and practises should combine and conspire unanimously to destroy themselves and deceive others both because we suppose them holy men and also men of admirable parts of great strength and clearnesse of understanding And as their holinesse preserved them from worldly designes and contrivances in their profession witnesse that high esteem they had thereof as even to suffer death for it so their wisedome and learning kept them from grosse oversights of misunderstanding and prejudice in these things they both professed and suffered which was the diseipline of the holy Jesus who could and would highly and honourably crowne their sufferings And hence it will undeniably follow these all Primitive Fathers and Christians which is a very wonderfull thing notwithstanding their severall tempers and inclinations their severall Ages and Successions their severall distances and Countries yet did agree for the space of fifteen hundred years constantly and unanimously in all those things which were revealed and recommended by our Saviour Christ as important and necessary to salvation for if they were ignorant of any Article necessary to salvation how could they be saved it follows I say by their such agreement and consent That this is an Article of the Christian Discipline in what they held and observed is a strong and solid proofe to all godly sober men That Tenet so held is a Catholique Tenet and that Observation so used is a Catholique Observation and to oppose or contradict either is Heresie and Schisme or which is all one an Hereticall or Schismaticall separation and departure from the true Christian Catholique Faith Adde to all this That the differences in Opinions and disagreements among themselves in many Points of Religion which are not de symbolo of necessary beleise but truths onely of an inferiour natute will to any indifferent unbiassed Persons take off and clearly acquit their consent and agreement in the maine Fundamentalls the Prims Fundamentalia from all suspition that it proceeded from some combination correspondence or mutuall intelligence and common cousultation and withall fully satisfie and convince that it proceeded out of a serious examination and consideration of the things themselves And then secondly as the concurrence of these all is a valid Testimony in necessary points so in these points and means of salvation the generall silence of the Ancients these all would be a very proper and unanswerable Argument to prove the nullity or falsenesse of it as this Doctrine was not known or beleeved in the parest and Primitive times therefore it is not an Article of Faith a Catholique verity but a Novelty or upstare Opinion As for Example If we find nothing either in whole or in part either in grosse or in retaile concerning the Monarchicall Authority of the Pope or the supream Authority of the present Roman Church or concerning Purgatory and Transubstantiation among the Writings of the Fathers and Records of the Antient Church we may safely conclude they are not such as they pretend them to be necessary such whereon our salvation dependeth for if they be such as they would have us beleeve it would be too great injustice to the Ancients to say They knew nothing of them or that knowing them they would not speak any word of them and discharge their trust And lastly it hence also follows That in those unhappy controversies which are continued in this Nationall Church it is not faire and ingenuous dealing in some of those Disputants to aver and avow the practise and perswasion of some reformed Churches in the last Contury or hundred when others put in their Plea from the consent and practise of the former fifteen Centuries For what is this but to oppose a part against the whole a part in one Centurie against it selfe and all other Churches for fifteen a few against all these But above all they are grossely absurd who to these all have none to oppose but themselves have no Authority but their power no reason but their fancy no Testimony but their own approbation and they themselves so inconsiderable in respect of these all that they are not so much as the Gleanings of a full Corne Feild in a large Campania to the whole Cropp And yet they deale subtilly too for they take a safe course that they shall never satisfie you nor you confute them For their Argument and Evidence is their Conscience and what that is you cannot they will not know And hence they are such Vagrants in their Faith you shall never know where to have them and so they may justly be excluded out of the Catalogue of these all and be in the pack of Saint Judes Bruites They speak evill of those things they know not and corrupt themselves in those things they know naturally Jude 10. And yet there is a third sort who though not so bad as these yet bad enough disparaging and decrying the testimonies of these all in the Christian Church fleighting and undervaluing their Authority and Writings and rejecting them as uselesse except the Apostles themselves and their Writings The vanity of this misprision will presently appear if we remember That the whole dispute is what is Apostolicall or not what they practised or not And then the result is obvious Those Persons who lived in or immediately after the Apostles times should know better their usage then we at this distance of time can guesse at they who searched into all Records to discover what was Apostolicall and were after carefull to keep them should know better then they who care for no Evidences Testimonies or Records and all this upon no other pretence but this That the mistery of iniquity then wrought and since notorious forgery hath been used to corrupt all Testimonies and Books the former of which is most unjust because even then though corruptions and Haeresies crept in yet were they zealously opposed and punctually confuted by the Writers of those Times The latter is partly false altogether impertinent For the same Objection might be used against the Canonicall Books of holy Scripture if in the instance it be admitted good and against all Records of Kingdoms and Common-wealths that from them it were impossible to find out what the former Laws and Customes have been for in all these there may equally be suspition of Fraud and Forgery as in the other kind And yet no wise man because the Discovery is somewhat intricate and perplext and the businesse a work of difficulty will therefore conclude it altogether uselesse and to no purpose Certainly they who labour for the finding out the truth by the search of Antiquity next after holy Scripture are more likely to discover it by that way then any other As they who would know our Laws and Customs are more probable to find them out by searching the Antient Records and Law Writers then by consulting present Authors unlesse we take all upon trust and at the second hand But now to prevent mistakes it may be worthy our enquiry to examine what
objects and led by customes that reasonable men should be in their duty rationall or from the assurance of reward and how dull men are to apprehend and beleeve future good things and to live by hope every one saying Let me have it in my hand and so make sure work is frequently experimented and so this very consideration is an abatement to the power of Precept But Examples makes all these respects and obligations good for if the command run thus Doe this not because it is commanded but because this is the practise of the wisest and the best or the most honourable they have done so before you and been very successefull in their doings what is thus exemplified and experimented is readily and faithfully observed and most confidently which is the quickning and forwarding of action expected Examples and experiments of this kind are many and frequent and indeed ' it s the chiefe end of all Historicall Relations and the Writing of the Lives of the Jewish Christian and Gentile Worthies For Mollissime suadetur exemplis though Examples be not argumentative cogent proofs to profound judgements and strict disputants yet to most men they are most effectuall because more fit to perswade And therefore Aristotle lib. 8. Top. cap. 2. thus resolves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Argument is more pressing proose an Example more obliging an Argument drawes the understanding an Example leads and faciliùs dueimur quam trahimur the affections that indeed more powerfull yet this more prevalent Themistocles saw Miltiades Trophces and this occular demonstration did prevaile with him for imitation above any either precept or reason but this one to follow so brave a President Achilles his same set Alexander on action and Alexanders Julius Casars and Casars honour hath made many thousand adventurers since And to come somwhat neerer and close to our holy Profession Hath not Christ upon this score set himself for an Example Hath not the Apostles proposed themselves subordinate Patternes under him and required us to look to the former times and take the Prophets Patriarkes c. for Presidents to us and our actions And hath not this very Apostle brought in and summed up a Cloud of Witnesses to confirme an infallible truth and to provoke imitation Nay Doth not the Christian Rule strictly require exemplary Piety in all Beleevers that they be not onely burning having Zeal in themselves but shining lights by their practise communicating and diffusing it to others give visible proofs of that hope is in them For thus runs the rule Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Mat. 5.16 And so 1 Peter 2.11.12 Dearely beleved I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstaine from fleshly lusts which war against the soule Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speake against you as evill doers they may by your good works which they shall behold glorisie God in the day of visitation And here we may see and admire the infinite love and goodnesse of God towards man that he for a supply and succour to our frailties and prejudices seconds all his Precepts with Promises and impowers these by Examples and Experiments that whereas as our God and Lord he might use onely his Word of command and strictly and upon the severest penalty exact conformity yet he is pleased to consider that we are but Flesh and therefore not to make use of his absolute and Soveraigne Power over us but as an Indulgent to win and gain us over to himself by such Arts and Methods as have the greatest influence with weak infirme men great Promises and good Examples Promises to encourage Examples to leade even to leade if we will not drive If Power prevaile not goodnesse may Nay God in this Instance hath not onely so far condescended to our infirmities as to prove the reasonablenesse of his dictates to us to convince our understandings but he hath ex abundanti afforded Promises to whet and excite our wills and Patternes to guide and conduct our affections And here also we may see and admire the rare composition of the Book of God the holy Scriptures which not onely declares unto us the Will of God but furnisheth us with Arguments ad hominem strong perswasives to confirme thereto it abounds with perswasives of all sorts So that we may justly take up Tertullians Devout Contemplation and expression Adoro plenitudinem Scripturarum So we we adore the fulnesse of the Scriptures It s full of cleare Prophesies holy Praecepts gracious Promises glorious Examples It s full of Prophesies and they are full of truth these forewarne us to fly from evill to come Full of Praecepts and these full of Piety to exhort us to be fruitfull in good works Full of Promises and these full of mercy and sweetnesse to incline and move us to beleeve his Prophesies and obey his Precepts Full of rare Presidents and these full of Evidence to ascertain his Promises Prophesies to prepare Praecepts to command Promises to encourage and Examples to leade us the way to the way the truth and the life Prophesies shews us fully the infinite wisedome of our Lawgiver and that it is our wisedome to beleeve them and none else Praecepts declare his infinite Power and Soveraignty and that it is our duty to observe them Promises proposeth his infinite goodnesse in rewarding us for our duty and it is our Piety to hope for and depend on them our comfort that we have them and so good a God who will reward us far above our deserts Examples to evidence his infinite truth in performing his Word of Prophesie and Promise to them who performed their duty in obedience to his Praecepts and it is our glory and happinesse to partake of the benefit of these experiments by following exactly those good Examples Yet no Examples work so strongly and leave such deep and lasting impressions as the Examples of those whom nature teacheth us to love and honour to imitate and depend on our famous Progenitors from whom we have our extraction and discext and so as we esteem it an honour to be of a Noble Family either civilly or religionfly or both as the Jewes and these Hebrews took themselves to be and so their glory was We have Abraham to our Father and their Rule was Quod accidit Patribus siguum est Filiis so generally posterity strive to resemble their Parents in their qualifications and are ashamed to degenerate as if they had no affinity with them And hence it is that we take all disparagements of our ascendants so unkindly and every reproach of degeneration for the highest affront and indignity because we are so neerly concerned by a principle of selfe love in their honour and reputation Thus the Heathens as for example Priamus concludes from an unworthy Villany commiated by Pyrrhus that he was none of Achilles his Progeny At non ille satum qu◠it
necessarily to be others from them premised 2. The Apostle ayming in this induction to bring down the series of the faithfull till the present Age must necessarily in this his induction and deductions thence still descend from the first times pitched on then the succeeding till the present be taken in which course is both agreeable to an induction as such and to this scope and conclusion from it Thus it is apparent he begins at Abel and so passeth to Enoch his Successor in the Faith So to Noah Abraham the Patriarkes the Judges the Kings and Prophets and so downwards still to the following Generations which was the time of the Maccabees they succeeding the Prophets and Kings and so I think that these miseries set down here relate unto these Persecution which the Lewes after their return endured under Autiochus Epiphanes one of the Successors of Alexander the Great in Syria about two hundred years before the comming of the Messiah in the Flesh The Records of whose mischievous designes and horrid cruelties are reserved in the Books of the Maccabees which because they have fallen under suspition censures and severities I shall by the way and the digression may perhaps be usefull adde something in rescrence to those Writings And first I shall suppose and grant That they are not any part of the Writings of Moses and Prophets commended to us in the New Testament as the Oracles of God and Dictates of his Spirit And secondly That the Lewes had not any such esteem of them and therefore never received them into their Canon of Holy Writ But then in the next place it is most certain That they have been and still are generally reputed and taken for an History which may be very usefull in the Church of God though not for the confirmation of any Article of Faith or deciscion of any controversie in Pointe of Religion yet for the edification of the Church to bring down the Church Story after the Writings of the Prophets till Christ and his Apostles lived And therefore the Church of God hath judged them worthy to be incerted in our Bibles and annexed to the Books of the Prophets as a confirmation and continuation of the Historicall part of the Old Testament to acquaint us with the State of the Affaires of the Church then and as Christs comming And yet to prevent mistakes have noted them with the marke of Apocrypha and by that Character hath excluded out of the number of Canonicall Books But 3. These times seem rather to be intended by the Apostle because even to that very time of his Writing these Hebrews had a continued fresh remembrance of the cruell miseries the Jews suffered under that Antiochus Lastly There is a very great and perfect resemblance in the punishments inflicted by that Tyrant with those here specified which will the better appeare by taking a cleare and distinct Cognisance and survey of them first in Generall then in Particular 1. The Persecution was for Religion as was pretended it was Death for the Iewes to observe the Law of God it was Death not to consorme to this Tyrants Idol-service 1 Maccab. 1. and all these Persecutions are usually hot and violent because men thinke they doe God good service when they manage with sury the Devills cause and then the highest and severest Punishments which malice can invent or fancy are but the innocent executions of justice and such were these Punishments of all sorts which have been discovered for here is mention of torments contumelies imprisonments exiles death it selfe and severall sorts of dishonorable cruell deaths For 2. Here we finde that some were tortured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that 's beaten with Clubbs or bastinadoed till they died aâ— we Reade of the good old man Eleazar for the indeed good old cause Gods Religion and Lawes 2 Maceabes 6.28.29.30 the punishment was to binde the miscrable Patients to a great Logg of Wood or Timber made as I suppose most like a Ships windlesse and for such an use and there distand and racke them and when they were thus distended to a certaine and to the height every part was sesible of the Racke and Strappadoe then they were beaten with Cudgells till they dyed Yet being thus tortured it is further reported of them that they accepted not deliverance That they c. They sleighted those overtures and conditions of dismission and liberty which were tendered them depending on Gods Promises for eternall life not daring to hazard Eternity for a miserable temporall subsistence and being very willing to lose their life to save it Others had tryasts of erneâ— meckings and seourginge nothing was overseen or omitted to render them odious and miserable some will take a mocke who will not endure a stroake others a stroake who yet will not abide a mocke these tormentors therefore to make sure work tryeth them both wayes if the one sayle to provoke and distresse them the other will prove and they are called cruell mockings because nothing more piereing or pressing to a free and generous spirit for they are usually an affliction upon an affliction it is to overloade the oppressed and to kill the wounded Hence Ishmaelâ— mocking of Isaas Gon. 11.9 is expressed Persecution Galat. 4.29 David esteemed a reproach an oppression a killing oppression as with a Sword in his boxes Psal 42.9.10 And his great complaint Psal 44.13.14 Psal 79.4 was That he was a reproach a scorne and derision to be a by-word and shaking of the Head among the People And the uttering and speaking hard things is â—â—iled breaking his people in pieces Psal 94.4.5 But if there be not cruelty enough in mockings there is smart and sname too ignoming sufficient in scourgings a punishment proper onely to the baser and more contemptible sort of Offenders Others againe had tryall of Bends and Imprisonment that is cruell Imprisonments not barely confinements or restraints not onely close Imprisonment but like Josephs their fect were hure with fetters they were laid in Iron Psal 105.18 They were stoned they were sawne asunder You shall finde the barbarons execution of these 2 Maceabes 7. throughout They were tempted This finds some variation for tempting sometimes imports the most cutting piercing griefes and anguishes such as not onely carry with them great pain but a quicke and subtle apprehension also of that pain and sorrow therefore great sorrows or rather the sharpe sense and feeling of them is abstractedly called temptations Heb. 2.13 He suffered being tempted that is he sadly and passionately resented So Heb. 4.15 He was tempted that it as is evident from the precedent terme of opposition noted by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was touched touched to the quick deeply with the feeling of our infirmities and then according to this notation of the Word the sense is They had such a sharps sense of their sad condition that as Christ so their soules were sorrowfull exceeding sorrowfull even unto Death Sometimes it signifies gaining and