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oufly fet up another king, Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim; who caused them to leave the temple of Jerufalem, and to neglect the obfervation of the law. These were Schifmatics, who feparated from the true church. Thofe who continued faithful to God, and to the truly illuftrious houfe of David, which he had chofen, joined themfelves to the loyal tribe of Judah, and were from that time called the Jews.

XI. God fhewed forth his anger upon his ungrateful people. The kingdom of Samaria (or rather the ten rebellious tribes) was deftroyed and never returned. The Kings of Judah having alto angered God by their wickedness, he called Nebucho, 'donozor King of Babylon, who took Jerufalem, burnt the temple, and led the people into captivity. But God forgot not his mercies, nor the promifes which he had made to the patriarchs, and renewed by the prophets. After feventy years he brought the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity, by the hands of Cyrus King of Perfia. The difperfed people came back into the land of their fachers, the ruins of Jerufalem were raifed up, and the temple rebuilt, by the care of Efdras and Nehemiah, under the protection of the Kings of Perfia, Alexander deftroyed the Perfian empire, and citablished the Grecian: under which the Jews fuffered great perfecutions for the true religion. God delivered them by the valour of Judas Machabæus. But they foon after fell under the power of the Romans, to whom the empire of the world was given.

XII. Then came the Meffiah, fo long expected for the falvation of mankind. All nations lived in the darknefs of idolatry, and vice univerfally reigned in the world. God was only known by the Jews, and true virtue was amongst them alone. Yet the greatest part of the Jews lived only after the flef, expected from God only temporal recompences, and hoped for no more than to fee Meffiah reign upon earth. Then it was that he came. The news of it was brought

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to Mary, who was to be his mother. She gladly received it, determining to continue a virgin. The Son of God, the Word, who was in the beginning, and by whom all things were made; that Word, who is God, like the Father, was made flesh; that is, he took a body and a foul in the bofom of Mary. He was born at Bethlehem; was circumcifed, and named Jefus, that is, Saviour. He was adored by the Magi or wife men, who came exprefs from the Eaft, the first fruits of the Gentiles. He paffed his youth in filence and labour, fubject to his mother and Jofeph her spouse, who paffed for his father.

XIII. When Jefus was about thirty years old, there appeared in Judea a great prophet, John the Baptift, who preached repentance, faying, that the ' Saviour was come, and was about to appear. Jefus came to him, as others did, to be baptized, and John declared, that Jefus was the lamb of God, come to take away the fins of the world; that he was the Meffiah, the Chrift, the expected Saviour. Then Jefus began to publish the Gofpel; that is, the good news of the remiffion of fins and eternal life to those who should believe in him, and live according to his precepts. order to establish his church, that is, the affembly of his difciples, he chofe twelve plain and ignorant men, most of them fishermen. He called them Apoftles, because he fent them to preach the gospel. He gave them power to work miracles, as he himfelf did, to fhew that God had fent him. For he cured all forts of diforders: He made the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the blind to fee: he caft out devils, and raised the dead.

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against the hardened and hypocritical. And that drew upon him the hatred of the scribes, or Jewish doctors; and of the Pharifees, who feduced the people by a falfe appearance of piety. They refolved to put him to death. Juias, one of his apoftles, delivered him into their hands for a little money. Jefus was taken, brought before divers judges, examined as a criminal, whipt, mocked, crowned with thorns. At laft Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, condemned him to death to please the Jews. He was brought to a place called Calvary near Jerufalem, was crucified between two thieves; and expired upon the cross.

his apoftles as he had promised them. They were filled with power and light and began boldly to preach, that Je fus was rifen; that he was the Chrift and expected Saviour, in whom the prophecies were accomplished: that remiffion of fins could only be obtain ed in his name, and by the merit of his blood. Many of the Jews received the gofpel, but more rejected it, and would not acknowledge a crucified Jefus for the Chrift. The Apostles turned to the Gentiles, and difperfed themselves through the world; calling all nations to the knowledge of the true God, whom they had fo long forgot; teaching them to live accord

They confirmed their preaching by their blood. The emperor Nero, the wickedeft of all men, was the first who perfecuted the Chriftians; he put to death at Rome the apoftles Peter and Paul.

XV. It was the time of the paffovering to his holy commandments. when Jefus fuffered; and his death was the accomplishment of the ancient types, and was the true facrifice acceptable to God, by which his anger towards men was appeafed, and they redeemed from death. The body of Jefus was put into a fepulchre, and his holy foul defcended into hades ; 1. e. the place of departed fouls, called Hell (though perhaps improperly) in our Creeds. The third day he re-affumed his body, and rofe glorious. His difciples could not believe it; but he caufed them to fee and touch him; he ate, and drank, and converfed with them during the fpace of forty days, inftructing them in things concerning the kingdom or church of God. He faid to them,

all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; go ye therefore through all the world, inftruct or make difciples of all nations; and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ho ly Ghoft." He gave them power to remit fins, and promised to be alway with them, even to the world's end. At last he afcended up into Heaven in their prefence: where he is fet at the right hand of his Father, till he fhall come to judge the quick and the dead.

XVI. Fifty days after the paffover, that is, on the day of Pentecoft, Jefus Chrift fent the Holy Spirit upon

XVII. Soon after began the war of the Romans against the Jews. An infinite number perished by the fword. Jerufalem was deftroyed and the temple burnt; the Jews were driven out of their land, and difperfed about the world, flaves and vagabonds, as they are to this day. Which fhews the terrible vengeance of God for their revolt against him and his Christ: and the perfecutions they had raised against the apostles and faints, Yet the church of Chrift increased and spread over the whole earth. The apoftles eftablished bishops, priefts, and deacons to govern it. The apostles taught by word of mouth as Jefus Christ did; they alfo left in writing the principal parts of their mafter's life and doctrine; their books compofe the New Teftament: which, with the Qld, that is, the books of Mofes and the prophets, form the entire body of the Holy Scriptures, dictated by the Holy Spirit.

XVIII. For three hundred years the church was perfecuted by the Hea thens who employed all means imąginable to destroy it: injuries calumnies, confifcation of goods, banish

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ment, the moft cruel torments, and death. There was an innumerable multitude of martyrs, who generously shed their blood to bear testimony to the truth of the Goipel, Their conftancy, and the hely lives of the greateft part of the Chriftians, multiplied the church. The more they were put to death, the more they appeared. They fuffered without murmuring, opprobrious language and punishments, and fought no other vengeance than the converfion of their perfecutors. At laft God gave peace to his church, under the emperor Conftantine, who publickly embraced the Christian religion, Then was seen the accomplishment of the ancient prophecies, that the kings of the earth fhould become the children and protectors of the church,

XIX. But the church was never without enemies. From the beginning there has been perfons who have left her bofom and separated from her, teaching new and particular doctrines. Thete are the proud and conceited heretics

foretold by Jefus Chrift and his apof tles. They have attacked all the myfteries of the faith one after another the unity of God, the trinity of divine perfons, the incarnation of the word, the grace of Jefus Chrift, the facraments, and the authority of the church. But their efforts have only ferved to ftrengthen and confirm the faith, by giving opportunities to confront them. Jefus Chrift has said, that the power of hell fhall not prevail against his church, and that he will be always with her.

XX. The church is holy, like her divine Author, and though there will always be a mixture of good and bad, yet there are and will be many faints in her. God raised up from time to time, bright examples of virtue and holinefs: but alfo he permitteth his church to be fought againft and proved. In the midst of temptations and perils fhe awaits the general refurrection; and the day when Jefus Chrift fhall come in his Majefty to judge the quick and the dead.

ASTRO-THEOLOG Y.

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EITHER is it the fun alone

that undergoes a diurnal rotation, but most, if not all the planets about him. Saturn, indeed, is at fo great a distance from us, that we have not been able to perceive whether or no he hath fuch a rotation; but as the other planets have it there is full as much reafon for it in Saturn as in them, fo there is no great doubt to be made, but that he hath fuch a like diurnal motion, accommodated as well to his ftate, as it is in the earth and the rest of the planets. Jupiter has manifeftly a motion round upon its axis from

eaft to weft, in the space of gh. 56, as Monf. Caffini by many repeated obfervations in the year 1665, and other following years, firft found from the the spots obfervable on it; a fhort account of which may not be unaccept able to many readers. One kind of thofe Jovial fpots is only the fhadow caft upon the planet by the fatellites intercepting the light of the fun, when they are interpofed between the Sun and Jupiter; the other are fuch as are really in the body of that planet, after the manner of thofe we fee in the moon, but not permanent as they

are.

And by the motion of thefe latter fpots, it is manifeft, not only that Jupiter revolves round in the time mentioned, but that it is a moving globe alfo, by reafon those spots move fwifter, and in larger ftages towards the middle, than towards the limb of

Jupiter's

Jupiter's dik. Alfo fuch fpots as are round about the middle, appear long or oval towards the limb, or edge of the difk; as was before obferved of the fun's spots.

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As to Mars and Venus, they are both discovered to have spots, or parts lighter and darker, as well as Jupiter, and to have a motion alío as he hath. Of thofe fpots in Mars, Dr. Hook had divers views in the year 166 which he hath given us figures of: and from thence concluded, that planet had a motion, although he could not determine in what time it was performed. But Mr. Huygens expreísly faith, it is performed in the fpace of 24h. 40. But for the motion of Venus, Monf. Cafini could perceive the fpots to change their place, and that the planet had a motion, although he could not make out what it was.

Thus are the primary planets difcovered to have a diurnal rotation, or fomewhat very like it at leaft, all except Saturn and Mercury, and our own globe. And as to thete we have pery little, or no reason, to imagine but that they move as well as the reft; only we cannot perceive it in Mercu

ry, by reafon of its proximity to the fun, and that its elongations are never fo great, nor fo long, as to enable us to have any good and fufficient views. of him with our telescopes.

And as for our own globe, it is very visible, that either that moves round in twenty-four hours, or that the fun and all the heavens move round it in the fame time. And which of these two is the most agreeable to the ufual courfe and methods of nature, which performs all its works in the molt compendious facile way, let every one juage. And is it not far the moft compendious, ready, and eaty way, that the terraqueous globe fhould wheel about in twenty four hours, than that fo many valt bodies of the heavens fhould be turned about it in that time? Is it not as poffible, yea as probable, that our leffer globe should be fo turned about, as thofe more maffy globes of the Sun, Saturn, and Jupiter, are about their axis? But we fhall not enter into a detail of the arguments for the earth's motion, and the objections made against it; we have touched upon this matter in a former difcourfe.

[To be continued.]

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THEOLOG Y.

bite, they excited in the bodies of the rebellious Ifraelites a burning pain; this made the Greeks call them πfesepns xavowres. The Germans have very well expreffed the name of them; calling them brennende fchalangen, in the fame manner as to fignify nettles, they ufe the term brennende neffen; and Kolb makes ufe of that name, and of Durft Schlangen, to fignify a ferpent of a cubit long, otherwife called dipfas or prefter, which has a large neck, and a back bordering upon black, and the bite of which inftantly caufes a tumor, which coagulates the blood, excites a

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UNI

And it came to pass that if a Serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the Serpent of Brass, he lived. Numbers XXI. 9.

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