26th wholly to Shem: but the other appears to me the more natural and eafy conftruction. Taken in either fenfe, the prophecy hath been moft punctually fulfilled. • In the former fenfe it was fulfilled literally, when the Shechinah or divine prefence refted on the ark, and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple of the Jews; and when the Word who was with God and was God (John I. 1.) Eσxnwσ, pitched his tent, and dwelt among us. (ver. 14.) In the latter fenfe it was fulfilled firft, when the Greeks and Romans, who fprung originally from Japheth, subdued and poffeffed Judea and other countries of Afia belonging to Shem; and again fpiritually, when they were profelyted to the true religion, and they who were not Ifraelites by birth, became Ifraelites by faith, and lived, as we and many others of Japheth's pofterity do at this day, within the pale of the church of Christ. What think you now? Is not this a most extraordi nary prophecy; a prophecy that was delivered near four thousand years ago, and yet hath been fulfilled thro' the feveral periods of time to this day! It is both wonderful and inftructive. It is the hiftory of the world as it were in epitome. And hence we are enabled to correct a mistake of one author, and expofe the petulance of another. 1. The firft is the learned and excellent Mr. Mede, an author always to be read with improvement, and to be corrected with reverence: but yet I conceive that he hath carried matters too far in afcribing more to this prophecy than really belongs to it. For difcourfing of the difperfions and habitations of the fons of Noah, he (8) faith that "there hath never yet been a fon of Ham, "who hath fhaken a fcepter over the head of Japheth: "Shem hath fubdued Japheth, and Japheth hath fub"dued Shem, but Ham never fubdued either :" and this paffage hath been cited by feveral (9) commentators to illuftrate this prophecy. But this worthy perfon furely did not recollect, that Nimrod, the firft monarch in the world, was the fon of Cufh, who was the fon of Ham. (8) See Mede's Works, B. 1. Difc. 49 and 50. p. 283. Edit. 1672. VOL. I. C (Gen (Gen. X.) Mifraim was another fon of Ham; he was the father of the Egyptians, and the Egyptians detained ⚫ the Ifraelites in bondage feveral years. Shifhak king of Egypt fubdued Rehoboam king of Judah. (1 Kings XIV.) Sefoftris king of Egypt (the fame probably as Shifhak) conquered great part of Europe and of Afia, if there is any faith in ancient hiftory. The Carthaginians too, who defcended from the Canaanites, as we noted before, gained feveral victories over the Romans in Spain and Italy. It was a mistake therefore to fay that Ham never fubdued Shem or Japheth. It is enough if he hath generally and for much the greatest part of time been a fervant to them, as he really hath been for two or three thousand years, and continues at prefent. This fufficiently verifies the prediction; and we should exceed the limits of truth, if we thould extend it farther. We might almoft as well fay (as fome have faid) that the complexion of the blacks was in confequence of Noah's curfe. But though Ham hath in fome inftances and upon fome occafions been fuperior, yet this is memorable enough, that of the four famous monarchies of the world, the Affyrian, Perfian, Grecian, and Roman, the two former were of the defcendents of Shem, as the two latter were of the fons of Japheth. 2. The other is the famous author of the Letters on the study and ufe of hiftory, who hath strangely abufed his talents in abufing this prophecy. For the true meaning and exact completion of it rightly confidered, what room is there for ridicule? and how abfurd and impertinent as well as grofs and indecent are his reflections? "The curfe, fays (1) he, pronounced in it contradicts "all our notions of order and of juftice. One is tempted "to think, that the patriarch was ftill drunk; and that * no man in his fenfes could hold fuch language, or "pafs fuch a fentence." But fuch will be the cafe, when men of more parts than judgment talk and write about things which they do not fufficiently understand: and especially in matters of religion, whereof they are (1) Lord Bolingbroke's Works, Vol. 2, Letter the 3d. p. 314. Edition quarto: by by no means competent judges, having either never ftudied them at all, or ftudied them fuperficially and with prejudice. All that he hath written relating to thefe fubjects betrays great weakness in a man of his capacity, weaknefs great as his malice; and we might have an eafy victory over affertions without proofs, premifes without conclufions, and conclufions without premifes. But I love not controverfy, and will only make two or three reflections, juft to give a fpecimen of the boasted learning and abilities of this writer. His lordship feemeth to take a particular pleasure in railing at pedants, at the fame time that he is himself one of the moft pedantic of writers, if it be pedantry to make a vain oftentation of learning, and to quote authors without either reading or understanding them, or even knowing fo much as who and what they are. "The Codex Alexandrinus, (2) faith he, we owe to "George the monk." We are indebted indeed to George the monk, more ufually called Syncellus, for what is intitled Vetus Chronicon or an old chronicle. But the Codex Alexandrinus is quite another thing; it is, as ail the learned know, the famous Greek MS. of the Old and New Testament, brought originally from Alexandria, and prefented to Charles I, and now remaining in the King's library, of which it doth not appear that George the monk knew any thing, and it is evident that his lordship knew nothing. If he meant to fay the Chronicon Alexandrinum, that is ftill another thing, and the work of another author. His lordship is of opinion, (3) that "Virgil in those "famous verfes Excudent alii &c. might have juftly "afcribed to his countrymen the praife of writing history "better than the Grecians." But which are the Roman hiftories, that are to be preferred to the Grecian? Why, "the remains, the precious remains," fays his lordship, "of Saluft, of Livy, and of Tacitus." But it happened that (4) Virgil died, before Livy had written his history, (2) Letter the 1ft. p. 262. ibid. C according to Dodwell finished his hiftory in 745. Tacitus was Conful in 850. See Fabricius. and and before Tacitus was born. And is not this an excellent chronologer now to correct all ancient history and chronology facred and profane? His lord hip is likewife pleafed to fay, (5) that "Don Quixote believed, but even Sancho doubted:" and it may be afferted on the other fide, that Sir Ifaac Newton believed the prophecies, though his lordship did not, the principal reafon of which may be found perhaps in the different life and morals of the one and the other. Nay the wifeft politicians and hiftorians have been, believers, as well as the greatest philofophers. Raleigh, and Clarendon believed; Bacon, and Locke believed; and where then is the difcredit to revelation, if Lord Bolingbroke was an infidel? A fcorner, as Solomon faith, (Prov. XIV. 6.) feeketh wisdom, and findeth it not. But there cannot be a ftronger condemnation of his lordship's conduct, than his own words upon another occafion in his famous Differtation upon parties. "Some men there are, the pefts of fociety I think them, who "pretend a great regard to religion in general, but "who take every opportunity of declaiming publicly against that fyftem of religion, or at least against that "church establishment, which is received in Britain. "Juft fo the men, of whom I have been fpeaking, affect a great regard to liberty in general; but they diflike "fo much the fyftem of liberty established in Britain, "that they are inceffant in their endevors to puzzle the "plaineft thing in the world, and to refine and distinguifh away the life and ftrength of our conftitution, in "favor of the little, prefent, momentary turns, which they are retained to ferve: What now would be the "confequence, if all thefe endevors fhould fucceed? I "am perfuaded that the great philofophers, divines, lawyers, and politicians, who exert them, have not "yet prepared and agreed upon the plans of a new re"ligion, and of new conftitutions in church and state. "We fhould find ourfelves therefore without any form "of religion, or civil government. The firft fet of thefe (5) Letter the 4th. p. 130. "miffionaries "miffionaries would take off all the restraints of religion "from the governed; and the latter fet would remove, "or render ineffectual, all the limitations and controlls, "which liberty hath prefcribed to thofe that govern, and disjoint the whole frame of our conftitution. "Entire diffolution of manners, confufion, anarchy, or "perhaps abfolute monarchy, would follow; for it is (6 poffible, nay probable, that in fuch a ftate as this, "and amidft fuch a rout of lawlefs favages, men would "choose this government, abfurd as it is, rather than "have no government at all." It is to be lamented that fuch a genius fhould be fo employed but the mifapplication of thofe excellent talents with which God had intrufted him, was his reigning fault through every ftage, through every scene of life. That which Lord (6) Digby faid of the great Lord Strafford, may with more truth and juftice be affirmed of him, that the malignity of his practices was hugely aggravated by thofe rare abilities of his, whereof God had given him the ufe, but the devil the applica tion. A II. THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING ISHMAEL. BRAHAM was the patriarch of greatest renown next after the times of Noah. He was favored with feveral revelations; and from him two very extraordinary nations defcended, the Ifhmaelites and Ifraelites, concerning each of whom there are fome remarkable prophecies. Ishmael, though the fon of the bond-woman, and not properly the child of promise, was yet diftinguished by fome exprefs predictions for (6) Rushworth, Vol. 4. p. 225. the |