and what it is for a small quantity of Bread to be encreas'd to a mighty bulk but as to the manner how this was perform'd we are wholly ignorant of it thô we know well how Corn is encreas'd in the ordinary way of nature But he will object here as he did concerning the Doctrines viz. That at this rate All the Phenomena of Nature are miraculous for we know not the true manner of any one of them And this is the main drift of this Chapter to give us a wrong notion of a Miracle viz. That it is nothing more than the dextrous management of second causes and not any immediate effect of Almighty God and therefore in the close he tells us That Miracles are wrought according to the laws of Nature thô above it's ordinary operations which are therefore supernaturally assisted And this is the reason of that bold and arrogant expression of his That could he tell how a Miracle was wrought he believes he might do as much himself For there is nothing more in it than in a Chymical Operation and if he were Philosopher enough he would work any Miracle of them all But the true notion of a Miracle is that it is An operation wrought by the immediate power of God not by Assisting only but Over-ruling the laws of Nature not only by hastning and accelerating it's Operations but sometimes by an instantaneous production of what was never to be effected by the united force of all natural causes As to instance in the Raising a Body from the Dead all the united force of nature with the most dextrous management wou'd not be able to effect this all the Eâ—tracting Mollifying Mixing Infusing Consolidating c. And the ministry not only of Thousands but of Millions at once wou'd not be able to unite a Soul and Body again when once they are seperated nothing less than the Almighty immediate act of God is able to effect this and that without the concurrence of any natural cause Again there are some Miraculous Operations which are so far from being according to the laws of nature that they are contrary to them As that of the Sun 's going back or standing still all the laws of nature are dispos'd for it's motion or at least for the motion of our Earth which makes it seem to us to move Again The making Iron to swim Were this effect produc'd by Mollifying Consolidating c. or any Operation which shou'd convert the substance of Iron into that of Wood then we could not say that Iron swam but something else or if the water were condensed to support it then it wou'd be Ice and not water and if any thing of this nature were don of a sodainâ—t wou'd however be miraculous but not contrary to nature But for a solid piece of Iron while it remains such to swim in Water no way condens'd this is not only above but contrary to the laws of nature And so likewise for Fire not to burn is contrary to nature Indeed if there were nothing more in it than what this man supposes that it is don by repelling the heat and keeping off the flames then it might be according to the laws of nature and there are many things which by an instantaneous application might extinguish the Fire But to hinder fire from burning while it remains such and combustible matter actually in it this is contrary to the laws of nature But all those Miracles which are not so directly contrary to nature can't however be said to be according to the laws of nature And I take these two expressions to be directly opposite Which he makes the same Miracles are according to the laws of nature And they are above the operations of it For to instance in the first Miracle our Saviour wrought that of Turning Water into Wine The production of Wine according to the laws of nature must have been by accelerating the growth of the Vine and ripening the Grape sodainly by application of all those things in nature which could forward it but to turn Water immediatly into Wine without any of these methods was to produce it afer a manner wholly different from all the laws of nature Upon his Principles we have no way from the nature of the thing of distinguishing between the Delusions of the Divel those celebrated Feats of Goblins and Witches and Conjurers which he speaks of and those which are wrought by the Finger of God For without doubt the Divel is a great Philosopher and can managâ— second Causes so as to produce Effects according to the laws of nature which shall appear very strange to us But we are sure nothing less than that power which is the Author of Nature can work any real effect contrary to it or above it The Divel indeed may delude mens senses so as to make them think that Real which is only an Appearance as it is likely he did to mimick that miracle of turning Aarons Rod into a Serpent for that of the Magicines was not a real Conversion but effected by their Enchantments or as 't is in the original by their Wiles and Jugling For we find when they endeavour'd to imitate Moses in the instantaneous production of any real thing with Life there the Divel fail'd them and they were forc'd to own it was the Finger of God And thus we see plainly how this Man strikes at the foundation of all Reveal'd Religion by undermining one of the main Pillars on which the Faith and Credit of it is founded You see his drift all along in every thing he says is to take away all Operations above the Laws of Nature and all Doctrines above the reach of Reason and then all the Religion of Men is consequently resolv'd into Infidelity an Heathenism So that any one who wishes Christianity to be true must hope at least that this Mans Principles are false since they are so utterly inconsistent 2. But 2dly As miracles being in a great degree Mysterious is an unanswerable objection against him so they are altogether useless and impertinent upon his Principles He owns that God does not work them at random but for some end and this end he owns is for the confirmation of some Divine Doctrine But why for the confirmation of a Doctrine for he hath told us over and over that it is only the Evidence or immediate knowledg of the Doctrine it self can perswade us That Faith is nothing more than the knowing what is beleiv'd c. And therefore all Miracles for the confirmation of any Doctrine are needless and superfluous If they are so evident to our Senses or our Reason that we know them to be true what necessity is there of farther conviction if a thing be so evident to mâ— Senses or Reason that I know it to be true nothing can make me surer of it So that we see the reason of Miracles is that they may be a proof of something that we cannot
for without the use of one of his Eyes at least he 's so far from having any clear and distinct Idea of it that he cou'd have no Idea at all of it as it is in it self and therefore must never believe that there is such a thing Now it were a very pretty way of revealing the nature of Light to this Man by opening of his Eyes Then I must confess Light wou'd be no longer a Mystery to him And when this Man makes us understand as he hath undertaken the nature of God and the things of another World as perfectly as that man doth the nature of Light when his Eyes are open'd I will yield But till then I must freely own ours to be the case of that Blind man in respect of all the Mysteries of our Religion and before this wonderful Book of his comes out I am very positive that nothing less than the Almighty Power of God is able to perform what he promises since it requires the alteration of our whole Nature and the enlargement of all our Faculties But perhaps he will object here If it be a thing thus impossible for us to have any proper Idea's of these things of another World what necessity was there for any revelation at all of them wou'd not the immediate Objects of Sense and Reason have done as well without farther reference to any thing beyond them I answer no. For the discovery of the things of another World even thus far is absolutely necessary to make men good and vertuous Thô we had ever so great a conviction of the innate excellency of Vertue it self yet this wou'd bind us but like a Spider's Webb We might perhaps have admir'd it for it's delicate and excellent contexture but it wou'd have been of no strength to restrain the unruly inclinations of our Nature The excellencies of Vertue without these Revelations had been a sort of Bonds and Fetters which wou'd have sat as loose upon us as the Air they wou'd have serv'd at best only to have rais'd our admiration but never to have influenc'd our practice And therefore since they were thus necessary and that we are not capable of any knowledge of them by direct and immediate intuition there was no other way of revealing them to us but by analogy with the things of this World And this Imperfect way of Revelation is sufficient to answer all the ends of God since it is abundantly enough to all the purposes of Vertue and Holiness as the motions of the heavenly Bodies represented in a Sphere is sufficient to answer all the ends of human life thô the Hypothesis be all very different from it and represents nothing less to us than the reality of the thing It being as I hope by this time very plain that we have no such proper or immediate Idea's either of God or the things of another World as of the things in this we may from hence see the specious trifling of those abstracted Metaphysical Brains who bend their endeavours to bring down these hidden things to the level of our present capacities of knowledge whereas the finding out a way of commerce with the Moon or how to make a visit to the sixt Stars is a grave and serious thought to it The other Proposition I laid down in direct opposition to him was 2. That thô we have no proper or immediate Ideas of these things yet that we are bound to believe them And That our belief of them is founded upon clear and distinct Idea's Not of themselves but of those things by which they are represented to us and because of those proofs we have from thence of their existence to our Senses and our Reason And here we are to observe what I made out before viz. That in every Mystery there are two things to be consider'd 1. Something that we do comprehend fully and 2dly Something that we have no notion at all of As to this latter part of it it is wholly exempted from the disquisition of Reason and Faith alone can reach it for our Reason fails us where we have no Idea's So that in respect of this part of the Mystery these and such like expressions of his are very true viz. That the intermediate Idea can be no proof where the agreement with both Idea's of the question is not evident And again That when we have no Notions or Idea's of a thing we cannot Reason about it at all For as I have shewn we have no proper immediate Idea's of the things revealed to us in the Gospel and therefore we can't speak one word of sence about the real nature of them as they are in themselves All beyond this World as yet is but a dark and empty Void to us and we may send out our Reason to range it backward and forward incestantly till Soul and Body part and never discover the least glimps of light into the true nature of any thing beyond this scanty Sphere of ours We have no intermediate Ideas to make Inferences concerning them and if we had there cou'd be no application of them to things whereof we have no notion So that thus far every thing of another World is a mystery to us and a new born Infant knows as much of them bating their existence only as the learnedst man in the world But as to that other part of them which is knowable by us i. e. as far as we are able to conceive these divine things by analogy with the things of this World either under the similitude of sensible Objects or the Operations of our own Mind they fall intirely under the consideration of our Reason Thus far we have as clear and distinct Ideas of them as we have of other ordinary worldly Objects And in respect of this part of our Christian Mysteries all these sayings of his are very true viz. That nothing reveal'd is more exempted from the disquisitions of Reason than the ordinary Phaâ—nomena of Nature And That nothing in the Gospel is contrary to Reason or above it For all the Revelations of God are in a way suitable to those powers of knowledge we have and he requires us to believe nothing but what is just and reasonable For as he says To act tyrannically does only become the Devil In respect of this part of the Mystery all that he contends for holds true We must have clear and distinct Idea's of the things we must have intermediate Idea's to find out the agreement between the Extremes What need I instance in any more particulars I allow him thus far all the Clearness Perspicuity Evidence and Reason any man can wish for And all the request I would make to these Men of Reason is That they wou'd cease to ask for a rational account of what neither they nor we can have any notion of and that as to every thing else in Religion they wo'd be as exact and critical and severe in their Reasonings as possible they can And unless
above our Reason signifies A thing which in it's own nature exceeds our present Capacities and is no proper object of those faculties of knowledg which we are now endu'd withall And in this Sense the nature of God is more properly above our Reason than a Stock or a Stone Eternity than Time a Spirit than a Body the Joys of Heaven than Sensual Pleasures the eternal Generation of the Son than the ordinary Procreation of Man the operations of the Holy Spirit than the nourishment of our Bodies c. There is as yet no proportion between these Objects and our Faculties of Knowledg our intellectual powers are not yet form'd and so adapted for them as they are for those things in Nature which are the proper objects of our Sense and Reason now So that it is a more improper way of speaking to say that these things should be clearly reveal'd to us now as they are in themselves than to say that a nice point in Divinity or Philosophy shou'd be clearly explain'd to an Infant They are indeed plainly reveal'd to us as to their reality and existence but not clearly as to the true nature of the things Nothing in the World is more evident than that such things are reveal'd to us but what or how they are in themselves is impossible for us to comprehend And this is what the Apostle means by that saying That Eye has not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the heart of Man the things which God hath laid up for them that love him Which Words thô by the context they are more immediately spoke of things past and then reveal'd in part yet they have a farther reference to the full completion of all these things in another World I shall make this whole matter plain by an Instance A Person who was born blind knows as little of the Sun as he does of the real nature of God he feels the heat and warmth of it he is cherish'd by it and lives and thrives by the secret influences of it but he neither knows where nor what it is and if he had been ever told that all this was the immediate act of God he wou'd have thought so for he knows nothing of the Sun besides the name Now upon this Authors Principles the nature of the Sun and the nature of God are both equally a Mystery to this Blind Man That he is equally ignorant of the true nature of both I grant however they are not equally a Mystery to him And that this may appear let us suppose this Mans Eyes were opened then he wou'd see clearly that the Sun is a large round lucid Body in the Firmament but he wou'd be hereby enabled to know nothing more of the true nature of God than he did before And why because this is beyond the reach of all his natural powers of Knowledg and if all his Senses were improv'd to be a thousand times nice◠than they are thô he wou'd see much deeper into the nature of all things here yet the nature of God and the things relating to another Life wou'd ly as much out of his reach as ever he wou'd even then know as little of the Glory of God as that Man did of the Sun before his Eyes were opened for Light it self is but a Metaphor adapted to our gross Capacities to signify the Glory of God which we are told in the Revelations is to be instead of light in Heaven But because this is an Instance only of a sensible Object let us take another of Reason Let us suppose an illiterate person who never heard of Christianity or the Mathematicks is equally ignorant of these two Propositions The three Angles of a Triangle are equal to two Right ones And this We shall be rais'd in the likeness of Christ. These two Propositions this Derinder of all reveal'd truths will say are alike mysterious to this Man Whereas the contrary will evidently appear if we but take this Man and teach him Mathematicks then he shall perfectly apprehend all that is to be known of that demonstration and how it is impossible it shou'd be otherwise But teach him the Gospel and make him as learned as he is capable in the Christian Religion he shall know nothing more of that Proposition thô he shall be better convinc'd of the Truth of it than he did at first hearing And why because the one was a truth in nature within the sphere of his intellectual powers the other is supernatural and he can never have any notion of the manner of it till he has new Faculties or those he already hath are greatly enlarg'd But this matter will clear up farther if we compare some of the Mysteries of our Religion with those things in Nature which bear the greatest Analogy with them and by which they are represented to us in the Scriptures If we say a Son is like his Father we immediately conceive in our Minds the same Stature Countenance Lineaments and Complection or the same Humour Disposition natural parts and Inclinations c. so that we very well apprehend wherein the likeness consists But when we say we shall rise in the likeness of Christ here we stop and our Thoughts can reach no farther Again when we say one Man is the Son of another we apprehend very well the manner of natural procreation and how it is he came to be his Father But when we say Christ is the Son of God by an Eternal Generation we know nothing of the manner of one Spirits producing another nor can we tell how he came to be born of a Virgin without the concurrence of a Man When we say the Spirit of God hath a real influence upon ours in the operation of Grace we know much less of the manner of it than we do of one Bodies moving another by contact and we know the Food we eat nourisheth us by undergoing several alterations and then being converted into the substance of our Bodies but we can't know thus much of the manner how Grace administers strength and comfort to our Souls Again we know of time that it is finite and successive and we can measure it in certain proportions by the motions of the heavenly Bodies But as for Eternity for want of a clear Idea we frame a notion of it from time and thus by a limited thought we do little less then destroy it's Being For as for saying it is a perpetual Now thô it be the prettiest thought we have of it yet if we attend to this we shall find we say nothing more than that the same Instant shall remain for ever and thus attribute that succession to one Instant of time abstractedly considered which we us'd to attribute to things which exist in it And therefore it is as gross a description of Eternity as a flying Boy is of an Angel And yet it is very pleasant to hear how this man talks of it It is no more above our Reason because
we can't apprehend it than a Circle is because we may But why because Reason goes as far as it can in both The Circle is to be imagin'd but Eternity is not essentially imaginable if it were Reason wou'd have it as well as the Circle yes that it wou'd but you wou'd not have Reason to imagine any thing that is not to be imagined And yet but a few lines after he will make us imagine it in his next Book as perfectly as that 3 and 2 make 5. But this is a strange Circle in arguing to prove that Eternity is not above our Reason because it is And you see the cause of this blunder is because he confounds Idea with Imagination one of the best distinctions we are beholding to the modern Logicians for 'T is plain there are many things we have Idea's of which we are not able to imagine and Eternity is one of them And because we can't frame any imagination of it it doth not follow that we can't apprehend it at all for Reason can frame an Idea of it as it doth of the other things of another life i. e. by Analogy and for this reason it is more a Mystery than a Circle which we perfectly imagine Once more thô the Essence of matter lies hid from us as well as that of a Spirit yet we know much more of it's properties as that it hath Gravity Extension Solidity Impenetrability Divisibility and this Table on which I write thô I can't actually divide it into infinite parts yet I can carry it on in my Mind and conceive it divisible Now these are properties of matter which agree to it in general and are not meer modifications of it But we know no more of a Spirit but that it thinks i. e. just enough to prove it's Existence and no more for as to all the different modifications of Thought it is but thinking still and therefore is answerable but to that one property of Extension in matter Besides we don't attribute this of Thinking immediately and positively to a Spirit for we don't say a Spirit thinks because we know so much of the real nature of it as to discover this but we say it thinks because we can prove that matter can't Now when I say the Idea we have of a Spirit is not positive I mean that it is not so in respect of our understanding because we have no way of attributing it to a Spirit but by a negation of it to matter I must confess if we take a Spirit in the sense that some men do i. e. only for a Thinking Being then indeed we come to the notion of it by Reflection we find something in us that Thinks and from thence we immediately attribute it to that Being But for any thing that is yet concluded this Thinking Being may be meer matter and when we proceed to infer the existence of an immaterial substance which is the true notion of a Spirit as it is distinguish'd from matter and in which sence God is said to be a Spirit then the Idea we have of it is as far from being positive as the words by which we express it Then we have no other way of conceiving it but by removing from it Extension Divisibility Solidity c. which are the properties of Body and we conclude that the substance in us that thinks must be immaterial because this operation exceeds the power of meer matter i. e. while it is such for if God shou'd alter all the properties of it so as to make it something else and not matter then no one can deny but it may think but how far this implies a contradiction I shall not now dispute So that again I can't but wonder any one shou'd affirm positively that we have as clear and distinct Idea's of the Nature and Properties of Spirit as we have of Body Mr Lock 's Notion of the Soul is only that of a thinking substance without any regard either to the materiality or immateriality of it tho' one wou'd think he inclines to the former when he shews this to be the sence of the word Spirit both in Prophane and Divine Authors However he says afterwards that the utmost Proof we can have for the immateriality of it will amount only to a Probability and thus much concerning it he thinks deducible from his Principles and particularly from his supposition of a System of matter and adds that he would gladly see a better proof of it either from the Bishop of Worcester or any one else To speak to this now wou'd be no other then a digression from the business I am upon but I do not dispair of giving him this Demonstration which he wou'd so gladly see and shewing him withal 〈…〉 〈◊〉 how very much he is out in his application of those Texts of Scripture he makes use of I know 't is easy for a person to deny any thing to be demonstration which is not mathematically such but if it appears that we have as good proof for the immateriality of the Soul as we can reasonably expect for any natural or moral truth this is sufficient for the conviction of any except those who by their Principles are oblig'd to oppose it But to return it is Evident from what hath been said that we are so far from forming any Idea of Spirit as clear and distinct as that we have of matter that we can't form a simple Idea of any property in it which is positive in respect of our understanding and therefore since simple Idea's are the foundation of all our knowledg as they are laid down by that Delicate and Curious Head which this man of Forehead only has so grossly mistaken that defect in the first principles shall run through all our after Reasonings about the real nature of it and render them much more confus'd imperfect than those concerning matter I might say the same of a Spiritual or Glorified Body that we can frame no Idea of it but by negation of those imperfections that are incident to us in this frail condition of mortality and those few passages related of our Saviour's Body after his resurrecton are wholy unaccountable by us at least much more than the ordinary appearances of Nature as particularly his vanishing out of their sight all of a sodain and appearing in the midst of them at a time when the doors were shut c. and that these things were not any miraculous operations but the real properties of a glorifi'd Body is more likely to think than that he shou'd have rarify'd the Door or the Walls of the House to get entrance or have secretly convey'd himself along with them as some learned men have endeavour'd to solve these passages Nor can we conceive how a body shou'd be divested of it's gravity so as to mount the Skies as our Saviour's did at his ascension and as the Bodies of the Saints shall do at the general resurrection None of these things are
comprehend But it may be objected here that at this rate if both the Doctrines and Miracles are mysterious Then you prove one Mystery by another I answer that they are not equally mysterious for a misterious Doctrine is totally obscur'd from us both as to the manner and substance of the thing signified as it is in it self But in a Miracle the substance of the thing is obvious and intelligible and the Manner only of the operation is conceal'd And therefore in so doing that which is more mysterious is prov'd by that which is less so But this Blunderer will tell you that the Doctrines themselves are very knowable in all respects but Miracles are wholly obscur'd as to the mâ—nner of them And yet in the sâ—me breath Own that these obscure Miracles are for confirmation of these plain Doctrines This is another piâ—câ— oâ— his Logick to prove Notum per Ignotius He can't say that thô the Doctrines are plain yet that they came from God is not so and therefore Miracles were to assure us of this For if the knowing they come from God makes us give our assent to them then Authority is a ground of Perswasion And besides if they have that Evidence of their truth in themselves which he contends for let them come from whence they will we must give our assent to them And now I am come to his last Chapter wherein he pretends to give an account When Why and by Whom Mysteries were brought into Christianity There is not here so much as a pretence of reasoning but several vile Insinuations against all the Primitive Christians against the Clergy of all Ages and against Christianity it self making it as it is now profest only a sort of Heathenism and the Ministers of it in all respects no better than Pagan Priests By the title of this Chapter he was to have shewn how these Mysteries came into Christianity but instead of this of which he says not a word he talks in general how some Ceremonies were introduc'd and some Doctrines abus'd to superstition The dispute all along was about Mysteries and now it is turn'd to Ceremonies of which he speaks too after a confused manner making no difference between the Orthodox and Heretical Professors but charging all the mistakes and errors of every Sect indifferently upon the whole body of Christians in the general That miscarriages and errors crept in and that the Christian Religion was corrupted and abus'd by many in the Primitive times to superstition is without all doubt it is so now and is like to be so to the end of the World for it must needs be that Offences come But what is all this to those who are not guilty of these things suppose every thing in this Chapter true what is all this to us who in the celebration of Baptism and the Supper have rejected all these numerous Rites and superstitious Ceremonies which he speaks of As for those Ceremonies retain'd by us it is time enough to defend them when he says any thing against them and proves either that the Worship of God and Celebration of the Sacraments can be perform'd without any Ceremonies Or That those which we have retain'd are unlawful All he wou'd insinuate here of them is that they were in use among the Heathens and the force of what he says if it hath any is this Heathens us'd a White Garment in their Idolatrous Worship they had certain Times and Places and Persons and Actions appropriated to the Worship of their Idols therefore 't is unlawful to have any thing of this nature in the Worship of the true God The Heathens us'd washings Ergò Baptism is unlawful The Heathens used Eating and Drinking in honour of their Gâ—ds Ergò the Eating and Drinking in remembrâ—nce of Christ is superstitious And thus by a direct and immediate consequence he destroys the Doctrine of the Sacraments Let him iâ— he can shew whâ—t else can possibly be inferred from all this ridiculous incoherent sâ—uff What he would insinuate here concerning the Sacraments is that by a multitude of Ceremonies we obscure the nature of them we make them Misterious and do not celebrate them wiâ—h that simplicity they were at first instituted But let him in his next Boâ—k shew what it is that we know our selves concerning the Sacraments which we conceal from the People In short let him make out that he hath any other drift in this whole Chapter than to shew that there is no difference between Christianity and Heathenism All this is by way of Amusement to People who do not know when a man speaks to the purpose Ceremonies are not Mysteries nor do they make a thing Mysterious Those things which we call Mysteries are the Nature and Attributes of God the Eternal Generation and Incarnation of the Son and Procession of the Holy Ghost The Union of the Divine and Human Natures in Christ the Resurrection of our Bodies the Operations and Influences of the Holy Spirit of God upon ours the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead the Glory and Felicity of the Saints in Heaven The Solemnity of the last Judgment c. These are the Mysterious Doctrines of our Religion Let him shew us When Why and by Whom these reputed Mysteries as he calls them were brought into Christianity For we affirm that they were brought into Christianity by Christ himself who alone was able to reveal them That they came in at the first publication of the Gospel and with design to make us wise unto Salvation and therefore we own our selves so fond of them that we will hazard any thing Life and all rather than part with them And thus I have gon through his Book and answered every thing that look'd like Reasoning in it If he will shew me where I have overlook'd any thing that hath the appearance of an Argument or where my Answer fails I will promise him not to let it pass And if any are offended with my manner of treating him I doubt not but they will be satisfied if they but consider what St. Paul said to Elymaâ— the Sorcerer upon a like occasion O full of all Subtilty and all Mischief thou Child of the Devil thou Enemy of all Righteousness wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord In the next Book he speaks of he has two things to perform 1. To shew that we are not oblig'd by Scripture to believe that there is any thing in any point of the Christian Faith which we do not comprehend as fully and perfectly as we do the common objects of this World 2. To discover to all the World those secrets in Religion which the Clergy have industriously conceal'd from the Laity under the notion of Mysteries and make them so plain that they shall cease to be such so that every one of them shall be as wise as e're a Priest of us all And indeed he is much to blame that defers it all this