Marcellin b. xxiii c. 1. Heathen Historian who was then living and wrote the History of those times and has shewn himself in no respect over favourable to the Christians but was a Soldier under Julian and had no inclination to say any thing that might seem to diminish his Character The Judgments also which befell several of the greatest Persecutors of the Christian Religion were so miraculous and so terrible as to extort a confession from some of them of God's Justice in their Punishment and to force them to re-call their persecuting Edicts and change them for others in favour of Christianity (h) Euseb Hist lib. viii c. 17. ix c. 10. Lactant de Mortib Persecut c. xxxiv 49. The Edicts of Maximianus and Maximin to this purpose are to be seen in Eusebius and (i) Hieron in Hab. c. iii. the Judgment upon Julian was so sudden and so remarkable that some of the Heathen cavilled that the God of the Christians had not shewn that Mercy and forbearance which they reported of him in it And when the Power of Miracles which came down on the day of Pentecost upon the Apostles and was continued in the Church after them thus manifested it self in opposition to the pretences both of the Jews and Heathens in such a manner as must provoke them to make all the discoveries they possibly could concerning it when it thus triumphed over all the Gods of the Heathens whilst its poor and persecuted Professors were under the feet of the Heathen Emperors and lay continually exposed to their cruelties and at the peril of their Lives proffered in publick Apologies by a miraculous Power or as the Apostle speaks by the Power and Demonstration of the Spirit to prove their own Religion true and theirs salse and its cruelest Persecutors were by miraculous Judgments forced to become its Protectors this was all that could be desired towards the fulfilling the Promise of our Saviour to his Apostles that they should become his Witnesses to all Nations But III. The Gospel could not have been thus propagated unless this Power of the Holy Ghost had been still further manifest by the courage and resolution and patience of the Apostles under their sufferings Our Saviour tells them that they should receive power after that the Holy Ghost was come upon them to become witnesses unto him both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in Samaria these were the places where our Saviour himself had wrought his Miracles and where he had been hated and persecuted and at last crucified and there is reason to believe that the Apostles went not from Jerusalem and the parts adjacent (k) Euseb Hist lib. â— o. 18. till twelve years after his Ascention and when they had testified his Resurrection and Preached his Gospel to the Jews their work was not yet an end but they were to be his Witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the Earth and even thither several of them went fearing no dangers and being discouraged at no sufferings There is a natural boldness and courage in some men by which they are often carried both to do and to endure a great deal more than others but it was not so with the Apostles they were naturally very timorous and faint hearted they all forsook their Master and fled when he was first apprehended and then were very backward to believe his Resurrection and when they and the rest of the Disciples were convinced of it they did not preach is to others but after he had been seen of them forty days and discoursed with them of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God they still had mistaken notions and expectations concerning it when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying â—ord wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel And when Christ was taken up from them into Heaven they stood gazing up after him not knowing what to think of it till two Angels admonished them that it was in vain for them to stand looking thus any longer and after his Ascention they staid ten days before they ventured to publish any thing of what had come to pass till on the day of Pentecost in a visible and audible manner the Holy Ghost descended upon them and quite changed their temper and of the most timorous made them the most couragious and resolute inspiring them with a Divine Vigor and presence of mind For of all their Miracles few seem to have been more wonderful than that firmness and constancy of mind which men so low and mean and abject and before so fearful as the Apostles were now shewed upon all occasions When our Saviour spoke to these his poor Disciples and commanded them to go and teach all Nations Matt. xxviii 19. it was such a command as no King nor Law-giver ever presumed to give in the height of all his Power and Greatness and when God himself sent Moses to the Children of Israel only Moses feared the success and would fain have declined the Message And how might the Disciples have replyed to our Saviour how shall we Preach to the Romans and dispute with the Graecians and discourse with the most remote and barbarous Nations who have been bred up in the knowledge only of our own Native Tongue How can we compel all Nations to forsake the worship of the Gods of their several Countries and to observe all things whatsoever we are commanded to teach them With what force of Eloquence are we fitted for such a design What hope can we have to succeed in an attempt to set up Laws in opposition to the Laws established for so many Ages in behalf of their own Gods What strength can we have to overcome such difficulties and to accomplish such an Enterprize But they made no objections our Saviour had conversed with them forty days after his Resurrection and now tells them that all Power is given unto him in Heaven and in Earth and he commands them not to depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me Acts i. 4. And when the Holy Ghost was come they were endued by him with a courage and resolution almost as wonderful as the Miracles they wrought to perperform the great work which lay before them they were not in the least daunted at any dangers or torments or deaths but went on courageously in their Duty by the power and assistance of the Holy Ghost by whom they were enabled to bring the world to the obedience of the Gospel of Christ They opposed themselves to all the assaults of Men and Devils Nothing could now discourage them who before were so timorous and unbelieving the coming of the Holy Ghost down upon them wrought a mighty change in them who were to work as great an alteration in all the world besides St. Peter standing with the Eleven lift up his voice he spoke with wonderful Resolution and the rest stood by to bear witness to
to lose so many Talents and to want their help in the War and to venture the ravage that such an Army who looked upon themselves as affronted made in his Country upon the Prophets assuring him that God would give him the Victory if he would dismiss them but not otherwise and telling him The Lord is able to give thee much more than this and the Event proved the Truth of the Prediction 2 Chron. xxv The Children of Israel likewise at the word of Oded the Prophet sent back Two hundred thousand Persons of the Kingdom of Judah with great spoil which they had taken 2 Chron. xxviii So ready and so general a Compliance in such cases could arise from nothing but a certain Belief and Experience of the Truth of what the Prophets delivered but at other times they were despised and persecuted And the Truth of their Prophecies was not only attested by Miracles and justified by the Event and confessed by the Deference and Respect both of the Kings and People but it was asserted by their Sufferings and sealed by the Blood of the Prophets and was at last acknowledged by the Posterity of those who had slain them they being most forward and zealous to adorn the Tombs of the Prophets whom their Fore-fathers had killed and to die in vindication of those Prophecies for which they had been slain There was a constant succession of Prophets from the time of Moses till the return of the Jews from their Captivity in Babylon some prophesied for many Years Jeremiah for above One and forty Years Ezekâ—el about Twenty Years the least time assigned to Hosea's Prophesying is Forty three Years Amos prophesied about Six and twenty Years Micah about Fifty Isaiah Jonah and Daniel a much longer time so that they lived to see divers of their own Prophecies fulfilled and to have suffered as False Prophets if they had not come to pass And though many Prophecies were not to be fulfilled till long after the death of the Prophets who deliver'd them yet they wrought Miracles or they foretold some things which came to pass soon after according to their Predictions to give evidence to their Authority and confirm their Divine Miâ—â—ion The Prophets committed their Prophecies to writing and left them to Posterity Isa xxx 8. Per. xxx 2. xxxvi 32. Hab. ii 1 2. And the writing of the Histories of the Jews belong'd to the Prophets 1 Chron. xxix 29. 2 Chron. xii 15. xiii 22. xx 34. xxvi 22. xxxii 32. And both in their Prophetical and Historical Books they deal with the greatest plainness and sincerity they record the Idolatries of the Nation and foretell the Judgments of God which were to befall it upon that account and they leave to Posterity a Relation of the Miscarriages and Crimes of their best Princes David Solomon and others who were Types of the Messias and from whose Race they expected Him and looked upon the Glories of their several Reigns to be presages of His are yet described not only without flattery but without any reserve or extenuation They write as Men who had no regard to any thing but Truth and the Glory of God in telling it The Prophets were sometimes commanded to seal and shut up their Prophecies that the Originals might be preserved till the fulfilling of them and then compared with the Event Isai viii 16. Jer. xxxii 14. Dan. viii 26. xii 4. For when the Prophecies were not to be fulfill'd till many Years and in some cases not till several Ages afterwards it was requisite that the Original Writings should be kept with all care but when the time was so near at hand that the Prophecies must be in every one's memory or that the Originals could not be suspected or supposed to be lost there was not the same care required Rev. xxii 10. It seems to have been customary (y) 〈◊〉 Anâ—â—quit l. 11. c. 1. 〈◊〉 l. 6. c. 5 for the Prophers to put their Writings into the Tabernacle or lay them up before the Lord 1 Sam. x. 25. And there is a Tradition (z) Epiphan de Ponderib Measâ—â— c. 4. That all the Canonical Books as well as the Law were put into the side of the Ark. It is certain that the Books of the Law and the Writings of the ancient Prophets were carefully preserved during the Captivity and are frequently referr'd to and cited by the latter Prophets The Pentateuch has been already spoken of and this is as evident of the Books of the Prophets The Prophecy of Micah is quoted Jer. xxvi 18. a little before the Captivity and under it the Prophecy of Jeremiah is cited Dan. ix 2. and all the Prophets v. 6. and so the Prophets in general are mention'd Neh. ix 26 30. And Zechariah not only cites the former Prophets Zech. i. 4. but supposes their Writings well known to the People Should you not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity chap. vii 7. The Prophet Amos is likewise cited Tob. ii 6. and Jonas and the Prophets in general chap. xiv 4 5 8. There can then be no reason to question but that Ezra Nehemiah Daniel Zechariah and the other Prophets in the time of the Captivity were very careful to keep the Books of the former Prophets for they frequently cite them and appeal to them and expected Deliverance out of their Captivity by the accomplishment of them And perhaps from the Originals themselves or however from Copies taken by Ezra the Scribe or by some of the latter Prophets or at least acknowledged for genuine and approved of by them the ancient Prophecies and other Inspired Writings were preserved and those of the latter Prophets were added to them and all together make up the Book of the Prophets mention'd Act. vii 42. which was read as well as the Law every Sabbath-day Act. xiii 27. The Books of Joshua Judges Samuel and Kings have the Title of the former Prophets in the Hebrew Bibles to distinguish them from the Books which they set out under the Title of the latter Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah c. The Books of Joshua and Judges have been already spoken of The Books of Samuel were written by Samuel Nathan and Gad 1 Chron. xxix 29. from whence we may conclude that the first Book of Samuel to the 25th Chapter was written by Samuel himself and the rest of that and the whole Second Book by Nathan and Gad but Samuel being a Person so much concerned in the former part of the History and having written so much of it out of respect to him the whole Two Books go under his Name though indeed the Jews anciently reckon'd both the Books of Samuel as one Book and Aquila as Theodorit has observed made no distinction between the First and Second Books of Samuel following the Hebrew Copies of his time and in our Hebrew Bibles though they are distinguished yet they are
1 King xiii 2. and this was foretold by a Prophet who came out of Judah purposely to denounce the Judgments of God upon the Priests of the Altar and upon the Altar it self which Jeroboam had newly set up at Bethel when Jeroboam stood by the Altar to burn Incense and his Prediction at the same time was confirmed by Two Miracles one wrought upon Jeroboam himself by drying up his hand which he stretched forth against the Prophet and which by the Prophet's Prayer was restored again whole to him as it was before the other Miracle was wrought upon the Altar by rending it and pouring out the Ashes from it And a Prophecy delivered in the presence and to the face of an enraged Prince against the Religion of his own setting up to secure to himself the Kingdom he so lately became possessed of at the very time when he was offering Incense upon his New Altar And this Prophecy confirmed by an immediate Judgment both upon the King himself and his Altar in the sight of so numerous an Appearance as must be present on so solemn an occasion and these Enemies to the Prophet who came from Judah and to his Religion a Prophecy thus delivered had all the Circumstances to make it remarkable and notorious in all the Tribes both of Israel and Judah then at hostility with each other that can almost be conceived And yet the strange Death of the Prophet of Judah for transgressing by his own confession the Word of the Lord to him and his Sepulchre with its Title or Inscription still remaining at Bethel when Josiah demolished the Altar there gave a further confirmation to it The fulfilling of this Prophecy by Josiah was no less remarkable 2 King xxiii 15. Josiah was the Son of a very wicked King and born at a time when the People were exceedingly corrupted by the Idolatry of his Grandfather Manasses and his Sons likewise proved wicked so that he was so singular in his Piety and so wonderful an Example of it that no Man of his own Age could have imagin'd that of him which had been fo retold so many hundred years ago In all humane appearance this was a very unlikely time to see that Prophecy fulfilled and that which had been wonderful in any Age was much more wonderful in this and in so wicked an Age this good King set about the Work of Reformation very young to shew that it was not of Men but of God The Deliverance of Judah at Jehoshaphat's Prayer was foretold by Jahaziel in the midst of the Congregation and was accomplished accordingly by their Enemies destroying one another 2 Chron. xx Elijah foretold that the Dogs should lick Ahab's Blood in Jezreel where they had licked the Blood of Naboth which as (b) Joseph Antiquit. l. 8. c. 10. Josephus says was objected by Zedekiah one of the False Prophets against Micaiah who foretold that Ahab should be slain at Ramoth-gilead but he was brought home in his Chariot from Ramoth-gilead to Samaria and there the Dogs licked his Blood in Jezreel 1 King xxii 38. so that both the Prophecy of Elijah and Michaiah was fulfilled And when one Prophet seems contrary to another one foretelling the principal thing and another some accidental circumstance which those that were present and most concerned in the Action could not imagine till it happened and False Prophets in the mean time watch the Events to take all Advantages from it against the True Prophets and can find none nothing more can be desired to assure us of the Truth of any Prophecy The same Prophet foretold the like Judgment upon Jezabel and that the House of Ahab should be like the House of Jereboam and like the House of Baasha the Destruction of both which had been foretold by other Prophets and their Prophecies fulfilled as this of Elijah's also was Elijah by a Writing sent to Jehoram King of Judah foretold his Death and the strange manner of it viz. That after the loss of his Children and his Wives and all his Goods he should be afflicted in his Bowels and that his Bowels should fall out by degrees 2 Chron. xxi 12. The same Prophet not only foretold the Death of Ahaziah but caused Fire twice to come down from Heaven upon those who were sent to Apprehend him 2 King i. And at his Prayer Fire descended from Heaven and consumed the Sacrifice in the sight of Baal's Prophets being Four hundred and fifty to whom Elijah who was the only Prophet of the Lord there present had made this Proposal The God that answereth by fire let him be God And when Baal notwithstanding all their hideous Cries and the cutting themselves did not hear them then upon Elijah's Prayer the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench 1 King xviii 38. which was the same Miracle repeated in the midst of Idolaters who were so enraged and provoked against the Prophet Elijah that had been before wrought in the sight of the People of Israel in the time of Moses Lev. ix 24. and of David 1 Chron. xxi 26. and at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple 2 Chron. vii 1. (c) Cyril contra Julian l. 10. And this Miracle of Elijah in bringing down Fire from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice and that of Moses in like manner were both confessed to be true by Julian the Apostate himself The miraculous Cure of Naaman's Leprosie must be notorious throughout the Kingdoms both of Syria and Israel 2 King v. The wonderful Deliverance of the Israelites when the Syrians heard a noise of Horses and Chariots and therefore raised the Siege of Samaria and the Plenty which followed was foretold by Elisha with a Judgment upon that Lord who doubted of the Truth of his Prediction The same Prophet foretold the Death of Benhadad King of Syria and that he should neither recover of his Sickness nor die a Natural Death And the Reign of Hazael who succeeded him is describ'd in such true and dreadful Characters that Hazael thought it impossible for him to be guilty of so much cruelty 2 King vii viii The Leprosie inflicted upon Vzziah for presuming to burn Incense unto the Lord which it was lawful for the Priests only to do was a permanent Miracle for his Leprosie continued till his death and for that reason he lived separately and his Son from that time had the administration of Affairs 2 King xv 5. and this Miracle of the Leprosie was accompanied with a terrible Earthquake mention'd Zech. xiv 5. Amos i. 1. and the (c) Joseph Antiquit. l. 9. c. 11. Ruines which were caused by the Earthquake remained as a perpetual Memorial of the Judgment An Hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians were slain by an Angel of the Lord in one Night 2 King xix 35. and this Deliverance was foretold by Isaiah when the Assyrians were in
as the Jews them selves ever understood it and what ever Testimony is produced from thence brings with it the Evidence of the whole And a like Evidence is again reflected upon the whole Old Testament by the Accomplishment of any part of it in the New and by the appeal which our Saviour and his Apostles constantly made to it CHAP. XII Of the Person of our Blessed Saviour THat in the reign of Tiberius there lived such a Person as Jesus Christ who suffered (a) Tacit. Annal. lib. 25. under Pontius Pilate is expresly written by Tacitns and that he cured Diseases and wrought other Miracles was never denied by the worst Enemies to the Christian name and Doctrine So that the substance of the History of the Life and Death of our Saviour is acknowledged by our very Adversaries and the Power by which he wrought his Miracles is the thing which was in dispute between them and the Primitive Christians And therefore I shall take the observations which I make concerning our Blessed Saviour from that account which the Evangelists give of him which is in great part confessed by the Jews and Heathens and which deserves at least the same credit that all other Histories do till it can be disproved and in the following Chapters I shall shew that it is infallibly true The Divine Nature of our B. Saviour is of another consideration we are in this place to consider him according to the Appearance he made in the World and this was such as shewed him to be void of all ambitious and aspiring thoughts and to be meek and humble and perfectly vertuous and holy his Miracles were wrought without vanity and ostentation and never out of Revenge or to shew his Power over his Enemies but always with a gracious and merciful design he avoided all opportunities of Popularity he would not intermeddle in private affairs when he was appealed to and made his escape when the people would have taken him by force to make him a King after they had seen the Miracle of the Loaves by which it appeared that he who was able to sustain so many thousands in the Wilderness might have raised and maintained what Army he pleased and might have made himself as great as he would notwithstanding any opposition He dealt freely and generously with his Disciples not deluding them with vain hopes nor promising them great Matters but checking their aspiring Thoughts and telling them truly and plainly that they were to expect nothing but miseries in this World from the Profession of his Doctrine he put it to their own choice whether they would take up their Cross and follow him and when he was betray'd by one of those very Disciples he uses no upbraiding or reproachful Language but bespeaks him with a Divine Patience and Meekness Noman ever suffer'd with so much injustice and cruelty nor ever any man with so great compassion and charity towards all his Enemies He lived a mean and despised Life and never was in such a condition as could tempt any man to flatter him or to conceal any fault if he had been guilty of any and he had always many Enemies who endeavoured to fasten the worst calumnies upon him but their malice tended only to render his Innocence the more manifest and illustrious The person who betray'd him and delivered him into the hands of his Enemies was one of the Twelve one of his own Disciples and Apostles whom he had sent out to gain Proselytes and had committed to him a Power of working Miracles and of doing whatsoever was requisite to gain Reception for his Religion in the World Judas was one of the Twelve who were nearest to him and were admitted to all the secrets of his Kingdom and were entrusted with the most hidden Mysteries and obscure Doctrines of his Religion whatsoever was spoken to others in Parables was explained afterwards to them in private nothing was with-held from them which it was convenient for them to be acquainted withal or which they were capable of knowing Nay Judas seems to have had a particular mark of Favour plac'd upon him in that he was the keeper of the Bag for it was an Office of some Trust and Confidence however it gave him an opportunity of knowing whether his Master had any such ambitious designs as he was accused of For if he had perverted the Nation and forbidden to give Tribute to Caesar and had endeavour'd to set himself up as King of the Jews which was the charge laid against him before Pilate such a Project could not have been carried on without amassing a great Treasure which therefore if any such thing had been in hand Judas had been best able to give an account of But when one who had constantly attended upon him and was so intimately acquainted with all the secrets of his Life and Doctrin had nothing to alledge against him after he had betray'd him what could make more for his Justification or be a clearer Demonstration of his Innocence When men are once prevail'd upon to turn Traytors they seldom do things by halves but if there be the least pretence or colour to be found they will be sure to lay hold of it to justify their villany And it is the most undeniable proof our Saviours's Innocence that Treachery it self could discover nothing to fasten upon him but tho' Judas had been suborned by the chief Priests to betray his Master for thirty pieces of Silver yet neither that nor a greater sum which we may be confident would not have been denied him could prevail with Judas himself to undertake to appear as a witness against him When one of his own Disciples was perswaded or rather had offer'd of his own accord to betray him it could not be imagin'd but that the Chief Priests would urge him to come in as a witness to the Accusations which they had framed against him this had been a much a more acceptable service to them than barely to deliver him up for what could have brought a greater disgrace upon his Person or more discredit upon his Religion than for one of his own Disciples to witness against him that the had committed things worthy of Death Men who were at such a loss for matter to charge Christ with and at last could not make their Witnesses agree together would never we may be sure have omitted such an opportunity as this of loading him with infamy and stifling his Doctrine in his death And he who was so ready and forward to betray his master wou'd never have stuck at accusing him if he had had any thing to say against him and no other reason can be given why he did not do it but that he was over-awed by that Innocence and Holiness which he knew to be in him and was seiz'd with that remorse of Conscience and terrour of Mind as not to be able to bear up under the guilt of what he had already done For Judas who had betrayed him when
he saw that he was condemned repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of Silver to the Chief Priests and Elders saying I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood And they said What is that to us see thou to that And he cast down the pieces of Silver in the Temple and went and hanged himself Matt. xxvii 3 4. How could the Chief Priests themselves have contrived a better way to vindicate our Saviour's Innocence if they had never so much endeavour'd it than for one of his own Disciples after he had betrayed him instead of witnessing against him which it was natural to suppose he would have done to be so far from that as to come before them all and fling down the Money in the Temple which they had given him as the hire of his Treachery and declare publickly that he had betrayed the Innocent Blood and then to give a further proof of all this out of meer anguish and horror of Mind to go immediately from them and hang himself If our Saviour had done any thing whereby he could deserve to be put to Death Judas must needs have known it and when he had once betray'd him it cannot be supposed he would forbear to discover any thing he knew of him But when on the contrary he was so far from accusing him that as soon as he saw him condemned at the Accusation of other false Witnesses he could not bear the Agonies of his own mind but went and made away with himself this is as evident a proof of Christ's Innocence as any of the other Apostles themselves could ever give and Judas is so far an Apostle still as to proclaim his Master's Innocence in the face of the Sanedrim and then to Seal that Testimony with his Blood It has been thought by some that Judas as wicked as he was had never any design to cause his Master to be put to Death or to be any way instrumental towards it but he supposed that Christ would be secure enough against the Chief Priests in his own Innocence and Holiness or that they would not dare to hurt him for fear of the People which had been a restraint upon them in their former attempts or that he could easily make his escape from them as he had formerly done and therefore his Covetousness tempted him to believe that though he should betray his Master yet he would come to no harm by it However it is certain that Judas himself cleared our Saviour's snnocence by betraying him more than any other man could have done who had not been his Dlsciple and his making that confession and then his dying upon that account and in that manner may afford us that evidence which we must have wanted to certify us in the Truth of the Christian Religion if Christ had not been betray'd or had been betrayed by any but one of his own Disciples When he was condemned and crucify'd one of the Thieves who was crucified with him made an open Profession of him when there could be no Temptation of flattery nor leisure or patience for a man in that condition to speak in that manner but by the special Providence and Grace of God and to give an early instance of the great efficacy of his Cross and of the Mercy which it reacheth forth to all repenting Sinners our Saviour assures him that that very day he should be with him in Paradise A strange discourse upon the Cross To speak of Kingdoms and promise Paradise under so much infamy and torment That one should have the Faith to ask and the other the Power to promise so great things in that condition Who could have had the courage to promise so much upon the Cross but he who was able to perform it And as no ill could ever be proved against him but all circumstances concurred to confirm his Innocence as Herod dismissed him and Pilate often declared him to have committed nothing worthy of Death so the Devils themselves during his Life here upon Earth confessed him to be the Son of God and after his Death (b) Porphyr apud Euscb Demonstr Evang. lib. 3. c. 6. by their Oracles acknowledged him to have been an holy person whose Soul was translated into Heaven And this person thus Innocent and Holy both in his Life and Doctrine was prophesied of many Ages before his Birth and all the Prophecies concerning the Messias were exactly and in a wonderful manner fulfilled in him These Prophecies concern either his Birth or his Life or his Death or his Resurrection and Ascension 1. The Prophecies concerning the Birth of the Messias were fulfilled in our Saviour For his Birth was prophesied of in all the circumstances of the Time and the Place of it and the Person of whom he was born 1. As for the Time by Jacob's Prophecy Gen. xlix 10. The Messias was to come about the time of the Dissolution of the Jewish Government The Scepter was not to depart from Judah that is the Power and Authority of the Jewish Government was not to cease until Shilo came which the ancient (c) See Bp. Pearson on the Creed Jewish Interpreters expounded of the coming of their Messias To (d) Lightfoot's Prospect of the Temple c. 21. which purpose it is held by the Jews that the great Sanhedrim sat in the Tribe of Judah tho' but part of the Court in which they sat was of that Tribe and the rest in the Tribe of Benjamin And the Jews among all their objections never objected against the time in which our Saviour came into the World but many of them have confessed that the Messias was born at that time but say that because of their sins he has (e) Munster de Messiâ concealed himself ever since And the latter Jews have by a great many stories endeavoured to make it believed that there is a Kingdom still of their Nation in some unknown part of the world tho' if this were true it could prove nothing to their purpose the prophecy being concerning their Power and Authority in the promised Land It is certain that soon after our Saviour's coming Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews dispersed and upon severe Penalties forbidden to come to their desolate and ruined City or so much as to look upon Zion the City of their Solemnities unless it were once every year to lament their calamity and they have ever since been a wandring and despicable People And several times when they have at tempted to re-build their Temple they have not been suffered to do it particularly when they had the favour and encouragement of Julian the Apostate who out of malice to the Christian Name and Doctrine was forward to promote the work they were hindred by an Earthquake and a miraculous eruption of Fire bursting out from under the foundation which burnt down what they had erected and destroyed those that were employed in it and this we have attested not only from Christian writers
to crucify him yet his Life was in his own power which he resigned in the words of another Psalm Ps xxxi 5. and he caused another Prâ—phecy to be fulfilled by dying at that very point of time which if his death had been deferred a little longer had not been fulfilled for the Soldiers broak the Legs of the two other that were crucified with them but finding him deâ—d they broak not his Legs though one of them suspecting that he could not be so soon dead pierced his side to try whether he were really dead or not by which that Scripture was fulfilled which saith they shall look on him whom they pierced Joh. xix 34. Zach. xii 10. which (l) See Bp. Pearson Text the Ancient Jews interpreted of the Messias The liii Chapter of Isaiah is a clear description of our Saviour's Passion almost in every circumstance of it He was despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he was wounded for our Transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter and as a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth his Silence being taken special notice of by Pilate himself and his meekness towards Judas his most ungrateful Disciple is wonderful beyond all example He made his Grave with the Rich in his Death though he died in that shameful manner under the imputation of so much wickedness yet Joseph of Arimathea an honourable Counsellor was suffered by Pilate to bury him which he did in his own new Tomb. He was numbred with the Transgressors and in that sense made his Grave also with the wicked being crucified between two Thieves and so was not only reputed a Malefactor and underwent the punishment of Transgressors but was executed at the very time and place with them and buried when they were He made intercession for the Transgressors for the Penitent Thief in particular whom he promised that he should be with him that day in Paradise and for his Persecutors themselves praying that they might be forgiven The Prophecies of this Chapter are so very plainly and directly fulfilled that I have known a Child apply them to the Passion of Christ One of the most glorious Characters by which the Messias was described by the Prophets was that he should be their Prince and King and this led the Jews into that fatal mistake of a Temporal Messias for Messias or Anointed signifies King as well as Prophet or Priest in which three Offices Unction was used and they were all united in our Saviour who was the Messias anointed and inaugurated by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon him in a visible shape and with a distinct and audible voice declaring him to be the Son of God And that all the world might know our Saviour to be the King of the Jews that Title was fixt upon his Cross in three several Languages the most vulgar Tongues then in the world that no Nation might be ignorant that Christ the King of the Jews was then crucified For Pilate would not alter the Inscription but though they had frighted him before by observing to him that it was Treason against Caesar to call any one King besides him yet when they would now have had him change the Inscription and have written only that he said I am King of the Jews Pilate gave a short and resolute Answer what I have written I have written How much soever it were at his Peril to provoke a malicious people in a point wherein they thought the honour and safety of their Nation so much concerned and in a point which could not but be exceeding tender to so jealous an Emperor as Tiberius but Pilate had suffered himself to be carried too far already against his own Conscience and had shewn great aversion to their proceedings in the whole management of his Tryal and the same providence which had ordered every circumstance to the manifestation of the Truth and the conviction both of the Jews and Gentiles now so disposed this remarkable particular that the last period of his Life in opposition to all the spight of the Jews should be adorned and dignified with his true Title and Character under which he had been foretold by the Prophets in Capital Letters upon his Cross Thus were the Prophecies concerning the Birth and Life and Death of the Messias exactly fulfilled in our Blessed Saviour which were so many that they could not be fulfilled by chance and the fulfilling of them depended so much upon the words and actions of others and even of his worst Enemies that it could proceed from no design or contrivance of him or his Disciples They were fulfilled in him by the malice chiefly of his Enemies and according to the interpretation which they themselves were wont to give of them IV. His Resurrection likewise and Ascension were the fulfilling of express Prophecies as the Apostles proved to the face of his Crucifiers Act. ii And these were such Accomplishments of Prophecies as depended upon the sole Will and Power of Almighty God and yet as certainly came to pass as the Birth and Life and death of Christ did As shall be proved in due Place CHAP. XIII Of the Prophecies and Miracles of our Blessed Saviour AS our Blessed Saviour was Prophesied of by all the Prophets who were before him so he was himself the Great Prophet that was to come and was at the time of his being in the world expected of the Jews and he fulfilled that Prediction by the many eminent Prophecies which he spake He foretold the Treachery of Judas and knew from the beginning who it was that should betray him he foretold the manner of his own Death that it was to be by crucifixion though the Jews often sought opportunities to put him to death privately and that was a kind of punishment which the Jews could not inflict but if they had killed him themselves and had not brought him to the Roman Judicature they would have done it by stoning as they murthered St. Stephen He foretold all the circumstances of his sufferings that he should be delivered unto the Chief Priests and unto the Scribes and that they should condemn him to death and should deliver him to the Gentiles and that they should mock him and should scourge him and should spit upon him and should kill him and that he would rise again the third day Mark x. 33 34. which his enemies took such notice of that they used all their vain endeavours to prevent it He assured his Disciples that his Gospel should be preached over the whole world and that one particular action which they were offended at of the Woman who anointed his head should never be omitted wheresoever it should be preached Matt. xxvi 13. He declared that his Religion should prevail against all the opposition which it would meet withal and continue to
Persuasion doth not determine Right and Wrong True and False the remaining difficulty is how to distinguish them and that must be by the proper Evidence and the intrinsick Goodness of the Cause And our Evidence in behalf of our Religion is plain matter of Fact as the Death and Resurrection and Ascension of our Blessed Saviour and the Miracles wrought by him and his Apostles And if our Religion has sufficient Proof of what we assert in matter of Fact and other Religions have not sufficient Proof of that Authority to which they lay claim this must determine the Point though a Mahometan or Pagan should be as zealous for his Religion as a Christian can be It is commonly and truly said that it is not the Suffering but the Cause which makes the Martyr and if Men of False Religions have never so much Confidence of the Truth of them and have no Ground for it this can be no Argument against the Grounds and Proofs upon which the Evidence of the Christian Religion depends Other Religions may have their Zealots who offer themselves to die for them but the Christian Religion properly has the only Martyrs For Martyrs are Witnesses and no other Religion is capable of being attested in such a manner as the Christian Religion no other Religion was ever propagated by Witnesses who had seen and heard and been every way conversant in what they witnessed concerning the Principles of their Religion no Religion besides was ever preached by Men who after an unalterable Constancy under all kinds of Sufferings at last died for asserting it when they must of necessity have known whether it were true or false and therefore certainly knew it to be true or else they would never have suffered and died in that manner for it no other Religion was ever attosted from its first Propagation for several Hundreds of Years together by Men who had either seen the first Preachers themselves or had been acquainted with others who had seen them or had wrought Miracles and seen others work them no other Religion is contained in Books which were written at the first Propagation of it and dispers'd into all Countries in all Languages amongst all sorts of Men and especially amongst those who were most concerned and most able and desirous to disprove it if it had been false no Religion besides has by so weak and unlikely means prevailed over all the Power and Policy of the World none is in its Doctrin so agreeable to Reason and so worthy of God for its Author and none has been delivered down with so clear a continued and uninterrupted Testimony through all Ages and conveyed by a succession of Testimonies to this present Age And therefore no other Religion can have Martyrs who can die in confirmation of such a Testimony as this or who can be Martyrs and Witnesses to it by assuring the World at their Death that they have received the Religion thus testified and confirmed for which they die It is not the bare asserting a thing boldly and then dying for it which makes a Martyr but the Qualifications necessary in a Witness are necessary in him that is that he should have all Opportunities needful to know the Truth as well as no Temptation to speak the contrary Which Qualifications were evident in the Apostles and first Martyrs whose Testimony is that upon which the Proof of our Religion is founded and the Martyrdoms of latter Ages are additional Testimonies which without the former would be insignificant but supposing them are all the Testimony that can be given to any matter of Fact at this distance of Time and are as much beyond the Sufferings in behalf of any other Religion as the Evidence of the Christian Religion is beyond the Evidence for all others It is not merely Zeal though it proceed even to Death and Martyrdom upon which we build our Faith but the Reasons which Christians have for their Zeal Divers Nations have been as earnest Assertors of their Fabulous Antiquities as others can be of theirs which are known to be true but are these ever the less or those ever the more true upon that account We insist upon it that we have Books to shew and clear Evidence to produce for what we maintain and these have been examined by many Men in every Age and compared with what is to be alleged in behalf of contrary Religions and Men of the greatest Learning and Judgment and Prudence have chosen to die rather than to renounce this Religion for any other after the nicest and most impartial Examination they could make Whereas the Zealots and Martyrs for the Religions which are contrary to Christianity must be acknowledged to be Men that understand nothing of Antiquity but are ignorant of the History of their several Religions and take all upon uncertain Report and absurd Traditions without any Proof or Possibility of it and even against manifest Reason and the Evidence of undoubted History So plain is it that the Zeal and Confidence of Men of false Religions and their willingness to die for them can be no prejudice to the Authority and Certainty of the true Religion The Enthusiasms and vain Notions and Conceits of some Zealots can be no more a Prejudice to the Truth and Reality of our Religion than it is an Argument against the Truth and Certainty of Human Reason that there are so many Fools and Madmen in the World CHAP. XXXII That Differences in Matters of Religion are no Prejudice to the Truth and Authority of it THere is nothing which has proved a a greater Snare and Scandal to weak Minds nor which gives the Enemies of Religion greater Advantage as they think against it than the Dissentions amongst Christians and the different Sects and Parties into which they are divided This makes some willing to conclude that there is no certainty on any side when they see equal Zeal and equal Confidence in Men of all Persuasions that contend for their several Opinions But St. Paul writes to the Corinthians that there must be not only Divisions but Heresies also and not only that they must be but that they are not without their use and expediency in the Church They are so far from being any real Prejudice to the Truth and Certainty of Religion that they do indeed conduce to manifest the Excellency of it and the Sincerity of those that profess it For there must be also Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you 1 Cor. xi 19. From whence I shall shew I. That Differences in matters of Religion must be among Christians unless God should miraculously and irresistibly interpose to prevent them II. That it is not necessary nor expedient that God should thus interpose III. That these Differences how great and how many soever they be even the worst of Schisms and Heresies are no prejudice to the Truth and Authority of Religion I. That Differences in matters of Religion must be among