the Scripture saith that God did command Adam that he should not eat of that Tree and yet notwithstanding he did eat of it it must necessarily be said that God only revealed to Adam the Evil that would follow upon it but did not reveal the necessity of the Evil's following whence it came to pass that Adam understood that Revelation not as an eternal verity and necessary Truth but as a Law or Ordinance upon which Gain or Loss was to follow not in respect of the Necessity and Nature of the Action done but only in respect of the Absolute Will and Command of a Prince The Revelation therefore in respect of Adam only and only for want of Knowledge in him was a Law and God a Law-giver and Prince For the like defect of Knowledge was the Decalogue a Law to the Iews because they knew not the Being of God to be an Eternal Verity therefore that which was revealed to them in the Decalogue namely that there was a God and that he only was to be worshiped was received by them as a Law but had God spoken to them immediately and not by Corporeal means they had taken it for an Eternal Verity and not for a Law and what we say of Adam and the Israelites may be said of all the Prophets who writ Laws in the Name of God that they did not rightly understand God's Decrees to be Eternal Verities For Example Moses by Revelation or by Principles revealed to him understood the means whereby the People of Israel might be best united in a particular Place of the World form a Common-wealth and erect a Government and also the best way to compel that People to obedience but yet he did not know nor was it revealed to him that those means or that Way was best neither that from the common Obedience of the People in such a Climate of the World that end would necessarily follow to which those means were directed and therefore all those things were not understood by him as Eternal Verities but as Precepts and Institutions which he prescribed as the Laws of God and this was the Reason that he imagined God was a Governour a Lawgiver a King merciful and Just when all these are only the Atributes of Human Nature and not any Part of the Divine Nature but tho' we say this of the Prophets who writ Laws in the Name of God we ought not to say the same of Christ for though he seemed to write Laws in the Name of God we are to believe that he understood things truly and perfectly for Christ was not so much a Prophet as he was the Mouth of God for God by the Mind of Christ as we have shewn in the first Chapter did reveal some things to Mankind as he did before by Angels that is a Created Voice And by Visions wherefore it would be altogether Irrational to think that God accommodated his revelations to the Opinions of Christ as that God fitted heretofore his revelations to the Opnions of the Visions and of the Angels that is created Voices that he might communicate the things which were to be revealed to the Prophets then which nothing can be more absurd especially since Christ was not sent to the Iews only but to all Mankind so that it was not sufficient his Mind should be fitted to the Opinion of the Iews but to the Opinions and Documents general to all Mankind that is those Notions which were common and True and from communicating himself immediately to Christ or to his understanding and not as he did to the Prophets by words and Signs nothing else can be concluded but that Christ did truly perceive and understand those things which were revealed for then a thing is clearly understood when it is clearly and mentally perceived without the help of Words and Signs Christ therefore understood things truly and plainly and if ever he prescribed them as Laws he did it because the People were ignorant and obstinate and acting God's Part applyed himself to the Nature and Dispofition of the People and therefore tho' he spoke somewhat plainer then the rest of the Prophets yet sometimes he spoke Obscurely and by Parables especially when he spoke to them to whom it was not given to know the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. chap. 13. v. 11. But without doubt all things which he taught those to whom it was given to know the Misteries of the Kingdom of Heaven he taught them as Eternal Verities and did not prescribe them as Laws and in this confideration he freed them from the Bondage of the Law and yet nevertheless did the more confirm it and deeply ingrave it on their Hearts which Paul seems to declare in the 7 th chap. of his Epist. to the Romans v. 6 th But now we are delivered from the Law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in Newness of Spirit and not in the Oldness of the Letter and in chap. 3. v. 8. Therefore we conclude that a Man is justified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law. But neither doth Paul speak very clearly for he saith Rom. chap. 3. v. 5. I speak as a Man which he expresly saith when he calls God just and righteous and without doubt because of the Frailty of the Flesh he supposeth Mercy Grace and Anger to be in God applying his Discourses to the understanding of the Common People as may be seen in his first Epistle to the Corinthians chap. 3. v. 1 2. Brethren I could not speak unto you as Spiritual but as unto Carnal Men. Rom. chap. 8. v. 18. He declareth that the Mercy and Wrath of God doth not depend upon Mens Works but on his own Will. Moreover no Man is justified by the Works of the Law but only by Faith Rom. chap. 3. v. 28. And by Faith nothing is meant but a full consent of the Mind Lastly Paul declares that no Body is Blessed who hath not in him the Mind of Christ Rom. chap. 8. v. 9. Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his by which Mind and Spirit he may understand the Laws of God to be Eternal Verities We conclude therefore that God was described as a Prince and Law-giver and stiled Just and Merciful only in regard to the Capacity of the Vulgar and their want of Knowledge but that God from the necessity and perfection of his Nature doth act and govern all things and his Will and Decrees are Eternal Verities and imply Eternal Necessity which is the thing I purposed in the first Place to explain and prove passing now to the Second Particular let us run through the whole Scripture and see what it saith of this Natural Light and Divine Law. The first thing we meet with is the History of the first Man where we are told God commanded Adam he should not eat of the Fruit of the Tree of good and evil which seems to signify that God commanded Adam to do and seek
Reason and Experience for they who most excel in fancy and imagination are less apt to understand things clearly and they that have excellent understandings have their fancy and imagination not so strong but better kept within compass that it may not be confounded with the intellect those Men therefore who endeavor out of the Books of the Prophets to find the true knowledge of Natural and Spiritual things are extremely mistaken which I purpose to shew at large because the Times Philosophy and the matter it self requires it I will not at all value what superstition babbles to the contrary which hates nothing more then such Men as live good Lives and are lovers of true solid knowledge with shame be it spoken 't is now come to that pass that they who freely confess they have no particular Idea of God and only know him by created Beings of whose Causes they are Ignorant are presently branded with the Name of Atheists To proceed orderly in proving the Point I will shew that there was a difference between the Prophets not only in respect of imagination and temperament of Body but also in respect of the Opinions wherewith they were prepossest so that they never became the more Learned by Prophesy which I will presently more fully make out but I must first speak of the Prophets certainty because it belongs to the Subject of this Chapter and because it contributes somewhat to the Proof of what I design to demonstrate Because simple imagination doth not in its own Nature include certainty as every clear and distinct Idea doth there must necessarily some other thing accompany imagination to make us sure of the things we imagin and that is reasoning whence it follows that Prophesy of it self doth not include certainty because it depends only upon the imagination and therefore the Prophets themselves were not certain of what God revealed by the Revelation it self but by some sign as appears by Abraham Gen. chap. 15. v. 8. And he said Lord God whereby shall I know that I shall Inherit it asking a Sign after he heard the promise without doubt he believed God and did not ask the sign that he might believe but that he might be sure the promise came from God. The same thing more plainly appears by Gideon Judges chap. 6. v. 17 and he said unto him if I have found Grace in thy sight then shew me a Sign that thou talkest with me God said to Moses let this be a sign unto thee Ezechiah who well knew that Isaiah was a Prophet asked a sign of him when he foretold his recovery which shews that the Prophets had always some sign by which they were certain of the things they Prophetically imagined and therefore Moses Deut. chap. 18. v. 22. bids the People ask a sign of any that pretend to Prophesy which sign was to be foretelling some future event Prophesy therefore in this particular gives Place to Natural knowledge which needs no sign but in its own Nature includes certainty but the certainty of Prophesy was not Mathematical but only Moral which also appears by Scripture Deut. chap. 13. Moses warneth the People that if any Prophet should teach them to Worship any other God tho' he confirmed his Doctrine by Signs and Miracles yet the Prophet was to be put to death for Moses goes on and says that God did by Signs and Miracles prove the People whether they loved the Lord with all their heart Christ in like manner warneth his Disciples telling them Math. chap. 24. v. 24. there should arise false Christs and false Prophets and should shew great signs and wonders Ezechiel chap. 14. v. 9. plainly declares that God sometimes deceives Men with false Revelations And if the Prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing I the Lord have deceived that Prophet which Michaiah also testifies of the Prophets of Ahab 1 st Book of Kings chap. 22. v. 21. 22 23. And tho' this shews Prophesy to be a thing somewhat doubtful and uncertain yet it had a great deal of certainty in it for God never deceiveth the Godly and Elect but according to that saying in the 1 st Book of Sam. chap. 24. v. 13. As saith the Proverb of the Ancients wickedness proceedeth from the wicked but my hand shall not be upon thee and as it likewise appears by the History of Abigal and her discourse God useth pious Persons as Instruments of his goodness and wicked Men for Executioners of his wrath this likewise is made Evident by the Case of the Prophet Michaiah for tho' God had decreed Ahab should be deceived by the Prophets he made use of false Prophets but to a good Prophet revealed the Truth of what was to happen and did not hinder the Prophet from foretelling the Truth but still the certainty of the Prophet was but Moral because no Man can justify himself before God nor boast that he is the Instrument of God the Anger of God led David to Number the People whose Piety the Scripture sufficiently declares all Prophetical certainty was founded upon three Particulars First the Prophets did as strongly and with as much vivacity imagin the things revealed as Men waking use to do the things they see Secondly the certainty of the Prophets was confirm'd by a Sign and Thirdly because their Minds were continually inclin'd to Vertue and Justice tho' the Scripture doth not always make mention of the sign yet we ought to believe the Prophets still had a sign for the Scripture doth many times leave out circumstances and conditions and relates things as supposed to be known Moreover it is to be granted that the Prophets who Prophesied nothing new but what was contain'd in the Law of Moses had no need of a sign for example the Prophesy of Ieremy concerning the destruction of Ierusalem needed no sign because 't was confirm'd by the Prophesies of the rest of the Prophets and by the threatnings of the Law but for the confirmation of Hananiahs Prophesy who against all the Prophets foretold the sudden Restauration of the City there was necessity of a sign till the coming to pass of what he predicted should make it good Ierem. chap. 28. v. 9 10. Seing then the certainty of Prophesy which depended upon signs was not Mathematical that is such as necessarily follow'd from the thing apprehended or seen but only Moral and that signs were given to satisfy and convince the Prophet himself it likewise follows that signs were given according to the Opinion and Capacity of the Prophet so that the sign which made one Prophet confident and certain of his Prophesy could not assure another as the signs were different and various so also Revelation it self did vary in every Prophet according to the disposition of his imagination the temper of his constitution or the Opinions wherewith he was prepossest for example if a Prophet were chearful and merry to him were revealed Victories and Peace which cause Mirth and Gladness such things using
is most likely to incline him most religiously and heartily to serve God and of this mind was Iosephus for he concludes his Second Book of Antiquities with these words Neither ought any Man to marvel at this so wonderful discourse that thorow the Red Sea a passage should be found to save so many Persons in times past and they rude and simple whether it were done by the Will of God or that it chanced of it self since not long time ago God so thinking it good the Sea of Pamphilia divided it self to give way to Alexander King of Macedons Souldiers having no other passage to destroy the Empire of the Persians and this all acknowledge who have Written the Acts of Alexander and therefore of these things let every one think as he pleaseth Chap. VII Of the Interpretation of Scripture MOst Men acknowledge the Holy Scripture to be the Word of God which teacheth Mankind the way to true Happiness and Salvation but this Opinion hath so little influence upon Mens Lives that the common People take no care to regulate theirs according to the Doctrines of Scripture and every Man believing himself divinely inspired would under pretence of Religion compel all others to be of his Opinion We often see those whom we call Divines very solicitous to father their own Fancies upon Scripture and the Divine Authority thereof making no scruple with great boldness to interpret it and tell us what is the mind of the Holy Ghost When they meet with any difficulties they do not so much fear mistaking the Holy Spirits meaning and the right way to Salvation as to be found guilty of Error and by loosing their Authority to fall into contempt but if Men did heartily believe that which they profess concerning the Scriptures they would lead other kind of Lives there would not be half so much contention and hatred in the World as now there is nor would Men with so much Blind Zeal and boldness venture upon expounding Scripture and introduce so many novelties into Religion but on the contrary would be very cautious of maintaining any thing for Scripture Doctrine which is not manifestly contained in it and the Men who have not been affraid to adulterate Scripture in so many places would never have commited such impious Sacriledge But ambition and wickedness have so far prevailed that Religion doth now consist not so much in obeying the dictates of the Holy Spirit as in defending Mens own fantastical opinions Charity is now no part of Religion but discord and implacable hatred pass under the masque of Godly Zeal To these evils superstition hath joyned it self teaching Men to despise reason and nature and to admire and reverence that only which is repugnant to both 't is no wonder that Men to be thought the greater admirers of Scripture should Study so to expound it that it may seem contradictory both to nature and reason and therefore dream of profound misteries hidden in it which misteries that is their own obsurdities they labour and weary themselves to find out and neglecting things which are of most use ascribe to the Holy Spirit all the Dotages of their own imagination and with much heat and passion endeavor to defend their own idle conceits Whatever is the result of Mens understanding that Men endeavor to maintain by clear and pure reason but all opinions derived from their passions and affections must be defended by them to avoid these troubles and to free our minds from all Theological prejudices that we may not rashly receive the Foolish inventions of Men for the Doctrins of God I will now treat of a right method of interpreting Scripture of which method whoever is ignorant he can never certainly know the true Sense and meaning either of the Scripture or the Holy Ghost I say in few Words that the method of interpreting Scripture doth not differ from the method of interpreting nature for as the method of explaining nature cheifly consists in framing a History thereof from whence as from undeniable concessions shall follow the definitions of natural things so likewise to expound Scripture it is absolutely necessary to compose a true History thereof that thence as from sure Principles we may by rational consequences collect the meaning of those who were Authors of the Scripture that every one who admits of no other Principles or concessions in expounding Scripture or in reasoning of the things therein contain'd but such as are fetcht from the Scripture it self or the History of it may proceed without danger of Erring and be able to discourse and reason as securely of things which exceed human capacity as of any thing we know by natural light Now that it may evidently appear that this is the only sure way and agrees with the method of explaining nature we are to observe that the Scripture very often treats of things that cannot be deduced from Principles known to us by natural light because Revelations make up the greatest part of Scripture History which Principaly contains Miracles that is as we have already shew'd in the foregoing Chapter narrations of things not common or usual in nature suted and fitted to the judgment and opinions of the Historians that wrote them Revelations also as we have shew'd in the Second Chapter were accomodated to the opinions of the Prophets and exceed human capacity wherefore the knowledge of all these things that is of almost every thing contained in Scripture ought to be derived only from Scripture as the knowledge of natural things ought to be from nature as for moral Doctrins contained in the Bible tho' they may be demonstrated from common and general Notions yet it doth not appear by those Notions that the Scripture teacheth those Doctrins nothing but the Scripture it self makes out that and to give a clear demonstration of the Scripture's Divinity we must from the Scripture it self prove the Truth of the Moral Doctrins which it teacheth because in that Truth only the Divine Authority of Scripture appears for as we have already shewn the certainty of the Prophets consisted in their being just and vertuous which to make us believe them ought likewise appear to us We have already shewn that Miracles cannot prove the Divine Nature of God and that they might be wrought by false Prophets the Divine Authority of Scripture appears then in its teaching us what is true and real Vertue and that can be proved only by Scripture it self if not we could not without a great deal of prejudice believe the Scriptures and think them to be of divine inspiration the Scripture indeed doth not give us any definition of the things whereof it treats so neither doth Nature and therefore as from several Actions of Nature we make definitions of natural things in the same manner from several narrations of all things contained in Scripture are conclusions to be drawn The general rule then of interpreting Scripture is that we conclude nothing to be Doctrine which doth not manifestly
obscurely but that they may be quickly understood according to that usual saying a Word to the Wise. Euclyd who writ of nothing but what is very plain and obvious is easily understood by every Body in any Language and therefore to be sure of his Sense and meaning there is no need of a perfect but only a superficial knowledge of the Tongue wherein he wrote nor of knowing his Life Study Manners in what Language when or to whom he wrote neither knowing the Fate of his Book its various readings or how it came to be generally received what I say of Euclyd may be said of all Men who have written of things in their own nature easy to be understood so that we conclude the meaning of the Scripture and the true Sense thereof concerning moral Doctrins may be easily attained by such a History as might be composed of it For all Lessons of true Piety are given us in words of common and frequent use and are therefore plain and easy to be understood and because our happiness and the peace of our Lives consists in Tranquillity of Mind which we find only in things which we clearly understand it evidently follows that we may certainly find out the meaning of Scripture in things necessary to happiness and Salvation and therefore we need not be so Sollicitous about other matters which when they seem so difficult to our reason and understanding have more curiosity in them then profit I have now shewn what is the true method of explaining Scripture and sully declared my opinion concerning it I doubt not but every one sees this method requires nothing more then natural reason whose Nature and Vertue cheifly consists in deducing by right consequences things obscure from known and indisputable concessions and tho' we grant that this natural light is not sufficient to find out all things in Scripture it is not from any defect in this natural light but because the right way which it shews us was never observed and troden by Men So that in tract of time it is become painful and almost impossible to pass as in my opinion manifestly appears by the difficulties I have mentioned It now remains that I examin those Mens opinions who are not of mine the first to be considered is theirs who positively affirm that natural light is not sufficient to interpret Scripture and that only Supernatural light can do it but what they mean by Supernatural light I leave them to explain I suppose they do but in obscure terms confess that they are very doubtful of the true Sense of Scripture for if we diligently consider their expositions we shall find they contain nothing Supernatural yea they will appear to be meer conjectures if they be compared with their explanations who pretend to nothing more then what is natural they will be found like them to be human long Studied and Elaborate In maintaining that natural light is not able to explain Scripture they are mistaken what we have said makes it clear that the difficulty of expounding Scripture doth not arise from any defect of strength in natural light but only from Mens sloth I will not say malice who have neglected to Compose such a History of Scripture as might have been framed of it and also because all Men if I be not deceived confess that Supernatural light is a divine gift bestowed only upon believers but the Prophets and Apostles Preached not only to believers but to wicked unbelievers who were notwithstanding their impiety and unbelief capable of understanding the meaning of the Prophets otherwise they had Preached but to Children and Infants and not to Men endued with reason and Moses had in vain prescribed Laws if his Laws were intelligible only to believers who needed no Law. Wherefore they that seek after supernatural light to understand the mind of the Prophets and Apostles seem void even of natural light and such I think are far from having that Heavenly Gift of light supernatural Maimonides was not of these Mens Opinion for he thought most places of Scripture would bear several yea contrary Senses and thought likewise that we cannot be certain of the true Sense of any place unless we know the place as we interpret it to contain nothing but what is agreeable to reason or not contrary to it for if in its litteral Sense it appear repugnant to reason tho' the Sense appear clear yet he thinks the place ought to be otherwise interpreted and this he plainly declares in the 25 th Chapter of his Book called More Nebuchin where he saith know that I do not refuse to say the World is eternal because there are Texts in Scripture which say the World was created for the Texts which declare the World was created are not more then those that tell us God is Corporeal neither are the ways of expounding those Texts concerning the Creation of the World Shut up or barred against us but we could as well explain them as I did the other when I proved God to be incorporeal perhaps I could better and with more ease expound the Texts of the Worlds Creation and maintain the World to be eternal then I did those of Gods corporiety when I proved God to be incorporeal but for two reasons I will not do it or believe that the World is eternal First because it is evident by a clear Demonstration that God is not Corporeal for all places of Scripture whose litteral Sense is repugnant to a Demonstration require explication because it is certain they ought not to be taken litterally but the eternity of the World is not proved by any Demonstration and therefore it is not necessary to offer violence to the Scripture and wrest it by expositions to maintain an opinion that is but probable when we may with any reason maintain the contrary opinion The second reason is because believing God to be incorporeal is not contrary to the Fundamentals of the Law but to believe the eternity of the World as Aristotle did destroyeth the very Foundation of the Law. These are the Words of Maimonides from which that manifestly follows which I said before for if he were convinced by reason that the World was eternal he would not scruple to wrest the Scripture and make such expositions of it as might support that opiuion and he would be presently certain that the Scripture tho' it every where plainly say the contrary did declare the World to be eternal and consequently could never be certain of the true Sense of Scripture tho' never so plain so long as he doubted the Truth of the thing or that the Truth were not evident to him for so long as the Truth of a thing is not apparent we are so long ignorant whether the thing be agreeable or contrary to reason and consequently we know not whether the litteral Sense be true or false which opinion if it were true I would absolutely grant that some other light beside what is natural is necessary