r to the Enemy, overwhelmed
in Idolatry, in a Word, were engag'd to the _Devil_; God Almighty, or as
the Scripture distinguishes him, _the Lord_, the true GOD, was out of
the Question; Mankind knew little or nothing of him, much less did they
know any thing of his Worship, or that there was such a Being in the
World.

Well might it be said the _Lord_ appeared to _Abraham_, Gen. xii. 7. for
if God had not appear'd himself, he must have sent a Messenger from
Heaven, _and perhaps it was so too_, for he had not one true Servant or
Worshiper that we know of then on Earth, to send on that Errand; no
Prophet, no Preacher of Righteousness, _Noah_ was dead, and had been so
above seventeen Year; and if he had not, his preaching, as I observed
after his great Miscarriage, had but little Effect; we are indeed told,
that _Noah_ left behind him certain Rules and Orders for the true
Worship of God, which were call'd the Precepts of _Noah_, and remain'd
in the World for a long Time; tho' how written, when neither any
Letters, much less Writing were known in the World, is a Difficulty
which Remains to be solv'd; and this makes me look upon those Laws
call'd the Precepts of _Noah_ to be a modern Invention, as I do also the
_Alphabetum Noachi_, which _Bochart_ pretends to give an Account of.

But to leave that Fiction, and come back to _Abraham_; God call'd him,
whether at first by Voice without any Vision, whether in a Dream or
Night Vision, which was very Significant in those Days, or whether by
some awful Appearance, we know not; the second Time, 'tis indeed said
expressly GOD appeared to him; Be it which Way it will, GOD himself
call'd him, shew'd him the Land of _Canaan_, gave him the Promise of it
for his Posterity, and withal gave him such a Faith, that the _Devil_
soon found there was no room for him to meddle with _Abraham_. This is
certain, we do not read that the _Devil_ ever so much as attempted
_Abraham_ at all; some will suggest that the Command to _Abraham_ to go
and offer up his Son _Isaac_, was a Temptation of the _Devil_, if
possible to defeat the glorious Work of GOD's calling a holy Seed into
the World; for the _first_, if _Abraham_ had disobey'd that Call, the
new Favourite had been overcome and made a Rebel of, or _secondly_, if
he had _obey'd_, then the promis'd Seed had been cut off, and _Abraham_
defeated; but as the Text is express that GOD himself proposed it to
_Abraham_, I shall not start the Suggestions of t