SERM. lofty and lively manner, set out the Loft VII. and Hopeless state of Ifrael, then under Captivity; and their future Recovery out of it, by the immediate Interpofition of a Divine Power, contrary to all Human Probability and Appearance. The band of the Lord was upon me,(fays he, at the Entrance of this Chapter) and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord,and fet me down in the midst of a Valley which was full of Bones, i.e. the Spirit of God reprefented to my Imagination such a fight: And (as he goes on) caused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were Many in the open Valley, and, lo! they were very Dry: i. e. they were as Numerous as the Difpers'd of Ifrael in the Plains of Mefopotamia, and as deftitute of lively Juice and Moisture, as that Exil'd People were of all hopes of Returning. And be faid unto me, Son of Man, can thefe Bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knoweft: i. e. Thou, that art the Author and Beftower of Life, canft doubtless restore it also, if thou will'ft, and when thou will'ft; but whether thou will'ft please to VII. to restore it, or not, That Thou alone S ER M. knoweft. After which, the Spirit commands him to Prophefy upon thofe Bones, and to fay, O ye Dry Bones, bear the Word of the Lord, together with what follows, in the two next Verses. And as I prophefied (continued he) there was a noise, and behold a shaking; and the bones came together, bone to his bone: And --- lo! the finews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above: And, at laft, the breath also came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great Army. Where we have, in the Prophetick way, an Affurance given to the Jews, that, though their Polity was now diffolv'd, and their Tribes difpers'd, yet the time was coming, when the Providence of God would, in a wonderful manner, work out their Deliverance and Return; re-unite the feveral parts of their shatter'd Frame, and make that People live together once again under their own Laws, and in their own Country. 'Tis true, this Vision hath, by fome of the Ancients, been understood of the General Refurrection; and by others, SER M. of the General Reftoration of the Jews, be VII. fore the Second Coming of Chrift; and perhaps Both these Great Transactions might be glanc'd at in it, and remotely intended by it: For the Predictions of Scripture are generally fo contriv'd, as to extend to more than One Event; fo, as to be fulfill'd at feveral Times, by several Steps and Degrees of Accomplishment. However, That, which the Prophet had chiefly and most nearly in his View, was, the Recovery of the Jewish State from the Captivity which it then groan'd under; and to That therefore the Vifion is, at the close of it, exprefly applied: Son of man, these Bones are the whole boufe of Ifrael: behold, they fay, our bones are dried, and our hope is loft; we are cut off for our parts: therefore, Prophesy and fay unto them, Thus faith the Lord God; Bebold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Ifrael, and ye fhall know that I am the Lord. The words of the Text, therefore, when taken together with the other parts of the Prophecy, to which they belong, car- delights to manifeft his Power and "Providence, in retrieving them from "Ruin, when they are as incapable of "Restitution by all Human means, as "dead and dry Bones are of recovering "their Vital Juice, and being compact"ed again into a living Body. A Subject, fit every way to employ our Thoughts, at a Time, in which we are call'd upon to commemorate a Revolution, as furprizing in its Manner, as happy in its Confequences, as full every way of Wonder, and of all the Marks of a Divine Contrivance, as any Age, or Country, (even This Country it felf, which hath experienc'd fo many and great Viciffitudes) can fhew; and which, tho' plac'd in our Annals at fome Distance from us, cannot yet be forgotten by us, as long as we feel the Influence, and reap the Benefits of it; that is, as long as Regal Government, and the free ufe of Pariaments, the profeffion of God's R 4 pure Religion, SERM VII. VII. SERM.ligion, and the Enjoyment of our Ancient Laws and Liberties fhall continue among us: And, if it can be forgotten with the Loss of These only, there is no good English Man but will fay, may the Memory of it always flourish! Give me leave, therefore, to lay before you fome Thoughts concerning the Wif dom of Divine Providence, in interpofing fo particularly to bring about these mighty unexpected Turns of State; which it doth, doubtless, for many Wife Reasons, known only to that Infinite Mind which Steers the Course of fuch great Actions: However, fome there are, that lie open even to our narrow Apprehenfions. And, 1. The Providence of God concerns it felf in producing fuch furprizing Events, in order to have its Influence on things below obferv'd and acknowledg'd; which would go near to be forgotten, did he not, by fome remarkable Instances of his interpofition in Human Affairs, raise Men up, at fit times, into a lively and vigorous Senfe of it. Though we know, that we |
