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, Thirty-fifth Chapter of that Prophet ;

Intended as a Specimen of . Mr. ROMAINE's
Manner of interpreting Scripture j with a Word
or two in Vindication of that Gentleman and his
Imitators, from the Cenfure of a late Apo*

LOGIST FOR THE ClERGY.

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IT is the diAinguifhIng Charadler of the Age in
which we Uvc, but, more particularly, of the
Country where we dwell, to treat with Con-
tempt every Thing that venerable Authority hath
eflablifhed as Right y or that refpedable Tradition
hath conveyed to us as Ancient ; and to honour nO
Opinions with our Regard, but fuch as appear to
be reafonable, when tried at the Bar of private
Judgment.

O'D <'rc:;'.;!n

r: ."! ? '

n(i% bi

We boaft, indeed, of this, as one of the Be-'
nefits of the Reformation. But what have we
gained by throwing off the Infallibility of the Pope
of Rome^ if every Individual thinketh himfelf at
Liberty to fet up the Infallibility of his own Rea-
fon ? For from this fatal Source a thoufand Errors
have fprung. The Reafon of Man, left to itfelf,
and unfupported by the folid Props of Authority

B >!?. and

.,?,^

( 2 ) -

and Tradition, lofeth itfelf inftantly, in a Labyrinth
of Abfurdities. When once it is fubmitted to as a
Judge in Religion, we need not wonder if it's De-
cifions are as erroneous as it's Vanity is prefump-
tuous : And Experience alas ! prefenteth us, with
melancholy Inftances of this Truth, in the many
pernicious Dodlrines, not only privately entertained,
but publicly taught, and in the many abominable
Books which come forth, every Day, from the
PrefSj to fpread their pcflilential Influence over the
Land. .. ,

I HAVE been led into this Train of Refledion by
perufing a late Produdion, called an Apology for
the Clergy, The Author of that unchrijlian Per-
formance feemeth to be one of the many Teachers
of the Church of England who have abandoned the
J^odlrlnes of the Reformation^ and whom the very
eminent Commentator on the 107th Pfalm had but
too juft Foundation for reproaching as Apoftates.
For furely, thofe Perfons muft be pronounced
Apoftates from found Theology, who feem to make
it their principal Study to fhew, that Reafon and
Faith are not inconliftent, that the Revelation of
Chrift is not fubverlive of the Religion of Nature,
and that the Scriptures, though didlated by the
third X Jehovah y are to be interpreted in the fame
Manner as we interpret the Writings of the Sons
of Men. They who fet out with Principles fo
glaringly falfe, cannot fail to import into that Re-
ligion which they do not underftand, the moil
damnable Dodtrines, and to make every knowing
and regenerate Chrift:ian tremble at the Thoughts

1 That I here fpeak with great Propriety, every one may fatisfy hinr-
fel^, who will perufe Mr. Rotnaineh plain and eafy Expofition of the My f-
tery of the Ti:iiuty, in his late Sermon on the Seif-e?cijience ofjefus Chriji,,

very
I but
htes.
inced
akc
and
)n of
iture,
the
fame
Sons
:s fo
Re-
moll
wing
iughts
olc

Ify him -

Tie Myf-

' t,

( 3 )

of feeing the Gofpel of Jefus dripped of thofe ufe-
ful Additions with which it hath been adorned by
pious Fathers of the Church, and learned Doctors
of the Schools, and held out to our View in fuch
a Garb as may give an Opportunity to the proud
DeijU^ and the fcornful Lifideh^ of flieltering them-
felves amongd it's Admirers. .v^jm

■■*

The Apology for ihe Clergy being indifputably
calculated to promote Purpofes fo pernicious, I
could not read it without Indignation j an Indigna-
tion, which hath engaged me in the prefent At-
tempt J to expofe to public Scorn this anonymous
Tool of the minifierial Divines, by vindicating
thoCefuMime Dodrines which he hath ridiculed,
and by refcuing, from his Abufe, the Charaders
of Men, famous in their Generation, Patterns of
Chriftian Humility, and of Chriftian Charity ; and
whofe only Crime, is, indeed, a real Commenda-
tion, viz. that they preach a Gofpel different from
that of the Courf Clergy, in their unedifying Dif-
courfes ; a Gofpel, however, which, I flatter my-
felf, every judicious Chriftian will er'ertain a very
extraordinary Opinion of, after he hath been at
the Pains to perufe the (hort Sketch which I pro-
pofe to give of it, in the following Pages.

Welx did our illuftrious Commentator, the Or-
nament of a Church not worthy of him, affirm, *
That he writes not for the great and learned Men of
this ^ge. For, alas ! the Learning of this Age, is
not the Learning that can make us wife unto Sal-
vation. The learned Divines of this degenerate

• B 2 ., ... Age,

* Preface to Mr. Romainis Commentary.

i \

4 )

A^, if we except only that fmall Remnant of wor-
thy and confcientious Preachers of the Gofpel, wbo
have not bowed the Knee to Baaly and whole Merit
^cxafioneth their being infulted and ridiculedj are
lamentably ignorant of the Pillars and Grounds of
4heir Faith, They are unacquainted with Scrip-
ture. They know nothing of the Treafurcc of di-
vine Wifdom which are there hid from every car-
nal Eye. Can any one expedt to enrich himfelf
with a valuable Gem, if he contenteth himfelf
with looking for it upon the Surface ? Can we tafte
the delicious Sweetnefs of the Pine- Apple, unlefs
we flrip it of it's outward, unprofitable Coat ? How,
therefore, can it be expected that thofe Perfons
ihould ever difcover the Riches of the Scriptures, who
;|iever dig for them ? Or that any fliould ever make
themfelves acquainted with divineTruths,if they will
hot draw afide the Curtain that is thrown over them ?
Wkh far greater Succefs, becaufe with far greater
Judgment, do the Gentlemen, whofe Caufe I now
plead, interpret thfe facred Books, of whofe Senie
their Adversaries are fo (hamefully ignorant. For,
letting out with this Principle, that the literal and
vbvious Meaning of the Text muft be fet afide, be-
fore we can come at the myjlical, fpiritual, divine
Dodtrine, which lyeth there in Embryo, their in-
defatigable Labour, and extenfive Genius, bring
wonderful Secrets into the Light. The holy Scrip-
tures thus fkilfuUy interpreted, commence, as it
were, a Fairy-Land, Where, feemingly, there was
nothing but Barrenneft, in that very Spot, by the
iha'^ic Art of a ^gacioua Comnientator, the mod
fruitful Scene will ftart up, and the Reader be fur-
|)ri5pcd with an elegant JEntertainment, evea when

Jeg

X .tM il*J'5^i.->

wor-

, who

Merit

i. are

tds of

Scrips
of di-

y car-

iimfelf

limfelf

re tafte
unlefs

>How,

Perfons

esjwho

r make

bey will

|r them ?
greater

; I now

i Senlc
. For,

ral and
de, be-
, divine
leir in-
;, bring
y Scrip-
e, as \K
lere was
, by the
le moft
• be fur-
XL when
he

{ 5 )

he would have thought it impofliblc to furnifh out
the moil frugal Meal. .

And yet, fuch is the Perverfencfs of Men, it is
upon this very Accoiir.t that my learned Friends,
whofe Defence I liave undertaken, have been treated
with a Ridicule which could not have been (harper,
had it been exercifed on a Set of crack-/>rained En-
thufiafts. The Author of the Apology^ makcth
this his principal Topic of Accufation againft them.
It is obvious, faith he, that when once Itnagi-p
nation is fufFered to divert itfelf, without the
Reftraint of fober Rcafon, in fuch Refearches
as thefe, there can be no fixed, no rational Rule
of judging ; LikeneiTes will be made out between
Things in the World the mod unlike j and the
Dodtrines of the Gofpel, clearly and unexcep-
tionably revealed in the literal Meaning of t
thoufand Paflages in the New Teftameot, will
lofe all their Certainty and Evidence, when refted
only on the ridiculous Whims of fanciful fchcm-
ers, on forced Etymologies of Words, and upon
wild, uncertain Allegories. "-f* ^ . " >'

This Quotation may fuffice, to give the Reader
a dear View of the Charge that is . brought againft
us. And when we ftrip it of the awkward Sneer,
end the founding Words with which it is dreflcd
V up, it will be reduced to this one Point : That
I we pretend to difcover in the facred Volumes, ipi*
\ ritual Truths, Myileries, Types, Prophecies, AU
legories, 6qc. &c. conceal d from the Eyes of com-
mon, umrdi^htemi Commentators, who look ' no
\---'^. iilii- fertfacf

t ^ag(

;e 31, 4JJ.

aril

z\f..

'^'k

\ ,

( 6 )

ferther than the obvious, literal and grammatical
Conftrudion of the Text.

> Is this then the Reafon why the great and learned
Men of this Age cenfure our Preachers ? If it be, we
honour their reproach ; we are in the beji Company by
leaving of theirs.^ For though it hath been a ma-
licious Art of the Court Clergy to brand us as the
Difciples of one HutchinfoUy lately a Horfe-dodior
in the Mews, yet they who know any Thing of us,
know, that we lay Claim to a higher and more il-
iuftrious Original; and that, though we refpedl
Mr. HutchiTifon as the Reviver^ we never honoured
him as the Founder of our wonderful Theology.

The Papijls have frequently infulted Proteftants
with this Queftion, where was your Religion be-
fore Luther ? To this we think it a fufficient An-
fwer, to tell them, that our Religion was, from
the Beginning, where their Corruptions of it never
were, in the New Teftament. In like Man-
ner, therefore, when our Friends are infulted with
the fame Queftion, where \yere your Opinions
before Hutchinfon f We are not at a Lofs for an
Anfwer, but can urge, that our Method of inter-
preting the Scriptures, is a Produdlion of a moft
venerable Antiquity, and of the moft eminent and
moft illuftrious Champions of the Church. If to
defpife the Letter and to adhere to the fpiritual Senfe
of the Text 5 if to explain a fimple Narration of
Fadl into an Allegory, and to difcover Myfteries in
the Places of Scripture feemingly ieaft myfterious ;
if this be what is objected to the Perfons called Hut'
chinfoniansy how ought the Objedtors to blufti when

> they

§ Mr. Rotnaifte's Words in Preface lu the Commcntaiy.

( 7 )

... •

[natlcal

learned
be, we
t)any by
\ a ma-

as the
}-doBor
g of us,
lore il-

rerpe(ft
)noured
leology.

)teftants
rion be-
nt An-
from
t never
Man-
d with
pinions
for an
inter-
moft
:nt and
If to
1 Senfe
Ition of
iries in
jrious ;
Id UuU
when
they

they are told, that what they blame, with fuch Acri-
mony, is, indeed, the Manner in which the facred
Books are explained, in the Writings of the moft
refpedled Fathers in the pureft and earlieft Ages of
the Church ?

Some of the firft Writers after the Times of the
Apoftles, in the Chriftian Church, were Perfons
not more remarkable for their Integrity and Piety,
than they were for their IgHorance of every Thing
but the limple, unpolifhed Gofpel of Chrift. Their
Writings, therefore, we cannot appeal to, as fa-
vouring our Interpretations. Who then, are the
Fathers under whofe Banner we enlift ourfelves ?
Perfons who were (killed in all the Learning of their
Times, trained up in the Schools of Pagan Philo-
fophy, and verfed in all the Depths of the mydical
Theology of Flato, Such Perfons, upon their Con-.
verlion to Chriftianity, were better qualified by
their Education and btudies, to pry into the hidden
Senfe, and ti difcover the allegorical Meaning of the
Scriptures, than we can fuppofe was the Cafe, of
the plain, illiterate Believers in 'Jefus^ who profefTed
to know nothing but him crucified^ and were en-
tirely unacquainted with the enticing Words of Mens
Wijdom, The Platonic Converts to the Gofpel,

. fkilled in all the curious Refearches of Mythology^
and whofe favourite Employment it had been, to
refine the Gtoflhefs of the popular Theology ofPa-

iganijmy by cloathing it with Allegory, tp'ight Chrift-
ians an Art, which hitherto they had been ««/^^-

///y unacquainted with, the Art oi allegorizing Scrip-
ture, and of deducing all theMyfteries ofRedemp*
tion^ all the Secrets of the divine Councils, from

fuch

MIH^IippiiM'

'1;!
Hi

i^f

, < 8 )

fuch Texts, as to Men of a carnal Underftanding,
fccmed pregnant with nothing of Importance.

' 'Let but the Apologijt for the Clergy^ who could
blame the learned Labours of our Preachers and
Writers, * caft his Eye upon the Dialogue oi Jtijlin
Martyr with Trypho the Jew, and he will inliantly
obferve that this Father, who was a Philofopher
before he commenced Chriftian, reafoneth with his
Adverfary, in the very Manner that is fo much
blamed in us j by (hewing that Chrift is typified in
r thoufand Faflages of Scripture, the literal Mean-
ing of which is quite foreign to the Purpofe. Need
I mention that we can boaft of Origen as carrying
on the fame wonderful Plan ? Every one, who ever
heard of that great Man, knoweth, that, if we ex-
cept fome Parts of his Defence of the Chriftian Re-
ligion againft CelfuSy where he reafoneth logically,
and according to the Rules of human Criticifm, his
voluminous Works are made up of a continued Se-
ries of allegorical Interpretations of Scripture, and
are an inexhauftible Magazine, out of which, from
Time to Time, the World hath been entertainedy
by fucceeding Admirers and Imitators. To the
illuftrious Names of Jujiin Martyr and Origen
if we add that of the learned Clemens of Alexandria,
who is behind none in Fertility of Genius, and
whofc Writings abound every where with mafterly
Difcoverics cf Scripture Allegories, there cannot

furely

♦ The Sermons of Mr. Romaine on the 107th Pfalm, thofe of Mr.
Meyrick on the Vines and Vineyards of Scripture, and that of Mr.
JVatfon on the 19th Pfalm, contain mafterly Difcoveries of Types and
Allegories, and I recommend them as proper Models oi Goftel Preach-
ing The Works of the profound Mr. Juliui Bates, ajpd ot the pene-
trating Mr. Hollonuay are alfo Curioftties of their Kind ; and there is not
•^vanting good Matter in the Writings of tJie too mediate Dr. HQ^ges,

nding.

I could
rs and
Jujlin
ilbntly
)fopher
mh his
► much
lifted in
Mean-
Need
:arrying
rho ever
f we ex-
tian Re-
)gically,
ifm, his
ued Se-
re, and
from
rtainedy
To the
Origett
andria^
us, and
afterly
cannot
furely

ofe of Mr.

hat of Mr.

Types and
el Preach-
the pene-

there is not

( 9 )

furely be any Occafion to appeal to other Writers
of thofe Times, as favouring our Opinions j and
every one knoweth that my omitting to do this,
cannot be conftrued into Want of Materials,

Shall it then be a Crime in us, to imitate thofe
great Lights of the Chriflian Church ? Shall it be
objeded to us, that v^e interpret Scripture, as it
was interpreted fo early as the fecond and »hird
Centuries ? Our Adverfaries, by urging fuch a
Charge as^ainft us, prove only their own Ignorance,
and do Honour to a Caufe which they mean to
cenfure. ;.;

But not only can our Preachers vindicate the
A?itiquity of their Opinions, by tracing them up to
the golden Days of the Platonic Converts to Chrifti-
anity ; they have it equally in their Power to ex-
trad:, from the Writings of venerable Prelates, and
fainted Fathers, through every fucceeding Age,
till Ignorance and Superftition ovenvhelmcd the
Earth, innumerable Teftimonies to prove, that the
Cyrils, the Chryfoflomes, the Aujlim, the 'Jeroms^
the TheophylaBs, Sec. &c. were fully acquainted
with the Art of allegorizing the Bible, and fre-
quently pradtifed it with the utmofl Succefs, And
though the ingenious, but profane, IFool/ion, went
beyond the Truth when he affirmed that thefe Fa-
thers, denied the Reality of the Fads related in
Scripture, yet hath he faid much to prove, that
they looked upon the Fads to have been related for
no other Purpofes, but to furnilh Materials to Men
of a lively Fancy, to draw out from them inftruc-
tive LefTons, and to be fo many Types and Pidures
of fpiritual Truths.

C ■ Weke

( 'lo )

Were it not that, in this Age refined in Learning,
as well as in Luxury, it might be looked upon as un-
fafhionable, to quote the Authority of the School-
meriy we could fhew that during the Reign of Monk-
ijh Ignorance and Papal Superftition, there were not
wanting fome exalted Geniufes, worthy of better
Times, with whom our Manner of Interpreting the
facred Writers, handed down from high Antiquity,
continued ftill to prevail. And it were no difficult
Matter to convince the World, that the Difcipks of
the Angelic Thomas Aquinas^ and thofe of the fubtle
Dum Scot us, jarring in every other Point of artificial
Theology, always agreed in this ; and made it their
great Aim in iludying and explaining the Scriptures,
to amaze their Readers with Difcoveries of hidden
Treafure, and with Interpretations of Texts fo
curious, that the Gentlemen, whofe Advocate I
now am, have no Reafon to refufe them admittance,
into the immortal Lifl of Allegorical Dodiors,

But we pafs over, without defcending to parti-
culars, this vaft Body of Auxiliaries, that we may
haflen to a later and more confpicuous Mra ; to the
Age when Freedom of thinking introduced, at lirfl,
by the Reformation, was carried, fully into all the
Freedom of Ad:ion by a glorious, and unparalleled
Set of Divines, the Ornaments of our Country un-
der the Reign of Charles the firft. Branded though
they ufually be, by the malignant Writers of that
Time, as Enthufia/ls and Firebrands, can any {ti^i-
fible, impartial Man look back with Attention, on
the Occurrences of that Period, and not meet with
the mofl fatisfying Proofs of their fuperior Abilities ?
To fay with the Apologifii % that they did more to-
wards

X Page 30 ' .'

un-

hool'

I not
etter
y the
uity,
licult
lesof
ubtle
ificial
their
:ures,
idden
:ts fo
ate I
:ance,

parti-
may
o the
firft,
ill the
alleled
y un-
lough
that
fen-
n, on
with
ities ?
re to-
wards

( ii )

wards bringing Charles thefirjl to the Scaffold than
all the Valour of a numerous Army\ mth a Crom-
well at their Heady is to pay thtm, though he
feemeth to be ignorant of it, the highell Compli-
ment that he poilibly could. For how could he
bear VVitnefs to their Abilities, more lignificantly,
than by taking Notice of the wonderful Effedts of
their Preachiiig oh the Minds of this fenftble and
phlegmatic Nation; EfFedts that difcovered them-
felyes, lirfl, in the Workings of the Fadions in Par-
liament, were continued during the Courfe of the
civil War, and gave Birth to every uncommon
Event, during that "moft interefting Period of En-
^///6 Hiftory ; the Motions of gifted Brethren di-
recting every Council of Government, and the
Pulpit giving Law to the State.

)t:'\.

That Men of fuch Abilities, therefore, can be
cited as concurring with us, in explaining the facred
Volumes, cannot but give us abundant Reafon
to boaft ; and mufi: difplay, ftill more clearly thatn
any Thing I have already offered, the Injuftice and
Calumny of our Antagonifts, who have the Impu-
dence to reprefent thofe O pinions as upftart, that have
been embraced by the Marjhalls^ the CalamySy the
Owens, the Hugh Peterfes who did Honour to an
Age of Chriftian Preaching, the moll enlightened
lince that of the Apoftles. ' V

That I have not prefTed Into our Service great
Names, without fufficient Authority, every One
may Satisfy himfelf, who will be at the Pains to look
into their Works ; works which, though worthy of
a Place in the Libraries of the Learned, lie, now a
Days ! negle(J^€d, on the Wall in parliamentStreety

C 2 bedeck

( 12 )

bedeck the Ralls of Moor-folds, or are weighed out,
as fo much ufelefs Lumber, by that declared Foe to
Books of Value, the Philobiblian, for the Accom-
modation of the Grocer, or the Paftry-Cook. The
Lovers of the Learning now in Vogue, may not
know it, it is probable, but we know, that in thefe
Bpoks is contained an amazing Fund of Scripture
Knowledge. There the inquifitive Chriftian may
difcover moft fitisfadory Proofs that the infpired
Writers, when flvilfully interpreted, abound with
Matter that lieth hid from fuperficial Readers ; that
every PafTage of Scripture is written in a Cypher,
which none but tne Wife and Learned can unravel;
and that its Narrations of Tranfadlions that hap-
pened three or four thoufand Years ago, are fo
wonderfully contrived, as to be Types and Repre-
fentations of the Tranfadtions that happen in our
own Times. The great Men of the laft Age, could
demonftrate to their Hearers, that every Event, that
made a Noife in Englaiid, during the Civil War,
had been foretold, or cypifyed in their Bibles. Was
there any daring Scheme to be put in Execution ?
It was not Fym who counfelled, it was not Cromwell
who directed it ; but the Word of God, as inter-
preted by holy and wonderful Preachers, that advif-
ed, that encouraged, that commanded it. To de-
fcend to particular Inflances of this, would oblige
me to write a large Book, whereas I mean only to
prefent my Reader with a few pages. But as Ex-
amples always ftrike more than Aflertions, one In-
ftance of the Truth of this, will greatly illuftrate
the Matter, and be a rxio{\.fatisfa£iory Specimen of
the Ingenuity of a Method of interpreting Scripture,
which our Friends are now endeavouring to reflore

out,
oeto
com-
The
y not
thefe
pture
may
fpired
with
; that
^pher,
ravel ;
: hap-
ire fo
lepre-
in our
could
t, that
War,
Was
tion ?
mwell
inter-
advif-
o de»
hlige
ly to
Ex-
e In-
ftrate
en of
ture,
jftore
to

( 13 )

to it's former Vogue ; and which, I flatter myfelf,
will triumph over all Oppofition.

That the Army ^aifed by the EngliJJj Parlia-
ment, to fight their Battles, againft the King, fhould
fo far forget it's Duty as to rebel againft it's Mafters,
and to turn them with unheard of Infolence out of
their Houfe, laying violent Hands on their venera-
ble Speaker LenthalU ridiculing the golden Enfign
of his awful Dignity as afoolifti Baubky nay even, as
we learn from Hiftory, fmiting him on the Head
with a Stone j this important Scene, which will
always afford Matter of Aftonifhment to the Read-
ier of the Annals of that Period, could never have
^been adted, had not the i?2jpireJ Preachers of the
Army wrought upon them by pointing out an
'illuftrious Pafl^age of Holy Scripture, plainly re-
jhiting to this Event, adviling it to be done, and
jconfequently, vindicating and applauding the In-
truments of it. Smite the Lintel of the Door^
that the Pojis may JJjake and cut them in the
lead J all of them^ faiih the Prophet Amos. X
[ow could the Houfe of Commons and Lenthall^
ifter reading this moft lignal PafTage of Holy Writ,
blame their Soldiers for what they did upon this
Occalion, when it is fo evident that what they did,
was in Obedience to a Divi?ie Diredlion ?

If I may be allowed to fpeak my Mind plainly, I
lould be prouder of having been the Perfon who
d|)plied and inteipreted this Text of Amos, in fo cu-
rious 3. Manner, than if I had been the Author of
that large Volume of DifTertations on the Scripture

Prophecies

\Z Chapter 9. V. i. ' , • .

( u )

Prophecies lately publifhed. The Author of that
Book feemeth to be as ignorant as the Reft oF
the Court Drcifies, of the true Art of interprctinp-
the Sacred Writers. Upon a Perufiilof his Work^
I own I was greatly difappointed, when I ohferved
that he had called in the Niceties of human Learn-
ing, to interpret the Word of God, and attempted
to chain down, by the artificial Rules of Criticifm,
the unconjined Senje of 'he bkjfed Spirit. I found
that this Author contented himfelf with being able
to prove, that the obvious and literal Meaning of
feveral Texts, was predictive of future Events j but
that he wa? intirely filcnt as to the great Variety of
Senfes which an ingenious Interpreter will difcovcr
in the Scriptures, by departing from the obvious '
Senfe, and by giving full Scope to the Workings of a
capacious Imagination. It was by fuch Means, and
by attending to a Manner of explaining the Scrip-
tures that needeth not the Helps of Learning, that the
great Divines, of the laft Century, could trace out
the Hiftory of their own Times, and of their own
Country, from the Hiftory of the People of Ijracl,
and difcover that the Violence committed by the
Soldiers on the Perfon of Lenthall the Speaker, was
commanded by the Lord, in the Prophecy of
Amos, .. / -..; , ♦ •:, '■•■■»■

I KNOW but one Objedtion that can be made to
this Interpretation j that the two Words, Lenthall
and Lintely though they refemble each other when
fpoken, are very unlike when written. But we
defpife the Minutenefs of fuch a Remark : Some
Men being refolved againft Con virion, care not
how ill-founded the Pretences are, upon which they
build their Incredulity. For had the Objedor at-
-// ■ .' . V > tended

fu(

cc
cr

(C
(C

<c
cc

cc
cc
cc
cc
cc

(

( IS )

tended to the Circumftances of the Cafe, he would
have known, that in that Age of Chriftian Know-
ledge, and during the Kcign of the Saints in Eng-
landi there was no other Rule necelTary to be ad-
hered to in interorctinc; Scripture, buttoobferve the,
Sound of Words, as the Penbns in general, to whom
fuch Interpretations were propofed, could neither

write nor read. But the frivolous Nature of

^ this Oujedion will dill be made plainer, by quoting
the Authority of the fafhionable Writer of a late
EngliJJj Dictionary. " As Language, faith he, at
it's beginning was merely oral, all Words of ne-
ccllary or common Ufe, were fpokcn before
they were v/rittcn ; and while they were unfix-
ed by any vifible Signs, muft have been fpoken
with great Diverfity, as we now obferve thofe
who cannot read, to catch Sounds imperfectly,
and utter them negligently. When this wild
and barbarous Jargon was firfl: reduced to an Al-
phabet, every Penman endeavoured to exprcfs,
" as he could, the Sounds, which he was accuftom-
ed to pronounce or to receive, and vitiated, in
Writing, fuch Words as were already vitiated in
Speech. The Powers of the Letters when they
were applied to a new Language, muft have been
vague and unfettled, and therefore different
Hands would exhibit the fame Sound by diffe-
rent Combhiations." § This then being the Cafe,
it being impoffible to prevent the fame Word's be-
ing pronounced differently, and confequently it's
being written differently, by different Perfons, we
are warranted to conclude that Lenthall 2in(\ Lintel
is one and the fanie Word, exhibited by different
_ - Qombinationi

\ Preface to Johnfon's Didionary, Page i.

( i6 )

Cumhinatiom of Letters, So that upon the whole,
there cannot be the lead Doubt that the Prophet
Amos excited the Soldiers of Cromwell\ Army to
fmite LenthalL

But though what I have ah-eady offered may,
in the Judgment of the impartial Reader, have efta-
blifhed the Antiquity of our Sed, and the Authen-
ticity of our Interpretations of Scripture, in Oppo-
iition to the pointlefs Ridicule of the Author of the
Apology, I think it may be neceflary to ofl'er fome-
thing NeWi lell it {hould be faid that Inftances of
Skill, in the Divines of the laft Century, cannot
prove the Skill of thofe who live at prefent. In Or-
der, therefore, to open the Eyes of the Public, and
to give them a proper View of the State of the
Queftion between the Perfons called HutchinfonianSt
and their Antagonifts [the Apoftate minijlerial Clergy y
I have prepared, and do propofe to ofi'er, a Speci-
men of the Truth of our Interpretations of Scrip-
ture, by explaining, agreeably to Rules adopted
amongfl us, the thirty- fifth Chapter of the Pro-
phecy of EzekieL

But by Way of a neceflary Introdrdlion to this
Talk, I muft premife, that as I write for the In-
ftrud:ion of the Chriftian who is unacquainted with
Hebrew^ I do not intend to disfigure my Page with
any Quotations from the Origifial, but fhall found
the whole of my Interpretation upon the Tranllation
of the Bible into our own Language,. In doing this
I (hall be warranted by the Example of that great,
that inimitable Perfon who lately publifhed his ex-
traordinary Difcourfe on the Self-Exijlence of Jefus
;r )^.. ' r Chrijf.

vhole,
ophet
my to

mav,
e efta-
ithen-
Oppo-
ofthc
fome-
ices of
:annot
[n Or-
c, and
of the
)nianSy

Speci-
Scrip-
iopted
e Pro-

;o this
le In-
d with
I with
found
flation
g this
great,
is ex-^

( 17 J ^

Chrijl. This Sermon, worthy, no doubt, of the § Pe^
rufal of that adorable Perfon of whom it treats and to
whom it is dedicated, being intended by Mr. Romaine^
for the Inftrudtion of a popular Audience, the Hu-
mility of the Preacher is fuch, that, making no Shew
of his profound Acquaintance with the Original, he
confineth himfelf to demonftrate from an Englijb
Tranilation, that favourite Point, which, hidden
from every exalted Genius, in every preceeding
Age of the Church, he hath, with the greateft Glo-
ry to himfelf, and Good to the Gofpel, brought to
Light. How then doth he prove that Jefus Chriji
is Self-Exijlent ? Thus, in a moft fummary and yet
in a moll fatisfadtory Manner, Jehovah is Self-Ex-
iftent, Jefus Chriji is Jehovah^ therefore Jefus Chrifi
is Self-Exiftent. The only Propofition that ftand-
eth in Need of Proof, is that^ where Jefus Chriji is
afferted to be Jehovah-, and this the wonderful
Theologift bringeth ample Proof of, from the Pro-
phets Ifaiah and Jeremy. " Our Saviour, faith
he, is frequendy called Jehovah in the Old Tef-
tament. Thus the Prophet Ifaiab 43. 11. 7,
even I, am Jehovah, and bejides me there is no
Saviour, There was no Jefus, no Saviour, but
Jehovah j therefore Jehovah and Jefus are one.
And again we read Chap. 49. 26. AllFlefh Jhall
know that I Jehovah am thy Redeemer and Sa'viour,
the mighty One of Jacob, And the Prophet Jere-
my 50. 34. fays, neir Redeemer is ftrong, Jeho-
vah ofHoJis is his J^ame, The Name Jehovah

D belongs

\ This truly chriftian Preacher, difFers greatly from the court Clergy^
who fubmit their Worics to the Inf-eftion of earthly Readers; and
dedicate them to mortal Patrons. For it appears from his Preface, that
he elevates his Views much higher, and is confident that the adorable-
Perfon^ of nuhom his Sermon trtats, nuiii o*vtrlookiff Impir/eiiiom, Worw
derfoj Modefty !

t '8 )

- *« .*v «

" belongs to the Redeemer." The Words now
quoted contain the whole of this furprizing Dc-
monft ration. Every Chriftian knowcth that the
Ch'aradlers of Saviour and Redeemer b. long pecu-
li^ry to Jcfu^ Chrift^ who died in order to Jove
Sinners, and to rciteem them from the Guilt and
Punifhment of Sin. How providential was it,
therefore, that Jehovah, in the above quoted Texts,
fliould be faid to be a 5 viour and Redjemcr ? For
had our Tranflators called him a Prefervcr and
Deliver ery which would equally have conveyed
the Senfe of the Original, perhaps the Connection
of th:fe Texts, with Jefus Chrift^ would have been
entirely overlooked, and a Caviller might have had
Room for objedling that the Prophets fpoke only
of yebovahy the true God worfhipped by the Jews^
preferving and delivering, or fdving and redeeming
them out of the Hands of their temporal Enemies
the JEgyptians, the Phili/iineSy the Syrians^ the
Babylonians. But now by the fortiinate Ufe of the
Words Redeemer and Saviour applied to Jehovahy
the Engli/h Hearer, naturally hath the Idea of
yefus Chrift fuggefted to him, and our great Cham-
pion was enabled to compleat his unparallelled Proof
of the Se/f'ExiJlence of the fecond Perfon of the
Trinity, who is the firft-born of every Creature^
and begotten by his Father, hfore all Worlds,

«j*wi»i

ANOTttER tnftance of Mr. Romaiiies building
Doctrines upon Tranflations, is to be met with in
the fame Sermon p. 13. where he citeth the fa-
mous Paflage ^here are three that bear 'Record]
in Heaven^ the Father ^ the Word, and the Holy
Ghoft, and thefe three are one. \ John v. 7. Now
every Body knows, who knows any Thing of the

New

( «9 )

New Tcftament,

H'k Manufcript

that this Text never exirted in^
any ijreek ivianuicript that hath ever be n difco-
vcred, in any Part of the Woild. But hccaufc
this Text hath now, for I'ome hundreds of Years,
had a i^Iace in the Latin VulgaHr TranfliUion. and
hath been, fince that, printed by R. Sfepham in
tlie Greek Original; and becaufe, iroju this learucd
Printer's Copy, our Tranflarois made out the New
leltament which is now read in our Churches, aB
the WoidofGodj for fuch fubllaniial Rcafons,
cur great Champion was i'ufHcientiy warranted, no
Doubt, to cite i\i\^ pofllumous Text as real Scripture.
I Before A leave this Head, it may be nght, juft to
oblerve, as a proper Model for fuccceding Writers
in Defence of the Trinity, that Mi . Romamc^ citeth
fio one Text in fupport of that Dodrine, from the
New Tellament, except this of St. Johns Epiftle,
which in the Opinion of Dodor //^<://c77^Whimfetf,
is not to be looked upon as a Text in the New
TeAamenti that eminent Writer having never ap-
pealed to it, in his Controverfy with Dodtor Clarke.
Our learned Friends have, by btudy and Appli-
cation, difcovered (o many wonderful Proofs of
the Chriftian Trinity, in the Hebrew Bible, that
they think it unnecefiary to fpend much Time in
examining the New Teftament. Being able to
difcover that Dodrine in the Cherubim^ in the Ety-
mology of the Word Elchim^ and being able to
prove that J ejus Chrijl is the Self-Exi{lcnt Jeljovab
from IJaiah and yeremy^ as quoted above j there
cannot furely be any Occafion to examine what the
Evangelifls, or Epiftle Writers of the New Tefta^
ment have delivered concerning this fundamental
Article of the Faith, revealed by Jejus Chrijl ; and
hidden fiom former Agps .
u X Da ' But

( 20 )

But though Mr. Romaine and our other great
Divines, make Ufe of the Tranflation of the Bible,
when the Words to be met with there, are more
exprejjive of our Dodtrines than the Original is,
I am not ignorant that this very Tranflation is Faulty
in many Refpedts, that it deferveth all the Con-
tempt with which our Preachers fometimes treat it
in the Pulpit, and, therefore, I think them greatly
in the Right for altering it, upon fome Occafions,
and for leaving out or inferting any particular Word,
in Order vo g. /e a favourite Doftrine fair Play.
A remarkable Inftance of this prudent ConduA,
we have in the Alteration made by Mr. Romainey-
in the Text of his Sermon on the Self-Exillence of
Jefus Chrifi^ already mentioned with fo much Ho-
nour. For he hath by a fmall, but important
Alteratioii, accommodated his Text to his Sy.cem,
and inflead of reading as it is in the Tranflation,
If ye believe not that I am he, ye JJjall perijh in your
SinSy he readeth. If ye believe not that I am\ to de-
monftrate that "Jejus had affirmed himfelf to be
the Jehovah i the Self- Exiftent / a7n of the Old
Teftament. And in this he certainly is warranted
oy the original Greek, the literal Tranflation of
whofe Words is not / am he, but / am. Our Tran-
ilators, and indeed all other Tranflators and Com-
mentators, ignorantly conneding this 24th Verfe
with the 23d in which Jefus faith I am from above,
have fuppofed, when he addeth, immediately after,
If ye believe not that I am, ye Jhall die in your Sins,
that the Senfe and Context pointed out the Neceflity,
of fupplying the Ellipfs that is in the Original,
by faying. If ye believe not that I am He'i.e. that
I am from above, or that I am the Mejjiah. But
as fuch an Interpretation would have robbed our

inimitable

inimitable Preacher of a Text, fo clearly demon-
ftrating the Self-exiftence of Jfjus Chrift, with
(ingular Sagacity, he hath in this PIacc given up
the Englip Tranllation as Fruity. Yet fuch is the
Candour of the worthy Gentleman, fo ready is he
to pay proper Attention to the fame Tianllatioii
when it conveys right Ideas of the Dodrines which
he would eftablifh from Scripture, that he hath
refted upon it's fingle Authority, in it's Tranflati-
ons of the Texts already quoted from Ifaiah and
'Jeremy^ the Proofs that the 'Jehovah of the Pro-
phets, is the chriftian Saviour and Redeemer.

■■.'>i

•>^

Observe, from all this, how indefatigable this
great, this good Man is, in his Endeavours to
revive and propagate the Knowledge of the trac
Doctrines of Chriftianity, of which Chriftians are
fo fhamefully ignorant. Warm with a holy
Zeal, he advanceth the glorious IVorky by every
i ufeful Help; the Hebrew Original concealeth no
Treafures from his piercing Sight; and he can
iind great AiBftances from the Tranllation. Fer-
tile, as he is indefatigable, in his Schemes to ad-
vance true Religion, he even hath condefcended
to add to his Labours as a Preacher, the llaviQi
Drudgery of puhliJlAng, with his liKll-meant and
honeft Improvements and Interpolations, the He-
brew Lexicon of Calajio^ and could fubmit to ex-
fofe himfelf to the Scorn of the Philofophers of
oar Age, falfely fo called, by his Attempts to
build the Principia of Mofisy on the Ruins of
the Principia of Sir Ifaac Newton^ in a Set of
Ledures at GreJIoam College, of which his Hear-
ers were not worthy. . .

But

( 22 )

But, not only can I appeal to the Example of
the great Mr. Romaine^ by Way of Apology for
founding my Interpretation on the Tranllation ; for
I have very fufFicient Reafons, of another Kind,
for cooing fo. To confefs the Truth, I am not fo
great an Adept in the Hutchinfoni en Arcana on the
Hebrew Bible, as to be able to difcover the ijcon-
derous Myfteries which fome of our great and re-
nowned Teachers can drag out of their lurking
Holes, hy learned Etymologies of Words, in that
ideal Language. I, an humble Difciple, and who
imitate thefe Luminaries of our Sed, fed non pajji-
bus aquis, muft content myfelf with Refearches
of a lefs difficult Nature, and be contented with
Water drawn out of the Ciftern, as I cannot
bave Accefs to the fountain Head. And yet,
I am cleaily of Opinion, that the Bible, even
as it ftandeth in the EngUjh Tranflation, is as ap-
plicable to the Events oi\hQ: prefent, as the remark-
able Anecdote about Le ni ha II tht Speaker, fliewed
that ic was applicable to the Events of the laji Age.
For is it not the Tranflation that is quoted in Con-
troverfies ? Is it not the Tranflation that every one
readeth at Home, and that every one heareth read
in the Church ? Is not therefore, the Tranflation
of the Bible, in Fad the Bible itfclf? And may
we not found the Certainty of otir Interpretations
upon //, as well as upon the Hebrew Original ?
The Reafonablenefs of this feemeth to be deduciblc
Ji-om the firfl: Principles of Hutchinjonianifmy and
from the fundamental Rules obferved by our Gen-
tlemen in their learned Difquifitions on the Lan-
guage in which the Holy Spirit wrote. For if fuch
\vonderful Care was taken in the Formation of that
Language, that every radical Word in it is taken

from

nple of

■^gy

Dn :

tor

for

Kind,

notfo

on the

le 1^071-

nd re-

urki ng

in that

d who

larches
d with
cannot
d yet,

even
as ap-
mark-
hewed
'Age.
t Con-
•y one
1 read
(lation
i may
ations
2;inal ?
ucibJc
, and
Gen-
Lan-

fuch
^ that
taken
from

( 23 )

from fome fenfible Objed, or is expreflive of fomc
Adion, that giveth us a Notion of the Qualities or
Nature of what is rcprefented by it, it is highly
eafonable to conclude that fome fuch Care was alfo
extended to every Language which fhould ever
be enriched with a Translation of the Bible. One
Inftsnce will fufficiently illuftrate my Meaning.
Our friends have demon Irated^ that the Word £/o-
him v/as pitched upon to (ignify God, in the He-
brew J that, as Ekhim is expr'^'^ve of the Covenant
entered into by the three felf-exijient jfehovahs^
(for fo I chofe to exprefs myfeif, according to our
new difcovered Dodrine) to redeem Mankind,
Chriftians in future Ages, might ^'^^ able to appeal
to the Writings of MofeSy in Support of the Doc-
trine of the Trinity, Jirji revealed to the World by
yefiis Chri/i. May we not then infer, by Way of
Analogy^ that the Word Lintel was pitched upon,
and ordained from the Beginning, to be a Word
in the EngJip Language ; and that our Tranflators
of the Bible were, without being fenfible of it
themfelves, conftrained to make t/fe of it, in the
PalTage of the Prophet Amos already quoted, that
fo it might, in a future Time, be in the Power of
a fkilful Interpreter, to extract from this Text, a
ftriking Prediction relating to an Event recorded in
the Englijh Hiftory ?

Having thus (hewn that the Principles of what'
is called Hut chin font anifm^ naturally incline us to
believe that there may be remarkable Prophecies,
in our Rngiifto Bibles, which perhaps never exifted
in the Original ; and having, by theic Obfervations,
obviated the Exceptions which fome Perfons might
poilibly make to my Plan, I now proceed to pre-

fent

( 24)

fent to the curious Reader, a moft Wonderful Pre-
didion of the Prophet Ezekiely relating to the War
now impending with France ; a Predidion which,
I flatter myfelf, will be thought fo Satisfactory, as
to be at once a Proof, that our Manner of inter-
preting Scripture is the true One, and that our Pa-
triotifm is not inferior to our Ingenuity.

It-

Moreover the Word of the Lord came unto me^
faying y Son §/ Man, Jet thy Face againji Mountseir,
and prophecy againji it.

Thus beginneth Ezekiel at his 35th Chapter,
and the Judgments denounced by the Prophet
againll Mountfeir, are continued in it as followeth.

Verse III. Mountseir, I am againji thee^
and Iwiiljiretcb out my Hand againji thee,

IV. 7 will lay thy Cities wajle,

V. Becaufe thou hajl had a perpetual Hatred,
and hajljhed the Blood of the Children oflfraeL

VI. I will prepare thee unto Bloody and Blood JJ^all
purfue thee, r

VII. Thus will I make MouiJTSEiK moft DefolatCy
end cut off from ity him that pajfetb out, and him
that returnetb, »V

X. Becaufe thou haft faid thefe two Nations and
thefe two Countries Jhall be mine^ and we willpojfefs

':.':' ' ^' ' ■■':*• '- ' ' . xii.

\ f

( 25 )

' XII. / have beard all the Blafphemies that thou
haflfpoken againft the Mountains of Ifrael, fayhg
they are given us to confume, but the Lord was there,

• XIII. T/W with your Mouth you have boajled
againft me, and have multiplied your Words againji

me, ' .. r.

XIV, Pl^en the whole Earth rejoiceth, J will make
thee dejblate, ,,i .•

XV. As thou didjl rejoice at the Inheritance of the
Houfe of Ifrael, becaiife it was deflate^ fo will I do
unto thee-, thoujhalt be defolate O Mountseir. ,.

4 *

It hath frequently been objc<fted by Cavillers,
that fome Interpretations of fcripture Prophecies do
not give full Satisfadticn j and that fo many critical
Enquiries are neceffary, in Order to make thent
tally with the Events fuppofed to be foretold, that
they are more calculated for the Amufement of the
Learned, than for the Edification of the Simple.
But if this hath been objeded in other Cafes, it
cannot in the prefent j for I am confident that I
need only read the Words of the Prophet Ezekiely
without making the leaft Comment upon them, to
convince the moft ignorant, the moft fimple, and
mofl illiterate of our Countrymen, that the above-
quoted Chapter foretelleth the Deftrudtion of our
natural and hereditary Enemy the Frenchman,

By way of Experiment, flop the firfi: Livery-
fervant, of Englifi Extraction, whom you may
happen to meet with in the Street ; and upon his
beiog afked who this Mountjdr is, he will inilantly

E reply,

. V, ,.

^ '^tmiu*-

( 26 )

^ ,

reply, that London fwarnis with Mottntfeirs^ and
that the poor Englifljmans Bread is taken out
of. his Mouth, by beggarly Frenchmen. Addrefs
yourfelf to any private Gentleman of his Majefty's
Foot-guards ; and he will fwear Vengeance on
Mountfeir for his mafqued Batteries at Fontenoy^
and exprefs his Defire to meet him in an open
Field. Do you meet with a Crew of honeft Tars,
making the Rounds of the Streets as a Prefs-gang ?
Upon repeating your Queflion to them, they will
immediately, and with a Volley of Oaths, inform
you, that Mountfeir is a cowardly Rogue j that
Hawke hath given him one good Drubbing and
longeth to give him another, and that Bojcawen
will foon let Mountfeir feel the Weight of Fnglip
Metal. Or, do you fee a ragged Recruit, for the
amphibious Marines ? Proud of a bit of Ribbon
ftuck upon his Remnant of Hat, you may hear
him boafting of his new Employment, and threat-
ening DeftruvTcion to Mountfeir^ before he hath
learnt to fire his Mufquet. In a Word, there is
not a Shoe- boy at Spring-Garden, or a Link- boy
at either Playhcufe, a Porter at the Cujlom hoiifcy
or a Chairman at White s, who hath not learnt
fooner than he learneth the hordes Prayer, or his
Cittechifm, that one Enghjhman is a Match for at
Icafl ten Mountfeir s.

But why do I talk of trying an Experiment,
in Order to difcover the Senfe of our common Peo-
ple, about the Meaning of the Word Mountfeir ?
I niyfelf was Witiiefs, Tome Days ago, to a Scene
decifive ot the Matter ; when the French Sharper,
famous for his defrauding fo many Jewellers, ap-
peared in the Pillory at the Royal Exchange, Ne-

- • ver

Lvmfc^SWI

( 27 )

ver was there, perhaps, a greater Croud aflembled
upon a fimilar Occafion j fo that the united Voice
of fo large an AfTembly, may well pafs for the
Voice of the whole People. Chance had hurried
me into the very Field of Battle, where I was an
unwilling Spectator of a moft lamentable Conibat,
and beheld thoufands of exafperated Heroes darting
their dirty Weapons at an unarmed Head, and
pi-olonging, by an unprecedented Cruelty, the ^^uf-
ferings of the Prifoner beyond the Time direcfled
by the Law, and in Defiance of the Officers of
Juftice. I had begun to wonder whence fuch a
Wantonnefs of Cruelty in the Breafts of fo many
humane Englijhmen^ but was foon freed from Suf-
pence. The Word Mountfeir f echoing in the Air,
and accompanying each millive Weapon, foon re-
vealed the Secret, and fatisfied me that it was not
the Man or the Criminal, but the detefted French^
man who had raifed fuch Indignation in the Bo-J
foms of my Countrymen. t

It being then, made fo clear, not from any in-
tricate and critical Refearch, but by an Appeal to
the natural Sentiments of the Illiterate, that Mounts
feir and the Frenchman are one and the fame
Thing ; while every Friend to his Country muft
feel a real Satisfadlion to find fo remarkable a Pre-
didtion pronounced againfl MountJeh\ who beareth
a perpetual Hatred, and hath fo often f ml the Blood
cf EngUfhmen ; the Hutchinfonian Dodtrines, can-
not but appear, at the fame Time in a more fa-
vourable Light, than they have been placed of late
by the court Clergy, fince it hath been owing to
thefe Dodrines, that a Prediaion of fuch Confe-
quence to the national Welfare, hath been difco-

E 2 . vered

.>■- ^'WWM-'

■ ^"^WffUffPifc-.

" ( 28 ),

vcred to be in our Bibles. For, I think, that hl^
therto, it hath efcaped every Divine who ever
comr jnted upon the Place. Nay, one of the
mod eminent of the court Divines^ whofe exprefs
End in writing his late Book, was to give a complete
View of the Prophecies already fulfilled, or now ful-
filling in the World, was fo blind as to overlook a
Predidion fo worthy of a Place, and a diftinguiflied
Place too, in his Collection. A Predidion, bc-»
fides, which at this critical Jundlure, when Mount-
feir multiplyeth his Words againfi us, and threateneth
to Jhed our Bloody (hould be made as public as pof-
fible, that our Sailors and Soldiers, taught by fuch
infallible Authority, that they are to be vidorious,
may chearfuUy enroll their Names, and offer them-
felves as Volunteers to affifl in laying Mountseir'si
Qities defolate. With a View to this, I could wifh,
that, upon a proper Reprefentation to the Lords of
the Regency y they would order this inofl remark-
able Chapter to be read, in every farijh Church
throughout the Kingdom, for three Months to
come ; and this being done, I am confident that
their Lordfhips would find no Occalion for conti-
nuing any longer in Force, the Proclamation that
ofFereth thofe ample Premiums, which, the lurk-
iiig Sailor, at prefent, doth not think it prudent to
accept.

But though this Prophecy be fo plain in • itfelf,
that it needeth only to be read, to convince every
old Woman^ that it relateth to Mountfeir the French-
man j yet, it being a Matter of the highefl national
Concernment, fuffer me to add farther Strength to
the Interpretation which 1 have already given, by

inferting

( 29 )

inferting here fome Notes of various learned Men
of our Perfuafion, on the fame Chapter ; from
whence it will appear, how exadtly every Circum-
flance afcribed to the Mountfeir of Ezekiel, corref-
pondeth with Mountfeir the perfidious Enemy of\
England » f '

Verse II. Set thy Face againfi Mountseir*

It is well worth remarking, that the Latin
Vulgate readeth Mons-feir, which approacheth?
nearer to our modern Way of Writing, to Monjieur*
But after what hath been well obferved in a?
former Page of this Work, about the Sound of.
Words, and the arbitrary Manner of writing them, '
we conclude it to be an impertinent Objedion, to
urge the Difference h^ivr^Qn Mountfeir and Monjieur^
as both are commonly pronounced the fame Way. '
That the Prophet doth not prophecy againft Mount
Seiry or the Mountain of Seir^ as fome Comment-
ators dream, is obvious, from this one Circum- ,
fiance, that it would be abfurd in him to talk*^ as
he doth, of a Mountain's having Cities, of it's ' *
having a perpetual Hatred againjl the Children of
Ifraely and of it's fl^edding their Blood. So that, ^
certainly, the Mountfeir of Ezekiel^ is the Name I
of a great Nation. And what Nation ever went:* ^
by that Name but the French f

W. R.

V. Becaufe thou haji a perpetual Hatred and hafil
fjjed the Blood of the Children cf IfraeL

This is a moft remarkable Circumftance, to
p;^ove that the Mounfeir of this Chapter is the

French

( 30 )

French Nation. For that the French have a per-
petual Hatred againft our Countrymen, is a FaA
of which Hiftory is fruitful in afligning Teftimo-
nies ; France and Englan^ being, as ir were, here-
ditary Enemies to each other, from Generation to
Generation. As Mountfeir is demonflrated to be
the French^ this of Courfe leaderh us to conclude,
that the Children of Ijrael in this Place, are the
Englijh ; becaufe we know that Mountfeir the
Frenchman, never had a perpetual Hatred again fl
the old Jfraelifes. And Jjrae/ is peculiarly proper
to be made a Type of England. For what Land is
there in our Days, fo favoured by Heaven as that
of England, in all .the agreeable Accommodations
of Life, in civil Liberty, and in found Religion ?
A Land thus blefled, and peculiarly diftinguifhed,
by giving Birth to the great Reftorers of Hebrew
Learning, the Difciplcs of the almoft-infpired
Hutchinfon, who have recovered the loft Senfe of
the Word of God, by their amazing Labours ;
Such a Land may well be fuppofed to be typified
under the Name of God's favoured People in old
Times. Nor is this any meer Conjedlure of my
own, for I have read with Pleafure, in the precious
Remains of our Predecefibrs in the laft Century,
how thefe great Men could trace out the Hiftory
of England, from that of Ifrael, in the Books of
Samuel and Kings, and could excite their Country-
men to make War againft Monarchy by founding
in their Ears, To your Tents, Q Jfrael ! A plain
Proof that, even in thofe Days, Ifrael was looked
upon to be a Type of England.

It]
th(

on<

Lai

ha>

th{

unc

Ian

tur<

it's

merA

Prel

•1 '•'■■

•■»*<■•

■ns-^'

t I

( 31 )

I DIFFER much from my very learned and in-
genious Friend, the Author of the laft Notfc. For
1 think that a much better Reafon, than any of
thofc mentioned by him, may be afligned, why
Ifrael is the Type of England j and if he had been
one of my Hearers, during my long and fuccefsful
Labours in tlie Pulpit, to defeat a mod unchrijlian
Ad: of Parliament, I am fatisfied that I fhould
have convinced him, as I did all my Followers^
that England^ modern England^ is well typified
under the Name of Ifrael -y becaufe modern Eng-
land impioufly and in Oppofition to all the fcrip-
ture Prophecies, took the Ifraelites or yeivs into
it's Bjfom, naturalizing and making then Englijh-
meny by a Law which the holy Spirit enabled me
to oppofe with a Succefs which I fliall always
be prouder of, than other Divines are of their
Prebends, Deaneries and Bifhopricks. i

W. R.

V. Vn. I will cut off him that paffeth out^ and
him that returneth.

r -y, f

This certainly relateth to Mountfeirs naval Ar-
maments, fent out by him either to America or
to the Eaft Indies^ including alfo his Merchant
Ships, upon their Voyages of Trade. The Eng-
lijhy from this very exprefTive Circumftance, may
reafonably infer, that their Men of War and Pri-
vateers will deftroy, or, as it is in the Text,
will cut off all the French outward-bound Ships,
him that paffeth out j and alfo their homeward-
bound Ships, him that returneth.

V. X.

( 32 )

V. X. Bec/iufe thou hdjl /aid thefe two Nations y
mid thefe two Countries Jhall be mine, and we wiP.
foffefi it.

WoNDBRFULL'v applicable to the prefent
trimcs ! For ddth not the Kingdom of Great
Britain fince the Union, coniift of two Nations
and two Countries, England and Scotland f And
do not the French threaten Great Britain from
Time to Time with Invafions ? Did they not
boaft oi pojfejing thefe two Nations, when Count
Saxe embarked at Dunkirk in 1743 4? Did they
not make Preparations during the Rebellion in
1745 to come over, under the Command of the
Duke de Richelieu, to polTefs our two Countries ?
And were not the good People of England again,
very lately, under a Pannic, about the Defti nation
of the Brefi Squadron ? He who can deny, after
this, that the Chapter now under Confideration,
doth not relate to the prefent State of Affairs be-
tween France and England, muft labour under a
moft deplorable Blindnefs of Underftanding.

I CANNOT fubfcribe to the Interpretation of my
Friend in the above Note,. For from a diligent
Attention to the Context, it feemeth to me, to be
more probable, that the two Countries in the ioth
Verfe, which Mountfeir boafteth he will pojfefs,
are his two great Colonies of Louijiana and Canada^
which, -^.s appeareth from Danville s Map oi North
America, the French make to extend, through an
immenfe Tra6t of Country, all along the Back of the
Englifh Colonies 5 and which they cannot pofTefs,
according to the Boundaries they lay Claim to,

without

( 33 )1

without interfering with our two Nations the Che-
rakees and the Iroquois ; whofe Territories reach,
to the South- weft, as far as the River Miffiftppi^
and to the North, beyond the River St, Lawrence,
as we learn from Dodtor Mitchell's new Map, which
muft be right, becaufe publifhcd with the Appro-
bation of the Lords oi Trade. Or, perhaps, by
fhe two Nations and two Countries, may be meant
in general, the French Settlements in the Eq/i and
in the fVe/i Indies; in both which Parts of the
Globe, they are now endeavouring to poffefs them-
felvcs of Countries, at the Expence of the Englijh,

. W. R. . ..

V. XII. / have heard all the Blafphefnies that
thou hajifpoken againfi the Mountains of Ifrael, fay-
ing they are given us to confume ; but the Lord was

there. : •

No Doubt, the long Ridge of Apalachiart or
Alliganian Mountains, which r« m through our Co-
lonies in North America from South to North, are
here to be underftood as hinted at by the Prophet.
For it may be faid, with the grea;ell Propriety,
that Mountfeir now fpeaketh againft thefe Mount-
ains, and threateneth to confume them, having
erected Forts in their Neighbom'hood, upon the
Ohio^ and at Crown Point, and having extended
his Setdements fo nigh to them, that the Apala^
chian Mountains cannot fail being the Seat of War.
But we need not be afraid, or uneafy about the Si-
tuation of General Braddock and his Army fighting
our Battles upon the Mountains of Jfrael ; for
though Mountfeir boaftcth that they are given him
to confume, he will find that the Lord is there.

I. B.

V. XIII.

■""^C^^BBR,

( 34 )

-'. V. XIII. TTith your Month have you boojled
againjl me, and have multiplyed your Words,

Can there be drawn a more lively and natural
Pidlure than this is, of the French, the Nation of
Mountjeirs f For the French are noted above all
Nations, for their boajling. JJn Bieu, une Paris,
is a Proverb alw^ays in a Frenchman s Mouth, and
a Proverb which feemeth to border nearly upon
the Blafphemy charged upon them by the Prophet.
And that they are, above all Men, famous for
multiplying *heir Words-, that they are eteinal Talk-
ers, full of Noile, but void of Senfe ; ihis is a com-
plete Charadler of the whole Nation, in the Judg-
ment of that laudable Society of true Friends to
their Country, the Ant igalli cans, to whom I have
the Honour to bear fome Relation.

W. I. Chaplain to L. P. and to the Antigallicans .

'jc:

XV. Thoujhaltbedefolate, Mountfeir.

Though the Deflrudion of the French, *He
Nation of Mountfeirs, hath in the foiFCgoing Notes
been moft fatisfa(3:orily deduced from, and difco^
vered to be fore" jld in this Chapter, it may be ne-
celTary to add fomething more, in Order to iix the
Time when this happy Event is to come to pafs.
And, I flatter myfelf that I am able to point out
the very Year when this is to happen, and to
iliew that the Time is much nearer, than the
moft fanguine Lover of old England could well
have fuppofed. But as this cannot be done with^
out having Recourfe to the Original, I muft
beg of my Friend, who defired my Afliftance to-
wards the prefent Commentary, that he will not

( 35 )

be offended with me, if I disfgure his Page, as he
is pleafed to exprefs himfelf, with a Quotation or
two upon this Occafion : For, by fo doing, I fliall
add wonderful Authenticity to his Interpretation,
and demonftrate the Certainly of it from the He-
brew Verity, which I never will abandon, whatever
Mr. Kennicot and Father Houbigant, may pretend
to have difcovered againft it.

The fecond Verfe in the Tranflation, is as fol-
loweth, Son of Man ^ fet thy f'^ace agatnfl Mcuntjeir
and prophecy again jt it. Now, as learned Vlen
bave frequently made wonderful Difcoverles from
Scripture, by converting the Letters of the original
Words, relating any particular Event, into Nu-
merals (for it is well known that the Numerals
of the Hebrews, ^% well as of the Greeks, were the
Letters of their Alphabet) I refolved to try an
Experiment on this fecond Verfe, which as it
containeth a fummary of tne whole Predidion,
I thought to be the mofl likely Place of meeting
with feme chronological Reference to the Event
foretold. And accordingly, by' confidering every
Letter of this Verfe as a Numeral, I was enab-
led to trace out, a very fpeedy Completion of
this Prophecy, which I Ihall now fubmit to the
Infpedlion of the Public. The unlearned Reader
will, I liope, truft to my known Fidelity in Mat-
ters of this Kind, a Character which my Labours
on the Lexicon hath juftly intitled me to ; and the
Reader (killed in the Hebrew, may at any Time,
fatisfy himfelf that I have literally adhered to the
original Text, in the following Reprefentation of
it i only, inftead of writing the jH^^r^w in a Line
rofs the Page, I have fet it down from Top to

F a Bottom,

I
I

(36)
Bottom, in a Column, that the Figures whicJj caco

mf ^ r > rr^L?^ reprefenting as a Numeral,
might be placed direaiy oppofite.

"* ) V - ^ flands for z

vv " .;

«C

-I*^

300

- "* .' ■ '

♦

''.':>^ '

-: m-' '

• i.'b ,,

.-•^'r-

■ ■■ ' : 'r ; i '

;-|]' ^'^ ,

i:;.

^ 30

*■'"■ ' F

- n

. "i ■ -

^ ^

200

1 ,

itr

300

. ■

., t.

"*>•"'■*.. ^ '' '

200

1*' * ^M 1

Vl^^. . :

^v.w 100

■^*'%.:

iJ^otl^

? 70

♦ 10

i.*^

if}

Now

acn
raJ,

( 37 )

Now if the Reader will be at the Pains to add
all thefe Figures together, he will find that they
make up 1722. But in Order to compleat my
Difcovery of the Year, when the French are to be
deftroyed, fomething more remaineth to be taken
Notice of. St. Jerom fomewhere ohferveth, with
Regard to the old Italic Verfion of the Bible, that
there was a Myftery in the Order of it's Words.
Agreeably to this, I cannot but be of Opinion that
there is fomething myflerious in Cardinal Hugos
Divifion of the Bible into Chapters : So that fre-
quently, by adding the Number of the Chapter to
the An^ount of the Numerals of any particular
Paflage, we may have a full View of the Chronology
of the Event foretold. Now, this is remarkably
the Cafe at prefent. It appeareth that it was won-
derfully appointed, that this (hould be the thirty-
fifth Chapter; becaufe if we add 35 to 1722, the
Amount of the Numerals in the Verfe quoted, the
whole will make 1757, to which Year therefore
we are carried on, then to look for, and to ex-
ped that Mountfeir will be made defolate, • •, a

1 . 'i:

But, perhaps, it may be objeded, that there
A?::peareth little Probability, that the Deftrudtion
of rhis formidable Enemy, in Vain laboured for,
cii ing many Years, and in many a well-fought
Field, by the indefatigable King William^ and the
fortunate Duke of Marlborough^ (hould be effedted
at prefent, even though we boaft of fo much
Wifdom in our Minifters, and fo much Skill in
our Admirals, within *h.^ narrow Period of tiiDo
Tears, Alas ! the Objedtor forgetteth that, how-
C';er uqlikely, however feemingly inadequate fe-
cond Cauf^s may be, the Event will be brought

about

wmmg

• ( 38 )

about as wonderfully as it wsls foretold, I mention
this, to obviate all invidious Comparifons, and dis-
contented Remarks upon the prefent Occafion ; to
infpire our Rulers with a Confidence of Succefs,
which Excefs of Modefty, not Want of Abilities,
hath hitherto robbed them of, and to expofe the
Folly of cenfuring their Plan of Operations, fi^ce,
whatever Appearance Things may have, Mountjeir
vf'\\\ ht made defolate in 1757.

HowEVFR, if any one fhould flill obje(fl, that
I bring this grand Event too near ; I {hall ob-
ferve that v 'r^y be warranted, by this very
Paflhge of Scri^. e, to retard it two Tears longer.
For, as this is the fecond Verfe of the Chapter,
and as, no Doubi, there is as much Myftery in the
Divilion into Verfes, as in the Divifion into Chap-
ters, we may be allowed to add the Number of
the Verfe to the former Total, which, therefore,
will lead us ftill farther on, to look, upon 1759,
as the Year pointed out by the Prophet for the
Defolation of Mountfeir. I (hall not take upon
myfelf to pronounce abfoluielyy in which of thefe
Years this Prophecy is to hav<j it's full Completion ;
but fhall only beg Leave to take Notice of a Cir-
cumftance, which, perhaps, may decide the Dif-
pute in Favour of •759. My aftronomical Stu-
dies, when I had an Office which I loft, by aim-
ing at Free thinkhig in Philofophy, led me to an
Acquaintance with the Theory of Comef'S. And
I remember, that in Dodlor Halle fs Tables we
are taught to expedt that the Comet which a-
iarmed the World in 1 682, will again appear in
1758. Now, as it is an Opinion handed down
from the mofl venerable Antiquity, that Ccmets

are

( 39 )

are the Forerunners of the Downfall of States and
Kingdoms, I cannot but think that there is Reafon
{ov po/i-foning the DownhW of France till 1759,
and for looking upon the Comet which is to appear
in 1758, as the Forerunner of this important
Event.

But as I write in an unbelieving Age, that all
Pretence of Cavilling may be removed, and the
Chronology of this Predidtion, as I have explained
it, may be corroborated, I muft once more prefent
my Reader with fome Hebrew Letters, as they are
to be found in the loth Verfe of this Chapter.
There we read, Becaufe thou haji faid^ thefe two
Nations Jhall be mine. Now, if we can, from the
Hebrew y which is thus tranllated, find out a Date
remarkably applicable to the prefent Time, I (hall
then have removed the Scruples of the moft Incre-
dulous, and have fully eftablifhed the Truth of my
former Chronology, .-|.,. ^ ^ -. ? -::

'■} f:

The Hebrew Letters, ranged as I did the Quo-
tation of the fecond Verfe, are as foUoweth. .

* (lands for

70 .

50 :

40
200 .

20 ,

400 .
300

-.W

v ■

>.l

( 40 )

jr,.f\ ^■. '■ .

• *

* ■ J

•»

rV ''-'•. - '■■

•■

'-■-■>■- ■1"

". ,:b

. _ «

»i

. - . •!

- ::.■•. ...■^•i ■ '

/ ' * - •■*

^^^^B

■• ,:':j.

••

f\ ftands for 5

dagrfchcd reckons ^

Af two. ^

A v'.i

- :.^ ,

•• - • ' '

■' 10

;. . • ' . 4

400

.J I ; »

(

' • V,...-..

•' "- ..l-.l

These Figures, which exadly anfwer to the
Hebrew Numerals placed oppofite to them, being
added up, make out 1739. Now, if to this Num-
ber we farther add, ten, which every One will
admit £0 be rcafonable who remembreth that this
is the loth Vcrfe, we ihall be prefented with ^749,
a Year moft iignally applicable to the prefent Times,
and moft remarkably expreifmg the Date of the
French Schemes againft England, ■ -" - •

The Treaty of Aix la Chapelle was figned to-
wards the End of the Year 1748. Every One
knoweth alfo, that foon after, fo early as 1749,
the French began to fay, as it is in this Text, that
the fe two Natiomjhould be theirs. Ever lince that
Year they have been augmenting their Navy, ac-
cording to a Plan then agreed upon, and drawn up
by Order of their King and Council ; which Piece
of Information was very lately communica-
ted to our Miniftry, in an augufl AlTembly.

The

( 4' )

The French Encroachments hi the Eaft-Indiss un-
der Dupleix, on the Ohio in North America^ and
in the Neutral JJlandsy all which Events began
with 1749, ferve wonderfully to demonftrate the
great Significancy of the Hebrew Numerals in this
Paffage of Scripture, and to (hew, if former Proofs
were unfatisfad:ory, that the whole of this Chapter
relateth to the War now impending with France ;
a \\ ar which certainly will break out, if we may
depend upon infallible Interpretations of Scripture.
Sut let not the breaking out of this War alarm us,
lince I have pro'ued that it is to have fo fpeedy and
fo fortunate a Termination. I flatter myfelf, there-
fore, that the Publication of thefe welcome Truths
will be highly beneficial at this Crifis ; that it will
be a Means of inducing the Nation to fubmit chear-
fully to the Taxes impofed upon it, as the Deftruc-
tion of our Enemy, within fo (hort a Time, will
render the long Continuance of them unnecelTary %
that it will be a great Security to public Credit^ and
keep up the Price of Stocks j in a Word, that it
will enable the Government to borrow upon more
advantageous Terms, than they have borrowed their
laft Million^ the many additional Millions which the
formidable Armaments of this Summer will make it
neceflary to raife for the Service of the enfuing Year.

The Importance of this Note will atone for it's
Length j and I fhall only add, that the Difcoverie^
which I have made in it, will certainly put a Stop
to all Sneers on Hutchinfonianifmy and enable every
impartial Enquirer to judge whether or no the
Court Clergy have had any Reafon to ridicule our
Interpretations of Scripture, as wild Fancies of
Efithufiafm. W.

An^

-.w-..

( 42 )

x4nd now having compleated my Commentary
and Notes on this amazing Predidion, far from
making r apology to my Readers for detaining
then, kt "g upon it, I rather hope, nay am con-
fident, that I fhall receive their Thanks, fince I
have been the Inftrument of opening to public
View the glorious Profpedls which the Oracles of
Truth, as interpreted by my Friends, teach us to
look for, from the impending War.

But amidft the general Satisfadlion which the
Difcovery of this national Prophecy cannot but
occafion, let not my Countrymen be ungrateful to
the Difcoverers. Let them, from this Inftance, fee
and confefs the Utility of fuch Interpretations of
Scripture 5 and obferve how ufeful fuch Interpreters
might be made to the Public, if the Public be-
ftowed upon them proper Encouragement.

' History informcth us that the Romans upon
any Emergency, and at the Eve of a War, ordered
their Augurs to infpecft the Entrails of Vidlims and
obferve the Flight of Birds, and their Priefts to
confult the Sybilline Books preferved in the Capitoh
in order to form a Judgment of the Events, and
to elevate the Spirits of the People, by difcovering
certain Marks of the Favour of the Gods, and in-
dubitable Promifes of Vidtory. We are happier than
they were, if we knew our own Happinefs I We
are blelTed with a Book which might foretell, better
and fuller than their Sybilline Leaves, every Event,
the Foreknowledge of which will be a public Be-
nefit. I fay ;«/^i6/ foretell, if it were but put into the
Hands of proper Interpreters.

«? ■•

*yir

( 43 )

I HOPE, therefore, that I fliall not be looked
upon as a whimjical Projedtor, it* I offer the follow-
ing Propofal to pubhc Conlideration j that there be
fet apart a fufficient Number of Perfons flcilled in
the Art of decyphering Hebrew ^Enigmas, and
thoroughly veried in the noble Science ot interpret-
ing Scripture, fo as to be able to extradt hidden
Meanings, allegorical AHuQons, and typical Pre-
dictions, from any Text how plain foever it may
fcem. Theie Gentlemen I would propofe to have
incorporated by Charter from the Crown, and
ere<5led into u College, under the Name of the
Prefident and Fdlows of the College of State Inter-^
preterSy with ample Salleries annexed. And I pro-
pof** that they Ihould be ready, upon every En^er-
gency of State, to perufe the facred Writers with
Induftry and Skill, and to publiHi to the World
the amazing Difcoverics which they certainly will
make, concerning the Affairs of their own Coun-
try J that a Merlin^ a Nojiradamusy a Rice Evans,
». Nixon, a Shiptm, may no longer have the Glory
of being the only Prophets who foretell Events
relating to old England, while fuch a Treal'ure of
national Prophecies may be found in Amos or Eze-'
kiel, and in fhort in every Book of the old Tefla-
ment, when interpreted according to the Rules
which I have recommended, that is, by giving full
Scope to a fertile Imagination,

DisiNTERESTEi> in my Views, I here fokmnly
declare, that I do not aim, when I make this Pro-
pofal, at obtaining a Place among thefe State Inter-
preterSy for myfelf. I own myfelf unequal to the
important Taik. But at the fame Time, I readily
ackaowledge that I mean to ferve fome learned

O 2 ;. , . ..-. --.r..- a7id

( 44 )

and eminetit Friends, who, though they have given
the World moft curious Specimens of their Abilities
in explaining Scripture, to the Repr'^ach of the
Age, and not much to the Honour of the Gover-
nors of the Church, remain not only un preferred, "
but even cenfured and perfecttted. § We have feen
by their Labours on the 35th Chapter o^ Ezekiely
what important Difcoveries they have made already 5
and from fuch a Specimen, what may we not ex- ,
pe(5l if they are encouraged to proceed ? I flatter
myfelf, therefore, that my Lords the Regents will,
without Lofs of Time, give this public Encourage-
ment to a Body of Men, whom my Lords the Bi-
Jhops feem determined to deprefs ; and that, upon
the Eredlion of the College, the Plan of which, as
given by me above, cannot but meet with Appro-
bation, they will entruft the Management of it to
thofe Gentlemen whom I now recommend. Cer-
tain it is, that, if it be proper to pay any Regard
to the Qualifications of the Candidates, my Friends
cannot fail to be preferred to the important Truft.
And as I would leave the Choice of the Prefident
to the Gentlemen themfelves, there cannot be any
"^ - ' Doubt,

§ A hard word ! yet, that I am warranted to make Ufe of it, any
One may fatisfy himfelfby enquiring into a Tranfaftion now depending
between one of my Friends, who hath given a Specimen of his Abili-
ties in the foregoing Commentary on tzekiely and a Prelate oi 9. Cha-
r after hitherto irreproachable, but who itfo'vajlly unreafonahle atpre-
fent, as to expeft that, at a Time whenthe ^(7/?«i[y of the eftabliihed
Clergy from the Doilrines of the Reformation is become fo general, a holy
and Goipel Pieacher ihould abftain from exercifing his Talent, unlefs
exercifed agreeably to thoie Canons which he hath fubfcribed. As if
the Propagation of the Gofpel, refined by aj, did |not fuperfede all
Obligations to obferve Canons, or obey Biftiop? ; and as if it were
highly criminal to ereft the Standard of Hutchinfoniu,: Verity, in the
Parilh uf St. Martins in the Fields ^ while it is difplayed fo fuccersfuu/
in the adjoining Parifh pf St. George's Uanover-Sqtiare, the happy
Spot, where Gofpel Preaching, hanilhed from moft other Churches,
hath fixed it's defirabk Abode;. ,

:s.

( 45 )

Doubt, that the Voice of the whole Society will
be unanimous in conferring -^hat Dignity on the
Author of the Commentary on the loytn Pfalm, and
of the Sermon on the Self-Exijience, ^

This Propofal for the Eredion of a College of
State Interpreters, may, perhaps at lirft View, be
objedled to, as if the Purpofcs which I intend that
it fhould anfwer, were already provided for by the
Encouragement now given to Perfons fkilled in the
Art of Decyphering. But I muft beg Leave to
obferve that the Decyphcrcrs now upon the Efta-
blifliment, in our Secretary of State's Office, are
a Set of Gentlemen, who never can pretend to any
Competition with 7ny Friends. 1 have been told,
indeed, that they have fometlmes done fignal Ser-
vice to the State, and difcovered from interceoted
Letters, by the infallible Rules of their Art, Con-
fpiracies and Plots fo fecrct^ that their Exiftence
could no otherwife have been put beyond Doubt.
But the Employment, which I have thought of for
my Friends, is of a kind, totally different. Let thfe
Decypherers therefore continue to be employed in
finding out I'reafon ; while the fole Employment
of the State Interpreters will be to find out Uruth,
Nor have I ever heard, that the moft eminent of
the Conjurers of the Secretary's Office pretend to
any Skill in decyphering the Scriptures.

But however great the Abilities of my learned
Friends are, it cannot be expedled that the Admi-
nijiration will confer upon them the Employment
which I now folicit, if 1 do not place their political
Condud and Principles, in fuch a Light as may
prove that they are as good Subjeds as thev are
V- . fkilful

( 46 )

ikilful Divines, and that their Loyalty is equal to
their Abilities. Suffer me, therefore, before I take
my Leave of my Reader, to take Notice of a very
extraordinary Interpretation of a Place in Scripture,
which hath been lately made by one of our Society,
and in which we all concur: an Interpretation
which, in the Opinion of every impartial Per) on,
v/iil acquit us from the heavy Charges brought
againft us by the Apologift for the Clergy ^ and be a
moll fignal Inflance of our Atta^mcnt to the pre-
fent happy Eflablifhmcnt.

We read in the 3 2d. Chapter of the Book of
Genejis, that Jacob the immediate Progenitor of
the Jewijfh Nation, had his Name changed into
Jjrael. Now though the Hiilory in the Context,
doth aflign a Reafon why this Change of Names
was made, yet there feemcth to be more implyed
in this Tranfadion than is exprefled. What that
is, which is implyed, hath been difcovered by our
Friends, and they have by this Difcovery, expofed
themfelves to the perfecuting Rage of High Church'
mcfty Non-Jurors 2Si^ Jacobites,

They have difcovered, then, that the true Rea-^
fon, why Jacobus Name was changed into IJrael
was, becaufe it vj2isforefeeny that in a future and
very diftant Age, the Word Jacobite would become
a Term of Reproach, and the Name of a defpica-^
blc Fadtion, who, like the old Cappadocians^ or
the modern Danes, prefer Slavery to Freedom, and
the arbitrary Will of a Tyrant to the eafy Sway
of the Laws. That, therefore, the People favour-
ed above all Nations by Heaven might not have
one common DenomiAatioo with thi§ detefted

Party

( 47 )

Party, unworthy of the Name of EngUjhmen or
Britons j for this Rcafon, and for this alone, Jd-
cob aflumcd the Name of Ifrael^ that his Defcend-
ents might be Ifraelites and not Jacobites.

Wonderful Difcovery! Who ever could have
thought that Scripture contained fo unanfwerable
an Argument againft Jacobites and Jacobitifm ?
And yet, we plainly fee that it doth, when inter-
preted by thofe Rules which the Gentlemen, for
whom I am now an Advocate, have adopted. To
them^ therefore, be the Praife and Merit of this,
and their other national Difcoveries I May the Court
Clergy ceafe to ridicule fuch Interpreters, when they
cannot but admit the Certainty of their Interpreta-
tions ! May true Scripture Learning prevail over ail
Oppofition, and Converts be added da !y to the Faith
of Hutcbinfon, in Spite of the Jbarp Attacks of the
Arch- deacon of Northumberland, and the Abufe of
his Panegyrift the Apologijl ! In a Word ; may that
great Man, who hath the mod undoubted Right to
be efteemed the Head and Leader of the chofen
Band of Go/pel Preachers, go on fo fuccefsfully in his
Labours, and extend the Belief of his Dodlrines fo
wide, that Pofterity furveying the flourishing State
of his Defcendents, may cry out, .

Tanta molts erat Romanam condere gentem I

FINIS.