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all Ages might have faid, that it was Type of Chrift) and confequently when he had made it, he praised it and fpread the Fame of it through all the Tribes of Ifrael, for Aaron built an Altar before it, and proclaimed a folemn Feaft: Exodus. And after he had elevated it, he and the People xxxii, 2, danced round it. Thus Aaron was at that Time &c. the Prieft of the Calf in a literal Senfe, as he was the Maker of it, and would have continued fo, had not Mojes came and fpoilt the Trade, discovering the Cheat. (i)

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which he was a Servant? Alfo, what is meant by Mofes's being ftiled a Minifter, if that does not fignify an Ambaffador from Prince Jethro to the Hebrews. Again, what the Doctor means by that He acted under the Command and Direction of another as a Minifter, which he was faithful in, if it does not relate to fome Commands and Directions he received from Jethro. Laftly, What is to be understood by delivering Laws as the Refult of the Divine Appointment, if hereby is not meant, that Mofes had for every Law and Ordinance he inftituted not received miraculously and immediately the Command of the Great God of Heaven, but delivered them to the Jews only as (what he thought) agreeable to the Mind of God.

(1) No fooner was Aaron made a Prieft by Mofes, Exod. xxiii. 1, but he fets up the Trade of Religion for himself, Ch. xxxii. 2, c. "And Aaron faid unto them, [the People] "break off the golden Earings which are in the Ears of your "Wives, of your Sons, and of your Daughters, and bring "them to me," ver. 20. and they did fo, and brought them to Aaron, ver. 3. "And he received them [all kindly] at their "Hand, and fashioned it with a Graving-Tool, after he had "made it a Molten Calf." The Gold that remained, went to the Artift, [ver. 4, 5.] for Aaron at his own Charge erected it, and built an Altar before it, and made Proclamrtion, and faid, "To Morrow is a Feaft to the Lord,* [he meant to the Calf.] The Day of Sacrifice to the Calf being come, they, i. e. Aaron and his People, rofe up early, and offered BurntOfferings, and brought Peace-Offerings before the Calf, and having eat, were wanton and full; they, i. e. the Priests and People rofe up to play: Dancing was then in fashion, therefore, I fay, Aaron, and the People leaped for joy, capered,

and

Thefe fcarecrow Doctrines therefore are the Pricftcraft of the Chriftian [Roman] Clergy, and while every Man who fhall think himself fit to affume the Pulpit has the Power of expounding Scripture, it is no Wonder to fee fo many Abfurdities intruded into the Body of our Chriftian Divinity. And take all their Writings and Expofitions

skipped, and danced round about their God-Calf, before the Altar. Beides, Mofes fays, they danced, ver. 19. Mofes is angry at this Action of Aaron's, takes the Calf, burns it, grinds it to Powder, and putting it into Water, made the Children of Ifrael drink it, ver. 20. fo they fwallowed their God, ver. 21. for this Mofes takes Aaron to task, ver.21. who craftily excufes himself, by falfly accufing the People, ver. 22. tells Mofes a great Lie, that he took the People's Gold, and threw it into the Fire, and [fpontaneously] there came out this Calf,' ver. 24. whereas it is faid, ver. 4. that "he Aa"ron made, with the Earings, a Molten-Calf, and fashioned

it with a Graving-Tool." But Aaron was afraid, when he faw that Mofes was come again, that he fhould loose his Bithoprick, ver. 23, 24, 25. However, Mofes and Aaron, with the Levites, contrive a great Murder, yea, a Maffacre, ver. 26, 27, 28. “who is on the Lord's Side, [i. e. on Mofes's Side, ver. 26, compared with ver. 22.] let him come unto me [Mofes.] And all the Sons of Levi [that is, the Priefts were now for Mofes, as before they had been for the Calf, ver. 26. compared to ver. 6.] gathered themselves together unte him.' Having thus affembled them, ver. 26. he provides every Man a Sword, with this bloody Commiffion, as though from God, he fays, "Thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, put every Man a Sword by his Side, and go in and out, from gate to gate, throughout the Camp, and flay every Man his Brother, and every Man his Neighbour." The Priests, proud of the Commiffion, went and did according to the Words not of God] of Mofes, and the Reft of the People being unarmed, or not prepared for this Maffacre, thefe facerdotal Gladiators flew about three thoufand, ver. 28. The Laity preparing to oppofe the Priefts, they leave off the Slaughter, and retire to Mofes for fresh Orders, ver. 29. and when the, People were gathered to Mofes, to complain of the Wickednefs of the Levites, he tells them, that they had finned a great Sin, and, that the Slaughter of the 3000 had faved their Lives,

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Expofitions on the Bible fince Christianity, and
it would, I fear, be found that they have glof'd
away the Chriftian Truths, and instead thereof.
teach for Doctrines the Traditions of Men (k).

But to return,

I fay, the Fire that will purifh thofe who fhall be left in this Globe at the Day of Retribution will be immaterial, a Fire that all the Art of Men and Devils cannot quench. It will be a Senfibility of the Lofs that every fuch one will fuftain; a perfect Idea of the Perdition he is G 2

come

made an Attonement for the Sin, and that he had ordered the Priefts to do Penance;" and after this Priefts were forbid to bear Swords. However, Mofes was troubled how, and in what manner he fhould appeafe the People, and therefore flies to his Counsellor, ferbro, and from him tells the People, that now the Lord would, by his Hand, lead them into the Land of Promife, and, that they were brave Men, and fhould kill and deftroy all they came near, Ch. xxxiii. 1, 2, 3. Thus ended the Prieftcraft of Aaron.

(k) The Cenfure contained in this Paragraph at first Sight feems harth: But let us confider how far it is fact. It is levelled at Preachers of Chriftianity fince the Promulgation of the Gofpel. 1. Herefy began to obfcure Truth in the Apoftles Days; which fprang from Priefts of that Time, [fee Dr.Hammond, on 1 Tim. vi. 20, &c.] from Ncolas the Deacon, the Gnofticks and Nicolaitans. All the Herefies in the Chriftian Church have had their Rife this Way; the Denial of the Godhead of the Eternal Logos from Prieft Arius; all the falfe Doctrines of the Church of Rome have been the Invention of Priests, they taught the People to worship Saints and Angels, to go Pilgrimages, to pray to the Virgin Mary, and believe Abfurdities, and in fhort it may, in a real fense, te faid of that Priefthood, that they teach for Doctrines, the Commandments of Men, and that they have gloffed away the Chriftian Truths. So far the Charge ftands good. 2. Come we to the Reformation, to see what affects our firft Reformers; for it must be allowed, that they were Priefts, and fome of them skilful in the religious Art. Let their Articles of Religion fpeak for themselves: In the first Article they fay God is without Body, Parts, or Paffions: In the fecond they fware, that God the Son has Body and Parts now in Heaven. In the third, that he

went

come into. But his Cafe then will differ from his State before the Formation of the World no otherwife than that he will have no Hopes of attaining Heaven. Though I am not of the Opinion (1), that there never will be a fecond Means afforded them of returning to Hea

ven.

The Expreffions made ufe of in Scripture to exprefs the Grievoufnefs of the Punishments the Damned will hereafter fuftain, are defigned only as fo many Allegories fuited to our finite Capacities,

went down into Hell, i, e. into the Centre of the Earth, or a diftinct Creation from the Earth, I fuppofe is meant. Article Six they do not infert here, that the Books of the Old Testament were written by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, but they dub all the Stories contained in them for Truth. In Article feven, they are not Jews; but because the Old Teftament would be neceffary to back Christianity, they say, therefore, it is to be held in refpect. In the ninth they eftablish three Creeds at once: In two of them this abfurd Doctrine, the Refurrection of the Body, or Flefh. It is too tedious to go through them all. I have given this as a Specimen how far our Reformers have gloffed away the Chriftian Truths. If any other Evidences of it fhall be required, I fhall be ready to give them, when I have more Room and Leifure. But I have one Thing to offer yet; which is, that I would not be understood to cenfure the now Clergy of the Church of England, because it is well known, that they fware and fubfcrite thefe Articles and Doctrines, and are obliged by Law and Intereft to preach them, Right or Wrong; and therefore this Necefity, fhall excufe them from the general Cenfure; and here I declare, that I do not only except the Hackney-Preachers, halfftarved Curates, Lecturers and Readers, but the dignified Clergy, viz. Rectors, Vicars, Deans, Prebends, Cannons and Archdeacons, yea, even the Right Reverend the Bishops, and the moft Reverend the Archbishops, in this General Release of Neceffity.

() As to the Eternity of Hell-Torments, I fhall by way of Anfwer to all those who affert this Doctrine, make a few Remarks upon what the celebrated Dr. Lupton in his first Sermon has faid from Matth. xxv. 46. "And thefe fhall go away into Everlasting Punishment," to fupport fo unmerciful, fo ab

furd

pacities, of their future unhappy State. Depart from me, ye curfed, into Everlasting Fire; imports only this: Go ye from my Prefence, ye Rebellious and obftinate, who, notwithstanding the Overtures of Salvation which I have offered unto you, remain hardened in your Sin, how oft would I have had you returned unto Me, and ye would not: But now your Day is paft, your Time of Return is over, ye fhall be shut out of Heaven for an Age. The very Senfibility of fuch their Condemnation, and the natural Confequences

furd and fo ridiculous a Doctrine. The Doctor omits the latter Part of the Verfe: "But the Righteous into Life eter"nal." But I will joyn them together: Kai dreλEÚGOVTOL OU TOL εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον. δι ἢ δίκαιοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιο. The Doctor well knew, that Eternity of Life was equally the Privilege of the Karnpauévor, i. e. the Curfed, or rather the Condemned, as it is of the Aixao, the Juft or the Righteous. The Order of the Words are thefe, and they will bare this Verfion : "And these fhall depart for the Punishment of an Age: But

the Righteous to everlasting Life." The Word aivior is an Adjective derived of the Subftantive 'Aiwr, and fignifies d'iw, therefore, es xona davor, is in its literal Senfe no κόλασιν αιώνιον, more than this, for the Punishment of an Age. But againft this Tranflation, it will be faid, that then the Righteous will be in Happiness no longer a Time than the Wicked will be in Punishment. I anfwer, That Obedience ought to be rewarded with a greater Recompence than is adequate to the Punishment of Difobedience. And this is plain from the Text, a greater Reward is offered to the Righteous, yea, far greater than the Penalty inflicted on the Wicked: The one is ftiled Life, the other Punishment only. Obedience to Human Laws is rewarded with continual Peace and Tranquility. But if a Man offends against thofe Laws his Punishment is not continual, but limited: So the Punishment of the Curfed is limited, but the Reward of the Juft is continual Life. And this is nothing but what is reasonable and juft; for it is more eafy to be of the Number of the Karnegueror, than to be of the Number of the Ainator; because we are prone to Sin and Iniquity, and backward in Acts of Goodness, therefore there ought not to be an Equality of Rewards and Punishments. But farther, all the Punithments attending Difobedience, are

defigned

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