Authority of them equal with that of the Bible For as the Canonical Scriptures were dictated by Divine Inspiration so these Laws they hold were from God Himself and are of the same Authority with those Scriptures They make no difference between the Inspired Writings of the Old Testament and the Books of Mishnaioth or the Talmuds which are in truth an Amassment only of the Traditions of the Jews and of the Diverse Decisions of the Schools of Hillel and Shammai of the Different Determinations of R. Akiba and R. Eliezer of R. Simeon and R. Ioshua c. bandying against one another or rather if we speak plainer they are a Rhapsody of Idle Dreams Groundless Fables Cursed Errors Superstitious Rites and Practices yea if we should instance in the Babylonick Talmud of Horrid Blasphemies against Christ of Obloquies against the Mosaick Law it self and of Contradictions even to the Law of Nature These are part of the Books so highly prized by the Jewish Masters these go along with their Oral Law which was first given by God himself and consequently is of the same Original with the Canon of Scripture But they go yet higher for they do not only equalize these Traditions with Scripture but they prefer them before it They do not only say in a Proverbial Manner that they cannot stand upon the Foundation of the Written Law without the Help of the Vnwritten one i. e. the Oral Law which they talk of and that the Words of the Law as they are found in the Text are poor and wanting but as they are expounded by the Doctors have great Riches and abundance in them And again that very Great and Weighty Matters depend upon these Little Traditions which they contend for but they are so bold and presumptuous as to proceed further and give a far Greater Deference to these Traditions and Doctrines of their Wise Men as they call them than to the Holy Scriptures themselves For they tell us that their Doctors have done more good viz. as to strengthning and confirming of Religion by their own Sayings than by the Words of this Holy Book it self And accordingly their Advice is My Son attend more to what the Scribes say than to what is said by the Law though I know this may admit of another Sense viz. that we ought to look more to the Sense of the Law than the bare Letter of it But that in the Talmud is plain and can have no other Meaning To read the Holy Scripture and to be studious in searching out the Sense of it is good and not good i. e. it is not of any considerable Advantage but to turn over the Mishnah Night and Day is a Vertue which will have a great Reward hereafter and to learn the Gemara is an incomparable Vertue Yea the Jews blasphemously say that God himself studies in the Talmud every Day Here you see they prefer their Delivered Law before the Written one they make the Infallible Scriptures truckle to the Fabulous Traditions of the Mishnah To this purpose it is a Noted Saying of the Hebrew Rabbies that the Text of the Bible is like Water the Mishnah like Wine and the Six Books of the Talmud are like the Sweetest Honey'd Wine Thus to magnify the Traditions of their Fathers they vilify the Scriptures They are not content with the Rites and Injunctions written in the Law which in way of Contempt they call the Precepts of the Law but they admire those most which are taken from their Wise Men which they call the Precepts of the Rabbins and which are summarily contain'd in the Talmud these they hold to be of greater Value than the other The Persons that are skill'd in these are sliled by them Tannaim Profound Masters and Doctors but they that study the Scriptures only are but Karaim Poor Readers and Men of the Letter All this shews how these Men depretiate the Written Word of God and exalt above it their Oral Law which is a mere Fiction and Forgery as to the pretence of its being given to Moses by God and therefore is not owned by the Karaint among them who stick close to the Text nor by some of their Perushim their sobrest sort of Expositors who think those Traditions are derogatory to the Holy Scriptures Secondly Papists as well as Ieâ—s disparage the Holy Scriptures and deny its Perfection Nor by the way is this the only thing wherein they agree with the Jews a great Part of their Religion being no other than Jewish Rites and Ceremonies These Modern Talmudists will not own the Sufficiency of the Sacred Writings they have their Cabala the Doctrine Received from their Ancestors they are for their Oral Law delivered from one to another they supply the defect of Scripture so they are wont to speak with their Traditions They are of the same Mind with the Jews that there must be a Fence made about the Law that it must be hedged in with Traditions The Scripture is not a Perfect Rule of Faith and Manners say they but the things which are necessary to Salvation are partly contained in the Scripture and partly in unwritten Traditions A very absurd and wild Doctrine because they have no way to prove any thing to be necessary to Salvation but by proving it to be found in the Scripture Whatever was or is necessary for the Universal Church is revealed in these Writings and no New Doctrine necessary to Salvation is delivered since to the Church or any particular Person But notwithstanding the Absurdity of this Tenent they hold it fast and make it a Great Article of their Belief For they are taught by an Oecumenical Council as they repute it that Unwritten Traditions are of equal Authority with the Scriptures that they are to be received with the same pious Affection and Reverence those are the words wherewith the Infallible Writings of the Prophets and Apostles are to be entertained and consequently they are to be made a Rule of Faith equal with the Scriptures But they rest not here they not only equal Humane and Ecclesiastical Traditions with the Written Word of God but following the Steps of the Old Talmudists they proceed yet further preferring Traditions before Scripture Thus a Renowned Divine in their Church tells us plainly that Traditions are exceeding necessary for the welfare of the Church yea that they are more requisite than the Scripture it self and this he endeavours to make good With him concur several others of their Writers whom we find extolling Traditions but at the same time speaking very meanly and slightly of the Holy Writ Hence they blasphemously call it a Nose of Wax and a Leaden Rule and many such vilifying Terms are used by Pighius and Melchior Canus and other Great Doctors of that Church We deny not the Usefulness nay even the Necessity nay the Perpetuity of Tradition viz. That Tradition whereby the Doctrines which were entrusted in the
Church's Hands by the Prophets and Apostles shall by her be deliver'd over to her Children to the World's End which way of Transmission is the great Prop of our Religion Besides the Apostle enjoins the Thessalonians to hold fast the Traditions which they had been taught whether by Word or his Epistle for he had used two ways of delivering the Truth to them namely Preaching and Writing and other Apostles committed the chief and necessary Heads of their Doctrine to Writing So that the Traditions meant here are the Revealed Truths of the Gospel delivered by the Apostles and Evangelists and are no other than what Christ deliver'd to them according to that of St. Paul I delivered to you that which also I received whence they have the Name of Traditions i. e. they are Evangelical Doctrines delivered to us from those that were taught them by Christ. And whether they were imparted by Word or by Epistle by Preaching or Writing they are the same the same as to substance the otherwise there may be some difference But that which we condemn and that most justly the Papists for is this that they magnify and rely upon Traditions which have no affinity with the Doctrine of Christ and the Apostles yea which contradict it in many things and yet they equalize these with the Word of God and sometimes prefer them and the Authority of the Church before that of the Sacred Writings of the Old and New Testament Thus One saith The Church sometimes doth things contrary to the Scriptures sometimes besides them therefore the Church is the Rule and Standard of the things that are delivered in the Scriptures and therefore we believe the Church though she acts counter to the formal Decisions of the Scriptures And an other Famous Doctor gives it for good Divinity that the Decrees and Determinations of a Council are binding though they be not confirmed by any probable Testimony of Scripture nay though they be beyond and above the Determination of Scripture Thus the Holy Writings of the Bible are most impiously disparaged and vilisied by the Pontificians Whereas there is nothing defective or redundant nothing wanting or superfluous in these Writings they assert in the open face of the World that they are short and imperfect and therefore have need of being supplied by Traditions which in some things are of greater Value and Authority than they Again that the Church of Rome oppugneth or rather denieth the Perfection of the Scriptures might be evinced from their constant care and endeavour to keep them in an Vnknown Tongue It is true they have translated them But 1. There was a kind of necessity of doing it the Protestants having turned them into so many Tongues By this means they were compelled as it werâ— to let some of their people see what the Bible was in their own Language But 2. It is so corruptly translated that it is made to patronize several of their Superstitious Follies and Errors And yet 3. They dare not commit these Translations to common View Although in all Countries where People were converted to Christianity in elder times the Scripture was turned into their Language and every one was permitted yea exhorted to read it as is proved by many Writers the Learned Dr. Stillingfleet particularly yet the Church of Rome denieth the common People the Use of it as a thing hurtful and pernicious The Bible as some Bad Book is tolerated to be read with great Caution and Restriction in some Countries only and by some Persons It is like the Sibyls Prophecies of old among the Romans not to be look'd into without the permission and Authority of the Senate none can read it without a Licence from their Superiours so dangerous a thing is the Bible From this Practice the People generally imbibe a strong Prejudice against the Scriptures and believe they cannot be good for them because the Pope and their Pastors tell them they are not Wherefore as one who was once of the Communion of the Church of â—ome hath well observed As soon as ever any Man imbraces Popery he presently throws the Bible out of his Hands as altogether useless to say no worse Which unreasonable and wicked Behaviour of theirs was one great Reason or Motive as he professeth of his returning to the Church of England again For what Considerate Man can think That to be a True Church which teacheth its Members to slight and reject the Word of God which is the Source of all Divine Truth and without which we can neither believe nor practise aright we can neither have Comfort here nor arrive to Happiness hereafter This indeed is not only to null â—â—e Perfection of Scripture but to abolish the whole Body of Scripture it self A third sort of Persons that are Opposers of the Perfection of Scripture are Enthusiasts and such who act out of a truly Fanatick Principle Such were the Familists heretofore whose Pretences to the Spirit were so high that they excluded and renounced the Letter of Scripture which according to their Stile was a dark Lanthorn a liveless Carcass a Book shut up and seal'd with seven Seals the Scabbard not the Sword of the Spirit or if it be a Sword it is the Sword of Antichrist wherewith he kills Christ. This was the impious Jargon of these High-flown Men who made no other Use of the Bible than to Allegorize it and to turn it all into Mystery These have been followed by Others of a like Fanatick Spirit who have made it a great part of their Religion to despise and reproach the Sacred Writ A late Enthusiast or rather one that pretends to be such but designs the Overthrow of all Religion tells the World that the Bible is founded in Imagination that God's Revelations in Scripture are ever according to the Fancy of the Prophets or other Persons he spoke to and that all the Phrases and Speeches all the Discoveries and Manifestations yea all the Historical Passages in the Old and New Testament are adapted to these The Quaker comes next and refuseth to own the Scripture to be the Word of God and the Perfect Rule by which we are to direct our Lives It is a great Error and Falsity saith one of the most considerable Persons of that Perswasion that the Scriptures are a filled up Canon and the only Rule of Faith and Obedience in all things and that no more Scriptures are to be writ or given forth from the Spirit of the Lord. With whom agrees another of as great Repute among that Tribe I see no Necessity saith he of believing that the Canon of Scripture is filled up And again The Scriptures saith he are not to be esteemed the Principal Ground of all Truth and Knowledg nor yet the Adequate Primary Rule of Faith and Manners but they are only a Secondary Rule subordinate to the Spirit And accordingly he adds That the inward Inspirations and Revelations which Men
numbred among the Books of Canonical Scripture And thus we have argued from the Tradition and the Testimony of the Church And if this be done as it ought to be done it is valid for the Truth of the Copies the Canonicalness of the Books and the like are not decidable by Scripture it self but in the Way that all other Controversies of that nature are As you would prove any other Book to be Authentick so you must prove the Bible to be viz. by sufficient and able Testimony There is the same reason to believe the Sacred History that there is to believe any other Historical Writings that are extant Nay the Testimonies on behalf of the Holy Scriptureâ— are more pregnant than any that are brought for other Writings Besides all that can be said for the Sacred Volume of the Bible which is wont to be said for other Writings I have shewed you that there are some things peculiar to this above aâ—â— others The main thing we have insisted upon is this that the Books of the Old and New Testament have been faithfully conveyed to us and that they are vouched by the constant and universal Tradition both of the Jewish and Christian Church and that these Books and no others are of the Canon of Scripture for to be of the Canon of Scripture is no other than to be owned by the Universal Church for Divinely Inspired Writings The Church witnesseth and confirmeth the Authority of the Canonical Scriptures for she received them as Divine and she delivers them to us as such Yet I do not say that the Church's Testifying these Books to be the Holy Scriptures gives an Absolute and Entire Authority to them A Clerk in the Parliament or any other Court writes down and testiâ—ies that such an Act or Decree or Order was pass'd by the King Magistrate or People and he witnesses that he hath faithfully kept these by him and that they are the very same that at such a time were made by the foresaid Authority but the Authority of this Act Decree or Order rests not in the Clerk but wholly in the King Magistrate or People So the Church recordeth and keepeth the Sacred Writings of the Bible and bears witness that they have been faithfully preserved and that they are the Genuine Writings of those Persons whose Names are presixed to them bâ—t the Divine Authority of the Scriptures depends not on the Church but on the Books and Authors themselves namely their being Inspired And indeed this Authority of the Scriptures cannot depend on the Church because the Church itself depends on the Scriptures These must be proved before the Church can pretend to be any such thing as a Church We cannot know the Church but by the Scriptures therefore the Scriptures must be known before the Church It follows then that the Papists are very unreasonable and absurd in making the Ultimate Resolution of Faith to be into the Testimony and Authority of the Church This we disown as a great Falsity but yet it is rational to hold that the Church's Testimony is one good Argument and Proof of the Truth of the Sacred Scripture according to that known Saying of St. Augustine I should not believe the Gospel if the Authority of the Church did not move me Not that he founds the Gospel i. e. the Doctrine of Christianity and the Truth of it on the Testimony of the Church as the Papists are wont to infer from these Words and frequently quote them to this purpose No the Father's meaning is this that by the Testimony and Consent of the Church he believed the Book of the Gospel to be verily that Book which was written by the Evangelists This is the Sense of the Place as is plain from the Scope of it for he speaks there of the Copies or Writings not the Doctrine contained in them The good Father relies on this that so great a number of knowing and honest Persons as the Church was made up of did assert the Evangelical Writings to be the Writings of such as were really inspired by the Holy Ghost and that they were true and genuine and not corrupted And the whole Body of Sacred Scripture is attested by the same universal Suffrage of the Church i. e. the unanimous Consent of the Apostles and of the First Christians and of those that immediately succeeded them several of which laid down their Lives to vindicate the Truth of these Writings This is the External Testimony given to the Holy Scriptures It is the general Perswasion and Attestation of the Antient Church that these are the Scriptures of Truth that they were penn'd by holy Prophets and Apostles immediately directed by the Spirit who therefore could not err It was usual heretofore among the Pagan Lawgivers to attribute their Laws to some Deity tho they were of their own Invention intending thereby to conciliate Reverence to them and to commend them to the People But here is no such Cheat put upon us God himself is really the Author of the Holy Scriptures these Sacred Laws come immediately from Him they are of Divine Inspiration There is no doubt to be made of the Divinity of the Scriptures and consequently there is assurance of the Infallibility of them CHAP. III. The Authority of the Bible manifested from the Testimonies of Enemies and Strangers especially of Pagans These confirm what the Old Testament saith concerning the Creation the Production of Adam and Eve their Fall with the several Circumstances of it Enoch's Translation the Longevity of the Patriarchs the Giants in those Times the Universal Flood the building of the Tower of Babel I Have propounded some of the chief Arguments which may induce us to believe the Truth and Certainty of the holy Writings of the Old and New Testament I will now choose out another for the sake chiefly of the Learned and Curious which I purpose to inlarge upon yea to make the Subject of my whole ensuing Discourse I consider then that we have in this Matter not only the Testimony of Friends but of Enemies and Strangers and it is a Maxim in the Civil Law and vouched by all Men of Reason that the Testimony of an Enemy is most considerable The Iewish and Christian Church as I have shewed already give their Testimony to the Scriptures but besides these Witnesses there are Others there is the Attestation of Foreigners and Adversaries These fully testify the Truth of what is delivered in the Holy Bible we have the Approbation of Heathen Writers to conâ—irm many of the things related in the Old Testament and both Professed Heathens and Iews for we must now look upon these latter as profess'd Enemies when we are to speak of the Christian Concern attest sundry things of the New Testament and vouch the Truth and Authority of them Here then I will distinctly proceed and first begin with the Old Testament and let you see in several Particulars that even the Pagan World gives Testimony to this Sacred Volume
Import signifies a disposing of something is most commoâ—â—ly applied to such a Disposal as is either by Covenâ—â— or Testament Hence it is sometimes rendred 〈◊〉 Covenant and sometimes a Testament especially among the Lawyers the latter Sense prevails and accordingly you will find that a Last Will and Testament is express'd by this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Imperial Institutions and other Law-Books translated into Greek We may here join both Senses together for what God hath agreed to by Covenant with Man that Christ bequeaths and gives by Testament Now we must prove both these i. e. we must make it evident that the Covenant and Testament are True before we can receive any Advantage and Benefit from them There is a Necessity of evidencing the Truth of the Scriptures which are this Covenant and this Testament otherwise we can build nothing upon them Here then I. I will evince the Truth and Authority of the Scriptures which is the great Basis of all Theology II. After I have largely insisted on this I will proceed to give you an account of the Nature of the Stile and Phrase of these Holy Books III. I will advance yet farther and demonstrate the Excellency and Perfection of them The Subject of our present Undertaking is the first of these in handling of which I shall but briefly and concisely make use of those Arguments which are commonly insisted upon by Learned Writers till I come to fix upon a Topick which is not commonly yea which is very rarely and by the by used in this Cause and this I will pursue very largely and fully I hope with some Satisfaction to the Reader There are many Arguments to demonstrate the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scriptures and shew that they are worthy to be believed and imbraced by us as the very Word of God Some of these Arguments which are to prove the Truth of these Writings are in common with those that prove the Truth of the Christian Religion on which I shall have occasion to insist at another time but my Design at present is to propound those which are more peculiarly and properly fitted to evince the Truth of the Scriptures And these are either Internal or External The Internal ones I call those which are either in the Scriptures themselves or in Vs. The Characters of Divinity which the Scriptures have in Themselves are either their Matter or the Manner of the writing them I begin with the first the Matter of them and here I will mention only these three Particulars 1. The Sublime Doctrines and Verities which are in Holy Writ In reading this Book we meet with such things as cannot reasonably be thought to come from any but God himself In other Writings which are most applauded the choicest things which entertain our Minds are the excellent Moral Notions and Precepts which they offer to us which are all the Result of Improved Reason and Natural Religion But here are besides these Notices of a peculiar Nature and such as are above our natural Capacity and Invention as the Creation of the World in that Manner as is represented to us in these Writings the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity the Eternal Decrees the Incarnation of Christ the Son of God the Redemption of the World by his Blood the whole Method of Man's Salvation the stupendous Providence of God over his Church in all Ages the Coming of Christ to Judgment and in order to that the raising of all Men out of their Ashes These and several other Doctrines deliver'd in the Sacred Writings cannot be imagined to come from any but God they carry with them the Character of Divinity as being no common and obvious Matters but such as are towring and lofty hidden and abstruse and not likely to be the Product of Humane Wisdom A God is plainly discovered in them for the most Improved Creatures could never have reach'd to this pitch Any serious and thinking Man cannot but discern the peculiar Turn and singular Contrivance of these Mysterious Doctrines which argue them to be Divine We may therefore believe the Writings of the Prophets and Apostles to be the Word of God because of the wonderful Height and Sublimity of those Truths which are contained in them 2. The Exact Purity and Holiness both of Body and Soul of Heart and Life which are enjoin'd in these Writings are another Testimony of their being Divinely Inspired For though some other Books dictate Religion and Piety yet this is certain that all the true and just Measures of them were taken originally from this one Exact Standard which was prior to them all as I shall shew afterwards Besides the Love and Charity the Humility Meekness and all other Vertues which the Scriptures describe to us far exceed the most advantageous Representations the most exalted Ideas which the Heathen Moralists give of them These therefore are emphatically and eminently called by St. Paul the Holy Scriptures 2 Tim. 3. 15. because they breath the most consummate Goodness and Piety and that antecedently to all Writings whatsoever because every thing in them advanceth Holiness and that in Thought Word and Actions The End and Scope of them are to promote Sanctity of Life to make us every way better and even to render us * like God himself The Holy Scripture was intended to set forth the Divine Perfections to display the Heavenly Purity and thereby to commend the Excellency of a holy Life And it is certain that if with sincere and humble Minds we peruse this Book of God we shall find this blessed Result of it it will marvellously instruct us in the Knowledg of the Divine Attributes especially of God's Unspotted Holiness it will tincture our Minds with Religion it will pervade all our Faculties with a Spirit of Godliness and it will thorowly cleanse and sanctify both our Hearts and Lives which proves it to be from God But because I shall have occasion to say more of this when I treat of the Perfection of the Scriptures I will now dismiss it 3. To the Matter of Scripture we must refer the Prophecios and Predictions which are contained in it These I reckon another Internal Argument because they are drawn from what is comprehended in the very Scripture it self What a vast number is there of Prophecies of the Old and New Testament which we find fulfilled and accordingly are Testimonies of the Truth of these Scriptures Here I will a little enlarge and first I will begâ—n with that ancient Prophecy of Noah God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the Tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his Servant Where are foretold things that happened above two thousand Years afterward for the Posterity of Iapheth viz. the Europeans especially the Greeks and Romans among other Conquests gain'd the possession of Iudea and other Eastern Countries which were the Portion of Shem. Again it was fulfilled thus by Christ's coming and preaching the Gospel and by his
and twenty after the number of the Hebrew letters And Cyril of Ierusalem hath these express Words Read these two and twenty Books but have nothing to do with the Apocryphal ones Study and meditate only on these Scriptures which we conâ—idently read in the Church The Apostles and first Bishops were true Guides and were more wise and religious than thou art and these were the Men that delivered these Scriptures to us Thou then being a Son of the Church do not go beyond her Bounds and Orders but acknowledg and study only the two and twenty Books of the Old â—â—â—stament And other Fathers of the Churâ—â— as Melito Bishop of Sardis Athanasius Amphiloâ—â—us Epiphanius Eusebius Gregory Nazianzen Gâ—â—gory the Great Basil Chrysostom testify that 〈◊〉 Books and no others of the Old Testamâ—â—â— which we receive now were the Canonical Booâ—â— of old and received so by the first Christiâ—â— Those eminent Lights of the Latin Church Râ—t Ierom Hilary disown as Uncanonical 〈◊〉 Books of Apocrypha The two latter especially 〈◊〉 very positive Ierom expresly tells us that 〈◊〉 Canonical Books of the Old Testament are but 〈◊〉 and twenty just the number of the Hebrew Alâ—phabet and no more and he enumerates the particular Books which constitute the whole 〈◊〉 saith indeed that some make them four and twâ—â—ty but 't is the same Account for they reckâ—â— Ruth and Lamentations separately But as for 〈◊〉 others he saith they are not part of Inspired Scripture and the Church doth not receive theâ— among the Canonical Writings So Hilary givâ— us the just Catalogue of the Books of the Old Tâ—stament and peremptorily affirms that there 〈◊〉 but two and twenty Canonical Books of it in all which are the same with the thirty nine according to the reckoning in our Bibles To Fathers wâ— might add Synods and Councils as that antieâ—â— one of Laodicea conven'd A. D. 364. which drew up a Catalogue of the Books of Scripture and makes mention only of these which we now râ—ceive but leaves out the Apocryphal ones This Canon was received afterwards and confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon one of the first four General Councils And the sixth General Council held at Constantinople A. D. 680. expresly ratified the Decrees of that old Laodicean Council and particularly this that the Canonical Books of the Old Testament were but two and twenty There is another Reason also besides the Universal Suffrage of the Christian Church why the Apocryphal Books are ejected out of the Canon viz. because some things in them are false and contrary to the Canonical Scriptures as in Ecclesiasticus 46. 20. 2 Esdras 6. 40. and some things are vitious as in 2 Maccab. 14. 42. After all this it is easy to answer what the Romanists say on the other side They quote the third Council of Carthage which they tell us received the Apocryphal Books into the Canon And among the Fathers St. Augustin they say owns them besides that two Popes viz. Innocent the First and Gelasius took those Books which we stile Apocryphal into the Canon As for the Council which they alledg it was but a Provincial one and therefore is not to be set against those more Authentick and General Councils which I produced Nor must that one single Father whom they name stand out against that great number of Greek and Latin Fathers whom I mentioned The Popes bear a great Name among our Adversaries but they are but two and must not be compared with those Councils and that multitude of Fathers who are on our side Or if they lay such great stress on a Pope I can name them one and he one of the most eminent they ever had viz. Pope Gregory the Great who declares that the Book of Maccabees a main Piece of the Apocryphal Wrâ—â—tings is no part of the Canon of Scripture Wâ— may set this One Pope for he is Great enough against the other Two Besides their own 〈◊〉 are against them the Apocryphal Books are 〈◊〉 received as part of holy Inspired Scripture by Iâ—â—dorus Damascen Nicephorus Rabanus Maurus Hâ—go Lyranus Cajetan and others who are of greâ—â— Repute in the Church of Rome We regard 〈◊〉 what the pack'd Council of Trent hath decreed viz. That besides the two and twenty Books 〈◊〉 the Hebrew Canon those also of Tobias Iuditâ— the Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus Maccabeâ—â—â— Baruch are to be received as Canonical and thâ— they are of equal Authority with the Canon oâ— the Old and New Testament What is this to the general Suffrage of the Primitive Councils Fathers and Writers who have rejected the Apocryphal Books and received but twenty two into the Canon of Scripture belonging to the Old Testament You see what Ground we have no other than the Vniversal Church We reject some Books as Apocryphal because they were generally rejected by the antient Primitive Church and we receive the rest as Canonical because they were believed and owned to be so by the universal Consent of the Church See this admirably made good in Bishoâ— Cousins's History of the Canon of Scripture Yet aâ—ter all that hath been said we count the Apocryphâ— Writings worthy to be read and perused The there be some things amiss in them yet we give great Deference and Respect to them as containing many Historical Truths and furnishing us witâ— Matter of Jewish Antiquity as likewise because there are many Doctrinal and Moral Truths in them especially in the Books of Wisdom and Ecâ—lesiasticus For this Reason I say we bear great Respect to them and rank them next to the Holy Canon and prefer them before all Profane Authors This was done by the antient Fathers who frequently alledg'd them in their Sermons and Discourses which is one Reason I question not why these Apocryphal Books came to be made Canonical by some of the Church of Rome namely because they were so often quoted by the Fathers and in some Churches read publickly But this is no Proof of their being Canonical but only lets us know that these Books were in their Kind useful and profitable as indeed they are Therefore St. Ierom saith the Church receives not these Books into the Canon of Scripture though she allows them to be read And concerning these Writings our Church saith well quoting St. Ierom for it She doth read them for Example of Life and Instruction of Manners but yet doth not apply them to establish any Doctrine Which gives us an exact account of the Nature of these Books namely that they contain excellent Rules of Life and are very serviceable to inform us of our Duty as to several weighty things but they being not dictated by the Holy Ghost as the other Books of Scripture are they are not the infallible Standard of Divine Doctrine and therefore are not to be applied and made use of to that purpose This and the other Reasons before mentioned may prevail with us to think that these Writings ought not to be
that the Gentiles relate the very same things that this doth that the Great Truths and Notable Histories Notions and Practices in the Books of the Old Testament are to be met with in Profane Writings but taken from these Sacred ones The Heathens borrowed many of their Rites and Vsages from Traditions which were founded in the Holy Scriptures They derived many things in their Religion and Manners from these Sacred Fountains though it is as true that they have laboured to pollute them But I will make it clear and manifest that they fetch'd them thence and I will abundantly prove that most of the chief things in the Old Testament have been attested both by the Fables and the Serious History of the Pagans There have been some High-fliers I know who have carried on this Notion to a ridiculous Extravagancy Thus Zimmeranus speaks of an odd Capuchin who hath vented very wild things in prosecuting this Argument viz. that the Gentile Mysteries were taken from the True God and from the Scriptures inspired by him And one Iacobâ— Hugo in his Historia Romana is quoted by the same Person as very extravagant in this kind for he holds that the Roman Story was a Narrative of the History of the Gospel Pious Aeneas was St. Peter and his sailing from Troy to Latium was the Story of St. Peter's leaving the Chair at Antioch and going to Rome Homer and Virgil's Heroick Poems are an account of St. Peter and the Church and of the Shipwrack and Misfortunes which this latter meets with in the World Ilium or Aelia is Ierusalem that was the Name which Aelius Adrianus gave it The Acts of the Apostles the Jewish War and the Destruction of Ierusalem are contain'd in Homer's Iliads and so are the Life and Death of Christ and the whole Gospel He tells us that Romulus and Remus signify the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul the Founders of the Roman Church And more extravagantly yet he goes on telling us that Diana signiâ—ies the Holy Trinity Curtius on Horse-back swallowed up in the Lake is the Virgin Mary whose Temple is seen there in the Market-place at Rome with this Inscription D. Virginis Templum à poenis inferni liberantis And a great deal more of such Stuff this Hugo hath which no Man of Consideration and Sense is able to bear Indeed such wild and far-fetch'd Conceits may be justly entertain'd with Laughter and Contempt Nor do I look upon some things which some others of more composed Thoughts mention as any real Testimonies given to the Scriptures They strangely fancy an Affinity between Scripture and Paganism between what they read in the one and what they meet with in the other though there be no Cognation at all Thus the Greek Fable of Minerva's being the Offspring of Iove's Brain took its Rise from the Doctrine of the Trinity and the Eternal and Ineffable Generation of the Son of God saith a Learned Man and Isis the Egyptian Goddess is saith he Ishah Mulier or Virgo i. e. the Virgin Mary from a Tradition among them that a Virgin shoulâ— bring forth a Son who was to be the Redeemer 〈◊〉 the World And I could mention others whoâ—â— Names are better known who have been too eâ—travagant in this kind carrying the Notion on toâ— far and strongly fancying every thing almoâ—â— which they meet with in Pagan Story to havâ— some reference to and be taken from the holâ— Scriptures But I shall very industriously avoâ—â— this Vanity and Folly and only represent to the curious and critical Reader those Passages in Pagâ—â— Writers which with great Probability and Reasoâ— we may conclude to have been taken from the Books of the Old Testament I shall endeavoâ—â— to let you see the Sacred History of the Bible eveâ— through the Fables and feigned Stories of the Heathens and thereby confirm you in the belief of the Truth and Reality of that Sacred History whence they were taken 1. To begin first where all things began the Creation this as it is particularly described iâ— the first Chapter of Genesis is plainly to be found in Pagan Authors who without doubt had it froâ— this first Entrance of the Scripture For thougâ— a Man by the Light of Nature may know that the World had a Beginning yet this particular way of its beginning as 't is there set down could not be attained to but by Divine Revelation wherefore it is rationally to be asserted that the Pagaâ—â— took this Notion from God's Revealed Will in Scripture and at the same time they do hereby attest the Truth of that holy Book The genâ—râ—â— Opinion of the antient Gentiles was that the World was made out of a preceding Chaos which they represent to be a rude disordered and indigested Mass of Matter reduced to no Shape and Form Sanconiathon the Phoenician Historian so much prais'd by Porphyrius the Philosopher in Eusebius makes mention of this Chaos as the Source of all things in his Fragments of Phoenician Theology The antient Poet Orpheus held that this Chaos was the first Principle of all things And Hesiod agrees with him affirming that the Chaos was that out of which all Bodies were made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is described by Ovid after this manner Ante mare terras quod tegit omnia Coelum Vnus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe Quem dixere Chaos c. Where in forty or â—ifty pair of good smooth Verses he most excellently describes the Origine of all things and makes the very Chaos beautiful This is the same with Hyle the first original Matter of all things the Poets Demogorgon which was borrowed from the shapeless Lump of the Chaos And in the Phoenician Language we may find it in the very sound of the words Thoth and Bau which are but a small Variation from Tohu and Bohu in the Hebrew Text the same with Chaos among the Greeks and Latins This is founded on those Words of Moses Gen. 1. 2. The Earth was without form and void and Darkness was on the face of the Deep This dark and formless Heap of Water and Earth mingled together contain'd in it the fiâ— Elements of all things that were made afterwardâ— hence sprang the World as it is now shaped 〈◊〉 modelled From this Account which Moses givâ— here of the Creation the old Pagan Theologer i. e. the Pocts made the Ocean to be the Origiâ— of all Generation which is no other than thâ— if you give the plain meaning of it that thâ— moist and fluid Matter gave beginning to all Bodâ— that are Orpheus own'd this Hypothesis calliâ—â— the Ocean the Parent of all things in one of 〈◊〉 Hymns and out of some other Pieces of 〈◊〉 Works the same might be proved Homer 〈◊〉 the like asserting the Ocean to be the Antiente of the Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iliad On which Words the Scholiast gives this Reason
agrees with this Author and tells us that it was an ancient and constant Opinion among the Eastern People that some should come out of Iudea about that time and have the universal Sway and Reign over the World Iosephus the Jewish Historian relates the same and acquaints us that it was the common rumour and vogue among the Iews that one of their own Country should be an Universal Emperor which he as well as the fore-cited Authors applieth to Vespasian because he conquer'd the Iews and with Titus came from Iudea in Triumph to Rome Other Iews thought this common Fame was meant of Herod asserting him to be the Person fore-told by the Prophets and to be the expected Messias These were the Herodians mentioned in Mat. 22. 16. Thus though through Ignorance they knew not how to fix this Rumour aright yet out of Flattery they could apply it to their Princes But it is most evident that this Fame of an Universal Monarch arose from the Scriptures of the Old Testament which frequently speak of a great King and Ruler that should come out of the East and particularly out of Iudea Out of thee Bethlehem shall He come forth unto me that is to be the Ruler in Israel Mic. 5. 2. Which is interpreted of the Messias by the Iewish Sanhedrim whom â—erod gathered together demanding of them where Christ should be born Mat. 2. 4 5. That Prophecy of Micah speaks plainly of a Iew one that by birth â—as of Iudea yea of Bethlehem and therefore it was most falsly applied to those Roman Emperors before-named who came not out of Iudea but â—ut of Italy not from Bethlehem but from Rome And as for Herod he was not a Iew but an Iduâ—ean he was not born in Bethlehem but in Ascalon â—ut in our Blessed Saviour this remarkable Propheâ—y is exactly accomplish'd he being a Iew by â—â—rth and of the City of David and constituted â—y God a matchless King and Governor over his People Behold a King shall Reign in Righteousness 〈◊〉 32. 1. And in several other places of this Prophecy Christ is represented as a King and his Coming is express'd after that manner There was â—iven him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that â—ll People Nations and Languages should serve him His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall 〈◊〉 pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not 〈◊〉 destroyed Dan 7. 14. Which is expresly applied to Christ by the Angel from Heaven Luke 1. 33. And in many other places of Scripture this Divine Person who was to come to redeem and save Mankind is set forth as a King or Great Lord and Prince one that should â—ear Sway in the World and wield his Scepter over all Nations Hence this Rumour was spread among the Eastern People and especially about the time of Christ's birth that a Great Lord or King should arise in those parts and spread his Dominion over the World Hence those Pagan and Jewish Writers beforeâ— mentioned speak of this Great Ruler and Monarch who is no other than our Lord Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords This they had from the Prophesies of the Bible where 't is so often fore-told that a King shall arise and gain an Universal Empire over Mankind To this we may refer that which Suetonius reports and he quotes his Author for it that a few Months before Augustus was born there was this publick Prodigy viz. a Proclaiming of this That Nature was bringing forth a King to the Roman People Whereupon the Senate being allarmed and frighted made a strange Decree That no one born that Year should be Educated This Prodigy without doubt refer'd to Christ whose Birth was in Augustus's Reign this was the King that was to be born to all the World which was then in a manner subject to the Roman Empire and therefore might be call'd the Roman People So the Sibylls Oracles or Prophesies are of a middlâ— nature and Consideration and therefore are justly to be treated of in this place As they were borrow'd from the Scriptures of the Old Testament they belong indeed to the former part of this Discourse but as they attest the Truth of the maiâ— things in the New-Testament they are reducible to this I will consider them first as they are taken out of the Scriptures of the Old-Testament This may seem to be strange at first because the Opinions of Writers have run an other way but after I have plainly laid the matter before you I doubt not but the thing which I offer will easily gain your assent and then it will rather seem strange that it was not taken notice of and imbraced before There have been these four Opinions among the Learned concerning the Sybills Oracles or Verses 1. Some say they are Counterfeit yea that some Christians but Hereticks have imposed upon the World in this matter This I will account for afterwards because it will more pertinently be handled under the Second Consideration viz. as they are used as an Attestation of the Truth of the New-Testament Indeed this Opinion rudely takes away the Subject of the Question and therefore must be consider'd in the last place in the mean time we suppose the thing spoken of to be real and not counterfeit 2ly Then some have asserted that the Sibylls were divinely Inspired and consequently that their Verses are Sacred and Divine Iustin Martyr Arâ—obius Lactantius and some other ancient Fathers cry them up as equal to the holiest Prophets As God say they spake by the Prophets to the Iews concerning Christ before he came so he foreâ—told him to the Gentiles by the Sibylls and the same Prophetick Spirit was in the latter that was in the former Baronius Bellarmine and the Roman Doctors generally think the same of them and therefore they use their Testimony as very Sacred and altogether Irrefragable By the way I might observe that they are sometimes quoted by these and others of the Church of Rome to assert and countenance some of their Popish Doctrines So that it seems Popery was a Religion before there were any thoughts of it in the World and before it had a Being But here Authors are divided again for some hold these Gentile Prophetesses were Good and Holy Person others that they were not The former Opinion is grounded on that Tenent of the Iewish Doctors that never any vicious and unhallowed Persons were honored with the Prophetick Spirit and that those Irradiations and extraordinary Impressions of the Holy Ghost were made only upon Men of holy Lives and innocent Behaviours Besides these Prophetick Women speak of One only True God and they inveigh against the False Gods and their Altars which is a sign they were good and religious People Others have a contrary Opinion of them and think they were Irreligious and Prophane for that Opinion of the Hebrew Doctors before spoken of is not always true though it be generally so We read of Baalam the Sorcerer
who thereby destroys the whole System of Theology and of Christianity it self for if there were none of those things before mentioned if in a literal and historical Sense there was no such thing as that first Disoâ—edience of Adam if there be nothing true concerning the Temptation and the Apostacy of our first Parents and the Evils and Misery that ensued upon it then it will follow thence that Mankind had no need of a Saviour and Redeemer then Christ's Coming in the Flesh was in vain then all Christianity falls to the Ground then when the Writings of the New Testament speak of Eve's being deceived and being in the Transgression when they acquaint us that the Serpent beguiled Eve through his Subtility and that by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners and that in Adam all died all is mere Romance and Fiction there was nothing of these in Reality And then likewise we have as good Reason to believe that the other Parts of the New Testament which speak of our Saviour and all his Undertakings are to be understood in the same manner that is they are but a cunningly devised Parable they may have some moral meaning as Esop's Fables have but they contain nothing of real Fact This is the natural Result of allegorizing the 3d Chapter of Genesis By dealing thus with this Part of the Bible he hath baffled all the rest he hath wretchedly subverted the whole Scheme of our Religion he hath spoil'd the whole Fabrick of Christianity and he hath made the Scripture useless and insignificant So that by this one Attempt of his he hath shaken not to say overturn'd the Foundations of Religion he hath taken part with the known Despisers of all revealed Theology he hath encouraged and patronized the wild Conceits of Scepticks he hath strengthned the Hands of the Profane he hath abundantly gratified the whole Tribe of Atheists and Deists he hath won their Hearts for ever And indeed we cannot but observe what fort of Men they are that applaud his Undertaking viz. the Wits of the Town as they are call'd Men disposed to very ill Thoughts of Religion and the Scriptures yea Men generally indulging themselves in Immorality and Debauchery These are the Persons that promote his Notions and cry up his Writings This Theorist is become much more pleasing to them than Mr. Hobbs This new Archaeologist is far more taking than the Leviathan because he nips the Bible more closely and also because he is not as the other a Layman but a professed Divine and that of the Church of England This makes his Enterprize so acceptable to these Men for now they have a Clergyman to vouch them they have the Warranty of a Church-man I will not question or so much as suspect the Prudence of our Ecclesiastical Governors but in my Judgment if there be no publick Censure pass'd upon such a daring Attempt as this by a Member of our Church Atheists will have just Ground to laugh at our Discipline as well as they do at our Doctrine To excuse himself he saith this way of speaking is used in the Writings of the New Testament and confessed to be Metaphorical and Symbolical and why not then in Genesis I answer Because though there are some Expressions of that Nature as the Trumpet sounding and the Books opened at the Day of Judgment which are but metaphorical it is likely yet it is easy to discern it And in other Places it is intimated and sometimes plainly declared that the Passages are metaphorical and myâ—â—ical as in the Parables of the Prophets and of our Saviour But it is quite anothâ—r thing which we are speaking of viz. not an Expression or two but a whole entire History delivered in plain Words and with all its Circumstances as Matter of Fact and there is not the least Intimation of any other Sense yea many of the Particulars are mentioned in other Places of the Old and New Testament as direct Matter of Fact Wherefore when he attempts to solve his Undertaking by alledging some Passages in the New Testament of Christ and his Apostles he cannot but see that it is very foreign to his Business Again in a short Appendix to his Book where he seems to retract in a manner what he â—ad said having been informed he â—aith that it was displeasing to pious and wife Men he excuses himself by alledging the Fathers who 't is true present us with several allegorical Interpretations and Descants on some Places of Scripture and particularly on the 3d Chapter of Genesis but this is â—othing to his purpose because those antient Writers do not deny the literal Sense which he doth He is not content to allegorize that Chapter but he wholly rejects the literal Meaning and confidently avers that Moses all along tells a Story that â—ath nothing of Truth in it and is not spoken according to the Nature of the things So I grant that some of the old Iewish Doâ—tâ—rs moralized Mâ—ses's History but they did not slight much less â—upersede and lay aside the historical Sense And moreover he hath neither the Fathers nor the Rabbies as an Example of ridiouling the Mosaick History which yet he doth throughout his whole Discourse on that Chapter shewing his little Talent of Jesting and Droâ—ling So that in brief it might become Hudibras better than a Doctor of Divinity I appeal to any that are acquainted with the antient Monuments of the Church whether he doth not perfectly tread in the Steps of the old Adversaries and Blasphemers of Christianity Iulian Celsus c. The former of these speaking of and deriding what is said in Genesis concerning Adam and Paradise and eating the forbidden Fruit c. positively declares that these are altogether fabulous And again afterwards What Difference is there saith he between these and the Fables of the Greeks What Dr. Burnet saith amounts to the same for when he expresly saith Moses delivered nothing of the Physical Truth concerning the Creation of the World c. but wisely dissembles to accommodate himself to the People and when he tells us that Moses said these things only to conciliate Force and Authority to his Laws which are his own Words he doth as good as say that what he delivers is a Fable He might in plain Terms have stiled the Mosaick History a Fabulous Tradition as Simplicius calls the Account which Moses gives of the Creation Yea he might as well have spoken the Language of his Friend Celsus who call'd the Mosaick Relation concerning Adam and Eve an old Wife's Fable Thus we see what Examples he follows some of the craftiest and subtilest but yet the most malicious Enemies of the Christians who laugh'd at their Religion whilst others persecuted it and did more harm by that dâ—riding it than others by violent oppressing it But lo a remarkable Example of the Divine Justice viz. on the bold Gentleman who lately englished that part of the Doctor 's Book
Strengthens and supports us under our heaviest Crosses and makes our Life Happy whatever befals us All which are undeniable Arguments of the Perfection of Scripture whence we are enabled to Believe aright to Live well and to Rejoice Thus these Holy Writings were endited that we might be Perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works And thus Scripture must needs be Perfect because its Design is to make us so But I am sensible that several Devout and Practical Writers have enlarged on this Subject and therefore I will say no more of it because my present Discourse is designed to be chiefly Critical Let it suffice that I have briefly asserted the Perfection of the Holy Scriptures as to the three foremention'd Particulars and that I have shew'd that this Perfection is not communicable to any Other Writings under Heaven Such is the Peculiar Excellency of the Bible Wherefore it behoveth us to take notice and beware of those Men who oppose or rather deny this Excellency and Perfection First the Circumcised Doctors shew themselves great Oppugners of it whilst they excessively magnify their Traditions and even prefer them before the Sacred Text. We must know then that the Jews talk much of their Cabala or as that Word signifies the Received Doctrine among them which was propagated by Oral Tradition and Continual Succession This their Cabala is twofold First that which deals in Mysterious Criticisms and Curiosities about Words and Letters to which belongs the Masoreth which as I have shew'd in another Discourse is serviceable for the Preservation of the Bible Secondly that which by them is call'd the Oral Law or the Law delivered from one to another as an Exposition on the Written Law It may not be impertinent to give the Reader a short Account of this Oral Law which they so much boast of This was either before Moses and was the Doctrine of the Patriarchs propagated by Word of Mouth before the Law was committed to Writing it consisted of the Seven Precepts of the Sons of Noah of the Apothegms Sentences and Paradoxes of the Wise Men in the first Ages or it was in and after Moses's time who is reckon'd the Great Author of the Cabala because he deliver'd it viva voce to the Jews say the Rabbins at the same time that he gave them the Decalogue and the Other Written Laws This Torah gnal peh as they stile it this Oral Law is the Exposition of those Written Laws and is meant they say in Deut. 4. 14. The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you Statutes and Iudgments And for this they alledg Deut. 12. 21. which they tell us refers to some Special Command of God about Killing and seeing we read no such Special Command about it in the Written Law it is reasonable to conclude that it is to be understood of the Oral one that must be the Sense of those Words there As I have commanded thee That Moses received this Law on Mount Sinai Rabbi Bechai proves by the same Token that he knew by this Law how long time he was upon that Mount for when God taught him the Written Law then he knew it was Day because he could not write in the Dark but when God gave him the Oral Law he knew then that it was Night A most profound Answer to the Difficulty how Moses could tell that he was 40 Days and Nights on the Mount Well God they say delivered this Law to Moses Moses delivered it to Ioshua Ioshua to the Seventy Elders they to Ezra who some say committed it to writing for he was the Chiefest Cabalist next to Moses but the Books which he composed of this Matter were lost and so it went on after the old way again viz. by Tradition and came to the Prophets of whom Zechary and Malachi were the last and from them the Great Sanhedrim had it and at last it was made into a Book that it might not be lost by reason of the Dispersion of the Jews He that compiled this Volume or Book was Rabbi Iudah who for the singular Holiness of his Life was call'd Hakkadosh the Saint He flourish'd in the Days of the Emperor Antoninus Pius about a hundred and twenty Years after our Saviour's Passion The Title which he gave to it was Mishnah i. e. the Repetition of the Divine Law or a Larger Explication of it given immediately to Moses by God and by Tradition derived to the Jews This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this Iterated or Second Law is divided by him into six general Sedarim i. e. so many Heads or Subjects of which it treats and every Sedar is divided into Books every Book into Chapters or Pirka's About a hundred Years after this famous Rabbi had reduced the Traditions of the Jews into one Volume the Learned Doctors began to comment upon it and first the Ierusalem Talmud call'd so because 't was made for the Jews that lived in Iudea especially in Ierusalem was finish'd by R. Iochanan about A. D. 240. The Comment which he and the other Rabbies made on the Mishnah is call'd the Gemara the Supplemental Exposition of that Volume of Jewish Traditions Next the Babylonick Talmud was put forth by the Learned Jews at Babylon who gathered their Traditions into a more Compleat and Exact Body as they thought for the Benefit of their Country-men in those Parts of the World It was compiled by Rabbi Ase and his Companions about A. D. 500. and consisteth as the former Talmud of the Mishnaioth and the Gemara the one is the Text the other is the Comment or the Decisions of the Doctors on the Book of the Mishnah So then the Oral Law which the Jews so much boast of and set so high a Value upon is contain'd in the Two Talmuds which are made up of the Mishnah and the Gemara The Mishnah is that which R. Iudah compiled the Gemara's are the Work of R. Iochanan and Ase and other Rabbies and both are a Compleat Body of the Civil and Canon Law of the Jews Whoso nameth the Talmuds nameth all Iudaism saith Lightfoot These as he adds are the Jews Council of Trent they are the last and fullest Determinations which they have about all their Religious Opinions Rites and Usages Thus I have exhibited a brief Account of the whole Talmudick System wherein the Oral Law is comprized explained and descanted upon And it is not to be denied that there may be a very excellent Use made of this Collection of Jewish Traditions it may be serviceable in sundry Instances to expound the Mosaick Law to acquaint us with the Jewish Antiquities to illustrate several Places in the Old Testament yea to interpret many Passages in the New which have reference to the received Practices and Usages of the Jews But the Iews who are the Persons whom I am now blaming make very ill Use of it because they immoderately extol these Traditions calling them Torah shebegnal Peh their Infallible Oracle and esteeming the