Now the Dead cannot arise to perform these Offices; The Duft cannot praife God, &c. They that go down into the Pit cannot hope for God's Truth, or Mercy, as the Expreffion may be without Force understood and accordingly with respect to the Discharge of preparatory Duties, and Obligations, &c. Death, or the Grave, may truly and literally be faid to be a State of Silence and Forgetfulness!-And after all, fuch Expreffions as these, in the Mouths of good Men, fuch as were David and Hezekiah, are not the Language of Despair, but of Humility.But once more; "David himself, fays my Author, informs us, that he "found it painful and difficult to account for the

Profperity of the Wicked: and informs us like"wife, that he searched the Sanctuary of God, or "the divine Law, for this Purpose. And yet he "tells us, that the best Solution he could find, even " in examining these holy Oracles, was, that this "Profperity was fhort and tranfient, and would "be foon fucceeded by a terrible Reverse." Pfalm lxxiii. 16. 17. &c. (p. 63.)-Upon which it may be observed, that if David believed the public Sanctions of the Law, viz. temporal Rewards and Punishments were the whole and fole Sanctions of Religion, any Prosperity of the Wicked, of any Duration, must have been unaccountable to him: for according to this Principle the Wicked should always have been in Adversity, and the Righteous

profperous.

profperous. Now David could not but have taken Notice that this was so far from having been inva→ riably the Cafe, that in fome Instances he must have obferved the very Reverse of it. With refpect to notorious Wickedness triumphant through Life, he could not be mistaken; and therefore, if we suppose he saw not the Solution of the Difficulty in a future State, it will be impoffible to affign a rational Motive to his Piety. Common Sense therefore will, I prefume, direct us to conclude, that even though David might in fome measure, and, generally speaking, account for the Prosperity of the Wicked, when he saw it fucceeded " by a terrible "Reverse;" yet that when he did not see this, he had Recourse to the Solution of the Difficulty in the Doctrine of a future State. And confequently nothing in the above Paffages can imply his Ignorance of it. But this Argument I may have Occafion to enlarge upon hereafter.

I have now gone through the Examiner's firft Chapter, and as I do not know that I have overlooked any thing material, fo, I hope, I have not left it unanswered.

CHAP.

CHA P. II.

HE fecond Chapter of the Work before us

T contains Remarks on the Bishop of LONDON'S

Defence of the antient Prophecies; with fome Obfervations on what has been lately advanced by Dr. MIDDLETON and Dr. SYKES, on the Subject of TYPES and SECONDARY PROPHECIES. "In the "foregoing Chapter the Author tells us he has "proved that the Notion of the common System " which makes Redemption and a future State a "popular Doctrine amongst the antient Jews, is "confuted by the plain and express Authority of "the New Teftament; and in this he endeavours "to fhew, that it will disable us from defending "the Old, or giving a fatisfactory Answer to the

Objections which Unbelievers bring against the "antient Prophecies." Here again the Examiner amufes his Reader, and deceives himself, by confounding the Idea of Redemption by Chrift, and that of a future State in general. With respect to the latter we have observed, that the Belief or Expectation of it was founded on certain Promises and Prophecies, which could not poffibly have been understood in a temporal Senfe; with refpect to the former, confidered as inclufive of the whole Gospel Difpenfation, it will, I trust, appear that nothing which is here faid upon the Subject of

Types,

Types, &c. can be applied to the Prejudice, or Subverfion of the common System.

The Examiner introduces this Chapter with acquainting us, "that the Futility of this System "cannot be better or more effectually expofed, " than by fhewing to what great and inexplicable " Difficulties it reduced the truly learned Prelate, " in his Defence of Types and fecondary Prophecies,

against Mr. Collins, the Author of The Grounds " and Reafons," &c. and Lord Bolingbroke's Oracle, it seems, on this as well as on other Occafions.— Mr. Collins's" Arguments fuppofe then first, that "these Modes of Information (viz. by typical or figurative Predictions, or Representations) are « neither reasonable, juft, nor proper; as not "agreeable to the fair Rules of Criticism and found

Logic." I fay, by typical, or figurative Predictions or Representations, to distinguish the Prophecies, &c. relative to the spiritual Bleffings and Doctrines of the Gospel, or the Kingdom of Christ, which were " clearly and openly predicted and displayed for the prefent Information of the Jewish Church," from other Types or Emblems of fpiritual Truths, or future Events under the Gospel, which had not their proper Explanations annexed to them, but were left to be illuftrated by their respective Antitypes. That the Manna which the Jews fed upon in the Wilderness

was

was prefigurative of the fpiritual Bread from Heaven; that Jonas' being three Days and three Nights in the Whale's Belly, was emblematical of the Burial of Jefus Chrift; or the lifting up of the Serpent by Mofes of his Refurrection; were Secrets no doubt to the antient Jews. I do not apprehend that the Bishop of London, or any Patron of the common System, supposes otherwife; nor is there any Occafion he should; for what have thefe Types to do with literal, or figurative Declarations and Promise of future Bleffings, of which the general Senfe could not be misunderstood, or with typical Prophecies and Representations, evidently “ figni"ficative of spiritual Bleffings to come?" And yet, though the Jews could not ascertain or foresee, the great Events, or fpiritual Bleffings of the Gofpel, typified and prefigured by preceding Events, or temporal Deliverances under the Law, they must naturally have confidered fuch Deliverances as typical in general, and, according to his Lordship's Expreffion, "as Arguments to encourage the Hopes of spiritual." God's Promifes, were many of them of a spiritual Nature, and relative to a better Hope, or fpiritual Covenant; fo that temporal Deliverances, as the great Prelate obferves, being the actual Performance of one Covenant, were a great Security for the Performance of the other; they cherished the Expectations of a VOL. I.

X

better