them For tho' they were of a more obscure and impenetrable kind yet Paganism in general had very considerable notices of the immense goodness of the Divine nature and those amongst them who oppos'd Atheism and asserted Providence took no small care to set off divine love or the necessary care God had of his Creatures good with the greatest Lustre and the Ancient Christian Doctors nay the Apostles themselves witness Saint Paul at Athens and St. Peter with Cornelius and the Ancienter Prophets and Holy Writers found God's Goodness exerted to his Creatures an excellent Argument to draw Pagans as well as others to Repentance and Obedience Among other apprehensions Pagans had of God that of his Purity and Holiness was very considerable they who ascribed Perfection to him and knew what Perfection meant look'd upon him as necessarily infinitely Pure for where they tell us of God's being impassible they prove he cannot be guilty of any thing ill that being contrary to the original nature of a Spiritual Being which therefore must be suppos'd to suffer when it is suppos'd to sin But as they had these notions of God's immense purity so they had as quick a sense of the depravation of Man's Nature and were ready to lament it with almost as great an Emphasis as St. Paul himself could lament his own corruption hence that ingenious Platonist Maximus Tyrius acknowledges Dissert 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For the Soul of Man is too weak to extricate it self by force of Reason from all those perplexities it meets with especially being while in this life involv'd in many dark and gloomy Clouds and always miserably wearied and distracted with the noise and tumult of occurring mischiefs for what Man is there so good who can live without offence or without fault but Men might live easily enough without fault did not the general depravation of their natures prevent it for of what is Good nothing but Good can come But though this Purity in God and Corruption in Man must necessarily put God at a great distance from Man yet as God was Lord and Master at first both by right of Creation and Preservation he is so still as he that was owner of a Kingdom does not lose his right in it because it is visited with the Plague and the Infection it may be fatal and almost Universal so Man owes Obedience and Subjection to God still as he that was my Slave when perfect and in health is not therefore set free of course because he 's sickly or has lost an Arm or a Leg Or he that was so when in his wits does not cease to be so now because he 's distracted and does not understand his Duty The Relation between God and Man stands good and is believ'd to do so by Heathens as well as Christians as a Son owes a Duty to his Father when his Father 's angry as well as when he 's pleas'd and when himself has really offended him as well as when he has not and this relation is necessarily on man's part to be maintained to the utmost since by its failure he loses all hopes of Happiness and on God's part in vindication of his own Goodness He therefore that rightly understands Humane Pravity of Nature and yet believes he owes a duty to the supreme Being must conclude it necessary that he should have some Positive Rule or method whereby to manage himself nor is it enough in this case to fly to the Law of Nature as if that were sufficient That had been so indeed had Man continued in that rectitude of faculties which he had in the first beginnings of the world but Heathens have been very sensible there 's no such thing to depend on now For tho' the Laws of Nature are as Just as Reasonable as Necessary and as Obligatory now as ever yet if men have not Reason enough to understand it what does the excellency and compleatness of Natures Laws signifie to them as tho' I am blind the Sun shines at noon-day as bright and clear as ever it did but I see never the more for all that It was the Apostle's complaint that the good that he would that he did not Rom. 7.19 and the evil that he would not that he did the reason of which was that general Corruption of Mankind which He as one of them was partaker of fo◠He saw another Law in his members waring against the Law of his mind and bringing him into captivity to the Law of Sin which was in his members the same is the complaint of Medaea in the Poet when meditating upon a dreadful revenge she design'd on her husband Jason video meliora probóque Deteriora sequor Now let the Laws of Nature be never so admirable which way can a Man thus distracted within compose himself so as to take a fair view of that Law or be enough himself to practise upon it The Law of Nature is really obscure and mystical to be traced through a thousand dark and perplexing Labyrinths which require more than a Man as now fix'd to travel through therefore it cannot be enough to satisfie Man's want and to give him full and clear direction to do the Will of God which obedience to his Will is yet His Duty He again who has a just Idaea of immense Goodness in God will never be capable of reconciling His refusal to give Man a Law to walk by to such goodness For while no Man that acknowledges a God doubts but that he 'l punish sinners none can doubt but to clear his own Justice from all cavils he 'l punish them only as Sinners against some Law for sin is defin'd to Christians a Transgression of the Law but that Law must be some such Law as the Transgressor was really capable of knowing As our Justiciaries punish the most ignorant Clowns when they break our Laws tho' perhaps the suffering persons never knew of those Laws and yet very justly because there were such Laws really extant and in such a Language as they understood and it was their Duty and Interest to be acquainted with and to enquire after those Laws the breach of which might any way be penal to them It 's as little doubted that God will reward those who keep such Laws and will encourage them by the easiness of the Laws propounded to a ready and exact obedience These things were so strongly fix'd in the minds of antient Pagans that it set their Philosophers at work to read Lectures and to prescribe Laws concerning Virtue and Vice to all people declaring previously That there was an absolute necessity of such Laws for Men who indeed were ingaged in the dark and some of them could almost have pretended to Divine influences upon them tho' their Priests and Fortune-tellers did it with more applause But all this was to bring mens minds to a greater veneration of their Principles and Empedocles in particular thought it no ill Policy to Teach his
so to believe also in Him But now if without believing in Christ eternal life and happiness cannot be obtain'd and that be saving Faith which is fix'd on Him and if we be reasonably commanded to believe in him and yet true saving Faith cannot be fix'd in any but in God alone then it will follow that Christ must be God the true the Supreme God and it will follow too that it 's indispensibly necessary that all Men should know he is God that they may know in whom it is that they believe that he is the proper object of Divine Faith and able to answer all the expectations of Faith For otherwise as a proposition may in it self be true and yet I may be a lyer when I swear it is true because I know nothing of its being so So though Christ may be in himself the true God yet I am an Idolater for worshipping him as the true while I know not that he is indeed the true God And St. Paul acquits not the Athenians of Idolatry in consecrating an Altar to the unknown God tho' that God unknown to them was the same God whom he preach'd unto them Nor will that of the Apostle St. John be easily avoided where having before told us We know that the Son of God is come 1 John 5.20 and hath given us an understanding to know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in Jesus Christ he subjoyns This is the true God and Eternal Life These words if we interpret them as they lie and they seem to have no figure or Hyperbole or foreign relation in them may pass for a very plain Text to prove that it concerns no less than our Eternal Salvation to know that Jesus Christ is the true God and this Interpretation gives the clearer reason and stronger Emphasis to his following rule v. 21. Little Children keep your selves from Idols If then our Lord's design was to procure Man's everlasting Salvation a right and certain knowledge of that on which Eternal Life depends cannot be impertinent to our Lord's design And if to worship God according to his declared Will be the purpose of every one that embraces Christianity exclusively of all other Religions he that thinks it necessary in his worship to distinguish between these respects due to a meer Creature and those Honours belonging to the Creator cannot miss his purpose or lose his labour and He who by solid proofs drawn from clear and pertinent places of Scripture makes his Faith in this particular rational cannot easily incur any extraordinary danger though without so doing he may incur a fatal hazard and thus we come to a direct discourse on that Particular where these things will be more fully considered Having concluded the first words of this Verse Without Controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness to signifie to us the concurrence of the Christian Faith with the Worlds general vogue in relation to Religion and that Mysteries great and obscure are very necessary to the perpetuation of that Faith and rend'ring it venerable among conceited and presuming disputants it cannot be unuseful to discourse on the first instance the Apostle makes use of to illustrate the Mystery of Godliness or of the Christian Faith viz. God's manifesting himself in the flesh or appearing and showing himself to humane eyes cloth'd in humane nature for though God manifests himself a thousand several ways in his works of Creation and Providence where his Truth Justice Mercy Power Wisdom c. are notoriously evident to diligent observers yet all these manifestations of himself are at a distance and such as though they give us a very fair Idea of divine Goodness as in himself yet conduce little to Humane happiness while Men reflect upon themselves as miserably degenerate from that original excellency they were created in and as such who have extremely abus'd all those evidences of God's power and influence upon the World which have been given for restraining them within due bounds and making them submissive to a superiour Law such reflections teach Men to look upon themselves as in a ruinous state fit subjects for eternal displeasure and of themselves wholly incapable of satisfying divine justice or retrieving forfeited happiness and upon God onely as a severe Judge and powerful revenger of whom they could onely conclude that he would vindicate his own honour upon those that injured it and punish those to extremity who had not duly improved those overtures of himself which he had made in his visible works What Man in such a case might wish for is easie enough to conjecture He that 's falling down a precipice would bless the Hand that would save him from death and he that 's going immediately to execution would be overjoy'd to hear of a pardon so would almost despairing wretched sinful Man do wish for some proportionable power to interpose between himself and vengeance But such a power onely could be in God and yet so great a benefit could be procur'd for Man onely by such an adequate satisfaction to God's anger as could be given by a Man Here Humane conceptions were entirely at a loss the universal imperfection of their nature they plainly understood and so the impossibility of meer humane satisfaction they easily found it was no created being it was no mere man though strengthened by Divine assistance nay it was none of those pure and happy Spirits who attend on celestial Ministrations that could stem that prodigious tide of immense wrath therefore God himself must interpose but how Infinity should be confin'd how He who grasp'd the Universe in his hand should stoop from Heaven for the sake of those who had affronted his goodness before how He should condescend to assume Humanity the necessary Medium of peace were Mysteries too great for Man to fathom and Hopes too large for guilty souls to please themselves with but what was so very obscure to Man was plain and easie to the Almighty and when the time of his redeem'd was come when he look'd and there was none to help Isay 63.4 5. and wondred that there was none to uphold then his own arm brought salvation to the World It was then in that absolute fulness of time when sins and miseries and anger were at the height and all things seem'd inevitably running to eternal destruction that God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law from those burdens and that death to which they were enslav'd to stop the fatal final sentence then ready to be past God himself was so made manifest in the flesh In relation to which great action we shall assert That Jesus Christ the Messias appearing in our Humane nature or cloth'd with flesh and blood was really the Son of God That the same blessed Jesus was God equal with his Father or really and truly God as well as real Man That it was necessary that
was so indisputably innocent Again to aim wholly at the extirpation of vice of all sin and wickedness and the promoting and recommending of virtue and goodness carries the highest purity and sanctity along with it If miscarriages in government and trespasses upon humane Laws produce terrible convulsions of state and unexpected revolutions in political affairs of which at this day we live to see unaccountable instances it 's easie to infer from thence that encroachments upon the Laws of God and nature must have the same influence upon general affairs and create strange disorders in the World and mightily prejudice all the bonds of humane Society It naturally excites God's vindictive justice and makes him scatter vengeance every where it creates nothing but mutual distrusts and jealousie of one another among men so that they grow like Wolves or Devils in their mutual animosities and injuries As these things are the consequence of wickedness so they are certain proofs and indications of the prevalence of Sin in any place or Nation they show a general infection to have spread it self in a very corrupt people and therefore he that endeavours to purge out the malignant humours of men labouring under such pernicious distempers employs himself in the purest and most desirable work since he endeavours onely to reconcile guilty nature to an incensed God and waspish and ill humour'd Men to one another A full and rigid execution of Laws against impudent vices may keep some under by its terror and make them at least seek the darkest corners for the perpetrating of villanies but it represents not Sin a whit the more in its native ugliness nor gives any ordinary satisfaction that Sin is exceeding sinful for it 's easie enough to conclude that God and Men may prohibit and punish such or such an action out of their own arbitrariness to shew their own absolute and uncontroulable power upon which account though Force may restrain them for a while yet there remain in perverted minds some strange Gustos of delight in finding opportunities to do what they are forbidden and which they conclude may be things good enough notwithstanding such prohibitions but when vice is delineated truly by Instructors appointed for that purpose who are neither afraid nor asham'd to speak Truth when they find Sin decried by solemn and weighty arguments more than by authority where on the other hand they find virtue and goodness described fairly as it deserves recommended by earnest and gentle perswasives set out with all its circumstantial beauties discover'd in its happy effects with relation both to earthly and heavenly influences when they see blessings shour'd down from Heaven upon them and their very Enemies at peace with them when they see how all this onely propounds a pure and unmixed goodness in Devotions towards God and in Converse among Men such Observers have nothing to say for themselves in case they chuse the worst part they cann't pretend so much as to excuse themselves that they embrace evil not voluntarily but by mistake and sub specie boni since vice and virtue ly both unveil'd and naked before them Or they must acknowledge themselves onely to be resolutely wicked to be so because they will be so which puts them easily past all hopes of pity or of Pardon But since devotion and ordinary converse were so exceedingly deprav'd and since the wisest among meer Men had made so many attempts for reforming them and yet had been so miserably mistaken in their measures to that end as to convince them of the impossibility of such atchievments from their hands when one person howsoever despicable and mean in his outward appearances could reassume the forsaken design and not onely assume but apparently accomplish it laying down such Rules as if exactly follow'd must necessarily restore all things to an absolute perfection when Men observe all his instructions to agree closely among themselves and with the ancient authentick methods of doing well and all concurring still in the same center of Vniversal Sanctity it must be necessarily concluded That the Vndertaker was somewhat more than Man that nothing less than infinite holiness and wisdom could effect such things which being yet apparently effected by One who was a true Man that true Man must withall be acknowledged the Son of God And whereas the generality of inquisitive Men in their searches after truth and wisdom always observed strange deficiencies in humane reason whereby antient wise men broke into so many several divisions in their inquiries after the Chief good whereas they found that none could lay down a fair project for pursuit of That but that presently he was assaulted by whole Armies of adversaries and all projects found absurd and unprofitable for acquiring that they aim'd at When the Gospel of our Saviour came to be divulged tho' it met with adversaries enough they were all too weak to inval date its strength and reason It was neither the juggling fair-tongu'd Pharisee nor the absurd and ambitious Saducee nor the wrangling Sophister nor the Sceptical or cunning Philosopher nor the undermining Heretick that were able to ruine the reputation of the Christian Doctrine but it still grew upon them tho' they were cruelly assisted by earthly powers and indeed made use of all the roughest means for the extirpation of the Professors of the Gospel And what was very considerable tho' the great promoters of Religion after the Apostles and their immediate Successor's times neither had the gift of languages nor had much of the learned education of those Ages yet they were able having truth on their side to baffle all the learning of the great wise men among both Jews and Pagans which could never have happened had not what they preached and defended been highly rational For keen adversaries who pretended to the greatest acuteness of Wit and Sence would never have quitted arguments that had been stronger for the sake of meer cant and impertinent jangling But indeed the common scope of the inquiries of wise men being to discover what was really the greatest degree of humane happiness and the highest and chiefest good by which they confest somewhat Lost and tho' possibly to be retrieved yet not without the greatest difficulties imaginable there was no proposition made by any for the full discovery and attainment of that Good but it was eagerly listned to and the probabilities on all sides being duly weighed and the effects of the several propositions being carefully consider'd Christianity gain'd the victory whose effects were the most considerable whose Professors the most innocent whose promises were the most excellent and punctual and whose rules the most general intelligible and unquestionable Pagans and Jews if they were not wilfully ignorant could not but see all those principles of reason which themselves pretended to extremely advanc'd by this doctrine introduced by Christ for whereas they were wont to decry pride and haughtiness of spirit arrogance and contempt of others very earnestly its true the
our God and to serve Him only We know it 's the common practice of all Professors of Christianity and allowed by our Adversaries to worship our Saviour to adore and pray to him as God We think our selves and the Socinians acknowledge that we may do thus without being guilty of Idolatry therefore our Saviour must be the Supreme God the maker of all things c. therefore He and his Father must be One God and so neither the first nor second Commandment at all trespassed upon in those Adorations We find the worship of Images or any false Gods condemn'd as Idolatry frequently in God's Word We find Holy Men refusing to 〈◊〉 worshipped there and Angels themâ— forbidding any signs of Adoration to be offered to them because they would not trespass upon a Law so notorious both in Scripture and in Nature and this we have spoken off before A Socinian will own that our Saviour knew his Father's Will as well as either Holy Men or Angels that He was as careful to Honour his Father in performing his Will as either of them that He who came to die for the sins of Men in what sense soever would never tempt them to commit Sin Yet we find him allowing that Worship offered to himself express'd by outward humility and prostration which yet was that very reverence which good Men and good Angels had refused as unlawful before Either this Worship was Idolatrous or it was not if it was our Saviour was no better than the Jews thought of him viz. A Cheat and an Impostor one who sought their ruine not their happiness therefore to be sure far enough from being that Messias whose title he pretended to If it was not Idolatry then the worshipping of our Saviour was not worshipping more Gods than one tho' he were worshipped under the notion of God therefore he must be the Supreme God all Divine Worship paid to any other Being being largely proved to be Idolatry before But we have no reason to believe that Men of extraordinary Goodness and Wisdom would ever have given us examples of Idolatry or that God would any way have allowed much less have commanded it That It 's fitting to be done the Racovian Catechism proves from that Joh. 5.22 23. The Father hath given all judgment or government to the Son that all should Honour the Son as they Honour the Father and again from that of the Apostle Phil. 2.9 10 11. Therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow both of things in Heaven and thirds on earth and things that are under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father And tho' they are at a doubt whether there be any direct command to worship Him in Scripture yet when we read that of the Apostle Heb 1.6 Ps 97.7 When He brings his first-born into the World He says let all the Angels of God worship him or as our more immediate translation from the present Hebrew Text reads it Worship him all ye Gods and when according to the acknowledgment of Socinus himself in his dispute with Franciscus Davidis that passage Joel 2.32 Rom. 10.13 â—p 721. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved is applied justly to our Saviour by the Apostle these two passages together appear to be a command strong and forcible enough to oblige every one believing in Christ to call upon his name or to pray to him These are Commands enjoyning us to worship our Saviour even in his Humane Nature but if our Lord and his Father are one God then all those commands which enjoyn the worshipping of one God are so many commands equally obliging us to worship Jesus Christ but supposing a Positive Precept wanting in the case before us tho' we are not to look upon every private Action of a good Man as an obliging Precedent to us yet where we have a Cloud of Witnesses concurring in the case we may reasonably conclude that they would not have worshipped our Saviour so continually meerly to lead us into Error nor would Angels have agreed with them in the practice nor would our Saviour himself have passed them by without a reproof Yet frequently as we find Adorations paid to our Saviour when upon Earth We never find any dissatisfaction in his words and actions Joh. 11.33 He groan'd for the stubbornness and obduracy of Jewish Hearts for their prodigious resolutions not to own him tho' drawing them all with the sacred cords of love and miraculous goodness he wept v. 35. to observe their inflexible and to themselves fatal temper He wept over Jerusalem Luk 19.41 on the dismal prospect of those calamities that wrath to the uttermost which was then hastning upon them Luk. 12.14 He reproved the Man who would needs have made him a temporary Judge or a Divider of Inheritances among them Luk. 22 2â— He reproved his Disciples for their contentions about their future grandeur and seems to check the Man who only called him good Master Mar. 10.17 as if the ascribing Goodness to one whom he took to be a meer Man was too near an encroachment upon the sacred character of the Supreme God And can we imagine he would be so tender in every such little particular and yet so very careless in those important affairs wherein the eternal interests of his followers would be concerned as long as the World endured This is very hard to believe yet that the Concern is so great the late Scribling Arrian owns when to the charge of Blasphemy imputed to his Party for denying the eternal Godhead of the Son and of the Holy Ghost he retorts that question upon us Vindication of Vnitarians p. 3. If you err do not you both blaspheme and commit Idolatry in worshipping the Son and the Holy Ghost as co-equal with the Father We must be guilty of both if they are not but for the Son we hope enough has been or shall be said to prove we are free from danger on that side To clear our own practice yet farther We 'l trace those footsteps our Adversaries themselves have trodden before us and make use of those instances they have laid together on this occaon So the Apostles pray to their Master Lord increase our Faith Luk. 17.5 a Petition of a strange nature to one that was no more than their fellow Creature and so far from any encouraging exaltation in the world that whereas the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests He the Son of Man had not so much as where to lay his head How could he give them Faith who could not as it seemed give himself security from worldly persecution but our Lord gives them no check for mislaying their Petition nor does he bid them seek to his Father
under inward and more mortal Distempers shew'd no forwardness to be cured by an Almighty hand When the Wise-man describes the Sluggard's Vineyard and shows us the Fences thereof broken down the Surface of it covered with Thorns and nettles and the Sluggard himself so far from regarding it that he stretches himself upon his Bed and crys Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep he characterizes the general disposition of Men under the Influences of Hell over-grown with all manner of Impieties unguarded against all manner of Temptations and yet dull and stupified under all their Miseries When we reflect upon this general Captivity of rational Creatures to Vice and Folly when we reflect upon that spiritless Weakness they groan'd under when we see them lazy in their own nearest concerns prejudiced against all the ways of their own Deliverance pursuing Bubbles with a ridiculous Earnestness and imagining it their greatest Interest to undo themselves we cannot well persuade our selves that any ordinary means could help the miserable or relieve the oppressed or let the Prisoners go free The chains and violences of Hell are not easily broken and the attempts of Weaklings in the Case would but encrease the sorrow of the Sufferers but when the blessed Jesus reveal'd himself in the fulness of time when he began by mighty works to exert his power when he commissioned his Disciples to go through the Cities of Israel and to preach Repentance and to work Miracles of all sorts when those Disciples returning again to give an account of their Ministry told their Master that even Evil Spirits themselves were subject unto them through his name our Saviour observes Luke 10.18 that he saw Satan like lightning fall from Heaven he had put an end to that height of power the Devil had pleas'd himself in before He had seem'd to himself to be like the most High invested in an absolute Dominion o'er the World but he was now fallen from his Height and should no more be able to deceive the Nations with that success he had formerly had for the Gospel then preach'd set before Men in plain terms the true and only good they were to aim at it laid out the means tending directly to that good it shew'd Men their frequent Failures indeed but an infallible Atonement for them in the Death of their Saviour and shew'd the Holy Spirit ready to assist all their pious Endeavours after Happiness by which the Works of the Devil were effectually destroyed Another Reason of our Saviour's coming into the World was That the World might be convinced that the Law given by Moses to the Jewish Nation was really the Law of God and that it could not therefore be repeal'd by any Power or Authority whatsoever but his who was God The last part of this Reason is a necessary consequence upon the first for in all Countries the sanction and repealing of Laws require one and the same Authority at least nay where it 's possible the annulling of a Law requires much the greater Power thus among the Romans the Edictum Praetoris or the Praetor's Edict had the force of a Law and Obedience was absolutely required to it only it might be rescinded by a Rescript of the Emperour whose Power was indisputable both over the Praetor and his Law but the Praetor could not repeal an Imperial Rescript nor his own Edict after an Imperial Confirmation thus God can vacate all Humane Laws when and where he pleases because he 's superiour to all Laws but those flowing from his own Nature but it 's a damning Sin for Man to go about to vacate God's Laws because Man in his highest state has no other Authority but what he derives from God who cannot be supposed to give any Man an Authority contradictory to his own or that should interfere with it but among Men as in the Roman Empire it required an Imperial Power to repeal an Imperial Sanction so among our selves an Act of Parliament can be repealed only by an Act of Parliament the King in Parliament being in all respects whatsoever the supreme Power of the Nation Thus we see the Parallelism between both the making and disannulling both Divine and Humane Laws so that it appears altogether rational that the Mosaic Law if originated from God should be repealed by God As for the Law of Moses that it was given by God and only by him he that reads the Scripture and owns that to be the Word of God must of necessity believe and the Jews to this day are so strongly possess'd with that Assurance that all the World knows the vacating that by One who appear'd but a mean Man is one great prejudice the Jews make use of at this day against Christianity they are certain God gave their Law and every part of it they are as certain that the same God only could change or take it away they conclude as our Socinians do That Jesus was a meer Man and no God therefore they look upon him as very wicked for pretending to put an end to that Law Now if we wanted the Scripture to confirm us in that Knowledge a bare Reflection upon the behaviour of the Jewish Nation at all times is enough to satisfie us that God was the Author of their Law For if we look upon them as esteem'd by their Neighbours they were never lookt upon as the veriest Fools and Ignorants in the Universe that Ptolomey who procur'd the Translation of the Old Testament into Greek thought the Books of their Law worth procuring at a vast expence so he and several adjacent Nations at all times were ready to enter into terms of Confederacy with them c. But were they never so wise or knowing in any thing they never found any reason to shake off the Yoke of the Law of Moses they own'd it upon all occasions and as at first when they fell under any extream Affliction they had immediately recourse to the Law and to the Testimony from whence they re-confirm'd their Apprehensions of the true God the God of their fathers and apply'd themselves to Him so afterwards they employ'd themselves earnestly in vindicating that Law from any Aspersions which their Enemies might lay upon it and in endeavouring to procure Proselytes to that Law from among the neighbouring Nations But now we must have a very mean opinion of the Jews if we can imagine a whole Nation should submit themselves to a body of Laws for a course of several ages that they should believe it their indispensible duty to obey all the particular Injunctions of a Law that was extreamly nice and difficult to be observ'd such a Law as in its Ceremonial part was very troublesome and heavy yet necessary enough considering the Temper of the People it was given to and the great end and aim of it that they should own the obliging force of this Law notwithstanding those many Rebellions against it which they were
try'd He could not reasonably refuse to stand to that Tryal but neither do we find that his Enemies ever went about to shew the Discrepancy between his Doctrines and his Practice and therefore when they thought to cajole him into their snares by a most malicious Complement they gave him indeed no more than a true and proper Character Master we know that thou art true Matth. 22.16 and teachest the way of God in truth neither carest thou for any man for thou regardest not the persons of men this Character was really his due whatsoever they meant by it and they who were unwilling to acknowledge their own Hypocrisie could never fairly go off from so remarkable a Testimonial If then the Blessed Jesus were so signally innocent He was above all other the fittest to assert and vindicate the Authority of his Father's Laws and this he carefully did and made his appeal to all those Laws without exception according as occasions offer'd themselves After all then if he would really put an end to the Ceremonial Law and yet maintain to the last his Character of Truth and Justice He must of necessity be the Son of God and God himself his Authority otherwise notwithstanding the mutable Nature of those Laws not being sufficient to bear him out in so great an Alteration Our Saviour was Incarnate That the Law of God as given to the Jews might in our Nature be fulfilled exactly and according to the Letter and so that he who fulfilled it might be a compleat example of Holiness and Obedience to us and how great an Undertaker this required we shall have hereafter Opportunities enough to understand Now when I lay down this reason by the word Law I understand whatsoever was given to the Jews whether Moral as confirming the Law of uncorrupted Nature or Political as relating to their Civil Government or Ceremonial as referring to their various Religious Rites both the last so far as they could concern the Practice of a private Person so that indeed the whole Law as given to the Jews contain'd in it whatsoever could have been expected from Adam had he retain'd his original Innocence or whatsoever humane Nature in its utmost perfection could possibly attain to Now that such a compleat Obedience should be expected from some One Partaker of humane nature was but reasonable when the great work of Man's Redemption was in hand for since Man created in all that Perfection his Nature was capable of had yet fall'n from that Obedience which was justly expected from him he being in a condition every way capable of performing it and by that fall of his had necessarily involv'd all those who should be deriv'd from him in all those Miseries attending the guilt of Sin and since the intent of God's Goodness was that from the Obedience of one man descended of the same flesh and blood many should be made righteous or be blessed with those Rewards attending upon Righteousness as the Apostle assures us it came to pass it was but just and reasonable that that Man from whom that righteousness was to descend to Mankind that that Man should compleatly make up that Character of the first Man when in Innocence which had he persever'd in as he ought his whole Posterity had been entirely happy and yet that task was abundantly greater for the second Adam our Lord Jesus Christ than it was for the first Adam our great Parent for Adam had no Corruption deriv'd down to him from his Original from whence it has been not impertinently question'd Whether before Sin enter'd into the World and Death by Sin He was liable to the common Rules of Mortality But our Saviour when he took Flesh of the Virgin took it up at such a time as Humane nature was sunk into its utmost depravation nor would an allowance of that Roman Foolery That the Blessed Virgin was born without any Original Sin or Guilt upon her help the matter For so long as she was descended from such Parents as had their share in the Corruption of Humane Nature her Freedom would not of consequence free every one who should be born of her but she being no way beyond other Women but only on account of her Practical Holiness our Lord as descended from her must be in all things like his Brethren liable to all the Inconveniences attending a Body certainly mortal for as for his being without Sin it depended on the Union of a Mortal to an Immortal Being the very nature of which superiour Being was more effectual than the Refiner's Fire on Gold or Silver purifying that otherwise corrupt Body it was united to and fortifying it against all that proclivity to Sin and easie succumbency to Temptation which the rest of Mankind was obnoxious to Nor was it any thing but such a coacting Omnipotence which could possibly have produc'd a clean thing out of an unclean or a Body without Sin out of that which was naturally sinful There is certainly such a state as that of Eternal Happiness but it is attainable only as the reward of Merit in a proper sense or as we ordinarily say it 's as Wages which he who faithfully performs his work deserves and may justly lay claim to as his own and therefore cannot be deny'd without Injustice as for instance whereas the condition of eternal Life is This do and live whosoever it is that performs the Condition and does what 's requir'd he has for so doing provided there be no circumstantial failure in the performance of the work a just and rightful claim to that eternal Life propounded and God himself could not be just should he deny the propos'd reward to such a One as should compleatly perform the Condition set before him Had Man continued in the state of Innocence he had had this proper claim of his own to eternal Happiness he might justly have claim'd it and could not without extremity of Injustice have been deny'd it but that eternal Happiness which we now expect is of Grace or it 's the free Gift of God which we as Sinners and such we are all without exception have no proper or inherent right to but it 's not the immediate free Gift of God as if he without any performance of incumbent duty on our part would bestow upon us an eternally glorious Inheritance for this would be as inconsistent with that infinite Justice which makes up the Idaea of the Supreme God as it would be to deny Wages or a Reward to him that had truly deserved it nor is it a free giving Man such an inward Ability to perform all the punctilio's of the Divine reveal'd Will as by which they might make a full compensation to Divine Justice for the original pravity of Nature and do all such things to the utmost as could be requir'd from the beginning to the end of Life for this were to alter the whole frame of Humane Nature and to give it in the present state of things an
reveal'd and consequently comprehensible enough by sound reason and certainly to be fathomed by discourse and sense Thus Schlicktingius in his disputation against the Doctrine of the Trinity oppos'd to Meisner a Lutheran Divine Schlicktin in Meisner de Trin. c. p. 70. Mysteria Divina non idcirco mysteria dicuntur quod etiam revelata omnem nostrum intellectum captumque transcendunt sed quod non nisi ex revelatione cognosci possint Divine Mysteries are not therefore call'd mysteries because they transcend our understanding after they are reveal'd but because they cannot be known without divine Revelation For what need is there of a Revelation if they are no more intelligible afterwards than they were before wherefore Humane reason may determine concerning divine Mysteries when they are once reveal'd nay it ought to do so for how should it give any credit to them unless it had first passed a judgment upon them And so soon as ever our reason has pass'd a true and uncorrupt judgment upon them it always finds those mysteries to be very true Thus He. Elsewhere he asserts that our ignorance of divine mysteries proceeds not from the corruption of our nature through the fall of Man but from the extraordinary sublime nature of those Mysteries Disput. pro Socino p. 101. 1 Cor. 15.51 De verâ Relig. l. 1. p. 344. and therefore after they are once reveal'd to us whether by God's word or by his Spirit Tantas habemus vires ut eas animo comprehendere valeamus we have so much strength of mind that we are able to comprehend them The same Doctrine he preaches in his Commentary on that of the Apostle Behold I shew you a mystery and Crellius speaks to the same effect But this reasoning is not such as should make us much admire our own faculties with respect to the mysteries of Religion It 's true indeed our reason may serve us so far as to convince us such or such a truth is reveal'd our eye sees it in that Book which we call the word of God our ear hears it therefore by discourse we conclude that that Truth stands so reveal'd there and our reason enables us to judge whether the revelation be authentick and fit for us to depend on or no. But according to their acknowledgment wretched man involv'd in sin could with all his wit and sense discover no remedy for his misery the more he discours'd with himself the more plainly he 'd find that He who had offended a Being wise knowing and powerful to punish could rationally expect nothing but punishment from one so offended Mercy could take little place in Man's thoughts in the case he could see reasons enough why he should be punish'd for his sin but no reason why he should be pardon'd since he had sinn'd God now had decreed a remedy for him but God's decree was secret and indiscoverable As man could not naturally feed himself with any reasonable hopes that such a remedy should be neither could he contrive how that remedy should be effected or by what means he an offender should escape the stroke of Justice since Mercy as well as justice must have some ground or reason to move upon the means then as well as the decree was hitherto mysterious Well Almighty God in his wonderful commiseration of humane weakness was pleas'd to promise somewhat comfortable to our first parents in the strength of which promise they were enabled to live tho' under the weight of those calamities sin had laid them open to God afterwards besides these extraordinary promises of the same nature made to the Patriarchs inspired several holy Men who spake as influenced by him and they foretold man's redemption by a Messias one that should be Anointed to that purpose Here then the mystery was reveal'd and what man before could not rationally have hoped for he was now assured of by God himself But did not the whole matter continue a Mystery still Nay was not the Mystery now more inscrutable than before Could Man give a reason or comprehend the matter in his Soul why an exceedingly provoked God should express such love or pity for those who had provoked him If they could have done so they might have done it as well before and consequently have concluded that tho' they had incensed God yet his wrath would certainly be atoned and therefore there was no need of a Revelation or after this Revelation could Man tell certainly what the meaning of this Messiah was They saw him sometimes described by the Prophets under all the glorious characters of a mighty King nay equall'd with God himself in his titles and in his name Sometimes they saw him character'd as very mean and contemptible as riding on an Ass instead of a triumphant Chariot as one who had no form nor comliness in him no beauty for which he should be desired nay despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief Could common reason so easily discover what manner of person he should be in whom these particulars so seemingly contradictory should meet If so what made the Jews who had enjoyed a greater portion of divine light than the rest of the World what made them stumble so extreamly at the person of the Messias when he appear'd or think it so impossible to reconcile Prophecies so seemingly contradictory to one another were the Jews the only persons utterly deserted by reason or grown brutes on the suddain What shall we say to the existence of a God one supream Being who manages all things That there is a God tho' the Socinians deny it Nature and the various works of the Creation teach us for reason will perswade us that the Apostle speaks plain enough to that purpose when he makes it a reason why the Heathens should be inexcusable because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shewed it unto them for the invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen Rom. 1.19.20 being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead This same existence of a God is reveal'd to us in Scripture but in the mean time we must own that by Scripture we really know no more of God than Nature and the works of Nature had discover'd before for that which may be known of God was visible in them as the forecited Text informs us nay had not Nature imprest upon our Souls some Idaeas of the divinity had not we been able to read his eternal power and Godhead in them all the revelations in Scripture would have appear'd very impertinent and unsatisfactory since all the discourse in it concerning God might easily have been interpreted into a religious fiction contriv'd meerly to get reputation to that Book of which God was the pretended Author But after Nature and revelation have done so much are we able to comprehend the nature of the Almighty is not every thing
have no proper organs to demonstrate their innate reason by these unhappinesses are all the fatal consequences of sin and we could hardly believe that sin had had any ill consequences at all had not reason suffer'd by it for if we can as really we do observe that reason teaches every one who now adverts seriously to it to aim at quiet and happiness so had not sin clouded it strangely it had been impossible any temptation whatsoever contrived by Hell or its emissaries could have baffled it But it 's plain that by our present incapacities to answer the sophistry of the tempter we are continually betray'd to sin reason in its height and purity would have convinced us of the madness and folly of every thing that 's ill reason as it now stands perverted suffers us unless prevented with a great deal of industry to embrace ill under the notion of good and it 's no small argument of a great weakness in our rational faculties to be so impos'd on We oftentimes now entertain our capital adversary the Devil as an angel of light we misprise vice for virtue falshood for truth sophistry for solid arguments novelty for antiquity superstition for devotion noise for sense interest for zeal confidence for great parts and ingenuity and reason it self as now it stands when we have a few lucid intervals shews us the extreme ridiculousness of those mistakes and the abilities which some have to expose the follies of others and at the same time to betray their own is unanswerable evidence of the imbecillity of humane reason in general It 's doubtless possible for some of excellent constitutions to argue themselves into a strong perswasion that there is a God It 's again possible nay we see it too too common for men of delicate intellectuals to pretend to answer all the arguments brought to prove the being of a God and they do it so plausibly as to get proselytes and to make abundance of room for horrid Atheism We make no question but that we have proofs really unanswerable of the Divinity of the Son of God the Socinians with whom we are now concern'd deny it and pretend to demonstrations of the contrary and all from principles of reason or Scriptures rationally interpreted and many well meaning men think they are in the right and therefore close with them These oppositions of Reason could never have happen'd had the Soul or mind enjoy'd its original freedom and activity for nothing could possibly have been offer'd in opposition to reason wholly clear and perfect that having been incapable of stooping to mean arts and trifling sophistry But we need indeed no more but to reflect a little on our first Parents and on our selves to prove the truth of this conclusion It 's impossible to overlook the prodigious difference there was between Adam as a knowing Monarch giving names to all Creatures according to their natures and Adam sowing Fig-leaves together to hide his nakedness from Creatures whom some conclude irrational and flying to the shelter of the Trees of Eden for a security from the presence of an all-seeing God one argued excess of wisdom the other the extravagance of folly and for our selves as the Jews proved themselves dull and senseless who could not be convinced or reduced by him who spake as never man spake so we cannot without extreme difficulty find any impressions of good made on our Souls by the most forcible discourses whereas reason in its primitive glory could admit of nothing but what was holy just and good all this notwithstanding we conclude That Humane reason corrupted as it is has yet so much of light and strength as to shew and convince us of a general necessity of Religion This we assert of the light of nature which really is nothing but meer reason as it stands at present affected Now if the works of nature are such as according to the assertion of the Apostle do evidence the Almighty's power and Godhead this evidence must be clear to somewhat that 's able to comprehend it and if it be so very full and plain that they who neglect it are altogether inexcusable then that reason which we now enjoy which alone is capable of apprehending natural evidence must still have that strength that those who by its conduct cannot find out a God and their general duty to him are therefore not to be excus'd God has made the World and all things therein and gives to all life and breath Acts 17.24 25 26 27. and all things and has made of one blood all Nations to dwell upon the Earth that they might seek the Lord if haply they might feel after him and find him but it would have been very ill argued of the Apostle from such Topicks if such observations had not really been enough to guide those who search after God to make a discovery of him And here the Socinians seem to act by very strange measures they conclude as before I observ'd from Smalcius that there 's nothing to be admitted into Religion but what 's agreeable to reason but we cannot tell what 's agreeable to reason unless we can fully and clearly comprehend it for otherwise we may be mistaken and suppose that agreeable to reason which really is not so But at the same time Socinus himself looks upon the light of nature as not sufficient to impress on Man the notion of a God Socin praelect Theol. c. 2 but will have that general opinion of the existence of God to flow only from traditional knowledge or from revelation yet after this assertion of his Crellius one of the most learned of his followers and defenders goes about in his Book de Deo ejus attributis to demonstrate the being of a God from the works of the Creation But if Man has not sense enough by considering the works of nature to argue to the being of a God such a demonstration is extremely impertinent Socinus would prove his opinion among other things by that of the Apostle He that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him which is prefaced with that That without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 But this is no proof at all for Men may by considering circumstances come to the acknowledgment of some supreme power and yet never believe in him nor ever own or practise their duty to him and therefore St. Paul takes notice of some holding the truth in unrighteousness who when they knew God glorified him not as God tho' they were convinced of his existence they were not careful to perform the duty of Creatures or servants to a Supreme Creator they were not thankful but became vain in their Imaginations Rom. 1.21 and their foolish hearts were darkned c. Now those St. Paul there reflects on were Heathens in general who being under a necessity of believing that there was a God by rational discourse
yet out of a supine laziness troubled not themselves to improve reason so far as they might and ought to have done and therefore without any consideration of the divine Nature fell to worship Idols or to respect the Creature more than the Creator yet even that Idolatry it self is an uncontroulable evidence of the general notion of God's existence since no man possibly could be drawn to adore several if he really believ'd there were no God at all Nor farther does it follow that because I 'm satisfied there is a God therefore I must necessarily be acceptable to God for tho' my sence of his Divinity may of it self be pleasing to my Maker yet if that sence have no operation upon my life and conversation my continuance in sin must cancel all those advantages I could hope to receive upon an inevitable conviction Nor does Scripture any where tell us of such as believe there is no God Ps 10.4 Ps 14.1 It 's true we read of some in all whose thoughts God is not of the foolish body saying in his heart there is no God but wicked men even assisted by Divine Revelation to the knowledge of God's existence may forget him nay the very best of men do so when they fall into sin and for a wicked man to say in his heart there is no God i. e. to wish heartily there were none and to believe there is none are very different things Caligula that Roman Emperour said in his heart there was no God when he would needs supply the worlds defects by assuming Divinity to himself but Caligula own'd that he was otherwise convinc'd when upon a thunder-storm he sculk'd into vaults and hid his head from the fury of an angry Superiour And we have now a-days but too many Atheistical wretches who employ all their witts to prove to themselves and others that there is no God who yet when death approaches or some terrible distemper shakes their bodies tremble at approaching judgments submit to old innate notions of a God which they had long endeavour'd to have stifled and are ready to cry to the mountains to fall upon them and to the rocks to cover them from his wrath whose very being they formerly pretended to defie Nor yet are there really any Nations discover'd who are wholly without such notions of a God as flow from a due contemplation of Nature vid. Blavii Atlant. maj in America Braslianā Nay the very Brasilians themselves to whose story Socinus refers us tho' of all other nations the most ignorant and barbarous are not so wholly Atheistical but that if we may believe Geographers they believe the Souls immortality and existence after its separation from the body a thought alone which must be attended with the owning of a God and hence Crellius well enough observes De Deo attr l. 1. c. 3. Quod sacri libri non semel ad rerum in naturâ existentium contemplationem nos vocant ut Divinae Majestatis radios in eis relucentes admirandarum ejus proprietatum vestigia illis impressa lustremus That the holy Scriptures do more than once call upon us to meditate on the various parts of Nature that we may see the rays of Divine Majesty shineing in them and the footsteps of God's power wonderfully impressed upon them For not only all the works of Nature in a body but every single thing gives us a particular argument of the being of a God But supposing we pursue the opinion of Socinus recommended by Smalcius to the University of Heidelberg if withal we observe what the Racovian Catechism asserts that Man 's free will is not impair'd by Adam's sin and conclude what 's very natural that the other faculties of the Soul are no more weakned than the Will it will plainly follow that Man even in the state of Innocence was not capable naturally of knowing there was a God and therefore Socinus fairly refers his knowledge in that kind to God's revealing himself at first to him And certainly that natural light which even in primaeval purity could not reach to the bare existence of a God must be at this time very insufficient to judge of every thing God has reveal'd and to comprehend every mystery which is concern'd in man's salvation Farther if such as the Brasilians or Indians are really wholly without the apprehension of a God it will appear from thence that Traditional knowledge may be worn out but as for divine Revelation as extant in the Word of God it can have no credit among Heathens till they are first convinc'd there is a God whose that Word is therefore there must be arguments drawn by discourse from the worlds structure that must first prove that principle and then that there are really divine Revelations and that those writings which we call the Word of God contain those Revelations will be demonstrable enough Tertul. de resur carnis For as Tertullian says Praemisit Deus naturam magistram submissurus prophetiam quo facilius credas Prophetiae Discipulus naturae God sends Nature as a mistress before designing to assist it with revelation or prophecy that being first the disciples of Nature we might the more readily give credit to revelation Therefore S. Basil calls the school of Nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the school of rational Souls and the disciplinary of the knowledge of God And the antient Monk Anthony answered the inquisitive Philosopher very well when he asked him how he could live without books Socrat. Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My book is the nature of all existent things a book which is always ready when I would know the words of God Though the words of Tully a Heathen are more directly oppos'd to Socinus De Divination l. 2. Esse praestantem aliquam aeternamque naturam eam suspiciendam adorandámque hominum generi pulchritudo mundi ordoque rerum coelestium cogit confiteri That there is some excellent and eternal nature and that to be ador'd and admir'd by mankind the very beauty of the world and the curious order of coelestial bodies will force us to confess If then an Heathen by natures light could discover not only the being of a God but the necessity of worshipping him it 's sufficient evidence of our conclusion That humane reason or the meer light of Nature may shew us the general necessity of Religion notwithstanding those decays it has undergone by Sin For if that notion naturally imbib'd that there was a God urged men to serve him by several methods of Religion it 's plain that notion enforced Religion in general upon all mankind we conclude That humane Reason as it now stands corrupted when it applies it self industriously to Religion or the adoration of a God meerly on general notions as a reward for that industry certainly meets with divine assistances by which means those intentions which at first are honest and sincere are made really
effectual to Gods glory and the improvers happiness Humane reason no sooner discovers the existence of God but upon a farther pursuit of that notion in enquiry after God's nature it finds it self lost in a vast abyss nothing but immense infinity being the object of a faculty unquestionably finite and limited must of consequence confound it unless there be some guide or director found out for it This made Simonides of old who was not only Poet a suavis verum etiam caeteroâ—â—â— doctus sapiensque Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 1. p. 27. as Tully calls him a sweet Poet but a man otherwise learned and wise when Hiero King of Sicily ask'd him what God was require a days time to â—onsider of the question when the day after Hiero repeated his question he desn'd two days and when he askt still more and more time and Hiero wondring askt him the reason Quia quanto inquit diutiùs considero tanto mihi res videtur obscurior because says he the longer I consider of the matter the more obscure I find it Tully seems indeed to impute this to his general Scepticism but since he own'd a God and had no other guide but Nature it shew'd his wisdom to acknowledg the deficiency of that principle in carrying him farther It was Socrates's modesty which made him confess he had only learn'd this that he knew nothing And it was Simonides's prudence which made him own his ignorance in so mysterious a particular Reason teaches a man that has lost his eyes how great inconveniences he 's lyable to by that loss when he knows his helpless condition tho' Reason with all its arguments cannot restore his eyes reason can teach him to seek for a guide who can see and will satisfie him how far the kindness of the guide may repair his misfortune The same Reason in matters of Religion tho' it find out a God yet shews Man his natural blindness in relation to the consequences of that principle Now the Soul being always covetous of knowledge hoping â—y it â—o repair in sâ—me measure the ruines of the fâ—â— iâ— a Mâ—â— but follow its iâ—â—â—ation con◠〈…〉 to apprehend the 〈…〉 and to seek for one qu◠〈…〉 pâ—â—â—â—â—â— Here then we must own 〈◊〉 God hâ—s call'd upon mankind so earnâ—â—◠〈◊〉 â—ome to him and has promis'd that those who do so he will by no means reject and that he will assist such by the gifts of his Spirit that they may improve the farther in divine knowledge we must own that it would be inconsistent with these engagements and promises and consequently with Goâ—'s veracity if he should not be ready to rewâ—â—d with sutable assistances all such who accoâ—â—ing to their abilities diligently seek 〈◊〉 As a full proof of his readiness in the case he has imparted his Will to mankind in Scripture the reading of books is the ordinary means of attaining knowledge or at leâ—st a due converse with such who have leisure and capacity to read and understâ—â—d them such reading is useful even to inspiâ—â—d persons 1 Tim. 4.13 14. whence St. Paul advises Timothy an Evangelist to give attendance to reading as well as to exhortation and doctrine and not to neglect the gift that was in him And howsoever some may contemn thâ—â—â—â—â—â—ane learning which they cannot reach we have no reason to believe that S. Paul was prejudiced in his Apostolical abilities by having been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel or by having bestowed some time in reading the Poems of Aratus or Epimenides That God himself might comply with this ordinary means of acquiring knowledge He committed his own Will to writing and that in such a manner that the weakest might not complain the book was wholly unintelligible nor the wisest make their boast that they comprehended every thing contained there The man that seeks to improve his reason by reading in search of books must act very irrationally if he pretermit the Book of God For he that believes there is a God and takes him for a Being infinitely superiour to himself when he thinks it worth his while to converse with humane writings cannot but judge it much more so to examine a book which carries the name of God himself as its Author in the frontispiece Hee 'd read it tho' it were to no other end but to find whether it were agreeable to that august title it bore and what real characters of the Divinity were to be found in it But when such a man comes once to read it seriously tho' he 's not able to comprehend all he reads yet his rational faculty must run very low if he find not more improvements of it there than in all other writings whatsoever It 's observable of the Mariners that carried Jonah for Tarshish that when the storm sent by the God of Israel lay hard upon them the Mariners in their fear called every one upon his God they believ'd in general there was such a being but a multitude being adored by the greater part of the world instead of one every one had his particular idol to address to Jonah 1.4 5 9 10.14 15 16. But when Jonah sensible of his crime and that vengeance which pursued it had confess'd the truth and perswaded them to throw him overboard and they tho' unwillingly complyed with him they before they would do an action so severe and extraordinary applyed themselves to the true God and finding the storm to cease upon their Prayer they offered Sacrifices to him and made vows thus Pagan Mariners grew a kind of converts to true Religion So when Men in consulting Scriptures especially at first find their Souls disturb'd under a sence of former ignorance and meet with advices in that sacred book sufficient to extricate themselves out of that perplexity promises of the true God's readiness to hear and to assist those who desire to know him occur frequently too as particularly that of the Psalmist in the old Testament Ps 69.32 Your heart shall live that seek the Lord and that of Wisdome I love them that love me and they that seek me early shall find me Prov. 8.17 20 21. I lead in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance that I may fill their treasures i. e. that I may furnish them with solid knowledge and make them rich in understanding and that more clear yet of our Saviour when the Spirit of truth is come Joh. 16.13 he will guide you into all truth The Reader of these promises though very dubious in himself before will be apt to send up his petitions to that God who made these promises who will be as ready to hear such as he was to hear the ignorant Mariners before Thus light may shine into the Souls of those who are soberly inquisitive and that so great and clear as may be very unaccountable to the receivers of it but extremely
him for we shall see him as he is And when reason once comes to use sense so far as to see God as he is infinitely happy infinitely good infinitely glorious it has gone far enough And thus far have I given an account of Humane reason or the light of Nature for I think I may well enough use them as Synonymous and how far it may be useful in matters of a Divine nature I shall draw onely a Corollary or two from thence and then proceed We conclude from what has been discours'd concerning Humane reason That our obligation to Almighty God is infinite in that He who might have taken from us wholly that natural light because we had so extremely slighted it was yet pleas'd to continue it so far as that rightly apply'd it might still be useful to us even in matters of salvation It 's true we cannot examine things with that clearness and satisfaction which Adam's first enquiries were accompany'd with our understandings are somewhat parallel to that Earth which fell under a Curse for the sin of Man It was naturally fertile before in good things but then it was to bring forth onely bryars and thorns yet Man might eat bread from it still onely it must be in the sweat of his brows He must take pains for that now which he might have had without any trouble before So our Natural reason was clear and free at first common occurrences needed no deep meditations nor extraordinary passages any tedious study to apprehend them in every circumstance The case is now otherwise our reason busies it self naturally about trifles and onely puzles and perplexes it self in matters of no weight or moment yet still it may move to good purpose but it requires abundance of care and pains to cultivate it so as it may produce any thing that 's good and even with a great deal of pains too sometimes it makes conclusions onely vain troublesome and miserably false this unhappiness is the consequence of our own follies at first and it's God's unmerited goodness that we can yet by making use of due means distinguish in some measure between truth and falshood at least in the more obvious parts of religion and his goodness yet appears farther in that where our decrepit reason fails he 's pleas'd to interpose with the influences of his blessed Spirit and to preserve the Modest and Humble from falling into damnable Error that our Reason may have a subject profitable to employ it self upon God has given us his Word blessed are they who meditate on that word day and night he calls upon us to apply our selves to the Law and to the testimony to search the Scriptures to search them with the same care and diligence as those who work in Mines seek for the golden Ore Whereas he lays in his Word several Commands upon us He would have us examine them so as we may be convinced that they are not grievous but Holy just and good These Commandments therefore must be examin'd by the rule of right Reason which whosoever follows will be infinitely satisfied in them In his dealings with mankind he calls upon them to examine their own ways by the same rule he enters into arguments highly rational with mankind himself he bids them to judge in their own causes between himself and them and see if discussing things rationally they must not necessarily fall upon that confession That God's ways are equal but the ways of men unequal When he recommends his mercies when he would terrifie with his judgments He appeals to Humane Reason still or that share of light which we are now partakers of Now he that will employ that light he has upon such noble subjects if he be not prejudiced with wicked principles before or puff'd up with self-conceit must necessarily be a very religious man for the clearer any mans rational faculty is the more pious he must be only men of very low abilities can be either Atheists or Hereticks It 's confest indeed some Hereticks as the Socinians in particular with whom we are at present concern'd pretend highly to Reason but they only sham us with fond pretences and their reason is all empty and sophistical and Atheists are the Men of sence if we may believe fools and madmen but there is a vast difference between a flashy Wit and a ridiculing Humour and sound judgment and solid and weighty argument But God who knew before what artifices Hell and wicked men would make use of to pervert truth calls upon us to exercise our reason farther in discovering and baffling those cheats the enemies of our Souls would fain put upon us wherein as Hereticks and Schismaticks generally make their appeals to God's Word and we have warning in that very Word That in those doctrines where there 's any shew of difficulty those who are unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures to their own destructions We are warn'd to try the Spirits whether they be of God and Scripture being the rule of tryal we are oblig'd to study the true sence and meaning of that To which end our rational faculty carries us along in studying the original Languages in which Scripture was written and finding out the true meaning and import of words and phrases in other authors and the modes and customs of countries to which any Texts refer Reason goes with us in comparing text with text and matters of faith or practice laid down in one place with those laid down in another in observing the force of those arguments drawn from such and such Texts their real dependance upon or direct consequence from the places alledg'd and the general consistency of opinions offer'd with the end and design of those positive truths laid down in Scripture Reason has here a large field to exercise it self in And whereas we are urg'd by some to abjure that utterly with respect to those points of faith or practice that are under debate pretending they 'd insist only on the letter of Scripture Maximus tells us well in the formerly cited discourse of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they drive you from examining Scripture too strictly insinuating that it 's dangerous to pry too narrowly into secrets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maximi disceptatio inter opera Athan. T. 2. p. 296. but disswading it indeed that they might avoid the reproof of their Errors from thence where he takes farther notice how such persons if they meet but with a word that at first hearing sounds favourably to their fancies they run away with it without ever considering the design of the inspired Writer or examining the agreement of their own shallow glosses with the general tenour of Holy Writ an humour that prevails with too many still who prefer the sound of words before the truth and pertinency of texts of Scripture and therefore imagine themselves to argue very piously and agreeably to God's word when all their talk is nothing to the purpose But mysteries the great
the latter part of the verse for let us with Grotius by the mystery of godliness understand the Gospel as we commonly understand it and which we own does contain the mystery of godliness That the Gospel was preach'd by weak Men we own nay that our Saviour himself in his state of exinanition or in his humane nature appear'd weak and contemptible enough we own too but that the Gospel appear'd in the flesh or cloath'd with flesh which is the proper import of the Apostles phrase we deny as absurd That the Gospel was justified in or by the Spirit the miraculous effusions of that confirming the truth of the Gospel preach'd we may own well enough but that the Gospel was seen of Angels is scarce sence that it was never known before it had been declar'd by Men is false for the Angels could not be unacquainted with the several Prophecies of the old Testament concerning the Messias to come nor could they be so far to seek in the meaning of those Prophecies many of which they had been instrumental in delivering and the Angels themselves were indeed the first preachers of the Gospel So the Angel Gabriel tells Zacharias concerning the Son that should be born to him Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children Luke 1.16 17. and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. The same Gabriel afterwards tells the blessed Virgin Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a Son and shalt call his name Jesus v. 31 32 33. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdom there shall be no end It was an Angel that appear'd to Joseph in a dream Matth. 1.20 21. and told him that his espoused wife was with child of the Holy Ghost And she shall bring forth a Son says he and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins Again an Angel of the Lord tells the Shepherds who were watching their flocks by night Luke 2.10 11 13 14. Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. To which Gospel a whole Choir of Angels subjoyned their Eucharistical Hymn Glory be to God on high in earth peace good will towards men These instances are enough to prove that Angels knew the Gospel before men preacht it not to mention their administring to our Saviour in the wilderness when entring on his prophetical Office and their publishing his resurrection the great confirmation of the Gospel before his Apostles had any apprehensions of it The Gospel was indeed preach'd unto the Gentiles and believ'd on in the World but it was far from being receiv'd in glory for it was scorn'd and derided and cruelly persecuted both by Jews and Gentiles the Devil raising all the powers in the world as far as possible for the extirpation of what was so great an enemy to his Tyranny the Gospel then will not answer all those particular marks set down in the Text. Neither yet are they applicable to God the Father as several of the Socinians would have them for to say God the Father was manifest in the flesh because his will was preach'd by Men who were but flesh and blood besides that such an assertion quits the Suppositum or Subject which was God the Father unless God and Gods will be one and the same thing which cannot be asserted It 's so uncouth an expression as is no where to be parallel'd either in Scripture or any Ecclesiastical Writer We read not any where that God the Father ever appear'd in the flesh or assum'd Humane nature nor did ever any dream of such a thing unless we recur to the ancient Patropassians so call'd because they believ'd it was really God the Father who being Incarnate suffer'd death on the Cross for the sins of Mankind but of that we have no foot-steps in holy Writ nor was the Deity it self ever made manifest in the flesh but in the flesh of the blessed Jesus Col. 2.9 in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily not in his doctrine as the Socinians would have it but in himself Vid. Schlicktin in loc and according to their own demands on the like occasion we would have them shew us some other clear place of Scripture wherein God the Father is said to be manifest in the flesh or to be manifest in Christ and the Apostles and then we may the better consent to their interpretation Again it 's as odd and unusual to say God the Father was justified in the Spirit for what need was there of any such justification his Eternal Power and Godhead were visible in the Universal fabrick of nature and all the Miracles done by our Saviour which Socinians refer to the influence of the Spirit were done that Men might know he was the promis'd Messias and those done by the Apostles after his ascent into Heaven carry'd along with them the same respect but we never heard of any publick declaration made by the Spirit for a more peculiar conviction of the World that the most High God was God indeed or the true God we may understand things thus as the Socinians say but we may a great deal better let it alone and not run into such interpretations of God's Word as we can neither reconcile to truth nor sense If we go farther the matter is not mended at all when we say God the Father was seen of Angels for what novelty was there in that had not they stood continually before his face from the instant of their first Creation or should we flie to God's will was not that known to his peculiar Ministers till such time as they came to learn it by the preaching of mortal men who can imagine so short a Text of Scripture and design'd to make known the greatest mystery in the world should lash out into such absolute impertinencies but to proceed God the Father was preach'd to the Gentiles but where he 's mention'd often doubtless as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in those Epistles written by the Apostles to their Gentile Converts but the Gospel it self is stil'd the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles pretend to preach nay to know nothing among their Converts but Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 2.2 and him crucified as St. Paul expresses himself if we must say God the Father was preach'd he was certainly preach'd most to the Antediluvian World by Noah and the elder Patriarchs or he was preach'd
deep ever to be made up It 's true when God himself was mention'd as the undertaker of so great a work even despairing man might entertain some dawning hopes but when they saw a poor Carpenter's Son one who had not so much as where to lay his head assume yet the glorious title of the world's Redeemer and Saviour their hopes slagg'd their almost grasped joys seem'd just vanishing into empty air When the Holy Ghost God too infinitely good and powerful and wise interpos'd and attended that humble Man with so much vigour and constancy that He by a thousand glorious actions and by a close and perpetual correspondence with Heaven visible even to vulgar eyes prov'd the entire Union that was between himself and his Father and that Sacred Spirit and justified himself in the thoughts of very aliens themselves who could not but acknowledge of a truth that for all his mean appearance and his scandalous Passion on the Cross He was the Son of God But could men have doubted still the happy Angels those purer and more discerning Spirits saw him too they saw him and knew him and ador'd him they saw their mighty Lord tho' veil'd in all the rags of poor mortality And tho' sin might have made a former breach between those blessed Spirits and polluted man yet now where their Lord loved they lov'd too and always look'd and always waited on him while he wrought the worlds redemption while he was so justified and so attended on divers gave up themselves absolutely to his service whom he lov'd and taught and protected and endued with miraculous knowledge eloquence and courage and sent them on that blessed errand to preach to the Gentiles the glad tydings of Salvation in his name They boldly undertook the work and tho' they had ignorance and prejudice and malice and cunning to contend with meer men contemn'd before but then inspired broke through all opposition and the forsaken Gentiles heard the gladsome sounds of peace and tho' there were too many enemies to their own good yet those laborious messengers of Heaven preached with that power and efficacy that men began every where to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ Nay the more men of perverse minds cross'd the designs of that Gospel preach'd in the name of the Son of God the more those who believed in him were multiplied As for himself when he had finished that stupendous work and by his own Death had conquered Hell and Death He broke those fatal chains and rose again no more lyable to humane rage His Almighty Father who had viewed all the prodigious efforts of his Love to mankind with an ineffable complacency reach'd out his holy arm to receive that very humane Nature in which his beloved Son had done and suffered so much from him the chearful clouds were sent for a Chariot and he went upwards flying upon the wings of the wind while jâ—cund Angels those ministerial flames waited on his triumphs and taught his wondring followers what they were afterwards to expect from their Redeemer These are those mighty mysteries on which our most holy faith is built their truth however unintelligible to us is our security and the sincerity of our faith will necessarily show it self in an holy conversation and godliness The Verse I have explain'd then imports That without Controversie the Mystery of Godliness is great or in more words That the Basis or foundation of that Religion introduced into the World by the Doctrine of Christ's Gospel is indisputably and agreeably to the nature of Religion to Humane reason extremely profound and unintelligible To prove this we shall enquire Into the Vniversal agreement of all persons of what Religion soever That Mysteries are essential to Religion Whether our Saviour intended the entire abolition of all other Religions for the settlement of his own or rather to unite what was good in every distinct Religion into one and to sublime or perfect that so as it might tend most to God's glory and Man's happiness and whether that could be effected Men standing in their present corrupt state without the retaining of old or instituting of new Mysteries in his Religion What considerable advantages can accrue to Religion from those Mysteries it 's founded upon Then we must enquire into that Vniversal agreement of all persons whatsoever that Mysteries or some principles or circumstances of a more secret and abstruse nature are essential to all Religion But here to prevent all mistakes it must be remember'd That so much as concerns the practical part of Religion as contain'd in the Word of God is so clear and evident that the words of St. Paul are justly apply'd to them If they be hid they are hid to those that are lost whose eyes the God of this World hath blinded that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ should not shine upon them 2 Cor. 4.3 4. The words whereby all things necessary to be done toward the attainment of eternal life are exprest are such and so plain that the simplest Christian may understand them And that person who goes about to involve the practical duty of a Christian whether in respect of his communication with God or man in obscure and mysterious terms crosses the end of the Gospel which is to instruct the weakest understanding in an easie and intelligible way how to live godly righteously and soberly in this present evil world yet it must be acknowledged that even in relation to practice there are some apparent difficulties and notwithstanding all that plainness apparent in God's word a Man has a very hard task sometimes to distinguish between what 's lawful and what 's unlawful such cases are commonly known by the name of Cases of Conscience or such matters wherein so many arguments seemingly strong and plausible appear on both sides to the understanding that it knows not which way to act and all that hesitancy or doubtfulness arises onely from a fear of offending God These generally respecting Christian practice create a great deal of trouble frequently to very good Men for others are seldom troubled with such religious fears and these are sometimes by various and unusual circumstances rendred so very intricate that the wisest and most discerning Men are often at a loss to clear and resolve them to the Querent's satisfaction Here the Jews were order'd to have recourse to their Priests whose lips were suppos'd to preserve knowledge and the Priests when there was any thing of a more inextricable nature had the Vrim and Thummim to appeal to The Heathens had some emergent doubts as to matter of publick management of themselves which sometimes perplex'd them too and they had their imaginary wise Men the Priests attending their desecrated altars who would assume as if they had the art of resolving doubts those who profess Christianity have still a severer task in these matters as having no Oracle immediately to consult and having doubts more numerous and
worlds happiness which all the Witts in it could never have pitched upon There was not among the Jews the least garment belonging to those who officiated in holy services which had not something mysterious in it I own these Mysteries were not like those wherein our Faith is so deeply concern'd but they were Mysteries still tho' of a lower fourm and such Mysteries as the generality of the Jewish people were very far from diving into yet Reason would have gone a considerable way in teaching the Jews what God insinuated to them by such prescriptions All the circumstantials of Jewish worship were render'd the more considerable by those never-failing Oracles issued out from between the Cherubims and by Prophets raised up among them by God himself frequently till such time as they lost the glory of their Nation by Captivity and Slavery to prevailing strangers Those Revelations which such Prophets had extending particularly to future events of things were such as really entangled the Jews strangely and they who among Mysteries reveal'd had unhappily pitched upon a wrong interpretation of things were uncapable at last of applying events to Prophecies and so ruin'd It 's true the Priests themselves at first understood the meaning of things well enough but time corrupted them and introduced ignorance among them as well as among the vulgar but whatsoever the Priests understood at first or how much soever of the true meaning of things they understood at last they were yet not to cast pearles before swine nor holy things to dogs they were not to prostiture Mystical matters to every common enquirer tho' at the same time ready to teach Gods statutes and judgments to every one that humbly sought for information but as to the manner of God's delivering their Law to Moses in Horeb and his writing the Ten Commandments with the finger of God on the stone-Tables his guarding and directing them by a Cloud all day and by a pillar of Fire all night his Glory shining at particular times and on particular occasions in the Tabernacle of the Congregation his delivering his Will from the Mercy-Seat and being said to dwell peculiarly between the Cherubims his oracular resolution 〈◊〉 difficulties by Vrim and Thummim c. These were matters of so profound and inextricable a Nature that neither Priests nor people were ever able to give any considerable account of them If among the divine Institutions of the Jews there were so many matters of a mystical Nature it 's not to be wondred that Their Worship who had no assistance by divine Revelation should be more than ordinarily encumbred with them the Notions which the Gentile world had of a Deity tho' positive and uncontroulable enough were according to the means they had for acquiring divine Knowledge much more obscure than those of the Jews if yet they would have a shew of any Religion they were under a necessity of suiting it with some circumstantial rites which when they had try'd their utmost skill had a meaning but that meaning was very obscure We may believe that many of their Priests endeavour'd to make as deep impressions as they could of Religion upon the minds of those men they were concerned with but the greatest satisfaction they had in their own inventions was but this that the notorious obscurity of their publick Rites was very exactly representative of that God whom they acknowledged a Being infinite and incomprehensible and those things which were mysterious even in the sence of their first Inventors were much more so when they fell into the hands of their Successors who being blind Leaders of the blind all sence of true natural Divinity was quickly lost both among Priests and People thus we have reason to think the Hieroglyphical Theology of the Aegyptians was in a great measure rais'd from those hints they had taken of Man's duty to the World's Creator from their converse with the Jewish Patriarchs that the first contrivers of it were capable of making it considerably useful and instructive to the World and from thence those seeds of Moral Virtues which bore some fruit in ancient Heathens had their originals but when sloth and negligence took place among their degenerate posterity and the cruelty of Cambyses King of Persia destroy'd all the Priests of that Nation without distinction the whole body of their Divinity was lost some of its characters may be still remaining among old pillars or obelisks and other ruines of their ancient magnificence but as unintelligible to us as the Chinese writing is to a common labourer or the squaring of a Circle to one that never heard of Mathematicks All Men from the world's beginning acknowledged God's Vniversal Sovereignty by offering Sacrifices That Men offer'd Sacrifices and of living creatures too very early is apparent by the History of Cain and Abel Gen 3.1 2 3 4. where we are told that in process of time i.e. as soon as they were in a capacity of doing so Cain who was a tiller of the ground brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord and Abel who was a keeper of sheep brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof But that these were the first Sacrifices offer'd we have no reason to conclude since Adam had the same sence of things and the same motives to offer Sacrifices which They had and doubtless set them an example of so doing Eusebius of Caesarea tho' observed to be singular in the case gives much the best and most rational account of this Sacrifice I take says he the ground of this action not to have been meer chance or a device meerly humane but to have risen from a divine thought for whereas good Men who were illuminated with the divine spirit and lived in a near familiarity with God plainly saw there was a necessity of some extraordinary means for the expiation of damning sin they concluded it necessary to offer to God the giver of the Life and Soul something by way of a ransome or redemption price to procure their own Salvation and since they had nothing which they could offer to God better or more valuable than their Souls instead of them they Sacrificed beasts De Demonstr Evang l. 1. c. 10. so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 offering the Souls of others in lieu of their own and this was certainly the best Sacrifice and most significant of their apprehensions Where that reason given by Eusebius and made use of by Justin Martyr and the author of the Answer to the Orthodox printed among Justin's works and by St. Chrysostome and other ancient Christians and by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon and his followers among the Jews why Cain and Abel should pitch on offering Sacrifices and Abel particularly of living creatures viz. their wisdom and near converse with heaven suits yet more exactly with Adam himself who had converst with God in a state of perfection as well as imperfection And tho' we know the ruines of reason to
were so cross to his own wishes lest Men should have been rouz'd from their dead sleep by such irrational and damnable insinuations and so have seen with horrour and amazement what Gods they worshipped Yet neither could the more sagacious part of Mankind be satisfied with these things they saw the distance between God and Man was too great to be made up by any typical or representing Sacrifices and that a compleat purity was far beyond the reach of meer humane nature therefore the Gentiles who had some sense of that weight which opprest them groan'd and long'd earnestly to be freed from the slavery of corruptions by some means sufficiently powerful to that end and so to be brought in to the glorious liberty of the Sons of God hence rose those frequent discourses of the Gods assuming Humane shapes coming down to earth and conversing with Men which though we find most frequently mention'd in Poetical Writings yet unquestionably had its foundation from those accounts in the Writings of Moses concerning the apparitions of Angels as particularly to Abraham and Lot and Jacob hence grew that prevailing rumour about the times of Augustus Caesar that an universal King should be born in Judaea to whom all other Monarchs should be forc'd to bow and who by wonderful means should make up the breach between God and man this too had a farther confirmation from the translation of the old Testament into the Greek Language and from some fragments of the true Sibylline Oracles not unknown to Tully or Virgil and from Balaam's predictions as plain as any Jewish Prophecy whatsoever which he being of another Nation would certainly acquaint his own Country-men with from whom it quickly might be spread over the whole World From some or all these Originals arose the Expectation of those Eastern Sages who no sooner saw that prodigious Star shining at Noon-day but they concluded that glorious Light which was to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of God's people Israel was then risen but though Men did generally apprehend the necessity of those things and lived in continual expectation of them yet how such things should be how such prodigious but excellent effects should ever be produced was a Mystery hid from all ages a dark obscure unfathomable abyss of Divine goodness and wisdom never offer'd to be explain'd to any because incomprehensible by all As it was the unhappiness of the Gentiles to be encombred with a great deal of Ignorance so it must follow that their Mysteries where clearest had but a very indirect aspect to their acknowledgments and expectations But the Jewish solemnities and predictions had a more exact and direct aim at the coming of the promis'd Messias their Prophets were more numerous their prophecies better attested and more commonly known and enquired into their Rites and Ceremonies all of Divine appointment and consequently not one of them insignificant or superfluous till they were vacated by the appearance of the Messias himself in and by whom they were unridled and accomplished Yet their Religion was Mysterious still to the most understanding Persons among them their prophecies tho' so much inquired into yet like a Book seal'd to them and they as unable to conceive how the Son of God should take upon him humane nature how he should put an end to all Typical Sacrifices though of never so Divine an Institution by offering himself one perfect and all-sufficient sacrifice oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole World which so should really effect that mighty reconciliation which all other did but imperfectly hint at they were as unable to conceive of these things as a People who had long sate in darkness could have been as by their prejudices against him and their absurd fancies about him appear'd when no other Messias could serve their turn but some powerful temporal Prince rais'd up by the hand of God as Moses Joshua or the Judges of old had been to free them from the slavery they then lay under and once more to restore the Kingdom to Israel The result then of all is this that the World has known no Religion or Religious worship but what has had some circumstances and fundamentals too not obvious or easie to be understood either by the unthinking vulgar or by the more curious and inquisitive understandings it 's enough for my design if the World concur in that one principle That something may be necessary to be believ'd which yet no meer humane reason can comprehend Nay I may proceed farther and say That some points of faith are so very sublime that even revelation it self cannot make them intelligible to Men as Moses when he had seen the back parts of God the shadow or reflex of his glory was as far off comprehending his full glory as before and the Apostles when in their transfigured Master they saw a glorified body yet were unable to express what they saw but by very weak resemblances and S. Paul when ecstasied in the third heavens could no more compleatly comprehend the felicities or glorious visions of that place than he could before Since then natural reason led the Gentiles to believe mystick truths and God led his own people of Israel to the like from both together we may conclude That Religion it self cannot subsist without them and that those things which are called mysteries in Religion are not therefore to be rejected because they are mysteries indeed i. e. because every little pretender to sence cannot comprehend them And so we come to the second enquiry propounded in the beginning of this discourse and that is Whether our Saviour intended the entire abolition of all other Religions for the Settlement of his own or rather to unite what was good in every distinct religion into one and to sublime or perfect that so as it might tend most to God's glory and Mans happiness and whether that could be effected Men standing in their present corrupt state without the retaining of old or declaring of new Mysteries in his Religion where for our better satisfaction we must again examine these things What Sentiments Men generally had of the ends of Religion before our Saviours appearance in the world How far they had depraved or perverted those ends The reason of these enquiries will appear afterwards We enquire then what Sentiments Men generally had of the substance and ends of Religion before our Saviours appearance in the world And here if we would give Religion as it 's true a definition we may take it thus Religion is the worship of God in such a manner as is most agreeable to those revelations he has made of himself to the World this the Jews confirm The Author of the book Kosri or a Dialogue between the King of Cosar and Rabbi Isaac Sangar concerning Religion infers from a precedent discourse Libri Cosri pars 3. p. 234. That Men can have no access to God i. e. they cannot be admitted as true worshippers but
taken away but strongly confirm'd the necessity of obedience to God's Laws whether written or natural which was as we have before observ'd the general intent of Religion and agreeable to those notions the World commonly had of it Since for the better carrying on this end Mysteries are so very advantageous to religion as to make Men have reverend apprehensions of it upon account of its incomparable Excellencies in its causes and effects and upon account of the weakness and shallowness of their own understandings since all these particulars are true it 's likewise absolutely necessary that the Christian the onely true Holy pure Religion should be built upon such a foundation as might appear to all Men upon the strictest inquiry beyond all doubt or controversie Mysterious inexplicable incomprehensible Nor could it be an impertinent labour to clear this truth because it totally ruines all the pretences of the Socinians that after the Revelation once made of the great fundamentals of our Faith there could remain nothing of so obscure a nature but that we by the pure strength of our own reason might be able to comprehend it In short that though it be true that Scripture as sufficient for that purpose is and ought to be the sole rule of Faith yet reason ought to be the rule of Scripture Reason as it now stands loaded with all the miserable consequences of sin reason so blind as without the extraordinary light of holy Scriptures to be wholly unable to lead a Man to Eternal life it obviates their assertions that the true ancient Catholick Interpretation of this and other Texts of Scripture that speak of the eternal Divine nature of the Son of God or of that glorious Trinity subsisting in the Father Son and Holy Ghost is false and unreasonable meerly because it introduces an unintelligible incarnation and unity of the Divine and Humane nature in Christ a Mysterious co-essentiality of God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost c. notwithstanding all those glorious revelations God has made of himself in Scripture For if it be certainly true that Religion in it's general notion cannot subsist unless built upon a mystick foundation and that therefore Christian Religion in particular cannot subsist without it then it will follow that the continuing Mystick nature of the great Articles of our Faith can create no prejudice in any person whatsoever against our Religion on their account since especially it will remain impossible to draw any genuine consequences from those mysteries but what will be so far from impeaching that they will strongly confirm and re-inforce all those duties relating to God or man which are laid upon us by the natural or written Law and it will follow farther that the Socinians themselves by their endeavours to level all the Articles of our Faith the great saving principles of the Gospel to impair'd reason or by endeavouring to leave Christiany naked of all Mysteries do what in them lies to disannul all the Religion of Christians to take away all the use and advantage of the Gospel leaving the world so involv'd in Atheism or in meer Deism at this time very little to be preferr'd before the other Having done now with the positive assertion our next work is with all exactness and humility to consider the illustration of this Proposition in the severals laid down by the Apostle which altogether afford us the whole sum and substance of the Gospel for all that glad tydings sent from Heaven to Earth for the comfort of mankind consists in this That for their sakes to procure their Salvation God was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of Angels preach'd unto the Gentiles believ'd on in the world receiv'd up into glory all which particulars tho' the full prosecution of the first be all our present task are incomprehensible mysteries yet as well worth our enquiring into as the Apostles writing them who without doubt would never have laid the weight of piety or godliness or true Religion upon those grounds had they not been worth our looking into or their truth worth our vindicating from all the attacks of prejudiced opinionative or haeretical men It 's true a late author tells us Naked Gospel p 34. c. 1. l. 20. That to dispute concerning a Mystery and at the same time to confess it a mystery is a contradiction as great as any in the greatest mystery the expression is worth our remark for the boldness and absurdity it contains It 's bold not to say impious to insinuate so broadly in a discourse where Christianity's concern'd that all great Mysteries are made up of or at least contain contradictions what have we then nothing at all Mysterious in Scripture what 's that love between the blessed Jesus and his Spouse the Church so admirably character'd in the book of Canticles can our Author find nothing Mysterious in all those adumbrations of ineffable love or can he easily give us a Catalogue of the Contradictions there the real Contradictions I mean for things that are of no mysterious nature at all on any other account may seem to contain somewhat contradictory but seeming contradictions are not real Can he fathom every thing relating to Daniel's weeks Men of a great deal of learning industry and sobriety have taken a great deal of pains to explain the mystery of them and have scarce yet given the world satisfaction were not the Vision mysterious it would be more easily clear'd but because it is not must it therefore be contradictious to it self or to make a yet closer instance the nature of a God can He or any Socinian make it comprehensible to humane understandings or else will the very notion of a God imply a contradiction He must be a very new fangled Son of the Church of England who will assert that but why must it imply a contradiction to dispute or discourse about or to enquire into a confest mystery That God was manifest in the flesh is true we believe that every circumstance relating to his Incarnation as laid down in Scripture is true according to the genuine and common interpretation of such words whereby these circumstances are express'd we believe too That as they are true we may dispute about them and clear them from all that Sophistry whereby some subtle men would fain baffle us out of them is no uncouth or irrational opinion yet after all we take the whole account of this Incarnation as laid down in Scripture to be a very great mystery But where lyes the Contradiction either in believing it a mystery or in defending it as such This truth that God was manifest in the flesh is as before intimated that upon the literal truth of which the whole Salvation of mankind depends How he should have been so is to all mankind mysterious and incomprehensible yet may we without any contradiction explain defend prove and draw inferences from it Hear what a Bishop of our own a genuine
to effect our Salvation God and particularly God the Son should assume our nature to himself We shall make some deductions from these Considerations We assert then That that Man call'd Jesus Christ and reputed the Messias or the Saviour of the World who appear'd in our nature was really indeed the Son of God It 's he whose Genealogy we have in Scripture descended according to the flesh from the Royal Line of the House of Judah the true and legal Heir of David's sacred Family whose birth into the World as it was mean and despicable so it was very publick and unquestionable We find his actions set down at large in the Gospels and Him according to their history a Man of a blameless life and conversation and of inexpressible condescenscions and goodness we observe him going about and doing good the proper character of a great Person in the Country of Judaea healing Diseases casting out Devils forgiving Sins and that not by a precarious or surreptitious power but by a really supreme inherent Authority of his own We meet with him afterwards accus'd by Jews condemn'd by Romans and according to their Law crucified between two Thieves on Mount Calvary buried by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus rais'd again in a stupendious manner conversant among several Persons who were his Companions and admirers before talking eating and drinking with them forty days together and afterwards in publick view lifted up above the Clouds beyond the utmost reach of humane Eyes this Man call'd Jesus Christ by the Writers of all these things was really the Son of God He that would recommend a new discovery to the World gives a considerable advantage to its reputation by the extraordinary worth and merit of the Author and therefore whereas the Gospel or the glad tidings of salvation were the newest and most glorious discovery the World was capable of and though the most welcome to a declining Age yet with all the most incredible it was incumbent upon the first divulgers of it to recommend it upon the wisdom and power of its founder The reputed wise Men of old to render them more venerable to the multitude were wont to derive the first Originals of their great Benefactors from the Gods But never was any benefit conferr'd on any place or Person by the kindest Patron which could stand in competition with that which the blessed Jesus conferr'd on the whole World therefore never could any such publick Benefactor be with equal reason deriv'd from Heaven with him From thence therefore the inspired Writers deduce his Pedigree too as well as from David and tell us boldly that that great Man whose praises they celebrate in their Writings was indeed the Son of God which they assert not in a Metaphorical sense as the Psalmist calls Rulers and Governours Psal 82.6 I have said ye are Gods and ye are all of you Children of the most high As the Angels are stil'd by God himself in his question to Job Whereupon are the foundations of the Earth fastened or who laid the corner stone thereof When the Morning stars sang together Job 38.6 7. and all the Sons of God shouted for joy as believers are stil'd by the Evangelist As many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his name John 1.12 1 Joh. 3.2 And again Beloved we are now the Sons of God But the holy Writers make him the Son of God in a plain literal sense as Seth is call'd the Son of Adam being begotten of him as Isaac of Abraham as Solomon of David or as we generally understand the word in our common expressions of the nearest Relations declaring him so the Son of God begotten of his father before all worlds in contradistinction to creation But it would not have been enough to satisfie the world in the truth of that extraordinary original for them to assert it for tho' men value great discoveries according to the credit of their Authors yet the weight and greatness of the discoveries make them nice and curious in their disquisitions about them that they may not be impos'd on for how wretched a disappointment would it have been for a whole world to be big with the violent expectation of a Saviour to be throughly sensible of their own necessity to have a company of men boldly publish to them that the expected Saviour was really come and qualified suitably to those wonderful expectations they had of him and yet to find nothing but a sham or an imposture at last a Bar-cozbi the Son of a ly instead of a Barcochab the Star that should have risen in Jacob as the unhappy Jews were deluded at last In such a case Men are wont to look for clear and uncontroulable evidences of the authority of the discoverer and had not God himself afforded such to the world in relation to the descent and original of our Saviour it would scarce have been reconcileable to infinite justice to have condemn'd the world for not believing on him Nor would Almighty God have made use of those effectual means to satisfie humane doubts had he not himself judged it highly rational that those creatures of his for whom he intended so great a good should receive entire satisfaction in the truth and nature of that good bestow'd In the evidences of his being the Son of God lay all the strength and weight of his Doctrine and the validity and efficacy of that Repentance preach'd by the Apostles in his name had he after all those glorious pretences been one of an inferior rank there never had been so great an Impostor in the world as Christ nor such frontless cheats as his Apostles nor such abused besotted bewitched Creatures in Nature as the Christians in all ages have been Therefore to vindicate both their own Credit and that of their Master the Evangelists in their writings first appeal to the common knowledge of those who liv'd at the same time that Christ convers'd on earth at which time had what they published been false it would certainly have been quickly confuted by the interested Jews and Romans For the Jews who saw themselves expos'd under the characters of the most obstinate and ingrateful infidels in the world and the Romans who saw themselves traduced as tools in the hands of their own vassals to carry on the most barbarous and unreasonable cruelties would certainly have vindicated themselves to the utmost against their slanderers could they have found any flaws in those things they delivered yet the Jews never went about to deny the existence of Jesus the supposed Son of Joseph nor the reality of those mighty works perform'd by him but rather to shew the possibility of all those things tho' Jesus were not the Messias wherein they were easily baffled and the Gentiles endeavoured to confront his Miracles by the pretended wonders wrought by Simon Magus and Apollonius Thyanaeus and so to depretiate the Messiah's
reputation but with as little success And indeed it was almost inconceiveable that a company of mean men looked upon generally with an evil eye should resolve to publish a parcel of notorious falsehoods which every man upon his own knowledge could have confuted and thereby have exposed themselves to the just fury of a deluded multitude it was inconceivable that so many in their writings and preachings could at such different times and such distant places agree together to put a sham upon mankind and to do it so coherently in it self and so agreeably to one another as it was apparent these men did Now in writing a History of immediate transactions there can be nothing fairer in the world than for men who are eye and ear witnesses of the things in question to compile the story and to publish it in their times who knew the same things whether they were true or false as certainly as themselves and an History so written that passes through such an age without reproof may justly pass for authentick nor can any meer humane testimony attain a greater certainty And where the subject of such a History is Divine where many things are declared beyond the reach of humane capacities where they are yet laid down so exactly agreeable to those things obvious to humane understandings and where there appears nothing disagreeable to the common expectances of the world nor to those best and fairest Idea's we have of the Divine Nature there the History grows it self divine and proves it self dictated by a Being superiour to all terrene defects such a History is the History of the Gospel and such an appeal to humane sence and knowledge and carryes such demonstrations of inspiration with it where we find God himself declaring by a voice from Heaven the nature of which the Jews from their ancient records must necessarily apprehend at the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist Luke 3.22 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased which voice as being design'd for the Introducing of our Saviour into the world was audible not only to John the Baptist but to others and when it was repeated at the transfiguration Matth. 17.5 it was audible to all those who accompanied him and John the Baptist himself of whose Commission the Jews seem'd very well satisfied declares John 1.33 34. He that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me Vpon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost and I saw and bare record that this is that Son of God Now tho' the stubborn Jews seem not to have depended at all upon these declarations nor to have been by them convinced of the truth of what was asserted in them yet their acknowledging John the Baptist to have been a Prophet and their never denying the truth of these accounts as here set down are indeed very considerable proofs of their truth especially since nothing could represent them worse than relating such things as truth and describing them as incredulous and refractary still The Evangelical writers as they give us this account concerning voices from Heaven and the testimony of John the Baptist so they inform us of Christ himself that he owned and asserted his own original too so he tells Nicodemus a person of sence and curiosity as appears by his discourse with our Saviour God so loved the world John 3.16 that he sent his only begotten Son that whosoever believed on him should not perish but have everlasting life Which declaration refers to himself he mentioning that sending of the Son of God as a thing now accomplished which title none assumed nor was it given to any before himself They tell us how justly he rebuk'd the Jews for charging him with blasphemy because he called himself the Son of God John 10.36 for the nature of those works he did openly in the world's view was a sufficient proof of his being sent by God since nothing less than a divine power and assistance could possibly effect such things as the Jews if they had not been resolved upon ruine could not but know But God was not wont to send such on his errands who puff'd up with pride would usurp great and improper titles to themselves or who would impose on the world by daring falshoods the Jews were not wholly irrational in thinking he deserved death for calling himself the Son of God if really he were not John 19.7 No Politicks yet could fairly give a toleration to open blasphemy But the Jews tho' very angry with him for calling himself by so august a name railed at him indeed and accused him and persecuted him but never went about to disprove him nay when he challeng'd them if they could to convince him of sin John 8.46 to shew any crime whatsoever that he had been guilty of they answered him only with an acquitting silence they were excellent at generals but the worst in the world at particulars and yet to be without sin was so extraordinary a quality as could be compatible only with one descending from Heaven Vnclean Spirits terribly sensible of his power frequently howsoever unwillingly confest him to be the Son of God Matth. 8.29 Mar. 3.11 and they were too much his enemies to acknowledge a thing so very disadvantagious to their own designs had it not been truth Nathanael a prudent and a pious man upon discourse with him easily confest Thou art the Son of God Joh. 1.49 thou art the King of Israel The disciples when they saw how with one word Jesus laid that storm which had threatned their destruction confest Matt 14.33 of a truth thou art the Son of God Humane power could not quell the loud and violent storms but he that made them could easily allay their fury The Roman Centurion who was his guard at his Crucifixion when he saw how at his giving up the ghost the earth quaked Matth. 27.50 54. the rocks rent the veil of the Temple was split in twain from top to bottom and the graves opened and long buried bodies arose from their heavy sleep could not but submit his faith to such prodigious visions and profess that truly this was the Son of God Nature was not wont to undergo such dreadful convulsions for the death of an inferiour person but when its great Creator suffer'd it was time to own its sympathetick pangs after these things it was no wonder to hear the Apostles declare Acts 3.13 36. That the God of their fathers had glorified his Son Jesus Christ and again That unto us God having raised up his Son Jesus Christ sent him to bless us in turning away every one of us from our iniquities But after all had either Jews or Romans prov'd as well as call'd Christ a deceiver before it must have been a very unordinary confidence in the Apostles to act over the baffled farce again and
knew every thing past present and to come clearly and fully in himself His humane nature lived not onely in a strict friendship but in a close and compleat union with the God-head and therefore felt no Convulsions or ecstasies no violent emotions of his rational faculties nor was he confin'd to time or place or common rules and methods but as the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him so he deliver'd Oracles to Mankind at all times as he himself pleas'd for God did not give the Spirit to him by measure Job 3.34 Thus inspir'd David publishes that Eternal Decree Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee ask of me and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance Ps â— 7 8. and the utmost part of the earth for thy possession which could never be true in respect of David who never acquir'd so vast an Empire as is there promised but it was really acquir'd by our Saviour who by his holy Gospel subdued the Vniverse and made all Mankind partakers of that redemption wrought for them by himself And so Saint Paul preaching Christ to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia tells them That the promise made to their Fathers God had fulfilled to them their Children having rais'd up Jesus again as it is written in the second Psalm Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee Acts 13.32 33. and the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews proves his Superiority to Angels by that Argument For to which of the Angels said God at any time Hebr. 1.5 Thou art my Son c. And again to prove the mission and authority of Christ having said before That no man takes the Priestly honour to himself but he that is call'd of God as was Aaron he pleads So Christ glorified not himself to be made an High-Priest Heb. 5.4 5. but he that said unto him Thou art my Son to day have I begotten thee and so we are certain of the due application of the Prophecy which we shall dilate on farther in another place Such again was that of David in the Person of Jesus afterwards to appear in the World Psal 40.6 7 8. Sacrifice and burnt-offering thou didst not desire mine ears hast thou open'd intimating by that the inefficacy of all those legal and typical Sacrifices which the Jews and in imitation of them others had been us'd to for if these Sacrifices could have avail'd for the taking away of Sin they had no longer been types and shadows but things of a real and substantial excellency which since they were not Burnt-offering and Sin-offering hast thou not requir'd Then said I Lo I come in the Volume of the Book it is written of me I delight to do thy will Hebr. 10 5-10 O my God yea thy Law is within my heart And thus this Prophecy is apply'd by the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews onely with that difference that whereas the Psalm has it Mine ear hast thou open'd according to the Hebrew the Apostle follows the translation of the Septuagint and renders it a Body hast thou prepared for me the sense amounting still to the same for as the Hebrews according to the Law made a Servant their own for ever by opening their ears or boring them Exod 21 6. so God made his Son Jesus obedient as a Servant by preparing him a body which was open'd too and fastened to the cross as the Servants ear in boring to the posts of the door Nor was that less plain or considerable The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou on my right hand untill I make thine enemies thy foot-stool The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Psal 110 1-4 Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck The first part of this our Saviour who undoubtedly knew its true meaning assumes to himself and confounds the Pharisees by asking them that Question That whereas it was expected the Messias should be the Son of David yet David calls him Lord Matth. 22 41-45 How could he be his Lord and his Son too which was a mystery inexplicable to those who had meer carnal and mean notions of the Messias but a difficulty which when they got over it would not be so very hard to believe him humble and despicable as he appear'd to be the very Messias they look'd for For if he who was David's Lord and indeed God blessed for ever could condescend so low as to be David's Son it could not be strange that he who was David's Son should stoop lower yet and appear in the form of a servant The latter part of this prediction relating to a Priest is by the Writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews apply'd to Jesus Hebr. 7 17-21 as a proof of the legitimacy and eternity of his Priesthood Of the same authority is that 〈◊〉 18 〈◊〉 â—â— The Stone which the builders refus'd is become the head of the corner this is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes which not to mention the Jewish fable of such a stone being reall met withall in the building of the second Temple which had by several been thrown aside as useless yet afterwards by miracle was found fit for the joyning of the corners of the building our Saviour makes use of to convince the Jews of their folly and obstinacy in refusing to own him in his great Mediatorian office and to let them see that their contempt of Him could be no prejudice to his sacred dignity and Honour but that he who was now thought too inconsiderable to be of any use to the Jews one of the smallest of the Nations Matth. 21.42 43 44. should afterwards appear great enough to joyn Men of all Countries and Nations together in one Sacred bond and to crush all his Enemies in dreadful ruines for so he adds on repetition of those before quoted words Therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof and whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder And this advancement and dilatation of Christ's power St. Peter justly takes notice of from the same Psalm in the case of the Cripple newly cured Acts 4 9 10 11 12. If we be this day examin'd of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he is made whole Be it known to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified whom God raised from the dead even by Him does this Man stand before you whole This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders which is become the head of the Corner Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved That of Isaiah is wholly extraordinary and as I hinted
and the worlds everlasting head and governour with respect to the time to come to be a David a man after God's own heart who should do all his will after David's natural death to be infinitely happy just compassionate Anointed by the sacred Spirit of God to have the greatest of those born of a woman his harbinger and by him acknowledged for a God tho' shaded from vulgar eyes by a cloud of humane frailty the mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace yet a child a Son brought forth in the world and given to us To be born of a pure and spotless Virgin so Man yet the hopes of all the ends of the earth and of those that remain in the broad Sea and so God To be despis'd by the great and wise yet the great Center of Vnity for all the Nations in the World To be at once David's Son and David's Lord and seated at the right hand of God To terminate all material typical sacrifices in his own flesh and unlimited obedience yet to be own'd by God himself as his only begotten Son and heir to the government of all things To surpass their admir'd Moses as a Master his Servant in the Prophetick gift and an intimate familiarity with God To be the utter ruine of Idolatry that seed which should be the blessing and therefore the desire of all nations that seed which should break the head ruine the policy and Tyranny of that old Serpent the Devil To be a real and visible Man yet our Immanuel God with us which is the summ of all those Prophecies and Promises To be all these things is not consistent with a temporal Monarch whose breath is in his nostrils tho' all the nations in the World ador'd him The absolute conquest over prevailing wickedness the triumph over Death and Hell and all the obstacles of a blessed Immortality the redemption of a guilty world from impendent vengeance by a swift and entire obedience to the Almighty Will the making up that prodigious Chasme between an infinitely pure and holy Deity and a depraved and provoking world are thoughts and enterprises too vast and glorious to be undertaken by any child of Man therefore whosoever it was that all those mighty things should be accomplished in whosoever should be so infinitely beloved by Heaven and so prodigious a Benefactor to mankind must be according to those titles fixt upon him the Son of God his Son in a true literal sence and as such he may really be capable of doing more for us than we our selves can ask or think The blessed Jesus as I intimated before was not only the expectation of Israel but the desire of all nations and therefore promis'd to all nations in the forecited passages as well as them and tho' the Jews were not so good natur'd as to be very Communicative of their divine treasures yet the Gentiles who had their concerns in so just an hope had their predictions too and tho' not so clearly foresaw the approaching days of their Redeemer the elder Prophecies such as that to our first Parents in Paradise or that to Abraham might get abroad into the world the prophecies themselves being originally known to others as well as those whom they more immediately concern'd and that passage of Job I know that my redeemer liveth Job 19.25 26.27 and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and tho' after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another tho' my reins be consumed within me is a sufficient evidence that those who lived without the pale of Jacob's family were sensible of what they wanted and that their hopes were reasonable that those wants should be supplied and Balaam's predictions being heard by Moabites strangers to Israel were without all question taken great notice of by the heathen nations Hence arose the fame of the Sibylline Oracles talked of so much by antient writers and by what we find spoken of 'em by Tully De Divinat l. 2. and transcribed from them by Virgil sufficient to raise mens expectations and desires for some very great and happy event hence grew those common discourses of the Gods descending in humane shapes to converse with and instruct men Which shewed mens general apprehensions of the love of the Deity to mankind of the possibility of an Incarnation and the useful consequences it might have for the reformation of corrupt nature Hence that prophetick advice of Confutius the famous Chinese Philosopher who liv'd 550. years before our Saviour's birth tâ—â— Prince to be virtuous Huetii Demonstr Evang. Prop. 7. c. 32. for says he The actions of a good Prince ought to be agreeable to the Laws of God and Nature and he should not doubt but that when that expected holy One shall come his virtue shall then be as much honour'd as it was before while he lived and reign'd And I cannot but think it reasonable to conclude that Balaam's prophecy might be known there and better preserved by their learning so antient among them than in other places and that excited by that the wise Men came from thence to worship our Saviour at his birth especially since the length of a journey from thence seems most agreeable to Herod's calculation when to be sure of reaching the new born King He killed all the children in Bethlehem and its coasts Matth. 2.1 2 9 10. from two years old and under according to the time that he had diligently enquired of the wise men About our Saviour's time and before and after for a while a rumour was spread abroad every where that One should be born in Judea who should be the Vniversal Monarch as Suetonius in the life of Augustus and in that of Vespasian and Tacitus in the fifth book of his Histories tells us which fame Josephus the Jewish Historian laid hold on to flatter with Vespasian and to get his own liberty by perswading him the prophetick rumour pointed him out for the Roman Empire Here again That ever-living Redeemer that glorious child who should reduce the frame of Nature to so happy a condition after all the disorders it had suffered who should banish sin and wickedness That look'd for Holy One who should give virtue its due reward that Jewish native who should command the humble world must of necessity be concluded somewhat more than Man by the longing Expectants He must be God to effect such wonders and yet must be a Man to be a native of Judaea he must have humane nature to be born with into the world and to converse with men and to take away the very smallest footsteps and tracks of Sin he must at least be partaker of Divinity thus all the Prophecies both among Jews and Gentiles conclude in a necessity that the worlds Redeemer from that misery and those dangers it lay under must at least be the
Host of Angels was rapturous as the Prophet had been before for when one of that heavenly Chorus had told the watchful Shepherds Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all People Luke 2 10.11 v. 14. for unto You is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord Presently the whole Quire in a joyful transport prais'd God and said Glory to God on high and on Earth peace and good will towards Men and his being really born of the House and Lineage of David gave him a claim sufficient to an Interest in that Prophecy that the Messias should be a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch out of his roots and whereas a voice in the Wilderness was to cry before our Saviour's preaching in publick Prepare ye the way of the Lord c. No sooner was John the Baptist born who was Christ's forerunner both in birth and in that work too but his inspir'd Father Zachary declares of him Thou Child shalt be call'd the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways Luke 1.76 77. to give knowledge of Salvation to his people for the remission of their sins The Messias was to be the Prince of Peace according to the Prophets and he eventually prov'd himself so when he made his first entrance into the World in the time of the most universal peace the World had known the swelling Roman Empire was then in a profound calm within it self after all those Civil broyls which had almost torn out its bowels before and it was at peace with all its Neighbours round about which had not happened of several Centuries before in such a juncture what could rationally have been expected but what was suitably great and wholly extraordinary That subtle old Serpent began to feel his influence even before his birth when all those stratagems of his whereby he was wont to embroil Mankind were broken he saw too easily that fatal off-spring of the Woman which should break his head ruine his arbitrary Tyranny and Power and easily dissolve those seemingly irrefragable chains whereby he formerly had miserably enslav'd humane nature This was that great and glorious King which God himself in spite of all the tumultuary insults and oppositions of terrene powers in conjunction with infernal malice setled upon his holy Hill of Zion It was He concerning whom so many gracious promises were made as upheld the Church of old under those many dangers difficulties and oppressions it was ordinarily engag'd in God knew and pitied his Peoples calamities and had promis'd that he would find out an adequate remedy for their extreme necessities this they believ'd they knew that God who had promis'd was truth it self and could not disagree with himself and therefore when their condition was most cloudy they saw the day of their Redeemer at a distance and were glad and resolv'd though God kill'd them they would yet trust in him This hope and confidence made them patiently endure the torture not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection resolving never to quit the hope of Israel their faith in the Messiah that they with him suffering for the faith in him might rise again to the resurrection of Salvation But as the blessed Jesus was that Star himself which Balaam had foretold should arise in Jacob so a Star attended his Birth not onely shining like the Pillar of Fire in the Night but giving a surer guidance than the cloudy Pillar in the day time leading the observing Sages from the utmost quarters of the East to give an Alarm to the Jews and make them curious too in observing the signs of the times that they might be sure not to miss at last when he should come of Him whose coming they had expected so long And indeed the Priests and Rulers and Herod nay and all Jerusalem were troubled Matt. 2.3 and disturb'd at that happy news which should have been their greatest joy and satisfaction The chief Priests and Scribes trembled to think if that were true that their imposing upon the People with a spiritual Tyranny and Hypocritical sanctity would be at an end Herod was justly startled at the name of a King as Princes are generally very jealous of Competitors in Empire and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem who had often felt Herod's fierce and bloody temper before might justly fear an Inquisition to be made among them for this young Claimer Herod yet of all the rest had the deepest impressions of fear and passion made upon himself which when the Wise men had deluded him he vented upon the miserable Bethlehemites The poor laborious Shepherds receiv'd the News with calmer minds they had no Governments no Interests to lose but liv'd in harmless Peace and humble content in ignoble Cottages and if their Flocks did well they 'd ne'er be concern'd in the cares of Kings and Potentates therefore they flew eagerly to the Presence of their Saviour and agreed with the Eastern Sages in their Prudence not esteeming the new-born Infant according to the meanness of his circumstances but according to the glorious presages and indications of his Birth-right So happy are the lowliest minds and so much more capable of Divine impressions than those distracted with the thoughts of worldly grandeur So much more suitable they are to him who tells us He was meek and lowly in spirit not puft up with the Hosanna's nor yet dejected with the Crucifiges of the impetuous and variable multitude but though Herod were angry and raged God would not permit his madness to take place chearful Angels were ever ready to wait their Master's errands and they warn'd Joseph of the impendent danger so opening the way to the accomplishment of every word of God for when Joseph fled into Aegypt for security whose low condition in the World made him both unsuspected to the Jewish frontier guards and to his Aegyptian entertainers who little suspected that a mighty King enter'd under their Roofs under the tutelage of a contemptible Mechanick or that a little harmless Infant conceal'd a God when this was done an Angel too in due time gave Joseph such intelligence as put an end to his voluntary banishment and yet things were ordered so that upon the news of Herod's Son's reign Joseph turn'd aside to Nazareth instead of returning to Bethlehem that so the Son of God might at once be call'd out of Aegypt and be stiled a Nazarene that no Prophetical circumstance or Punctilio might be wanting to his Birth which was necessary to convince the World of his being that real Messias which had been so long promised to the Fathers from all which it was no wonder that Christ himself afterwards referred the Unbelieving Jews to these very Considerations Joh. 5.39 Search the Scriptures says He for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life and they are they which testifie of me Now
drooping soul above all the gay prospects of a flattering world above all the dangers generally attending despised piety to make Men sit loose to all those exterior blessings they meet with in this world and to account all things but as loss and dung in comparison of that Salvation wrought for them by Jesus to make them scorn the rack and wheel and smile at flames and lingring tortures and all this only upon the credit of a future happy state for the purchace of Crowns and kingdoms invisible to all eyes but those of faith and this too when all such sufferings and inconveniences might be avoided by a few short words and some little inconsiderable actions these atchievements are far beyond the most ambitious thoughts of meer mortal Creatures beyond their most aspiring hopes tho' influenced by those united powers which acted so vigorously in all the several Prophets of foregoing Ages It 's extremely derogatory to God's justice and wisdom to imagine that Man who was not able to support himself in his innocent state when once attack'd by a slight temptation tho' there were then no defects of any kind in his intellectuals should be able now when every faculty in him is weakned and perverted by the spreading infection of sin to work his own redemption or should God have ordered a greater price to have been paid for satisfaction for sin when a lower would have effected it or have sent a partaker of the eternal Godhead to take upon him and suffer in humane nature for the worlds crimes when an inferiour person might have compassed the great design as well Nor had the benefit conferr'd upon us been so valuable had God only wrought that for us which had he not done we could as easily have wrought for our selves But the case was otherwise fallen Man was now in a state of damnation perfect innocence and compleat satisfaction for inveterate guilt must retrieve him from Hell but fallen Man was incapable of any such innocence or satisfaction Angels who had sin'd were incapable of pity who had not sin'd were incapable of merit their Creation from nothing and their support in original sinlesness were benefits so great that all their chearful attendances on coelestial services were too little to requite he must therefore be somewhat greater and more perfect than either Men or Angels who undertook the mighty work who was in a capacity of meriting and not under a necessity of mercy which only the eternal Son of God could be he alone who was of himself impeccable could fully satisfie the utmost pretensions of infinite justice who was a voluntary in his exinanition or humiliation and sufferings and who needed no sacrifices for his own sins could perfectly atone the wrath of God and therefore he took Man's cause into his own hand and came in our nature bringing Salvation along with him then Natures Laws justly yielded to him who was the God of Nature the Heavens then declared the glory of God and the firmament shewed his handy work the faith of pious Men was vigorously re-inforc'd by the full and miraculous accomplishment of antient Prophecies and Promises and Angels themselves own'd it an honour to be the first Evangelists To prove that Jesus Christ was and could be no other than the Son of God we come to consider the intent and design of that Doctrine introduced by him and by his Apostles and Ministers preached to the world in his name where we are to observe That as the writings of the Old and New Testament are to be the great standard of whatsoever is at this day published to the world as the will of God so before the writing of the Gospel the Law of Moses and of the Prophets was the true and certain Test by which all Doctrines were to be tryed and as the Apostle writes to the Galatians Gal. 1.8 Tho' we or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received let him be accursed So had Jesus whom we conclude the Messias gone about to propagate any other kind of Doctrines than what the Prophets had before or than what was in every point agreeable to their precepts and rules instead of being the worlds Saviour he had proved himself an accursed impostor and therefore when the Jews thought to take the advantage of him on this very score he prevents them with that open declaration Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil Matth. 5.17 18 19. for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven i. e. That he shall be of no esteem or value at all in the true Church of God But whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven Luk. 10.25 26 27 28. Agreeably to this when the Lawyer stood up and tempted him and said Master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life Christ goes not about to give him any new rules of life but referr'd him to the old what is written in the Law says he how readest thou And when the Lawyer had answered Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thy self which was the real summary of the Mosaic Moral Law as our Saviour himself elsewhere informs us Christ replyes upon him Thou hast answered well This do and thou shalt live Now if life i. e. life eternal were to be obtained by the practising according to Legal instructions there was no need of prescribing any new way of obtaining that everlasting happiness and therefore when Christ gives us that parable of the rich Man and Lazarus and introduces the tormented rich Man supplicating that Lazarus might be sent to forewarn his five brethren lest they also should come into the same terrible place Luke 16.17 ad fin Abraham tells him they have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them and to shew the fulness of their writings for reforming of sinners Abraham upon his farther importunity subjoyns If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they believe tho' one rose from the dead By which passage our Saviour plainly informs us that even himself and his own Gospel after his resurrection would never take any place where Moses and the Prophets were despised before the Law being the Gospels foundation and preparing the devout soul for it's entertainment for Christ still took notice of what we ought to consider That truth is always agreeable to it self and consequently the God of truth must be so too and therefore if the writers of the Old Testament were inspired
vice was so notorious that they could not want arguments to disgrace it yet while ambition and an enterprising humour were commended while their applauded Philosophers were the persons who above all others contemn'd and vilified the vulgar and since their very gods were represented to them as tainted with the same fault their ingenious Lectures and fine discourses against it were generally lost But when Christianity teaches the miserable natural condition of Men how they are all the heirs of wrath and just inheritors of eternal damnation because they broke an easie Law and forfeited their original Innocence when it shews how Angels those purer Spirits fell from that glory they were at first enstated in by a pride and haughtiness superiour to that of Man when it shews us how short and transient our life here is how uncertain and flitting all our comforts and enjoyments how little power we have to help ourselves under any extraordinary calamity or temptation and yet that we are born to trouble as the sparks fly upward when it represents us to our selves as too weak by any strength of our own to get the mastery of Innate lusts and sensual desires and God's anger as just hanging over our heads and extremely hard to be aton'd nay plainly impossible to be satisfied had not a very powerful Mediator interpos'd on our accounts all these things are so many mortifying considerations to the proud that whosoever allows himself but a few serious thoughts on these heads must certainly be very mean and humble in his own eyes looking upon himself as too inferiour for divine mercy to take notice of too unworthy to be partaker of any great hopes or extraordinary future felicities and such Humility is propounded to us as an excellent foundation for extraordinary grace and as the best way to be exalted by God in his due time Again Jam. 4.10 whereas Pagans recommend friendship and fidelity to all persons and give us a great many extraordinary examples of the noble effects of those virtues yet they commend revenge and applaud that internecine hatred which concludes in nothing but blood and therefore represent their greatest Heroes such as Achilles and Aeneas and Alexander as desiring only to live till they might throughly revenge the fair deaths of their friends and can scarce tell how to condemn their barbarous Tydaeus whom they make when dying of his wounds himself yet gnawing the bleeding head of his enemy Melampus who had hurt him in a fair war with an expiring rage Whereas we see Joab murdering Abner in cold blood on pretence of revenging the death of his brother Asahel whom Abner had killed purely in his own defence and find our Saviour reckoning it as a Jewish maxim Thou shalt love thy neighbour Matth. 5.43 and hate thine enemy Yet a good Christian looks upon revenge as so unmanly a humour and so disagreeable to those principles he owns that he scorns to be thought guilty of it for what advantage is it to me if one have killed my Brother or my Father to kill him for it will it restore any life to my dear departed relation will it contribute to the peace and satisfaction of the departed soul Or will it not rather shew a devilish temper only delighting in murder and committing that very crime my self which I think I can never punish with severity enough in another man are there not a thousand inconveniences attend such practices deadly and immortal feuds not terminating between particular men but legacy'd down to entire families and concluding at last in mutual utter excisions or by both of them falling under the impartial strokes of a superior's Law Revenge is brutish Dogs and Bears and Wolves and Tygers out-do Man at it but it 's noble and God-like to forgive and therefore our blessed Saviour teaches all men who expect pardon from heaven for themselves to be ready to forgive their brethren here i. e. those who are partakers of the same humane nature with themselves He commands us To love our enemies Matth 5.44 46. to bless them that curse us to do good to them that hate us and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us for if we love them that love us what do we more than others The meanest souls the greatest aliens to virtue are capable of such things Publicanes esteemed the meer scandal and refuse of mankind among the Jews could do them but those who followed Christ were to act in softer methods They may design to make the world their slaves but it must not be effected by rage and a studious revenge on every little supposed affront that sets men upon their guard and he that by such courses strives to subject me must expect the same measure from me if I can get him at advantage but He that studies to do good to all is consequently beloved and admired by all a forgiving and reconcileable temper obliges all mankind and every one is a willing servant or slave to him whom he loves How easily does this compassionate temper slide into a true and universal Charity and our Saviour plainly shews by the course of his doctrine that as it was Man's great ambition in his first sin to become like to God tho' he miserably mistook the way so he now accounts it the greatest honour to God that Man should indeed be what he then aim'd at that that Image of God which was imprinted upon the Souls of Men in their first Creation should be restored to its primitive perfection and lustre but there was no way to bring this about more effectually than by implanting this real and extensive Charity in the hearts of Men which makes them the true representatives of that God who is love and goodness it self It changes that state of war corrupt nature's ingaged in and diffuses a Catholick and agreeable serenity through the world it abolishes that Wolvish humour predominant among Men and makes every one a God to his fellow God makes his Sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends his rain upon the just and upon the unjust he allows means for the conversion of sinners to repentance as well as for conducting the righteous to that glory prepared for them and Charity teaches us to resemble him in this where he pardons and blesses that we should do so too and not neglect or despise or implacably persecute those of whom God himself is pleased to take care Intemperance in meats and drinks was one of those vices which Paganism very rationally condemned and exposed so far as to make wise Men asham'd of it They saw plainly how it impair'd mens reason how it engaged them in frequent and senceless quarrels destroyed health and confounded estates yet they had but very small apprehensions of the influence it might have upon mens future conditions how displeasing it was to Almighty God how certain an evidence of Mens brutish and carnal inclinations Our Saviour therefore heightens
Original of that call'd the Dead Sea from the Conflagration of Sodom and Gomorrha Admah and Zeboim by fire from Heaven of the Ascent of the Jews out of Aegypt and the Calamities suffer'd by the Aegyptians upon their account of the Original of the Jewish Government Sacred and Civil c. These accounts of Antiquity and many more of the same nature look'd infinitely more probably than the dreams and forgeries of their eldest Authors for whose sake they look'd upon all their own stories relating to the first Ages of the World as onely obscure and fabulous These Pleas as I said before might serve to bring any into as good an opinion of that Book which we call Scripture as of any other meer humane writing But that 's not enough Scripture may to Infidels themselves be prov'd to be far superior in the original nature and use of it than any thing else the World pretends to the certainty of which lays open a fair way for the conversion of Infidels to Christianity and indeed is such a medium as without it or unquestionable miracles which Miracles too must tend wholly to the confirmation of the authority of Scripture it 's wholly vain to pretend to their conversion What I mention'd at first that the excellency of Scripture might be prov'd or its authority have a due influence upon such as acknowledge onely the being of a God was spoken with relation to Atheists who deny any such Being at all for tho' we have not met yet with any Nation so barbarous but it has had some notion of a God as where-ever there is any pretence to divination or predictions of future contingencies there must be such yet since some will pretend to Courage enough utterly to deny the existence of a God and make it their business to make proselytes to the same non-sense I confess no Arguments of that nature I aim at can have any effects on them those who deny a God will scarce acknowledge any particular Writing to be the Word of God but to those who do acknowledge a God these things will be obvious enough and past dispute That if there be a God i. e. One great supreme Being who presides with an absolute and illimited power over the World and all transactions in it This God must necessarily have all those Attributes due to himself which are requisite for the exercising such a power for he that believes not this has no true notion of a God without which yet no Man can pretend to any true or solid religion for as the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us He that comes to God must believe that he is Heb. 11.6 and that he is a rewarder of those that seek him so the Stoick Philosopher joyns with the Apostle when he makes the greatest part of true Religion to consist in having 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 true opinions of the Gods so as to know that they are and that they manage all things well and justly that all ought to obey them and acquiesce in those things which are done by them Epict. Ench. c. 38. and to act in agreement with them as being govern'd by an All-wise Mind now according to these Models none can have a true or exact apprehension of a God but he who represents God to himself as capable of performing all those things for which he thinks it necessary to believe He is And from hence it was that Epicharmus tells us Cudw Intel Syst p. 263 -4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nothing escapes the eye of the Divinity this you ought to take notice of He 's the Overseer of us all and there 's nothing that he cannot do which shews he understood the God of all things to be omnipotent omniscient and omnipresent three of those great attributes Christians give to God and that it was necessarily to be understood by all others who pretended to the same knowledge of a God Hence God or he whom Pagans own'd to be the supreme God known to them by the name of Jupiter is call'd by them the great Architect or Maker of the World the Prince and chief Ruler of the Vniverse the first or chief God the first Mind the great God the greatest of the Gods the highest the superior to all Gods the most transcendent God the God of gods the Principle of Principles the first Cause He that generated the Universe He that rules over the whole World the Supreme Governor and Lord of all things the God without beginning self-originated and self-subsisting He that is far beyond the reach of Humane Minds and understandings that Eternal Being which can never change and never perish The beginning the end and the middle of all things He who is one God onely and all Gods in one now the result of all these titles is That the Supreme Being which governs the World is infinitely perfect which if drawn down into Christian words and principles amounts to this That God is infinitely powerful just true merciful glorious loving and good to all his Creatures and all these things are so essentially constitutive of the Deity that without the concurrence of them all there could be none for what is perfect must be so in all instances for any one exception ruines the whole assertion and makes that Being what ever he may pretend to really imperfect Amongst these several Attributes which render God adorable to the World that Love or Goodness of his whereby he regulates and provides for all his Creatures is one and as he originally desires so he promotes their real happiness and of this Goodness the Heathens had notions as well as our selves though not perhaps so clear or convictive as those God has blest us with in Scripture thus Platonists perswade us that God himself was turn'd into Love when he made the World that order in which he had set and that providence by which he govern'd all things showing the most prodigious effects of Love or goodness So the Greek Comedian gives us an odd Idea of the World 's Original Aristoph in Nubibus That in the beginning Confusion and Night and Hell and Darkness had an existence there was then no Earth nor Air nor Sky In the first place black-winged Night laid a prolifick Egg in the inscrutable bosome of profound Darkness from which in succeeding Hours was produced desirable Love glittering in the Air with golden Wings and like the breeding Winds coupling with prepared Chaos or dark confusion in the infernal regions p. 121. expos'd our kind first of all to light nor had the Gods themselves any being till Love it self had mingled all things Which Poetical expressions being duly explain'd or reduced to plain sense and the Gods in the last passages meaning onely Angels Moses his history of the Creation Gen. 1. and St. John's discourse John 1. concerning the Creation of all things by Christ with his assertion oft repeated That God is Love are not very different from
child is born unto us a Son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and he shall be called Wonderful Counseller the mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace That this was a Prophecy of the Messiah to come has never that I know of been doubted and it has been as universally apply'd to the blessed Jesus but that he should be called the mighty God and yet not be God would appear very strange The title of God is we know very well apply'd in Scripture to Angels to Princes to those to whom the Word of God was sent but none of these ever wore the name of the mighty God The mighty God here is emphatical and equivalent to the Almighty and the only God and that we should be the less doubtful of his meaning the same Son who is called the mighty God is called the everlasting Father or the Father of eternity the Father is as much as the Author or Commander of eternity which could not without absurdity be applyed to him who once was not or had no being himself The Chaldee paraphrast calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Messias living to eternity the name indeed is very proper to God the Father nor could it with any probability be applyed to the Son did not our Saviour himself solve the difficulty effectually when he tells us Job 10.30 I and my Father are one if they be One the same Epithets belong to both and yet that we may the less doubt to whom the whole text belongs Ephes 2.14 2 Thess 3.16 Heb. 7.2 this mighty God and everlasting Father is styl'd the Prince of Peace so the blessed Jesus is said to be our Peace to be the Lord of Peace and the just successor of that Priest of the most high God Melchizedech who was king of Righteousness and king of Peace Again the Prophet Jeremiah in that plainest Prophecy of his concerning the certain Advent of the Messias teaches us thus Jer. 23.5 6. Behold the days shall come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and this is the name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That name there too is applied to him which belongs to none but to the supreme God It 's the name as Ben Maimon assures us which signifies the Divine essence purely by its self without any respect to the Creatures now that the Divine Essence it self should be attributed to a meer Man is downright blasphemy but here it 's attributed to that Branch promised to David which all the antient Rabbins and the eldest Fathers of the Church interpret of the Messiah that Christ was the Messiah every one who receives the Gospel must acknowledge therefore Jesus the Messiah was God and so the Lord our righteousness If we farther compare this with that of the Prophet Isaiah Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory Isai 45.24 25. 1 Cor. 1.30 and that again with that of the Apostle Christ Jesus is made of God unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption We shall find somewhat more attributed to Christ than lyes within the power of the holyest meer Man that ever was or could be in the world Israel is to be saved Man to be justified by him now let a Man be never so pure never so innocent if he be but a meer Man his Righteousness and Innocence is nor can be no more than may serve his own necessity it is what God requires at every one of our hands it 's true for ten righteous Men God would have spared Sodom but that was only temporally God's judgments might have been deferred for a while and yet the Sodomites have been damn'd at last But the Righteousness of Christ is meritorious and available on our account he is our righteousness and consequently by him and upon his account we are justified from the guilt and punishment of sin our sins being pardoned through his merits and for his sake and we instead of damnation being made Inheritors with the Saints in glory hence it comes to pass that we who are forbidden to glory in Man or in any child of man v. 31. because there is no help in them are allowed and encouraged to glory in the Lord and well we may since he may be and is our Righteousness therefore he whom we are allowed to glory in must be more than Man but he is no Angel therefore he must be God The last place I shall insist on is that of the Prophet Micah Micah 5.2 But thou Bethlehem Ephrata tho' thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting That this Text referred to the Messiah we are put beyond doubt by that of the Evangelist where he tells us that when Herod had demanded of the Jewish chief Priests and Scribes where Christ should he born they presently answered him it should be in Bethlehem of Judaea Math. 2.4 5 6. and bring this Text to prove their assertion the application then being certain we may observe how directly this Text contradicts the Arrian and Socinian Position They say there was a time when the Son was not the Prophet says his goings forth have been from of old from everlasting or as the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His goings out are from the beginning from the days of eternity if his goings forth were from eternity he himself was from eternity too if from eternity there was then no time wherein he was not therefore he was God for there 's nothing to which eternity can be truely attributed but God or if we should with some learned Men translate the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the East our Interpretation would not suffer at all it would then be his goings forth have been from the east from the days of old therefore he was or had a Being before the date of this Prophecy therefore he had a Being before he was born of the blessed Virgin therefore he was eternal therefore he was God I might have urged more passages out of the Old Testament but these may suffice to evidence that That Messias of whom the Prophets spoke was believed by them to be God as well as Man their Prophecies indeed were by that means the more obscure and unintelligible to the Jews who saw Christ frequently but they saw only his Humane Nature they understood no more of Him nor did they then expect their Messias should be God but only some great Man which they saw the blessed Jesus as to his outward appearance was not and therefore they pick'd a quarrel with him as guilty of Blasphemy Joh. 10.33 because he being a Man made himself God We come to
Christ nor Elias nor that Prophet but he answered positively too to their General question v. 19-23 that He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths streight as saith the Prophet Esaias Now the Baptist being so very much reverenc'd and so mightily followed as he was his answer could not but be spread about through all Judaea and the expectations of Men be the more rais'd because the person there prophesied of by Isaias was to be the forerunner of the Messias he therefore being come the other could not be far behind Besides if we interpret the Gospel of the glad tydings of Salvation brought to all mankind the Evangelists expression will be untrue For not to mention the Promise to our first Parents and those afterwards repeated to the Patriarchs and frequently declared and enlarged upon by the Prophets that of the Angel to Zacharias the Father of S. John Baptist and that of the same Angel to the blessed Virgin and they were â—â—â—â—einly tydings of great joy and the real beginnings of that which is peculiarly stiled the Gospel both these were before the very conception of our Saviour therefore He as a meer man was not or had no being in the beginning of the Gospel and doubtless the Evangelist here in the beginning of his History taking up the very expressions of Moses in the beginning of Genesis and using his very words as translated by the Septuagint supposed his Readers would take his words in the same sence as they understand those of Moses and so in the beginning in both places signifies as much as before there was any thing existent so before any thing but the eternal God himself had a being God out of nothing produced all things and so before any thing God excepted had a being the Word was therefore that Word was God because God only could exist in the beginning or before the Creation of all things and thus the Evangelist says something peculiar of Christ and what might really set him above the Baptist or blessed Angels or any other Creatures whatsoever Otherwise the Apostle according to the Socinian fancy would have taken pains to prevent an Objection never brought at such a time too as never any Man could have rais'd it for he wrote his Gospel according to all accounts about the 90th year of our Saviour toward the end of his own very long life and when the Gospel was spread in all quarters and Heresies had gotten a great footing in the Church when that Objection about John Baptist would have appeared nonsensical and ridiculous Whereas had he design'd his Master's honour or the advantage of mankind he would have made haste and have pen'd his Gospel very early when such poor objections might have appeared with some countenance But it follows In the beginning the Word was with God this seems to prove very plainly that if the Word here spoken of be indeed the Son of God he had a being before he was visible in our Nature and that above or in Heaven or in the peculiar place of the Divine presence which granted is enough to destroy all the Socinian Doctrine of Christ's being a meer Creature or a Man like one of us and no more That Christ really had such a Being antecedent to his Incarnation we have reason to believe on the authority of concurrent Texts of Scripture for so our Saviour calls himself before the cavilling Jews John 6.51 That Bread which came down from Heaven But if he came down from heaven He must first have been there and that at least some time before he told them so The Jews in general nay his own Disciples thought this a very hard saying an expression that was very hard to be understood and so it was to those who were wholly taken up with carnal thoughts our Saviour cures their amazement or incredulity with a strange intimation What and if you should see the Son of man ascend up into heaven v. 61 62. This question plainly enough asserts that he had been with God before they converst with him here on earth and this Socinus himself acknowledges for he knew not how to disengage himself from the force of this and that yet more astonishing declaration of our Saviour to Nicodemus No man hath ascended up to heaven Joh. 3.13 but He that came down from heaven even the Son of Man which is in heaven which expression according to the Socinian Rational way of exposition as they call it is meer riddle or contradiction but according to the Catholick Faith concerning the eternal generation of the Son of God is easie and intelligible to every man For if it were God that was manifest in the flesh and continued the same eternal God still He might in his divine nature always be with his Father and yet in his Humane Nature be conversant among Men at the same time But tho' Socinus and his followers sometimes own the literal truth of these expressions they cannot hold true to what they allow for one while they 'd change it's nature and make it figurative So Jesus Christ was in heaven by the divine raptures or meditations of his Soul Explic. loc S Script Op. v 1. p. 146. or he was in heaven by that perfect knowledge he had of all divine matters thus Socinus himself But he quits it at last and flyes to that wonderful discovery filium hominis verè propriè de coelo descendisse in coelo fuisse That the Son of Man was truly and properly in heaven and descended from thence before he discours'd these things with the Jews But would you know how it was as S. Paul who tho' but a meer Man was caught up into the third heavens 2 Cor. 12.2 3 4. into Paradise and heard unspeakable words which it â—s not lawful for a man to utter so the blessed Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven and there was conversant some time with God and was there as in a School taught those things he was afterwards to preach and do in the world Would you know when It was say some when he was twelve years old and his parents mist him at their return from Jerusalem and after three days found him among the Doctors Wolzog. in Jo. c. 3. v. 13. Wolzogenius supposes it during the forty days fast in the wilderness for whereas Socinus thinks it highly fit that as Moses the type was with God upon the Mount that he might there learn those Laws and Ordinances he was to deliver to the Israelites so it was very reasonable Christ the Antitype should have some such like converse with God for the same purpose in a nobler place therefore this Author to carry on the parallel the farther would pitch it on that time to which the Evangelists allot forty days because Moses was the same space of time in the Mount and this was the great Invention of Laelius Socinus
which cost him so much study so many fastings and earnest prayers to Almighty God and Schlichtingius pursues the fancy with a great deal of heat and violence Crellius joyns with it too so that this may pass for their general solution of the difficulty a difficulty which could never be found till they created it and with their mighty pretences to Reason and clear interpretations of difficult places shut all true Reason and clear Scripture-light out of doors It 's certain that the Evangelists mention nothing of this formal ascent into heaven and is it likely that they who set down all the circumstances of his birth to his very wrapping in swadling clothes and lying in a manger they who mention his flight into Aegypt his wandring from his parents his several ascents to Jerusalem his Transfiguration on mount Tabor a matter much less glorious and important his talk with Moses and Elias a very unnecessary discourse if he had learn'd all those things from God himself before is it likely that those who set down these things so punctually nay S. Luke himself of whom when it serves their turns they say that He was so inquisitive as to omit nothing of consequence wherein our Saviour was concern'd that these should omit so prodigious an Ascent into heaven as this which would naturally have conciliated so great an authority to his person and his doctrine and would have been very necessary too if he had been no more than a meer man Had there really been such an Ascent it would have been very improper in his younger years for besides the weakness and insufficiency of that age for the most divine speculations we are told plainly after that dispute of his with the Doctors and his return with and obedience to his parents Luke 2.52 that He encreased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and Man which must be false and ridiculous if he had been in Heaven before and had been fully instructed in all divine matters by God himself As for that second time allotted for this Ascent viz. immediately after his Baptism the Evangelists tell us plainly the design of his being led by the Spirit into the wilderness was that he might be tempted of the Devil Luke 4.2 Nay and as S. Luke asserts He was tempted by the Devil forty days this could not have been true had he been in Heaven any or all those days and whereas the Evangelist adds that in those days he did eat nothing and when they were ended he afterwards hungred this story must be both false and disgraceful too for how could he who had corporeally attained the glorious vision of the Almighty be so soon affected with the inconveniences of flesh and blood when we never find Moses tho' fasting as long several times complaining of any such hunger Or can we believe the Devil so very diligent and violent an enemy to Man's happiness would have given our Saviour so glorious a respite which in all probability too must have been so prejudicial to himself When the Socinians can shew us any thing like a proof of their dreams in God's word we 'l consider it till then we 'l entertain it only as a ridiculous not to say a blasphemous Romance and adhere to the natural and genuine interpretation of these words the Word was with God viz. that Jesus Christ or he who in his humane nature bore that name was from eternity actually existent in the presence and in the bosom of his father that therefore that Prayer of his was rational and intelligible Now O father glorifie thou me with thy self Joh. 17.5 with that glory which I had with thee before the world was This Prayer is intelligible enough according to the common Doctrine of the Christian Church that Christ had a being before the beginning of the world quit that sence and we have nothing but figure upon figure incoherent inconsistent and very profound Heterodoxy and nonsense And may we not fairly assert that old way of explaining such passages as these when the Evangelist in the continuance of his discourse says plainly and the Word was God That the Word was with God say they is as much as if the Apostle had said tho' he was unknown to the world he was very well known to God in his privacy and that 's very likely to be true if God be Omniscient that he knew his Son But if it be said He only knew him then it 's false for God himself had by his holy Angels before made him known to the blessed Virgin to his supposed father Joseph and to the Shepherds of Bethlehem and to the Wise Men of the East nay he was known to most of them by the name of the Son of God by the office of saving his people from their sins c. and good old Simeon in his Eucharistick song gives us a compleat Compendium of the Gospel Luke 2.31 33. and we are sure He knew the infant Jesus to be the salvation of God who was to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of God's people Israel Here then we find the adversaries of our Faith wholly mistaken in the consequent gradation of the Evangelists they are yet engag'd in more difficulties but what methods do they fix upon to disengage themselves According to the ordinary acceptation of the words a man would be ready to conclude that the Evangelist meant as he said and that if the Word was God he was so indeed and therefore not simply a Creature or a meer Man but what may look very suspitiously it 's observable that those who are unwilling to own any such thing as a Mystery in the Objects of our Faith make every word in this beginning of S. John's Gospel Mysterious so by God we must understand Man or one that really is no more than a Man only honoured with the name of God as being his Deputy or Vicegerent or as the Psalmist speaks to Kings Psal 82.6 7. I have said you are Gods and all of you are children of the most high but ye shall dy like Men and fall like one of the Princes Well we allow it Princes are so styl'd there in a figurative sence because of their deputation from heaven and the derivation of their authority from thence And in David we have a King a Man after God's own heart but was ever any thing like this in this text spoken of him Would not the Author be impudently ridiculous who should preface a History of David's life thus In the beginning of the Israelitish Kingdom was David for so he really had a being as soon as ever Saul had any title to that kingdom and David was with God i. e. He was known only to him for God had cut out his Prophet Samuel a way to anoint him King unknown to Saul to prevent any jealousie in him of any such intended Heir to his Crown and Israel in general were as ignorant
but never yet did any inspired Writer call Holy Men Men converted from the vanities of this World from all the Lusts and Follies attending it never did they call such by the name of Worldly Men But is not this a very hard shift to chop and change so often in so very short a sentence Whereas if we believe as we ought that this Habitable World and all things therein were created at first out of nothing by the Son of God the sence will be easie enough that God the Son was in this World this World the Universal fabrick of which his own hand had made and yet the World so far as capable of sence and knowledge understood it not or were not able to distinguish between the Creator and a meer Creature That we should believe the Son of God made all things at first the Scripture seems to take a great deal of care for so S. Paul teaches us that God created all things by Jesus Christ Ephes 3.9 but much more fully Coloss 1.15 16. Where giving thanks to God the Father who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son he describes that Son thus He is the image of the Invisible God the first-born of every Creature for by him were all things created that were in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist and the Author of the Epistle is acknowledged to apply that of the Psalmist to our Saviour Heb. 1.10 Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the Earth and the Heavens are the works of thy hands A man would be apt to think these Texts were very plain and positive yet here too they 'l make their impious attempts for All things in heaven and in earth must mean only Angels and Men be it so how come the Angels to be renewed by the Word They will not say the fallen Angels were reduced to a state of Salvation S. Jude will contradict them there who tells us Jude v. 6. The Angels which kept not their first state but left their own habitation God hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day They cannot say the Good Angels were so restored or renewed for they were created absolutely happy and they had not lost that happiness and our Saviour himself asserts that He came not to call the Righteous but sinners to repentance that the Whole need not a Physician but those that are Sick The words then are as they sound to us they are general and whereas the Apostle particularises in Thrones and Dominions c. after those general words all things visible and invisible it 's only to supply us with an argument à Majori ad Minus that if even those superiour happy Beings who might seem almost to be above the rank of Creatures if they yet ow'd their first originals to the hand of the Son of God how much more may we conclude the visible or grosser parts of the Universe might owe their beginnings to his power Indeed the design of the Apostle is to set before our eyes in the beginning of his Gospel the wonderful Condescension of the Son of God on behalf of miserable sinners so to work in us a due fence of what we owe to so infinite a goodness and a forward readiness to accept Salvation from so all-sufficient a hand upon the terms propounded i. e. Faith and Obedience but what Topic could the Holy Pen-Man better begin his design with than from that of Christ's being God blessed for ever or from all eternity from his existing always in the glorious presence of his Almighty Father and being infinitely blest in himself as being One and equal with his Father for a compleat and every way perfect Vnion or Identity can only be between equals The Evangelist proves this eternal Greatness by that sufficient argument of his being the great and sole Creator of all things This God this Creator of all things appeared upon Earth where even those who were the Work of his hands were grown to that Blindness through the greatness of their Sins and the corruption of their natures that tho' the whole Creation long'd for the glorious day of his appearance Yet all the Worl'd seem'd utterly unable to discover him this glorious and eternal Word yet assumed Humane Nature that he might be Visible to the eye of the World and that he might be able to offer himself a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World that he might atone his Father's just anger and reconcile us to him by his own most precious blood To this end He underwent all the inconveniences ordinarily attending Mankind and it was a severe beginning of his debasement or humiliation for our sakes that whereas he honour'd the Nation of the Jews by being born among them and whereas out of particular commiseration for that poor lost people he made himself first known among them and Preach'd and did Miracles that they might the better understand him yet after all he came to his own but his own received him not i. e. the generality of that Nation rejected him but those who did receive him were empower'd by him to become the Sons of God they were so influenced assisted supported and dignified by his Sacred Spirit that they attained the Spirit of Adoption whereby they were able to cry Abba Father or to call upon God with that confidence and security which a dearly loved Son may have in an indulgent and well pleased Father He was such because that Holy Lamb to whom John the Baptist gave his testimony did really take away the Sins of the World and this Lamb whose nature and goodness was so little understood appear'd yet especially after his Resurrection when their minds were opened to his Disciples full of Grace and Truth they beholding his glory as the glory of the only Begotten Son of God such lustre would appear in him to the true believers eyes through the thick veil of his flesh and all the dismal clouds of his unparallel'd sufferings Now this glory which the Apostles saw in Christ must be somewhat capable of distinguishing him from others he might have appear'd as a Son of God at large in the same sense as all those who live piously are called the Sons of God but that would not at all have answer'd to what the Evangelist tells us his Glory made him appear i. e. the only begotten Son of God begotten of God in such a manner as never any meer Creature could be glorious in such a Manner as no meer Man was ever capable of but if he could be no Creature he could be nothing but God there being no Intermedial Essence between the Creator and the Creature If then it be the distinguishing Character of
Jacob Moses Joshua Samuel David and all the rest of the Prophets Of them came Jesus Christ according to the flesh that particularising of his deduction from them according to the flesh intimates plainly enough that according to somewhat else he had another Original he was not wholly of the Jews This the Socinians are forced to own because of that entire story of our Saviour's Conception by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the blessed Virgin To shew how great this privilege was the Apostle adds that this Jesus Christ who came of the Jews according to the flesh was God over all blessed for ever but that they might avoid the force of this Text they would fain â—ly to one of their ordinary shelters a variâ—us reading but there 's no such thing in any of the original Copies and Versions if there be any which intimate such a thing are little to be regarded Then they would fain alter the Pointing which if allow'd would do them little service but there is no ground for allowing that In locum Enjedine pleads that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 blessed used by the Apostle here is never applyed any where in Scripture to any but only God the Father for this he alledges that of the same Apostle concerning the Gentiles that they worshipped the Creature more than the Creator Rom. 1.25 who is over all blessed for ever But if it be true that Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God was the Creator of all things as it seems to be his instance turns against himself and methinks it follows as well that if the title of God above all blessed for ever belongs only to the supreme God for that he means when he speaks of its belonging only to God the Father then the Son of God to whom it 's given here should be the supreme God for it is no less than Sacrilege and Blasphemy to attribute a title so peculiar to the Sovereign to any one who really and in his own Nature is not the Sovereign God Others of the Socinian Tribe cannot see or take no notice of this peculiar usage of the expression as if it belong'd only to God the Father they acknowledge that Christ as Made God is above all Men and Angels above all Principalities and Powers nay above all things whatsoever only 1 Cor. 15.27 He 's not above him who put all things under him This the Apostle asserts This we own but withal we assert that our Saviour as Man in that body in which he humbled himself to the Death of the Cross for Man is thus exalted above all things and thus as Man he is the head of his Church as God we say not that he 's superiour to his Father but that he is equal to him he is of the same Nature with his Father and therefore is God over all blessed for ever as his Father is Now that He who is thus God over all blessed for ever should condescend to take our Nature upon him was an effect of infinite Love and pity to all mankind that he should condescend to take this humane Nature of any one of the Jewish Nation was the greatest Honour that could possibly be done to that Nation We see how Towns and Countreys strive for the Honour of being the birth-places of great Men and they have been frequently not a little jealous of one another on that account nay Scripture it self makes such a thing a considerable advantage in that of the Prophet concerning the Messias as alledged by the Chief Priests and Scribes to Herod And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the Princes of Judah Matt. 2.6 for out of thee shall come a Governour who shall rule my people Israel the present Hebrew reads it tho' thou be little among the thousands of Judah The birth of such a one was enough to make the most inconsiderable place glorious miserable people then were they who had so great an honour confer'd on them and yet at last deny'd him who conferr'd it on them S. Paul gives this advice to the Philippians Phil 2 5-1â— Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of Man and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to Death even to the Death of the Cross wherefore God also hath mightily exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in Heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father We might refer the matter to any who had no acquaintance with Christianity or with Scripture before and such a Man on reading these words would certainly conclude that he who carries here the name of Christ Jesus was described as every way equal with God the Father whosoever that might be and that we may understand such a conclusion would be just and rational we may look into the occasion of the words The Apostle is perswading the Philippians here to Unity Love and Peace and particularly to a mutual care and sollicitude for the good and happiness of one another urging them not altogether to employ themselves upon their own private or publick inward or outward Interests but to allow some charitable thoughts towards the Salvation of others Gal. 6.2 to snatch them as firebrands out of the fire agreeably to what he elsewhere advises them to i. e. that they should bear one anothers burdens this kind care he urges them to from the example of him in whom they believed and whose servants they profest themselves to be Who tho' eternally and immutably blest in himself yet out of that infinite love he had to perishing mankind was pleased to take humane nature upon him that in that humane nature he might suffer to atone his Father's displeasure against Sin and Sinners and procure everlasting Salvation for as many as should believe on him that to be of this charitable temper would be much to our advantage he proves by this consideration That God the Father was so highly pleas'd with this action of his Son that he raised even that humane nature in which he suffered to the highest glories and sanctified that very name which his Son assumed as Man and as the Messias to be above every name to be admired reverenced adored by all created beings whatsoever which adorations could only be rendered just and reasonable by that intimate and indissâ—luble union between that humane natuâ—◠〈…〉 eternal God-head If God then so exalâ—â—â—â—â—sus Christ on account of his compassion and tenderness for us he likewise will exalt us if we be kind and tender hearted
one towards another if we endeavour to promote one anothers Salvation by all those means which by Providence are put into our hands In this argument the Apostle makes use of such expressions as stumble the enemies of the Divinity of the Son of God very much and give them a great deal of pains to shift off and to evade so the form of God they determine to be nothing but a resemblance or representation of God in his Works Christ was in the form of God when he did those many wonderful works during his converse upon earth those Miracles importing somewhat of a divine power but what is there in this peculiar to our Saviour Moses might as well have been said to have been in the form of God since he too did a great many prodigious things and the Skies the Air the Waters the Earth seemed all as obedient to him as to our Saviour afterwards Elijah and Elisha might have receiv'd the same Character and the Apostles much more since Christ himself had promised them that they should not only do the same but greater miracles than he himself did yet Scripture never talks of these at any such rate as their being in the form of God If it be objected that Moses the Prophets mention'd and the Disciples after our Lord's Resurrection did indeed many and great Miracles but they were not done in their own names we acknowledge it but if our adversaries may be believed our Saviour was in the same circumstances for his Miracles were only done in the name of God and so were the Mosaic and Prophetic Miracles done If they 'l own that our Saviour did his Miracles in His own name they grant what they take so much pains to disprove for none can do a Miracle in his own name but he who has an inherent power in himself commanding all the parts of the Creation having no need of leave or assistance from any superiour Being but such a power is and only can be inherent in the most high God therefore if our Saviour had that power he was and is the most high God if he had not he 's in the same rank with other holy and good Men and any of them might have been instanced in as patterns of as great condescension and love to Souls as himself They criticise upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the form of God as if it signified only an outward shadow and appearance and therefore not the real divine essence and therefore whereas the Apostle makes mention afterwards of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the form of a Servant they are under a necessity of denying that that signifies his assuming humane nature tho' the words following are indeed an explication of these being in the form of a servant and being found in likeness of men are but explicatory one of another and so Schlicktingius owns it but upon what reason we know not upon that last phrase of being found in likeness of men he writes thus Figurâ i. e. non reipsâ sed apparenter externâ specie tantum in the form or figure of a Man that is not a Man indeed but only to outward appearance and to common view a Commentary to me unintelligible since they own Christ to have been a real man and nothing else the reason of their niceness here is only this They fear that if they own the form of a Servant signifies the humane nature of Christ then the form of God must signifie the divine nature of the same person which they cannot endure to hear of but the Fathers with one current interpret it so that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the essence of God so Theodoret on the place Gregory Nyssen Athanasius Chrysostome Theophylact c. and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the nature of a servant in the same sence so Theodoret Athanasius Paedagog l. 3. c. 1. Theophylact and Clemens Alexandrinus who cannot well be suspected of partiality in the case and this authority is much better than theirs who only assert the contrary arbitrarily and without reason That Christ thought it no robbery to be equal with God they would have to signifie only this That he thought it not so great an advantage to be in the form of God or like him as to be obstinate in the retention of that likeness but would humbly quit it to be used and suffer like a servant and for this Enjedine runs to some phrases in Heliodorus his Aethiopic Romance where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rapina signifies as much if he interpret it rightly but that 's too modern an authority to interpret Scripture by and too slight a work to teach us how to understand the dictates of God's Holy Spirit After several Cavils they yield that to be like to God is to be equal to God but equality must be between distinct beings for none can be equal to himself We own it and say the Father and the Son are distinct persons but of one nature as Father and Son must be if their relation be real but if God the Father and God the Son be of one and the same Nature they must have one and the same Essence because two infinite Essences are a contradiction our Saviour being in the form of his Father and equal to his Father could not look on it as a crime or think it any Sacrilege or robbery to own that equality as he did by his expressions of himself and by those adorations he permitted to be paid to himself Here then was Love and Condescention indeed that He who was God equal with his father should assume to himself poor infirm servile flesh and blood and in that humble himself and be obedient to death even that scandalous and painful death on the Cross for our sakes This Passion and this Obedience was truly meritorious it intrinsically and in its own real value merited the redemption of all mankind it effectually and in its outward operation merited and procured the Salvation of all those that believe in him As a reward for this Humility and Obedience God has highly exalted the Humane Nature of his Son that 's enclosed in or substantially united to the Divine Nature and consequently partakes of all that bliss that eternal glory and happiness which the Deity it self enjoys by which means it comes to be lawful for Christians to worship Christ as Man tho' not as meer Man as well as as he is God a practice which could never be excused from being the greatest Idolatry in the World if there were no such union as will hereafter be proved in course For that exception to this Text that Jesus is the name of Man not of God and Christ the name of an Office it signifies the Anointed One the Messias and therefore cannot belong to the most high God it 's extremely impertinent they are not our Saviour's names as he is God but as he
is Man but as none question his bearing the name of the Son of God so every one knew that he bore the name of Jesus and that it had been beyond contradiction prov'd that he was the Christ his Relative name then of the Son of God his Humane name of Jesus his Name of office as Christ being all equally known it was certainly free to the Apostle to speak of him by any of those names and we see that those together with that of our Saviour our High-Priest our King our Mediator c. are all indifferently used by the Apostles in their writings without any kind of diminution of our Saviour's dignity or detraction from his eternal divinity Abundance more Texts might be added but these are sufficient on this head We come now to the third Head propounded from whence to prove That the blessed Jesus was really God manifest in the flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 comm 2. God equal and co-essential with his father and that is from those Actions done by him during his own converse on Earth or in his name after his Ascension into Heaven where again we shall not be so curious as to examine every particular but only some of the more remarkable The Socinians themselves would have him be in the form of God only on this account because all the parts of nature seem'd to obey him as their Lord and Master the Prophets too had commanded them before but some things were done by our Saviour of so singular a nature as the greatest of the Prophets could pretend to nothing of that kind Thus when Jacob was afraid of Esau he wrestled with God in Prayer and God turn'd the heart of Esau towards his brother and took off those barbarous and revengeful thoughts he had entertained before so Jacob escaped his fury Moses when terrified with the anger of the king of Aegypt fled for it and sav'd himself and so Elijah himself was forced to flight that he might escape the feminine rage of Jezebel and the rest of the Prophets how great and considerable soever had only flight or sufferings to prepare for It was otherwise with our Saviour for when he had enraged the people of Nazareth by speaking what was true and necessary to them and they resolv'd to put an effectual end to His preaching who could flatter them no better they thrust him out of the City they lead him to be sure with Guard strong and numerous enough to the brow of the Hill on which their City was built their design was to cast him down headlong not to perswade him to cast himself down Luke 4.29 30. as the Devil would have had him done from the Pinacle of the Temple they resolved to ease him of that trouble and to do it violently and cruelly themselves We read of no relenting among them none who went about to perswade them to give over so barbarous and unjust a design but our Saviour in the open croud past through the midst of them and went his way there was no flight before no calling fire down from heaven now no other sudden consternation among them but what appear'd in their countenances when they miss'd him whom they thought they had held fast enough We meet not with any interposition of Angels no blindness laid upon them as a penalty but He went from amongst them they no more able to oppose his Motions than a Man in a dream would be able to fight a Duel with a waking and terrible adversary here then Almighty power shew'd it self even in the Man Christ Jesus he shew'd his enemies how invisible how every way indiscernible Humane Nature assumed into the Divine must necessarily be The Turks perhaps taking their hint from this passage tell us that when our Saviour was led to be crucified he vanished in the same surprising manner out of their hands and left them only to exercise their rage upon one of his Judges of whom they say that he resembled Christ in an extraordinary manner An humane body acted meerly by a rational soul must of necessity be perceptible by those who compassed it round and could they once have been sensible of his motions it had been easie to have stayed him but where a divine Power interpos'd it was impossible for any to observe or at least to observe with a capacity to hinder his moving Virgil tells us how Venus wrapt her son Aeneas with his companion Achates in a misty robe but he brings him on the stage of Carthage in the same invisible circumstances and therefore there were no offers to hinder him going where he would but when he was once seen his Mother her self was not able to muffle him up so from humane eyes as that he should fall into no danger Therefore Homer makes both Mars and Venus the last not visible at the time to be wounded by Diomedes when he was so very eager in pursuit of the Trojans This then in our Saviour prov'd his rank yet higher than that of Man his Power greater and more effectual as working of it self so upon humane Spirits that either they could not discern him at all or had no power to shew their displeasure tho' never so violent and revengeful before there needed no Angel here to stop the Lyons mouths his Will without any outward expression of it was suffient And thus he shew'd a Power equally Divine when meerly by asking the Officers who came with that Traitor Judas to take him whom they sought and telling them that He himself was the Person John 18.5 6. they went backwards and fell to the ground it must certainly be a strange and terrible power that from the mildest words could produce such amazing effects Men bred up to blood and slaughter are not wont to be affrighted with one anothers looks or words but God even in the still small voice is to be fear'd We must necessarily conclude that he who was the Son of God who was his only Son that Son to whom he gave so extraordinary a testimony that in him he was well pleased we must conclude that this Son would take all occasions to advance the honour of his Father that He 'd not only forbid others doing any thing that might detract from it but he 'd be above all things careful not to do any thing of so impious a complexion himself As this was a duty incumbent upon every servant of God so we find the Prophets always careful in the case and therefore prefacing all those Miracles they wrought with solemn Prayers and with the name of that God from whom all their miracle-working power was derived Moses seems to have fail'd a little only in the point when he was to bring water out of the rock for the Israelites but Moses sin'd nor could the reasonableness of his zeal excuse him from a severe punishment on that account But if we run over the general Histories of our Saviour's miracles we find Him for ought is upon record
not at all careful upon this matter He does them frequently too many to be registred but all in his own name He Wills this and He Commands the other thing to be done so the Winds the Waves the various Distempers afflicting Mankind the Devils themselves tremble at and obey his Word the Dead rise at the hearing of his Voice every thing he speaks is powerful and authentick yet no Praying before no making use of his Father's name no more notice taken of him in the operation than as if the Father and the Son had stood in no kind of relation to one another Nay even in the case of Lazarus which if any must carry the face of an exception We see our Saviour praising his Father indeed for his readiness to hear him yet expressing himself so only for their sakes that were by Joh. 11.43 but afterwards speaking to him in the Mandatory stile and only in his own name bidding him come forth Now from this carriage of our Saviour we must either conclude him to have been One with his Father and so whatsoever honour came to himself must also by so doing come to his Father or else we must conclude him a careless ambitious sacrilegious Person one ready to rob God of his Honour to take all opportunities of assuming that to himself which belong'd to God for that 's plain he did because he permitted those on whom he wrought Miracles to offer the same adorations to him which belong'd to the most high God which never any Man tho' never so holy had admitted of before Here then we are reduced to a necessity either of saying with the blaspheming Jews that He had a devil and only by his power wrought all his miracles and that Almighty God either for want of power to hinder him or out of design to have Mankind deluded and abus'd to their own ruine permitted him to do so many wonderful works Or else that the blessed Jesus was really that holy meek just eternal Son of the eternal God that he assumed no more to himself than what really belong'd to him therefore that he had really power in himself and originated from himself to do whatsoever he pleased therefore that he was God the true the most high God That we may be the better assured that his Power was so innate and inherent we may observe that whereas his Apostles after his ascent did many miracles and those of an extraordinary nature so that Aprons and Handkerchiefs brought from the body of S. Paul and the very shadow of S. Peter carried a healing power with them yet there was nothing in all that equal to what hapned to our Saviour upon the Woman's cure of her bloody Issue who had but touched the hem of his garment The Apostles utterly disown'd the working any cures by any power of their own therein they acted modestly and piously but on the contrary our Saviour ascribes the miraculous cure done upon the woman only to Himself he takes notice of his garment and by it of himself being touch'd and that at such a time as a croud of people thronged him and he says not that his Father's power or the hand of God or any thing of that nature was gone out to cure her But says he Luk. 8.46 somebody hath touch'd Me for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me and it 's recorded of him before that the whole multitude sought to touch him Luk. 6.19 for there went virtue out of him and healed them all Now tho' we know well enough that nothing but his humane nature and the accidents attending that were the objects of common sense yet we know withal that meer flesh and blood tho' it be never so pure and innocent has no inherent power by a distant or a mediate touch to cure any distempers or to be sensible of such a cure wrought by any Passion in themselves The Kings and Queens of England have often cured that disease from thence sencelesly named the Kings Evil by a touch the effect is wonderful indeed but we never heard of those Kings or Queens pretending they were sensible of any virtue passing out from them for the cure of the Patient nor have any that have pretended to the sanative faculty yet dream'd of any such thing as a self-originated power in themselves to that purpose the King the Prophet the Physician touches but God only heals this inherent Power then in Christ was derived from that Union betwixt his divine and humane Nature that enabled him in every respect to bear our sins and to carry our infirmities so that from him as from an inexhaustible fountain all the health both of our bodies and souls is derived but such a fountain can nothing but God be therefore He is God We said the Health of Souls is derived from Him as from its fountain or original a meer Man may be an instrument in God's hand to help forward the salvation of a Soul his Prudence Learning Industry Charity may by God's assistance conduce in a great measure to that excellent end but Man of himself can do nothing in the case Our Saviour here makes that just Invitation to Mankind Matt â—1 28 as from himself Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest it 's not come to God or come to my Father but come to Me but it would be intolerable Presumption not to say Blasphemy to use such an invitation if coming to Christ were not an equivalent to coming to God and the Father He that sees me sees my Father says our Lord for I and my Father are one he that comes to me comes to my Father for my Father gives rest to Souls weary and heavy laden with sin and so do I My Father does so not by any adventitious or precarious but by his own inherent and essential Power and so do I. No Apostle no Prophet ever used such language only the Son of God and his blessed Father and the Holy Ghost can say as of himself Come to me I will give you rest And well may He pretend to give rest to the labouring Soul who can authoritatively from himself forgive sins a thing which our Saviour frequently does in the Gospel The mentioning of that action gives us a strange representation of the stubborn senceless obstinacy of the Jewish nation our Saviour when the Man sick of the Palsie was brought to him for cure says to him Matt. 9.2 Son be of good cheer thy sins are forgiven thee and to Mary Magdalen when at His feet Luk 7.48 thy Sins are forgiven thee We cannot doubt but this was spoken as for the good of the persons to whom they were applyed so for the good of those who stood by for these things were not spoken in a corner Now the Pharisees stumbled upon a question proper enough on the occasion v. 49. who is this that forgiveth sins also So the Scribes on
another occasion push the question home Mar. 2.7 Why doth this Man thus speak blasphemy Who can forgive sins but God only The question was rational enough and implyed a weighty Truth that none has any inherent authority to forgive sins but God only others may declare or pronounce it by a derivative authority only God can do it by his own but the reason of these Questionists left them presently They saw Christ holding a strict Communion with their Church as setled by the Mosaic Law They could not convince him of any sin against that Communion they heard him of himself and in his own name forgive sins this was a plain publick claim to a Divine Authority and they understood it so They saw him with the very same breath work a prodigious cure a cure not likely to be wrought by the influence of a Malignant Spirit it was of too benign and advantagious a nature to the Patient it must then be wrought by a Divine Power but the Divine Power would not concur with a gross sinner a notorious blasphemer therefore Christ of necessity must be no sinner if no sinner then an extraordinary Person for his miraculous actions would admit of no middle state then he could be no Impostor no Deceiver therefore Forgiving sins and asserting his Power by an undeniable miracle upon their own Principle he must be God the True God emphatically for who can forgive sins but God but the True God only For they respected only the True God when they asked the Question It 's a peculiar Attribute of the Supreme God to know the hearts of Men he assumes that Power as his own due in which none can be partakers with him the heart is deceitful above all things says he and desperately wicked who can know it Jer. 17.9.10 I the Lord search the heart I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings The same title our Lord takes to himself Rev. 2.23 All the Churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts and I will give unto every one according to his works it 's true this was in his glorified state but if Christ were a meer man before his Resurrection he was no more afterwards the giving him Honour and Power and Glory could not alter his Nature or make him any more than a Metaphorical God but a bare Metaphor applyed to a Man will not make him immediately commence a God or appropriate the most eminent of the divine Attributes to him But not to insist on that this particular faculty of knowing mens hearts he really had and sufficiently evidenced before his Ascension into Heaven so in one of the before-mentioned instances when Christ had said to the Man sick of the Palsie Thy sins be forgiven thee Mat. 8.24 the Scribes murmured or said in their hearts this Man blasphemes the Evangelist adds Jesus knowing their thoughts said Wherefore think you evil in your hearts Mat. 12.25 Again when Christ cast out the Devil out of one that was possest and the Pharisees hearing of it said he cast out devils by Beelzebub Prince of the devils We are told He knew their thoughts and presently gave them a reproof suitable to their folly The Disciples as they were following their Master fell into a dispute among themselves who should be greatest Their Master when in the house ask'd 'em of their dispute their inward guilt shut their mouths but he presently lets them know he was Mar. 9.33 34 35 36. without their information Master of their mighty secret and took an immediate occasion to teach them how to employ their time better than in such dangerous and impertinent disputes Our Lord was preaching in the Temple to a very captious Auditory they admire his boldness but never pitch upon his Office which he had then undertaken nay they argue among themselves the unlikelihood that he should be the Christ We know say they this Man whence he is but when Christ cometh no man knoweth whence he is Our Saviour as if he had been privy to all their discourse in the midst of his doctrine tells them aloud Ye both know me John 7.27 28. and ye know whence I am c. When the same blessed Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passeover on the Feast Day many believed in his Name when they saw the miracles which he did John 2.23 24 25. but the Evangelist tells us plainly Jesus did not commit himself to them because He knew all men and needed not that any should testifie of Man for he knew what was in man If he knew what was in Man it must be either perfectly or exactly or it must be imperfectly if imperfectly he might easily have been impos'd upon the Prophets of the antient Jewish Church were often so so Joshua and all Israel in the case of the Gibeonites So Samuel in his opinion of the fitness of David's brethren for the kingdom of Israel So the man of God by the old Prophet who dwelt at Bethel The Apostles afterwards tho' influenced frequently by the Spirit of God were lyable to Error Philip an Apostolical person in admitting Simon of Samaria to Christian Baptism S. Peter in making a difficulty of preaching the Gospel to one that was Uncircumcised in dissembling afterwards for fear of the Jews c. S. Paul in admitting false hearted Demas to the Pastoral Charge but this we find no instance of in our Saviour none were able to deceive him nay not so much as to fasten a temptation on him He chose indeed twelve Disciples and one of them a Devil Joh. 6.70 but he knew him to be such and declared him such tho' not by name long before he betrayed him So neither the treachery of his pretended friends nor of his professed enemies could take any place upon him If Christ's knowledge of those things was perfect it was as much as God's knowledge is No Being can do more than know the heart of man perfectly that heart which Man himself is so generally unacquainted with This is a Knowledge no way compatible with humane nature That since the fall being defective in a thousand particulars besides the necessity of Vbiquity attending a perfect universal knowledge of the thoughts of all which a Body can never be capable of If then the knowledge of Christ in reference to the Hearts of men was equal with God's if it were impossible for him to be deceived if it was no Sacrilege in him to ascribe to himself this peculiar Attribute of the most high God He then must be equal with God therefore he must be the True God If we reflect upon our Lord's behaviour after his Resurrection before his Ascent into Heaven if he be no more than a meer man it 's wholly unaccountable The Holy Ghost is by the Socinians denyed to be a Person or to be God yet it 's allowed by them to
That our Lord is called Immanuel by the Prophet as cited by S. Matthew or God with us that we might not think he was Man only but that we might know he was God too If then Christ was God as well as Man his Divine Nature being mentioned in contradistinction to his humane Nature Irenaeus cannot mean that He who was really a Man was only metaphorically God but that he was as really and essentially God as He was Man which is what we believe With Irenaeus agrees Clemens of Alexandria who thus teaches the Gentiles in his Admonition to them We are the rational Creatures of God the Word so he calls our Saviour after the Evangelist S. John Admon ad Gent. p. 5. l. D. by whom we pretend to Antiquity because God the Word was in the beginning but because the Word was from above He was and is the divine original of all things but since He has now taken upon him the name of Christ a name suitable to his power and which was sanctified of old I call him a new song This refers to his former Allegorical discourse wherein he endeavours to describe every thing under terms proper to Harmony or Musick This Word then this Christ who was at first in God was both the cause of our original existence and of our well-being But now this Word himself has made himself manifest to men who alone is both God and Man the cause of all our good by whom we being taught to live well are sent from hence to eternal life for according to that inspired Apostle of our Lord the Grace of God hath appear'd to all men teaching them that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live godly righteously and soberly in this present world looking for the glorious coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ This is the new song that manifestation of God the Word who was in the beginning and before all things and now shines brightly out to us He appear'd but lately who was our Saviour before He who is appear'd in him who is because the Word was with God and that Word by which all things were made makes his appearance as a Master that Word which as a Creator gave us life in our first formation appearing now as a Master or Teacher has taught us to live well that hereafter as God he may bestow upon us eternal life Thus far that very learned Father and his whole discourse does so plainly teach us the Pre-existence of our Saviour before his Conception in the Womb of the blessed Virgin and consequently his Divine Nature in his eternal being with the Father that the most ignorant person in the World may plainly understand what the Faith of this Writer was Thus afterwards speaking of John Baptist the forerunner of our Saviour he tells them John taught men to be prepared for the presence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God the Christ Afterwards speaking of that care our Saviour took to have the Gospel preached he adds The Lord did not effect so great work in so short a time without a sacred care He was despised in appearance but adored indeed being a Purifyer a Saviour and extremely kind The Divine Word being really most manifest God and put into an equal rank with the Lord of all things for as much as he was his Son and the Word was in God Ibid. p. 68. l. D. he was neither disbelieved when he was first preached nor was he unknown or unacknowledged when assuming the presence of a Man and being made flesh he managed the saving design of his assumed Humanity Again speaking to those who are blind with sin and folly under the person of Tiresias that blind Thebane Wizzard and inviting such to believe in Christ he speaks thus If thou wilt thou too shalt be initiated into these Mysteries and join in the Choir of blessed Angels about the unbegotten the never to be destroyed the only true God God the Word assisting in the same Hymn with us He is eternal the only Jesus or Saviour the great High-priest of God who is the Father p. 70. L D. he intercedes for Men and he perswades them to goodness I shall instance but in one passage more in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where having cited that of the Psalmist Who shall ascend into the Hill of the Lord or who shall stand in his holy place c. at large He thus descants upon it The Prophet says He in my opinion here briefly describes the true Gnostick or the man of true knowledge to us and by the bye David shews us that our Saviour is God for he calls him the face of the God of Jacob who brought us glad tidings and taught us of or concerning the Spirit therefore the Apostle calls the Son the Character of the glory of God Him who taught the truth concerning God and who represented to us that God and the Father was one only and Almighty whom none could know but the Son Stromat l. 7. p. 733. C. and He to whom the Son shall reveal him That God is but one appears by those who seek the face of the God of Jacob whom our God and our Saviour characterises as the only God and father of Good Here then we have the Father true and real God the Son true and real God and yet but one God and this is that Faith which we preach To Clemens I shall only add his Scholar Origen for the Greek Church a man of extraordinary eminence in his time who in his third Book against Celsus that great adversary of the Christian Religion reflecting upon the vanity of Heathen Gods and their incapacity to help those that depend on them he tells Celsus that upon this very reason because there is no help in false gods it 's a sure Rule among Christians that no man should trust in any being as God except only in Jesus Christ and a little after whereas Celsus objects against us so often that we believe Jesus consisting of a mortal body to be God and imagine our selves very pious in so thinking he answers Let those who accuse us know that He whom we know and believe to be God of old and to be the Son of God he is of himself the Word the Wisdom and the Truth and that even that mortal body and reasonable Soul which he assumed by its Communication and Unity and Mixture with the Word or with his divine nature arose to so great a height as to be God i.e. his humane and his divine nature make by a substantial or essential union one God and that I give no false interpretation to his words here will appear by what I shall allege afterwards It 's all along the humour of Celsus then when he speaks in the Person of a Jew and when he speaks in his own Name and Person to reproach the Christians with the irrationality of their Religion on that particular account that they owned Christ as
bodies and yet be Angels or Spirits still much more must it be believed that God could do the same Thus still he prosecutes his Argument and all his care was to prove not that Christ was God for that was granted on all hands but that he was Man which some denyed upon that very ground because he was God without controversie Again in his book of Prescriptions against Hereticks De Praescrip p. 36. He lays down somewhat like the form of a Creed and agreeable to our own Where first he says They believed one God the World's Creator who produced all things out of nothing by his Word that Word his Son was called by the name of God variously seen by the Patriarchs always heard in the Prophets at last brought by the power and Spirit of God the Father into the womb of the Virgin Mary He took flesh of Her and was born of Her and so became the Man Jesus Christ c. Here we have our Saviour's Existence antecedently to his birth of the blessed Virgin not only asserted but declared as the general Doctrine and Tradition of the Catholick Church and that less than two hundred years after our Saviour's Passion and made use of as a Prescription against an Heretick Now Marcion if he had not been well assured that Tertullian asserted no more than what was the current Doctrine of the Catholick Church might easily have baffled all Tertullian's pretence to Prescription by shewing him that all the Christians of the former Age were utterly ignorant of his pretended Articles of Faith but we never hear of any such Reply made Tho' we have no reason to doubt but that the Hereticks of those ages were as earnest to maintain their Errors as those are who tread in their footsteps in this After this in the same book Tertullian reflects upon other capital Hereticks So he tells us that Cerinthus maintained fol. 41. that Christ was only of the seed of Joseph a meer Man without any Divine Nature He tells us again that Theodotus of Byzantium blasphemed Christ for He too brought in a Doctrine quâ Christum Hominem tantummodo diceret Deum autem illum negaret Wherein he taught that Christ was a meer Man and that he was not God that He was indeed born of a Virgin thro' the Holy Ghost fol. 42. otherwise He was only a Man no better than others but as his Goodness gave him a greater authority than others If Tertullian then took Theodotus to be an Heretick on account of this Doctrine it can scarce be doubted but he 'd have taken Socinus and his Partners for the same had they liv'd in those days and I find our Socinians doing so much right to this Theodotus as fairly to reckon him among the Patrons of their opinions If we go farther with Tertullian we find him assaulting the same Heretick Marcion again and arguing God's extraordinary goodness from that great Humiliation of himself to take humane nature upon him He concludes his argument at last with this Totum denique Dei mei penes vos dedecus Adversus Mar. l. 2. f. 68. sacramentum est Humanae salutis c. All that which in your opinion is so disgraceful to the God I believe in is the Seal of our Salvation God converst with Man that Man might learn to do those things that are divine God acted suitably with Man that Man might endeavour to act agreeably to God God was found in a mean state that Man might be exalted to the utmost He that despises such a God can hardly be thought to believe in God crucified In another book against the same Marcion he argues from the antient apparitions of Angels that Christ tho' God had a true and real body We will not yield to thee says he that Angels had only a fantastick body but those bodies they assumed had a true solid humane substance this elsewhere he makes good it follows If it were not hard for Christ to exert the true sence and action of a Man in imaginary flesh it was much easier to make true and substantial flesh as he was the Author and maker of it to be the subject of true common sence and action Thy God was fain to appear in an imaginary body l. 3. fol. 72. because he was not able to produce a real one But my God who without pursuing the common course of nature could make real flesh of Earth could have invested Angels with real bodies of any kind whatsoever For with a word He made the world of nothing and shaped it into so many various bodies as we see Then he tells us Angels had flesh truly humane and connate with the time they appear'd in because Christ only himself was to be flesh of flesh that by his Birth he might purifie ours that by his Death he might free us from the slavery of Death he rising again in that flesh in which he was born only that he might die Therefore He appear'd in a true body accompanied with Angels to Abraham but not a body that was born because it was not that body which was to die In consequence of this discourse which proves our Saviour's Pre-existence to his Birth fol. 73. he urges his Adversary with that name of Immanuel or God with us from whence proving the reality of his divine he regularly infers the equal reality of his humane nature If we proceed we find the same Father publishing his Faith in the beginning of his book against Praxeas He was an Heretick so far yet from believing Christ to be a Creature or a meer Man that he asserted it was God the Father who was born of the Virgin and crucified and Dead and that He was Jesus Christ In opposition to him the Father declares As we are instructed by the Holy Ghost Adv. Prax. fol. 144. which leads us into all truth We believe one God and that the Word is the Son of that one God who was begotten of him by whom all things were made and without whom nothing was made that he was sent by the Father into the Virgin and born of Her Man and God the Son of Man and the Son of God and called Jesus Christ This was then his Faith and with him Christ had a being before he was born into the World and was what we assert the Creator of all things Thus afterwards he tells us in the same book the Father is God fol. 147. the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God and dilates upon and vindicates that truth He tells us that the Father is God Almighty and most high fol. 149. and that the Son justly claims the same titles and that the Father and the Son are one God and indeed c. 21.22 fol. 219 220. the farther proof of this is the general design of that book He confirms the same Doctrine in his Apology for Christianity against the Gentiles Besides these books he wrote one particularly concerning the
their eyes What mortal Creature could have seen or discover'd him if he had come down to earth in his own original Nature or such as he is in his Divinity Therefore he took upon him the form of a Man that he might be seen and look'd upon that he might speak and teach and perform all those things for which he was sent into the World And whereas He dyed as a Man p. 37. it 's true his Humane Body was fastned upon the Cross but his Divine Nature was incapable of suffering his Body only suffer'd and that for the Salvation of those very Wretches by whose cruelty he suffer'd The same Author reflecting upon the curiosity of the Heathens because they would not believe what they did not understand asks them a great many questions about the Originals or natural causes of several things in the World which puzled them in those and confound us their posterity in these days He wonders then that they should deride Christians because they cannot explain all the Mysteries of their Religion and own their inabilities in the case when They were so much to seek in those ordinary cases Our concerns are mysteries indeed Et ideo Christus licet nobis invitis Deus Deus inquam Christus hoc enim saepe dicendum est ut infidelium dissiliat dirumpatur auditus c. Therefore Christ who is God in spite of all your opposition that Christ I say who is God for that must be repeated often to scourge the ears of Infidels speaking by God's command in the form of a Man Adv. gent. l. 2. p. 85. knowing the blindness of humane understandings and the weakness of our apprehensions forbad us to be curious or inquisitive into matters so far removed only ordering us to direct our thoughts and souls to him who is the original of all these things What advice Arnobius gives his Pagans in pursuance of this discourse would be very proper for our Socinians among whom a modest opinion of their own Natural strength and an humble supposition of God's superior Wisdom would cure that Incredulity they are at present guilty of Arnobius soon after lays down this Truth That none can save Souls but an Almighty God nor is there any who can give them long life or perpetuity but only He who is himself immortal and perpetual and uncircumscribed by any boundaries of time Yet this work of saving souls he ascribes to the Son of God Adv. Gen. l. 2. p. 87. therefore according to his sentiments the Son of God is that immortal all powerful and unbounded God To all these evidences I shall only add one of Lactantius the Scholar of the forecited Arnobius who endeavouring to reconcile the worship which the Christians paid to the Father and the Son to those adorations which they acknowledg'd only to belong to one God writes thus Instit l. 4. c. 29. p. 445. Ed. Hack. Where we say the Father is God and the Son is God we do not say they are different Gods nor do we separate them one from another for neither can the Father be divided from the Son nor the Son from the Father for the Father in a relative sence cannot be named without the Son nor the Son be begotten without the Father Since then the Father makes the Son relatively and the Son the Father they have both one Mind one Spirit one substance only the Father is as an exuberant Spring the Son as a stream flowing from it the Father is as the Sun in the firmament the Son as the rays beaming from that Sun who because he is dear and faithful to his Father can no more be separated from him than the stream from the Spring or beams from the body of the Sun for the water of the fountain is in the stream and the light of the Sun in those rays which issue from it And this is plain and pertinent enough And thus have I gone thro' the Writings of those first Fathers who are of the greatest Name and Reputation for their learning and piety in the Churches of God I have examin'd on this account only such Men as lived before the Arrian controversie was on foot so that they cannot be suspected of partiality in the case and either we must believe these Men knew very well what was the General Belief of Christians in those earliest ages or they did not if they did not understand what the Catholick Faith really was we are all strangely in the dark and the Socinians are no more capable of giving an account of the Faith of the primo-primitive Church in contradiction to what we now assert than we are in agreeance to it nay there lye all the presumptions in the World against them in the point for all the Writers extant afterwards with an almost Vniversal consent are directly against them So that unless the true Christian Faith were entirely lost about the time of the great Nicene Council the Socinians must of necessity acknowledge that the Christian Church generally believ'd that Christ was true and real God Nor can they secure themselves even among the several Heretical Clans of those ages for though they own Artemon and Paulus Samosatenus and Photinus and Arrius and Aëtius c. for great and very Orthodox Men and the sole Pillars of truth in those times yet neither did Artemon agree with Paulus nor Paulus with Photinus nor Photinus with Arrius or he with Aëtius and the same Writers call our Socinians sometimes by the name of Samosatenians sometimes of Photinians sometimes of Arrians and Semi-Arrians yet really they agree exactly with none of them as might easily be prov'd by comparing their opinions together Now if Artemon and Paulus and Photinus and the rest were such very great Men in all respects and such careful preservers of the true Apostolical Faith in those things wherein they agree with the Socinian sentiments why should not we believe they used as exact a care and were as certainly in the right in those particulars wherein they differ'd from them for doubtless such Good Men would not admit of any Errors in any points of weighty and important concern Those Men certainly must presume very much upon their own infallibility who tho' they are at odds among themselves will admit of none to be in the right but such who and where they agree with them in the most singular and paradoxical opinions But if on the other side we admit that these Fathers I have quoted on this occasion had real opportunities of knowing the General Sentiments of the Christian Church in their days and that they really did know them the result of that acknowledgment will be this either they were honest and faithful deliverers of the same Catholick Faith down to us or they were not if they were not honest and faithful in delivering down the true Faith in their Writings then holy and zealous Martyrs and devout Confessors must have proved themselves a pack of impudent
Father had made the World it self and all other things by him and that by him He had made known to Men whatsoever he desired should be known by them Thus we have Socinus his own confirmation of what we had before produced as the sense of the Ante-Nicene Fathers After this he touches slightly upon some pieces written by those first Fathers which are of suspected credit but we have nothing to do with them having quoted nothing from any of them but what among Learned Men at present is of undoubted reputation As for the Fathers who writ after the Council of Nice he fairly owns that the Socinian's business is to oppose those Errors which they gave credit to by their Authority in the Church of God The Fathers then are on our side whether those of the eldest or those of an inferior date nor can we desire a greater advantage to our cause since we can neither find out any means by which these Hereticks should know God's Will and Meaning in his Word better than these Antient and Heroick Assertors of the Christian Religion We have no account of any new Visions or Revelations any of them have had Nor have we heard of any Miracles perform'd by them in confirmation of their Heterodoxies therefore when we believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God our Saviour is God equal with his Father we follow that truth which to our apprehension is very plain in Scripture which holy Saints and Martyrs have from the very beginning of Christianity embrac'd and which really is That Faith which was once delivered to the Saints as God willing will yet more plainly appear hereafter I observe here by the way what Socinus touches upon and what others of his Disciples allege farther that tho' the Fathers do thus make Jesus Christ to be God yet they always put a great difference between Him and his Father and insist particularly on his own Words in the case where He tells the Jews That his Father is greater than He that his Father orders commands directs and enables Him to do every thing c. It 's true they do sometimes speak suspitiously in this matter but what solves the Objection from such Texts of Scripture solves those Objections which may be drawn from such expressions in those antient Writers viz. That where they urge such things their meaning is only to assert that difference there is between Christ's Divine and his Humane Nature as He is Man we doubt not but he is inferior to his Father that he received power from Him and acted here upon earth in subordinacy to hi◠as He was God he was equal with his Father always united with him having the same Will Power Knowledge and Wisdom which his Father had by which means whereas meer flesh and blood would have had a strange reluctance against such sufferings as were necessarily prepar'd for him his Divinity in concurrence with that of his Father supported and enabled meer Humanity to effect and make good the work he had undertaken Thus we find the same Scriptures asserting of Christ Acts 2.32 that his Father raised him from the dead and that he rose from the dead of himself he asserting to himself only that power of laying down his life Joh. 10.18 and of taking it up again and both true as He was God as well as Man none could have taken his life from him without his own consent as He was Man as well as God none could have brought that flesh and blood to life again which was now a carcase by the reparation of the rational Soul without the concurrence of Almighty God but as such He and his Father were one They both Will'd and both Acted as they both were able to effect the same thing But besides this which answers those before-named seeming difficulties it 's enough to say that whereas the first Fathers of the Christian Church were irreconcileable enemies to Idolatry or to worshipping a Multiplicity of Gods which is the same thing whereas in all their Writings they took care to vindicate the Honour of the one true God in opposition to all false Gods when they assert Jesus Christ to be God they mean not that He is a false God for they prove themselves to be the only true Worshippers and they make it their boast that they worship Jesus Christ therefore they look'd upon him as true and real God and worship'd him only as such If then these Fathers did think Christ to be a God of an inferior or subordinate Nature or to be a Created God as the Socinians would have him be they directly contradicted their own Principles and brought in again that multiplicity or at least plurality of Gods they had before exploded As for the notion of a made or created God or a God à parte post as Socinus calls him it 's a dream so senceless and full of contradiction that it 's only to be wondered at that Men pretending to any sharpness of Reason should ever stumble upon so absurd a conceit For Scripture no where makes a distinction between God self-originated and God made by another and both true but it lays us down a plain difference between the true God the Creator and the Creature or any thing that is created by that true God and therefore tho' there be in Nature such things as Spiritual and Corporeal Beings yet the allowance of that difference makes or introduces no intermediate Beings between the Creator and the Creature every thing that is not God is made by God every thing that 's made by God is not God and so it must follow that if the Son be made by God he is not God but a Creature if the Son be in all particulars equal with God he is not made by God but is God himself Again The notion of a true and real God is infinity in every respect Heathens Jews Mahumetans Christians all agree in that if this be a true notion of a real God it must be such a notion as must sufficiently distinguish him from all other Beings infinite Attributes being wholly and only proper to and inseparable from Him If then these infinite attributes do agree to our Lord and Saviour He is and must therefore be the true God in contradistinction to all created Beings if they do not agree to him then He cannot be the true God therefore he must be a false God therefore he must be an Idol therefore he must be no God at all and this is the true and inevitable consequence of the Socinian notion of a made or a Created God For that the Supreme God should make another supreme as himself and yet at the same time continue supreme himself is nonsense and a contradiction that the Supreme God should make another God who yet is no God because the attributes belonging to a real God are not applicable to Him is a contradiction too therefore the Socinians and their Adherents must either declare in plain
Catechism asserts there 's no plain command in the whole Old Testament for our praying to God the Father tho' the position be notoriously false only this we 'l joyn with them in That we have no command to pray to Christ as he is a meer Creature but we are forbidden it in the first and second Commandments But we are bound to pray to him as He and his Father are One not by agreement of Will or by the Son 's entire submission to the Father but by agreement or Identity of Nature Otherwise the Will of all deceas'd Saints the Will of all holy Angels is wholly submissive to and the same with the Will of God therefore they might as lawfully be prayed to as our Saviour if a meer sameness of Will and not of Nature were enough to found Divine Worship as offered to any other Being but the Supreme God upon But when Socinus comes to speak of the necessity â—f Praying to Christ he runs off from the matter in hand to that of acknowledging hat Kingdom and Power and Government given to him by his Father which acknowâ—edgment as he concludes infers a necessiâ—y of Praying to Him But this is an Argument far fetch'd and very impertinent â—oth the foundation and superstructure is â—alse Christ in his Humane Nature is the head of the Church in his Humane Nature he has the Government of it in his hands in his Humane Nature all power in Heaven and in Earth is his own but none of these things are his meerly as he is Man or as he is a Creature but that Humane or Created Nature of Christ is made capable of those things of which in its own Nature it was absolutely incapable by its entire Union with and subsistenee in the Godhead Without owning this our Prayers to Christ as those offer'd by the Church of Rome to Saints or Angels are meer mock devotion For if Christ before his Ascension into Heaven had no Existence but in a Body in meer flesh and blood then after his Ascension he likewise had no existence but in the same Body if he existed in the same Body he could be partaker of no other qualifications but such as are incident to a Body for if his natural Body could be partaker of such qualifications as a natural body was not capable of it could be no longer the same body he was rais'd with but another and that no natural body If he still existed in Heaven in that same body he rose and ascended with and it was not changed to or for another no attributes wholly or essentially Divine could be truely or properly ascribed to him therefore Christ could not be Almighty which Infinite Power or Almightiness yet is absolutely necessary in him who has all Power given to him both in heaven and earth and who is able to do every thing that can tend to their good or to God's glory for them that ask him Christ in his Natural Body cannot know all things without which Universal Knowledge yet it 's impossible he should suit all grants to the necessities of Petitioners or be assistant to those who lie under a natural incapacity to address themselves to him otherwise than in their thoughts and inward wishes Christ in his Natural Body cannot be Omnipresent he cannot be in more places than one for natural bodies are and must be circumscribed by Time and Place otherwise they lose their natures and become God for only God can exist without those circumscriptions of Time and Place which Omnipresence yet is indispensably necessary to every one who can receive Petitions offered to him in several quarters of the World at once If now the Socinians will deny these things to be inconsistent with a Natural Body if they 'l assert that a Created body may be Almighty that it may know all things that it may be every where present they must introduce a new and yet unheard of Philosophick and Theologick Scheme and to little purpose If they 'l say these things are needless to our Saviour's natural body for that he may read all the wants of Petitioners in all parts of the World at one view in the Essential glory of his Father that 's the Roman plea and every whit as rational on behalf of their Saint and Angel-worship They can see all the wants of their humble supplicants in the glasse of the Trinity as they tell us They say too that God reveals to Saints and Angels to whom Papists make their Prayers all those things their Devotoes pray to them for If the Socinians joyn with them and say God so reveals every thing to Christ We answer them both that this is to set God upon a needless work and indeed to make the Supreme Being in effect inferior to his Servants and to his Son for those are the greatest Persons to whom the last Appeal is made those inferiour who are imployed in carrying or presenting Petitions to another if then the Supreme God make it his business to present the Supplications of Petitioners to his own Son he takes upon him that inferiour Office If he present them to his Son that his Son may grant and perform them it argues a natural Impotency in himself to answer such Petitioners and consequently a superiority in the Son whereby he 's able to grant and to do for his servants what God the Father could not If the Socinians will have us believe in respect of Omnipotence that Christ only represents our wants to his Father and that it 's his Fathers Power alone which answers and acts for us it will follow then that God has not given him all Power in Heaven and in Earth whosoever has that Power can do all things in and of himself if Christ cannot do all things in and of himself he has not that Power if He want that Power for what reason should we pray to him and not rather immediately to Almighty God especially since this Man Christ Jesus died for us that in his own blood he might open to us a new and a living way whereby we might have access with boldness to the throne of Grace If we may go directly thither what should we trouble our selves with applications to a subordinate Power as for the Mediatory Office of our Saviour so far as He 's concern'd in it according to Socinian Principles he 'l mediate continually for Us and all Believers in general terms whether we make any supplications to Him or not The result of all then is this ether Christ is not Almighty nor All-knowing nor Present every where and consequently cannot be the proper Object of our Adorations and Prayers and therefore all such Adorations offered to Him must be scandalous and Idolatrous or else our Lord must be present every where Know and be able to Do all and every thing and so their Catechism teaches us in the chapter before quoted for it says All Power is given him as before that his Power and Efficacy is great
enough to subject all things to himself by it Mat. 28.18 Phil. 3.21 Joh. 6.40 54. that by it he 's able to free us from death and to give us life and immortality 1 Cor 4.14 than which Power there can be none greater Again Christ is by his Father constituted our Saviour our Priest our King and our Head on purpose that he might manage the affair of our Salvation and help us at our need and lastly it 's plain say they he can understand our Prayers because He knows all things He searches the Hearts and reins He sees through the hidden things of darkness Joh. 16.30 Rev. 11.23 1 Cor 4.5 Joh. 14.13 In resutatione thesium Fra. Davidis p. 715. and he has told us that whatsoever we shall ask in his name he will do it for us whence it necessarily follows that he must know what it is we pray for thus far the Catechism to which Socinus agrees As for Omnipresence he denies the necessity of that since he may be present every where tho' not in his Person yet in his Power this they say but if they say true that He can do all things without exception that He knows all things without exception we are sure he must as God be Present in all places without exception for Power and Knowledge are different Attributes they cannot be one without another yet Power knows not every thing nor does Knowledge act every thing especially in a Man tho' in God all Attributes act all things because they are all one God If then all these Attributes belong to Christ he must be God not Made nor Created but Eternal for whosoever had not infinite Power Wisdom Presence from eternity cannot have them confer'd upon him in time such a One being a subject incapable and infinity not to be determined by time or place which both must be of a finite nature these things granted free all worship offered to Christ from being Idolatrous a charge which on the other hand if these things be denyed is absolutely inevitable He that shall seriously consider the many Incumbrances of Life and the greatness of that Duty towards God which is incumbent upon every Christian will easily find that it 's a full emyloyment for the life of any Man to give Almighty God those inward and outward Adorations which belong to him It 's with relation to these extreme and continual exigencies Humane Nature's lyable to that the Apostle requires of us that we should pray continually or without any ceasing or intermission 1 Thâ—ss 5 17. not that we are obliged continually to be in the very action of Prayer there are some particulars in the Calling of most Men which require for some time the whole Intention of the mind yet that earnest Intention of theirs is no more a Sin than all lawful industry can be accounted so but the meaning of that expression is that We should always keep our souls in such a frame and temper as to be able on every emergency to apply our selves to our Maker with that Calmness Humility and Sincerity which he requires in those who come to him as Petitioners Now this temper of Soul being required in us and the real business of our proper Callings requiring so much of diligence and attention our time would certainly be very ill employed if we should propose to our selves various Objects of Divine worship when through the frailty of our Natures we are necessarily defective in our Adorations paid to One If we suppose our Saviour to be God of one and the same substance with his Father we meet with no difficulties in this point but if he be no more than a meer Creature whensoever we present our supplications to him we deservedly incur the Prophets reproach Jer. 2.13 forsaking the fountain of living Water and hewing out to our selves broken Cisterns that can hold none for let us put a meer Creature into the greatest circumstances imaginable either he is Omnipotent or he is not if he is Omnipotent I know no advantage the Supreme God can have over him the Creature must be able to do all things the Creator can be no more If he be not Omnipotent then I may often Pray to him in vain and if I may do so at any time what security can I have that I shall not do so always especially since there 's no Rule given me in Scripture whereby I may certainly know what I may Pray for to a Creature or what I may not pray for to him Nay Scripture is so far from giving any such Rule as might seem to leave the matter in suspence that it directly forbids all adorations to any Creature as a Creature but a Creature being no more cannot be considered under any higher notion than of a Creature therefore he cannot be adored at all And besides If there were no such Prohibition to be heard of in Scripture yet the Worship of a Creature how excellent soever would be very silly and irrational since we are sure that God can hear us and effectually answer us in any thing we pray to Him for but we are not sure that any Creature can do any such thing for us Again God having given several Prohibitions in his Word against all Creature-Worship and for ought we can find having left no intimation there that ever He himself would find out such a Creature for whose sake he 'd give us a full and free dispensation against all such Prohibitions We have a great deal of reason to suspect that whatsoever Worship we may exhibite toward any Creature may so far provoke the Jealousie of the Creator as to render by that very means all those Services we may offer to him useless and unacceptable and so while we play the fools with the Dog in the Fable grasping at the shadow of extraordinary assistances from more than One We may lose the substance of Mercy from One who is able to bestow it in deed in a case of extremity It 's not unusual in the Prophets to find Israel as a just judgment for their former Idolatries when they found themselves press'd by any extraordinary calamity and therefore sought to the God of their Fathers for deliverance to be remanded to their false Gods and ordered to try what great kindnesses those sharers in their Devotions could do for them so God by Moses Deut. 32.37 38. Where are their Gods the rock in whom they trusted which did eat the fat of their sacrifices and drink the Wine of their drink-offerings let them rise up and help you and be your protectors So the Prophet Jer. 11.11 12. Behold I will bring evil upon them which they shall not be able to escape and tho' they shall cry unto me I will not hearken unto them then shall the Cities of Judah and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the Gods unto whom they offer Incense but they shall not save them at all in the time of their
Father when he has no more and the Union yet between the eternal Father and the eternal Son is of a closer and more levelling kind than any thing inferiour nature can afford Our New Author indeed challenges us Cum Scriptoribus de generatione animaelium haec comparentur Nos Dei virtutem in Virginis uterum aliquam substantiam creatam vel immisisse aut ibi creasse affirmamus ex quā juncto eo quod ex ipsius Virginis substantiâ accessit verus homo generatus fuit Aliàs enim homo ille Dei filius à conceptione nativitate propriè non fuisset Sic Smalcius de vero naturali Dei filio c. 3. Ruarus ab ipso uterque à veritate quantum distat if we believe this eternal Generation to prove it expresly contain'd in Scripture and then to prove this Eternal Generation the true Basis or Foundation of his glorious Title of the Only Begotten Son of God As if clear Consequences from plain Premises were not a demonstrative proof of any thing to Men who pretend to Reason and a capacity of discoursing Rationally which is indeed nothing but drawing Consequences plain or obscure from agreeable Premises Or for an instance as if when I find God call'd a Spirit and I know a Spirit is Invisible I might not conclude God tho' a Spirit to be invisible unless I found Invisibility it self distinctly and separated from the Notion of a Spirit attributed to him somewhere in Scripture Now if all these Proofs I have laid down before have proved that our Saviour had a Being before he was Conceived in the Womb of the Virgin which we think to be proved beyond contradiction and if our Adversaries will but allow that Dictate of Common sence that He who really is my Son is my Son as soon as he has a Being or if He be not my Son then He never can be my Son otherwise than by Adoption and so Christ can never be the only begotten Son of his Father because all those who Believe in and Obey God are his Sons by Adoption too if they 'l but allow this then Christ must have been the Son of his Father before such time as he was Conceived in the Virgins Womb because he had a Being before that Conception If Christ had a Being before his Conception it must have been as a Spirit but Spirits do not generate one another therefore he must have had a Being from the beginning of the World If then we fall in with the Arrians and say God created his Son the Word first out of nothing and then created all other things by Him we contradict Scripture which positively assures us that in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth and all that in them is and therefore rested the seventh day but God could not rest the Seventh Day nor do all he had to do in Six Days if he wrought more than Six Days but He must have worked before the beginning of the Six Days if he made the Word before he made any thing else and we have the Six Days Work summ'd up authentically by Moses but no account there of the Creation of the Word before the Creation of Matter If he were not Created before Matter then he could not Create all things as the Arrians pretend If therefore He had a Being it must have been from all eternity but he was not Created from eternity for whatsoever is Created must have a Beginning but he was begotten of his Father as the Scriptures assure us if therefore he were Begotten and not Made and Begotten before the beginnings of the World He could be Begotten of nothing but of the Substance of his Father there being no other Substance for him to be originated from and therefore must be eternal because the Substance of his Father is and cannot be otherwise than eternal This being true it would be meer folly not to fix his Sonship more peculiarly in this eternal Generation for He that is Begotten by a Father must be his Son and he that is Begotten from eternity must be a Son from eternity Therefore Christ who was Begotten of his Father from eternity must be the Son of his Father from eternity which was the thing to be demonstrated If yet a Socinian will stumble at the Vnion of the Humane with the Divine Nature as if it were an impossibility or against reason let Him resolve us fairly how the Vnion is made between a rational and immortal Soul of a Spiritual and an heavy and unactive Body of an Earthly Nature We are all convinced they are so joyned together but those subtle Springs whereby an Immaterial Soul actuates a Material Body are hitherto indiscernible by the sharpest Eye of impair'd Reason why then should we conclude it impossible for the Divine and Humane Nature to be united together unless it be united in a way more intelligible than our Souls and Bodies For tho' our Souls are of a Spiritual Nature they are infinitely inferiour to the Nature of Almighty God and being that Constitutive part of Humane Nature by which Man is a Rational Creature it might seem an easie task for us to find out how that Soul we reason by should be united to that Body we reason in But since we are so far to seek in this matter may we not reasonably conclude God has hidden this from our Eyes to moderate and humble our unruly Fancies to keep us from prying into things that are too high for us and to convince us that many things wherein we are more immediately concerned not being a whit the less True tho' we understand them not we ought to believe that some things may be True with respect to God of which yet we are able to give our selves no considerable account And so we may satisfie our selves that our Saviour spoke plain truth when he said I and my Father are One meaning thereby an Essential Vnity between his Father and Him because tho' he were at the time of his speaking so a true Man invested with real flesh and blood yet He was God before he was Man the Word of God before he was made flesh and dwelt among us and was God when He was Man his Divine Nature not being prejudiced by his assuming Flesh and Blood by that Divine Nature he was One essentially with his Father and his Humane assumed Nature being in his Divine Nature as a finite is contained in an infinite there could be but One Person at last 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ God-Man our Saviour and Redeemer I take the more notice of this particular which I had insisted on before because our new Assertor of Socinianism would perswade us that if we duely examin'd these Words of our Saviour on this occasion spoken to the Jews when they charged him with Blasphemy because in his former expressions He had made himself God tho' indeed he were but a Man we should quit all arguments drawn from thence the words are these
design'd to exempt us from all fear of Humane Authority or Justice but it 's à minore ad majus from the less to the greater If we should be afraid of humane Justice which can only inflict temporal Punishments much more should we fear that of Heaven which equally extends to body and soul to temporal and eternal Punishments so that when the fear of one comes in competition with the other we may chuse rather to undergo humane Severities than to cope with everlasting Burnings But if we look upon Justice in its own Nature it 's moral and good from Eternity and therefore the obligations laid upon us to follow Justice are indispensible Now as I formerly observ'd the excellence of Moral Virtues flows from their agreeableness to the nature of Almighty God who is the great and inexhausted source of every thing that 's good therefore whatsoever there is in Man that 's really commendable that Commendation flows from his endeavours to resemble God to be holy as He is holy and perfect as He is perfect and every such part of true Goodness is infinite in God so it 's good for a Man to be Wise and he may by endeavours acquire a considerable Talent in Wisdom but God is infinitely Wise so that without any assistance or forecast he knows and understands every thing at once with all those Circumstances attending on it It 's good for a man to cleanse and purifie himself as far as possible from all filthiness and pollution both of Flesh and Spirit to avoid the very garment spotted with the Flesh every appearance of evil endeavours of this Nature are always requir'd of all Men and those who are pure in heart have Blessedness ascertain'd to them but God is infinite in Purity nothing polluted can possibly approach him nor can the least thought of it be affixt upon him without denying him It 's good for a Man to be Tender Compassionate Loving no Duty 's more inculcated upon Men nothing more agreeable to the temper of the Gospel there will yet be some strugglings in corrupt Nature against it but God is Love it self Infinite and Essential yet as Wisdom in a Man consists in knowing some things rightly but in God consists in knowing all things as Purity in Man consists in honest Endeavours after Innocence and Blamelesness in every respect but in God exalts him infinitely above every thing that is corrupt or imperfect as Love in Man shews it self in doing Good as we have opportunity within the narrow Sphere of our Activity but in God is diffusive to all his Creatures so if it be Justice universal in Man to make good as far as he 's capable every thing that 's due to others universal Justice in God must be of the same nature only infinitely perfect in him because it 's impossible he should be deceiv'd or mistaken in any particular and therefore consequently if it be Justice in any Man according to that Power he 's entrusted with to punish those who do ill and to reward those who do well and if no Man can be counted universally Just howsoever he may manage himself in all other Instances if he be defective in this It 's then as certainly Justice in Almighty God to bestow Rewards and Punishments upon all Persons according to their Actions and therefore the Apostle sets off the consummate Justice of the great Tribunal at last by this that when we appear before it 2 Cor. 5.10 we shall all receive according to what we have done in the Flesh whether it be good or evil and therefore if it should be suppos'd that God should fail in this particular Distribution we must upon this supposition conclude God cannot be infinitely Just and if he fail of Infinity in any one proper Attribute he can really be infinite in none so not infinitely Wise or Merciful or Holy if withal he be not infinitely Just But if we allow that God is indeed infinitely Just then though we allow him to be infinitely Good and Merciful yet his Justice must as certainly be satisfied in the punishment of Criminals who are obstinate in their Crimes as his Mercy in pardoning Criminals who are truly sensible of that Guilt they lye under Now among the Sons of Men there are none who are not great Sinners therefore they are all properly the objects of God's Justice and infinite Justice can never be at rest till those who are Sinners are punish'd therefore that must be true that that Mercy is as infinite which pardons one Criminal who has deserved punishment as that Justice is which condignly punishes all Delinquents and this stands good let the Pardon be granted on what considerations soever for for Justice to punish the guilty is but natural but for Mercy to pardon them seems not so naturally necessary since Mercy shews it self infinite in giving all things their Being in providing every thing necessary for them in giving them Rules and Laws of all kinds to act by and all possible Encouragements for them to manage themselves by those Rules and all this when there was no Merit on the side of the Creature to oblige him to it and that God being infinitely happy in himself had no need either of their Existence or their Services therefore the very Being of all things is only the effect of his eternal Will as the four and twenty Elders acknowledge in their Eucharistic Hymns to God Thou art worthy say they Rev. 4.11 to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were Created Now after all this Mercy shown and this Mercy abus'd and despis'd Justice might very properly take place in punishing the Despisers nor indeed could Mercy however infinite have taken place to the prejudice of Justice or the Obstruction of its free passage had there not been a proper Mean found out for the Satisfaction of Justice otherwise than by immediate or extream Punishment that is by the Interposition of our Saviour in and by whom Mercy and Pardon make their free approaches to undeserving Sinners He that shall go about to make one Attribute in God inferiour to another goes about to ruine the right Notion of a God for in an infinite Being nothing can be but what 's infinite and among Infinites there can be no inequality but they go about to degrade Divine Justice exceedingly who make all the effects of God's punishing Justice only Arbitrary and not natural or necessary and therefore determine that he punishes those who are eternally damn'd only because it 's his pleasure to do so whereas he could forgive them all freely were they never so guilty and those who are at all Forgiven he really does forgive so without any regard to any Merits of their Own or to the Merits of any Other on their account and all these things the Socinians assert merely that they may take away all the Merit of our Saviour's Life or Death and make
the bringing the Son of God to Death who had so terribly over-aw'd and baffled him before were the utmost reach of Hell's impetuous Malice yet that very Death of his gave the infernal Tyrant that fatal Blow which he strove by that very Prosecution to put off that mighty Wound which Hell with all its Stratagems and Strugglings can never recover and this great Event the vanishing of that thick Darkness at that very Instant of his Expiration which before when Nature's Lord was in his Agonies cover'd the Face of the whole Earth the terrible Convulsions of the Earth the Dissolution of mighty Rocks the Rending of the Temples Vail and long buried Saints starting from their Graves as if at that very Instant of their Saviour's Death all the Chains of that King of Terrors had been broke at once with that great Event all these mighty Wonders seem'd to sympathize Now if with these greater and more inexpressible Sufferings we consider all the rest which our Saviour's Life was obnoxious to from his Cradle to his Tomb and withal reflect with due reverence upon the dignity of the Sufferer the distance may not seem so immoderately great as the Socinians would have us believe between the Satisfaction given and the Necessities of those it was given for But further we are to consider that the Eternity of that Death Adam's Sin had laid him open to did not proceed from the nature of the Sin it self for no Crime infinite in its own Nature can proceed from a finite Being but the Eternity of that Penalty annex'd to Sin in Man arises from the absolute Infinity of that God against whom he sinn'd and whose Anger when irreversible must be eternal from a respect to that infinite Goodness and Justice essential to him whereby he had conferred such mighty Benefits upon Man and laid so very reasonable Duties upon him which yet Man had ingratefully slighted and abused Now if the greatness of the Penalty arise from the greatness or immensity of the Being offended then the Greatness and Value of the Satisfaction tender'd in lieu of that Penalty arises from the same Consideration viz. the greatness of that God it 's offer'd to and accepted by and as we believe God to be infinitely Wise and therefore not to be impos'd upon so as with Glaucus in the Poet to exchange 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things of the greatest consideration for Trifles Gold for Brass so we reasonably conclude That God understands the true Value of that Satisfaction offer'd to Justice in the Sufferings of his Son we are assured that he has accepted of what his Son has done on our behalf therefore we are assured too that what he has so acted for us was and is equivalent to those Punishments we ought as Sinners to have undergone for the Satisfaction of eternal Justice Our Adversaries indeed would persuade us That if we insist so much on the Dignity of the Person suffering we must suppose that Christ suffer'd for our Sins as he was God or in his divine Nature which Supposition would be blasphemous and the Conclusion impossible but by their leave we neither mean nor pretend to any such thing We know and assert that Immortality cannot die and that the Deity cannot suffer yet we believe that He who was and is true God did both suffer and die but we know He that was God took upon him the Nature of Man and therefore though he could not nor did die as God yet that Humane Nature which he assum'd both could and did suffer and die and by that Suffering and Death among other Proofs evidenc'd the Reality of his being Man as well as he demonstrated his Divinity by his continual Words and Actions But now let us consider God condescending to take upon him our Nature that very Condescension alone is of infinite weight we look upon it as a very meritorious piece of Humility for a Soveraign Prince to take upon him the Habit of a Beggar only to procure good for some miserable undeserving Wretches the Athenians therefore long celebrated the glorious Memory of their last Monarch Codrus who put on the ignoble Arms of a private Centinel meerly that he might die by the hands of those Enemies who had been forewarn'd by an Oracle not to kill him by which private Habit assum'd he procur'd the safety of his Country but we never admire much the Humility or Condescension of that Beggar who wears Rags because he has no richer Habits to put on Now had the Son of God taken upon him a Royal Grandeur had he been wrapt in purple ador'd by all Mankind in his Cradle worn the Imperial Crown even in his Infancy or had he taken any other Methods we could fancy to our selves which might have render'd him considerable to the World yet this had been an infinitely greater Humiliation than for a Cyrus or an Alexander or a Trajan or a Constantine or a Tamerlane to have taken upon him the Person of the most contemptible Wretch in the World and for the noblest End It cannot well be questioned whether it was possible for God to take into his Own an Humane Nature or not Humanity it self being the product of his own Eternal Power was as all other parts of the Creation wholly at his command and though God's assuming a Body might be suppos'd enough of it self to render that Body immortal yet we may reasonably be assured that he could make it according to his own good Pleasure liable to Death as well as other Humane Bodies were but the Union between the Divine and Humane Nature being so close and absolute the Humane Nature howsoever submitted to Mortality must contract an infinite Honour and Dignity from thence but after all the Condescension is not a whit the less that he who is God should assume that mortal Nature nor is his Love less admirable who should assume it for our sake or who should stoop so low purely to make up that breach that was between his Father and Mankind but if to this Condescension we add a due consideration of those many Calamities or extreme Sufferings this Humane Nature was all along obnoxious to if we consider the Son of God as he was Man always in a state of Persecution and that carried on by various Degrees to the utmost Extremity and then recollect again that Honour it had contracted from that close and inseparable Union there was between the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ such Sufferings in such a Person must be acknowledg'd infinitely meritorious and consequently capable of atoning or satisfying for infinite Guilt though such Sufferings were not Eternal as those of sinful Men are or ought to have been for it 's not necessary that the Satisfaction given for Humane Sins should be of the same kind as if Divine Anger could have been averted by no Method but that of the Lex talionis or like for like but that the Redemption-Price paid for the guilty Prisoner should be of
equal value to those Injuries done by that Prisoner to him to whom that Redemption-Price is paid down as if I take up Goods or Silver Coin of any one for which I my self am wholly insolvent and another undertakes for me to discharge the Debt the Creditor will scarce take it ill if he paid to the full in Gold or Jewels for that Silver or those Goods he had given credit for though the Debt be not paid in kind Cat. Rac. §. 6. c. 8. p. 146. But say They it 's ordinary to say That one Dâ—â—p of Christ's Blood was enough to wash away the Sins of the whole World therefore God must be very unjust to exact so extraordinary Sufferings at the hand of his Son that he should shed so much of his Blood and die at last and so pay a Price for Man's Sin so much greater than necessary We might easily answer this Cavil by saying that an Argument drawn against an Article of Faith meerly from an Hyperbolical Expression is altogether invalid nor is the Christian Church in general bound to answer for every passionate Expression which one of her Sons may use But we may consider further that whereas the reason of the Bloody Sacrifices offer'd by Men in former Ages was to signifie to the World that an Expiation was to be made for the World's Sins and to keep up their hopes and expectations of it and whereas we are assured in God's Word that without Blood there is no Remission though the shedding one Drop of the Blood of the intended Sacrifice be as real Blood-shedding as the drawing out of all is and though one Drop of that Blood of the Sacrifice had as much Virtue and Efficacy in it as the whole Mass could be thought to have yet that was not all that was aim'd at for the Blood of the Sacrifice was so to be shed as that Death might naturally follow on that Action which was not likely to follow on the shedding one or only a few Drops and without this Death the Beast was not fit for Sacrifice so much Blood being required as was necessary to sprinkle on several things in agreeance with which the Blood of Christ too is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 12.24 the Blood of sprinkling The Blood then shed of old represented somewhat Expiatory but not as it was the Blood of an Animal but as it was the Blood of such a Creature sacrificed on the Altar to that God who was to be atoned so though the Blood of our Saviour in every Drop of it as shed for us was of an infinite Worth yet the Worth of that Blood with respect to us depended on his being Sacrificed or made an Offering for Sin which he could not have been had not his Life been taken away by the pouring out of his Blood before for as we easily apprehend that the fairest Beast design'd for Sacrifice by Men if yet it dy'd alone or accidentally was no Sacrifice but that to make it such it was necessary the Priests should make it bleed to Death So had our Saviour's Humane Nature submitted only to the common Rules of Mortality or fallen by a natural Death he had been no Offering no Sacrifice to God but he really was a Sacrifice and is own'd as such in Scripture therefore his Blood too was to be shed and that so far as to put an end to his Humane Life or the Union between his Rational Soul and his Mortal Body so that the extraordinary Sufferings of our Saviour take not away from the Worth of his Blood in it self but his Blood could have had no effect upon us for the washing away of our Sins had it not been the Blood of our Sacrifice our Propitiation as well as it was the Blood of the Son of God and therefore we own with all Humility and Thankfulness the Goodness of our Lord in offering up himself a Sacrifice for Sin on our account by permitting those Powers to kill him which he could have destroy'd with one revenging Word Nor can we less acknowledge the Goodness of his and our Father who was pleased to accept of that Propitiation for our Sins his Son's Satisfaction for our Debts which he was no way oblig'd to but by the Concurrence of the Divine Love and Goodness of the Father and the Son from all Eternity But from this Doctrine of Christ's making Satisfaction to his Father for our Sins they draw a very unhappy Consequence for they tell us Quod Hominibus fenestram ad peccandi licentiam aperiat aut certè ad socordiam in pietate colenda invitet c. That it gives Men an open Liberty to sin or at least gives them great encouragement to Slothfulness in the Duties of Religion for if Christ has satisfied for all our Sins then we are free from all obligation to any punishment for Sin and therefore there can be no Conditions reasonably propounded to us by virtue of which we should be free from those Punishments or it 's unreasonable that God should still make Practical Holiness a Condition of our Salvation when Christ by his Death has fully satisfied his Fathers Wrath with respect to all our Sins past present and to come This Charge would be very heavy if it were true but would they consider those very Texts they endeavour to confirm this Objection by they would easily see how they confound themselves and slander that Holy Doctrine The Apostle tells us of Jesus Christ Tit. 2.14 That he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works All this we stedfastly believe 2 Cor. 5.15 And that Christ died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our Sins Gal. 1.4 that he might deliver us from this present evil World Eph. 5.27 That he might present his Church to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish We believe Heb. 9.14 that our Lord offer'd himself without spot to God that he might purge our Consciences from dead works to serve the living God 1 Pet. 1.18 19. and that we are redeemed from our vain conversation not with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot and from all these things we conclude That our Saviour's Sufferings for us were originally design'd to free us both from the Punishment and Guilt of Sin and therefore as we look up to our Saviour as our Priest and our Sacrifice so we acknowledge him to be our Prophet and our King our Instructer and our Governour that he has been our Instructer in all Ages by his Messengers Prophetical and Apostolical and those to this day lawfully entrusted with the
when he girt up his Loins and ran before Ahab to the entring in of Jesreel Numb 14.10 and as a poor persecuted Man when he was forced to fly for his Life from the fury of Jezebel the Prophets generally died Martyrs for those Truths they published and the Apostles tho'mighty in those signs and wonders which they did in the World's View yet several of them died by ways as cruel and tormenting as our Saviour himself from whence it will follow that Moses and Elijah that the Prophets and Apostles were as great Examples of Humility and Condescension as our Saviour himself and therefore St. Paul when he set Christ as an example of Humility before the Philippians did it only at randome and might as well have named himself or any of his Fellow-Apostles on the same account and doubtless this Doctrine tends very much to the Advancement of Christian Piety But now if we quit Socinian Reason and consider the Truth of things if we look upon our Saviour as pre-existent to his appearing in the World as being God of God and Light of Light and that from Eternity and consider him as condescending to assume our Nature as appearing without those Terrors of Divinity and clothed with all the Sweetnesses of innocent Humanity if we respect him who had all things originally at command and did yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 become poor for our sakes where we cannot but take notice of our new Author's pitiful Criticism who tells us that Word signifies not to become poor but to be poor yet Suidas tells us that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Suidas in Verbo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that falls into want from having been sufficiently provided for which we think is becoming Poor from being Rich and not being originally Poor and so whereas Poverty in the Poet Aristophanes tells us Aristoph in Plut. p. 58. I.B.E. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Life of a Beggar is to be without any thing of his own but what he receives from the Charity of others which was really our Saviour's Case Gerard a better Critic than our Authour defines according to ancient Etymologists Car. Ger. in locum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Beggar as one falling or descending from Riches to Penury from Sufficiency to extream Want so far as to have nothing but what 's given by others thus our Saviour became Poor nay a Beggar others administring to his Maintenance of their Substance and he descended from that celestial Glory with which he was robed from Eternity to assume Humane Nature and in that Nature to be so poor and despised on that account as the Evangelists represent him and we know as well as he can tell us that God as God cannot be poor but we are as sure that that real Flesh and Blood assumed by our Saviour was liable to the same inconveniences with the rest that were Partakers of the same Nature among which one was Poverty very incident to those who are born to no worldly Estates But how Men come to be Rich and Glorious by having the power of doing Miracles conferr'd upon them we cannot easily discover our Saviour's Miracles brought him in no Treasures and his Apostles notwithstanding that Power of doing the like conferred on them by Heaven were in a very low Condition in the World and Paul among his numerous Converts was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a poor Man fain to get his Living by the Labours of his own hands Now certainly the Jews were as much obliged to observe our Saviour's Humility as others and they saw him low enough but they who very well knew the Meanness of his Birth that could ask the Question Is not this the Carpenter's Son could not make any extraordinary Remark upon that but could they have believ'd him the Son of God which those converted among them afterwards did by which they understood his being equal with God they would have been very ready to admire his Humiliation as his Disciples did when owning him their Master they saw him stooping to wash their Feet so that our Saviour was no way visibly Rich or Glorious in the World unless they 'll say he was so because contented which every Wise and Good Man is and they who saw neither any Riches nor Glory that he had upon Earth could not have been easily drawn to set him as a pattern of Humility before themselves because they saw him in the form of a Servant if he were a meer Man when he was once more than a Servant when all power was given to him both in Heaven and Earth he appear'd as a Master on every occasion and quickly withdrew himself from the sight of Men and the humility or condescension of one that has nothing is neither admirable nor exemplary If we could dwell longer on this Subject I make no doubt but it would appear that above all other Doctrines Socinianism should never be embraced as tending to the advancement of true Piety and since we have had so many holy Martyrs living and dying in the belief of Christ's Satisfaction for our Sins we may conclude that Doctrine of Christ's Satisfaction is neither so pernicious nor destructive of Holiness as those Hereticks would persuade us and therefore we may the better assert this Doctrine and make good our Foundation of it i. e. the notion of infinite Justice in God which does necessarily infer that every Sinner ought to be punished But they tell us Cat. Rac §. 6. c. 8 p. 147. That we make God's Mercy such as cannot but forgive all Sin and his Justice such as cannot but punish all Sin and so we set God's Attributes at irreconcileable odds one with another but I do not remember infinite Mercy defin'd by any of Ours by that particular Character of necessarily forgiving every Sin We believe indeed that the Sins of those who are pardon'd could not be pardon'd were there not infinite Mercy in God but we generally believe that infinite Mercy exerted it self when Christ came into the World to redeem Sinners and that indefinite Expression of our Saviour that God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life teaches us as much Now if Faith be so necessary a Condition that without it the Sins of none can be pardon'd then infinite Mercy cannot imply a necessity of pardoning every Sin and if that Condition of believing be requisite I know not why another Condition such as a Christ offering up himself a Sacrifice to atone his Father's displeasure for Mens sins should not be so too As for infinite Justice we believe it necessarily infers a Punishment for every Transgression and therefore we believe that had not our Saviour undergone that Punishment for our sins which was due to us every Sin of ours must have been inevitably punish'd and therefore whereas we conclude agreeably to Scripture that the greatest part of
to have carried Mens sins or to have born them in his own Body at the place of Execution and it would be absurd and ridiculous to apply any such passages to him and yet as they say the Sins of Men were the cause of the death of those Victims offered to Almighty God by the Sinners and in the same manner were the cause of our Saviour's Death so the same Sins may truly be said to have been the cause of the death of St. Stephen and every Martyr yet the former Expressions being inapplicable to them and they contributing nothing to the Remission of Mens sins Christ onely being that Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World those Scriptural Expressions concerning the Death of Christ must signifie a great deal more than bare Dying upon Common Reasons can amount to But to answer this they tell us that whereas God proclaims himself Exod. 34.7 a God keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving Iniquities Transgressions and Sins according to the Hebrew Original it ought to be bearing or carrying Iniquities c. which is the same attributed here unto Christ and yet we cannot say that God as there named has satisfied for any sins therefore neither can Christ have satisfied for sins notwithstanding any such passages concerning him but this the Ancients easily answered by asserting our Jesus the Son of God to have been that very Being so often and emphatically called God who all along convers'd with the Israelites during their wandrings in the Wilderness as I formerly shewed and that Testimony given to their Opinion by St. Paul when dehorting the Corinthians from several Sins by the example of those Israelites 1 Cor. 10.9 he inserts Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted i. e. the same Christ and were destroyed of Serpents where Moses tells us they tempted God when they fell under that Judgment therefore that God was Christ therefore he really did converse with Israel in those days otherwise he could not have been tempted that Testimony for any thing I have yet seen may pass for unanswerable But with all respect to their Critical Skill we must assert they are mistaken the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the cited Text not signifying to carry in its primary acceptation but levare to ease or to take away Marin Brinxia in verbo and so Marinus in his Arca Noe translates this very Text by levare or tollere and so God when he pardons or forgives sins is rightly said to ease Men of that burthen they bear or to take them away and consequently our translating the word by forgiving is true and agreeable to the general sense of Interpreters hence the Authors of the Septuagint Translation as good Criticks as our Socinians render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taking away not carrying Sins and they could scarce be suspected of being Athanasians no more could the Chaldee Paraphrast who interprets it by those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leaving or remitting Iniquity the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never signifying Carriage or any thing of that Nature but only leaving or remitting with what else may be genuinely deduced from that Interpretation Vid. Castel Lex Hept in verbo so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Syriack Version signifies leaving remitting pardoning sparing but no where signifies supporting or carrying the Samaritans use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word signifying easing and pardoning too the Arabic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taking or driving as a flying Enemy is driven away by a pursuing Army So that for them because in a foreign sense the Hebrew word sometimes signifies to carry to interpret it so in this place contrary to the sense of all the World beside themselves is absurd and only shews what mean Shifts they are put to to find some Parallels to their abusive Constructions of Plain Scripture As for the Evangelists application of that Text Isa 53 4. He hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows to our Saviour Matth. 8.17 upon healing all the sick that were brought to him he only applies that to a particular there which really is of a general Import therefore what he applies to the removal of bodily Diseases St. Peter applies to Sins the Diseases of the Soul our Saviour visibly and openly removing the former as a sign of his removing the latter but not doing both in the same manner he cured bodily Distempers by a Word a Touch an Application of outward though seemingly unpromising Means but removing the Distempers of the Soul only by his Death and so by his blood cleansing us from all Sin satisfying his Father for all our Sins by his shedding of it purging our Souls from all the Filthiness and Corruption of Sins by the Application of it and by Faith in it and that Blood-shedding of our Saviour as tending to his Death prov'd it's infinite Price and Value so often taken notice of in Scripture by being equivalent to those Punishments Divine Justice might and must have laid upon Transgressours the Socinians indeed say He takes away our sins i. e. He makes a shew as if he died and bore the Punishment due to our Sins eorum quasi poenam in se recepit so putting a sham upon the World pretending or seeming to do what he never did from which if the World were convinced of the Truth of what they assert it would be very hard to persuade them that he did by such seeming Means eos à vera eorum poena exsolvere discharge Mankind really from those certain Punishments attending upon Sin so for that further put off That our Saviour may justly be said to procure Salvation for us by his Death because by that Obedience show'd to his Father in dying at his Command he had all Power conferred upon him both in heaven and earth and so had power to forgive our Sins and to confer eternal Life upon us It 's against Reason to believe it for all Power in Heaven and in Earth is infinite Power infinite Power must have an infinite Subject to reside in Christ being meer Man can be no such infinite Subject therefore no such Power can be confer'd on him on account of his Obedience for he cannot receive an impossible Reward but that infinite Power being essential to him as an infinite and eternal Spirit his Humane Nature as united to that is made Partaker of that infinite Power and consequently Christ God and Man can indeed bestow on us those mighty Blessings To fix in our Minds the Notion of Christ's Satisfaction for our sins the more we are told by the Apostle as I formerly cited him That we are justified freely by his Grace Rom. 3.24 25 26. through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of sins to declare at this time his
Righteousness that he might be just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus the last Verse teaches us that Care taken to vindicate Divine Justice in the World's Eye by the Death of Christ which could scarce have been done had not Christ laid down his Life for us and in our room so satisfying the Justice of his Father and so the Justice of accepting as righteous every Believer in Christ is apparent too for if he have paid an entire Satisfaction a full Redemption-Price to his Father for our Sins on that Condition that those who believe on him should be Partakers of the Advantages flowing from thence God then could not be just should he refuse to justifie such Believers so that God's Justice is as deeply concerned in the Pardon of Believers as in the Punishment of Infidels Again St. Paul tells the Elders at Miletum Acts 20.28 that God had made them Overseers of that Church which he had redeemed with his own most precious Blood Now whereas God is said to have redeem'd his People Israel from their Aegyptian Bondage that Redemption being really effected by Jesus Christ who was that great and powerful Agent in that mighty Work what was done for Israel then was but the pre-signification of what he intended in due time for all Mankind so that he is called their Redeemer especially with respect to that future Design though the rescue of them from the Power of their Enemies be a Metaphorical Redemption and applicable in such a figurative sense to all those who even by an unjust Violence set open the Prison-doors and make a way for the escape of the most notorious Criminals Again Acts 7.35 it 's true Moses is stiled a Redeemer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and a Leader to Israel God making use of him as his Instrument to execute Vengeance upon rebellious Aegypt and to lead out Israel from thence with a mighty Hand and a stretched out Arm but we no where find that the Israelites were redeem'd by the Blood of Moses from their Slavery We find not that the Sins of the Israelites were forgiven on account of that deliverance God indeed sometimes heard the Intercessions of Moses for those ingrateful Wanderers and for his own Name 's sake was pleased to pass by their Offences and to glorifie his own Name in that constant protection he afforded them among their observing Enemies but the deliverance it self was no cause of God's remitting the Punishment due to their Trespasses nay their Ingratitude for that Mercy was a frequent reason of their Sufferings and amongst the rest of the total Destruction of that Generation of People who came out of Aegypt it 's further observable that that God who convers'd with Israel in their passage to Canaan calls them his Son his First-born and threatens Pharaoh that if he would not let them go He would destroy his Son his First-born Exod. 4.22 besides He required the Sanctification of the First-born of all Israel to himself which requiry of his obey'd together with the exact execution of his former Menace was a kind of Redemption-Price accepted by God on account of which he gave them deliverance from their Enemies Nor was the Blood of the Paschal Lamb insignificant in the case that Blood prefiguring the Blood of the Lamb of God which did really atone for the Sins of the World Upon the whole howsoever we may allow others besides our Saviour to be called Redeemers yet so long as there is no Parallelism between the Circumstances of those Redemptions they have wrought and the Circumstances of Christ's we must of necessity conclude that Scripture means a great deal more by naming Christ a Redeemer than by giving Moses or any other eminent Person the same Character that Name is figurative as applied to all others it is proper as applied to Christ we may illustrate the Case by such an Instance as this A Soveraign Prince blest with One onely and infinitely beloved Son having in his power a Capital Offender against his Laws in concert with that Son determines that such Punishment as is proportionable to his Crimes ought to be inflicted on him yet pitying the Weakness and deplorable Condition of the Criminal and designing to make his Clemency towards the Offender evident He in concert with his own Son orders it to be proclaim'd every where that if any Person not obnoxious to the same Punishment by reason of personal Guilt loves the Condemn'd so well as to offer himself freely to undergo proportionable Penalties to what the Law would have inflicted upon him the Criminal acknowledging the Kindness offer'd and his mighty engagements to his Deliverer shall be free this Condition once propos'd the Prince's Son lays hold on the Opportunity to express his Love to the Offender offers himself to die for him and since the Law requires it and must be satisfi'd really does so the Prince according to his Proclamation accepts of his Son 's vicarious Punishment the Law and Justice have their Course and the grateful Criminal obtains his Freedom thus are Believing Sinners redeemed from that Punishment they are obnoxious to with respect to infinite Justice The Socinians tell us indeed That Christ's Obedience to his Father even to Death was no more than was due on his own account and that though it was perfect and blameless yet he received Rewards for it infinitely beyond what he could merit by such Obedience This is to put our Saviour into the State and Condition of the common World for all those Glories promis'd to repenting Sinners are infinitely greater than they by any personal merit can pretend to but it seems very unreasonable that he should take upon him as a Mediator between God and man or that his Name should be so powerfully influential for the advantage of others who had just cause to be wholly employ'd in expressions of Gratitude for his Father's Kindness to himself or to be wholly ecstasi'd with Admirations of that unbounded Goodness which had confer'd such mighty Blessings on him beyond his deserts this we rationally suppose will be the Employ of beatified Souls and ought to be Christ's too upon the Socinian Hypothesis we own Christ's Obedience as he was Man to his Father's Will to have been most perfect and absolute his Original Divine Nature never knew any thing of dissent with his Eternal Father therefore that Humane Nature he assum'd could not be liable to Disobedience 2 Cor. 5.21 It 's observed of him that He knew no sin he neither had nor could have so much as a deprav'd Inclination he had no strugglings within himself between the Law of his Members and the Law of his Mind which yet he could not have been without had he been a meer Man a Partaker of Flesh and Blood at the same rate as the rest of Mankind were but the Deity assuming Humanity and so being naturally incapable of Sin we are not wont to assign Merit to his Life and Conversation any
farther than as it laid him open to Sufferings but only to his Death and Passion and the Preliminaries to them that absolute Innocence reigning in his Humane Nature rendering all those Sufferings to which Humane Nature alone was liable the more meritorious and that inexpressible Condescension of the Eternal Son of God to take our Nature upon him join'd with his consequent Sufferings made one entire sufficient Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World But to suppose as Socinians do that one great meaning of the Death of Christ was that God by that means might give Men a pledge of that Favour or Pardon he intended for them is idle those who had any thing of a true Notion of a God would have depended upon his Word authentically revealed without any such extraordinary Pledge those who had perverse Notions of him would take very little notice of such a Pawn given for the Argument would be very obvious to a Sceptic If God be such as some define him infinitely Wise Good Powerful True there 's no need of such extraordinary Methods to confirm Men in an opinion of his Veracity if he be of a different or less perfect Nature a thousand such Strategems can give us no sufficient reason of Confidence in him We find indeed the Ancients upon Leagues or Compacts between them offering Sacrifices to their Gods and with their Hands laid upon the Victim's Head calling their Gods to witness their Sincerity in such Leagues and making their solemn Protestations one to another to observe propounded Articles the design of that Ceremony seems to be onely to intimate the agreeing Persons serious Imprecation that their own blood might be shed in the same manner as that of the dying Victims in case they falsified that Contract then made but we can imagine nothing of this nature to have pass'd between God and man in the Death of Christ Men were so far consenting indeed as to shed the blood of Christ but far from promising Faith and Obedience to their God at the same time no they acted in plain defiance to those Revelations God had made of himself and those very Persons who pretended to the most immediate Dependance upon Christ had very little Confidence in him till such time as his Resurrection from the dead reconfirmed their fading Hopes and made them believe he was capable of being their Saviour and Redeemer But if at last it were necessary that Almighty God should so seal the assurance of his Pardon to Mankind a meaner Victim might have serv'd than that of his onely Son since nothing could possibly create in guilty Men a greater Diffidence in God's Mercy than so severe a procedure on so very slight and impertinent a Reason with that Son concerning whom he profest that he was well pleased with him After all the Socinians would flamm us off with a metaphorical Redemption the Consequence of which I fear must have been but a metaphorical Pardon of our Sins in spite of which we might still be really and properly damn'd St. Peter drawing the parallel between ours and a proper Redemption teaches us to believe that our Redemption is proper too forasmuch as we were not redeem'd with corruptible things as Silver and Gold the ordinary means of redemption for Criminals or Captives 1 Pet. 1.18 19. but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without Spot which precious Blood being of infinitely more value than Silver or Gold could and did effect as proper a Redemption for them for whom it was offer'd as the greatest Summs of Treasures paid down for their Ransom possibly could To convince us yet further of Christ's Satisfaction for our Sins the Scripture represents him to us as a Mediator but our Adversaries reply to this that Moses is called a Mediator too yet Moses never satisfied for the Sins of Israel to prove that Moses is so called they allege that of the Apostle That the Law was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediator Gal. 3.19 yet it 's well known that Ancient Writers and Interpreters generally understand that Passage of Christ whom they certainly and truly conclude to have been that God more particularly appearing to the Israelites in their passage from Aegypt to Canaan and so he delivered the Law to them by his own power or with his own Hand as we may well express it the Decalogue the great binding part of the Law being written with the Finger of God as Moses informs us and so put into the Hands of Moses and the blessed Angels as ministring Spirits attending their Lord in the Solemnity and this Interpretation is not easily to be eluded But if by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Mediatour we only understand with Suidas one that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Peace-maker it then is applicable to Moses or to any other who goes between contending Parties to make up any quarrel or breach that may be between them But in this case we must always consider the Persons between whom matters are to be rectified their Natures and the nature of that Offence which may have caus'd a breach between them and he who undertakes such a Work had need to have a considerable Interest in both the Parties who are at odds for an Vndertaker in such a case who is liable to any exception on either side is like to mediate to very little purpose Now it 's no very hard Task to find Persons fit enough to take up quarrels between Men and Men all Men agreeing in one and the same Nature and Offences between them generally arising from both sides but that breach there is between God and man is not so easily made up their Natures are infinitely different one absolutely pure and unchangeable the other miserably corrupt and humourous man continually offending God continually obliging man proud haughty disdainful insensible God kind condescending essential Love and Goodness yet a Mediator such as should be able to procure Peace between God and man must have a very great Influence on both sides to which purpose it 's indispensibly necessary he should be compleatly Innocent Moses was uncapable of such a Mediation though he interceded for the People of Israel by his Prayers and was earnest and importunate with God to turn from that fierce Anger he had justly express'd against a stubborn and ungrateful Generation but Moses himself at the very time of his zealous Interposition for Israel was as other Men obnoxious to God's anger and felt the effect of it when for his Transgression at the Rock he was deny'd entrance into the Land of Canaan so that in effect he did no more than what 's particularly incumbent on God's Priests in all Ages i. e. to offer Prayers and Supplications for the People they live among and by such means to the utmost of their ability to stand in the Gap and to divert threatning Judgments from guilty Heads Our Saviour as necessity required was Holy
which it was impossible they should be expiated and to put them to extraordinary Troubles and Expence for those things by which in themselves they could reap no good and which further had no respect to any thing that could advantage them the Jewish Rabbins therefore always understood by such Expiations the Transferring of that Punishment due to One upon some Other to whom it was not due whence that Wish Vid. Buxtorfii Lex Talmud in voce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 May those Chastisements which I undergo be expiatory or satisfie for Rabbi such a one and his Children and again Let thy Expiation be upon us and let us suffer in thy room whatsoever thou oughtest to suffer and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon commenting on that Phrase used by one May I be an Expiation for them tells us it 's as much as to wish that He might be a Redemption Oughtr de Sacrif l. 2 c. 6. p. 336 or the Redemption-Price or the Ransome for them and it 's a mode of Speaking whereby is express'd an extraordinary Love to this the Apostle St. Paul alludes when he wishes he might be Anathema Rom. 9.3 Gal. 3.13 for or in the room of his Countreymen and our Lord really was made a Curse for us or in our stead and so became indeed an Expiation or a Propitiation for our Sins We allow it may be true that He who is once reconciled may remit what he pleases of his Right but he must be reconciled first now that infinite Justice essential to Almighty God could not be reconciled to Man without a compleat Satisfaction and yet he may be said justly to abate of the Rigour of his Right who will accept of a Satisfaction offer'd which he 's not bound to do as among Men it 's wholly at the determination of the Supreme Power whether they will execute the Malefactor himself or accept of the Punishment of some other who voluntarily offers himself to die for the Malefactor Justice may if it please insist on the One and it 's no Injustice to accept the Other What the Socinians at last endeavour to avoid is that Agreement between the Legal expiatory Sacrifices and that of our Redeemer where they would fain impose on us a new Fancy of their own i. e. That our Saviour's Sacrifice was not compleated till he ascended into Heaven to present himself there before his Father and this they conclude from the custom of the High-priest's entring into the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the yearly Sacrifice offer'd for the Sins of the People We must certainly own that the High-priest did enter that Sacred place with Blood but we are to consider that there were other expiatory Sacrifices beside that which was offer'd once a Year and which prefigured the Suffering of our Lord in which no such Ceremony was used as all those Sacrifices offered by particular Offenders for those Sins they were personally guilty of they endeavouring by such means to make an Atonement for their Sins and these particular Sacrifices were compleat in themselves and procured Remission of Sins for the Offerer and were certain Types of that great Sacrifice afterwards to be offered and the Paschal Lamb it self of all others the most lively representation of that Lamb of God who in fulness of time was to die for the Sins of the World was killed and eaten without any such Circumstances as carrying the Blood of it into the most Holy place and the Annual Sacrifice was really offered when it was kill'd and afterwards burnt without the Camp Levit. 16.16 the End and Design of sprinkling the Blood of the Goat and of the Bullock upon and before the Mercy-seat was to make an atonement for the Holy place it self because of the Vncleanness of the Children of Israel and because of their Transgressions in all their sins as the Text teaches us i. e. though the Holy of Holies were the place of the more special Presence of God which render'd it venerable and glorious yet it being among Men who were very disobedient and rebellious it contracted somewhat of Uncleanness and Pollution from them a Pollution so infectious Psal 78.60 that it made God forsake his Tabernacle in Shilo even the Tent which he had pitched among Men it was on account of such Pollutions that God threatned Israel afterwards to destroy that House which was called by his Name and commands them Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh Jer. 7.12 14. where I set my Name at the first and see what I did to it for the Wickedness of my People Israel therefore will I do unto this place which is called by my Name wherein ye trust as I did to Shiloh i. e. I will make it a desolation for such was Shiloh made on the same reason This was then the case of the Holy of Holies and it stood in need of a formal Sanctification in the ceremonial way for the Wickedness of those who were concern'd about it now this Expiation of the Holy place had no relation to the Remission of Mens Sins as the devoting and killing and burning the Sacrifice had but the great Sacrifice there offered by the High-priest was that of Prayer and Supplication shadowed out in that Levit. 16.12 13. That he was to take with him into the most Holy place a Censer full of burning Coals of fire from off the Altar of the Lord and his hands full of sweet Incense beaten small and to put the Incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of Incense might cover the Mercy-seat that was upon the Testimony that he might not die by all this signifying that Sinners appearing even before the Seat of Mercy without offering an Atonement to Heaven in the most humble and solemn Devotions can expect nothing but Ruines and Destruction and as we rationally conclude that the Priests were not wont to offer Sacrifices without Prayers in general so we conclude that even this Symbolical Ceremony was not perform'd without some Prayers and Ejaculations at least God's Priests being appointed under the Mosaic Law too not only to offer Sacrifices of several kinds but to offer up Prayers and Praises to God in the name of that People over whom they presided in Religious matters But now though we commonly look upon the Holy of Holies whether in the Tabernacle or in the Temple as an Emblem of Heaven being guided by the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews yet we know that Heaven can be the Receptacle of nothing defil'd or impure therefore it can contract no Impurity from any thing in it or about it therefore our Saviour's Sacrifice was compleat in dying on the Cross for our Sins Heb. 9.12 but by his own Blood he entered into the most Holy that is into Heaven in his humane Nature or that Body in which he had suffered on Earth his free offering himself and freely sacrificing himself he being our Priest and Sacrifice
by those particular Sufferings upon the Cross for his Father accepting that Price so paid down Christ as Man Heb. 7.25 acquired that Power as to be able to save to the utmost all those that come to God by him and therefore his humane Nature is immortal that he may always be capable of exerting such a Power But the Socinians would prove their position by that Heb. 8.4 That if Christ were on Earth he should not be a Priest seeing that there are Priests which offer Gifts according to the Law but here they are vastly wide from the Apostle's meaning for the Apostle writing there to Jews and arguing the matter with them concerning the Messiahship of Christ shows them that though he asserted Christ's High-priesthood yet he pretended not that he was any Successor of Aaron or the Legal High-priests for says he 7. 13. 14. it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah of which Moses spake nothing concerning the Priesthood therefore our Saviour was a Priest according to Prophecy after the order of Melchisedech and not only after that Order but for ever so a High-priest never to die never to be succeeded in that sacred Office by any other now being after that Order and under a necessity of having somewhat to offer as a Priest for so we are taught and 8.3 as a Priest having no right to offer any Jewish Sacrifices or Gifts the Order of Melchisedech not having any relation to them Christ offered himself the greatest the noblest Offering in the World having made that glorious Offering he soon left Earth having there no further immediate concern for could he have made his Title to Priesthood never so plain and offered himself never so freely among the Jews to execute the Priestly Office it had been to no purpose they having Priests of their own of the Aaronical Line of whom by Divine prescription they were to make use in things pertaining to God those Priests properly officiating so long as Sacrifices were legally necessary and when they were render'd unnecessary by the perfection of our Saviour's Sacrifice there being no need of any Priests at all to offer such external Sacrifices or Gifts the Apostles of Christ and their Followers succeeding their Master onely in the Instructing Governing and Interceding Parts of his Sacerdotal Function As for some part of their Argument to prove that Christ was not a compleat High-priest till his Entrance into Heaven it 's more dark and unintelligible to me than all those Mysteries in Religion which they pretend to explode for say they since the Apostle asserts that he ought in all things to be like his Brethren that he might be a compassionate and faithful High-priest in things pertaining to God and for expiating the Sins of the People it 's plain that so long as he was not like to his Brethren in all things i. e. in Afflictions and in Death so long he was not a compleat High-priest well is the Consequence from all this therefore he was not a compleat High-priest till he appeared in Heaven before his Father nothing less It will only follow on their own Principles that upon his Death without that Consequence the expiatory Sacrifice was compleated for there was no need of sanctifying the highest Heavens with his own Blood nor does this at all abate the necessity of Christ's Resurrection or Ascension into Heaven since without these that Faith fixt in one who had been false to his own Promises concerning himself who could neither have rais'd himself nor others who could neither have possest those eternal Mansions in his own Person nor have prepared them for his Followers who could neither have protected nor assisted them to the end of the World could have been no way justifiable but Christ's assimilation to his Brethren could proceed no further than to the end of his Sufferings which ended with his Death upon the Cross since none of his Brethren had been so glorified or had so risen as he did or so ascended into the presence of God to make Intercession for Sinners but indeed Death it self was not so essential to that Resemblance as they imagine for whosoever is liable to common Infirmities and obnoxious to Sufferings must of necessity be obnoxious to Death on the same reason though he should actually be translated with Enoch or carried up into Heaven with Elijah for though those holy Men after such a Translation were no more in a mortal state yet all that was no greater Privilege than all are Partakers of who after their final Resurrection die no more or than those who shall be found alive at the day of judgment for though such shall only be subjected to a change and not really die as others yet that hinders not but that in their own Natures they shall be mortal and as liable to Distempers so to Death as well as others To say truth our Saviour during the whose course of his Life and in all its particulars liv'd as Men do and being a Partaker of real and not fantastical Flesh and Blood it was not probable he should live otherwise only in his exemption from Sin he was beyond that general Rule the Deity not being capable of an Union with any thing imperfect or impure But having liv'd as real Man and suffer'd as such and having by himself throughly purged our Sins Heb. 1.3 he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high the Socinians indeed seem to point at somewhat of an Interstice between his Ascension and his Session at the right hand of God that 's not at all grounded upon Scripture for though we know he convers'd some time with his Disciples before he left them that was not the time of presenting himself before his Father and for any thing of a formal presenting himself before his Father as a Suppliant with his own Blood it 's an irrational Dream neither becoming Men pretending to Scriptural nor to Philosophical Reason for since we must to please their Fancies make an exact Parallelism between the Annual Sacrifice and that of Christ we must consider that the High-priest entring into the Holy of Holies had really with him the Blood of the Victim already dead and in that state of Death to continue till consumed by fire without the Camp and so never capable of a Resurrection but our Saviour rose again from the dead and though those of Rome would persuade us some of his Blood was gathered from under the Cross and preserv'd as a venerable Relick by some very Pious and Devout Persons and may be seen at this day by those who have Faith enough yet we doubt not but that Blood so shed was re-united to his Body being easily gathered by Almighty Power from that Diffusion it had suffer'd at his Crucifixion so that though our Lord had died yet his Blood after his Resurrection existed only as in a living Body therefore it could be presented before God only as in such a
Body therefore it could not be presented so as the Blood of the Annual Sacrifice was by the Jewish High-priest nor could the Blood of Christ be so sprinkled as that was towards Heaven or toward the Mercy seat but our Lord's Ascension into Heaven and sitting at the righ-hand of God were one continued uninterrupted Act and that Blood which had been once offer'd upon the Cross needed not to be offer'd again he was made a perfect Messias a real Saviour through Sufferings a Saviour every way sufficient for those who should believe on him and having through his own Blood made way to the Exaltation of his Humane Nature he had no more to do but to satisfie his Followers in the truth of his Resurrection and to give them proper Instructions with respect to their future Employs and so immediately to ascend to and to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high i. e. to exercise that absolute Dominion and Soveraignty over Believers as Man which as Man he had purchas'd at the dearest rate and as such we find him appearing in Apocalyptical Visions though at the same time bearing that Title King of kings and Lord of lords and thus have we cleared those Proofs justly alledged for our Saviour's Satisfaction for Humane Sins from Socinian Glosses and irrational Interpretations I shall now add only some short positive Evidence of the same Truth from particular Circumstances attending his Death and so conclude this particular It must therefore be remember'd That one End of our Saviour's exact fulfilling the Law was that he might be an example of Holiness and Obedience to us but if our Saviour's Sufferings were of such a nature as to import a great deal more than barely such an Example then it was really to be considered further and the Reasons of that Import to be enquired into Holiness includes all sorts of Vertue amongst the rest Patience Fortitude Courage and the like supposing our Saviour to have satisfied our Heavenly Father for our Sins to have atoned that Anger justly excited against a Rebellious World these Vertues were prodigiously eminent in him the weight of God's Wrath against Sin and Sinners was enough had it been permitted to take its course to have crush'd a world of miserable Wretches therefore it had been impossible for a meer Man to have struggled with and to have averted that terrible Indignation from us but if we take away this particular Consideration of his treading the wine-press of his Father's Indignation alone nothing seems more mean among the various accounts of the Sufferers for Truth than the Carriage of our Blessed Saviour that Man whom yet Socinians themselves acknowledge to have moved in a Sphere superiour to the rest of Adam's Race If we look upon that Death our Saviour dy'd it must be own'd it was grievous and painful yet when we consider it duly the Shame and Ignominy in it was the heaviest Circumstance attending it otherwise when we come to compare his Death as to its outward Circumstances with the Sufferings of Prophets and Martyrs of old they were meerly Trifles and inconsiderable The Apostle tells us among Faith's ancient Heroes of those who were sawn asunder so we are told in particular that great Prophet Isaiah was sawn with a wooden Saw the more dull the more lingring the more tormenting so the three Children were cast into the burning fiery Furnace by Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel into the Lions Den to have been torn in pieces under the cruel Paws of ravening Beasts where we are not to look upon the Miraculous Deliverance those illustrious Sufferers met with but upon the barbarous Cruelties intended against them but if from them we come to view the cruel Subtilties of Heathen Persecutors there we find all the variety of Tortures exquisite Malice could invent executed upon poor Christians the terrible Racks stretching their disabled Limbs and leaving no sound Joint in their Bodies a Torment terrible indeed to the strongest natural Constitutions they out-living their Pains and recovering Strength only to enable them for renewing Miseries some broken upon the Wheel dying piece by piece and Nature in the mean time sustain'd by Puddle-Water and Excrement some burnt alive in scorching Flames some broiled or roasted before lingring Fires some worried to Death by enraged Wild Beasts others cloath'd with Pitchy Vestments and so set on fire to fry away in inexpressible Pains meerly to make sport or to serve for Flambeaus to midnight Wanderers What should we descend lower to the poor persecuted Protestants in Merindo and Chabrieres or the unhappy Piedmonteses of late Years to see Mens Mouths and Womens Privities stufft with Gun-powder by barbarous Villains and so their Bodies or their Heads blown in pieces by that murdering Artifice to name no more of those inhumane Cruelties managed so that Holy Men admirable Christians have been Days and Months and Years a dying and beside all this it was oft-times the Aggravation of their Sorrows to see their Friends and nearest Relations murder'd first before their Eyes to have all the unjust and scandalous Reproaches in the World fixt upon them for Women to see their sucking Infants thrust through with Swords their own Blood and their Mothers Milk flowing from their bleeding Wounds together to see them tost and carried triumphant upon their Spears torn from their dying Mothers ript up Wombs and thrown immediately into consuming Flames these Sights such as might rack the most resolute Soul and almost squeeze sympathizing Tears from brute Beasts or insensate Rocks the very reading those dismal Tragedies are enough to make Men shiver with Horror and survey the Bloody Scene with Amazement and Consternation yet after all we find those glorious Martyrs so far from Fear or Apprehensions of their approaching Fate that never Happy Pair went with more cheerful Looks to the Bridal Bed than they went with to Racks and Wheels to Flames and Gibbets or whatever else their angry and malicious Enemies could inflict upon them nay they were so far from being daunted with the cruel Executions of their Fellow Saints that ambitious Princes were not more active to grasp at Crowns and Sceptres than they at the more splendid bloody Crown of Martyrdome nay so desirous were they of that Honour that whole Multitudes made up of Men Women and Children readily without being sought for or accus'd offered their Throats voluntarily to Pagan Governours to the Amazement and Confusion of their most violent Persecutors If we observe the Behaviour of those admirable Persons under their Sufferings their Management is all of a piece though they were all the day long as Sheep appointed to be slain though they found their Portion in this World never so severe or uncomfortable yet in all these things they were more than Conquerours through Christ who loved them they fear'd not the Cruelty of their Enemies but the Kindness of their Friends lest out of Compassion to them they should find out any means to rob them of that Crown they
and Gentiles the glad Tydings of Salvation they assisted by the Influences of the Holy Spirit did a great many Miracles among them both yet where they were most venerable for their Miracles where most zealous to spend and to be spent for the propagation of the Gospel they met with very unkind Returns and commonly seal'd those saving Truths deliver'd with their own Blood so that when we have turn'd our selves which way soever we can we must of necessity conclude either that the Martyrs were abundantly more exemplary in their Deaths than Christ himself their Lord and Master which is either Blasphemy or very like it or else we must conclude there was somewhat distinct from any thing yet mentioned in the Death of that Lamb of God which made it more terrible and heavy than all those exquisite Tortures expiring Martyrs underwent for is it possible that without any such Circumstances He who was emphatically stiled the Son of God the Son of his Love that Son in whom he was well pleased He who was One with his eternal Father should be afraid of Death of Humane Cruelties or complain of Dereliction is it possible he should be able at any time to send such Assistances to those who believed on him as should make them despise all the Terrors and Furies of a malicious World and yet himself be weak and timid start at the sting of that Death which dying Martyrs smiled at is it possible that He who knew no sin nor had any guile found in his Mouth should tremble before that King of Terrors over whom his own Followers and only by Faith in him so gloriously triumph'd these things are incredible But let us again consider our Dearest Lord as appearing as our Pledge and Surety before his Father as paying in his Death a satisfactory Price to his incensed Father for the Transgressions of Mankind let us consider him as dying for our Sins as being made a Curse for us therefore apprehensive of Divine Displeasure on our behalf as being made Sin for us as being made by God Justification and Redemption for us as having redeem'd us by his most precious Blood as having reconciled us to God by his Death let us remember that he is a Propitiation for us through Faith in his Blood that He bore our Sins in his Body upon the Cross that he was sacrificed for us to take away our Sins for all which Considerations we have the undeniable Warrants of Scripture in short let us consider our Saviour as undergoing those bitter Pains in his last Sufferings which for the Quality of him the Sufferer and for the Immensity of the Sufferings themselves being internal as well as external were equivalent to those eternal Punishments prepared for Impenitent Sinners let us but seriously weigh these things and that the Humane Nature of him who was the Son of God himself should startle and recoil can never be incredible if we look'd upon him as engaged in this dismal work how prodigious was his Patience how inexpressible inconceivable his Charity for him that was originally undefiled to be made Sin him that was the well-beloved Son to be made a Curse him whom an ungrateful World rejected to become an expiatory Sacrifice for that World for him who had never done any Sin nor deserv'd any Punishment to undergo the severest Agonies and Death it self for the sake of obdurate and unconsidering Sinners these are the stupendous Effects of inscrutably mysterious Love such as the more a pious Man meditates on the more he is rapt into Amazement and the more closely he reflects on Humane Demerits his Astonishment grows the more profound that Man so miserable should be consider'd that the Son of Man should be so mercifully visited these things observ'd the sufferings of Martyrs were not worth the naming on the same day with the Sufferings of the Son of God their Agonies were sports compared with his and he dearly purchas'd by taking off that bitter Cup all those Comforts and Joys and Triumphs which they afterwards pretended to He in his own Person conquer'd first those gigantic Monsters Sin and Death and Hell in open field he triumph'd over them upon the Cross He led Captivity captive and how easie was it then for the Sons of Faith to follow the Captain of their Salvation and to wear those Crowns of Righteousness which he had purchas'd for them with his own most precious Blood when they knew God's Anger was aton'd that they had One able to save continually sitting on the Right-hand of God as an Intercessor for them when they were infallibly assur'd those Persons were blessed who were persecuted for Righteousness sake for that theirs was the Kingdom of Heaven it was no wonder that they rejoiced and were exceeding glad nor was it strange that those who suffer'd for the sake of Truth before the Incarnation of our Saviour should express the same Courage they being Partakers of the same Faith and depending as unmoveably upon God's Promises made to them as if they liv'd upon Earth to see their utmost accomplishment so that they too had the same Mediator the same Redeemer the same Saviour the same glorious Hopes and Expectations Having thus largely insisted upon some reasons why it was necessary that God and particularly God the Son should be incarnate and consequently suffer for the Salvation of Mankind we are now to consider the Force and Import of those Arguments as laid together That a Messias was to be sent and on such a saving Errand is a Truth questioned by none but that in a meer Man such things should be made good as were foretold concerning him was impossible for in a meer Man all the Families of the earth could never have been blest though they were all ruin'd in one that was no more for the Repairer of Breaches the Restorer of Ruines the Raiser to Life ought to be greater and more powerful than the ordinary Instruments of procuring one or taking away the other for we see how every little Creature can do mischief where it requires a greater Care and extraordinary Industry to repair that Mischief when once done it was no meer Man who should reign for ever and of whose Kingdom there should be no end for such a Kingdom requires Eternity in the Administration the story of Scripture tells us that when Solomon had finished and dedicated his Temple and the Ark was carried into the Holy of holies upon the Priests coming out from thence 1 King 8.10 11. the Cloud filled the House of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to minister because of the Cloud for the Glory of the Lord had filled the House of the Lord We meet with no account of any such Glory filling the Second Temple built after the return from Babylon yet the Comfort given by the Prophets to the mournful Elders of Israel when they were dejected on account of the Meanness of that Second Building was that the Glory of the
habitual Obedience yet he stopt upon none of these Considerations but was for ought we can find by the Sacred Story as ready to be offered as his Parent was to offer him now such a kind of Obedience cannot reasonably be expected from any but a Son nor from any but the best of Sons such was Isaac but as the Burden the Son of God undertook was infinitely greater than what Isaac was concerned in the Eternal Determination of Heaven in respect of Man infinitely harder to comply with so it required a Son more Powerful more Obedient more united with his Father than any Earthly Son could be with the most obliging Earthly Parent therefore there being that Eternal Unity of Will between God the Father and God the Son it was impossible there should be the least Reluctance in the Son against what was resolv'd on for the rescue of Sinners from the Wrath to come and therefore that declining the terrible Hour which appears in his Prayer before his being seiz'd on by the Jews was purely the Effect of Humane Nature necessarily infirm but clearly understanding the Terror of the approaching Conflict and therefore shewing the result of the purest Flesh and Blood yet without Sin Again when we reflect on the Relation between a Father and a Son as it 's very close so their mutual Loves and Affections must needs be very extraordinary and tender this is observ'd and expected among earthly Parents and Children and it's what Nature commands and Religion so far as true obliges to this then must be much more eminent between God the Father and the Son and so our Lord himself teaches us The Father loveth the Son and as the greatest evidence of that intense Love John 3.35 he has given him all things into his hand he asserts the same again The Father loveth the Son and sheweth him all things that he doth 5.20 which is an Expression of the greatest Intimacy and Unity the same Jesus declares that his Father hears him always 11.42 and the Palmist in the Person of the Father speaking to the Son says Psal 2.8 Ask of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy Possession and on assurance of this Christ when he reproves St. Peter for using his Sword against those who came to take him tells him he could pray to his Father and he should presently send him more than twelve Legions of Angels from all which Circumstances we may be assured that the Interests of an infinitely Obedient Son with an infinitely Loving Father must be infinite therefore whereas Mens Sins were infinitely odious and that Vengeance infinite which was by consequence to fall upon Men for those Sins there was nothing but an infinite Interest that could possibly by any means whatsoever divert that Vengeance and this infinite Interest was proper to God the Son that is to such a Son as was at Unity nay was One with his Father from whence it is that we are taught by the Rules of Christianity and a Socinian himself will scarce contradict it to present all our Prayers to God in the Name of his Son Jesus Christ so whereas our Lord teaches his Disciples Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name John 14.13 14. that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son if ye shall ask any thing in my Name I will do it 16.23 26. he afterwards varies thus In that day ye shall ask me nothing Verily verily I I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you Hitherto ye have askt nothing in my Name ask and ye shall receive that your Joy may be full which two Texts compared together shew the absolute Prevalency of the Name of the Son of God with our Heavenly Father and the absolute and indissoluble Union of the Father and the Son so that it may properly and without any thing like a Contradiction be asserted that what One does the Other does and what the Father grants for the Son's sake that the Son grants nor can any thing of an Heavenly Nature be granted to Mankind but by the Deity so united in it self by which Consideration all inferiour Intercessors between God and Man are excluded from being in themselves the Objects of our Religious Adorations because there can be no such adequate Unions of Persons between them nor any such absolute Power or immediate Interest in such inferiour Beings as there can be no reasonable Competition of Interests between a Son adopted out of Commiseration and an onely begotten and universally loving and obedient Heir as then the Interest of a Son with the Father was necessary for Humane Redemption so it was necessary that God the Son particularly should assume our Nature to do and suffer for us in such a measure as we might be redeem'd upon acceptance of the proper Conditions from Eternal Destruction Finally the Tenderness of the Son oft-times shews it self when the Gravity and just Severity of a Father seems inexorable to an Offender yet even then when the Father seems of himself and otherwise would be inflexible to the Criminal he is pleas'd to see the Tenderness of his Son and will frequently encourage and accept of his Intercession so if we may compare small things with great our Heavenly Father deals with us in respect of the Intercession of his Son and though Justice cry'd out for Vengeance against Sinners he was particularly well pleased when he saw Him cloth'd with Flesh for accomplishing that great Work of Mercy and Goodness he was pleas'd at his Interposition between the Criminals and impendent Punishment and since the Divine Nature was wholly incapable of flexible Affections nothing but unbounded Love Mercy Justice c. concentring in it the Apostle teaches us that our incarnate Lord our great High-priest was such an One as could be affected with our Infirmities Heb. 5.7 8 9. could have compassion on the Ignorant and of them that are out of the way who in the days of his flesh when he offer'd up Prayers and Supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared Though he were a Son yet he learned Obedience by the things which he suffer'd and being made perfect he became the Author of eternal Salvation to all them that believe the Assumption of our Nature created in him a sympathetic Tenderness of Humane Infirmities as appear'd by his Tears over Jerusalem and at the Grave of Lazarus yet he was free from all Sin in those condescending Tears of his now he that had such extraordinary Compassion for miserable Sinners could not but exert the utmost of his sacred Interests on their behalf and make a free access for them to the Throne of Grace where such Obedience Interest and Compassion being indispensibly necessary for our Good and those Qualifications being naturally
merciful and faithful High-priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the Sins of the People or to atone for them i. e. to reconcile God to People that had sinned for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted There remains nothing more on this Subject to be done but to draw a practical Inference or two from our Apostolical doctrine that God was manifest in the flesh or that He who really and eternally was God took upon him humane Nature for the Salvation of Mankind From hence we should learn a just Admiration of that transcendent Love and infinite Compassion extended to us by God the Father in sending by God the Son in being sent to and condescending to come among us Words are too weak to express the mighty debt of Gratitude we are engaged in to Heaven on that account only Actions may in some measure express our Acknowledgments let us not conceit our selves exempt from the Condition of the rest of Mankind We lost our original Innocence we were precluded from Paradise from tasting the Tree of Life by Cherubims and a flaming Sword whan could we then hope for We were created happy we forfeited it too too easily what could we afterwards pretend to But God however provok'd by the eternal Intercession of his Son had reserv'd Mercy for us therefore he allow'd Mankind a time and space of Repentance Repentance was the sole possible Condition of Eternal Happiness Repentance invalid yet and unfruitful in it self had it not been render'd acceptable by the Blood of the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World the Truth of what I do assert in this particular appears from the Song of the four Beasts and the twenty four Elders when they adored this Lamb of God and prais'd him in the name of the Saints Thou wast slain Rev. 5.9 and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation those so redeemed from all parts include all Persons dying in the true Faith of God from the beginning of the World some of whom we find mentioned and prais'd for our Example in the Eleventh to the Hebrews and therefore when St. John afterwards gives us an account of those who received the Seal of God on their Foreheads he first reckons up 144000 of the Tribes of Israel a certain for an uncertain Number but after them he tells us he saw a great multitude 7.9 14. which no man could number of all nations and kindred and people and tongues who stood before the throne and before the Lamb clothed with white Robes and with Palms in their hands of whom and what they were when the Apostle enquired of one of the Elders he received this Answer these are they which came out of great Tribulation and have wash'd their Robes and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb now this numberless Number of happy Souls mark'd by Heaven for its own represents all those walking and dying in the Fear of God through all Ages for Tribulation was the Characteristic of a pious Man before God was manifest in the Flesh as well as afterwards but they had all their Robes wash'd in the Blood of the same Lamb therefore that Blood was effectual for Man's Salvation and render'd all their Religious Performances of which Repentance was a chief acceptable in the sight of God before such time as it was actually and openly shed upon the Cross That Mankind might be apprehensive of their Duties and be as certain in their Repentance as they had been in their Miscarriages God who had given them all the Providential Encouragements possible to serve him faithfully and willingly was pleased to send his Messengers from time to time to call them to Repentance so Enoch by the transcendent Holiness of his Life which doubtless was accompanied with as edifying Instructions preach'd Repentance to a World even so early grown old in Sin so Noah for an Hundred Years together preach'd Repentance to a perishing Generation after the Renewal of the World again from that Stock purposely preserv'd in the Ark Prophets and Holy Men were frequently inspired by Heaven and sent through the World on the Reforming that too rarely successful Errand nor were they so wholly confin'd to Israel the Lot of God's own Inheritance but that they sometimes deliver'd Messages to the adjacent Gentiles so Obadiah to Edom Jonah and Nahum to Nineveh c. this was certainly an Effect of wonderful Compassion that a God so justly offended at Humane Crimes should have any respect to them or use so many Methods of bringing them to a Sense of their own Errors and that Misery attending them but what measure did those Messengers meet with the same with those Servants in the Parable whom their Lord sent to the Husbandmen to receive of the fruits of his Vineyard some were beaten some wounded some murder'd all slighted and disregarded Yet to evidence his Love further God when he observed how unsuccessful his Ambassadours had been He sent his Son the Conclusion was rational they will reverence my Son but the Event was contrary even that Son by foolish Husbandmen was cast out of his own Vineyard and cruelly murder'd And was not that senseless Barbarism too much was it not too much to affront Mercy so notoriously would we thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise that we are ill would it become those now who call themselves Christians to trample under foot the blood of the Gospel-Covenant to crucifie to themselves afresh the Lord of Life and to put him once more to an open shame Did he come down from Heaven to Earth from Glory to Misery to save us and shall we be so much Fools as having a Prize put into our Hands not to have Hearts to make use of it shall we refuse to be saved by him nay shall we not Love him shall we not Admire him shall we not Adore him shall we not obey him in all things shall we not be ready to suffer all that Hell and wicked Men can invent to our prejudice rather than forsake his Truth or dishonour his Gospel Reason would teach us these things for they who have received the greatest Favours ought to repay them with the greatest Gratitude but alas we generally discourse to senseless Walls or try our Charms on deaf Adders for who hath believed our Report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed The Leopard may sooner change his Spots or the Negro his Skin than those who are inured to Wickedness be persuaded to relinquish it by the most cogent Arguments in the world but how base and ridiculous does it look that Holy Men of old could live upon God's Promises of redeeming them that in confidence of his Veracity in a full and strong Faith in his Goodness they could account themselves but Pilgrims and Strangers here on Earth and by religious Lives and
shall not depart from Judah Page 241 Exod. 4.16 Moses a God to Pharaoh and Aaron his Prophet Page 343 7.1 Moses a God to Pharaoh and Aaron his Prophet Page 343 14.21 They believed in the Lord and in his Servant Moses Page 329 25.22 The Propitiatory or Mercy-seat Page 721 34.7 Forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin Page 699 Levit. 16.12 13. Censer of Burning Coals in the Holiest Place Page 726 v. 16. To make an Atonement for the most Holy Place Page 725 2 Kings 3.26 27. King of Moab offering his Son Page 105 2 Chron. 30.18 19 20. Hezekiah's Prayer for the Vnprepared Page 603 Psalm 40.6 7 8. Sacrifice and Burnt-Offerings not desired Page 225 45.2 Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever Page 314 82.6 7. I have said Ye are Gods Page 342 Isaiah 9.6 Vnto us a Child is born a Son is given Page 320 Jeremiah 23.5 6. I will raise unto David a Righteous Branch Page 321 Micah 5.2 Thou Bethlehem Ephrata c. Page 323 Haggai 2.8 The Glory of the Second House greater c. Page 753 Matth. 1.23 Thou shalt call his Name Emanuel Page 325 18.23 The Parable of the Debtors to their Lord. Page 651 28.18 All Power is given to me in Heaven and Earth Page 407 v. 19. In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Page 328 Luke 4.29 30. They led him to the Brow of the Hill Page 382 24.45 He open'd their Vnderstandings Page 395 John 1.1 In the beginning was the Word Page 332 3.13 No man hath ascended up into Heaven c. Page 337 5.23 The Father hath committed all Judgment c. Page 202 10.30 I and my Father are One. Page 354 10.34 35 36. Is it not written in your Law Page 558 17 21. That they all may be One as Thou c. Page 358 20.28 My Lord and my God Page 360 Acts 7.59 Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Page 524 Rom. 2.6 God will render to every Man c. Page 124 3.24 25 26. Justified freely by his Grace c. Page 649 703 8.19 20 21 22. The earnest Expectation of the Creature Page 490 9.5 Of whom as concerning the Flesh Christ came Page 370 10.13 Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord c. Page 203 1 Cor. 1.14 15. Lest any should say I had baptized in my own c. Page 402 10.2 All were baptized into Moses c. Page 329 15.3 Christ died for our Sins Page 693 2 Cor. 5.19 20. Reconciling the World c. Page 648 719 12.7 8 9. For this cause I besought the Lord thrice Page 527 Gal. 3.19 In the hand of a Mediator Page 711 Philip. 2.5 11. Being in the Form of God c. Page 374 Col. 1.24 What was behind of the Afflictions of Christ Page 694 1 Thess 5.17 Pray without ceasing Page 505 Heb. 1.8 9 10. c. When he bringeth his First-Begotten c. Page 314 5.5 Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee Page 549 6.1 2. Leaving the Principles c. Page 184 8.4 If on Earth he should not be a Priest c. Page 733 c. 9. c. 10. Page 689 727 728. 11.1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for c. Page 87 1 Pet. 2.24 Bore our Sins in his own Body on the Cross Page 698. 3.18 He suffered for our Sins the just for the unjust Page 697 1 John 2.1 2. He is the Propitiation for our Sins Page 719 5.7 There are Three that bear Record in Heaven Page 458 v. 20. This is the True God and Eternal Life Page 205 ERRATA PAge 3. l. 5. after Salvation dele p. 5. l. 20. put a Period after Text. l. 30. after Attentatam d. ◠p. 6. l. 3. r. Wissowatius p. 130. in the Margent r. Serrarii p. 142. l. 19. r. seem'd p. 148. l. 31. r. Posterity p. 200. l. 14 r. One p. 209. l. 26. r. really and indeed p. 221. l. 7. r. Paradisiacum p. 239. r. this p. 139. l. 21. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 149. l. 21. d. And. p. 289. l. 29. r. those p. 312. l. 3. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the Margent r. Sandii Hist Eccles Enucl p. 318. l. 6. r. for p. 332. l. 16. r. those p. 336. l. 25. r. Stranger p. 364. l. 29. r. at p. 413. l. 21. r. far p. 448. l. 20. r. Libraries p. 467. l. 22. r. Separation p. 492. l. 26. d. One p. 511. l. 10. r. deliver p. 539. l. 3. r. Lazarus p. 552. l. 31. in Marg. r. Epistolarum p. 602. l. 12. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 609. l. 13. r. Sacrifices p. 666. l. 1. he be p. 690. l. 29. r. Levitical p. 700. in Marg. r. Brixian l. 3. r. curing p. 704. l. 31. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 720. l. 11. r. Catiline p. 752. l. 10. r. Administrator Several smaller Mistakes especially in the Pointing the Reader will easily observe and pass by or correct as fitting Books Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard TEN Sermons with Two Discourses of Conscience By the Lord Archbishop of York 4 to 's Sermon before the House of Lords Nov. 5. 1691. 's Sermon before the King and Queen on Christmass-Day 1691. 's Sermon before the Queen on Easter-Day 1692. Henrici Mori D. D. Opera omnia Bishop Overal's Convocation-Book 1606. concerning the Government of God's Catholick Church and the Kingdoms of the whole World 4 to Dr Falkner's Libertas Ecclesiastica 8 vo 's Vindication of Liturgies Ibid. 's Christian Loyalty Ibid. Mr. Lamb's Fresh Suit against Independency Ibid. Mr. W. Allen's Tracts Ibid. Bishop Fowler 's Libertas Evangelica Ib. Jovian or an Answer to Julian the Apostate Ibid. Animadversions on Mr. Johnson's Answer to Jovian In Three Letters to a Country Friend Ibid. Turner de Angelorum Hominum Lapsu 4 to Mr. Raymond's Pattern of Pure and Undefiled Religion 8 vo 's Exposition on the Church-Catechism Ibid. Mr. Lamb's Dialogues between a Minister and his Parishioner about the Lord's Supper Ibid. 's Sermon before the King at Windsor 's Sermon before the Lord Mayor 's Liberty of Humane Nature stated discussed and limited 's Sermon before the King and Queen Jan. 19. 1689. 's Sermon before the Queen Jan. 24. 1690. Dr Hickman's Thanksgiving-Sermon before the Honourable House of Commons Oct. 19. 1690. 's Sermon before the Queen at Whitehall Oct. 26. 1690. Dr Burnet's Theory of the Earth 2 Vol. Folio 's Answer to Mr. Warren's Exceptions against the Theory of the Earth 's Consideration of Mr. Warren's Defence 's Telluris Theoria Sacra 2 Vol. 4 to Bishop of Bath and Wells Reflections on a French Testament Printed at Bourdeaux 's Christian Sufferer supported 8 vo Dr Grove now Lord Bishop of Chichester his Sermon before the King and Queen June 1. 1690. Dr Hooper's Sermon before the Queen Jan. 24. 1690 1. Dr Pelling's Sermon before the King and Queen Dec. 8. 1689. 's Vindication of those that have taken the Oaths 4 to Dr Worthington of Resignation 8 vo 's Christian Love Ibid. Religion the Perfection of Man By Mr. Jeffery Ibid. Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man 12º The Fourth Edition Kelsey Concio de Aeterno Christi Sacerdot 's Sermon of Christ Crucified Aug. 23. 1691. Mr. Milbourn's Sermon Jan. 30. 1682. 's Sermon Sept. 9. 1683. An Answer to an Heretical Book called the Naked Gospel which was condemned and order'd to be publickly Burnt by the Convocation of the University of Oxford Aug. 19. 1690. With some Reflections on Dr Bury's new Edition of that Book to which is added a Short History of Socinianism by W. Nichols M. A. c. Two Letters of Advice I. For the Susception of Holy Orders II. For Studies Theological especially such as are Rational At the end of the former is inserted a Catalogue of the Christian Writers and Genuine Works that are Extant of the First Three Centuries By Henry Dodwell M. A. c.