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nobleft work of whofe creation he had defaced. could not therefore but be fome comfort to them to hear the ferpent firft condemned, and to fee, that, however he had prevailed against them, he had gained no victory over their Maker, who was able to affert his own honour, and to punish this great author of iniquity. By this method of God's proceeding they were fecured from thinking that there was any evil being equal to the Creator in power and dominion: an opinion which gained ground in after-times, through the prevalency of evil; and is, where it does prevail, deftructive of all true religion. The condemnation therefore of the ferpent was the maintenance of God's fupremacy; and that it was fo understood, we have, if I mistake not, a very ancient testimony in the book of Job: With God is ftrength and wifdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his : i. e. equally fubjected to his command, Job xii. 16. The belief of God's fupreme dominion, which is the foundation of all religion, being thus preferved, it was ftill neceffary to give them such hopes as might make them capable of religion toward God. Thefe hopes they could not but conceive, when they heard from the mouth of God that the ferpent's victory was not a complete victory over even themselves; that they and their pofterity fhould be enabled to conteft his empire; and though they were to fuffer much in the ftruggle, yet finally they fhould prevail and bruise the ferpent's head, and deliver themfelves from his power and dominion over them. What now could they conceive this conqueft over the ferpent to mean? Is it not natural to expect, that we fhall recover that by victory, which we loft by being

defeated? They knew that the enemy had fubdued them by fin; could they then conceive hopes of victory otherwife than by righteousness? They loft through fin the happiness of their creation; could they expect lefs from the return of righteousness than the recovery of the bleffings forfeited? What elfe but this could they expect? for the certain knowledge they had of their lofs when the ferpent prevailed, could not but lead them to a clear knowledge of what they fhould regain by prevailing against the ferpent. The language of this prophecy is indeed in part metaphorical, but it is a great miftake to think that all metaphors are of uncertain fignification; for the defign and scope of the speaker, with the circumftances attending, create a fixed and determinate fenfe. Were it otherwise, there would be no certainty in any language; all languages, the eaftern more especially, abounding in metaphors.

Let us now look back to our subject, and see what application we are to make of this inftance.

This prophecy was to our firft parents but very obfcure; it was, in the phrase of St. Peter, but a light shining in a dark place: all that they could certainly conclude from it was, that their cafe was not desperate; that fome remedy, that fome deliverance from the evil they were under, would in time appear; but when, or where, or by what means, they could not understand: their own fentence, which returned them back again to the duft of the earth, made it difficult to apprehend what this victory over the ferpent fhould fignify, or how they, who were fhortly to be duft and ashes, fhould be the better for it. But, after all that can be urged upon this head

to set out the obscurity of this promife, I would ask one queftion; Was not this promise or prophecy, though surrounded with all this obfcurity, a foundation for religion and truft and confidence towards God after the fall, in hopes of deliverance from the evils introduced by disobedience? If it was, it fully anfwered the neceffity of their cafe, to whom it was given, and manifefted to them all that God intended to make manifeft. They could have had towards God no religion, without fome hopes of mercy: it was neceffary therefore to convey such hopes; but to tell them how these hopes fhould be accomplished, at what time and manner precifely, was not neceffary to their religion. And what now is to be objected against this prophecy? It is very obfcure you fay: fo it is; but it is obfcure in the points. which God did not intend to explain at that time, and which were not neceffary to be known fee a plain reason for giving this prophecy, and, as far as the reafon for giving the prophecy extends, so far the prophecy is very plain: it is obfcure only, where there is no reason why it should be plain; which furely is a fault eafily to be forgiven, and very far from being a proper fubject for complaint.

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But if this prophecy conveyed to our first parents only a general hope and expectation of pardon and restoration, and was intended by God to convey no more to them, how come we, their pofterity, to find so much more in this promise than we suppose them to find? How is it that we pretend to discover Chrift in this prophecy, to fee in it the mystery of his birth, his fufferings, and his final triumph over all the

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powers of darkness? By what new light do we difcern all these fecrets? by what art do we unfold them?

It is no wonder to me, that such as come to the examination of the prophecies applied to Chrift, expecting to find in each of them fome exprefs character and mark of Chrift, plainly to be understood as fuch antecedently to his coming, should ask these, or many other the like questions; or that the argument from ancient prophecy should appear fo flight and trivial to those who know no better use of it.

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning; and whatever degree of light he thought fit to communicate to our first parents, or to their children in after-times, there is no doubt but that he had a perfect knowledge at all times of all the methods by which he intended to rescue and reftore mankind; and therefore all the notices given by him to mankind of his intended falvation, muft correfpond to the great event, whenever the fulness of time shall make it manifeft. No reafon can be given why God should at all times, or at any time, clearly open the fecrets of his providence to men; it depends merely upon his good pleasure to do it in what time. and in what manner he thinks proper. But there is a neceffary reason to be given, why all fuch notices as God thinks fit to give fhould answer exactly in due time to the completion of the great defign: it is abfurd therefore to complain of the ancient prophecies for being obfcure, for it is challenging God for not telling us more of his fecrets. But if we pretend that God has at length manifefted to us by the revelation of the Gofpel the method of his falvation, it is

neceffary for us to fhew, that all the notices of this falvation given to the old world do correfpond to the things which we have heard and feen with our eyes. The argument from prophecy therefore is not to be formed in this manner: "All the ancient prophe"cies have expressly pointed out and characterized "Chrift Jefus :" but it must be formed in this manner: "All the notices which God gave to the fathers "of his intended falvation are perfectly answered by "the coming of Chrift." He never promised or engaged his word in any particular relating to the common falvation, but what he has fully made good by fending his Son to our redemption. Let us try these methods upon the prophecy before us. If you demand, that we fhew you a priori Chrift Jefus fet forth in this prophecy, and that God had limited himself by this promise to convey the bleffing intended by fending his own Son in the flesh, and by no other means whatever; you demand what I cannot fhew, nor do I know who can. But if you inquire, whether this prophecy, in the obvious and most natural meaning of it, in that sense in which our firft parents, and their children after, might eafily understand it, has been verified by the coming of Chrift; I conceive it may be made as clear as the fun at noon-day, that all the expectation raised by this prophecy has been completely anfwered by the redemption wrought by Chrift Jefus. And what have you to defire more, than to fee a prophecy fulfilled exactly? If you infift, that the prophecy should have been more exprefs, you must demand of God why he gave you no more light; but you