proof to us than that Oracular Revelation For God spake but once in that Voice but he speaks by the Prophets to the end of Time That was more astonishing but less instructive to us than Prophecies that are continually unfolded and verified by Events Before I finish this Argument I will briefly consider what is objected against some Doctrines of the Gospel viz. The Trinity the Divine Incarnation the Mean state and Sufferings of the Son of God in the World These Points have been opposed by the Jews and other Infidels as mere Impossibilities directly contrary to the Reason of Mankind To this I answer We must distinguish between what is incomprehensible to Humane Reason and what is repugnant to it between the things which Reason cannot perfectly understand how they can be and the things which it perfectly understands that they cannot be Natural Light may not be able to discover the being of some things and the manner of their existence which really are But what it sees to involve a contradiction is absolutely impossible Now there is no Point in the whole complexion of the Christian Faith that is repugnant to Reason The unity and supreme equality of the Three Persons in the Godhead transcends our conception but Reason cannot prove it to be impossible For the Essence of God is not of the same condition with created Substances so that although in the whole compass of the Creatures there is no like instance but one Nature is always joyn'd with one Subsistence yet it does not follow that the Divine Nature may not subsist in Three Persons All the difficulty that is pretended to be invincible is this That the manner of it is incomprehensible And 't is necessarily so for 't is impossible that what is Infinite should be comprehended by a finite mind The Incarnation of the Son of God wherein the Essence of Christianity consists is not contrary to Reason Indeed 't is impossible that the Divine Nature should be substantially chang'd into the humane Nature and God cease to be God in becoming Man but the Union of the Deity to the humane Nature is not impossible For what repugnance is there either in respect of God or the Creature Is it impossible that the Supreme Goodness should communicate it self in the strictest degree of union to the Reasonable Creature or is the Reasonable Creature incapable to receive the highest Favour This is a great Mystery but the Divine Omnipotence is not to be limited by our narrow thoughts 'T is most reasonable to believe that God can do what we cannot discover how it is performed Seneca prudently observes that extraordinary effects in Nature are unaccountable to us as to their immediate proper Causes whilst we only consider the usual Principles by which it works Nay in the most common works of Nature how many things are so perceptible to Sense that none is so stupid as to deny them yet imperceptible to Reason as to the manner of their production Who understands the admirable conjunction of the Soul and Body in Man how two Metals of so precious and so base alloy Gold and Lead a Spirit and Matter the one celestial the other earthly should so strictly combine and notwithstanding such diversity in their natures and properties imbrace with such concord in their inclinations Now if the sharpest Eye fixt with the greatest attention cannot discern the manner of this Natural Union when the thing is above all doubt can there be any pretence to disbelieve Supernatural Mysteries because we are not able to comprehend how they are effected 3. There being infallible proofs that Jesus Christ was sent from God to make known his compassionate Counsels for the Salvation of Man the consequence is clear and necessary that the Doctrines of his Gospel are to be receiv'd though never so incomprehensible to the natural understanding There is no Demonstration more sure than the Principle of Faith God has declar'd so therefore 't is true 'T is injurious to his Honour to require any other proof of his Word than his Word 'T is incomparably more certain that God cannot deceive us than that our Understandings are not deceived Now what is the main subject of the Gospel It instructs us that the Word was God and the Word was made Flesh. Can there be a more plain Declaration who Jesus Christ is that we may conceive aright of his Natures his Virtues his Prerogatives and Merits It is not possible without violence to interpret the words otherwise than they plainly signifie that a Divine Being assum'd the Humane Nature and was God-Man This was also declar'd by Jesus Christ. For when the Jews supposing him to be a meer Man taxt him for the violation of the Sabbath in his doing a miraculous Cure on that day he replied to their exception My Father works hitherto and I work that is as God is not subject to the Law of the Sabbath but uninterruptedly does the Works of his merciful Providence so I his Son work in all times without limitation This expression the Jews truly understood to import no less than an equality with God a Son being of the same Nature with his Father and therefore charg'd him with Blasphemy Our Saviour allows their Interpretation but vindicates it from Impiety by a further declaring his Cōmunion with God in his Will and Power that he perform'd Divine Works that he might receive the same Divine Honour as the Father had And shall we not believe this Testimony that Jesus Christ gives of himself Did not the WORD understand the meaning of his own Expressions could Truth deceive was it possible for Wisdom to speak improperly Was Power defective and unable to declare what it would have us to understand How unreasonable is it then to object how can this be What pride is it to rebel against the Divine Revelation what obstinacy to remain unsatisfied unless we discover how terms so distant in themselves the highest Being GOD and the lowest in the Sphere of Rational Beings Man should be so strictly united How they should be so intimately joyn'd without confusion of Natures in one Person that 't is truly said God was humbled to the form of a Servant and Man is rais'd to the right-hand of God Here 't is our duty to subject our noblest faculty the Understanding to Divine Revelation In the Doctrines of Faith as well as in the disposures of Providence 't is sufficient to check presumptuous Curiosity that God is the Author I shall add one Consideration more If Jesus Christ was not what he declar'd himself to be the Son of God he was a most Impious Man For 't is Impiety in the supreme degree for any in the pure order of Creatures to assume Divine Honour But the quality of his Doctrine and sanctity of his Life infinitly clear him from such a vile Charge For is it conceivable that a Person guilty of the highest even Sacrilegious Pride should be an Instructer of the most
in the troubles of this mortal state the Gospel assuresus of their blessed issue at the last The main design of Philosophy was to reconcile the mind to every condition that nothing might be able to discompose its tranquillity As some high Mountains that ascend above the middle Region whiles Clouds charg'd with Thunder break upon the sides and Storms encompass it below yet the top has a pure Sun and calm Air. Thus the Philosophers pretended to raise Man to that height of vertue that the superiour part the mind should be serene and undisturb'd what ever was done to his lower part the body But their Principles were insufficient on which they built their Perswasion Some pretended that Men were abus'd by words and that was the cause of their misery The loss of Estate of Relations of Health were not real evils but only call'd so Sottish Wisdom as if things by the change of names would alter their qualities Call them by what soft titles you please still they are injurious and afflictive to our nature and to perswade the contrary is to deprive us of Sense Others tell us that the evils we suffer are fatal and to resist inevitable destiny is to no purpose But this is to exasperate instead of allaying our sorrows This is to turn our fears into despair to make an afflicted condition absolutely uncomfortable Others direct us to look abroad into the wretched World and compound a Medicine of the miseries of others for our own griefs But this as 't is vicious in its Principle so it affords no true relief For that another suffers in the same or different manner does not lessen the evil that oppresses me Nay if humane affections are not extinguish'd by a sorrowful influence increases it Others discourse of the vanity of Riches Pleasures Dignities and Life it self to make us quietly to part with them But this discourse though true and useful yet cannot afford contentment unless to a Christian whose hopes extend to a future state of blessedness For how mean so ever these things be yet if we know no better they are our felicity Some attribute to naked Vertue a power sufficient to support a Man under the heaviest troubles This they affirm'd to be the true Philosophers Stone that purifies and exalts the basest Mettals turning them into fine Gold that enables a person not only to be content in every state but to enjoy torments and be pleased with the greatest disasters that befal him But they took so high a strain that humane Nature could not uphold The indifference and equality of mind they so much pretended to was but an empty appearance One might discover unquiet agitations under all that feigned insensibility and true servitude under that imaginary soveraignty of their wise Man Indeed without the stedfast belief of another Life the reflection upon unhappy vertue inflames the wounded spirit and kindles in the breast murmurings against Providence so that 't is so far from making the afflicted happy that 't is rather the seed of new misery for the unequal distributions here Christian Religion alone affords us solid and everlasting comfort It does not disguise the nature of things but allows that present afflictions are not joyful but grievous It doth not promise an exemption from misery Nay it foretels that besides the common troubles that rain upon mankind there are some proper to sincere Christians to which they are expos'd upon the account of their holy Profession But it assures them that all things shall work together for the good of those that love God As in mixt bodies the Divine Power is admirable in tempering the qualities of the fighting Elements in such a manner that what in it self is a destructive contrariety becomes only a diversity to preserve the compounded beings that result from them Thus the wise and gracious Providence of God makes all things even the most adverse to conspire for the final happiness of his faithful Servants Their light Afflictions that are but for a moment work out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory This makes them to possess their Souls in patience to rejoyce in hope and to be triumphant conquerers over the greatest outward troubles Who can dispute felicity with that person who is upon certain grounds perswaded that nothing shall separate him from the love of God Nay that the worst evils he suffers promoet his supreme happiness For the afflictions that befal a Christian upon the account of Religion render him more dear to God and those that are the effects of his Sins if humbly submitted to and improved for holy ends confirm his Faith in the Divine Mercy The Gospel is that Paradise wherein the Tree of Life is whose leaves are for the healing the Nations 4. Christian Religion promises for the reward of Obedience a Blessedness most becoming the glorious goodness of God to bestow and the reasonable Creature to desire that is the perfection and satisfaction of his most noble Faculties in the clear vision and full enjoyment of God himself in a perfect eternal state The Heathens wretchedly mistook in their opinions about the last end of Man There is a secret instinct in the humane nature towards a felicity sutable to the more excellent and divine part but stifled under darkness and concupiscence that is become a second nature Reason is misled by Sense after the fickle appearances the deceitful vanishing colours of Good And this is a certain indication that Man is fallen from the degree of his Original Perfection For if he had been never corrupted he should enjoy with assurance true compleat happiness if he had been always corrupted there would be no glimmering Idea of an happiness above what this present World affords no inclination towards it This is the spring of his misery and sin that the spiritual eternal good is undiscerned unregarded whilst he seeks for happiness in numberless vanities The Philosophers themselves were extreamly divided and mistaken in this main point This was indeed the master-piece for which all their Philosophy was design'd and their pretences to make this discovery gave them reputation From all parts some came to Athens as the universal Mart to be furnished with felicity From hence sprung the variety of Sects among them by this Livery they were distinguish't For Philosophy being the rule of life is specified by the end to which it leads From hence arose their sharp contentions every Sect being concern'd to defend their Palladium And as the Wasps fly about with noise and sting those who provoke them make combs like Bees but without Wax or Honey Thus the Philosophers were full of glorious presumptions were vehement against dissenters and had the appearances of Wisdom but afforded no certain light to direct the Mind no Heavenly motives to allure the Will They were not competent nor sincere searchers after true Happiness For I. The darkness wherein all Men are born involved them and without
Beasts and creeping things This was the state of the Pagan World till the Gospel appear'd and directed the natural religious inclination of mankind into its proper channel to the only true God 2. The Religion of the Jews is to be considered This the Christians acknowledg with them was Divine in its Authority Doctrine Moral part Worship and Promises God himself was the Author and confirm'd it by many illustrious Miracles 'T is deliver'd in the most antient authentick and venerable Writings in the World It instructs us concerning the Nature of God his Works of Creation and Providence and the Judgment to come It commands the love of God and to serve him only and the love of our Neighbour as our selves The ceremonial part was a full conviction of the guilt of Sin a visible discovery of the rights of eternal Justice and a powerful means to humble Men before the Infinite and offended Majesty of the Creator It propounds temporal rewards as the marks of Gods favour sutable to the Church then in its minority but under that Vaile the most excellent and eternal rewards This Religion in its Ceremonial external part was to continue till the coming of the Messiah and then to be abolish'd To make this evident I shall thus proceed 1. That the ceremonial part contain'd nothing that was morally and unchangeably good for then it had been obligatory to all Nations and from the beginning whereas it was prescribed only to the Jews and after a long space of time wherein many holy Men though ignorant of that part of the Law yet received a Divine testimony that they pleased God 2. 'T was of impossible performance to all other Nations as appears by the Precepts concerning Sacrifices that were to be offered only in Jerusalem and by the Levitical Priests and their solemn Festivals so many times in the Year Now the Worship of God being an essential Duty of the reasonable Creature 't is absurd to imagine that it necessarily consists in such things that cannot be done by all Men. 3. God himself often declar'd that the Rituals of the Law were of no price with him absolutely consider'd 4. They were enjoynd the Jews for peculiar reasons principally that by those imperfect rudiments they might be prepar'd for the times of Reformation God had drawn in the Legal Ministration numberless Images of the Messiah their Temple and High-Priest their Ark and Offerings with all their Ceremonial Service did signally point at him And this is a ninfallible evidence that a mind superiour to Moses's design'd all that Work with a final respect to Christ that the Jewish Nation having the Idea of him always present might not mistake him when he should appear And that heavy yoke of Ceremonies with the spirit of servile fear that attended it was to excite in them earnest longings after the Messiah the Desire of all Nations that with unspeakable joy they might receive him at his coming Now that the Legal Institution should expire for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof and a Divine Sacrifice be offer'd up of infinite value and vertue to reconcile God and purifie the Consciences of Men was declared whilst the service of the Temple was perform'd with the greatest Pomp. Thus the Messiah spake by the mouth of David Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire my heart hast thou open'd Burnt-offering and Sin-offering hast thou not required then said I lo I come in the volume of the Book 't is written of me I delight to do thy will O my God And the same inspired Prophet declar'd when the Levitical Priesthood was in the greatest splendour that there was another order of Priesthood than that of Aaron established in a more solemn manner and of everlasting efficacy The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec That this Prophecy respected the Messiah even the Pharisees could not deny For when Jesus Christ askt them whose Son Christ was to be they answered Davids And demanding again why David call'd him Lord in those words of the Psalms The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand till I have made thine enemies thy foot-stool they could answer nothing Their silence was a clear acknowledgment that the Messiah was the Person there intended The Apostle also who wrote to the Jews takes it for granted by the universal consent of that Nation that that Psalm respected the Messiah and proves it was accomplish'd in Jesus Christ. Besides 't was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah that another Covenant should be made wherein the real benefits of the pardon of Sin and true Holiness that were tipified by the Legal purifications and observances should be conferred on God's People Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel different from that made with their Fathers when they came out of the Land of Aegypt I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my People And they shall no more teach every Man his Neighbour and every Man his Brother saying Know the Lord for they shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sin no more In short there are abundant Declarations in the Prophets that the carnal Religion of the Jews should expire and a Religion all Spirit and Life should succeed in its place and be diffused among all Nations This was to be introduc'd by the Messiah Thus Moses foretold The Lord thy God shall raise up a Prophet from among thy Brethren like unto me Him ye shall hear 'T was the singular prerogative of Moses above the rest of the Prophets that he was a Lawgiver and Mediatour of the Covenant between God and Israel and accordingly the Messiah was to be a Lawgiver and Mediatour of a new Covenant Now if the Mosaic Institutions were to remain after his coming the Parallel would not hold between them in those principal respects Besides 't was prophesied that the Messiah should be a King sitting on the Throne of David and commanding the Kings of the Earth By which 't is evident that his Laws must be of another nature than those of Moses that were proper only to the Church whilst confin'd to the Jewish pale but not for the government of the World And whereas the Jews object that some of their Rites were ordain'd to continue for ever The answer is clear That was only to distinguish them from some temporary injunctions that were of force only while they were in the Wilderness or when they were inhabitants of Canaan but were to be practis'd in all places till by a new signification of the Divine Will they were forbidden And 't is observable that in the Jewish Law the term for ever when applied either to a Mans right or
the mournful remembrance of his lost felicity and harden'd in dispair 1. The Christian Religion gives a full account of the depravation and misery of humane Nature in its first Causes The Heathens felt an insuperable permanent discord in Man between the upper Faculties and the lower Appetites but were utterly ignorant of the Cause of it Now the Scripture reveals that Man in the original frame of his Nature was regular and holy a piece of workmanship worthy the Perfections of his Creator but he abus'd his liberty to break the first Command which was given for the tryal of his Obedience He yeelded to the inticements of a fallen Spirit who was a Liar that he might be a Murderer and by his revolt from God lost his Holiness and made a forfeiture of all the priviledges of his happy State Thus the Fountain was tainted and who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean By the offence of one Judgment came upon all to condemnation Every Man is now born a slave of Sin a tributary of Death From hence it follows that the most deformed Monsters in villany the most fierce enemies of Religion serve to confirm its Truth as well as the most eminent Saints These shew the vertue of Redemption by the sanctity of their Lives the other the corruption of Nature by their obstinate wickedness 2. The Christian Religion instructs us that God sent his own Son into the World in the humane nature that he might offer up himself an expiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of Men to restore them to his Favour This is a Mystery above the flight of any created understanding yet 't is so temper'd and fram'd there is such an uniformity of Wisdom in all its parts it presents such a full and glorious Image of the Deity in all his perfections that it causes the highest admiration and commands belief in those who duly consider it The whole oeconomy becoms the Majesty the Goodness the Holiness and Justice of God His supreme Majesty appears in his pardoning the guilty for the sufferings of another For this is an infallible proof that he is above Law And his inconceiveable Mercy is the only principle and fountain of our Pardon For Man was absolutely uncapable to merit the Favour or to repair the Honour of God so injur'd by his inexcusable disobedience Repentance cannot produce such great effects What merit can there be in the sorrowful sense and confession of that which deserves Eternal Death Besides an extream hatred of Sin an ardent love of Holiness serious Resolutions to follow it what ever it costs which is the best part of Repentance was due to God before the commission of Sin therefore cannot be satisfaction So that pure Mercy is the cause of our forgiveness Moreover God to glorifie his Holiness in declaring his vehement and irreconcileable hatred to Sin and to preserve the Rights of Justice was pleas'd to appoint an all-sufficient Mediator capable to offer himself an expiatory Sacrifice for Sin and to give an infinite value to it This was done by the Incarnation of the Son of God The Flesh and Bloud he took of our humanity was made Divine by union with him and offer'd on the Cross was full payment for our offences Thus Justice and Mercy triumph with equal Glory being equally Victorious For what is more honourable to Justice than satisfaction equal to the offence And what can more commend Mercy than the most free and undeserved bestowing the high price requisit for it Thus the Gospel affords to us a just and compleat Idea of the Divine excellencies in the Redemption of Man The design manner and the effect are most worthy of God Where might such a contrivance of Wisdom be fram'd but in the Divine mind where could such an excess of compassion be found but in the heart of God Thus it became God who is Love to magnifie his Love to advance his dearest Glory and overcome our guilty disaffection to himself For while terrible apprehensions of the Deity possess the heart 't is frozen with a stony rigor which the hope of Mercy only can dissolve Thus it appears that the Doctrine of the Gospel is worthy of all acceptation 2. The Christian Religion sets before us a rule of life pur and perspicuous in nothing superfluous or defective but comprehending the intire duty of Man This was necessary in order to his recovery For in his fallen state the Law of Nature is active in some things but dormant in others The best Morals of the Heathens are dasht with impure permissions But the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World It forbids all Sin in all its degrees not only the consummation of it in the act but the first conception of it in the thoughts and desires Which argues that the Lawgiver was more than a Man having an inspection into the heart which is only visible to God and only accountable to him It teaches us to worship God the supream and purest Spirit with the highest esteem and with purity of affections It enjoyns all relative duties to Men in a most perfect manner What things we would have others to do unto us supposing our selves in their circumstances we are obliged to do to them This one Law of Christ eminently contains all others that respect society This is the primitive rule of commerce and directs our carriage towards all persons with justice and equity kindness and decence The Gospel also with respect to our selves gives a perfect rule to make us holy and blessed It teaches us the contempt of the World the valuation of Heaven the restraint of corrupted sense and the Angelical exercise of our affections In short it commands the practice of all Vertues and that we should aspire to the most eminent degrees in them But especially it enjoyns humility and love to God the foundation and perfection of all vertues of which the precepts of Philosophy take little notice Humility that is a lively deep sense that nothing is properly ours but sin and misery arises from the consideration of our absolute dependance upon God for our being and all the benefits we enjoy in Nature or Grace From hence gratitude springs 'T is most reasonable that our lives should be a continual expression of Obedience from a noble and free principle of love to God and be design'd for his Honour and that for all our advantages temporal or spiritual we should only glory in him In this Philosophers were very defective They consider'd Man with respect to himself or to other Creatures without him and accordingly the product of their Precepts was a certain moral honesty to do nothing unbecoming the reasonable Nature nor to break the civil Peace But they did not consider duly his relation to the Creator in whom he lives moves and has his being from whom proceeds every good and perfect gift And by
neglecting him all their glittering actions were but a weak counterfeit a dead resemblance of real vertue In their most eminent publick works the praise of Men was their ultimate design and as some appear bold from Fear they were Vertuous from Vanity If God be not the Principle the Motive and the End of what we do there are wanting the essential Ingredients of moral Goodness Now all these Precepts shine with their native light and carry such evidence of their rectitude that our obedience may come from an ingenuous filial spirit satisfied with the reasonableness of our Heavenly Fathers Commands and not be servile only perform'd to the absolute will of a Master And can there be a more convincing proof of the truth of Christian Religion of its Divine descent than the Image of Gods Holiness so clearly imprest upon it Add further these Precepts are deliver'd with that plainness and so proportion'd to the capacity of all and yet with that soveraign Authority that 't is reasonable to believe that God himself speaks and it becomes Man to hear with reverence and submission The Gospel is without the ornaments of Art yet its sweet facility is temper'd with that Majesty that 't is a sensible caracter that Divine Wisdom compos'd it 3. The Promises of the Gospel are so worthy of God and sutable to the wants and desires of Men that 't is perfectly reasonable to assent to their truth and goodness This will appear by a particular consideration of them 1. The Promise of Pardon to penitent Believers And in this we are to consider the conditions and the ground of its assurance to us The conditions are Repentance and Faith 1. Repentance is a peculiar Command and Priviledg of the Gospel The Law consider'd in it self did not admit of it nor give the least hope of pardon for it supposes Man in the integrity of Nature and accordingly directs him how to please God and preserve his Love but propounds no means of reconciliation after an offence There are no seeds of Grace to temper its rigour But the Gospel is the Declaration of Mercy to the guilty and miserable upon such terms as God may be capable to give Pardon and Man qualified to receive it 'T is not more true that God is the Judge of the World and that all Men shall appear before his Tribunal than that Sin without Repentance shall not escape Punishment To forgive the unreformed sinner would stain his purest Perfections the inviolable beauty of his Holiness the incorruptible rectitude of his Justice Such Lenity would have a pernicious influence on the corrupt World by encouraging Men to Sin without fear and outragiously to break his Laws in confidence of Pardon Therefore in the Evangelical Promise Repentance and Remission of Sins are inseparably joyn'd Repentance is a preparative in order to our receiving Divine Mercy and a strong preservative against Sin for time to come The Remembrance of those sorrows and fears the anxieties and indignation against himself that Sin caus'd in a true Penitent will make him jealous for the future of his Heart and ciâ—cumspect against all Temptations that may betray him As one that has narrowly escaped consuming by Fire retains the idea of his danger so deeply imprest on his mind that upon any new occasion his antient fears revive and make him very watchful Besides the apprehension of Just and Eternal Vengeance makes the Mercy of God so admirable the sense of his tender compassion so sweet that an humble Believer cannot forget or neglect it The forgiveness of Sin in this way is not only an engagement but an infallible cause of fearing to offend a God so great and good And Faith is a qualification as requisit for the obtaining pardon that is a cordial entire receiving Jesus Christ as he is presented to us in the Gospel to resign our minds to his Doctrines as our Prophet to have reliance on his Sacrifice and Mediation as our Priest to yeild universal chearful and constant Obedience to him as our King And how congruous is it that all who receive so unvaluable a benefit as forgiveness of Sin should thus honour him who procures it And the Gospel affords the strongest assurance that God is most willing to pardon humble and contrite sinners This is necessary for the relief and ease of true Penitents For when the enlightn'd Conscience reflects upon the number and enormity of its Sins the presumption in committing them 't is ready to be swallowed up with despair of recovering the lost favour of God It cannot devise any means how to appease his incensed Majesty and satisfie violated Justice how a Rebel should become his Son how one condemn'd to everlasting Punishment should be restored to the unfading inheritance of Life The case is most intricate and hopeless Now the Gospel propounds means of Universal Sovereign efficacy to reconcile God to us The most precious Blood of his Son offer'd up a Sacrifice to expiate Sin This sprinkles all Nations and in all Ages retains an undecaying vertue This affords solid and everlasting comfort to all sensible returning Sinners 2. The sending of the holy Spirit of God to renew us according to his Image and to confirm us against temptations in this mortal life is another Promise of the Gospel and most requisit to make us capable to serve and enjoy him A happy temper of Nature the Precepts of Philosophy vertuous Examples the severity of humane Laws are not powerful to regenerate a Man and transform him into a new Creature They may restrain the exorbitancies of carnal appetites but cannot throughly change the mind and affections Were there any vital spark within any seed of Holiness in Mans corrupted Nature such assistance might cherish it but he is dead to the truly Spritual Life tho not to the merely Moral and no less than an Omnipotent efficacy can produce a new spring of life a divine Nature the principle of willing Obedience to God And after conversion while in the state of tryal here the best are subject to innumerable surprises by their own frailty and exposed to new dangers every hour by temptations that foment and heighten the reliques of Sin in them so that without supernatural assistance they would be quite discouraged and foild by the enemies that war against the Soul Now in the Gospel God has promised to give the holy Spirit to those that ask it in the most hazardous and difficult conflicts he assures those who ardently address themselves to him for help that his Grace shall be sufficient for them 3. The Gospel contains many gracious promises with respect to supplying the wants and giving support and refreshment under the troubles of the present life Temporal blessings are in the lowest rank of good things and are promised as they should be desir'd subordinately to our chief good First seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof and all other things shall be added saith our Saviour And to relieve us
supernatural light could not be dispell'd 2. They were ambitious of superiority every great Spirit was desirous to raise a Sect to act the part of a King in the Scene of Fame Now by propounding a new Object as the blessedness of Man they had the reputation of soveraign Masters 3. They drew a Picture of happiness every one according to their different conceptions and desires Epicurus set up the pleasure of Sense as the chief object And that Reason might be flexible to his inclinations that his Roses might have no Prickles to prevent any melancholly reflections after carnal enjoyments he denied the Divine Providence and the future state 'T is said by some in his favour that he intended a calm and peaceful temper of mind a felicity refin'd from the dregs of sensuality For this they alledge Epicurus himself depreciating carnal pleasures and extolling Vertue as the great composer of the Soul But in vain they wash this voluptuous Swine For 1. Those Sentences of a more noble and generous strain might as flashes of Lightning from a black Cloud break forth of his Conscience in the midst of the darkness that cover'd it yet Sense might be his predominent Principle 2. He was a crafty Spirit and made use of some beautiful expressions to lessen the horror that his Doctrine nakedly proposed would cause in sober Persons Sometimes he speaks with a grave air as a Philosopher That true happiness consists in the pleasures of the mind At other times That there is no solid happiness but what might be tasted and enjoyed by the Senses He was a Polititian and would not scandalise the severe nor alienate the dissolute from him Tully observes that the secrets of his School the pernicious lessons of sensuality were not communicated to all But those who had intimate conversation with him had a free indulgence for their lusts Aristotle places happiness in all the perfections of the Body and Mind with the confluence of all External things as necessary Ingredients of it But this only respects Man in the present state in the World and were his opinion true yet his description would cause despair of obtaining that happiness For how could any single Person expect an entire union of all such perfections in himself as are not to be found in all Men together The Stoicks asserted felicity to consist only in Vertue But this is contrary to Reason Humanity For the union of the Physical good with the Moral is requisite to give satisfaction to the faculties of man ‖ Plato and his followers in whom Natural Reason ascended as high as in any of the Gentiles had a glimpse of the true blessedness of Man as consisting in his likeness to God and the enjoyment of him But their knowledge was shadowed with much ignorance their hopes mixt with doubtful fears They had rather suspicious and wandring desires than solid apprehensions and firm expectations of it Briefly no sparks struck out of humane intellectuals were sufficient to give light or heat to direct in the clear way and to animate against the intervening difficulties that hinder Men in the pursuit of blessedness This was the state of the Pagan World till Light and Immortality were brought to light through the Gospel The quality of this life is therein revealed 't is a pure and holy felicity consisting in the perpetual exercise of the most excellent actions the intelligent Nature is capable of That is in the perfect Knowledge and Love and Praises of God himself The subject of it is the intire Man for this end the Body shall be rais'd from its dead sleep to an eternal Life The place is the highest Heavens fram'd by the Divine power for the seat of his Majesty the Kingdom of his Love wherein he will manifest himself to his Favourits And can there be a stronger attractive a more noble inducement to make us holy Secular rewards as Riches and Honours and the like are extrinsecal to the nature of Goodness and to do our duty with such low aims and expectations is to be defective in the best part of it the love of Vertue for its inherent excellence But the Divine reward is the perfection of Holiness the glory of the Soul and the belief and regard of it has a powerful influence to make us truly good The Faith in this makes us victorious over all the charms and all the cruelties of the World For what can possibly come into competition with a happiness infinite in its greatness and duration I will only add that though Heaven be so rich a Jewel that it needs no foil to set off its lustre to those who are clear sighted to behold it yet in a merciful compassion to Man the Gospel reveals what will be the recompence of wilful continued disobedience an eternal Hell wherein the Justice and Power of God are terribly glorified And what is more powerful to excite the sensual and secure who despise the blessed hope than the fear of an Immortal Death Now after this short delineation of the Christian Religion let Reason judg whether 't is the invention of Men. The Doctrine of it shines with so clear an evidence the Precepts are so pure able to inspire us with true Holiness the Promises are so Divine that every one who does not wilfully shut his eyes or turn them to other things may discern its original to be from above that it comes from the Fountain of Wisdom Holiness and Goodness What are all the productions of the Earth to this sacred Present of Heaven If there be any shadow of Vertue in other Religions here the reality is in the highest perfection and separate from all vicious mixtures Christianity enjoyns universal sincerity and purity of Heart and Life It instructs Man to appear what he is by an humble acknowledgment of his sinful unworthiness and to be what he appears by an inward love and real practice of that Religion of which he makes a publick profession It impresses a more noble Character upon moral Vertues by enjoyning them from a principle of love to God and directing their performance to his Glory than Philosophy did that commanded them only as agreeable to humane reason What are all the most beautiful excitations of Philosophy to the high motives of the Gospel To apply our selves to the Writings of the wisest Heathens in order to our happiness and to neglect the Scriptures is to he guilty of worse folly than the barbarous Indians at Mexico who though their Woods abounded with Wax the labour of the Bees yet only made use of Brands that afforded a little light with a great deal of smoak Upon the most impartial inquiry and exact search Reason will conclude either there is no blessed end for which Man was design'd by his Maker or the Gospel only has reveal'd it and the effectual means to obtain it So that we must say with the zeal and affection of the Apostles to Jesus Christ Lord to whom
shall we goithou hast the words of Eternal Life CHAP. III. The External proofs of the truth of Christian Religion considered Miracles are only perform'd by God Why Christianity was confirm'd by them The number of Christs Miracles the manner of his performing them and their certainty consider'd The Miracles done by Christ to confirm his Doctrine are an authentick Testimony that God approved it The pretence of Libertines that the Heathen Religion was confirm'd by Miracles clearly disprov'd The rational assurance we have that the Apostles were sincere and certain of the Miraculous things related by them of Jesus Christ. His Resurrection attested by sufficient evidence VVE are next to consider those external proofs of the truth of Christianity the works of God himself that seal our full assurance of it I shall instance in two Miracles and the accomplishment of Prophecies 1. A Miracle is a supernatural work that requires an extraordinary Divine Power to effect it For none can derogate from the Universal Laws of Nature prescribed from the beginning of things and time but the Author of it Indeed we do not exactly know the compass of that Circle wherein the spirits of darkness excercise their power They may by the application of natural means unknown to us produce things that may astonish or by lying Wonders deceive Men but a true Miracle is a work reserv'd to God and possibly to no less than Infinite Power Whether it be a first or second Creation the forming a new Eye or the giving a visive power to that that was naturally blind it can only be done by his hand If we respect Omipotency there is the same facility if the thing done there is the same difficulty in the performance If the Devils had such a power they might create a separate Kingdom and reign there Now Miraculous Testimonies were given to confirm Christianity that there might be a just correspondence between its Doctrines and their Proofs The mysteries of the Gospel in their existence are above all natural power and in their belief above the natural understanding All that Nature can do or know does not make them credible Therefore 't was requisit those things should be confirm'd by the Divine Power that transcend the comprehension of humane Reason Besides as the Mysteries of the Gospel are sublime so the Rewards are future and that the Gentiles might not pretend that the Preachers of the Gospel feign'd another World and a Heaven and a Hell wherein the Souls and Bodies of Men shall be glorified or tormented according to their actions in this life supernatural Evidence of the truth of those Promises and Threatnings was necessary In short herein the Divine Goodness appeared That as the true Religion is necessary to the Salvation of all Men so 't was discernible by such signs as may convince all For upon the sight of those Divine Works the simplest people were led by the outward Sense to an inward firm Faith in Jesus Christ. These things being premised I will take a brief view of the Miracles wrought by our Saviour to give Faith to his Doctrine 'T is recorded of Moses who was a type of Christ that after his familiar converse with God as a Man with his Friend descending from the Mount his Face shone with such an excessive brightness as it were by reflection from the Face of God that coming to the Israelites to deliver to them the Divine Laws he was fain to cover it with a vail yet some rays of that miraculous splendor were visible through that mysterious Vail to assure them it was Moses himself that directed and govern'd them according to God's Will Thus when the Son of God came down from the Heaven of Heavens to instruct the World he shaded the light of the Deity with a vail of Flesh yet he was not so absolutely concealed under his humanity but that from time to time some beams of the Divine Nature appear'd in works so proper to God that the Apostle says We saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten Son of God In the representation of our Saviours Miracles by the Evangelists we may consider their number and variety his manner of performing them and the certainty of them 1. Their number and variety He went about all Galilee healing all manner of sicknesses and diseases even the most incurable the Blind the Deaf the Lame the Paralitic the Hydropic the Leprous the Lunatic were cured He rais'd the Dead and cast out Devils Besides his miraculous feeding so many thousands his commanding the enraged Winds and Seas to be still and a great calm followed His Transfiguration before his Disciples when the Beauty of Heaven descended on his Countenance to be there more beautiful discover'd the sensible Presence of the Deity in him 2. The manner of his performing them is very considerable They were done in an instant by absolute dominion over Nature Thus when he said to the Leper I will be thou clean immediately his Leprosy was cleansed Thus when the faithful Centurion addrest himself to him only speak the word and my Servant shall be healed He answered Be it done unto thee as thou believest and his Servant was healed c. both expressions of Command and Empire And his words to the Blind-Man Receive thy Sight had the same creating efficacy with those Let there be Light and there was Light Thus with Authority he commanded the unclean Spirits even the most furious and obstinate and they were expelled from those Mansions wherein they had revelled a long time Thus by the mere Act of his Will he revers'd the order of Nature When the Widows Son was carrying to the Grave He only said Young Man I say unto thee Arise and he that was dead sate up and began to speak Now in this respect the power of Miracles in Jesus Christ was transcendent above that that either Moses or the Prophets or the Apostles had 'T was derived to them by favour and commission from an extrinsick superiour principle the Omnipotence of God but 't was inherent in his Person the natural proper Attribute of his Deity and prov'd Him to be the Son of God the Lord of Nature visible in humane flesh In all places this blessed Vertue proceeded from Him 3. The certainty of his performing them was so great that no shadow of suspicion could remain about it Vitruvius the Master of Architects gives advice to those who built Temples to Aesculapius or any other of the Heathen Deities that were invocated by the Sick that they should choose such places as were open to the most favourable Aspects and Influences of the Heavens where there was a well-temper'd Soil clear Air pure Springs of Water that Diseased-Persons coming from unhealthyplaces might obtain Recovery and what was the benefit of Nature might be attributed to the Divine Vertue of Aesculapius Thus that Idolater counsel'd for the honour of his false Gods But in this he judged aright that the power of the Deity was believed
Nations and all sorts of persons that were converted to the Faith of Christ. Now who caused such a marvellous and holy Revolution in the World but God What less than a Divine Power could raise Men above Sense and make them victorious over the Lusts of corrupt Nature fortified by Custom a second Nature Is it conceivable supposing the Doctrine of Christ were not from Heaven that it should produce such admirable Effects And is it conceivable that God would adorn with all his Graces the Image of his own Excellency his most precious Benefits those who did not honour him according to his Will Can there be found such astonishing Contrarieties joyn'd together as the most impious Errour and Depravation of the Mind with the greatest Purity and Rectitude of the Will and Affections For if Jesus Christ were not the Son of God those who worship'd him were in a mortal Delusion The third Testimony the Apostle produces is the Blood that is Peace with God and Conscience the blessed Fruit of Justification by Faith in Christ. The Heathen World was in a dark State of fears or slept securely in the shadow of Death Some were in a Hectic Trembling continually haunted with the Apparition of their Sins as so many Infernal Furies Others though guilty of most fearful crimes were secure from stupid Atheisme Others were quiet from a presumption cherish'd by Opinions unworthy of God as if he would neglect his own Glory to shew Mercy to them Now the Gospel to conquer the fears of sensible afflicted Sinners and to establish a lively hope in God's Mercy propounds a Means of Universal Sovereign Efficacy to reconcile him to us The most precious Blood of the Son of God offer'd up as a Sacrifice to expiate Sin This sprinkles all Nations and in all Ages to the end of the World will be of undecaying Vertue This appeas'd all the unquiet Agitations of the Spirits of Believers and produc'd the Peace that passes understanding a Joy unspeakable and glorious This delivered them from the fear of Death under which the World was so long in bondage And it is worthy the observing that no Principles of Nature ever produc'd such a generous Contempt of Death as the Christian Religion did in the Professors of it The Alexanders Scipio's and Caesars had trembled at the sight of these Savage Beasts that were let loose upon the Martyrs at the preparations of Cruelty to torment them Whereas they regarded them with tranquillity nay with Joy as the matter of their Triumph This was true Valour indeed for the Confession of the most important Truth and superiour to the Courage of those who were called Fulmina Belli the most Renowned Souldiers For in a Battel by Martial Sounds by Violent Motions the Spirits are fired and Men scarce feel their Wounds and are inconsiderate of their danger But the Martyrs had nothing to heighten their Courage but in cool blood deliberately and without alteration encounter'd that terrible Enemy Besides Souldiers in the sharpest Conflicts have some hopes of Victory or else of a sudden and honourable Death Aut cita Mors aut Victoria laeta And he that rusheth into perils with a seeming bravery when there is hopes of escaping has not resolution to look Death in the face when 't is inevitable There is an eminent instance of this in a famous Captain of late memory the Duke Biron none was more bold in fight but when he was to receive the Sentence of Death for his Crimes none more disorder'd by fear sometimes he was in a rage against his Judges and after his passion was evaporated fell into the other extremity unmanly crys complaints and low submissions to obtain favour But the more than Heroick Constancy of the Martyrs contemned Death in its nearest approaches and most fearful pomp Christian Religion has often transform'd the most tender Women and Children into Men or rather into Angels making them suffer with joy that which our Nature cannot see without horrour It changed as it were Flesh and Blood into a Celestial substance insensible of Fire and Sword and the most cruel Violences Now this unshaken Resolution in Christians encountring the last Enemy was from the lively sense of God's favour reconciled by the most pure and precious Blood of his Son and the hopes of everlasting happiness in his presence To conclude this Argument 't is to be observed there is no proof more proper that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the World than the joynt testimony of the Spirit Water and Blood For whereas Sin was the only cause of our Ruine the Office of our Saviour is to repair that Ruine and consequently he that effectually does it is to be acknowledged believed and imbraced as our Saviour Now the worst effects of Sin are the ignorance of the Mind the depravation of the Affections and the terrors of Conscience from the apprehensions of Vengeance Therefore since the Gospel of Christ has brought Celestial Light Purity and Peace into the World it is an infallible proof that He is the Redeemer of it The Sun that visits the World with its refreshing beams has no clearer marks of the Divine Wisdom in making it and ordering its motions than the Spiritual Light of the Gospel that irradiates the minds of Men before in deep darkness The riches of the Earth in variety of Fruits is not a more convincing Argument of the Divine Goodness than to see the Souls of Men that before were as dead earth under the curse of Heaven to abound in all the fruits of Righteousness The separating the Sea from the Land and setting bounds to its impetuous Waves is not a greater effect of God's Power than the calming the tempests of an unquiet Conscience and establishing Tranquillity in it And these Blessings we entirely owe to Jesus Christ in whose Name they are obtain'd by whose Spirit they are conferr'd and for whose Glory they are design'd Now what more is requisite to afford us satisfaction that JESUS CHRIST came from God and revealed his Will in order to our happiness Can it be reasonably expected that new Miracles should be wrought to satisfy every Sceptick that is still unsatisfied Indeed the fountain of them is not dried up the Power of God is not weaken'd nor his Mercy lessened but in extraordinary Cases when the Gospel is first preach'd to a Nation it may be expected that to convert them from Gentilism to the Christian Faith he will make himself known not only by Word but Power in Supernatural Operations But the vein of Miracles is not still current in the Church there being sufficient motives of Belief for the conviction of all that are not obstinate without the performing new Must the Son of God present himself to all Men in a visible Glory Or must his Divine Father give another Majestick Testimony from Heaven concerning him If we have not such sensible Evidence we have as sure The accomplishment of Scripture-Prophecies is a permanent Miracle a more certain
World otherwise than they received them This were to charge them with the most supine carelesness and unnatural cruelty Besides the great number of Copies disperst through all places and translated into many Languages and read in all Christian Assemblies make the attempt to falsifie them in things of moment to be morally impossible This will be more clear if we consider that among Christians there have been so many persons wise and good of excellent learning and vertue and of diverse Countries that by their office were establish't the Depositories of those precious Writings And is there any colorable pretence to imagine that they should suffer any notable alteration in them much less conspire to make a change in any Doctrines of Faith or Life therein deliver'd To give reputation and credit to a lye intitling it to Divine Revelation especially in matters of Eternal consequence is such a black crime that none can be presumed capable of but one that has utterly lost his Conscience I shall not here urge that the Immortal Providence of God is eminently interested in preserving the Scriptures in sufficient purity It were a vile imputation upon his Wisdom and Goodness to believe that he would permit them to be undiscernably corrupted in points important to his own Glory and Mans Salvation Thus a snare would be laid without possibility of prevention and the embracing Error instead of Truth would be innocent But this Argument though incomparably the best supposes that the Christian Doctrine descended from Heaven the proofs of which are to be considered 3. I will not insist on the proofs of all the mysterious points of the Christian Faith singly consider'd but propound the Arguments that evince the truth of that Religion wherein they are expresly and clearly contain'd and from thence conclude that 't is most reasonable to believe them As in besieging a Town the Assailants do not attack every particular House but vigorously press on to possess themselves of the Citadel that commands the whole and with that all the Houses are conquer'd That Divine Revelation is infallible is an acknowledg'd Principle by all Men for natural Reason dictates that unerring Wisdom and infinite Goodness are essential perfections of God so that he cannot be deceived nor deceive those that trust in his Word 4. The proofs of the truth of Christian Religion are of a moral nature and though not of equal clearness with the testimonies of Sense or a Mathematical Demonstration yet are so pregnant and convincing that the considering dispassionate spirit fully acquiesces in them A Mathematical Demonstration brings so strong a Light that the Mind cannot suspend its assent but is presently overcome by the naked propounding of the Object And hence it is that in Mathematical matters there are neither Infidels nor Hereticks But the motives of Faith are such that although the Object be most certain yet the Evidence is not so clear and irresistible as that which flows from Sense or a Demonstration And 't is the excellent observation of ‖ Grotius God has wisely appointed this way of perswading Men the truth of the Gospel that Faith might be accepted as an act of Obedience from the reasonable Creature For the Arguments to induce belief though of sufficient certainty yet do not so constrain the mind to give its assent but there is prudence and choice in it Not that the Will can make a direct impression upon the Mind that it should comply with its desire and see what it does not see It cannot make an obscure Object to be clear to its perception no more than it can change the colour of visible things and make what appears green to the Eye to seem red But the mind enlightned by sufficient Reasons that the Christian Religion is from God represents it so to the Will and the Will if sincere and unbiast by carnal affections commands the Mind not to disguise the Truth to make it less credible nor to palliate with specions colours the pretences of Infidelity And thus the belief of it results from conviction and love This moral evidence is as convincing as is requisit to make us steadfastly believe and obey the Gospel Moral Arguments produce as satisfying certainty though not so palpable as those drawn from Sense When there is a concurrence of Reasons proper to the nature of things and the strongest they are capable of by their united light they dispel all doubts and fear of the contrary For after the Understanding has deliberately and impartially compar'd the Motives and Arguments in favour of the truth of a thing and those that contradict it and finds the most weighty moments of Reason in one scale for it and in the other nothing but Air and emptiness it concludes without hesitation or suspence that such a thing is real And as it is impossible that a Physical demonstration concerning the existence of a thing should be deceitful because the two parts of a contradiction as of the being and not being of a thing cannot be true so there is as it were an equal repugnance that a moral Demonstration form'd upon the best Arguments the matter will admit should deceive the Mind It presents the object without a cloud so that the Understanding has an undoubted assurance of it To proceed the intrinsick excellencies of the Christian Religion will appear by considering the Doctrines Precepts and Promises it contains which are the essential parts of Religion And of them in general we may observe 1. The Gospel illustrates and establishes all the natural Principles of truth and goodness that are common to mankind the rule of moral actions and reveals all supernatural things requisit for the Glory of God and the supreme happiness of Man that rectified Reason upon the discovery must acknowledg it came from Heaven and infallibly leads those who believe and obey it to Heaven 2. There is such an intire agreement between all the parts of the Christian Religion for the accomplishing its great end as affords a clear conviction 't is no humane invention but from God As the Harmonious Composition the beautiful order and uniform preservation of the World is a sensible demonstration that it proceeds from a most wise powerful and good Cause In particular the Doctrine of the Gospel contains besides what may be known of God and of Man by Natural Light two principal points An account of the corruption and misery of mankind in its first causes And his Redemption effectually accomplish'd by the Son of God The discovery of both is equally necessary to Man The first makes him understand the depth of his guiltiness that he is incomparably more wretched than he feels himself clears the Purity and Justice of God in his dealings with Man and prepares him by the afflicted sense of his condition for Mercy And the knowledge of the Divine Redeemer powerful to restore him is as necessary in order to his Duty and Happiness For without it he would be always tormented with