He alfo received an order from God to fay to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, I will bring evil upon this city, but I will deliver thee in that day, faith the Lord, and thou shalt not be given into the band of the men of whom thou art afraid: for I will furely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the fword, but thy life fhall be for a prey unto thee, because thou haft put thy trust in me, faith the Lord.

In the New Testament we find that St. Paul, on fome occafions, had a promise of deliverance out of the hands of his enemies. Our Saviour prophefied evil, that is, temporal evil, to all his difciples, and told them that they should be exercised with sufferings and afflictions; but to compenfate this, he promised them in the prefent world peace of mind, and joy in the holy Spirit, and the Divine affiftance, and in the world to come eternal happiness.

It must have been a great fatisfaction to the illuftrious perfons whom we have mentioned, and to others recorded in facred History, that they were secure of the Divine favour and protection. This must have given them courage and conftancy under all the difficulties of life, and have enabled them to look danger and diftress in the face. The Greek poet describing Ulyffes as an example of prudence, patience, refolution, and prefence of mind under a variety of trials, fuppofes that he had not only the affiftance of Pallas, but a prediction from Tirefias, that he should at last return home, and fubdue his domeftic enemies, and reign happy

over his happy fubjects, and come to a good old age. Ody. A. 90.

To receive predictions of future unavoidable evils would be a cutfe rather than a bleffing, and in the Scriptures when fuch predictions are delivered, it is by way of punishment. Thus God foretold to Eli all the evil which he would bring upon his family, and the Prophets denounced upon fome occafions the calamities which should befal fome wicked people, and the untimely death which they should not ef cape.

To know future bleffings of which we shall partake, and to receive an admonition how we may avoid an impending evil, are favours which men would often be glad to receive; and thefe favours were granted to the people of God in ancient times and ruder ages, for several reafons which we have enumerated; but when by his Son he had introduced a purer and fublimer religion, he no longer continued, under the Evangelical difpenfation, to inform men of fuch temporal events. It is enough for a Christian to know that he may fecure to himself everlasting happiness by his obedience. As the As the great things relating to the next ftate were more clearly revealed, the fmaller things relating to this world, and to its frivolous concerns, were fhut up in obfcurity.

The knowledge of the things which will befal us, and our parents, and children, and friends, how long we and they shall live, and when and how we fhall die, are fecrets which

F 2

God

God has concealed from us, and which in wif dom and kindnefs he has concealed from us. Sometimes profperous events come moft agreeable when they are leaft expected, and it would be a fad thing to anticipate all our griefs, and to be miserable before hand.

And yet fuch has been the difpofition of men in almost all ages, that many have had an intemperate defire of this knowledge, which gave rife and encouragement to wicked arts and to vile impoftures. Hiftory both ancient and modern informs us of this, and affords us feveral examples of Princes, Statefmen, Politicians, who have had little or no religion, who have been mere Atheists both in principles and in practice, as Tiberius, the Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, and others, who yet were very credulous in this way, with all their freethinking, and gave great heed to divination, and to predictions made by pretenders to those arts; fo that irreligion and fuperftition are not at all inconfiftent, and he who believes no God, may believe in evil Spirits, or unknown powers, or fatal influences of the heavenly bodies. Pliny the elder, who had atheistical notions, yet fays of earthquakes, that the mifchief which they portend is as great as that which they caufe, if not greater, and that the city of Rome was never fhaken with one, which did not forebode future evil. Nec vero fimplex malum, aut in ipfo tantum motu periculum eft; fed par aut majus oftento. Nunquam urbs Roma tremuit, ut non

futuri eventus alicujus id prænuncium effet. L.. II. lxxxvi. p. 113.

Il n'y a rien de fi commun, que de voir les Incredules entêtez de l'Aftrologie Judiciaire, et perfuadez que les Magiciens font des chofes qui font au deffus de l'ordre de la nature. Par exemple, on accufe deux grands Miniftres d'Etat, dont les actions ne nous laiffent pas croire que la foi en Dieu fut une de leurs plus grandes vertus, d'avoir crû tous deux les predictions des Aftrologues; et l'un d'eux, de s'être perfuadé qu'un homme qui vomiffoit diverfes liqueurs, le faifoit par le moyen de la Magie. "Le Cardinal "de Richelieu," dit Vittorio Siri, Mem. Rec. T. viii. p. 669. confultoit outre l'Aftrologie, toute forte de divinations, jufqu'à des femelettes; dont la fcience confifte en des vapeurs de Mere, qui "leur font predire par hazard quelque évenement fortuit. Il étoit fi credule qu'il attribuoit à l'ope"ration du Démon l'art de jetter par la bouche "toutes fortes de liqueurs, après avoir bú de l'eau, "comme le faifoit un Charlatan Italien. Mazarin "n'étant pas encore Cardinal, ayant éclatté de rire " à un difcours fi fimple, penfa perdre fa faveur par ; et le Cardinal irrité de cet éclat de rire, par lequel il jugea que Mazarin fe moquoit de lui, lui "dit ironiquement, qu'il n'étoit pas Monheur Ma"zarin qui avoit une profonde étude et une exacte

66

" là

connoiffance de tout. Mazarin repliqua tout fou"mis, qu'en donnant cinquante pifloles, que le "Charlatan demandoit pour enfeigner fon fecret, on "verroit fi l'operation du Démon s'en mêloit. Ma"zarin regardoit toutes les divinations, comme des Jottifes, excepté l'Aftrologie, dont il étoit fort es entêté,

F 3

66

" entêté, quoiqu'il feignit le contraire. Lorfque "Madame Mancini fa fæur mourut, et enfuite la "Ducheffe de Mercœur fa Niece, comme il eut vú par-là accomplie la prediction, qu'un Aftrologue.

66

en avoit faite à Rome, par écrit longtems aupa"ravant, il en devint extraordinairement trifle et mélancholique; non par tendresse pour fes parens, "mais parceque ce même Aftrologue avoit fixé le "tems de fa mort à un terme qui s'approchoit. Il en perdit l'appetit, et demeura plufieurs nuits fans "dormir."

On fait auf que l'Empereur Julien, qui n'avoit pû ajouter foi aux prophefies de l'Ancien et du Nou veau Teflament, étoit exceffivement addonné aux augures, et aux préfages que l'on tiroit des entrailles des victimes, et les Payens mêmes l'en ont repris. Voiez Ammien Marcellin, L. xxv. c. 5.

Je pole en fait que ces fortes de chofes font auffi aifficiles à croire, fi on les confidere en elles-mêmes, que les myfteres et les miracles de la Religion Chrétienne. Mais les Incredules y ajoûtent foi, pendant qu'ils refufent de croire à l'Evangile; parce que ces jertes d'opinions n'ont aucun rapport avec la conduite de la vie, et ne font nullement incompatibles, comme la Morale Chrétienne, avec leurs mauvaises habitudes. Le Clerc De L'Incredulité, Part. I. ch. i. p. 32.

It is a queftion of importance, whether there as ever been in the Pagan world fuch a thing s Divination, or a fore-knowledge of things. The strongest argument against it is contained in Ifaiah (ch. xli.) where almighty God foretelling many great events, particularly the rai