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tion; therefore there must have been some other Method than by Writing, to communicate Ideas to Man, and transmit them to Posterity before that Time. This appears to be by Emblems, Hieroglyphics, &c. The Garden of Eden had many before Man fell, such as Rivers, Trees, &c. He was put here to keep God's Laws, and to observe the instituted Emblems, the Instincts of the Creatures, &c. for his Use [not to dress and prune, it needed none, besides he had no Instruments to prune with.] Immediately after his Fall, suitable to the new and hopeless Circumstances he had brought himself into, he had the hieroglyphical Emblem of the Cherubim instituted; this was a fupernatural Exhibition, exhibited by Jehovah Elahim, and with the Flame and Sword, pointed out to him (Adam) and fince to us, Ideas of all that we have any Concern to know of what was really transacted by the Elabim, and exhibited in Idea above; and of what was to be compleated below, upon which all our Religion depends; not Birds, nor winged Boys, nor Angels; the Traces of it are in all Nations to this Day; yea, before our Eyes, if we did not shut them, and wink hard too. It consisted of the Face of an Ox, the Face of an Eagle, the Face of a Lyon and a Man conjunct, Ezek. i. and 10. The Heathens made these the Emblems of their Trinity, (for they always had one) the Ox, of Fire; the Lion of Light, the Eagle of Spirit, and call'd them Rubbim, and had a Temple under that Name, Amos iii. 15. mentioned also Cant. vii. 4, &c. whereas they were only Sicut Rubbim, the Similitudes of the Great Ones; they were Emblems of the Chiefs, tho Heathen, for they were Emblems of the material Heavens, which were the Heathens Chiefs, of the but Sicut Rubbim, mistook indeed by the Heathens for true Rubbim, and worshipped as such; sometimes under true, sometimes under false Emblems blems of their own Invention; sometimes fetting up one, sometimes more, sometimes other Heads, (Faces) than were in the Cherubim, as their own Imagination and Superftition led them; hence the Apis of the Egyptians, the Calves of Jeroboams hence the Dove trembling in the Land of Affyria, Hof. xi. 11. where she was not a facred Bird, so was in danger; hence Hawks, Owls, Cats, Dogs, Apes Serpents, &c. were by the Superftition of Men made Emblems of the Objects of Worship, and afterwards worshipped indeed. This I believe to be the Origin of all the Heathen Worship in the World, and that the Mahometans are no Objection to this; for neither their Language, nor Religion, is more than 1200 Years old, and the latter founded absolutely on a perverse Misconstruction of the Law of Mofes. By what is faid above, it will appear to any impartial Person, that Mofes picked not up his Learning and Wisdom in Egypt, nor Midian, but had it by Revelation originally divine, the Heathens their's from the same Spring, but abused by Tradition: If our Free-Thinkers and Rabbinical Men cannot see this, 'tis not for want of Evidence.

THAT the Revelation by Moses was not an arbitrary Injunction of the Elahim on the People of Ifrael, to affert and maintain their Divine Sovereignty. It was given for no other End and Ufe, than to direct them (the Jews) in the Way of Salvation by Christ; every Institution belonging to that Service, such as, to instance in fome of them, the Oracle, Prophets, Booth, Tabernacle, Priests of the First Born, Habits, Vessels, Instruments, Anointing with Oyl, Washing, Purification, appointed Times, Representations by Urim and Thummim, Cherubim, Teraphim, convoking by Sound of Trumpets, Horns, &c. Jubilees, &c. Altars, Burnt

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and Sin Offerings, Meat and Drink Offerings, Feafts, Dances, Creatures appointed, Firstlings, Gifts, Pairs of clean Creatures, a Ram, the Lamb the usual Sacrifice, with many other Ceremonies; and doubtless Kings, Crowns, Scepters, Kingdoms, which were term'd facred, as they were Types of him who was to be Just, Holy, &c. All referring to our Redemption by Christ; and being fome way typical of his Person, Offices, Mediatorship, Interceffion, &c. in some Instance or Respect or other.

THAT the Law given, as above by Mofes, and the Doctrine of Salvation by a Redeemer, was the same Thing. That this was given, or revealed to Adam, after his Forfeiture in Eden, to guide him and his Posterity. To this was added the Moral Law, as 'tis call'd, to keep the People from Defection from the true Elahim, and prevent theit being infnared by the abominable Rites and Customs of the Heathen Worship: And because some of the People had been insnared, and others in danger; fome of their execrable Rites had been introduced, and others like to be, the Decalogue was given as a Barrier between the true and false Worshippers. Those Innovations were the Tranfgreffions; to prevent which, and because of which, Law was added.

THAT no innate Conceptions, no rational Faculties in the Soul, no Light of Nature without Revelation, was, or ever will be, fufficient to find out what the Method of Salvation is, or what the focial Law ought to be.

THAT the Law of Nature is the Law of the D-l, set up by him; and the Philosophers his Tools, against Revelation. That to talk of that,

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the Light of Nature, and of natural Confcience, is natural Nonfenfe, and a Fiction of the Schools. That no positive Law ever came from God.

THAT this is not removing the Boundaries of focial Obligation, it has a furer Foundation to stand on; for that whosoever loves Jehovah Elabim, with all his Heart and Mind, and Soul and Might, and his Neighbour as himself; and makes it a Rule to do by all Men, as he would that they should do to him, will never err, but by Mistake; and as Fenelon, the Archbishop of Cambray, says, Shew me a Man that loves God with all his Heart, he shall do what he will. The particular Commands in the Decalogue will come in their Place hereafter.

THAT the fingular Noun [God] fubftituted in the Tranflation for אלהים Elabim is unmeaning, and not a Tranflation of it. Elahim is a Noun plural, של לילה ved from Alab. Thus it was when there was no Language in the World but Hebrew; therefore an Arabic Derivation must be Apocryphal: nor is there any Root in Hebrew, but lab, from whence Elahim can be derived, then in the middle prevents its being derived from אל El : And fince there is no Word in the Bible relating to Chriftianity of greater Importance than this, it behoves every Man of Learning to be at a Point here. As a Verb, Alab fignifies to comfirm by Oath, to bind a Person to fulfil certain Terms under the Penalty of a conditional Malediction: As a Name or Appellation, when applied to a Perfon, a Swearer to a Covenant; as a Noun when applied to an Action, an Oath: It is never used in Scripture but in this Senfe (except when 'tis a Pronoun) and the Context will always shew that. Elabim muft therefore signify Persons sworn to a Covenant.

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Covenant, as we find this Term applied to the Persons who created this World, Gen. i. 1, 3, 4 From hence it appears, that the Persons (fomewhats) who created this System and Man, had before that Time performed some Act which denominated them Elahim, or Covenanters. The Substance of this Covenant appears, by the whole Tenour of Scripture, to relate to the Redemption of Mankind by the Incarnation and Death of אלוה Eload, the execrated one, אלוה Eloa is a Participle passive from the fame Root as Elahim, declined as גבה Gabah. The Translators always render Eloab, God. That these Elahim are, one Jehovah, or that their Existence is a Trinity in Unity; and by what we are led to the Conception of this fublime Truth, is declared above.

THAT the Word ברית Berit, rendered Covenant in the Translation, has no where that Idea belonging to it. The Words found with it, won't allow it, being always joined with establish, place, give, raise up, hay, cut off, purify, but never with make. Now what was to be given, raised up, cut off, &c.? Not a Covenant, but a Purifier. That to purify is the Idea of the Word, appears from the Root בר from whence it is derived. It is used in its native Sense, Mal. iii. 2. Jer. ii. 22. and truly render'd Soap, which is a Purifier. Carry this Idea to the many Places where the Word is used, and they will read with Sense and Beauty. Thus, Ifa.xlii, 6. I will give thee for a Purifier of the People, Exod. xxiv. 8. Behold the Blood of the Purifier (the typical Purifier). The more this is examined, the more its Truth will appear, and in Proportion as it does, the Doctrine of a Multiplicity of Covenants between God and Man will fall; nor will any Criticisms on the Old or New Testament, or the Language of either, support it.

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