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all-perfe&t God to make them at all, unlefs it. were to make every intelligent Being happy by a communication of his own exuberant love and goodnefs unto them, as we as to manifeft the glory of his own perfections ?

Phil. From the hiftory which Mofes has recorded, we are taught to confider the Univerfe, as well as Mankind, as under the foftering hand of. the great Creator. Brought out of nothing by His Word; preferved by his goodnefs; Governed by his wifdom; when deferving, punished by his juftice, yet pardoned and faved by his mercy, when peni tent; and the whole fubject to his Dominion and powerful Authority.

III. Didas. It is true, the fcriptures no where fay, that the Univerfe, in all its parts, is coeval in time as to exiflence; it rather intimates the contrary. Milions of millions of ages may have intervened between the Mofaical creation, and that of the firft fyftem in the Universe. But what are thefe ages, were they multiplied as far as arithmetical progreffion could carry them, comparedwith the existence of that immenfe and infinite Being, who has no Relation to either Time or Space! And yet, From the "Beginning of the creation which God Created," (Mar. xiii. 19.) who can number the Ages? Eternity paft Moles feems to exprefs by one word reaching higher than the fift creation of Matter: This is the firft word in the Bible, which St. John tranflates into Greek in the fif words of his Gofpel. In both places it is englished IN THE BEGINNING. But how can words exprefs eternity? Let this Duration be what it may, it was in this Beginning that God Created all things. Time with us commenced with the first appearance of Light, which God called Day: this will continue as long as the Sun and Moon will continue to measure it, after which it will be abforpt in Eternity to come!

IV. The Book of Genefis contains a hiftory of Providence for the pace of about 2369 years; and as it is by far the most ancient, fo it is by far the moft excellent, and admits of no competitor in any nation or language. The Author held it up as a Mirror of Providence, in which all the Nations. that read it may read a history of Facts that fpeak plainer than written laws, before any written laws had a being. As God's ways are equal and uni form, individual perfons, families, countries, and kingdoms, may here fee what they have to expect in equal circumftances. A world thall be drowned in water; fertile countries and populous cities. confumed by fire; and the fword thail fhed the blood of millions, and cut off oppofing kingdoms, as of Egypt and Canaan, &c. when they forfake Jehovah, and worlhip other Gods. Ignorance and infidelity quarrel with holy writ, for commiffion, ing the fword, upon certain occafions, to cut off women and children with Male offenders Alas ! can any thing but, perverfeness frame fuch objec tions against facred Wit May not, the Deift turn Atheilt upon the fame grounds that his Reason denies Revelation in this inftance? Where the fcriptures fupply, one inftance of fuch a promifcu ous exterminating command, the book of nature fupplies twenty witness, the hiftories of Earthquakes, Peftilences, Famines, &c.

On the other hand, we here find, a Righteous Noah, at the command and under the protection of heaven, with the whole world in epitome, embarks ed on a little floating Timber, ride out a storm for many months together, in the utmost fafety; and was thereby advanced to be a common Father of the prefent world of Mankind.

A Righteous Lot hall arreft the executing hand of an Angel; retrain the pointed fhafts and darts of avenging, thunder and lightning, until he escapes

to a place of fafety ! Here you fee a perfecuted prous Jofeph called out of a prifon to govern a kingdom; to teach the Egyptian Senators Wifdom; and by his prophetical knowledge, and prudent management as a Minifter of State, fave near half of the World from perffhing by famine!

Phil. How inftru&ting and affecting thefe Thort Memoirs of the Pious Patriarchs! Their steps were marked with Divine approbation, and afford ftriking examples for Pofterity to follow. What a contraft this history affords, between the conduct of the righteous and the wicked, and the confequences of that conduct!

Didas! True. But as this is not a time of Retribution, he who would rightly interpret I erpret both fides of the queftion, ought to confider the divine Con

duct here in a typical light; and as a pattern which the Judge of All will follow in future at the Times of the Reftitution of a Things. Dow

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From the Infancy of the old world, to its maturity in vice and wickedness, were 1536 years. This year a refpite of 120 years were granted it, by its Maker, for Repentance and Reformation." Alas in vain. At laft, grown grey and hardened in fin beyond recovery, its Death-warrant was fighed in heaven This was executed by drowning it in 40 days time, at the age of 1656 By the time of. the death of Jofeph, about 713 years, after, the defcendants of Noah, in the new World, were almost universally funk in Idolatry and Superftition. except his Family.

• Phil. And pray, my dear Didas. what were the Principal events récorded in the former of thefe Periods

Didas. Fift the Creation, and Generation of the Heavens, and of the Earth, and of all things therein. Secondly, The Formation of man out of the Duft; the infpiring him with Life; the Plan

tation of Paradife for his kingdom before the Fall; his giving names to the Cattle; the Formation of Eve, and confequent Marriage of the innocent Couple, after the Law of life and death had been promulged by his Maker. Thirdly, Eve's Dialogue with the Devil in the body of a ferpent; that Dialogue iffuing in her deception and fin; her example and perfuafion of Adam to fin alfo Hence the Origin of evil, moral, fpiritual, and natural. Fourthly, The apprehenfion, trial, conviction, and fentence of the guilty pair to labour, forrow, and death. Here the door was opened at which Death entered into the world, and the guilty couple were. expelled Paradife, and re-admittance denied them; but this was not until they had heard the Gospel of the Woman's feed preached in their hearing; which, no doubt, they believed, and were reprieved from Death, &c, in confequence. Fifthly, The, birth of Cain, which Eve took to be the Man Fehovah, or the promifed Seed, This affords a strong probability, that he had fome knowledge that Jehovah was to be that Seed, as in fact he was when incarnated. This was followed by the birth of; Abel. Cain fignifying gain or acquifition. He was, of that wicked One, and type of the Serpent's Seed, in all ages: Abel fignifying a Mourner. He was Righteous, and Type of the Woman's Seed collectively. Here, the Enmity difcovered itfelf; and, the righteous fell by the hands of the wicked, as they have done in all ages ever, fince, and will fo long as the Dragon reigns. As Abel had no iffue, fo Cain's Defcendants perished at the Flood, type of the Deftruction of the Beaft and falfe Prophet (Rear xix. 20.) who, having walked in the way of Cain, will be caft into a lake of Fire, when the days come which the Flood typified, at the next coming of the Son of Man. mabi

The two typical Perfons thus cut off, the present Jaob Race

Race of Mankind fprang from Seth, a Substitute, (as his Name fignifies) in the room of Abel. Agree able to the typical characters of his two Brothers, the Defcendants of Seth, in both worlds, have been in a perpetual state of enmity. Cain Ruled over Abel an example followed by every age, as all Hiftory teftifies, where profeffors and profane have not coalefced in vice.

Phil. Bifhop Cumberland fuppofed, that Cain' was the firft Idolater, worshiping the Sun, Fire, Light, &c. according to Sanchoniathos And Maimonides thought, that Idolatry overspread the' old world, as we know it did the new.

Didas. True. And it is probable that one de. fign of Mofes was to confute idolatry, by fhewing," that all the heavenly bodies, and every element, being the objects of their adoration, were, in fact, only Creatures of the One True God: Confequently that the Creator, and not his Creatures,' ought to be Worshiped.

As the firft Tranfgreffion threw open the fluices of Tartaros, Satan's Refidence, (2 Pet. ii. 4) and thereby not only opened a communication between this vifible and that invifible world, but, alas erected this world into a Principality of the Devil, who is the Prince of it, by the confeffion of Chrift himfelf, (Joh xiv. 30.) fo also, all the Idolatry of both the old and new world, was no other than a worthip which ultimately devolved upon the Devil' himfelf, by whatever mediums it paffed through to reach him. It is therefore no wonder that we find the "God of this World" (2 Cor. iv. 4) offering the world and all its Glory and Authority to the Son of God, for one fingle act of Worfhip; (Luke) iv: 5 to 8.) feeing that the greatest part of Mankind had hitherto, and then did worship him. His foriner fuccefs with Adam and his Pofterity embol dened the fiend in this aftonishing Temptation. No

doubt