is lawful for every Man to think as he pleaseth and to speak what he thinks CHAP. I. Concerning Prophesy PRophesy or Revelation is the true Knowledge of any thing revealed to Men by God and he is a Prophet who declares and expounds those things which God hath revealed to Persons that cannot have any certain knowledge of those Revelations but must therefore only by mere Faith receive and embrace them A Prophet was by the Iews called Nabi that is an Orator or Interpreter as appears in the 7 th chap. of Exodus v. 1 st And the Lord said unto Moses see I have made thee a God to Pharaoh and Aron thy Brother shall be thy Prophet as if he should have said Aron by Interpreting to Pharaoh what thou say'st shall Act the Part of a Prophet and thou the Part of God. We will speak of Prophets in the next Chapter but in this only of Prophesy It follows from the definition which hath been given of it that Natural knowledge may be called Prophesy for those things which we know by the light of nature depend only upon the knowledge of God and his Eternal decrees but because this knowledge is natural to all Mankind being founded upon Principles common to all Men 't is of no value with the vulgar who always affecting things rare and out of their Road despise the Gifts of Nature and therefore whereever mention is made of Prophetical knowledge they totally exclude Natural which may with as much right be called Divine as the other whatever it be seeing the Nature of God of which we participate and the decrees of God dictate it unto us neither doth Natural knowledge differ from that which Men call Divine but only because Divine knowledge exceedeth the Limits of Natural and because the Laws of Humane Nature considered in themselves cannot be the cause of Divine knowledge but Natural knowledge in respect of the certainty which it includes and in respect of the Fountain from whence it proceeds namely from God himself doth in no wise give place to Prophetical knowledge unless some will think or rather dream that the Prophets had Humane Bodies but not Humane Souls and therefore their perceptions and knowledge were of a quite different Nature from ours But though natural knowledge be Divine yet they that possess and propagate it cannot be called Prophtes because the things which they teach may with equal certainty and in as high a degree be Apprehended and Embraced by others as well as by themselves and that too not by Faith only Since therefore our Mind for no other reason but only because it containeth in it self the Nature of God as its Object and also participating thereof is able to Form certain Notions which explicate the Nature of things and teach us the use of Life we may with reason conclude that the Nature of Man's mind being what 't is conceived to be is the prime Cause of Divine Revelation for all those things which we clearly and distinctly understand the Idea of God as we have already shewn and Nature dictate to us not in words but in a much more excellent manner and such as best suites with the Nature of the Mind as every one finds by his own experience who hath but tasted what certain knowledge is but because my cheif purpose is to speak of those things which belong only to the Scripture that little I have said of Natural knowledge shall suffice and I now proceed to other causes and means by which God reveals to Men those things which do exceed and also those which do not exceed the bounds of Natural knowledge for nothing hinders but that those things which we know by the Light of Nature God may by other ways communicate to Men of which now I will more fully Treat But whatsoever is said upon this Subject ought to be fetcht only from Scripture for we can say no more of things that pass our understanding then that which the Prophets have deliver'd to us either by word or writing and because we have not any Prophets that I know in these our days all that we have to do is diligently to peruse the Sacred Volums which the Prophets have left us but still with this caution that we determin nothing positively of things of this Nature nor attribute any thing to the Prophets themselves which they have not plainly spoken and taught But it is in the first place to be observed that the Iews never used to make mention of mediate and particular Causes nor ever regarded them but for the promoting of Religion Piety and Devotion had always recourse to God for Example if they got Money by the Trade of Merchandizing they said God gave it if they earnestly desired to do any thing they said God disposed their Hearts to it if they seriously thought on any thing they said it was declared to them by God so that every thing which the Scripture saith God declared to any one is not to be taken for Prophesy and Supernatural knowledge but that only which the Scripture expresly declares or from the Circumstances of the narration plainly appears to be Prophesy and Revelation If then we run through all the Sacred Volums we shall find that all those things which God revealed to the Prophets were revealed to them either by words or by Figures and Signs or else by both together and that the words and Signs were either real and true without the imagination of the hearing and seeing Prophet or but imaginary that is the fancy and imagination of the Prophet even when he was awake was so disposed that he verily thought he heard words or saw and beheld some thing or sign God in a true and real voice revealed those Laws to Moses which he prescribed to the Iews as appears by the 25 th chap. of Exod. v. 22. where he saith And there will I meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy Seat from between thee two Cherubims which plainly shews that God made use of some real voice seeing Moses where-ever he pleased found God ready to speak to him and that only this voice by which the Law was Published was a true and real voice I will presently shew One would think that the voice by which God called Samuel was real because in the first Book of Sam. the 3 d. chap. and last verse it is said The Lord appeared again in Shiloh for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord as if he had said the appearance of God to Samuel was nothing else but Gods making known himself to him by word or signifyed no more then that Samuel heard God speaking but because we are forced to distinguish between the Prophesy of Moses and that of the other Prophets it must be concluded that the voice heard by Samuel was but imaginary because it was like the voice of Ely which he had so often heard and therefore the sooner
Law which depends upon the necessity of Nature is that which necessarily follows from the very Nature or Definition of any thing and the Law which depends upon the Pleasure of Men and is more properly called Law is that which Men for the greater safety and benefit of Life or for other Causes do prescribe to themselves and others for Example that all Bodies when they hit or dash against other less Bodies do loose so much of their own Motion as they impart to those other less Bodies is the Universal Law of all Bodies which follows from the necessity of Nature so likewise when a Man remembers one thing he is presently mindful of another like it or as soon as he sees them together is a Law which necessarily follows from Human Nature but that Men voluntarily part with or are compell'd to part with that Right which every one hath by Nature and oblige themselves to a certain Rule and Manner of living depends upon the Will and Pleasure of Men and tho' it be absolutely granted that all things by the Universal Laws of Nature are ordain'd to be and Operate according to a certain and determinate Rule yet I say those Laws do depend upon the Pleasure of Men. First because Man as he is a great part of Nature makes and constitutes a part of the Power of Nature and therefore those things which follow from the necessity of Human Nature that is from Nature it self as we conceive it regulated by Human Nature tho' they follow necessarily yet they follow from Human Power wherefore the Sanction of those Laws may very well be said to depend upon the Will of Men because it so depends upon the Power of Mans Mind that the Mind of Man as it apprehends things under the Notion of true or false may nevertheless be clearly understood without those Universal Laws but not without the Law of necessity as I have defined it Secondly I have said those Universal Laws of nature depend upon the Pleasure of Men because we ought to define and explain things by their next and immediate causes and that Universal consideration of Fate and the chaining together of causes can no way help us in the forming and ordering our thoughts concerning particular things that is we know not how things are ordered and tyed together so that it is better yea absolutely necessary for the benefit of Life to consider things as they are possible and so much of Law consider'd absolutely But because the name of Law by Translation is apply'd to natural things and commonly by Law nothing else is meant but a command which Men may or may not perform so that it confines human Power to bounds and limits beyond which it might go and yet commands nothing which it is not able to do therefore Law more particularly defined is that rule and manner of living which Men for some end prescribe to themselves or to others but because very few know the true end of Laws and Men being for the most part incapable of Understanding it do not live according to the dictates of reason therefore Law-givers that they might equally bind all have wisely establisht an end very different from that which necessarily follows from the Nature of Laws namely by propounding to those who keep the Law that which they most love and by threatning the breakers of the Law with that which they most fear and so endeavor as far as 't is possible to rule the multitude as a Horse is govern'd with a Bridle so that Law in its common acceptation is that rule of living which by the Power of others is prescribed to Men and consequently that they who obey Laws are said to live under Law and may be called Servants or Subjects he that giveth to every one his due because he is afraid of the gallows is under the Power of another and being compell'd by the fear of punishment to do what he doth cannot be called just but he that giveth to every one his due because he knows the necessity and the true end and reason of Laws what he doth is free and voluntary and he may therefore be deservedly called a just Man which I suppose to be St. Pauls meaning when he said they that lived under the Law could not be justify'd fy'd by the Law for justice as it is commonly defined is a constant Voluntary resolution of rendring to every Man that which is his due and therefore Solomon Prov. chap. 20. v. 15. saith it is joy to the just to do judgment but the wicked fear Seeing then Law is nothing else but a rule of living which Men for some end prescribe to themselves or to others the Law may therefore be distinguisht into human and divine by Mans Law we understand that rule of living which secures life and the weal public but the Divine Law hath respect only to our cheifest good that is the true knowledge and love of God the reason why I call this Law Divine is in respect of the Nature of our cheifest good which I will with all possible brevity and plainess declare Whereas our better part is our underderstanding it is certain if we seek our own good we ought cheifly to endeavour as much as is possible the perfecting our intellect because in the perfection of that consists our cheifest happiness and since all our knowledge and certainty which removes all doubt depends only upon the knowledge of God because nothing can be or be known without God and because we may doubt of all things while we have no clear and distinct Idea of God it follows that our perfection and cheifest happiness depends only upon the knowledge of God. Moreover since nothing can either exist or be known without God it is certain that all things in Nature in respect of their essence and perfection do imply and express the Notion of God and consequently the more we know natural things the greater and more perfect knowledge we acquire of God because the knowledge of an effect by its Cause is nothing else but knowing the true Nature and Property of the cause so that by how much the more we know natural things so much the more perfectly do we know the being of God who is the cause of all things and all our knowledge that is our cheifest happiness doth not only depend upon but wholly consists in the knowledge of God which consequence is made good by a Mans becomming more or less perfect according to the Nature and perfection of the thing he most loves and so on the contrary He therefore is most perfect who pertakes most of the highest Beatitude and who above all things loves and is most delighted with the intellectual knowledge of God who is the most perfect of all beings Hitherto then our cheifest good and happiness still returns into the knowledge of God the end then of all human actions so far as we have an Idea of him being God the means which this end
requires may be called the commands of God because they are as it were prescribed by God existing in our minds and the rule of living which respecteth this end may be called the divine Law but what those means are and what that manner of living is which this end requires how the best Goverments and Men in living one with another should pursue this end is a Subject for moral Philosophy to handle my present business is only to speak in general of the Law divine If then the love of God be Man's cheifest felicity and beatitude and the ultimate end and scope of all Mens actions it follows that he only keeps Gods Law whose care is to love God not for fear of punishment or for the love of any other thing as Pleasure Wealth Fame c. but only because he knows God or because he knows that the knowledge and love of God is the cheifest good the summ then and cheif precept of the Divine Law is to love God as our cheifest good not as we have already said for fear of some Evil or Punishment nor for the love of any other thing in which we take delight But tho' the Notion of a God dictate to us that God is our cheifest good and that the knowledge and love of God is the end to which all our Actions ought to be directed yet the carnal Man cannot understand these things and they seem vanity to him because he hath too low and narrow a knowledge of God and because also in this cheifest good which consists only in speculation and purity of the mind he finds nothing that he can handle eat or wherewith to gratify the Flesh with which he is most pleased but they that know there is nothing more excellent then reason and a clear understanding will esteem them the most solid of all Pleasures We have now shewn in what cheifly the Divine Law consists and what are human Laws namely all those which are directed to another end unless they were establisht by divine Revelation for under this consideration things also as we have already shewn are attributed to God and in this sense the Law of Moses tho' it were not Universal but accomodated to the disposition and preservation of one particular People may be called the Law of God or the Divine Law seeing we believe it given by prophetical Revelation So that now if we consider the natural Divine Law as we have explain'd it we shall find it to be Universal and common to all Mankind since we have derived it from human Nature in general Secondly that it doth not require the belief of Histories whatever they be since this Divine natural Law is understood only in consideration of human Nature and we may as well conceive it in any other Man as in Adam and as well in a Man who lives a solitary as in one that leads a social Life nor can the belief of Histories tho' true give us the knowledge or consequently the Love of God for the Love of God proceeds from the knowledge of God and the knowledge of God must be derived from common notions in themselves certain and known so that the belief of History is far from being a means absolutely necessary to the attainment of our cheifest good but tho' the belief of Histories cannot give us the knowledge and Love of God yet we grant reading of them to be very useful in respect of civil Life for the more we know and observe Mens manners and conditions of which their Actions are the best evidence with the greater caution may we live amongst them and the better may we suite our Lives and Actions to their dispositions so far as is reasonable Thirdly this natural Divine Law requires no Ceremonies that is Actions in themselves indifferent and are only good in respect of their institution or because they represent some good necessary to our well being or rather Actions whereof our understanding doth not comprehend the reason for natural light requires nothing but what that light can attain to and only that which it discovers to us can be our good and the way to our happiness those which are good only by precept and institution or because they are representatives of some good they cannot perfect our understanding they are but meer shadows and and cannot be reckon'd amongst those Actions which are the Off-spring and Fruits of our knowledge and sound judgment which to prove more at large is not here necessary Fourthly the highest reward of the Divine Law is the Law it self namely to know God and to love him freely and continually with the whole heart and the penalty of the Law is the loss of that knowledge and love the Bondage of the Flesh and an inconstant Fluctuating Mind These things thus considered we are now to inquire first whether by natural light we can conceive and know God as a Law-giver and Prince prescribing Laws to Men Secondly what the Scripture saith of this natural light and Law Thirdly to what end Ceremonies were instituted Fourthly of what concern it is to know and believe the Sacred Histories Of the two first particulars we will treat in this and of the two last in the following Chapter What we are to conclude concerning the first particular may be easily deduced from the Nature of Gods will which is distinguisht from Gods knowledge only in respect of our reason that is the will and knowledge of God are in themselves one and the same thing nor are they distinguisht but in reference to the thoughts we form of Gods knowledge for example when we consider that the Nature of a Triangle is from all eternity contain'd in the Divine Nature as an eternal Truth then we say God hath the Idea of a Triangle or understandeth the Nature of a Triangle but when afterwards we consider that the Nature of a Triangle is so contain'd in the Divine Nature not in respect of the necessity of the essence and Nature of a Triangle but in respect only of the necessity of the divine nature yea that the necessity of the essence and Properties of a Triangle as they are conceived to be eternal Verities depend only upon the necessity of the divine nature and knowledge of God and not upon the nature of the Triangle then that which we have called Gods knowledge we call Gods Will and decree therefore in relation to God we say one and the same thing when we say that God knew or that God willed and decreed that three Angles of a Triangle should be equal to two right Angles Whence it follows that Gods affirmations and negations must always imply eternal necessity and verity if then for example God said to Adam that he would not have him eat of the Tree of Good and Evil it would imply a contradiction that Adam should be able to eat of it and it was impossible that Adam should eat of it if that divine decree did imply eternal verity and necessity but because
vertuous but concerned only the Election of the Iews that is by what we have proved in the third Chapter the temporal happiness of the Body and peace of their Government and consequently could be of no longer use than while their Government lasted If those Ceremonies in the Old Testament had any relation to God's Law it was only because they were instituted by revelation or upon revealed Principles but because the most solid reason prevails little with ordinary Church-men I will make use of Scripture to shew upon what account and in what manner Ceremonies were useful to the Establishment and Preservation of the Iewish Common-wealth The Prophet Isaiah very plainly declares that by the Divine Law is meant that Universal Law which consists in living uprightly not in Ceremonies Chap. 1 st v. 10. He calleth upon the People to hear the Law of God but tells them in the following Verses that God hated their Sacrifices and Oblations their New Moons their Feasts and their Sabbaths and in the 16. and 17. Verses declares the Law it self to be comprehended in a few Particulars namely in cleansing the Heart in constantly doing well in relieving the Oppressed and no less clear is that Place in the 40 th Psal. v. 7 8. Sacrifice and Offering thou didst not desire mine Ears hast thou opened burnt Offering and Sin Offering hast thou not required Idelight to do thy Will O God for thy Law is within my Heart here David calls that the Law of God which is written in his Heart or inward Parts separated from Ceremonies which not being in their own Nature good are not written in our minds beside these two Places others may be found in Scripture which testify the same thing but there is no need of more Quotations That Ceremonies conduce not to our true Happiness but respect only the temporary Prosperity of Government appears likewise by the Scripture which for the Observation of Ceremonies promised only bodily Benefits but for keeping the Universal Divine Law true Felicity In the Books commonly called the five Books of Moses nothing is promised but temporal Prosperity namely Honour Fame Victory Riches Pleasures and Health and altho' in those five Books are contained beside Ceremonies many things that are Moral yet they are not there contained as Moral Doctrines and Universal instructions common to all but as Commands and Precepts fitted to the particular Capacity and Genius of the Iewish Nation and such as concern'd the prosperous State of that Government for Example Moses did not teach the Iews as a Doctor and Prophet but commanded them as a Lawgiver and Prince that they should not kill or steal nor doth he prove this as Doctrine by Reason but to his Commands adds Punishment which according to the disposition of every Nation as we find by Experience may and ought to vary the Commandment of not committing Adultery respected only the Prosperity of the Commonwealth and its Government for had it been a Moral Doctrine which concern'd the Peace of the mind as well as of the Commonwealth and every particular Man's true felicity it would have as much condemn'd the inward concupiscence of the Heart as the outward act of Lust as Christ did Math. Chap. 5. v. 28. Whose Doctrines were Universal and therefore the reward which Christ promised were Spiritual and not Corporal for Christ was sent not to ordain Laws and Establish Government but only to Preach and Teach the Universal Divine Law and hereby we understand Christ did not Abrogate the Law of Moses seeing he introduced no new Laws into the Iewish Commonwealth but Preached only Moral Doctrines which he distinguisht from the Laws of the Common-wealth because the Pharisees were so Ignorant that they thought every one lived Righteously who kept Moses Law which as we have already said concern'd only that Commonwealth and served rather to compel then instruct the Iews But let us now return to other places of Scripture which for the observing of Ceremonies promise nothing but bodily benefits and for the keeping of the Universal Divine Law true beat tude In this point none of all the Prophets speaks so plainly as Isaiah Chap. 58. for after Condemning Hypocrisy and commending Liberty and Charity towards themselves and their Neighbours which are Vertues dictated to us by the Universal Divine Law he saith Verse the 8 th Then shall thy Light break out as the Morning and thy Health shall spring forth speedily thy Righteousness shall go before thee the Glory of the Lord shall be thy reward Afterwards he commends to them the keeping of the Sabbath and for their care in observing that he promiseth Verse the 24 th Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth and feed thee with the Heritage of Jacob thy Father for the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it by which we plainly see that the Prophet promised to the Practice of the Divine Natural Law a spiritual Reward a sound Mind in a healthful Body and the Glory of God after Death but to the Observation of Ceremonies nothing but the prosperous continuance of their Government and bodily Happiness in the 24 th and 25 th Psalms no mention is made of Ceremonies but only of moral Duties because those Psalms treat of nothing but true Happiness and Beatitude tho' Parabolically propounded for 't is certain that Gods Holy Hill his Tabernacles and dwelling in them with other Blessings mentioned in those Psalms could not litterally signify the Mountain of Ierusalem or the Tabernacle of Moses for they were inhabited by none but the Tribe of Levi who Ministred in the Tabernacle and Temple Moreover all those Sayings of Solomon cited in the preceding Chapter concerning the Excellency of Wisdom and Knowledge promise true Felicity because they teach us to know and fear God that the Iews after the destruction of their Government were not bound to the Observation and Practice of Ceremonies is evident by the Prophet Ieremy who foretelling the approaching destruction of the City of Ierusalem Chap. 9. v. 23 24. declares that none are acceptable to God but they that know him and understand that he exerciseth loving Kindness Judgment and Righteousness in the Earth and that he will delight in none but those that know these things as if the Prophet had said that after the destruction of the City God would for the future require nothing else of the Iews but the Observation of the Natural Law Obligatory to all Mankind The New Testament likewise proves the same thing for it teacheth only Moral Doctrines and promiseth to the Practice of them the Kingdom of Heaven the Apostles after the Gospel began to be Preached to Nations that were not obliged to the Laws of the Iewish Commonwealth quite left off Ceremonies and if the Pharisees after the destruction of their Government retained any or the greatest part of them it was more to oppose the Christians then to please God for after
would not only exceed the capacity of the vulgar but the understanding of all Mankind for who could possibly retain and comprehend so great a Number of Histories and so many circumstances and parts of Doctrine as might be collected from so many and different Histories truly I cannot be perswaded that those Men who left us the Scripture as we now have it abounded with so much Wit as to be able to find out such a demonstration of its Doctrine much less do I believe that the Doctrine of the Scripture could not have been understood unless we had been told of Isaacs strivings about the digging of Wells of Achitophels Council to Absalon and the Civil Wars between the Children of Iudah and Israel with other Chronicles of like kind or that the Iews who lived in the time of Moses were not so capable of understanding the Doctrine of Scripture by Histories as were the Iews who lived in the time of Esdras of which more hereafter the common People are therefore obliged to know only those Histories which stir up their minds to Devotion Piety and Obedience but they are not competent Judges of those Histories because they are more pleased with the narrations and the unexpected events of things then with the Doctrine it self and for this reason beside the reading of Histories they need Pastors and Ministers in the Church to instruct their weak understanding But not to digress from what we principally design'd to prove we conclude that the belief of Histories whatever they be doth not belong to the Divine Law nor doth of it self make Men happy or blessed nor are Histories profitable except it be in point of Doctrine which is the only thing that makes some Histories therefore contain'd in the Old and New Testament excel those that are profane and common and Scripture Histories mutually compared are more excellent one then another for sound and wholsom Doctrine He then that reads Scripture Histories and in all things gives intire credit to them yet if he follow not their Doctrine and amend his Life it is all one with him as if he read the Alchoran a Comedy or any vulgar History but as we have already said he that never heard of Scripture if his Opinions be true and his Life righteous he is truly blessed and the Spirit of Christ is in him but the Iews are of a contrary Opinion for they say let a Mans Opinions be never so Orthodox and his Life never so vertuous yet if he be guided only by natural Light and not by the Doctrins which are Prophetically revealed to Moses he can never be blessed and happy which Rabbi Maimonides boldly affirms in his Eighth Chapter and Second Law concerning Kings He that receiveth the Seven Commandments and diligently performeth them is one of the Pious among the Nations and Heir of the World to come that is if he receive and Practise them because God in his Law commanded and revealed them by Moses and because those precepts were also given to the Sons of Noah but if he Practise them by the guidance and dictates of natural reason he is none of us nor is he to be thought one of the Pious and Learned of the Nations It was an opinion among the Iews that God gave to Noah seven Commandments and that all Nations were obliged to observe only those seven but that God gave many more Commandments to the Iews that he might make them much happier then other Nations Rabbi Ioseph the Son of Shem Tob in his Book called Kbod Elohim or the Glory of God likewise saith that tho' Aristotle whose Book of Ethicks was in his opinion the best that ever was written had omitted nothing which belonged to that Subject and he himself had diligently Practised all he Writ yet he could not be saved because he embraced those Doctrins he taught as the dictates of reason and not as divine and Prophetical Revelations But these conceits are meer Fopperys grounded neither upon reason or Scripture and need no more confutation then doth the opinion of some Men who maintain that by natural light and reason we cannot know any thing belonging to Salvation a Tenet that cannot be rationally prov'd by Men who do not allow themselves any reason but what is corrupted and depraved and if they boast of any thing above reason 't is meer Folly and far beneath reason as sufficiently appears by their manner of living so that of this we need say no more I will only add this that no Man can be known but by his works and therefore they that abound in the Fruits of Love joy peace long suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance c. against whom saith Paul Galat. chap. 5. v. 22. there is no Law whether they be taught by reason or Scripture they are certainly taught of God and are truly blessed CHAP. VI. Of Miracles AS Men use to call that knowledge Divine which exceeds human capacity and understanding so when any thing is done in nature of which the common People know not the cause that they call the Work of God for the vulgar believe Gods Power and Providence do most plainly appear when they see any thing strange and unusual happen in nature contrary to the customary opinion they have of Nature especially when that which happens is for their benefit and advantage and they think the being of a God never more clearly proved then when nature seems not to keep its constant course and therefore conclude that those Men deny the Being and Providence of God who endeavour to explain and understand what they call Miracles by their natural causes They indeed think that while Nature goes on in her wonted course God doth nothing and on the contrary when God Acts the Power of Nature and Natural Causes are idle and at a stand so that they imagin two numerical distinct Powers namely the Power of God and the Power of Nature appointed and directed or as most Men now believe Created by God but what they mean by either or what they understand by God and Nature they know not but fancy Gods Power to be like that of a great King. And the Power of Nature nothing but blind force and violence the Common People therefore call the extraordinary Works of Nature Miracles or the Works of God and partly out of Devotion partly out of a desire to contradict those that love the Study of Natural Sciences they affect being ignorant of Natural Causes desiring to hear of things they do not know and those things which they least know they most admire by taking away Natural Causes and by imagining things out of the order of Nature they think God is most adored when all things are immediately referr'd to his Power and Will neither do they think the Power of God at any time so wonderful as when according to their fancy it conquers and subdues the Power of Nature Which Opinion was first brought into the World by the Iews who to
always particularly exprest yet we ought to believe that miracles were not wrought without them Which appears by the 14 th chap. of Exod. v. 27. where it is said that only upon the stretching out of Moses's hand the Sea returned again to its full strength without making mention of any Wind yet in the 15 chap. of Exod. called Moses's Song v. 10. it is said thou didst blow with thy Wind that is a strong Wind and the Sea covered them So that this Circumstance was omitted in the Story to make the miracle appear the greater but some will urge that we find many things in Scripture which cannot in appearance be explain'd by natural causes as that the sins of Men may be the cause of the Earths Barrenness and Mens Prayers the cause of its Fertility that Faith may give sight to the Blind with other things of the like kind recorded in the Old and New Testament but to this I have already given Answer in shewing that the Scripture doth not give us the knowledge of things by their next immediate causes but only relates things in that order and expresseth them in such Words and Phrases as are most likely to stir Men up especially the multitude to Devotion and for that reason speaks many times very improperly of God and the things it treats of not so much to convince our reason as to affect and possess our minds and our imaginations if the Scripture should relate the destruction of any Empire in the same manner that Historians and Politicians use to do it would not at all affect the Common People but when the overthrow of a Kingdom is poetically described and declared to be the immediate Work of God's own hand how strangely are Men moved with it When the Scripture saith that for the Sins of Men the Earth is barren or that blind Men are restored to sight by Faith it signifies no more then do those other Sayings that God is angry or grieved with our Sins that he repents of the good he hath done or intended and that God by seeing a Sign called to mind his promise all which Expressions are spoken poetically or according to the Opinions and Prejudices of the Writer so that we absolutely conclude that all things which the Scripture relates to have happen'd did happen as all things do according to the Laws of Nature and if in Scripture there be any thing recorded which by plain and evident Demonstration may be proved to be repugnant to the Laws of Nature or impossible to follow from them we ought to believe it was inserted by Sacrilegious Men for whatever is against Nature is against Reason and whatever is against Reason ought to be rejected as absurd Nothing now remains but only to say somewhat of interpreting Miracles or rather to recollect what hath been already said and illustrate it by some Example which is the fourth Particular I promis'd to treat of That no body by mistaking a Miracle may think there is something in Scripture which is contrary to the Light of Nature It seldom happens that Men relate any thing that comes to pass so nakedly and truly but that to their Relations they add somewhat of their own conceits yea when they see or hear any thing unless they beware of their own preconceived Opinions they will be so far prepossest that they will never rightly understand what they see or hear especially if what hath happen'd be above the Capacity of the Spectator or Relator and it be for his advantage that the thing should happen in that very manner hence it is that Men in their Histories and Chronicles rather vent their own Opinions then make faithful Relations and one and the same Matter of Fact related by two Men of different Opinions shall be so diversly represented that it shall seem two different Cases so that oft times it is not very difficult by the very Histories to discover what were the Opinions of the Historians to Evidence this I might cite many Philosophers who have Written Histories of Nature as well as Chronologeis but I will make use of only one mention'd in Scripture and leave the Reader to judge of the rest In the time of Ioshua when the Iews believed that the Sun was carryed about the Earth by a Dyurnal Motion and that the Earth did not move at all they fitted the Miracle which happen'd when they fought against the five Kings according to this their preconceiv'd Opinion and did not say simply that the day was longer then ordinary but that the Sun and Moon stood still or ceased from motion which at that time served as a very good Argument to convince the Heathen who Worshipped the Sun that their God the Sun was under the Power of another Deity who could at his pleasure make him change his Course and therefore partly out of Religion and partly from the Opinion wherewith they were prepossest they apprehended and related the thing much otherwise then indeed it was therefore to explain Miracles and to understand by their relations how things did truly and really happen it is necessary to know the Opinions of those who first reported the Miracles or left them in Writing and to distinguish their Opinions from that which was represented to them by their Sences else we may confound their Judgments and Opinions with the Miracle it self It is likewise necessary to know their Opinions that we may not confound the things which really happen'd with the things which were only imaginary and but Prophetical Revelations for many things in Scripture are related and believed as things real which were but representations and meer imaginations as that God the first and highest of all Beings descended from Heaven Exod. chap. 19. v. 18. Deut. chap. 5. v. 23. upon Mount Sinai and that the Mountain smoaked because God came down upon it in the midst of Fire we are likewise told of Eliahs going to Heaven in a Fiery Chariot with Horses of Fire all which were but representations suted to the Opinions of them who delivered to us those things for realities when in truth they were but meer representations whoever is but little wiser then the Multitude knows that God hath neither Right or Left Hand that he neither resteth nor moveth that he is comprehensively in no place but is infinite and in him are contain'd all perfections These things I say are known to Men who judge of things by the perceptions of a pure understanding and not as their Fancy is affected by their outward Sences as is usual with the Vulgar who believe God to be Corporeal and imagining he Exerciseth Kingly Dominion fancy his Throne to be in Heaven above the Stars at no great distance from the Earth to which and the like Opinions many Cases in Scripture are Accommodated but yet ought not to be thought real by Wise Men. Truly to understand how Miracles happen'd it concerns us to know the Phrases and Figures of the Hebrew Language for he that is
of Stone but in the fleshly Tables of the Heart Let Men cease to adore the Letter and not be so much concern'd for it Having sufficiently explain'd the Holiness and Divinity of Scripture let us now see what is properly meant by Debar Iehovah the word of God. Debar signifies Word Speech Decree Thing now upon what grounds any thing in the Hebrew Language may be said to be God's or have relation to God I have shew'd in the first Chapter so that I need not repeat what I have there said or in the sixth Chapter what I have said of Miracles 't is evident what the Scripture means by the Word of God To make the thing very clear I need only declare that when the Word of God is predicated of any Subject which is not God himself it properly signifies that Divine Law of which we treated in the fourth Chapter namely That Religion which is universal and common to all mankind mention'd in Isaiah chap. 1. v. 10. where the Prophet declares That the right way of living consisted in Charity and in a sincere and pure Heart which he calls the Law and Word of God The Word of God is also taken Metaphorically for the order or course of Nature and Fate because it follows and depends upon the Eternal Decree of the Divine Nature particularly for whatever the Prophets foresaw in this course of Nature because the Prophets understood future events not by natural Causes but thought them to be the Will and Decrees of God. Moreover it is taken for that which any Prophet commanded or declared because he knew it not by Natural Light but by the singular Vertue and gift of Prophesie and more especially because the Prophets as we have shewed in the fourth Chapter apprehended God under the notion of a Lawgiver for these three reasons then the Scripture is called the Word of God namely because it teacheth us true Religion whereof God from all Eternity is the Author Secondly because it makes Prophesies to be God's Decrees And lastly because the Authors of those Prophesies taught for the most part that which they did not know by Natural Reason but by a faculty and gift peculiar only to them and introduced God speaking as it were in them Now tho' the Scripture contain many things which are meerly Historical and may be unnderstood by Natural Knowledge yet the Scripture is called the Word of God in respect of those other particulars I have last mention'd so that now we plainly see why God is called the Author of the Bible namely upon the account of teaching us what is true Religion and not because it contains and hath communicated to us such a certain number of Books And hence we may also learn that the Bible is divided into the Old and New Testament because before the coming of Christ the Prophets Preached Religion as the Law of their Country and by force of the Covenant made in Moses's time but after Christ's coming because the Apostles preached Religion upon Christ's account as a Law universal to all mankind not that the Prophets and Apostles differ'd in Doctrine or that the Books of either Testament are the Deeds and Indentures of the Written Covenant nor lastly because Natural Religion which is universal is new unless it be in respect of those that knew it not according to that saying of Iohn the Evangelist chap. 1. v. 10. He was in the world and the world knew him not If then we had not some of those Books which the Old and New Testament contain yet we should not want God's Word as it properly signifies true Religion for we do not think any part thereof is wanting tho' we lack many of those other excellent Writings namely the Book of the Law which was so Religiously kept in the Temple as the Original wherein the Covenant was first written with many other Books of the Wars and Records of time from whence the Books of the Old and New Testament which we now have were transcribed and collected And this is made good by many reasons first because the Books of both Testaments were not written at one and the same time for the use of all Ages but by chance for some particular people and that as the Time and their particular Disposition requir'd which plainly appears by the calling of the Prophets who are called to warn and reprove the ungodly of their own time and also by the Writings of the Apostles Secondly Because understanding the Scripture and the meaning of the Prophets is one thing but to understand the Mind of God that is the real truth of things is another as appears by what hath been said in the second Chapter of Prophets which distinction likewise holds in Histories and Miracles as we have shewed in the sixth Chapter But in understanding places which treat of true Religion and real Vertue no such distinction ought to be made Thirdly Because the Books of the Old Testament were chosen out of many others and were approved and joyned together by a Council of the Pharisees as we have declared in the tenth Chapter and for the Books of the New Testament they were receiv'd into the Canon by the Decrees of certain Councils when several other Books by many accounted Sacred were rejected as Spurious These Councils both of Pharisees and Christians were made up of Men who were no Prophets but only learned Doctors yet it must necessarily be granted that in this choice they made the Word of God their Rule so that before they gave their Approbation to the Books they ought to know what was the Word of God. Fourthly Because as we have shewed in the preceding Chapter the Apostles did not write as Prophets but only as Teachers and chose that way of instructing which every one judged most easie for his Disciples from whence it follows as we have concluded in the end of the said Chapter that their Writings contain many things whereof in Respect to Religion we have no absolute need Fifthly and lastly Because in the New Testament there are four whom we call Evangelists but who believes it was God's express Will that the History of Christ should be four times told and deliver'd to Men in Writing Tho' things may be contain'd in one which are not in another and that one helps to understand another we must not therefore conclude that all things which the four declare are absolutely necessary to be known and that God made choice of them to write purposely that the History of Christ might be the better understood for every one preach'd his own Gospel in several places and every one wrote what he preach'd plainly that he might the more faithfully relate the History of Iesus Christ and not for any explanation to the rest If by mutually comparing them together they are sometâ—mes more easily and better understood that happens by chance and only in very few places of which tho' we were ignorant the History notwithstanding would be very perspicuous and
see God's Face Beside these ways and means I have mentioned I find no other in Sacred Sripture whereby God hath communicated himself to Men and therefore as I have already said no other are to be supposed or admitted and though we may clearly understand that God may immediately communicate himself to Men for he without using any Corporeal Means doth communicate his Essence to our Minds yet that any man by the mind alone should comprehend those things which are not contained in the Principles of Natural Knowledge nor can be deduced from them must necessarily argue that that mans mind is far more Noble and Excellent then any Human Understanding Wherefore I believe never any Man arrived to so great a degree of Perfection above others beside Christ to whom the purposes of God for the Salvation of mankind were immediately revealed So that God did manifest himself to the Apostles by the Mind of Christ as he did before to Moses by an Aereal Voice and therefore the Voice of Christ like that which Moses heard may be called the Voice of God. And in this Sense also we may say the Wisdom of God viz. Wisdom more then Human assumed Human Nature in Christ and Christ was the Way to Salvation But I think it necessary for me here to declare that some things which some Churches determine and maintain concerning Christ I do neither assert nor deny for I ingenuously confess I do not understand them those things which I have affirmed I have collected out of the Scripture it self I have no where read that God appeared or spoke to Christ but that God was revealed to the Apostles by Christ who was the Way to Salvation And lastly that the Old Law was not delivered immediately by God but by an Angel. Wherefore if Moses spake to God Face to Face as a Man useth to do with his Friend that is by the mediation of two Bodies Christ communed with God mentally or Mind to Mind I do therefore maintain that beside Christ no Man ever reeived any Revelation from God but by the help of the Imagination or by the help of Words or Signs and therefore to Prophesy there is not so much need of a perfect Understanding as of a Lively Imagination as shall be shown in the following Chapter we are now to inquire what the Scripture means by the Spirit of God infused into the Prophets or the Prophets speaking by the Spirit of God to find out the meaning of these Phrases and Expressions it is first necessary to search what the Hebrew word Ruagh signifies which the Vulgar interprets Spirit The word Ruagh in its Proper and Genuine Sense signifies Wind but is very frequently used to signifie many other things which nevertheless are derived from Wind For sometimes it signifies Breath Psal. 135. v. 17 th Neither is there any Breath in their Mouths Secondly it signifies Life or Respiration 1 st Book of Sam. chap. 30. v. 12. His Spirit came again to him that is he breathed Thirdly it is taken for Courage and Strength Iosu. chap. 11 th v. 11 th There was not a Man left to breath Ezek. chap. 2. v. 2. And the Spirit that is Strength entered into me and set me upon my Feet Fourthly it is taken for Vertue and fitness Iob. chap. 32. v. 8. There is a Spirit in Man that is as appears in the following Verse Wisdom and Understanding but is not always to be found in the Aged for I now find it depends upon the particular Qualification aud Capacity of a Man. So in the 27. chap. of Numb v. 8. Take thee Iosua the Son of Nun a Man in whom is the Spirit Fifthly It is taken for a Man's Opinion Numb chap. 14 v. 24. Because he had another Spirit with him Proverbs chap. 1 st v. 23. I will pour out my Spirit that is my Mind unto you And in this Sense It is used to signifie the Will Purpose or Resolution the Appetite the Desire and the Anger or Passion of the Mind Ezek. chap. 1. v. 12. They went every one straight forward whether the Spirit or their Will was to go they went. Isaiah chap. 30. v. 1. That take Councel but not of me that cover with a Covering but not of my Spirit Isai. chap. 29. v. 10. The Lord hath poured out upon you the Spirit that is the desire of deep Sleep Iudges chap. 8. v. 3. Then their Spirit that is Anger was abated towards him Prov. chap. 16. v. 32. He that ruleth his Spirit that is his Appetite is better then he that taketh a City Prov. chap. 25. v. 28. He that hath no rule over his own Spirit is like a City broken down Isai. chap. 33. v. 11. Your Spirit in the English Translation Breath as Fire shall devour you Moreover this Word Ruagh as it fignifies the Mind so doth it serve to express the Passions and sometimes the gifts of the mind A high Spirit signifies Pride a lowly Spirit humilitly an evil Spirit hatred and melancholly a good Spirit kindness and benignity the Spirit of jealousie the Spirit of fornication the Spirit of wisdom council fortitude which because in Hebrew Substantives are oftner used than Adjectives signify a wise prudent valiant Mind Sixthly it signifies the life or soul Eccles. chap. 3. v. ii Spiritus idem est omnibus The same breath is to all and the Spirit returns to God that gave it Lastly it signisies the quarters of the World from whence the wind blows and likewise the sides of any thing which stands towards those quarters as appears Ezek. chap 37. v. 9 and chap. 42. v. 16,17,18,19 c. Now it is to be noted that a thing is attributed to God and said to be God's First because it pertaineth to the Nature of God and is as it were a part of God as when we say the Power of God the Eyes of God. Secondly when a thing is in the Power of God and Acts according to his Will and Pleasure so in Scripture the Heavens are called the Heavens of God because they are his Chariot and place of Abode Assyria is called the Scourge of God and Nebuchadnezzer the Servant of God. Thirdly when a thing is dedicated to God as the Temple of God the Nazarite of God the Bread of God. Fourthly that which hath been deliver'd by the Prophets and not revealed by the Light of Nature therefore the Law of Moses is called the Law of God. Fifthly when any thing is superlatively exprest as the Mountains of God that is the highest Hills the sleep of God that is deep sleep in this sence is to be understood the 11 th Verse of the 4 th Chap. of Amos where God says I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah that is like that memorable overthrow for seeing God himself speaks it cannot otherwise be properly exprest the Natural Knowledge of Solomon is called Divine and the Knowledge of God because it was so much above that which is
common The Psalms speak of the Cedars of God to express their extraordinary height in the First Book of Sam. Chap. 10. v. 7. it is said The fear of the Lord fell on the People which signifies a very great fear and in this sense all things which exceeded the Capacity of the Iews and whose natural Causes where not known to them were always referr'd and attributed to God. Tempests were called Gods Chiding and Threatnings Thunder and Lightning his Darts and Arrows they thought God kept the Winds shut up in the Caverns of the Earth which they called his Treasuries in which Opinion they differ'd from the Heathen only by believing God and not AEolus to be their Ruler upon this ground Miracles are also called the Works of God that is stupendious wonderful works tho' indeed all things in Nature are the Works of God and only by Divine Power act and subsist in the same Sence the Psalmist calls the Miracles done in Egypt the Powers of God because in the Iews greatest danger they open'd a way to their safety and deliverance when they least expected it and were therefore so much admir'd by them Seeing then the Works of Nature which are strange and unusual are called the Works of God and Trees of extraordinary height and magnitude the Trees of God it is no wonder that in Genesis Men very Valiant and of great Stature tho' impious Robbers and Fornicators were called the Sons of God the Ancient Heathen as well as the Iews used to attribute to God every thing in which any one excell'd other Men Pharaoh when he heard the Interpretation of his Dream said that the Spirit of the Gods was in Ioseph and Nebuchadnezzar said the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in Daniel nothing was more frequent among the Latines then to say things very curiously wrought were done by a Divine Hand which Expression if a Man would turn into Hebrew he must say done by the Hand of God. By these places I have quoted many other in Scripture where mention is made of the Spirit of God may be easily understood and explained the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Iehovah in some places signifie nothing but a vehement dry and destroying Wind as Isa. Chap. 40. v. 7. The Grass withereth the Flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it Also Gen. Chap. 1st v. 2. and the Spirit of God that is a strong Wind moved upon the Waters It also signifies a great Mind or Courage the Courage of Gideon and Sampson are stiled in Scripture the Spirit of God that is a bold daring Mind ready to undertake and attempt any thing So also any particular vertue or skill more then ordinary is in Scripture called the Spirit of God Exod. Chap. 31. v. 3. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in Wisdom and Workmanship speaking of Bezaleel so Isa. Chap. 11. v. 2. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him that is as the Prophet more fully explains himself the Vertue of Wisdom Councel and Might in like manner Sauls Melancholy is called an Evil Spirit of God or from God that is deep Melancholy for Sauls Servants who called his Melancholy the Melancholy of God were they that sent for Musick to recreate him which shew'd that they did not think his Melancholy to be any more than Natural sometimes by the Spirit of God is signified the Life of Man Iob Chap. 27. v. 3. The Spirit of God is in my Nostrils alluding to what is said Gen. Chap. 2. v. 7. God breathed into Mans Nostrils the Breath of Life so Ezek. Chap. 37. v. 14. saith Prophesying to the Dead and I will put my Spirit in you and ye shall live that is I will restore Life to you in the same Sense speaks Iob Ch. 34. v. 14. If he gather unto himself his Spirit and his Breath so likewise is to be understood the 3 Verse of the 6 th Chap. of Gen. My Spirit also shall not always strive with Manfor that he also is flesh that is Man hereafter shall do according to the dictates of his Flesh and not of his Mind which I gave him to discern Good from Evil Psal. 51. v. 10 11. David says Create in me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me cast me not away out of thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me because it was believed that Sins came only from the Flesh and that the Soul or Mind did incline Men only to good therefore the Psalmist implores Gods Assistance against his carnal Affections and prays that his Mind or Soul which God gave him may be preserved and kept by God now because the Scripture describes God like a Man and because the Common Peoples Capacity is weak doth attribute to God a Mind affections of Mind and likewise a Body and Breath therefore the Spirit of God is many times in Scripture taken for the Will the Mind the Power and the Breath of Gods Mouth Isa. Chap. 40. v. 13. the Prophet saith who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord that is who hath disposed the mind of God to will any thing which he himself hath not determin'd Likewise Chap. 63. v. 10. They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit Hence it is that sometimes 't is taken for the Law of Moses because it doth as it were explain and unfold Gods Mind for Isa. in the 11 th V. of the 63. Ch. saith where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him that is the Law as is clearly Collected from the Context Nehemiah Ch. 9. v. 20. saith thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them speaking of the time of the Law Deut. Ch. 4. v. 6. Moses speaking of the Law saith This is your wisdom and understanding so David Psal. 43. v. 11. saith Thy good Spirit leadeth me into the Land of Vprightness that is thy mind revealed to us leadeth us into the right way the Spirit of God also signifies the Breath of God which is as improperly attributed to God as is Body or Mind Psal. 33. v. 6. And all the Host of them by the breath of his Mouth it signifies the power and might of God Iob Chap. 33. v. 4. The Spirit of God hath made me that is the Power of God or rather his decree for the Psalmist speaking poetically saith by the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made and all the Host of them by the Breath of his Mouth Also Psal. 139. v. 7. It is said whether shall I go from thy Spirit where Spirit signifies Gods Power and presence Lastly the Spirit of God is used in Scripture to express the affections of Gods Mind namely his Benignity Mercy c. Michah Chap. 2. v. 7. Is the Spirit of the Lord straightned are these his doings so Zachary Chap. 4. v. 6. not by might not by power but by my Spirit that is only by my Mercy and in this Sense I think ought to be understood
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
know that God was Omniscient and that Human Actions were govern'd by his Decrees for tho' God told him Exod. chap. 3. v. 8. That the Israelites would hearken to his Voice yet Moses doubted and said in the 1 st verse of the 4 th chapter What if they will not believe me nor hearken to my Voice And therefore God was revealed to him as indifferent and ignorant of Mens future Actions for he gave unto him two Signs and said Exod. chap. 4. v. 8 9. And if it shall come to pass they will not believe thee nor hearken to the Voice of the first Sign they will believe the Voice of the latter Sign but if they will not believe the latter Sign then take of the Water of the River c. And indeed if a Man will without prejudice consider the Opinions of Moses it will clearly appear that Moses thought God a Being that always was is and ever shall be and therefore called him Iehovah which in Hebrew expresseth those three times of existing but of his Nature he declared no more then that he was very merciful kind and very jealous as appears in many Places of the Pentateuch He believed and taught also that this Being was so different from all other Beings that he could not be exprest by the likeness of any other visible Thing that he was invisible not because he thought beholding him was in it self impossible but only in respect of Human Frailty he thought also that this Being was in regard of his own Power single and but one he allow'd that there were other Beings which by the Order and Command of God were God's Substitutes and Vicegerents that is Beings to whom God gave Power and Authority to govern Nations to provide for and take care of them but Moses declared the Being which the Iews were bound to worship to be the most high God that is in the Hebrew Phrase the God of all Gods therefore Moses in his Song Exod. chap. 15. v. 11. saith who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods and Iethro Exod. chap. 18. v. 11. saith Now I know that the Lord is greater then all Gods that is I must acknowledge with Moses that Iehovah is greater then all Gods and of Singular Power but whether Moses believed that the Beings which were God's Vicegerents were created by God may be doubted since he said nothing that we know of their Creation or Original Another of Moses's Doctrines was that this being out of a Chaos Gen. chap. 1 st v. 2. brought this Visible World into Form and Order furnished Nature with the Seeds of all things and therefore hath absolute Power and Authority over all things as it is Deut. chap. 10. v. 14 15. And by that absolute Power chose the Iewish Nation for himself and appointed a Particular Place of the Earth for their Habitation Deut. chap. 4. v. 19. and chap. 32. v. 8. But other Nations and Countries he left to the care of other Gods substituted by him and therefore God was called the God of Israel and the God of Ierusalem 2 d. Book of Chron. chap. 32. v. 19. And other Gods were called the Gods of the Nations For this Reason the Jews believed that the Country which God chose for them required a particular and different worship of God from that of other Countries nor would they suffer the worship of other Gods or any worship proper to other Countries to be exercised amongst them it was believed that the People whom the King of Assyria brought into the Country of the Iews were devoured by Lyons because they knew not the manner of the worship of the God of the Land 2 d. Book of Kings chap. 17. v. 24 25. It is the Opinion of Aben Ezra that Iacob upon this Ground when he was about returning into his own Country commanded his Sons to put away the Gods of the Land in which they were and prepare themselves for a new Way of Worship Gen. chap. 35. v. 23. David told Saul because he was by Persecution compell'd to forsake his Country that he was driven out from the Inheritance of the Lord and sent to serve other Gods 1 st Book of Sam. chap. 26. v. 19. Lastly Moses believed that God had his Habitation in the Heavens Deut. chap. 33. v. 26 Which was a frequent Opinion among the Heathen Now if we carefully observe the Revelations of Moses we shall find them fitted and suited to those Conceptions and Opinions which he had of God because he believed that God's Nature was Gracious Merciful Longsuffering c. Therefore according to this Opinion and these Attributes was God revealed to him Exod. chap. 34. v. 6 7. Where it is declared why God appeared to him also Exod. chap. 20. v. 4 5. In Exod. chap. 33. v. 18. We read that Moses desired to see God but because Moses as hath been already said had formed in his imagination no Likeness or Figure of God and as I have already shewed God was not revealed to the Prophets but according to the disposition of their Fancy and Imagination therefore God appeared to him under no Image or Similitude and the Reason of it was because 't was repugnant and contrary to the imagination of Moses but other Prophets Isaiah Ezekiel and Daniel testify that they saw God. Moses was answered by God in the 20 th Verse of the 33. Chap. of Exod. thou canst not see my Face and because Moses believed that God was visible that is it imply'd no contradiction in the Divine Nature to be so else he had never made such a request therefore God also answer'd no Man shall see my Face and live giving a Reason suitable to Moses's Opinion for God did not say that his Divine Nature was in it self invisible and impossible to be seen as indeed it is but that it could not be seen because of human Weakness and Frailty After the Israelites had worshipt the Golden Calf that God might reveal to Moses the Israelites should become like other Nations God tells him Exod. Chap. 33. v. 2 3. that he would send an Angel that is a Being who instead of the supreme Being should take care of the Israelites but that he himself would be no more in the midst of them and from this Moses was to conclude that the Israelites were thenceforth not to be beloved by God any more then other Nations who were committed to the care of Angels or other Beings as appears by the 16 th Verse of the Chapter Lastly because Moses believed that God dwelt in Heaven therefore was God revealed as descending from Heaven upon Mount Sinai and Moses that he might speak with God ascended the Mount which he needed not to have done had he thought God to be in all places The Israelites knew very little of God tho' he was revealed to them as was sufficiently manifested by their bestowing on a Calf the Honour and Worship due to God and by saying to that Calf these be thy Gods
convince the Heathen that then Worshipt the Sun Moon the Earth Water Air c. told them their Gods were weak inconstant mutable and subject to the Power of the invisible God whose Miracles they proclaim'd and by them endeavour'd to prove that the whole frame of Nature was by the Power of that God whom they worshipt created chiefly for their good and benefit with which Opinion Men were so pleas'd that ever since they have not ceased to fain Miracles that they may be thought better beloved by God then others and that the end and purpose of Gods making and preserving all things was chiefly for their sakes How arrogant is the foolish Vulgar who conceive nothing rightly of God or Nature but confound the Ordinances of God with the imaginations of Men and think Nature so narrow that they believe Man to be the principal part thereof Having thus discovered the Opinions and Prejudices of the Common People concerning God and Nature I will proceed in order and shew first that nothing can happen contrary to Nature whose order and course is eternal constant and immutable explaining also what is a Miracle Secondly that we cannot know the essence existence nor consequently the providence of God by Miracles but they more manifestly appear in the constant and unchangeable order of Nature Thirdly I will prove by some Scripture Examples that the Scripture it self by the decrees purposes and providence of God means nothing else but that regular course of Nature which necessarily follows from its eternal Laws Lastly I will shew how Scripture Miracles are to be interpreted and what we are principally to observe in the Relations we have of Miracles all which particulars are the subject of this present Chapter and will be very useful to the design of this whole Treatise The first Particular is proved by what we have said in the 4 th Chapter Concerning the Divine Law namely that whatsoever God willeth and decreeth implyes eternal verity and necessity for the Knowledge of God is not distinguisht from his Will and we say the same thing when we say God willeth and God knoweth any thing because by the same necessity derived from the Nature and Perfection of God whereby he knoweth any thing to be what it is by the same necessity must God will that thing to be what it is but since nothing is necessarily true but what is so by the Will and Decree of God it clearly follows that the Universal Laws of Nature are the very Ordinances of God which flow from the necessity and perfection of his Divine Nature Whatever therefore cometh to pass in Nature which is repugnant to its Universal Laws that must necessarily be contrary to the Decree and Knowledge of the Divine Nature or if any one conclude that God doth any thing against the Laws of Nature he likewise must grant that God Acts contrary to his own Nature which is the greatest of all Absurdities As therefore nothing happens in Nature contrary to its Universal Laws so neither doth any thing happen which doth not agree with and follow from them for whatever is done is done by the Will and eternal Decree of God that is according to Laws and Rules which imply eternal Verity and Necessity and therefore tho' the Laws in which are contained eternal Verity and Necessity be not known to us yet Nature always observes them and consequently keeps her constant and unchangeable course No rational Man can believe the Power and Vertue of Nature to be limited and its Laws confin'd to some particular Operations and Effects and not fitted Universally to all for since the Power and Vertue of Nature is the very Vertue and Power of God we ought to believe the Power of Nature infinite and the Laws of Nature so general that they extend themselves to all things which fall under the comprehension of the Divine Knowledge otherwise it must be granted that God Created Nature so weak and impotent and its Laws and Rules so defective that to preserve and maintain Nature he must upon every new occasion assist and succour it that things may fall out according to his Will which is very irrational for any Man to suppose If then nothing happens in Nature which doth not follow from its Rules and Laws that its Laws are extended to all things within the compass of Divine Knowledge and that Nature keeps a fixed immutable and regular Course it is manifest that whatever Men call a Miracle is only so in respect of their Opinions and signifies nothing else but some work or thing done of which we cannot discover the natural Cause by an example of any thing that ordinarily happens like it at least the Person cannot who relates or records the Miracle I might call that a Miracle whose cause cannot be made out from any natural Principles known by the Light of Nature but because Miracles were wrought according to the Capacity of the Vulgar who knew not the principles of natural things it is certain that the Antients counted that a Miracle which they could not explain as the common People use to do natural things namely by recurring to their Memory for bringing to mind some other thing of the like kind which they did not admire for the common People think they very well understand a thing when they do not admire it By this Rule and no other Men in old and later times have judged of Miracles and it is not to be doubted but many things are related in Scripture for Miracles whose causes might have been made manifest from the known principles of natural things as we have hinted in our 2 d Chapter where we spoke of the Suns standing still in the time of Ioshua and its going backward in the time of Hezekiah on the Dyal of Ahaz but of these things more at large when I come to speak of the Interpretation of Miracles I will now go on to prove the Second particular namely that we cannot by miracles understand the Essence Existence or Providence of God but that they are more clearly apprehended by us in the fixed and immutable order of nature which I thus prove If the Existence of God be not of it self known to us it must then be made out and concluded from Notions whose verity is so firm and unshaken that there cannot be a Power by which those Notions may be changed at least they ought to appear so to us at that time when from them we conclude the existence of God if we will have that existence to be indubitable for if we could think those Notions mutable by any Power whatever it be then might we doubt of the Truth of those Notions and consequently of our conclusion namely God's Existence nor could we be certain of any thing and seeing we cannot know what is congruous or contrary to Nature but that which we prove to be congruous or contrary to those Prime Notions if we could conceive any thing in Nature to be done by any
other Power whatever contrary to Nature that must also be contrary to those first Notions and so be rejected as absurd and against Reason or else we must doubt of our prime Notions and consequently of God and all things else Miracles therefore in what manner soever we apprehend them as they are understood to be Works contrary to the Order of Nature are far from proving God's existence they rather bring it into Question for without Miracles vve may be assur'd of it namely by knovving that all things observe the certain and immutable Order of Nature but granting that to be a miracle vvhich cannot be explained and made knovvn by natural Causes vve ought then either to conclude that it hath natural Causes but such as cannot be found out by Human Understanding or that it hath no immediate Cause but God or his Will but if all things which are effected by Natural Causes are done only by the Power and Will of God we must necessarily at last come to this that whether a Miracle have natural Causes or not it is a Work which cannot be manifested by a Natural Cause that is 't is a Work which exceeds Hnman Capacity and from a Work that exceeds Human Understanding we can understand and collect nothing for whatever we clearly and distinctly understand we do it by the thing it self or some other and that which is clearly and distinctly understood by it self ought to be perfectly known to us therefore by a miracle or any Work exceeding Human Capacity we cannot conceive God's Essence or Existence nor can we absolutely understand any thing of God or Nature but on the contrary when we know all things to be ordained and establisht by God and that the Operations of Nature ncessarily flow from the Essence of God and that the Laws of Nature are the Eternal Decrees and purposes of God it must necessarily be concluded that we so much the better know God and his Will by how much the better we understand and know Natural Things how they depend in their first Cause and how they operate according to the Eternal Laws of Nature So that in Respect of our Understanding with much more Reason are those Works to be called the Works of God and his Will which we clearly and distinctly understand then those of which we are totally ignorant tho' they strangely effect our imagination and cause our wonder because only those Works of Nature which we clearly and distinctly know render our Knowledge of God more sublime and more evidently declare the Will and Decrees of God So that those Men do but trifle who when they do not understand a thing run presently to the Will of God and ridiculously betray their own Ignorance moreover whatever we conclude from miracles yet the Existence of God cannot in any manner be concluded from them for since a miracle is a limited Work and expresseth only a certain and limited Power we cannot from such an Effect conclude the Existence of a Cause whose Power is infinite but only of a Cause whose Power at most is greater then that Effect I say at most because from many concuring Causes there may follow an effect whose Vertue and Power may be less then all the Causes together and yet much greater then the Power of any one of those Causes taken single but because the Laws of Nature As we have already shewn extend themselves to things Infinite being conceived by us under a kind of Eternity and Nature by them proceeds in a certain and unchangeable course so far do those Laws in some measure declare to us the Eternity and Immutability of God and therefore we conclude that neither God's Being or Providence can be known by miracles but may much better be concluded from the fixed and unalterable Course of Nature I speak now of a miracle as it is taken for a Work that is above Human Capacity or believ'd to be so for as it is supposed to be a Work that interrupts or perverts the Order of Nature or is repugnant tc its Laws it is so far from giving us any Knowledge of God that it takes away that which we naturally have and makes us doubt of God and all other things Nor do I know any difference between a thing done contrary to Nature and that which is done above Nature that is as some explain themselves a thing which is not done contrary to the Order of Nature but yet is not effected and produced by Nature for seeing a miracle is not wrought out of Nature but within the Compass of it tho' it be concluded to be above Nature yet it must necessarily interrupt Natures Order which by the Decrees of God we conceived to be fixed and immutable and therefore whatever is done in Nature which doth not follow from the Rules of Nature that must necessarily be repugnant to that Order which God to all Eternity by Universal Laws establisht in Nature and consequently being against Nature and its Laws the believing it must bring all things into doubt and lead us to Atheism So that by what hath been said I hope I have so proved the Second Particular that we may again conclude a miracle whether contrary to Nature or above it to be a meer absurdity and that by a miracle nothing can be understood in Scripture but a Work of Nature which is indeed above Human Understanding or at least believed to be so Before I proceed to the Third Particular I resolve to prove from Scripture that we cannot know God by Miracles indeed the Scripture doth no where Litterally say so but we may conclude it from the 13. Chap. of Deut. Where Moses commands the People to put any Prophet to death who went about to seduce them And tho' the Sign and the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee an yet thou shalt not hearken to the Words of the Prophet for the Lord your God proveth you that Prophet shall be put to death From whence it clearly follows that miracles might be done by false Prophets and unless men were fortifyed with the true Knowledge and Love of God they might be induced by miracles to worship false Gods as well as the true Moses adds because the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love him with all your Heart and with all your Soul. The Israelites notwithstanding all their miracles had no right Notions of God which appears by Experience for in the Absence of Moses they called upon Aron to make them visible Gods who to their Eternal shame made them after so many Miracles done a Calf to represent God. Asaph who had heard of so many miracles yet doubted of God's Providence and had he not at last understood what was true Happiness he had gone out of the right Way Psalm 73. Solomon also in whose time the Iews were in their highest Prosperity believed that all things happened by chance Eccles. Chap. 3. v. 19 20 21. and chap. 9. v. 2 3. The
very Prophets themselves knew not how to reconcile the Course of Nature and Human Eevents with the Notions they had of God's Providence but to Wisemen whose Knowledge is not built on miracles but upon clear and distinct conceptions the thing is very evident especially to those who place true Happiness in Vertue and Tranquility of Mind and study more to submit to Nature then to make Nature obedient to them knowing certainly that God directeth Nature as its own Universal Laws and not as the particular Laws of Human Nature require and that God hath a care not only of Mankind but of the whole Frame of Nature in general and it appears by Scripture that miracles cannot teach us to know God or his Providence tho' we find in Scripture that God wrought miracles to be known to Men. Exod. Chap. 10. v. 2. The wonders which he did in Egypt were to convince the Israelites that there was a God yet it doth not follow that the miracles themselves taught them to know God but only that the Iews were prepossest with such Opinions that they would easily be perswaded by those Signs for as I have already shewed in the Second Chapter that the conceptions which the Prophets had by Revelation were not drawn from Universal and common Notions but from concessions sometimes absurd and from the Opinions of those to whom the Revelations were made and from theirs whom the Holy Spirit would convince as we have proved by many Examples and the Testimony of Paul who was to the Iews a Iew and with the Grecians a Greek But tho' those Miracles were sufficient to convince the Israelites and the Egyptians from their own Principles that there was a God yet they were not able to give them a right understanding and Idea of God they understood nothing more by them then that there was a Power greater then all other known Beings and that that Power took a particular care of the Iews whose Affairs were at that time so prosperous above all other Nations but did not teach them that God hath an equal care of all Mankind which we know only by Philosophy or true Wisdom and therefore the Iews and all that knew nothing of God's Providence but from the different State of Human Affairs and from the disparity of men's Fortunes perswaded themselves that the Iews were better beloved by God then all other Nations tho' they did not excel any other People in Human perfection as we have already declared in our Third Chapter We now proceed to the Third Particular that is to prove by Scripture that the Commands and Decrees of God and consequently his Providence are indeed nothing else but the regular Course of Nature that is when the Scripture saith any thing was done by God or the Will of God nothing more is to be understood then that it was done according to the Order and Rules of Nature and not as the Vulgar imagine that Nature was idle and ceased from Action or that the Order of Nature was for sometime interrupted The Scripture doth not give us the true Knowledge of things which do not concern its Doctrine because as we have already declared it needless it meddles not with demonstrating things by their natural Causes nor with things that are meerly Speculative and therefore to prove by consequence what we intend we will quote some Scripture Histories whose Relations are fullest of Circumstances In the first Book of Sam. Chap. 9. v. 15 16. It is said that God told Samuel in his Ear that he would send Saul to him and yet God did not send him as Men use to send Messenger one to another but this mission of God was nothing but the Order and Course of Nature for Saul sought his Father's lost Asses and thinking he should not find them by Advice of his Father's Servant he went to the Prophet Samuel to know if he could tell him where they were nor doth it appear any where in the whole Relation that Saul had any particular Command from God beside this natural Course to go to Samuel Psal. 105. v. 24. 'T is said that God turned the Heart of the Egyptians to hate the Israelites which turning was Natural as appears by the first Chap. of Exodus where very good Reasons are given for the Egyptians keeping the Israelites in subjection In the 9 th Chap. of Gen. v. 13. God saith to Noah that he would set his Bow in the Cloud which Action of God was nothing but the Reflection and Refraction of the Sun-Beams in the minute drops of Rain Water Psal. 147. v. 18. The natural Operation and warmth of the Wind by which Frost and Snow are melted is called the Word of God and v. 15. the Wind is called the Commandment of God Psal. 104. v. 4. The Wind and the Fire are called the Messengers and Ministers of God and many other like places in Scripture clearly shew that the Decree the Command the Saying and Word of God are nothing else but the Operation and Order of Nature and without doubt many things which are related in Scripture and attributed to God naturally come to pass because it was not the intent of Scripture to give us an account of things by their natural Causes but only to relate those things which strongly possess the imagination and in such manner and stile as was most likely to cause admiration and fill Mens minds with Devotion If then we find in Scripture some things of whose natural causes we are ignorant or that seem to have happen'd against the order of nature we are not presently to doubt but believe that what did really happen came to pass by the course of nature which is confirm'd by the many Circumstances that accompany'd miracles tho' the Circumstances were not particularly related or were at least poetically related I say the Circumstances clearly prove that the miracles required and had natural causes When the Egyptians were to be smitten with the Plague of boiles Moses was to cast up and sprinkle Ashes into the Air Exod. chap. 9. v. 10. The Locusts also by Gods natural command namely by an East Wind blowing a whole Day and Night covered the Land of Egypt and left it again with a strong West Wind Exod chap. 10. v. 13. 19. By the command of God was a way made through the Sea for the Iews by an East Wind that blew a whole Night Exod. chap. 14. v. 21. when the Prophet Elisha was to raise the Child thought to be dead he several times stretched himself upon the Body till he grew warm and opened his Eyes in the 2 d. Book of Kings chap. 4. v. 34,35 so also in the 9 th chap of St. Iohns Gospel some Circumstances are mentioned which Christ used when he Cured the blind Man many other things are related in Scripture which all declare that miracles require somewhat more then the absolute command of God and therefore tho' all the Circumstances of miracles and their natural causes be not
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
shall his Kingdom stand here Christ convinceth the Pharisees from their own Principles and Opinions who said he cast out Devils by Belzebub the Prince of Devils but we ought not to conclude that Christs Words are an absolute proof that there are Devils and a Kingdom of Devils So also when he said to his Disciples Matth. Chap. 18. v. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little Ones for I say unto you that in Heaven their Angels do always behold the Face of my Father which is in Heaven by these Words Christ taught nothing more then that they ought not to be proud or despise any one whatever else was faid was only the better to perswade his Disciples the same may be said of the Signs and Discourses of the Apostles nor need we say more of this Subject because it would be extreamly tedious to Quote all those places of Scripture which are Writen only Ad hominem or according to Mens Capacity and with a great prejudice to Philosophy are maintain'd to be Divine Doctrines 'T is sufficient to have mention'd these few general ones the Curious Reader may himself examine the rest but seeing all those things which I have spoken concerning Prophets and Prophesy do directly concern the thing I aimed at which was to divide Philosophy from Theology yet because I have only touched upon the question generally I will now in the following Chapter inquire whether the Gift of Prophesy were peculiar only to the Iews or common to all Nations And also what is to be understood by the calling of the Iews CHAP. III. Of the calling of the Jews and whether the Gift of Prophesy were peculiar only to the Jews EVery Mans prosperity and true happiness consists only in the fruition of good but not in the glory that he alone and no other Person enjoys that good for whoever thinks himself the more happy because it is well with him when it is not so with other Men or because he is more fortunate and prosperous then others is ignorant what is true felicity and beatitude and the joy which ariseth from such a conceit is Childish and savors of an envious Evil Mind for example Mans true beatitude and felicity consists only in Wisdom and the knowledge of Truth but not in his being wiser then other Men or that other Men want true knowledge for that adds not at all to his Wisdom which is his true happiness he therefore that rejoyceth in being happyer then other Men takes Pleasure in their misfortune and is an envious Evil Man and he that is so never knew true Wisdom or the Peace of a good Life seeing therefore that the Scripture for the better perswading the Iews to obey the Law saith Deut. chap. 10 v. 19. that God chose them above all People and was nigher to them then to all other Nations Deut. chap. 4. v. 7. that he gave them Statutes and Laws more righteous and just then he did to other Nations as it is in the 8 th Verse of the same chap. and lastly that God made himself more known to them then to other People as it is in the 32 th verse of the 4 th chap. All this was spoken according to the capacity and understanding of those that did not know what was true blessedness as we have shewn in the foregoing Chapter and as Moses himself testifies in Deut. chap. 9. v. 6 7. for the Iews had not been less blessed tho' God had equally called all Men to Salvation nor had God been less gracious to them tho' he had been as nigh to other Nations their Laws had not been less righteous nor they less wise tho' the same had been prescribed to all other People and the Miracles done among them had not less declared Gods Power tho' the like had been wrought for other Nations nor had the Iews been the less obliged to serve and Worship God tho' God had equally given to all other Men the same Gifts which he bestow'd on them God's saying to Solomon in the 1 st Book of Kings chap. 3. v. 12. that none after him should be ever like him for understanding seems to be only a manner of speaking to declare the excellency of Solomons Wisdom what ever the words mean yet we ought not to believe that to increase Solomons happiness God promis'd never to make any Man so wise as he for that would not at all have made Solomons Wisdom greater neither would a wise King have given God the less thanks tho' God had said he would bestow as much Wisdom upon all other Men. But tho' we say that Moses in the forecited places of the Pentateuch spake according to the Capacity of the Iews yet we cannot deny but that God prescribed those Laws of the Pentateuch to the Iews only that he spoke only to them and that no other Nation ever saw such miracles as were wrought amongst them all that I intend is that Moses spake after such a manner and made use of such arguments the better to convince their Childish understandings and bind them the faster to the service and worship of God. Lastly we will shew that the Iews did not excel other Nations in knowledge or Piety but in some other thing or that I may with Scripture speak to their Capacity God did not make choise of the Iews above other Nations that their knowledge might be more sublime or their Lives more righteous then other Peopl's but for another end and purpose and what that was we will in order declare But before I begin I will in few words explain what I mean in that which follows by Gods disposing and direction what by Gods external and internal assistance what by Gods calling or Election And Lastly what I intend by fortune I take Gods disposing or direction to be the fixed order and immutable course of Nature or the Concatenation of Natural things and causes for we have already shewn that the universal Laws of Nature whereby all things are done and determin'd are nothing else but Gods eternal decrees which imply eternal verity and necessity therefore whether we say that all things are done and brought to pass according to the Laws of Nature or by the ordination and decree of God we say but one and the same thing because the Power of all Natural beings is nothing else but the Power of God by which all things were ordered and done it therefore follows that whatever Man who is a part of Nature doth for the preservation of his being or whatever Nature without any indeavour of his offers him for that end it is offered by the divine Power operating either by human Nature or by things without it so that whatever human Nature can perform by its own Power for self preservation that may be truly called Gods internal assistance and that benefit and advantage which Man receives from the Power of external causes may be justly termed Gods external help which fully explains what is
to be understood by Gods calling or Election for since no Man can do any thing but by the predeterminate order of Nature that is according to Gods eternal direction and decree it is a necessary consequence that no Man chuseth for himself any way or manner of living or effecteth any thing but by the particular Will and Calling of God who chose him before others so to live and so to Act. Lastly by fortune nothing else is to be understood but Gods disposing and directing human Affairs by external and unexpected Causes These things premised we return to our first purpose of inquiring what it was for which the Iews are said to be chosen by God before other Nations and to make it out I proceed in this manner All those things which we can honestly and lawfully desire may be referred to these three Heads First to know things by their first and immediate Causes Secondly to Master our Passion and affections and acquire a constant habit of vertue and Lastly to live in Bodily health and safty The means directly conducing to the two first of these heads and which may be consider'd as prime and efficient causes are contained in human Nature so that the obtaining of them is within our Power or cheifly depends upon the Laws only of human Nature and therefore it must be concluded that those gifts are not peculiar to any one Nation but were always common to all Mankind unless we can perswade our selves that Nature first procreated diverse kinds of Men but the means which conduce to our living in health and safty consist cheifly in things external and are therefore called the gifts and goods of Fortune because they depend upon the disposition of outward causes of which we are altogether ignorant so that in this particular the Fool and the wise Man is alike happy or unhappy yet as to secure living and to avoid the injuries both of Men and Beasts human wisdom and diligence may contribute very much reason and experience teach us that to live in safty there is no way so ready and certain as to form Societies Subject to Laws to chuse a convenient part of the Earth for habitation and to unite every individual Person 's strength to preserve the whole Collective Body but to the forming and preserving of Societies no little wisdom and diligence is required and therefore that Society shall be more secure more lasting and less Subject to Fortune and Accidents which is founded and ordered by prudent and careful Men and on the contrary those Societies which are formed and govern'd by Men of gross and mean understandings do for the most part depend upon Fortune and are of no long continuance but where such a Society stands long it owes its duration not to its own but to some other conduct and if it overcome great dangers and the Affairs thereof prosper it cannot but admire and adore Gods disposing and ordering things by external and hidden causes when he doth not Act by human Nature and Understanding seeing whatever happens to such a Society of Men beyond their Expectation and Opinion may be counted a Miracle Nations therefore are distinguisht one from another in respect of Society and Laws under which they live and are govern'd so that the Iewish Nation was not chosen by God before others in respect of their understanding and tranquility of mind but in regard of their association and Fortune by which they arriv'd to that government which lasted so many Years it manifestly appears by Scripture that the Iews excelled other Nations only in the prosperous management of those Affairs which concern'd their Living Securely and that they overcame great dangers only by Gods external Assistance but in other things they were but equal to other Nations and God was alike good to all it is evident as we have proved in the preceding Chapter that the Iews as to their knowledge had very vulgar Notions and thoughts of God and therefore as they were not chosen above others upon the account of their knowledge so neither were they chosen in respect of their vertue and good Life for in that they were but like other Nations and but a very few of them were chosen their calling and election consisted in the temporal felicity and advantages of their government neither can we perceive that God promis'd any more to the Patriarchs and their successors yea by the Law nothing else was promised for a reward to obedience but the continual prosperity of their Government and some other benefits of this Life in case of disobedience and breach of Covenant they were threatned with the ruin of the Government temporal misery and destruction and no wonder for the end of all Society and Government as hath been already and shall hereafter be more fully declared is to live in Happiness and Security But Government cannot subsist without Laws which every Man must obey for when the Members of a Society refuse to be govern'd by the Laws in that very instant the Society is dissolved and the Government destroyed to the Commonwealth of the Iews nothing else could be promised for the constant Observation of their Law but the safety benefits and conveniences of this Life and for their Rebellion no other punishment was prophesy'd but the destruction of their Government the Miseries which would thereupon ensue and perhaps some other Evils which might peculiarly happen to them from the ruin of their Government which was singular and different from others but of these things we need say no more at this time I only add that the Laws of the Old Testament were revealed and prescribed only to the Iews for when God called and chose them to a particular kind of Society and Government they were necessarily to have singular Laws whether God prescribed peculiar Laws to other Nations and revealed himself prophetically to their Law-givers under those attributes which they in their imagination used to ascribe to God I am not certain however it appears by Scripture that other Nations had Governments and particular Laws by the external direction of God to prove which I will only quote two places Gen. chap. 14. v. 18 19 20. where it is said that Melchisedech was King of Salem and the priest of the most high God and that he blessed Abraham which as we may see Numb chap. 6. v. 23. was the Priests Office and Abraham the beloved of God gave to the High Priest the tenth part of all his booty which plainly proves that before God founded the Iewish Nation he constituted Kings and Priests in Ierusalem and prescribed them Laws and Ceremonies but whether he did it prophetically I cannot affirm however I am perswaded that Abraham while he continued there liv'd religiously according to those Laws for Abraham received no particular Religious Rites from God and yet it is said Gen. chap 26. v. 5. that Abraham kept the Commandments Statutes and Laws of God which must necessarily be those of King Melchisedch Malachy