A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

Accordingly it is observable of this period or space of time that we are upon, that though it is so much less the subject of scripture-history, than most of the preceding periods, so that there is above •our hundred years of it that the scriptures gives us no history of; ⟨p. 101⟩yet the events of this period are more the subject of scripture-prophecy, than the events of all the preceding periods put together. Most of those remarkable prophecies of the book of Daniel do refer to events that were accomplished in this period: so most of those prophecies of Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, against Babylon, and Tyre, and against Egypt, and many other nations, were fulfilled in this period.

Accordingly it is observable of this period or space of time that we are upon, that though it is so much less the subject of scripture-history, than most of the preceding periods, so that there is above •our hundred years of it that the scriptures gives us no history of; ⟨p. 101⟩yet the events of this period are more the subject of scripture-prophecy, than the events of all the preceding periods put together. Most of those remarkable prophecies of the book of Daniel do refer to events that were accomplished in this period: so most of those prophecies of Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, against Babylon, and Tyrus, and against Egypt, and many other nations, were fulfilled in this period.

So that the reason why the scripture gives us no history of so great a part of this period, is not because the events of this period were not so important, or less worthy to be taken notice of, than the events of the foregoing periods? for I shall hereafter show how great and distingushedly remarkable the events of this period were. But there are several other reasons which may be given of it. One is, that it was the will of God that the spirit of prophecy should cease in this period, (for reasons that may be given hereafter); so that there were no prophets to write the history of these times; and therefore God designing this, took care that the great events of this period should not be without mention in his word; and so ordered it, that the prophecies of scripture should be more full hre, than in the preceding periods. It is observable, that that set of writing prophets that God raised up in Israel, were raised up at the latter end of the foregoing period, and at the beginning of this; which it is likely was partly for that reason, that the time was now approaching, of which the spirit of prophecy having ceased, there was to be no scripture-history, and therefore no other scripture-account but what was given in prophecy.