which they could not have done if any and not all of them should have been corrupted and that all of them should either casually or by design be corrupted besides that no end can appear to encourage such a designe the thing it self makes it impossible Besides had any such thing been they must to make a correspondence have corrupted likewise the Septuagint translation which for almost three hundred years before our Saviour was extant in Egipt that I speak nothing of the Chaldee Paraphrase extant before the time of our blessed Saviour so then as far as the nature of a morall subject will admit we have shewed as from the causes that the Scriptures of the Old Testament could not be corrupted Now as from the signes we have likewise powerfull arguments that to our Saviours time they were uncorrupted because our Saviour never discovers any corruption of the Text which certainly he would not have spared at such times as he taxes the Scribes and Pharisees of making the Law of God of none effect by their traditions Now that the Hebrew Canon hath not been corrupted since our Saviours time we have this sign likewise that never any of the ancient Fathers have in their greatest heat of zeal against the Jews accused them of such corruption though Justin Martyr complain of wronging the Septuagints Translation and certainly if they should have corrupted them upon design either before or since it would have been in all those places which conclude against them for Christ the true Messiah that stumbling stone upon which they stumbled and fell but those do remain unaltered The truth is to them were committed the Oracles of God and they have by the visible ordination of the providence of God discovered so much care and diligence that way as is not to be found to have been bestowed upon any other writings under heaven witnesse the Criticall notes of their Massoreth which gives an account of the numbers of of letters in every Book almost and almost if not altogether of every various lection I conclude then that they have never been corrupted SECT. IX That in our Saviours time these bookes were true and consequently were the Word of God BUt we in our Saviours time they were true and the Word of God as appears by our Saviours testimony and the testimony of the Apostles who still referre to them as being of divine inspiration as being the truth and Word of God their using the testimony almost of every particular Book as anthenticall their disputations founded upon their Authority Particulars in this kinde are so many and so plain that without any more speaking I will conclude that we are to receive the Old Testament upon the credit of the New and the New Testament as I have formerly demonstrated upon greater reason far then any other writings in the world and consequently that we must receive the Books of the Old Testament upon the same Authority We have already discovered some of those many reasons whereupon we are to receive the Books of the Old Testament and the New under the credit and authority of the Word of God Besides those whereupon I have insisted there are many more some of them taken from the quality of the writers some from the manner of the writings the former shewing that those men from whom they proceeded were not fit persons to devise such things they being many if not most of them simple and unlearned men the latter manifesting that such things are not of their nature obvious to be devised because they transcend the wit and invention of man the Majesty and simplicity of the stile the concord and harmony the end and scope the power and efficacy the antiquity besides the Testimony of the Spirit in the hearts of men But the evidence of truth no way depending upon the multitude of arguments or reasons and all of these being insisted on in some or other of those Authours which are obvious I shall at this time finish what remains of that which at the first I propounded which was to shew That as there are many and important reasons moving wise men to receive them so there neither are nor can be any sufficient arguments on the contrary to make men to refuse them SECT. X. That there is no reason to disbeleeve the Scriptures Objections briefly proposed and answered first generall Objections against the whole 'T is true indeed that many both of old and later times have refused either all or severall parts of the holy Canon and it is not to be hoped or expected that they should ever be generally received by all the world there must be heresies and amongst the rest there alwaies have been and sure there ever will be Antiscripturians the greatest part of the world have ever lived according to sence and appetite and to prove that de facto it is denyed is not to manifest that there is reason why it is so yet seeing there are of those disputing and theoreticall hereticks as well as practicall to conceal or dissemble the arguments which are alleadged against the truth it would be to betray the cause that we have undertaken and give occasion for some Jealousie that their Objections are unanswerable To come then to an issue some have rejected All by reason of  Impossibilities    Repugnances    Mutations  Parts accusing them as Sine nomine Authoris    Dubitati    Ab intrinseco matter Those who refuse the whole Scriptures they are some of them Atheists others professe themselves Christians and yet doe deny the authority of the written word pretending to private and secret illuminations as the last rule of their actions the design of my discourse being against the former I shall only intimate the frenzy of the later They pretend that that which we call the written word is not the Word of God because 1. The Word of God is God himselfe 2. Christ is the Word of God 3. The Letter kils 4. The Word of God is spirit and life These are the arguments which by some Enthusiasts are used against the written Letter And for answer to them we may only observe how by arguing against the authority of the Scriptures these men do tacitely assert it for taking their arguments out of it and proceeding no further either by reason or revelation to the discovery of their antecedents but barely resting in the recitall of those words which are there written they do resolve all the power and force of their argument into the authority of those very writings which they would impugne and consequently they do at once deny and grant the authority of the Scripture which is to deserue the Epithete which is given them of fanaticall Enthusiasts That the Word of God is God himself taking the Word of God for the immanent act of the diuine understanding is indeed a truth attainable by other principles by those I mean from whence the absolute simplicity
it is beleeved because of his abilities to know and because it makes not things appear to be strained in his behalf because it might have been contradicted if it had been otherwise and because he is delivered to us in the complexion of Histories as a man of honour that would not write a lye That the Histories of Salust are true it is beleeved because he wrote of things done within the compasse of his time whereof he might well informe himself he was a man of knowledge and could not gain by any thing that he hath delivered if it were untrue That all of these Histories were written by those that bear the name of them there is hardly any man that doubts because there is no improbability in reason they have been constantly so received in the world and mentioned successively in Authors following one another from their severall generations down to ours We see the various degrees of qualifications some of them upon which we build an historicall beleif that this beleif comes short of the clearnesse of our assent to a Mathematicall demonstration is evident because there is an absolute impossibility that things should be otherwise there being a contradiction involved in the very tearms and in adjecto but here is no impossibility but only an exceeding difficulty which makes up not indeed a Mathematicall but a morall impossibility it is possible that all men may combine together to say that they have seen such things as they have not seen because every man is a lyar but how they should come to doe it or to what end is so invisible and inconceivable that the matter taken in the grosse is altogether incredible It is absolutely possibly that all those writings which we receive as delivered down from ancient times may have been of late devised by some men to abuse the world and put upon other names but to what end any men should ttke the pains and how they should fit them with circumstances and make them all depend upon each other in a constant succession agreeing in the mention of persons places and actions is a thing so difficult as that it would argue madnesse to beleeve and conclude him to want the use of reason that should reject the light of all antiquity SECT. IV. An Application of those generall grounds to the History of the New Testament and a proof of this Assertion ' That there is as great reason to beleeve the New Testament as to beleeve any other History in the world SUch madnesse then and no lesse it were to reject the Histories of the holy Scriptures no lesse madnesse nay it is much greater and that not only because they are of more concernment to us then the acts of men of former times but even because of the advantages of the delivery of those Histories We will beginne with those of the New Testament And here first The Books of the New Testament were written by those whose Names they bear that the four Gospels were written by the four Evangelists and that the Acts of the Apostles were written by Saint Luke c. Now that these Books were written by these men it is impossible affirmatively to demonstrate all that can be said is that there is as great evidence of it as of any other writing in the world that by whatsoever argument it can be made appear that any Books have been written by those who are reputed for their Authours in antiquity that the works of Homer or Plato or Aristotle or Tully are theirs by the same it may be made evident that these have proceeded from our Authours Have they been successively delivered so have these have they been continually mentioned under those names so have these have they been acknowledged by all parties so have these those that in the primitive times did oppose the doctrine of Christ yet did it not under the pretence that their Books were spurious neither Jews nor Pagans had the impudence to make that objection Julian the Apostate doth freely acknowledge Cyrill 10. Grot. 3. ver. that the Books which by the Christians were received under the names of Peter Paul Mathew Marke Luke they were the writings of those Authours It is true that there are some Book received of the Canon of the New Testament whose Authors are unknown as the Epistle to the Hebrews and some others but concerning them I hope to speake in answering those objections which are made against the Scripture In the mean time we may justly assume it for granted that those whereof no question hath been made in ancient times they are the writings of those to whom they are ascribed And now this being supposed which cannot with any pretence of reason be denied it follows clearly that the things they have related are to be beleeved for first the things which they have delivered they were matters easily to be known in respect of the things themselves they were matters of fact and speeches performed by our Saviour or by themselves Secondly the acts were acted publiquely in the face of the world and the speeches which they deliver as spoken by others they were for the most part spoken publiquely either in the Synagogue or in the Temple or to the multitude somewhere gathered together on a mountain by the sea-side in publique places so as they might have easily been contradicted if they should have delivered a falsehood Thirdly the parties which have delivered them had all the opportunities in the world to know the truth of things they were things done either by themselves or within their owne sight or hearing for the greatest part or at least wise in the times and places where the reporters lived Mathew and John the two Evangelists which wrote the History of Christ they were two of his Disciples two that were intimately acquainted with his actions and his words more familiar with him then the rest the one was the disciple that Jesus loved and used to lean in his bosome as they lay at meat the other was usually taken with him when most of the rest were left behinde and hence it follows that they themselves were present at almost all the acts and speeches which they have delivered Marke and Luke the other two Evangelists they lived in the same territories at the same time where and when our blessed Saviour bestowed his conversation and moreover Saint Marke was as 't is very probable first a Disciple of Saint Paul who was miraculously chosen to deliver the doctrine of Christ Afterwards he was undoubtedly a disciple and companion of Saint Peter who was an Apostle of our Saviour did live familiarly together with him was present at almost all things which Marke hath written and besides whatever is delivered by Saint Marke is to be found in the writings of the Apostles Luke was an individuall companion of Paul and so he might learne of him such things as he delivered besides that he saith that he spoke with those that were eye-witnesses of the
in their speeches and writings was fully exampled in their lives We have before intimated that whosoever will charge an authour with a lye he must either detect the lewdnesse and corruption of their lives or at least wise manifest what they might gain by their report the former could never be by their sworn enemies detected nay Julian the great Apostate could charge them with nothing but simplicity now then all the gain that can be is reducible to the Avoidance of evill and Obtaining of good The Goods that are to be obtained are either of Body Estate Liberty Reputation First then What outward evill did they thereby escape that so they may be judged to have lyed out of fear consider the state of the world at that time and tell us whether or no there was danger in speaking and writing those things or in the forbearance Did the Roman Emperours or the Governours of Judea or the Jews or the Presidents of the adjacent Provinces or the multitude threaten them to make them speak or to be silent Did they by that meanes put themselves into a condition of ease and pleasure and soft luxury Did they treasure up gold and silver and raise themselves a fortune by it Had they a greater freedome inward or outward did it let them into larger principles or procure them a greater scope to gratifie their inordinate desires Was it the way to advance them to honour and reputation either with the Governors or with the people nay instead of bodily ease and pleasure it objected them to pains active and passive they were forced to undertake labours and travels and watchings and the inconveniencies of great and painfull industry they were daily opposed to hunger and thirst and cold and nakednesse nay to torments and to death instead of gaining an estate they were enforced to forsake all that they had to live an ambulatory kinde of life without any certain being depending as it were on the Ravens to provide them their meat from one day to another Instead of that same freedome and liberty which men affect they entred into a straighter and more narrow way then the way of the world they were forced to deny themselves even such things as they knew were lawfull and they were abridged even of the common enjoyments of mankinde not suffered to converse with freedom or to breath with safety they no sooner came to a city but there they were persecuted and forced to fly unto another That which Saint Paul spoke of himself as he was making his last voyage up to Jerusalem might have been the common Motto of them all Now I goe bound in the Spirit up to Jerusalem not knowing what things shall befall me only the holy Ghost that testifies in every city that bonds and afflictions abide me there As for the matter of honor and reputation that was all in the hands of their enemies the Jews and the Greeks they preached Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block to the Greeks foolishnesse and all the credit which they obtained at their hands was to be accounted a company of silly men contentious for a thing of nothing a question about names about one Jesus which was dead whom they affirmed to be alive this was the opinion of the Gentiles and by the Jews they were looked upon as revolters and so not fit to live as for this sect we know that it is every where spoken against and they were hereby rendred the scorn and derision of the world the off-scouring of the people what shall I more say they were deprived of all the enjoyments of the world and cast into all the miseries or in the words of the Authour to the Hebrews They wandred about in sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented and all for the delivery of the things contained in those bookes and if we will sadly consider it we can assigne no cause of this their choice but the force of truth prevailing on them and the urging of their conscience by the continuall instigation of them by that spirit which acted them making their hearts hot and kindling a fire within them a fire in their bosome which they could not suppresse We cannot but speake the things which we have seen and heard they suffered for their profession that never men did and so we have greater reason to beleeve them then any other men And we have still greater arguments then these because that God himselfe gave testimony to their words and writings and that both in their own times and the times which did succeed them in their own times by miracles in the succeeding generations by accomplishing their predictions The Apostles then in confirmation of their doctrine were endowed with a miraeulous power from on high and manifested to all the world that they had received in great abundance their portions of the spirit from him that had the spirit not by measure they preached and as they preached they confirmed their doctrine by mighty signs and wonders and evident manifestations of the holy Ghost so evident that when they had delivered the relation of them to a gain-saying a crooked and perverse generation assigning the times and places and other circumstances their spightfull enemies could never detect them of the least imposture but were forced though their teeth gnashed while they spake to confesse that indeed great miracles were done by them that this was evident and they were not able to deny it nay such was the evidence of the miracles performed by them that some of them have been recorded in the annals of heathen Authours Phlegon that they were appealed unto by the primitive Christians in the times next succeeding the Apostles in all their Apologies for the Christian faith in their Apologies made to the Heathen Emperours they are appealed unto as things commonly known by the world yeelded without contradiction which could not with any fore-head be denied they were I say appealed unto and that to the greatest enemies of the Christians and that by way of challenge to the triall and that without any reply as to the falshood of them and without any recrimination nay which is yet much more there were not only by these men themselves but even at their sepulchres when they were dead great miracles performed for divers centuries of years and that so certainly that it was confessed by the sorest enemies of the Church such I mean as were of the School of Pythagoras that by Magick Arts strove to out-doe the performances of Christ particularly by that mad Dogge Porphyrius and others Unlesse then men will deny God the honour due unto him and make him by his presence and testimony authorize imposture there can be no scruple made of the truth of these mens writings but they must be beleeved before the writings of any others in the world unlesse they likewise could have done such acts as these have done unlesse they could have cast out devils by their words have given the holy
Ghost by the imposition of their hands unlesse they could have healed all manner of diseases the blinde the lame the deaf the dumb c. by words touch shaddow or could have spoke all sorts of Languages or rather at one speaking could have brought to passe that men of every language should perfectly have understood their speech as if it had been their own Parthians and Medes and Elamites and the dwellers in Mesopotamia and Judea and Cappadocia Pontus and Asia Phrygia and Pamphilia Egipt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene strangers of Rome Jews and Proselytes Cretes and Arabians they all heard them speak in their own tongues Nor did it please the Lord of the spirits of all flesh here to stint the dispensations of his holy spirit to them he gave them not only the power of miracles but the spirit of prophecy he unfolded to them the everlasting rolls and admitted them into his decrees and would not hide from them the things which he meant to bring to passe in the generations to come he urged them by his holy Spirit and they foretold the fates of the world they foretold it and God brought it to passe I cannot stand to reckon up all their prophecies which they delivered and shortly after they were fulfilled of the spreading of that leaven of the growth of that grain of mustardseed of the mighty and wonderfull propagation of the faith and the perpetuall enduring of it of the rejection of it by the Jews and the receiving of it by the Gentiles of the hatred of the Jews and the torments which were to be undergone by the glorious Martyrs of the destruction of Ierusalem and the calamities of that faithlesse Nation all these make it evident that God was with them that there is infinitely more reason to beleeve the writers of the New Testament then any other writers That none can disbeleeve them without forfeiting his reason by asserting that God would give testimony to imposture SECT. VI That the Old Testament is the Word of God A Proposall of three severall assertions whereby it is concluded HAving demonstrated that the Books of the New Testament are all of them to be received under the authority and credit of the word of God that the dogmaticall parts are to be received upon the credit of the Histories and the Histories upon the common principles of reason and consequently that no man professing to be guided by reason and judgement can refuse them It remains that we demonstrate the same of the Old Testament and that we take off those colours and answer those Sophisms which by some men are urged against the Scripture and so conclude this argument Before I proceed to the former of these I must call to your remembrance that which in the beginning I did premise that under the title of the Books of the Old Testament I did comprehend those and those only which in the Church of England have been admitted under the name of the Books of the Canonicall Scripture and that I had no purpose at all to meddle with the controversies which are betwixt us and the Romane Church about the books which are Apocryphall the reason why the Church hath entertained them only into the Canon is because they onely were of the Canon of the Jews beleef before the coming of our Saviour they only being written in the Hebrew tongue and consigned by Esdras at the return of the Jews from the Babilonish captivity as is generally beleeved amongst the Jewish Rabbines whilest the Prophets Haggai Zachary and Malachy were yet alive Now although the way to demonstrate the truth of them considering the question apart and by ic self be the same with the way whereby we did demonstrate the truth of the New Testament by asserting the Authours of them to have been those men to whom they were evermore ascribed and from the qualities of the things delivered in matter of History and the characters of those persons who have delivered the severall parts of it to demonstrate that no reason can be imagined why such men as those are and must be supposed to be should deliver such impostures as those must be supposing them to be impostures that no end or motive can be discovered which they should propound to themselves for their reward but on the contrary that many reasons are visible why they should have held their peace if they durst have concealed those things from the world the reasons from safety gain glory and the like as might either jointly or severally be demonstrated of even all the books of the Law and of the Prophets which make up the greatest part Moses together with the Law having delivered likewise the shame of himself and Miriam and Aaron The Prophets having been all or most of them hardly used which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted Although I say this had been the naturall way to demonstrate the matter in question taken singly and apart by it selfe yet partly to avoid the similitude of matter which renders unpleasant even the most profitable discourses and partly to make a present dispatch of this Argument I shall content my self to have put you thus in minde that all those generall arguments for the truth and credit of those writers are common to these as well as to the others and that there needs no variation of them being to be applied to the question now in hand any other then the interchanging of their severall names their personall relations and qualities and other accidents In a word that the kindes of the Arguments are the same and the force of reason alike in both allowing only the difference of gradual and individuall circumstances This being premised the summe of what I shall further say is briefly this That 1. In the time of our Saviour and the Apostles these Bookes were true 2. That since that time they have not been changed From which two Propositions it will follow that still they are so and consequently that the Books of the Old Testament as well as of the New are the Word of God As touching these propositions the truth of them will be inferred by this ratiocination 1. The Books which we now receive are the same which the Jews do now receive 2. The Books which the Jews now receive are the same which they did formerly receive even up to the consignation of their Canon 3. The Books which then they did receive were true SECT. VII The first Assertion proved That the Books of the Old Testament which we now receive are the same which the Jews doe now receive THat those Canonicall Books which we receive are the self same with those which the Jews at the present do receive is a case so plain that it needs no manner of proof but only this that it is obvious to every man to compare our English or Latine Bibles with the Hebrew Bibles which are used amongst the Jews at present and daily put forth by the present
Rabbines residing in the severall parts and dominions of the world upon such a comparison it will be found that we do own the self same Books which they do without any difference in the number or inscriptions chapters or verses of those Books such as do doubt of this they must take the pains to try and to resolve themselves by their own experience or else if they are not able or not willing to take the pains to make themselves their own resolvers they must of necessity beleeve the multitude of those that have already tried it and finding it to be generally granted and allowed of all men and all parties however differing otherwise amongst themselves they must upon that account either beleeve the Proposition or else devise some way how and for what end it should be brought to passe that the learned men of all Nations and Religions Jews Christians Papists Protestants Turks Pagans c. should agree together to impose upon that part of people that cannot or will not fit themselves to resolve a question so easie and of such concernment Now that all these sorts of men doe thus agree must likewise be beleeved untill some one instance can be produced to the contrary the truth is the thing being a matter liable to the triall of common sence and obvious to all the world there is no more controversie made of it among the learned then of a principle in Mathematicks It is true indeed that as concerning the interpretation of those books there is and almost ever was a great deal of controversie amongst the learned but none as to the number and to the parts of those that are delivered amongst the Jews and it is likewise true that the beleif of farre the greatest number of Christians doth in its kinde depend upon the questionable fidelity of translators and that fidelity of theirs if it be to be tried that must be done by means which are not exempt from question all therefore which can be said in this matter is that unlesse we can attain to skill sufficient for our own satisfaction in this question we take into thought the qualifications of Translators in respect of skill and of fidelity and impartially that we consider all those rationall heads and grounds whereon men use to settle their belief amongst which no greater evidence can be expected then there is in cases where all agree and such is the main body of ours and other translations likewise this that I have spoken of translations is indeed a digression from the proposition I should demonstrate seeing when we speak of the sacred authority of the holy Scriptures we mean it not of translations as they are such but primarily of the originals and of translations only so far as they are consonant to those originals And thus much is indeed sufficient both for the assertion and explication of that proposition that the books which we receive they are the same which the Jews receive SECT. VIII That the Bookes which the Iews do now receive are the same which they have received ever since the Consignation of their Canon BUt secondly the Bookes which the Jews do now receive they are the same which they did formerly receive upwards to the time of our Saviour and his Apostles nay beyond them to the very time of the consignation or sealing up the Canon of their beleif that is their Bookes were never changed nor corrupted It is not here my purpose to assert that never any letter or word hath been changed or formerly read otherwise then now it is in the Jewish Bibles I am not so far unacquainted with their Keri and Chetib or with the notes of the Massoreth but that there hath not been made any variation so considerable as to shake the authority of the present coppies Of these various readings I hope to speak in the answering objections In the interim I am to demonstrate that they have not received any considerable depravation And now this being a negative Proposition common reason doth presently offer it to every ones judgement that it cannot be positively proved the very nature of such propositions contradicting that manner of proof the arguments then which are producible are some of them taken from the causes why they could not morally be corrupted the other from signs that de facto they have not been so The first argument then is taken from the multitude of copies which it was impossible to combine together to corrupt upon design or that they should accidentally agree together in the same casuall corruptions It is certainly apparent out of the Histories of the Jews that after their first and second captivities they did store themselves with multitudes of copies of the sacred books and that both publikely and privately that which before they were dispersed either was not so necessary to them or else was not so apprehended by them so long as the first Temple was yet unrazed we reade but of very few if any Synagogues of the Jews in other Nations out of the bounds and terrirores of Iudea but after by their long and wofull captivity when their confidence in the protection of their Law and their Temple had by their sad experience and wofull suffering worn it self out of their mindes their Temple being utterly demolished the best of them began to think that it was possible that even the Law might fail Habbakuk and they now bethought themselves of making use of the rationall means of the preservation of it in the mindes of men and seeing there could not be any readier way thought upon then the erecting of Synagogues and writing many copies these were the courses which they took they had had experience of the inconvenience of having one only copy in the losse of that copy which being found again by Hilkiah the Priest made King Iosiah to rend his clothes at the hearing of those things written in the Law and accordingly we finde before the coming of our Saviour many Synagogues erected in forrain places and the books of the Law and the Prophets in every Synagogue reade every Sabbath day now every dispersion encreased the number of Synagogues and Books And besides the first captivity of the Tribes carried into Media by the Assyrians we shall finde them even after they had licence from Cyrus to return continuing still abroad and upon many new occasions again dispersed those that reade over sacred Histories and prophane shall finde them seated in most of the Eastern Countries adjacent Iudea or not farre distant from thence the Macedonians invited them to Alexandria the cruelties of Antiochus the civill warres of the Asmonaei the armies of Pompey and Lossius drove many of them from their habitations the cities of Cyrene of Asia Macedonia and Lycaonia the Islands of Cyprus and Crete and divers others even Rome it self they were all of them furnished with Temples and Synagogues of the Jews now so it is that the Books of all these did agree together amongst themselves
of the divine nature is attainable But that Christ is the eternall word of the Father and that there is such a spirit and life as the argument doth imply and that there is a divine and mysticall meaning of that letter of the word they either owe their faith unto that word or else they have not done very charitably in concealing those waies whereby they come to know it and very improvidently in giving occasion for us to beleeve that their pretences of illumination are but pretences Now for that other party who doe reject the Scriptures the whole bulk of them their Arguments are these I. Because they deliver things impossible and consequently incredible and so they are not to be beleeved 2. Because they deliver things repugnant and contradictory to one another 3. Because the Books of the Old Testament are doubtfull by reason of the differences of the Text and Margent And the Books of the New Testament are likewise uncertain by reason of the various readings of severall copies 1. Those things which the Atheisticall partie use to object against the authority of the Scripture as impossible and incredible they are the miracles performed by Moses and the Prophets by Christ and his Apostles but if we shall attentively consider them we shall finde that they doe include in them no contradiction nor any absolute impossibility of the performance the utmost that can be justly concluded from them is that they transcend the ordinary course of the dispensation of that providence which orders the world and administers the laws of the government thereof But upon the hearing or reading of extraordinary events presently though they have been sufficiently attested to disbeleeve them upon conceit of reason to the contrary discovers palpably the want of the exercise of that reason whereto they so much pretend for a man to deny such matters of fact as he is not able to comprehend the reason of must either suppose the party to know the causes of all appearances in nature or conclude him guilty of childish and ridiculous incredulity We have before demonstrated the Omniscience and the Omnipotence of the Divinity and that being as hath been actually proved clearly and evidently demonstrable for the contemptible wit and reasoning of man to prescribe limits and bounds to that power and knowledge is no lesse then to own the acknowledgement of a contradiction by professing that to be limited and finite which the naturall principles of our understandings will force us to acknowledge of necessity to be immense and infinite It cannot be thought a thing impossible that God should either raise the dead or command the Sunne to stand still in Gibea by him that considers what it is to be the originall of life or to have created the Universe with the word of his eternall power the things which are impossible with men they are possible with God and consequently we having before concluded the vanity and madnesse of Atheism shall need to say no more to evince the frivolous weaknesse of this Argument from the impossibilities 2. As for those repugnances and contradictions which some men vainly please themselves imagining they have found them in the Scripture if they be well examined they will be proved to be but so many instances of the weaknesse or inadvertancy of the Objectors those which have been made against the Old Testament have long agoe been found by Rabbi Moses ben Maimoni not to have taken in all those conditions which have been by Philosophers discovered to be required to make up a perfect contradiction that is that contrary assertions be made of the same thing at the same time according to the same part or motion or apprehension and the same hath been lately performed by Manasseh ben Israel in his conciliator for the Old Testament It hath likewise for the New been long since performed by many of the Fathers and of late by diverse of all professions Papists Protestants and their severall subdivisions The matters of Doctrine are easily reconciled by distinguishing the notions of severall terms so for example as faith is said by Paul to justifie and works by Jame by distinguishing of Justification and the matters of History are reconciled by attending to times and places persons and forms of speech Thus are the differences cleared which are about the Genealogies of our Saviour delivered by Saint Matthew and Saint Luke The truth is there could never any considerable difference either in matter of doctrine or history be urged against the Scriptures yet if some slight and inconsiderable circumstances should seem to us so to differ that we could not reconcile them it ought rather to confirme our beleef then any way to shake it seeing it is the custome of those who designe to impose upon mens beleef so to contrive all circumstances as they may be sure to have no difference discovered Such is in truth the agreement and harmony of all these authors so distant in time in place in institution as is not to be found in any other authours in the world though of the same sect either in Philosophy Law Physick or any other faculty nor yet in any one man with himself as might be manifested if either this time or place required it And so instead of an objection to shake us we have found an argument to confirm us 3. The third Argument or objection against the whole Books of Scripture is taken from the Keri and Chetib of the Old Testament and from the various readings of the New from those they conclude them to be doubtfull from these corrupted Now the former of these is answered by the Jewish RR Isaac Jacob of old Elias Levita of later times who do deny the consequence of that Argument and make it manifest that those were added for signification of some mystery and not because the Text was doubtfull and for proof of their assertion they prove that the Books of Haggai Zachary Malachy Daniel and Ezra had those marginall notes added to them by their authours who all were members of the Synagoga magna and made the consignation of the Jewish Canon these could not be doubtfull of the sense of their own writings and consequently from those marginall notes the doubtfulnesse of the Old Testament can no way justly be concluded As touching the various readings of some places of the New Testament we cannot deny but that through the failings of some Scribes there are found in the most ancient copies of those books some differences of letters or some few syllables or words but this we deny that those are sufficient from whence to conclude the books not to be credited for upon the same reason it will be concluded that no Book in the world is to be credited unlesse they can be manifested to be exempted from the slips and failings of transcribers Nay the consideration of those various readings are very strong arguments that the substance of the writings are incorrupted and that they were never changed