without foundation, though numberless Impoftures (which yet are ever Imitations of fomething real and almost a natural confequence of it ‡) have indeed rendered all reports of that kind, for thefe many Ages, very fufpicious.

But to proceed. When for the Reasons abovementioned, and perhaps many others, it had pleafed God to adopt Abraham, and part of his Pofterity, in a peculiar manner, and to establish his Covenant with them; we find all poffible care and condefcenfion used, to train them up by degrees, in fuitable notions of their Creator; a fre quent Correfpondence held with them; new Promifes daily given; to ftrengthen and confirm their Faith, to fix and preferve their Dependence on the God of Heaven. He reveals himself to Ifaac

Tranfaction, without the Knowledge of any of them, as by the account it appears to be. Ita dico, in negotio Bileami, totum illud quod in via ei contigiffe dicitur, & quomodo afina loquuta fuerit, in vifione Propheticâ factum effe, quia in fine Hiftoriæ explicatur quod Angelus Dei loquutus fuerit.' Maimon. Mor. Nevoch. P. 2. c. 42. To the fame Purpofe R. Levi Ben. Gerfom. and Philo feems to be of the fame Opinion, by his Omiffion of this Circumftance, as is obferved by Dr. Shuckford, B. 12. p. 315. Add Memoirs of Lit. April 1710. p. 14, &c. Leibnitz endeavours to prove the fame, in his Hiftory of Balaam, Gen. Dict. v. 6. p. 678. Which I think is pretty clear in his Cafe, though fome of those others abovementioned may perhaps belong to that Species of Revelation by Action, which Dr. Warburton explains at large, Div. Leg. B.4. S. 4. and B. 6. S. 5.

a See Judg.7.13, &c. and Notes below.

b v. Cleric. Prolegom. Diff. 3.7.2. de Script. Pent. p. 36. *Acts 10.35.

See Patrick on Numb. 22.9. Append. to Job. p. 60, &c. Huet. Quæft. Alnetan. c, 2, N.1.2. Shuckford, B. 1. p. 47. See Adams's judicious Anfwer to Hume's Effay on Mira+ Rom. 9.5.

cles, p. 110, 111.

E 4

and

and Rebecca; and foretels the Condition of their two Sons; + renews the Promife made to Abraham; bleffes his fon Isaac; miraculously increas es his Subftance; and foon makes him the envy of the neighbouring Princes. || He converses in the fame manner with Jacob; and repeats the fame Promife; § gives him the Right of Primogeniture; engages to be with him, and keep him, in all Places whither he fhould go.* This he confirms by many extraordinary Bleffings; and frequent Appearances; ** vouchfafing to talk with him Face to Face; t to beftow all kinds of Riches on him; and ftrike the Terror of him into all the Cities round about.++ And yet we find all this little enough to keep up, even in Jacob, a tolerable sense of Duty, and Dependence on his God: After the firft Vifion he is furprised, and hefitates; and feems to make a kind of ftipulation with his Maker. If, fays he, God will be with me, and will keep me in this Way that I go, and will give me Bread to eat, and Raiment to put on, fo that I come again to my Father's House in Peace; then fball the Lord be my God: || that is, if he will preserve and profper me in my Undertakings, he fhall be my God, rather than any other: And it appears not to have been till after many

+ Gen. 25. 22, 23. § Gen. 28. 13, 14. It Gen. 32.29. Gen. 28. 21, 22.

$$ c. 35. I.

Gen. 26. 24. || Gen. 12.13, 14. * ข. 15. **Gen. 32. 1.35.1,-9. tt ch. 35:5. See Le Clerc on the place.

US c.35.2,3.

a The Idolatry here mentioned, may perhaps be thought chiefly to relate to the Shechemite Women in Jacob's Household, Gen. 34.29. See Shuckford, B.7. pag. 164. In fupport of which opinion it may be obferved, that the words Elohi han-nekar, above rendered Strange Gods, more properly fig

fuch Revelations, Bleffings, and Deliverances, and being reminded of his Promife; §§ that he fet himself, in earnest, to reform the Religion of his own Family, by driving out all strange Gods.||§ Then Jacob faid unto his Household, and to all that were with him, Put away the frange Gods that are among you, and be clean; and change your Garments, and let us arife and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an Altar unto God, who answered me in the Day of my Distress, and was with me in the Way which I went.

Thus was God obliged to treat, even with the Patriarchs themselves, by way of pofitive Covenant, and exprefs Compact; to promise to be their God, if they would be his People; to give them a Portion of present temporal Bleffings, as intro ductory to, and an Earneft of future, fpiritual ones; and engage them in his fervice by immediate Rewards; till they could be led on to higher Views; and were prepared, by the bringing in of a better Hope, to draw nigh unto him. And we may obferve what Care was always taken, to fuit the feveral Difpenfations to the State of the World, and introduce each as foon as it was wanted, and in fuch a way as was most neceffary, to correct Disorders and reform Abuses, as they rofe;

nify the Gods of the Stranger. Deos alienigena. Vulg. L. However, that Jacob himself had yet but very imperfect Notions of the Deity, particularly of his Omniprefence, is ob ferved by Le Clerc on Gen. 28. 16. and to the fame Purpose Cyrill. Alex. L. 4. p. 115. there cited.

b That from the Beginning of the World each Patriarchal Covenant, or Bleffing, was to be understood as a Pledge of other diftant and fuperior ones, may be seen in an Essay on the feveral Difpenfations of God, by the late Ld. Barring for, p. 20, 24, 25, 59, 62, 69,

and

and thereby keep up a Face of Religion; and gradually increase the Substance of it: in the fame manner, as Providence always took Care to impart to Mankind, fo much Knowledge of the World, the ways of cultivating it, and Arts of Living, as was requifite to make Life a Bleffing to them; though their Knowledge of both kinds, was neither of fo refined a Nature, nor fo high a Degree, as it must grow to, by the Experience and Improvements of After-Ages.

Mankind were scarcely got out of their Childhood yet, with regard to what may be called the Theory of Religion; and notwithstanding there might always be fome extraordinary Perfons, who had a more enlarged Profpect of Things, and entertain❜d more worthy Sentiments of the Divine Providence, fuch as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and the like; yet these were far fuperior to the Times in which they lived; and we have reason to think that the generality, both in this, and fome later Ages, extended their Views no farther than the present Life, and its Conveniences: and though, from the confufed Remains of ancient Tradition, they acknowledged fome Power above them; and frequently applied thither for Direction in Affairs; yet it was in the petty Affairs of this World only; and their Belief and Worfhip were accordingly. How many of thefe Su

a This feems to have been the Cafe even with Abraham himself for fome time, who upon having this extraordinary Promife made to him by God in a Vifion, Gen. 15. 1. I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great Reward; rifes no higher in his Anfwer, than only to request an Heir for his Subftance. v. 2, 3. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, feeing I go childless, and the Steward of my Houfe is

perior Powers there might be, or how far their Influence might reach, they knew not: uncertain whether there was one fupreme Governour of the whole World, or many coordinate Powers, prefiding over each Country,* Climate, or parti cular Place; Gods of the Hills, and of the Valleys, as they were term'd in After-Times. ‡ They thought, the more of these they could engage in their Intereft, the better; and therefore wherever they came, like the Samaritans, they fought the manner of the God of the Land; and ferved him together with their own Gods. || Thus was the World running apace into Idolatry, and ready to lose the very Notion of the true God, and his Worship; had he not been pleased to interpose, and take effectual care to preserve them in fome one Nation; to be kept apart from the common Contagion, and made, as it were, the Repofitory of true Religion; and a Channel to convey it to the reft of Mankind; as foon, and in as high a Degree, as they should become capable of receiving it.

1

To this Purpose, he makes Way for the Removal of Jacob and his Family, to one of the most improv❜d and polish'd Parts of the World at that Time; and introduces them into it, in fo advantageous a manner, as to give them Opportunity of imparting fomewhat of the true Religi

this Eliezer of Damafcus? And Abram faid, Behold, to me thou haft given no Seed; and lo, one born in my Houfe is mine Heir. Unless this be understood of the general Defire of Pofterity fo common in his Days; and which Dr. Allix has endeavoured to account for. Reflex. on Gen. c. 15, &c. + See Numb. 23. 13, 27. 2 Kings 17.33:

2 Kings 18. 34, 35.

1 Kings 20.23, 28. vid. Calmet.

on,