So Josephus said in a passage cited above, that these evils were mortal, unless speedy relief was obtained.

Doubtless the Jews believed, that these inconveniences might be removed by the divine disposal, and by a prophet, speaking in the name of God, who had power of working miracles. Therefore many, who believed Jesus to be a prophet, and the Messiah, brought such cases to him for cure.

They likewise supposed, that dæmons might be exorcised or adjured out of the bodies of men, of which they had taken possession. St. Luke informs us, that at Ephesus, "certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them that had evil spirits in the name of the Lord Jesus, saying: We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth," Acts xix. 13.

It is likely, that from the miracles which they had seen wrought by Paul, those exorcists hoped for better success by making use of the name of Jesus, than by their common forms and methods of exorcism.

That exorcisms were used by the Jews, we are expressly assured by Josephus. He speaks as if Solomon had left some prescriptions for these cases, and directed to the use of herbs and roots, that would be of great advantage.

I have now shown, what were the Jewish sentiments upon this head in the time of our Saviour and his apostles, and when the books of the New Testament were written.

8. It is fit I should add, that there were dæmoniacs likewise among the heathens about the same time; that is, there were many among them who had indispositions, which were reputed to be owing to the influence of dæmons.

Some learned men have denied, or overlooked this: they have gone upon a supposition, that such cases were to be found among the Jews only, and in their own country; but that is manifestly a mistake, as may be shown from the New Testament itself. Matt. xv. 21, 22,"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou sou of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with a dæmon:" St. Mark has the same history, ch. vii. 24-26, " And thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And a certain woman, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came, and fell at his feet: [the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation :] and she besought him, that he would cast forth the dæmon out of her daughter." And ver. 29, 30, “ And he said unto her, The ¶ Antiq. Jud. 1. viii. cap. 2. section 5.

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dæmon is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the dæmon was gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.”

The affair at Ephesus, just taken notice of, is another proof. The young maiden at Philippi, who had a "spirit of divination," is a third instance, Acts xvi. 16, 18.

Many proofs of this might be alleged from heathen" writers. But I forbear to take notice of them.

Undoubtedly there was a difference between the Jews and them in some respects. The Jews thought all dæmons in general to be evil and unclean: but the heathens esteemed many dæmons to be good, for they were among their deities: and therefore in some cases they might the more respect some people for having a dæmon, though the patient himself was unhappy. However, it is certain, that there were among the heathens at this time many people, who had indispositions which are ascribed to dæmons.

We have now made good progress in this argument. The next thing to be inquired into is, what is the most reasonable opinion concerning these cases. But that must be reserved for another season.

In the mean time we may hence take occasion, as some of old did who were witnesses of our Saviour's miracles, "to praise God, who had given such power unto men.' Matt. ix. 8, says the evangelist: "When the even was come, they brought unto him many dæmoniacs: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying: Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," Matt. viii. 16, 17. "He

The like gift did Jesus confer upon his disciples. gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease," Matt. x. 1. Which power they displayed in the most honourable manner after his ascension; and it was a great benefit to the men of that age to have their diseases so cured. But the principal use, and the greatest benefit of these wonderful works, both to the men of that time and to us, is, that they ascertained and confirmed the excellent and important doctrine of the gospel; which is so suited to improve and exalt our minds, and cure evil affections, and deliver us from the malignant influence of all the snares and temptations of Satan, and this evil world. Which if we overcome, we

See an Enquiry, and a Farther Enquiry, into the meaning of Dæmoniacs in the New Testament. See likewise Mr. W. Weston's Enquiry into the Rejection of the Christian Miracles by the Heathens, p. 231, 233, and elsewhere.

shall in the end attain to a world, where there are no sicknesses nor sorrows: where no evil men nor evil spirits shall enter where good men of all ages shall be united in one happy and glorious society, and shall be for ever with the Lord.

DISCOURSE III.

MARK V. 19.

Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on

thee.

WE now proceed to the third head of discourse, under which we are to consider what is really the truth, or what idea we ought to form of those unhappy persons, who in the New Testament are spoken of as having " an unclean spirit."

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Here I certainly intend to speak my mind freely, and to show plainly what appears to me to be the truth. Nevertheless, I am under little or no apprehension of giving offence; partly, because I think I can rely upon the candour of those who hear me; partly, because I do not desire to impose a particular sentiment upon any. All are at liberty to judge for themselves, when they have heard and considered what may be said on one side or another. For no one opinion concerning these cases is like those articles of faith: that Jesus is the Christ, that he lived and died in Judea, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, and will come again to judge men according to their works: or, that he and his apostles wrought many wonderful works of an extraordinary

nature.

Whether the indispositions that these persons laboured under were owing to the influence of evil spirits or not, the cure of them was miraculous. Nor is the miracle at all lessened, by supposing them to be only grievous and long continued bodily distempers. The rectifying the human

Now which is an instance of the greatest power, to command an inferior to depart one's presence, which if he refuses to do, one can turn him out, whether he will or not? or to correct the juices and solids of a disordered

frame, all on a sudden, which had been before greatly disordered, is at least as great a work, as commanding an evil spirit to leave the body, or any other particular place.

Were I to attempt to represent the displays of the divine perfections in the works of nature, and the more conspicuous parts of the visible creation, and to observe the greatness, the number, the wonderful disposition, and regular order and motions of the heavenly bodies, should I do this upon the ground of the now prevailing scheme of modern philosophy, it is likely, it would give no offence to any; though the present scheme is very different from the sentiment of the ancients; and though there are divers texts of scripture which suppose, or countenance, the opinion that prevailed in ancient times.

"The sun," says the Psalmist, " is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it," Psal. xix. 5, 6. Again; "He appointeth the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his going down," Psal. civ. 19. And in ver. 5 of the same Psalm, it is spoken of as one of the wonderful works of God, "that he has laid the foundations of the earth so that it should not be removed for ever."

Yet it is now generally supposed, that the sun is the fixed centre of our grand system, and that the earth, beside its diurnal rotation upon its own axis, makes an annual revolution about the sun.

The ancient christians, and others, almost universally supposed, that our earth is flat, with here and there rising hills and mountains: and could by no means allow, that there were any inhabitants in that part of the earth which was opposite to themselves. We think the earth to be globose, and find no difficulty to believe, that it is inhabited all round, on every side.

Nor do we judge those to have been enemies to mankind, or to the sacred scriptures, who have taken pains to confute

'body, and regulate its motions by a word? There seems to be no comparison in the instances of power. And therefore I think it more to the credit of the miracle, and more to our Saviour's glory, to have cured the unhappy people in the manner by me contended for, than in the other.' Further Enquiry into the meaning of Dæmoniacs in the N. T. p. 107.

Ils penchent à croire, que leurs maladies étoient naturelles, mais que les causes en étoient inconnues. Cette opinion ne me scandaliseroit point. La raison en est, que les miracles de N. S. qui les guérissoit n'en sont que plus grands. Car que des êtres intelligens obéissent au commandement de J. C. cela n'est pas si miraculeuse que de commander à des maladies et de les faire cesser par un simple ordre. Beausobre, Remarques sur le N. T. p. 14.

and overthrow the once established opinions; and to show, that the scriptures, without deciding any thing in those points, only use the common way of speaking.

reason to

If the like should be attempted by any, with regard to some ancient opinions concerning the supposed agency of evil spirits, I presume there would be no be offended, provided their sentiment be modestly proposed, and with a view to promote knowledge among christians.

The opinions of modern interpreters, and other christians, concerning the case of those who are spoken of as having unclean spirits, you may remember were these two; one more generally received, which allows that they were real possessions: the other less common, that they were mere bodily diseases and indispositions; though it was then the prevailing opinion, that those disorders were caused by evil spirits. And those persons, and their friends, attributing these disorders to Satan, and dæmons under him, our Saviour often adapts his expressions to that opinion, without countenancing or approving it.

That this last mentioned is the more just and probable account of these cases, may appear from several considerations, which I shall now propound to you.

1. It having been in those times a very common opinion, that there were many evil spirits in the region of the air, it is not at all strange, that many people should live under apprehensions of suffering from them.

And many might be induced to ascribe to such spirits, and to their power and influence, several indispositions, and other calamities that befell them. Moreover, some persons of a speculative and philosophical temper might think it best to cherish this opinion among the people, with a view to subserve divers ends and purposes which they deemed innocent and useful: one of which might be promoting the belief of the existence of spirits or invisible beings. Some there were, as the sadducees among the Jews, who denied the existence of angels, and the souls of men after death. The pharisees therefore, and some others, might lay hold of and encourage the notion, that many bodily disorders were owing to evil spirits, the better to secure the persuasion of their real existence. For effects cannot be without causes. If such affecting disorders proceeded from spirits, they have a being, though they are not visible.

This therefore may in some measure help us to account for the prevalence of this opinion, though it had no good foundation.