tree a far off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing, (that is, any fruit) thereon; and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. And Jefus answered, and faid unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. Verse 20. And in the morning, as they paffed by, they faw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. Or, as in Mat. xxi. 19. Let no fruit grow on thee hence forward forever; and presently the fig-tree withered away. If what is here recorded was really the case in fact, then it seems at least to have been a prostitution or misapplication of miraculous power. For either the fig-tree would, (according to the natural courfe of things) have been fruitful in time to come, or it would not. If the latter would have been the cafe, then Chrift's curfe must needs have been vain and useless; because the tree would have been fruitless, whether Christ had curfed it, or not. If the former would have been the cafe, that is, if the fig-tree would have been fruitful, had not Chrift interpofed to prevent it; then, it seems to have been greatly unkind and ill-natured in him to lay his curfe upon it. To be angry with, and fhew great refentment to a tree,

for

for it's being what it was, viz. fruitless, when that tree had neither power, nor will to be what it was, nor to be otherwife; is fuch a ridiculous perverfion of the human paffions, as a man who pays any regard to the propriety of his conduct would not be guilty of; and to do this at the expence of a miracle, was, furely, an unworthy application of miraculous power. It is, indeed, too common among us, for fome men to curse the inanimate parts of the creation; but then, this is done, perhaps, to give vent to an angry paffion, or out of mere wantonness, without a defign or expectation of any evil following upon it; and therefore, feems rather lefs blameable. Besides, for Chrift to expect to find fruit on a tree, when it was out of feafon for the tree to bear fruit, (the time of figs was not yet ;) bespeaks such a deficiency of knowledge in the common and moft obvious things of life, as scarce any thing fhort of idiotism will account for, it being almost as low, in point of understanding, as among us not to know when it is Summer, and when it is Winter. If it fhould be faid, that, in order to come at the true meaning of this branch of history, fome of the parts must be tranfpofed, a fupplement

4

must

must be added, and be read as followeth. And on the morrow, when they were come

from Bethany, he was hungry, and feeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find fruit on it, for the time of gathering the figs was not yet come; but when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves. And Jefus faid unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. Answer: if this emendation be admitted, it clears Christ of that grofs ignorance of the feafons of the year, which otherwise he is chargeable with; and that is all which is gained by it. From these premises, this conclufion feems to follow, viz. that the branch of history referred to is a moft grofs impofition; because, otherwise it will appear that Jefus Chrift was not that most excellent perfon he has been represented to be. If an hiftorian brings fuch relations into his hiftory, as break in very much upon that character which the hiftory itself was defigned to establish; fuch inconfiftencies as these feem, to me, to weaken the credit of the whole. If it fhould be faid, that this fhews the impartiality of the historian; and therefore, ftrengtheneth the credit of that history. Answer: when the purpose of an hiftory is to establish a cha

racter,

racter, which is the prefent cafe; if things are recorded in it greatly contrary to that character, which is likewise the present cafe ; then, another oppofite character is fubftituted thereby, which makes the very end of that history become abortive; and consequently, the whole must be confufion, and a contradiction to itself. Again,

The gospel hiftorians give a relation of things, which took place many years before those hiftories were written; things they could have no perfonal knowledge of, but must have taken them upon trust from others, no one knows who; things, that, for any thing which appears, anfwered no good end, that were wonderful in their kind, and the knowledge of which mankind do not appear to be interested in. Thus, it is faid, that the Holy Ghoft, (otherwise a DemiGod, or the fupreme God, * or part of the

fupreme

*What the Holy Ghoft is, is a point that is far from being fettled among Chriftians. Some will have it, that the Holy Ghoft is a divine perfon, who is highly exalted amongst the feveral orders of invifible beings, and who is appointed to minifter, under Jefus Chrift, for the benefit and comfort of the church. Others will have it, that the Holy Ghoft is the fupreme God; for as the power of God, is God, fo the Spirit of God (which they apprehend the Holy Ghoft to be) is God alfo. And others will have it, that the Holy Ghaft is a third perfon

fupreme God) fhould come upon, overfhadow, and beget a fon of the body of Mary, the espoused wife of Jofeph, like as men come upon, over-fhadow, and beget children of the bodies of other women; that a child should leap in the womb of it's mother, to express it's joy; and that a star should appear in the east, on account of the birth of Chrift; these are things, which, when confidered abftractedly from that great veneration that has been paid to those hiftories in which they are related, do, in their own nature, look more like Jewish fables, or poetick fictions, or popish legends, than real facts; and, as fuch, I think, they weaken the credit of those hiftories. For if those hiftorians could relate things as real facts, that, from their nature, have the marks of incredibility upon them, and could do this upon very flight grounds, which seems to be the cafe here; then they may have related other things upon very weak and flender grounds alfo; and this feems at least to weaken their credit. To this I may add, the biftory of Chrift's temptation, as it is called;

P

in the Godhead; and as fuch the Holy Ghoft is one third of the Deity; as there are, according to these men's o pinion, three fuch perfons in the Godhead.