upon design seeing the differences that are do no way inferre any difference either in the Doctrine or History of the Testament it was of the favour and mercy of God to preserve to his Church those various readings that by comparing them together and likewise with the rest of the holy Scriptures both the true sence and the true reading of them might at once be manifested SECT. XI Objections against particular parts briefly proposed and answered NOw Objections against particular books of either Testament will be found likewise inconsiderable 't is true that many of them have been either doubted of or rejected by some men but those who have pertinaciously refused them have done it rather out of the interest of their passions and corrupt affections then out of judgement Briefly Ecclesiastes hath been rejected by some as Written by Solomon in his dotage Placing felicity in sences But the first of these can no way be proved nay the contrary appears by the whole tenour of it well considered and the latter is evidently confuted by the conclusion Fear Cod c. for God shall bring c. The Canticles have been taken for a Love-song compiled in a complement to Pharaohs daughter but it had been but a slender complement to tell her that her eyes were like fish-pools and her nose like the tower of Lebanon that looketh toward Damascus The Prophecy of Daniel hath been charged by Porphyrius to have been a History written after the things were done written in the time of Antiochus and imposed upon the world under the credit of the name of Daniel but beside the testimony of our Saviour it appears out of History that that Prophecy was shewed to Alexander the great in his advance towards Jerusalem 150. years before Antiochus New Testament Hebrews was rejected by the Latine Church because the Authour was unknown and because of some passages especially seeming to favour the Novatian herefie I answer 1. It is not the name of an authour which gives credit to his Writings but that character of his person which is drawn from his abilities and integrity Now these were never doubted of in that Authour 2. Those passages are very well to be understood otherwise then in favour of the Novatians 3. It was ever received in the Greek Church and recited amongst the Canonicall Books by the Councels of Nice Laodicea and Carthage 4. If we are to beleeve the Western Church had grounds to doubt of the credit of it at such time as it did not admit it we may as well beleeve that that Church had reasons which satisfied them of the authority of it at such time as they did receive it The Epistles of Saint James 2d of St Peter the second and third of St John Jude Revelations have all of them been doubted of for some time by some parties whether or no they were indeed written by those authours under whose names they are now received but though they were some time doubted by some they were alwaies received by others and those Churches which did refuse them so long as they were unsatisfied are to be supposed to have been satisfied when they did receive them and so we ought to give as great if not greater cedit to them then to such others as had not been questioned inasmuch as that which hath been deliberated and debated and then decided is to be credited as well as that which silently hath passed on unquestioned And now I have with brevity as I suppose congruous to such an Essay as I intended made evident the last assertion which I undertook That to disbeleeve either the whole body of Scripture or any part of it there is no reason or not any sufficient reason {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Eternity Necessity Simplicity Independency Incorporeality Immensity Unity Omnipotence Omniscience
undertaken that whosoever beleeves the Historicall part of the Scripture must beleeve the Doctrinall p. 81. SECT. III. The kinds and degrees of the causes of Historicall Faith in generall p. 89. SECT. IV. An Application of those generall grounds to the History of the New Testament and a proof of this Assertion That there is as great reason to beleeve the New Testament as to beleeve any other History in the World p. 97. SECT. V. That there is much greater reason to beleeve the History of the New Testament then any other History p. 206. SECT. VI That the Old Testament is the Word of God A Proposall of three severall assertions whereby it is concluded p. 119. SECT. VII The first Assertion proved That the Books of the Old Testament which we now receive are the same which the Jews doe now receive p. 124. SECT. VIII That the Books which the Jews doe now receive are the same which they have received ever since the Consignation of their Canon p. 128. SECT. IX That in our Saviours time these Books were true and consequently were the Word of God p. 135. SECT. X. That there is no reason to disbeleeve the Scriptures Objections briefly proposed and answered first generall Objections against the whole p. 138. SECT. XI Objections against particular parts briefly proposed and answered p. 149. PART I. Preface SECT. I. ALthough I am not without apprehension that the discourse which I design may be prejudged unprofitable as pretending to lay again that foundation which hath long since been layed in the mindes of all that will be readers of it yet when I consider those scandals which the loosenesse of our times have offered even to the religious and the bold and horrid pride and presumption of Atheists and Epicures which by a prophane and confident asserting the uncertainty of all things undervaluing the abilities of our Natures to raise an opinion of their personall excellencies have laboured to introduce into the world a generall Athiesm or at least a doubtfull Scepticism in matters of Religion And when we consider the nature of our mindes which is upon any ill suggestions apt still to receive some impression those things being of like operation with Calumny which if it be confidently and boldly charged will be sure to leave some scarre behinde it When we observe this use and inclination in our selves which is in things where we have not a belief of what is spoken or do not give perfect credit to an accusation yet to admit of a suspicion that things may be as they are spoken and although the strength of our contrary beleef do keep us from a full assenting to the thing in question yet if it happen that the things concern our selves and we have happened to crosse our opinions or our beleef in our way of practise such is the perversenesse of our hearts that in such cases they will make use of the beleef of others especially if they have the reputation of knowing men to oppose against their own belief and interpose betwixt the lashes of their consciences and themselves I say the present condition of Religion and the corrupted nature of our hearts being such I cannot think it uselesse nay not unnecessary to raise a discourse of Religion even from the common Elements and Fundamentals and for a while neglecting the more knowing party of men to undertake so far as the argument will bear to follow the way of demonstration and leade on the weakest from such things as they themselves cannot deny to the acknowledgement of the mysteries of our faith and to the practice of the laws and injunctions of our Religion SECT. II. Of the designe and definition of Religion the prejudices and pretences against the Christian the sum of what is in controversie deduced to three Questions 1. Of the Being of God Attributes 2. Of the Immortality of the souls of men 3. Of the Authority of Scriptures WE may begin with the consideration of the definition and the design of our selves in the matter of Religion however the practise of the world may contradict it I hope we may take this definition of Religion as one that is agreeable to the apprehension which all of us have of it Religion is a resignation of our selves to God with an expectation of reward The designe indeed of Religion however it ought to be meerly obedience to the pleasure and the will of God and height of it is barely terminated in his glory so that the highest act of it is Adoration yet I say the designe of mens Religion is that it may be well unto themselves and to bring them to an estate of happinesse The very definition of Religion supposeth a Godhead according to that of the Apostle He that cometh to God must believe that God is The very designe of it supposeth that both the party worshipping is capable of rewards and that God likewise doth not neglect his services in the following words of the Apostle that he is the rewarder of those that diligently seek him Again the resignation of our selves supposeth the resignation of our supreme faculties those are our understandings and our wils viz. our wils to an obedience to his will to a performance of his injunctions to a submission to his providence and a resignation likewise of our understandings to his truth Now it is agreeable to reason as well as to the Apostle that we cannot practise the will of God unlesse we know it and that we cannot know it unlesse it be discovered to us So then in our profession of Religion there are these supposals That there is a God and That he is a rewarder of those that seek him and that supposeth that they are capable of his way of rewarding That the diligence of our seeking must be exercised in a way conformable to his will and That to this purpose we want not rules for this conformity These are I say the generall suppositions of every Religion under Heaven You see that the being of Religion is in self-resignation but the end of that resignation it is reward still retaining in minde that caution that mercenarily to labour for reward is not the supream exaltation of Religious acts but that it is the ordinary degree of mens Religion and an allowable and commendable step and a degree unto the other it being the strong powerfull motive to Moses to neglect the momentany pleasures of Pharaohs Court because he had respect unto the recompense of reward I say it is the naturall way of reason in every act to look at some or other end and to undertake no labour without an eye upon reward Now so it is that some men who account themselves the wisest observing as they think the design and issue of Religion and comparing the labour and the wages they with much wisedome as they think conclude that all the businesse of gain which comes by Religion is no way worth the pain and labour They see that all things come
eternity So then whatsoever befals us here we shall conclude it requisite to provide that we be not miserable hereafter and consequently that we make our selves a friend of him that hath the issues of death in his power and moderates and dispenses the rewards of Eternity but there is no way to have him propitious to us but by obedience no reason to expect that he should satisfie our longing or fulfill our will to all Eternity unlesse we fulfill his will for our time of triall in this life and that is by the exercise of Religion only attainable So that the consideration of the Souls Immortality will likewise enforce us to a necessity of Religion Thus farre the common principles of naturall reason will force us even the first and most common principles of intelligence such as are grounds of clear evident and perfect demonstration so that it must be the Fool alone as the Psalmist speaks which can be an Atheist so that they are without excuse whoever glorifie him not as God thus farre those poor remains of sight which yet is left to the corrupted off-spring of our degenerate Parent will serve to leade us to the generall necessity of Religion but here indeed it Jeaves us destitute of the certain waies of pleasing God and consequently destitute of clear and solid grounds of hope of attaining to eternall happinesse And here it is that the Scoffers and irreligious men take occasion to reason themselves and others to destruction seeing that nature hath here deserted us and left us no infallible Rules of particular waies of devotion they contend that ther are none such and consequently that our Religion is vain and uncertain uncertain in the issue because uncertain in the grounds and principles And here now against them we pretend that wherein our naturall light hath failed us the mercy of God hath been pleased to supply us that God hath not left us without a certain rule and Canon of Religion not without a light shining to us in this dark place particularly that he hath given to us his holy Word to be a Light to our feet and a Lanthorn to our paths and that the books of the holy Scriptures are that Word of God PART III. Concerning the truth and Authority of our Scripture SECT. I. Petitions and Cautions premised to the question YOu will doe me the favour to consider that our present controversie is against those that deny the Authority of the holy Scriptures so that we cannot have the advantage of those Arguments which in every other controversie of Religion are the most valid I mean Arguments drawn from the Authority of the Scriptures themselves which is the best if not the only authentike rule of decision of such differences as doe arise such as doe indeed arise in the Church of God who all doe agree in a profession of that faith which is delivered in these holy Books this I say they agree upon in these generall tearms however with wonderfull heat and distance they vary in their judgements whether or no some particulars be of the recommendation of the Scripture It is then the common principle of Christians and the ultimate rule for the judgement of those that are within but as for them that are without the Church they ae likewise out of the jurisdiction of this Canon or Judge and to give over their incredulity or rather infidelity as some of our Divines have done with this ill-interpreted axiome for rejection that they deny our principles and so are not worthy to be disputed with or to referre them only to the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} of the Scriptures and to the spirit working with the reading and hearing of them it might be to prove a scandall to them without and to such as are weak and wavering within it were tacitely to imply that we have no way to gain the question unlesse our of courtesie the adversary be pleased to yeild it to us to resolve the motives of our Catholique Faith into private impulses and particular dictates of the Spirit arguments of very great credit and reputation due to our selves as particular favorites of the holy Spirit but such as being deserted by the tenor and regiment of our lives render us dishonourable to that holy Spirit whereto we pretend whilest in the apprehension of men we doe at least obliquely entitle it to such actions as are inconsistent with it professing we hold our faith by private revelation and consequently have our understandings taken up by the holy Ghost at such time as our wils are guilty of enormous sinnes A fancy that is the mother of diverse prodigies lately broken into the Church as that either God sees no sinne in beleevers that Murther Adultery Incest Sacrilege any thing may be committed and that these are no sinnes in beleevers arguing thus that they which have the holy Spirit are free from sinne such as do beleeve the Gospel they have the holy Spirit because there is no other motive sufficient besides a private illumination so then they cannot be guilty of sinne but yet they may and doe commit such things as those we mentioned wherefore those are no sinnes Thus doth Satan transform himself into an Angel of light and act his Tragedies in the likenesse of the holy Spirit Nay we say and doe beleeve that the Devils also beleeve and tremble that the Kingdome of Heaven is like a Net which drew to shore fishes of all sorts some to be put into vessels and others to be thrown away We say and doe acknowledge to the glory of God that the internall light of the holy Scriptures is sufficient to make the man of God perfect to salvation and that in some it is the means of generating faith in men but that the most of those beleevers who have the happinesse to be trained up from their infancy in any part of the Christian Church by observing the esteem which in their Church is had of those holy Bookes they doe betimes upon the reputation of their Church receive them with a kinde of veneration that upon this motive they receive the faith and that others doe upon other inducements entertain it and once for all we say that besides the secret and free illuminations of the holy Spirit these want not Arguments to enforce the reason of unbvassed men to entertain the Scripture as the Word of God and that all such as without the engagement of perverse affections shall admit those Arguments in their apprehensions must necessarily be of that belief Before I betake my self to the proof of this assertion I must premise that by the books of the holy Scripture I mean such books of the old and new Testament as in the Church of England have been accounted Canonicall and that I intend not here to take up the controversie which is betwixt the Church of Rome and us concerning the books which are Apocryphall the drift of my discourse being against those who beleeve
he will beleeve if he shall beleeve that a little before his birth a company of Angels appeared to Shepherds and told them of it that presently after it a starre appeared to wise men in the East and conducted them to the place of his Nativity that in his life time he did such works as never man did how he turned water into wine commanded the windes and the sea how he cured all manner of diseases with his Word how he gave sight to such as were born blindeâ— which was never known since the world began how he cured most obstinate diseases of long continuance meerly by the touching of his garment how he cast out devils from such as were possessed how he raised up the dead to life and every way demonstrated the power and presence of the God-head how at the time of his crucifixion the frame of Nature seemed to be dissolved how the vail of the Temple rent and the graves opened and many bodies of the dead which slept arose and came into the holy city and appeared to many how there was darknesse over all the earth the Sunne eclipsed at the time of the Jewish passeover when the Moon was at the full and lastly how after three daies he arose again appeared severall times to his Apostles gave them power to perform the miracles which he had done and visibly ascended up into heaven Whosoever doth beleeve these matters of fact must of necessity beleeve the doctrines which he beleeved unlesse he will accuse God of bearing false witnesse or own some such other detestable and odious incongruity You see then how the matters of fact being cleared and the historicall narrations being asserted to be true the doctrinall parts will follow of their owne accord and that if we can clear such things to have been performed by Moses and Jesus of Nazareth and that such doctrines were delivered by them it follows that those doctrines are true and are the Word of God SECT. III. The kindes and degrees of the causes of Historicall Faith in generall IT remains therefore that we make it appear that the sacred Histories are true and that no man pretending to reason can justly refuse to admit that principle into his beleef there being 1. The same reason to beleeve those Histories that there are to beleeve any Histories 2. More reason to beleeve them then any other First then Whosoever doth deliberate with himself about that question whether or no he should give credit to any History propounded can possibly finde no other considerations to sway his judgement then such as either are taken from the thing it self that is delivered or from the persons which have delivered the relation and from such qualifications of them as upon the grounds of reason he can discover if the matter it self doe involve a clear and evident contradiction to some naturall principles it is not the asseveration of all the men of the world that can work a beleif in the understanding it not being in the power of man to entertain a beleif contrary to his knowledge although it may produce in him a doubting whether or no he have not suffered any fallacy to be imposed upon him and so be wrought to runne over the matter again unto himself and follow it with strict and wary attention backwards and forwards in reference to his principles But if the thing it self be not incredible however difficult or strange it be that which then he doth consider is the qualities of the relators and the manner of the relation and there is not any improbability proceeding from the difficulty or the rarity of the accidents which may not be outweighed by the known disposition and properties of the Relators Those things which men doe consider in the Relators of things in order to yeelding of their belief they relate either to the of the Relators Understanding or Will and concern either their Sufficiency or Integrity Men usually consider whether or no the things be such as may be certainly and evidently known and whether these parties had sufficient means to come to the certain knowledge of them and whether they contain themselves in their relations within the bounds of things liable to certain knowledge thus then those things which may be certainly known they are the outward events of things whereas the secret causes may lie concealed the former are such as are the objects of common sence and come within the cognizance of all the later are such as are indiscoverable by any man they being oftentimes made up of a complexion of actions and dispositions of multitudes of men or things perfectly to be known onely of him that sees all things in speculo aeternitatis If the History or Relation containe it selfe within the bounds of evidence and certainty the next thing to be considered is whether or no the party that is Author of the Relation had sufficient meanes of knowledge whether himself were an eye or eare-witnesse of the things which he relates or whether the things were so publikely acted and knowne that he might certainely and particularly informe himselfe without any danger of deceit If the party be of known ability both in himself and in reference to the things the next question will be of his Integrity and whether there be sufficient reason to beleeve that he would not voluntarily deliver a falshood in stead of truth and because it is not reason to beleeve that men will lye unlesse they either be known to be corrupt or some end be visible of gain to them from their lying Men use to consider these things likewise before they settle upon beleef These are the grounds and considerations and inward discourses whereupon men doe proceed to the receiving of historicall beleef even of any relations whatsoever and accordingly as all of these conditions be clear or obscure doubtfull or certain such is the strength of his belief if all of them concurre there remains no reason at all of doubting if some of them fail there will follow a debility answerable in the belief seeing that the belief of the conclusion can never exceed the force and evidence of the premisses That there is or lately hath been such a City as Rome or Hierusalem or Paris there are none of us that doubt although we have not seen them because they are things very easily known as being the objects of the eyes because the reporters have been there to see them and because no end or reason can be imagined why or how men should combine to abuse those that have not travelled That there have been formerly such Cities as Corinth and Philippi and Lacedemon c. we make even as little doubt as of the former because the things in their nature are evidently to be known and they have all of them been mentioned in the Books of Polybius or Plutarch or a multitude of Historians that knew them That the History of Caesars warre against the Gaules is true though written by himself
it is beleeved because of his abilities to know and because it makes not things appear to be strained in his behalf because it might have been contradicted if it had been otherwise and because he is delivered to us in the complexion of Histories as a man of honour that would not write a lye That the Histories of Salust are true it is beleeved because he wrote of things done within the compasse of his time whereof he might well informe himself he was a man of knowledge and could not gain by any thing that he hath delivered if it were untrue That all of these Histories were written by those that bear the name of them there is hardly any man that doubts because there is no improbability in reason they have been constantly so received in the world and mentioned successively in Authors following one another from their severall generations down to ours We see the various degrees of qualifications some of them upon which we build an historicall beleif that this beleif comes short of the clearnesse of our assent to a Mathematicall demonstration is evident because there is an absolute impossibility that things should be otherwise there being a contradiction involved in the very tearms and in adjecto but here is no impossibility but only an exceeding difficulty which makes up not indeed a Mathematicall but a morall impossibility it is possible that all men may combine together to say that they have seen such things as they have not seen because every man is a lyar but how they should come to doe it or to what end is so invisible and inconceivable that the matter taken in the grosse is altogether incredible It is absolutely possibly that all those writings which we receive as delivered down from ancient times may have been of late devised by some men to abuse the world and put upon other names but to what end any men should ttke the pains and how they should fit them with circumstances and make them all depend upon each other in a constant succession agreeing in the mention of persons places and actions is a thing so difficult as that it would argue madnesse to beleeve and conclude him to want the use of reason that should reject the light of all antiquity SECT. IV. An Application of those generall grounds to the History of the New Testament and a proof of this Assertion ' That there is as great reason to beleeve the New Testament as to beleeve any other History in the world SUch madnesse then and no lesse it were to reject the Histories of the holy Scriptures no lesse madnesse nay it is much greater and that not only because they are of more concernment to us then the acts of men of former times but even because of the advantages of the delivery of those Histories We will beginne with those of the New Testament And here first The Books of the New Testament were written by those whose Names they bear that the four Gospels were written by the four Evangelists and that the Acts of the Apostles were written by Saint Luke c. Now that these Books were written by these men it is impossible affirmatively to demonstrate all that can be said is that there is as great evidence of it as of any other writing in the world that by whatsoever argument it can be made appear that any Books have been written by those who are reputed for their Authours in antiquity that the works of Homer or Plato or Aristotle or Tully are theirs by the same it may be made evident that these have proceeded from our Authours Have they been successively delivered so have these have they been continually mentioned under those names so have these have they been acknowledged by all parties so have these those that in the primitive times did oppose the doctrine of Christ yet did it not under the pretence that their Books were spurious neither Jews nor Pagans had the impudence to make that objection Julian the Apostate doth freely acknowledge Cyrill 10. Grot. 3. ver. that the Books which by the Christians were received under the names of Peter Paul Mathew Marke Luke they were the writings of those Authours It is true that there are some Book received of the Canon of the New Testament whose Authors are unknown as the Epistle to the Hebrews and some others but concerning them I hope to speake in answering those objections which are made against the Scripture In the mean time we may justly assume it for granted that those whereof no question hath been made in ancient times they are the writings of those to whom they are ascribed And now this being supposed which cannot with any pretence of reason be denied it follows clearly that the things they have related are to be beleeved for first the things which they have delivered they were matters easily to be known in respect of the things themselves they were matters of fact and speeches performed by our Saviour or by themselves Secondly the acts were acted publiquely in the face of the world and the speeches which they deliver as spoken by others they were for the most part spoken publiquely either in the Synagogue or in the Temple or to the multitude somewhere gathered together on a mountain by the sea-side in publique places so as they might have easily been contradicted if they should have delivered a falsehood Thirdly the parties which have delivered them had all the opportunities in the world to know the truth of things they were things done either by themselves or within their owne sight or hearing for the greatest part or at least wise in the times and places where the reporters lived Mathew and John the two Evangelists which wrote the History of Christ they were two of his Disciples two that were intimately acquainted with his actions and his words more familiar with him then the rest the one was the disciple that Jesus loved and used to lean in his bosome as they lay at meat the other was usually taken with him when most of the rest were left behinde and hence it follows that they themselves were present at almost all the acts and speeches which they have delivered Marke and Luke the other two Evangelists they lived in the same territories at the same time where and when our blessed Saviour bestowed his conversation and moreover Saint Marke was as 't is very probable first a Disciple of Saint Paul who was miraculously chosen to deliver the doctrine of Christ Afterwards he was undoubtedly a disciple and companion of Saint Peter who was an Apostle of our Saviour did live familiarly together with him was present at almost all things which Marke hath written and besides whatever is delivered by Saint Marke is to be found in the writings of the Apostles Luke was an individuall companion of Paul and so he might learne of him such things as he delivered besides that he saith that he spoke with those that were eye-witnesses of the