and accordingly the peculiar Articles of the Chriftian Religion, &c. were not explained by the Promises and Prophecies of the Patriarchal or the Mofaic Difpenfation. What then becomes of the Examiner's fuppofed Incoherence and Confufion of Systems, and the Violation of the Order of Things, fo liberally imputed to the Principles of the common System?-Again, the Law does often indeed inftil a Spirit of Terror and Bondage, and the Jews, as the Apostle tells us, were all their Lifetime fubject to Bondage, through Fear of Death; for who ever afferted, in Contradiction to the fame Apostle, that Righteoufnefs could be by the Law, or that by the Works of the Law Men could be juftified? All the Texts of this Nature therefore prove no more than the Infufficiency of the Jewish Difpenfation in itself for the Purposes of Salvation, and establish the Ground, the Claim of eternal Life in the imputed Righteousness of Chrift by the Covenant of the Gofpel, the fpiritual Covenant. A preparatory Religion could not, in the Nature of Things, make the Comers thereunto perfect; and accordingly the multifarious Rites, Ceremonies, and carnal Ordinances under the Mofaic Oeconomy, were Things purely local and temporary, well adapted to the Genius of the Jews, as a Nation, and to the State of Religion in those Ages of the World.-Now the Promife of a Deliverer, a Redeemer, &c. made to the Patriarchs, and confirmed

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firmed to the Jews by a regular and gradual Succeffion of Prophecies and Revelations, did not im→ port the utter Abolition of their religious Polity, nor confequently infpire them with unfeasonable Prejudices against their own System: and for the fame Reason, the Doctrine of a future State, or Salvation by Faith in this Promife, was not at all repugnant to a Syftem whofe temporal " Promises "were attached to Works." In a word, the fpiritual or Chriftian Covenant is one Thing, and the Spiritual or Chriftian Religion another: God did not" reveal the universal Religion" by giving the univerfal Promise; and confequently as the Abrahamic and Chriftian Covenants were fundamentally indeed, but not fyftematically the fame, fo the Hopes of this Covenant might be, and were administered and preferved by a Difpenfation, whofe external Constitution was very different from that of the final and ultimate Religion. Nothing more was requifite for the Prefervation of these Hopes than a System which should maintain the Religion of the Patriarchs in it's primitive Purity, and teach and inforce the Worship of the one true God, in Oppofition to the idolatrous Notions that were, for Reasons best known to infinite Wisdom, to diffuse themselves over the whole World: and this Point was most effectuall fecured by the Mofaic Inftitution. Thus then the " particular End and Defign of the Jewish Law" appears to be

perfectly

perfectly fuitable to the Nature of a preparatory Religion.

But we are further told, that this Doctrine "has nothing to countenance and support it in "the Old Teftament," and that "it directly con"tradicts many Texts in the New. (p. 230.) The Old Testament, fays the Examiner, "never declares "that the Law was given to perpetuate and pre" ferve these particular Doctrines which his Lordfhip has affigned to the patriarchal Religion." (p. 250.) I know not indeed what Rule of Arithmetic the Examiner may have recourse to, but fure no logical Principle can multiply one general Hope into many particular Doctrines.-Well-but the Law was not given to perpetuate this general Hope, for it says nothing about it.—It is very true, the Promifes contained in the Book of Genefis are not repeated in those of Exodus, or Deuteronomy. And Reafon good; for what had an Institution purely local and temporary to do with a general and spiritual Promife? If this Hope was preserved under the Law, if the Book of Genefis was a Part of the Jewish Canon, if the subsequent Prophecies referred to this Hope, and gradually prepared the Way for the Reception of the promised Deliverer, the Silence of the Law is no fort of Objection to his Lordship's Hypothefis. But this, it seems, is not all for "we may oppofe, continues the "Examiner,

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“Examiner, not only the bare Silence of the Old "Testament to this Hypothefis, but likewise it's typical and figurative Representations of the Gofpel-Doctrine." (ibid.) Of what GofpelDoctrine? Of that which was delivered previously to Types and Figures? It is acknowledged, there are many Types and Figures relative to, and prefignificative of evangelical Truths, Doctrines, and Inftitutions &c. which are therefore faid to be virtually contained in the Jewish Religion; but would it not be a "wanton and fantastic, a capri"cious and perverse" Abuse of common Sense, to number explicit Bleffings, and literal Promifes among these?" His Lordship has observed too, we are told, that Mofes was fent to revive the Knowledge of the Supreme Being among the Ifraelites, who remembered nothing of his real Nature, and Attributes. Accordingly we find, fays our Author, that the Supremacy of the one "true God is plainly and clearly inculcated in every Page of the Law. And if his Promise of Redemption and a future State was to be revived "at the fame time, why was it not inculcated in "the fame plain, open, and explicit manner?" (p. 252.) Why it was not inculcated in or by the Law, a Reafon has already been affigned, viz. because it could not be with any Propriety. And after all, as great Occasion as there might be to revive the Knowledge of God's true Nature and Attributes

Attributes &c. among the Ifraelites; there might be little or none to remind them of his Promifes. However, if there was Occafion to do this, there is no manner of Doubt but it was done, notwithstanding the Silence of the Law upon this Article.

But again; not only the Silence of the Law, but the open Declarations of the Gospel may be oppofed to the common System, according to the Principles of the Examiner. He refers us therefore to certain Texts in St. Paul's Epiftles, and to "the numerous Paffages cited in the first Chapter " of his Work," which amount to nothing less than a Demonstration, "that the Promife of Salvation

by Faith in Chrift was not revealed under the "Law," and that " Christianity is a revealed My

ftery, or contains a System of Salvation unknown " and unpublished before the Coming of the Sa"viour." (p. 253.) We must defire the Reader to turn back likewise to the first Chapter of this Treatise, where, it is hoped, he will find this Matter adjusted to his Satisfaction; and in the mean time we will content ourselves with obferving, or rather re-observing here, that the above Inferences drawn by the Examiner from these Texts are fo far from being prejudicial to the Cause of the common System, that the Advocates of it make the very fame Deductions and Applications. For unless it will neceffarily follow, that there was Bb 4