66 ever and ever.

And I faw a great white throne,

"and him that fat on it, from whose face the earth " and the heaven fled away, and there was found "no place for them. And I faw the dead, fmall "and great, ftand before God; and the books 66 were opened and another book was opened, "which is the book of life: and the dead were 66 judged out of thofe things which were written in "the books, according to their works. And the "fea gave up the dead which were in it; and "death, and the grave delivered up the dead "which were in them: and they were judged "every man according to their works. And I

faw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first "heaven and the firft earth were passed away."

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

SECTION I.

Of other intelligent beings befides man.

E learn from the fcriptures, that other intelligent beings, befides men, have had occafional intercourfe with this world. Angels are particularly spoken of as the meffengers of God to the patriarchs and prophets, and are alfo faid to have been the inftruments which he has employed in the diftribution of his bleffings or judgments. Thus, an angel was fent to rescue Lot, Gen. xix. and to announce the birth of Samfon, Jud. xiii. One whose name we are told is Michael, is faid, Dan. x. 13. to be "one of the chief princes;" and, ch. xii. I." the great prince who ftandeth for the

children of Ifrael." The fame is called the archangel, Jude ix. Another, whofe name is called Gabriel, interpreted two visions to the prophet Daniel, ch. viii. 16. ix. 21. The fame alfo appeared to Mary, to announce to her the conception of Jefus.

What rank these beings hold with respect to intellectual power, is altogether unknown to us; P 6.

for

for we can by no means infer, from their being immediately employed by God, that they are naturally endued with any extraordinary share of understanding. This, at leaft, we are not led to infer, from the choice which God has thought proper to make of prophets of the human race. Indeed, his own wisdom was often rendered the more confpicuous by their weakness. Nor is their employment an abfolute proof of fuperior goodness.

It must be allowed, however, that, confidering angels as being in a higher, and ourselves in a lower ftation, it was not unnatural to imagine, that they were much fuperior to us in power, wisdom, virtue, and happiness. Accordingly, we find the woman who applied to Joab, 2 Sam. xiv. 17, 20. fpeaking of angels as poffeffed of extraordinary wisdom, "knowing all things that are in the earth;" and having the most perfect difcernment of characters; and Achifh, a king of the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxix. 9. compares the innocence of David to that of an angel. Alfo David himself speaks of the angels as excelling in ftrength, Pf. ciii. 20.

If it be true, that fome of these angels have finned, fo as to have been caft out of heaven, and to continue ftill abandoned to impiety, making it their bufinefs to feduce mankind, and taking pleafure in doing them all kinds of injury (though, not knowing their fituation, we cannot judge completely of their temptation, yet) we can hardly ima

gine, that they could have had much greater ftrength of mind than men are generally poffeffed of, or have had originally a disposition more favourable to virtue.

This fall of angels, I must own, however, appears to me to be very problematical; and though it cannot be faid that the thing is abfolutely impoffible, it seems, upon the face of it, to be very improbable. Besides, if such exalted beings as thefe are supposed to have finned, and have thereby become obnoxious to the divine displeasure, what end could it answer to them to be affiduous in feducing mankind? Indeed, upon the fuppofition, that their existence and torments were to be everlasting, it may be conceived to give them a gloomy kind of fatisfaction, to have brethren in iniquity for their companions in their fufferings. But this idea of never-ending punishments, respecting any order of beings, as well as men, has, I apprehend, been fhewn to be unreasonable and abfurd.

The language of the fcriptures is often highly figurative, which may account for the unknown principle, or fource of evil, being personified in them, fo as to be called Satan in Hebrew, and Devil, diacon, in Greek; but whatever is actually afcribed to this being, will appear, if we confider the circumftances of the feveral narrations, to be derived from nothing but the irregular paffions of men,

which are, of themselves, a cause abundantly adequate to the effect.

Indeed, the manner in which the facred writers speak of the vices of those men, who are faid to have been actuated by this evil principle, plainly enough intimates, that they did not, in reality, confider their guilt as fhared with them by any other being who prompted and feduced them. Nay, the very contrary doctrine is ftrongly afferted by the apostle James, who fays, ch. i. 14.

"But

every man is tempted, when he is drawn away "of his own luft, and enticed." When our Lord said to Peter, on his suggesting that his fufferings were unworthy of him, Matt. xvi. 23. "Get "thee behind me, Satan," the very indignation with which he spake, fhows that he conceived the fuggeftion to have arifen only from Peter himself, who, in this cafe was his Satan or adversary, as oppofing the great purposes which were to be anfwered by his death. And, furely, the ftrong affection which Peter appears to have had for Jefus, joined with the narrowness of his views, may easily be supposed to account for his language. In like manner, all that may really be meant by Jefus be. ing tempted by the devil, Matt. iv. may be, that the improper thoughts mentioned in the courfe of the narrative, either occurred to himself in his pri-. vate meditations, or were fuggefted by fome other perfon.

When