and twenty after the number of the Hebrew letters And Cyril of Ierusalem hath these express Words Read these two and twenty Books but have nothing to do with the Apocryphal ones Study and meditate only on these Scriptures which we conâ—idently read in the Church The Apostles and first Bishops were true Guides and were more wise and religious than thou art and these were the Men that delivered these Scriptures to us Thou then being a Son of the Church do not go beyond her Bounds and Orders but acknowledg and study only the two and twenty Books of the Old â—â—â—stament And other Fathers of the Churâ—â— as Melito Bishop of Sardis Athanasius Amphiloâ—â—us Epiphanius Eusebius Gregory Nazianzen Gâ—â—gory the Great Basil Chrysostom testify that 〈◊〉 Books and no others of the Old Testamâ—â—â— which we receive now were the Canonical Booâ—â— of old and received so by the first Christiâ—â— Those eminent Lights of the Latin Church Râ—t Ierom Hilary disown as Uncanonical 〈◊〉 Books of Apocrypha The two latter especially 〈◊〉 very positive Ierom expresly tells us that 〈◊〉 Canonical Books of the Old Testament are but 〈◊〉 and twenty just the number of the Hebrew Alâ—phabet and no more and he enumerates the particular Books which constitute the whole 〈◊〉 saith indeed that some make them four and twâ—â—ty but 't is the same Account for they reckâ—â— Ruth and Lamentations separately But as for 〈◊〉 others he saith they are not part of Inspired Scripture and the Church doth not receive theâ— among the Canonical Writings So Hilary givâ— us the just Catalogue of the Books of the Old Tâ—stament and peremptorily affirms that there 〈◊〉 but two and twenty Canonical Books of it in all which are the same with the thirty nine according to the reckoning in our Bibles To Fathers wâ— might add Synods and Councils as that antieâ—â— one of Laodicea conven'd A. D. 364. which drew up a Catalogue of the Books of Scripture and makes mention only of these which we now râ—ceive but leaves out the Apocryphal ones This Canon was received afterwards and confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon one of the first four General Councils And the sixth General Council held at Constantinople A. D. 680. expresly ratified the Decrees of that old Laodicean Council and particularly this that the Canonical Books of the Old Testament were but two and twenty There is another Reason also besides the Universal Suffrage of the Christian Church why the Apocryphal Books are ejected out of the Canon viz. because some things in them are false and contrary to the Canonical Scriptures as in Ecclesiasticus 46. 20. 2 Esdras 6. 40. and some things are vitious as in 2 Maccab. 14. 42. After all this it is easy to answer what the Romanists say on the other side They quote the third Council of Carthage which they tell us received the Apocryphal Books into the Canon And among the Fathers St. Augustin they say owns them besides that two Popes viz. Innocent the First and Gelasius took those Books which we stile Apocryphal into the Canon As for the Council which they alledg it was but a Provincial one and therefore is not to be set against those more Authentick and General Councils which I produced Nor must that one single Father whom they name stand out against that great number of Greek and Latin Fathers whom I mentioned The Popes bear a great Name among our Adversaries but they are but two and must not be compared with those Councils and that multitude of Fathers who are on our side Or if they lay such great stress on a Pope I can name them one and he one of the most eminent they ever had viz. Pope Gregory the Great who declares that the Book of Maccabees a main Piece of the Apocryphal Wrâ—â—tings is no part of the Canon of Scripture Wâ— may set this One Pope for he is Great enough against the other Two Besides their own 〈◊〉 are against them the Apocryphal Books are 〈◊〉 received as part of holy Inspired Scripture by Iâ—â—dorus Damascen Nicephorus Rabanus Maurus Hâ—go Lyranus Cajetan and others who are of greâ—â— Repute in the Church of Rome We regard 〈◊〉 what the pack'd Council of Trent hath decreed viz. That besides the two and twenty Books 〈◊〉 the Hebrew Canon those also of Tobias Iuditâ— the Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus Maccabeâ—â—â— Baruch are to be received as Canonical and thâ— they are of equal Authority with the Canon oâ— the Old and New Testament What is this to the general Suffrage of the Primitive Councils Fathers and Writers who have rejected the Apocryphal Books and received but twenty two into the Canon of Scripture belonging to the Old Testament You see what Ground we have no other than the Vniversal Church We reject some Books as Apocryphal because they were generally rejected by the antient Primitive Church and we receive the rest as Canonical because they were believed and owned to be so by the universal Consent of the Church See this admirably made good in Bishoâ— Cousins's History of the Canon of Scripture Yet aâ—ter all that hath been said we count the Apocryphâ— Writings worthy to be read and perused The there be some things amiss in them yet we give great Deference and Respect to them as containing many Historical Truths and furnishing us witâ— Matter of Jewish Antiquity as likewise because there are many Doctrinal and Moral Truths in them especially in the Books of Wisdom and Ecâ—lesiasticus For this Reason I say we bear great Respect to them and rank them next to the Holy Canon and prefer them before all Profane Authors This was done by the antient Fathers who frequently alledg'd them in their Sermons and Discourses which is one Reason I question not why these Apocryphal Books came to be made Canonical by some of the Church of Rome namely because they were so often quoted by the Fathers and in some Churches read publickly But this is no Proof of their being Canonical but only lets us know that these Books were in their Kind useful and profitable as indeed they are Therefore St. Ierom saith the Church receives not these Books into the Canon of Scripture though she allows them to be read And concerning these Writings our Church saith well quoting St. Ierom for it She doth read them for Example of Life and Instruction of Manners but yet doth not apply them to establish any Doctrine Which gives us an exact account of the Nature of these Books namely that they contain excellent Rules of Life and are very serviceable to inform us of our Duty as to several weighty things but they being not dictated by the Holy Ghost as the other Books of Scripture are they are not the infallible Standard of Divine Doctrine and therefore are not to be applied and made use of to that purpose This and the other Reasons before mentioned may prevail with us to think that these Writings ought not to be
nothing in Scripture that looks like Inconsistent and Contradictory Upon a diligent Search we shall discern a mutual Correspondence in the Stile Matter and Design of these Writings we shall find a happy Concurrence of Circumstances and an admirable Consistency in the Doctrines and Discourses in so much that we shall be forced to acknowledg that upon this single Consideration it is reasonable to believe that these Writings were endited by the Holy Spirit This Harmony then of the Scriptures I may justly reckon among the Inward Notes of the Truth of Scripture because it is adjoined to the Matter of it which is of the very Intrinsick Nature of it What Iustinian professes and promises concerning his Digests in his Preface to them that there is nothing Clashing and Contradictory in them but that they are all of a piece is true only of the Sacred Laws of the Evangelical Pandects which contain in them nothing Dissonant and Repugnant The Old and New Testament the Prophets and Apostles are consonant to themselves and to one another which is a great Argument of the Truth of them There is nothing in one Place of Scripture opposite to the true Meaning which the Holy Ghost hath revealed and asserted in another The Contents of the whole Book whether you look into the Doctrinal or Historical Part of it have nothing contradictory in them All the Authors of it agree in their Testimonies and assert the same thing and consent among themselves It is the Nature of Lies and Forgeries that they hang not together as Lactantius on the like Occasion hath observed Especially if you search very inquisitively and narrowly into them you will perceive that they are thin and slight and may easily be seen through But the Contents of these Writings have been diligently inquired into and with great Care and Industry examined by all sorts of Persons and yet they are found to be every ways Consistent with themselves and the Testimony of the Writers is known to be Concurrent and Agreeing All wise and curious Observers must needs grant that there is no Book under Heaven that parallels the Scriptures as to this Which shews that they are more than Humane Writings yea that they were Divinely inspired and dictated And this I take to be the Sense of St. Peter who assures us that no Prophecy of the Scripture is of private Interpretation He speaks of the first Rise of those Prophecies which are in Scripture they are from God they are not of private Interpretation they are not from Man's Invention they are not of his own Brain and Fancy but they are to be esteem'd to be as they are Divine and Heavenly Oracles Thus the Word of God is Witness to it self and stands in need of no others The Scripture is sufficiently proved by what is in it and is to be believed for its own sake Which made an antient Writer say We have compleat Demonstrations out of the Scriptures themselves and accordingly we are demonstratively assured by Faith concerning the Truth of the things therein delivered Which cannot be said of any humane Writings in the World for they carry no such Native Marks with them But the very Inward Notes of the Truth and Authority of the Scriptures create in us a certain and unshaken Belief They may be known from all other Writings whatsoever by the Excellent Transcendent and Divine Matter contained in them and by the peculiar Manner of delivering and publishing it These I call Internal Proofs because they are taken from the Books themselves because they are something that we find there These assure us that they were written not by Man but by God There is yet another Internal Testimony I call it so because it is within Vs though not in the Scriptures As I have shewed you that the Holy Spirit speaks in the Scriptures and bears Testimony to the Truth of them so now I add that this Spirit speaks in Vs and works in our Hearts a Perswasion that the Scriptures are the Word of God By this Spirit we are enabled to discern the Voice of the same Spirit and of Christ in those Writings This witnessing Power of the Spirit in the Souls of Believers is asserted in Acts 5. 32. 15. 7 8. and in 1 Iohn 5. 6. From these Places it is clear that there is an Illumination of the Spirit joining with our Consciences and Perswasions and this Spirit powerfully convinces all Believers of the Truth of the Scriptures This Testimony follows immediately on our setting before us the Inward Excellencies of the Scripture as I have represented them for God makes use of those Evidences and Arguments to beget a Belief in us of the Divine Authority of Scripture The Spirit enlightens and convinces Mens Minds by those Means but more especially he urges these Evidences on the Hearts of the Religious and Faithful and thereby brings them to a firm Perswasion of the Scriptures being the Word of God This is no Enthusiasm because it is discovered to us by proper Means and Instruments whereas that is without any and is generally accompanied with the despising of them But the Evidences and Notes in the Scripture are the Reasons and Motives of our Belief only the Holy Spirit comes and prepares and sanctifies our Minds and illuminates our Consciences and causes those Arguments and Motives to make Impression upon us and effectually to prevail with us and to silence all Objections to the contrary Thus the Truth of Scripture is attested by the Holy Spirit witnessing in us But when I say the Testimony of the Spirit is a Proof of the Truth of the Scripture I must adjoin this that this Proof serves only for those that have this Spirit it may establish them but it cannot convince others No other Man can be brought to be perswaded of the Truth of those Sacred Writings by the Spirit 's convincing me of the Truth of them Besides this Proof is not in all that really believe the Truth of these Books some may be convinced of the Truth of them without this but where this is it is most Powerful and Convictive and surpasses all other degreâ— of Perswasion whatsoever There is no such câ—tain knowledg of the Truth of these Holy Wâ— tings as by the Testimony of the Sacred Spirit 〈◊〉 the Hearts of Men produced there in a ration â— way and in such a manner as is most sutable 〈◊〉 our Faculties CHAP. II. External Proofs of the Truth of the Holy Scriptureâ— Viz. the wonderful Preservation of them and Vniversal Tradition Which latter is defended against the Objections of those that talk of a New Character wherein the Old Testament is written Thâ— Iewish Masoreth attests the Authority of these Writings The Hebrew Text is not corrupted The Points or Vowels were coexistent with the Letters F. Simon 's Notion of Abbreviating the Historicâ—â— Books of the Old Testament rejected The New Tement vouched by the unanimous Suffrage of the Primitive Church The
Industry to preserve Scripture from Corruption We may gather from this Diversity of Readings that Men have been very inquisitive and careful in their comparing of Copies but we cannot thence argue that the Text is adulterated yea rather we may infer that it is not for from this comparing and vying of Copies we come to know and be ascertain'd which is the True and Authentick one And we may farther add with the same excellent Author That it is morally impossible since our Saviour's time and indeed for many hundred Years before that that the Scriptures particularly of the Old Testament should have been corrupted for the Multitude of Copies was then such hath been since much more such and so far dispersed that neither one Man nor one Body of Men could ever get them into their hands to corrupt them and if some few or mâ—â—â—ny Copies had been corrupted but not all thâ—â— sincere Number would have detected the corrupt Again let it be consider'd that the antient Orthodox Writers of the Church do all ciâ—â— these Scriptures as we now have them in everything material Yea that most Hereticks have pleaded these same Scriptures and denied them not to be genuine To establish us yet further we must remember that these Writings have been openly read to the People in all their solemn Assemblies in the several Ages since Christianity began and they being thus constantly used could not possibly be altered and corrupted Besides that all private Christians were exhorted to read and use them in their Families whereby they became so known and familiar that whenever any Alteration was made they could presently observe it Lastly notwithstanding the Author of a late Tractate hath brought divers Objections against the usual Tradition that such and such Books of the Bible were wrote by the Authors whose Names they bear and though Mr. Hobbs before him had done the same yet neither of them have effected it with any Success This is all they have done they have only shewed that they are not so civil to the holy Writings as they are to the profane ones for it is every whit as clear that the Books of the Holy Scripture were written by the Persons under whose Names they go as that any other Writings were put out by those whose Names they bear Nor can these Men vouchsafe to shew that Civility to these Sacred Books which even Iews and Gentiles have done for when both â—hese opposed these Books you will not find that they ever questioned the Authors but the Doctrine only We are therefore to look upon these Men and such as take part with them as acting with higher Prejudice than either Jews or Heathens did and accordingly we are to slight what they say unless it be thus far that from their impotent and malicious Cavils we may be further confirmed in this Perswasion that these Books of the Old and New Testament were indeed written by those Authors under whose Names they are now received that these Scriptures which we now have are the same which the Primitive Church received from the Apostles that the Copies we have of the Bible are not corrupted that God hath preserved the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament from all considerable Change and Depravation his Providence not suffering any such thing that the Canon of Scripture which is now received is the very same that it was at first and which is the Sum of all that the Truth and Authority of it are impregnable It may be expected I should speak of the Apoâ—ryphal Books which I have not reckoned among the Inspired Writings For doing this I have good reason for I find them excluded from the Canon of Scripture by those that are the best Judges of it I mean the Iews who were the great Keepers of the Scripture They never took these into the number of the Books of Holy Writ and that for these two Reasons First because they were not writ by the Prophets The Jews believed that the Spirit of Prophecy ceased among them as soon as Malachi had done prophesying They owned no Divine Inspiration after his time and accordingly received not the Apocryphal Books into the Canon of Scripture i. e. Books Divinely inspired 〈◊〉 was written after Malachi's time who was 〈◊〉 last Prophet was not Canonical was not of 〈◊〉 Authority and therefore is not emphatical called Scripture For as St. Paul informs us 〈◊〉 Scripture is given by Inspiration of God 2 Tim. 3. 〈◊〉 That is the Mark and Criterion of Scripture 〈◊〉 is back'd by St. Peter 2 Pet. 1. 21. Holy Men 〈◊〉 God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 those Writings which were not by Inspiration 〈◊〉 God nor from the immediate Motion of the 〈◊〉 Ghost are not to be reckoned as Holy Scriptuâ—â— and such are the Apocryphal Writings they werâ—â— written after the cessation of Prophecy and Diviâ—â— Inspiration and so they are not of Divine Authâ—â—rity and cannot be esteemed Canonical Scriptureâ—â— Secondly the Jews received not the Apocrypha 〈◊〉 to their Canon because it was written in Greek not in Hebrew as all the Canonical Books are For God would not they say give them Scripturâ— in an Unknown Tongue The Oracles of Goâ— were to be committed to his People in the Authentick Language which is that of the Jews The Apocryphal Writings being not such are rejected by them and not taken into the Canon of Sacreâ— Writ And as they were not received by the Jewiâ— Church so not by the Christian one You cannot but observe that Christ and the Apostles who frequently quote the Canonical Books never quoâ—â— any of the Apocryphal ones which gives us to understand that they were not reputed as Inspired Writings otherwise it is most reasonable to think that our Saviour or his Apostles and Evangelists would at one time or other have cited some one Passage at least out of these Books it being their great Work as you may see to prove the Truth of what they delivered from the holy Scriptures which were inspired by God in former Times They embraced all Occasions of establishing Christianity upon the Writings of the Inspired Prophets who went before therefore if the Apocryphal Writers had been of that number they would certainly have been quoted by them and because they are not it is an Argument that they are not Inspired Writers Again the Christian Church which immediately succeeded that which was in the Days of Christ and the Apostles received not these Writings as Divinely inspired and therefore excluded them from the Canon of Scripture Look into the Writings of the antient Fathers of the Church who without doubt made it their business to search into the Canon of Scripture and to be satisfied which were the Divinely inspired Books and there you will see that those of the Eastern Church received only the Jews Canon of Scripture as to the Old Testament Thus Origen recites the Canonical Books of it as they are now reckoned viz. two
I find it is yea flatly denied by Aben Ezra and Pererius and lately by Hobbs and Spinosa A very little Portion of them was writ by him saith Monsieur Simon who hath a new Notion of certain Publick Scribes or Registers that penn'd this and other Parts of the Old Testament which sort of Abbreviating Notaries he borrows from the Egyptians as he confesâ—es himself because there were such Officers in the Egyptian Court who had a Privilege to add to or take away from to amplify or abridg the Publick Records he thence groundlesly infers there were such among the Iews who made what Alterations they pleased in the Sacred Writings which Paradox of his I have consider'd and made some Reflections upon in a former Treatise This I may truly say that it is not necessary that we should know who was the Particular Penman of this or any other Book of the Holy Scripture because the Authority of them depends not on the Writers of them but on the Holy Ghost who endited them They are the Books of God that is their peculiar Character and Dignity and that alone makes them Authentick after they have been delivered to us by the unanimous Consent of the Church so that there is no absolute Necessity of our certain knowing who penn'd them Yet this must be said that it cannot with Reason be denied that the Authors of some of these Sacred Books are well known and particularly there are very convincing Proofs that Moses wrote the Books which I have been giving an Account of This may be evinc'd from our Saviour's Words Luke 16. 31. 24. 27. where by Moses as is most evident he means the Books of the Pentateuch and consequently thereby lets us know that Moses was the Writer of them And more expresly the Book of Exodus is call'd the Book of Moses by our same Infallible Master Mark 12. 26. And St. Paul tells us that when these Books are read Moses is read 2 Cor. 3. 19. And both our Saviour and this Apostle distinguish between Moses and the Prophets Luke 16. 29. Acts 26. 22. plainly signifying that as those Books which pass under the Prophets Names are theirs so these that are said to be Moses's were written by him I think this is very plain and needs not to be further insisted on As to the Objections of those Men before named against this I forbear to produce them and to return particular Answers to them because this is so lately done by Monsieur Clerk and because another Learned Frenchman hath laudably performed this Task Especially he hath with great Vigour and as great Success attack'd Spinosa a Iew as they tell us by Birth but neither Iew nor Christian by Profession but a Derider of both We may also find his Arguments which are generally borrow'd from Aben Ezra refuted with great Clearness by the Learned Professor of Diâ—inity at Paris who at the same time betakes himself to the Positive Part and renders it unquestionable that Moses himself was the Author of the Five Books that go under his Name Wherefore the particular Fancies of those few Objectors and those no Friends to the Sacred Text are not to be heeded by us As to that common Scruple which is so much insisted upon that in the last Book of the Pentateuch there is mention of Moses's Death and some things that happen'd after it whence they conclude that Moses wrote not those Books or at least not the last of them I take this to be a sufficient Answer that Moses being a Prophet might foresee and have revealed to him a particular Account of his own Death and so he committed it to writing by a Prophetick Spirit wherefore none can from thence prove that he was not the Penman of all this Book However we will not contend here for perhaps the Conclusion of this Book was affixed by Ioshua or afterwards by Ezra who was an Inspired Person likewise and who revised the Books of the Old Testament and inserted some things into them by the same Spirit that endited the rest Notwithstanding then the foresaid Objection which refers only to a few Passages in the End of the Book of Deuteronomy wâ— have Reason to assert that the whole Five Books excepting that little Addition in the Close were written by Moses these are his Authentick Records consisting chiefly of History which compriseth in it the Occurrences of about 2400 Years and Laws which were given by God Himself to his own People and will be of use to the End of the World Here is the Cabinet of the greatest Antiquity under Heaven here are the First and Oldest Monuments of the World CHAP. VIII A short Survey of the Books of Joshua Judges Ruth which is a Supplement to the History of the Iudges Samuel the Kings Chronicles Ezra which is a Continuation of the Chronicles Nehemiah Esther The Author Stile Composure Matter of the Book of Job discuss'd An Enquiry into the Penmen Subjects Kinds Titles Poetick Meter and Rhythm of the Psalms NExt unto this is that Excellent History written by Ioshua the Captain General of the Israelites and Moses's famous Successor whose very Name without doubt was as terrible to the Canaanites as those of Hunniades and Scanderbeg were afterwards to the Turks Here he admirably describes the Holy War the Martial Atchievements and Stratagems of the People of God against those Nations whose Lands they were to possess and at length their Victory over them Here are very particularly set down their Conquests over those Kings and Countries This Book is the Fulfilling of the Promises which were made to them concerning the entring into Canaan and enjoying that Land which is a Type of the Heavenly Canaan the everlasting Rest which remaineth to the People of God Heb. 4. 9. Here is the Actual Possession of that Promised Inheritance and the Division of it among the several Tribes by Lot The short is in the whole Book which I must not now give you by retail there are abundant Demonstrations of the Divine Providence repeated Instances of the Infinite Kindness of God to his Servants remarkable Examples of the Divine Vengeance on his Enemies yea and visible Proofs of his Severe Dealings with his own People when they refuse to obey his Will and when they act contrary to it Here is in the large Account which is given of Ioshua and his Actions an Exact Character of a Worthy Prince a Ruler a General who ought to signalize himself by his Exemplary Piety and Zeal for Religion by his constant Sobriety Justice and Charity by his undaunted Courage Valour and Prowess by his deep Wisdom Policy and Conduct And his Great and Wonderful Success which is so much required in a General crowned all The Whole contains the History of the Jews from Moses's Death till the Death of their Great Commander Ioshua in all about eighteen Years And 't is not to be wondered at that the Age Death and Burial of this latter are
omitted by the other Evangelists Besides that this Evangelist in the Entrance into his Gospel is more Sublime and Soaring than the rest and for that Reason is represented by an Eagle asserting the Divinity of Christ against the bold Hereticks of that time who openly confronted that Doctrine And in other Places of his Writings he hath a Peculiar Strain and Excellency which Luther expresses thus after his plain way Every Word in John weigheth two Tuns Concerning the Evangelists I may note this that though they do not all of them set down the very individual Words that Christ or others spake for we see that sometimes one represents them in Terms different from the rest yet those that do not so deliver always the Sense of what was said and even that was dictated by the Holy Spirit which is sufficient And concerning St. Iohn particularly I remark this that seeing he was the last of all the Evangelists i. e. he wrote his Gospel last it is rational upon that Account to interpret the other Evangelists by him namely where any Doubt or Controversy arises for he having perused the other Evangelists and observ'd what Exceptions unbelieving Men had made against any Passages in their Writings it is not to be doubted but that he expresses himself with greater Plainness and Perspicuity where those Matters are concern'd This the intelligent and observant Reader will find to be true if he consults the respective Places It is endless to give a Particular and Distinct Survey of every one of the Evangelists Writings This only can be said here in pursuance of our grand Undertaking that these Books are the Choicest History that ever were committed to Writing because they contain the Birth the Life the Actions the Doctrine the Miracles the Sufferings the Death the Resurrection the Ascension of our Lord IESVS Christ our most Compassionate Saviour and Redeemer All of which are the most Stupendous and Amazing as well as the most Necessary Matters to be known in the whole World If this brief and summary Account of the Gospels be not sufficient to recommend them to our Studies and Meditations and to beget in us the utmost Esteem of them nothing more largely said will ever be able to do it To the Historical Part of the New Testament belong the Acts of the Apostles wherein there is an Account given of what all the Apostles were concern'd in viz. their choosing Matthias into Iudas's room their Meeting together on the Day of Pentâ—cost at which time they were all inspired by the Holy Ghost according to Christ's Promise visibly descending upon them their Determinations in the Council held at Ierusalem with their Letters which they sent to the Churches abroad and several other things in which the Apostles were jointly interested This Book contains also the History of the first Founding of the Christian Church of its happy Progress and Success especially among the Gentiles of the Opposition and Persecution it encountred with of the Undaunted Courage of the Apostles of the Course of their Ministry of their Disputations Conferences Apologies Prayers Sermons Worship Discipline Church-Government Miracles Here we are informed what were the Vsages of the first Apostolical Ages In a word here we may find the Primitive Church and Religion All which are plain Evidences of the singular Usefulness Worth and Excellency of this Book But it is chiefly confined to the Acts and Atchievements of those most Eminent Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul and especially and most largely here are related the Conversion Travels Preaching and Sufferings of the latter of these for St. â—uke being St. Paul's Companion all along and well acquainted with whatever he did and whatsoever happen'd to him gives us the fullest Narrative of this Apostle The whole Book is a History of about forty Years namely from Christ's Ascensionâ— to the second Year of St. Paul's Imprisonment at Rome The New Testament consists likewise of several Epistles of the Apostles which are Pious Discourses occasionally written more fully to explain and apply the Holy Doctrine which they had delivered to confute some growing Errors to compose Differences and Schisms to reform Abuses and Corruptions to stir up the Christians to Holiness and to incourage them against Persecutions For the Apostles having converted several Nations to the Faith when they could not visit them in Person wrote to them and so supplied their Presence by these Epistles To begin with St. Paul's Epistles they were written either to Whole Churches viz. of Believing Gentiles i. e. the greatest Part of them were such tho some of Iewish Race might be mix'd among them as the Epistles to the Romans Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians or of Believing Iews wholly as the Epistle to the Hebrews Or they were written to Particular Persons as the Epistles to Timothy Titus Philemon The Epistle to the Romans is made up of several Profound Discourses on such Subjects as these the Prerogatives of the Iews their Rejection notwithstanding those Prerogatives the Wonderful Dispensation of God towards the Gentiles the Nature of the Law Justification by Faith alone Election and Free Grace the Conflict between the Flesh and Spirit Christian Liberty Scandal the Use of Indifferent Things c. But the chief thing which he designs in this Epistle is to shew that neither the Gentiles by the Law of Nature nor the Iews by that of Moses could attain to Righteousness and Justification and consequently Salvation but that these are to be obtained only by Faith in Christ Jesus for whose Merits alone we are accounted righteous in the Sight of God And then to shew that this Faith is not separated from Good Works he addeth Exhortations to the Practice of Holiness Obedience of Life and a Religious Conversation So that this Epistle is both Doctrinal and Practical it directs us in our Notions and in our Manners It decides some of the greatest Controversies and withal it informs us about the most indispensable Offices of Christianity The next Epistles are to the Church of Corinth the chief City of Peloponneâ—us which is now call'd the Morea And Cenchrea which you read of Rom. 16. 1. Acts 19. 18. was the Station of Ships for this maritime City but was a distinct Town from it To the Converted Inhabitants of this great Metropolis famed for its Wealth and therefore sirnamed the Rich as Thucydides saith â—ea to all the Saints in Achaia the Apostle here writes His first Epistle to them is against the Unsound Perswasions and Vicious Practices which he observ'd among them at that time His Design was to reform them as to their Schisms and Dissensions their Idolatrous Communion their Unseemly Habits their Confusions and Disorders in their Assemblies their Prophaning the Lord's Supper their Toleration of Incest and the like scandalous Behaviour Besides there are other considerable Matters which he treats of as Marriage Divorce Virginity eating of Meats sacrificed to Idols Christian Liberty going to Law before Heathens
Acts and Works of Holiness Wherefore he offers several Plain Marks and Tokens whereby they may certainly know whether they be Real Christians truly Religious and the Children of God The Sum of all he propounds is this that if they love God and their Brethren and demonstrate this Love by the proper and geâ—â—ine Fruits of it then they may conclude they are Christians indeed otherwise they are mere strangers to Christianty and to all Religion they deceive themselves and there is no Truth in them This the Beloved Disciple and Divine Amorist inculâ—ates with that Spirit Warmth and Earnestness which so Weighty a Subject deserves His second Epistle is written to the Elect Lady and her Children that is saith St. Ierom to some Eminent Select Church in Asia and to all the Christians belonging to it for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Athenians and Curia with the Romans are of the same Import with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Assembly Perhaps Ephesus is meant saith a Learned Man which was the Metropolis of Asia and so may more signally be call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But it is the general Opinion of the Antients and Moderns that a person not a Church 〈◊〉 meant here and that St. Iohn the Evangelist not another Presbyter of that Name as St. Ierom thinks writes to a Vertuous Lady who was an 〈◊〉 Servant of Christ a very Godly and Religions Woman or it may be her Proper Name was Elect as a Learned Critick hath conjectured Which may seem the more probable because the word hath no Article prefix'd to it It was usual with our Saviour himself as the Evangelical Writings inform us to make his Applications to those of this Sex to cherish and commend their Vertues It is particularly recorded that of the Chief Women afterwards call'd Honourable Women not a few were St. Paul's Proselytes And to descend lower we read that St. Ierom took great Pains in instructing the Roman Ladies and in commending and incouraging their Study of the Holy Scriptures Yea many of his Writings were directed and dedicated to Noble Women Widows and Virgins as Paula Eustochium Salvina Celantia and several others that were Roman Ladies and of noble Extraction Such is our Elect here who is the only Person of that Sex to whom an Inspired Epistle is written She is commended for her vertuous bringing up her Children she is exhorted to abide in the Doctrine of Christ to perservere in the Truth and to be careful to avoid all Delusions of False Teachers But chiefly the Apostle beseecheth this Noble Matron to practise the great and indispensable Commandment of Christian Love and Charity His third Epistle was writ to Gaius a Converted Iew or Gentile as others think because he hath a Roman Name a Man of a fair Estate and who had been very bountiful and hospitable to the Saints The Design of the Epistle is to own and commend his Hospitality especially his seasonable Beneâ—icence and Charity to Strangers to those that were Exiles for the Cause of Christianity and to stir him up to continue in the Exercise of the same Charity and Liberality to the distressed Brethren Demetrius is propounded as an eminent Example of this for which and all other Vertues he had the good Report of all Men yea and of the Truth it self that is as he was spoken well of by every one so he really deserv'd it On the other side he complains of the Uncharitable Insolent and Ambitious Diotrephes a Prating Opposer not only of him and his Doctrine but of all the true Servants of Iesus The General Epistle of Iude or Iudas as we render it in Iohn 14. 22. it being the same Name with that of the Traitor for it is no unusual thing for good and bad Men to have the same Names as in the Old Testament Eliab Iehu Hananiah c. in the New Testament Simon Iohn Ananias are Instances of this This Epistle I say of this Good Apostle with a Bad Man's Name was written to all Christian Churches or at least to all the Iewish Christians Dispersed the same to whom St. Iames and St. Peter wrote wherein he exhorts them to contend for the Faith against those Dreaming Hereticks and Seducers that were at that time crept into the Church whose Erroneous Tenents and Ungodly Practices he here particularly deciphers and from the Examples of God's Vengeance on other Great Offenders infers the Certainty of these Mens Ruine In short this Epistle hath all the Marks of a true Apostolick Spirit and is of the same Argument with the second Epistle of St. Peter and is a kind of Epitome of it and therefore I need not be very Particular in rehearsing the Contents The last Book of the New Testament is the Revelation of St. John the Divine which Epithet is signally given to him here because of the Divinity and Sublimity of his Raptures because he of all the Apostles had the greatest Communications of Divine Mysteries It may be referr'd either to the Historical Books or to the Epistles to the former because it is a Prophetick History of the State of the Church from the Apostles times to the end of the World to the latter because it is in the Form of an Epistle after the three first Verses by way of Preface viz. to the Seven Churches of Asia at first planted by and now under the Government of St. Iohn and as it begins so it ends after the usual way of concluding Epistles The Grace of our Lord Iesus â—brist be with you all Amm. Concerning the precise time when St. Iohn receiv'd and when he wrote this Revelation there is some Dispute but the most probable if not the most generally received Opinion is that he being â—â—nish'd into Patmos an Isle in the Archipelago situated about forty Miles from the Continent of Asia by Domitian under whom was the Second persecution this Revelation was deliver'd to him about the middle of the Emperor's Reign but at several times and that he committed it to Writing about the latter end of it As to the Visions themselves I will not here particularly inâ—ist upon any of them only in general it is commonly said and believed that the Vision of the Seals sets forth the State of the Church under the Heathen Persecâ—tions from Nero to the end of Dioclesian's Persecâ—tion the Vision of the Trumpets which follows that shews the Calamity of the Church by Herâ—sies Schisms and Persecutions afterwards in the times succeeding the Pagan Roman Emperors viz. under Papacy And then the Vials tell what Vengeance befals the Papal Antichrist and all the Churches Enemies So that the Seals Trumpets and Vials give an Account of the three Grand Periods of the Church There is great Probability of this but I must add and I will offer it to the Reader as a thing necessary to be taken notice of in order to the right understanding of this Book that the Order of Time and History is
Acts 20. 35. It 〈◊〉 more blessed to give than to receive is recited as the Words of the Lord Iesus yet we find them not recorded in the Gospel But our Blessed Master freqâ—ently utter'd Words that were of the like Import as is easy to prove or rather I conceive we may truly say that he spoke this very Sentence for it may be observ'd that what is here quoted is not only call'd the Words of the Lord Iesus but this is added how he said to let us know that he said these very Words when he was upon Earth And many the like Excellent Sayings and Aphorisms he prenounced which as well as innumerable Actions that he did were kept in remembrance by the Apostles but were not written down of which St. Iohn speaks ch 20. v. 30. 21. 25. So that it is impossible to prove hence that any Book belonging to the Sacred Canon is lost As for the Objection grounded on St. Iude v. 14. viz. that Eâ—och's Book which is quoted by this Apostle and if it had not been Canonical it would not have been quoted by him is lost some as Origen Ierom Augustine grant it to be so but deny it to be Canonical it being their Judgment that St. Iude might if he thought â—it alledg an Apocryphal Writer But according to my Apprehension the brief and satisfactory Answer is that there is no mention there of any Book or Writing of â—â—och and therefore none can infer thence that â—ny Book or Writing of his is lost It is only said He prophesied saying c. which he might do and questionless did without penning down any of hiâ— Prophetical Sayings but they were transmitted from Generation to Generation and thence it was 〈◊〉 the Apostle Iude inserted this into his Epistle Nor are we to be concern'd that a Book of Enooh is mention'd by some of the Antient Writers of the Church for 't is well known that they had several Spâ—rious Authors among them and as a Learned Doctor of the sorbon observes all the Fathers exâ—â—pt Terâ—ullian reckon this that went under the Name of Enoch as such But are not some of the Writings of the New Teâ—â—ament wanting seeing there was a Third Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in order the first I â—rote unto you in an Epistle not to keep Company with â—ornicators 1 Cor. 5. 9. Therefore it appears hence that there was another before this which passes commonly for the first But this is not extant for we have now but two that bear the Name of that â—lessed Apostle Answ. Nor were there ever any more for when he saith he wrote to them in an Epistle he means this very First Epistle he was now writing He refers to what he had said bâ—fore in the former Part of that Chapter and the meaning is When I even now wrote unto you in this Epistle ver 2. not to keep Company with Fornicators I do not mean the Fornicators of this World Thus St. Chrysostom and Theophylact interpret the Place But if I may be permitted to vary from those Excellent Fathers I would propound one of these two ways of understanding the Apostle's Words First it may be he hath reference here to what he saith afterwards in this Epistle ch 6 v. 13. and again v. 18. ch 7. v. 2. where he writes to them to avoid Fornication Wherefore upon reading over this Epistle after he had finish'd it he thought good to insert this and to take notice here of what he saith afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have saith he written to yâ—â— in this Epistle viz. in some of the following Chapters against Fornication and joining your selves to Persons that are noted for that Vice Or else I conceive the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Preterit for the present Tense of which there are very near an hundred Instances in the New Testament and all Men vers'd in Criticism know that there is nothing more common Thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used in this very Epistle ch 9. v. 15. Neither have I written these things i. e. at this time in this Epistle that I am now writing This any Man that consults the Context will be forc'd to acknowledg to be the true Sense of the Place whence it appears that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is equivalent with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So you will find the Word must be taken in the 1st Epistle of St. Iohn 2d Chapter you will see and be throughly convinced that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 12 13. is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 14 21. And thus in the Text that is before us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no other than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I write unto you in this Epistle not to c. Which that it ought to be rendred so is evident from ver 11. which is but a Repetition or Reassumption of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now I write unto you the Adverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shews that it is spoken of the Present Instant Time though the Greek Verb be in the Praeterit This then I offer as the plain Sense of the Text and Context I write unto you O Corinthians in this my Letter not to be mingled so the Word properly denotes with Fornicators or with the Covetous or Extortioners or Idolaters for then you must needs go out of the World there being so great a Multitude of them but this is that which I mean that you should avoid the Company of a Brother i. e. a Professed Christian if he be given to Fornication Covetousness Extortion or Idolatry This is the Thing which I at this time write and signify to you So that you see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the simple and plain Tenour of the Words may convince any Man of it And therefore the true and genuine Translation both of the former and latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is I write which makes the Apostle's Sense clear and perspicuous I appeal to any Man of Judgment and Sagacity whether this Account of the Words be not exactly adjusted to Grammar and Criticism to the Scope of the Apostle and the Design of the Context besides that it is serviceable to the Business in hand viz. utterly to overthrow the Surmise of an Epistle written to the Corinthians before this which the Apostle is here writing If the Learned Drusius or the Excellent Grotius had weighed these things which I have suggested I doubt not but they would have chang'd their Minds they would not have cried out that this Epistle here spoken of is lost But it is further said that the Apostle writ 〈◊〉 Epiâ—â—le to the Lâ—odiceaâ—s as may be collected from Câ—l 4. 16. which is wanting at this Day that is although iâ— be extant and allowed of by somâ— Authors yet it is not put into the Canon of the New Testament wherefore the Canon is
or Historical and you 'l presently find that the way oâ— Expression in them is different from what the Authors of themselves would have used If they had been left to their own Genius they would have delivered things in another Method and Manner than you see them in The Stile of them therefore shews the Author In short had the Scriptures been written in the common way of other Writers this would have disparaged them and we should have had no reason to think that they were Divinely inspired which is the thing I am now proving Nay I will adjoin this that the very Words and Phrases of Scripture were dictated by the Spirit the very particular Expressions and Modes of Speech were under the particular Guidance and Direction of the Holy Ghost I know there are many of a contrary Judgment among whom the worthy Writer whom I last quoted is not the least confident and positively asserts that the Stile and Language of Scripture were not dictated by the Holy Ghost but the Matter only The Words saith he were left to the Writers themselves who as Men of Sense could express their Minds in fit Terms And to prove that the Words were not dictated by the Spirit he urgeth this that Christ and his Apostles quote Places out of the Old Testament as they are translated by the Seventy which is not verbatim Now saith he they would have cited the Passages in the very original Phrases and Words if these had been from Divine Inspiration It is evident therefore that they are not because the Apostles use other Words and Terms far different from those in the Hebrew But this is no valid Argument if you rightly consider it for though the Apostles thought fit for some Reasons which I shall have occasion afterwards to offer to you to make use of the Septuagint Version which is but a Paraphrase in many places on the Original Text yet it doth not follow hence that the very Words of the Original were not dictated by the Holy Ghost Neither our Saviour nor the Evangelists and Apostles do hereby declare that the Hebrew Text was not inspired and that even as to the Phrase and Words but all that we gather from their using of the Greek Translation is this that they found it convenient at that time for Reasons which shall afterwards be alledged to quote some Places as they are rendred by those Translators and not exactly according to the Original This doth not necessarily imply much less prove that the Penmen of the Old Testament were not assisted by the Spirit in the very Words which they used But the contrary is grounded on very good Reason for these Sacred Writings being of a more excellent and transcendent Nature than all others in the World besides it was meet that they should surpass them all in This viz. the Divinity of the very Stile If you grant not this you acknowledg these Writings in one respect at least and that no inconsiderable one to be no better than the common Writings of other Men which certainly cannot but be look'd upon as a great vilifying of the Bible Christ promised his Disciples that when they should be brought before Governours and Kings for his Sake it should be given them what they should speak for as he adds it is not they that speak but the Spirit of their Father that speaketh in them Mat. 10. 19 20. And is it not most reasonable to think that the same Spirit taught the Writers of the Old and New Testament what they should speak and commit to writing and gave them Words to that purpose Especially if you consider that this was a Book which was to last to all Generations in the Church anâ— was designed for the use of the Faithful and for the confuting of their Adversaries to the World'â— End and accordingly was to be produced upon all Occasions and therefore was to be of an extraordinary Composure and every Word and Syllable was to be from God and the Direction of his Holy Spirit St. Peter assures us that the Writerâ— of the Old Testament spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost their Speaking and consequently their Writing because this was according to that was by the special Motion and Influence of the Infallible Spirit therefore their very Words for those are necessarily included in speaking were dictated and directed by the same Spirit And the other Great Apostle tells us indefinitely and absolutely and without any restriction that 〈◊〉 Scripture is given by Inspiration of God Now if 〈◊〉 the Scripture be by Divine Inspiration it follows that the very Words of it are for the Words and Expressions and manner of Speech are a part of the Scripture wherefore if we grant that the Whole is by Inspiration we must necessarily grant likewise that the Parts of it are for the Parts constitute the Whole We have reason therefore to assert that every Word in Scripture is endited by God and that every Letter and Syllable of it is exact and that there is nothing wanting nothing superfluous no Fault nor Blemish in the Stile and Phraseology of it I cannot but here take notice of the fond Presumption of some of the Iewiâ—â— Rabbies and Masorites who alter some Words and Expressions in Scripture and put others into their place They forsooth in a more modest way as they pretend read instead of Vrine in 2 Kings 18. 27. Isa. 36. 12. the Water of the Feet instead of Shagal they read Shacab in all Texts for Gnapholim Deut. 28. 27. 1 Sam. 5. 6. they read Techorim so in other places where they think some Words are obscene they substitute others in their room These Men would be more modest than the Scripture and more chaste than the Holy Ghost and yet they herein contradict themselves for some of them have said the Hebrew Tongue is called Holy because it hath nothing obscence in it nothing of that nature can be utter'd and express'd in it This we are certain of that there cannot be better and fitter Words than what the Scripture hath for the Spirit endited them all and therefore the Practice of the conceited Rabbies is to be exploded There is not one Iota or the least Apex in Scripture which is put there to no purpose And the same Father as truly saith in another place It speaks nothing in vain nothing by chance And the reason is because All of it Words no less than Matter is dictated and delivered from above by an unerring Spirit Yet I speak not this as if the Sacred Writers of the Bible were so tied up by the Spirit that they cannot or do not make use of their own natural or acquired Skill Though the Words be dictated by the Spirit yet the Penmen might write and speak according to the Improvements they had made in Speech I do not by what I have said exclude the peculiar Eloquence or Strain of the Writers or their using the Helps of their Education
Reasons why the Apocryphal Writings are not received into the Canon of the Bible with an Answer to the Objections made by the Romanists SEcondly I proceed to the External Testimonies of the Truth of the Scriptures which being added to those Arguments which proved them to be True in Themselves will exceedingly corroborate our Belief of the Divine Authority of those Books And here I might mention the Testimony given to them by God in the wonderful Preservation of them through all Ages since they were first written In all the Changes of Affairs and the Overthrow of so many Cities and Kingdoms that Incomparable Treasure hath not been lost The Books of the Old Testament were kept untouched and inviolable at the sacking and burning of Ierusalem and all the time of the Captivity in Babylon and of the Dispersion of the Jews And ever since that time the Scriptures have been Unaltered in Words and Sense notwithstanding the frequent Endeavours of Satan's busy Agents to corrupt them yea utterly to destroy them And next to God's Providence in preserving these Books thrô all Times and Ages we might add the marvellous Success which hath attended the Holy Faith and Doctrine contained in these Writings They have prevail'd against the Power of Men and Devils and to this very day they are maintained and upheld maugre the Attempts of both of them to root them out of the World But I wave this intending not to insist upon Divine but Humane Testimony in this place By External Testimony then I mean here no other than this that Scripture is attested by Vniversal Tradition and this Tradition is both of Jews and Christians And what would a Man desire more in a humane way for attesting the Truth of these Writings From the joint Attestation of these Witnesses I shall make it appear that these Books which we now have are the true Copies of the first Originals that the same Books and Authors are faithfully delivered down to us which were first of all delivered to the Jews and to the Primitive Christians and that there is nothing in these Writings as we now have them that is falsified or corrupted First to begin with the Books of the Old Testament the Names of which are as follow Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Ioshuâ— Iudges Ruth the 1st and 2d Books of Samuel thâ— 1st and 2d Books of Kings tho 1st and 2d Books 〈◊〉 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Iob the Psalmâ— Proverbs Ecclesiastes the Song of Solomon the foâ—â— Greater Prophets and the twelve Lesser These and none but these were admitted into the Canâ— of the Holy Scriptures by the antient Church oâ— the Iews whose Testimony is very Authenticâ— here yea indeed we cannot have a better They acquaint us that these were the Only Writingâ— that were universally agreed by them to be extraordinarily Inspired and they further tell us that these Books which were writ by different Persons and at diverse Times were first compiled and collected into One Body or Volume by Ezra and the Assembly of Doctors for that purpose and consequently that the Canon of Sacred Scripture of the Old Testament as it is at this time was not constituted till Ezra's days by the Great Synagogue as they call it Upon his Return from the Captivity he undertook this good Work he gathered together all those dispersed Books before named and after he had reviewed them he publickly owned and solemnly vouched the Authority of every one of them that the Church for the future might not doubt of their being Authentick and True But some add here by way of Objection that this holy Man caused these Books to be written over in a New Character because the Jews had lost their knowledg of the former one as well as of the Tongue and consequently the Bible is not the same that it was at first Eusebius and Ierom are alledged for this especially the latter who seems to say that the Samaritan Character was the Old Hebrew Character in which the Bible was first writ and that it was first changed by Ezrd after the Return from Babylon he writing â—he Sacred Volume over in Assyrian or Chaldee Letters and neglecting the Old Hebrew ones which were the same that the Samaritan are And the reason of this was they say because the Jews were best acquainted with this Character at that time And some Modern Writers are gain'd over to this Opinion who talk much of the Change of the Character and endeavour to perswade us that the first and old Letters of the Hebrew Text were Samaritan but that those which we now have are Assyrian and of quite another sort But upon an impartial Enquiry I find little or no Foundation for this Opinion It rather seems to me to be an Invention and Dream of those who design to disparage the Hebrew Bible They would perswade us that the Authority of the Original is impaired because we have it not now as it was at the beginning for the Old Bible was in Samaritan Letters these being the first and antientest Hebrew Characters This is like the Story of the Hebrew Points being invented five hundred Years after Christ of which afterwards which tends to the same End namely to discredit the Hebrew Text which we now have and wholly to take away its Authority for if the Letters were changed it is probable some Words and consequently the Sense of some Places are altered But that this is groundless and that the Hebrew Bible is written in the same Characters now that it was at first you will find very largely and convincingly proved by the famous Buxtorf from the Authâ—rity of the Talmud especially the Gemara 〈◊〉 the Cabala from the Suffrage of the most Notâ— Rabbins of old and of the Learned Modern Jeâ—â— as Aben Ezra R. Solomon R. Ben Maimon â— who without doubt are very competent Judges 〈◊〉 this Case To these may be added several of 〈◊〉 Christian Perswasion as Picus Mirandula F. Iuniâ— Skikkard Postellus with those three Eminent Persons of our own Countrey Nic. Fuller Broughtâ—â— Lightfoot If you consult these they will satisfyâ— you that the Hebrew Letters which we have now in the Bible were the Primitive ones the very same that were of old But to give you my Thoughts impartially in this Point I do believâ— from what I find asserted by Writers on both sides that there were two sorts of Characters used by the Jews as there were two sorts of Cubits and Shekels the Sacred and Common and I gather that the Samaritan Letter was of the latter sort that which was commonly used and even sometimes in transcribing the Bible but the Sacred Character in use among the Jews was this which we now have and in which the Bible is at this day This is the true Original Hebrew Letter and was used from the beginning by them This I think may reconcile the Disputes among Writers for so far as I can perceive the Quarrels arise from this that there is
Religion of the Protestants who found it solely on Scripture This being uncertain that must needs be so too Wherefore the best and only way is to have recourse to Tradition and to the Church these are the only Rule of what we are to believe and practise Thus you see what the Romish Writers who cry down the Hebrew Text aim at But most of the learnedst Men of that Church have not prosecuted their Aims and Designs this way It is well known they have generally held the Hebrew Text to be uncorrupted And the same is defended by the generality of learned Protestants who havâ— handled this Subject Isaac Vossius is the only Man of Note that holds the contrary i. e. that the Hebrew Bible as it is now is corrupted by the Jews But against him and all others either Antient or Modern who are of this Opinion I offer these following things to be considered If the Jews corrupted the Hebrew Text they did it either before or after Christ's time That they did it not before is evident because first our Saviour never takes notice of any such thing which certainly he would not have omitted at such times as he reproved the Scribes and Pharisees for their known Faults and Offences especially relating to the Law as when he taxed them for making the Law of God of none effect by their Traditions Certainly he would have rebuked them for so gross a Fault when he corrected them for some that were lesser Nay the Jews are not only not reproved for corrupting the Canon of Scripture but on the contrary their Care and Faithfulness in preserving it whole and entire are particularly taken notice of Luke 4. 16 17. Acts 13. 27. 15. 21. and commended Rom. 3. 2. Besides Christ â—endâ— his Aâ—ditors to the Old Testament to read it and â—earch it Iohn 5. 39. Whereas if they had corrupted it he would without doubt have cautionâ—â— them against it Again he and his Apoâ—tles conâ—tantly proved their Doctrine and confuted the Jews out of those very Writings which is an Argument that in our Saviour's time those Books were not corrupted else he and the Apostles would not have so frequently quoted them and â—â—ed the Testimony of almost every particular Book as Authentical and of Divine Inspiration And that the Hebrew Text was not corrupted by the Jews after our Saviour's time is as manifest because the Testimonies cited out of the Old Testament by those that succeeded Christ and hiâ— Apostles are found to be the same in those Writings now without the least Alteration Likewise it cannot be shewed at what time after Chriâ—â— the Corruption or Alteration of the Text began though the Younger Vossius is pleased to say it was presently after the Destruction of Ierusalem which yet he hath no where proved Farther if you observe those Places in the Hebrew Text which some alledg as corrupted by the Jews you 'll find that there was no Occasion or Ground for so corrupting them If they changed the Text it was questionless for their own Ends and to maintain some Error of theirs the Alteration would especially have been in those Places which speak of Christ the true Messias but you will not discover any such thing If any object Psal. 22. 16. They pierced my Hands and my Feet and say that the Jews have there purposely changed Caaru into Caari I ask why did the Masorites restore it to its right Reading If it had been corrupted by the Circumcised Doctors on purpose it would not have been taken notice of here by Men of the same Perswasion but they would have let it remain without any Marginal Correction But seeing they did not it is a sign there was no Intention to corrupt the Text. This indeed they do they add a Keri to the Ketib i. e. instead of Carri sicut Leo in the Text they write in the Margin Caaru foderunt as much as to say that Caaru is the true and genuine Reading This the Masoretick Note here testifies Besides it is evident that the Seventy did read it so and accordingly translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thus 't is rendred in the Syriack Arabick Ethiopick and Latin But the Place was by chance corrupted because of the likeness of the two Vowels Iod and Vau and not out of design for then the Masorite Jews would not have supplied it in the Margin with that other word Caaru they pierced which agrees with the History of Christ's Sufferings Yea this Word is in some antient Copies in the Text it self which is not denied by the learned Father of the Oratory who had it from Rabbi ben Hajim the great Restorer of the Masora who acknowledgeth that in some of the Hebrew Manuscripts of the Bible which he had seen Caaru they pierced or digged was in the Text. Or why may we not take in both the Words into the Text and so reconcile the Textual and Marginal Reading This we find done by the Chaldee Version which renders the Place thus They did bite or pierce like a Lion as if the Original ran thus Caaru caari foderunt sicut Leo. This in my opinion may be a safe way of composing the Difference about this Text. However not only from this but what hath been said before I think it is manifest that the Jews did not adulterate this Text. And among all those other Texts that are said to be chang'd and adulterated you will scarcely find one that hath reference to that great Concern oâ— the Jews whence we may conclude that the Old Testament remains altogether unaltered I might farther add that the Multitude of Copies was great every-where both before and after Christ's time so that it was impossible to corrupt them all I know some have inferr'd the Corruption of the Original Hebrew from the great difference which is to be found between that and the Version of the Seventy but I shall afterwards when I come to speak of the Perfection of Scripture give a large and full Account of the Reason of this Difference whence I shall make it plain that this Difference proceeds not at all from the Depravation of the Original Hebrew The short then is that the Hebrew Bible is pure and uncorrupt and after all the Disputes about the various Readings it is undeniable that there is no difference in the Hebrew Copies as to any thing considerable and of moment it toucheth not any necessary Point of Religion which we are bound to know and practise In the several Copies the same Historical Passages are related the same Miracles recorded the same Prophecies and Predictions the same Doctrines Laws and Precepts set down and that without any varying So that we are certain of the Integrity of the Hebrew Bible Notwithstanding what hath been suggested to the contrary we are assured that we have the true Authentick Copies of the first Original Writings and in a word that the Hebrew Text is the same that it was and is still in
Books with us We need not stay to attend here to what a late Learned Writer before named hath with much Confidence but slender Reason suggested viz. that the Bible of the Old Testament is an Abbreviated Collection from Antient Records which were much more large He confesseth that the Canon of Scripture is taken out of Authentick Registeries but the Authors who collected it added and diminished as they pleased especially he asserts this concerning the Historical Books that they are Abridgments of larger Records and Summaries of other larger Acts kept in the Jewish Archives and these publick Scribes who writ them out took the liberty to alter Words as they saw occasion So that in short according to this Critick here are only some broken Pieces and Scraps taken out of the first Authentick Writings A bold and daring Assertion and founded on no other Bottom than F. Simon 's Brain Who would expect this from one that is a Man of great Sense and Reason one that is a great Master of Critical Learning and hath presented the World with very choice Remarks on the History of the Bible for truly I am not of his Opinion who saith he sees not any thing in this Author's Writings buâ— what is common It is to be lamented that a Person otherwise so Judicious and Observing hath given himself up here to his own Fancy and Conceit He invents a new Office of publick Registers that were Divinely inspired he makes Notaries and Prophets the same He gives no Proof and Demonstration of that Adding and Diminishing which the Scribes he talks of made he hatâ— not one tolerable Argument to evince any of thâ— Books of Scripture to be Fragments of greater ones Indeed I should mightily have wondred that so Ingenious so Sagacious so Learned a Man haâ— broach'd such groundless Notions if I did noâ— consider that this subtile Romanist designs hereâ—â— as most of that Church generally do to depreciaâ—â—â— the Bible and to represent it as a Book of Fragments and Shreds that so when our Esteem 〈◊〉 the Authority of Scripture is weakned yea taken away we may wholly rest upon Tradition anâ— found our Religion as well as the Scriptures 〈◊〉 that alone This is that which he drives at in 〈◊〉 Critical History both of the Old and New Testamenâ— But all sober and considerate Persons will bewarâ— of him when they discover this Design Theâ— will easily see through his plausible Stories foâ—â— Surmises bold Conjectures and seeming Argâ—mentations and they will have the greater Reverence for the Bible because he and others havâ— attacked it with so much Contempt and Rudenesâ— and purposely bring its Authority into question that they may set up something else above 〈◊〉 Notwithstanding then the Cavils and Objection of designing Men we have reason to believe anâ— avouch the Authority of the Old Testament and to be thorowly perswaded that the Books are entirely transmitted to us without any Corruption and are the same that ever they were without and Diminution or Addition We have them as they were written by the first Authors we have them entire and perfect and not as some fondly suggest contracted abbreviated curtail'd Unto the Iews the antient People of God were committed his Oracles as the Apostle speaks and they shewed themselves conscientious and diligent Conservators of them The Jewish Nation saith St. Augustin have been as 't were the Chest-keepers for the Christians they have faithfully preserv'd that Sacred Depositum for them they have safely kept that Ark wherein the Law and the Prophets were Lock'd up God would have the Jews to be Librarii Christianorum saith Drusius Keepers of those Sacred Volumes for us Christians and it is certain they kept them with great Care the like whereof is not to be found to have been taken in preserving any other sort of Writings under Heaven And seeing they have so carefully handed the Old Testament down to us we are concern'd to receive it with a proportionable Thankfulness and to reckon this their Delivering of those Writings down to us as no mean Argument of their Truth and Certainty Secondly The Authority of the New Testament is confirmed by External Testimony or Tradition no less than that of the Old Testament We have the Authentick Suffrage of the Primitive Church the Unanimous Consent of the Christians of the first Ages that this Book is of Divine Inspiration and that it is Pure and Uncorrupted Some of the Fathers and first Writers give us a Catalogue of the Books of the New Testament and they are the very same with those which we have at this day Athanasius particularly enumerating those Books sets down all those which we now embrace as Canonical and no others And many of the Fathers of the first Ages after Christ as Irenaeus Iustin Martyr Clemens Alexandrinus Origen Tertullian c. quote the Places in the New Testament as they are now If it be objected that in the Fathers sometimes the Text of Scripture is not exactly what we find it and read it at this day This must be remembred that they sometimes quoted the Meaning not the very Words At other times their Memories fail'd them as to the Words and thence they chang'd them into others and instead of those in the Text used some that were like them So when they were in haste and not at leisure to consult the Text they made use of such Words and Expressions as they thought came nearest to it Heinsius shews this in a vast many places Sometimes they contract the Word of the Text and give only the brief Sense of it at other times they enlarge it and present us with a Comment upon it yea sometimes as they see occasion and as their Matter leads them to it they invert the Words and misplace the Parts of the Text. But no Man ought hence to infer that the Scriptures of the New Testament then and now are not the same And as for the Number of the Sacred Writers and their Books it hatâ— been always the same i. e. the same Catalogue and Canon have been generally acknowledged and received by the Christian Church It is true some Particular Books have been questioned but by a few only and for a time but the Church was at last fully satisfied about them the Generality oâ— Christians agreed to own all those Books which are now owned by us All the Eastern Churches held the Epistle to the Hebrews to be Canonical though the Latins it is granted were not so unanimous This Epistle and that of St. Iames the second Epistle of St. Peter the second and third of St. Iohn and the Epistle of St. Iude and the Apocalypse were questioned in the first Century saith Eusebius but he acquaints us withal that they were afterwards by general Consent received into the Canon of Holy Scripture for the Doubts were resolved upon mature Deliberation So that the questioning of those Books is now a Conâ—â—rmation of the Truth and Authority of
them they were once doubted of that for the future they might be unquestionable And to come down to latter Times what if two or three Men of late as Hemmingius Baldwin Eckard think some of the Books of the New Testament Apocryphal And what if Luther himself seem'd to say as much What doth this signify in respect of the universal and concurrent Judgment of others And as for the rest of the Books of the New Testament they were never doubted of at all but have the Approbation of the whole Church And that the new Testament was first written in Greek as we now receive it is attested by the Universal Consent of the Antients who made enquiry into these things Only two Books are excepted by some for though many of the Learned Moderns maintain that St. Matthew's Gospel was written originally in Greek yet it is not to be denied that some of the Fathers hold it was written first in Hebrew for the sake of the believing Jews and if you will believe St. Ierom the original Hebrew was extant in his time and he translated the Gospel into Latin from that Copy Who turn'd it into Greek is not certain but it was either by St. Matthew himself or by some Apostolical Person inspired by the Holy Ghost so that the Greek we now have is from the same Spirit and of the same Authority with the other The Fathers likewise generally say that St. Paâ—â— writ the Epistle to the Hebrews in their own Tongue and that St. Luke or St. Clement turn'd it into Greek The contrary is held by some Moderns particularly Cajetan among the Romanists and by many of the Reformed-Way But excepting I say these two Books it is universally agreed that the whole New Testament was written in Greek and one Reason might be because so great a number of Jews lived among the Greeks and used their Tongue and therefore this part of the Bible was sitly writ in Greek as the other was long before translated into that Tongue for the use of the Jews For the sake of these dispersed Jews therefore called the dispersed among the Gentiles or according to the Original the Dispersion of the Greeks John 7. 35. who understood and spake the Greek Language the New Testament was put forth in that Tongue Moreover this was the most generally received Language at that time and therefore the fittest for the propagating the Gospel This is a very good Argument for tho I do not think the jâ—ws at Ierusalem spake no other than the Greek Tongue among themselves as Isaac Vossius confidently holds and is therein rightly blamed and confuted by the late French Critick yet I am satisfied that the Greek Tongue was universally undâ—rstood and was with the Latin the Language of the Empire and therefore was most proper for the communicating the Christian Religion to the World Tully acquaints us that in all the Roman Empire Greek was vulgarly understood It is no wonder therefore that the New Testament was writ in that Tongue and that St. Paul writes not only to the Galatians c. but to the Romans in Greek for they all understood it It was the Modish and Courtly way of Speech at Rome as the French is now with us Their very Women affected to learn and speak Greek for which they are jeer'd by the Satyrist who calls Rome the Greek City In short all the Eastern People spoke Greek more or less from the time that Alexander the Great and his Captains spread their Dominion in the East The Syrians Egyptians Persians and People of the Lesser Asia were acquainted with that Language The Jews of any considerable Quality understood Greek as well as their own Tongue whence Iosephus a Jewish Priest or of the Priestly Stock writ his Books in Greek The Evangelists and Apostles then might well write in the same Tongue it being so common and every where understood Especially it is no wonder on another account that St. Paul writ in Greek for it was his native Tongue he being of Tarsus which was a City of Greece We may then very justly look upon the Greek Language as the Original Text of the New Testament And it is generally agreed that these Greek Copies which we now have and use are True and Authentick though in some things they differ and none are observed to oppose this but those who do it upon some Interest and Design i. e. to maintain some peculiar Opinion which they have taken up The Variety of Readings should not prejudice us much less ought we to alter the Readings of the Copies and to substitute new ones at our pleasure Which is the Fault of Theodore Beza though on other accounts an Excellent Person and one that hath highly deserved of the Church of God yet he is unsufferably bold in coining new Readings of the Text. When he cannot find the Sense of a Place he presently questions the Truth of the Copy and produceth a new Reading which hath brought a great Scandal upon his Annotations on the New Testament which otherwise are fraught with admirable Learning and discover his profound Skill in Divine Criticism It is certain that the Greek and Latin Manuscripts which he pretends to are a Cheat for questionless they would have been taken notice of in the first Ages of Christianity if there had been any such thing Therefore it is downright Imposture and Beza was grosly deluded by it Let us from his Miscarriage learn to be cautious and not to venture so boldly upon altering the Greek Copies This is a very rash and unaccountable Undertaking especially in a single Person and much more when it is very usual and frequent To speak next both of the Old and New Testament together The Authority of them is established by considering this that though Bellarmine and others of the Roman Communion who are followed by Lewis Cappel and some others that go under the Name of Protestants cry out that the Bible is altered and corrupted by the Negligence of the Transcribers and that the Text is uncertain by reason of the different Readings and Variety of Translations which is done out of design viz. to debase the Authority of the holy Writings and to make Men fly to Traditions and rest wholly in the Authority of the Church and I wish I might not add thereby to undermine some of the Foundations of Religion yet this is certain that the various Readings of the Old and New Testament are not so many as are pretended and all the various Copies in Hebrew and Greek which are found in all Nations at this Day do agree in all material Points and the Scriptures being translated from those Copies into many Languages concur in the same substantial things Again as to those various Readings which are produced we may justly alledg the Words of an Excellent Man They are not Arguments saith he of the Scriptures Corruption but of God's Providence and of Human
numbred among the Books of Canonical Scripture And thus we have argued from the Tradition and the Testimony of the Church And if this be done as it ought to be done it is valid for the Truth of the Copies the Canonicalness of the Books and the like are not decidable by Scripture it self but in the Way that all other Controversies of that nature are As you would prove any other Book to be Authentick so you must prove the Bible to be viz. by sufficient and able Testimony There is the same reason to believe the Sacred History that there is to believe any other Historical Writings that are extant Nay the Testimonies on behalf of the Holy Scriptureâ— are more pregnant than any that are brought for other Writings Besides all that can be said for the Sacred Volume of the Bible which is wont to be said for other Writings I have shewed you that there are some things peculiar to this above aâ—â— others The main thing we have insisted upon is this that the Books of the Old and New Testament have been faithfully conveyed to us and that they are vouched by the constant and universal Tradition both of the Jewish and Christian Church and that these Books and no others are of the Canon of Scripture for to be of the Canon of Scripture is no other than to be owned by the Universal Church for Divinely Inspired Writings The Church witnesseth and confirmeth the Authority of the Canonical Scriptures for she received them as Divine and she delivers them to us as such Yet I do not say that the Church's Testifying these Books to be the Holy Scriptures gives an Absolute and Entire Authority to them A Clerk in the Parliament or any other Court writes down and testiâ—ies that such an Act or Decree or Order was pass'd by the King Magistrate or People and he witnesses that he hath faithfully kept these by him and that they are the very same that at such a time were made by the foresaid Authority but the Authority of this Act Decree or Order rests not in the Clerk but wholly in the King Magistrate or People So the Church recordeth and keepeth the Sacred Writings of the Bible and bears witness that they have been faithfully preserved and that they are the Genuine Writings of those Persons whose Names are presixed to them bâ—t the Divine Authority of the Scriptures depends not on the Church but on the Books and Authors themselves namely their being Inspired And indeed this Authority of the Scriptures cannot depend on the Church because the Church itself depends on the Scriptures These must be proved before the Church can pretend to be any such thing as a Church We cannot know the Church but by the Scriptures therefore the Scriptures must be known before the Church It follows then that the Papists are very unreasonable and absurd in making the Ultimate Resolution of Faith to be into the Testimony and Authority of the Church This we disown as a great Falsity but yet it is rational to hold that the Church's Testimony is one good Argument and Proof of the Truth of the Sacred Scripture according to that known Saying of St. Augustine I should not believe the Gospel if the Authority of the Church did not move me Not that he founds the Gospel i. e. the Doctrine of Christianity and the Truth of it on the Testimony of the Church as the Papists are wont to infer from these Words and frequently quote them to this purpose No the Father's meaning is this that by the Testimony and Consent of the Church he believed the Book of the Gospel to be verily that Book which was written by the Evangelists This is the Sense of the Place as is plain from the Scope of it for he speaks there of the Copies or Writings not the Doctrine contained in them The good Father relies on this that so great a number of knowing and honest Persons as the Church was made up of did assert the Evangelical Writings to be the Writings of such as were really inspired by the Holy Ghost and that they were true and genuine and not corrupted And the whole Body of Sacred Scripture is attested by the same universal Suffrage of the Church i. e. the unanimous Consent of the Apostles and of the First Christians and of those that immediately succeeded them several of which laid down their Lives to vindicate the Truth of these Writings This is the External Testimony given to the Holy Scriptures It is the general Perswasion and Attestation of the Antient Church that these are the Scriptures of Truth that they were penn'd by holy Prophets and Apostles immediately directed by the Spirit who therefore could not err It was usual heretofore among the Pagan Lawgivers to attribute their Laws to some Deity tho they were of their own Invention intending thereby to conciliate Reverence to them and to commend them to the People But here is no such Cheat put upon us God himself is really the Author of the Holy Scriptures these Sacred Laws come immediately from Him they are of Divine Inspiration There is no doubt to be made of the Divinity of the Scriptures and consequently there is assurance of the Infallibility of them CHAP. III. The Authority of the Bible manifested from the Testimonies of Enemies and Strangers especially of Pagans These confirm what the Old Testament saith concerning the Creation the Production of Adam and Eve their Fall with the several Circumstances of it Enoch's Translation the Longevity of the Patriarchs the Giants in those Times the Universal Flood the building of the Tower of Babel I Have propounded some of the chief Arguments which may induce us to believe the Truth and Certainty of the holy Writings of the Old and New Testament I will now choose out another for the sake chiefly of the Learned and Curious which I purpose to inlarge upon yea to make the Subject of my whole ensuing Discourse I consider then that we have in this Matter not only the Testimony of Friends but of Enemies and Strangers and it is a Maxim in the Civil Law and vouched by all Men of Reason that the Testimony of an Enemy is most considerable The Iewish and Christian Church as I have shewed already give their Testimony to the Scriptures but besides these Witnesses there are Others there is the Attestation of Foreigners and Adversaries These fully testify the Truth of what is delivered in the Holy Bible we have the Approbation of Heathen Writers to conâ—irm many of the things related in the Old Testament and both Professed Heathens and Iews for we must now look upon these latter as profess'd Enemies when we are to speak of the Christian Concern attest sundry things of the New Testament and vouch the Truth and Authority of them Here then I will distinctly proceed and first begin with the Old Testament and let you see in several Particulars that even the Pagan World gives Testimony to this Sacred Volume
are only Poetick Flourishes and therefore must not be thought to refer to any real thing The fixing this on my mind kept me from running into those Extravagancies which some have been guilty of whilst they imagined that the Poets in all or most of the particulars with which their Fables are stuffed allude to so many express passages in True History I attended to the main thing in their Writings which I saw came so near to Scripture the rest I pass'd by as meer Poetick Flash and Foolery and not to be taken notice of In short I have always trod where there is some tolerable ground and footing and I have omitted several particulars which others insist upon meerly because they have so sandy a bottom So little Reason have any to blame me for indulging of Fancy in this present undertaking where I have endeavour'd in abundant instances to make it probable that the Pagans borrowed from the Sacred Writings CHAP. VIII The Antiquity of the Writings of the Old Testament asserted The way oâ— communicating Scriptural Truths and Historieâ— to the Pagans viz. by the Commerce which the Iews had with other Nations by their being dispers'd over all the World by the Translation of the Bible into Greek by the Travels of Philosophers and other Studious Men among the Heathens How the Sacred Truths but especially the Historical part of the Old Testament came to be misunderstood and corrupted viz. by the confusion of Tongues by being Transmitted to Barbarous People by length of time by passing through many hands by the Superstition and Idolatry of the Receivers by the affectation of Mysteries and Abstrusities by the Grecian Humour of Inventing and Romancing by Mens being Timerous by Ignorance of the Jewish Religion and Affairs by aâ— Averseness and Hatred to the Jews It was thought by some dangerous to insert the Holy Text into their Writings What designs the Devil had in corrupting the Scripture and mixing it with Falsities iâ— the Books of the Pagans BUT not withstanding all I have said there are some who will by no means entertain this Discourse but with great earnestness and violence oppose it I am obliged therefore in the next place to fortifie it by Reason I will discover to you the Foundations on which my Opinion is built and give you a Rational Account how it comes to pass that the Heathens bear witness to the Old Testament This I will do first by shewing you how they came by these Traditions and Truths Secondly whence and how they disguis'd and corrupted them For the First It is not likely the Gentiles could light on these things by Natural Reason for those discoveries concerning the Creation and the Paradisiacal State of Man and the particular mannâ—r of his Fall and several other things which I mention'd are beyond Nature's Ken they are not such things as fall within the cognizance of Men as they are Rational Creatures therefore they must be particularly Revealed to Mankind And the Authentick Body of Divine Revealed Truth being the Bible we cannot but infer that those things were borrowed from that Sacred Volume And as for Matters of Fact relating to the Old Patriarchs and other Eminent Men in former days on which I have asserted that many of the Pagan Stories and Fables depend these were Recorded in those Sacred Books first of all and therefore these Books are the Fountains from which the Heathens took these Relations This Argument I take to be unanswerable namely that the Old Testament is the First and Antientest Book that ever was extant and therefore when the Pagan Writers mention things in this Book they took them thence or from those Persons who had them out of these Writings Here then it is necessary to insist a little on the Antiquity of this Holy Volume That Moses's Writings were long before all others is proved by several of the Fathers of the Christian Church You may reckon the Date of his Books to be about A. M. 2460 which was above 400 Years before the Trojan War before which we do not hear of any Writers whatsoever Yea it was above a Thousand Years after it that the Antientest Historian unless you will reckon those Fabulous ones Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis appeared Without controversie Moses was the Oldest Historian either Natural or Ecclesiastical The Antiquity of his Works is beyond all other Books they all begin long after him And as for some other Books of the Old Testament they were before the Writings of any Heathens To begin first with the Antientest Egyptian Writers some tell us that in Moses's time flourish'd those Excellent Philosophers Zoroastres and Mercurius Trismegistus but whâ—n yoâ— come to Examine this you find no less than four Zoroastres's and to which of these the Writings are to be attributed and what date they bear iâ— uncertain so that we can conclude nothing there There are also great Disputes about Herâ—os or Trismegistus namely who he was and when he Lived and at what time the Writings that go under his Name were written and whether they be genuine Kircher holds them to be such but Casaâ—bon attempâ—â— the contrary His 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is quoted by 〈◊〉 â—artyr Lactantius and Augustin and therefore 〈◊〉 Ancient but his Antiquity cannot be proved 〈◊〉 be equal with that of the Holy Writers Manetho or Manethos who writ the Egyptian History lived but in Ptolomaeus Philadelphus's time Then for the Phaenician Antiquities which Sanâ—athon writ in the Phaenician Tongue and which Philo Biblius who lived in Adrian's time â—â—rn'd into Greek of which Version Eusebius hath â—â—eserv'd us a Famous Fragment though Scaliâ—â— hath labour'd to prove them Supposititious 〈◊〉 some others reckon them not as such and â—â—rticularly the Learned Bochart hath Commentâ—â— upon them as true and Genuine Writings 〈◊〉 as for the Anâ—iquity of this Phaenician Histoâ—â—â—n and Theologer though it may be acknowâ—â—dg'd to be great yet without question he was â—oses's junior by many hundred years And so was the Author of the Babylonian or Chaldean 〈◊〉 for Berosus who is said to compile â—â—â—m lived at the same time that Manetho did And though perhaps Frier Annius hath imposed 〈◊〉 the World by the Name of this Author as some think and accordingly bring several Arguments to prove this new Berosus a Cheat 〈◊〉 it doth not follow that the old one of â—hom both Iosephus and Eusebius have preserv'd the fragments was such Some Greek Writers plead great Antiquity next Orpheus and Muâ—â—â—s the Ancientest of them all are â—aid to have Lived in Gideon's days which was about 200 years after Moses And 200 years after this Lived Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis who wrote the Trojan War And 100 years after this Homer wrote his Poem who Flourish'd not 'till at least 150 years after David the Divine Poet. This is observable that the Greeks as soon as they had gain'd any knowledge of Letters and Arts fell to inventing of incredible Stories and writing
mystical Sense of Christ who was the true Melchisedek that is King of Righteousness and King of â—eace This mystical Interpretation of that historical Passage is vouched by the inspired Penman who wrote the Epiâ—tle to the Hebrews Again it is written viz. in Gen. 16 21. that Abraham had two Sons the one by a Bond-maid the other by a Free-woman This is the Letter or History Now observe the figurative Interpretation of it which things saith the Apostle are an Allegory for these are the two Covenants that is these two Mothers Hagar and Sarah denote the two Covenants the Law and the Gospel the one from the Mount Sinai which gendreth to Bondage which is Hagar for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia that is the Law was given on Mount Sinai and brings Servitude and strict Observances with it this is represented by Hagar for the Name of Hagar signifies the Mount where the Law was given and answereth to Jerusalem that now is that is the present State of the Jews The Hagarens i. e. the Arabians and all that spring from Ismael as Historians tell us no less than the Apostle intimates here are bound by their own Laws to be circumcised and observe therein the Mosaical Law like the Iews and so they like Hagar their Mother are in a servile Condition still are in Bondage with their Children But Jerusalem which is above is free which is the Mother of us all that is Sarah which denotes the State of the Gospel that new City which Christ brought with him from Heaven of which all Christians are free Denizens is a free Woman and signifies that we Christians Gentiles as well as Jews for she is the Mother of us all are free from all Moses's Rites and are justified without them Gal. 4. 22 24 25 26. Thus it appears from the Apostle that besides the historical Sense there is a higher and nobler in the Old Teâ—tament and particularly in that Place of Genesis where the two Mothers Sarah and Hagar and the two Sons Isaac and Ishmael were designed to signify the different State of those in the Church of God they respect the Law and the Gospel the Mosaical and Christian Dispenâ—ation There was this besides the bare historical Sense From the same Divine Writer we learn that the Pillar of the Cloud the passing through the red Sea the Mannah the Drink out of the Rock and the Rock it self which you read of in Exodus had a spiritual meaning and therefore some of these especially are expresly called spiritual they did eat the same spiritual Meat and drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock which followed them and that Rock was Christ. 1 Cor. 1 c. 1 2 3 4. Hence it is evident that this historical Part of the Book of Exodus is likewise symbolical and capable of a spiritual Construction though still the Truth and Reality of the History remain entire So what we read in Numb 22. 9. viz. that Moses made a Serpent of Brass and put it upon a Pole that if any Man bitten with a Serpent beheld it he might live i. e. be cured of the venemous Biting hath a secondary meaning in it as our Saviour himself interprets it namely that the Son of Man should be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting Life John 3. 14 15. The lifting up of the brazen Serpent upon a Pole in the Wilderness signified the lifting up of Christ upon the Cross for the healing and saving of all that look up to him with an Eye of Faith Thus when we read that God swore in Numb 14. 28. that the murmuring and unbelieving lsraelites should not enter into Canaan which the Psalmist calls their Rest Psal. 95. 11. the primary historical Sense is well known but besides this there is a secondary or spiritual one which our Apostle hath acquainted us with in Heb. 4. 1 c. Whence you may gather that in the History of the Israelites entring into the Promised Land and of the greatest Part of them that came out of Egypt being shut out there is a secondary meaning included viz. that Believers shall possess the Heavenly Canaan they shall enter into their everlasting Rest that Rest which remains to the People of God but Unbelievers shall come short not only of the Promise whicâ— is left of entring into this Rest but the Rest it self Thus you will find that Place in Numbers interpreted by the inâ—allible Apostle Again this mystical or secondary Sense is observable in those Places in the Mosaick Law which speak of the Rites and Services and Levitical Priesthood which the Jews were under as you may infer from three Chapters together in the Epistle to the Hebrews where the Apostle applies those things in a higher Sense viz. to Christ himself and his offering himself upon the Cross than ever was intended by the Letter But this double Sense of Scripture is no where more remarkable than in the Book of Psalms The 22d Psalm though primarily it be meant of David when he was in great Distress and forsaken of God yet secondarily i. e. mystically it is to be understood of our Blessed Savioâ—r when he was in his Passion and hung upon the Cross and accordingly you will find the first Words of it applied by himself Mattâ— 27. 46. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And other Passages of this Psalm the 8th 16th 18th Verses are taken notice of by the Evangelist as fulfilled at that time Matth. 27. 35 43. Now it is certain they could not be fulfilled unless they had been meant in this mysterious Sense of Christ. The latter Part of the 16tâ— Psalm is spoken in David's Person and is without doâ—bt in the first and immediate Sense of it to be understood of him and of his Hopes of rising after Death to an endless Life But it is as clear from Acts 2. 25 c. that it was spoken of Christ the Son of David and who was typified by that holy King and Prophet for St. Peter saith there in his Sermon to the Jews David speaketh concerning him I foresaâ— the Lord always before my Face for he is on my right Hand that I should not be moved Therefore did my Heart rejoice and my Tongue was glad Moreover also my Flesh shall rest in Hope Because thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life c. Which are the four last Verses of that Psalm before-named and you may see in the following Words of this Chapter what the mystical Interpretation of them is according to that Apostle who had the Spirit to direct him to the utmost meaning of those Words Part of the 68th Psalm though it be David's Thanksgiving for the present Mercies he received yet undoubtedly it is a Prophetick Praising of God for the glorious Ascension of
Christ into Heaven as it is expounded by that infallible Interpreter Ephes. 4. 8. Wherefore he saith When he ascended up on high he led Captivity captive and gave Gifts unto Men which refers to the abovesaid Psalm but is applied to Christ's Ascension by the Apostle here The 45th Psalm is originally a Song of Loves an Epithalamium on the Nuptials of King Solomon and the King of Egypt's Daughter but in a remote and mystical Sense it is meant of the Majesty and Glory of Christ's Kingdom and the admirable Benefits which accrue to the Church in the Times of the Gospel And many other Psalms might be produced wherein the double Sense before-mentioned is clearly to be discerned To proceed Though the whole Book of Canticles be in its literal Capacity no other than Solomon's Wedding-song yet it is to be look'd upon in the more sublime Acception of it as a Dialogue between Christ and his Church setting forth all those divine Amours which are mutually experienc'd by them And that this Part of Holy Scripture called the Song of Solomon is of a higher Strain than the bare Letter imports and that it contains great Mysteries and Abstrusities in it may be gathered from that extraordinary Reverence which the Jews paid to this Book For Origen tells us that this as well as the Beginning of Genesis was not permitted to be read by them till they had attain'd to some Maturity of Years I come next to the Evangelical Prophet Isaiah who hath many things concerning Christ and his spiritual Kingdom or Church but it is to be acknowledged that some of them in the first and literal Sense may and ought to be interpreted otherwise Yea the learned Grotius and Hammond are of the Opinion that that famous Prophecy in Isa. 7. 14. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call â—is Name Immanuel hath a double Sense The Words literally and primarily respect a strange and wonderful Birth in those very Days Secondarily and mystically they are spoken of the Messias who was to be born miraculously of a Virgin Whether this Opinion be true or no we are certain that there is a mystical Meaning to be added to the literal or rather as I said before it might be more expressive to say a secondary Meaning is added to the primary one in sundry Passages which we meet with not only in this Prophet but in Ieremiaâ— and Ezekiel Concerning the former of these the Jewish Historian hath these Words Ieremiah saith he in his Book foretold the Captivity which the Israelites were to undergo in Babylon which was just then approaching and also the Slaughter and Destruction which we of this Age have seen There was a twofold Sense according to this learned Writer in some of this Prophet's Predictions Yea there was a double literal or historical Sense which was the thing that I asserted before Whence you see I had reason to make the Distinction of a first and a second Meaning of Scripture rather than of a literal and a mystical though I bring the mystical Meaning when there is such an one under the second As to the latter of these Prophets when we find him relating strange things acted in Visions and Dreams which are things only imaginary and represented to the Fancy we must not think them true in a strict literal Sense for they are only or most commonly done in Appearance and many times will not admit of a real Performance as they are related and described But we are to look upon them as Enigmatical Representations and to fix only a mystical Sense upon them that is to understand them as signiâ—icative of some greater and higher thing than they represent in themselves Which may be one Reason why among the Jews those that had not arrived to some considerable Age were not allowed to read the Beginning and End of the Prophecy of Ezekiel in which Parts chiefly those more mystical Visions are inserted I might pass to the other Prophets and mention some Places in which we must needs acknowledg a secondary Meaning as in that of Daniel chap. 9. 27. For the overspreading of Abominations or with the Wing or Army of Abominations he shall make it desolate which was meant without doubt of Antiochus's desolating Armies which were so abominable to the Jews and who as we read set up the Abomination of Desolation upon the Altar But yet our Saviour himself the best Expositor of the Place le ts us know that this was meant also in a prophetical and secondary way of the Roman Armies that sat down before Ierusalem and after a long Siege made their way into the City and Temple and so might be said to stand in the holy Place When ye shall see the Abomination of Desolation saith he spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the holy Place then c. It is manifest therefore that Daniel spoke of both these destroying Armies His Words are to be taken in a twofold Sense a primary and secondary one In the former they speak of what happen'd to the Jews when Antiochus's Army invaded them In the latter they speak of what befel them when Titus Vespasian came against them and destroyed their City and Nation This is the double Sense and therefore you may observe what our Saviour inserts Whoso readeth let him understand As much as to say when you read that Passage in the Prophet Daniel you are to understand something more than ordinary in it you must take notice of a hidden Sense in those Words they speak not only of what was to come to pass in Antiochus's but in Vespasian's Reign which was about 250 Years after The abominable desolating Armies of both are here meant You see then here is a double literal Sense and that was the Reason why I chose rather the Division of the Scripture-Sense into primary and secondary and of this latter into historical and mystical than that received one of literal and mystical because both the Sense sometimes may be literal This ought to be carefully observed by all those who are desirous to attain to a right Understanding of the Holy Scriptures And it is the want of attending to this that hath often hindred Mens due Apprehensions of several Texts We see here in the Instance before us that the Letter of this Text in Daniel may be applied both to the Syrian and the Roman Armies I might produce those Words in the Prophecy of Hosea Out of Egypt have I called my Son ch 11. 1. Which are to be understood not only of the Patriarchs of old God's Children or Sons being brought by God out of Egypt but of Christ the Son of God call'd out thence after the Death of Herod Matth. 2. 15. This Place of Hosea must be understood of both Hither may be referred some other Places of the Old Testament made use of in the New where it is said This was done that it might be fulfilled which was
who thereby destroys the whole System of Theology and of Christianity it self for if there were none of those things before mentioned if in a literal and historical Sense there was no such thing as that first Disoâ—edience of Adam if there be nothing true concerning the Temptation and the Apostacy of our first Parents and the Evils and Misery that ensued upon it then it will follow thence that Mankind had no need of a Saviour and Redeemer then Christ's Coming in the Flesh was in vain then all Christianity falls to the Ground then when the Writings of the New Testament speak of Eve's being deceived and being in the Transgression when they acquaint us that the Serpent beguiled Eve through his Subtility and that by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners and that in Adam all died all is mere Romance and Fiction there was nothing of these in Reality And then likewise we have as good Reason to believe that the other Parts of the New Testament which speak of our Saviour and all his Undertakings are to be understood in the same manner that is they are but a cunningly devised Parable they may have some moral meaning as Esop's Fables have but they contain nothing of real Fact This is the natural Result of allegorizing the 3d Chapter of Genesis By dealing thus with this Part of the Bible he hath baffled all the rest he hath wretchedly subverted the whole Scheme of our Religion he hath spoil'd the whole Fabrick of Christianity and he hath made the Scripture useless and insignificant So that by this one Attempt of his he hath shaken not to say overturn'd the Foundations of Religion he hath taken part with the known Despisers of all revealed Theology he hath encouraged and patronized the wild Conceits of Scepticks he hath strengthned the Hands of the Profane he hath abundantly gratified the whole Tribe of Atheists and Deists he hath won their Hearts for ever And indeed we cannot but observe what fort of Men they are that applaud his Undertaking viz. the Wits of the Town as they are call'd Men disposed to very ill Thoughts of Religion and the Scriptures yea Men generally indulging themselves in Immorality and Debauchery These are the Persons that promote his Notions and cry up his Writings This Theorist is become much more pleasing to them than Mr. Hobbs This new Archaeologist is far more taking than the Leviathan because he nips the Bible more closely and also because he is not as the other a Layman but a professed Divine and that of the Church of England This makes his Enterprize so acceptable to these Men for now they have a Clergyman to vouch them they have the Warranty of a Church-man I will not question or so much as suspect the Prudence of our Ecclesiastical Governors but in my Judgment if there be no publick Censure pass'd upon such a daring Attempt as this by a Member of our Church Atheists will have just Ground to laugh at our Discipline as well as they do at our Doctrine To excuse himself he saith this way of speaking is used in the Writings of the New Testament and confessed to be Metaphorical and Symbolical and why not then in Genesis I answer Because though there are some Expressions of that Nature as the Trumpet sounding and the Books opened at the Day of Judgment which are but metaphorical it is likely yet it is easy to discern it And in other Places it is intimated and sometimes plainly declared that the Passages are metaphorical and myâ—â—ical as in the Parables of the Prophets and of our Saviour But it is quite anothâ—r thing which we are speaking of viz. not an Expression or two but a whole entire History delivered in plain Words and with all its Circumstances as Matter of Fact and there is not the least Intimation of any other Sense yea many of the Particulars are mentioned in other Places of the Old and New Testament as direct Matter of Fact Wherefore when he attempts to solve his Undertaking by alledging some Passages in the New Testament of Christ and his Apostles he cannot but see that it is very foreign to his Business Again in a short Appendix to his Book where he seems to retract in a manner what he â—ad said having been informed he â—aith that it was displeasing to pious and wife Men he excuses himself by alledging the Fathers who 't is true present us with several allegorical Interpretations and Descants on some Places of Scripture and particularly on the 3d Chapter of Genesis but this is â—othing to his purpose because those antient Writers do not deny the literal Sense which he doth He is not content to allegorize that Chapter but he wholly rejects the literal Meaning and confidently avers that Moses all along tells a Story that â—ath nothing of Truth in it and is not spoken according to the Nature of the things So I grant that some of the old Iewish Doâ—tâ—rs moralized Mâ—ses's History but they did not slight much less â—upersede and lay aside the historical Sense And moreover he hath neither the Fathers nor the Rabbies as an Example of ridiouling the Mosaick History which yet he doth throughout his whole Discourse on that Chapter shewing his little Talent of Jesting and Droâ—ling So that in brief it might become Hudibras better than a Doctor of Divinity I appeal to any that are acquainted with the antient Monuments of the Church whether he doth not perfectly tread in the Steps of the old Adversaries and Blasphemers of Christianity Iulian Celsus c. The former of these speaking of and deriding what is said in Genesis concerning Adam and Paradise and eating the forbidden Fruit c. positively declares that these are altogether fabulous And again afterwards What Difference is there saith he between these and the Fables of the Greeks What Dr. Burnet saith amounts to the same for when he expresly saith Moses delivered nothing of the Physical Truth concerning the Creation of the World c. but wisely dissembles to accommodate himself to the People and when he tells us that Moses said these things only to conciliate Force and Authority to his Laws which are his own Words he doth as good as say that what he delivers is a Fable He might in plain Terms have stiled the Mosaick History a Fabulous Tradition as Simplicius calls the Account which Moses gives of the Creation Yea he might as well have spoken the Language of his Friend Celsus who call'd the Mosaick Relation concerning Adam and Eve an old Wife's Fable Thus we see what Examples he follows some of the craftiest and subtilest but yet the most malicious Enemies of the Christians who laugh'd at their Religion whilst others persecuted it and did more harm by that dâ—riding it than others by violent oppressing it But lo a remarkable Example of the Divine Justice viz. on the bold Gentleman who lately englished that part of the Doctor 's Book
same import with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Philo. I conceive this may be the plain sense of the Evangelist's words however I propound it only by way of Conjecture and am willing in this as in other things to submit to the Arbitration of the Wise. I will mention another Instance of this Agreement of the Stile of Pagan and Inspired Writers It is usually among the former to honour a Good Man with the Title of the Friend of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is usual in Homer and among the Philosophers Plato especially it is very frequent Who are the Friends of God is excellently discoursed of by this brave Man in his fourth Book of Laws A Religious Man is a Friend of God saith Max. Tyrius with whom concurs another Eminent Moralist directly asserting that Good Men are the Friends of the Deity Epictetus and Arrianus speak of God as a Friend and the Best Friend Caâ—byses's Advice to his Son Cyrus was Be thou the Friend of God as Xenophon relates In short it was the common Stile and Language of the best Moralists as Socrates Antoninus Seneca Plotinus besides those before named to call a Vertuous Person a Friâ—nd or one Beloved of God Especially this Epithet was given him if he prospered in his vertuous Enterprizes if he found Success in his laudable Endeavours Yea Epictetus that Excellent Stoick Philosopher and Great Master of Ethicks was honoured with this Title as the highest that could be when he left the World as we learn from his Epitaph The same Expression we meet with often in Scripture the same honourable Epithet is vouchsafed there to Holy Men. Abraham the Father of the Faithful is particularly signalized by it and that no less than thrice 2 Chron. 20. 7. Isa. 41. 8. Iam. 2. 23. Of Moses 't is said that God spake to him as to his Friend Exod. 33. 11. Solomon was named Iedidiah i. e. the Beloved of the Lord 2 Sam. 13. 25. In that Mystical Book of the Canticles this Name is attributed to both those entire Lovers Christ and the Church Eat O ye Friends drink O Beloved saith the former This is my Beloved this is my Friend saith the latter In which places Rang and Dod are the like endearing Titles with Obâ—b which was the word used in the Texts before-mentioned And this further I could observe to you that the words Obeb and Obebim which are translated Friend and Friends in those places might be rendred so in many others where our Translators english them him or those that love God In the Evangelical Writings the same Stile is observable thus those words in Lâ—ke 12. 4. are spoken by our Saviour particularly to his dear Companions and Disciples where he calls them his Friends And in three Verses together these his faithful Followers and Associates and with them all True Believers and Holy Men are stiled his Friends Joh. 15. 13 14 15. And hear what an Honourable Epitaph our Saviour bestowed on Laâ—arus John 11. 11. Our Friend Lazarus sleepeth What is more usual in the Language of the New Testament than to say a Wicked Man is dead This my Son was dead saith the Father of the Prodigal Son Luke 15. 24. giving us to understand that the Profligate and Debauch'd are morally dead And so some think this Term is to be understood in the former part of those words Let the Dead bury their Dead Mat. 8. 22. Of the Widow giâ—en to Luxury 't is said she is dead while she liveth I Tim. 5. 6. And to be dead in Sin is in Scripture-Phraseology applied after the same manner Ephes. 2. 1 5. Col. 2. 13. And in several other places the like mode of Speech is observable To which the Antient Philosophers were no Strangers in whose account Vicious Men were reputed as dead Hence an Antient Writer of the Church observes that even in the Barbarick Philosophy they were wont to call those Dead who abandon'd the right Sentiments of things which they had and made their Souls slaves to the Animal Passions Not only Pythagoras himself was wont to place a Coffin in the room of his outcast Scholars as if they had been dead but his Followers and the Platonists in imitation of him had the same Practice among them For it was an acknowledg'd Notion that Vertue makes us live and consequently that wicked Men do not properly live but that in true Morality they are rightly said to be dead There is wanting in them an inward Principle of Life as the Spartan said after all his trials of erecting a dead Body into a living Posture Hence Vice is deservedly stiled the Death of the rational part of Man and the Mortality of the Soul With relation to which guise of Speech intermortui mores are in Plautus Corrupt and Vicious Manners And the like Phrase is used by the Jews the Wicked say they are Dead while they live and again they tell us that a Dead Carcase is better than a Disciple that is void of Knowledge and true Wisdom And other such like Expressions there are not only among the Hebrews but the Arabians Once more I will observe how the Scripture speaks as the best Moralists do viz. when it calls Death a Sleep The Hebrew Verb Shacab signifies to lie down to sleep Gen. 19. 4. and likewise to die â— Sam. 7. 12. Isa. 14. 8. whence to sleep with their Fathers is an usual Phrase in the Historical Books of the Old Testament Thence the Grave is call'd a Bed Isa. 57. 2. Gneres is both lectus and feretrum the Bed of those that sleep and the Bed or Bier of those that are dead as perhaps our Saxon word grave or grab as other Germans write it is from grabatus The Psalmist mentions the Sleep of Death Psal. 13. 3. And it seems this was the Stile of the Antient Arabs as appears from Iob 7. 21. I shall sleep in the Dust. If we descend to the New Testament we shall read there that Lazarus sleepeth Joh. 11. 11. and of St. Stephen 't is said that he fell asleep and of other holy Men that they sleep in Iesus and are fallen asleep in Christ. When a good Man dies he lays himself down to Rest he betakes himself to his Repose bidding the World good night he shuts his Eyes and opens them no more till the Morning of the Resurrection The like Expression is in use among the Pagans to sleep and to die are synonymous Terms with them With the Prince of Poets Sleep is not only the Brother of Death but it is the very word to express Death it self Nox est perpetuò una dormienda saith Catullus Perpetuus Sopor is Horace's Language Nox perpetua is Propertius's which is the same with Virgil's Nox aeterna Alluding to which Phrase is that of Tully and other good Authors decumbere to lie down to betake himself to sleep i. e.
Saviour The World is gone after him John 12. 19. which only expresses the Vast Numbers of People that flock'd to him wheresoever he went Such is the Stile here The World it self cannot contain c. The Evangelists and Apostles must in a manner have fill'd the World with their Writings concerning Christ the Books would have been so Numerous that even the Whole World could scarcely have held them that is in plainer terms there must have been an Incredible Number of Books to have contain'd all those Matters There are many other Instances of this Hyperbolical Manner of speaking in the Holy Writings but my Design is only to give you a Taste of these and the like Figurative Expressions in order to your being better acquainted with the Stile of Scripture There is a Learned Modern Divine who thinks there is no such thing as an Hyperbole in Scripture he will by no means grant that this way of speaking is to be found in the Sacred Writings because it is a kind of Lie But all that is to be said in answer to him is this that it is impossible to give any other Account of some of the forenamed Instances and several others than by resolving them into an Hyperbole which is no Lie nor a kind of one because it is not contrary to the Mind of him that speaks it nor is it spoken to impose upon them that hear it Yet it is to be granted that there is a Moderation to be observed by us as there is in Scripture in using this sort of speaking You meet with but few Hyperboles in the Holy Writers and as they are rarely and sparingly used so it is done in a fit and convenient Subject and where there is no likelihood of their degenerating into a Lie and where the Story or other subject Matter is not thereby falsly misrepresented But it is otherwise where Writers immoderately affect an Hyperbolick Strain for they make use of it in Matters where it is not fit to be used and where the Truth and Reality of the Subject are endangered and where it administers to Falshood Thus it is in the Poems of that Historical Poet Lucan who is a Prodigious and Unsufferable Hyperbolizer And thus it is in Monsieur Balsac An Extravagant Hyperbole goes all along through his Letters though to the Greatest Persons and Men of profess'd Gravity A great Fault certainly it is in those Ingenious Pieces of his But there is no such thing in the Sacred Writings there is nothing there Romantick and Extravagant the Hyperbole is seldom used and when it is it is Modest and Becoming Fit and Convenient and doth not in the least administer to Levity or impair and endamage the Truth Again in this Holy Book as well as in Other Writings there is that sort of Speaking which is call'd an Irony i. e. when something is said in way of Derision or Scoff contrary to what is meant as in that commonly observed Place Gen. 3. 22. Behold the Man is become as one of us to know Good and Evil which refers to Satan's Words to Adam Ye shall be as Gods knowing Good and Evil ver 5. And so Man is here upbraided with his Belief of the Devil before the God of Truth Look you now is not Man become a God Yes this mightily appears indeed from what hath befallen him he hath lost the Divine Image wherein he was created and is become a Wretched Sinner and Apostate Is not this Creature then become as one of us or now he hath been as one of us he hath already experienced what it is to be like God Hath he not Thus he is justly derided for his wilful Folly by the Sacred Trinity And if they think fit to speak after this manner it will not unbecome the Sons of Men. This Ironical way of speaking you meet with in 1 Kings 18. 27. Cry aloud for he that is Baal is a God either he is talking or he is pursuing or he is on a Iourney or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked Thus the Prophet Elijah mocks those deluded Priests of Baal he makes himself pleasant with them Even Grave and Austere Elijab laughs at the Baalites invoking of a Deaf Deity he plays upon their serious but idolatrous Devotion Whence I gather that it is not light and unbecoming to scoff at Superstition and jeer Idolatry Those Words of the Prophet Micaiah to King Abab 1 Kings 22. 15. Go and prosper are a plain Ironical Concession In this Sense those Woâ—ds are to be understood Iob 5. 1. Call now if there be any that will answer thee and to which of the Saints will thou turn And chap. 12. 2. No doubt but ye are the People and Wisdom shall die with you And that of Solomon to the Youthful Sinner Rejoice O young Man in thy Youth c. Eccles. 11. 9. Which manner of speaking is more particularly suted here to the Humour and Genius of the Young Man whose Fashion is immoderately to scoff and to entertain himself and others with Pleasantry and Drollery But that he might see that this was intended as a Rebuke to him and that he might be sure that Solomon was serious and in good earnest notwithstanding this way of speaking 't is added in the Close of the Verse Know that for all these things God will bring thee to Iudgment And he that considers that will have no Reason to rejoice i. e. to be loose and inordinate in his Mirth but rather to be sober and retired and to be preparing for Judgment and to set about so great a Task betimes and not fondly presume on Health and Length of Days No Man need question whether those Words of Isaiah ch 8. 9. Associate your selves O ye People be not spoken Ironically which are parallel with Ioel 3. 11. Assemble your selves and come all ye Heathen and gather your selves round about c. And those in Isa. 50. 11. Walk in the Light of your Fire and in the Sparks that you have kindled i. e. trust in those things that cannot help you Sparkâ— that give a short Light and soon vanish That is a terrible Biting Taunt in Ier. 22. 23. How gracious shalt thou be when Pangs come upon thee the Pain as of a Woman in Travail And so is that other Lam. 4. 21 Rejoice and be glad O Daughter of Edom the Cup viz. of Vengeance shall pass through to thee Who doubts whether Ezek. 20. 39. be not Sarcastical Thus faith the Lord God Go ye serve ye every one his Idols The like Command we read in Amos 4. 4 5 Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply Transgression c. That also in Mic. 5. 1. must be reckon'd as spoken Ironically Now gather thy self in Troops O Daughter of Troops c. i. e. O Assyrians come and do your worst with your joint Forces invade us and most severely treat our Prince and People yea by all means destroy extirpate and even annihilate the Church
against Tarsus or Cilicia which it washed Secondly the word is taken more largely for the Sea in general for the African or Mediterranean Sea being the only Noted Sea to the Hebrews they call'd all other Seas and the Ocean it self Tarsis as the Latins call any Sea Pontus though that word be proper only to one particular Sea Thus Tarshish is used in Psal. 48. 7. thou breakest the Ships of Tarshish i. e. of the Sea with an East Winâ— and in Isa. 2. 12 16. The Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon all the Ships of Tarshish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Seventy And in several other Places it hath this large Signification but not in Ion. 1. 3. as is said by many Interpreters for Tarshish here is the City call'd Tarsus a noted Place in Cilicia Though Tarshish be a common Word in Scripture to signify the Sea as hath been said yet here we must take it in the most restrained Sense of all we must understand by it the Town of that Name and from whence the Sea but more particularly the Phoenician and Tyrian Sea had the Denomination of Tarshish The Reason which I give of this Interpretation is this because in that Place of Ionah Tarshish and the Sea are expresly distinguish'd and that not once but often as you may satisfy your selves by perusing ver 3. and the rest that follow in that Chapter where you will see that Hajam the Sea is mentioned nine or ten times in distinction from Tarshish whence I gather that this latter Word is not to be translated the Sea but that it denotes that known City Tarsus of Cilicia To this Place the Timerous Prophet had a mind to flee because it was sufficiently remote and also because there was a safe Harbour to put into There need not then be any Dispute about the word Tarshish for where-ever it is used in Scripture except in this Place last mentioned it signifies either the Sea in general or more especially the Phoenician or African Sea which the Tyrian Merchants were most used to but it hath its Name from Tarsus or Tarsis near to which was the most famous Port of all the East Country from whence they took Ship for Africa and India and the most remote Parts of the World To close up all the Geographical Scruples I will only adjoin this concerning the mentioning of East and West in the Old Testament that these are generally to be understood according to the Situation of Iudea more especially Ierusalem and as the Places spoken of had respect to these but in the Prophecy of Ezekiel it is for the most part otherwise because Ezekiel writ in Babylon and thence it is that East and West are contrary here to what they are in other Prophets This I thought fit to add to prevent Cavils against the Sacred Writ I might in the next place take notice of the different Meanings which arise from the Relation which certain Words in some Texts have to the neighbouring Verses Thus it is said the Poor shall never cease out of the Land Deut. 15. 11. yet it is implied if not expressed ver 4. that there shall be no Poor among them But the Answer is that this 4th Verse refers to the releasing and forgiving their Debtors ver 2 3. They must not by their exacting make their Neighbours poor yea they must do what lies in their power that there may be no Poor but as to the Event there will be Poor and always shall be Their Strength is to sit still saith the Prophet Isa. 30. 7. which their if you refer to the Egyptians who are named in that Verse then the Sense is Their Strength their Aid their Assistance is to no purpose they had as good sit still as help the Jews But if you refer their to the Iews then the Interpretation is this The Jews had best to sit still in their own Land and not to require Aid from Egypt for it shall not prosper This is the true Sense of the Words because their Proper Reference is to the Iewish People which we are sure of because these are the subject Matter of this Part of the Chapter The right fixing of the Relation of the Words especially of the Pronoun their leads us to the true meaning of the Place And this is put out of all Controversy by ver 15. In Râ—â—urning and Rest ye shall be saved in Quietness and Confidence shall be your Strength which is a plain Comment on the former Words and shews that we have pitch'd upon the true Reference I interpret those Words in Heb. 12. 24. The Blood of Sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel by observing what they particularly refer to viz. ver 4. of the foregoing Chapter By it he being dead yet speaketh I conceive that this Speaking is referr'd to by the Apostle in the other Place and so by searching into the true Meaning of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he speaks we shall be able to arrive to the true Sense of the other This Word hath been variously interpreted for Grotius seems to think it is meant that he i. e. Abel speaks in the Book of Genesis which speaks of him But this is very dilute because the Apostle mentions not here what Book speaks of Abel but by what he himself speaks viz. his Faith Others say his Faith and Righteousness speak i. e. call to us to imitate and practise them but this might have been said of any of the other Worthies mentioned in this Chapter and therefore is not peculiar to Abel alone Others take the word in a Passive Sense and expound it he is yet spoken of his eminent Faith and Innocency are to this Day as in several Generations before spoken of celebrated praised remembred with Honour But this as well as the former is common to all the other Holy Patriarchs and Worthy Saints named in this Chapter and therefore this doth not reach that particular and proper Meaning of the Place Much less doth that odd Exposition of Sir N. Knatchbull who reads it thus For it i. e. his Faith he is yet said to be dead for he will have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be inserted after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then the meaning is As Abel suffered at first for his Faith so he is still to this Day said to have died for his Faith But besides the needless inserting of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thereby making very bald Greek he joins in Construction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereas according to the usual way of Trajection which he so often takes notice of in other Places though he overlooks it here it belongs to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so the Words are to run thus By it he though he be dead yet speaks that is because of his Faith and Holiness he yet speaks aloud or cries unto God for Vengeance against his Brother Cain who inhumanly murder'd him for he
of it Anah's Invention of Mules Writers borrow from one another The Bible only is the Book that is beholden to no other Here is the Antientest Learning in the World and that of all Kinds 'T is common with Authors to contradict themselves and one another they are uncertain lubricous and fabuâ—ous But the Divine Writers alone are certain and infallible How strange and improbable soever some of the Contents of this Holy Book may seem to be they justly command our firm Assent to them p. 263 CHAP. VII A particular Distribution of the several Books of the Old Testament Genesis the first of them together with the four following ones being written by Moses his ample Character or Panegyrick is attempted wherein there is a full Account of his Birth Education Flight from Court retired Life his Return to Egypt his conducting of the Israelites thence his immediate Converse with God in the Mount his delivering the Law his Divine Eloquence his Humility and Meekness his Sufferings his Miracles and his particular Fitness to write these Books A Summary of the several Heads contain'd in Genesis to which is added a brief but distinct View of the Six Days Works wherein is explained the Mosaick Draught of the Origine of all things and at the same time the bold Hypotheses of a late Writer designed to confront the First Chapter of the Bible are exposed and refuted The Contents of the Book of Exodus to which is adjoined a short Comment on the Ten Plagues of Egypt A Rehearsal of the remarkable Particulars treated of in Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy That Moses was the Pen-man and Author of the Pentateuch notwithstanding what some have lately objected against it p. 305 CHAP. VIII A short Survey of the Books of Joshua Judges Ruth which is a Supplement to the History of the Iudges Samuel the Kings Chronicles Ezra which is a Continuation of the Chronicles Nehemiah Esther The Author Stile Composure Matter of the Book of Job discuss'd An Enquiry into the Penmen Subjects Kinds Titles Poetick Meter and Rhythm of the Psalms p. 350 CHAP. IX The Book of Proverbs why so call'd The transcendent Excellency of these Divine and Inspired Aphorisms Some Instances of the Different Application of the Similitudes used by this Author The Book of Ecclesiastes why so entituled The Admirable Subject of it succinctly displayed The particular Nature of the Canticle or Mystical Song of Solomon briefly set forth It is evinc'd from very cogent Arguments that Solomon died in the Favour of God and was saved The Books of the Four Great Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah with his Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel are described So are those of the Twelve Lesser Prophets Hosea c. p. 379 CHAP. X. An Account of the Writings of the Four Evangelists the peculiar Time Order Stile Design of their Gospels The Acts of the Apostles shew'd to be an Incomparable History of the Primitive Church The Epistles of St. Paul particularly delineated He is proved to be the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews An Enquiry into the Nature of this Apostle's Stile and manner of Writing The excellent Matter and Design of the Epistles of St. James St. Peter St. John St. Jude An Historical Series or Order is not observ'd in the Book of the Revelation p. 415 CHAP. XI None of the Books of the Holy Scripture are lost Not the Book of the Covenant Nor the Book of the Wars of the Lord Nor the Book of Iasher Nor the Acts of Vzziah An Account of the Book of Samuel the Seer the Book of Nathan the Prophet the Book of Gad the Seer the Book of Iddo the Books of Shemaiah Iehu c. What is to be thought concerning the Books of Solomon mention'd 1 Kings 4. 32 33. Objections drawn from Jam. 4. 5. from Luke 11. 49. from Acts 20. 35. from Jude v. 14. from 1 Cor. 5. 9. from Col. 4. 16. fully satisfied Other Objections from 1 Cor. 7. 6 12 25. 2 Cor. 8. 8. 11. 17. particularly answer'd p. 451 CHAP. XII A short View of the Eastern Translations of the Old Testament especially of the Targums The several Greek Translations more especially that of the LXX Jewish Elders The impartial History of them and their Version Some immoderately extol it others as excessively inveigh against it The true Grounds of the Difference between the Hebrew Text and the Greek Translation of the Septuagint assigned viz. One Hebrew Vowel is put for another One Consonant for another Sometimes both Vowels and Consonants are mistaken The Difference of the Signification of some Hebrew Words is another Cause sometimes the Sense rather than the Word it self is attended to Some Faults are to be attributed to the Transcribers Some because the LXX are Paraphrasts rather than Translators they take the liberty to insert Words and Passages of their own The Greek Version hath been designedly corrupted in several Places Why the Apostles in their Sermons and Writings made use of this Version though it was faulty Sometimes the Sacred Writers keep close to the Hebrew Text and take no notice of the Seventy's Translation of the Words At other times in their Quotations they confine themselves to neither but use a Latitude The Greek Version is to be read with Candour and Caution and must always give way to the Hebrew Original The chief Latin Translations of the Bible especially the Vulgar examined Modern Latin Translations and lastly our own English one consider'd p. 477 CHAP. XIII Our English Translation shew'd to be faulty and defective in some Places of the Old Testament But more largely and fully this is performed in the several Books of the New Testament where abundant Instances are produced of this Defect and particular Emendations are all along offer'd in order to the rendring our Translation more exact and compleat The Date of the Division of the Bible into Chapters and Verses p. 532 CHAP. XIV The Reader is invited to the Study of the Bible as he values the Repute of a Scholar and a Learned Man That he may successfully study this Holy Book he must be furnish'd with Tongues Arts History c. It is necessary that he be very Inquisitive and Diligent in searching into the Mind and Design of the Sacred Writers In examining the Coherence of the Words In Comparing Places together In observing and discovering the peculiar Grace and Elegancy and sometimes the Verbal Allusions and Cadences of the Holy Scripture of which several Instances are given He must also be Morally qualified to read this Book i. e. he ought to banish all Prejudice He must be Modest and Humble He must endeavour to free himself from the Love of all Vice He must with great Earnestness implore the Assistance of the Holy Spirit p. 532 OF THE EXCELLENCY PERFECTION OF THE Holy Scriptures CHAP. I. The different Esteem and Sentiment of Persons concerning the Authors they make choice of to read No Writings can equal the Bible It hath been highly valuâ—d in all Ages by
it should be believed as an Article of the Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation And this is a sufficient and solid Proof of a thing 's not being Necessary to Salvation that it is not contain'd in Scripture This then we assert that these Writings are Plain and Perfect as to all Matters that are Necessary and accordingly are able to put an End to all Controversies which relate to Salvation And if Men will not end them with This Rule they will never do it with any This is the Chief Perfection of Scripture that in it the whole Will of God as to those things that have a necessary Tendency to our Happiness and consequently are the only Necessary Things to be known and done by us is plainly revealed The New Testament particularly is the last Revelation of God's Will and Counsel and nothing is to be added to it or taken from it which makes it a Perfect Standard of Belief and a Compleat Rule of our Lives in which there is nothing short and defective nothing superfluous and redundant Here are all the Principles of True Religion and all the Measures of Holy Living so that whilst we proceed according to this Perfect Canon we are infallibly certain of the Truth of what we believe and of the Rectitude and Lawfulness of what we act On this sole Account the Holy Writ excels all Writings in the World besides 3. We are to adjoin this that as it is a Light to our Vnderstandings and a Rule of our Lives so it is the grand Procurer of our Comfort Ioy and Tranquillity Alas they are Cold Topicks of Consolation which the Writings of the Best Moralists afford us When our outward Distresses and Miseries much more when our inward and spiritual Maladies increase upon us Epictetus and Seneca with all their Spangled Sayings are too mean Physicians to take us in Hand The Great Cicero when in the Close of his Life he was reduced to marvelous Difficulties declared that his Learning and his Books afforded him not any Considerable Arguments of Comfort that the Disease of his Mind which he lay under was too great and too strong to be cured by those Ordinary Medicines which Philosophy administred to him There must be some greater Traumatick some more powerful Application to these Wounds to work a perfect Cure And this Divine Book is able to furnish us with it This alone can remove our Pains and Languors and restore us to an entire Health This faith the Psalmist is my Comfort in my Affliction Thy Word hath quickned me And again Vnless thy Law had been my Delight I should then have perished in my Affliction It was this which upheld and chear'd him in his greatest Straits and yielded him Light and Joy when all things about him look'd black and dismal If but a small part of the Bible had this blessed Effect how powerful and successful will All of it prove if we duly consult it seriously meditate upon it and give it admittance into our Hearts If the Apostle could say Whatsoever things were written asore time in this Book were written for our Learning that we through Patience and Comfort of the scriptures might have Hope how much greater Hope must needs be administred to us in all Conditions of Life but more especially in the Day of Trouble and Calamity when we have the Scriptures not only of the Old but New Testament to repair unto This latter especially will be a never-falling Spring of Contentment and Joy to us In these Books we have a true and perfect Landskip and View of the World Here is unmask'd and laid open the Vanity of it Here we are assured that many of the Gay things which it presents us with and which fond Minds so dote upon are but empty Bubbles deceitful Phantoms and Apparitions mere Conceits and Castles in the Air. Here we are inform'd that a Prosperous State is not really Good that an Overplus of Riches and Worldly Abundance does frequently prove a Clog to vertuous Minds and that Excess of Pleasures is too fulsom and luscious and takes away that purer Relish of spiritual and heavenly Delights yea that Men generally find a worse Effect of them for when they are gorged and clogg'd with them they revolt from God when they are waxen fat they kick against Heaven So their Worldly Plenty is turn'd into the worst of Punishments and this Plethory is their Disease On the other side we are taught in these Writings that Crosses and Afflictions are not evil in themselves yea that they are Good and Medicinal and advance our spiritual Health that they are so far from being a hindrance to our Happiness that they are a part of it for otherwise the Afflicted would not be so often pronounced Blessed That God's Afflicting a Man is Magnifying of him and setting his Heart upon him It shews that God is greatly concern'd for his Good and that the Almighty hath more care of him than he hath of himself Here we are instructed that we have ground to suspect our Condition if we be wholly exempted from the Distresses of this Life and that not to be Chastised is a Mark of Bastardy Here we learn the true use and end of all those Adverse Dispensations which we meet with viz. that they were designed to try us to make us know our selves and to inform us how evil and bitter a thing it is to offend the Divine Majesty to awaken us out of our Sloth and Security to hold us in Action to keep us in Breath and Exercise as Carthage was useful to rouze Rome's Valour to abate our Pride and Haughtiness and make us humble and submissive Creatures to check our immoderate Passions and Pursuits after earthly things to disintangle us from these Snares to free us from these Charms to keep us from being suck'd in and swallowed up in the powerful Circle and Eddy of this World as who knows not that it is True Philosophy that the World is made up of Vortices to cause us to look after Better Things when these are taken from us to reclaim us from our evil Courses and to reduce us unto Vertue and Goodness to excite us to a Renunciation of all Trust and Confidence in our selves and the transitory Enjoyments of this World and to depend upon God alone It is this Book whence we are acquainted that our Sufferings make us conformable to Christ our Master and therefore are Honourable Badges of Christianity That the Curse which usually attends outward Crosses is taken away by our Saviour's Death That the Calamities of the Faithful are Chastisements rather than Punishments That no Adverse Accidents can do us any hurt if we believe in Jesus and abandon our Sins That the Pressures of this Life are serviceable to make us pity those that are in Misery to know and relish the Love of Christ in suffering for us to inhanse the Comforts of a Good Conscience to commend
History both domestieâ— and foreign All that are conversant in this way of Study complain and that justly of the erroneous Misrepresentations of Passages of all sorts among Historians and of our Darkness and Ignorance by reason of these But no such thing is to be fear'd or so much as suspected in the Sacred History because God himself speaks there and therefore we have the surâ—â— ground for our Faith that we can desire There is no Authority so firm as that which is Divine there is no Testimony so strong and valid as that which is from the Holy Spirit And such is that of the Holy Scriptures and consequently it most justly challengeth yea commandeth our Faith and Assent This is the singular Pre-eminence and Advantage which this Book hath above all others that the Penmen of it were directed by the unerring Spirit of God This alone is sufficient to determine and six us it being the most stable as well as the most proper Basis of our Belief even where things that are very Improbable are propounded to us to be assented to Besides as to the seeming Improbability of some things that are related in the Historical Part of the Bible this ought not to hinder us from giving Credit to them Many Persons are wont to look upon these Passages and Stories as Strange and almost Incredible which they observe are not sutable to the Manners Customs Arts and Conversation of the World as it is at present and thence they are enclined to think that there were no such things heretofore But these Men do not well consider nor distinguish between those times and these which are exceedingly Different And moreover if they suspend their Belief of some things which they read in the Old Testament because they see other things now things of a Different Nature they may as well disbelieve all the Other Histories of the Antients that are extant which yet we see they are very backward to do And they have good Reason on their Side because the World is not now as it was then and therefore we must not expect that the things which we read of in those times should be fully conformable and agreeable to what occurs in these latter Days For this Reason a very Solid and Judicious Writer hath defended the Antient History of the Greeks and Latins whereof whatever is strange is in Herodotus and Pliny shewing that though some fabulous Narrations and many gross Mistakes and Errors are intermingled the Strangeness of some Passages which we meet with in them proceeds from the Diversity of Times the Posture of the World having much changed since those things happened Let us make use of the same Reasoning in the present case and when we find several Strange Unusual and Surprizing Matters in the Writings of the Old Testament impute this to the Antientness of them and the great Discrepancy between those Days and these we now live in If we do so there will be no Impediment to our steady Belief of the Truth of them Nay if we weigh things well we shall see it is ridiculous to expect that the Guises and Manners of the World should be the same now that they were 4 or 5000 Years ago for there must needs be new things when the Numbers of Persons are so vastly increased when the Difference of Climes produces such Diversity of Dispositions when Casualty Necessity Industry Wit c. are the Occasions of so many new Occurrences Let this be remembred and seriously thought of and it will dispel our vain Scruples and Disbelief Or if there be any remaining the former Consideration will throughly extirpate them i. e. if we call to mind the Undoubted Certainty and Infallibility of the Scripture which is its peculiar Prerogative and Excellency CHAP. VII A particular Distribution of the several Books of the Old Testament Genesis the first of them together with the four following ones being written by Moses his ample Character or Panegyrick is attompted wherein there is a full Account of his Birth Education Flight from Court retired Life his Return to Egypt his conducting of the Israelites thence his immediate Converse with God in the Mount his delivering the Law his Divine Eloquence his Humility and Meekness his Sufferings his Miracles and his particular Fitness to write these Books A Summary of the several Heads contain'd in Genesis to which is added a brief but distinct View of the Six Days Works wherein is explained the Mosaick Draught of the Origine of all things and at the same time the bold Hypotheses of a late Writer designed to confront the First Chapter of the Bible are exposed and refuted The Contents of the Book of Exodus to which is adjoined a short Comment on the Ten Plagues of Egypt A Rehearsal of the remarkable Particulars treated of in Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy That Moses was the Pen-man and Author of the Pentateuch notwithstanding what some have lately objected against it To demonstrate yet further the Excellency of these Holy Writings I will enter upon the Third way of Proof which I proposed that is I will give you a Particular Account of the several Books contained in the Old and New Testament and I will shew all along the particular Usefulness and Excellency of them I begin first with the Old Testament which is divided by the Jews into three general Parts first Torah the Law which contains the five Books of Moses then Nebiim the Prophets which comprehends the Books of Ioshua Iudges first and second Book of Samuel the first and second of the Kings Isaiah Ieremiah Ezekiel the twelve Small Prophets all which make the second Volume then the Chetubim the Holy Writers in which are included the Psalms Proverbs Iob Canticles Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra Nehemiah Chronicles and these made the third Volume The Books of this last Rank were written say the Jewish Doctors by the Inspiration of the Spirit but the Writers were not admitted into the Degree of Prophets because they had no Vision but their Senses remained perfect and entire all the while only the Holy Spirit stirr'd them up and dictated such and such things to them which they writ down For you must know that the Old Jews thought nothing to be right Prophecy but what was conveyed in Dreams or Visions But though this be a Rabbinical Conceit and hereby they strike David and some others out of the Number of the Prophets who were the Chief of them yet the Partition of the Old Testament as it may be rightly understood is not altogether to be rejected nay it seems to be allowed of by our Saviour himself Luke 24. 44. where he tells his Apostles that all things must be fulfilled which were written concerning him in the whole Old Testament viz. in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms under these last comprising all the other Parts of the Hagiographa Or you may divide the Books as they stand in their order in the
Septuagint and Latin Version and according to them in our English Bibles into these three sorts Historical Doctrinal and Prophetical The Historical Books are Narratives of things done and these are fifteen whereof Genesis is the first and Iob the last Or if you reckon the two Parts of the History of Samuel and the Kings and those likewise of the Chronicles as distinct Books then there are eighteen in all The Doctrinal Books are such as purposely and wholly instruct us in our Devotion and a Holy Life these are four the Psalms the Proverbs Ecclesiastes and Solomon's Song The Prophetick Books are those which consist chiefly in Predictions concerning the Deliverance of the Church the Punishment of its Enemies and the Coming of Christ in the Flesh. These were written either by the Greater Propbets as Isaiah Ieremiah Ezâ—kiel Daniel to which also appertain the Lamentations of Ieremiah or by the Lesser whereof the first is Hosea and Malachi the last Having thus given you a Distribution of the Several Books I come now to a Particular Survey of them the first whereof is Genesis which together with the other Parts of the Pentateuch was written by Moses who being the First Writer that we know of extant in the World and being every ways so Remarkable and Admirable a Person I think my self obliged before I proceed any further to present you with the Character of this Excellent Man that in what we shall deliver concerning this One Penman of Scripture you may guess how large we might be in commendation of the rest But because we cannot have leisure to do so in all the others that follow I will offer here a Specimen of it in this First Inspired Writer whom we have occasion to mention He was born about the Year of the World 2370 in Egypt of Hebrew Parents who presently read in his Face extraordinary Marks of Divinity and therefore were unwilling to discover his Birth to the Egyptians that he might not according to Pharaoh's Order be hurried into Nile and there drowned However in this River they resolve to expose him in an Ark of Bull-rushes and to commit both Him and the Care of this Little Vessel in which he was embarked to the Great Pilot of the World And behold it arrived at a safe Harbour and no meaner a Person than the King's Daughter received the little Passenger into her Embraces and caused him to be brought to Court and bred up as her own Son Here he became Learned in all the Wisdom of the Egyptians in all those Arts and Sciences wherein they used to instruct their Youth which they chiefly designed for the Service of their Country viz. in Arithmetick Geometry Musick Astronomy for these were Sciences that they thought were Natural to Mens Minds and were the first things taught not only by the Egyptians but the rest of the Antients in their Schools Hence it was written in great Letters over the Entry of Plato's School 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 None must be admitted into this Place but such as have been initiated into Geometry such as have had a taste of it at least Therefore this and the forenamed Arts were termed Mathematicks i. e. Learning or Discipline by way of Eminency In all these was this young Courtier brought up and skilled in all Philosophical Accomplishments and the Knowledg of Nature Besides he was more especially instructed in that Abstruse and Recondite Knowledg which the Egyptians were peculiarly Masters of namely their Hieroglyphick Cyphers their Mystical Symbols and Figures whereby they represented the choicest Truths to Mens Minds This way of Symbolical Learning furnish'd them with all kinds of Notions that were serviceable in the Life of Man they were taught hence the best Rules of Morality the profoundest Maxims in Politicks and the most useful Sentiments in Theology This was the Celebrated Wisdom of the Egyptians in which Moses was educated being sent by Pharaoh's Daughter to the best Academies and Schools of Learning and committed to the best Tutors and having moreover the Advantage of his own Excellent Parts and Quick Ingeny for he who was so Eminent as to his Bodily Features and Proportions had without doubt as Fair a Soul But 't is time now for Moses to leave the Court and to add to all his other Accomplishments that of Travelling And truly he was neceslitated to this for the Court could not bear him any longer because He could not bear it he every Day more and more disliked their Manners contemned their Gay Follies laugh'd at their empty Titles and refused to be call'd the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter He was now resolv'd to help and assist his oppressed Brethren though by that Attempt he should lose the Favour of the King and his Royal Patroness and with that all Possibility of being Great yea though he should incur the Danger of being Miserable above the degree of his former Happiness He chose rather to suffer Affliction with the People of God his Hebrew Brethren than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a Season in Pharaoh's Court esteeming the Reproach of or for Christ greater Riches than the Treasures in Egypt In pursuance of this he visited his Brethren the Children of Israel who now groaned under their extreme Bondage and Slavery in that Country he boldly defended them when â—e saw them suffering wrong and avenged the Cause of the Oppressed and smote the Egyptians This made him taken notice of by the Egyptian Lords and Taskmasters who presently went and represented his Carriage to the Court and thereupon he was banished thence for his daring to take the part of any of those Hebrew Bondslaves Then fled Moses into the Land of Midian and was a Shepherd there forty Years just as many as he had been a Courtier This was the sudden Change of his Condition and he made it serviceable to the best Ends. He went out of the World as it were to come into it with the greater Vigour for his Retired Life fitted him for Publick Atchievements afterwards his Contemplative and Solitary way of living prepared him for Action his Low and Mean Estate was the Forerunner of his being call'd to an High one God bestows not on a Man Magnificence unless he first makes Trial of him in some Small thing say the Rabbies and they instance in Moses and David who kept Sheep Kings were antiently stiled Shepherds and sometimes were really such God calls Cyrus his Shepherd Isa. 44. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Epithet of a Prince in Homer which ' Plato explains by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Feeder and Nourisher of the Flock of Mankind The three Hebrew Verbs nahag nahal ragnah signify to lead or feed Sheep and to govern So do the Greek Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is both a Palace Luke 11. 21. John 18. 15. and a Sheepfold John 10. 1. The Word Shebet is both a Scepter and a Pastoral Rod. The Shepherd's Employment saith
his numerous Host the Marvelous Securing and Protecting of the Israelites in the Arabian Desarts the strange Miracles wrought for the sustaining and preserving of them the Promulging of the Law to them on Mount Sinai which consisted of Moral Precepts Civil or Judicial Constitutions and Ceremonial Rites for the celebrating and performing of which latter a Tabernacle was erected as Rich and Stately as their present Condition would permit by the particular Appointment and Direction of God Briefly this Book represents the Church of God afflicted and preserved it shews that he is pleas'd to suffer it to be reduced to the greatest Straits and Calamities and that even then he guards it by his Providence and in good time delivers it But as before when I mention'd the General Contents of the Book of Genesis I particularly insisted on the Creation so now having given a brief Scheme of this second Book I will stay to enlarge upon a particular Subject of it which is very Considerable and Remarkable viz. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as One calls it the Tenfold Plague wherewith God testified his Wrath and Anger against the Egyptians Ten times the Israelites were detained by Pharaoh and so many times God inflicted Remarkable Judgments on him and his People The first was a severe Infliction on their Waters that Element which is so useful and necessary to Man The Divine Displeasure began to exert it self here by turning all their Rivers Ponds Pools and Streams into Blood The dreadful Consequences of which were these as you find them enumerated Exod 7. 21. first they had no Water to drink and quench their Thirst with Secondly their Fish their great and almost only Food died and Thirdly the Rivers stank by reason of the putrified Waters and dead Fish So direful was this Plague on their Waters which they honour'd above all other Elements as the first Cause and Principle of all things in World and especially their River Nile was gloried in and worship'd as a God This the Learned and Religious Philo gives as the Reason of inflicting this Punishment God sent a Curse on that which they most prized and valued That which they excessively admired proved a Plague to them God punish'd them in that which was most regarded by them and was indeed most serviceable to them Again this is to be observed that the Blood of the murder'd Infants who had been drown'd by one of the Pharaoh's Command is here represented by these Bloody Waters Here the merciless Tyrant may see the just Retaliation of that Crime The Rivers being chang'd into this Colour accuse the Egyptians of the inhumane Slaughter of the innocent Babes and let them know that their Plagues deservedly begun with these first of all Yea here we may take notice of an Horrible Omen these Red Rivers were an unhappy but just Presage of the Fate which they should afterwards undergo in the Sea of that Denomination If any Object here How could the Magicians turn the Waters into Blood v. 22. after Moses and Aaâ—on had done so before them I Answer the Universal Terms used in this Relation are to be restrained and understood with some Exception than which nothing is more common in Scripture i. e. when 't is said all the Rivers and other Waters were stained with Blood the meaning is that very few Places were free from this Infection The Magicians then might repeat this Plague in Goshen and some certain Parts of Egypt where it had not taken effect before When this First Plague was removed God sent a Second viz. Frogs Which in part tormented the Egyptians after the same manner that the former did for they were of an extraordinary Nature and so we must suppose all the other Creatures hereafter named to be and infected the Waters which were lately healed and recovered so that there was no drinking of them or making use of them to any other Purpose But whereas the former Plague was only on this Element this present one was every where No Place was exempted from this Croaking Vermin They overspread their Fields they crept into their Houses they lodg'd themselves in their Beds All Places were filled with them all Meats and Drinks bred them Certainly this must needs be a very Affrighting as well as a Noisom Punishment whilst these Animals were moving and living and they were no less so â—fterwards when they lay dead and putrifying all â—ver the Land When this Plague was taken away a Third succeeded in its room an Innumerable Company of Lice which miserably infested both Men and Beasts What these Kinnim were we do not certainly know we have no such Creature perhaps in these Countries But this we know that these Loathsom Insects were such a peculiar Sort of Creatures that the Egyptian Sorcerers had not power to produce the like and therefore they signally call'd them the Finger of God Exod. 8. 19. This also we know that this Crawling Vermin was excessively troublesom painful and tormenting and lastly from this kind of Punishment we know this is to be inferred that God whensoever he pleases can give Commission even to the Least the Vilest and most Despicable Animals to execute his Wrath on Offenders As appears also by the Fourth Plague viz. Swarmâ— of Flies with which he further vex'd the Egyptians Beelzebub was let loose among them and his Buzzing Crew would not suffer them to be at ease The Hebrew Word Gnarob is rendered by Greek Interpreters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Dog-fly but 't is probable that the true genuine Word in the First Traslation was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence the Vulgar Latin renders it omne genus Muscarum a Swarm of all manner of Flies So according to Aquila's Version it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But Iosephus stretches the Word further and interprets it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wild Beasts of all Sorts and Shapes such as no man ever saw before as he adds Yea R. Solomon and some other Jewish Expositors think that all kinds of wild Beasts especially Serpents and Scorpions and such venomous Creatures are meant The Author of the Book of Wisdom understood the Word thus as appears from what he saith Ch. 11. v. 15 16. For the foolish Devices of their Wickedness wherewith being deceived they worshipp'd Serpents and vile Beasts God sent a Multitude of Beasts upon them for Vengeance that they might know that wherewithal a Man sinneth by the same also shall he be punish'd But the exactest Enquirers into the Original Word conclude that it signifies a gather'd Mixture of several Sorts of Insects or little flying Animals such as Beetles Hornets Bees Wasps Gnats and more especially â—lies Perhaps Grotius is in the right that Gnaroâ— is not of Hebrew Extraction but is an Egyptian Word as was that whereby the Frogs were named and signifies peculiarly with them a Heap or Swarm of Flies The vast Number of these was sufficiently troublesome but that was not all these Multitudes of Insects
proceed now to the other Books of Moses in which I shall be briefer Leviticus hath its Name because it treats chiefly of the Offices of the Levites and the whole Levitical Order It gives us an Account of the Iewish Service and Worship of the particular Employments and Charges of the Ministers of the Jewish Church of their several kinds of Sacrifices and Oblations viz. Burnt-Offerings Meat-Offerings Peace-Offerings Sin-Offerings Trespass-Offerings of the Consecration of Aaron and his Sons to the Priesthood of Laws about Clean and Vnclean things and of Difference of Meats Here they are forbid to eat Blood here they are taught how to discern the Leprosy and how to cleanse it Here are Laws concerning Vows and Things and Persons devoted There are also other Ordinances and Injunctions concerning their Solemn Feasts viz. the Sabbath of the seventh Year the Passover the Feasts of First-Fruits of Pentecost of Trumpets of Expiation of Tabernacles and many the like Usages and Rites which were strictly commanded this People on purpose to keep them from the Idolatrous and Superstitious Ceremonies of the Gentiles that were round about them and would be enticing them to imitate their Practice Besides these Rites were design'd by God to be Types and Representatives of things of a far higher Nature even of Christ himself and the great things which appertain to the Gospel There is likewise a great Number of Iudicial Laws as concerning the Year of Jubilee about the Redemption of Lands and Houses against taking of Usury of the Poor as also concerning Servants and Bondmen Here are Laws touching the Degrees of Affinity and Consanguinity and consequently what Marriages are lawful and what unlawful may thence be inferr'd and several other things belonging to the Iews Civil Law Furthermore here are inserted several Moral Instructions and Excellent Precepts of Natural Religion respecting both God and Men. Lastly towards the Close of all there are Blessings and Curses pronounced the former to such as carefully observe these Laws the latter on those that wilfully break them These aâ—e the Admirable Things contain'd in this Book and which have been the acceptable Entertainment of the Inquisitive and Religious of the Wise and Good in all Ages since they have been extant The Book of Numbers hath its Denomination from the Numbring of the Families of Israel as we may collect from ch 1. v. 3 4. where we read that Moses and Aaron had a special Command from God to Muster the Tribes and to take the Number of all that were fit for War and to Order and Marshal the Army when it was once formed For now in their Passage through the Wilderness they were like to meet with many Enemies and therefore 't was convenient to take an Account of their Forces and to put themselves into a Posture ready to engage A great Part of this Book is Historical relating several Remarkable Passages in the Israelites March through the Wilderness as the Sedition of Aaron and Miriam the Rebellion of Corah and his Companions the Murmurings of the whole Body of the People their being plagued with firy Serpents Baalam's Prophesying of the Happiness of Israel instead of Cursing them the Miraculous Budding of Aaron's Rod. Here also are distinctly related their Several Removings from Place to Place their two and forty Stages or Iourneys through the Wilderness and sundry other things which befel them whereby we are instructed and confirmed in some of the weightiest Truths that have immediate Reference to God and his Providence in the World But the greatest Part of the Book is spent in enumerating those Laws and Ordinances whether Ceremonial or Civil which were given by God and were not mention'd before in the preceding Books as some Particulars of the Levites Office and the Number of them the Trial of Iealousy the Rites to be observ'd by the Nazarites the Renewing of the Passover the making of Fringes on the Borders of their Garments the Water of Separation to be used in purifying the Unclean the Law of Inheritance of Vows of the Cities of Refuge of the Cities for the Levites and some other Constitutions either not inserted into the other Books of Moses or not so distinctly and plainly set down Thus this Book both in respect of the Historical Part of it and of the Addition of Laws not spoken of in the foregoing Books hath its peculiar Use and Excellency Deuteronomy which signifies a Second Law is a Repetition of the Laws before delivered It is the Canonick Mishnah or New Rehearsal of the Divine Law Which was necessary because they that heard it before died in the Wilderness and there being now sprung up another Generation of Men the Law was to be promulged to them The major Part of the People that were living at that time had not heard the Decalogue or any other of the Laws openly proclaimed or being young they had neglected or forgot them That is the Reason why Moses in this Book rehearseth them to this new People and withal adds an Explication of them in many Places yea and adjoins some New Laws viz. the taking down of Malefactors from the Tree in the Evening making of Battlements on the Roofs of their Houses the Expiation of an unknown Murder the Punishment to be inflicted on a Rebellious Son the Distinction of the Sexes by Apparel Marrying the Brother's Wife after his Decease also Orders and Injunctions concerning Divorce concerning Man-stealers concerning Vnjust Weights and Measures concerning the Marrying of a captive Woman concerning the Servant that deserts his Master's Service and several other Laws not only Ecclesiastical and Civil but Military There are likewise inserted some New Actions and Passages which happened in the last Year of their Travels in the Wilderness Moreover Moses in this Part of the Pentateuch shews himself a True Father Pastor and Guide to that People a Hearty Lover of them and their Welfare in such manifest Instances as these his often Inculcating upon them the many Obligations which they lay under from God the Innumerable Favours they had received from him his frequent and pathetick Exhortations to Obedience and living answerably to the singular Mercies which were conferr'd upon them his constant Reminding them of their former Miscarriages their Murmurings and Rebellions against Heaven and all their Unworthy Deportment towards their Matchless Benefactor his compassionate Forewarning them of the Judgments of God of the Various Plagues and Punishments which would certainly be the Consequence of their persisting in their Sins Lastly his Affectionate Encouraging them to Obedience from the Consideration of the endearing Promises which God had made to them and which he would assuredly make good if they did not frustrate his Designs of Mercy towards them by their own wilful Obstinacy These are the Excellent Subjects of this Divine Book and which render it so unvaluable a Treasury Hitherto of the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses And that he was the Penman of them I think need not be question'd though
wrote the Book which bears his Name was a Jew Cup-bearer to the King of Persia and return'd into Iudea thirteen Years after Ezra There is another Nehemiah who came with those that returned at first from Babylon Ezra 2. 2. but he whom we now speak of came afterwards by Artaxerxes's Leave in the twentieth Year of his Reign and went back to Persia again twelve Years after Neh. 5. 14. This Writer begins where Ezra left of and continues the History of the Building of Ierusalem and of the Deportment of the Iews in those times from the twentieth Year of Artaxerxes to the Reign of Darius about fifty Years in all As Ezra chiefly related the Restoring of Religion and Erecting the Temple so this Author gives us an Account of the Building of the City and the Reformation of the Religion which had been restored In several Particulars he shews what were the Abuses and Corruptions of the People and how they were redressed even by his own Hand He tells us what Methods he took of regulating both their Ecclesiastical and Civil Affairs in short of Reforming both Church and State which were even then so early corrupted From the whole both here and in the Book of Ezra we are taught many useful Lessons but This above all that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church that they shall never have Power to extinguish this Little Flock Israel is not always a Captive in a strange Land Babylon sends back her Prisoners and Bondmen Her very Enemies by an extraordinary Direction of Heaven promote her Peace and Prosperity For we are informed from this Part of Sacred History that God stirr'd up even the Persian Monarchs to restore his People to Ierusalem and when they were there to help and assist them and to baffle all their Opposers The Book of Esther is a Particular History of what happen'd to the Jews in their Captivity in the Reign of Ahasuerus one of the Kings of Persia whether he was Artaxerxes Longimanus as some think or Artaxerxes Mnemon as most Authors both Antient and Modern say or Artaxerxes Ochus as Serarius holds or Xerxes the fourth Persian Monarch according to Scaliger or Darius the Son of Hystaspes or Cambyses for so various aâ—e the Opinions of Authors I will not here dispute Only we know that the Sacred Writings and the Profane intend the same Person sometimes though they give different Names The Story is this Haman a great Favourite and Minion of the King and advanced to great Honour by him was highly incens'd against Mordecai one of the Captive Jews because he refused to do him Reverence and to Bow to him Whereupon he resolv'd for his sake to compass the Destruction of all the Iews in those Territories and to that end gain'd a Decree from the King to put them all to the Sword But this wicked Design was happily frustrated by means of Esther a Jewish Captive Virgin who for her transcendent Beauty had a little time before been advanced to the Throne and now prevail'd with her Royal Husband to spare the Life of her dear Countrymen In this manner Haman's cursed Conspiracy was defeated he himself advanced to a Gibbet and that of his own preparing the Jews delivered from their Fears and Dangers Mordecai who discover'd this Bloody Design to Queen Esther and who had before that discover'd another Conspiracy viz. against the King which was recorded in the Chronicles and about this time read to him and was in a great measure serviceable by the Divine Providence to bring about this happy Frustration of Haman's Plot this Mordecai I say was preferr'd unto the greatest Honours in the Kingdom and by the by let me suggest that perhaps from his riding the King's Horse and thereby being preferr'd to Kingly Dignity the Story of Darius's being made King of Persia by the Neighing of his Horse had its Rise for as I have often had occasion in another Place to prove the Gentile Historians mistook one Person for another the Hearts and Mouths of all the Jews in the King's Provinces were filled with Joy and an Annual Festival was appointed to be kept in all succeeding Generations in remembrance of this singular and unexpected Deliverance vouchsafed to them This is the Sum of this Short History in which there are many Admirable and Surprizing Circumstances which though they could not be particularly related here commend it to the Reader It is certainly a most Remarkable Instance of God's Singular Providence and Goodness to his Church in discovering and defeating the Contrivances of her malicious and cruel Enemies in delivering her in her greatest Extremities and in bringing Vengeance and Ruine on the Heads of those who plot her Downfal As to the Author of this Book there is no Agreement among Writers though one would be enclined to think that it was Mordecai's by reading ch 9. v. 20. and ch 12. of Apocryphal Esther v. 4. The next Penman of the Old Testament is Iob whose Book might have been placed next to the Pentateuch if it be true as is generally believ'd that he lived about Moses's time Though some are of opinion that he lived a considerable time before the Israelites came out of Egypt and that he was before Moses It was writ by himself say Origen and Suidas but the Rabbins generally pronounce Moses the Author Others make Solomon the Author of this Book discovering as they think his manner of speaking in it The most probable Account is that the Materials of this Book were drawn up first by Ioâ— himself or one or all of his Pious Friends that were concern'd in the things spoken of here and that they coming to Moses's Hands as some of the Jewish Masters tell us or afterwards to Solomon's were made up into Hebrew Verse as we now find it For the greatest Part of the Book is of this Composure and indeed is the first Poetical Book we meet with in the Bible Whence we may infer something concerning the Nature of it viz. that as M. Luther well observ'd Iob and his Friends spake not all the very Words which are set down in this Book for Men do not use to speak in Verse in their Discourse one with another and especially in such a Lofty Stile of Poetry as we read here sometimes But this is true that both their Thoughts and Words were exactly agreeable to what is here written and Things actually and really happen'd as they are here represented only the Whole Argument being clothed in Verse the individual and express Words which they all the time used are not always written down neither indeed could be But we must by no means attend to the Talmudick Doctors who tell us that this Book is not a Relation of Matter of Fact but writ in a Parabolical way to exhibit to the World an Eminent Example of Patience Nor are the Words of the Parisaan Professor to be tolerated who saith the History is true but the
St. Ierom Ambrose Hilary Cyril Let us then forget his Faults when we study his Books wherein it is certain there are no Errata's he being an Interpreter of the Holy Ghost unto us and when he utter'd these things being a Friend and Favourite of God But suppose we knew certainly which we do not and cannot but have sufficient ground for the contrary that he was at last cast off yet I do not see how this doth necessarily invalidate his Writings God might if he pleas'd make use of a Bad Man to pen some Part of the Bible as he thought fit to call Iudas to the Apostleship and to be an Eminent Preacher of the Gospel Therefore though we should grant that Solomon was an Apostate yet this is no direct Argument against the Validity and Authority of his Writings But there being such great Probability not to say Reasons on the other side we need not fly to this Answer but on good ground perswade our selves that Solomon who was once 〈◊〉 with Sacred Wisdom never loâ—t it wholly and consequently that we ought not to be prejudiced against what he hath writ by reason of his gross Fallings and Miscarriages Next we are to speak of the Books of the Prophets Of those who propheâ—â—ed after the Diviâ—ion of the ten Tribes from the other two but before the Captivity of either Isaiah is the first and most eminent He was of the Blood Royal his Father Amoz being Brother to Azariah King of Iudâ—â— He was an old Prophet having been in that Employment under four Kings of Iudah as he tells us himself and all this time which was about threescore Years he faithfully discharged the Part of a True Prophet in an impartial reproving of the Vices and Disorders of the Age he lived in 〈◊〉 a free and open displaying the Judgments of God which were impendent on that Nation yet not forgetting to threaten and denounce Vengeance on those Foreign and Strange People who were instrumental in inâ—â—â—cting these Judgments and who for their crying Enormities deserv'd to be destroy'd viz. Aslyrians Egyptians Ethiopians Moabites Edomites Tyrians Arabians in a most Pathetick Exhortation to Repentance and in setting before them the Promises of Mercy and Dâ—liverance This last especially he is most famous for clearly foretelling the Deliverance of the Jews from their Captivity in Babylon by the Hand of Cyrus King of Persia and this he expresly mention'd an hundred Years before it came to pass But his Predictions concerning the Messias are the most remarkable of all He in plain Terms â—oretels not only the Coming of Christ in the Flesh but all the Great and Memorable Passages which belonged to him He speaks as clearly and distinctly of these as if our Saviour had blessed the World with his Presence at that very time when he wrote his Prophecy He seems to speak saith St. Ierom rather of things past than to come and he may be call'd an Evangelist rather than â— Prophet Which is the Reason without doubt of the so frequent Citations which are made of this Book in the New Testament for you may observe that Christ himself his Evangelists and Apostles have quoted about threescore Places out of it Iâ— reading of this Book then we read the Gospel it self we antedate the New Testament by the Writings of this Evangelical Prophet I have intimated before that he is the most Eloquent of all the Prophets He was the Hebrew Demosthenes as Grotius rightly stiles him the Purity of Hebraism is to be seen in him as in the other that of Atticism He useth many Schemes and Figures but none is more remarkable than that for which that Athenian Orator was so applauded saith Quintilian his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Excellent Art of adding Gravity Force and Vehemence to what he saith he continually Exaggerates and Amplifies the Matter which he undertakes He had above other Prophets an Advantage of improving his Stile by reason of his Noble Descent and conversing with Men of great Parts and Elocution But the maiâ— thing wherein he excels the rest of the Prophets is this that he saith more of our Lord Christ than all of them put together This is his Pecâ—liar Excellency that he makes so early a Discovery of the Advent of our Blessed Lord and of the Great Mysteries of the Gospel Ieremiah was another Antient Prophet he beginning to prophesy in the thirteenth Year of King Iosiah and continuing in that sacred Employment till the last Year of King Zedekiah He saw the Captivity of the Kingdom of Samaria and after that the total Destruction of the Kingdom of Iudah and of the Temple Part of this famous Prophecy yea most of it was after the Captivity of Israel and before that of Iudah from chap. 1. to ch 44. and part of it was in the time of the latter Captivity this Prophet being not carried captive with the other Jews but remaining in Iudea and afterwards carried into Egypt from chap. 44 to the end In the whole are comprized many things of great Worth and Moment for here wefind this Divine Prophet laying open the Sins of the Kingdom of Iudah with an unparallell'd Freedom and Boldness and reminding them of the Severe Judgments which had befallen the ten Tribes for the very same Offences and Miscarriages Here this Weeping Prophet this Iewish Heraclitus most passionately laments the miserable Condition which they were plunging themselves into and withal directs them how to prevent it namely by a speedy reforming of their Lives But at last he more peremptorily proclaims God's Wrath and Vengeance against them foreseeing and foretelling the Grievous Calamities which were approaching particularly the Seventy Years Captivity in Chaldaea which began as some think with the carrying away of those of Iudah He also disswades them from breaking Faith with the Chaldeans after they were conquered by them and sheweth how unsuccessful thâ—y should be in their revolting from them to the Egyptians But even then he foretels their happy Return and Deliverance and likewise the Just Recompence which Babylon Moab the Philistines and other Enemies of the Church should meet with in due time Here are also several Intimations concerning Christ the Blessed Messias and Redeemer and concerning his Kingdom and Government in the times of the Gospel Here are many Remarkable Visions and Types wherein are represented things of the highest Nature And lastly here are sundry Historical Passages of considerable Moment which relate to those times So that the whole Book is of Inestimable Worth and such as is not to be found any where but in the Sacred Volume His Lamentations which are in Hebrew Verse and are so contrived that in the four first Chapters every Verse excepting one begins with a Hebrew Letter in the Alphabetick Order were written on the Death of that Religious Prince Iosiah which appears from what is recorded in a Chron. 35. 25. Jeremiah lamented for Josiah and all the singing Men and
the singing Women spake of Josiah in their Lamentations to this Day and made 〈◊〉 Ordinance in Israel and behold they are written iâ— the Lamentations even those which this Prophet composed Which is also confirmed by the Jewish Historian who voucheth this Poem to be a Fuâ—â—ral Elegy on that Pious King To which St. Ierom adds that this Prophet laments the Loss of Iosias as the beginning of those Galamities which afterwards ensued and accordingly he proceeds to â—ewail the Miserable State of the Iews and particularly the Destruction of Ierusalem which was not then come to pass but is prophetically foretold it being not unusual with the Prophets to speak of things to come as if they were already past Unless we should say as some have that part of this Mournful Song was endited after the taking and sacking of Ierusalem and the carrying the People Captive and is a Passionate Bewailing of the Destruction of the Temple and the Horrid Consequences of it In which also the Holy Man humbly confesseth the Sins of the People and acknowledgeth the Divine Justice in all that beâ—el them to which he adjoineth a Serious Exhortation to Repentance and comforts them with Hopes of a Restoration So that the whole is an Exact Pattern of Devotion in times of Great and National Calamities and Publick Sufferings and instructs us how to demean our selves in such deplorable Circumstances Ezekiel was carried captive into Babylon with those that went thither in the second Captivity which was in the 8th Year of Nebuchadnezzar Reign about ten Years before the time of the last Captivity He prophesied here at the same time that Ieremiah did in Iudaea and afterwards in Egypt Many of the same things he foretold more especially the Destruction of the Temple and the fatal Issue of those that revolted from Babylon to Egypt and at last the Happy Return of the Jewâ— into their own Land He distinctly foretels the Plagues which should certainly be inâ—â—icted on Other Nations who were profes'd Enemies of the Church as the Edomites Moabites Ammonites Egyptians Tyrians and lastly the Assyrians and Babylonians In figurative and mystical Expressions he predicts the Messias and the flourishing Estate of his Kingdom i. e. the Christian Church Because the Prophet begins with Visions and Types and ends with the Measuring of the Mystical Temple therefore by reason of these Abstrusities and Mysteries the Beginning and End of this Book were forbid to be read by the Jews before they came to thirty Years of Age. But the greatest â—art of this Prophecy is plain and easily intelligible it having reference chiefly to the Manners of that degenerate Age wherein the Prophet observes and severely animadverts upon the General Corruption which had invaded them in those Days and which merited the severest Judgments that Heaven could send down upon them He exâ—ibits a Particular Catalogue of the Notorious Enormâ—ties which their Kings their Priests their Prophets their People were infamous for he labours to bring them to a Sense of these scandalous Practices and to make them heartily Relent for them â—inally like a Trne Watchman as he is stiled he â—â—â—â—hfully warneth them of their Imminent Danger and admonisheth them to prevent it if possible by abandoning their Evil Ways This is the Inspired Man that penn'd this Book and this is the â—ook which contains so many worthy and excellent â—â—ings in it Another of the Four Great Prophâ—ts is Daniel who was of the Progeny of the Kings of Iudah 〈◊〉 was contemporary with Ezekiol and was a Capâ—â—â—e in Babylon at the same time that he was There he prophesied and there he wrote and â—his Book is the Result of both the six first Chapâ—â—â—s of which are an History of the Kings of Babyâ—â—â— and of what beâ—el some of the Captive Jews under them Here we have Nebuchadnezzar's Râ—markable Dreams interpreted we have a Relatioâ— of the singular Courage of the three Hebrew Yoâ—â—â— Men that refused to fall down to his Image with the miraculous Deliverance of them out of the Flames Here is unfolded Belshazzar's Fatal Dooâ— contain'd in the Mystical Hand-writing on the Wall with his Death that soon follow'd upon it and the Succession of Darius to the Throne and the Translation of the Monarchy to the Medes It was under this Prince that our Noble Prophet was advanced to his greatest Height of Honour 〈◊〉 whereas he had been a great Courtier and Favosrrite in Nebuchadnezzar's time and in the close of Belshazzar's Reign was made the Third Ruler in the Kingdom now he is made the First being set 〈◊〉 all the Presidents and Princes of the Realm This made him envied and hated but he was hated and persecuted much more for his Religion by the Great Men of the Kingdom and even by a Decree of the King 's own signing committed to the Den of Lions there to be devoured of them But the Hand of Omnipotence immediately interposed and he came out thence safe and his Adversaries and Accusers were sent thither in his room who fared not after the same rate that he did After this he lived in great Esteem Honour and Prosperity not only in this King's Reign but under Cyrus 〈◊〉 Monarch of the Persian Race But as our Authoâ— in the former Part of this Book relates things pasâ— as an Historian so in the six last Chapters he is alâ— together Prophetical foretelling what shall befal thâ— Church in general and particularly the Iews yeâ—â— his Visions and Prophecies reach to future Eventâ— wherein even those that are out of the Church arâ— concerned What can be more valuable than hâ—â— Dream or Vision of the Four Secular Monarchies of the World and of the Fifth which was to be Spiritual viz. that of the Messias What is more famous and celebrated than his Discovery by the Angel Gabriel's Information of the Seventy Weeks viz. of Years i. e. 490 Years upon the expiring of which the Messias's Kingdom was to be set up What plain and signal Prophecies doth this Book afford concerning that Renowned Conqueror Alexander the Great and his subduing the Persian Empire as also concerning the Fierce Wars among his Great Captains and Commanders who succeeded him particularly how clearly and plainly are the Actions of Antiochus the Great and Antiochus Epiphanes his Son described by our Prophet long before these Persons were in being And many other Notable Occurrences relating to the most publick and famed Transactions on the Stage of the World are prophetically fore-signified and revealed by this Divine Seer insomuch that we may justly stile this Book the Apocalypse of the Old Testament to which that Other of the New so often refers and even borrows many things of great Moment Lastly we may particularly note concerning this Book that a great Part of it is written in the Chaldean Tongue viz. from the fourth Verse of the Second Chapter to the End of the Seventh the Reason of â—hich may be this because Daniel was now by his â—â—ng Abode
wonderful Efficacy of the Holy Spirit in those Days the Rejection of the Unbelieving Jews the utter Destruction of their City Temple and whole Nation by the Romans for their rejecting and crucifying the Messias and other particular things belonging to the times of the Gospel which none of the Lesser Prophets speak of but this Malachi is the last of these Prophets yea of all the Prophets of that Dispensation After him ceased Vision and Prophecy in Israel until Christ's appearing when Zachary Simeon Mary Elizabeth Anna were illuminated with the Prophetick Spirit He prophesied about 300 Years before our Saviour's time reproving the Jews for their Ungrateful and Wicked Living after their Return from Babylon particularly he chargeth them with Rebellion Sacrilege Adultery Profaneness Infidelity but especially he reprehends the Priests for being Careless and Scandalous in their Ministry which one thing was sufficient to give Authority to others to be Vicious At the same time he forgets not to take notice of and incourage the Pious Remnâ—nt in that corrupted Age who feared the Lord and thought upon his Name whose Godly Converse and Associating with one another in that debauched time he assures them were registred in a Book of Remembrance by God himself This Prophet who had pointed before at the Messias to be exhibited for he expresly â—aith He shall suddenly come to his Temple now shuts up his Prophecy and indeed all the Prophecies of the Old Testament with an Exhortation to remember the Law i. e. to live according to its holy Rules and Injunctions and with a Promise of the Coming of the Lord who was to be usher'd in by Elijah the Prophet i. e. by Iohn the Baptist who came in the Spirit and Power of Elias Luke 1. 17. And so this Close of the Old Testament refers to the New to which I now hasten CHAP. X. An Account of the Writings of the Four Evangelists the peculiar Time Order Stile Design of their Gospels The Act of the Apostles shew'd to be an Incomparable History of the Primitive Church The Epistles of St. Paul particularly delineated He is proved to be the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews An Enquiry into the Nature of this Apostle's Stile and manner of Writing The excellent Matter and Design of the Epistles of St. James St. Peter St. John St. Jude An Historical Series or Order is not observ'd in the Book of the Revelation NEXT follow the Sacred Books of the New Testament the Evangelical Novels the New Laws of Christianity the True Authenticks which present us with the actual Discoveries of the Glorious Light of the Gospel and of the Blessed Author of it These were writ in Greek for the same Reason that Ioseph the Jew chose to write his Books not in his own Language but in this because as he saith himself in his Preface to the Iewish War he would have them read and understood by Greeks and Romans and all Persons So Aelian was a Roman yet writ his Books of Animals and Various History c. in Greek because this was the Universal Language at that time These Writings of the New Testament are either Histories or Epistles The Histories are the Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles As for the former the Writings of the Four Evangelists there were none of them extant whilest Christ was on Earth for till his being taken up to Heaven which was the Consummation of all he had before done and suffer'd they could not make the Evangelical History perfect But afterwards some of the Apostles and Disciples resolving according to their Master's Order to go and preach in foreign Regions and to disperse the Christian Religion over all the World put forth the History of the Gospel in Writing before they went about this great Work St. Matthew was the first Inspired Person that committed the Evangelical Transactions to Writing which he did about eight Years after Christ's Passion A. D. 42. He alone of all the Evangelists say St. Ierom Eusebius St. Augustine Chrysostom and most of the Antient Writers of the Church wrote his Gospel first in Hebrew which partly appears from this that some of the Hebrew Words are explained by the Person who translated it into Greek who it is probable was St. Matthew himself as the Antients generally agree and so the Hebrew and Greek Copies are both of them the Originals Then St. Mark and St. Luke writ their Gospels the one about ten tho others say twenty the other about twenty some say thirty Years after our Saviour's Death and there are some that invert the Order and give the Priority to St. Luke But all agree that St. Iohn was the last of the Evangelists and wrote towards the latter end of the first Century But as for the Punctual Time when the Evangelists put forth the Gospels it is doubtful and I do not find any certain ground whereoâ— we may â—ix a satisfactory resolution of the Doubtâ—punc This may be observ'd that St. Matthew and St. Iohn were Eye-witnesses of what they wrote 〈◊〉 St. Mark and St. Luke had what they wrote from the relation of others Particularly St. Mark who was St. Peter's Companion composed his Gospel by his Order and Direction and with his especial Approbation saith Eusebius Again it is to be observ'd that tho every Evangelist relates nothing but the Truth yet no one of them relates the Whole Truth concerning Christ's Life and Actions Tho the Substance of the Gospel be contain'd in every one of these Writers yet some Particulars are found in one that do not occur in another which makes it necessary to consult them all and to compare them together As for St. Matthew and St. Mark we may take notice that they do not always observe the Order of Time and the true Sâ—ries of the Matter especially the former of these is not curious in this particular But as for thâ— other two Evangelists they are very punctual and inviolably observe the Order of things as they happen'd excepting only that Parenthesis for such it is in Luke 3. 19 20. concerning Herod Of all the Evangelists St. Luke is the fullest and gives the compleatest mosâ— circumstantial and orderly Relation of things which he himself takes notice of in his Preface to his Gospel in those Words to Theophilus It seâ—med good to me having had perfect Vnderstanding of all things from the very first to write unto thee in order And yet though his Gospel be ample and more methodical in the Narrative or History than the rest yet he is but brief in relating things that our Saviour did till the last Year of his Preaching St. Matthew having been full in them and in some other things he hath need of a supply from the rest of the Evangelists and more especially from St. Iohn whose Gospel from the Beginning of the 14th Chapter to the End of the 17th contains those Excellent Discourses of our Saviour before his Passion which were wholly
not always observ'd here things are not related constantly in a certain continued Method and Series nor are we to understand or take them as written so A great and prevailing Mistake it hath been to think that the Course and Order of Time are duly and all along observ'd in these Writings Whereas to a considerate Person it will appear that there is no such thing and that the Chapters are not writ and disposed in any Method This because it may be look'd upon and censured as a New Notion I will make good thus the Day of Iudgment is represented and described three or four times in these Visions and Revelations as first at the opening of the Sixth Seal ch 6. v. 12 to the end where the Description of the Last Day agrees exactly with others in the New Testament especially that of our Saviour in Mat. 24. and therefore to allegorize it where there is no Occasion for it is unreasonable If it be said that the Disorder of the Sun Moon and Stars which is here spoken of signifies sometimes temporal Judgments as the Destruction of Babylon Isa. 13. 10. and of Egypt Ezek. 32. 7. I answer that though it doth so yet these Remarkable Judgments and Devastations were Figures and Representations of the Last and Terrible one and were so design'd by Heaven and therefore this may well be set forth to us by the Holy Ghost in this manner nay the darkning of the Sun and Moon and the like Expressions are but Metaphorical in those former Instances but here are Proper Natural and Real and therefore ought so to be understood in this Place Again St. Iohn hath another Revelation of this Great Day in the End of the 11th Chapter from ver 15 to the Close of the Chapter but especially those plain Words in ver 18. Thy Wrath is come and the time of the Dead that they should be judged place it beyond all doubt that the Final Iudgment of the last Day is here meant Again the Seventh Vial mention'd Rev. 16. 17. which contains the Last Plague is no other than the Indignation and Punishment of That Day as appears from the Prodigies which accompany it and particularly from what is said ver 20. Every Island fled away and the Mountains were not found which expresses the terrible Dissolution of the World at that time Besides that it is observable in the Conclusion of the preceding Vial which made way for this last that Christ saith I come as a Thief v. 15. which manner of Expression is particularly applied and made use of when the Day of Iudgment is spoken of Mat. 24. 43. 1 Thess. 5. 2 4 2 Pet. 3. 10. And lastly in the 20th Chapter from the 11th Verse to the end there is another Vision of this Last and General Appearance of the World as is universally acknowledg'd by Interpreters and therefore we need not stand to clear it Now from all this it is evident that there is not observed in the Visions of this Book an Historical Order or Course of Time for if there were the General Day of Doom which is the last thing of all could not be represented here three or four times This must have come in the shutting up of all when all other things were past whereas now we see it is represented in the Beginning in the Middle and in the End of these Revelations Which if it be well attended to is one admirable Key to open the Secrets of this Book for hence we understand that this Prophecy is not what it hath been thought to be one Entire Historical Narration of what shall be and that first one thing is foretold and then what follows that in time is next set down and so on in order No the Day of Judgement being thrice at least inserted shews that the Visions of this Book end and then begin again and then have a Period and commence again and after that the same or the like Scene is opened and things of the same Nature are repeated Which is a most evident Argument that this Book consists of Three or Four Grand Prophecies or Prophetick Representations of the Condition of Christ's Church from the time when this was â—â—nned to the Consummation of all things Here are represented by different Types Prophetick Symbols and Visions the most remarkable things which happen on the Stage of the World and theâ— are these three the Troubles and Persecutions which â—befal the Servants of the most High the â—â—liverâ—â—de of them out of those Trials and God's 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—shing of their Enemies These you will 〈◊〉 set forth and illustrated by diverse Schemes and Apparitions by different and reiterated Reâ—â—esentations And the Reason why things tho the same are diversly represented i. e. in diffeâ—â—nt Visions over and over again and why they are express'd in different Terms and Words the â—â—â—son I say why they are so often repeated is â—â—â—use they so often come to pass in the several Ages of the World by the wise Disposal of Proviâ—â—noâ— These Prophecies have been and they â—â—all be yet fulfilled for the State of the Church as to the Cruelty of its Enemies and Persecutors and the Wonderful Deliverance from them and Avenging their Cause upon their Heads is the same in different Ages until the time when Babyâ—â—â— shall fall and never rise again To use the Words of a most Eminent and Learned Bishop of our own One may easily see saith he that Rome is here intended and not Pagan but Christian Rome which is degenerated into an Idolatrous and Tyrannical State It is easy to see in the Book of the Revelation that the Roman Church is doomed in due time to Destruction You see then how Useful this Book is you may be convinc'd of the Truth of what is said in the Beginning of it Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the Words of this Propheoy ch 1. v. 3. Thâ— we cannot so clearly descny the Particular and 〈◊〉 dividual Things times and Personâ— contain'd in tâ—â— tho this last Book of the Holy Scripture be in this Respect the Obscurest of them all tho in some Places there be as many Mysteries as Words yet thus far it is properly Revelation that herein the State of the Christian Church and the Particular Methods of God's Providence towards it in all times are plainly revealed and discovered to us plainly I say because they are so often repeated that it is impossible to mistake them As Pharaâ—â—'s Dream was doubled to shew the Certainty of the things represented Gen. 41. 32. so these Prophecies and Visions are doubled and tribbled yea more than so to assure us of the Certain Truth and Reality of these Events to confirm us in this Perswasion that tho the Church of Christ here on Earth be often troubled and persecuted yet she hath her times of Restoration and Reviving and there is a time of Vengeance and Recompence to her Enemies even in this World but more especially at the
of all the Latin Editions was the most generally received and used and was really the Antientest of all the Latin Translations But this was but a Translation of a Translation viz. that of the 70 and must have undergone the same Censure with the Greek Version of which I spoke before if it had been now extant But it is not it is wholly lost only the Psalms remain and as much as is found quoted here and there in the Fathers and Antient Writers 2. St. Ierom's Version for this Learned Father observing the Errors in the several Latin Versions the Italian especially which were in his time did as I said before translate both the Old and New Testament himself the first he wholly did by a New Translation out of the Hebrew Original the second was rather a Correction and Emendation of the Old Latin or Italian Version than a New One. The Psalms because they were daily sung in the Churches and could not without offence to the People be changed remained the same that they were in the Old Version There is no occasion to add any Censure of Ours here concerning this Translation because it agrees with the Original Hebrew Only we will observe that when St. Ierom had finished it it was not presently received by the Latin Church but many Bishops refused it and St. Augustin particularly forbad it to be read in his Diocess so greatly did they esteem the Greek Version of the LXX Many that were ignorant in the Hebrew Tongue spoke against this Translation as a meer Innovation and fell heavily upon the Author of it But he with great earnestness defended his Work and sometimes repaid the Invectives of his Adversaries with too much Bitterness Though some Bishops and others disliked his Translation yet it was authorized and approved of by Damasus the then Bishop of Rome by whose Command it was first undertaken and a great Number of other understanding Persons who saw its conformity to the Hebrew Text and perceived it was void of those Mistakes which the other Latin Translations abounded with whilst this Division Iasted both the Translations were publickly read i. e. they read some Books of the Bible in Ierom's Version and others in the Italian and this lasted till the time of Gregory the Great At length another Translation prevail'd viz. 3. The Vulgar which we now have which is made up of both the former and is call'd by the Romanists Vetus Vulgata This by degrees got the better of all the others in the Roman Church and was generally used by them and is still Authentick there and is the Vulgar Latin which they now so commend yea which some of the Church of Rome hold to be of Divine Inspiration and consequently free from all Faults either in Words or Matter and there are others of them as Genebrard and Mariana who extravagantly extol it and they would perswade us that both the Italian and St. Ierom's Version and comprised in this one But it is evident that this is not the Old Italian Translation which was used before Ierom and Augustin's Time for that was made out of the Greek Version of the 70 Interpreters whereas this differs from it in many Places Nor is this Vulgar Latin of the Church of Rome St. Ierom's Version because that was exactly according to the Hebrew Text but this though it comes nearer to the Hebrew than to the 70 Interpreters yet it often varies from the Hebrew and adds many things to it as in the Book of Kings especially and in other Places So that this Modern Vulgar Edition is not the Pure Version of Ierom but mixt of his Translation and of the old one which was in the Latin Church before his Time And this is the Opinion even of those Great Romanists Baronius and Bellarmine We know then what censure to give of this Latin Edition of the Bible it is for the greatest Part of it very Antient and hath been used many Ages in the Church and is justly reckon'd to be a very Learned Translation for which reason Fagius who was well skill'd in the Hebrew Tongue and Drusius whom all acknowledg to be a Learned Critick had a great Reverence for this Edition and give a very high Character of it and Beza and Grotius prefer it before all other Latin Translations Yet this is certain it hath many things faulty in it it leaves the Hebrew very often and follows the Septuagint or the Chaldee Paraphrase or even some Rabbin Luoas Brugensis took notice of above six hundred Faults in it and Isidore Clarius a Spanish Abbot and afterwards of the Council of Trent observed eight thousand Errata's in it Besides that it hath many Barbarous Words the Sense in many Places is corrupted and sometimes quite lost Sometimes it runs directly contrary to the Original Text as in Gen. 8. 7. non revertebatur instead of revertebatir And in 1 Cor. 15. 51. Omnes quidem resurgemus sed non omnes immutabimur whereas according to the Greek it should have been Non omnes dormiemus sed omnes mutabimur And several Instances might be produced of the like Nature So far is the Vulgar Latin from being absolutely Authentick as the Council of Trent determined it to be even before that Edition was mended But see how that Council baffles it self it defines the Vulgar Latin to be the Authentick and then orders it to be Corrected and printed again Accordingly the Popes set about the mending of it first Sixtus the Fifth put forth a mended Copy and tied all Persons to that when he was dead Gregory the Fourteenth set about the correcting of that Edition and afterwards Clement the Eighth amended Pope Gregory's in many Places This was done after the Council of Trent had declared the Vulgar Latin to be the Authâ—ntick Copy Which with what we have suggested before is a clear Proof that it deserves not that Epithet but that there were and are still in it many Corruptions In vain therefore doth the Church of Rome prefer this Vulgar Latin Edition of the Bible before the Hebrew and Greek Originals unreasonably do the Doctors of that Church complain of the Defects and Errors of these yea maliciously do they urge the Disagreement between these especially the Hebrew and the Vulgar Latin and thereby endeavour to accuse the Sacred Scriptures of Imperfection The Sum is notwithstanding what the Romanists and some others that are their Abettors endeavour to impose upon the World the latter i. e. the Vulgar Latin is ever to be corrected by the former viz. the Hebrewd and not this by that Besides these 3 Old Latin Versions there are others that may justly be called Modern for soon after the Year of our Lord 1500 there arose several Learned Men well skill'd in the Tongues who seeing the Corruptions that were in the Latin Versions and comparing these with the Originals endeavoured to correct them by those Fountains Hence after the Attempts of Ximenius Archbishop of Toledo in hiâ—
that so this Sacred Volume may be presented to the Readers in its Vtmost Perfection There is a great Number of Places both in the Old and New Testament which ought to be otherwise rendred but I will chiefly confine my self to the New Testament at present It is true the Margin of our Bibles doth give us another Sense or Version of the Words in many Places but those I shall pass by because they are already before the Reader 's Eye I shall take notice of those Words only which are not otherwise translated in the Margin Many Corrections of the English Translation are attempted by that Excellent Knight Sir Norton Knatchbull in his Annotations on the New Testament but I have not inserted any of them here because I design to mention those only which are of my own Observation and which at several Readings of the Bible have occurred to me I will instance in those Mistakes and Faults alone which are â—ot that I know of found out and observed â—y any other Persons Nor am I in this Attempt endeavouring so much to discover a False Version as â—o render the present one which is Good and Excellent bâ—tter by laying aside some unfit Words and Modes of Speech and by substiâ—â—â—â—ng others in their room and by changing the â—rame and Disposition of some particular Periods Those few Places of the Old Testamant which I offer to be amended are these Gen. 27. 38. Hast â—â—ou but one Blessing where there is a Word left out viz. that distinctive Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that according to the Hebrew it should be rendred thus hast thou but that one Blessing The Omission of that is a Fault in Our Translation as well as in some others In 2 Kings 5. 18. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is thrâ—â—e used which signifies to bow but we translate it to worship in one of the Places which I reckon as faulty because the same Words ought to be translated alike Iâ— Psal. 14. 2. the true Version is the Sons of Adam In Psal. 104. 25. the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be rendred Swimming for that is the Denotation of the Word when 't is applied to Fishes In the Old English Translation of the Book of Psalms which is used in our Divine Service there are many things that require Correction but because it may be our Church retains it for the same Reason that when St. Ierom translated the Bible into Latin he did not alter the former Version of the Psalms but left it entire as it was because these were sung in the Publick Assemblies and People generally had them by Heart wherefore he was loth to discompose so settled a piece of Devotion for this Reason I will say nothing here towards the Amendment of this Translation In Isa. 1. 13. we read of vain Oblations the new Moons and Sabbaths but in the Hebrew these are in the singular Number and therefore should be so translated Particularly as to the wordâ— Chodesh the new Moon it will not be distinguish'd from Chodashim new Moons which you find in the next Verse unless you observe the Distinction between the singular and plural Isa. 2. 10. is translated thus Hide thee in the Dust for fear of the Lord but not rightly for the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be rendred either in these Words from the Face of the terrible Lord or these from or because of the Presence of the Lord of Terror or thus from the Presence of the Terror of the Lord and so it must be translated in ver 19. where the Words recur again It may be some may look upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as an Expletive here because it is so in many Places but we know that in many other Places it is not and seeing that Word here may bear a Positive Signification there is Reason we should take it so It is my Perswasion that the applying of the word Fury to God in Lev. 26. 28. Iob 20. 23. Dan. 9. 16. Mic. 5. 15. Zech. 8. 2. and above forty times in Isaiah Ieremiah and Ezekiel is very blameable for the Hebrew Words Aph Charon Chemah Chamath have no such ill Import they only signify the Heat or Height of Anger and are rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Seventy But Fury is something of another Nature and denotes Excess and Exorbitancy of Wrath and even Madness it self Therefore I apprehend our Translators have done ill though I question not their innocent Meaning in attributing such a Passion to God Wherefore instead of Fury let great Anger or great Wrath be used in the Translation Again iâ— I would be Curious I could blame our Translators for using the word Benjamite or Benjamites Iudg. 3. 15. and in half a score Places more instead of Benjaminite or Benjaminites for as I have hinted before the Word being used to signify the Children of Benjamin or the Sons of Iemini as 't is in the Hebrew in some Places it must needs have those two Letters more inserted into it otherwise you cannot derive it from those Words wherefore it must needs be Benjaminites not Benjamites as our English Translators have curtail'd it As to the Words Tyre and Tyrus the former of which is to be found in Isaiah and Ioel and the latter in Ieremiah Ezekiel and other Prophets I conceive it were better to use one of these only for why should not the Name of the same Place be express'd and written the same Let it then be Tyre or Tyrus but not both Here also I might take notice of some Unfit and Obsolete Words the changing of which for others that are more in use would render the English Version much better Thus fet 1 Kings 9. 28. or ever Eccles. 12. 6. Dan. 6. 24. chaws Ezek. 29. 4. 38. 4. grins Psal. 140. 5. 141. 9. taches Exod. 26. 6. aliant Job 19. 15. Psal. 69. 8. might be chang'd into fetch'd before Iaws Gins or Traps or Snares Tacks or Clasps alien especially this last being the Word which is used in other Places both in the Old and New Testament Instead of the word after in several Places it were better to use according to Who should be put in the Place of which when there is reference to a Person not a Thing otherwise there is a Confusion and Misunderstanding in many Texts unless we have Recourse to the Original But they are the Defects in our English Translation of the New Testament which I principally designeâ— to insist upon therefore those I hâ—sten to which are as follow In Mat. 3. 7. and so in ch 23. v. 33. our Translators render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Generation but it should be in the Plural This Fault is amended in Luke 3. 7. in the marginal Reading where there is added Broods and in Mat. 12. 34. in some English Bibles it is translated Generations it should be so in this Place and where-ever else the Word is mentioned for if we will
before it It is not sit that the same Word should have two diverse Readings in the same Verse In v. 6 8 9. let living Creatures be taken out of the Margin and be set in the Text it self in the Place of Beasts which is not a sit Word for those that are represented by that Vision especially when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word here is the word which is rightly translated the Beast in this Book In ch 11. v. 17. those Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are not rightly rendred which art and wast and art to come but thus who is and was and is to come In ch 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in v. 13. is translated Wonders in the 14th Miracles which ought to be corrected for the Reason so often given viz. because the same Greek Word should be rendred by the same English one if there be no apparent Cause for the contrary In ch 14. v. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be rendred with them their Works follow with them In ch 16. v. 12. the way of the Kings who are from the Risings of the Sun is the true and literal Version of the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but in our present English Translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is absorp'd These are the several Places which I conceive ought to be altered and translated more exactly I say not this to impair or derogate from the Credit and Honour of our English Translation much less to condemn the Present Edition or to expose the Scriptures themselves but my Design is to represent them in their native Excellency and Purity and to contribute by this Critical Essay towards so worthy an End For it is certain that nothing can more commend the Holy Writ than an Exact Translation i. e. such a one as faithfully represents to us the Express Text of Scripture Wherefore I humbly offer the forementioned Places to the Consideration of the Learned and Judicious and leave the whole or part to be approved or rejected as they shall think fit Perhaps when our Church-Affairs are settled this will not seem unworthy of the Thoughts of a Convocation who I question not will see that the Revising and Correcting of our English Translation of the Bible in all or in most of those Places and in several others which I have not here propounded is very requisite It is my judgment that as out of the Vulgar Latin and the Modern Latin Versions one entire one might be made in that Language that should be generally used in Quotations among the Orthodox Learned so a New English Translation might be composed out of this Last Edition as to the main but with such New Alterations and Amendments as should render the Stile and Sense in many Places more accurate and should make it acceptable to the most Curious English Readers And here I advise that the Marginal Notes of the Present English Bible be often consulted because the best and most genuine Translations of Words are frequently put there But in the foregoing Animadversions I have taken no notice of those different Significations of Words which are placed there I have only offer'd those that have not hitherto been observed In the last Place I might add something concerning the Division of the Bible into Chapters and Verses It is not to be doubted that Moses the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles writ their Books without any such Partition and this was the way of all other Writers of old But it appears that the Books of the Prophets were divided afterwards into Parashes before our Saviour's Time and this distribution of them is often mention'd in the Talmuds This was done by the Jews for the more methodical reading of them in the Synagogues Some of the Greek Fathers take notice of this Distribution and consequently it was made before their Time for they mention the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Old Testament which signify the same thing and Ierom speaks of a Pericope of Ieremiah Yea if I mistake not this sort of Sections or Parashes is mention'd in Acts 8. 32. and is call'd there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Books of the Evanglists and Apostles were afterwards divided into certain Sections by some of the Primitive Bishops and Pastors for the more convenient reading of them herein imitating the Iews who had done the same in the Old Testament These are call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Eastern Fathers and Lectiones by the Latin Ones They were the same that we call Chapters Verses were also antient but not the same that are at present nor were all the Books so divided St. Ierom tells us he distributed the Books of the Chronicles and that of Ezekiel into Verses And some of thâ— Books of the New Testament were thus divided particularly the Epistle to the Galatians was parted into these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Origen as Ierom informs us But it is certain that all these Partitions whether into Chapters or Verses wâ—re very much different from what we have at this Day To this purpose 't is observable as Heinsius and some other Criticks out of Suidas relate that the New Testament was divided into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so far as I can gather from the Account which they give of these two the former of these was the division of a Book into Chapters and the latter into Verses or some such small Portion though at this Day there is a quite different Sense of the Words for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the greater division and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the lesser As to the Division of the whole Bible consisting of 39 Books of the Old Testament and 27 of the New into distinct Chapters as they are now among us viz. 779 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New it was made by Lanfrank Archbishop of Canterbury about the Year 1060 others say by Stephen Langton who was Archbishop of the same See in K. Iohn's Time about the Year 1200. It is said by others that Cardinal Hugo twenty or thirty Years afterwards was the first that contrived the Distinction of Chapters of the Old Testament for fitting the Hebrew Text to the Concordance of the Bible which he was Author of The dividing of Chapters into Verses was more lately being the Work of the Industrious and Learned Robert Stephens about eightscore Years since But whoever were the first Authors of this Division of the Bible into Chapters and Verses it is certain that it is not rightly made The beginning of the 10th Chap. of Isaiah should not be cut of from the 9th Chapter for it belongs to it and at the Close of the 5th v. of the 10th Chap. which is so now the 9th should end And many other Chapters in the Old Testament are ill divided But especially in the New Testament one may see that the distinction of Chapters and Verses now in
understand them aright I propound these ensuing Rules and Directions First It is requisite that we furnish our selves with other Learning to make our selves capable of understanding the Bible All Arts require a Master and Teacher even the lowest and mechanical All Trades and Sciences are to be learn'd none presumes to meddle with them till they have been instructed in them And yet we may observe that all degrees of Persons pretend to interpret the Scriptures though they were never instructed never prepared as St. Ierom complain'd of old A great many imagine that the Weakest Brains can comprehend the Contents of this Book and without all other knowledg attain to the meaning of them But this is a gross Mistake and is one cause of Mens wresting and corrupting the Scriptures They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 3. 16. unlearned and unwilling to be taught for so the Word imports they neglect the means of Knowledg they use not the proper Helps conducing to it Or whatever they were in St. Peter's Time we are sure that now a competent Measure of Humane Learning is required to understand these Writings For though they surpass all Humane Wisdom yet it is as true that they have strictures of all Arts and Sciences in them and are written in the Learned Languages and as I have shew'd formerly contain in them all sorts of Words Phrases and Idioms Wherefore there is a Necessity of the Arts and Tongues for understanding this Book In the Writings of Moses and the Prophets of the Apostles and Evangelists there are the Rites Customs Manners Opinions Sayings Proverbs of almost all Nations in the World especially of the Antient Hebrews Wherefore a Knowledg of their Writings and Antient Monuments a Converse with History and Antiquities are absolutely requisite especially for explaining the difficult Places And to have a true Notion of several Passages in the Epistles of the Apostles Ecclesiastical History in needful which gives us nitice of the Hereticks of that time or of those concerning whom the Apostles prophetically speak The Writings of the Fathers are to be consulted and that with great application of Mind that we may not mistake the Interpretations which those Learned and Pious Men give of the respective Places of Scripture that we may be ediâ—ied by their Religious Comments but not imbibe any of their Errors This which I now say principally concerns the Guides and Ministers of the Church who are supposed to be Men of Learning and Scholarship and truly a great Part of the Bible is more especially fitted for such It is their province to expound and teach this Holy Book which is it self a Library and is of that Nature that it cannot be rightly understood and explain'd without acquaintance with the Antient Writers of the Church without skill in the Tongues Rhetdrick Logick Philosophy History Criticism for as it is furnish'd with all Literature so it requires all to unfold it aright As for the Apostles tho some of them had no knowledg in Arts and Sciences yet that Defect was abundantly recompensed by the extraordinary Gifts and Endowments of the Holy Ghost So most of the Primitive Christians in the Apostles Days who were not Hebrews understood the Language in which the Old Testament was written by their Gift of Tongues And as for the Greek of the New Testament it was universally known and so was in a manner the native Tongue both to the Jews and others of that time But Men are not now instructed in Strange Languages by the Spirit nor are they born with Hebrew or Greek neither are they Inspired with Arts and Humane Knowledg and consequently Study and Reading and Long Exercise are indispensably requisite Clement of Alexandria would have his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. his Perfect and Compleat Theologuâ— be skill'd in Humane Literature and Philosophy Inshort to be a Consummate Divine and thorowly knowing in the Bible it is necessary that he be a Man of Universal Learning Secondly that we may read and understand the Scriptures it is requisite that we be exceeding Attentive Observing Considerate that we be very Inquisitive Thoughtful and Diligent This Rule may be explain'd in several Particulars 1. We must use great Thoughtfulness Diligence and Care in penetrating into the Design and Sense of those Inspired Writings St. Chrysostom delivers the Rule thus we must not only examine the meer naked Words and insist upon them simply and absolutely consider'd but we must chiefly attend to the Mind and Intent of the Writer Sometimes instead of an Absolute meaning of the Words in Scripture they are to be taken Comparatively or with Limitation they must be restrain'd to the Matter in Hand As to Instance No Man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1. Cor. 12. 3. i. e. no Man can say so from his Heart There is that Reserve implied Where I am ye eannot come John 7. 34. i. e. ye can't come yet but afterwards you shall All that came before me are Thieves and Robbers John 1 o. 8. i. e. all False Prophets for he means them are such It is reported that there is such Fornication among you as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his Father's Wife 1 Cor. 5. 1. This sort of Fornication was not only named but practis'd among the Gentiles for there are several Examples in Pagan Story of marrying the Father's Wife therefore here must be meant the more Sober Sort of Gentiles And so in many other Places things which seem to be absolutely spoken are to be understood in a restrained Sense 2. It is necessary that we be very thoughtful and inquisitive about the Context the Dependance the Connection of those Places which we search into We are to be exceeding mindful what the Words refer to what Coherence they have with what went before and what follows To Know the true Sense of them we must carefully observe the Subject-matter for this is certain that Propositions are true or not true according to this You will meet with several Instances of this in my former Discourses on the Holy Scriptures and therefore I will forbear to mention any here Only I offer this at present as a General Rule for guiding us to the true and genuine meaning of Scripture 3. This Attentiveness and Care must be exercis'd in Comparing one Place with another or with divers others if there be occasion For as an Intelligent Person rightly suggests all Truth being consonant to it self and all being penn'd by one and the self-same Spirit it cannot be but that an industrious and judicious Comparing of Place with Place must be a singular help for the right understanding of the Scriptures This One Rule if well and duly observ'd will carry us through most of the Difficulties of the Bible For this we may depend upon that the Scripture is its own Interpreter that the best Comment on this Book is it self Wherefore let
Historical Part of the Bible Those Books then for so the Hebrews call any Writings which those Authors above-named wrote are not lost as some imagine â—â—t are still extant in the Bible for they are Parâ— of the Books of Samuel and the Kings This Answer is grounded on 1 Chron. 29. 29. The Acts of David the King first and last behold they are written in the Book or History of Samuel and in the Book of Nathan the Prophet c. which shews that the foresaid Books were a Collection made by several Prophets viz. Samuel Nathan Gad c. This I think is very plain and the foresaid Objection is wholly removed by it Then as to the rest of those Books which are said to be lost as the Sayings of the Seers 2 Chron. 33. 19. and the Book of the Acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11. 41. and the Book of Jehu the Son of Hanani 2 Chron. 20. 34. or any other which the Objectors mention it is granted by some very Sober Writers not only Foreigners but of our own Country that these Books are really lost but they deny that this is any Argument of the Imperfection of Scripture because these Books were not absolutely necessary neither are we certain that they were Divinely endited And this was the Opinion of the Antients as well as the Moderns Yea St. Chrysostom and some others of the Fathers who speak of these Books say positively that they were not written by Inspiration from Heaven To this Purpose St. Augustine hath this useful Distinction the Penmen of the Sacred Scripture saith he write some things as they are Men with Historical Care and Diligence other things they write as Prophets by Inspiration from God This then may satisfy us that all that was written by the Prophets and even by those Holy Men who were Authors of some Part of the Bible was not Canonical and Divine because they writ some things not as Inspired Persons but as meer Historians Some of this sort of Writings are referr'd to in the forecited Places and though they be not extant now yet the Scripture is not hereby rendered Imperfect because these were not such Parts of it as were Essential to it or were of Divine Inspiration The like may be said when in the Book of Kings there is frequent reference to the Book of Chronicles those of the Bible are not always meant being not then penned Besides that many things that are referr'd unto there are not found in these Books Wherefore it is probable that these were Additional Writings not belonging to the Body of the Canonical Scripture nor written by Persons that were Inspired and consequently though they are lost yet the Canon of the Bible is not impaired And indeed we find that those of the Protestant Perswasion as Whitaker Willet c. and among Foreigners Calvin Beza c. who acknowledg the loss of these Books do at the same time strongly assert the Perfection of the Holy Scriptures which they very consistently may do because they hold these Books to be no part of the Canon of the Bible Again if what we have said be not fully satisfactory this may be further added that the Complaint of the Loss of some Books of Holy Writ proceeds from the mistaking of the Word Sepher which is translated a Book but among the Hebrews is oftentimes no more than a Rehearsal or Commemoration of something a brief Narrative or Memoir a setting down any thing in Writing as you 'l find in these following Places Num. 5. 23. Iosh. â—8 9. 1 Sam. 10. 25. Esth. 9. 20. Isa. 30. 8. Ier. 32. 12 14. And sometimes it is nothing but a meer Genealogy as Gen. 5. 1. The book of the Generations of Adam So St. Matthew begins his Gospel The Book of the Generation of Iesus Christ Mat. 1. 1. i. e. his Genealogy or Pedigree a brief Enumeration of the Persons he descended from which is the proper Denotation of the Word Sepher from Saphar numerare recensere whence Siphra or Ciphra a Word that is used in most Languages Some not attending to this have fancied that a great many Books of the Sacred Writ are embezzled because they do not find such Formal Books as those of Iehu or of the Acts of Solomon c. now belonging to the Bible This arises from a misunderstanding of the Hebrew Word which signifies generally any Short kind of Writing or Memorandum This with the Answer before given will solve all Doubts concerning the Places afore alledged As to the common Objection concerning the Loss of Solomon's Books which are said to be mentioned in 1 Kings 4. 32 33. I answer 1. That when some call them Books it is more than they can prove it is not said that Solomon wrote but that he Spake of Trees and spake of Beasts c. i. e. he learnedly discoursed of these several Subjects upon occasion and Spake such a Number of Proverbs Here can be no Loss of Books then But 2. Suppose he committed these Disquisitions and Discourses to Writing and they are now lost it may be consumed when Nebuchadnezzar burnt Ierusalem or by some other Means imbezzled afterwards yet still this is nothing to the purpose because they were no Part of Canonical Scripture His Universal History of Vegetables from the Cedar even to the Hysop that grows out of the Wall and his Books of the Nature of all Animals in the Sea on the Land and in the Air appertained to Philosophy and might indeed have serv'd to have set up a Royal Society and have been advantageous to the Men who are employ'd in the Study of Nature for these questionless were full of Admirable Philosophy according to that great and matchless Measure of Wisdom which God had endued him with Thus far the Loss of those Writings is great but none but Philosophers ought to bewail it Tho I must suggest this by the way that perhaps there is no ground of complaining for them neither for it may be these Books of Plants and Animals were extant till Alexander the Great 's Days and being perused and understood by Aristotle and Theophrastus by the Help of an Interpreter they were transcribed by them and so set down as we find them in their Writings which have gain'd them so great Fame and Renown This may be the more credible especially as to Aristotle because we read that he was a Great Plagiary and burnt or otherwise made away those Writings from whence he borrowed his Notions If this be true it is likely we have these Books of Solomon extant still in those forenamed Authors we read his Natural History concerning Vegetables and Animals But as touching the three thousand Proverbs which he spake it is most reasonable to believe that most of them were only spoken not written down and as for those that were penn'd we have them at this Day in the Book of Proverbs which is Part of the Canon of Scripture There we have those Proverbs which the Holy
Ghost saw to be most profitable and necessary for the Church That one would think should content us So as to his Songs which were a thousand and five as we read in the fore-mentioned Place there is but One of them that hath arrived at our Hands and was thought worthy to be inserted into the Sacred Writings unless we reckon the Forty fifth Psalm to be a Song of his This then adds to the Excellency of these Writings of Solomon which we have that they are Choice Pieces selected even by the Holy Ghost who was the Prime Author of them This surely may satisfy us that the Books or Writings of this Wise Prince which were most Excellent and which were dictated by the Spirit are transmitted to us and are Part of the Bible Thus there is nothing lost that belongs to the Canonical Scripture of the Old Testament And whereas it is Objected that some Places are quoted in the New Testament as taken out of the Old and yet are not to be found there as Mat. 2. 23. Iames 4. 5. Iude v. 14. I answer as to the first that from those Words That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophets He shall be called a Nazarene no Man can gather that some of the Canonical Books of Scripture are missing because if you take the Prophets here for Prophetick Men who spoke only and did not write then there were no Books of theirs to be lost Or if by Prophets you understand the Penmen of the Bible it may be shew'd that what they foretold is still extant in their Writings For though those individual Words He shall be call'd a Nazarene are not found among the Prophecies of the Old Testament yet the Purport and Sense of them are there and the Places to which they have reference are very obvious as I have shewed in that particular Interpretation of the Words which I have offered to the Publick in my Enquiry into some Remarkable Texts of the New Testament Thence I hope it will appear that the Objectors have no ground for what they alledg and also that the Iews Cavil against this Place of St. Matthew where they say he quotes a Text out of the Prophets which is not to be found in any of them is void of all Reason Another Place which is wont to be mention'd on this Occasion is Iam. 4. 5. Do you think that the Sâ—ripture saith in vain The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to Envy Which Words are no where to be found in Scripture therefore say they some Part of the Holy Writings is lost And Sir N. Knatchbull seems to say that this is Passage taken out of the Writings of the Prophets which â—re missing at this Day In answer to this some say that Gen. 6. 3. is the Place of Scripture here referr'd to but after they have taken a great dealâ—of Pains to make this out their labour is in vain for surely no Man of free and unprejudiced Thoughts will be perswaded that those Wordâ— My Spirit shall not always strive with Man are of the same Import with these The Spirit that dwelleâ—â— in us lusteth to Envy This Exposition is built upon a mistaken Notion of the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contendet which our Translators truly rendâ—â— shall strive some fancying that it is to be derivâ—â— from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Sheath and then forsooth the Soul or Spirit is a Sword Lowis Chappel and some Others as groundlesly make these Words an Interrogation Doth the Spirit that dwelleth in us lust to Envy and think they refer to Numb 11. 29. Enviest thou for my sake The Question say they is a Negâ—tion and is as much as if it had been said Doth the Scripture and the Holy Spirit teach you to contend to be envious and quarrelsom No. But this likewise is forced and strained and an impartial Eye cannot possibly see any Affinity between the two Places of Scripture besides that there is one Interrogation to introduce another which confounds the Stile The plain and unforced Answer is this that St. Iames doth not here quote any Particular Place of Scripture as if there were such express Words in the Old Testament as are here set down by him He only tells us what is generally deliver'd in Scripture viz. that Man's Nature is depraved and corrupted that it is enclined to Envy as well as to other Lusts and Unlawful Affections Or If any â—ne Particular Place be referr'd to more than another it is probable it is that of Gen. 6. 5. or ch 8. v. 21. where we are told that the Imaginations or the Purposes and Desires of Mens Hearts are evil from their Youth yea they are only evil and that contiâ—ually The Words then are not to be understood of the Divine Spirit but of that Corrupt Spirit which is in Men not the Spirit which is of God â—â—t the Spirit of the World as the Apostle Paul distinguisheth 1 Cor. 2. 12. This Spirit lusteth to Envy and prompts Men to all other Vices And 〈◊〉 for the next Words He giveth more Grace they refer not to the Spirit here spoken of but to God who though he be not named in this Verse is twice in the immediately foregoing one He giveth 〈◊〉 Grace he according to his good Pleasure restrains Mens Lusts and envious Desires and teâ—cheth them Humility Submission and all other Divine Vertues Or according to a late Worthy Critick it i. e. the Scripture giveth more Grace for that it saith c. In this Holy Book there are Examples of some Persons in whom this Spirit of Envy was restrained When the Apostle then here saith Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain c. we must not wonder that those very Words are not found in any Part of the Old Testament for the Apostle only speaks here of what may be deduced from these Sacred Writings or what is said in them to the same purpose though in other Words There are many Places of Scripture which speak of the Lusts of that corrupt Spirit which is in us whereby we are stirr'd up to Envy and Strife From several Texts we may gather that Man's Nature is prone to these and the like Passions This I take to be the true Account of the Words In the same manner we are to understand Luâ—â— 11. 49. Therefore said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles c. There is no partâ—cular Text that hath these Words but there are several Prophecies to this Purpose So Ephes. 5. 14. He saith Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give the Light is not meanâ—â— of any such particular and individual Words 〈◊〉 of the Spirit 's speaking in the Gospel to that Effect though I know Dr. Hammond and others refer i◠〈◊〉 Isa. 60. 1. and some Interpreters to Isa. 51. 9. 〈◊〉 you will not find these or such Words in either of those Places That Passage in