plainly and intelligibly, as it is of things paft or prefent. The fame language ferves in both cafes, with little variation. He who fays the river will overflow its banks next year, speaks as plainly as he who says it did overflow its banks laft year. It is not therefore of the nature of prophecy to be obscure, for it may easily be made, when he who gives it thinks fit, as plain as hiftory.

On the other fide, a figurative and dark defcription of a future event will be figurative and dark ftill when the event happens; and confequently will have all the obfcurity of a figurative dark defcription, as well after as before the event. The prophet Ifaiah describes the peace of Chrift's kingdom in the following manner: The wolf fhall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard fhall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child fhall lead them, xi. 6. No body, I fuppose, (fome modern Jews excepted,) ever understood this literally; nor can it now be literally applied to the state of the Gofpel; it was, and is capable of different interpretations: it may mean temporal peace; and that, either public, of kingdoms and nations; or private, among the profeffors of the Gofpel. It may prefigure an internal and spiritual peace, the tranquillity of mind which fets a man at peace with God, himself, and the world. But, whatever the true meaning is, this prophecy, expounded by the rules of language only, does no more obtrude one determinate sense upon the mind fince the coming of Christ, than it did before. But then we say, the state of the Gospel was very properly prefigured in this description, and is as properly prefigured by an hun

dred more of the like kind; and fince they all agree in a fair application to the state of the Gospel, we ftrongly conclude, that the Gospel ftate was the thing foretold under thefe and many other like expreffions. So that the argument from prophecy for the truth of the Gospel does not reft upon this, that the event has neceffarily limited and afcertained the particular fenfe and meaning of every prophecy; but in this, that every prophecy has, in a proper sense, been completed by the coming of Chrift. It is abfurd therefore to expect clear and evident conviction from every fingle prophecy applied to Chrift; the evidence muft arife from a view and comparison of all together.

Prophecies are not all of one kind, or of equal clearness the most literal prophecies relating to Chrift were not always at the time of the delivery the plaineft; for many of these relating to the most furprifing and wonderful events under the Gospel, wanted not the veil or cover of figurative language; for, being plainly foretold, they could hardly, for the seeming incredibility of the things themselves, be received and admitted in their true literal meaning. A virgin fhall conceive a Son, was a propofition which feemed to want fome other interpretation than a literal one, which was inconfiftent with all experience of the world: and therefore probably this prophecy was not understood by the ancient Jews, as importing a miraculous conception. The event has not made this prophecy clearer than it was before; the language of it was as well understood in the prophet's time as now; but common fenfe led every man to understand it in a sense agreeable to nature and

experience but the event has fhewed us, that the plain literal fenfe, however inconfiftent with the experience of nature, is the true sense. In like manner the prophecies, from which the refurrection of Chrift is inferred, were obscure and dark from a feeming inconfiftency between the feveral parts of them. It is foretold, that Chrift fhould be defpifed and rejected of men, a man of forrow and affliction; that his affliction fhould pursue him even to the grave: and it is alfo foretold, that, notwithstanding thefe fufferings, and a wretched death, he should prolong his days, and have an everlasting kingdom, and fee the work of the Lord profper in his hands. These prophecies are not at all plainer now than they were in the beginning: but the plain sense appeared at that time loaded with contradictions; here was one born to mifery and affliction, and yet he was the heir of an everlasting kingdom: he was condemned, executed, laid in the grave, and, after all this, he was to prolong his days, and fee the work of the Lord profper in his hands. The refurrection of Chrift reconciled all these difficulties and feeming inconfiftencies; and we now readily admit these prophecies in their plain literal fense; which was a very plain fenfe before, though a very hard one to be imagined or believed.

You may obferve then, that the moft literal prophecies have received the greatest confirmation, and the most light, from the event. For the difficulty in this cafe not lying in the darkness or obfcurity of the expreffion, but in the seeming impoffibility of the thing foretold, such seeming impoffibility the event fully cleared: but no event can make a figurative or metaphorical expreffion to be a plain or a

literal one; or restrain the language of any prophecy to one determinate fenfe only, which was originally capable of

many.

I have faid thus much to fhew what fort of clearnefs and evidence we ought to expect from prophecies after their accomplishment. It is a great prejudice against this argument, when men come to it, expecting more from it than it will yield. This they are led to by hearing it often faid, that prophecy, however dark and obfcure at firft, grows wonderfully plain upon the accomplishment: which in fome cafes, as I have fhewn, is in fact true; but is not, cannot be fo in all cafes.

You may think it perhaps strange, that I should be here pleading, as it were, for the obscurity of ancient prophecies; whereas you may very well conceive it would be more to the purpose of a Christian divine to maintain their clearnefs. Now as Mofes in another cafe faid, I would to God all the Lord's people were prophets; fo fay I in this cafe; I would to God all the prophecies of the Lord were manifest to all his people. But it matters little what we wish for, or think beft; we must be content with fuch light and direction as God has thought proper to beftow on us and to inquire why the ancient prophecies are not clearer, is like inquiring why God has not given us more reason, or made us as wife as angels: he has given us in both cafes fo much light as he thought proper, and enough to ferve the ends he intended.

It is, doubtless, a mistake to conceive prophecy to be intended folely or chiefly for their fakes, in whose time the events predicted are to happen. What great occafion is there to lay in fo long beforehand

the evidences of prophecy to convince men of things that are to happen in their own times; the truth of which they may, if they please, learn from their own fenses? How low an idea does it give of the adminiftration of Providence, in fending prophets, one after another, in every age from Adam to Chrift, to imagine, that all this apparatus was for their fakes who lived in and after the times of Chrift, with little regard to the ages to whom the prophecies were delivered? As I think the prophecies of the New Teftament are chiefly for our fake, who live by faith, and not by fight; fo I imagine the ancient prophecies had the like use, and were chiefly intended to fupport the faith and religion of the old world. Had it been otherwise, a set of prophecies given fome few years before the birth of Chrift, would have served our purpose as well as a series of prophecies given from the very beginning, and running through every age.

Let us then confider the use of prophecy, and this will help us to conceive the degree of clearness which ought to attend it. Some people are apt to talk, as if they thought the truth of fome facts, recorded in the Gospel, depended upon the clearness of the prophecies relating to them; they speak, for inftance, as if they imagined the certainty and reality of our Saviour's refurrection were much concerned in the clearness of the prophecies relating to that great and wonderful event, and feem to think that they are confuting the belief of his refurrection, when they are trying to confound the prophecies relating to it. But can any thing be more abfurd? For what ground or pretence is there to inquire, whether the prophecies forefhewing that the Meffiah fhould die