Jews do agree as may be seen in the Jerusalem Talmud that Criminal Judgment was taken away from them Forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Gospel supposeth the same thing the Jews did not put Jesus Christ to death but they carried him to Pilate and demanded that he might be crucified When Pilate said Shall I crucifie your King they answer We have no other King but Cesar which Confession was the Confession of the whole Jewish Nation who were assembled at the Feast of Passover In short One sees that accordingly the Roman Magistrate past Sentence upon him He was scourged before they led him to be crucified which was a punishment amongst the Romans His Body is not taken from the Cross but by permission from Pilate and the Roman Souldiers are those Dogs that is prophane Heathens who enclosed him and tormented him according to the Description which David has made Psalm XXII The Jews have here but one Answer to make which God's former dealing with that People seems somewhat to countenance which is That as their Seventy years Captivity under the Babylonian Empire did not hinder the differring of the accomplishment of that Prophecy of the Scepters not departing from Judah for some Centuries after the said Captivity so neither is it necessary to suppose that the Messiah was to succeed immediately upon the ending of the Kingdom of the Maccabee's and upon the loss of their Liberty under Pompey But here is a very great difference For first during the Babylonish Captivity God still preserved amongst them some form of Government the great Lords of the Country being chiefly carried away Captives whilst the poorest and most miserable were left behind Secondly The Captivity lasted only 70 years whereâ—â— this last Dispersion hath lasted above â—â—600 Thirdly The first Captivity did not at all abolish those necessary Marks whereby the lawful Lords of Judea might be distinguished those that were of the Tribe of Juda as well as those of other Tribes were very well known tho' they were not in possession of the Kingdom whereas now every thing is confounded amongst them and if one looks into Christian Records he may find that many of the Kindred of Jesus Christ were put to death because they could pretend to the Throne of Judea Moreover during the Captivity of Babylon they had Prophets amongst them who expresly foretold the end of it whereas nothing of that kind has yet been seen since the last destruction of Jerusalem since which time no Prophet has appeared amongst them that advantage being transferred to the Christians some of which who next succeeded our Saviour did foretel the most remarkable Events that were to follow to the end of the World. But if any one should be so nice as to call in question the Reasons of the difference here alledged at least the Jews will find nothing to object against the Prophecy of Daniel concerning the Weeks at the end of which the Messiah was to appear and afterwards to be out off In short if it be true that Jesus Christ was born under the Empire of Augustus it is no less certain that he entred upon his Ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius and was crucified the Nineteenth year of his Reign that is in the midst of the Four hundred eighty seventh year from the Twentieth year of Artaxernes that is 〈…〉 before the end of the last Week pointed out by Daniel as I have shewed in the Eight Chapter of the Third Part of this Book CHAP. VI. That Jesus Christ had precisely such a Forerunner as the Prophets had described to precede the Messiah ONE will easily judge that it was agreeable to the greatness of the Messiah and the contemptible state wherein he was to appear to the World that he should have a Forerunner Accordingly we find Isaiah expressing himself in his manner the year of the World 3292 almost 700 years before the Birth of our Saviour Malachy had expresly foretold the same in his Prophecy about 420 years before his Appearance If this be once granted it is easie to conceive that the Son of a Priest living without any worldly spendour and dying a violent death tho' very glorious for him was a proper Forerunner to that Jesus who himself was to be Crucified Our business therefore is to enquire whether the Characters which the Prophets give to the Forerunner of the Messiah do agree with John the Baptist in whom the Christians maintain that this Prophecy of Malachy was fulfilled This may be easily made out First John the Baptist was miraculously conceived at a time when his Parents could not promise themselves any such thing The Angel Gabriel who had declared to Daniel the coming of the Messiah by pointing out to him the number of Weeks was the Messenger of the Conception of this Forerunner of the Messiah Several things passed at his Birth and at the time when they gave him his Name which were very strange and which could not but be generally known as well because of the Accident which happened to Zacharias in the Temple as of his quality being a Priest Secondly The extraordinary Life which S. John led being a Nazarite ought to be carefully considered He liv'd in a solitary place as the Prophet Elijah did before him Thirdly His preaching also had the Character of that ancient Prophet being Thundring as his was he neither spared great men nor those who had the reputation of the greatest sanctity as the Pharisees particularly whose Pride and Hypocrisie he touched to the quick Fourthly He set forth the coming of the Messiah as at the door The Kingdom of Heaven said he is at hand alluding to the Seventh of Daniel where the Kingdom of the Messiah is represented as a Kingdom which was to come down from Heaven whereas the former Empires had their rise from the Earth In short nothing could be more illustrious than the Ministry of this great Man. He Baptized publickly for the space of one year such as came to him solemnly engaging them to Repentance in hopes of the suddain appearance pearance of the Messiah This Ceremony which was an imitation of their custom of initiating Proselytes in the Jewish Religion was plainly an Essay to establish a new Religion or at least to reform those Corruptions which time had introduced into the Jewish Religion In a word we find him so generally followed that the great Councel of the Jews thought fit to send Deputies to him to know whether he were not the Messiah they expected This great Man was so far from abusing the great Credit he had gain'd that he solemnly protested That he was only the Forerunner of the Messiah who was already come but was as yet concealed in the midst of them His Glory became so illustrious that it stirr'd up jealousie in the Mind of Herod who cast him into Prison and at last caused his Head to be cut off in the Castle of Macherom to satisfie the lewd Herodias whose
carrying away of the ten Tribes by the Assyrians Thus we see the Truth of these Books and more especially those of Moses confirmed till the time of the revolt of the ten Tribes and confirm'd beyond exception at least far beyond the certainty we can have of the truth of any other Book in the World. It remains only now to examine whether as to the Books of Moses we find not the same certainty when we look back from the departure of the ten Tribes to the time of Moses that is to say whether there be the least probability that they were forged in any part of that interval of about 580 years I say then in the Fourth place that it is no less ridiculous to suppose them forged during that period First because it is impossible that these Books should have been forged in the form we now see them but that the Forgery must have been apparent to all the World. Nothing could be more notorious than whether the Jews did read the Law of Moses every Sabbath day in all their Families or Synagogues and every Seventh year besides Nothing was of more easie observation than whether they did keep their three solemn Feasts viz. that of the Passover Pentecost and of Tabernacles Nothing could be more apparent than whether the Jews did obey the Laws contained in the Pentateuch whether relating to particular persons to Tribes or their Lands and the manner of possessing of them Indeed nothing can be imagin'd more absurd than to suppose an insensible change wrought either in in the Form of their Civil Government or the Ceremonies of their Religion Indeed it is an unsufferable peice of boldness to charge the Jews with forging these Books of Moses or adulterating of them in this period of time when it appears they have kept them without any alteration for the space of 2700 years as hath been shewed already If it be said that the Jews being divided into two Kingdomes and dispersed into distant Countreys were not in a condition to forge or adulterate any of the said Books because it might easily have been discovered it may be answered that the same reasons took place in this interval of 580 years for from the time of Moses to Rehoboam they were not only greatly divided amongst themselves but almost continually subject to neighbouring States who subdued them by turns as we see in the Book of Judges Moreover we are to take notice First that these Books of Moses are the rise and foundation of the Laws and Customes of the Heathens as well as of their Fictions which we shall have occasion to point at in the sequel of this Discourse Secondly That the History contained in the Pentateuch is evidently confirm'd by the following Books of Joshuah and Judges which have an essential reference to the same and contain a relation of the publick acts of many Nations attested and acknowledged by Heathen Authors who were the mortal Enemies of the Jews Thirdly That the said Books are so closely link'd and related to those publick and known actions that it is impossible to separate the Laws they contain from the Matters of fact attested by Pagan History or to be ignorant that the Form of the Jewish Government was nothing else but an execution of the Laws contained in the Pentateuch which equally lays down that Platform of their Policy and worship My business at present only is to hint these general Reflexions concerning the Truth of the Books of the Old and New Testament tho the sequel will oblige me to make some more particular Reflexions upon each Book when I shall come to consider the several Relations they contain I now come to the Matter in hand beginning with the Book of Genesis where we find an account of the Creation of the World the Forming of Man the Fall the Promise of the Messiah the Propagation of Mankind the Deluge with other Matters until the Death of Joseph which contains the History of the World for the space of 2369 years CHAP. IV. That the Testimony of Moses concerning the Creation of the World and the Promise of the Messiah is unquestionable FOrasmuch as amongst those Matters which Moses relates in the Book of Genesis that of the Creation of the World in seven days and of the Promise of the Messiah are such upon which all the rest do depend as I shall shew hereafter it is evident that I must make it my business in a special manner to evince the truth of the same Towards the confirmation of which matters of fact the one of which is that God Created a first Man the other that God hath promised in due time to send the Messiah for Redemption of Mankind from the punishment of sin I shall propose these following Remarks Moses the great Law-giver of the Jews laid these two Matters of Fact as the Basis of the Laws he was to publish and he relates them to us as things which were not only known to him and some others of the Jewish Nation but to all the People of the World and particularly the whole Nation amongst whom he lived To understand the force of this Argument we must mind three things the First is the Nature of the Matters themselves the other is the Character of him that relates them and the third the use Moses makes of them For the first nothing was more needful to be known than these two things before us they were Matters which concern the whole World and of which every one ought to be informed they are Matters about which it is not easie to be deceived every one being in a condition to satisfie himself about them and of which consequently they could not but be most throughly informed I dare maintain that there are no Facts in prophane History of importance comparable to these of the Creation of the World and the Promise of the Messiah as Moses has related them 2. And as for the Author who relates these points it is as plain that his Character did wonderfully contribute to the making of his Book famous He was a Man Illustrious as well by reason of his Education as the Rank he held amongst Men a Man equally expos'd to the Judgment of Enemies and Friends and who could not vent theleast thing contrary to truth in Matters of great importance without seeing himself immediately refuted or rather without exposing himself to publick scorn Besides I aver and am ready to maintain that we find no Author of so illustrious a Character as Moses was or who is distinguish'd with so many essential marks of Faithfulness and Veracity as appears throughout the whole Tenour of his Writings 3. This will appear more evidently when we consider the use to which Moses designs these two Relations of the Creation of the World and the Promise of the Messiah In a word his design was not in furnishing his Books with the Recitals of these important Facts to engage others to read them with more attention or to
last Objection of Atheists is answered 120 Chap. 22. The Consequences of what we have proved in our foregoing Observations upon the Book of Genesis 126 The Contents of the Chapters of the Second Part of the First Volume Chap. 1. THat it cannot reasonably be doubted but that Moses is the Author of Exodus and of the three other following Books Page 137 Chap. 2. That both the Character of Moses 's person and the nature of the things he relates has always made Men read his Books with attention 146 Chap. 3. That the truth of the Miracles related by Moses cannot reasonably be doubted of 153 Chap. 4. A Continuation of the proofs of the truth of the Miracles wrought by Moses 158 Chap. 5. That Moses 's Description of the manner of God's giving him his Laws is evidently true 164 Chap. 6. Some other proofs that confirm Moses 's Description of the manner how the Law was given and promulgated 169 Chap. 7. That there is no just Exception can be made against Moses 's History in what relates to the Oracles which he hath recorded in his Books 173 Chap. 8. That the Testimony of the Jews is a constant proof of the truth of the Oracles related by Moses 177 Chap. 9. That it appears by the nature of his Relations that Moses had the Messias in view when he wrote the Book of Genesis 180 Chap. 10. That the same perswasion appears throughout the whole Conduct of Moses until his Death 185 Chap. 11. That Balaam 's prophesie which Moses relates is a further Argument of the same perswasion in him 188 Chap. 12. That one may see also in Moses 's Law plain Footsteps of God's Design in distinguishing these from whom he would have the Messiah to be Born. 194 Chap. 13. That the manner of God's promulgating his Law amongst the Israelites did much conduce to the distinguishing them from all other Nations 200 Chap. 14. That God seems to have designed to keep up a Spirit of Jealousie in the very Bosom of the Jewish Nation 206 Chap. 15. That Circumcision was a means of distinguishing the Israelites from other Nations 212 Chap. 16. That the Law of Moses engaged the Jews to the study of their Genealogies that they might certainly know that of the Messiah 219 Chap. 17. A Solution of some Difficulties in these Genealogies 223 Chap. 18. That the manner whereby the Law of Moses fixed the people of Israel to the Land of Canaan was to keep them separated from other Nations 228 Chap. 19. That the Law tied the people of Israel to the Land of Canaan and by several other means established the distinction betwixt Tribes and Families amongst them 234 Chap. 20. That the Laws which Moses made coneerning the state of Virginity did principally relate also to the Messiah which holds also as to several other Laws 241 Chap. 21. That it was the design of God by all these Ceremonies and particularly by that Veneration which he inspired the Jews with for the Tabernacle to preserve the Idea's of the Messiah whom he had promised in their minds by distinguishing them from all other Nations 249 Chap. 22. That it appears by the Books of Moses that this whole Model which God had framed was to last but until the coming of the Messiah 256 To the Courteous Reader THE Errata's are so small that they will not disturb the sense any where and so few that we need not trouble the Reader with a Table of them And therefore hope he will take such inconsiderable pains upon himself and excuse the Author REFLEXIONS UPON THE BOOKS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE For the Establishing of the Truth OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CHAPTER I. Concerning the Fundamentals of the Christian Religion WE are to consider three things in the Christian Religion the Matters of Fact it propounds to us for true the Promises it affords us and the Worship it commands The Matters of Fact it propounds to us as true are that God created the World that he formed the first Man from whom the rest of mankind have been propagated that a while after this Man was created he violated the Law God had given him and that whereas he deserved to have perished for this his disobedience God was pleased instead thereof to comfort him with the hopes of a Saviour which was to be born of the Seed of his Wife that God hath actually sent this Saviour into the World which comprehends the whole Oeconomy of Christ viz. His Birth Life Preaching Miracles Death Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven c. The Promises it vouchsafes are the forgiveness of our Sins the Resurrection of our Bodies and a state absolutely happy for ever in Heaven And lastly the Worship or Divine Service it prescribes consists in Obedience to the Law of God in Prayer for the pardon of our Sins and his Protection and in a grateful Acknowledgement of what we owe him for all his Benefits towards us The first of these three parts of the Christian Religion viz. The Truth of the Matters of Fact it relates may be said to be the foundation of the other two viz. The Promises and Commands It is impossible to be perswaded that God hath created this World in which we live and made Mankind of one and the same blood that after the Fall he promised to save Men and did actually redeem them in sending Jesus Christ who suffer'd Death and being rais'd the third day Ascended into Heaven c. I say it is impossible to look upon these Facts as true without being assured that God will accomplish the Promises he hath made to us And it is as evident that we cannot be convinc'd of the truth of these Matters without being sensible of a strong obligation laid upon us to perform all the Duties of the Christian Religion As soon as a Man reflects upon his being Gods Creature he finds himself naturally oblig'd to obey God universally according to his utmost ability but when he comes further to believe that God did not destroy the first Man for his disobedience but was graciously pleased to promise him a Saviour for himself and all his Posterity and when moreover he is assured that God hath really sent this Saviour in the way and manner the Gospel relates to us we cannot conceive but that he must find himself under the highest engagements imaginable of rendring to God a religious obedience and believing his Promises But there is yet another obligation whereby Man is bound to obey God to pray to him and to offer him all manner of Religious Worship God by redeeming him hath obtained a new claim to and right over him and a more indispensable obligation is laid upon Man to submit himself to God in all religious Concerns as being not only created but also redeemed by him Reason acknowledgeth that if the truth of these things be once admitted nothing can be more just and natural than those consequences which the Christians thence infer All the difficulty
therefore that occurs in this Matter consists in the proof of those Facts which the Christian Religion propounds to us that is to say in proving the Creation of the World the Fall of Man the Promise of a Redeemer his coming into the World his Miracles Death Resurrection Ascension into Heaven c. which are the Foundations of the Christian Religion And indeed these are the very matters of which Atheists and Libertines require a solid proof And it doth the more concern us to satisfie their demands forasmuch as the Jews who are scatter'd throughout the whole World do oppose our assertion that the Promise of sending the Messiah is already accomplish'd tho' they agree upon the matter with us in all other Articles Moreover the performing this Task may very much contribute to the Conversion of a great number of bad Christians whose sall and continuance in vices and licentiousness is to be ascrib'd to their being so weakly perswaded of the truth of these Fundamentals and that because they have never consider'd of them with sufficient attention CHAP. II. That the Christian Religion is founded upon Proofs of Mattter of Fact. FOrasmuch as in order to establish the truth of the Christian Religion we confine our selves at present to those proofs which make out the Matters of Fact it proposes omitting all other arguments which may evidence the truth of it tho' possibly no less convincing it is obvious that the proofs we are to produce in confirmation of them must be such as are proper to evince the truth of things long since past and done If we were treating of the Events of the time we live in it might be justly required that we should produce Eye-witnesses of them but forasmuch as the question here is concerning matters long since past it is natural for us to have recourse to History which furnisheth us with the relations of those who where Eye-witnesses of the same This being the only way left us to confirm our belief of things at so great a distance from us I am beholding to History only for the knowledg I have of a Cyrus an Alexander or a Caesar and yet having read the account they give me of them I find them matters I can no way rationally doubt of I acknowledg that the certainty we have of things long since past is much inferiour to that which we have of matters confirm'd to us by Eye-witnesses Nevertheless because it is evident that the Events of ancient Times cannot be confirm'd but by proofs of this nature it has never entred into the minds of any to account the existence of such men as Cyrus and Alexander for Fables upon the pretence that none now alive did ever see them or because there are scarce any traces left of those Empires of which they were the Founders Indeed the certainty we have of these things is such as nothing can be superadded to it for tho' it be founded on the Authority of Historians who liv'd many Ages ago yet withal we are to consider that the matters related do not only carry the Idea of probability and truth along with them but that they are the very ground and foundation of all the Histories of following Ages which cannot be questioned if we consider the connexion and dependance of the things related according to the light of Sense and the equity of Reason A Matter of Fact then is accounted certain when it is attested by those who were Eye-witnesses of it when recorded by an Historian who liv'd amongst those who had perfect knowledg of it when the Matter is not gainsaid or contradicted by any if we find it pen'd at a time when the things could not be related by any otherwise than indeed they were without exposing themselves to publick derision And last of all when the matter is found to be of that nature as none could be ignorant of it either because it was the interest of every one to be inform'd of it or because the thing was so publick that it could not be hid from any or lastly because of its natural connexion with all those other Events which necessarily depend on it To speak plain it is very unjust to demand either more proofs or such as are of another nature for the confirmation of the Truth of our Religion than are required to verisie any other matters of Fact. Why should not the Testimony of Noahs Children be sufficient to conclude there was such a man as Methusalem in case they assure us that they have seen him Or why should not the testimony of Methusalem be of credit enough to prove there was such a Man as Adam if he avers that he saw him and convers'd with him Do'nt we every day give credit to the account which old men give us of their Predecessors especially when we find that what they relate hath an exact reference and connexion with those things we are Eye-witnesses of But it is an easie thing to make it appear that the proofs which evidence the Truth of the matters which our Religion proposeth are infinitely more strong and convincing All the circumstances we can imagine proper to evince the Truth of any Relation do concur to place the matters recorded in Holy Scripture beyond the Reach of doubt or uncertainty We account the single Testimony of an Historian a sufficient proof that there was once a very famous Temple at Delphos or Ephesus notwithstanding that all the Monuments remaining at this day to confirm his relation be very doubtful and defective Whereas I shall make it appear that an entire Nation yea many Nations do attest the truth of those Matters which the Christian Religion proposes and that all the Actions Discourses and whole Series of Events thereto relating do furnish us with an infinite number of characters which invincibly signalize the Truth of the Holy Scrïptures CHAP. III. Some General Remarks in order to establish the Truth of Holy Scripture FOrasmuch as I have undertaken to prove the truth of the Matters of Fact contain'd in our Religion from the testimony of the Pen-men of the Old and New Testament it will be proper in order to the executing of my design to begin with a general proof of the Truth of the said Books which will not be difficult if one makes the following remarks The First is That it appears from the Five Books of Moses that he wrote the History of the Creation of the World and of the Promise of the Messiah of the Deluge the Rise and Pedigree of the several Nations of the World of the Division of Tongues and in particular the History of the Family of Abraham until the entring of the Children of Israel into Palestina 2552 years after the Creation of the World. The Second is That the following Books viz. of Joshua Judges Ruth the four Books of Kings of Chronicles with the Books of Ezrah and Nehemiah are a Continuation of the said History from the entring of the Jews into Palestina until their
of the Tree in the midst of the Garden when he left the rest to their free use Not only for that he had given the Rainbow as a new sign of his Covenant with Mankind nor only because they had practis'd those Acts of Religion to which they had been Educated by their Parents and Ancestors before the Deluge But because the same may be inferred from that action which drew upon Cham his Father's Curse What is the meaning of Cham's deriding the Nakedness of his Father and of his Father's taking occasion from thence to Curse him so solemnly and that in the person of Canaan his First-born If it were only a piece of irreverence in the Father what reason had Noah to Curse the Son on that account Or was it as some have suppos'd that Canaan had given occasion first to his Fathers Irreverence by acquainting him with the disorder in which he had found his Grandfather Noah Without doubt there is something more than ordinary in this History Sure it is that the account given us of Cham represents him as a prophane person and deeply tinctured with the Maxims of Cain and his Posterity and seems to hint to us that he supposing the Promise of the Messiah either frustrated by the Death of Abel or altogether false he made his Father's Nakedness the subject of his Mockery who seem'd to be incapable of begetting any more Children and therefore incapable of contributing to the accomplishment of the Promise of the Messiah in hopes of which he accounted himself so happy that he had escaped the Deluge What means it also that Noah pronounceth so terrible a Curse against the Posterity of Cham by Canaan who were so far from giving an accomplishment to that Promise that they were in a manner wholly exterminated by Joshuah when God put the Posterity of Shem by Abraham in possession of the Land of Canaan It is very natural for us to conceive that Noah consider'd his Son Cham's deriding of him not only as contrary to the respect which was due to him as his Father but also as the effect of a horrid Impiety which attack'd God himself as making that Promise The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's Head a subject of Raillery This Reflexion upon the action of Cham and the Curse of Noah consequent to it does appear very natural if we consider that Noah could not but reflect upon the Name his Father had given him and the special favour shewed to him in being alone preserved of all the posterity of Adam and consequently the onely person in the World by whom this Promise was to be fulfill'd Herod lib. 1. Justin Hist lib. 1. Valer Max lib. 1. At least it can't be deny'd but that this Reflexion is as natural as it would have been just in reference to the Fact of cruel Astyages if when he had as he thought sufficiently cluded his Dream which presaged the glory of the Son of Mandane his Daughter he had found her indecently uncovered and had taken thence occasion deridingly to reflect with his other Children upon a Dream which seem'd to promise to the Son of Mandane the Throne of all Asia and threaten the ruine of his own 'T is a thing worth our noting that in the time of Ezra the Samaritans had so fresh a memory of Cham's sin Ezra IV. 14 which they supposed to be generally preserv'd amongst other Nations that in their Letter to King Artaxerxes against the Jews who rebuilt Jerusalem they declare they would not discover the King's Nakedness implying that they could not consent to the injury he might receive from the Jews in suffering Jerusalem to be rebuilt It is not needful to repeat those other Arguments which prove that the Children of Noah had reason to be and were actually as much convinced of the Creation and first Promise as their Ancestors were for seeing that these Arguments were the very same which their Fathers had to perswade themselves of the truth of these things we had better proceed to the Enquiry whether their Posterity that follow'd them had the same Perswasion they had which may easily be proved in making some Reflexions on the following Ages and upon those who descended from Noah and his Children CHAP. XIV That the Posterity of Noah 's Children were perswaded of the truth of the Creation and first Promise IF Noah saw Methusalem who had seen Adam and his Posterity before the Deluge Abraham saw Shem and his Children who were unquestionable Witnesses of what had passed before and since the Flood Noah dying 350 years after the Deluge it appears that his Death happened in the year of the World 2006 so that Noah died only two years before the Birth of Abraham he being born in the year 2008. Abraham lived 150 years with Shem who died in the year 2158 and 88 years with Arphaxad the Son of Shem who died in the year 2096 he lived 118 years with Selah Son of Arphaxad who died in the year 2126 and 179 years with Heber the Son of Selah who died in the year 2187. Isaac being born in the year 2108 might see Shem Selah and Heber who for some hundreds of years had conversed with Noah and his other Children I say we may suppose him to have conversed with those Patriarchs or at least with those who being their Contemporaries discoursed of Noah as a Man but of yesterday and from his Relation and his Children's were informed of the Creation of Adam his Fall the Promise of the Holy Seed the Death of Abel the Miracle of Paradise the Preaching of Noah the Deluge c. And who in obedience to the Law of God observed by their Ancestors did meet together fifty two times every year to Celebrate the Memorial of these Wonders and to teach them to their Posterity We may take notice of three things here which conduce much to the preservation of a distinct knowledge of these Matters The First is De Dea Syra p. 1060. That the Ark it self might be seen by all the World as a certain Monument of the Deluge and the saving of Noah and his Sons This Monument continued very many Ages after Abraham and was a means to preserve the Memory of the Deluge amongst the Pagans as Lucian to name no more acquaints us The Second is That it was as easie for any of Abraham's Contemporaries as for Abraham to deduce his Genealogy from Noah and his Children And this was the more easie because the first Division of the World amongst the three Sons of Noah was followed by another Partition amongst their Posterity in the year of the World 1758 a Division which gave them a just Title of possession to that part of the Earth where they were seated in defence of which it seems probable that the War of Chedorlaomer mention'd the XIII of Genesis was undertaken the Family of Cham having invaded the Land of Canaan which was part of the Inheritance of Shem as we shall
of taking to Wife ones own Brother's Widow to raise him up Seed 2. The Sin of Onan is represented so odious only because by it he acted against the belief of the Promise 3. We see the same thing in the action of Thamar Juda's Daughter-in-Law for having been deceived by Judah she in exchange surpriz'd him into an Incest the Commission whereof according to the Observation of a Greek Commentator she sought to perpetuate Theoph. in Mat. c. I. only because she had a vehement desire to get Children out of a Family which she lookt upon as solely intrusted with the Promise of the Messiah and out of which he was accordingly to be born It is necessary to make that Observation because we ought always to remember that she was formerly a Canaanite and that consequently she left off and renounc'd the Impiety and Idolatry of her Kindred when she embrac'd the Religion and hopes of Jacob's Family Therefore we see that particular mention is made of her in our Saviour's Genealogy and of Ruth who likewise gave over all the pretensions of her own People and so forsook her Religion to enter into the Tribe of Judah as well as of Bathshebah who was Wife to a Hittite whereupon an ancient Father hath very well observed S. Hieronym in Tradit Heb ad 1. Reg. 3. according to the Jewish Opinion that Shimei's Revilings against David when he went out of Jerusalem during Absalom's Rebellion reflected upon his Birth out of the Posterity of Ruth the Moabitess as the Jews even to this very day do understand it We may make the same Reflexion upon the Consideration of that implacable jealousie which Joseph's Dreams raised in the Minds of his Brethren 1. We may reasonably conceive that he being the First-born of Rachel and the Wife which Jacob his Father had first made Love to he had been brought up with hopes of the Birth-right as well as Isaac who was but the second Son of Abraham But 2. He might besides very well suppose that the Crimes of his Brethren born of Leah whom in all likelihood he lookt upon as the sole Legitimate Heirs the others being born of Maid-Servants did rank them with Esau whom God had rejected That outragious Fury which Joseph's Brethren shew'd against him because they lookt upon him as preferred of God by those Dreams to those that were born before him is so like that of Cain of Lot of Ismael and of Esau that it had in all probability the same Cause and Original Do we not see afterwards another effect of the same jealousie in the affectation that Jacob and his Family shew'd in the Land of Egypt when they refused to live promiscuously with the Egyptians which were the Posterity of Ham and begg'd of them a Countrey where they might live by themselves as we see on the contrary the Egyptians shewing an extream aversion against Jacob and his Family which was of Sem's Posterity Certainly it cannot be denied that as this separation was an effect of the Antipathy of those Nations so it might also be in some respect the consequence of Jacob and his Childrens pretensions upon the Promise of the Messiah the execution and accomplishment whereof they stood up for as belonging to themselves To all this we may add that the Persecution of the Egyptians against the Israelites obliged them to make particular Reflexions upon the Promise which Jacob on his Death-Bed made to them from God That Persecution was chiefly intended against the Male Children Pharaoh commanding the extirpation of them because he was afraid of the Jews growing too strong for him and of their joyning with his Enemies and perhaps also because the Jews entertaining a certain expectation of the Messiah's coming and so boasting and glorying of it upon all occasions the Egyptians design'd to frustrate and cut off their hope thus by hindering the accomplishment of the Promise However there was no real difficulty to keep up the distinct remembrance of those important Facts Jacob died in the year of the World 2315. Joseph died in the year of the World 2428. There are then but 58 years between Josephs Death and Moses's Birth Moses might have seen not only Amram his own â—â—ther who had seen Levi but also Kohath his Grandfather who had seen Jacob. And it is for that reason Gen. L. 23. that Moses seems to have observ'd that Joseph saw his own Children's Children that is to say the third Generation One cannot imagine any Circumstances more conducible than these to the preserving the distinct knowledge of those important Truths which were the Foundations of Religion CHAP. XVII That the Tradition which gives us an Account of the Perswasion which the Ancients had of the truth of the Creation of the World and of the Promise of the Messiah before Moses cannot be suspected I Have shew'd I think evidently enough that both the Creation and the Promise of the Messiah with all the other things depending upon them might have been known certainly by Adam and his Children and so afterwards be handed down to all his Posterity till Moses's time From Adam to Noah there is but one Man viz. Methusalah who joyned hands with both From Noah to Abraham there is but one Man viz. Sem who saw them both for a considerable time From Abraham to Joseph there is but one Man viz. Isaac Joseph's Grandfather From Joseph to Moses there is 〈◊〉 one Man viz. Amram who might have seen Joseph long enough Those Characters of time which Moses hath so carefully observed do plainly evidence that the Creation and the Promise of the Messiah might be distinctly known For if we suppose a continued succession of Adam's Offspring it was not easie to impose upon Men in that matter and that because every one of those who were Contemporaries with Moses being able to run up his own Pedigree as far as the Flood nay even up to Adam by as compendious a way as Moses could do his own they would have treated those with the utmost degree of scorn who should have attempted to forge any thing contrary to what was publickly and universally known and so it was equally impossible that the truth of things so important as the Creation and the Promise of the Messiah were should be unknown Besides I think I have plainly shew'd that many actions recorded by Moses tho' very strange in themselves and which the Atheists look upon as absurd and ridiculous have proceeded from no other principle than from the strong perswasion of the truth of those Facts according as in a long Series of Ages every one of the Ancients following his own humour and prejudices framed to himself a particular Idea differing from the true sense of the Promise of the Messiah It cannot reasonably be objected that all this is only grounded upon the uncertain authority of Tradition For tho' I grant that Tradition as to Facts of another nature be dubious and uncertain and not to be too much
by chance and without any certain Principle CHAP. XX. An Answer to the Objection which may be drawn out of the History of China against the Mosaick Hypothesis concerning the newness of the World. I Come now to the other Objection which may be made against Moses's Calculation according to the Hebrew Text as we have it now It is drawn from the History of China whose uninterrupted Series runs up the Succession of their Emperors to Fobius who Reign'd about four hundred years before the Flood Some Learned Men have already made use of that Argument to discredit the Mosaick Chronology according to the Hebrew Text and to cry up the Calculation of the Septuagint which exceeds that of the Hebrew Text in the History before the Flood by 800 years and above 700 in the History from the Flood to Moses This Objection appears very strong to those who read in the History of Martinius that there is not the least interruption in the Catalogue of the Kings of China from Fobius that the History of their actions is so certain having always been written by a Publick Authority that no Man can reasonably entertain any doubt about it And the Missionaries in China have thought that there was no other way to reconcile the Mosaick Chronology with the Chinese but in making use of the Septuagint's Account and wherein they agree with all the Asiatick Christians and even those in Europe who follow the Septuagint in their reckoning up the years of the World for the most part Though St. Hierome's Translation which follows the Hebrew Text exactly is received in the West But after all there is little difficulty in answering this Objection and we may hereupon easily satisfie those who do not dispute only for disputing sake but are ready to examine this Question with that equity which is requisite in the examination of all Questions of that nature I confess ingeniously that this History which is one of the most ancient in the World hath many Illustrious Characters of certainty especially if we give credit to all that Martinius relates of it First It marks out exactly the Series and Succession of all the Kings of China from the very beginning and original of that Nation Secondly It records in what Year of each Cycle of threescore years every King began his Reign and did such or such an action Thirdly It relates some Astronomical Observations older than any that have been made by the most Ancient Astronomers in other Nations Fourthly It was written by a Publick Authority and by such Authors as lived in the time when the things which they record were transacted the immediate Successor to the Empire taking always care that the History of his Predecessor should be written Nay to all this we must add that the Chinese's way of writing making no use of Letters but of Hieroglyphicks may have prevented these alterations which might otherwise have been made in their History the whole Life of a Man being hardly sufficient to attain to the perfect knowledge of a Tongue which hath above Threescore Thousand Figures which must be all learnt before a Man can be able only to Read and Write But besides that all this depends upon the sole Authority of Martinius no body else beside him having given us as yet any opportunities of examining those ancient Monuments of China we may find out of this very History some strong Proofs to confirm that of Moses and so easily resolve the Difficulties which may be raised out of it against the Book of Genesis First F. Martinius observes that the common Opinion of the Chinese is that the World had a beginning And tho' there be some of them of Epicurus's Opinion yet there was never any amongst them that was for the Eternity of the World but since the Incarnation of Christ and the Introduction of Idolatry amongst them Secondly He tells us that they commonly acknowledge a God whom they call Xangti which is not the Name but the Epithet of God this word signifying Supream Governour of Heaven and Earth Thirdly He saith that they acknowledge a first Man brought forth out of the Chaos in one Night in the Spring which opinion some amongst them have made intricate by the addition of their own Fables Fourthly He shews that Sacrifices have been in use amongst them Fifthly That they believe a certainty of Punishments and Rewards after this Life for Vice and Vertue Sixthly That they believe the existence of good and bad Angels Seventhly That they assign to some of them the protection of Cities and Provinces and pay them great Veneration at the Instalment of their Magistrates Eighthly That they acknowledge them to be Incorporeal Beings and that it is but of late that they have Erected and Consecrated Statues to them And Lastly That they have a very great knowledge of the Flood which in their account happened about 3500 years before Jesus Christ Here are we see many truths which are the grounds of Religion and which were known to them from whence we may easily judge in comparing those Truths with the History of Moses that the ancient Chinese did agree with all other Nations in the believing the first Principles of Religion laid down by Moses We may likewise observe that those Antiquities of China for the most part are as like those recorded by Moses as a Tradition which cannot but have received many alterations during such a long interval of time can be like to an exact Narrative of Matters of Fact drawn up by an Author who knew very well what he writ First It appears that what they say concerning the Thirteen Successors of the first man named Puoncuus all descended from him is agreeable enough to the History of Genesis which sets down the successive Patriarchs from Father to Son. All the difference is that the Chinese by a foolish Ambition of appropriating all to themselves maintain that those Thirteen Kings were all in China Secondly What they tell us of the World being civiliz'd under the second of those Kings call'd Thienhoang after the death of the great Dragon that had disturbed Heaven and Earth agrees very well with the History of Seth who began to form Mankind to a right notion of the worship of God when he separated them from Cain's Family Thirdly It is very probable that when the Chinese have reckoned up thirteen Kings lineally descended from the first man and his Successors they have included in that number Cain and Abel who tho' they were both the Sons of the first man yet were not reckon'd up by Moses because his Scope was only to give an Account of the Lineal Descent of Adam's Posterity by Seth. They believe that under Ginhohang there was a kind of Golden Age the Earth being then fruitful to admiration and that under his Successor Men being extreamly simple and altogether ignorant of the several Arts necessary to Human Life as of Characters and Letters one Sujus to supply the want of them
upon them continually especially every Sabbath day Nay and we see moreover that God every Seventh Year would have them read publickly in a more solemn manner before the whole Congregation of that people who during that Year were obliged to rest from all their ordinary Labours and Employments and so had nothing else to do all that while but to read the Law to examine it and to meditate upon it Lastly It appears that those Laws were yet the more Solemn and Authentick because they obliged the Jews to celebrate three such Feasts as were to be publickly kept by the whole Nation and consequently apt to refresh their Memories and put them in mind thrice a year not only of the surprizing Miracles that God had done for them but also of the manner how he gave and promulgated his Laws the Miracles giving rise to the Laws and those Laws being themselves a means of preserving the Memory of those Miracles because of the frequent Commemoration of them which was therein enjoyned Now these things being so let every one judge whether the truth of Moses's Account of God's giving and promulgating by his means that Body of Laws which he hath inserted in Exodus and the following Books can possibly or at least reasonably be disputed or doubted of But I come now to con-the Oracles recorded in Moses's Writings in order to demonstrate the Truth and Divinity of them CHAP. VII That there is no just Exception can be made against Moses 's History in what relates to the Oracles which he hath recorded in his Books THere are several sorts of Oracles in Exodus and the other three following Books First There are some whereof the accomplishment did soon follow the Prediction The Deliverance of the Jews out of the Egyptian Bondage is of that number Moses does promise and foretel it nay and he executed it himself And all the people to whom it was promised and foretold were themselves Witnesses of the accomplishment of that Prophesie and it was that accomplishment which established the Divinity of his Commission So is the other Prophesie concerning the Conquest of the Land of Canaan and the several Divisions that were to be made of it amongst all the Tribes of Israel Moses foretelling exactly what Lot every one should have and giving besides a Description of the Countrey that every Tribe was to inhabit Those that were Born in the Desert were Witnesses both of the Prediction and the Execusion of it altho it was by the casting of Lots that all the Tribes got their several Partitions But Secondly There are some other Oracles in Moses's Books the accomplishment whereof was not to follow the Prediction till after a long interval of time Such are the Prophesies that foretel the future Subjection of the Israelites to the Canaanites and the several Deliverances out of that Subjection which God was to effect by the hands of Judges whom he was to raise up for that purpose Such again are the Prophesies which relate to the future change of their Common wealth into a Kingly Government Thirdly and Lastly We see that Moses foretells all the Accidents Changes and Revolutions that were to befal the Jews as long as their State should stand At least we see that his Predictions are very plain concerning their several Captivities and Removals and their return into the Holy Land as also the Sieges of Samaria and Jerusalem and the irrecoverable dispersion of the whole Nation which we see at present But whatever difference there may otherwise be betwixt all these Predictions we may say that every one of them hath as pregnant Proofs of its certainty and truth as any thing of that nature is capable of For First As to the first sort of Predictions the accomplishment whereof Moses relates himself It plainly appears that his account cannot in the least be suspected of Imposture because he wrote it amongst a whole Nation which could not possibly be imposed upon in that case seeing he supposes and takes it for granted all along in his Relation that those Predictions were before-hand publickly and generally known of all the people As for the accomplishment of the second sort of Prophesies we have the Relation of it in such other Books as were written after Moses's Death as in the Books of Joshua of Judges and several others which relate the accomplishment of them as of Prophesies written many years and even some Ages before by Moses Besides to this we may add that the account which we find in those Books concerning the accomplishment of Moses's Prophesies is interwoven with such Histories as suppose without any Affectation that his Prophesies as well as his Writings were in the hands of all the World and distinctly known by every Jew And what is further observable is That the Jews have always had Moses's Books in such an Esteem because of these several Illustrious Prophesies that are contained in them that they have always lookt upon him as the most excellent of all their Prophets They assert at this very day that the other Prophets had commonly no other knowledge of future Events than that which was communicated to them by Dreams and Visions whereas Moses had it by an immediate Revelation of God himself who used to speak to him Face to Face without any Enthusiasm when he was perfectly awake Now how could ever the Jews have been so strongly prepossest of that high Opinion both of Moses and his Predictions if we suppose that they never saw the accomplishment of any of them That would certainly be as strange an Illusion as ever was For it is besides observable that those Prophesies of his were not written by themselves and kept secret from the generality of the people but that they were inserted into the several Speeches which he made to all the people some time before his Death and which are written and kept together in the same Volume to be a standing Monument both of his Prophecies and of his Ministry among the Jews Now there is a vast Difference betwixt a Book that is all made up of Prophesies and so kept secret and seldom read as the Books of the Sybils were and a Book wherein the Prophesies it contains are interwoven with a History wherein there is so great a variety of Matters as draws to it and fixes the attention of every Reader and wherein they are mingled with a whole Body of Political and Ceremonial Laws and intermixed with the accounts which Moses gives of all the great Transactions which gave the occasion to so many several Revelations and Prophesies recorded in his Books I am perswaded that it is impossible for any Man to make those Reflexions upon the Opinion which the Jews entertained of Moses's Prerogative and upon the manner that his Prophesies so much reverenced amongst them were exactly accomplished and not be convinced of their Divine Authority CHAP. VIII That the Testimony of the Jews is a constant proof of the truth of the Oracles related
he permitted that Jeroboam should rise up against Rehoboam Solomon's Son and not only so but should likewise according to the Prophesie related Gen. XXVIII 17. build a Temple at Bethel as being jealous against Solomon who built one upon Mount Moriah according to the Prophesie we find in Genesis XXII 14. The Second is That this separation gave a fair pretence to raise the Reputation of the Prophesies which Jacob uttered upon his Death-Bed in favour of Joseph which Prophesies ran in terms so very high that they not only gave colour to Jeroboam's pretensions to the Kingdom but did also lead the Ten Tribes into an expectation that the Messiah should be born not in the Tribe of Judah as Jacob had expresly foretold Genesis XLIX but in the Tribe of Ephraim according to the constant Custom of God's preferring the younger Sons of a Family before the Elder in the matter of this Promise The Third is That even the greatest part of the two Loyal Tribes received at last the interpretation which the other ten made of that Prophesie At least it appears that many of the Jews have endeavoured to prove that the Messiah should come from the Tribe of Ephraim by interpreting several Prophesies that way which according to their account and their prejudices were expressed in such terms as could not be understood of him that was to be born in the Tribe of Judah and out of the Royal Family of David CHAP. XV. That Circumcision was a means of distinguishing the Israelites from other Nations BUt I must now resume my Observations upon Moses's Laws Circumcision was without question one of the first and most sensible means whereby God did distinguish Jacob's Posterity from all other people I will therefore begin with it First The very signification of the Word Circumcision implies a real and corporeal distinction Hist l. I. Even Tacitus understood it so when he saith Circumcidere genitalia instituêre Judaei ut diversitate noscantur But besides by it God's Covenant was as it were Printed and Ingraved in the very Flesh of all Abraham's Posterity God has explained it thus himself in several places and one may affirm that this was very agreeable to God's design which was as we have intimated before to hinder that people from which the Messiah was to be born from mingling with the other Nations of the World which would have made the Pedigree of the Messiah suspected or at least much more difficult to be traced I will not relate here the several Notions of Divines about the use of that Ceremony but only content my self to make two very natural Reflexions upon it The First of which is That it was particularly in respect of the Messiah that God would have that Mark made upon that part of Man's Body which is inservient to Generation As the Messiah was to come into the World by Generation according to the words of the first Prophesie concerning him and also according to the further Revelations of God to Abraham about that promise so God could do nothing more agreeable to the Idea the Israelites had of the Messiah and of his Birth than to distinguish them by a Relation to that Blessed Seed which he promised them as God designed without all question by that means to oblige the Jews to remember the first promise made to Mankind so no doubt he intended by it to fix their minds upon the consideration of that favour he had shew'd to them as well as to Abraham to distinguish them from all the people of the Earth that the Deliverer of the World might be born in their Common-wealth and from one of their Posterity The Second Reflexion is That it was the same prospect of the Messiah which made God condemn those to death who should either remain Uncircumcised themselves or leave their Children so Is it not a very surprizing thing that so much rigour and severity should be used in exacting the Observation of a Ceremony which was merely indifferent in its nature and had no Moral goodness in it self But hereby it appears the more evidently that God design'd that the use of Circumcision by which he distinguished Abraham's Posterity from all other Nations of the World should be a kind of immoveable Bar to hinder the Jews from mingling with all Strangers Indeed there are three things which may be objected against these Reflexions The First is That it does not appear that this Ceremony was counted such a proper sign of distinction seeing the use of it hath been sometimes intermitted As for instance when the whole Nation of the Jews left it off for forty years in the Wilderness The Second is That if the chiefest end of Circumcision was to distinguish that people with design to make the Messiah known There was no need that that yoak should be laid upon all the Jews but only upon the Family from which he was to descend or at the most upon the Tribe wherein that Family was comprized The Third is That Circumcision was common both to Esau's and Jacob's Posterity and even used amongst the Egyptians and the Inhabitants of Colchis as we may learn from Herodotus and some other Heathen Authors But after all it is an easie thing to satisfie a Man's mind in all these appearing difficulties I confess that one is surprized to see that God should not oblige the Jews to be Circumcised in the Wilderness for which several Reasons are given First That God being displeased with that Generation would not allow that they should be honoured with this Token of his Covenant others say that their journying in the Wilderness gave them a Dispensation from the observance of that Ceremony But we may give a better I think and more natural account of that matter if we do but follow the Idea which occasioned my second Reflexion The going forth of some Egyptians with the Israelites out of Egypt was a Type of the calling of the Gentiles as I will shew somewhere else It was then necessary that as all Ceremonies and Circumcision in particular were then to be abolished to take away all distinction from among Seth's Posterity so the use of Circumcision should at that time be suspended However God would not have the Suspension of that Ceremony to continue till they were entered into the Land of Canaan First To prevent the intruding of some Canaanites into the Body of the Hebrews Secondly To the end that these Israelites who were to enter into Canaan being as well Uncircumcised as the Egyptians Children and being all made afterwards equal by Circumcision should have no occasion to upbraid them with their different original The Second Objection may as easily be answered One might think at first that indeed the Messiah had been more easily known at his coming if the use of Circumcision had been injoyned only to the Family or at most to the Tribe from which he was to descend But besides that it had exposed that Family or that Tribe to great
The first part takes in all that happened after Moses 'till the establishment of the Kingdom which is related in the Books of Joshua Judges Ruth and the First Book of Samuel The second contains the History of the Kings of Juda and Israel 'till the Destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem The third contains an Account of what passed during the Jewish Captivity and after their re-establishment Now there is not one of these Books which concern the History of this People in one or other of these Epocha's which has not certain Characters of the truth of its Relations by the necessary Connexion which it has either with those Events which went before it or with those which follow'd it and this by a natural and immediate dependance This ought to be confirm'd by some Observations The Book of Joshua which contains the Conquest and division of the Land of Canaan is the Execution of Moses's design who brought the People of Israel out of Egypt to go and make themselves Masters of a Countrey which the Jews pretend that God promised to Abraham The Division of this Land amongst the Tribes is the Title which each Tribe had to its Possessions in it and this Division subsisted a great while very distinct and well known by the several Tribes of this People There happened no considerable Change but only when the Kings of Assyria carried the Ten Tribes into Captivity after the taking of Samaria in the Three thousand two hundred and eighty third year of the World The Country continuing in the same state under the two remaining Tribes without any Change ensuing upon their Transportation into Babylon as I have observed in the Nineteenth Chapter of my Reflexions upon Exodus and the following Books This Book has a very natural Influence upon the following Books as is manifest from the History of the Alliance which the Gibeonites got from the Jews by surprize It serves for a foundation to all that happened for Four hundred and thirty years after in David's Reign under whom the Commonwealth being already changed into a Monarchical Government had in all appearance undergone a great Alteration The Book of Judges has an essential Relation to the Books of Moses and Joshua the most part of the Captivities of the People of Israel being a Consequence of their Quarrels with the Nations which they had subdued or with their Neighbours as the Moabites and Ammonites descended from Lot who were jealous of this People that was descended from Abraham There we may see for Instance the Israelites upon the Defensive part because God forbad them to set upon the Moabites and the Ammonites whereas these last pretended that Israel had usurped some part of their Country It must be granted that there is nothing so remarkable markable as the Actions of these Judges whom God raised up to deliver his People from those different Captivities through which they passed for Three hundred fifty six years together But we may find the Memory of some of them preserved by those publick Hymns which were famous throughout the Nation and by these illustrious Monuments of their Judicial Authority which were preserved amongst them and which kept up a Remembrance of them amongst the Israelites and the Neighbour Nations For this ought to be observed with care That since the Jews could not invent any thing upon this Head which would not be well known by all the Neighbouring Nations as the Tyrians who kept up their own Government 'till Alexander's time who subdued them intirely and the Moabites whose Empire continued for Fourteen Ages after Lot's time until the Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar it was not easie for any fabulous Relations in this matter to obtain Authority The Book of Ruth seems not to have any thing considerable but the Conversion of Ruth a Moabitess who rely'd upon the hopes of the House of Juda out of which she had marry'd her Husband But we may take notice of three things besides 1. Of the exact Practise of that Law which obliged them to marry the Widow of a Relation who dy'd without Issue 2. Of their lively remembrance of the Deeds of their Ancestors as of Juda's Incest with Thamar which was look'd upon however as a fountain and a pattern of Blessings 3. Of the Lineage of David whom this Author represents as deriving his Pedigree from a Moabitess which not making much for the Honour of a King of Israel do's at the same time confirm the Truth of the Relations which are contained in that Book The First Book of Samuel contains the History of Eli's and Samuel's Judicatures of the change of the Government from a Commonwealth to a Monarchy under Saul of David's Anoynting Saul's Rejection and Death The Second contains the History of David his Victories his design of building a Temple a design which God left to Solomon to execute his Wars with the Ammonites his Crime with Bathshebah his Son Absalom's Insurrection against him and his great Successes against his Enemies There is nothing in these two Books which has not an exact Connexion with what went before and what follows One see 's throughout an exact Relation to the Law of Moses One see 's throughout Monuments set up in several Places to preserve the memory of particular Actions One see 's also in the Wars of the Israelites with their Neighbours a constant Series of those old Differences which were the Fruits of the Jealousie of these Nations against the Children of Israel The Books of the Kings which the Jews reckon but as one Book contain an Abridgment of Solomon's Establishment in the Place of David of the Glory of his Empire which was carried by David to the Banks of Eüphrates according to the ancient Prophecyes of his Marriage with the King of Egypt's Daughter of the Building of the Temple and his own Palace with the help of Hiram King of Tyre One see 's the manner of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon of his Alliances with the Moabites the Ammonites the Edomites the Zidonians and the Hittites thinking by these Marriages to have put an end to the old Quarrels between his People and these Nations who were jealous of the People of Israel All this was done in the Forty years of Solomon's Reign and as there never was so famous a Reign in Judea so never was there any of which there are left so many Monuments as well there as in the Neighbouring Countreys One see 's afterwards in the same Book the Division of Solomon's Empire into two Governments that of Juda which continued from Solomon's Death during the Reign of Eighteen Successors for Three hundred eighty six years to the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchaanezzar and that of Israel form'd by Jeroboam which lasted Two hundred fifty four years under the Reign of Nineteen Successors until the taking of Samaria the Capital City of the Kingdom of Israel The History of the Chronicles which was written about Twenty six years after that of the Kings carries
it is a very considerable thing That in all the Series of Events foretold by the Prophets there was not one Generation amongst all the Offspring of the People but what saw the Accomplishment of several of these Oracles A little attention and care in comparing the Chronology of the Oracles with that of the Events will sufficiently justifie what I say I shall content my self with observing their different Orders which will satisfie a Judicious Reader since my Design do's not engage me necessarily to do a thing which would carry me too far and which may be done with little Application We may consider four sorts of Oracles 1. Those which have respect to particular Facts nigh at hand 2. Those which have respect to particular Facts but at a greater distance 3. Those which have respect to Facts which belong to the whole Jewish Nation 4. Those which have respect to Facts which belong to Foreign Nations either bordering upon Palestina or further from it Now there is nothing so exactly fulfilled as these four sorts of Oracles You have for particular Facts which were nigh at hand and foretold by the Prophets the Oracle of Moses concerning the advancement of Joshua and the Conquest of Palestine which happened soon after You have Debora's Oracle of the Victory promised to Barak You have Samuel's Oracle of the Advancement and Rejection of Saul You have an Oracle of the same Samuel of the Advancement of David You have Nathan's Oracle concerning Absalom's Revolt You have Ahijah's Oracle concerning the Advancement of Jeroboam and the Division of Solomon's Kingdom into Ten Tribes and into Two Tribes whereof the lesser part was to continue in the Possession of Solomon's Heirs You have Ahijah's Prediction of the Death of Jeroboam's Son. You have a Prediction of the Advancement of Jehu in the place of Jehoram King of Israel You have Elijah's Prediction of the exemplary Punishment of Ahab and Jezabel You have the Prediction of Jehoiakim's Death made by Jeremiah Chap. XXII 18 19. and Chap. XXXVI 30. which happened Ten years after You have the Prediction of Jechoniah's Miseries made by Jeremiah Chap. XXII 3. You have Jeremiah's Prediction of the Death of the false Prophet Ananiah but Seven Months before it happened You have an express Designation of Zorobabel to conclude the Re-building of the Temple made by Zechariah Chap. IV. 9. and which was compleated in Four years It is therefore fully evident That the Prediction of particular Facts which were to happen in a very short time served to establish the Authority of the Prophets And in effect one see 's that they proceeded upon the Authority which those Predictions of nearer Events gave them to foretell other particular Events at a greater distance So you see that Moses foretold after a sort after Jacob the manner how the Land of Canaan was to be divided tho' the thing was to be done by Lot. You see the same Moses foretelling the several Captivities which the People of Israel suffered after the Conquest and the Method of God's raising up several Judges to the number of Fourteen to bring them out of those Calamities You see the same Moses foretelling that the Temple should be built in the Tribe of Benjamin tho it was the least You have Joshua's Prediction of the way how the Re builder of Jericho should be exemplarily punished which was accomplished in Ahab's time I Kings XVI 34 about 570 years after this Prophetical Imprecation of Joshua You have the Prediction of a Prophet who was contemporary to Jeroboam about the Birth of Josiah which was not till 350 years after I Kings XIII and of the manner of his destroying the Altar which Jeroboam built One see 's a Prediction of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Samaria within 65 years by Isaiah in the Reign of Jotham One see 's the Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar foretold by several of the Prophets One see 's the taking of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar foretold by Isaiah Chap. XXIII 15 17. One see 's the Promise of its Re-establishment Seventy years after its Destruction One see 's the Promise of Cyrus's Birth made by Isaiah Chap. XLIV 45. as of one that should restore Liberty to the Jews and give them opportunities of Re-building their Temple at Jerusalem One see 's the Prediction of the manner how Antiochus Epiphanes would treat the Jews in his Life time and how he should be punished for his Cruelties and Sacriledges One see 's the Prediction of the Courage of the Maccabees who should oppose the Tyranny of that Prince and purifie anew the Divine Worship So that it is plain That the foretelling of these particular Facts which were at so great a distance revived the Memory of these Prophets amongst the Jews in every Age and made them read them with a singular attention One ought also to make the same Reflexion upon those Oracles which have respect to the particular Events of the state of the Jews and its Continuance until the time of the Messiah after which the Prophets foretel its Ruin and Destruction without Remedy In short one may say That there was no Revolution never so little considerable of which we do not find very many and very particular Predictions foretold by several Prophets upon very different Occasions and particular Circumstances One see 's in the Books of Moses exact Descriptions of the Pilgrimages of Abraham's Posterity of their continuance in Egypt of the Oppression they were there to undergo of their prodigious Increase of their robbing the Egyptians at their departure of their methods in conquering the Land of Canaan of the way how Kings should arise from Abraham which was accomplished in the Ishmaelites and Edomites and at last in the Israelites One see 's express Predictions of the several Judges whom God should raise up to the People of Israel One see 's an express Prediction of the Advancement of the Tribe of Juda to the Kingdom One see 's a Prediction of the future Subjection of the Edomites to the power of the Kings of Juda and of their conquering of the Countries which lye along the Banks of Euphrates which was fulfilled in David's time One see 's an express Division of that Kingdom into two very unequal parts One see 's great numbers of Predictions concerning the state of the Kings of Juda and Israel II Kings X. 30. For Instance you have an Oracle concerning the Destruction of Jehu's Family in the Fourth Generation The Destruction of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes is expresly foretold and the Term is very exactly set down The Ruin of Jerusalem and of its Kings is also expresly foretold The time of the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon and Their Re-establishment by Cyrus after Seventy years are also very distinctly foretold The Desolation of Judea under the Empire of Alexander's Successors is foretold very exactly Their Re-establishment after these Desolations and the way by which they were to be defended by the Maccabees
to establish their Authority whereas the Predictions of others wanting this Character were neglected and at last absolutely lost It appears plainly That those which remain were things of the greatest Reputation among the Jews Besides I may add That one needs only read their Books to see that they not only foretold obscure things or what particularly concerned their State but also things of a more splendid Nature the overthrow of Kingdoms of Cities the Destruction of whole Nations the Destruction of their own City with its re-establishment Matters which would render their Books very illustrious and which would cause them to be read not only by the Jews but also by the Neighbour Nations the Ammonites Moabites Assyrians Persians Egyptians c. Is not this therefore a very particular thing and that which made the Prophets very illustrious That the great lustre of the Prophets continued but for a certain time There have been none since the Year 3553. their Glory appeared in the History of Eight Ages but it do's not extend it self any farther Now why I pray should there be no Impostors after Malachy as well as there were Impostors before him One may imagine perhaps That the Prophecies were immediately disperst some being uttered in one place and some in another Some in the Kingdom of Judah and others in the Kingdom of Israel Some in Babylon others in Egypt which might give Opportunites for Impostors But I. This Objection may be strongly retorted back For how can we conceive that in the Division which separated the Israelites from the Jews those of Judah would charge themselves with the Writings published in a Kingdom so much an Enemy to them without examination when every thing which comes from thence ought to appear suspected II. They were all collected into particular Volumes But the Prophecies of Hosea Isaiah and Jeremy and the most considerable of the rest are preserved in Books which contain many other things III. They are all exactly joyned with the History of the same Nation each one in a place where there was an equal concern to preserve and to gather them together But besides they were all collected into one Body In short the LXXII Interpreters translated them into Greek in the Year of the World 3727. and so submitted them to the Examination of the Egyptians and this also keeps us from doubting of their Truth This Translation was made but One hundred thirty and eight years after Malachy the last of the Prophets But what Judgment soever may be made of these Reflexions the Design whereof is only to establish the Reputation of these Prophecies and of the Books wherein they are written that so no room may be left for any suspicions of Forgery I shall add two Considerations to what I have said already which ought to appear convincing to every attentive man. I. One can suspect none but the Jews as Forgers of these Oracles Now not to say any any thing of the Absurdity of supposing that a whole Nation should have subscribed to such an Imposture all the Jews throughout the World were after their return from the Captivity strongly prepossessed with an opinion of the Messiah's being a great Temporal King and they have the same belief to this very hour in all places of the World wherever they are disperst This being once laid down I affirm it to be impossible that the Jews should forge Oracles which assert expresly That the Messiah should be put to death in so very odious a manner For as I shall afterwards shew the oldest Doctors attributed to the Messiah all those Oracles which speak of the Death of the Messiah according to the Christians and which they themselves in process of time were forced to interpret of two Messiah's one exposed to a world of Miseries and the other only glorious Or at least I may say it is impossible that the Jews should consent to a Forgery which thwarted their common Idea's and Pretensions in so very sensible a manner II. The second Consideration establishes the same Truth with no less firmness which is that the Call of the Gentiles to have a share in the Blessings of the Covenant which God made with the People of Israel was the thing in the World from which the Jews had the greatest aversation they looked upon the Blessings which the Messiah was to communicate as advantages entirely reserved for those of their own Nation How then can we conceive that the Jews should forge so many Oracles which should thwart their Prejudices so sensibly or how can we imagine that a whole People would authorize with their approbation an Imposture so contrary and so very opposite to their own Opinions But it is no hard thing to imagine That when the Jews were once perswaded of the Authority of their Prophets either by their Miracles or by the ready Accomplishment of every Oracle which they had publickly pronounced that they should receive their Books with a profound submission and preserve them with the utmost care But it appears to be an incomprehensible thing for a People to receive Impostures contrary to their Prejudices and Impostures reiterated so often without any ground but what a vast number of Records never before heard of would produce But I suppose these Reflexions will suffice to establish the Truth of the Historical and Prophetical Books of the Old Testament So that there will be no need of alledging particular proofs which might demonstrate the Truth of each Book in particular which would carry me out to too great a length I shall now consider the Oracles themselves and I shall shew the progress of the Light of this Revelation with respect to the Promise of the Messiah That this progress may be the better observed I shall do three things as I have formerly observed without which the mind of a wise Reader will not receive satisfaction I. I shall explain in a few words the Reason why these Oracles are interwoven with several Histories or Prophecies which seem to have no Relation to the Promise of the Messiah II. I shall give such Rules as will serve to justifie the Application which both Jews and Christians have equally made of several Oracles only to the Messiah III. I shall set the Oracles according to the Order of Time which will manifest the Advancement and Progress of that Light which is to be found in the Revelation it self As indeed it is natural to conceive that God should explain himself more clearly in this matter in proportion as the things themselves were nearer to their Completion CHAP. VII For what Reason the Oracles which relate to the Messiah were interwoven with other things which seem to be very widely distant ONe of the greatest Difficulties which may be raised against the Oracles of the Old Testament which concern the Messiah is that surprizing mixture which one see 's of those Oracles and of other Subjects which seem to be widely distant from any Idea of the Messiah There are none
's afterwards that the Prophets explain in a more particular manner all these Idea's which David had already proposed Isaiah speaks of his Birth by a Virgin of his Spiritual Gifts of his Miracles of his Sufferings of his Resurrection of his Calling of all Nations in to his Worship and of his Casting off the Jews Those who come after point out the place particularly and the Town where the Messiah was to be born they describe his Covenant and the Calling of the Gentiles to the Service of the God of Israel In short they describe both the Character of the Forerunner of the Messiah and the Empire under which he was to appear and the very Year in which he was to dye as Daniel particularly doth I cannot undertake to relate all the Oracles which are contained in the Books of the Old Testament they are so very numerous But I hope at least to mark the more principal and the most illustrious ones and to explain them in such a manner that all shall be obliged to acknowledge I. That God designed to give infallible proofs to his Church of his design in sending the Messiah into the World and to preserve the continual remembrance of him as of a Person who was promised to give all Comfort to his Church and whose coming should bring Salvation to all Mankind II. That the care which he took in specifying all the Circumstances of his coming into the World shew that he designed to prevent the Scandal which the abject Life and Death of a Messiah might produce and the false Judgments which Men might form of the Works of a Divine Wisdom when they only judge of them by the outside III. That he designed to give an infallible proof that this sending of the Messiah was the Work of his Wisdom and Fidelity which at last accomplished a thing the Design whereof had been proposed to Mankind immediately after the Fall. CHAP. IX Of those Oracles concerning the Messiah which are to be found in the Book of Genesis I Begin with those Oracles which are contained in the Book of Genesis since it is convenient to touch them all over again in few words The first Oracle is comprized in these Terms Gen. III. 15. I will put Enmity between Thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed it shall bruise thy Head and thou shalt bruise his Heel This Oracle has considerable advantages tho' it is expressed in figurative Terms God uttered it in the beginning of the World after he had given Sentence against Adam and the Woman and the Serpent in a very sensible manner even under a Human shape if we may dare to affirm it He uttered it before the Head of all Mankind which ought to make it considerable to all his Posterity He expresses it by an Allusion to the nature of the Temptation and to the form of the Serpent which the Tempter had took upon him He preserves thereby the memory of the Temptation by inspiring all Mankind with an invincible Hatred against all Serpents in general tho' the Tempter had took the shape but of one particular kind for an Instrument to accomplish his Design In short this Oracle clearly shews I. That it should be particularly the Seed of the Woman Adam not being touched at II. That the Seed of the Woman that is to say the Messiah should destroy the power of the Serpent expressed by the Head that is to say the power of the Devil III. That this Seed should however receive a considerable wound from the Devil tho' it should only touch his Heel the least considerable part of the Messiah IV. That all the Blessings which God should give to Mankind after the Fall should be grounded upon the sending of this Seed into the World This is more clearly expressed by God's telling Abraham Gen. XXII 18. That in thy Seed all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed That this Oracle Gen. III. has relation to the Messiah is plain I. Because it is the Source and Abridgment of the whole Revelation II. Because all the ancient Jews in effect understood it so III. Because the Apostles in following the Idea's of the Synagogue plainly referred them to the Messiah Targum in h. l. by the Allusions which they make to them John XII Romans XVI II Cor. XI 1 John III. The second Oracle which relates to the Messiah is contained in these Terms when God spoke to Abraham In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed This Oracle is very illustrious I. By the person of Abraham whom God made the Depositary of it and who made himself ready to Sacricrifice his own Son. II. By the frequent Repetitions which God made to this Patriarch using in effect all those ways which he afterwards follow'd in his Revelations to the Patriarchs for fifty years together from the Year 2083. to the Year 2133. of the World. III. Because it was accompanied by the Circumcision so that tho' it foretold that the Advantages should be in common to all Nations yet it limited the Messiah to be born of Abraham's Seed It also intimates very clearly I. That the Blessings which it promises should be in common to all Nations II. That this Blessing should be quite of another nature from Temporal ones as the encrease for instance and the power of Abraham's Posterity which had been promised to him before S. Paul's Reflexion Gal. III. 8. That God spake of Seed in the singular Number is very remarkable and so much the more because the Jews make a like Observation upon a parallel place in the Old Testament As God repeated this Promise when he spoke to Isaac in the Year 2200 and to Jacob in the Year 2245. Gen. XXVIII 14. And thy Seed shall be as the Dust of the Earth and thou shalt spread abroad to the West and to the East and to the North and to the South and in thee and in thy Seed shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed so one ought to repeat again the same Reflexions This ought only to be added That God restrained the honour of bringing forth the Messiah to Jacob the Son of Isaac that the Edomites might not come in to challenge the right as I have very particularly explained in my Reflexions upon Genesis We come now to the Oracle which Jacob gave in the Year 2315. It is one of the clearest Predictions in the whole Bible and it is expressed in these Terms Judah thou art he whom thy Brethren shall praise thy hand shall be in the neck of thine Enemies thy Father's Children shall bow down before thee Judah is a Lions whelp from the Prey my Son thou art gone up he stooped down he couched as a Lion and as an old Lion who shall rouze him up The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Law giver from between his Feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the People be Binding his Fole unto the Vine
Ben Israel 2. That the Prophet writing in Chaldea followed the Account of the Chaldean Year which consists of 360 days as appears clearly from other passages of this Book where he resolves the Years into Days without regarding the several Days which in a just Calculation were to be intercalated 3. That the Prophet expresses a certain Epocha from whence the counting of these Weeks is to begin viz. an Order to rebuild the Temple which cannot be applyed to that of Cyrus which was in a manner of none effect nor to the Edict of Darius Son of Hystaspes which had regard only to the re-establishing of the Temple nor to that of Artaxerxes given to Ezra in the Seventh Year of the Reign of that Prince because that contained only some particular Priviledges for the Ministers of the Temple but to the Edict which Artaxerxes granted to Nehemiah in the Twentieth Year of his Reign which contains a particular Grant to rebuild the Temple with its Fortifications 4. For though there be but 483 Solar Years from the 20 of Artaxerxes to the first of Cajus Caligula yet we shall find the just Number of 490 Years if we follow the Chaldean way of Calculation in which they reckon 360 Days to a Year And indeed we find just 483 such Years from the 20 Year of Artaxerxes to the time wherein all Judea was in expectation of the Messiah It was then Jesus Christ was baptized He suffer'd Death Three Years and a Half after his Baptism viz. The Nineteenth Year of Tiberius before the Seventh Week was ended and the Term pointed out by Daniel was expired I know that some famous Men begin the Weeks of Daniel from the Second Year of Darius Nothus and make them to end with the Destruction of Jerusalem which happend in the Year 490 accounting from the Second Year of the said Darius and they conceive themselves oblig'd thereto by an Argument they believe invincible because from the Second Year of Darius Nothus to the Thirty Second of Artaxerxes Mnemon they find just Forty nine years that is the Seven Weeks designed by Daniel for rebuilding of the Ruins and fortifying of the City and the rather because Nehemiah return'd to Artaxerxes in the Thirty second Year of his Reign having finished that work Nehemiah XIII 6. But this Opinion cannot stand for these two Reasons which seem to me to be unanswerable The first is Because they suppose that Daniel ends his Seventy Weeks at the Destruction of Jerusalem whereas indeed he saith no such thing but expresly tells us that the Messiah should be cut off in the midst of the Seventieth Week The second is That so without designing it they rob Jesus Christ of the Glory of having determined the Time of the Destruction of Jerusalem as if instead of a Prophecy concerning that Event he had only given us an Explication of that of Daniel Neither will I make any further stop here to observe That that which has given most trouble to Interpreters hath proceeded from the want of making an exact distribution of the different parts of that Prophecy which very distinctly delivers three things 1. The end of the Prophecy which happened after Seven Weeks in the time of Malachy 2. The Death of the Messiah which came to pass in the midst of the last Week of the 490 Years 3. The Peace which was to be made in the midst of one Week that is Three years and an half before the Destructiof Jerusalem which was done not by the Messiah as some have imagined but by the Romans who made Peace with the Parthians Annal. Lib. XV. as is recorded by Tacitus An intelligent Reader will easily judge That this diversity of Opinions concerning the meaning of this Oracle has been occasioned by want of attention to what has been now mentioned Now these Observations being supposed as indeed they are Matters of the greatest Evidence it necessarily follows That the Messiah was to appear before the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans The Time is set down so precisely by Daniel as leaves no pretence to doubt of this Truth And indeed tho' the Jews seem presently after the time of our Saviour to have adopted the Opinion I mentioned before as being unwilling to receive the Messiah and therefore carried it to the end of the Seventy Weeks viz. to the Destruction of their Temple notwithstanding Daniel expresly tells us That the Temple was not to be destroyed till after the Appearance of the Messias The Jews I say being convinc'd by the force of this Argument have owned that the Messiah was born at the time of the Destruction of the second Temple but that he has hid himself ever since The second Oracle concerning the Time of the Coming of the Messiah is That of Haggai which expresly tells us that the Messiah was to appear during the second Temple which was begun to be built by the Order of Cyrus finished under Darius Son of Hystaspes and destroyed by Vespasian The Words of the Prophet are as follows Chap. II. vers 7 8 9. And I will shake all Nations and the desire of all Nations shall come and I will fill this House with Glory saith the Lord of Hosts The Silver is mine and the Gold is mine saith the Lord of Hosts The Glory of this latter House shall be greater than that of the former saith the Lord of Hosts and in this place will I give Peace saith the Lord of Hosts It is worth our noting 1. That this Oracle promises a very great change 2. It describes the Messiah as the Expectation of the Gentiles suitable to the Idea God had given of him to Abraham 3. That it fixes the Coming of the Messiah to the Time of the second House that is to say of the Temple built by Zorobabel 4. It makes the Glory of that House to depend upon its being honoured with the presence of the Messiah In short if we would be convinc'd of this Truth we need only consider three things The first is That the Prophets Zachariah and Malachy do represent to us the Coming of the Messiah as near at hand Balaam had said almost Ten Ages before I see him but not nigh which intimated his coming to be then at a great distance But Zechariah speaks thus concerning it Chap. III. vers 8 9 10. Hear now O Joshuah the High Priest thou and thy Fellows that sit before thee for they are men wondred at Behold I will bring forth my Servant the BRANCH For behold the Stone that I have laid before Joshua upon one Stone shall be seven Eyes behold I will engrave the graving thereof saith the Lord of Hosts and I will remove the iniquity of that Land in one day In that day saith the Lord of Hosts shall ye call every man his Neighbour under the Vine and under the Figtree Malachy expresses himself concerning the approaching coming of the Messiah thus Chap. III. verse 1. Behold I will send my Messenger and he
can no way agree with the Prophet that uttered them Thus we find that in the XXII Psalm there are many Expressions which cannot be applyed to David 3. That most of these Prophecies are avowedly attributed to the Messiah by the most ancient Authors of the Synagogue And the modern Jews themselves refer them to some that suffer'd a violent Death as to Rabbi Akiba who died in the second Century 4. That the Apostles unanimously applyed them to Jesus Christ the true Messiah following therein the general consent of their Nation CHAP. XXI That the Messiah was soon after to rise again FOrasmuch as Death entred into the World by Sin and that the Messiah was to take it away we may easily conceive That if the Messiah were according to the Divine disposal to submit to Death that he could not long continue subject to it He who was to restore life to those who were dead could never be confin'd and imprison'd in a Grave and he who was superiour to Enoch and Elias who ascended into Heaven because he alone was exalted to the right hand of God to reign there for ever as the Prophecies concerning him assure us ought certainly to leave his Sepulchre by a glorious Resurrection And this we are positively assured of by the ancient Oracles Psalm XVI vers 10 11. Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption Thou wilt shew me the path of life in thy presence is fulness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore And to assure us that these and the like passages are applicable to none but the Messiah we find in the same Psalms expressions too high to be applyed to the Authors themselves As for example Psalm XXX vers 1 2 3. I will extol thee O Lord for thou hast lifted me up and hast not made my foes to rejoyce over me O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me O Lord thou hast brought up my soul from the Grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit And Psalm XLI vers 8 9 10. An evil disease say they cleaveth fast unto him and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more Yea mine own familiar Friend in whom I trusted which did eat of my bread hath lift up his heel against me But thou O Lord be merciful unto me and raise me up that I may requite them And Psalm XLIX verse 15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the Grave for he shall receive me Psalm LVI vers 11 12 13. In God have I put my trust I will not be afraid what man can do unto me Thy Vows are upon me O God I will render praise unto thee For thou hast delivered my soul from death c. Psalm LXXII verse 20. Thou who hast shewed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again and shall bring me up again from the depths of the Earth Psalm CXLIII vers 11 12. Quicken me O Lord for thy names sake for thy righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble and of thy mercy cut off mine Enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul for I am thy Servant Hosea speaks to the same purpose Chap. XIII vers 14. I will ransom them from the power of the Grave I will redeem them from death O Death I will be thy plagues O Grave I will be thy destruction Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes Isaiah expresses the very same thing Chap. XXV vers 8. He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take from off all the Earth for the Lord hath spoken it And yet more expresly Chap. LIII vers 10 and 11. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his Seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand He shall see of the travel of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities For the better understanding of which passages we are to observe 1. That the Messiah in many or most of them compriseth all Believers with himself according to that Maxim of the Jews who attribute to the Messiah the greatest of all the Prophets whatsoever God vouchsafed to any one of the Prophets and according to this Principle Jesus Christ speaks Matth. XII vers 39 40. An evil and adulterous Generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the Prophet Jonah For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the Whales belly so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth 2. That upon this account the Messiah is represented to us not as rising again alone but as making all his Brethren partakers of the same glory which makes the Prophets speak of him not as a single person but in common with others who by him are made possessors of the same advantages 3. That most of these Texts were quoted by the Apostles who in so doing followed the sense of the whole Nation as appears from Acts II. vers 24 25 26 27 28 and 29. Whom God hath raised having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it For David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I should not be moved Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy One to see Corruption Thou hast made known to me the ways of life thou shalt make me full of joy with thy Countenance Men and Brethren let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his Sepulchre is with us unto this day And Acts XIII vers 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 and 37. But God raised him from the dead And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem who are his witnesses unto the people And we declare unto you glad tidings how that the Promise which was made unto the Fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto us their Children in that he hath raised up Jesus again as it is also written in the second Psalm Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead now no more to return to corruption he said on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David Wherefore he saith also in another Psalm Thou shalt not suffer thine holy One to see corruption For David after
Jews that our Jesus and his Disciples have taken away all the Glory which could be reserved for that Messiah whom they expect They must if they be jealous for the Glory of him whom they look for endeavour to make the World forsake the worship of the God of Israel to make way for the accomplishment of those Oracles which can have no place in that state wherein the World is at present But tho' this Reflexion upon the exact accomplishment of the Oracles concerning the Call of the Gentiles to the Religion of the Messiah may suffice yet I think my self bound to make some further Observations upon this Subject In short every thing deserves to be considered in this Calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of the Gospel I do not take notice at present that the person first employ'd in Calling of the Gentiles is S. Peter to whom Jesus Christ had promised the honour of founding his Church amongst the Nations and who himself at first thought that the thing was unlawful and who after a Vision given him for that very purpose observes the Jewish Customs and obliges the Gentiles to do the same Neither do I observe that the first who was called was Cornelius a Roman Officer who resided at Caesarea where he became a Proselyte Behold here a man engaged to examine that which he had a better opportunity to do than any one else by reason of the nature of his charge whether what the Souldiers had deposed concerning the Disciples stealing away the Body of our Saviour were true or no. I am obliged to confine my self to some general Reflexions upon this matter I consider first the difficulty which was upon all accounts in this design of the Calling of the Gentiles and the prodigious Success which this Call of the Gentiles met with according to the Prophets To make us understand this difficulty better we need only consider 1. What were the Prejudices of the Jews even those who were become Christians 2. What was the state of the World at the time of Jesus Christ The Heathens enjoyed each their several Religions for a longer time than any History could trace it They attributed the happiness of their States and Families to their Gods. 3. We must observe the nature of that preaching by which the Gentiles were converted Its Subject was the strangest thing in the World if the Cross of Jesus Christ had prov'd the Scandal of the Jews who looked upon the Messiah as the Fountain of Blessing and the Cross as an accursed Punishment it was look'd upon no otherwise than as an heap of Follies by the Greeks who boasted themselves to be the wisest men of the World as well as by the other Gentiles Yet after all this one see 's a prodigious Success and a surprizing Extent of this Call. Within a little time the World was fill'd with Christians S. Paul writes to those that were in Asia Greece and Italy S. Peter to those of Pontus S. John to those who were among the Parthians There were not wanting some in the very Emperour's Court even that of Nero who put S. Peter and S. Paul to death in the Sixty seventh Year of our Lord. One cannot attend to a Success of this nature without being extreamly surpriz'd let us conceive of a dozen or thereabouts of poor Beggars a dozen of unlearned Men coming out of Judea who should accuse the whole World of Folly and Impiety every one opposing them especially the Jews who were incensed to see them go about to establish the belief of the Cross in the World as a Doctrine which would explain the accomplishment of the Promises of God concerning the Messiah of those Promises wherewith the Jews had filled all the East and which had rendred them at this time doubly ridiculous When instead of persecuting the Apostles they hearken unto them or even when in the midst of Chains and Prisons they are examined they declare that true Godliness consists in knowing Jesus Christ even the same Jesus who was crucified in Judea for whose Name 's sake they had been publickly scourged by order of the Council of the Jews Thus we find S. Paul boasting of his severe usage If persons question them more particularly about the Actions of this Jesus they answer coldly That the Son of God came down from Heaven that he took upon him our Flesh in the Womb of a Virgin that when he was become Man and yet an Infant Herod sought to kill him to avoid which he was carried into Egypt that after having lived thirty years obscurely in a Carpenter's Shop he was taken by the Jews scourged mocked crowned with Thorns nailed to the Cross where they gave him Vinegar to drink that there he cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me that he died was buried and rose again the third day as he had promised before his Death But what is it that this JESUS teaches to those that would follow him His Apostles in his Name require all Men to renounce the Pleasures of this Life to abhor Polygamy and Fornication and instead of revenging an Affront to turn the other Cheek to him that smites us and to leave our Cloak also with him who takes our Coat from us to go two miles with him who constrains us to guide him one to love our Enemies and to wish well and pray for those that despitefully use us and persecute us But what Rewards will he give to his Servants The Apostles answer That he promises nothing that is considerable in this Life but an everlasting Happiness in the World to come It is visible that nothing seems to be worse contrived to gain credit than this Story The weakness of Jesus Christ is visible he was crucified what ground is here to believe that he was able to perform his Promises The Service he prescribes is very rough the Reward he proposes is at a great distance and moreover it is such as appears very doubtful to those who are not furnished with strong impressions of the immortality of the Soul and of a life to come But on the other hand the Apostles solidly demonstrate that he is GOD and not a meer Man that he can raise the Dead and that he can perform his Promises Tho' they do not say Bring hither the Blind the Lame and the Deaf and we will heal them in his Name present your Dead to us and we will raise them in the Name of that Jesus who is born of Mary of that Jesus who died and cried out on the Cross My God my God why hast thou forsaken me For I acknowledge that this miraculous power which they had received was only exerted upon certain occasions which the Spirit of God made choice of Yet they did that which was equivalent for when blind men were brought to them they said Ye blind in the Name of Jesus recover your sight and in like manner to the Lepers to possessed Persons to the sick of the
suppose if Jesus Christ had not been raised from the dead and they had not seen him after his death that they should have had any concern for his Glory they would certainly have condemned and anathematiz'd him as an Impostor who by means of some false Miracles and an affected Holiness had abused them Whereas indeed we find that they defended the Glory of Jesus Christ with so much heat and that with so constant a Testimony to his Resurrection that they exposed themselves to all manner of Reproaches to all sorts of Punishment and most cruel Deaths to confirm the belief of that Fact. They despise the Anathema's of the Jewish Synagogue they contemn their publick Obloquies they value not the hatred of their whole Nation They preach this crucified Person in Judea they preach him also in other Countries that he might be equally adored by Jews and Heathens They leave their Employments to follow this Jesus and after they had accompanied him three years they depart from Judea to go and confound the Idolatry of the world and within Rome it self to decry the Gods they worshipt obliging them to acknowledge him whom the men of Jerusalem had crucified for their God him who had been the detestation of the Jews him whom the Roman Magistrate had given up to their Fury in making him undergo the punishment appointed for Slaves Lastly One ought to observe it as a thing of great weight in this whole Question That this Testimony of the Apostles which is so uniform so solemn so well confirmed by all manner of means and sealed with their deaths is not contested or contradicted by any Historian of that time There was nothing more easie either for Jews or Gentiles than to convince the World of the falshood of the Facts related in the Gospel they had the Books of the Apostles in their hands they were Masters of the publick Records it was a matter of general Concernment to the Jews to oppose themselves to an imposture of so terrible a consequence as the History of the Evangelists was if it had been entirely false neither was it less the interest of the Romans to expose a Sect of whom Pliny the younger tells us that all sorts of People joyned with them tho' they were persecuted with incredible violence In the mean time we find no body that hath contradicted the Relation of the Apostles nor any Author that has writ against Jesus Christ or his Apostles A long time after indeed there was a Book seen call'd The Acts of Pilate published by the Order of the Emperour Maximian which endeavoured to overthrow the truth of the Facts that are related in the Gospels but those Acts are contradicted by all the Heathen Historians yet remaining that were contemporay with the Apostles Finally a vast number of Jews and Gentiles were immediately convinced by the Authority of the Apostles and a Belief in the Gospel hath passed from Judea to the Ends of the World according to the Predictions which God gave by the Ministry of the Prophets and by the mouth of our Saviour CHAP. XIX More Reasons to manifest the faithfulness of the Apostles WHat I have already alledged might be sufficient to establish the faithfulness of the Apostles but for a fuller conviction of the Reader concerning so weighty a truth of our Religion I shall superadd some few more Reflexions First of all It cannot be deny'd that the form of the Writings of the New Testament is vastly different from those which may be suspected as Forgeries When the four Evangelists had related the miraculous Birth of John the Baptist they next set down that of our Saviour Christ with the Actions of his Life until his Death which does not comprehend above four or five years S. Luke writes the History of the Apostles and in particular that of S. Paul and takes in only the space of about Thirty years Now let any one judge whether they who confine themselves to so narrow limits in respect of time place and persons have any design to impose The remainder of these Books is composed of two sorts of Writings one Epistolary and the other Prophetical For the Prophetical parts time must prove the truth of the Predictions which are contained in the Apocalyps as well as of those which are found in some of the Epistles of the Apostles As for the Epistles besides some Moral Instructions they are almost all employ'd in deciding some questions which the Calling of the Gentiles to the Gospel and the abolishing of the Ceremonial Law had raised in the minds of the Jews who were converted to Christianity We know that of all Writings Epistles are the most certain Monuments and those which men endeavour to forge least After all It is certain that the Sacred Writers have with great care set down the time in which every Event happened as well according to the stile of the Jews in pointing out to us their solemn Feasts as that of the Gentiles by setting down the year of the Roman Emperour and the Character of the Roman Magistrates A second Character which hinders us from accusing these Books as Forgeries is this That we cannot deny but that these Books are of a very particular nature they contain several considerable Oracles which were to be fulfilled in the same Generation as that of the Prophecies of Nebuchadnezzar and Croesus a continued Series of Miracles of which all Judea was witness they contain a great number of Sermons preached upon several illustrious Occasions in the Synagogues in the Temple of Jerusalem and before thousands of People in the Wilderness Let any one judge whether it would be an easie thing to make these Writings to be received if we should suppose them to be lately forged This third Reflexion is also considerable It is certain that the Gospel was preached in the greatest Cities of the Empire by the Apostles and the Disciples of Jesus The History of the Apostles and their Epistles themselves make it evident that there were numerous Churches at Rome Corinth Thessalonica Philippi Ephesus Antioch and in several other famous places It is also known that there were Jewish Synagogues in the same places now if this be the Case what possibility is there of suspecting the least imposture in the Books of the Apostles if we consider how they were drawn up The Disciples of Christ did not only preach in the Synagogues the same things which they have put in writing but they also engaged the Jews to examine them because they affirmed them with a constancy which the Jews could not but look upon as incredible obstinacy First of all That these were things beyond dispute and could not be doubted of Secondly That they had been long since foretold by the Prophets Thirdly That they were an exact accomplishment of other Prophecies which had relation to the promised Messiah Fourthly That seeing they could not question the Facts contained in the Gospel they ought to renounce Judaism to receive Baptism and
the fulfilling of the ancient Oracles appear therein with so much lustre The former of these shall be the Subject of this and the latter of the next Chapter As the pulling down of the Scaffolds which were only set up to build a Palace is an infallible sign that the Building is finished so one may say that the total defacing of the Model which God had formed in the Law that the Messiah at his coming might be certainly known is an unanswerable proof that he is already come It is worth our pains to make some Reflexions on this overthrow that we may conclude against the Jews that if the Messiah was yet to appear in the World it would be impossible to know him according to the Characters which God had given of him before his appearing In the first place therefore whereas God had confined the Jews to the Land of Canaan that they might be visible to all the Posterity of Noah of whom one part that is the Off-spring of Cham possessed Egypt and Africa the Posterity of Japhet Europe and the lesser Asia and those of Shem the rest of Asia the Jews at present are driven from that Country and far from being restored to it after Seventy years as they were by Cyrus they have been for ever banished thence by a Decree of the Emperour Adrian who forbad them so much as to turn their eyes towards Judea which was in the Year of Christ 135. The Heathen Celsus insults over them in these remarkable words They have no more saith he either Land or House remaining to them Secondly So far were they from having any Remainders of a Temporal Power Dispersâ— palabun◠〈◊〉 coeli 〈…〉 sui ext◠〈◊〉 vagantâ—â— per orbeâ— fine homine fine Deo Rege quibus nec advenarum jure terram patriam saltem vestigio sâ—lutare comeditur Apolog cap. 21. that they were then wholly deprived of it See what Tertullian saith of them in the Year of our Saviour 204. They wander up and down the World like despersed Vagabonds banished from their Climate and Country without Man without God for their King and are not permitted as Strangers to set foot on their Native Soil We read a Decree of Honorus the Emperour which deprives them of the Right of nominating their Patriarchs or of paying them any Tribute which shews that their Authority whas wholly extinct Thirdly Their Temple at Jerusalem being destroyed in the Seventieth Year of our Lord as that in Egypt called Onion was the year following it could never be built again notwithstanding that Julian the Apostate out of his hatred to the Christians favoured that Enterprise in the year of our Saviour 363. There is a Letter still extant which Julian writ to the Jews to assure them of his Protection and to encourage them to that work but it was not so much his death which dashed that undertaking as a very memorable opposition from Heaven Marcelinus a Heathen gives us this account of it Lib. 23. Imperiique sui memoriam magnitudine operum gestiens propagare ambitiosum quondam apud Hierosolymam Templum quod post multa interneciva certamina obsidente Vespasiano posteaque Tito aegre est expugnatum instaurare sumptibus cogitabat immodicis Negotiumque maturandum Alypio dederat Antiochensi qui olim Britannias cur averat pro-Praefectis Cum itaque rei idem fortiter instaret Alypius juvaretque provinciae Rector metuendi globi flammarum prope fundamenta crebris assultibus erumpentes fecere locum exustis aliquoties operatibus inaccessum hocque modo elemento destinatius repellente cessavit inceptum And being desirous to propagate the Memory of his Government by the Greatness of his Works he with vast expence designed to rebuild the splendid Temple which was formerly at Jerusalem which after many and bloody Battels being besieged by Vespasian and afterwards by Titus was at last taken with difficulty he committed the care of hastning the Business to Alypius of Antioch who had formerly been Pro-praefect of Britain As therefore this Alypius was vigorously prosecuting the Work being assisted by the Lieutenant of the Province terrible Balls of Fire frequently breaking forth near the foundations sometimes burnt the Workmen and made the place inaccessible Thus the design was laid aside The Element it self beating them back on purpose Julian easily apprehended that their Religion would perish and that it could never be restored without the Temple In the fourth place The observation of some of their Laws was absolutely forbidden as being contrary to those of the Roman Empire Thus they were not suffered to have many Wives Upon this overthrow many inconveniences followed which it will be convenient to represent at one view 1. They no longer know those persons who at the first Division of the Land by Joshua were Owners of the different parts of the Land of Canaan 2. Their Families and Tribes are confounded their Jubilee which could not be kept but in the Land of Canaan and which obliged them to study their Genealogies having ceased long since 3. The Family of David is at this day utterly unknown 4. They have no more lawful Priests to observe the Primogeniture to examine the Tokens of Virginity tho' it appears that according to God's design these Laws were given on purpose to ascertain the knowledge of the Messiah and to be like Inclosures about this important Truth in the compass of which it might be the better examined Certainly if the Jews were still in possession of Judea if they had their Kings of the Tribe of Judah if they had their Priests if they were assured of their Genealogies if they still enjoyed all the other necessary means for establishing the certainty of their Descents if their Temple had still subsisted in its former lustre and that the Sacrifices appointed by the Laws were still offered there The Jews might boldly answer that the Shiloh was not yet come that is they ought not to despair of seeing the Messiah born at Bethlehem of the Seed of David and entring the Temple of Jerusalem Then the Prophecy of Daniel which determins 490 years for the term in which the Messiah was to appear and be cut off by a violent Death and Punishment would seem to be eluded But the term of the Messiah's coming is past the Commonwealth of the Jews is overturned the Temple of Jerusalem is destroyed 1600 years since there are no more Genealogies among the Jews they do not know their Tribes much less their Families How then can it be supposed that God should be true in his Oracles as we must acknowledge him to be if they were never answered by the Event To speak the truth it is impossible to consider the Arguments we have alledged to prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and especially those Demonstrations which the Apostles have given us without acknowledging these two things The first is That it was very easie at the time of Jesus Christ's appearing to examine whether he
who declared himself to be the Messiah were so indeed so it is absolutely impossible to examine it or know it since the destruction of that Model if we suppose that God at first framed it for the determining of this question as we have no reason to doubt it The second is That the Christians exactly followed this Divine Model and being convinced of the truth of the Facts which exactly corresponded with it and which answered it in all its parts they had all the Reason imaginable to believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah In short if we consider it well we shall find that the whole Christian Religion is nothing but a question of Fact between the Jews and Christians But such a question as the Jews at present are not in a condition to maintain against the Christians Both Jews and Christians agree in the Characters of the Messiah or at least about the most of them According to these Characters the Messiah ought to be come The Christians maintain that they may be found in Jesus Christ and they prove it by matter of Fact wherefore we must conclude That either these Characters attributed to the Messiah are not proper Characters to know him by and so the Wisdom of God will be eluded and both Jews and Christians equally deceived in taking that for a Character of the Messiah which is not or else that both the Messiah is certainly come and and that He is no other than that Jesus whom we worship CHAP. XXI That the greatness of the Mysteries of the Christian Religion and the Division which is amongst Christians cannot be any prejudice to the proofs of the truth of the Christian Religion I Come now to examine the double stumbling Block which the Jews pretend against the Christian Religion This Religion say they propounds Doctrines that are inconceivable and contrary to Reason For instance that of the Trinity that of the Incarnation and the Divinity of the Messiah These are the Doctrines which the Jews reject as absolutely incompatible with the Books of the Old Testament which we have received from their hands But it is an easie matter to answer this Objection 1. It is founded upon a total forgetfulness of the solidity of those proofs of Fact which I have alledged Jesus Christ is risen from the dead this is a Fact confirmed by several Witnesses It appears from Tacitus that Jesus Christ suffered death under Tiberius Pontius Pilate being Governour of Judea It is known that Claudius banished the Christians from Rome in the Year of our Lord 54. It is evident from Tacitus in his Life of Nero that he accused the Christians of burning the City of Rome which himself was the Author of the Christians therefore made a considerable Body in the Capital City of the Empire and this happened in the year of our Lord 64. Suetonius says the same thing 2. It appears that Pliny in Trajan's time takes notice of the manner of their Meetings 3. Dion Cassius sets down the Accusation brought in against Flavius and Domitilla as against Atheists which is the Title Julian the Apostate gives to Constantine because the Christians rejected the worship of the Heathen Gods. 4. It appears by the latter end of the Acts of the Apostles that this Book was writ in the Year of our Lord 63 and yet this Book supposes the Gospel of S. Luke to have been written before it and S. Luke's Gospel takes it for granted that some of the other Gospels were already published 5. It appears from the Writings of Clemens Romanus that the Epistle to the Hebrews was then written and the same may be gathered from the Books of S. Ignatius Polycarp and S. Justin. These Facts which are certain are sufficient to prove that immediately after the death of Jesus Christ his Apostles and their Disciples as Eye witnesses maintained the truth of his Resurrection After this it may indeed be disputed by what Power he was raised whether by a Divine Power or by his own but it is ridiculous to dispute the Fact by reasonings drawn from pretened Absurdities which one may think to find in the Doctrines of the Gospel Secondly These Mysteries as for instance that of the Trinity relates to the Divine Nature which is incomprehensible so that it is no strange thing if an Idea of it be proposed to us which not being distinctly known by us may raise Difficulties and Perplexities in our Minds If I would discourse with one born blind of the Sun of its Light and Heat and should attribute to the Sun the Production of Light and afterwards of Heat he would find an infinite trouble not to imagine three Suns It is known how the Philosophers who agreed about the Unity of the Soul have notwithstanding been obliged to attribute several Faculties to it which the common People look upon as very different things and which seem to oppose the Idea's of its Unity and Simplicity In the third place The Christians prove very solidly that these Mysteries have been clearly proposed by the Apostles who received their light from Heaven as to these Truths and so might necessarily be believed upon their word for the same reason that the Prophets of the Old Testament were formerly believed Moreover they assert that these Doctrines were first expressed tho' not so clearly in the Old Testament which is in the hands of the Jews the mortal Enemies of Christians I add to these Remarks that most of those Facts whose truth is so invincibly established suppose these Doctrines and that the whole frame of the Religion doth so necessarily require them that we rob it of a considerable part of its Glory in questioning or contesting any of them These Reflexions may suffice in general to resolve this difficulty of the Jews and for a more particular Satisfaction we refer the Reader to those Books which purposely treat of these Mysteries desiring him to observe carefully that commonly the most difficult Objections of Hereticks against these matters do rather oppose the terms which are made use of or the notions which men follow in speaking of these truths than the Propositions contained in the Writings of the New Testament At least one may be assured that the Jews are constrained to resolve several parallel Objections to which one can scarcely give a satisfactory Answer without borrowing some Distinctions and Notions from the Christians Neither can the second Objection of the Jews give us any more disturbance It is true that there have been Divisions amongst Christians and are still to this day What can we conclude thence Can we reasonably conclude that therefore the first Founders of Christianity were doubtful concerning the truth of those Facts which are the support and foundation of it On the contrary upon an attentive Observation one may find 1. That Heresies have only served to render the truth of these Facts more incontestable by obliging those that had consider'd of them to examine their certainty with more care and application This is the Judgment one ought to make upon all those Heresies in the second Age about the truth of the Flesh of Jesus Christ or about the truth of his Death From thence men took occasion to take notice of and collect with great care all the Circumstances that prove the truth of both these Facts 2. We find that the greatest part of these Contests do not concern the truth of the Facts but the several Consequences drawn from them the truth of those Matters continuing still beyond dispute This we find in the Dispute raised about the Millennium the truth of the Promises of Jesus Christ being equally believed by both the disputing Parties but differently understood according to the temper of those that consider'd of them some forming gross and sensual Conceptions concerning them others having a more spiritual relish which they had acquired by studying the Prophecies and their true sense 3. We find that this Division which hath sprung up amongst Christians is one of the most solid proofs of the truth of the Books of the New Testament If some Fools have endeavoured to decry some of them or to falsifie some particular places we see that both Parties unite to repel that violence by producing their Copies and beating back the Impostors with their united strength One see 's that Tertullian tho' a Montanist writ Prescriptions against Hereticks and Epiphanius takes notice without any respect to some that were Orthodox of their Crime in blotting out of their Copies that Christ had wept It is known that the Division of the Jews into Karaites and Thalmudists the Jealousie between the Jews and Samaritans and the Division between the Jews and Christians is a means of preserving the Scripture and hindering its Corruption each Party being very vigilant to hinder their Adversaries from attempting any thing to its prejudice in corrupting a Book which they consider as common to them all I might observe many other advantages which accrew to the Truth from these Human Failings but I will only instance in one which has always seem'd to me very considerable and that is That these Hereticks distinctly prove the truth of the Predictions of our Saviour An impious person would have reason to accuse our Oracles as false if there had never been any Heresies But Truth triumphs in seeing so great a multitude of them who the more they encrease the more she see 's her self confirm'd and established This is the Reason induced God to permit so great an increase in the first Ages when the Truth meeting with the greatest Opposition by Persecutions stood in the greatest need of sensible Characters by which it might be known I conclude this Work with desiring my Reader to consider these Reflexions upon the Holy Scripture here propounded with a serious attention and to examine the Coherence and Indissoluble Connexion of them and with prayer to God that it may please him to make them serviceable to advance the Glory of his Name which is the only end I have proposed to my self in the writing of them FINIS
all write with publick allowance after every King's Decease might indeed be so about the latter times as it was practic'd in Egypt but that it is as absolutely false that the Chinese had ever in former times such Publick Historians and as it is false that the Egyptians had formerly any such although they were as confident to say they had in Alexander's time as the Chinese are now But this I think is sufficient for the clearing of that matter We must now answer the last Objection of Atheists against the Authority of the Book of Genesis CHAP. XXI Wherein the last Objection of Atheists is answered AS I intend to clear all the Difficulties which may arise about this important Matter in the Minds of those that shall peruse these Observations I think my self obliged to prevent and resolve the only plausible Objection I know remaining after all what I have said upon this Subject Perhaps some will be apt to reply here that they indeed confess Moses to be the Author of Genesis and that if that Book had really been Supposititious it could never have gone under his Name nor be received as his in after Ages But that yet all this does not prove sufficiently the truth of those Transactions recorded in that Book Because Moses may have forced upon the People of Israel the belief of them by those Laws that he enacted amongst them by which it was Death for any Man to dare to contest the truth of any thing he had written in his Books This I think is all that the most Contentious Atheists can think of to undermine the Authority of Moses's History But this Objection is easily answered for it consutes it self For First It supposes the truth of these great Miracles by which God establish'd Moses the Head and Captain of the People of Israel which Miracles are every whit as hard to believe as the several Accounts of other things which we read of in the Book of Genesis We find accordingly amongst the Heathens themselves many Monuments of those Miracles done by the Ministry of Moses when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt As I intend to shew in my Observations upon the other four Books of Moses Secondly They must at least suppose that Moses hath given a true account of several Passages in which he could not impose upon other Nations which did not acknowledge his Authority as for example all that relates to the building of the Ark the greatest piece of Architecture that was then in the World and to the raising of the Tower of Babel the greatest Building that ever was and part of which is yet extant for all these things were as so many Witnesses of the truth of those Transactions which he related Thirdly They must likewise suppose that he hath related several other Passages as exactly as he did those as for Example That of the Division of Tongues which is an Appendix of the History of the Tower of Babel that of the Destruction of Sodom the Original of the Neighbouring Nations of Canaan that of the Jews of the Moabites of the Ammonites of the Ishmaelites and Edomites for it is ridiculous to conceive that this Law-giver should ever hope to perswade other Nations to believe any false Stories about Matters so well and so generally known as those were amongst themselves Fourthly They must suppose further that he hath given a true account of the Original of the Israelites whose Head and Governor he was How great and absolute soever the Authority of Moses might be it is ridiculous to imagine that ever he would have derived the Original of the Israelites from any other than from their true Ancestors This appears the more necessary in that we see by the accounts he gives of things and Pedigrees in Genesis that he wrote that Book especially from the History of Abraham on to the end of it only to shew the Rights and just Pretensions of the Israelites upon the Land of Canaan Fifthly They must yet further acknowledge whither they will or not the truth of the accounts he gives concerning the Original of the Pretensions and Divisions which were kept up amongst the Twelve Tribes of Israel now these Pretensions having no other ground than the Oracles which are related in his History they sufficiently prove the Authority of those Oracles against all the Pretensions and Objections of the Atheists What violence soever they may pretend that Moses might use to force an Implicit Belief of his History and blind Obedience to his Laws yet no Man of common Sense and Reason can ever think that he would have fill'd the Accounts he gives of things of that nature with Lies or that if he had done it he could ever have expected that his false Accounts of them should ever have been credited by the Neighbouring Nations or even by his own Subjects But without urging here several other Absurdities which plainly shew that there is no distinction to be found betwixt the Accounts of things which Moses recites as publickly known and those which he relates of his own Head and private knowledge there being as I have already shew'd betwixt all those several Accounts such a natural Coherence and necessary Concatenation that they cannot be divided from one another without destroying the whole frame of his History I say that it is impossible that the Law by which he makes it death for any one to contest the truth of his Narration should make the sincerity of it suspected I do not urge here that there is an evident Absurdity to suppose that Moses would ever have related together all those Transactions as the grounds of Religion if they had been absolutely unknown in the World before him Neither do I mention here that suppose Moses had been so imprudent as to attempt such an undertaking yet there is no reason to believe that a whole Nation and that a very numerous one would have long persevered in a Profession forced upon them by meer Violence and Tyranny Nor do I think it necessary to observe here that the People of Israel were neither so patient nor so easily perswaded by Moses nor yet so submissive to him as these Objectors do imagine That is plain and apparent enough from all their Seditions and Conspiracies against him Nor do I judge it necessary to observe here what is plain enough of it self viz. that Moses had no Successor any ways concern'd to countenance and defend these pretended Fictions and Fables of his History Joshua his immediate Successor was of another Tribe and so were all the succeeding Governors of Israel until the Maccabees came But what I think deserves best to be observed here is that after Moses and Joshua's Decease the People of Israel was brought under the Subjection of the Canaanites and consequently freed from the Terror of that Law of Moses's making by which it was Death for any one to contest the Authority of his Laws â—nd the truth of all his Writings there is but a
little more than forty years interval betwixt the Conquest of Canaan by Joshua and the Bondage of the Israelites under the Neighbouring Nations Had it not been a fit time then to cast off the Yoak of Moses's Laws and to publish the pretended Lies and Impostures of his History Was not the Comparison which the Israelites could easily make betwixt the Mosaick Writings and the Tradition generally received in the Countrey of their Captivity a natural and ready means to undeceive them Yet notwithstanding all this we see that they obstinately entertain the belief of the several Transactions recorded by Moses and stand firmly to all their Pretensions Nay we see them have recourse to the Remedy of Repentance which Moses prescribed them to use in those sad Misfortunes which he foretold should befal them and out of which he promis'd at the same time that God would miraculously deliver them which indeed was done accordingly even fourteen times within less than four hundred years as is manifest from the Book of Judges Can there then be a more pregnant Argument that if Moses made it Death by one of his Sanctions for any of the Israelites to contest the truth either of his Writings or of his Oracles and Miracles it was not to force the belief of them without examination but rather only to prevent the corruption of that People and their mingling and confounding themselves with the Heathens which God intended to hinder on purpose because he would have the Messiah to be born according to his Promise out of that Nation which to effect he thought fit in his infinâ—â—e Wisdom to employ the rigour of some Capital Laws to keep that people unmixt and distinguish'd from all other Nations of the World till the Messiah was born CHAP. XXII The Consequences of what we have proved in our foregoing Observations upon the Book of Genesis THese several Observations which I have made upon the Book of Genesis are all I think very natural and easie and if I am not mistaken sufficient to prove solidly the truth of Moses's Account of the Creation of the World and of the Promise of the Messiah which is the foundation of the Christian Religion The Conclusion that I draw out of the Premises is That First I assert that Moses that famous Hebrew who was design'd to be the Heir of Pharaoh's Daughter is the true and sole Author of the Book of Genesis Secondly I maintain that this being once granted he could not according to his way of Writing record those important Transactions he relates otherwise than they really came to pass Thirdly I maintain that tho he had not been an Eye Witness of the Creation of the World yet he hath made the Description of it according to such an Authentick Tradition as cannot be reasonably doubted of because it was then the Universal Tradition not only of the Moabites of the Ammonites of the Ishmaelites and of the Edomites who were all of Sem's Posterity and amongst whom he had been travelling for forty years together but also of the Egyptians of his own People and in a word of all Men then living in the World. Fourthly I maintain that he never was found fault with nor contradicted till true Reason and Sence if I may say so was lost and banish'd from amongst Mankind till the Egyptians for example they who used before to look upon the Greeks as meer Children and Ideots were fallen into so great a Stupidity and Deprivation of Sence as to believe and maintain that Men were first born in Egypt because forsooth Frogs did naturally as they thought breed out of their Muddy Fenns and Marshes Fifthly I maintain that for many Ages after Moses no body did ever publickly declare for the Eternity of the World nor yet for its Fortuitous Production These Opinions are meer Absurdities and Chimeras brought forth into the World by the Chaldeans and Greeks only about Alexander's time or perhaps an hundred years before him i. e. about eleven or twelve hundred years after Moses's Decease Sixthly I maintain that seeing there is no particular time to be found wherein the reading of the Law was interrupted and discontinued for any considerable time amongst the Jews seeing it continues still to this very hour amongst them every Sabbath day in the several places of the World wherein they are dispersed and seeing besides that it is certain that this Law which enjoyns the Observation of the Sabbath in remembrance of the Creation could never be imposed upon them without their perceiving and declaring presently the Novelty and Supposition of that Account and consequently of the Book wherein it is related Seeing all this is certain I do positively maintain that the truth of the Creation can never be better proved than it is by the Book of Genesis because in it Moses hath followed the Tradition of all the Ages that preceded him and only recorded in Writing what was then generally known of all Men in the World and that in a time when every Man was able to run his own Pedigree up to Adam Lastly I maintain that as the certainty of the Creation cannot reasonably be doubted of without rejecting at the same time all those Proofs from Facts which I have brought to strengthen my Assertion So there is all the reason in the World to entertain the belief of it as of a matter of Fact which is indisputable As being Related by the most Ancient Historian Confirmed by the most Ancient Tradition Believed by the most Ancient People of the World who did not only believe it but also had always had according to God's Command the Memory of it Celebrated amongst them and their Ancestors in all their Generations fifty two times in a Year from the very beginning of the World. REFLEXIONS Upon the Four Last BOOKS OF MOSES To Establish the TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION PREFACE WHen I began at first these Reflexions upon the Book of Genesis I design'd only to demonstrate the certainty of the Creation of the first Man and so to shew by Arguments from matters of Fact that neither the Creation of the World nor yet the Promise of the Messiah which God made to Man after his sin can reasonably be disputed or doubted of I design'd after that to establish the truth of Christ's Resurrection by such another undeniable Argument viz. by shewing that the Apostles were Eye Witnesses of it and instituted a solemn Day in every Week to celebrate and perpetuate the Memory of it amongst Men from their time down to the end of the World. And this I thought was sufficient to demonstrate the truth of the Christian Religion For as the Jews by the continual Celebration of the Sabbath every Week could easily run back to the Creation of the World which was the occasion of the Institution of the Sabbath so the Christians may by the Weekly Observation of the Lord's day prove Christ's Resurrection which occasioned the Institution of the Lord's day If we consider the