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    and expectation of an inspired prophet ; of one who had such superior Man ifestations of the Divine power and presence , as to-have it recorded concerning him , that , in a celestial

    colloquy , he " saw God face to face , and conversed with him , as a man talketh with his friend" ? When dying Jacob said to his beloved son Joseph , " Behold , I die ; but God shall surely be with you , and bring you again to the of fathers this all that

    land your ; " was was intended ? In the history of the Patriarchs we read , that , for the most part , they were diverted of their earthly frames with little bodily suffering " , and in a state of mind comparatively tranquil and serene ; but could this have possibly been the case if eternal annihilation had been before them : If

    they had no prospect of a future recorjpence , but , in the language of the sceptic , were " about to take a leap hi the dark" ? Life is , indeed , a great blessing in proportion to its length and utility ; man , considered merely as a rational animal , has enjoyments and privileges far above the brutes ; virtue gives much in hand , and much

    in reversion , in the benefits we can procure for ourselves , for our descendants and for posterity ; but still , the blank of death without the prospect of futurity draws a veil over all our comforts , and must have chilled the devotion even of an Abraham or a Noah , a Moses or a Methuselah .

    Moreover , the translations of Enoch and Elijah , in conjunction with the successive visions and revelations from Moses to Malachi , would combine to produce in their order , fresh arguments in behalf of a future state ; and the former operate as a striking and

    indubitable proof of the reality of such a state ; a sensible encouragement to their faith and hope , at least in the minds of considering persons , who would be zealous on all proper occasions to promote the influence of this grand and important principle ; for , by an eusv inference and analoirv . of

    ^ dependent abstrac t reasoning , they would be led to conclude , that if among the leading and distinguished characters of the ancient world , some , without controvers y , were highly wory of a future existence , and two «« t hey had reason to believe , so sigauy loured as to be actually intro-

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    duced into it " without seeing death /* it was highly unreasonable to suppose , that the great mass of mankind should be overlooked ; man being , by his very nature , accountable , and the individuals of his race , however differing : from one another in external

    advantages , in spiritual attainments and moral qualities , in talents and capacity , yet from this very circumstance ,, as well as many others , partaking of a sameness or similarity which renders them amenable to the tribunal of their Maker , who Ls not to be regarded only in the awful sublimities of his

    nature , his infinite power , wisdom and knowledge , but in unison with his inimitable excellencies and perfections , his justice , mercy and goodness , as the moral governor and final judge of his rational offspring .

    Nor are the Jewish Scriptures so silent upon this subject as some suppose . Besides the passages above referred to , numerous texts might be cited in favour of this opinion ; but a few for the present may suffice .

    Atter the fall , Adam and his posterity were placed ( says Matt . Henry ) "in a second state of probation , uponnew terms ; " and the sum and- substance of the new primitive law was comprised in the blessing and the curse set before Cain , in these- memorable

    words : " If thou doest well , shalt thou not be accepted ? And if thou doest not well , sin lieth at the door . " The succeeding Patriarchs lived under the influence of these divine sanctions . " Noah was a just man , and perfect in his generation ; " and Abraham " was called the friend of God . " In

    the record of his death , the peculiar expression first occurs , "he was gathered to his people , " a phrase which seems to imply , at least , as before hinted , a deliverance from absolute death , and a safe conduct under the

    Divine keeping . Isaac , in blessing Jacob , implores for him < c the blessing of Abraham , to him and to his offspring . " Jacob , in his last interview with his children in the land of Egypt , though in the prophetic spirit he

    chiefly foretells temporal blessings and events , yet does not confine himself to these , but breaks out in the midst into a holy ejaculation , — " I have vvaited for thy salvation , () Lord . " Moses , in his divine song , recited before

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    Belief of the Patriarchs and Israelites in a Future State . 143

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1822, page 143, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2510/page/15/