleased to suffer human learn- 
ing to come to such a height before he sent forth 
the Gospel into the world, that the world might see 
i the insufficiency of all their own wisdom for ob- 
! tnining the knowledge of God, without the Gospel 
I of Christ and the teaching of his Spirit. When, 
14 in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew 
• not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preach- 



356 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ing, to save them that believe." And when the Gos- 
pel came to prevail first without the help of mans 
wisdom, then God was pleased to make use of 
learning as a handmaid. So now learning is at a 
great height in the world, far beyond what it was 
in the age when Christ appeared ; and the world, 
by their learning and wisdom, do not know God, 
and seem to wander in darkness and to be misera- 
bly deluded, to stumble and fall in matters of re- 
ligion, as at midnight. Trusting to their learning, 
they grope in the day-time as in the night. Learned 
men are exceedingly divided in their opinions con- 
cerning religion, running into all manner of cor- 
rupt, pernicious and foolish errors. They scorn to 
submit their reason to divine revelation, to believe 
any thing that is above their comprehension ; and 
so being wise in their own eyes, they become fools, 
and even vain in their imaginations ; they turn the 
truth of God into a lie, and their foolish hearts are 
darkened. Rom. 1 : 21, &c. 

But yet, when God has sufficiently shown men 
the insufficiency of human wisdom and learning, 
and when the appointed time comes for that glori- 
ous outpouring of the Spirit of God, when he will 
himself by his own immediate influence enlighten 
men's minds ; then may we hope that God will 
make use of the great increase of learning as a 
handmaid to religion, as a means of the glorious ad- 
vancement of the kingdom of his Son. Then shall 
human learning be subservient to the understanding 
of the Scriptures and to a clear explanation and a 
glorious defence of the doctrines of Christianity. 
And there is no doubt that God in his providenco 
has of late given the world the art of printing, and 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST STENTS. 357 

such a great increase of learning-, to prepare for 
what he designs to accomplish for his church in 
the approaching- days of its prosperity. Thus the 
wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just, Prov. 
13 : 22. 



CHAPTER VI. 

IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 

Having now shown how the work of redemption 
has been carried on from the fall of man to the pre- 
sent time, before I proceed any further, I would 
make some Application. 

I. From what has been said, we may see great 
evidence of the truth of the Christian religion, and 
that the Scriptures are the word of God. Three 
arguments especially may be deduced. 

1. It may be argued from that violent and invete- 
rate opposition there has always appeared of the 
wickedness of the world against this religion. The 
religion that the church of God has professed from 
the first, though the dispensations have changed, has 
always, as to its essentials, been the same. The 
church of God, from the beginning, has been one 
society The christian church is manifestly the 
same society continued that was before Christ came; 
grafted on the same root, built on the same founda- 
tion. The revelation on which both have depend- 
ed, is essentially the same: for as the christian 
church is built on the holy Scriptures, so was the 



358 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Jewish church. Though now the Scriptures are 
enlarged by the addition of the New Testament, still 
it is essentially the same revelation with that which 
was given in the Old Testament, only the subjects 
of divine revelation are now more clearly revealed 
in the New Testament than they were in the Old. 
The sum of both the Old Testament and New, is 
Christ and his redemption. The ground-work of 
the religion of the church of God, both before and 
since Christ has appeared, is the same great scheme 
of redemption by the Son of God. The church 
that was before the Israelitish church, was still sub- 
stantially the same, and professed and practiced 
essentially the same religion. Thus it was from 
Noah to Abraham, and thus it was before the flood ; 
for the church then was built on the foundation of the 
revelations of Christ given to Adam and Enoch. So 
that the church of God has always been built on 
those divine revelations, which have been always 
essentially the same, and they are summarily com- 
prehended in the holy Scriptures. Ever since 
Moses' time the church has been built on the Scrip- 
tures themselves. 

So that the opposition which has been made to the 
church of God in all ages, has always been against 
the same religion and the same revelation, which is 
a strong argument of their truth. Contraries are 
well argued one from another. We may well and 
safely argue, that a thing is good according to the 
degree of opposition in which it stands to evil, or 
the degree in which evil opposes and is hostile to 
it. Now it is evident by what we have seen, con- 
cerning the church of Christ and that holy religion 
of Jesus Christ which it has professed, that the 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 359 

wickedness of the world has had a perpetual hatred 
to it, and made most violent opposition against it. 

That the church of God has always met with 
great opposition in the world, none can deny. This 
is plain by profane history as far as that reaches; 
and before that, divine history testifies the same. 
The church of God, its religion and worship, began 
to be opposed in the time of Cain and Abel ; and 
was so when the earth was filled with violence ia 
Noah's time. After this, how was the church op 
posed in Egypt! and how was Israel always hated 
by the nations round about. Jer. 12 : 9. " Mine heri- 
tage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round 
about are against her." And after the Babylonish, 
captivity, how was this church persecuted by Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes and others ! How was Christ 
persecuted when he was on earth ! and how were 
the apostles and other Christians persecuted by the 
Jews, before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro- 
mans ! How violent were that people against the 
church ! and how dreadful was the opposition of the 
Heathen world against the Christian church after 
this before Constantine ! How great was their 
spite against the true religion ! And since that, how 
yet more violent, and spiteful, and cruel has been 
the opposition of Antichrist against the church ! 

There is no other such instance of opposition. 
History gives no account of any other body of men 
that have been so hated, and so maliciously and in- 
satiably pursued and persecuted, nor any thing like 
it. No other religion ever was so maligned age 
after age. The nations of other professions have 
enjoyed their religions in peace and quietness, how- 
ever they have differed from their neighbors. One 



360 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nation has worshiped one sort of gods, and others 
another, without molesting or disturbing one another 
about it. All the spite and opposition have been 
against this religion of the church of Christ. All 
other religions have seemed to show an implacable 
enmity to this ; and men have seemed to have, from 
one age to another, such a spite against it, that they 
have seemed as though they could never satisfy 
their cruelty. They put their inventions upon the 
rack, to find out torments that should be cruel 
enough ; and yet, after all v never seemed to be satis- 
fied. Their thirst has never been satisfied with 
blood. 

That this religion, and these Scriptures, have 
always been malignantly opposed in the world, none 
will doubt. The only question that remains is, 
What it is that has made this opposition ? Whe- 
ther it be the wickedness and corruption of the 
world, or not, that has done this ? But of this there 
can be no greater doubt than of the other, if we 
consider how causeless this cruelty has always 
been, who the opposers have been, and the man- 
ner in which they have opposed. The opposition 
has chiefly been from Heathenism and Popery; 
which are the fruits of the blindness, corruption, 
and wickedness of men, as the very Deists them- 
selves confess. The lignt of nature shows that the 
religion of Heathens, consisting in the worship of 
idols, and sacrificing their children to them, and in 
obscene and abominable rites and ceremonies, is 
wickedness. And the superstitions, idolatries, and 
usurpations of the church of Rome are no less con- 
trary to the light of nature. Thus it appears that 
this opposition to the church of God has been made 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENT8. 361 

by wicked men. And with regard to the opposition 
of the Jews in Christ's and the apostles' time, it was 
in a most corrupt time of that nation, when the peo- 
ple were generally become exceedingly wicked, as 
some of the Jewish writers themselves, Jjsephus 
and others, who lived about that time, expressly de- 
clare. And that it has been mere wickedness that 
has made this opposition, is manifest from the man' 
ner of opposition ; the extreme violence, injustice 
and cruelty with which the church of God has been 
treated. It seems to show the agency of malignant 
infernal spirits. 

Now what reason can be assigned why the cor- 
ruption and wickedness of the world should be so 
implacably set against this religion of Jesus Christ, 
and against the Scriptures, but that they are contrary 
to wickedness, and consequently good and holy? 
Why should the enemies of Christ, for so many 
thousand years, manifest such a mortal hatred to 
this religion, but that it is the cause of God? If 
the Scriptures be not the Word of God, and the reli- 
gion of the church of Christ be not the true religion, 
then it must follow that it is a most wicked reli- 
gion — nothing but lies and abominable delusions, - 
invented by the enemies of God. And if so, it is 
not likely that the enemies of God, and the wicked- 
ness of the world, would have maintained such a 
perpetual and implacable enmity against it. 

2. It is a great argument that the christian 
church and its religion is from God, that it has been 
upheld hitherto through all opposition and dangers. 
That the church of God and the 'rue religion, which 
has been so continually and violently opposed, wiih 
U) many endeavors to overthrow it — and which has 



362 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

so often been brought to the brink of ruin through 
the greatest part of six thousand years — has yet 
been upheld, most remarkably shows the hand of 
God in favor of the church. If duly considered, it 
will appear one of the greatest wonders and mira- 
cles. There is nothing like it upon the face of the 
earth. There is no other society of men that has 
stood as the church has. As to the old world before 
the flood, that was overthrown by a deluge of 
waters; but yet the church of God was preserved. 
Satan's visible kingdom on earth was then once en- 
tirely overthrown ; but the visible kingdom of Christ 
never has been overthrown. All those ancient hu- 
man kingdoms and monarchies of which we read, 
have long since come to an end ; the Moabites, the 
Ammonites, the Edomites, &c. The great empire 
of proud Babylon was overthrown by the Persians ; 
then the Persian empire by the Greeks ; after this 
the Grecian empire was overthrown by the Romans; 
and finally, the Roman empire fell a sacrifice to va- 
rious barbarous nations. Here is a remarkable ful- 
fillment of the text, The moth has eaten them up like 
a garment, and the worm has eaten them like wool; 
but God's church remains. 

Never were there so many and so potent endea- 
vors to destroy any thing else, as to destroy the 
church. Other kingdoms and societies of men 
which have appeared to be ten times as strong as 
the church, have been destroyed with a hundredth 
part of the opposition the church of God has encoun- 
tered : which shows that it is God who has been its 
Protector. For it is most plain that it has not up- 
held itself by its own strength. For the most part, 
it has been a very weak society. The children of 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 363 

Israel were but a handful of people, in comparison 
of the many who often sought their overthrow. So 
in Christ's time, and in the beginning of the chris- 
tian church, they were but a remnant, whereas the 
whole multitude of the Jewish nation were against 
them. And so in the beginning of the gentile 
church, they were but a small number, in compari- 
son with the Heathen who sought their overthrow. 
In the dark times of Antichrist, before the Reforma- 
tion, they were but a handful ; and yet their enemies 
could not overthrow them. And commonly the 
enemies of the church have not only had the great- 
est number on their side, but they have had the 
strength in other respects. They have commonly 
had all the civil authority on their side. So in Egypt, 
the civil authority was for the Egyptians, and the 
church were only their slaves, and in their hands; 
and yet they could not overthrow them. And so it 
was in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and Julian 
the Apostate, the authority was all on the side of the 
persecutors, and the church was under their do- 
minion; yet all their cruelty could not extirpate it. 
And for a great many ages the civil authority was 
all on the side of Antichrist, and the church seemed 
to be in their hands. 

And not only has the strength of its enemies been 
greater than that of the church, but ordinarily the 
church has not used what strength they have 
had in their own defence, but have committed them- 
selves wholly to God. In the time of the Jewish 
persecutions before the destruction of Jerusalem by 
the Romans, and of the heathen persecutions before 
Constantine, the Christians did not pretend to make 
any forcible resistance to their heathen persecutors 



364 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

So it has been for the most part under the popish 
persecutions ; and yet they have never been able to 
overthrow the church of God; but it stands to this 
very day. 

And this is still the more exceedingly wonderful, 
if we consider howoften the church has been brought 
to the brink of ruin, and the case seemed to be despe- 
rate. In the time of the old world, when wickedness 
so prevailed that but one family was left, God won- 
derfully appeared, and overthrew the wicked world 
with a flood, and preserved his church. At the Red 
Sea, when Pharaoh and his host thought they were 
quite sure of their prey, God appeared, destroyed 
them, and delivered his church. Under the tenth 
and last heathen persecution, their persecutors boast- 
ed that now they had done the business for the Chris- 
tians, and overthrown the christian church; yet in 
the midst of their triumph the christian church rises 
out of the dust and prevails, and the heathen empire 
totally falls before it. So when the christian church 
seemed ready to be swallowed up by the Arian here- 
sy, when Antichrist rose and prevailed, and all the 
world wondered after the beast; when the church 
for many hundred years was reduced to a small 
number, and the power of the world was engaged 
to destroy those little remnants; yet they could 
never fully accomplish their design, and at last God 
wonderfully revived his church by the Reformation, 
made it to stand as it were on its feet in the sight of 
its enemies, and raised it out of their reach. And 
when the popish powers plotted the overthrow of 
the reformed church, and seemed just about to exe- 
cute their design, then God wonderfully appeared 
for the deliverance of his church, as at the revolu* 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 365 

tion by King- William. Presently after the darkest 
Unies, God has made his church most gloriously ta 
flourish. 

If such a preservation of the church of God, from 
the beginning of the world hitherto, attended with 
such circumstances, is not sufficient to show a di- 
vine hand in favor of it, what can be devised that 
would be sufficient ? But if this be from the divine 
hand, then God owns the church, and owns that 
revelation and those Scriptures on which she is 
built; and so it will follow that their religion is the 
true religion, or God's religion, and that the Scrip- 
tures, which they make their rule, are his word. 

3. We may draw this further argument for the 
divine authority of the Scriptures, that God has ful- 
filled those things which are foretold in the Scrip- 
tures. I have already observed in general, as I 
have proceeded, how the prophecies of Scripture 
were fulfilled : I shall now single out but two 
instances. 

(1.) One is in preserving his church from being 
ruined. I have just now shown what an evidence 
this is of the divine authority of the Scriptures in 
itself considered ; I now speak of it as a fulfillment 
of Scripture prophecy. This is abundantly foretold 
and promised in the Scriptures, particularly in the 
text. There it is foretold that other things should 
fail; other kingdoms and monarchies, which set 
themselves in opposition, should come to nothing: 
" The moth should eat them up like a garment, and 
the worm should cat them like wool." It is here 
foretold that God's covenant mercy to his church 
should continue for ever; and so it has hitherto 
proved, though the church has passed through so 



366 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

many dangers. The same is promised, Isa. 54: 
17. " No weapon that is formed against thee shall 
prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against 
thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn." And again, 
Isa. 49 : 14, 15, 16. " But Zion said, The Lordliath 
forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can 
a woman forget her sucking child, that she should 
not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, 
they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, 
I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands, thy 
walls are continually before me." The same is 
promised, Isa. 59 : 21 ; 63: 1, 2. Zech. 12 : 2, 3. 
So Christ promised the same, when he says, " On 
this rock will I build my church, and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." Now if this be 
not from God, and the Scriptures be not the word 
of God, and the church of Christ built on the founda- 
tion of this word be not of God, how could the per- 
sons who foretold this know it? for if the church 
were not of God, it was a very unlikely thing ever 
to come to pass. They foretold great opposition and 
dangers, that other kingdoms should come to nought, 
and that the church should often be almost swallow- 
ed up ; and yet that the church should remain. How 
could they foresee so unlikely a thing but by divine 
inspiration? 

(2.) The other remarkable instance is ^fulfill- 
ment of Scripture prophecy concerning Antichrist. 
The way that this Antichrist should arise is fore- 
told, viz. not among the heathen, or those nations 
that never professed Christianity ; but by the fall- 
ing away of the Christian church into a corrupt 
state. 2 Thess. 2:3. " For that day shall not come, 
except there come a falling away first, and that man 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 367 

6.* sin be revealed, the son of perdition." And it is 
prophesied that this man of sin should set himself 
up in the temple or visible church of God, pretend- 
ing to be vested with divine power, as head of the 
church, ver. 4. And all this is exactly come to 
pass in the church of Rome. Again it is intimat- 
ed that the rise of Antichrist should be gradual, 
ver. 7. " For the mystery of iniquity doth already 
work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be 
taken out of the way." This also came to pass. 
Again, it is prophesied of this mighty enemy of the 
Christian church, that he should be a great prince 
or monarch of the Roman empire: so he is repre- 
sented in Daniel as a horn of the fourth beast, or 
fourth monarchy, as the angel himself explains it, 
Daniel, 7. This also came to pass. Yea, it is pro- 
phesied that the seat of this pretended vicar of God, 
and head of the church, should be the city of Rome 
itself. It is said expressly that the spiritual whore, 
or false church, should have her seat on seven 
mountains or hills. Rev. 17 : 9. " The seven heads 
are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." 
And ver. 18. "The woman which thou sawest, is 
that great city which reigneth over the kings of the 
earth ;" which it is certain was at that time the city 
of Rome. This prophecj' also has come to pass. 

Further, it was prophesied that this Antichrist 
should reign over peoples, and multitudes, and na- 
tions, and tongues, Rev. 17: 15; and that all the 
world should wonder after the beast, Rev. 13 : 3. 
This also was verified in the church of Rome. It 
was foretold that this Antichrist should be remark- 
nble fof the sin of pride, pretending to great things, 
and assuming very much to himself. 2 Thess. 2 : 



368 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

4. "That he should exalt himself above all that is 
called God, or that is worshiped." Rev. 13: 5. 
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking 
great things, and blasphemies." In Dan. 7 : 8, 20, 
the little horn is said to have a mouth speaking very 
great things, and his look to be more stout than his 
fellows. This also was verified in the Pope and 
the church of Rome. It was also prophesied, that 
Antichrist should be an exceedingly cruel persecu- 
tor, Dan. 7:21. The same horn " made war with 
the saints, and prevailed against them." Rev. 13 : 
7. " And it was given unto him to make war with 
the saints, and to overcome them." Rev. 7 : 6. 
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of 
the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Je- 
sus." This also came to pass in the church of 
Rome. It was foretold that Antichrist should ex- 
cel in craft and policy. Dan. 7:8. " In this horn 
were eyes like the eyes of a man." And ver. 20. 
" Even of that horn that had eyes." This also 
marks the church of Rome. It was foretold that 
the kings of Christendom should be subject to Anti- 
christ. Rev. 17 : 12, 13. " And the ten horns 
which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have re- 
ceived no kingdom as yet; but received power as 
kings one hour with the beast. These have one 
mind, and shall give their power and strength unto 
the beast." This also came to pass with respect to 
the Romish church. It was foretold that he should 
perform pretended miracles and lying wonders. 2 
Thess. 2:9. " Whose coming is after the working 
of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying won- 
ders." Rev. 13: 13, 14. "And he doeth great won- 
ders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 369 

on the earth, in the sight of men, and decciveth 
them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those 
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of 
the beast." This also designates the church of 
Rome. It was foretold that he should forbid to 
marry, and to abstain from meats. 1 Tim. 4 : 3. 
" Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain 
from meats, which God hath created to be received 
with thanksgiving." This also is exactly fulfilled 
in the church of Rome. It was foretold that he 
should be very rich, and arrive at a great degree of 
earthly splendor and glory. Rev. 17 : 4. "And the 
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and 
decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls, 
having a golden cup in her hand." And 18: 7, 12, 
13, 16. What can more expressly describe the 
church of Rome? It was foretold that he should 
forbid any to buy or sell, but those that had his 
mark. Rev. 13: 17. "And that no man might 
buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name 
of the beast, or the number of his name." This 
also is fulfilled in the church of Rome. It was 
foretold that he should sell the souls of men, Rev. 
18 : 13, where, in enumerating the articles of his 
merchandise, the souls of men are specifically men- 
tioned as one. Is not this also exactly fulfilled in 
the same church 1 It was foretold that Antichrist 
would not suffer the bodies of God's people to be 
buried. Rev. 11 : 8, 9. "And their dead bodies 
shall lie in the street of the great city, and they 
shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." 
How literally has this come to pass with respect 
to the church of Rome! I might mention many 
other things which were foretold of Antichrist, and 

Redemption. 24 



370 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

show that they were fulfilled most exactly in the Pope 
and the church of Rome. How strong an argument 
is this, that the Scriptures are the word of God ! 

II. From what has been said, we may learn what 
the spirit of true Christians is: a spirit of suffering. 
Seeing God has so ordered it in his providence, that 
his church should for so long a time be in a suffer- 
ing state, yea, often in a state of extreme suffering, 
we may conclude that the spirit of the true church 
is a suffering spirit, otherwise God never would 
have ordered for it so much suffering; for doubt- 
less God accommodates the state and circumstances 
of the church to the spirit that he has given her. No 
wonder therefore that Christ so much inculcated 
upon his disciples that they must deny themselves, 
and take up their cross, if they would follow him. 

And what spirit has the church shown and exer- 
cised under her sufferings? She has actually, under 
those terrible persecutions through which she has 
passed, rather chosen to undergo those dreadful tor- 
ments, and to sell all for the pearl of great price ; 
to suffer all that her bitterest enemies could inflict, 
than to renounce Christ and his religion. History 
affords a great number of remarkable instances, sets 
in view a great cloud of witnesses. This abundantly 
confirms the necessity of possessing a spirit to sell 
all for Christ, to renounce our own ease, our own 
worldly profit, our honor, and our all, for him, and 
for the Gospel. 

Let us inquire whether we have such a spirit. 
How does it prove upon trial ? Does it prove in fact 
that we are willing to deny ourselves, and renounce 
our own worldly interests, and pass through the tri- 
als to which we are called in providence ? Alas, 



IMPROVEMENT OF PAST EVENTS. 371 

how small are our trials, compared with those of 
many of our fellow Christians in former ages! I 
would on this occasion apply Jer. 12 : 5. " If thou 
hast run with the footmen and they have wearied 
thee, then how canst thou contend with horses ?" If 
you have not been able to endure the light trials to 
which you have been called, how would you be able 
to endure the far greater trials to which the church 
has been called in former ages ? Every true Chris- 
tian has the spirit of a martyr, and would suffer as 
a martyr, if he were called to it in providence. 

III. Hence we learn what great reason we have 
assuredly to expect the fulfillment of what yet remains 
to be fulfilled of things foretold in Scripture. The 
Scriptures foretell many great things yet to be ful- 
filled before the end of the world : but what great 
difficulties seem to be in the way ! We seem at 
present to be very far from such a state as is foretold 
in the Scriptures; but yet we have abundant reason 
to expect that these things, however seemingly diffi- 
cult, will be accomplished in their season. We see 
the faith fulness of God to his promises hitherto; 
how true he has been to his church, and how he 
has remembered his mercy from generation to gene- 
ration. We may say concerning what God has 
done hitherto for his church, as Joshua to the chil- 
dren of Israel, 23 : 14. " Not one thing hath failed 
of all that the Lord our God hath spoken concern- 
ing his church;" but all things are hitherto come 
to pass agreeable to the divine prediction. This 
should strengthen our faith in those promises, and 
encourage us, and stir us up to earnest prayer to 
God for the accomplishment of the great and glo- 
rious things which yet remain to be fulfilled. 



872 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION, 



CHAPTER VII. 

FROM THE PRESENT TIME TO THE FA.LL OF 
ANTICHRIST. 

I come now to show how the success of Christ's 
redemption will be carried on from the present timo 
till Antichrist is fallen, and Satan's visible kingdom 
on earth is destroyed. With respect to this space 
of time, we have nothing to guide us but the prophe- 
cies of Scripture. Through most of the time from 
the fall of man to the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Romans we had scripture-history to guide us ; and 
from thence to the present time we had prophecy, 
together with the accomplishment of it in providence, 
as related in human histories. But henceforward 
we have -prophecy alone to guide us. And here I 
would pass by those things that are only conjectur- 
ed, or surmised by some from prophecies of doubt- 
ful interpretation, and insist only on those things 
which are more evident. 

We know not what particular events are to come 
to pass before that glorious work of God's Spirit be- 
gins, by which Satan's kingdom is to be overthrown. 
By the consent of most divines, there are but few 
things, if any at all, foretold to be accomplished be- 
fore the beginning of that glorious work of God. 
But some think that the slaying of the witnesses, 
Rev. 11:7, 8, is not yet accomplished; and there 
is a difference of opinion with respect to the pouring 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 373 

out of the seven vials, Rev. 16, how many are alrea- 
dy, or how many remain to be poured out. A late 
expositor, indeed, whom I have before mentioned, 
seems to make it evident that all are already pour- 
ed out but two, the sixth on the river Euphrates, and 
the seventh into the air. I shall not now inquire 
what is intended by the pouring out of the sixth vial 
on "the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings 
of the east might be prepared ;" but would only say, 
that it seems to be something immediately prepara- 
tory to the destruction of spiritual Babylon, as the 
drying up of the river Euphrates, which ran through 
the midst of old Babylon, was what prepared the 
way of the kings of the Medes and Persians (the 
kings of the east) to come in under the walls and 
destroy that city. 

But whatever this be, it does not appear that it 
is any thing which shall be accomplished before 
that work of God's Spirit is began, by which, as it 
goes on, Satan's visible kingdom on earth shall be 
utterly overthrown. And therefore I would pro- 
ceed directly to consider what the Scripture reveals 
concerning the work of God itself, by which he will 
bring about this great event, as being the next thing 
to be accomplished of which we are certain from the 
prophecies of Scripture. 

I. I would observe some things in general con- 
cerning it. 

1 . We have all reason to conclude from the Scrip- 
tures, that just before this work of God begins, it 
will be a very dark time with respect to the interests 
of religion in the world. It has been so before preced- 
ing glorious revivals of religion : when Christ came, 
it was an exceedingly degenerate time among the 



374 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Jews : and so it was a very dark time before the 
Reformation. And not only so, but it seems to be 
foretold in Scripture, that it shall be a time of but 
little religion, when Christ shall come to set up his 
kingdom in the world. Thus when Christ spake 
of his coming, to encourage his elect, who cry to 
him day and night, Luke, 18 : 8, he adds, " Never- 
theless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find 
faith on the earth ?" Which seems to denote a great 
prevalence of infidelity just before Christ's coming 
to avenge his suffering church. Though Christ's 
coming at the last judgment is not here to be exclud- 
ed, yet there seems to be a special respect to his 
coming to deliver his church from their long-con- 
tinued suffering, persecuted state, which is accom- 
plished only by his corning at the destruction of An- 
tichrist. Then will be accomplished the following 
passages. Rev. 6:10. " How long, O Lord, holy 
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood 
on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev. 18 : 20. 
" Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apos- 
tles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on 
her." 

It is now a very dark time with respect to the in- 
terests of religion, wherein there is but little faith, 
and a great prevalence of infidelity on the earth. 
There is now a remarkable fulfillment of 2 Pet. 3 : 
3. " Knowing this, that there shall come in the last 
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." And 
Jude, 17, 18. "But, beloved, remember ye the words 
which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord 
Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should 
be mockers in the last time, who should walk after 
their own ungodly lusts." Whether the times shall 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 375 

be any darker still, or how much darker, before the 
beginning of this glorious work of God, we cannot 
tell. 

2. It is probable from the Scriptures, that this 
great work of God will be wrought, though very 
swiftly, yet gradually. As the children of Israel 
were gradually brought out of the Babylonish cap- 
tivity, first one company, end then another, and 
gradually rebuilt their city and temple ; and as the 
Heathen Roman empire was destroyed by a gra- 
dual, though a very swift prevalency of the Gospel ; 
so, though there are many things which seem to 
show that the work of God will be exceeding swift, 
— and many great and wonderful events will very 
suddenly be brought to pass, and some great parts 
of Satan's visible kingdom suddenly fall, — yet all 
will not be accomplished at once, as by some great 
miracle, like the resurrection of the dead. But this 
work will be accomplished by means, by the preach- 
ing of the Gospel and the use of the ordinary means 
of grace, and so shall be gradually brought to pass. 
Some shall be converted, and be the means of the 
conversion of others. God's Spirit shall be poured 
out first to raise up instruments, and then those in- 
struments shall be used with success. And doubt- 
less one nation shall be enlightened and converted, 
and one false religion and false way of worship ex- 
ploded after another. By the representation, Dan. 
2:3, 4, the stone cut out of the mountain without 
hands gradually grows. So Christ teaches us that 
the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard- 
seed, Matt. 13:31, 32, and like leaven hid in three 
measures of meal, ver. 33. The same representa- 
tion we have in Mark, 4 : 26, 27, 28, and in the vi- 



376 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

sion cf the waters of the sanctuary, Ezek. 47. — The 
Scriptures foretell several successive great and glo- 
rious events by which this glorious work shall be 
accomplished. The angel, speaking to the prophet 
Daniel of those glorious times, mentions two pe- 
riods, at the end of which glorious things shall be 
accomplished. Dan. 12: 11. "And from the time that 
the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the 
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall 
be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." But 
then he adds in the next verse, "Blessed is he that 
waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred 
and five and thirty days ;" intimating that something 
very glorious should be accomplished at the end of 
the former period, but something much more glori- 
ous at the end of the latter. 

II. I now proceed to show how this glorious work 
shall be accomplished. 

1. The Spirit of God shall be gloriously poured 
out for the wonderful revival and 'propagation of 
religion. This great work shall be accomplished, 
not by the authority of princes, nor by the wisdom 
of learned men, but by God's Holy Spirit. Zech. 
4 : 6, 7. " Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, 6 
great mountain ? before Zerubbabel thou shalt be- 
come a plain, and he shall bring forth the head- 
stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace 
unto it." So the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of this 
great work of God, says, chap. 39 : 29, " Neither 
will 1 hide my face any more from them ; for I have 
poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, saith 
the Lord God." We know not where this pouring 
out of the Spirit shall begin, or whether in many 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 377 

places at once ; or whether what has already taken 
place be not some forerunner and beginning of it. 

This pouring out of the Spirit of God, when it is 
begun, shall soon bring great multitudes to forsake 
that vice and wickedness which now so generally 
prevail ; and shall cause that vital religion, which 
is now so despised and derided in the world, to re- 
vive. The work of conversion shall break forth, 
and go on in such a manner as never has been 
hitherto. Isa. 44 : 3, 4, 5. God, by pouring out his 
Holy Spirit, will furnish men to be glorious instru- 
ments of carrying on this work; will fill them with 
knowledge and wisdom, and fervent zeal for pro- 
moting the kingdom of Christ and the salvation of 
souls, and propagating the Gospel in the world. 
The Gospel shall begin to be preached with abun- 
dantly greater clearness and power than had here- 
tofore been. This great work of God shall be 
brought to pass by the preaching of the Gospel, as 
it is represented, Rev. 14 : 6, 7, 8 ; that before Ba- 
bylon falls, the Gospel shall be powerfully preached 
and propagated in the world. 

This was typified of old by the sounding of the 
silver trumpets in Israel in the beginning of their 
jubilee. Lev. 25 : 9. " Then shalt thou cause the 
trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of 
the seventh month: on the day of atonement shall 
ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your 
land." The glorious times which are approaching, 
are the church's jubilee, which shall be introduced 
by the sounding of the silver trumpet of the Gospel, 
as is foretold. Isa. 27 : 13. "And it shall come to 
pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be 
blown, and thev shall come which were ready to 



378 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts of the 
land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the 
hoiy mount at Jerusalem." And there shall be a 
glorious outpouring- of the Spirit with this clear and 
powerful preaching of the Gospel, to make it suc- 
cessful for reviving those holy doctrines of religion 
which are now chiefly ridiculed in the world, and 
turning many from heresy, from Popery, and from 
other false religions; and also for turning many 
from their vice and profaneness, and for bringing 
vast multitudes savingly home to Christ. 

The work of conversion shall go on in a wonder- 
ful manner, and spread more and more. Many shall 
flow together to the goodness of the Lord, one mul- 
titude after another continually. Isa. 60 : 4, 5. " Lift 
up thine eyes round about, and see ; all they gather 
themselves together, they come to thee ; thy sons 
shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be 
nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow 
together." And ver. 8. " Who are these that fly as 
a cloud, and as doves to their windows ?" And as 
the Gospel shall be preached to every tongue, and 
kindred, and nation, and people, before the fall of 
Antichrist ; so we may suppose that it will be glo- 
riously successful to bring in multitudes from every 
nation ; and shall spread more and more with won- 
derful swiftness. Isa. 66 : 7-9. 

2. This pouring out of the Spirit of God will not 
affect the overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom, till 
there has first been made a violent and mighty op- 
position. In this the Scripture is plain, that when 
Christ is thus gloriously coming forth, when the 
destruction of Antichrist is ready at hand, and Sa- 
tan's kingdom begins to totter, the powers of the 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 379 

kingdom of darkness will rise up, and mightily ex- 
ert themselves. Thus, after the pouring out of the 
sixth vial, which was to dry up the river Euphrates, 
to prepare the svay for the destruction of spiritual 
Babylon, Rev. 10, the powers of hell will be might- 
ily alarmed, and will stir up themselves to oppose 
the kingdom of Christ, before the seventh vial shall 
be poured out, which shall give them a final and 
complete overthrow : (ver. 13, 14,) " three unclean 
spirits like frogs shall go forth unto the kings of the 
earth, to gather them together to the battle of the 
great day of God Almighty." This seems to be the 
last and greatest effort of Satan to save his kingdom 
from being overthrown ; though, perhaps, he may 
make as great towards the end of the world to re- 
gain it. 

When the Spirit begins to be so gloriously poured 
out, when the devil sees such multitudes flocking to 
Christ in one nation and another, when the founda- 
tions and pillars of his kingdom are ready to come 
to swift and sudden destruction, all hell will be great- 
ly alarmed. Satan has ever had a dread of having 
his kingdom overthrown, and has been doing great 
works to prevent it, especially since the days 
of Constantine. To this end he set up those 
mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mohammed, 
and brought in all the heresies, superstitions, and 
corrupt opinions in the world. But when he sees 
all begin to fail, it will rouse him exceedingly. If 
Satan of old dreaded being cast out of the Roman em- 
pire, how much more does he dread being cast out 
of the whole world ! 

It seems, in this last great opposition, all the forces 
of Antichrist, and Mohammedanism, and Heathen- 



380 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ism will be united : all the forces of Satan's visible 
kingdom through the whole world of mankind. And 
therefore it is said that "spirits of devils shall go 
forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole 
world, to gather them together to the battle of the 
great day of God Almighty." And these spirits are 
said to come out of the mouth of the dragon, and 
out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth 
of the false prophet; that is, the spirit of Popery, 
the spirit of Mohammedanism, and the spirit of 
Heathenism shall be all united. By the beast is 
meant Antichrist; by the dragon, in this book, is 
commonly meant the devil, as he reigns over his 
heathen kingdom ; by the false prophet is sometimes 
meant the Pope and his clergy; but here reference 
seems to be had to Mohammed, whom his followers 
call the great prophet of God. These will be, as it 
were, the dying struggles of the old serpent ; a battle 
wherein he will fight as one that is almost desperate. 
We know not particularly in what manner this 
opposition shall be made. It is represented as a 
battle; it is called the battle of the great day of 
God Almighty. There will be some way or other 
a mighty struggle between Satan's kingdom and 
the church, and probably in all ways of opposition 
that can be : and doubtless great opposition by exter- 
nal force. The princes of the world who are on the 
devil's side shall join hand in hand; for it is said, 
" The kings of the earth are gathered together to 
battle. 3 ' Rev. 19 : 19. And probably there will be 
great opposition by subtle disputers and carnal rea- 
soning, persecution, virulent reproaches, craft, and 
subtilty. The devil now doubtless will ply his skill, 
as well as strength, to the utmost ; and those who 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 381 

belong to his kingdom, will every where be stirred 
up and engaged to make an united violent opposi- 
tion against this holy religion, which they see pro- 
vailing so mightily in the world. But, 

3. Christ and his church shall in this battle ob- 
tain a complete and entire victory over their ent- 
mies. They shall be totally routed and overthrown 
in this their last effort. When the powers of hell 
and earth are thus gathered together against Christ, 
and his armies shall come forth against them by his 
word and Spirit, in how august and glorious a man- 
ner is this advance of Christ with his church de- 
scribed, Rev. 19 : 11, &c. And to represent how 
great the victory they should obtain, and how mighty 
the overthrow of their enemies, it is said, ver. 17, 18, 
that "all the fowls of heaven are called together, to 
eat the great supper" given them "of the flesh of 
kings, and captains, and mighty men," &c. and 
then, in the following verses, we have a distinct ac- 
count of the victory and overthrow. 

In this victory the seventh vial shall be poured 
out. It is said, Rev. 16 : 16, of the great army 
that should be gathered together against Christ : 
" And he gathered them together into a place called 
in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon ;" then it is 
said, " And the seventh angel poured out his vial 
into the air; and there came a great voice out of the 
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is 
done" Now the business is done for Satan and 
his adherents. When this victory is obtained, all is 
in effect done. Satan's last and greatest opposition 
is conquered; all his measures are defeated; the 
pillars of his kingdom are broken asunder, and will 
ib.ll of course. The devil is utterly baffled and con- 



382 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

founded, and knows not what else to do. He now 
sees his antichristian, Mohammedan, and heathen- 
ish kingdoms through the world, all tumbling down. 
He and his most powerful instruments are taken 
captive. Now that is in effect done, for which the 
church of God had been so long waiting and hop- 
ing, and so earnestly crying to God, saying, " How 
long, O Lord, holy and true," &c. Now this time 
is come. 

The angel who set his right foot on the sea, and 
his left foot on the earth, lifted up his hand to hea- 
ven, and sware by Him that livelh for ever and 
ever, that when the seventh angel should sound, the 
time should be no longer. And now the time is 
come; now the seventh trumpet sounds, and the se- 
venth vial is poured out, both together ; intimating, 
that now all is finished as to the overthrow of Sa- 
tan's visible kingdom on earth. This victory shall 
be by far the greatest ever obtained over Satan and 
his adherents. By this blow, with which the stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands shall strike 
the image of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, 
and clay, it shall all be broken to pieces. This will 
be a finishing blow to the image, so that it shall be- 
come as the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. 

In this victory will be a most glorious display of 
divine power. Christ shall therein appear in the 
character of Ring of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev. 
19 : 16. Now Christ shall dash his enemies, even 
the strongest and proudest of them, in pieces ; as a 
potter's vessel shall they be broken to shivers. Then 
shall strength be shown out of weakness, and Christ 
shall cause his church to thresh the mountains. Isa. 
41 : 15. ''Behold, I will make thee a new sharp 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 383 

threshing-instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh 
the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make 
the hills as chaff." And then shall be fulfilled Isa. 
42:13-15. 

III. Consequent on this victory, Satan 1 s visible 
kingdom on earth shall be destroyed. When Satan 
is conquered in this last battle, the church of Christ 
will have easy work of it; as when Joshua and the 
children of Israel had obtained that great victory 
over the five kings of the Amorites. When the sun 
stfcod still, and God sent great hail-stones on their 
enemies, they had easy work of subduing their cities 
and country; and in like manner it was also after 
the other great battle that Joshua had with a great 
multitude at the waters of Merom. So after this 
glorious victory of Christ and his church over their 
enemies, the chief powers of Satan's kingdom, they 
shall destroy that kingdom in all its cities and coun- 
tries. After this, the word of God shall have a 
speedy and swift progress through the earth; as it 
is said, that on the pouring out of the seventh vial, 
M the cities of the nations fell, and every island fled 
away, and the mountains were not found." Rev. 16: 
19, 20. When once the stone cut out of the moun- 
tain without hands had broken the image in pieces, 
it was easy to abolish all the remains of it. The 
very wind will carry it away as the chaff of the 
summer threshing-floor. Because Satan's visible 
kingdom on earth shall now be destroyed, therefore 
it is said that the seventh vial by which this shall 
be done, shall be poured out into the air ; which is 
represented in Scripture as the special seat of his 
kingdom ; for he is called " the prince of the power 
of the air," Eph. 2 : 2. Now is come the time for 



384 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

punishing leviathan, that piercing serpent, of which 
we read, Isa. 27 : 1, " In that day the Lord, with hia 
sore and great and strong sword, shall punish le« 
viathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that 
crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that 
is in the sea." 

Concerning this overthrow of Satan's visible king- 
dom on earth, I would show wherein it will chiefly 
consist, with its extent and universality. 

1. Wherein it will chiefly consist. I shall men- 
tion the particular things in which it will consist, 
without pretending to determine in what order they 
shall come to pass, or whether they shall be accom- 
plished together. 

(1.) Heresies, infidelity, and superstition, among 
those who have been brought up under the light of 
the Gospel, will then be abolished; and particularly 
Infidelity, which is now so bold and confident, shall 
be driven away, and vanish. All shall agree in the 
same great and important doctrines of the Gospel. 
Zech. 14:9. " And the Lord shall be King over all 
the earth ; in that day shall there be one Lord, and 
his name one." Then shall be abolished all super- 
stitious modes of worship, and all shall cordially 
agree in worshiping God in his own way. Jer. 32: 
39. " And I will give them one heart, and one way, 
that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, 
and of their children after them." 

(2.) The kingdom of Antichrist shall be utterly 
overthrown. His dominion has been much brought 
down already by the vial poured out on his throne 
in the Reformation; but then it shall be utterly de- 
stroyed. Then shall be proclaimed, "Babylon is 
fallen, is fallen." When the seventh angel sounds, 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 385 

"the time, times and half a time " shall be out; and 
"the time shall be no longer." Then shall be ac- 
complished concerning Antichrist the things which 
are written, Rev. 18, of the spiritual Babylon, the 
idolatrous Roman government, that has for so many- 
ages been the great enemy of the Christian church, 
first under Heathenism, then under Popery, — that 
proud city which lifted herself up to heaven, in her 
pride and haughtiness ; that cruel, bloody city, shall 
come down to the ground. Then shall be fulfilled 
Isa. 26 : 5. " For he bringeth down them that dwell 
on high, the lofty city he layeth it low; he layeth 
it low, even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the 
dust." She shall be thrown down with violence, 
like a great mill-stone cast into the sea, and shall be 
found no more at all, and shall become an habitation 
of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a 
cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Now shall 
she be stripped of all her glory, and riches, and or- 
naments, and shall be cast out as an abominable 
branch, and shall be trodden down as the mire ot 
the streets. All her policy and craft, in which she 
so abounded, shall not save her. All the strength 
and wisdom of this great whore shall fail her, and 
there shall be none to help her. The kings of the 
earth, who before gave their power and strength to 
the beast, shall now hate the whore, and shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and 
burn her with fire. Rev. 17 : 16. 

(3.) Satan's Mohammedan kingdom shall be ut- 
terly overthrown. The locusts and horsemen, Rev. 
9, have their appointed and limited time, and the false 
prophet shall be taken and destroyed. And then, 
though Mohammedanism has been so vastly propa- 

Redemption. 25 



380 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

gated in the world, and is upheld by such a great 
empire, this smoke, which has ascended out of the 
bottomless pit, shall be utterly scattered before the 
light of that glorious day, and the Mohammedan 
empire shall fall at the sound of the great trumpet 
which shall then be blown. 

(4.) Jewish infidelity shall then be overthrown. 
However obstinate the Jews have been now for 
above seventeen hundred years in their rejection of 
Christ, however rare have been the instances of in- 
dividual conversions ever since the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and however they have, against the plain 
teachings of their own prophets, continued to ap- 
prove of the cruelty of their forefathers in crucifying 
Christ — yet, when this day comes, the thick veil 
that blinds their eyes shall be removed, 2 Cor. 3 : 
16, divine grace shall melt and renew their hard 
hearts, " and they shall look on him whom they 
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one 
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitter- 
ness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." 
Zech. 12 : 10, &c. And then shall the house of 
Israel be saved : the Jews in all their dispersions 
shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall have 
their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor them- 
selves for their past unbelief and obstinacy. They 
shall flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently, 
humbly, and joyfully owning him as their glorious 
King and only Savior, and shall with all their hearts, 
as with one heart and voice, declare his praises unto 
other nations. 

Nothing is more certainly foretold than this na- 
tional conversion of the Jews, in Rom. 11. There 
are also many passages of the Old Testament which 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 387 

cannot be interpreted in any other sense. Besides 
the prophecies of the calling of the Jews, we have a 
remarkable providential seal of the fulfillment of this 
great event, by a kind of continual miracle, in their 
being preserved a distinct nation in such a dis- 
persed condition till the present time. The world 
affords nothing else like it. There is undoubtedly a 
remarkable hand of Providence in it. When they 
shall be called, that ancient people, who alone were 
God's people for so long a time, shall be his people 
again, never to be rejected more. They shall then 
be gathered into one fold together with the Gen- 
tiles ; and so also shall the remains of the ten tribes, 
wherever they be, and though they have been re- 
jected much longer than the Jews, be brought in 
with their brethren. The prophecies of Hosea es- 
pecially intimate, that in the future glorious times 
of the church, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judah 
ond the ten tribes, shall be brought in together, and 
shall be united as one people, as they formerly were 
under David and Solomon. Hos. 1:11, &c. Though 
we do not know the time in which this conversion 
of Israel will come to pass; yet thus much we may 
determine by Scripture, that it will be before the 
glory of the Gentile part of the church shall be fully 
accomplished ; because it is said that their coming 
in shall be life from the dead to the Gentiles. Rom. 
11 : 12-15. 

(5.) Then shall also Satan's heathenish kingdom 
be overthrown. Gross heathenism now possesses a 
great part of the earth. But then the heathen na- 
tions shall be enlightened with the glorious Gospel. 
There will be a wonderful spirit of pity towards 
them, and zeal for their instruction and conversion, 



888 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

and many shall go forth and carry the Gospel to 
them. Then shall the joyful sound be heard among 
them, and the Sun of righteousness shall arise with 
his glorious light shining on those vast regions of 
the earth that have been covered with heathenish 
darkness for many thousand years. Many of them, 
doubtless ever since the times of Moses and Abraham, 
have lain thus in a miserable condition, under the 
cruel tyranny of the devil, who has all this while 
blinded and befooled them, domineered over them, 
and made a prey of them. Now the glad tidings of 
the Gospel shall sound there, and they shall be 
brought out of darkness into marvelous light. 

It is promised in many places, that heathenism 
shall thus be destroyed. God has said, that the 
gods that have not made these heavens and this 
earth, shall perish from the earth, and from under 
these heavens, Jer. 10 : 11, and that he will utterly 
abolish idols. Isa. 2:18. Then shall the many na- 
tions of Africa, who now seem to be in a state but 
little above the beasts, and in many respects much 
below them, be visited with glorious light, and de- 
livered from all their darkness, and shall become a 
civil, christian, intelligent, and holy people. Then 
shall the vast continent of America, in which now 
prevails so much ignorance and cruelty, be every 
where covered with glorious gospel-light and chris- 
tian love : and instead of worshiping the devil as 
multitudes now do, they shall serve God, and praises 
shall be sung every where to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the blessed Savior of the world. So we may expect 
it will be with the great and populous countries of 
the East, now mostly inhabited by the worshipers 
of the devil. Then the kingdom of Christ will be 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 389 

established in those vast countries which have been 
more lately discovered towards the north and south 
poles, where men differ very little from the wild 
beasts, except in impiety. The same will be the ease 
with respect to countries not yet discovered. Thus 
will be gloriously fulfilled, Isa. 35 : 1, " The wil- 
derness and the solitary place shall be glad for 
them : the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the 
rose." See also verses 6, 7. 

2. Having thus shown wherein this overthrow of 
Satan's kingdom will consist, I come now to ob- 
serve its universal extent. The visible kingdom of 
Satan shall be overthrown, and the kingdom of 
Christ set up on the ruins of it, every where through- 
out the whole habitable globe. Now shall the 
promise made to Abraham be fulfilled, that in him 
and in his seed shall "all the families of the earth 
be blessed;" and Christ become "the desire of all 
nations." Haggai, 2 : 7. Now the kingdom of 
Christ shall in the most strict and literal sense be 
extended to all nations, and the whole earth. There 
are many passages of Scripture that can be under- 
stood in no other sense. What can be more uni- 
versal than Isa. 11:9; " For the earth shall be full 
of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea." As much as to say, As there is no part 
of the channel or cavity of the sea but is covered 
with water, so there shall be no part of the world 
of mankind but shall be covered with the knowledge 
of God. So it is foretold, Isa. 45 : 22, that "all 
the ends of the earth" shall look to Christ and be 
saved. And to show that the words are to be un- 
derstood in the most universal sense, it is said in the 
next verse, " I have sworn by myself, the word ia 



390 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall 
not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, eve- 
ry tongue shall swear." So the most universal ex- 
pression is used, Dan. 7 : 27, "And the kingdom 
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom un- 
der the whole heaven, shall be given to the people 
of the saints of the Most High God." 

When the devil was cast out of the Roman em- 
pire, because that was the highest and principal part 
of the world, and the other nations that were left 
were low and mean in comparison, it was repre- 
sented as Satan's being cast out of heaven to the 
earth, Rev. 12:9; but it is represented that he shall 
be cast out of the earth too, and shut up in hell, 
Rev. 20 : 1, 2, 3. This is the greatest of all revo- 
lutions; therefore it is said, Rev. 16: 17, 18, that on 
the pouring out of the seventh vial there was "a 
great earthquake, such as there was not since men 
were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and 
so great." And this is the third great dispensation 
of Providence, which in Scripture is compared to 
Christ's coming to judgment, Rev. 16 : 15. There, 
after the sixth vial, and after the devil's armies were 
gathered together to their great battle, and just be- 
fore Christ's glorious victory over them, it is said, 
"Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that watch- 
eth, and keepeth his garments." So it is called 
Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2 : 8. Speaking of Anti- 
christ, it is said, "And then shall that Wicked be re- 
vealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit 
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness 
of his coming." See also Dan. 7 : 13, 14, where 
Christ's coming to set up his kingdom on earth, and 
to destroy Antichrist, is called coming with the clouds 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 301 

of heaven. And this is more like Christ's last com* 
ing to judgment, than any of the preceding dispen- 
sations which are so called. The dispensation is so 
much greater and more universal, and so more like 
the day of judgment, which respects the whole 
world. The great spiritual resurrection of the 
church of God accompanying it, resembles the ge- 
neral resurrection at the end of the world more than 
any other. See Rev. 20 : 4. 

Terrible judgments and fearful destruction shall 
now be executed on God's enemies. There will 
doubtless be at the introducing of this dispensation 
a visible and awful hand of God against blasphe- 
mers, infidels, obstinate heretics, and other enemies 
of Christ, terribly destroying them, with remarka- 
ble tokens of wrath and vengeance. More espe- 
cially will this dispensation be attended with terri- 
ble judgments on Antichrist; the cruel persecutors 
in the church of Rome shall in a most awful man- 
ner be destroyed; which is compared to casting 
Antichrist into the burning flame, Dan. 7:11, and 
to casting him alive into the lake that burns with 
fire and brimstone. Rev. 19 : 20. 

Then shall this cruel persecuting church suffer 
those judgments from God, which shall be far more 
dreadful than her persecutions of the saints. Rev. 
18 : 6, 7. The judgments which God shall execute 
on the enemies of the church are so great, that they 
are compared to God's sending great hail-s'ones 
from heaven upon them, every one of the weight of 
a talent, as is said on the pouring out of the seventh 
vial. Rev. 16 : 21. "And there fell upon men a 
great hail out of heaven, every stone about the 
weight of a talent : and men blasphemed God, be- 



392 HISTORr OF REDEMPTION. 

cause of the plague of the hail ; for the plague there* 
of was exceeding great." And now shall be that 
treading of the wine-press spoken of Rev. 14 : 19,20. 
This shall put an end to the church's suffering 
state, and shall be attended with their glorious and 
joyful praises. The church's afflicted state has been 
continued, excepting some short intermissions, from 
the resurrection of Christ to this time ; but then shall 
a final end be put to her suffering state. Indeed 
after this, near the end of the world, the church shall 
be greatly threatened ; but it is said it shall be but 
for a little season, Rev. 20 : 3 ; for as the times of 
the church's rest have been but short, before the 
long day of her afflictions are at an end ; so what- 
ever affliction she may suffer after this, will be 
very short. In every other respect, the day of the 
church's afflictions and persecutions shall now 
come to a final end. The Scriptures, in many pla- 
ces, speak of this time as the end of the suffering 
state of the church. So Isa. 51 : 22. "Behold, I 
have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, 
even the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no 
more drink it again." Then shall be proclaimed to 
the church, Isa. 4©: 1, 2, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, 
my people, saith'your God. Speak ye comfortably 
to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is 
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she 
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her 
sins." Isa. 54 : 8, 9 ; and 60 : 20. '« The Lord shall 
be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended." Zeph. 3 : 15. " The Lord 
hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out 
thine enemy; the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in 
the midst of thee : thou shalt not see evil any more." 



TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 393 

The time before this had been the church's sow- 
ing-time, wherein she sowed in tears and in blood ; 
but now is her harvest, wherein she will come again 
rejoicing, bringing her sheaves with her. Now the 
time of travail of the woman clothed with the sun is 
at an end; now she has brought forth her son: for 
this glorious setting up of the kingdom of Christ 
through the world, is that for which the church had 
been in travail with such terrible pangs for so many- 
ages. Isa. 26: 17. " Like as a woman with child, 
that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in 
pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been 
in thy sight, O Lord." Isa. 60 : 20, and 61 : 10, 1 1. 
And now the church shall forget her sorrow : now 
succeed her joyful praise and triumph. Her praises 
shall then go up to God from all parts of the earth, 
Isa. 42: 10-12; and praise shall not only fill the 
earth, but also heaven. The church on earth, and 
the church in heaven, shall both gloriously rejoice 
and praise God as with one heart. Without doubt 
it will be a time of very distinguished joy and praise 
among the holy prophets and apostles, and the other 
saints in heaven. Rev. 18:20. " Rejoice over her, 
thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for 
God hath avenged you on her." See how universal 
these praises will be. Isa. 44 : 23. " Sing, O ye 
heavens, for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower 
parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye 
mountains, O forest, and every tree therein : for the 
Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in 
Israel." See what joyful praises are sung to God on 
this occasion by the universal church in heaven and 
earth, Rev. 19. 

This dispensation is, above all preceding ones, like 



394 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Christ's coming- to judgment, in that it so puts an 
end to the former state of the world, and introduces 
the everlasting kingdom of Christ. Now Satan's 
visible kingdom shall be overthrown, after it had 
stood ever since the building of Babel ; the old hea- 
vens and the old earth shall in a greater measure pass 
away, and the new heavens and the new earth be set 
up in a far more glorious manner than ever before. 

Thus I have shown how the success of Christ's 

purchase has been carried on through the times of 
the afflicted state of the christian church, from 
Christ's resurrection till Antichrist is fallen, and 
Satan's visible kingdom on earth is overthrown. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE SUCCESS OF REDEMPTION THROUGH THAT 
SPACE WHEREIN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH SHALL, 
FOR THE MOST PART, BE IN A STATE OF PEACE 
AND PROSPERITY. 

In order to describe this part, I would speak, 
first, of the prosperous state of the church through 
the greatest part of this period ; and, secondly, of 
the great apostasy there shall be towards the close 
of it. 

I. The prosperous state of the church. And in 
general, I would observe two things: 

1. That this is most properly the time of the king- 
dom of heaven upon earth. Though the kingdom 



TO THE END OF TIME. 395^ 

of heaven was in a degree set up soon after Christ's 
resurrection, and in a further degree in the time of 
Constantine ; and though the christian church in all 
ages of it is called the kingdom of heaven, yet this 
is the principal time of the kingdom of heaven upon 
earth, the time principally intended by the prophe- 
cies of Daniel, whence the Jews took the name of 
ike kingdom of heaven. 

2. Now is the principal fulfillment of a\] the pro- 
phecies of the Old Testament which speak of the 
glorious times of the Gospel in latter days. Though 
there has been a glorious fulfillment of those prophe- 
cies already, in the times of the apostles and of Con- 
stantine ; yet the expressions are too high to suit 
any other time entirely but that which is to suc- 
ceed the fall of Antichrist. This is most properly 
the glorious day of the Gospel. Other times are 
only forerunners and preparatory to this : those were 
the seed-time, this is the harvest. But more particu- 
larly, 

(1.) It will be a time of great light and know- 
ledge. The present are days of darkness, in com- 
parison of those days. The light of that glorious 
time shall be so great, that it is represented as though 
there should then be no night, but only day; no 
evening nor darkness. Zech. 14:6, 7. "And it 
shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall 
not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day 
which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor 
night : but it shall come to pass, that at evening- 
time it shall be light." It is further represented as 
though God would then give such light to his church 
that it should so much exceed che glory of the light 
of the sun and moon that they should be ashamed. 



396 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Isa. 24 : S3. " Then the moon shall be confounded, 
and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall 
reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before 
his ancients gloriously." 

There is a kind of vail now cast over the greater 
part of the world, which keeps them in darkness: 
but then this vail shall be destroyed. Isa. 25: 7. 
" And he will destroy in this mountain the face of 
the covering cast over all people, and the vail that 
is spread over all nations." Then all countries and 
nations, even those which are now most ignorant, 
shall be full of light and knowledge. Great know- 
ledge shall prevail every where. It may be hoped 
that then many Africans and Indians will be divines, 
and that excellent books will be published in Africa, 
in Ethiopia, in Tartary, and other now the most 
barbarous countries; and not only learned men, but 
others of more ordinary education, shall then be very 
knowing in religion. Isa. 32 : 3, 4. " The eyes of 
them that see, shall not be dim ; and the ears of them 
that hear, shall hearken. The heart also of the 
rash shall understand knowledge." Knowledge then 
shall be very universal among all people. Jer. 31 : 
34. " And they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know 
the Lord ; for they shall all know him, from the 
least of them unto the greatest of them." 

There shall be a wonderful unfolding of the diffi- 
culties in the doctrines of religion, and clearing up of 
seeming inconsistencies. Crooked things shall be 
made straight, and rough places shall be made plain, 
and darkness shall become lightbefore God's people." 
Difficulties in Scripture shall then be cleared up, and 
wonderful things shall be discovered in the Word of 



TO THE END OF TIME. 397 

God, which were never discerned before. The great 
discovery of those things in religion which had been 
before kept hid, seems to be compared to removing 
the vai!, and discovering the ark of the testimony 
to the people, which before used to be kept in the 
secret part of the temple, and was never seen by 
them. Thus, at the sounding of the seventh angel, 
when it is proclaimed that "the kingdoms of this 
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
of his Christ," it is added, that " the temple of God 
»vas opened in heaven, and there was seen in his 
temple the ark of his testament." So great shall be 
the increase of knowledge in this time, that heaven 
shall be as it were opened to the church of God on 
earth. 

(2.) It shall be a time of great holiness. Now vital 
religion shall every where prevail and reign. Those 
times shall be an exception from what Christ says of 
the. ordinary state of the church, that there shall be 
but few saved ; for now holiness shall become gene- 
ral. Isa. 60 : 21. " Thy people also shall be all right- 
eous." Not that there will be none remaining in a 
christless condition ; but that visible wickedness 
shall be suppressed every where, and true holiness 
shall become general, though not universal. It shall 
be a wonderful time, not only for the multitude of 
godly men, but for eminency of grace. Isa. 65 : 20. 
M There shall be no more thence an infant of days, 
nor an old man that hath not filled his days ; for the 
child shall die a hundred years old ; but the sinner, 
being a hundred years old, shall be accursed." Zech. 
12 : 8. " He that is feeble among them at that day 
shall be as David ; and the house of David shall be 
as God, as the angel of the Lord before them." And 



398 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

holiness shall then be as it were inscribed on every 
thing - , on all men's common business and employ- 
ments, and the common utensils of life: all shall be 
dedicated to God, and applied to holy purposes : 
every thing shall then be done to the glory of God. 
Isa. 23 : 18. "And her merchandise and her hire 
shall be holiness to the Lord." Zech. 14: 20, 21. 
And as God's people then shall be eminent in ho- 
liness of heart, so they shall be also in holiness of 
life and practice. 

(3.) It shall be a time wherein religion shall in 
every respect be uppermost in the world. It shall 
be had in great esteem and honor. The saints have 
hitherto for the most part been depressed, and wick- 
ed men have governed. But now they will reign. 
The kingdom shall be given into the hands of the 
saints of the Most High God, Dan. 7 : 27 ; and 
they shall reign on earth, Rev. 5: 10; they shall 
live and reign with Christ a thousand years } Rev. 
20 : 4. In that day, such persons as are eminent' for 
true piety and religion shall be chiefly promoted 
to places of trust and authority. Vital religion shall 
then take possession of kings' palaces and thrones ; 
and those who are in highest advancement shall be 
holy men. Isa. 49 : 23. "And kings shall be thy nurs- 
ing-fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers." 
Kings shall employ all their power, and glory, and 
riches for the advancement of the honor and glory of 
Christ, and the good of his church. Isa. 60: 16. "Thou 
shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt 
suck the breast of kings." And the great men of 
the world, and the rich merchants and others who 
have great wealth and influence, shall devote all to 
Christ and his church. Psalm 45 : 12. "The daugh- 



TO THE END OF TIME. 399 

tor of Tyre shall be there with a gift, even the rich 
among the people shall entreat thy favor." 

(4.) Those will be times of great peace and love. 
There shall then be universal peace and a good 
understanding among the nations of the world, in- 
stead of confusion, wars, and bloodshed. Isa. 2 : 
4. "And he shall judge among the nations, and 
shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat 
their swords into plough-shares, and their spears 
into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more." It is represented as if all instruments of 
war should be destroyed, having become useless. 
Psal. 46 : 9. " He maketh wars to cease unto the 
end of the earth : he breaketh the bow and cutteth 
the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the 
fire." See also Zech. 9 : 10. Then shall all na- 
tions dwell quietly and safely, without fear of any 
enemy. Isa. 32 : 18. *• And my people shall dwell 
in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and 
in quiet resting-places." Also Zech. 8 : 10, 11. 

Then shall malice, and envy, and wrath, and re- 
venge be suppressed everywhere; and peace and 
love prevail between one man and another; which 
is most elegantly set forth in Isa. 11 : 6-10. Then 
shall there be peace and love between rulers and 
ruled. Rulers shall love their people, and with all 
their might seek their best good; and the people 
shall love their rulers, joyfully submit to them, and 
give them the honor which is their due. So shall 
there be happy love between ministers and their 
people. Mai. 4 : 6. "And he shall turn the heart 
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the 
children to their fathers." Then shall flourish in 



400 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

an eminent manner those christian virtues of meek- 
ness, forgiveness, long-suffering 1 , gentleness, good- 
ness, and brotherly kindness, those excellent fruits 
of the Spirit. Men, in their temper and disposition, 
shall then be like the Lamb of God, the lovely Je* 
sus. The body shall be conformed to the head. 

Then shall all the world be united in one amia- 
ble society. All nations, in all parts of the world, 
on every side of the globe, shall then be knit to- 
gether in sweet harmony. All parts of God's 
church shall assist and promote the spiritual good 
of one another. A communication shall then be 
upheld between all parts of the world to that end ; 
and the art of navigation, which is now applied so 
much to favor men's covetousness and pride, and is 
used so much by wicked debauched men, shall 
then be consecrated to God, and applied to holy 
uses. See Isa. 60 : 5-9. And then men will be 
abundant in expressing their love one to another, 
not only in words, but in deeds of charity. Isa. 32 : 
5. " The vile person shall be no more called libe- 
ral, nor the churl said to be bountiful;" but (ver. 
8) " the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by libe- 
ral things shall he stand." 

(5.) It will be a time of excellent order in the 
church of Christ. The true government and dis- 
cipline of the church will then be settled and put 
into practice. All the world shall then be as one 
church — one orderly, regular, beautiful society. 
And as the body shall be one, so the members shall 
be in beautiful proportion to each other. Then shall 
be verified Psal. 122:3. n Jerusalem is builded 
as a city that is compact together." 

(6.) The church of God shall then be beautiful 






TO THE END OF TIME. 401 

and glorious ; yea, it will appear in the perfection 
of beauty. Isa. 60 : 1. "Arise, shine, for thy light 
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon 
thee." Isa. 61 : 10. "He hath covered me with the 
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh him- 
self with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth her- 
self with her jewels." On these accounts the 
church vvill then be the greatest image of heaven 
itself. 

(7.) That will be a time of the greatest temporal 
prosperity. Such a spiritual state as we have just 
described, has a natural tendency to health and long 
life : and that this will actually be the case, is evi- 
dent by Zech. 8:4. " Thus saith the Lord of 
hosts, There shall yet old men and old women 
dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man 
with his staff in his hand for very age." It has 
also a natural tendency to produce ease, quietness, 
pleasantness, and cheerfulness of mind, also wealth, 
and a great increase of children ; as is intimated in 
Zech. 8:5. " And the streets of the city shall be 
full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof." 
But further, the temporal prosperity of the people 
of God will also be promoted by a remarkable bless- 
ing from heaven. Isa. 65 : 21. "They shall build 
houses, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant 
vineyards, and eat the fruit of ihem." Mic. 4 : 4. 
" But they shall sit every man under his vine, and 
under his fig-tree, and none shall make them 
afraid." Zech. 7 : 12. "For the seed shall be pros- 
perous, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground 
her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew, 
and I will cause the remnant of this people to 
possess all these things." See also Jer. 31 : 12, 

Redemption. 26 



402 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

13 ; Amos, 9:13. Yea, then they shall receive all 
manner of tokens of God's presence, acceptance, 
and favor. Jer. 33 : 9. "And it shall be to me a 
name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the 
nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good 
that I do unto them: and they shall fear and trem- 
ble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity 
that I procure unto it." Even the days of Solo- 
mon were but an image of those days, as to the tem- 
poral prosperity which shall then prevail. 

(8.) It will also be a time of great rejoicing, 
Isa. 35 : 10. " And the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlast- 
ing joy upon their heads : they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 
Chap. 55 : 12. "For ye shall go out with joy, and 
be led forth with peace : the mountains and the hills 
shall break forth before you." Chap. 66:11. "That 
ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her 
consolations', that ye may milk out, and be delight- 
ed with the abundance of her glory." Chap. 12:3. 
" With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of 
salvation." That will be the church's glorious 
wedding-day with Christ upon earth. Rev. 19 : 7. 
" Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him ; 
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
hath made herself ready." Verse 9. "Blessed are 
they which are called to the marriage-supper of 
the Lamb." 

(9.) The Scriptures every w T here represent this 
prosperity to be of long continuance. The former 
intervals of rest and prosperity, as we before ob- 
served, are represented to be short ; but the repre- 
sentations of this state are quite different. Rev. 20 : 



TO THE END OF TIME. 403 

4. "And I saw the souls of them that were behead 
ed for the witness of Jesus, — and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years" Isa. GO : 15. 
M Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so 
that no man went through thee, I will make thee 
an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." 
This may suffice as to the prosperous state of the 
church through the greater part of the period from 
the destruction of Satan's visible kingdom in the 
world, to Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven 
to judgment. 

II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy 
there shall be towards the close of this period, and 
how the church shall, for a short time, be threatened 
by her enemies. And this I shall do under three 
particulars. 

1. A little before the end of the world, a great 
part of the world shall fall away from Christ and 
his church. It is said, Rev. 20 : 3, that Satan should 
be cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up, and have 
a seal set upon him, that he should deceive the na- 
tions no more till the thousand years be fulfilled; 
and that afterwards he must be loosed out of his 
prison for a little season. Accordingly we are told, 
ver. 7, 8, that when the thousand years are expired, 
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and go forth 
to deceive the nations which are in the four quar- 
ters of the earth, Gog and Magog. This intimates 
that the apostasy would be very general. The na- 
tions of the four quarters of the earth shall be de- 
ceived ; and the number of those who shall now 
turn enemies to Christ shall be vastly great, as the 
army of Gog and Magog is represented by Ezekiel. 
It is said, Rev. 20 : 8, that the number of them r 



404 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

" as the sand of the sea," and that " they went up on 
the breadth of the earth," as if they were an army 
large enough to reach from one side of the earth to 
the other. 

Thus, after a happy and glorious season, such a 
long day of light and holiness, of love, and peace, 
and joy, it shall again be a dark time. Satan shall 
begin to set up his dominion again in the world; 
and this world shall again become a scene of dark- 
ness and wickedness. The bottomless pit shall be 
opened, and devils shall come up again out of it, and 
a dreadful smoke shall ascend to darken the world. 
And the church of Christ, instead of extending to 
the utmost bounds of the world, as it did before, 
shall be reduced to narrow limits. The world of 
mankind being continued so long in a state of great 
prosperity, shall now begin to abuse their pros- 
perity, to serve their lust and corruption. Luke, 
17 : 26, &c. 

2. Those apostates shall make great opposition 
to the church of God. The church shall be threat- 
ened with a sudden and entire overthrow by them. 
It is said Satan shall gather them together to battle, 
as the sand on the sea-shore: and they went up on 
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp 
of the saints about, and the beloved city. So that 
this beloved city shall seem just ready to be swal- 
lowed up by them: for her enemies shall not only 
threaten her, but shall actually have gathered to- 
gether against her; and not only so, but shall have 
besieged her, shall, have compassed her about on 
every side. However, there is nothing in the pro- 
phecy which seems to show that the church had 
actually fallen into their hands, as it had fallen into 



TO THE END OF TIME. 405 

the hands of Antichrist, to whom it was given to 
make war with the saints, and to overcome them. 
God will never suffer this to take place after the 
foil of Antichrist ; for then the day of her mourning" 
shall be ended, though she shall be most alarming- 
ly threatened with utter and sudden destruction. 

3. Now the state of things will seem most re- 
markably to call for Christ 1 s immediate appearance 
to judgment. For then the world shall be filled 
with the most aggravated wickedness. Much the 
greater part of the world shall have become visibly 
wicked and open enemies to Christ, and their wick- 
edness shall be dreadfully aggravated by their apos- 
tasy. Before the fall of Antichrist, most of the 
world is full of visibly wicked men. But the great- 
er part of these are poor Heathens, who never en- 
joyed the light of the Gospel ; and others have been 
brod up in Mohammedan or Popish darkness; but 
these will have apostatized from the christian 
church, the visible kingdom of Christ, in which 
they enjoyed the great light and privileges of glo- 
rious times, which shall be incomparably greater 
than the light and privileges the church of God 
now enjoy. This apostasy will be more like the 
apostasy of the devils than any before : for the devils 
apostatized and turned enemies of Christ, though 
they enjoyed the light of heaven ; and these will 
apostatize and turn enemies to him, though they 
have enjoyed the light and privileges of the glorious 
times of the church. That such should turn open 
and avowed enemies to Christ, and seek the ruin 
of his church, will cry aloud for such immediate 
vengeance as was executed on the devils when 
they fell. 



406 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

The wickedness of the world will remarkably call 
for Christ's immediate appearing in flaming- fire to 
take vengeance on them, because of the way in which 
they shall manifest their wickedness. This will be 
by scoffing and blaspheming Christ and his holy re- 
ligion ; and particularly, they will scoff at the notion 
of Christ's coming to judgment, of which the church 
shall be in expectation, and shall warn them. For 
now doubtless will be the greatest fulfillment of 2 
Pet. 3 : 3, 4. " Knowing this first, that there shall 
come in the last days scoffers, walking after their 
own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his 
coming? For since the fathers fell psleep all things 
continue as they were from the beginning of the 
creation." They shall be in no expectation of the 
coming of Christ to judgment, and shall laugh at 
the idea. They shall trample all such things under 
foot, and shall give up themselves to their lusts, or to 
eat and drink, and wallow in sensual delights, as 
though they were to be here for ever. They shall 
despise the warnings the church shall give them of 
the coming of Christ to judgment, as the people of 
the old world despised what Noah told them of the 
approaching flood, and as the people of Sodom did 
when Lot said to them, " The Lord will destroy this 
city." Their wickedness on this account will cry 
aloud to heaven for Christ's appearing in flaming 
fire to take vengeance of his enemies; and also be- 
cause they shall exercise their wickedness in a dar- 
ing design and violent attempt against the holy city 
of God, wherein for so long a time so much of the 
religion of Christ had been seen. 

And the great number of the wicked is another 
thing which shall especially call for Christ's coming; 



TO THE END OF TIME. 407 

for the world then will doubtless be full of people, 
having continued so long in so great a state of pros- 
perity, without such terrible desolating extremities 
as wars, pestilences, and the like, to diminish them. 
And the greater part of the world, which shall be so 
populous, will be wicked contemptuous apostates 
from God. Undoubtedly the world will then be by 
far fuller of wickedness than ever it was before, from 
its foundation. And if the wickedness of the old 
world, when men began to multiply on the earth, 
called for the destruction of the world by a deluge 
of water, this wickedness will as much call for its 
destruction by a deluge oifire. 

Again, the circumstances of the church at that day 
will also eminently call for the immediate appearing 
of Christ, as they will be compassed about by their 
blasphemous murderous enemies, just ready to swal- 
low them up. And it will be a most distressing time 
with the church, excepting the comfort they will 
have in the hope of deliverance from God : for all 
other help will seem to fail. The case will have 
reached the last extremity, and there will be an im- 
mediate need that Christ should come to their deli- 
verance. And though the church shall be so emi- 
nently threatened, yet so will Providence order it, 
that it shall be preserved till Christ shall appear 
in his immediate presence, coming in the glory of 
his Father, with all his holy angels. Then shall 
all the elect be gathered in. The work of conver- 
sion, which has been carried on from the beginning 
of the church after the fall through all those ages, 
shall be carried on no more. There never shall 
another soul be converted. Every one of those 
many millions, whose names are written in the book 



408 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

of life before the foundation of the world, shall be 
brought in; not one soul shall be lost. And the 
mystical body of Christ, which has been growing 
since it first began in the days of Adam, will be 
complete, having every one of its members. In this 
respect, the work of redemption will now be finished. 
And now the end for which the means of grace 
have been instituted shall be obtained — all that 
effect which was intended, shall now be accom- 
plished. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 

Thus I have shown how the success of Christ's 
redemption has been accomplished during the con- 
tinuance of the christian church under the means 
of grace. We have seen what great revolutions 
there have been, and are to be, during this space 
of time; how the great wheels of providence have 
gone round for the accomplishment of that kind of 
success of Christ's purchase which consists in the 
bestowment of grace on his people. In the prose- 
cution of the subject, we are come to the time when 
all the wheels have gone round; the course of 
things in this state of it is finished, and all things 
are ripe for Christ's coming to judgment. 

The success of Christ's purchase is of two kinds, 
consisting either in grace or glory. That of the 
former is to be seen in the works of God while the 
church is continued under the means of grace; that 
of the latter will chiefly be accomplished at the day 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 409 

of judgment. Having already shown how the for- 
mei kind of success has been accomplished. I come 
now to the latter, that kind of success which is ac- 
complished in the bestowment of glory on the church 
at the clay of judgment. And here I would mention 
two or three things in general, concerning this kind 
of success of Christ's purchase. 

1. How great the success of Christ's purchase 
is, appears chiefly in this, that it summarily con- 
sists in the salvation of his people. But this bestow- 
ment of glory is eminently called their salvation. 
Heb. 9 : 28. " To them that look for him, shall he 
appear the second time, without sin unto salvation." 
So it is called redemption, being eminently that 
wherein the redemption of the church consists. 
Eph. 4 : 30. " Sealed unto the day of redemption ;" 
and Luke, 21 : 28, Eph. 1:14, "Redemption of the 
purchased possession." 

2. All that precedes this, while the church is 
under the means of grace, is only to make way for 
the success which is to be accomplished in the be- 
stowment of glory. The weans of grace, and God's 
grace itself, are bestowed on the elect to make them 
meet for glory. 

3. All those glorious things which were brought 
to pass for the church while under the means of 
grace, are but images and shadows of this. So were 
those glorious things which were accomplished for 
the church in the days of Constantine ; and so is 
all that glory which is to succeed the fall of Anti- 
christ. .However great, it is all but a shadow of 
what will be bestowed at the day of judgment. But 
I hasten more particularly to show how this kind 
of success will be accomplished. 



410 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

1. Christ icill appear in the glory of his Father, 
with all his holy angels, coming in the clouds of 
heaven. When the world are reveling in their 
wickedness, and compassing the holy city, just ready 
to destroy it, then shall the glorious Redeemer make 
his appearance. He by whom this redemption has 
all along been carried on, shall appear in the sight 
of the world; the light of his glory shall break 
forth; the whole world shall immediately have no- 
tice of it, and they shall lift up their eyes and be- 
hold this wonderful sight. Every eye shall see him, 
Rev. 1 : 7. Christ shall appear coming in his hu- 
man nature, in that same body (now glorified) which 
was born in a stable and laid in a manger, which 
afterwards was so cruelly used, and nailed to the 
cross. 

Men shall now lift up their eyes and see him 
coming in such majesty and glory as is to us utterly 
inconceivable. The glory of the sun in a clear 
firmament will be but darkness in comparison of 
it ; and all the glorious angels and archangels shall 
attend him ; thousand thousands ministering to him, 
and ten thousand times ten thousand round about 
him. How different a person will he then appear 
from what he did at his first coming, when he was 
as a root out of dry ground, a poor, despised, afflict- 
ed man ! How different now is his appearance, in 
the midst of those glorious angels, principalities 
and powers, in heavenly places attending him, from 
what it was when in the midst of a ring of soldiers, 
with his mock robe and his crown of thorns, buf- 
feted and spit upon, or hanging on the cross be- 
tween two thieves, with a multitude of his enemies 
triumphing over him I 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 411 

This will be a most unexpected sight to the 
wicked world : it will come as a cry at midnight: 
they shall be taken in the midst of their wicked- 
ness, and it will give them a dreadful alarm. It 
will at once break up their revels, their eating and 
drinking, and carousing. It will put a quick end 
to the design of the great army that will then be 
compassing the camp of the saints : it will make 
them let drop their weapons out of their hands. 
The world, then full of people, most of them wicked 
men, will be filled with dolorous shrieking and 
crying ; for all the kindreds of the earth shall wail 
because of him. Rev. 1 : 7. And where shall they 
hide themselves ? How will the sight of that awful 
majesty terrify them in the midst of their wicked- 
ness ! Then they shall see who he is, what kind of 
a person he is whom they have mocked and scoffed, 
and whose church they have been endeavoring to 
overthrow. This sight will change the voice of 
their laughter and singing, while they are marry- 
ing and giving in marriage, and the voice of their 
scoffing into hideous, hellish yelling. Their coun- 
tenances shall be changed from a show of carnal 
mirth, haughty pride, and contempt of God's people; 
and ghastly terror and amazement, trembling and 
chattering of teeth shall seize upon them. 

But with respect to the saints, it shall be a joyful 
and most glorious sight to them ; for it will at once 
deliver them from all fear of their enemies, who 
were before compassing them about, just ready to 
swallow them up. Deliverance shall come in their 
extremity ; the glorious Captain of their salvation 
shall appear for them at a time w r hen no other help 
appeared. Then shall they lift up their heads, and 



412 HISTORY OF REDEMPTIOM. 

their redemption shall be drawing nigh. Luke, 21 : 
28. Christ will appear with infinite majesty, yet at 
the same time they shall see infinite love in his 
countenance. And thus to see their Redeemer com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven, will fill their hearts 
full of gladness. Their countenances also shall be 
changed, not as the countenances of the wicked, but 
from sorrow to exceeding joy and triumph. And 
now the work of redemption will be finished in 
another sense : the whole church shall be complete- 
ly and eternally freed from all persecution and mo- 
lestation from wicked men and devils. 

II. The last trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall be raised, and the living changed. God sent 
forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, to 
gather together his elect from the four corners of 
the earth in a mystical sense, before thedestruction 
of Jerusalem ; that is, he sent forth the apostles and 
others to preach the Gospel all over the world. And 
so in a mystical sense the great trumpet was blown 
at the beginning of the glorious times of the church. 
But now the great trumpet is blown in a more lite- 
ral sense, with a mighty sound which shakes the 
earth. There will be a great signal given by a 
mighty sound made, which is called the voice of the 
archangel. 1 Thess. 4 : 16. "For the Lord him- 
self shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
God." On the sound of the great trumpet the dead 
shall be raised every where. The number of the 
dead is now very great. How many has death cul 
down since the world has stood I But then the num- 
ber will be much greater; the world shall have stood 
longer, and through most of the remaining time it 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 413 

will doubtless be much fuller of inhabitants than 
ever it lias been. All these shall now rise from the 
dead. The graves shall be opened in all parts of 
the world, and the sea shall give up the innumera- 
ble dead that are in it. Rev. 20 : 13. 

And now all the inhabitants that ever shall have 
been upon the face of the earth shall appear upon 
earth at once. All that have been of the church of 
God in all ages: Adam and Eve, the first parents 
of mankind; Abel, and Seth, and Methuselah, and 
all the saints who were their contemporaries ; Noah 
and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the prophets of Is- 
rael, the holy apostles of Jesus Christ, and all the 
saints of their times; and all the holy martyrs who 
fell under furious persecutions. There will be found 
all who belonged to the church in its wilderness- 
state during the dark times of Antichrist, and all 
who have suffered under his persecuting cruelty, 
with all the saints that have been, and that shall be 
to the end of the world. Now also all the enemies 
of the church in all ages shall appear again ; all the 
wicked Heathens, and Jews, and Mohammedans, 
and Papists. Sinners of all sorts; demure hypo- 
crites, profane sensualists, heretics, infidels, and all 
cruel persecutors, and all who have died or shall die 
in sin, shall come together. 

And at the same time that the dead are raised, the 
living shall be changed. The bodies of the wicked 
who shall then be living, shall be so changed as to 
fit thern for eternal torment ; and the bodies of all the 
living saints shall be changed to be like unto Christ's 
glorious body. 1 Cor. 15 : 51-53. The bodies of 
all the saints shall be so changed as to render them 
for ever incapable of pain, or affliction, or uneasi- 



414 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

ness; and all that dullness and heaviness, and all 
that deformity which their bodies had before, shall 
be put off; and they shall put on strength and beau- 
ty, activity, and incorruptible unfading glory. 

And now the work of redemption shall be finish- 
ed in another respect: all God's people shall now 
be actually redeemed both in soul and body. Be- 
fore this, the work of redemption, as to its actual 
success, was but incomplete ; for only the souls of 
the redeemed were actually saved and glorified, ex- 
cepting in some few instances : but now all the bo- 
dies of the saints shall be saved and glorified to- 
gether ; they shall all be glorified in the whole man, 
the soul and body in union. 

III. Now shall the saints be caught up in the 
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and all vjicked 
men and devils arraigned before the judgment-seat. 
When the dead saints are raised, then the whole 
church, consisting of all God's people through all 
ages, will stand together on the earth, at least all 
excepting those few whose bodies were glorified be- 
fore ; and then they shall all mount up as with 
wings to meet Christ, who shall fix his throne in 
the air, whence he may be seen by all the vast 
multitude that shall be gathered before him. Then 
shall the saints ascend up to their Savior. Thus 
the apostle tells us, that when the dead in Christ 
are raised, and the living changed, then those who 
are alive and remain, shall be caught up together 
with them, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
we be ever with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 
What a wonderful sight will that be, when all the 
many millions of saints are thus mounting up from 
all parts of the world. 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 415 

Then shall the work of redemption be finished 
in another respect: then shall the whole church be 
perfectly and for ever delivered from this present 
evil world ; shall take their everlasting leave of this 
earth, where they have been strangers, and which 
has been for the most part a scene of trouble and 
sorrow ; where the devil has reigned as God, and 
has greatly molested them, and which has been 
such a scene of wickedness and abomination ; where 
Christ their Lord has been crucified ; and where 
they have been so hated, reproached and perse- 
cuted. They shall leave it, and shall never set foot 
on it again. And there shall be an everlasting sepa- 
ration made between them and wicked men. Be- 
fore, they were mixed together, and it was impos- 
sible in many instances to determine their charac- 
ters ; but now all shall become visible; both saints 
and sinners shall appear in their true characters 
and forms. 

Then shall all the church be seen coming from 
the east and west, and north and south, and ascend- 
ing to the right hand of Christ. What a mighty 
cloud of them will there be ! All that ever have been 
of the church of God : all that were before Christ; 
all the multitude of saints in the apostles' time; all 
that were in the days of Constantine the Great ; 
all that were before and since the Reformation ; 
and all the great multitude of saints that shall be in 
all the glorious times of the church, when the whole 
earth shall for so many generations be full of saints; 
and also all that shall be living when Christ shall 
come — all these shall be seen flocking together in 
the clouds at his right hand ! 

And then also the work of redemption will be 



416 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

finished in another respect: the church shall all be 
gathered together. They all belonged to one soci- 
ety before, but yet were widely separated. Some 
were in heaven, and some on earth ; and those who 
were on earth were separated, many of them by 
wide oceans and vast continents. But now they 
shall all be gathered together, never to be separated 
more. And not only shall all the members of the 
church now be gathered together, but all shall be 
gathered unto their Head, into his immediate glorious 
presence, never to be separated from him any more. 
At the same time all wicked men and devils shall 
be brought before the judgment-seat of Christ. 
These shall be gathered to the left hand of Christ, 
and, as it seems, will still remain upon the earth, 
and not be caught up into the air, as the saints shall 
be. The devil, that old serpent, shall now be drag- 
ged up out of he-ll. He, that first procured the fall 
and misery of mankind, and has so set himself 
against their redemption, and has all along shown 
himself such an inveterate enemy to the Redeemer, 
shall never more have any thing to do with the 
church of God, nor be suffered in the least to afflict 
or molest any member of it for ever. Instead of 
that, now he must be judged, and receive the due 
reward of his deeds. Now is come the time which 
he has always dreaded, and trembled at the thought 
of; the time wherein he must bejudged, and receive 
his full punishment. He who by his temptation ma- 
liciously procured Christ's crucifixion, and triumph- 
ed as though he had obtained the victory, even he 
shall seethe consequences of that death which he pro- 
cured. Now he must stand before the same Jesus, to 
bejudged, condemned, and eternally destroyed by him. 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 417 

If Satan, the prince of hell, trembles at the thought of 
it thousands of years beforehand, how much more 
will he tremble, proud and stubborn as he is, when 
he comes to stand at Christ's bar! 

Then shall he also stand at the bar of the saints, 
whom he has so hated, afflicted, and molested: for 
the saints shall judge him with Christ. 1 Cor. 6 
3. "Know ye not that we shail judge angels? 
Now shall he be as it were subdued under the 
church's feet. Rom. 16 : 20. Satan, when he first 
tempted our first parents to sin, dtceitfully and ly- 
ingly told them that they should be as gods; but little 
did he think that they should indeed be so far as gods, 
as to be assessors with God to judge him. Much 
less did he think that one of that nature which he 
then tempted, one of the posterity of those very per- 
sons whom he tempted, should actually be united to 
God; that as God he should judge the world, and 
that he himself must stand trembling and astonished 
before his judgment-seat. But thus all the devils 
in hell, who have so opposed Christ and his king- 
dom, shall now at last stand in utmost amazement 
and horror before Christ and his church, who shall 
appear to condemn them. 

Now also shall all Christ's other enemies be 
brought to appear before him. Now shall proud 
scribes and Pharisees, who had such a malignant 
hatred of Christ while in his state of humiliation, 
and who persecuted him to death, be made to come. 
Now those before whose judgment-seat Christ once 
stood as a malefactor at their bar — and those who 
mocked him, buffeted him, and spit in his face — 
shall see Chiist in his awful glory, as forewarned, 
Matt. 26 : 64, 65. Then Christ was before their 

Redemption. 27 



418 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

judgment-seat; but now it is their turn to stand be- 
fore his judgment-seat, with inconceivable horror 
and amazement, with ghastly countenances, quaking 
limbs, chattering teeth, and knees smiting one against 
another. 

Now also all the cruel enemies and persecutors 
of the church in all ages shall come in sight togeth- 
er. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Antiochus Epiph- 
anes, the malignant Scribes and Pharisees, the per- 
secuting heathen emperors, Julian the Apostate, the 
cruel persecuting Popes and Papists, Gog and Ma- 
gog, shall all appear at once before the judgment- 
seat of Christ. They and the saints who have in 
every age been persecuted by them, shall come, and 
must now confront one another before the great 
Judge. And now shall the saints on their glorious 
thrones be made the judges of those unjust kings 
and rulers who before judged and condemned them, 
and put them to cruel death. Now shall those per- 
secutors behold the glory to which they are arrived, 
whom they before despised, and so cruelly treated. 
Thus wonderfully will the state of things be alter- 
ed; now will all things be coming to rights. 

IV. The righteousness of the church shall be 
manifested, and all the wickedness of their enemies 
be brought to light. Those saints who had been 
the object of hatred, reproach and contempt in the 
world, reviled and condemned by their persecutors 
without a cause, shall now be fully vindicated. 
They shall now appear clothed with the glorious 
robe of Christ's righteousness. It shall be most 
manifest before the world, that Christ's righteousness 
is theirs, and they shall gloriously shine forth in it. 
Then shall their inherent holiness be made manifest 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 419 

and all their good works be brought to light. The 
good things which they did in secret shall now be 
manifested openly. Those holy ones of God, who 
had been treated as the filth and ofTscouring of the 
earth, as if not fit to live, as worse than beasts or 
devils, shall now appear to have been the excellent 
of the earth. Now God shall bring forth their 
righteousness as the light, and their judgment as the 
noon-day. And now it shall appear who indeed 
were those wicked persons that were not fit to live ; 
when all the wickedness of the enemies of Christ 
and his church, their pride, their malice, their 
cruelty, their hatred of true religion, shall be set 
forth in all its horrid acts, in its proper colors. 

And now the righteous may be heard before this 
great Judge, who could not be heard before those 
unjust judges. Now they shall declare their cause, 
and rise up in judgment against their persecutors, 
and shall declare how they had been treated by 
them. And now all the wickedness of the wicked 
shall be brought to light, even all their secret 
wickedness, and their very hearts shall be opened 
to view before the bright light of that great day. 
Things which have been spoken in the ear, in the 
closet, and done in the dark, shall be manifested in 
the light, and proclaimed before angels and men, 

V. The sentence shall be pronounced on the right- 
eous and the wicked. Christ, the glorious judge, 
shall pass that blessed sentence on the church at his 
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world. This sentence shall be pronounced 
with infinite love, and the voice will cause every 
heart to overflow with joy. Thus Christ shall pro- 



420 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

nounce a sentence of justification on millions, who 
before had a sentence of condemnation passed upon 
them by their persecutors. He will thus put honor 
upon those who have been before despised ; he will 
own them for his, and will put a crown of glory 
upon their heads before the world : and then shall 
they shine forth as the sun with Christ in glory and 
joy, in the sight of all their enemies. 

And then shall the sentence of condemnation be 
passed on the wicked, Depart, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 
Thus shall the church's enemies be condemned ; in 
which sentence of condemnation the holy martyrs, 
who have suffered from them, shall concur. When 
the words of this sentence are pronounced, they will 
strike every heart of those at the left hand with in- 
conceivable horror and amazement. Every syllable 
of it will be more terrible than a stream of lightning 
through their hearts. What horrible shrieking, 
quaking, gnashing of teeth, distortions of counte- 
nance, hideous looks, hideous actions, and hideous 
voices, will be seen through all that vast throng ! 

VI. Upon this, Christ and all his saints, and all 
the holy angels ministering to them, shall leave this 
lower world, and ascend towards the highest hea- 
vens. Christ shall ascend in as great glory as he 
descended, and in some respects greater : for now 
he shall ascend with his elect church with him, 
glorified in body and soul. Christ's first ascension 
to heaven soon after his own resurrection was very 
glorious. But this his second ascension, with his 
mystical body, his whole church, shall be far moro 
glorious. The redeemed church shall all ascend 
with him in a most joyful and triumphant manner. 



THE GENERAL JUDOMENT. 421 

and all their enemies and persecutors, who shall be 
left behind to be consumed, shall see the sight and 
hear their songs. And thus Christ's church shall 
for ever leave this accursed world, to go into the 
highest heavens, the paradise of God, the kingdom 
prepared for them from the foundation of the world. 

VII. When they are gone, this world shall beset 
on fire, and turned into a great furnace, wherein all 
the enemies of Christ and his church shall be tor- 
mented for ever and ever. 2 Pet. 3:7. *' But the 
heavens and the earth which are now, by the same 
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the 
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 
How will it strike the wicked with horror, when 
the fire begins to lay hold upon them, and they find 
no way to escape from it ! What shrieking and 
crying will there be among those many millions 
when they begin to enter into this great furnace, 
when the whole world shall be a furnace of the 
fiercest and most raging heat ! insomuch that the 
apostle Peter says, 2 Pet. 3 : 10, 12, " that the hea- 
vens shall pass away with a great noise, and the 
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, 
and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up ; 
and the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." 
And so fierce shall be its heat, that it shall burn the 
earth into its very centre : which seems to be what 
is meant, Deut. 32 : 22. " For a fire is kindled in 
my anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and 
shall consume the earth with her increase, and set 
on fire the foundations of the mountains." 

And here shall all the persecutors of the church 
of God burn in everlasting fire, who had before 



422 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

burnt the saints at the stake ; and shall suffer tor- 
ments far beyond all that their utmost wit and malice 
could inflict on the saints. And here the bodies of 
all the wicked shall burn, and be tormented to all 
eternity, and never be consumed ; and the wrath of 
God shall be poured out on their souls. Though 
the souls of the wicked in hell do now suffer dread- 
ful punishment, yet their punishment will be so in- 
creased at the day of judgment that what they suf- 
fered before is, in comparison of it, as an imprison- 
ment to the execution which follows. And now the 
devil, that old serpent, shall receive his full punish- 
ment ; now that for fear of which he before trembled, 
shall fully come upon him. This world, which 
formerly used to be the place of his kingdom, where 
he set up himself as God, shall now be the place of 
his complete punishment, of full and everlasting 
torment. And in this, one design of the work of 
redemption, putting Christ's enemies under his feet, 
shall be perfectly accomplished. His enemies shall 
now be made his footstool in the fullest degree. 
Now shall be the most perfect fulfillment of Gen. 3 , 
15, " It shall bruise thy head." 

VIII. At the same time, all the church shall enter 
with Christ, their glorious Lord, into the highest 
heavens, and there enter on the state of their highest 
and eternal blessedness and glory. While the lower 
world, which they have left under their feet, is seized 
with the fire of God's vengeance, and flames are 
kindling upon it, and the wicked are entering into 
everlasting fire, the whole church shall enter, with 
their glorious Head, and all the holy angels attend- 
ing, in a joyful manner into the eternal paradise of 
God, the palace of the great Jehovah, their heavenly 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 423 

Father. The gates shall open wide for them to en 
ter, and there Christ will bring them into his cham- 
bers in the highest sense. Here Christ will bring 
them and present them in glory to his Father, say- 
ing, Here am 1, and the children which thou hast 
given me ; as much as to say, Here am I, with every 
one of those whom thou gavest me from eternity to 
take the care of that they might be redeemed and glo- 
rified, and to redeem whom I have done and suffered 
so much, and to make way for whose redemption I 
have for so many ages been accomplishing such 
great changes. Here they are now perfectly re- 
deemed in body and soul ; I have delivered them from 
all the ill fruits of the fall, and freed them from all 
their enemies : I have brought them altogether into 
one glorious society, and united them all in myself: 
I have openly justified them before all angels and 
men, and here I have brought them all away from 
that accursed world where they have suffered so 
much, and have brought them before thy throne: I 
have done all that for them which thou hast appoint- 
ed me: I have perfectly cleansed them in my blood, 
and here they are in perfect holiness, shining with 
thy perfect image. And then the Father will accept 
of them, own them all for his children, welcome them 
to the eternal and perfect inheritance and glory of his 
house, and will on this occasion give more glorious 
manifestations of his love than ever before, and will 
admit them to a more full and perfect enjoyment of 
himself. 

Now shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the most 
perfect sense. The commencement of the glorious 
times of the church on earth, after the fall of Anti- 
christ, is represented as the marriage of the Lamb; 



424- HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

but after this we read of another marriage of the 
Lamb at the close of the day of judgment. — After 
the beloved disciple had given an account of the 
day of judgment, Rev. 20: 21, he represents that, he 
saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, prepared as a 
bride adorned for her husband. Christ shall bring 
his church into his Father's house in heaven, as his 
bride, whom he loved and gave himself for, without 
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. 

The bridegroom and the bride shall then enter 
into heaven, both having on their wedding-robes, at- 
tended with all the glorious angels. And there they 
shall enter on the feast and joys of their marriage 
before the Father; they shall then begin an everlast- 
ing wedding-day. This shall be the day of the glad- 
ness of Christ's heart, wherein he will greatly rejoice, 
and all the saints shall rejoice with them. Christ 
shall rejoice over his bride, and the bride shall re- 
joice in her husband, in the state of her consummate 
and everlasting blessedness. See Rev. chapp. 21; 22. 

And now the whole work of redemption is finish- 
ed. Now the top-stone of the building is laid. In 
the progress of our discourse we have followed the 
church of God in all her great changes, all her toss- 
ings to and fro, all her storms and tempests through 
the many ages of the world. We have seen her 
enter the harbor, and landed in the highest hea- 
vens, in complete and eternal glory. We have gone 
through the several ages of time as the providence 
and word of God have led us. We have seen all the 
church's enemies fixed in endless misery, and have 
seen the church presented in her perfect redemption 
before her Father in heaven, there to enjoy this most 
unspeakable and inconceivable glory and blessed* 



THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 425 

ness; and there we leave her to enjoy this glory 
throughout the never-ending ages of eternity. 

Now all Christ's enemies will be perfectly put 
under his feet, and he shall have his most perfect 
triumph over sin and Satan, and all his instruments, 
and death, and hell. Now shall all the promises 
made to Christ by God the Father before the foun- 
dation of the world, the promises of the covenant of 
redemption, be fully accomplished. Christ shall 
now have perfectly obtained the joy set before him, 
for which he undertook those great sufferings in 
his state of humiliation. Now shall all the hopes 
and expectations of the saints be fulfilled. The state 
of the church before was progressive and prepara- 
tory: but now she is arrived to her most perfect 
state of glory. All the glory of the church on earth 
is but a faint shadow of this her consummate glory 
in heaven. 

Now Christ the great Redeemer shall be most 
perfectly glorified. God the Father shall be glori- 
fied in him, and the Holy Ghost shall be most fully 
glorified in the perfection of his work on the hearts 
of all the church. And now shall that new heaven 
and new earth, or the renewed state of things, be 
completely finished, after the material frame of the 
old heavens and old earth is destroyed. Rev. 21 : 
1. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; 
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed 
away." And now will the great Redeemer have 
perfected every thing that appertains to the work 
of redemption, which he began so soon after the fall 
of man. And who can conceive the triumph of those 
praises which shall be sung in heaven on this great 
occasion, so much greater than that on the fall of 



426 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

Antichrist ! The beloved disciple John, Rev. 19, 
seems to want expressions to describe those praises, 
and says, " It was as the voice of many waters, and 
as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia ; 
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." But much 
more inexpressible will those praises be, which will 
be sung in heaven after the final consummation of 
all things. How shall the praises of that vast a.nd 
glorious multitude be as mighty thunderings in- 
deed ! 

How are all the former things passed away, and 
in what a glorious state are things fixed to remain 

to all eternity! And as Christ, when he first 

entered upon the work of redemption, had the king- 
dom committed to him of the Father, and as he took 
on himself the administration of the affairs of the 
universe, to manage all so as to subserve the pur- 
poses of this work ; so now, the work being finished, 
he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the 
Father. 1 Cor. 15 : 24. " Then cometh the end, 
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to 
God, even the Father; when he shall have put 
down all rule, and all authority and power." Not 
that Christ shall cease to reign after this ; for it is 
said, Luke, 1 : 33, " He shall reign over the house 
of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be 
no end ;" and Dan. 7 : 14, " His dominion is an 
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, 
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 
But the meaning is, that Christ shall deliver up 
that kingdom or dominion which he has over the 
world, as the Father's delegate or vicegerent, which 
the Father committed to him, to be managed in sub- 
serviency to this great design of redemption. The 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 427 

end of this commission, or delegation, which he had 
from the Father, seems to be to subserve this par- 
ticular design of redemption ; and therefore, when 
that design is fully accomplished, the commission 
will cease, and Christ will deliver it up to the Fa- 
ther, from whom he received it. 



CHAPTER X. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 

I proceed now to some improvement of the whole 
(hat has been said. 

I. Hence we may learn how great a work is this 
of redemption. We have now, though in a very 
imperfect manner, considered it, in its whole pro- 
gress, from its beginning after the fall to its con- 
summation at the end of the world. We have seen 
how God has carried on this building, by a long 
succession of wonderful works, advancing it higher 
and higher from one age to another, till the top-stone 
is laid. And now let us consider how great this 
work is. Do men, when they behold some great 
edifice, admire its magnificence; how well may 
we admire the greatness of this building of God, 
which he builds up age after age \ There are three 
things exhibited to us in what has been said, which 
especially show the greatness of the work of re- 
demption. 

1. The greatness of those particular events, and 



428 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

dispensations of providence by which it is accom- 
plished. How great are those things which God 
has done, which are but so many parts of this great 
work ! What great things were done in the world 
to prepare the way for Christ's coming to purchase, 
and what great things were done in the actual pur- 
chase of redemption ! What a wonderful thing 
was accomplished to put Christ in an immediate 
capacity for this purchase — his incarnation, that 
God should become man ! And what great things 
were done in that purchase, that a person, who is 
the eternal Jehovah, should live upon earth for four 
or five and thirty years, in a mean, despised condi- 
tion, that he should spend his life in such labors 
and sufferings, and at last die upon the cross ! And 
what great things have been done to accomplish the 
success of Christ's redemption ! what great things 
to put him into a capacity to accomplish this success! 
For this purpose he rose from the dead and ascend- 
ed into heaven, and all things were made subject 
to him. How many miracles have been wrought, 
what mighty revolutions have been brought about 
in the world already, and how much greater shall 
be brought about in order to it ! 

2. The number of those great events by which 
God carries on this work, shows the greatness of 
the work. Those mighty revolutions are so many 
as to fill up many ages. The particular wonderful 
events by which the work of creation was carried 
on filled up six days ; but the great dispensations 
by which the work of redemption is carried on, are 
so many that they fill up at least six or seven thou- 
sand years, as we have reason to conclude from 
the word of God. There were great things wrought 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 429 

ID this affair before the flood, and in the flood the 
world was once destroyed by water, and God's 
church was so wonderfu.ly preserved from it in or- 
der to carry on this work. And after the flood, 
what great things did God work relating to the re- 
settling of the world, to the building of Babel, the 
dispersion of the nations, the shortening of the days 
of man's life, the calling of Abraham, the destruc- 
tion of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that long series 
of wonderful providences relating to Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, and Joseph ; and those wonders in Egypt 
and at the Red Sea, in the wilderness, and in Ca- 
naan in Joshua's time, and by a long succession 
of wonderful providences from age to age towards 
the nation of the Jews. 

What great things were wrought by God, in so 
often overturning the world before Christ came, to 
make way for his coming ! What great things 
were done also in Christ's time, and after that in 
overturning Satan's kingdom in the heathen empire, 
and in so preserving his church in the dark times 
of Popery, and in bringing about the Reformation! 
How many great and wonderful things will be ef- 
fected in accomplishing the glorious times of the 
church, and at Christ's last coming on the day of 
judgment, in the destruction of the world, and in 
carrying the whole church into heaven ! 

3. The glorious 'ssue of this whole work, in the 
perfect and eternal destruction of the wicked, and in 
the consummate glory of the righteous. And now 
let us once more take a view of this building, now 
all is finished and the top-stone laid. It appeared 
in a glorious height in the apostles' time, and much 
more glorious in the time of Constantine, and will 



430 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

appear much more glorious still after the fall of An- 
tichrist; but at the consummation of all things, it 
appears in an immensely more glorious height than 
ever before. Now it appears in its greatest mag- 
nificence, as a complete lofty structure, whose top 
reaches to the heaven of heavens; a building wor- 
thy of the great God, the King of kings. 

And from what has been said, we may infer that 
the work of redemption is the greatest of all God's 
works of which we have any notice, and it is the 
end of all his other works. It appears plainly 
from what has been said, that this is the principal 
of all God's works of providence, and that all are 
subordinate to the great work of redemption. We 
see that all the revolutions in the world are to sub- 
serve this grand design. This shows how much 
greater the work of redemption is than the work of 
creation : because it is the end of it, as the use of a 
house is the end of building it. But the work of re- 
demption is the sum of all God's works of providence; 
all are subordinate to it : so the work of the new 
creation is more excellent than the old. So it ever 
is, that when one thing is removed by God to make 
way for another, the new one excels the old. Thus 
the temple excelled the tabernacle ; the new cove- 
nant the old ; the new dispensation of the Gospel the 
dispensation of Moses ; the throne of David the 
throne of Saul ; the priesthood of Christ the priest- 
hood of Aaron ; the new Jerusalem the old ; and so 
the new creation far excels the old. 

God has used the creation for no other purpose 
but to subserve the designs of this work. To answer 
this end, he has created and disposed of mankind, 
the angels, the earth, the highest heavens. God 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 431 

created the world to provide a spouse and a kingdom 
for his Son; and the setting up of the kingdom of 
Christ, and the spiritual marriage of the spouse to 
him, is what the whole creation labors and travails 
in pain to bring to pass. This work of redemption 
is so much the greatest of all the works of God, that 
all others are to be regarded either as parts of it, or 
appendages to it, or are some way reducible to it ; 
and so all the decrees of God some way or other be- 
long to that eternal covenant of redemption which 
was between the Father and the Son before the foun- 
dation of the world. Every decree of God is some 
way or other reducible to that covenant. And see- 
ing this w r ork of redemption is so great, we need not 
wonder that the angels desire to look into it. And we 
need not wonder that so much is made of it in Scrip- 
ture — that it is so much insisted on in the histories, 
and prophecies, and songs of the Bible, for the work 
of redemption is the great subject of the whole — its 
doctrines, its promises, its types, its songs, its histo- 
ries, and its prophecies. 

II. Hence we may learn how God is the Alpha 
and Omega, the beginning and end of all things. 
Such are the characters and titles we find often as- 
cribed to him in Scripture. Isa. 41:4. " Who hath 
wrought and done it, calling the generations from 
the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the 
last; 1 am he." And particularly does the Scripture 
ascribe such titles to God, where it speaks of provi- 
dence as it relates to and is summed up in the great 
work of redemption. Isa. 44 : 6, 7, and 48 : 9-12. 
Therefore, when Christ reveals the future great 
events of providence relating to his church and 
people to his disciple John, be often reveals himself 



432 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

mder this character. Rev. 1:8. "I am Alpha and 
Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the 
Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to 
come, the Almighty." So again, verse 10, 11. "1 
heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, say- 
ing, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." 
Alpha and Omega being the names of the first and 
the last letters of the Greek alphabet, it signifies the 
same as his being the first and the last, and the be- 
ginning and the end. Rev. 21 : 6. "And he said 
unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the 
beginning and the end," 22: 12, 13. "And be- 
hold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, 
to give every man according as his work shall be. 
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
the first and the last." 

We have seen on what design God began the 
course of his providence in the beginning of the 
generations of men ; and how he has all along car- 
ried things on agreeably to the same design without 
ever failing ; and how at last the conclusion and 
final issue of all things are to God ; and therefore 
may well now cry out with the apostle, Rom. 1 1 : 
33, " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom 
and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his 
judgments, and his ways past finding out !" and 
verse 36, " For of him, and through him, and to 
him, are all things : to whom be glory for ever. 
Amen. " 

We have seen how other things came to an end 
one after another ; how states, and kingdoms, and 
empires fell, and came to nothing, even the greatest 
and strongest of them ; we have seen how the world 
has been often overturned, and will be more remark- 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 433 

nbly yet ; \vc have seen how it was first destroyed 
by water, and how at last it shall be utterly destroy- 
ed by fire : but yet God remains the same through 
all ages. He was before the beginning of this course 
of things, atd he will be after the end of them. 
Psalm 102 : 25, 26. Thus God is he who is, and 
who was, and who is to come. 

We have seen, in a variety of instances, how all 
other gods perish. Those in the nations about Ca- 
naan, and throughout the Roman empire, are all 
destroyed, and their worship long since overthrown. 
We have seen how Antichrist, who has called him- 
self a god on earth — how Mohammed, who claims 
religious honors — how all the gods of the Heathen 
through the world will come to an end ; and how 
Satan, the great dragon, that old serpent, who has 
set up himself as god of this world, will be cast into 
the lake of fire, there to suffer his complete punish- 
ment : but Jehovah remains, his kingdom is an ever- 
lasting kingdom, and of his dominion there is no 
end. We have seen what mighty changes there 
have been in the world ; but God is unchangeable, 
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 

We began at the head of the stream of divine 
providence, and have traced it through its various 
windings, till we are come to the end where it is- 
sues. As it began in God, so it ends in him. God 
is the infinite ocean into which it empties itself. 
Providence is like a mighty wheel, whose circum- 
ference is so high that it is dreadful, with the glory of 
the God of Israel above upon it ; as it is represented 
in Ezekiel's vision. We have seen the revolution 
of this wheel, and how, as it was from God, its re- 
turn has been to God again. All the events of divine 

Redemption. 29 



434 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

providence are like the links of a chain ; the first 
link is from God, and the last is to him. 

III. We may see by what has been said, how 
Christ has in all things the pre-eminence. For he 
is the great Redeemer ; and therefore the work of 
redemption being the sum of God's works of provi- 
dence, shows the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
as being above all, and through all, and in all. 
That God intended the world for his Son's use in 
the work of redemption, is one reason why he cre- 
ated the world by him, Eph. 3 : 9-12. What has 
been said, shows how all the purposes of God are 
in Christ; and how he is before all, and above all. 
All things consist in him, are governed by him, and 
are for him, Col. 1 : 15-18. God makes him his 
first-born, higher than the kings of the earth, and 
sets his throne above their thrones. God has always 
upheld his kingdom, when others have come to an 
end ; that appears at last above all, however greatly 
opposed for so many ages. All other kingdoms fall, 
but his kingdom is the last, and never gives place 
to any other. 

We see that whatever changes there are, and 
however highly Christ's enemies exalt themselves, 
yet he reigns in uncontrolled power and immense 
glory : in the end, his people are all perfectly saved 
and made happy, and all his enemies become his 
footstool. And thus God gives the world to his Son 
for his inheritance. 

IV. Hence we may see the consistency^ order, 
and beauty of Gotfs works of providence. If we 
behold events in any other view, all will look like 
confusion, like the tossing of waves ; things will 
ook as though one confused revolution came to pass 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 435 

after another, merely by blind chance, without any 
regular or certain end. But if we consider the events 
of providence in the light in which the Scriptures 
set them before us, they appear an orderly series of 
events, all wisely directed in excellent harmony and 
consistence-, tending all to one end. The wheels of 
providence are not turned round by blind chance, 
but are full of eyes round about, as Ezekiel repre- 
sents, and are guided by the Spirit of God: where 
the Spirit goes, they go. All God's works of pro- 
vidence, through all ages, meet at last, as so many 
lines in one centre. 

God's work of providence, like that of creation, is 
but one. The events of providence are not so many 
distinct, independent works ; but rather so many 
different parts of one work, one regular scheme. 
They are all united, just as the several parts of one 
building : there are many stones, many pieces of 
timber, but all are so joined, and fitly framed to- 
gether, that they make but one building: they have 
all but one foundation, and are united at last in one 
top-stone. 

God's providence may not unfitly be compared to 
a river, having innumerable branches, beginning 
in different regions, and at a great distance one from 
another, and all conspiring to one common issue. 
After their very diverse and apparently contrary 
courses, they all collect together, the nearer they 
come to their common end, and at length discharge 
themselves at one mouth into the same ocean. The 
different streams of this river are apt to appear con- 
fused to us, because of our limited sight whereby we 
cannot see the whole at once. A man who sees but 
one or two streams at a time, cannot tell what their 



436 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

course tends to. Their course seems very crooked 
and different streams seem to run for awhile differ- 
ent and contrary ways; and if we view things at a 
distance, there seem to be innumerable obstacles and 
impediments, as rocks, mountains, and the like, in 
the way of their ever uniting and coming to the 
ocean ; but yet if we trace them, they all unite at last, 
disgorging themselves in one into the same great 
ocean. Not one of all the streams fail. 

V. From the whole that has been said, we may 
strongly argue that the Scriptures are the word oj 
God, because they alone inform us what is GooVs 
design in all these works. God doubtless is pursu- 
ing some design, and carrying on some scheme, in 
the various changes and revolutions which from 
age to age come to pass in the world. It is most 
reasonable to suppose that there is some great de- 
sign to which Providence subordinates all the great 
successive changes in the world which he has made ; 
that all revolutions, from the beginning of the world 
to the end, are but the various parts of the same 
scheme, all conspiring to bring about that great 
event which the Creator and Governor of the world 
has ultimately in view; and that the scheme will 
not be finished, nor the design fully accomplished, 
till the end of the world, and the last revolution is 
brought about. 

Now there is nothing else that informs us what 
this scheme and design of God in his works is, but 
the Holy Scriptures. Nothing else pretends to set 
in view the whole series of God's works of provi- 
dence from beginning to end, and to inform us how 
all things were from God at first, for what end they 
ire, how they were ordered from the beginning, 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 437 

how they will proceed to the end of the world, what 
they will come to at last, and how then all things 
shall be to God. Nothing- else but the Scriptures 
has any pretence of showing any regular scheme 
or drift in those revolutions which God orders from 
age to age. Nothing else pretends to show what 
God would effect by the things which he has done, 
is doing, and will do ; what he seeks and intends 
by them. Nothing else pretends to show, with any 
distinctness or certainty, how the world began, or to 
tell us the true original of things. Nothing but the 
Scriptures sets forth how God governed the world 
from the beginning, in an orderly history ; or how 
he will govern it to the end, by an orderly prophecy 
of future events ; agreeable to the challenge which 
God makes to the gods, and prophets, and teachers 
of the Heathen. Isa. 41 : 22, 23. " Let them bring 
them forth, and show us what shall happen : let 
them show the former things what they be, that we 
may consider them, and know the latter end of them ; 
or declare us things for to come. Show the things 
that are to come hereafter, that we may know that 
ye are gods." 

It appears fit and requisite that the intelligent 
and rational beings of the world should know some- 
thing of God's scheme and design in his works: 
for they doubtless are principally concerned in them, 
rather than brute beasts and lifeless things. The 
revolutions by which God's great design is brought 
to pass, are doubtless chiefly among them, and con- 
cern their state. And therefore surely it is requi- 
site that they should know something of it : espe- 
cially since God has given his rational creatures a 
capacity of seeing him in his works, for this end, 



438 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

that they may see God's glory in them, and give 
him the glory which is his due. But how can they 
see God's glory in his works, if they do not know 
what is his design in them, and what ends he 
would accomplish by what he is doing % 

Further, it is fit that mankind should be some- 
what informed of God's design in the government 
of the world, because they are made capable of 
actively falling in with that design, of promoting 
it, and acting herein as his friends and subjects. 
It is therefore reasonable to suppose that God has 
given mankind some revelation to inform them of 
this : but there is nothing else that does it but the 
Bible. In the Bible this is done. Here we learn 
the first original of things, and have an orderly 
account of the scheme of God's works from the 
Deginning, through those ages which are beyond 
the reach of all other histories. Here we are told 
what was God's purpose in the whole, what is his 
great end, how he has contrived the whole design, 
and the great things he would accomplish. Here 
we have an account worthy of God, and exceed- 
ingly showing forth the glory of his perfections, 
his majesty, his wisdom, his holiness, grace and 
love ; and his exaltation above all, as the first and 
the last. 

Here we are shown the various parts of the 
w r ork of providence, and how all are connected 
together in a regular, beautiful and glorious frame ; 
and have an account of the whole scheme of pro- 
vidence, from the be^innin^ of the world to the 
end of it, either in history or prophecy, and are 
told how things will issue in the subduing of God's 
enemies, the salvation and glory of his church, 



IMPROVEMENT Off THE WHOLE. 439 

and setting up the everlasting kingdom of his Son 
How rational, worthy and excellent a revelation 
is this ! and how excellent a book is the Bible, 
which contains so much beyond all other books in 
the world ! and what characters it bears of being 
indeed divine ! a book that the great Jehovah has 
given to mankind for their instruction, without 
which we should be left in miserable darkness and 
confusion. 

VI. From what has been said, we may see the 
glorious majesty anal power of Goal in this work of 
redemption. His glorious power appears in up- 
holding his church for so long a time, and carry- 
ing on this work ; upholding it oftentimes when it 
was but as a little spark, or as smoking flax, in 
which the fire was almost extinct, and the powers 
of earth and hell combined to destroy it. Yet God 
has never suffered them to quench it, and finally 
will bring forth judgment unto victory. God glo- 
rifies his strength in his church's weakness ; in 
causing his people, who are but like little infants, 
finally to triumph over all earth and hell; so that 
they shall tread on the lion and adder, the young 
lion and dragon shall they trample under foot. 
The glorious power of God appears in conquer- 
ing his many and mighty enemies by that Savior 
who was once an infant in a manger, and appeared 
as a poor, weak, despised man. He conquers them 
and triumphs over them in their own weapon, the 
cross. 

The glorious majesty of God appears in con- 
quering all those mighty enemies of the church in 
one age after another; in conquering Satan, that 
proud and strong spirit, and all his hellish host; 



4 10 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

in bringing him clown, long after he had vaunted 
himself as god of this world, and when, for suc- 
cessive ages, he had done his utmost to support 
himself in his kingdom. 

God's power gloriously appears in conquering 
Satan when exalted in the strongest and most po- 
tent heathen kingdom that ever he had, the Ro- 
man empire. Christ, our Michael, overcame him, 
the devil was cast out, and there was found no 
more place for him in heaven ; but he was cast 
out unto the earth, and his angels were cast out 
with him. Again, his power gloriously appears in 
conquering him in that kingdom wherein his pride, 
and subtlety, and cruelty above all appears — the 
kingdom of Antichrist. It also gloriously appears 
in conquering him in that greatest and strongest 
combination and opposition of the devil and his 
adherents against Christ and his church, just be- 
fore the fall of Antichrist, wherein his visible king- 
dom receives a fatal blow, on which a universal 
downfall of it follows all over the world. 

Thus the glorious power of G od appears in con- 
quering the devil, time after time, after long time 
given him to strengthen himself to his utmost. He 
was overthrown in his heathen Roman empire, 
after he had been making himself strong in those 
parts of the world, ever since the building of Ba- 
bel. His kingdom was overthrown more fatally 
and universally all over the world, after he had 
another opportunity to strengthen himself to Rib 
utmost for many ages, by setting up those two 
great kingdoms of Antichrist and Mohammed, and 
to establish his interest in the heathen world. We 
have seen how these kingdoms of God's enemies. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOL1 441 

that look strong, as though it was impossible to 
overthrow them ; yet, when God appears, they 
seem to melt away, as the fat of lambs before the 
iire, and are driven away as the chaff before the 
whirlwind. 

Those mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mo- 
hammed, which have made such a figure for so 
many ages, and have trampled the world under 
foot, when Christ appears, will vanish away like 
a shadow, and disappear of themselves, and va- 
nish like darkness in a room when light is intro- 
duced. What are God's enemies in his hands 1 
How is their greatest strength weakness when he 
rises up ! and how weak will they all appear to- 
gether at the day of judgment ! Thus we may 
apply those words in the song of Moses, Exod. 
15 : 6, " Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glo- 
rious in power : thy right hand, O Lord, hath dash- 
ed in pieces the enemy." And how great does the 
majesty of God appear in overturning the world 
from time to time to accomplish his designs, and at 
last in causing the earth and heavens to flee away, 
for the advancement of the glory of his kingdom ! 

VII. From what has been said, we may see the 
glorious wisdom of God. This wisdom appears in 
his creating the world, creating it for such an ex- 
cellent use, and to accomplish so glorious a work ; 
and in bringing so great good out of such great 
evil, making the fall and ruin of mankind, in itself 
bo deplorable, an occasion of accomplishing such 
a glorious work as redemption, and of bringing his 
elect to a state of such unspeakable happiness. 
And how glorious does the wisdom of God appear 
in that lonu course and series of revolutions in the 



44*J HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

world, in bringing such order out of confusion, in 
frustrating the most subtle machinations of Satan, 
in which he most gloried, and turning them into 
occasions of so much the more glorious triumph 
of his Son Jesus Christ ! And how wonderful is 
the wisdom of God, in bringing all such manifold 
and various changes and overturn ings in the world 
to such a glorious period at last, and in so direct- 
ing all the wheels of providence by his skilful hand, 
that every one of them conspires, as the manifold 
wheels of a most curious machine, at last to such 
an excellent issue, such a manifestation of the di- 
vine glory, such happiness to his people, and such 
a glorious and everlasting kingdom to his Son ! 

VIII. From what has been said, we may see 
the stability of God's mercy and faithfulness to his 
people; that he never forsakes his inheritance, and 
remembers his covenant to them through all gene- 
rations. Now we may see the truth of our text, 
" The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and 
the worm shall eat them like wool ; but my righ- 
teousness shall endure for ever and ever, and my 
salvation from generation to generation." And 
now we may see abundant reason for that name 
of God which he reveals to Moses. Exod. 3 : 14. 
"And God said unto Moses, lam that Item: I 
am the same that I was when I entered into cove- 
nant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and ever 
shall be the same : I keep covenant for ever : I 
am self-sufficient, all-sufficient, and immutable. 

And now we may see the truth of Psalm 36 : 
5, 6. " Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens : and 
thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy 
righteousness is like the great mountains ; thy 
judgments are a great deej>." And if we consider 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 443 

what has been said, we need not wonder that the 
Psalmist, in the 136th Psalm, so often repeats, 
For his mercy endure th for ever : as if he were in 
an ecstacy at the consideration of the perpetuity 
of God's mercy to his church, delighted to think 
of it, and knew not how but continually to express 
it. Let us with like pleasure and joy celebrate the 
everlasting duration of God's mercy and faithful- 
ness to his church and people, and let us be com- 
forted by it under all the dark circumstances of 
the church of God, all the uproar and confusion 
that are in the world, and all the threatenings of 
the church's enemies. And let us take encourage- 
ment earnestly to pray for those glorious things 
which God has promised to accomplish for his 
church. 

IX. Hence we may learn how happy a society 
the church of Christ is. All this great work is for 
them. Christ undertook it for their sakes, and for 
their sakes he carries it on : it is because he has 
loved them with an everlasting love. For their 
sakes he overturns states and kingdoms. For their 
sakes he shakes heaven and earth. He gives men 
for them, and people for their life. Since they 
have been precious in God's sight they have been 
honorable ; and therefore he first gives the blood 
of his own Son to them, and then for their sakes 
gives the blood of all their enemies. 

For their sakes he made the world, and for their 
sakes he will destroy it; for their sakes he built 
heaven, and for their sakes he makes his angels 
ministering spirits. Therefore the apostle says, 
1 Cor. 3 : 21, &c. " All things are yours : whether 
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, 
or death, or things present, or things to come ; all 



444 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

are yours." How blessed is this people who are 
redeemed from among men, and are the first fruits 
unto God and to the Lamb ; who have God in all 
ages for their protection and help ! Deut. 33 : 29. 
" Happy art thou, O Israel ; who is like unto thee, 
O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy 
help, and who is the sword of thy excellency ! and 
thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and 
thou shalt tread upon their high places." 

Let who will prevail now, let the enemies of the 
church exalt themselves as they will, these are the 
people that shall finally prevail. The last kingdom 
shall be theirs, and shall not be left to others. We 
have seen to what a blessed issue things shall final- 
ly be brought, to what glory they shall arrive, and 
remain in possession of for ever and ever ; after 
all the kingdoms of the world are come to an end, 
and the earth is removed, and mountains are car 
ried into the depth of the sea, or where the sea 
was, and this lower earth shall all be dissolved. O 
happy people, and blessed society ! Well may 
they spend an eternity in praises and hallelujahs 
to Him who hath loved them, and will love them 
to eternity. 

X. And, lastly, hence all wicked men, all that 
are in a christless condition, may see their exceeding 
misery. You that are such, whoever you are, have 
no part or lot in this matter. You are never the 
better for any of these things ; yea, your guilt is 
but so much the greater, and the misery you are 
exposed to so much the more dreadful. You are 
some of those against whom God, in the progress 
of this work, exercises so much manifest wrath ; 
some of those enemies who are liable to be made 
Christ's footstool, to be ruled with a rod of iron 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE. 4.15 

and to be dashed in pieces. You are some of tbo 
Beed of the serpent, to bruise the head of which is 
one great design of all this work. Whatever glo- 
rious things God accomplishes for his church, if 
you continue in your present state, they will not 
be glorious to you. The most glorious times of 
the church are always the most dismal to the wick- 
ed and impenitent. Isa. 66 : 14. Wherever glo- 
rious things are foretold concerning the church, 
there terrible things are foretold concerning the 
wicked, its enemies. So in remarkable deliver- 
ances wrought for the church, there has been also 
a remarkable execution of wrath upon its enemies. 

When God delivered the children of Israel out 
of Egypt ; at the same time he remarkably poured 
out his wrath on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. 
When he brought them into Canaan by Joshua, 
and gave them that good land, he remarkably exe- 
cuted wrath upon the Canaanites. When they 
were delivered out of their Babylonish captivity, 
signal vengeance was inflicted on the Babylonians. 
When the Gentiles were called, and the elect of 
God were saved by the preaching of the apostles, 
Jerusalem and the persecuting Jews were destroy- 
ed in a most awful manner. I might observe the 
same concerning the glory accomplished to the 
church in the days of Constantine, at the over- 
throw of Satan's visible kingdom in the downfall 
of Antichrist, and at the day of judgment. In ail 
these instances, and especially in the last, there 
have been, or will be, exhibited most awful tokens 
of the divine wrath against the wicked. And to 
this class of men you belong. 

God will indeed make use of you in this work ; 
but it will be for the glory of his justice, and not 



44G HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. 

of his mercy. You are some of those enemies of 
God who are reserved for the triumph of Christ's 
glorious power in overcoming and punishing them. 
You are some of those who shall be consumed 
with this accursed world after the day of judg- 
ment, when Christ and his church shall triumph- 
antly and gloriously ascend to heaven. Let all 
who are in a christless condition seriously consider 
these things, and not be like the foolish people of 
the old world, who would not take warning when 
Noah told them that the Lord was about to bring 
a flood of waters upon the earth ; or like the peo- 
ple of Sodom, who would not regard when Lot 
told them that God would destroy that city, and 
would not flee from the wrath to come, and so 
were consumed in that terrible destruction. 

And now I would conclude my whole discourse 
on this subject, in words like those at the end of 
the Revelation : " These sayings are faithful and 
true, and blessed is he that keepeth these sayings. 
Behold, Christ cometh quickly, and his reward is 
with him, to render to every man according as his 
work shall be. And he that is unjust, shall be un- 
just still ; and he that is filthy, shall be filthy still ; 
and he that is holy, shall be holy still. Blessed are 
they that do his commandments, that they may have 
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
the gates into the city ; for without are dogs, and 
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and 
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 
He that testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come 
quickly. Amen : even so come, Lord Jesus." 

THE END. 









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