Argument Whereas if Chistians were but throughly acquainted with the Grounds of their Religion and sincerely disposed to believe and practise according to them they would be no more moved with these Cavils than they would be persuaded to think the worse of the Sun if some Men should take a fansie to make that the Subject of their Railery To have the more doubtful and wavering thoughts of Religion because it is exposed to the scorn and contempt of ill Men is as if we should despise the Sun for being under a Cloud or suffering an Eclipse not knowing that he retains his Light and Religion its Excellency still though we be in darkness the Light may be hid from us but can lose nothing of its own Brightness though we suffer for want of it and lie under the shadow of Death The Consideration of the Grounds and Reasons of our Religion is useful to all sorts of Men for if ever we will be seriously and truly Religious we must lay the foundation of it in our Vnderstandings that by the rational conviction of our Minds we may through the Grace of God assisting us bring our Wills to a submission and our Affections to the obedience of the Gospel of Christ and the more we think of and consider these things the more we shall be convinced of them and they will have the greater power and influence in the course of our Lives For tho' the Truth of the Christian Religion cannot without great sin and ignorance be doubted of by Christians yet it is a confirmation to our Faith and adds a new Life and Vigour to our Devotions when we recollect upon what good Reasons we are Christians and are not such by Custom and Education only but upon Principles which we have throughly considered and must abide by unless we will renounce our Reason with our Religion And what Subject can be more useful or more worthy of a rational and considering Man's Thoughts These things which are now made matter of Cavil and Dispute will be the Subject of our Contemplation and of our Joy and Happiness to all Eternity in the other World We shall then have clear and distinct apprehension of the Means and Methods of our Salvation and shall for ever admire and adore the Divine Wisdom in the Conduct and Disposal of those very Things about which we now are most perplex'd THE CONTENTS PART I. CHAP. I. That from the Notion of a God it necessarily follows That there must be some Divine Revelation THE Being of a God evident to Natural Reason p. 3. That there are wicked Spirits Enemies to Mankind p. 6. The miserable Condition of Man without the Divine Direction and Assistance and that God would not leave him without all Remedy in this Condition p. 8. The Judgment of St. Athanasius in the Case p. 15. CHAP. II. The Way and Manner by which Divine Revelations may be suppos'd to be deliver'd and preserv'd in the World The Manifestations of God's ordinary Providence insufficient and therefore some extraordinary Way of Revelation necessary p. 19. The ways of extraordinary Revelation either immediate Revelation to every particular Person or to some only with a Power of Miracles and Prophecies to enable them to communicate the Divine Will to others p. 20. I. It could not be requisite that God should communicate himself by immediate Revelation to every one in particular ibid. II. Prophecies and Miracles are the most fitting and proper Means for God to discover and reveal himself to the World by p. 29. 1. Concerning Prophecies ibid. 2. Concerning Miracles p. 33. III. Divine Revelations must be suppos'd to be preserv'd in the World by Writings p. 43. IV. They must be of great Antiquity p. 44. V. They must be fully publish'd and promulg'd p. 45. PART II. CHAP. I. The Antiquity of the Scriptures THE Antiquity of the Scriptures a Circumstance very considerable to prove them to be of Divine Revelation p. 48. They give an Account of Divine Revelations made from the beginning of the World ibid. What Moses relates of things before his own time is certainly true and must have been discover'd to be false if it had been so p. 50. CHAP. II. The Promulgation of the Scriptures 1. In the first Ages of the World the Revealed Will of God was known to all Mankind p. 58. II. In succeeding Ages there has still been sufficient Means and frequent Opportunities for all Nations to come to the knowledge of it p. 76. 1. The Law of Moses did particularly provide for the instruction of other Nations in the Reveal'd Religion p. 77. 2. The Providence of God did so order and dispose of the Jews that other Nations had frequent Opportunities of becoming instructed in the True Religion p. 90. Testimonies of the Heathen concerning the Jews and their Religion p. 115. There have ever been divers Memorials and Remembrances of the true Religion among the Heathen p. 117. Of the Sibylline Oracles p. 121. The Gospel had been preach'd in China and America before the late Discoveries p. 129. The Confessions both of Protestants and Papists as to this Matter p. 132. Christians in all Parts of the World p. 135. A Sect call'd the Good Followers of the Messiah at Constantinople p. 136. Though great Part of the World are still Vnbelievers yet there is no Nation but has great Opportunities of being converted p. 141. The Case of particular Persons consider'd p. 142. CHAP. III. Of Moses and Aaron The Sincerity of Moses in his Writings p. 146. He was void of Ambition p. 149. Aaron and he had no Contrivance between themselves to impose upon the People p. 151. CHAP. IV. Of the Pentateuch The Pentateuch written by Moses p. 152. The great Impartiality visible in these Books p. 153. The Book of Genesis an Introduction to all the rest p. 154. The principal Points of the History of the Jews confess'd by the Heathen p. 155. CHAP. V. Of the Predictions or Prophecies contain'd in the Books of Moses The Promise of the Messias p. 158. The Predictions of Noah ibid. The Promises made to Abraham p. 159. The Prophecies of Isaac c. p. 160. of Jacob p. 161. of Balaam p. 162. of Moses p. 163. CHAP. VI. Of the Miracles wrought by Moses I. The Miracles and Matters of Fact contain'd in the Books of Moses as they are there related to have been done were at first sufficiently attested p. 170. II. The Relations there set down are a true Account of the Miracles wrought by Moses and such as we may depend upon p. 188. For 1. These things could not be feign'd by Moses and Aaron and others concern'd with them in carrying on such a Design p. 189. 2. The Miracles could not be feign'd nor the Books of Moses invented or falsify'd by any particular Man nor by any Confederacy or Combination of Men after the Death of Moses p. 191. 3. The Pentateuch could not be invented nor falsify'd by the joynt Consent of the whole Nation either in
Fact to be known to any single Person 2. Having shewn That the Matters of fact and Miracles contained in the Books of Moses as they are related to have been done were at first sufficiently attested and that if we may credit that Relation all the Miracles there mention'd were certainly wrought by him since they are of that nature that the People of Israel could not be deceived in them I now proceed to shew That the Relations there set down are a true Account of those things and such as we may depend upon For if these Matters of Fact or Miracles are either feigned or falsified this must be done either in Moses's his time or afterwards and if in his time then either by Moses and Aaron with others who were concerned in carrying on the Design or by the whole People of Israâ—l together And if it were done after Moses his death then again it must be done either by some particular Man or by the contrivance of some few or more together or it must have been by the joint Knowledge and consent of the whole Nation I will therefore prove 1. That the Miracles could not be feigned by Moses and Aaron and others concerned with them in carrying on such a Design 2. The Miracles could not be feigned nor the Books of Moses invented or falsified by any particular Man or by any Confederacy or Combination of Men after the death of Moses 3. The Miracles could not be feigned nor the Books invented or falsified by the joint Consent of the whole Nation either in Moses's time or after it 1. These Things could not be feigned by Moses and Aaron and others concerned with them in carrying on such a Design It is plain that they could never invent such an Account as that of their miraculous Escape out of Aegypt and their Travelling in the Wilderness under the conduct and support of the same miraculous Power and then impose it upon the People of Israel for Truth For the People are supposed to be chiefly concerned in the whole Relation Moses appeals to their own sense and experience The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers but with us even with us who are all of us here alive this day Deut. v. 3. And know you this day for I speak not with your children which have not known and which have not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God his greatness his mighty hand and his stretched-out arm and his miracles and his acts which he did in the midst of Aegypt unto Pharaoh the king of Aegypt and unto all his land and what he did unto the army of Aegypt unto their horses and to their chariots how he made the water of the Red-sea to over flow them as they pursued after you and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day and what he did unto you in the wilderness until ye came into this place and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab the son of Reuben how the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and their housholds and their tents and all their substance that was in their possession in the midst of all Israel But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did Deut. xi 2 3 4 5 6 7. Here is a Recapitulation of all the Miracles that had been wrought with an Appeal to their Senses for the Truth of them And Moses would never have made such Appeals as these if they could possibly have disproved him they could never be persuaded that they â—ame out of Aegypt after so many Plagues inflicted upon the Aegyptians to procure their Deliverance if there had been no such thing or that they were so long time in the Wilderness and that so many and so great Miracles were wrought in their sight if they had never been done before them Though Men may perhaps be persuaded to believe that their Ancestors a long time ago saw and heard things which they never saw nor heard yet a whole Nation was never supposed to have been persuaded out of their Senses at once and Moses could not attempt to make so many Men believe what they must all have known to have been false as well as himself if it had been so but he would have lard the Scene at a greater distance of time and not have brought those in as chiefly concerned in the whole business who were then alive and present to convince him of falshood And therefore if the Particulars set down in the Pentateuch be false and as ancient as Moses his time they must be invented with the knowledge and received by the consent of the whole Nation For Moses and Aaron could never so far delude so many thousands as to make them believe such variety of Matter of fact in so many and so wonderful Instances set forth and with such notorious Circumstances and appeal to the Senses of those whom they deceived whether they had not seen and perceived and had the experience of what had been done for so many years if it had been all but Fiction 2. The Miracles could not be feigned nor the Books of Moses invented or falsified by any particular Man or by any confederacy or combination of Men after the death of Moses If the Miracles were feigned after the death of Moses either the Laws must likewise be invented or altered after his death and the Miracles inserted to procure them Authority or the Laws remained as they had been delivered by him and the Miracles only were added For the Books of Moses may be considered either as containing the Laws delivered by him or as relating the Miracles by which these Laws were ratified and established in each of which respects there could be no Forgery or Falsification For 1. The Laws themselves could not be invented nor altered or falsified because the whole Jewish State and Policy was founded upon them and could not subsist without them and therefore they must be as ancient as the Jewish Government which is confess'd on all hands to have been first erected by Moses For not only their Religious Worship but their Civil Rights and Interests depended entirely upon the Laws of Moses their Publick Proceedings and their Private Dealings one with another were all to be regulated and governed by these Laws and when any Laws are brought into constant use and practice in any Nation it is ridiculous to imagine that they can be altered and falsified and a new System of Laws introduced instead of them without the knowledge of the People governed by them or any remembrances of it left amongst them No material Alterations can be made in Laws which are of continual use and which concern every Man's Interest but they must be taken notice of and discovered by such as shall find themselves aggrieved by such Alterations But this was less practicable amongst the Jews than amongst any other People 1. Because the Distinction of their Tribes and the Genealogies which
instructed in the Rewards and Punishments of the Life to come and Temporal Rewards and Punishments were appointed by Moses as Pledges and Types to represent and prefigure to them those of a Future State For that Abraham and the Patriarchs before him had a true and full Notion of a Life after this we are certain from Heb. xi 10 13. And we have as great Certainty that Abraham did instruct his Children and his Houshold after him Gen. xviii 19. and Moses wrote of Christ Jo. v. 46. Gen. iii. 15. xii 3. xlix 10. Deut. xviii 15 18. These things were delivered in the Books of Moses and well understood by the Generality of the Jews in all Ages the Sadducees were singular in denying the Resurrection of the Dead and some other Doctrines in which all the rest were agreed But if there were any Obscurity or Difficulty in the Books of Moses they had besides the Priests a constant Succession of Prophets for many Ages to Interpret them and to maintain and inculcate those Fundamental Doctrines of Religionâ— The Rewards of Heaven are declared Psal xvi 11. xvii 15. Prov. xv 24. Eccles xii 14. Dan. xii 2 3. The Torments of Hell are asserted Psal xvi 10. Eccles xi 9. xii 14. Isai xxxiii 14. Dan. xii 2. The Resurrection of the Dead Psal xvii 15. Isai xxvi 19. Ezek. xxxvii 1. Dan. xii 2. Hos xiii 14. And in the Book of Job which is of the greatest Antiquity Job xiv 12. xix 26.27 In that Expression that David and others Slept with their Fathers is implyed not only the Imortality of the Soul but the Resurrection of the Body For it implies that there was not a total end of them but as they Slept so must they awake and rise again Psal xvii 15. And this Expression is taken from the Old Testament and applied to the same Sense in the New Our Saviour speaking of Regeneration says to Nicodemus art thou a Master in Israel and knowest not these things Joh. iii. 10. and he bids the Jâ—ws search the Scriptures of the Old Testament for in them says he ye think ye have Eternal Life and they are they which testify of me Joh v. 39. it was in them fore-told that a much clearer Revelation was to be made by the Gospel Jer. xxxi 31. When our Saviour by his Resurrection gave a fuller Manifestation of a future Immortal State than could be given by any other Means and brought Life and Immortality to Light thro' the Gospel 2 Tim. i. 10. Yet this it self was Typifyed in the Old Testament by raising Dead Men to Life again and the Translation of Enoch and Elijah into Heaven was for a Testimony and Assurance of a Future State both of Body and Soul The Doctrin deliverd by Moses and the Prophets was as effectual a Caution and warning to Men to keep them from the place of Torments as a Message from the Dead could have been Luke xvi 31. The Old Testament therefore is not deficient in any necessary Point of Salvation but the Ceremonial Law was enjoyned as a suitable Help and Expedient for the retaining those Truths which had been revealed before Which was so well known (x) Origen contra Cels lib. 2 that Celsus puts this as an Objection into the Mouth of the Jews whom he brings in Arguing against the Christian Religion that it taught them nothing but what they knew before concerning the Resurrection of the Dead and a future Judgment and a State of Rewards and Punishments in another World And it cannot be denied that the Apocryphal as well as the Canonical ' Books teach these things The Honour and Authority of our Religion amongst Men depends very much upon a right Knowledge and a due consideration of this Subject And those who profess never so great Veneration for the New Testament but have little esteem for any part of the Old understand neither the one nor the other as they ought They refer all along to each other and must stand or fall together for the one is but a Draught as it were or Model of the other all things being though obscurely yet sufficiently taught in the Old Testament which are fully and lively exprest in the New The Sum of all is this The Faith in the Messias to come and the Principles of Religion and Morality had been delivered down from the Beginning by Adam and Noah to their Posterity And when Moses by God's Direction and Appointment gave Laws to the Children of Israel the End and Design of these Laws was the preservation of this Faith and Practice amongst them And this was effected by visible Objects and sensible Remembrances the Jewish Dispensation was ordain'd in condescension to the Circumstances and Capacities of those Ages and that Nation in such a manner as was most suitable to their Condition and most Worthy of God the rest of the World had wholly given up and abandoned themselves to Carnal Ordinances and Superstitions and God who produceth Good out of Evil made use of this Fondness and Dotage of Mankind to the Preservation and Advancement of Truth and Holiness amongst Men. The Ceremonial Worship was no farther acceptable to God and no otherwise design'd by Him than to keep his People from running into Idolatry to which they had so great a Proneness to put them in mind of their own Sinfulness and Unworthiness to preserve a Sense of Moral Duties and of an inward and spiritual Service and to retain a Remembrance and Expectation of that Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction which had been foretold and was in the Fulness of time to be offered upon the Cross for the Sins of the World Thanks be to God that we are instructed to worship him in Spirit and in Truth without so many burthensome Ceremonies but in those Ages of the World nothing would have seem'd more strange and absurd than a Religion without some Pomp and Solemnity of Ceremonies And God appointed for his People those which were innocent to restrain them from all that were wicked and hurtful He appointed the Sacrifices of Beasts to be Types of Christ's Sacrifice and to withhold them from Humane Sacrifices which were practised in other Nations and enjoyn'd by other Religions he commanded them to abstain from certain Meats that they might not eat of Things offer'd to Idols and these innocent Ceremonies he made useful and serviceable to the Great Ends of Faith and Righteousness Nothing impracticable can be supposed to be prescrib'd by God to any People nothing which is above their Abilities and present Attainments and therefore would be of no use and benefit to them But rather the Divine Goodness would condescend to their Infirmities and comply with them in giving them such Laws as may be agreeable and convenient for them in their present State and may fit them for an higher and more excellent Dispensation Whatsoever we may think of it now nothing at the time when the Law was given would have look'd like Religion that had