APPEND I X. SECTION I. Of other intelligent beings befides man. WE 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, whose name is called Gabriel, interpreted two vifions 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 thefe beings hold with respect to intellectual power, is altogether unknown to us; for we can by no means infer, from their being immediately employed by God, that they are naturally endued with any extraordinary fhare of understanding. This, at least, 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 superior 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 Philiftines, 1 Sam. xxix. 9. compares the innocence of David to that of an angel. Alfo David himself speaks of the angels as excelling in firength, Pf. ciii. 20. If it be true, that fome of these angels have finned, fo as to have been cast out of heaven, and to continue ftill abandoned to impiety, making it their business 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 difpofition more favourable to virtue. This fall of angels, I muft 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 these 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 supposition, 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 perfonified 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 several narrations, to be derived from nothing but the irregular paffions of men, which are, of themselves, a caufe abundantly adequate to the effect. Indeed, the manner in which the facred writers fpeak 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 faid 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 arisen only from Peter himself, who, in this case 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 private meditations, or were fuggefted by fome other perfon. When When Satan is said to have stirred up David to number the people of Ifrael, 1 Chr. xxi. 1. the thought may, in fact, have arisen from his own pride only, which being evil, is therefore afcribedto Satan; and it is remarkable, that the very fame scheme is by another hiftorian, 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. afcribed to God, because the purposes of his providence were finally anfwered by it. So alfo the evil spirit from the Lord, which is faid to have troubled Saul, 1 Sam. xvi. 14. was probably nothing but his own melancholy, or ill-humour, which was relieved by mufic. All that may be meant by the "fire of hell "being prepared for the devil and his angels," Matt. xxv. 41. may be, that this punishment was originally appointed for the deftruction of all evil, and the inftruments of evil; nor can this language, with this conftruction, be faid to be more figurative than that of John, who fays, that "death and hell 66 were caft into the lake of fire." Rev. xx. 14. As to the demoniacs mentioned in the New Teftament, it is pretty evident, that their diforder was fome fpecies of madness, or lunacy, which, in the time of our Saviour, was usually afcribed, by Heathens as well as Jews, to the malignant influence, not of the devil, but of demons, or the fouls of evil disposed persons, which were imagined to range about the earth, and to delight in mischief, an abfurd and unphilosophical notion, but which it was not our Saviour's business to correct. The |