would draw all men after him What do we say they for this man doth many Miracles if we let him thus alone all men will believe on him This they said upon occasion of the great Miracle of raising Lazarus from the Dead And in Reason Miracles are the highest Attestation that can be given to the Truth and Divinity of any Doctrine and supposing a Doctrine not to be plainly unworthy of God and contrary to those natural Notions which Men have of God and Religion we can have no greater Evidence of the truth of it than Miracles they are such an argument as in its own nature is apt to persuade and induce belief All Truths do not need Miracles some are of easy belief and are so clear by their own light that they need neither Miracle nor Demonstration to prove them Such are those self-evident Principles which Mankind do generally agree in others which are not so evident by their own light we are content to receive upon clear demonstration of them or very probable Arguments for them without a Miracle And there are some Truths which however they may be sufficiently obscure and uncertain to most Men yet are they so inconsiderable and of so small consequence as not to deserve the attestation of Miracles so that there is no reason to expect that God should interpose by a Miracle to convince Men of them Nec Deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit But for such Truths as are necessary to be known by us but are not sufficiently evident of themselves nor capable of cogent Evidence especially to prejudiced and interested Persons God is pleased in this Case many times to work Miracles for our Conviction and they are a proper Argument to convince us of a thing that is either in it self obscure and hard to be believed or which we are prejudiced against and hardly brought to believe for they are an Argument à Majori ad Minus they prove a thing which is obscure and hard to be believed by something that is more incredible which yet they cannot deny because they see it done Thus our Saviour proves himself to be an extraordinary Person by doing such things as never man did he convinceth them that they ought to believe what he said because they saw him do those things which were harder to be believed if one had not seen them than what he said Miracles are indeed the greatest external confirmation and evidence that can be given to the truth of any Doctrine and where they are wrought with all the advantages they are capable of they are an unquestionable demonstration of the truth of it and such were our Saviour's Miracles here in the Text to prove that he was the true Messias here are Miracles of all kinds the blind receive their sight and the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead are raised up For the nature of them they are such as are most likely to be Divine and to come from God for they were healing and beneficial to Mankind Our Saviour here instanceth in those things which are of greatest benefit and advantage and which free Men from the greatest miseries and inconveniencies the restoring of sight to the Blind and hearing to the Deaf soundness and health to the Lame and the Leprous and life to the Dead And then for the number of them they were many not one instance of a kind but several of every kind and great multitudes of most of them and for the manner of their operation they were publick in the sight and view of great multitudes of People to free them from all suspicion of fraud and imposture they were not wrought privately and in corners and given out and noised abroad but before all the People so that every one might see them and judge of them not only among his own Disciples and Followers as the Church of Rome pretends to work theirs but among his Enemies to convince those that did not believe and this not done once and in one place but at several times and in all places where he came and for a long time for three years and a half and after his death he endowed his Disciples and Followers with the same power which lasted for some Ages And then for the quality of them they were Miracles of the greatest magnitude those of them which in themselves might have been performed by natural means as healing the Lame and the Leprous and the Deaf he did in a miraculous manner by a word or a touch yea and many times at a great distance But others were not only in the manner of their operation but in the nature of the thing unquestionably miraculous as giving of sight to those that had been born blind and raising up the dead to life as Lazarus after he had lain in the grave four days and himself afterwards the third day after he had been buried which if there ever was or can be any unquestionable Miracles in the World ought certainly to be reputed such So that our blessed Saviour had all the Attestation that Miracles can give that he came from God And this is the first Evidence of his being the Messias The Jews acknowledge that the Messias when he comes shall work great Miracles and their own Talmud confesseth that Jesus the Son of Joseph and Mary did work great Miracles and the History of the Gospel does particularly relate more and greater Miracles wrought by him than by Moses and all the Prophets that had been since the World began so that we may still put the same question to the Jews which they did in our Saviour's time to one another when Christ cometh when the Messias whom ye expect comes will he do more Miracles than these which this Man hath done But Secondly this will yet more clearly appear by the correspondency of the things here mentioned with what was foretold by the Prophets concerning the Messias Not to mention innumerable Circumstances of his Birth and Life and Death and Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven together with the success and prevalency of his Doctrine in the World all which are punctually foretold by some or other of the Prophets I shall confine my self to the particulars here in the Text. First It was foretold of the Messias that he should work miraculous Cures Isa 35.4 5 6. speaking of the Messias he will come and save you then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopp'd then shall the lame man leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb sing this you see was fulfilled here in the Text. 'T is true indeed the Text mentions another Miracle which is not in the Prophet that he raised the dead but if God did more than he promised and foretold this is no prejudice to the argument if all that he foretold was accomplish'd in him Besides the Jews have a Proverb that God is not content to perform
Angel tells the Virgin Mary that the Holy Ghost should come upon her and the Power of the Highest should overshadow her and therefore that Holy Thing which should be born of her should be call'd the Son of God And this our Saviour means by the Father's sanctifying him and sending him into the World For which Reason he says he might justly call himself the Son of God John 10.35 36. If he call them Gods unto whom the word of God came and the Scripture cannot be broken Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the World Thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God If there had been no other Reason this had been sufficient to have given him the Title of the Son of God that he was brought into the World by the Sanctification or Divine Power of the Holy Ghost 2. Christ is also said in Scripture to be the Son of God and to be declared to be so upon Account of his Resurrection from the Dead by the Power of the Holy Ghost His Resurrection from the Dead is here in the Text ascribed to the Spirit of Holiness or the Holy Ghost And so in other places of Scripture Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you And 1 Pet. 3.18 Being put to Death in the Flesh but quickned by the Spirit that is he suffer'd in that frail mortal Nature which he assumed but was raised again by the Power of the Holy Ghost of the Spirit of God which resided in him And upon this Account he is expresly said in Scripture to be the Son of God Psal 2.7 I will declare the decree The Lord hath said unto me Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee to which perhaps the Apostle alludes here in the Text when he says that Christ was decreed to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the Dead To be sure these Words This day have I begotten thee St. Paul expresly tells us were accomplish'd in the Resurrection of Christ as if God by raising him from the Dead had begotten him and decreed him to be his Son Acts 13.32 33. And we declare unto you glad Tidings how that the Promise which was made unto the Fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto 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 He was the Son of God before as he was conceived by the Holy Ghost but this was secret and invisible and known only to the Mother of our Lord And therefore God thought fit to give a publick and visible demonstration of it so as to put the matter out of all question he declared him in a powerful manner to be his Son by giving him a new Life after Death by raising him from the Dead and by this new and eminent Testimony given to him declared him again to be his Son and confirmed the Title which was given him before upon a true but more secret Account of his being conceived by the Holy Ghost And as our Saviour is said to be the Son of God upon this twofold Account of his Conception by the Holy Ghost and his Resurrection to Life by the Spirit of God So the Scripture which does solicitously pursue a Resemblance and Conformity between Christ and Christians does likewise upon a twofold Account answerable to our Saviour's Birth and Resurrection call true Believers and Christians the Children of God viz. Upon Account of their Regeneration or new Birth by the Operation of the Spirit of God and upon Account of their Resurrection to Eternal Life by the Power of the same Spirit Upon account of our Regeneration and becoming Christians by the Power and Operation of the Holy Spirit of God upon our Minds we are said to be the Children of God as being regenerated and born again by the Holy Spirit of God And this is our first Adoption And for this Reason the Spirit of God conferred upon Christians at their Baptism and dwelling and residing in them afterwards is call'd the Spirit of Adoption Rom. 8.15 Ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby you cry Abba Father And Gal. 4.5 6. Believers are said to receive the Adoption of Sons God having sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their Hearts crying Abba Father That is all Christians for as much as they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God and have the Spirit of God dwelling in them may with Confidence call God Father and look upon themselves as his Children So the Apostle tells us Rom. 8.14 That as many as are led or acted by the Spirit of God are the sons of God But though we are said to be Children of God upon account of our Regeneration and the Holy Spirit of God dwelling and residing in Christians yet we are eminently so upon account of our Resurrection to Eternal Life by the mighty Power of God's Spirit This is our final Adoption and the Consummation of it and therefore Rom. 8.21 this is called the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God because by this we are for ever deliver'd from the Bondage of Corruption and by way of Eminency the Adoption viz. the Redemption of our Bodies We are indeed the Sons of God before upon account of the regenerating and sanctifying Virtue of the Holy Ghost but finally and chiefly upon account of our Resurrection by the power of the Divine Spirit So St. John tells us that then we shall be declared to be the Sons of God after another manner than we are now 1 Jo. 3.1 Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God Now we are the Sons of God that is our Adoption is begun in our Regeneration and Sanctification but it doth not yet appear what we shall be we shall be much more eminently so at the Resurrection We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him But the most express and remarkable Text to this Purpose is Luke 20.36 where good Men after the Resurrection are for this Reason said to be the Children of God because they are the Children of the Resurrection But they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that World and the Resurrection from the Dead neither marry nor are given in Marriage neither can they die any more for they are equal to the Angels and are the Children of God being the Children of the Resurrection For this Reason they are said to be the Children of God because they are raised by him to a new Life and to be made Partakers of that which is promised to them and reserved for them For all that are raised by the Power of God out of the Dust of the Earth are not therefore the Children of God but only they that have part in the blessed Resurrection to Eternal Life and do inherit the Kingdom prepared for
them Not those who are raised to a perpetual Death and the Resurrection of Condemnation These are not the Children of God but the Children of Wrath and the Children of Perdition But the Resurrection of the Just is the full and final Declaration that we are the Children of God not only because we are restored to a new Life but because at the Resurrection we are admitted to the full Possession of that blessed Inheritance which is purchased for us and promised to us And the Spirit of God which is conferred upon Believers in their Regeneration and afterwards dwells and resides in them is the Pledge and earnest of our final Adoption by our Resurrection to Eternal Life and upon this account and no other is said to be the Earnest of our future Inheritance and the Seal and Confirmation of it Eph. 1.13 In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of Promise which is the earnest of our Inheritance until the redemption of the purchased Possession that is the Holy Spirit of God which Christians were made Partakers of upon their sincere Belief of the Christian Religion is the Seal and Earnest of our Resurrection to Eternal Life as the Apostle plainly tells us in that remarkable Text Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you I have been the longer upon this because it serves fully to explain to us those obscure Phrases of the Seal and Earnest and first Fruits of the Spirit which many have mistaken to import some particular and spiritual Revelation or Impression upon the Minds of good Men assuring them of their Salvation Whereas the Apostle intended no more by them but that the Spirit of God which dwells in Believers enabling them to mortifie the deeds of the Flesh and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit is a Pledge and Earnest to us of a blessed Resurrection to eternal Life by the Power of the Spirit of God which now dwells in us and is the same Spirit which raised up Jesus from the dead And in this Chapter the Spirit of God is said v. 16. To bear witness to our Spirits that is to assure our Minds that we are the Children of God that is that we are his Children now and consequently Heirs of a glorious Resurrection to Eternal Life For so it follows in the next Words and if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joint Heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together And this being glorified together with Christ at the Resurrection he calls v. 19. the manifestation of the Sons of God Thus you see how in Conformity to the Son of God our elder Brother we are said to be the Sons of God because we are now regenerated and shall at the last day be raised up to Eternal Life by the Power of the Spirit of God I proceed to the Second Thing I propounded to speak to for the clearing of these words namely in what Sense Christ is said to be declared or Demonstrated to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the dead By which the Apostle means these two things 1. That by his Resurrection from the dead he was approved by God to be the true Messias and vindicated to the World from all Suspicion of being a Deceiver and Impostor And consequently in the 2. Place That hereby God gave Testimony to the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine 1. By his Resurrection from the dead he was approved by God to be the True Messias foretold by the Prophets and expected at that time by the Jews and sufficiently vindicated to the World to be no Deceiver and Impostor And for our fuller Understanding of this we are to consider these two Things 1. What the Apprehensions and Expectations of the Jews were concerning the Messias And 2. What the many Crimes were which they laid to our Saviour's charge and for which they condemned him 1. What the Apprehensions and Expectations of the Jews were concerning the Messias And it is very plain from the Evangelical History that they generally apprehended these two things of him That the Messias was to be the Son of God and the King of Israel and therefore that our Saviour by affirming himself to be the Messias did call himself the Son of God and the King of Israel John 1.41 Andrew tells his Brother Simon We have found the Messias V. 45. Philip tells Nathanael We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write that is the Messias V. 49. Nathanael upon Discourse with our Saviour being convinced that he was the Messias owns him in these Terms Rabbi thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel John 6.69 Peter declares his Belief that he was the Christ or the Messias in these Words We believe and are sure that thou art the Son of the living God This appears likewise from the High-Priest's Question to him Matth. 26.63 Art thou the Christ that is the Messias the Son of the living God or as it is in St. Mark the Son of the Blessed compared with Pilate's Question Art thou the King of the Jews And when he was upon the Cross some reviled him under the Notion of the Son of God Matth. 27.40 If thou be the Son of God come down from the Cross Others under the Notion of the King of Israel v. 42. If he be the King of Israel let him come down from the Cross From all which it is plain that the Jews expected and believed that the true Messias was to be the Son of God and the King of Israel and whoever was not so was a Deceiver and Impostor But our Saviour affirmed himself to be true Messias and the Son of God Now God by raising him from the dead did abundantly vindicate him to the World from all suspicion of Imposture and gave Testimony to him that he was all that he said of himself viz. the true Messias and the Son of God Which will further appear if we consider 2 dly What were the Crimes which the Jews laid to our Saviour's Charge and for which they condemned him and they were mainly these two That by giving himself out to be the Messias he made himself King of Israel and the Son of God Of the first of these they accused him to Pilate hoping by this Accusation to make him guilty of Sedition against the Roman Government for saying that he was the King of Israel Of the other they accused him to the Chief Priests as being guilty of Blasphemy in that not being the Messias he call'd himself the Son of God And upon this they laid the main stress as being a thing that would condemn him by their Law They charged him with this in his life-time as appears by those Words of
our Saviour John 10.36 Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the World Thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God And when he was arraigned before the Chief Priests they accused him of this and he owning this Charge that he call'd himself the Son of God upon this they judge him guilty of Death Matth. 26.65 66. Then the High-Priest rent his Cloaths and said He hath spoken Blasphemy what further need have we of witness Behold now ye have heard his Blasphemy What think ye They answered He is guilty of Death And when Pilate told them that he found no Fault in him they still instance in this as his Crime John 19.7 We have a Law and by our Law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God Now this being the Crime which was charged upon him and for which he was crucified and put to Death God by raising him up from the dead and taking him up into Heaven gave Testimony to him that he was no Impostor and that he did not vainly arrogate to himself to be the Messias and the Son of God God by raising him from the dead by the Power of the Holy Ghost gave a mighty Demonstration to him that he was the Son of God For which Reason he is said by the Apostle 1 Tim. 3.16 to be justified by the Spirit The Spirit gave Testimony to him at his Baptism and by the mighty Works that appeared in him in his Life-time but he was most eminently and remarkably justified by the Holy Ghost by his Resurrection from the Dead God hereby bearing him Witness that he was unjustly condemned and that he assumed nothing to himself but what of right did belong to him when he said he was the Messias and the Son of God For how could a Man that was condemned to dye for calling himself the Son of God be more remarkably vindicated and more clearly proved to be so than by being raised from the dead by the Power of God And 2 dly God did consequently hereby give Testimony to the Truth and Divinity of our Saviour's Doctrine Being proved by his Resurrection to be the Son of God this proved him to be a Teacher sent by him and that what he declared to the World was the Mind and Will of God For this none was more likely to know and to report truly to Mankind than the Son of God who came from the Bosom of his Father And because the Resurrection of Christ is so great a Testimony to the Truth of his Doctrine hence it is that St. Paul tells us that the belief of this one Article of Christ's Resurrection is sufficient to a Man's Salvation Rom. 10.9 If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy Heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved The Reason is plain because the Resurrection of Christ confirmed the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine so that the belief of our Saviour's Resurrection does by necessary Consequence infer the belief of his whole Doctrine That God raised him from the dead after he was condemned and put to Death for calling himself the Son of God is a demonstration that he really was the Son of God and if he was the Son of God the Doctrine which he taught was true and from God And thus I have shewn you how the Resurrection of Christ from the dead is a powerful Demonstration that he was the Son of God All that remains is briefly to draw some practical Inferences from the Consideration of our Saviour's Resurrection 1 st To confirm and establish our Minds in the belief of the Christian Religion of which the Resurrection of Christ from the dead is so great a Confirmation And therefore I told you that this one Article is mentioned by St. Paul as the Sum and Abridgment of the Christian Faith If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the Dead thou shalt be saved The belief of our Saviour's Resurrection doth by necessary consequence infer the belief of his whole Doctrine for he who believes that God raised him from the dead after he was put to death for calling himself the Son of God cannot but believe him to be the Son of God and consequently that the Doctrine which he delivered was from God 2 dly The Resurrection of Christ from the dead assures us of a future Judgment and of the Recompences and Rewards of another World That Christ was raised from the dead is a demonstration of another Life after this and no man that believes the immortality of our Souls and another Life after this ever doubted of a future Judgment so that by the Resurrection of Christ from the dead God hath given assurance unto all men of a future Judgment and consequently of the Recompences and Rewards of another World The consideration whereof ought to have a mighty influence upon us more especially to these three purposes 1 st To raise our minds above the present Enjoyments of this Life Were but men convinced of this great and obvious Truth that there is an infinite difference between Time and Eternity between a few days and everlasting Ages would we but sometimes represent to our selves what thoughts and apprehensions dying Men have of this World how vain and empty a thing it appears to them how like a Pageant and Shadow it looks as it passeth away from them methinks none of these things could be a sufficient temptation to any Man to forget God and his Soul but notwithstanding all the present delights and allurements of Sense we should be strongly intent upon the concernments of another World and almost wholly taken up with the thoughts of the vast Eternity which we are ready to enter into For what is there in this World this vast and howling Wilderness this rude and barbarous Country which we are but to pass through which should detain and entangle our Affections and take off our Thoughts from our Everlasting Habitation from that better and that heavenly Country where we hope to live and to be happy for ever 2 dly The Consideration of the Rewards of another World should comfort and support us under the troubles and afflictions of this World The hopes of a blessed Resurrection are a very proper Consideration to bear us up under the evils and pressures of this Life If we hope for so great a Happiness hereafter we may be contented to bear some Afflictions in this World because the Blessedness which we expect will so abundantly recompence and outweigh our present Sufferings So the Apostle assures us Rom. 8.18 We know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us The consideration whereof was that which made the Primitive Christians to triumph in their Sufferings and in the midst of all their Tribulations
he ever liveth to make intercession for us By these Qualifications our High Priest is described in this Epistle and by these he is every way suited to all our Defects and Infirmities all our Wants and Necessities to instruct our Ignorance by his Doctrine and to lead us in the Path of Righteousness by his most Holy and most Exemplary Life to expiate the guilt of our Sins by his Death and to procure Grace and Assistance for us by his prevalent Intercession on our behalf By all these ways and in all these respects he is said to be the Author of eternal Salvation 1 st By the Holiness and Purity of his Doctrine whereby we are perfectly instructed in the Will of God and our Duty and powerfully excited and perswaded to the practice of it The Rules and Directions of a Holy Life were very obscure before and the Motives and Encouragements to Virtue but weak and ineffectual in comparison of what they are now render'd by the Revelation of the Gospel The general corruption of Mankind and the vicious Practice of the World had in a great measure blurr'd and defac'd the Natural Law so that the Heathen World for many Ages had but a very dark and doubtful knowledge of their Duty especially as to several instances of it The Custom of several Vices had so prevail'd among Mankind as almost quite to extinguish the natural Sense of their Evil and Deformity And the Jews who injoy'd a considerable degree of Divine Revelation had no strict regard to the Morality of their Actions and contenting themselves with some kind of outward Conformity to the bare Letter of the Ten Commandments were almost wholly taken up with little Ceremonies and Observances in which they placed the main of their Religion almost wholly neglecting the greater Duties and weightier matters of the Law And therefore our Blessed Saviour to free Mankind from these wandrings and uncertainties about the Will of God revealed the Moral Law and explained the full force and meaning of it clearing all doubts and supplying all the defects of it by a more particular and explicite Declaration of the several parts of our Duty and by Precepts of greater Perfection than the World was sufficiently acquainted withal before of greater Humility and more Universal Charity of abstaining from Revenge and forgiving Injuries and returning to our Enemies Good for Evil and Love for ill-will and Blessings and Prayers for Curses and Persecutions These Virtues indeed were sometimes and yet but very rarely recommended before in the Counsels of wise Men but either not in that degree of Perfection or not under that degree of Necessity and as having the force of Laws and laying an universal obligation of indispensable Duty upon all Mankind And as our blessed Saviour hath given a greater clearness and Certainty and Perfection to the rule of our Duty so he hath reveal'd and brought into a clearer Light more powerful Motives and Encouragements to the constant and careful Practice of it for Life and Immortality are brought to light by the Gospel the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead being a plain and convincing Demonstration of the Immortality of our Souls and another Life after this and an Evidence to us both of his Power and of the fidelity of his promise to raise us from the Dead Not but that Mankind had some obscure Apprehensions of these things before Good Men had always good hopes of another Life and future Rewards in another World and the worst of Men were not without some fears of the Judgment and Vengeance of another World but Men had disputed themselves into great doubts and uncertainties about these things and as Men that are in doubt are almost indifferent which way they go so the uncertain apprehensions which Men had of a future State and of the Rewards and Punishments of another World had but a very faint influence upon the Minds of Men and wanted that pressing and determining force to Virtue and a good Life which a firm Belief and clear Conviction of these things would have infused into them But now the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ hath scatter'd all these Clouds and chased away that gross Darkness which hid the other World from our sight and hath removed all doubts concerning the Immortality of Mens Souls and their future State and now the Kingdom of Heaven with all its Treasures of Life and Happiness and Glory lies open to our view and Hell is also naked before us and destruction hath no covering So that the hopes and fears of Men are now perfectly awakened and all sorts of Considerations that may serve to quicken and encourage our Obedience and to deter and affright Men from a wicked Life are exposed to the view of all Men and do stare every Man's Conscience in the face And this is that which renders the Gospel so admirable and powerful an Instrument for the reforming of Mankind and as the Apostle calls it the mighty power of God unto Salvation because therein Life and Immortality are set before us as the certain and glorious Reward of our Obedience and therein also the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men So that considering the perfection of our Rule and the powerful enforcements of it upon the Consciences of Men by the clear discovery and firm assurance of the Eternal Recompence of another World nothing can be imagined better suited to its end than the Doctrine of the Gospel is to make Men wise and holy and good unto Salvation both by instructing them perfectly in their Duty and urging them powerfully to the practice of it 2 dly The Example of our Saviour's life is likewise another excellent Means to this End The Law lays an Obligation upon us but a Pattern gives life and encouragement and renders our Duty more easie and practicable and familiar to us for here we see obedience to the Divine Law practiced in our own Nature and performed by a Man like our selves in all things like unto us Sin only excepted 'T is true indeed this exception makes a great difference and seems to take off very much from the encouraging Force and Virtue of this Example No wonder if he that was without Sin and was God as well as Man performed all Righteousness and therefore where is the encouragement of this Example That our Nature pure and uncorrupted supported and assisted by the Divinity to which it was united should be perfectly confomed to the Law of God as it is no strange thing so neither doth it seem to have that force and encouragement in it which an Example more suited to our weakness might have had But then this cannot be deny'd that it hath the advantage of perfection which a Pattern ought to have and to which though we can never attain yet we may always be aspiring towards it and certainly we cannot better learn how God would have Men to live than by seeing how God
barely what he promiseth but he usually doth something over and above his promise That the Messias should heal the blind and the deaf and the lame Isaiah Prophesied and God makes good this Promise and Prediction to the full the Messias did not only do these but which is more and greater than any of these he raised the dead to life Secondly It was likewise foretold of the Messias that he should preach the Gospel to the poor Isa 61.1 the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to preach the Gospel or good tidings to the Poor so the LXX render the words and they are the very words used by our Saviour here in the Text. 'T is true indeed this was no Miracle but it was the punctual accomplishment of a Prophecy concerning the Messias and consequently an evidence that he was the Messias But besides it had something in it which was very strange to the Jews and very different from the way of their Doctors and Teachers For the Rabbies among the Jews would scarce instruct any but for great Reward they would meddle with none but those that were able to requite their pains The ordinary and poorer sort of People they had in great contempt as appears by that slighting expression of them John 7.48 49. Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him but this People who knoweth not the Law are cursed And Grotius upon this Text tells us that the Jewish Masters had this foolish and insolent Proverb among them that the Spirit of God doth not rest but upon a rich man to which this Prediction concerning the Messias was a direct contradiction The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the Poor In old time the Prophets were especially sent to the Kings and Princes of the People but this great Prophet comes to preach the Gospel to the Poor None have so little reason to be proud as the Sons of Men but never was any so humble as the Son of God our Saviour's whole Life and Doctrine was a contradiction to the false Opinions of the world they thought the rich and great men of the World the only happy persons but he came to preach glad tidings to the Poor to bring good news to them whom the great Doctors of the Law despised and set at nought and therefore to confound their pride and folly and to confute their false Opinions of things he begins that excellent Sermon of his with this Saying Blessed are the Poor for theirs is the Kingdom of God Thirdly It was foretold of the Messias that the World should be offended at him Isa 8.14 He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel And Isa 53.1 2 3. Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed he hath no form nor comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected of men and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not and this likewise is intimated in the last words of the Text and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me Intimating that notwithstanding the great works that he did among them which testified of him that he came from God notwithstanding the Predictions of their Prophets concerning the Messias were so clearly and punctually accomplish'd in him yet notwithstanding all this they would take offence at him upon one account or other and reject him and his Doctrine but even this that they rejected him and would not own him for their Messias was another Sign and Evidence that he was the true Messias foretold by the Prophets for among other things this was expresly Predicted concerning him that he should be despised and rejected of men And thus I have done with the First thing I propounded to speak to namely the Evidence which our Saviour here gives of his being the true Messias First The many and great Miracles which he wrought prove that he came from God And Secondly The correspondence of the things he did with what was foretold by the Prophets concerning the Messias declare him to be the true Messias I now proceed to the next thing I propounded to speak to namely Secondly An Intimation in the Text that notwithstanding all the Evidence Christ gave of himself yet many would be offended at him and reject him and his Doctrine In speaking to which it will be very proper to consider First How the Poor came to be more disposed to receive the Gospel than others Secondly What those Prejudices are which the World had against our Saviour and his Religion at its first appearance as also those which men have at this day against the Christian Religion and to endeavour to shew the unreasonableness of them Thirdly How happy a thing it is to escape and overcome the common Prejudices which Men have against Religion First How the Poor came to be more disposed to receive the Gospel than others the Poor have the Gospel preached unto them Which does not only signify that our Saviour did more especially apply himself to them but likewise that they were in a nearer disposition to receive it and did of all others give the most ready entertainment to his Doctrine And this our Saviour declares to us in the beginning of his Sermon upon the Mount when he pronounceth the Poor blessed upon this account because they were nearer to the Kingdom of God than others Blessed are the Poor for theirs is the Kingdom of God So likewise St. James Chap. 2. v. 5. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him So that it seems the Poor were upon some account or other in a nearer disposition to receive the Gospel than the Great and Rich Men of this World And of this there are three Accounts to be given First The Poor had no Earthly interest to engage them to reject our Saviour and his Doctrine The High-Priests and Scribes and Pharisees among the Jews they had a plain worldly Interest which did engage them to oppose our Saviour and his Doctrine for if he were received for the Messias and his Doctrine embraced they must of necessity lose their Sway and Authority among the People and all that which rendred them so considerable their pretended skill in the Law and in the Traditions and Observances of their Fathers together with their external shews of Piety and Devotion would signify nothing if our Saviour and his Doctrine should take place And there are very few so honest and sincere as to be content for truth's sake to part with their Reputation and Authority and to become less in the esteem of men than they were
and gave Testimony to themselves by Miracles yet at present I desire no more but that they be looked upon as knowing and honest Relators of what they heard and saw and that the same Credit be given to them which we give to Livy and Arian and Q. Curtius for plain Events and matters of Fact But yet I must add withal that besides the Miracles which they wrought they gave greater Testimony of their Integrity than any Historian in the World ever did For they willingly suffer'd the greatest Persecution and Torment yea and Death it self in Confirmation of the Truth of what they deliver'd And for the propagating of the Christian Religion through so great a part of the World it is evident by the Effect beyond all Denial So that for the matters of Fact upon which the Truth of Christianity does depend here is greater and more advantagious Evidence of History than for any other Matter of equal Antiquity whatsoever 3. As to the substance of these matters of Fact we have the concurring Testimony of the greatest Enemies of the Christian Religion That there were such Persons as our Saviour and his Apostles that they preached such a Doctrine that they wrought such Miracles for this we have the Acknowledgment of the Jews and the Testimony of the Heathen Historians and particularly of Celsus and Porphyry and Julian who were the particular and most learned Adversaries of the Christian Religion So that as to the Matters of Fact there is no Objection against them whatever use we may make of them or whatever Consequences we may draw from them And I presume it agreed by all Objectors that if these matters of Fact be true they are a sufficient Foundation of the Truth of our Religion and we are very unequal to our Religion if we make a doubt of these things which the greatest Enemies of Christianity never had the Face to deny 4. And besides all this to recompence the Disadvantage which we have of those who saw the Miracles of our Saviour and his Apostles we have the Testimonium rei the Evidence of the Effects of these things to confirm our Belief of them and this is an Advantage which the first Ages of Christianity could not have We see our Saviour's Predictions of the Success of his Religion in the World in the propagating and establishing of it fully accomplisht notwithstanding the fierce Opposition and Resistance that was made against it by the greatest Powers of the World We see the Dispersion of the Jews in all Nations and the Misery and Contempt which they every where suffer and that now for above Sixteen Hundred Years they have continued a distinct People and a Spectacle of the Divine Justice and Severity for rejecting and crucifying the Son of God and for a lasting and standing Testimony of the Truth of our Saviour's Prediction and of the Christian Religion So that though we live at this distance from the first rise and beginning of Christianity yet we have the Relation of those Things which give Confirmation to it conveyed down to us in as credible a manner as any ancient matter of Fact ever was and the Effects of things remaining to this day do give Testimony to the Truth of it Fourthly It is objected that the terms of Christianity seem very hard and to lay too great restraints upon Human Nature It commands us to mortify our Lusts and subdue our Passions and deny Vngodliness and to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present World to be holy in all manner of Conversation to have respect to whatever things are honest and true and just and virtuous and of good report and to deny our selves and to part with the dearest Enjoyments of this Life yea and with Life it self for the sake of Christ and his Gospel Now these seem to be very hard Terms to forego all the present Pleasures and Injoyments of this Life in hopes of a future Happiness which we are less assur'd of To this I answer 1. That this is a greater Objection against Religion in general than the Christian Religion For Natural Religion requires of us all the main Duties that Christianity does and gives us far less Assurance of the Reward of our Obedience Natural Religion requires Piety and Justice and Charity the due Government of our Appetites and Passions as well as Christianity does but does not discover to us the Rewards of another World by many Degrees so clearly as our Lord and Saviour who hath brought Life and Immortality to Light by the Gospel and by his Resurrection from the Dead and Ascension into Heaven hath given us full Assurance of another Life after this and of a glorious Immortality So that though we have not nor can have the Evidence of Sense for a Future State yet we have all the Rational Evidence for it that can be wisht or expected and much more than Men have for those Adventures of their Lives and Fortunes which they frequently make in this World and think themselves reasonable in so doing 2. The Restraints which Christianity lays upon Men are in the judgment of Mankind so far from being an Objection against it that they are highly to the Commendation of it Nay it were the greatest Objection that could be against our Religion if it did set us at Liberty from those Restraints What can be more to the credit of any Religion than to command Men to be just and charitable and peaceable And what more to the Advantage of the Professors of it And on the contrary what can reflect more upon any Religion than to indulge and allow Men in any Vice contrary to these It shews Men are glad to make any thing an Objection against Christianity when they lay hold of that which if it had been otherwise they would have made ten times more Clamour against it for the contrary 3. As for most of those Restraints which Christianity lays upon us they are of that Nature so much both for our Private and Publick Advantage that setting aside all Considerations of Religion and of the Rewards and Punishments of another Life they are really good for us and if God had not laid them upon us we ought in Reason in order to our Temporal Benefit and Advantage to have laid them upon our selves If there were no Religion I know Men would not have such strong and forcible Obligations to these Duties but yet I say though there were no Religion it were good for Men in order to Temporal Ends to their Health and Quiet and Reputation and Safety and in a word to the private and publick Prosperity of Mankind that Men should be temperate and chaste and just and peaceable and charitable and kind and obliging to one another rather than the contrary So that Religion does not create those Restraints arbitrarily but requires those things of us which our Reason and a regard to our own Advantage which the Necessity and Conveniency of the Things themselves without
do not love to handle these Points contentiously but this in my Apprehension does as much derogate from the Amplitude and Riches of God's Grace in the Gospel as any thing that can easily be said And therefore for the right stating and clearing of this Matter I shall endeavour to make out these Three Things 1. That we are not sufficient of our selves and by any power in us to perform the Condition of the Gospel 2. That the Grace of God is ready to enable and assist us to the Performance of these Conditions if we be not wanting to our selves 3. That what the Grace of God is ready to enable us to do if we be not wanting to our selves that may properly be said to be possible to us and in some sense in our Power 1. That we are not sufficient of our selves and by any Power in us to perform the Condition of the Gospel The Grace of God doth clearly appear in the whole business of our Salvation By Grace ye are saved says the Apostle and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God Faith is the Gift of God and so is Repentance It is God that works in us both to will and to do of his own goodness that is who both inclines and excites us to that which is good and enables us to do it Without me says Christ ye can do nothing And through Christ strengthning me saith St. Paul I am able to do all things all things which God requires of us and expects to be done by us in order to our Salvation Without the Grace of Christ we are without strength and are not sufficient of our selves as of our selves to think a good thought that is we are not sufficient of our selves to design or resolve upon any thing that is good but our sufficiency is of God The Depravation of our Nature hath brought a great Impotency and Disability upon us to that which is good and we have made our selves much weaker by evil Practice by the Power of evil Habits we are enslaved to our Lusts and sold under Sin So that if at any time we are convinced of our Duty and from that Conviction have an Inclination to that which is good evil is present to us When the Law of God gives us the knowledge of our Duty and stares our Consciences in the Face there is another Law in our Members warring against the Law of our Minds and bringing us into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in our Members Sin brings us under the Power of Satan and gives him dominion over us For his Servants ye are whom ye obey so that he rules and bears sway in us and we are led Captive by him at his pleasure Evil and vicious Habits are a kind of second Nature superinduced upon us which takes away our Power and Liberty to that which is good and renders it impossible to us to raise and rescue our selves so that we are Prisoners and Captives 'till the Son of God set us free and dead in Trespasses and Sins 'till he give us Life And therefore the Prophet represents the Recovery of our selves from the Bondage of Sin by such things as are naturally impossible to shew how great our Weakness and Impotency is Jer. 13.23 Can the Ethiopian cleanse his Skin or the Leopard his Spots Then may ye also do good who are accustomed to do evil And by how much stronger the Chains of our Sins are and the more unable we are to break loose from them by so much the greater and more evident is the necessity of the Divine Assistance and of the Power of God's Grace to knock off those Fetters and to rescue us from this Bondage and Slavery 2. The Grace of God is ready to assist and enable us to the Performance of these Conditions that is to Faith and Repentance and all the purposes of Obedience and a Holy Life if we be not wanting to our selves and do not reject or neglect to make use of that Grace which God offers us and is ready to afford to us in a very plentiful Manner And this is that which renders all the Mercies of the Gospel effectual if it be not our own Fault and wilful Neglect to the great End and Design of our Salvation and without this all the gracious offers of the Gospel would signify nothing at all to our Advantage And this likewise is that which renders the Unbelief and Impenitency and Disobedience of Men utterly inexcusable because nothing of all this does proceed from want of Power but of Will to do better And therefore this is so necessary an Encouragement to all the endeavours of Obedience and a good Life that Men should be assured of God's readiness to assist and help them in the doing of their duty that without this the revelation of the Gospel though never so clear would signify nothing to us all the Precepts and Directions for a good Life and the most vehement Persuasions and Exhortations to Obedience would have no Force and Life in them for what signifies it to direct the dead and speak to them that cannot hear and to persuade Men tho it were with all the earnestness in the World to those things which it is impossible for them to do Therefore our blessed Saviour when he had laid down and explained the Precepts of Holiness and Virtue in his Sermon upon the Mount to encourage them to what he had been directing and proposing to them he assures them that God is ready to afford his Grace and Assistance to all those that are sincerely desirous to do his Will and do earnestly implore his Grace and Assistance to that purpose Matth. 7.7 8 9 10 11. Ask saith he and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened So that if any man want the Grace and Assistance of God's holy Spirit it is his own fault it is either for want of seeking or for want of earnestness in asking for our Saviour expresly assures us that he denies it to none for every one that asketh receiveth And to give us a more lively and sensible Assurance of this he represents the care and kindness of God to Men by the Affections of earthly Parents to their Children who tho they be many times evil themselves yet are not wont to deny their Children necessary good things when they decently and dutifully beg them at their hands What Man is there of you whom if his Son ask Bread will he give him a Stone Or if he ask a Fish will he give him a Serpent If ye then being evil know how to give good Gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him Here is a general Promise and Declaration that upon our humble and earnest Prayer to God he
Sum and Abridgment of the Christian Religion and there is nothing of all this that can reasonably be excepted against 4. God considering the Prejudice of the Heathen against Christianity by reason of their Education in a contrary Religion was strong and violent was pleased to give such Evidence of the Truth of Christianity as was of proportionable Strength and Force to remove and conquer this Prejudice He was pleased to give Testimony to the first Founder of this Religion by mighty Miracles and particularly by his Resurrection from the Dead But because the Report of these things was only brought to the Heathen World and they had not seen these things themselves therefore he enabled those who were the Witnesses of these Things to the World to work as great Miracles as he had done And when they saw those who gave Testimony to our Saviour's Miracles do as great and strange things themselves as they testified of him there was no Reason any longer to doubt of the Truth of their Testimony So that though the Prejudice of the Heathen against Christianity was very great yet the Evidence which God gave to it was strong enough to remove it The Doctrine of Christianity was such as might have recommended it self to impartial Men by its own Reasonableness But meeting with violent Prejudices in those to whom it was offer'd God was pleased to give such a Confirmation to it as was sufficient to bear down those Prejudices Secondly Another Objection against Christianity was the Plainness and Simplicity of the Doctrine They expected some deep Speculations in Natural or Moral Philosophy they made full Account a Teacher sent from Heaven would have instructed them in the profoundest Points and discoursed to them about the first Principles of things and the Nature of the Soul and the chief end of Man with a Subtilty and Eloquence infinitely beyond that of their greatest Sophisters and able to bear down all Opposition and Contradiction But instead of this they are told a plain Story of the Life and Miracles of Jesus Christ and of his dying upon the Cross and rising from the dead and ascending into Heaven and a few plain Precepts of Life and all this deliver'd without any Ornaments of Art or Insinuation of Eloquence to gain the Favour and Applause of those to whom they related these Things But now this truly considered is so far from being any real Objection against the Christian Doctrine that it is one of the greatest Commendations that can be given of it For matter of Fact ought to be related in the most plain and simple and unaffected manner and the less Art and Eloquence is used in the telling of a Story the more likely it is to gain Belief And as for our Saviour's Precepts how plain soever they might be I am sure they are a Collection of the most excellent and reasonable Rules of a good Life and the freest from all Vanity and Folly that are to be met with in any Book in the World And can any thing be more worthy of God and more likely to proceed from him than so plain and useful a Doctrine as this The Language of Law is not wont to be fine and persuasive but short and plain and full of Authority Thus it is among Men And surely it is much fitter for God to speak thus to Men than for Men to one another Thirdly It is objected that the Doctrine of our Saviour and his Apostles wanted Demonstration they seemed to impose too much upon the Understandings of Men and to deliver things too Magisterially not demonstrating Things from Intrinsical Arguments but requiring Belief and Assent without Proof This the Apostle St. Paul readily acknowledgeth that in preaching the Gospel to the World they did not proceed in the way of the Heathen Orators and Philosophers 1 Cor. 4.4 My Speech and my Preaching was not in the enticing Words of Man's Wisdom but in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power that is they did not go in the way of Human Eloquence and Demonstration but yet their Doctrine did not want its Evidence and Demonstration though of another kind They did not go about to bewitch Men by Eloquence nor to entangle their Minds by subtil Reasonings the Force of which very few are capable of But they offer'd to Men a sensible Proof and Demonstration of the Truth of what they delivered in those strange and miraculous Operations to which they were enabled by the Holy Ghost And this was a sensible Evidence even to the meanest Capacity of a Divine Assistance going along with them and giving Testimony to them I appeal to any Man whether the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead and his Ascending into Heaven be not a clearer Demonstration of another Life after this and more level to the Capacities of all Mankind than the finest and subtilest Arguments that can be drawn from the immaterial Nature of the Soul its power of Reflection upon it self and Independency upon the Body as to some of its Operations which yet are some of the chiefest Arguments that Philosophy affords to prove the Immortality of our Souls Fourthly The Heathens objected that the low and mean Condition of our Saviour was unsuitable to one that pretended to be the Son of God and to be appointed by God to be a Teacher and Reformer of the World This to the Heathen Philosophers did not only appear unreasonable but even ridiculous So St. Paul tells us 1 Cor. 1.23 We preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks Foolishness To think that a Man who appeared in such mean Circumstances should be fit to reform the World and one who himself was put to Death should be relied upon for Life and Immortality This Objection I have heretofore considered at large and therefore shall now speak but very briefly to it Besides those excellent Reasons and Ends which the Scripture assigns of our Saviour's Humiliation as that he might be a Teacher and Example to us that he might make Expiation for our Sins that by suffering himself he might learn to commiserate us that by Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Devil and might deliver those who through fear of Death were all their lives subject to Bondage I say besides these it was of great use that he should live in so mean and afflicted a Condition to confront the Pride and Vanity and Fantastry of the World and to convince Men of these two great Truths That God may love those whom he afflicts and That Men may be innocent and virtuous and contented in the midst of Poverty and Reproach and Suffering Had our Blessed Saviour been a great Temporal Prince his Influence and Example might possibly have made more Hypocrites and servile Converts but would not have persuaded Men one jot more to be inwardly good and virtuous The great Arguments which must do that must be fetch'd not from the Pomp and Prosperity of
which the World stood most in need of him when the whole World both Jews and Gentiles were sunk into the greatest Degeneracy both in Opinion and Practice and the Condition of Mankind seemed to be even desperate and past Remedy This was the needful time when it was most seasonable for this great Physician to come and show his Pity and Skill in our Recovery God could have sent his Son many Ages before but he thought fit to try other ways first and to reserve this powerful Remedy to the last last of all he sent his Son 4. The Time of our Saviour's Appearing was of all Ages of the World the fittest Season for his Coming Whether we consider 1. That the World was at that Time best prepared and disposed for receiving the Christian Religion Or 2. That this was the fittest Season that ever had been for the easie diffusing and propagating of this Religion I assign these reasons as tending to give Men some Satisfaction why this great Blessing was delay'd so long it being rather an Argument of Wisdom and Goodness than of the want of either to defer Things to that time in which they are most likely to have their effect Not but that perhaps other and better Reasons may be given To be sure God had very good Reasons for this Dispensation whether we can hit upon them or not In the mean Time these seem not to be altogether inconsiderable 1. That the World was at that time best prepared and disposed for receiving the Christian Religion All the while our Saviour's Coming was delay'd God's Providence was disposing things for it and training up Mankind for the entertaining of this great Blessing The Jewish Religion was always very burdensom but much more so towards the Expiration of the Jewish State partly by the Intolerable Multitude of external Observances which were daily multiplied upon them under Pretence of Traditions from their Fathers and partly by reason of their Subjection to the Romans which made the Exercise of their Religion in many respects more difficult And the Heathen World was in a very good Measure prepared for Christianity by being civilized About the time of our Saviour's coming into the World Philosophy and Learning had been so diffused by the Roman Conquests as had brought a great part of the World from Barbarism to Civility Besides that their Philosophy had this Effect upon Men to refine their Reason and in a good Degree to detect the Follies of the Heathen Idolatry and Superstition 'T is true indeed Learning and Philosophy flourisht a great while before in the Time of the Grecian Empire and perhaps before that in some other Nations and the Conquests of the Grecians were very speedy and of vast Extent But yet they were neither so Universal nor so well settled nor did they propagate their Philosophy and Civility together with their Conquests as the Romans did So that there was no Age of the World wherein Mankind were so generally prepared and disposed for the receiving of the Gospel as that wherein our Saviour appeared 2. This was likewise the fittest Season for the easie diffusing and propagating of the Christian Religion The Romans together with their Conquests did very much propagate their Language which made the ways of Communication far more easie And by the long and frequent Correspondence of the several Parts of that Empire one with another the ways of Travel and Passage from one Country to another were more ready and open So that no Age can be instanc'd in all Respects so convenient for the speedy propagating of a new Religion as that wherein our Saviour appear'd viz. when the Roman Empire was at its height And it was very agreeable to the Goodness and Wisdom of the Divine Providence that the bravest and most virtuous People in the World infinitely beyond either the Persians or Grecians should be chosen by God as one of the chiefest Means for the spreading of the best and most perfect Revelation that ever God made to the World Thirdly It is objected That we have not now sufficient Evidence of the Truth of Christianity the main Arguments for it relying upon matters of Fact of which at this Distance we have not nor can be suppos'd to have sufficient Assurance To this I answer 1. That men not only may have but have an undoubted Assurance of matters of Fact ancienter than these we are speaking of and the distance of them from our Times creates no manner of Scruple in the Minds of Men concerning them That there was such a Man as Alexander the Great and that he conquer'd Darius and the Persians That Julius Caesar invaded our Nation and in some measure subdued it and that he overcame Pompey in the Battel of Pharsalia and innumerable other Things which I might instance in that were done before our Saviour's Time are firmly believed without any manner of Doubt and Scruple by Mankind notwithstanding they were done so long ago So that ancient matters of Fact are capable of clear Evidence and we may have sufficient Assurance of them And where there is equal Evidence if we do not give equal Belief the fault is not in the Argument but in the Passion or Prejudice of those to whom it is proposed 2. We have every whit as great Assurance nay greater if it can or needed to be of the matters upon which the proof of Christianity relies as of those which I have mentioned The matters of Fact upon which the Truth of Christianity relies are that there was such a Person as Jesus Christ that he wrought such Miracles that he was put to death at Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate that he rose again from the dead and was visibly taken up into Heaven that he bestowed miraculous Gifts and Powers upon the Apostles to make them competent Witnesses of his Resurrection and of the Truth of that Doctrine which they publisht in his Name that accordingly they preached the Gospel to the World and in a short space without any Human Advantages did propagate it and gain Entertainment for it in most parts of the then known World Now these matters of Fact have the same Testimony of Histories wrote in those Times and conveyed down to us by as general and uncontroled a Tradition as the Conquests of Alexander and Julius Caesar So that if we do not afford equal Belief to them it is a sign that we have some Prejudice or Interest against the one more than against the other though the Evidence for both be equal Nay I go further that the Evidence for these things which are the Foundation of Christianity is so much the greater because that which depended upon it was of far greater Concernment to the World and consequently Mankind were more obliged to search more narrowly into it For our Saviour's Life and Death and Resurrection we have the Testimony of a great number of Eye-witnesses who have wrote the History of these things And though they were truly extraordinary Persons
suffer nothing but Truth and Reason to weigh with them We generally pretend to be Pilgrims and Strangers in the World and to be all travelling towards Heaven but few of us have the Indifferency of Travellers who are not concern'd to find out the fairest and the easiest Way but to know which is the right Way and to go in it Thus it should be with us our End should always be in our Eye and we should chuse our way only with Respect to that not considering our Inclination so much as our Design nor chusing those Principles for the Government of our Lives which are most agreeable to our present Desires but those which will most certainly bring us to Happiness at the last and that I am sure the Principles of the Christian Religion firmly believed and practised by us will do Let us then be persuaded by all that hath been said upon this Argument to a firm Belief of the Christian Doctrine I hope you are in some Measure satisfied that the Objections against it are not such as ought much to move a wise and considerate Man If we believe that God hath taken so much care of Mankind as to make any certain Revelation of his Will to them and of the way to Eternal Happiness let us next consider whether any Religion in the World can come in Competition with the Christian and with half that Reason pretend to be from God that Christianity is able to produce for it self whether we consider the Things to be believed or the Duties to be practised or the Motives and Arguments to the Practice of those Duties or the Divine Confirmation that is given to the whole And if we be thus persuaded concerning it let us resolve to live up to the Laws and Rules of this Holy Religion Our belief of it signifies nothing without the Fruits and Effects of a Good Life And if this were once resolved upon the Difficulty of believing would cease for the true Reason why Men are unwilling to believe the Truths of the Gospel is because they are loth to put them in Practice Every one that doth Evil hateth the Light The true Ground of most Mens Prejudice against the Christian Doctrine is because they have no mind to obey it and when all is done the great Objection that lies at the bottom of Mens Minds against it is that it is an Enemy to their Lusts and they cannot profess to believe it without condemning themselves for not complying with it in their Lives and Practice SERMON IV. Jesus the Son of God prov'd by his Resurrection ROM I. 4 And declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead ST Paul in the beginning of this Epistle according to his Custom in the rest stiles himself an Apostle particularly call'd and set apart by God for the preaching of the Gospel the main Subject whereof was Jesus Christ our Lord Who as he was according to his Divine Nature Vol. V. the eternal Son of God so according to his Human Nature he was not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God According to the Flesh that is the Weakness and Frailty and Mortality of his Human Nature he was the Son of David that is of his Posterity by his Mother who was of that House and Line Made of the seed of David according to the Flesh v. 3. But according to the Spirit of Holiness that is in regard of that Divine Power of the Holy Ghost which was manifested in him especially in his Resurrection from the Dead he was demonstrated to be the Son of God even according to his Human Nature Declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead All the Difficulty in the Words is concerning the meaning of this Phrase of Christ's being declared to be the Son of God The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which most frequently in Scripture does signify predestinated decreed determined but it likewise signifies that which is defined declared demonstrated Ser. 4. put out of all Doubt and Controversy And in this Sense our Translation renders it As if the Apostle had said that our Lord Jesus Christ though according to the Frailty and Weakness of his Human Nature he was of the Seed of David yet in respect of that Divine Power of the Holy Ghost which manifested it self in him especially in his Resurrection from the Dead he was declared to be the Son of God with Power that is mightily powerfully demonstrated to be so so as to put the matter out of all Dispute and Controversy And therefore following our own Translation I shall handle the Words in this Sense as containing this Proposition in them That the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Dead by the Holy Ghost is a powerful demonstration that he was the Son of God And it will conduce very much to the clearing of this Proposition to consider these Two things First Upon what Account Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God Secondly In what Sense he is said to be declared to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the Dead The Consideration of these Two Particulars will fully clear this Proposition and the Apostles Meaning in it First Upon what Account Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God And for our right Apprehension of this Matter it is very well worthy our Observation that Christ as Man is no where in Scripture said to be the Son of God but with relation to the Divine Power of the Holy Ghost some way or other eminently manifested in him I say the Divine Power of the Holy Ghost as the Lord and Giver of Life as he is call'd in the Ancient Creeds of the Christian Church For as Men are naturally said to be the Children of those from whom they receive their Life and Being so Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God because he had Life communicated to him from the Father by an immediate Power of the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost First at his Conception which was by the Holy Ghost The Conception of our Blessed Saviour was an immediate Act of the Power of the Holy Ghost overshadowing as the Scripture expresseth it the blessed Mother of our Lord And then at his Resurrection when after his Death he was by the Operation of the Holy Ghost raised to Life again Now upon these two Accounts only Christ as Man is said in Scripture to be the Son of God He was really so upon Account of his Conception but this was secret and invisible but most eminently and remarkably so upon account of his Resurrection which was open and visible to all 1. Upon Account of his Conception by the Power of the Holy Ghost That upon this Account he was called the Son of God St. Luke most expresly tells us Luke 1.35 where the
to rejoice in the hopes of the Glory of God because their Sufferings did really prepare and make way for their Glory So the same Apostle tells us 2 Cor. 4.17 18. Our light Afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory whilst we look not at the things which are seen for the things which are seen are Temporal but the things which are not seen are Eternal 3 dly and lastly The assurance of our future Reward is a mighty Encouragement to Obedience and a Holy Life What greater Encouragement can we have than this That all the good which we do in this World will accompany us into the other That when we rest from our labours our works will follow us That when we shall be stript of other things and parted from them these will still remain with us and bear us company Our Riches and Honours our sensual Pleasures and Enjoyments will all take their leave of us when we leave this World nay many times they do not accompany us so far as the Grave but take occasion to forsake us when we have the greatest need and use of them but Piety and Virtue are that better part which cannot be taken from us All the good actions which we do in this world will go along with us into the other and through the Merits of our Redeemer procure for us at the hands of a Gracious and Merciful God a Glorious and Eternal Reward not according to the meanness of our Services but according to the Bounty of his Mind and the vastness of his Treasures and Estate Now what an encouragement is this to Holiness and Obedience to consider that it will all be our own another day to be assured that whoever serves God faithfully and does suffer for him patiently does lay up so much Treasure for himself in another World and provides lasting Comforts for himself and faithful and constant Companions that will never leave him nor forsake him Let us then do all the good we can while we have opportunity and serve God with all our might knowing that no good action that we do shall be lost and fall to the ground that every Grace and Virtue that we exercise in this life and every degree of them shall receive their full recompence at the Resurrection of the Just How should this inspire us with Resolution and Zeal and Industry in the Service of God to have such a Reward continually in our Eye how should it tempt us to our Duty to have a Crown and a Kingdom offered to us Joys unspeakable and full of Glory such things as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor have entred into the heart of man And such are the things which God hath laid up for them who love him heartily and serve him faithfully in this World SERMON V. The danger of Apostacy from Christianity HEB. VI. 4 5 6. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame THESE words are full of difficulties and the misunderstanding of them hath not only been an occasion of a great deal of trouble and even despair to particular persons but one of the chief Reasons why the Church of Rome did for a long time reject the Authority of this Book Vol. V. which by the way I cannot but take notice of as a demonstrative Instance both of the fallible Judgment of that Church and of the fallibility of Oral Tradition for St. Jerom more than once expresly tells us that in his time which was about 400 years after Christ the Church of Rome did not receive this Epistle for Canonical But it is plain that since that time whether moved by the Evidence of the thing or which is more probable by the Consent and Authority of other Churches they have received it and do at this day acknowledge it for Canonical from whence one of these two things will necessarily follow either that they were in an error for 400 years together while they rejected it or that they have since erred for a longer time in receiving it One of these is unavoidable for if the Book be Canonical now it was so from the beginning for Bellarmine himself confesseth and if he had not confessed it it is nevertheless true and certain that the Church cannot make a Book Canonical which was not so before Ser. 5. if it was not Canonical at first it cannot be made so afterward so that let them chuse which part they will it is evident beyond all denial that the Church of Rome hath actually erred in her Judgment concerning the Authority of this Book and one error of this kind is enough to destroy her Infallibility there being no greater Evidence that a Church is not Infallible than if it plainly appear that she hath been deceived And this also is a convincing instance of the Fallibility of Oral Tradition For if that be Infallible in delivering down to us the Canonical Books of Scripture it necessarily follows that whatever Books were delivered down to us for Canonical in one Age must have been so in all Ages and whatever was rejected in any Age must always have been rejected but we plainly see the contrary from the instance of this Epistle concerning which the Church of Rome which pretends to be the great and faithful Preserver of Tradition hath in several Ages deliver'd several things This is a peremptory instance both of the Fallibility of the Roman Church and of her Oral Tradition Having observed this by the way which I could not well pass by upon so fair an occasion I shall betake my self to the explication of these words towards which it will be no small advantage to consider the particular Phrases and Expressions in the Text. It is impossible for those who were once enlightned that is were solemnly admitted into the Church by Baptism and embraced the profession of Christianity Nothing was more frequent among the Ancients than to call Baptism 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Illumination and those who were baptized were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enlightned Persons because of that Divine Illumination which was convey'd to the minds of Men by the knowledge of Christianity the Doctrine whereof they made Profession of at their Baptism And therefore Justin Martyr tells us that by calling upon God the Father and the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the name of the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the enlightned Person is washed and again more expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this Laver speaking of Baptism is called Illumination And St. Cyprian gives us the Reason because by virtue of Baptism in expiatum pectus ac
of the Apostle immediately after the Text The earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned And how gladly would I add the next words But beloved we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation though we thus speak SERMON VI. Christ the Author and Obedience the Condition of Salvation HEB. V. 9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him THIS is spoken of Christ our great High Priest under the Gospel upon the Excellency of whose Person and the Efficacy of his Sacrifice for the Eternal Benefit and Salvation of Mankind the Apostle insists so largely in this and the following Chapters but the Summ of all is briefly comprehended in the Text that our High Priest being made perfect became the Author of eternal salvation to them that obey him Vol. V. In which words we have these four things considerable 1 st The great Blessing and Benefit here spoken of and that is Eternal Salvation and this implies in it not only our Deliverance from Hell and Redemption from Eternal Misery but the obtaining of Eternal Life and Happiness for us 2 dly The Author of this great Blessing and Benefit to Mankind and that is Jesus Christ the Son of God who is here represented to us under the notion of our High Priest who by making Atonement for us and reconciling us to God is said to be the Author of Eternal Salvation to Mankind 3 dly The Way and Means whereby he became the Author of our Salvation being made perfect he became the Author of Eternal Salvation The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having consummated his work and finish'd his Course and receiv'd the Reward of it For this word hath an allusion to those that run in a Race where he that wins receives the Crown And to this the Apostle plainly alludes Phil. 3.12 where he says not as though I had already attained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as if I had already taken hold of the Prize but I am pressing Ser. 6. or reaching forward towards it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or were already perfect that is not as if I had finish'd my Course or had the Prize or Crown in my hand but I am pressing forward towards it In like manner our blessed Saviour when he had finish'd the Course of his Humiliation and Obedience which was accomplish'd in his Sufferings and had receiv'd the Reward of them being risen from the Dead and exalted to the Right Hand of God and crown'd with Glory and Honour he is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made perfect and therefore when he was giving up the Ghost upon the Cross he said John 19.30 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is finish'd or perfected that is he had done all that was necessary to be done by way of suffering for our Redemption And the same word is likewise used Luke 13.32 concernining our Saviour's Sufferings I do cures to day and to morrow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the third day I shall be perfected this he spake concerning his own death And therefore Ch. 2.10 God is said to make the Captain of our Salvation perfect through Sufferings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus our High Priest being made perfect in this Sense that is having finish'd his Course which was accomplished in his Sufferings and having received the Reward of them in being exalted at the Right Hand of God he became the Author of Eternal Salvation to us 4 thly You have here the qualification of the Persons who are made Partakers of this great Benefit or the Condition upon which it is suspended and that is Obedience he became the Author of eternal Salvation to them that obey him These are the main things contained in the Text. For the fuller Explication whereof I shall take into consideration these five things 1 st How and by what means Christ is the Author of our Salvation 2 dly What Obedience the Gospel requires as a Condition and is pleased to accept as a Qualification in those who hope for eternal Salvation 3 dly We will consider the possibility of performing this Condition by that Grace and Assistance which is offer'd and ready to be afforded to us by the Gospel 4 thly The necessity of this Obedience in order to Eternal Life and Happiness And 5 thly I shall shew that this is no prejudice to the Law of Faith and the free Grace and Mercy of God declared in the Gospel 1 st We will consider how and by what means Christ is the Author of our Salvation and this is contain'd in these words Being made perfect he became the Author of Eternal Salvation that is as I told you before having finish'd his Course which was accomplish'd in his last Sufferings and having received the Reward of them being exalted at the right hand of God he became the Author of eternal Salvation to us so that by all that he did and suffer'd for us in the days of his Flesh and in the state of his Humiliation and by all that he still continues to do for us now that he is in Heaven at the right hand of God he hath effected and brought about the great Work of our Salvation His Doctrine and his Life his Death and Sufferings his Resurrection from the Dead and his powerful Intercession for us at the Right Hand of God have all a great influence upon the reforming and saving of Mankind and by all these Ways and Means he is the Author and Cause of our Salvation as a Rule and as a Pattern as a Price and Propitiation and as a Patron and Advocate that is continually pleading our Cause and interceding with God on our behalf for mercy and grace to help in time of need And indeed our condition requir'd an High Priest who was qualified in all these respects for the recovery of Mankind out of that corrupt and degenerate state into which it was sunk an High Priest whose lips should preserve knowledge and from whose mouth we might learn the Law of God whose Life should be a perfect Pattern of Holiness to us and his Death a propitiation for the sins of the whole World and by whose Grace and Assistance we should be endowed with Power and Strength to mortifie our Lusts and to perfect Holiness in the Fear of God and therefore such an High Prist became us who was holy harmless undefiled and separate from Sinners who might have compassion on the ignorant and them that are out of the way and being himself compast with infirmities might have the feeling of ours being in all points tempted as we are only without sin and in a word might be able to save to the utmost all those that come to God by him seeing
Happiness by the free Grace and Mercy of God to do any thing whereby they may forfeit their Happiness or so much as to entertain a Thought of offending that God to whom they cannot but be sensible how infinitely they are obliged In this Imperfect state few Men have so little Goodness as to sin without a Temptation but in that state where Men are perfectly good and can have no Temptation to be otherwise it is not imaginable that they should fall from that state 2. As to the state of the damned that that likewise is immutable the Scripture does seem plainly enough to assert when it calls it an everlasting Destruction from the presence of the Lord and uses such Expressions to set forth the continuance of their Misery as signifie the longest and most interminable Duration expressions of as great an Extent as those which are used to signifie the Eternal Happiness of the blessed and as large and unlimited as any are to be had in those Languages wherein the Scriptures are written Besides that wicked Men in the other World are in Scripture represented as in the same Condition with the Devils of whom there is no ground to believe that any of them ever did or will repent Not because Repentance is impossible in its own nature to those that are in extream Misery but because there is no place left for it Being under an irreversible Doom there is no encouragement to Repentance no hope of Mercy and Pardon without which Repentance is impossible For if a Man did utterly despair of Pardon and were assured upon good ground that God would never shew Mercy to him in this case a Man would grow desperate and not care what he did He that knows that whatever he does he is miserable and undone will not matter how he demeans himself All motives to Repentance are gone after a Man once knows it will be to no purpose And this the Scripture seems to represent to us as the case of the Devils and damned Spirits Because their state is finally determined and they are concluded under an irreversible Sentence therefore Repentance is impossible to them Sorry no doubt they are and heartily troubled that by their own Sin and Folly they have brought this Misery upon themselves and they cannot but conceive an everlasting Displeasure against themselves for having been the Cause and Authors of their own Ruin and the Reflection of this will be a perpetual Spring of discontent and fill their Minds with eternal rage and vexation and so long as they feel the intolerable Punishments of Sin and groan under the insupportable Torments of it and see no end of this miserable state no hope of getting out of it they can be no otherwise affected than with discontent at themselves and rage and fury against God They are indeed penitent so far as to be troubled at themselves for what they have done but this Trouble works no change and alteration in them they still hate God who inflicts these Punishments upon them and who they believe is determined to continue them in this miserable state The present anguish of their Condition and their despair of bettering it makes them mad and their Minds are so distracted by the wildness of their Passions and their spirits so exasperated and set on fire by their own giddy Motions that there can be no rest and silence in their Souls not so much as the liberty of one calm and sedate Thought Or if at any time they reflect upon the evil of their Sins and should entertain any thoughts of returning to God and their Duty they are presently checkt with this Consideration that their case is determined that God is implacably offended with them and is inexorably and peremptorily resolved to make them miserable for ever and during this Perswasion no Man can return to the love of God and Goodness without which there can be no Repentance This Consideration of the immutable state of Men after this Life should engage us with all seriousness and diligence to endeavour to secure our future happiness God hath set before us good and evil life and death and we may yet chuse which we please but in the other world we must stand to that choice which we have made here and inherit the Consequences of it By Sin Mankind is brought into a miserable state but our Condition is not desperate and past Remedy God hath sent his Son to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins So that tho' our Case be bad it need not continue so if it be not our own fault There is a possibility now of changing our Condition for the better and of laying the foundation of a perpetual Happiness for our selves The Grace of God calls upon us and is ready to assist us so that no Man's Case is so bad but there is a possibility of bettering it if we be not wanting to our selves and will make use of the Grace which God offers who is never wanting to the sincere endeavours of Men. Under the Influence and Assistance of this Grace those who are dead in trespasses and sins may pass from death to life may be turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God So long as we are in this world there is a possibility of being translated from one state to another from the dominion of Satan into the kingdom of God's dear Son But if we neglect the opportunities of this life and stand out against the offers of God's Grace and Mercy there will no Overtures be made to us in the other world After this life is ended God will try us no more our final miscarriage in this world will prove fatal to us in the other and we shall not be permitted to live over again to correct our Errors As the Tree falls so it shall lye such a State as we are settled in when we go out of this world shall be fixt in the other and there will be no possibility of changing it We are yet in the hand of our own Counsel and by God's Grace we may mould and fashion our own Fortune But if we trifle away this Advantage we shall fall into the hands of the living God out of which there is no Redemption God hath yet left Heaven and Hell to our choice and we had need to look about us and chuse well who can chuse but once for all and for ever There is yet a space and opportunity left us of Repentance but so soon as we step out of this Life and are entred upon the other world our Condition will be sealed never to be reverst And because after this Life there will be no further hopes of Mercy there will be no possibility of Repentance This is the accepted time this is the day of Salvation therefore to day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts lest God swear in his Wrath that we shall not enter into his rest
human Care be transmitted intire and free from any material Error to all succeeding Ages But Revelations unwritten if they have any lasting and considerable Effect they must at least in every Age be renewed and repeated otherwise in a very short space either through the unfaithfulness or carelessness and frailty of Men they will either be quite lost or so corrupted and depraved that they will signifie nothing From all which it appears that we have so little cause to murmur and repine at the Providence of God which in these later Ages of the World does not make those more immediate Discoveries and Manifestations of himself to us that he did to former Ages that we have rather great reason to admire the Wisdom and Goodness of God's Providence which hath privileged us with this standing Revelation of his written Word which hath so many ways the Advantage of frequent and extraordinary Revelation and in respect of the generality of Mankind is much more useful and effectual to its end I know there are some that have endeavour'd to perswade the World that Doctrines may much better be preserved by common Rumor and Report than by Writing and Record but I hope there is no Man so destitute of common Sense as to believe them contrary to the Experience of all Men. I come now to the 4 th thing I propos'd to be consider'd namely That there is sufficient Evidence of the Divinity of the Scriptures By the Divinity of the Scriptures I mean that they were revealed by God and that the things contained in them were not invented by Men but discovered to Men by God and that the Pen-men of these Books did not write their own private Conceptions but were inspired by the Holy Ghost Now if we can be satisfy'd of this we ought to receive the Scriptures with the same reverence as if an Angel from Heaven should declare these things unto us or as if God should immediately reveal them to our Minds for nothing can come with greater Authority than this that we believe it to be revealed by God and provided we be assured of this it matters not which way the thing hath the same Authority Now that we have sufficient Evidence of the divinity of the Scriptures will best appear by considering what is sufficient to give Authority to a Book so that no prudent or reasonable Man can question but that the Book was writ by him whose Name it bears For what Evidence we would accept of for the Authority of other Books we must not refuse in this case for the Scriptures if we do we deal unequally and it is a sign that we do not want Evidence for the Authority of the Scriptures but that we have no mind to believe them Now the utmost Authority that any Book is capable of is that it hath been transmitted down to us by the general and uncontroll'd Testimony of all Ages and that the Authority of it was never questioned in that Age wherein it was written nor invalidated ever since And this Evidence we have for the Authority of the Scriptures As for the Old Testament I shall not now labour in the proof of that by Arguments proper to it self but shall take the Divinity of them upon the Authority of the New which if it be proved is sufficient Evidence for it tho' there were no other Now for the Scriptures of the New Testament I desire but these two things to be granted to me at first 1. That all were written by those persons whose Names they bear and for this we have as much Authority as for any Books in the World and so much as may satisfie Men in other cases and therefore not to be rejected in this 2. That those who wrote those Books were Men of Integrity and did not wilfully falsifie in any thing and this cannot reasonably be denied because these very Persons gave the utmost Evidence that Men could give of their Integrity The highest attestation that any Man can give of the Truth of what he relates is to lay down his Life for the Testimony of it and this the Apostles did Now if this be granted that they did not falsifie in their Relations concerning the Miracles of Christ and his Resurrection and the miraculous Gifts which were bestowed upon the Apostles after his Ascension this is as great an Evidence as the world can give and as the thing is capable of that our Saviour was a Teacher come from God and that the Apostles were extraordinarily assisted by the Holy Ghost and if this be granted what can be desired more to prove the Divinity of their Writings But it may be said that tho' the Apostles were granted to be Men of Integrity and that they did not wilfully falsifie in their Relations yet they might be mistaken about those Matters But that they were not we have as much Evidence as can be for any thing of this Nature namely that the things which are related are plain sensible matters of Fact about which no Man need mistake unless he will and they did not write things upon the report of others who might possibly have designs to deceive but upon the surest Evidence in the world their own Knowledge and the Testimony of their Senses the things that we have seen and heard testifie we unto you So that if they were mistaken in these things no Man can be sure of any thing and by the same reason that we disbelieve the Authority of the Scriptures upon this account we must believe nothing at all This is in short the whole force of the Argument for the divinity of the Scriptures which I might have enlarged infinitely upon but I design now only briefly to represent to you that we who live at the distance of so many Ages from the time of this Revelation are not destitute of sufficient Evidence for the Authority of the Scriptures and such Evidence as they who reject in other Cases are esteemed unreasonable I should come now to the 5 th and last Thing namely that it is unreasonable to expect that God should do more for our Conviction than to afford us a standing Revelation of his Mind and Will such as the Books of the Holy Scriptures are But this I shall refer to another Opportunity in a particular Discourse upon the 31 verse which contains the main Design the Sum and Substance of this whole Parable SERMON XII The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Sermon III. Preach'd at Whitehall Anno 1678. LUKE XVI 31 If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead THESE Words are the Conclusion of that excellent Parable of our Saviour concerning the Rich Man and Lazarus and they are the final Answer which Abraham gives to the Rich Man's last Request who being in great Torment and not able to obtain any Ease for himself is represented as concerned for his Relations whom he had left behind him upon Earth lest they
thought fit to gratified the perverse Curiosity of Men by affording to every Man a particular and immediate Revelation of his Mind and Will but he hath given us a standing Revelation which at first had the greatest and most miraculous Confirmation and he hath still left us sufficient Means of being assured of the Truth of this Revelation and of the Confirmation that was at first given to it and we tempt God by demanding extraordinary Signs when we may receive so abundant Satisfaction in an ordinary way This being admitted I shall proceed in the Second Place to shew That it is upon the whole Matter and all Circumstances consider'd very improbable that those who reject this publick Revelation from God should be effectually convinced tho' one should speak to them from the dead And this is that which is expresly asserted here in the Text If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead Not but that any Man would be very much startled and amazed if one should come from the dead to warn him of the Danger of his wicked Life but yet for all that it is very unlikely that they who obstinately and perversely refuse to be convinced by Moses and the Prophets would be effectually persuaded that is so as to be brought to Repentance and Reformation of their Lives tho' one should rise from the dead And that for these Reasons 1. Because if such Miracles were frequent and familiar it is very probable they would have but very little effect and unless we suppose them common and ordinary we have no Reason to expect them at all 2. Men have as great or greater Reason to believe the Threatnings of God's Word as the Discourse of one that should speak to them from the dead 3. The very same reason which makes Men to reject the Counsels of God in his Word would in all probability hinder them from being convinced by a particular Miracle 4. Experience does abundantly testifie how ineffectual extraordinary ways are to convince those who are obstinately addicted and wedded to their Lusts 5. An effectual Persuasion that is such a Belief as produceth Repentance and a good Life is the Gift of God and depends upon the Operation and Concurrence of God's Grace which there is no reason to expect either in an extraordinary way or in an extraordinary degree after Men have obstinately rejected the ordinary Means which God hath appointed to that end 1. If such Miracles as a special Messenger from the dead to warn and admonish Men were frequent and familiar it is very probable they would have but very little effect upon Men and unless we suppose them common and ordinary we have no reason to expect them at all For it is unreasonable at first sight that the worst and more obstinate sort of Sinners should expect this as a peculiar Favour and Priviledge to themselves and that God should not do as much for others who have deserved it more and would probably make better use of it and if these things were common it is very probable that Men would not be much moved by them It may be while the Apprehension of such a thing were fresh upon them they would take up some good Resolutions as Sinners usually do while they are under present Convictions of Conscience and the Hand of God by some great Affliction or Sickness lies heavy upon them but still they would be apt to defer their Repentance and put it off 'till the present Amazement were a little over and the terrour of their first Apprehensions were abated and worn off by degrees and after a little while they would return to their former Course And this is too too probable from what we see Men do in other cases not very much remote from this It is a very terrible and amazing thing to see a Man die and solemnly take his last leave of the World The very Circumstances of dying Men are apt to strike us with horror to hear such a Man how sensibly he will speak of the other World as if he were just come from it rather than going to it how severely he will condemn himself for the Folly and Wickedness of his Life with what Passion he will wish that he had lived better and served God more sincerely how seriously he will resolve upon a better Life if God would be pleased to raise him up and try him but once more with what Zeal and Earnestness he will commend to his best Friends and nearest Relations a religious and virtuous Course of Life as the only thing that will minister Comfort to them when they come to be in his Condition Such Discourses as these are very apt to move and affect Men for the time and to stir up in them very good Resolutions whilst the present Fit and Impression lasts but because these sights are very frequent they have seldome any great and permanent effect upon Men. Men consider that it is a very common Case and Sinners take Example and Encouragement from one another every one is affected for the present but few are so effectually convinced as to betake themselves to a better Course And if Apparitions from the dead were as common as it is for Men to die we may reasonably presume that the Discourses of dead and dying of those that are going and those who come from the dead would have much the same effect upon the generality of Men. But if we suppose this a singular Case which there is no reason to do in that case the Effect would probably be this a Man that were strongly addicted to his Lusts and had no Mind to leave them would be apt when the Fright were over to be easily persuaded that all this was merely the work of Fancy and Imagination and the rather because such things did not happen to others as well as to himself 2. We have as great or greater Reason to believe the Warnings or Threatnings of God's Word as the Discourses of one that should come to us from the dead For the Threatnings of God's Word against such Sins as natural Light convinceth Men of have the natural Guilt and Fears of Men on their side the particular Testimony of every Man's Conscience and the concurrent Testimony of Mankind to the Probability of the thing and to give us full Assurance of the Truth and Reality of them we have a credible Relation of great and unquestionable Miracles wrought on purpose to give Testimony to those Persons who denounced those Threatnings that they came from God So that here is a very publick and authentick Testimony given to the Threatnings of God's Word more suitable to the generality of Mankind and of greater Authority than a private Apparition or a single Miracle and if that will not convince Men why should we suppose that this will 3. The very same Reason which makes Men to reject the Counsels of God in his Word would in all probability hinder
Men from being convinced by an Apparition from the Dead It is not generally for want of Evidence that Men do not yield a full and effectual Assent to the Truth of God's Word I mean that they do not Believe it so as to Obey it but from the Interest of some Lust The true cause is not in Mens Understandings and because there is not Reason enough to satisfy them that the Scriptures are the Word of God but in the obstinacy of their Wills which are enslaved to their Lusts And the Disease being there it is not to be Cured by more Evidence but by more Consideration and by the Grace of God and better Resolutions The Man is addicted to some Vice or other and that makes him unwilling to entertain those Truths which would check and controul him in his Course The light of God's Word is offensive to him and therefore he would shut it out This account our blessed Saviour gives of the Enmity of the Jews against him and his Doctrine John 3.19 Light is come into the World and Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil for every one that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh he to the light lest his deeds should be reproved Upon the same account it is that Men resist the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures not because they have sufficient Reason to doubt of their Divine Authority but because they are unwilling to be govern'd by them and to conform their Lives to the Laws and Precepts of that Holy Book For the Wills of Men have a great Influence upon their Understandings to make assent easy or difficult and as Men are apt to assent to what they have a mind to so they are slow to believe any thing which crosseth their Humours and Inclinations so that tho' greater Evidence were offer'd it is likely it would not prevail with them because the matter does not stick there Their Wills are distemper'd Men hate to be reform'd and this makes them cast the Laws of God behind their Backs and if God himself should speak to them from Heaven as he did to the People of Israel yet for all that they might continue a stiff-necked and rebellious People Tho' the Evidence were such as their Understandings could not resist yet their Wills might still hold out and the present condition of their Minds might have no lasting influence upon their Hearts and Lives such a violent Conviction might affect them for the present but the Sense of it might perhaps wear off by degrees and then they would return to their former hardness Men by a long and obstinate continuance in sin may bring themselves to the Temper and Disposition of Devils who though they believe and tremble at the thoughts of God and his Threatnings yet they are wicked still for so long as Men retain a strong affection for their Lusts they will break through all Conviction and what Evidence soever be offer'd to them they will find some way or other to avoid it and to delude themselves The plain truth of the case is this if Men will honestly speak their Consciences they cannot deny it they do not call for more Evidence either because they want it or are willing to be convinced by it but that they may seem to have some Excuse for themselves for not being convinced by that Evidence which is afforded to them 4 thly Experience does abundantly testify how ineffectual extraordinary ways are to convince and reclaim men of depraved Minds and such as are obstinately addicted to their Lusts We find many remarkable Experiments of this in the History of the Bible What Wonders were wrought in the sight of Pharaoh and the Egyptians yet they were harden'd under all these Plagues Balaam who greedily followed the wages of unrighteousness was not to be stopt by the admonition of an Angel The Jews after so many Miracles which their Eyes had seen continued to be a stiffneck'd and gain saying People so that it is hard to say which was more prodigious the Wonders which God wrought for them or their Rebellions against him and when in the fulness of time the Son of God came and did among them the works which never man did such as one would have thought might have brought the worst People in the world to Repentance those of Tyre and Sydon of Sodom and Gomorrah yet they repented not Yea the very things which the Rich Man here in my Text requested of Abraham for his Brethren was done among them Lazarus did rise from the dead and testified unto them and they were not perswaded And which is yet more our Saviour himself according to his own Prediction while he was alive rose again from the dead the third day and was visibly taken up into Heaven and yet how few among them did believe and give glory to God! So that we see the very thing here spoken of in the Text made good in a famous Instance they who believed not Moses and the Prophets which testified of the Messias were not perswaded when he rose from the dead And does not our own Experience tell us how little effect the extraordinary Providences of God have had upon those who were not reclaimed by his Word It is not long since God shewed himself among us by terrible things in Righteousness and visited us with three of his sorest Judgments War and Pestilence and Fire and yet how does all manner of Wickedness and Impiety still reign and rage among us It is a very sad Consideration to see how little those who have outlived these Plagues have been reformed by them we have not return'd to the Lord nor sought him for all this I may appeal to the Experience of particular Persons How frequently do we see Men after great Afflictions and tedious Sufferings and dangerous Sicknesses return to their former Evil Courses and tho' they have been upon the brink of Eternity and the terrors of Death have compass'd them about and the pains of Hell have almost taken hold of them tho' they have had as lively and sensible Convictions of another world as if they had spoken with those that had come from thence or even been there themselves yet they have taken no warning but upon their deliverance and recovery have been as mad as furious Sinners as they were before so that it ought to be no such wonder to us which the Text tells us that if men hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead Especially if we consider in the 5 th and last place That an effectual perswasion that is such a Belief as produceth Repentance and a good Life is the gift of God and depends upon the operation and concurrence of his Grace which is not to be expected in an extraordinary way where Men have obstinately rejected the ordinary means appointed by God for that end To be effectually perswaded to change our Lives and become new Men is a