The Works of Bishop Sherlock; With Some Account of His Life, Summary of Each Discourse, Notes, &C Volume 4

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: DISCOURSE IV. We have seen the beginning of prophecy, and its first entrance into the world, and what measure of light and hope it brought with it. The next inquiry is, to examine by what degrees this promise was opened and unfolded in the succeeding ages of the world, and to trace the methods of divine Providence in preparing all things for its accomplishment. If we consider the first prophecy as the foundation of those hopes in which all the sons of Adam have an interest, in which the ages yet to come, as well as the present and those already past, are concerned; we shall not wonder to find that the administrations of Providence have had in all ages relation to this prophecy, and shall have, till the end of all things brings with it the appointed time for the full accomplishment. One thing, I presume, will be easily granted, because it cannot be easily denied; that if the ancient prophecies which concern the general state and condition of man with regard either to this world or the next, are indeed divine oracles, there must be a consistency in the whole; and how dark or obscure soever some part of them might be at the first delivery and for generations afterwards, yet must they in the event conspire and centre in that great end which was always in the view of Providence: ' known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world: ' Acts xv. 18. Taking then this prophecy to contain the purpose of God with respect to mankind, the administrations of Providence, together with such farther declarations as God has thought fit to make, must needs be the best comment to help us to its meaning. The account we have of the antediluvian world is very short, and conveys but little knowlege to us of the religion of those times, or of the hopes and expectations then ...