this Jesus their Idol-Gods fell down and their Oracles at Delphos Dodon and other places were stricken dumb Insomuch as Porphyrie himself confesseth and bewaileth that since the time that Jesus was Worshipped they have had no benefit at all by any of their Gods The Voice that was heard in the Air in the Reign of Tiberius Caesar about the time of Christ's death commanding the Master of the Ship to cry aloud that the Great God Pan is dead upon which followed great screechings and lamentations in the Air we find mentioned in divers credible Authors Lactantius tells us that when the Heathens offered Sacrifice to their Gods the very presence of a Christian would dash and spoil their Mysteries and thereupon came that speech which we read in Lucian If there be any Christian here let him depart hence This Jesus hath made such work amongst the Idol-Gods that Augustine cries out Where are your Gods where are your Prophets where are your Oracles where are your Sacrifices are they not ceased If Christ the Ark of God comes in place Dagon the great Idol must needs fall down Now the Christian Religion hath three great Enemies in the World Heathens Jews and Mahumetans against whose Religion or rather Superstition we will speak a few words to shew the unreasonableness and absurdity thereof And First * I. Reasons against the Heathenish Idolatry touching the Heathen Gods we have this to say against them in a way of Reason which may be much more enlarged That they must needs be vain and even ridiculous since by the confession of their own Learned Writers these Gods or rather Devils did command Images to be erected to them and told the fashion that they were of And is not this absurd and unbecoming the Majesty of a Deity seeing the true and infinite God who dwells in the Light inaccessible cannot be resembled by any Shape What did these Dunghil-Gods of theirs chiefly command and forbid but outward corporeal things Whereas the true God is a Holy Glorious Spirit who commands the Spirits of men and chiefly requires spiritual Worship and Obedience These Gods of theirs were not of Vniversal use nor were they good for all things One forsooth was good for Medicine and another for Wisdom and another for War whereas the true God is an Universal perfect Good The Religion of these Heathen Gods consisted only in offering Frankincense and Spices and outward Oblations which could never cleanse the Soul of man from its spots and defilements And therefore when Cyril told Julian the Apostata that Sin defileth the Soul and that outward and bodily things could never wash away the inward filthiness and corruption of the Spirit this made Julian stagger for he could not tell how to answer it What shall we say further Are not the Parents Birth and Manners of these goodly Deities particularly set down by their own Poets and Philosophers and by divers of the Ancient Fathers and our own Modern Writers and is it not ridiculous for any man to believe that these were true Gods Nay truly they were not only Men whom the Heathens Worshipped but wicked men the worst and vilest of men given up to Whoredom and Drunkenness and Cruelty and all manner of vice and wickedness Yea they were Devils and wicked Spirits that appeared in the likeness of Men and commanded themselves to be worshipped So absurd and irrational were some of these poor Heathens that they did not only worship wicked Men and Devils but even Beasts also an Ox a Dog a Crocodile yea Onions and Garlick O monstrous folly and madness How did the Devil bewitch them What horrid cruelty did he exercise upon them commanding them to sacrifice Men and Women to him when he was grievously offended with them as he doth at this day in some Heathenish Countries But when he was more mild and gentle then forsooth he must have Stage-Plays Musick Dancing and the like Pastimes to make him merry Behold here the Vanity and Brutishness of the Heathenish Idolatry Secondly As for the Jews * II. Against the Jewish Religion they are most unreasonable in their Enmity against Christ and the Christian Religion The truth of the Old Testament is acknowledged by them as well as by us though they do not rightly and spiritually understand it by reason of the veil which is upon their Hearts to this day So blind and so deluded they are as to hold that the true Messias is yet to come that Jesus is not the Messias and that when the Messias first comes he shall be great in the World and have a Princely Court and Attendants at Jerusalem and that he shall subdue all the Enemies of the Jews Now truly these are but vain dreams and fancies of theirs and quite contrary to Scripture and Reason In Jacob's Prophesie concerning the Messias Gen. 49.10 we read that the Scepter was not to depart from Judah nor a Law-giver from between his Feet till Shiloh come by which Shiloh is meant the true Messias But the Scepter was then newly departed when Jesus came and therefore He is the true Shiloh or Messias The Scepter as is well known was in Judah till the Captivity and after the Captivity it continued till Aristobulus and Hircanus who contending for it were both of them dispossessed of it and Herod an Idumaean and a stranger was invested with the Royal Dignity and then came Christ as was long before prophesied after whose coming the Jews were dispersed and scattered throughout the Earth so that now there is no distinct Tribe of Judah but they are all mingled one with another the Roman Emperors still labouring to root out the Jews and especially the Tribe of Judah which made them to confound their Genealogies That the seventy Weeks referring to the coming of the true Messias Dan. 9.24 are long since determined he that runs may read it and yet the Messias not come if we will believe the obstinate Jews In their Talmud we read that the Disciples of Hillel whom they highly esteem perceiving the first seven Weeks in Daniel to fall out so justly they looked for the coming of the Messias in those days being long before the full time because they had read in the Prophecy of Isaiah that the Lord would shorten those days And immediately before the Incarnation of our Saviour we find that there was a general expectation of the coming of the Messias amongst the Jews as appears by their continual sending to John Baptist to know whether he himself was the Messias or they must expect another And about this time also which may be a further proof that the Messias is already come there were more false Christs and deceivers such as Judas Theudas Gaulonites Barcosba as the Scriptures and Josephus with other Writers bear witness than was ever before or since How came it to pass that the glory of the second Temple Hag. 2.10 was greater than the glory of the first Was it not by the coming and
disguise of Reason and men of the greatest reason and parts have often fallen into and promoted such Errors and have ensnared many others by their subtil disputes and reasonings Let all this be granted yet still there is a good use of reason so she keep her place and go not beyond her due bounds both in matters civil and religious What though the light of reason shine not so clearly and brightly as it was wont shall it therefore be quite extinguish'd If the Picture have lost its former gloss and beauty the oriency of its Colours the elegancy of its Lineaments the comeliness of its proportion must it therefore be totally defaced and broken in pieces Because men have not so much Reason as they should will they therefore resolve to have none at all Our Faith and Love and all our gracious acts and religious performances are weak and imperfect Iniquity is mingled with our holy things what then Shall we therefore utterly neglect and reject them Shall we not own and bless God for them The light of reason is the gift of God which should be thankfully acknowledged by us And though it be not so bright and powerful as to enter into the Sanctum Sanctorum and pierce within the Veil yet it may lye in the Porch and at the Gate of the Temple and be as a Door-keeper in the House of God Though Reason be not a Jacob's Ladder to climb up to Heaven by yet doubtless we may use it as a Staff to walk with upon Earth If any be so malapert and presumptuous as to set Agar above her Mistress and make Faith wait like a Serving-man at the elbow of corrupt and distorted Reason if they go about to subject and subordinate the glorious Mysteries of Christ which are to be adored to their vain reasonings and will reject them because they cannot by their reason comprehend them let them bear the blame as they are well worthy of their arrogancy and presumption CHAP. III. How far the light of Reason extendeth and what kind of light it is THere is a light in mans reason though far inferiour to that of Faith Both these lights proceed from God the Fountain of Light who hath set up the Sun to rule the day and the Moon to rule the night Mens hominis lucerna domini the Reason or Understanding of a man is the Candle of the Lord Prov. 20.27 This was spoken by Salomon a man of rais'd and clear Intellectuals in whom this Candle of the Lord did shine with far more brightness than in other Princes And though he was look'd upon as a Star of the first magnitude nay as a Sun shining in the Firmament in respect of his wisdom and knowledge yet he calleth it only the Candle of the Lord using a very humble and modest expression touching the reason and understanding of man which as we should not go about to extinguish or put out so neither should we extol and magnifie the same above what is written For First this light of Reason as an ingenious Writer truly observes is (c) Nathan Culverwell Discourse of the Light of Nature lumen derivatum a derivative light 'T is not the fountain of light but only a few drops derived from the fountain Light we know is not originally in the Candle which shines only with a borrowed light and so doth the light of Reason and all other created Excellencies Reason is but scintilla divinae lucis 't is but divinae particula aurae The rational Immortal Soul of man this Intellectual Lamp was first lighted and set up by God Himself and hath its total dependance upon Him both for its beeing and for its perpetual continuation Nor is this Candle lighted out of the Essence of God Himself as if it were a part of His Essence This as Calvin saith were to divide and rend in pieces the Divine Essence which is indivisible and incommunicable and doubtless it were a far more tolerable errour to make the light of a Candle a piece of the Suns Essence than to imagin that this Intellectual Lamp the Soul of Man is a part of the Divine Nature And therefore Seneca as wise as he was did express much folly and ignorance in deifying the Soul of Man Quid aliud vocas animum saith he quam deum in humano corpore hospitantem That is what less Title or Dignity can you bestow upon Man's Soul than that of a God dwelling in a House of Clay Whereas the Rational Soul and Understanding of Man is but a weak and faint resemblance of God Himself who is infinite in Knowledge and Understanding and who sees and knows all things perfectly in an instant by His own uncompounded and indivisible Essence Angels are above Syllogisms and rational discourses how much more is God Himself whose Knowledge is not in the least improved by deducing and collecting one thing out of another in a way of reasoning as we do Cognitio Dei non est raticinativa non est discursiva Secondly The light of Reason in Man is but lumen tenue diminutum 'T is but a diminutive light How far distant is the light of a Candle from the light of a Star how far from the brightness of the Sun This Candle or light of Reason when it was first set up before there was any thief in it even then it had but a limitted and restrained light God said unto it Thus far shall thy light go and no further Adam in the state of Innocency was not to crown himself with his own sparks much less should we think to save our selves by the Glimmerings of our depraved Reason God never intended that the Creature should rest satisfied with its own Candle-light but that it should have recourse to Him who is the Fountain of Light that it might see light in His Light Lucifer that would needs be an independant light and shine with his own beams how is he fallen into perpetual darkness and torment yea and Adam's Candle aspiring to be a Sun has burnt the dimmer ever since This Candle of the Lord in the regenerate Soul and much more in the unregenerate knows but little of God and spiritual things whilst the Soul is imprisoned in the Body and absent from the Lord But when it is taken out of this dark Lanthorn in statu separato or in statu consummato then it shall know infinitly more of God and spiritual things than now it doth Thirdly The light of Reason as far as it goes is lumen tranquillum 't is a quiet and peaceable light Certainly the more reason and judgment Men have the more calm and serene they are And if Men were more regulated by reason there would be more concord and harmony in the world yea and in the Church of Christ than there is This Candle would shine more clearly and steadily were it not for the boisterous winds of Mens Passions which disturb and darken it nor would there be such ruptures rents alienations
safe harbour it is to him a sweet sleep a bed of rest after all his toyl and labour in a vain and troublesome world Isai 57.2 1 Thes 4.14 Rev. 14.13 There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest and hear not the voice of the Oppressor Job 3.17 18. It is the day of a Christians reward and of receiving wages Then is the servant set free and the Heir at full age then shall the banished and strangers from a far Countrey shall enter into their Fathers house and shall be received into everlasting habitations Heb. 11.13 John 14.2 Luke 16.9 Death is the Birth-day of a Christian the funeral of all his vices and corruptions and the resurrection of his Graces Death was the daughter of Sin and in death shall that be fulfilled The Daughter shall destroy the Mother 'T is the dissolution of the Body but the absolution of the Soul Then is the immortal Soul delivered out of a dark prison and then doth she throw off her old ragged clothes and foul garments that she may be deck'd and adorn'd with the glorious Robes of Salvation Isa 52.1 2 Cor. 5.2 3. Then doth a Christian remove from an old rotten house ready to fall about his ears to a sumptuous Pallace Doth that Landlord think you wrong his Tennant or offer him hard measure that would have him remove out of a base Cottage into his own Mansion-house which he hath freely given him Shall the Believer be unwilling to come to the end of his race and receive the prize even an incorruptible Crown of glory 1 Cor. 9.24 This is the day of his Coronation for though now he be an Heir of the heavenly Kingdom yet he shall not be crowned till death with that Glory which is unutterable 2 Tim. 4.8 Seventhly The good man is taken away by death from much evil to come and hath he any cause to quarrel with such a freedom Truly the consideration hereof should make us love this life the less because the Clouds gather thick about us and we know not what fearful alterations may shortly befal us either in our outward estate or in matters of Religion either by domestick broyls or by forreign invasion Should not a Christian rejoyce exceedingly to be delivered from the continual malicious suggestions and stratagems of the evil Angels and from a vile wicked World that hates and persecutes the Image of Christ where-ever it is A World whose seeming felicities as Honours Riches Pleasures Trade Beauty Friends Children Relations and Acquaintance are but vanities full of labour and toyl accompanied with much vexation and affording no true rest or contentment to that man that enjoyes them neither can they help him in the least when death seizeth upon him All these things will be forgotten and there will be no remembrance of them with those that shall come after Eccles 1.11 What a priviledge is it therefore to be delivered from these vanities Yea which is more from that body of sin and corruption which a Christian groans under as his greatest burthen and is the more grievous and intollerable because it infects and spreads over the whole man soul and body and is an inseparable companion of this life causing a troublesome yea an irreconcilable war in the Soul and swarms of evil thoughts affections desires and actions besides innumerable diseases and distempers which attend the Body And should not death be welcome to us to set us free from all these evils and miseries Thus may a Christian reason and argue against the fear of death upon far higher and more spiritual Grounds and Considerations then a moral Heathen can and therefore he should not be afraid to dye Eighthly and Lastly That we may be the better fortified against the fear of death let us call to mind and improve the living speeches of dying Christians some of which shall be here mentioned The famous sayings of some dying Christians Good old Simeon Lord let thy Servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Stephen the first Martyr Lord Jesus receive my Spirit and lay not this sin to their charge Polycarpus to the Proconsul urging him to deny Christ I have served him eighty-six years saith he and he hath not once hurt me and shall I now deny him Ignatius I am the Wheat or Grain to be ground with the teeth of Beasts that I may be pure bread for my Masters tooth let Fire Racks Pullies yea and all the torments of Hell come on me so I may win Christ Cyprian God Almighty be blessed for this Gaol-delivery Theodosius I thank God more for that I have been a Member of Christ then an Emperor of the World Hillarion Soul get thee out thou hast served Christ these seventy years and art thou now afraid of death and loth to dye Vincentius Rage and do the worst that the spirit of malignity can set thee on work to do Thou shalt see Gods Spirit strengthen the tormented more then the Devil can do the Tormentor Gorgius to the Tyrant offering him promotion Have you any thing equal saith he or more worthy then the Kingdom of Heaven King Edward the Sixth Lord bring me into thy Kingdom free this Kingdom from Antichrist and keep thine Elect in it Bishop Latimer to Bishop Ridley going before him to the Stake Have after as fast as I can follow we shall light such a Candle by Gods Grace in England this day as I trust shall never be put out again Bishop Hooper to one that prayed him to consider that life is sweet and death is bitter True saith he but the death to come is more bitter and the life to come is more sweet Oh Lord Christ I am Hell but thou art Heaven draw me to thy self with the cords of thy mercy Thomas Bilney I know by Sense and Philosophy that fire is hot and burning painful but by Faith I know it shall only waste the stubble of my Body and purge my Spirit of its corruption Glover to his Friend He is come oh he is come meaning the Comforter Gods Spirit John Bradford to his fellow Martyr Be of good comfort Brother for we shall have a merry Supper with the Lord this night If there be any way to Heaven on Horseback or in fiery Chariots this is it Lawrence Sanders I was in prison till I got into prison and now sayes he kissing the Stake welcome the Cross of Christ welcome everlasting life My Saviour began to me in a bitter Cup and shall I not pledge him John Lambert None but Christ none but Christ Baynam I feel no more pain in the fire then if I were on a Bed of Down it is as sweet to me as a Bed of Roses Priest's Wife to one that offered her money I am now going saith she to a Countrey where money bears no mastery And when the Sentence was read Now have I gotten that which many a day I have sought for Doctor Taylor when he came within two