out how could he have been restored not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of our God It may be this was done that we might say no more The Lord liveth which delivered us from the Treason of pretended Catholicks but The Lord liveth which hath delivered us from the Tyranny and blood rage of the wild Fanatical Enthusiasts Surely all these things have been permitted that the Stone which the Builders refused might be made tried and precious and that his Patience his Piety his Constancy in Religion his Christian Magnanimity being manifest to all the World by the impatient desire of all Nations he might become the head of the Corner Surely these things were suffered that the Faith and Patience and Loyalty of the Church of England might be made bright and glorious by the Flames of Persecution and that in the day when God shall have given our most Gracious Sovereign the hearts or necks of all his Enemies it may not repent him of the Kindness he hath shewn to Religion and Government in lifting out of the dust the despised Head of that only Church for ought I know which makes Obedience without base restrictions and limitations an Article of its Religion Lastly these things it may be have been permitted that by the Triumph of this day and by the vengeance lately executed in the sight of this Sun the Atheistical world might be convinced that the Powers that be are ordained of God and that though the wicked do evil an hundred times and God prolong their days yet Vengeance is his and he will repay it and They that resist shall receive to themselves Damnation FINIS Against the Antiscripturists A SERMON Preached at WHITE-HALL February 20. 1669 70. BY SETH Lord Bishop of Sarum Printed by His Majesties Special Command LONDON Printed by A. C. for Iames Collins at the Kings Arms within Ludgate near St. Pauls 1672. Against the Antiscripturists 2 Tim. iii. 16. All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God IN the verse preceding it is said concerning the Scriptures of the old Testament that they are able to make a man wise unto salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the faith which is in Iesus Christ And it follows immediately All Scripture c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Faith is often by a Metonymy taken for the Gospel which is the Object of the Faith of Christians We read often of the Preaching and Hearing of Faith of the Analogy of Faith the common Faith which was once delivered to the Saints in the preaching of Christ and the Writings of his Evangelists and Apostles and so I conceive it is to be taken in this place So that the meaning of the whole is this The Old Testament understood and expounded according to the Analogy of the New is able to make a man wise And the Pen-men of the Canonical Books of the Old Testament wherein Timothy had been instructed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the Books of the New Testament which except those of St. Iohn were extant before the writing of this Epistle were inspired and directed by the Spirit of God The words of the Text are an entire Proposition asserting the Divine Authority of the Canon of Scripture and my endeavour shall be at this time to prove the truth of that Proposition Wherein that I may proceed with all plainness and clearness I shall premise two words by way of Petition Precaution 1. By way of Petition I suppose and take for granted 1. The great principle of the power of God and his providence in governing the world 2. That our Body of Canonical Books of the Old Testament is the same with that which was in Use in the time of Christ and his Apostles And our body of the New Testament the same which was anciently received in the Church So that what shall be proved of those is applicable to the Original Scripture used in our time 3. That those Books of New Testament whose Authors were not anciently questioned were written by those Authors whose name they bear And that those few others which were sometimes questioned by some particular Churches and afterward Universally received contain in them no one point of Faith or Manners dissentient from the Contents of those Books which were never questioned 2. By way of Precaution and Admonition I must intreat you to take notice that I shall not now meddle with the Controversies concerning Apocrypha Translations Keri and Chetib Hebrew points various Lections dubious Authors or parts of Scripture But my endeavour at this time shall be to Assert the Divine Authority of the body and substance of the Original Books of the Canon of the Old and New Testament And this not in the way of common place but in a particular Examination or Refutation of the most dangerous Opinions of the Antiscripturists which are these I. Of those who pretend to believe the truth of the New Testament and yet they deny the Divine Authority of the Old II. Of those who pretend to believe the truth but deny the Divine Authority of the New Testament III. Of such as pretâ—nd to believe matters of Fact to have been truly related in the New Testament but do not believe the truth of the Doctrinal parts relating to Faith and Manners IV. Such as deny the truth of the Relation of matters of Fact in the New Testament and in consequence reject the whole Body of Scripture Of these as briefly and plainly as I can I. The first Opinion is of those who pretending to believe the Truth of the New Testament deny the Divine Authority of the Old Testament The Severians and the Manichâ—es Basilides and Carpâ—â—rates of old The Catabaptists of later times some Anabâ—ptiâ—ts is Antinomians and other Fanatical Sectaries amongst our â—elves In opposition to these I shall shew that supposing the truth of the New Testament the Divine Authority of the Old Testament is to be acknowledged Because the Divine Authority of the Old Testament is asserted by Christ and his Evangelists and Apostles in the New 1. Next to the Redemption of the world the great business which Christ had to do upon Earth was to Convince men that he was the Messias and so to assert his Legislative Authority And the great Argument which he used for the conviction of the world was this All the Marks and the entire Character of the Messiah and of his Actions and Passions were prefigured and foretold by the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms i. e. in the Volume of the Old Testament And all things foretold or prefigured concerning the Messiah were accomplished by himself So that though the great Works of Christ and the purity and excellency of his Doctrine and of his Life were of themselves sufficient to justifie the Introduction of his Law into the World yet he was pleased to resolve as it were his own Authority into the Divine Authority of the Old Testament and to make use of those otheâ—
concerning the truth of the stories of the Scripture then to reject them for want of such evidence is repugnant to the Reason of mankind I proceed therefore to my second assertion that the Belief of the Divine Authority of the Scriptures is most agreable to reason That the Divine Authority of all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are undeniably concluded from supposition of the truth of the Relation or History of matters of fact in the New Testament I have already shewn And that the rejection of all History is against the Reason of mankind is evident because all mankind receive some History or other wherefore I shall briefly shew 1. That the History of the New Testament hath all those advantages whereof any History is capable 2. That it hath greater advantages than any other History 1. The Arguments inducing men to the belief of any historical Relation are all of them Ab intra Internal from the 1. Credibility and Scibility of the Object 2. The Knowledge and Integrity of the Writers 3. The way and manner of writing Either Ab extra External from the 1. Reception of it in the world 2. Concurrent testimonies of strangers 3. Concessions of Adversaries and the like In all which particulars no History in the world can justly pretend any advantage above that of the New Testament 1. For the credibility of the Object and Cognoscibility of it 1. To say that instances of supernatural Power and wisdom are impossible is to deny the power of God and his providence in governing the world And to say that such things are incredible as are and have been actually believed in all times and by all sorts of persons Jews and Gentiles Christians and Mahometans a few Atheistical persons only accepted is an absurdity The History that we speak of pretends to no intrigues or Cabalistick Counsels or Myisteries of State but conteins it self within the limits of things Visible and Audible things that were done or spoken so that no History can have advantage over it respectu Objecti 2. As for Knowledge in the deliverers I shall shew it by a brief Induction The whole New Testament consists of the Books of the Revelation Epistles Acts of the Apostles and the Gospels The Authors of the Epistles and the Revelation in the Narrative parts of them deliver the things done or spoken to or by themselves and could not be ignorant of their own experiences The Book of the Acts contains some things done by or to the rest of the Apostles but chiefly the concernments of Paul and it was written by Luke who was an individual Companion of Paul and intimately conversant with the rest of the Apostles For the things Related in the Gospel of St. Luke he saith they were delivered to him by those who from the beginning were Eye witnesses of the works and Ministers of the Word and his History agrees with the other Evangelists The Gospel of St. Mark hath nothing which is not in St. Matthew or St. Iohn and was dictated by St. Peter the Head of the Apostles St. Matthew was an Apostle and St. Iohn the Bosom Apostle of Christ. The Apostles were chosen by him for Witnesses of his Words and Actions they were with him from the beginning of his Ministry continued with him till his death couversed with him till his ascension That which they had heard which they had seen with their Eyes which they had looked on which their hands had handled of the word of life that they delivered in writing to the World And more than this no Writer or Relater of History can pretend to 2. For Arguments of their sincerity they have left Precepts of Veracity and prohibitions of lying under pain of Hell torments the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone They have protested that they did not follow cunningly devised Fables that they did things sincerely as in the sight of God They have appealed to the searcher of hearts The God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ knoweth that I lie not The things which I write unto you behold before God I lye not Gal. 1 20. saith St. Paul They have left behind them various instances of their simplicity and Godly sincerity in representing their failings to the world and of candour and ingenuity in distinguishing the dictates of their own Reason from the inspirations of the Holy Spirit I speak by permission not by commandment of the Lord This say I not the Lord Thus it is according to my judgment c. 1 Cor. 7. But besides all this let the matter be estimated according to common reason If these men did devise a Fable and impose it upon the world what end could they propound to themselves in so doing was there any profit in being destitute of all things or pleasure in being persecuted afflicted and tormented or honour in being counted Fools and Mad-men Before they began to publish the Stories whereof we speak their Master was gone and all worldly hopes were gone away with him If they were not bound in Conscience and in Spirit what obligation had he laid upon them to labour and suffer for his honour as they did To omit the severity of his behaviour to them He called them off from their Vocations Peter and Andrew Iames and Iohn from their Fishing Matthew from his Customers place the rest accordingly They forsook their Nets their Ships their Relations and all their interests and followed him And this they did clearly and plainly believing that he was to be a Great Temporal Prince and in hopes of preferment under him In this Expectation they continued to the last minute of his conversation with them upon Earth and he permitted them so to do Their last words to him were delivered in this question Lord wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom unto Israel Of the thing it self they never doubted they only desire to be informed of the time Now after so long expectation Consider his Answer His Answer was this It is not for you to know the times c. but ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses of me unto the utmost parts of the earth and immediately he vanished away Was this an answer to their Question or a satisfaction to their expectation Was this an Obligation laid upon them If he had not sent down the Holy Ghost this would have moved them indeed but it would have been to rage and indignation this would have obliged them indeed but it would have been to detest and abhor the name and memory of him that had abused them But for the honour of his name not their own they did and suffered all things and gloried in it An irrefragable argument of their sincerity in the things which they delivered 3. Of the internal Arguments for the belief of History there remains only the Consideration of the way and manner of
writing Histories then carry their own credentials in them when the principal parts of them are delivered with such circumstances of times places and persons as may rendeâ— them liabâ—e to Examination and Refucation if they contain any falshood in them And in this particular no History hath any advantage over that History whereof we are speaking as will be evident to him that considers it throughout Concerning Iohn the Baptist it is recorded that he was born some few Months before Christ that his Mother was Elizabeth that his Father was Zachariah a Priest of the Course of Abia that they lived in the Hill-Countrey He began to preach in the 15. of Tiberius Pilate being Governour of Iudaea Herod Tetrarch of Calilee his Brother Philip Tetrarch of Iturea and of the Region of Trachonitis and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene Punctual and particular Soon after this he was Imprisoned and Beheaded by Herod for reprehending him about Herodias all which were matters of Fact very easie if false to have been refuted Concerning Christ his birth is stated to have been at a time the most remarkable that ever was when the whole world was taxed by Augustus in the days of Herod when Cyrenius was Governour of Syria the place easie to be enquired of it was in a Manger in an Inn in a Town that was a little one among the thousands of Iuda easie to be examined When he was about 30 years oldâ— he was Baptized of Iohn and within a few days after he called his Apostleâ— and in less than four yeears space he performed all his mighty Works whereof I shall mention only some few particulars At Cana in Galilee he turned Water into Wine at a Wedding where was much company He raised the Daughter of Iairus the Ruler of the Synagogue there was but one in that place she was his only Daughter and about twelve years Old He healed the Servant of that Centurion that had built a Synagogue Can any thing be more particular At Bethany fifteen Furlongs from Ierusalem a few days before his death he raised Lazarus after he had been dead four days Could any thing be more examinable His death was at Ierusalem at the time of the Passover a time of greatest annual concourse in the world and then it is said that the Sun was darkened the Veilrent the Rocks torn in pieces the Graves opened Can any thing be more refutable than these things if they had been false So likewise for the Apostles The healing of AEneas at Lydda raising of Dorcas at Ioppe the passages with Cornelius Captain of the Band called the Italian Band at Caesarea and many other acts of Peter The increpation of Barjesus at Paphos in the presence of Sergius Paulus the Governour The healing of a Cripple at Lystra in the presence of the Priest of Iupiter besides many other acts of Paul and the rest of the Apostles are so cirumstantiated in the History that if false they might have been very easily contradicted But besides all these this History contains a Narration of things done and said not only by persons well affected but by Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Roman Governours by the Pharisees the Scribes the High Priests and the Sanhedrim all of them Enemies both to the Historians and the History and if any of these things had had been convicted of falshood would not the credit of the whole Gospel have at once been utterly overthrown I conclude therefore that in respect of internal Arguments for belief no History hath or indeed can have any advantage above the History of the New Testament 2. As for External Arguments I can but name them Though the whole world interessed themselves against the story so examinable as you have heard though the Books were extant while the memory of things was recent Matthew within seven years Mark within eleven Luke about twenty four post mortem Christi the Epistles of Peter and Paul within thirty years all the rest intra unius hominis aetatem yet no man could ever convince them of falshood The stories were received by men of the greatest Wisdom Learning and vertue amongst the Greeks and Latines Many of the hardest passages were attested and confessed by Enemies and Unbelievers The Authors owned by Iulian the Miracles confessed by Celsus the checking of the operation of the Devil by Porphyrius the Darkness and Earthquake at the death of Christ by Thallus and Phlegon Trallianus the Crucifixion of Christ by Pilate under Tiberius by Tacitus And in one word The entire Volume of the Scriptures the very same which our Church receives by vertue of the belief of the History of the Gospel before any general Council or the time of Constantine without any Convocation of the Clergy or imperial Edict for that purpose was instinctu quodam Christiano generally received by all Christians and the world made Christians In respect of all these Arguments internal and external I might have justly said that the History of the Gospel hath the advantage of any other History but seeing there are some particulars wherein the advantages are super-eminent I shall speak a little of that distinctly by it self and so conclude 2. These advantages I shall reduce to two heads Testimonium Rei Dei 1. For the Testimonium Rei consider 1. Opposition to the Gospel 2. Prevailing of 1. Never any story was so much opposed as the Books and History of the New Testament by Jews and Gentiles by the World and by the Devil The beginnings and propagation of the Gospel was by the Jews maliciously and strenuously opposed in the times of Christ and his Apostles and in all succeeding Generations Lest all men should believe in Christ because of his Miracles the Rulers took counsel to destroy him the People cryed out to have him Crucified Lest the last errour as they called it should be worse than the first they sealed up his Sepulchre and set a watch upon it and lastly suborned the Souldiers to say that his Disciples came by night while they were sleeping how could they know this and stole him away That the first Miracle wrought by Peter and Iohn might not spread among the People the Rulers and Elders and Scribes Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all the Kindred of the High Priest laid hands upon them and put them in hold and threatned and commanded them not to speak at all in the Name of Jesus When Stephen had uttered his testimony the people cryed with a loud voice and stopped their Ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the City and stoned him Wherever they met with Believers Men or Women they haled them into Prison breathing out threatnings and slaughter Where-ever they met with the Preachers they opposed and blasphemed they tumultuated they stirred the Gentiles they enraged the chief men of the Cities and the
Edicts of Princes and Magistrates with our new pretenders to Reason and Philosophy is that engine whereby the Devil hath prevailed to scandalize the world and cast it into Antiscriptural infidelity It is for this cause that I have conceived it requisite after many others who have done worthily to have recourse once more to the Original Reason of things and the common grounds whereupon mankind doth proceed in matters of this nature Where hoping that I have escaped the absurdity of begging the matter in Question discoursing in a circle and the inconveniences of some other methods I have endeavoured to demonstrate That supposing the truth of the New Testament both 1. The Old Testament and 2. The New Testament are to be received as of Divine Authority 3. And supposing matters of fact to be truly related the Doctrinal parts are to be believed 4. For the Historical Relation of matters of fact that there is no ground to dis-believe it That for the reception of it it hath 1. All the advantages whereof an History is capable 2. Far greater advantages than any other History Wherefore I conclude that All the Scriptures i. e. the Canonical Books of the Old Testament and the Books of the New Testament were Given by inspiration of God Quod erat demonstrandum Concerning the Sinfulness Danger Remedies OF INFIDELITY A SERMON Preached at Whitehall February 16. 1667 68. BY SETH Lord Bishop of Sarum LONDON Printed by A. C. for Iames Collins at the Kings Arms within Ludgate near St. Pauls 1672. THE SINFULNESS OF INFIDELITY Heb. iii. 12. Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Exhort one another daily I Shall not spend time in a disputation concerning the Author of this Epistle viz. whether it were Paul or Barnabas or Luke or Clemens or Apollos c. but shall with the Church of England suppose St. Paul to have been the Author of it If the Author of it be not infallibly known this ought not to detract from its Authority Most of the other Epistles have been acknowledged to be of divine Authority because they were known to have proceeded from Apostolical writers This on the contrary hath been concluded to be an Apostolical Epistle propter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Characterem by reason of that divine and Apostolical Spirit which to those who have had their Senses exercised hath manifestly appeared in it If it were lawful in this sense to compare spiritual things with spiritual I should not fear to affirm that this Epistle hath in it some peculiar advantages compared with some other of the Epistles Advantages I mean of usefulness not of Authority seeing all of them issued from the same Spirit The design of it is General Fundamental Comprehensive not Private Circumstantial Occasional And it hath peculiarly conveyed to the Church two great treasures 1. A Compleat Model or Systeme of Christian Divinity And 2. the way of that Analogy and manner of ratiocination whereby the true Spirit and meaning of the Types and Prophesies of the Old Testament is to be found out and applied It was directed to the Hebrews That is to those of the Jewish Nation who had received the Gospel and made a profession of Christianity And the main Scope and design of it is to preserve the Professors of Christianity from Apostacy and Infidelity The means used to this purpose are partly Didactical and partly Protreptical Demonstrating the truths of the Gospel and then urging the professors of those truths to be stedfast in the faith and to beware of Infidelity The Method here used is a mixt method of Doctrine and Application Dogmatical truths and pathetical Exhortations continually interwoven He begins with the Great foundation of our faith Christ is the Son of God the brightness of his glory better then the Angels Wherefore if the Word spoken by Angels was stedfast how shall we escape if we neglest so great salvation From the Comparison of Christ with Moses he concludes against Hardness of heart and Infidelity He demonstrates the Priesthood of Christ to be more Excellent then that of Aaron and in the midst of his argument he falls into an Application or Corollary concerning the dreadful Condition of them that fall away This is his design and method throughout the Epistle Whatever Doctrine he is upon this is still the drift and aim of all his Applications namely to preserve the Professors of Christianity from Apostacy and Infidelity The words which I have chosen are a Reiteration or Reinforcement of an Application or Corollary arising from the Consideration of the Excellency of Christ above Moses Moses was faithful in the house as a Servant Christ as a Son over his own house This house are we if we hold fast our faith Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith Harden not your hearts Take heed brethren left I say the words are an Use of Exhortation and in them are considerable 1. The Persons to whom directed Professors of Christianity expressed in the Word Brethren 2. Matter or Object about which it is conversant Unbelief heart unbelief 3. Form of Exhortation by way of Caveat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 take heed Now every Caveat implies 1. Evil in the thing 2. Danger of the thing 3. That there are ways and means to prevent it This is implyed in the Caveat and expressed in words following My design at this time will be to enforce the Exhortation of the Text And seeing that every Application is a Consequence or Corollary arising from some Antecedent Proposition and the force of it is finally resolved into the truth and evidence and concernment of that Antecedent Therefore it will be necessary to draw out that Antecedent by reflecting briefly upon the Text as it lies in the Series of the Epistle I. Then for the Persons They are here styled Brethren and elsewhere Holy Brethren Partakers of the heavenly Calling They were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 baptized into the profession of the Gospel they had tasted of the Word of God and the powers of the world to come II. The Matter Unbelief or rather Disbelief not Negative Infidelity but a positive Revolting from the faith which they had professed Generally a Disbelief of the Word of God Particularly a Disbelief of the Gospel as to the Doctrines or Promises or Threatnings Thereof III. For the Form that which is here expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 look to it is in the other of forms Exhortation throughout the Epistle expressed by terms of the greatest Emphasis and earnestness imaginable Let us Fear lest we fall short 4. 1. Labour to enter 4. 1. Use diligence be not slothful 6. 11 12. Press earnestly draw near hold fast 10 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us give more deligent heed lest by any means we should let it slip 2. 1. So that the Sum of the Apostles Argumentation is this The last resolution of all the Obligation
he should bind them up in chains that he should exclude them from the benefit of Repentance and reserve them to the Judgement of the Great Day That he should allow this priviledge to lapsed men that he should reveal himself to them that he should make them understand their duty and their interest that he should set before them good and evil happiness and misery the desire and the detestation of humane nature that he should by all means court and wooe them to that which all men naturally desire and discourage and divert them from that which they naturally abhorr That after all this he should not prevail in such a case as this that they should scornfully reject the end of all their hopes that they should studiously pursue the object of all their fears This is that rational wonder that I am now to lay before you To manifest this wonder a little more explicitely let us consider the advantages of Nature and the Motives from Scripture to bring men to repentance The grounds and fundamental elements of the Doctrine of Repentance are these The Being Attributes of God The immortality of the Souls of men The principles of Synteresis The terrours of natural Conscience The forâ—casts of vâ—ngeance The apprehension and desire of an Attonement And all these are manifest from the Dictates and discoveries of the Light of Nature The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work They speak it loud they spread it largely they proclaim it constantly Their sound is gone out into all the world there is no speech or language but their voice is heard among them The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen even his eternal power and God-head Concerning his providence in governing the world St. Paul tells the men of Lystra and the Priest of Iupiter that he did not leave himself without witness amongst the Heathen The whole earth is full of his righteousness and all the people see his glory So that a man shall say Verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtless there is a God that judgeth the earth He is not far from any one of us in whom we live and move and have our being He is the Father of Spirits and we are his off-spring Surely there is a spirit within a man and that spirit immortal deriving from Him who only hath immortality And these things have asserted themselves with so great evidence that they have been generally acknowledged by all sorts of heathen Authors Philosophers Historians Orators and Poets Moreover they shew the Law of Synteresis written in their hearts they have consciences accusing or excusing they find themselves concluded under sin and are perplexed and tormented under the apprehensions of an offended God For Conscience condemned by its own witness is very timorous and always fore-casteth grievous things The starting of Alexander when he had killed his friend and of Nero when he had destroyed his mother The confusions of Tiberius when he wrote from Capreae to the Senate concerning the death of Sejanus The foretastes of an avenging Nemesis described by heathen Orators and Histoâ—ians The passions ascribed to Medea and Hercules and Orestes c. by the Poets The Rites and Sacrifices of all the Pagan world The prodigious ways of expiations devised to make their attonement with their imaginary Deities offended They were all of them the products of natural Conscience exerting it self in such a disquisition as is delivered by the Prophet Wherewithal shall I come before the Lord or bow my self before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with calves of a year old will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oyl shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul All these and many more are the Indications of Nature the incitements and provocations of natural Conscience to bring men to repentance But beside these common Motives the persons of the Text whether they were the Jews and Inhabitants of Ierusalem at the time of the destruction of it by Titus and Vespasian or any that called themselves Christians they had a clearer and more glorious light to guide them they had far more efficacious and noble Motives to lead and urge them to repentance the Light and Motives of the Holy Scriptures There it is that the Power and Wisdom and Goodness and Severity of God are gloriously displayed the immortal Nature and sinful condition of the souls of men the rewards and punishments of this life and of the world to come are clearly discovered The elements of the Doctrine of Repentance the Motives to it are there explained and applyed mixt and combined a 1000 several ways The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament are nothing else but a Systeme of various powerful Methods to bâ—ing men to repentance This is the general aim and common scope of all the Doctrines the Histories the Logick and Rhetorick of the Book of God This was Noah's Text upon which he preached to the old world 120 years Upon this errand God â—ent all the Prophets rising early and sending them they said Turn again now every one from his evil way This was the message of him that was the voice of one crying in the wilderness Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand Our Lord Christ and his seventy Disciples and his twelve Apostles they all with one voice insisted upon this Theme and when the Holy Ghost himself descended he likewise drove at this conclusion Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. The time would fail me if I should attempt in any measure to lay before you the declarations promises threatnings exhortations dehortations reasonings expostulations instances of mercies and of judgements delivered in the Scriptures to bring men to repentance To this end God hath declared himself slow to anger gracious and merciful He hath said that he would have no man perish He hath sworn that he doth not desire the death of the wicked but had rather that he should turn and live He considers our frame and his ways are equal He is ready to pardon to pardon iniquity transgression and sin though they are as scarlet to make them white as snow if they be a cloud to scatter them like a cloud Wherefore let the wicked forsake his ways and the unâ—ighteous his imaginations and return unto the Lord. On the other side to break the hardness of the hearts of men to rouze them up from their impenitency he declares his justice and asserts his propriety in vengeance Vengeance is mine and I will repay it He protests that he will by no means acquit the guilty
honourable women against them The instances of their malicious opposition in all ages of the Church are so many as are not to be numbred in a few Minutes but would require many days only to name them They first stirred up Nero to persecute the Christians they contrived the death of Polycarpus they stood by and insulted over the dying Martyrs in a word whoever shall read the stories of primitive times he will find that the Jews were generally the Setters and Informers against the Martyrs and the Brokers for their Goods after execution And the Histories of our own and other Nations will shew us the height of their malice and the continuance of it Now beside the little Nation of the Jews the rest of the whole world when this History began to be published and the Books written were Heathen universally devoted to the Devil whom therefore our Saviour styles the Prince of this world And now that feud which had depended betwixt the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman 4000 years was by the preaching and writing of these things brought to a Crisis The professed and declared design of the Gospel was to drive the Devil out of his Dominion notwithstanding the antiquity of his possession theuniversality of his Church and the consent of all Nations whereby he held his title Notwithstanding his Empire was supported by Governours and Laws and fortified by the Arms and actual strength of all the world he saw that if the Gospel were not suppressed a little time would spoil the pride of all his glory that in a moment he should fall like lightning from Heaven That he should be exorcised out of the bodies which he possessed That his famous Oracles should soon be put to silence his gorgeous Temples and Images should be torn down his Mysteries and lying wonders set at nought That Prayers and Vows would be made to him no more and he should cease to be celebrated in the Songs of his Poets and Hymns of his Hierophantae That his revelling Festivals would be turned to mourning no more gifts would be presented no beasts nor children women or men sacrificed upon his Altars The Contention was de rerum summa pro◠aris focis and his rage was kindled accordingly He summons together all his wiles and stratagems he musters all his forces he sounds an Alarm to the world stirs up young and old rich and poor all ages sexes conditions the people wise and unwise the Common Souldiers and Commanders Counsellors and Judges Senate and Emperors by suppressing these Books and destroying the Believers of them to erase the memory of the Gospel and abolish it for ever The people were enraged against the Believers as against the common Enemy of mankind and pro solenni suo they slandered them with unthought of wickedness they imputed to them all the calamities of the world And required them to death Si Tiberis ascendit in moenia Christianos ad Leones Against these Books the Learned employed their Learning and the Witty employed their Wit Celsus Porphyrius Iamblichus Hierocles and other Philosophers endeavoured to dispute them out of the world Symmachus and Libanius and other Rhetors to declaim them away Iulian and Lucian and other Scoptick wits endeavoured to jeer and droll away the credit of them Mean while the Senators and Lawyers employ themselves to destroy the Books by stretching against them the ancient Laws against bringing in Foreign Religions and against Magical and Fatidical Books and to destroy Books and Believers by New Laws made for that purpose against Combinations Hetaeriae Sacriledge Treason the Law that none should buy or sell or draw water without Thurification to the Gods and the like By force of these they persecute the Believers as Enemies to the Commonwealth and Traytors to the Emperour as sacrilegious persons and contemners of Religion The people sometimes rising upon them without any edict sometimes by virtue of Edicts Imperial or Proconsular From the beginning of the Gospel to the end of Dioclesian and Maximian this was the state of Believers Their Scriptures were forbidden to be read and required to be burned their Oratories and obscure Churches were pulled in pieces their Estates were plundered and confiscate their bodies were imprisoned and tormented Fire and Sword hot Iron Chairs and Coffins Gridirons◠and Cauldrons Hooks Stakes and Gibbets the Teeth of Lyons and Tygers c. were their portion It cannot be shewed that ever any Book or story met with equal Opposition 2. Consider then how it prevailed how quickly and largely how deeply and effectually although the Precepts were not contrived to sollicit the Affections nor the Doctrines to court the Reason of men At one Sermon of Peter three thousand at another five thousand were converted Within a few years after the Death of Christ we find by St. Peter that the Gospel was preached throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia Bithynia and Paul had planted it from Ierusalem round about to Illyricum Besides what was done by other Apostles in the Provinces assigned them at the Council of Ierusalem Within sixty six years this grain of Mustard seed was become a Tree Pliny Proconsul of Bithynia to whom the care of Religion ex officio did appertein appointed by Trajan to suppress the Christians he writes to him that this Belief was Longè lateque diffusa Civitates Vicos Agros impletos Christi cultoribus During the second Century it had shot out great branches the boughs of this Tree were stretched out Hesterni sumus vestra omnia implevimus Tertullian reckons up the known parts of the World in quibus omnibus Christi nomen regnat and concludes ubique porrigitur creditur colitur regnat adoratur And lastly During the third à morte Christi the Fowls of the air and Beasts of the field lodged under the shadow of it The Net drew good and bad to shore the Roman Emperour and Empire declared themselves Christians i. e. Believers and Assertors of these Books So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed It went on conquering and to conquer not by the Spirit of the Sword but by the Sword of the Spirit the powers of the Earth and the gates of Hell could not withstand it it drove the Devil away with all his Temples Idols Oracles Priests Sacrifices Services like lightning So fell the Dragon◠the old Serpent that deceived the World he was cast out with all his train So fell Lucifer the Son of the morn his Friends and his Followers lamenting How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer the Son of the morning Desolata Templa rarissimus Victimarum emptor Some complain of people forsaking of the Gods others of the Gods forsaking their Oracles and Temples and becoming useless to the World He said I will ascend into Heaven and exalt my Throne above the Stars but he was soon brought down to Hell For the Gospel like Leaven or Fire
spoils and the bodies of all men devoured of Beasts consumed of Fire swallowed by the Sea scattered to the four Winds in a moment in the twinckling of an eye shall be brought to Judgment And here shall I bewail the infirmity or inveigh against the negligence of us Men that suffer our selves to be hurried headlong by the power of our imaginations against the striving of our Consciences that suffer our Senses to carry away the crown from our Understanding and give over our selves to the impetuous stream of our passions That when we have a full information a compleat judgment a clear dictate of conscience we will suffer all these to be overborn in us by the Idola Specûs Tribûs c. which are brought into our imaginations That having clear and evident Principles we can yet doubt of their immediate consequences or whilest we profess an universal truth never descend to think of the particulars We know there is a vast difference between the things present and those to come and yet we form our thoughts of those according to the analogy of these deluding our selves with idle and childish imaginations God keeps silence we think he is such an one as we Vengeance is not prâ—sently executed we set our hearts to do wickedly We profess that all men must die and come to judgment yet we do not really believe that we our selves shall dy and come to judgment This is the fountain of our misery and the original of our spiritual miscarriages the discovery of the causes and remedy whereof lies deep in the Philosophy concerning Humane Nature but the thing it self is of every days observation we may recount it in these authentical examples David knew full well what belong'd to Murder and Adultery and what himself had done in the matter of Uriah yet he cried not out that he had sinned till Nathan had charged him Thou art the man Ahab undoubtedly had read the Law of Moses and knew the guilt of Murder and Oppression yet he goes on triumphantly he kills and also takes possession but when Elijah charges hime home In the field of Iezreel shall Dogs lick thy blood even thine then he cries out Hast thou found me O mine enemy 1 Kings 21. and having applyed things to his particular he Rent his Cloaths and put on sackcloth he fasted and lay in sackcloth and went softly Once more 'T is likely Belshazzar had a general Judgment and an universal Maxime in his mind That it was unlawful to spoil the House of God to plunder those things which were dedicated to the Lord and to debauch in the Bowls of the Temple and probably he had seen the hand-writing of the book of God to that purpose yet all this does not restrain him But when the Fingers write upon the Wall Mene Mene c. thou art weighed c. then his countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him the joynts of his loyns were loosed and his knees smote one against another This then is the Office of this second Proposition it charges us home it lays down the Universal and it brings it down to the Particular Thou shalt be brought to Judgment Thy Judgment is unavoidable O but then thy Evasion is crossed O my stupid Soul Thou art spoyled of thy frivolous ground of hope Thou shalt surely be cited and thou must appear if thou refuse to come thou shalt be brought to Judgment Return then again into thy self and take a review of thy condition what will the issue be of that Judgment to which thou must be brought What hopes are now remaining that thou shalt not be condemned when the Officers have haled thee before the Iudge that thou be not delivered to the Executioners If thou art called to Examination Canst thou elude thy Judge by thy wily Answers or Canst thou baffle or suborn the Witnesses Canst thou work off thy Jury not to find the Verdict or bribe the Judge to favour thee in thy Doom Canst thou withdraw him from the Rigour of Justice by the mediation of thy friends or melt him into compassion by the loudness of thy cries the sadness of thy lamentation Canst thou procure a Reversion or Reprieve of thy sentence or appeal from thy Judge unto another Canst thou make an escape from thine Executioner Or lastly Canst thou stoutly endure the sentence of Condemnation These are the hopes of men here brought to Judgement and why may not some of them be mine No thou knowest O treacherous heart all these to be fond impossibilities dreams and suggestions of a childish fancy if once this day be over and that time come thy hopes are barely these that Omniscience and Wisdom it self may be deluded by stupidity that Omnipotence and Power it self may be evaded by poor contemptible infirmity that Severity and Justice it self may be perverted by iniquity all this is evident by that which follows For we must all appear before the Iudgment seat of Christ. God will bring thee to Iudgment And here we are concerned to raise our thoughts and employ the utmost of our attention lest by the prejudice which our Idleness hath brought upon us we treasure up wrath to our selves against that day of Judgment 'T is true we daily hear of God and receive the names of his Attributes into our ears but we pass over his Name as if he were like to us and never bestow so much labour as to attain to a considerable notion of those names O that the God of Heaven would afford us here some glimpse of himself That he would illustrate us with some beam of his Majesty That he would be pleased to visit every unprovided soul and insinuate into it a full and clear apprehension of this Proposition God will c But how shall we endure to see his face No man can see my face and live Exod. 33. if the Israelites durst not hear him proclaim the Law how shall we endure to hear him denounce the Judgment If the Angels veil their faces not able to behold his Excellency how shall we be affected with his terrors If the Cherubims are oppressed with the sight of his glory what shall we be with the sense of his fury If we find our selves confounded and swallowed up into inextricable Labyrinths when we set our selves to consider of his immanent Attributes of his eternal Duration his unbounded Essence his unconfined Presence With what disposition can we entertain the terâ—or of his Judgment the search of his Omniscience the stroke of his Omnipotence If the best and choicâ—st of the Saints of God have been afraid and trembled at the thoughts of Judgment if they have been surprised with horror and confusion at the meer imagination of that Dreadful voice Arise and câ—me to Iudgment what shall the worst and most obdurate sinners when they shall be stript of this cloud of flesh and error and cited before the great tribunal there to render an account of their Creation Preservation and Redemption
lightnings or bring to their assistance the stormy wind and tempest Can they Marshal out the host of heaven or put the Constellations in array or command the stars in their courses to make resistance for them Can they bind the influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion or bring forth Mazzaroth or conduct Arcturus and his sons Are they able to stand before a jealous God and to support themselves in the presence of a consuming fire When a fire is kindled in his anger and shall burn to the lowest Hell and shall consume the earth and set on fire the mountains Are they able to sustein the fierceness of his anger Who among them can dwell with the devouring fire who among them can dwell with everlasting burnings Briefly and plainly to lay the case before you This people had heard with their ears of the drowning of the old world Their fathers had told them of the fire and brimstone which devoured the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrha They had been witnesses of the plagues brought upon Egypt They beheld the fire that consumed Nadab and Abihu They stood by when the earth opened and swallow'd up Dathan and covered the congregation of Abiram Thousands had fallen beside them and ten thousands at their right hand for their ingratitude and rebellion and yet they behave themselves so as hath been represented Judge in your selves was it wisdome thus to requite the Lord Were they or were they not a foolish people and unwise We have now seen the case of Israel the wickedness of their folly and the folly of their wickedness hath been in some measure displayed before us And who is it that doth not feel his indignation rise against this people Ah sinful people ah people laden with iniquity ah Seed of evil doers O ingrateful stiff-necked brutish nation do they thus requite the Lord that made that redeemed that established them Shall not his soul be avenged on such a nation as this Let God arise let his enemies be scattered It is but just and equal That he should consume them in a moment and blot out their remembrance from under heaven Nay but who art thou O man that judgest another and dost the same things thinkest thou that thou shalt escape the judgment of God Alas how easy is it in a figure to transfer all that hath been spoken to our selves to our selves of this Auditory to our selves of this Kingdome in every capacity private and publick Ecclesiastical and Civil 1. Hath not God dealt with us as he dealt with Israel 2. Have not we requited him as they requited him come now and let us briefly reason together For Gods dealing let us examine our selves upon the heads of enquiry here propounded by Moses in this song Hath he not 1 made 2 redeemed 3 established us in every sence and every capacity 1. Hath he not made us is not he the Creator and preserver of every individual person is not he the disposer of nations the ordainer and orderer of Governments the framer of Churches in the world In every one of these respects it is evidently true which is delivered by the Psalmist It is he that hath made us and not we our selves we are his people and the sheep of his pasture As for our personal being and better being was it not from him that we received our bodies our Souls our Christianity all things pertaining unto life and Godliness His eyes did see our substance yet being imperfect and in his book were all our members written He poured us out like Milk and curdled us like Cheese cloathed us with skin and flesh fenced us with bones and sinews he breathed into us life and spirit saying unto us Live he stamped his Image upon us and made us live the life of men he commanded and we were born of Christian Parents and baptized and regenerated into the life of Christians Hath he not made us Nay doth he not make us and that every moment by susteining and upholding our being by the word of his power by reteining our spirits and preserving our souls and life by his perpetual visitation by his protection and by this provision There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retein the spirit All the wit and industry and ability of all men upon earth nay of all creatures in Heaven and earth cannot make one grain of any one of that infinite variety of things which are of necessity or of convenience to the being or preservation of men And this is so evident upon the shallowest consideration that S. Paul at Lystra when the Priest of Iupiter supposing him to be Mercurius would have sacrificed to him appealed to this instance as Gods witness against the depth of heathenish darkness He left not himself without witness in that he gave rain from Heaven filling our hearts with food and gladness So that in this respect our case is parallel Hath not God dealt with us as with Israel Hath he not made us as to our personal and private condition Again if we consider our selves in our national publick capacity in reference to the political frame of our Government Civil and Ecclesiastical hath he not made us It was in reference to this that Moses asked this question and to help their understandings in the consideration of it for an answer in the words immediately following he calls upon them to search into their antiquities to reflect upon their original and their progress Remember saith he the days of old and consider the years of many generations Ask thy Fathers and they will tell thee thy Elders and they will shew thee And now I say unto you Have you not heard long ago how he hath done it and of ancient days how he hath formed it How he hath formed the state of this Island and reformed it how he never gave over working hewing and fabricating the inhabitants thereof till he had framed them into a glorious Christian Kingdom from a most barbarons savage scattered heathen people How oft did the Almighty Potter bring the stubborn matter to the wheel overturning overturning overturning To civilize the Britains he brought in the Romans then tried the Britains again When that would not frame to his hand he brought in the Saxons and upon them the Danes then tried the Saxons again and lastly he brought in the Normans nations oâ— various tempers customs religions languages caused nation to rise against nation c. he committed them one with another and among themselves he mixed and blended them by many a terrible combat and collision he polish'd the roughness of them by the leaven of the Gospel he fermented and matured and sweetned them till by his powerful word light was brought out of darkness out of a multitude of disorders and confusions sprang forth a noble well-tempered form of Government System of Laws Civil Ecclesiastical equal at least to those of any other people harmoniously conspiring if