what could be more worthy of God to reveal or necessary for man to know than the things contained in these books Seeing now that the World hath ever believed that there is a God and that the very Being Order Beauty variety use and working of all things make it highly reasonable so to believe Seeing there have been Prophesies and Miracles such as cannot be conceived possible without a God Seeing that we have Books which pretend to make known God and his Will unto us and that it is most reasonable if there be a God to believe he should some way make this known unto us and seeing that the men whose names these books do bear cannot reasonably be denyed oncâ— to have been and to have written them neither can be suspected either of Ignorance or falshood Seeing they write of one Jesus Christ their Master and Teacher and it cannot be denyed that such an one there was and that he said he came from God and confirmed what he said by many wonderful Works and Miracles which none can imagine that any power less than Gods could do And seeing that the Doctrine which he taught was spread over a great part of the World in a very short time by men of vulgar Rank mean Occupations and little Learning and less Authority without all outward force or compulsion without all pomp of seculiar Learning but with all plainness and simplicity of speech and that against the Religion then in possession and highly magnified against the Learning then in great esteem against all the beloved Lusts and worldly Interests of men and the violent endeavours of powerful and Learned Adversaries And seeing these men had nothing to bear them out against all this but the Miracles which they wrought and the purity of their Lives and Doctrines Seeing the Doctrines of these Books are so evidently much for the glory of God so full of all Holiness so much conducing to the good of mankind so satisfactory to the minds of men in things not otherwise to be known by man and finally such as being once received makes the professors thereof a most comfortable and chearful being here by giving them hopes of an eternal happy being hereafter I cannot chuse but be fully perswaded both that there is a God and that the Scriptures are the Word of God and a standing Rule of believing and honouring and serving God in such a way as he will graciously accept and eternally reward The chief Heads of the Christian Faith expressed in an Homely and familiar Verse for the easier committing them to memory THere is a God the world did always own it Nature declares it and God's Word hath shewn it The Scriptures giv'n of God by inspiration Are the great Rule of Faith and Conversation There 's but one God in Persons three The Father the eternal Son And Holy Ghost and all these be In Person three in Essence one God is a Spirit infinite In Wisdome Pow'r and Purity Most just most good and to whose sight Our very thoughts all open lie God made the World and every thing God preserves all things is their Lord And Rules all as the Sov'raign King All things obey his Mighty Word God in 's own Image Man did frame With knowledge and a pow'r to do God's Will without both sin and shame And made him Lord of all below To Adam God a Law did give Which if he kept not he should die But if he kept it he should live And so should his Posterity Man brake God's Law and all Mankind By that first breach are much the worse All born in sin and sin doth bind All under a most heavy Curse All are by Nature ignorant A verse from good inclin'd to evil Title to happiness all want And all made subject to the Devil God's wrath upon us all doth lie No strength to help our selves we have We perish all eternally Except God's mercy do us save God did on us compassion take When by our selves we were undone God meerly for his mercy's sake Resolv'd to save us by his Son The Son did down from Heaven come To save us who by sin were lost Was conceiv'd in a Virgin 's Womb By vertue of the Holy Ghost Thus God the Son the eternal Word Man's Nature took and Man became Even Jesus Christ our onely Lord We have Salvation in his Name Jesus in whom no sin was seen Did thus become the Mediator Of a new Covenant between Us Sinners and our just Creator God did Anoint his Christ to be A Priest a Prophet and a King And by these Offices all thâ—â—e He doth to us Salvation bring Christ as a Prophet hath made known His Father's will to men that they In him might find Salvation If they his Gospel would obey As Priest Christ offen'd Sacrifice Himself upon the Cross did die His blood was of our souls the price Which did God's Justice satisfie Christ bury'd was and rose again The third day and to Heav'n is gone He doth at God's right hand remain For us makes intercession As King Christ gives us Laws and all His Enemies he shall subdue Sin Sathan Death destroy and shall Judge all men and give all their due A Crown of Glory he will give To them that serve him faithfully And in his Kingdom they shall live Triumphing after victory Upon the day of Pentecost Th' Apostles met with one accord Christ sent on them the Holy Ghost T' enable them to Preach his Word Th' Apostles did to all men Preach Pardon of Sins through Christ alone Who did receive what they did teach Them they Baptized every one Baptism's the Sacrament whereby Men own the Covenant of Grace And God doth Seal who cannot lie Pardon to them who Christ embrace Baptismal washing signifies Our cleansing by the Holy Spirit And whom the Spirit Sanctifies They are God's Sons and shall inherit Believers and none else but they In this new Covenant have part They who believe learn to obey For Faith doth purifie the heart Faith works by Love and Love constrains To hate all sin to bear Christ's Cross To keep Christ's Laws t' endure all pains And count all things for Christ but loss Christ's Spirit doth by his Word beget This saving Faith and woen 't is bred It by the same word farther yet To strength and growth is nourished To strengthen Faith yet more the Lord Hath giv'n unto us Heav'nly Food He hath commanded in his Word To eat his Body drink his Blood By Bread and Wine blest and recived With true Repentance Faith and Pray'r God Seals all Benefits believed Which by Christ's death once purchas'd werâ— We by this Feast and joynt Communion Our selves one Body testifie Members knit in a sacred Union By the blest Spirit of Unitie Believers all one Church do make One Faith one Baptism and one Bread One God one Spirit one Lord we take Christ of this Body th' only Head Whoso in this Communion die For ever happy are and blest Their Souls return to God on high In Earth their Bodies sleep and rest At the last day Christ shall appear In Glory to be Judge of all All who are dead or then live here He to his Judgment-Seat shall call Then shall all Bodies rise again And with their Souls receive their doom Well-doers shall in joy remain Who have done ill to Woe shall come The Righteous with God shall rest From Labors Sins all Evils free With everlasting Glories blest Such as cannot expressed be The Wicked shall be sent to Hell From God and Comfort banished With Devils in Flames unquenchable There roaring in a Firy Bed Thou who to fear an Hell would'st have no cause Fear God hate Sin Love Christ keep his Laws FINIS
he and not easie to be gulled out of their liberrty and the more simple are rather apt to suspect than believe all that Politicians commend unto them Lastly Did he pretend the universal good of all mankind and rationally convince men that the belief of a God that governeth and shall judge the world is the onely thing that preserves good order in the world if so then tell me did he say the truth or did he lie in saying there is a God If he said truly then is it a truth and to be believed If it was a lie then is it for the good of the whole world and therefore a duty to believe a lie rather than a truth For if it be a lie to say there is a God then is a lie the Foundation and Pillar of all goodness and virtue peace and order faithfulness and honesty among men And if it be true to say there is no God then is a truth the Foundation of all wickedness disorder and mischief And who but the Atheist who can believe any thing but a God will be perswaded to believe this 2. The very works of Nature give the world great reason to believe â—s it doth that there is a God Let a man thus again reason with himself 1. Suppose I were in some unknown Island and there saw goodly Fields and Meadows of Corn and Grass Pastures full of all kind of Cattel stately Houses and the Rooms in them adorned with rich Furniture Tables furnished with variety of Victuals neat Gardens fruitful Orchards and Fishponds with many other curious works of Art and Skill though all this while I saw no man in that place yet surely I should think that these things were not thus of themselves or by chance but that some skilful and provident person had thus ordered them How can I then look upon this world and the numerous parts of it above and below the wonderful splendor and beauty the great variety the rare contrivance the comely and constant order of things the ample provision made for every thing the mutual service ableness and usefulness of them all and the like but I must needs believe that there is some infinitely powerful wise and good Maker and Governour of the world whom men call God 2. When I look upon my self and consider how wounderâ—â—lly I am made how I am furnished with all useful Instruments of Life and Sense and Motion how fitly every part and member of my body is placed and how wisely contrived and fashioned â—oth for the beauty of the whole and for the particular use and office to what it serves what strange powers and faculties of Soul I have and how wonderful are the workings of imagination phancy and reason within me and the like I must needs think whence I should have these things I am sure I did not thus order them my self and there was a time when I had none of them and when I was not what now I am and therefore I must needs have both my being and all that is in me from some others Who should this other be My Parents and theirs before them might say the very same of themselves that I now do and they could not make me what I am they could not certainly promise themselves a Child they knew not how I was formed in the Womb how my parts or members were set together nor took they any care to order them when I was conceived they could not tell whether I should be a Man or a Woman or Monster perfect or imperfect a Wise man or a Fool â—nor yet whether I should be born or live when born No Man understandeth half the wonders of himself how he is nourished and groweth and seeth and heareth and thinketh and dreameth no not so much as how his hairs and nails came to be what they are What then can I think but that I am the work of one who is wonderful in power and wisdom and goodness who made both me and all Men even God Thirdly Now that I am I find that I am not in my own power I cannot bring about all my own designs and purposes as I would I cannot supply my own wants and imperfections nor continue to my self all my enjoyments and comforts I cannot make my food nourish my Body nor keep my Body from Sickness or pain nor make that part straight which is crooked or beautiful which is deformed I cannot keep out fears nor rule my thoughts nor hinder casualties nor prolong my Life nor prevent my Death and Corruption I am therefore in the power at the disposal and under the Providence of another by whom I am preserved and governed that is God Fourthly For ought that I can perceive and we must reaâ—â—n from what we can perceive and not from what we cannot Man is the most perfect and Noble of all things here below Man hath Life and motion and sense and choice and understanding and reason and discourse whereas of other things some want all and all want some of these yea in all appearance all these things were designed for the use and benefit of Man for they are fitted for his use and he can and doth upon occasion use them and we see no other use of many of them I cannot therefore believe that Man was made by any of them and I am sure Man did not make them but both they and Man were made by some other for if Man be not of himself nor in his own power but governed by another much less are those things which appear subject and inferior to Man of themselves or in their own power but rather are all governed by God the Maker of all Lastly All things are and work for some end and purpose even things without understanding or sense or life work as it were by a certain Rule and that visibly for the preservation of themselves and the common good of the World and especially of Man The Heavenly Bodies orderly and duly shed abroad their influence of Light and heat to make the Earth fruitful and direct and cherish man and beast the Earth yields her Fruits in due season for the nourishment of her Inhabitants and without the Orderly motion either of the Earth or Heavenly bodies that Light and warmth would not be equally distributed to the several parts of the Earth and Summer and Winter and Spring and Harvest and day and night would not keep their right course If the Waters did not contentedly keep within their own banks and Channels the Earth would be drowned and except Vapours did go up and gather into Clouds and come down in seasonable showers the Earth would be barren and Man and Beast would perish We see how all living Creatures do propagate for the upholding of their kind and how Plants bring Seed to the same end and that Seed scattered in the Earth furnisheth us with a new stock of Plants We see how living Creatures are Armed with Natural weapons for their
God Why did that eternal Man leave Children so unlike himself of so short a Life Or what is now become of him If he was eternally he had eternally a power to be and live and did chuse to dye and be no more and not leave the least notice to the World that ever he was Did that first man begin to be He gave not his beginning to himself for before he began to be he was not he had it from no other man for he was the first man did he spring out of the Earth Shew what power the Earth had to prodcue so noble a Creature and if it had that power did it spend it all at once that it should never before or since bring forth another man or any thing like him I know men may dream of strange â—hings and tell their dreams so often that they may forget they were dreams and begin to think them Truths and because wicked man is afraid of God he is willing to set hiâ— phansie aâ— work to hatch pretty conceits which he may play and sport with and divert himself from hearkning to his Conscience and fom all thoughts of God which disturb his quiet and imbitter his delights with fears of Judgment but he shall never be able by reason to satisfie himself that there is no God 3. The content of the whole World perswades me that it is at least a very great unadvisedness and arrogance hastily to dis-believe a God the whole frame and order of Nature convince me that it is very reasonable and highly satisfactory to the mind of man to believe there is a God but far greater satisfaction yet a man may receive from those clearer evidences which God hath given to the World of himself in Prophesies and Miracles Let a Man therefore thus reason with himself First Things have been fore-told many hundred years before they came to pass and these things have come to pass exactly in all circumstances of time place and manner as they were fore-told For my own part I know that I cannot tell what shall be to Morrow or the very next hour and others who have ventured to fore-tell such things have miserably befool'd both themselves and all that gave credit to them onely those few who pretended that they came from God and gave sufficient evidence to the world that they spake by God's Command have been so happy as to gain credit to the God from whom they came as the true God and to themselves as his true Prophets by a timely and evident fulfilling of those things which they did foretel Now seeing that there have been men who have foretold the the things which afterwards came to pass in all circumstances as they were fore-told and such things as did not depend upon the constant course of Nature and such as no man else could foresee and seeing that these men did profess they knew not these things by their own Art or Study nor by any natural means but only by the revelation which they had from God and seeing it is unconceivable how any should know such things but he alone who governs and orders all things I cannot but believe there is a God who sent these men and spake by them 2. Works have been done which not only exceed the power of man to do but are clearly above the power and against the course of nature these are truly called Miracles wonderful works The Fire hath refused to burn them that were cast into it the Waters have stood up like Walls on each hand whilst men have passed dry-foot through the midst of them the Sun hath been made to stand still for a time and the dead have been raised to life with a word these and the like things I am sure man hath of himself no power to do nor can any man imagin by whom they could be done but by him alone who hath the command of nature These things were done by men onely who said they came from God and to witness to the world that they said truly and all to perswade the world to acknowledge God to fear worship and obey him and therefore I cannot but believe that there is a God who sent these men and wrought by them If any man now ask how we know there have been such things as these he will receive a fuller answer in that which now follows to shew what reason we have to believe the Scriptures to be true wherein these things are recorded It is very reasonable to believe that if there be a God he expects some homage and duty from us and because we can of our selves but guess at most what duties they be which we are to pay unto him and so may be mistaken it is farther yet very reasonable to believe that God hath given us some notice of his will and pleasure and some rule to direct us how we may acceptably serve and honour him and that he should therein make known unto us so much of himself as may beget in us an honuorable esteem and reverend thoughts of his Majesty and so much of his works as to convince us that we came from him and do depend upon him and so much of his goodness and bounty as may encourage us to serve him cheerfully and lastly such demonstrations of his truth as may satisfie us that all this is real and no guile or deceit in it The reasonableness of believing this upon supposition onely that there is a God will make it still more reasonable to believe there is a God when we see that there is something which men do receive and own as a rule sent from God to teach us how we are to honour him and that it hath all those things in it which we suppose it reasonable that such a Rule should have Now we have in our hands a book called the Bible or book and the Scripture or Writing by way of excellency and it is believed that in this Book we have the Word of God whereby he hath revealed himself and his will unto us to teach us both what we are to believe and what we are to do and what we are to hope for That then which we are now to be satisfied in is how it appears that this Book doth indeed contain the Word of God Now this Book being made up of two parts the Old and the New Testament and the Writers of the New Testament bearing witness to the Writers of the Old Testament that they came from God it will certainly follow that if the Writings of the New Testament be true and from God the Writings of the Old are so too Therefore a man need do no more but satisfie himself in the truth and Divine Authority of the New Testament And here let a man thus reason with himself 1. I see that we have these Books and I see whose names they bear I see that the men who writ these Books pretend that they spake from God and that we ought to