two or three, fometimes more Children at a birth; the long Lives of Mankind, in those Ages; and above all, the Promife of God, made to Abraham, That he would blefs and multiply his Pofterity in Ifaac's Line, Gen. xxii. 17. caused the Children of Ifrael to be exceeding numerous, in a few Generations after they came into Egypt: A Syrian ready to perish was their father; and he went down into Egypt, and fojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty and populous, Deut. xxvi. 5. The fighting-Men, from twenty years old and upward, that were numbred in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the fecond year after they came out of the Land of Egypt, were Six hundred thousand, and Three thousand and five hundred and fifty, befides the Tribe of Levi, Num. i. 1. 46, 47. And the Males of the Levites that were numbred, from Thirty Years old to Fifty, were Eight thousand and five hundred and fourScore, Num. iv. 47.48. And the number of Males, from Twenty Years old and upward, which was taken in the Plains of Moab, was Six hundred thousand, and a thousand feven hundred and thirty, befides the Levites; and those that were numbred of them, were Twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward, and not a man of these was numbred before in the wilderness of Sinai, chap. xxvi. 51, 62, 64. And those of the other Sex must be fuppofed to have been

about

about the fame number, when both thefer Accompts were taken: In all, reckoning Men, Women, and Children and Servants, the Number is computed at Three Millions.

to

And all this People, the Parents, and the. Children, who, as they died, grew up in their ftead, were conducted, for Forty Years together, by a conftant courfe of Miracles: wrought continually in their fight. God took him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by figns, and by wonders, and by. war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretchedout arm, and by great terrours, Deut. iv, 34They could not be ignorant, whether there were Miracles wrought to procure their Deliverance out of Egypt; these were publick and notorious both to the Ifraelites and the Egyptians; the Magicians were not able do the like with their Inchantments, but were forced to confefs, This is the finger of God, Exod. viii. 19. and they were of that nature, and of fuch mighty consequence, that they could not fail of being particularly taken notice of, when two Nations were fo much concerned in the Effects and Events, of them. The Children of Ifrael had been Witneffes of Ten Plagues inflicted fucceffively upon the Ægyptians, in the most remarkable manner that can be conceived, to procure their Deliverance; and when Pharaoh pursued them, as they were going away, it was impoffible for them to escape from him but by

Miracle;

Miracle; the People were in the greatest confternation,they wifhed themselves again ingypt, and made fuch Expoftulations with Mofes as it was natural for Men in that condition to make, and fuch as fhewed, that, upon the firft opportunity, they would have been ready, to deliver up Mofes, to fecure themselves, and make their peace with Pharaoh: And they faid unto Mofes, Because there were no graves in Egypt, haft thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore haft thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt ? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, Jaying, Let us alone, that we may ferve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to Jerve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness, Exod. xiv. 11, 12. But the Ifraelites were purpofely brought into this I Diftrefs, by God's exprefs Will and Command, that he might get him honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his hoft, upon his chariots, and upon his horfe-men, ver. 17. And the Sea being divided at Mofes's lifting up his Rod, the Children of Ifrael went in the midft of it upon dry-ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on the right hand, and on the left, ver. 22. And could they be ignorant whether they walked in the Water, or upon dry Land whether they were the Men that had escaped, or whether they had been all drowned The words are exprefs, that the Waters were on both fides of them, in their paffage,

paffage, and that they were feparated to make way for them; which could not fall out by any ebbing of the Sea, for then they would have had Water but on one fide of them, whereas now the Waters ftood equally on both hands. And nothing can be fuppofed more abfurd, than it is to imagine that nei ther the Egyptians nor the Ifraelites fhould understand the nature of the Red-Sea, but that the course of the Tide should be known only to Mofes.

At the giving of the Law, the whole People of Ifrael had warning given them three days before, that they might fanctifie and prepare themselves to make their Appearance before the Lord: All the people faw the thundrings, and the lightnings, and the noife of the trumpet, and beheld the mountain fmoaking and the Lord fpake,in the audience of the whole Affembly, the words of the Ten Commandments; and they were ftruck with fuch a terrour, that they removed and stood afar off, and defired Mofes that he would acquaint them with what God fhould be pleafed to give him in command concerning them, that they might no longer hear God fpeaking to them, left they fhould die, Exod. xx. 18. Deut. v. 22. The cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the fight of all the house of Ifrael, throughout all their journeys, Exod. xl. 38. whether it were two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud

tarried

t

1

tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Ifrael abode in their tents, and journeyed not but when it was taken up, they journeyed, Num. ix. 22. From the time of their efcape out of Egypt, the Pillar of the Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night the Manna with which they were fed, during the whole time of their journeying in the Wilderness, till the very day after they had eaten of the corn of the land of Canaan, Exod. xvi. 35. Jof. v. 12. and their Gark ments lafting for fo long a time, without any decay, Deut. xxix. 5. thefe were constant and perpetual Miracles for forty years together; and it is the most impoffible thing in the world to fuppofe, that a People confifting of fo many Hundred Thousands, fhould for fo long a time be impofed upon in things of this nature, their Eyes, and Tafte, and all their Senfes were Witneffes, that they were conducted and fed and cloathed by Miracle, for Forty Years together,

1

Indeed, it was impoffible to lead fo great a Multitude, through a vast and barren Wilderness, by fo long and tedious Journeys, without the help of Miracles. If they had been under no other diftrefs but want of Food, in fo barren, a place, it had been impoffible for any number of Men, and much more for fo vaft a multitude, to fubfift for any time, without a Miracle: but they were fed with Manna from Heaven; not with such

as