cy, and yet reproach the Jews with a Want of Belief in Mofes, because they believed not in him? or his Disciples with Want of Faith for doubting his Refurrection, when he made it apparent to them from the Scriptures, that He ought to have fuffered and to enter into his Glory? And muft he, fuppofing a Chain of Prophecies to run through the Books of the Old Testament, have forgot himself when he afferted that he came not to deftroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them? It may be faid, that it is not fo much the general Declarations of an Agreement between our Saviour's Character and the prophetical Account of it, that makes the Bishop's Deviation from the Opinion of our Saviour and his Apoftles evident, as the Application of particular Prophecies to the Particulars of our Saviour's Life. And does this make it out? When any one afferts that the Prophecies relating to the Meffiah lie in a beautiful and connected Order, do We understand him as denying that thofe Prophecies separately confidered bear any Resemblance to the Particulars of his Life? nay on the contrary, does not the very Attempt to point out the Advantages of their lying in fuch an Order, prefuppose the Agreement between the feveral Prophecies and the corresponding Circumstances in his Life? It would be abfurd to argue upon any other Suppofition: to pretend to rank thofe Expreffions in a Chain of Prophecies, which it did .not appear, had any Manner of Claim to the Title of Prophecies. If therefore his Lordship any where where denies that feparate Prophecies bear any Refemblance to the Particulars of our Saviour's Life or Character; or in other Words, if he affirms, that by being diftinctly confidered they ceafe to be Prophecies, it is not in Confequence of his general Scheme that he does this; For that obliges him to no fuch Declaration: neither in Fact could he make any fuch without contradicting a main Part of his general Scheme. If you can bring him to deny that there are any diftinct Characteristics of our Saviour in the prophetical Writings, I will venture to affirm, that he will ever, after be filent about the beautiful and commodious Arrangement, in which fuch Characteristics were delivered. It is abfurd to talk of forming a Chain, without first being poffeffed of the Links of which it is to be compofed. Nothing but an accurate Infpection into the particular Prophecies, could lead any one to difcern that Uniformity of Design which runs through the Whole. In the Study of the Prophecies the fame Method must be purfued, that has long been approved in treating all other Branches of Knowledge. That is, to begin by establishing the Particulars. It is from mature Obfervation in these alone, that We can ever hope to ascend to the more general Laws. But thefe once acquired, We can descend by the fame Steps, and return with double Advantage to review the particular Cafes, when we see the Dependence they have on their more general Caufes. It is then only, when we are able to take take the whole System into our View, that we can see the Advantage of the Order they are placed in, and at once difcern and account for the Propriety of affigning this particular Part to that particular Place. Should We be shewn a Set of Pictures, and be taught, without any Regard to the Order they are placed in, the particular Story contained in each, We might, no doubt, be very well entertained while we turned from one to another just as Chance should lead Us. But fhould We then be told that they all reprefented the different Actions of the fame Perfon, and were placed in an hiftorical Order, this would open to Us a Set of fresh Beauties that We were not before attentive to; We should then fee, that, as they ftood, each following one received Light from those that went before, and that to confider them in any other Order would disturb and ruin the whole Defign. Yet this new Light does not deftroy the feparate Representations. They are as ftrong as they were before, and more pleasing when their Relation to the reft is taken in, than when they were conceived to be fingle and independent Pieces. With Regard to the Prophecies of the Meffiah, when We confider them separately, We eafily discover in them ftrong and clear Images of our Saviour. Does He, who fees them in a connected State destroy thefe Images? Or if he should pretend that his View of them gives new Force and Beauty to each, which are not to be perceived by him who confiders them barely in a broken disjointed State, is is fuch a Pretence to be conftrued, as a Defign to blot out the Likeness that was before found to be in each particular Prophecy? The candid must think otherwise of fuch an Attempt. They will think the Design calculated to improve, not to weaken, these particular Resemblances. THERE may and muft be, in a Character fo distinctly delineated in Prophecy as is that of our Saviour, feveral minuter Circumstances pointed at, which are not amongst the grand Characteristics, and infeparable Privileges of the Meffiah, and which do not therefore belong to him alone. These confidered diftinctly and separately lofe much of their Force. A Prophecy fays that the Meffiah was to be a Descendant of Judah. This happened to our Saviour, but it did not happen to him only. Therefore this Prophecy independently confidered, is of too loofe a Nature to be of any Affiftance to Us in diftinguishing the Meffiah when he fhould come. 'Tis true it excludes many from that Title, but it alfo admits many to it; and if we should liften to its fingle Voice, we should have a whole Tribe of Meffiahs. But confider this as foretold of the fame Perfon, who was to be born of a Virgin, who was to do all Kinds of Miracles, who was to be put to Death, and to be raised from the dead, and in whom several other fpecial Circumftances were to meet, it then becomes a forcible Evidence, and greatly contributes to fix the Character of the Meffiah on the proper Perfon; it receives Strength from the Rest of the Prophe cies, and adds Strength to them. There could scarce be one fingle Circumftance in our Saviour's Perfon or Actions fixed upon, which though foretold in the clearest and most exprefs Terms, could have been strong enough to give him, in the Opinion of Men, an unexceptionable Right to the Title of the Meffiah. Try this upon his Power of working Miracles: That many of the Prophets enjoyed in fome Degree, and many of his Disciples gave aftonishing Proofs of. He was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief, underwent great Sufferings though innocent: Will this point him out to Us to be incontestably the Man? All Hiftory can witness that He is not the only innocent Sufferer. Nay try the Experiment upon those Marks which were most peculiarly his own, his Miraculous Conception, or his glorious Resurrection. If We could only have traced the Meffiah, by any One of these fingle Points of him, in the prophetical Writings, what Objections would not have been raised against our Lord's Right to this glorious Title! How would the Infidel have triumphed over the Secrecy of his Conception! And what Acceffion of Strength would have followed those weak and malicious Exceptions to the Truth of his Refurrection! If then the most eminent Marks common to our Saviour with the Meffiah of the Prophets, be too weak, when they stand alone, to establish him beyond Contradiction the fame, and if they lose their Force by being separately applied, every other under-Cir cumstance |