instituted in cold Blood certifies us of all these things But because an involuntary Death would argue a certain kind of weakness 't is also most certain that nothing can better evince the strength and courage of Jesus Christ than that tho' he foresaw the horrours of an infamous and painful Death yet he exposed himself to it with such a constant will and firm Resolution that by his example he shewed his Disciples how he would have them imitate and commemorate his sufferings Jesus Christ was condemned to Death by a Nation seditiously stirred up against him and by a Sanhedrin envious of his Glory but he was justified by the Conscience of Judas whose remorse for having betray'd him forced him to kill himself and by the solemn declaration of Pilate who washed his hands in the presence of the Jews to shew that he was innocent of the Blood of that just Person He was justified too by the voice of the Centurion who saw the prodigies his Death was attended withall and soon after by the mouths even of those who sought his ruin and who being prick'd to the heart cry'd out to the Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we do Act. 2. 37. And certainly 't is a very great glory to our Messias that the most guilty Conscience the most unjust judges the most insensible and hardened sort of Soldiers and the most barbarous Murtherers should even bare record of his Innocence Jesus Christ suffered but it was for our sakes he gave himself up to the sorrow and anguish of Death and made his life an offering for Sin And if those wounds are counted honourable which a Subject receives sighting in the presence of his King and if those which a King receives for the safety of his Subjects are esteemed yet far more glorious what Glory then did Christ deserve who suffered in the presence and by the will of his Father for the Salvation of his People and Children and who by his sufferings established such an Empire which no power can dissolve Lastly Jesus Christ suffered a punishment proper only to Slaves but we are also very certain that during the time of his sufferings he shewed himself to have a power over Nature her self since the Graves were opened at his Death the Rocks rent the Sun was darkened and the Vail of the Temple was rent in twain And it is impossible that the Disciples of the Lord should have invented so sensible and signal matters of fact against the fresh and publick knowledge which those men that lived in their days had of it without being guilty of such an Extravagance which is more than humane But here we will ask the Incredulous in our turn whether a voluntary Death an innocence publickly own'd the sorrows and anguish which a man suffered out of Charity to the World the homages which even insensible Creatures paid to him whom men scorned and condemned were not certain Characters worthy of the Messias that had been promised us Indeed if you take away the proofs which evidently shew Jesus Christ to be the Son of God you may then call his Cross a scandal to him and the World but whilst those proofs shall be left entire his Cross will serve the more to illustrate his Majesty and Grandeur and we shall not only then assert that it was a voluntary Death which he underwent and a Death that was foretold us but we shall also shew that it is as it were a looking-glass-like wherein we may see at once all the vertues of man and all the Attributes of God There we may find the patience of a man who suffered every thing from his equals and from those who ought to have been his Servants and Disciples the Charity of a man who pray'd for them that put him to Death the Constancy of a just man who bore the burden of the iniquities of mankind and the constancy of an innocent man who at once as it were wrestled with the fury of men and the Justice of God There we may see the Masterpiece of Divine Wisdom the designs of our Enemies frustrated and the designs of God triumphing over the vain opinions and projects of men the propitiation of sins made for us by the most dreadful parricide that was ever committed or conceived the Synagogue buried in his grave whom they barbarously put to Death in defence of their priviledges the Romans crowning a King with thorns who was to rule over all Nations and putting a Reed instead of a Scepter into his hands flesh and blood shewing us in the Death of Christ the true pattern of mortification Jesus Christ dying attended with almost infinite numbers of Martyrs who were willing to die in imitation of him who was Conquerour of the World only by his shame who crucifyed the flesh by the preaching of his Cross and procured Rest and Peace to the Souls of them that dyed by the Anguish of his Agony We may also see the Justice and Mercy of God clearly manifested in his Death For what other Victim could have better evinced Gods hatred for Sin What present could have been made unto men that could have better discovered Gods love to them The Incredulous therefore reproach us with the meanness of an object wherein the vertues of men and the attributes of God himself are shewn in their greatest height and perfection But let him that any ways doubts it consider the Resurrection of Jesus Christ which is as it were a key that opens all these Events to us To dye and remain under the power of Death is indeed an evident mark of weakness and misery but to dye and yet overcome Death by rising from the Grave is the mark of a supernatural power and a divine glory Thus Jesus Christ descended into the lower parts of the Earth for no other end but to ascend into Heaven as the Eye-witnesses of that great and notable Event did plainly testify But the Incredulous will not believe their report and they further pretend that they can find in history the example of a testimony very like that which was nevertheless without contradiction reputed to be a meer Imposture We read say they that after the Death of Romulus there was a certain senator who having always lived in the repute of a very honest man certified that Romulus was ascended into Heaven where he was inserted among the Gods and that this Monarch had appeared unto him c. Is not this a matter of fact not unlike that which the Disciples testify'd of Jesus Christ throughout the Universe 'T is very like it indeed only it has these following differences there you read of a single person testifying that he had seen Romulus ascended into Heaven but here you have a very great number of people who certifiy'd that they had seen Jesus Christ after his Resurrection There it is pretended that a great and triumphant Monarch during the course of his life was inserted amongst the Gods after his Death which agrees
some marks of his weakness in the Garden of Gethsemane where the fear of Death made him sweat great drops of Blood and where he cried out several times O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me They also pretend that this exclamation of Jesus Christ when nailed on the Cross My God my God why hast thou forsaken me was an expression of his despair I know not here what to admire most either the impudence of these proud Enemies of our Religion or the force of Truth which still becomes stronger the more they endeavour to shake it For as for the first If the Enemies of the Christians wont believe the report of the Evangelists how came they to know that Jesus Christ uttered these words which give them occasion to think he wanted constancy But if they will believe the report of the Evangelists why should they refuse to believe so many miraculous matters of fact which the Evangelists left to us in writing after having been eye-witnesses of the same It is certain that we may find in our principles wherewith to explain those places they bring against us The words which Jesus Christ spoke to his blessed Mother give us only to understand how very jealous he was of the duties of his Calling He spoke to her as a Mediatour between God and Man as the person in whom she ought necessarily to believe in order to her Salvation and who doubts but in that quality he had some Authority over her As for the sorrowfulness he expressed in his Agony it might proceed from a double cause the one natural and the other supernatural He might very well fear Death as Man and the pains inflicted on his Humane Nature might force him to utter some innocent complaints But that was not all that made his torments grievous He was loaded with the Sins of Mankind and subject to the curse of the Law He looked upon God as his Father but God offered himself to him as an angry Judge The more he loved his Father the more sensible he was of the Grief he sustained in being remov'd from him The measure of his sufferings consisted in the measure of his vertue and what he says here to his Father is rather the Language of his Love than that of his Despair But if the Incredulous should say they are not obliged to subscribe to my explanations because it is incertain whether they have any other ground than my bare imagination I am willing they should entertain this scruple and cherish it till by establishing my principles I have an opportunity of answering yet more fully all those difficulties But in the mean time I hold that nothing can more demonstrate the sincerity of the Evangelists than those places just now mentioned and I affirm that the sincerity of the Evangelists being well demonstrated does invincibly prove the Truth of the Christian Religion For certainly either those who composed the Gospels had a design to deceive Mankind in behalf of Jesus Christ and his Religion or they had no such design at all If they had any such design they would have taken special care not to set down those Circumstances of the death of their Master which might give the World an occasion to suspect he wanted Courage or thought himself forsaken of God But if in writing the matters of fact contained in the Gospel they had no manner of design to deceive Mankind we must then of necessity look upon them as being very sincere Authors who would not deceive us unless they themselves had first of all been deceived So that all the question is whether the matters of fact they tell us of are such as are shewn only by Illusion And we need here only consider whether all the Disciples could have fancied they saw an infinite number of very singular and sensible Miracles such as sick men healed Dead raised to Life c. and have believed that they themselves work'd miracles when all the while there was no such thing 'T is to no purpose here to alledge that the Evangelists affected an ingenuous simplicity to avoid the suspicion of dishonesty For had that been their design they would have taken special care not to furnish impious men with places and passages on which they might raise imaginary triumphs Nor is there any reason to believe that the Evangelists related those words because their simplicity was so great that they had not judgment to discern whether they were for or against their cause For what probability is there that men who had wit enough to deceive other people should have so little in this occasion Must a man needs be wise and learned when he chuses to represent his Master constant and undaunted rather than sorrowful unto Death And yet 't is not one single Evangelist that relates the history of his passion after this manner they all agree in this respect And how could this be so but that they only proposed to themselves to speak the plain truth and they spoke it without considering the impression it would make on Mankind without examining whether the Incredulous would take occasion from thence to slander the Christian Religion In the mean while if what has been said here is not sufficient I am willing more particularly to examin the matters contained in the Gospels CHAP. VI. Where we shall examine the matters contained in the Gospels and see whether they are capable of Illusion or Imposture THose Books contain an infinite number of extraordinary divine and admirable things but the principal of them are reducible to these four heads I. The Birth Genealogy and Education of Jesus Christ with all the Circumstances of them which we shall not speak of at present least we should be too tedious having already mention'd them in our first part of this work II. The Exercise of his Office confirmed by an infinite number of miracles from his Baptism to his Ascension III. The holiness of his life and conversation seen clearly in several occasions and shining throughout the various Actions of his life IV. His Doctrin and his Prophecies From these four different heads spring forth such beams of Truth as wonderfully illustrate this whole matter Let us therefore examine them in their order and keep still to our usual method which is to raise as we go along as many difficulties as we can and urge them on with all their force to stop if it be possible the complaints of the Incredulous against us We may very well consider in the miracles of Jesus Christ their number variety and greatness the noise they made in the World and the manner in which they were received And first the Evangelists make appear the number variety and greatness of them in telling us that he changed Water into Wine in Cana that he restored sight to the Blind hearing to the Deaf and health to the Sick that he cleansed the Leprous healed the sick of the Palsy cured one of a withered Hand
them Since the Disciples of Jesus Christ were originally Jews they must needs have been possest with these five following prejudices I. They were fully perswaded that the Kingdom of the Messias was to be attended with temporal Prosperity II. They imagined that the Messias would restore the Kingdom of Israel to its former Glory and once more raise up the house of David out of that disgrace and almost oblivion it had lain under to its ancient Power and Majesty III. They believed their Law to be of an eternal duration Now by their Law I do not here understand the Moral Law only but the Ceremonial one too or rather the whole body of it in general containing both the Moral and Ceremonial Law IV. They esteemed their Sacrifices to be the most sacred and most inviolable Duty of their Religion and they were far from imagining that those Sacrifices enjoyned by their Law should on a sudden cease as soon as one Man was put to Death V. And lastly they could not consider the Gentiles but as an unclean and abominable sort of people in comparison to themselves For besides the sin of Idolatry which the Jews accounted so capital a crime as to deserve that God should for ever cast them off who were guilty of it the Heathens were variously polluted and defiled according to the notions the Jews had of their Law since they used none of those Ceremonies that were absolutely necessary to their external Sanctification by avoiding all uncleanness and legal Impurities As to the first prejudice it can never be doubted but that the Jews expected a temporal Prosperity from their Messias For besides that the Prophets seem'd to have disposed them thereto by so many excellent and noble Prophecies utter'd concerning him who knows but that they might look upon Herod the great tho born an Idumean as the true Messias who was to come being surprised at the noise of his Victories the pomp of his Triumphs and that constant Prosperity that continually followed his Reign Nay it seems very probable that Herod himself had a design to be taken for the true Messias and therefore caused the Temple of Jerusalem to be demolished on purpose to re build it after a more glorious and magnificent manner since it was the received opinion of the Jews of those days that the Messias was to have been the glory of that House according to all the Predictions of the Prophets But whether there be or no any grounds for that conjecture 't is true at least that his surprising victories and prosperity had made so great an impression upon the minds of the Jews that a very considerable number of them imagined that Herod was the Messias whom the Prophets had promised and who was to raise their Nation to the height of Happiness and Prosperity For this opinion gave rise to the Sect of the Herodians that is mentioned in the Gospel And we ought not to wonder at it since the corrupt heart of man delights in nothing so much as worldly grandeur and temporal prosperity Therein consist the pleasures of great as well as mean Persons and he that shall but consult the History of Mankind will find that from the beginning of the World those Societies which were distinguished from others by the splendor of honours or enjoyment of temporal prosperity still prevailed over all the rest The Second received opinion of the Jews was that their Messias was to restore the Kingdom of Israel to its former glory For on one hand their Prophets had taught them that the House of David should reign and endure as long as the Sun and Moon And on the other they were sensible that the House of David was partly extinguished and partly fallen into disgrace and humiliation They expected therefore from the Messias that he would restore it again And altho' the people had for a long time been governed by several Kings not descended from the Tribe of Judah yet they still fed themselves up with that imaginary hope But above all the Jews were firmly perswaded of the perpetual Duration of their Law that is that people should continually come up from all parts of the World to worship in Mount Sion and offer up variety of sacrifices in the Holy Land 'T was this Law they had heard so often mention'd in their infancy which their Parents their Elders and their Teachers had so often entertained them with in their common discourse They heard every body speak of Jerusalem with a great deal of respect and 't was reputed a great oath among them to swear by the City of the great King They considered the Levites as so many Sacred Persons and the Priests as the Visible Ministers of an invisible God that was pleased to dwell among them They sent yearly to Jerusalem the tenth of their goods and brought an infinite variety of victims to be there offered up to God They thought they could neither be acceptable in the sight of God nor man unless they practised all the Customs their law prescribed them touching their purity and external sanctification They had seen the greatest severities inflicted upon the infringers of that Law and the four sorts of punishments ordained by the Law against the Violaters of it viz. that they should be strangled or cut off by the Sword or Burnt or stoned to Death according to the enormity of their crime were continually before their eyes and almost daily executed upon those that were guilty in breach of the Law so that they could not but look upon the prescriptions of the Law as sacred and inviolable duties they were obliged to perform Now 't is obvious to every one how great an impression these punishments must necessarily make upon the minds of the meaner sort of people They were filled with the thoughts of their Festivals and Solemnities which were so very proper to fix and stay their minds by that great number both of Ceremonies and Circumstances they were attended with Thrice every year they were enjoyned to go up to Jerusalem during such certain sacred times which they were obliged to observe with a particular devotion and it was forbidden them to discourse any thing else during the Passover but of the sorrowful Captivity which the antient Israelites endur'd in Egypt Exod. 13. 8. Neither were they permitted to eat any thing for seven days together but unleavened Bread in token of that Bread of affliction which their Forefathers had eaten They were commanded to kill as many Lambs as there were Families dwelling in Jerusalem in token of the antient passage of the destroying Angel over the Houses of Israel The Feast of Pentecost was to be commemorated with no less solemnity at which time they were obliged to offer up to God the first fruits of the earth It was a part of their Duty to observe yearly a solemn and general Fast the tenth day of September as also to rest from all manner of Labour the first and last day of the Feast
that perswasion so deeply rooted in their Mind that their Law was to be eternal and yet that a few years should perswade that great multitude of Disciples converted by the preaching of the Apostles that all those Rites and Ceremonies were become invalid by the Death of a Man whom the Sanhedrin had condemned to be executed as a Malefactor without any extraordinary or supernatural accident intervening which should occasion the framing to themselves such Ideas so particular and so contrary to their first Prejudices Certainly we may very well affirm that our Incredulous Adversaries have too great a value for imposture and ignorance when they imagin that an universal delusion and unanimous consent to a Lye could convert Nations Sanctify Mankind and spread the Knowledge of God throughout the World according as it was foretold by the Scriptures or that a few simple and ignorant Fishermen whose knowledge extended no further than their Employment should discover the defects and imperfections of the Ceremonial Law and introduce instead of it a Spiritual worship as really more conformable to the Nature of God who is a Spirit and more worthy of man who is a Spirit and more worthy of man who is a Reasonable Creature that those simple and ignorant men should discover the Sacrifices under the Law to be only Types of the Death of a man who was condemned to be executed as a Malefactor that they should attribute this thought to John the Baptist and make him express it only in these words Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World John 1. 29. Words so full and comprehensive that they contain the whole sum of Christan Religion And Lastly That they should invent Mysteries so very different from mens ordinary Thoughts and Conjectures and so far above the Capacity of the most judicious and learned that it may deservedly be said of them that they are such things which Eye has not seen nor Ear heard neither has it enter'd into the Heart of Man to conceive them 1 Cor. 2. 9. Lastly Experience tells us how difficult it is for persons already advanced in years to renounce the Common practices generally approved of in the World especially when authorised by Religion and Education How hard would it be for us Christians to live as the Jews And yet it would be more difficult for them to live as we do Because we look upon all their Customs as things very indifferent in themselves whereas they always look'd upon our Practices as scandalous and unlawful How then was it that not only one or two Jews but thousands who had embraced Christianity no longer in the least scrupled to converse with the Gentiles nay to to live with Heathens who before were an Abomination in their eyes You will say this was not without many considerable difficulties and was the cause of several great Animosities and Disputes I grant it but yet it appears the Ceremonial Law was utterly abolished presently after the Death of Christ the Apostles having determined that it had been accomplished in his Death and that it was not Lawful to joyn the Carnal Ceremonies of the Law with the Spiritual worship of the Gospel And I say that had not the Apostles both testify'd the Miracles and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and wrought very great wonders themselves it was naturally impossible they should have executed so great a design especially in so small a time For certainly if we consider the Disciples as born Jews they must necessarily have been very much devoted to their own Law If we consider them as poor and mean people they could not but have been passionately fond of that Law which gave such wonderful precepts for the Administration of Justice and the relief and comfort of the Poor If we consider them as simple and ignorant men they could not but have a blind love and obedience for their Law as all ignorant People have for the external objects of Religion Lastly Should we consider them as prepossessed with the usual prejudices of their Nation they must necessarily have expected a Glorious and Triumphant Messias who instead of abolishing the Law of Moses should have established it throughout the World Yet we need only consider the event to clear the truth of this matter We shall not insist upon all the Reflections we might easily make hereupon It 's sufficient to have taken notice of those things by the by because they may serve in some measure to illustrate the particular examination we shall make of the Miracles of the Gospel We have already considered them in general sufficiently to convince all reasonable Persons But it may not be amiss to insist more particularly on them that we may confound the Obstinate and Incredulous and make them at least truly sensible of their Errour tho' perhaps we cannot reclaim them from it To do this better we shall lay down four miraculous matters of fact which shall be as so many centers of the Truth we enquire into because there are several lines and degrees of Evidence and Light which necessarily lead us to the Truth of each of these matters of fact and then we shall joyn them all together the better to form a full and perfect Demonstration of them CHAP. II. The first Center of Truth a particular consideration of the Miracles of Jesus Christ WE dare say that such is the nature of these Miracles that the composers of the Gospel durst not could not would not have forged them had they been really false I say they durst not because they could not but have been publickly known To prove this I shall lay down four Examples of them which are I. The History of Zachariah the Father of John the Baptist II. The History of the Massacre of the young Children of Bethlehem III. The miraculous feeding of several thousands at several times in the Wilderness with a few Loaves and some small Fishes IV. And Lastly the supernatural prodigies which happened at the death of Jesus Christ himself As to the First we may observe that the Subject upon whom this great Miracle was wrought is a Priest a Priest who daily performed the functions of his Ministerial office and was then actually burning Incense in the Temple of Jerusalem at a very remarkable time during which the people who expected him were very intent at their Prayers to God in the outward Part or Porch of the Temple whilst he himself was in the Holy Place Now tho' the Historian had observed only concerning the Birth of John the Baptist that Zachariah and Elizabeth his Wife were far advanced in years and that the latter till then was thought Barren yet that event would have employed something so extraordinary and surprising that one might have been almost positive that the Evangelist durst not have been so bold as to forge it against the publick knowledge which all the Jews must then have had of it How then durst any one have affirmed that Zachariah wholly lost
be here if thou wilt let us make here three Tabernacles What a strange piece of stupidity was this and how well does it appear how incapable such gross and ignorant Men were of entertaining the least Design of imposing upon others Besides what makes St. Matthew relate this Circumstance What Honour could accrue thereby to Peter and how could it of itself enter into his mind Vers 16. And I brought him to thy Disciples and they could not cure him In this passage appears the Evangelists sincerity For nothing else could have obliged him to relate that Circumstance or make him so freely own the defects and want of Faith in a Society he himself was a Member of Chap. XVIII 3. Verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little Children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven That Children should be so simple no Man ought to wonder because their want of knowledge is a pure effect of their Age but that even Men should be obliged to return from the most refined Notions of worldly policy from that sinful cunning and dexterity so often seen in them to a State of a Holy and Amiable Sincerity That they should at once become simple and prudent righteous and religiously wise is such a thing that Men are wholly unacquainted with and which discovers to us both the greatness and highest perfection of that Person who taught Men a Doctrine so sublime and elevated Vers 4. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little Child the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven How different are these Notions from the common ones of Men How different is the Kingdom of Heaven from all worldly Empire And how well does it appear that such surprising maxims as these could not possibly proceed from the mind of Man Vers 9. And if thy Eye offend thee pluck it out c. By the Eyes here are to be understood our darling Sins or whatever else is dear to us So that Christ hereby teaches us that we ought to sacrifice to the glory of God whatever we dearly prize and value most Did ever any teacher less flatter mens vanity Vers 22. I say not unto thee until seven times but until seventy times seven This is a certain number made use of for an uncertain one which signifies that we must continually forgive that Mercy has no bounds and that Charity cannot be limited Who does not see that such a concern to unite all Hearts together to banish all misunderstanding amongst Men in giving so vast a latitude to Charity and Mercy can proceed from none but him that was Master of all Hearts and the common Father of Mankind Chap. XXI 43. Therefore say I unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the Fruits thereof This is indeed a very express prediction of the Calling of the Gentiles Vers 46. But when they thought to lay hands on him they feared the multitude because they held him for a Prophet What could be so remarkable in Jesus Christ that he should be taken for a Prophet but the efficacy of his Doctrine and the Miracles whereby he confirmed it Chap. XXIII 36 37. Verily I say unto you all these things shall come upon this Generation O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest c. Here the Destruction of Jerusalem is very plainly set down Chap. XXIV 28. For wheresoever the Carcass is there will the Eagles be gathered together The Body of Christ crucified was the Carcass and the Roman Standards where the Eagles which were to fall upon the City of Jerusalem where the Carcass was Vers 34. Verily I say unto you this Generation shall pass till all these things be fulfilled The same Reflexions must be made in this place as we have made above Chap. XXVI 13. Verily I say unto you wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole World there shall also this that this Woman hath done be told for a memorial of her A Prophecy that has been sufficiently fulfiled Vers 28. For this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of Sins Did ever any Man act or speak after so unheard of and surprising a manner Can we find a Man who not only foretells his sufferings but also establishes before-hand some memorial of a Death he might easily have avoided And who but Christ ever took upon him to shed his Blood for the Remission of the Sins of Mankind Vers 38 39. Then saith he unto them my Soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto Death c. And he went a little further and fell on his Face and prayed saying O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass away from me T is easie to explain what this exceeding Sorrow and Agony was yet it must be confessed that it presents us at first view with an Object very surprising and that it can't be imagined that those Men whose chief Design was to invent such things as should be most for their Masters Honour should yet give us such a Description of his Sufferings At least we find here the sincerity of the Disciples which sincerity shews us that we ought without scruple to receive the rest of their Relations Chap. XXVII 42. He saved others himself he cannot save if he be the King of Israel let him now come down from the Cross and we will believe him By this Text it appears that Christ passed for a Person that had performed several Miracles Vers 45. Now from the sixth Hour there was darkness over all the Land unto the ninth Hour How is it possible they could have made a whole City believe such a thing were it not true Vers 51 52 53. And behold the vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom and the Earth did quake and the Rocks rent and the Graves were opened c. How could St. Matthew have persuaded Men to such things as these against their own knowledge to the contrary Could the Vail of the Temple or the Rocks be rent could the Earth quake and the Graves open and yet the Jews know nothing of it To whom did the Evangelist relate all these things He wrote them before the Destruction of Jerusalem nay in the days of the Apostles themselves and consequently in a time when there were several thousands of People still living that could witness the Truth of them How then could he so much as imagin he could deceive so many Witnesses concerned in the business to whom he preached these things and whom he designed to bring over to his Party nay some of whom had already embraced the Gospel and formed a very numerous and considerable Church at Jerusalem where all these things had happened and where he attempted to perswade others to the belief of them CHAP. VII Wherein we shall further produce out of the other Gospels several Places very proper to make us truly sensible of
Nature And what is most surprising in the former of those two Unions is to see that the Soul which is so noble a Being should be so closely fastened and united to Matter and even depend upon it in all its Operations Now 't is not so with the Incarnation of Christ And it can never be said that the Divine Nature depends on the Humane but contrariwise 't is the Humane Nature which depends on the Divine In this Union God remains the same as before All-perfect All-mighty All-full Eternal and Immutable but Man is changed and sanctified and exalted by it What Inconveniency then can there result from it As it is surprising to see a most noble Being subject to a less perfect Being so it is natural for a less perfect Being to be subject to one more Noble Now the latter of these the Mystery of the Incarnation evidently demonstrates and the Union of the Soul with the Body discovers the former It follows hence therefore that the Union of the Soul with the Body is in some sense very extraordinary and far more surprising than the Mystery of the Incarnation 3. If still you require another Representation of this Object that might further give you a clearer Notion of the same Conceive a false Sun composed of two different things so closely united together that they seem as it were confounded together viz. A Cloud and the Light of the Sun The Cloud is not the Sun nor is the Sun the Cloud And thus the Humane Nature of Christ is not the Divine Nature the same with the Humane This false Sun is a Sun and yet a Cloud so likewise Christ is God and Christ is Man This false Sun is formed of the Substance of the Earth because it is composed of a Cloud which is nothing else but the Vapours of it and of the Sun himself being formed out of those Beams in which the Body of that Planet consists so in like-manner Christ is taken from the Earth and is a part of the common Lump of Mankind because he is Man which does not hinder him from being the Substance of the Father since he is the Brightness of his Glory This is a very just Representation of that great Mystery but not perfect But we hope every just and equitable Reader will easily forgive the Defects of this Comparison in a Subject that is so far exalted above our weak Imagination 4. Moreover of all those who pretended to treat of the Nature of the Deity none but the Epicureans who thought it was idle and lazy divided it entirely from its Creatures and all other Men besides looked upon it as united to its Works The Heathens for instance imagined it was affixed to their Temples and Statues to which they supposed it constantly united But the Jews more properly looked upon God as being united in a more partilar manner to a Bush or a Cloud or the Ark. And several of the Incredulous now adays represent the Deity to themselves as an Vniversal Soul affixed to universal Matter just as our Soul is united to our Body If then it be so common to Men to conceive God as being united to his Works why should it seem so strange to them to represent him as closely united to the Humane Nature of Christ and that too in a more particular manner than to any of his other Creatures For if there be any Creature which the Deity may be united to it must necessarily be such an holy and innocent Creature as that is And if it be possible for God to unite himself to any living Body it is much more likely he should impart himself to the Soul of Jesus Christ. If an Ark was capable to be filled with the Presence of God there is not the least Difficulty in conceiving that Humane Nature being pure and holy and far perfecter than all the Arks in the World should have been thus honoured in a more particular manner And if Men in short stick not to make the Vniversal Soul as it were depending upon Matter by its Union to it why should we refuse to admit of an Union which leaves to God his intire Independence and Liberty and aims at nothing else but the bringing the Body and Soul of Christ in a greater subjection to Him We no sooner embrace the Mystery of the Incarnation but every thing that seems offensive in the Doctrin of Christian Religion will presently vanish We shall then easily comprehend that 't was possible for Christ to die since he was Man and that his Death is infinitely valuable since he was God And so great is the Dignity which proceeds from the Union of those two Natures that it makes the Death of Christ equivalent to the Punishments our Sins had so justly deserved We shall not then think it difficult to be fully convinced of the Truth of the Resurrection of our Lord for it would be unreasonable to suppose that a Nature as had been honoured with so particular an Union to the Deity should yet have been for ever dissolv'd and remain'd to all Eternity under the Power of Death But we shall think it very reasonable to imagin that it could not but have risen from the Grave into which it had been pleased to descend If then Christ be truly risen from the Dead can our Incredulous Reason still refuse to believe that we shall also rise again But how can that Reason contradict a Truth which the Disciples saw They beheld the Glory of Christ both in the Miracles which he performed and in his Holiness of life They saw God manifested in the Flesh and were Witnesses of the Resurrection of our Lord They perceived Angels coming down towards him The Gospel was preached to the Gentiles by their Ministry The World believed on their Preaching and Lastly they saw Christ ascending into Heaven all which were very sensible and evident matters of Fact The Mystery then of the Incarnation tho the hardest to comprehend of all those of Christian Religion implies however nothing contrary to Reason But we must except the most Holy and ever-blessed Trinity another Mystery which being infinitely exalted above the reach of our shallow Capacity is not easily reconcilable to it Nevertheless 't is most certain that the Sublimity of its Nature renders it not any ways repugnant to Reason 1 st Because the word Person is not to be taken in the same sense with that of Essence I grant that three Persons and one Person one Essence and three Essences implie a Contradiction but the Notion of one Essence and three Persons is not liable to any after you know the Signification of those two Terms 2 ly Because the Deity is so great and so sublime a Subject that we ought not to wonder if we can't reach to the Greatness of it by our weak Imagination 3 dly Because for ought we know the most considerable Difficulties of this Mystery proceed from a Defect of Revelation or the silence which holy Writ observes on that
that was divided into the Porch the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies is answerable the World the Church and the Heavens the eternal Sanctuary of God To the Levites all the Faithful without Exception that are designed to serve God to the White Cloathings of the Ministers of the Tabernacle the Innocence and Holyness of all those who design to approach unto him to the Purity of the Body the Purity both of the Heart and Conscience to the Blood of Goats and of Lambs which was a Confirmation of the Old Covenant the Blood of Jesus Christ which confirms the New Testament to the Entrance of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies wearing the Names of the Twelve Tribes written upon his Breast and presenting to God the Blood that was shed in the Porch corresponds the Ascention of Christ into Heaven where he continually presents us to God his Father and intercedes for us by virtue of that Blood which he shed for the Expiation of our Sins to the purifying Waters which washed away all the Pollutions of the Body the Waters of Grace which sanctify the Spirit To Mount Sinai Mount Zion to the sound of the Trumpet of Rams Horns the Voice of the Gospel to Moses himself the Mediatour of the Law Jesus Christ the Mediatour of the New Covenant The different state and condition of the Church is is also further represented to us by the various condition of the People of Israel Our spiritual Bondage is marked out by their temporal Slavery our Deliverances by their Deliverances our Enemies by their Enemies and so just and reasonable is the Conformity there is betwixt those Images and their Original that the Holy Scripture often makes little distinction betwixt them and intermixes in one and the same Chapter that which concerns the temporal State of the Israelites and that which concerns the Spiritual condition of the Faithful as also the Events that attended the Jewish Oeconomy and the Wonders of the New Covenant These things are worth our Observation and he that does not duly consider them will never be able to understand any thing in the Prophecies contained in the Books of the Old Testament Lastly The Wisdom of God was resolved we should not want a competent number of Types that might sufficiently represent to us the Excellence Offices and Ministry of our Mediatour Thus Isaac conceived in the Womb of a barren Woman the Delight of his Father the Foundation of all the Promises of God offered up for a Sacrifice upon a Mount by the very hand of his Father rising as it were from the Dead by being delivered from the Knife he had already lifted up against him and having afterwards a Seed as numerous as the Stars of Heaven and the Sand of the Sea this Isaac I say was a lively Image of Jesus Christ who was conceived in the Virgins Womb the Darling of his Father in whom he was well-pleased the Foundation of all his Promises the Source of his Blessings dying upon Mount Calvary rising again in a wonderful manner after his Death and seeing his Seed after him when he had made his Soul an Offering for Sin Thus again Joseph sold by his Brethren betrayed out of Envy accused tho' Innocent condemned because he would not submit to the immodest Desires of a lascivious Woman delivered out of Prison appearing before Pharaoh cloathed in Garments suitable to that Honour and then sitting at his Right Hand was a wonderful Representation of Jesus Christ betrayed out of Envy sold by the Jews themselves who were his Brethren condemned for refusing to comply with the Synagogue cast down into the Darkness of Death endued with heavenly Gifts raised again to Heaven and sitting at length at the Right Hand of God Moses defigned to be the Mediatour of the Legal Covenant rescued at his Nativity from a Deluge of Blood exposed to the River-side and as it were given up to a sure and infallible Death but afterwards delivered by a kind of Miracle from the Fury of the Waters and also delivering not long after his own Nation himself by a lucky Turn when he seemed to be cast away was an exact Representation of Jesus Christ who came into the World to be the Mediatour of the New Covenant was delivered at his Birth from the Murder of Herod and saved Men after his having suffered Death Jonas who was cast into the Sea to appease the Tempest and swallowed by a Whale which three Days after cast him again on the Shore sufficiently gives us to understand who it was that calm'd by his Death that Storm our Sins had raised that went down into the Grave and afterwards rose again the third Day Lastly David being raised from the State of a Shepherd to that of a Monarch was an excellent Type of Christ who after his Humiliation inherited a Name that is above every Name And as for those Prophecies which have described to us by such notable Epochaes and signal Characters both the Person Coming and the Time of the Coming of the Messias we have already very largely spoke of them so that what we have said in that respect is more than sufficient to make us admire the exact Proportion there is betwixt the first and second Covenant as well as betwixt the Jewish and Christian Religion Moses Illustrates Christ as we have proved in our first Part of this Treatise and Christ again Illustrates Moses as appears plainly by the Comparison we just now made of them XI Portraiture of the Christian Religion as it is considered in the Proportion it bears to natural Religion WE have already described the Christian Religion as it is thus considered in having fully proved in several places of this Work that it takes away the Corruption which had disordered Nature that it subverts Paganism which was the Corruption of natural Religion that 't is the perfect Restauration of the latter that it reestablishes the Principles of Justice and Equity which God had imprinted in our Hearts that it produces the most perfect Union of Society by Love and Charity that Humility Temperance Wisdom and all other kind of Virtues which support natural Religion derive the Force of their Motives from the Christian Religion they alone being equivalent to all sensible Objects and lastly that it makes us answer the End of our Creation 'T is a wonderful Comfort and Satisfaction to our Minds and at the same time exalts our Nature to reflect that the End for which Man was designed is the same with that of Christian Religion and the End of Christian Religion the same with the true End of Man's Creation Every thing that goes to the Constitution of Man's Nature does in a manner seek after God The infinite Curiosity of our Minds incessantly thirsting after the Knowledge of New Objects seeks after that Deity which the Christian Religion discovers to us because that Deity contains all things in the Excellence of its own Nature The greedy and hasty Desires of our