thereof; by what law of nations would they have been condemned? But in the Wildernefs, where the Ifraelites were fojourning, the fame fea which they had fo miraculously paffed over, was an utter bar to all further intercourse with Egypt, for any purpose, or on any account whatever.-And, even suppose a difpofition of reftitution to have remained;—the bar placed by their miraculous paffage, which they never could have had originally any expectation of accomplishing; would effectually put it out of their power to carry such disposition into effect:whilst indeed, at the fame time, the greater part of the very Egyptians moft interested, had in all likelihood perished, together with Pharaoh himself. I must add, whilft I am thus humbly endeavouring, with great fimplicity, and integrity, to vindicate the cause of the righteous against blafphemers; and, if it might be, to lead blafphemers to repent of their blafphemy; -as blafphemy may be forgiven *, except the blafphemy against the Holy Spirit :—I must add, that perhaps fome notice fhould be here taken, of Our Bleffed Lord's borrowing the * Matthew, ch. xii. ver. 31. Mark, ch. iii. ver. 28, 29. Colt, Colt, whereon HE fo emblematically, and prophetically fat, when He entered Jerufalem.Our proud modern blafphemers, Bolingbroke, and Voltaire, have both by themselves, and by their minor imitators, blafphemed Our Lord; -representing His fending His Difciples to take, or borrow the Colt, as a gross fraud.But those who are ferious, will understand both the prophecy, and the accomplishment, to have been perfectly confiftent with all Righteousness. Our Lord, prophefying,-faid, Ver. 2. Matthew, chap. xxi. and Mark, chap. xi. Go your way into the village over againft you; and as foon as ye Soon as ye be entered into it, ye fhall find a colt tied, whereon never man fat; loofe him, and bring him. 3. And if any man fay ought unto you, (or as St. Mark has the words, fay unto you, Why do ye this?) fay ye, that The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will fend him bither. Here was the Prophecy ;-the accomplishment follows in these words: * St. Luke has the words, Why do ye loofe him? chap. xix. ver. 31. Y 3 Mark, Mark, chap. xi. Ver. 4. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met :—and they loofe him. 5. And certain of them that stood there, Jaid unto them, What do ye loofing the colt? 6. And they faid unto them even as JESUS bad commanded:—and they let him go. 7. And they brought the colt to JESUS. And here evidently was an accomplishment of the Prophecy, with the fullest confent of those who stood by;-who must have been, either the owners, or connected with the owners of the Colt.-Here, therefore, was as full confent, as could well be given to any loan and at the fame time, there cannot be a doubt but that the Colt was actually returned carefully, by the difciples, who fo conftantly paffed by the fame fpot every day, during their attendance at Jerufalem. Where then was the robbery, or the fraud? Let those disciples of Errour who have brought the shameful charge, answer for the real injury they have done to the world;—and for their own real fraud,-whereby they have indeed endeavoured to rob mankind of all their best reliance on HIM, who alone is able to fave ;and of all their beft hopes, and advantages. |