Life without doubt was to consist in the Union of his Soul with the chief Good the infinite and eternal Being for it is this alone which constitutes the Happiness of Man His Mind being of a spiritual Nature could find no satisfaction but in an Object that was of that kind for a spiritual and intellectual Being must be entertain'd by its like But the chief happiness ought to be something that is above us and far exceeds us in excellency for the Capacities of the Mind cannot be happy in any thing that is of an inferior nature to them And the chief Good must be of infinite perfection otherwise the vast and capacious Faculties of the Soul cannot be satisfied Hence it follows that God alone was his supreme Blessedness which he was entirely to possess and enjoy by such a knowledg as was perfective of his Understanding and by such vehement and ardent Acts of Love whereby he might be intimately united to the eternal Good and live in perpetual â—ruition of it and that without Satiety for there is no excess in the chief Good it cannot be known desired loved or enjoy'd too much This was the designed Felicity of our first Parents Neither they nor their whole Race were to be liable to sorrow or misery of any kind but to be possessed of a constant and never-failing Happiness and after innumerable Ages and Successions they were in their courses to be taken up to a heavenly Paradise In this Oeconomy Adam had two sorts of Laws to conduct him viz. 1. The natural Law of Goodness and Righteousness in his own Breast The Light of Reason was his Guide and this shone very bright at that time He had true conceptions of things he had clear apprehensions of what was Good and Right Just and Holy He had a perfect knowledg of his Duty from this Law which God had implanted in his Nature 2. Besides this natural or moral Law Adam receiv'd positive Laws from God in this state of his Innocence and they were these three 1. There was the Law of Matrimony That this State of Life was instituted and appointed by God in Paradise is clear from what we read in Gen. 2. 24. God having made the Woman and brought her to the Man he pronounced the Law of Marriage in these words A Man shall leave his Father and his Mother and shall cleave unto his Wife and they shall be one Flesh. Here is the indissoluble Knot of Wedlock But yet this must be said that tho the first instituting and appointing of this State was from God yet the Law of Nature dictated something of it For this teacheth that two and no more agreeing to join in the Fellowship of Marriage should become one Flesh the Light of Reason discovers that a conjugal Union cannot consist of a Plurality Thus far Matrimony as 't is the joining of one Man to one Woman is a branch of the natural Law But as I have shew'd in another place a Law may be partly natural and partly positive and so is this It was positive because God himself directed our first Parents to this State of Matrimony But then Reason approving of the natural Equity of it it may be said to be a Law of Nature 2. The Hebrew Masters reckon that an absolute Precept Gen. 1. 28. Be fruitful and multiply and they look upon it as the first and the chiefest of all as out of several of their own Writers and out of Buxtorf is evident But others esteem it rather a Benediction wherein God approves of the propagation of Mankind as he doth also of other Creatures ver 22. Yet this we may grant that those words had the force of a Precept or Law as well as a Benediction with respect to our first Parents they had the full force of a Command to those two individual Persons Adam and Eve and indispensably obliged them because it was intended by God that Mankind should be increas'd and propagated by those two particular Persons But they are words of Approbation to all others afterwards that is they signify the lawfulness tho not the necessity of Matrimony and Generation 3. There was a positive Law given to Adam in his Integrity concerning the keeping of the Sabbath or observing the Seventh Day God blessed the Seventh Day and sanctified it Gen. 2. 3. i. e. he assign'd it for some special purpose he separated it from the other Days he dedicated it more especially to Divine Worship he set it apart to be the Feast of the World's Nativity to call to mind the Works of the Creation to magnify the Power Wisdom and Goodness of God in the framing of the Universe to extol his Providence in the World In short this Day was devoted to holy Uses and the more solemn Service of God This is blessing and sanctifying of that Day Indeed we read not that Adam kept this Day after this manner nor is it said that any of the old Patriarchs did But we know that many things were done which are not recorded Moses omits several Matters of Fact and he intending brevity in his History must needs do so but we may supply them by our own collective Reason Thus in the present case we find it expresly recorded that God blessed and sanctified the Seventh Day here he instituted the celebration of it We need not then question whether Adam and the righteous Men that succeeded him practis'd according to this divine Institution But if any shall question it I prove it thus First There was no imaginable reason why this Day should not be celebrated presently after it was instituted What was it sanctified and set apart for if not for this to be observ'd And can you conceive any thing that hindred this No certainly Therefore seeing it was instituted we may conclude it was kept that is that it was so from the Creation of the World If it be objected that Adam in Innocency lived free from Toil and Labour and therfore the cessation on the Seventh Day was not necessary or proper for him I answer It is true he was not subject to hard and uneasy labour and such as was accompanied with fatigue but it is as true that he was bid to dress and keep the Garden and consequently he was not unimploy'd he had ordinarily some bodily Work to do and to think of But there was a certain time set him by God's particular appointment on which he was to cease from this or any other worldly and corporeal Business that he might devote himself wholly to the Worship of God This was the Sabbath Day which he was to keep and there is no reason to think he did not keep it Secondly This appears from the reason of God's appointing and setting apart this Day His ceasing from his Works of the Creation on this Day was the ground of it And what did that infer but Man's cessation from working on that Day Gen. 2. 2 3. And can we think that God would
peculiar People and taken into Grace and Favour There was a Distinction made between God's Servants and others under the Abrahamick Period but now it is more Visible and Remarkable now the Iewish State properly commenceth now these People are molded into a new Commonwealth and God is their peculiar Governour The Church of God was first united into One Politick Body or Society and grew to be National in Moses's time Now the Church in the Wilderness as 't is call'd by St. Stephen Acts 7. 38. became a Distinct Body of men known by the name of Israelites This Oeconomy is famous for the Delivering of a Threefold Law Moral Ceremonial Iudicial Tho Moral Ecclesiastical Civil may be a better Division of those Laws for some that are reckon'd among the Ceremonial and Typical Laws as Tithes and First-fruits are not such and some of those call'd Iudicial deserve not that name But the Usual Partition shall serve and by the Moral Law we understand those Precepts and Commands by the observance of which men are madereally Good and Virtuous The Ceremonial Law is the Iews Canon Law and directs them in their external Behaviour in Religious Worship and tells them what Rites and Usages they must observe By the Iudicial Law we understand the Civil Law of the Iewish Nation as Ius Civile is taken for the Particular Law of every single State This contains those Constitutions and Orders which respect Publick Justice and acquaints men what is Right and Equitable in their Dealings and Commerce with one another The first of these are such Precepts and Prohibitions as are good in themselves The Second are indifferent in their own Nature but are so far good as they are commanded by a Positive Law of God The third sort are of a mixt Nature being partly in their own nature good and partly indifferent This Triple Law is thought by the Iewish Writers to be comprised in those three words Commandments Statutes Iudgments Deut. 6. 1. Mitzoth Praecepta are said to be the Ten Commandments the Moral Law Chukkim Statuta are thought to be those Rites and Ceremonies that respect God's Worship as Circumcision c. Mishaphattim Iudicia are suppos'd to be all those Politick Constitutions that concern humane Society But it is not certain that by these three words are meant those three distinct kinds of Laws for these are mention'd in Gen. 26. 5. before there was this formal Distinction of Laws And in Deut. 11. 1. you will find these words transposed which intimates that those are too nice who understand them in the former manner for 't is not likely that the Commandments i. e. the Moral Law would be set in the last place Wherefore I think it more probable that this diversity of words is used only to signifie the whole body of Precepts of what nature soever that was given to the Iews But this is unquestionable that the Decâ—logue is the chief and most eminent part of these Laws and the rest are bâ—t Appendages and Supplements to it The Ceromâ—â—ial Injunctions are annex'd to the Precepts of the first Table and those that are Iudicial to them of the Second The former are Particular Instances of the Duty which was required of the Iewish people towardâ— God the lattâ—r of their Duty towards their Neighbours The Hebrew Doctors divide all the Commandments of the Law into 248 〈◊〉 and 365 Negative and both 〈◊〉 into Twelve Houses as they call them and under each House more or less Commandments The â—â—mplete Sum is 613 which they say is according to the number of the â—etterâ— in the 〈◊〉 in which all the Law is virtually and reductively comprised These Ten Words as they are called in the Hebrew and those other Iudicial and Ceremonial Laws which you may find set down from the 20 th Chap. of Exodus to the end of the Pentateuch began to be deliver'd on Mount Sinai three months after the Israelites came out of Egypt Exod. 19. 1. Moses was forty days or six weeks in the Mount or rather if you conâ—ult the â—â—â—tory you will find that he was twice or thrice on the Mount so long a time or a very considerable time and then it was that he receiv'd these Divine Laws First I will speak concerning the Moral Law comprised in the Ten Commandments I call the whâ—lâ— Decalogue the Moral Law although the Observation of the Seventh Day appâ—inted in the Fourth Commandment be not strictly Moral but because the Devoting some Certain Time to God's Service is Moral and is contain'd in that Commâ—ndment therefore I reckon it part of the Moral Law You meet with several particular Laws relating to Moral Duties scatter'd up and down in the four last Books of Moses but these Ten Words as they are call'd are a Summary Account of all those Laws and Rules which are more spâ—cially and particularly set down This Law of Morality and Natural Reason was in all the former Dispensations but that which makes it Peculiar in is this that this Law which before was Written in mens Hearts is now Ingraven on Stone If I should say that there were no Lettâ—rs at all before these which God used on Mount Sinai If I should aâ—sert that they had no Books or Writings before the 〈◊〉 but that the Characters of the Law were the first that ever were in the World and consequently that now God taught men to write I do not see how why man can disprove me But this we are sure of that from Adam to Moses which is above 2000 years there was no Written Word of God to direct the World The Church was without Scriptures God's Will which was communicated to them by Revelation was continued and kept up by Tradition If it be demanded why God suffer'd the World to live so long without a written Law and what was the Reason of the writing of the Law at last I answer 1. The long Lives of the Patriarchs as hath been intimated before were one main Reason why there was no Written Law for so long a time There was a College and Society of many Seniors living many hundred years together with one another Adam lived with Seth 800 years with Enes 695 with Cainan 605 with Mahalaleel 535 with Iared 470 with Methuselah 243 with Lamech 56. Or we may instance in Pious Shem who was both before and after the Flood he lived with Methuselah 97 years with Lamâ—ch 92 with Noah 447 with Arphaxad Sala and Heber about 430 with Peleg and Regu about 239 with Serug 230 with Nabor 149 with Terah 205 with Abraham 150 with Isaac 50. These therefore could conâ—er Notes with great ease they could inform themselves truly concerning the Faith and Religion and Practice of the First Man they could instruct one another concerning theiâ— Duty and the indispensible necessity of it Or take it more briefly thuâ— Adam lived to converse with Methuselah Methuselah lived to see and know Shem Shem lived till Iacob was born so that these
Sacred Trinity about the making of Man His Excellency What God's Image in Man is not What it is largely discours'd of The various Opinions concerning Paradise It is proved by sundry Arguments that it was in Babylon An account of its Four Rivers An Objection fully answered whereby the Author's Opinion concerning those Rivers is explain'd and establish'd The Employment of our First Parents in Paradise Besides the Law of Nature there were these positive Laws in the State of Primitive Integrity 1. That of Matrimony 2. That concerning Propagation 3. Observing the Sabbath or Seventh Day It is proved that Adam and Eve kept this Day 4. Abstaining from the Fruit of a certain Tree in the Garden of Eden An Account of the Tree of Lifâ— and the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil. The prohibiting of this latter shew'd in several Particulars to be Reasonable and Equitable 5. The Covenant of Works Not only the first Man and Woman but all their Race were under this First Dispensation Page 1 CHAP. II. The Nature of the Second General Dispensation The several particular Ingredients of the First Sin Its Aggravation from the Matter of it What kind of Creature the Serpent was whom the Devil made use of in seducing our first Parents It was not a firy flying Serpent but an ordinary one Wherein the Subtilty of this Animal consisted That Adam and Eve fell not on the same day in which they were made is proved from Scripture and Reason The dreadful Effects of the Fall which related to themselves Others which belong'd not only to them but to their whole Race Death was the Penal Consequence of the First Defection The Inward and Spiritual Evils that attended it are enumerated How Man became like the Beasts Eternal Death the Fruit of his Apostacy The Penalty insticted on the Serpent Not only our First Parents but all Mankind were under this Second Dispensation p. 49 CHAP. III. The Nature of the Third General Dispensation The first part of which is the Adamick State The early Promise concerning the Messias Gen. 3. 15. explain'd He was expected betimes The New Testament witnesses that he was to bruise the Serpent's Head Several positive Laws were under this Occonomy That of Oblations and Sacrifices is especially consider'd Eucharistical Sacrifices were part of the Law of Nature Expiatory and Bloody onec were not so Thence these latter were disapproved of by the wisest Heathens They are founded upon Divine Institution The Practice of Sacrificing among the Pagans was derived to them by Tradition from the Jews or the foregoing Patriarchs Whether sacrifices were prescribed before or after the Fall of our First Parents Concerning the Primitive Priesthood The Distinction of clean and unclean Animals was in respect of Sacrificing not Eating Gen. 4. 26. explain'd and a settled Church founded upon it Marrying with Infidels seems to be prohibited under this Dispensation The Rise of Polygamy The seven Precepts said to be given to the Sons of Adam and Noah The Improbability of this Jewish Tradition evinced from several Considerations The Mistakes of Volkelius and Episcopius concerning the Antediluvian Oeconomy p. 83 CHAP. IV. The Noachical Oeconomy The first Positive Law under it was about eating of Flesh. It is proved that this prevail'd nâ—â— till after the Flood Objections against it answer'd The Testimony of Pagans to confirm it The Reason of the Prohibition The second Positive Law was concerning not eating Flesh with the Blood The Reason of it The third Positive Law was concerning not shedding of Man's Blood With the Penalty of it And the Sanction of Magistracy Serâ—itude not introduced under this Dispensation The Longevity of the Patriarchs was common to all in those Times The Months and Years were of the same length then that they are now They were Solar not Lunar Years The Causes of the long Lives of those that lived before the Flood The Abrahamick Oeconomy With its several Steps and Advances The Nature of the Covenant made with Abraham Now the Faithful were separated and distinguish'd from the rest of the World Why they are called Hebrews The Nature and Design of Circumcision Vnder this Dispensation Altars were erected Tithes paid c. Of Polygamy and Concubines and other Vsages p. 112 CHAP. V. The Mosaick or Jewish Dispensation seems to be Preposterous The Law of Grace was veiled for a Season The Triple Law which this Oeconomy was famous for briefly display'd Four Reasons assigned why the World was so long without a Written Law The Ceremonial Law is part of this Dispensation The several things which are comprehended in it Oblations viz. of Inanimate things Sacrifices which were of Living Creatures An enumeration of those Sacrifices which were Set and Determined Others were Occasional viz. 1. Sin-Offerings 2. Trespass-Offerings 3. Peace-Offerings Some Remarks about Sacrifices The several Ends and Designs of this way of Worship How the Mosaick Sacrifices are said to Expiate It is largely proved that the guilt of all kinds of Sins whatsoever was Atoned by them The Objections to the contrary are answered The Principal End of the Judâ—ick Sacrifices was to typifie and represent the Sacrifiâ—e of Christ on the Cross. p. 145 CHAP. VI. The High-Priest's Office His peculiar Attire The Imployment and Apparel of the Pâ—iests The Levites particular Charge Whether they might sacrifice or no. Their Office in the Reigns of King David and King Solomon differ'd in some things from what it was before The ordinary and fixed Place of Worship and particularly of Sacrificing was the Tabernacle A particular Account of the three Divisions or Partitions of it viz. the Outward Court the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies with all things contain'd in them The Mystical and Spiritual meaning of the several Particulars The Travels and Removes of the Tabernacle and Ark. A distinct Account of the Parts of the Temple shewing wherein it differ'd from the Tabernacle Of the Fabrick it self and its Dimensions Houses and Chambers belonging to it The Sacraments appointed by the Ceremonial Law p. 173 CHAP. VII The Jewish Feasts Sabbaths New Moon Passover The Parallel between the Paschal Lamb and our Saâ—iour shew'd in several Particulars This Mystical Way approved of Christ celebrated not the Passover the same Evening that the Jews did but in the Evening before This represented in a Scheme The Feast of Pentecost The Feast of Tabernacles The Feast of Trumpets Of Expiation Other lesser Feasts not commanded in the Law but appointed by the Jewish Church Fasts kept tho not injoin'd by the Law The difference of Clean and Unclean Animals Why the latter were forbidden to be eaten The chief Reason of the prohibition was to prevent Idolatry Two Objections answer'd Vows proper to the Mosaick Dispensation They were either Personal or Real The Cherem p. 205 CHAP. VIII The Reasons of the Ceremonial Rites among the Jews They were to Try that People They were to Restrain them They were injoin'd in opposition to the Idolatrous Customs of the Heathens Several
Instances of this Dr. Spencer opposes it His two Parallels of the Jewish and Gentile Rites His Opinion shew'd to be unreasonable absurd and contradictious He makes the Eucharist an Imitation of a Pagan Barbarous Vsage Other Writers mention'd who have fallen into the like Notions The Ceremonial Law was prescribed the Jews because it was sutable to that Age and Disposition of the Church Particularly it agreed with them as they were Children and Minors It was serviceable to teach them something of Morality Those Ritual Observances were design'd to be Types and Representations of Greater and Higher things More especially they prefigured the Messias The Contents of the Judicial Law Some parts of it were in force before Moses's time What obligation it hath upon Christians now under the Gospel p. 240 CHAP. IX The several ways and kinds of Divine Revelation under the different Oeconomies Ordinary External Revelation was by hearing or by seeing Inward Reveâ—lâ—tion was by Dreams or Prophetick Inspiration What Prophecy was How thâ—y knew to distinguish between True Prophets and False ones The extraordinary ways of Revelation were 1. That which was vouchsaâ—ed to Moses alone The Nature of it It differ'd from other Revelations as to Degree oâ—ly 2. That from between the Cherubims 3. the Urim and Thummim These are not the same with the Teraphim They were not borrowed from Pagan Idolaters This would be a countenancing of Image-Worship The absurdity and impiety of their opinion who hold that the Urim and Thummim were of Heathen Extraction These were no other than those bare words written or engraven on the High Priest's Breastplate An Objection answer'd p. 264 CHAP. X. The Gentile Oeconomy Others besides those of the Family of Abraham were of the Church Some of these were in Palestine An enumeration of the several Opinions concerning Melchisedech He was a Canaanitish King and Priest Job's Countrey His Character His Friends Several other Pious and Religious Gentiles in other Countreys Hebrew Prophets sent to the people of other Nations Malachi speaks of True Worshippers among the Gentiles The Proselytes of the Gate The Proselytes of Righteousness Tho the Nations were generally for saken of God because of their Idolatry yet some among them professed and worshipped the True God Those places of Scripture in the Old and New Testament which set forth the peculiar Privileges of the Jewish People are not inconsistent with this No Nations were dâ—barr'd and excluded from God's Grace and Favour p. 285 CHAP. XI The Christian or Evangelical Oeconomy It agrees with the former Dispensations of Grace as to the Designation of the Messias As to the way of Salvation As to the Conditions and Qualifications of it This corroborated by the suffâ—â—ge of the Antient Fathers It differs from the Mosaick Oeconomy or Law as to the Author in some respect As to the Actual Discovery of it As to the Clearness of it As to its Spirituality As to its Extent As to several Circumstances that relate to the Conditions of Salvation which are largely enumerated As to the Motives of Obedience The Doctrine of the Socinians viz. that there were no Promises of Eternal Life under the Old Testament confuted As to the Perfection of its Pattern As to its Helps and Assistances This Query Whether Christ added any new Laws to those which were before under the Old Testament resolved in several Particulars It is proved against the Socinians that Prayer was commanded under the Law How Love is call'd a New Commandment p. 306 CHAP. XII An Answer to an Objection from Mat. 5. 17. shewing distinctly and particularly what is the Law and how Christ came to fulfil it It is held by some that Christ came to add New Precepts to the Moral Law In confutation of which Opinion it is proved that Anger is forbid by the Decalogue So is a Lustful Eye So is all Rash and Prophane Swearing So is Divorce unless in the case of Adultery So is Resisting of Evil. So is hating of our Enemies It is largely discuss'd whether it was lawful for the Israelites to hate the seven Nations whom they were commanded to destroy And whether the Command to destroy them was Absolute Objections from Deut. 13. 8 9. Psal. 139. 21. answer'd The Nature of the Two Covenants viz. of Works and of Grace fully stated The Conditions on our part How do this and live is applicable to the Covenant of Grace The Covenant made with the Israelites at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai was the Covenant of Grace tho it seem'd to resemble the Covenant of Works The Covenant of Grace was completed and perfected by Christ's Coming and not before The Mediator the Terms the Seals of this Covenant now fully manifested It is proved that according to the Stile of Scripture the Old and New Covenant are the same Covenant of Grace p. 340 CHAP. XIII Tho we could assign no Reason why the Christian Oeconomy was so late and why our Saviour arrived no sooner in the World this is sufficient to satisfie us that it was God's pleasure it should be so But for the sake of the Inquisitive such Reasons and Considerations as these are offer'd 1. It must be remembred that Christ appear'd in the World even in the early times of the Patriarchs 2. The Benefits of Christ's Redemption were imparted to the Faithful before he actually appear'd in the flesh 3. The World was not fit to receive him sooner 4. He delay'd his Coming to make the World sensible of their Misery 5. That the Advantages of his Coming might be prized 6. It was congruous that so great a Prince should not arrive without solemn Harbingers and Heralds of his Coming 7. The necessities of Mankind call'd for him at that particular time and juncture when he came The Jewish Church grew worse and worse An enumeration of the several Sects and Factions which they were divided into viz. Essenes Pharisees Sadduces Herodians Samaritans Galilaeans 8. God proceedeth in a gradual Order and Method The most perfect things are reserved till the last p. 379 OF THE Different Dispensations OF RELIGION CHAP. I. The great Advantage of the present Vndertaking A general Distribution of the Work The State of Innocence The Folly of the Praeadamitick Opinion The solemn Consultation of the Sacred Trinity about the making of Man His Excellency What God's Image in Man is not What it is largely discours'd of The various Opinions concerning Paradise It is proved by sundry Arguments that it was in Babylon An account of its Four Rivers An Objection fully answered whereby the Author's Opinion concerning those Rivers is explain'd and establish'd The Employment of our First Parents in Paradise Besides the Law of Nature there were these positive Laws in the State of Primitive Integrity 1. That of Matrimony 2. That concerning Propagation 3. Observing the Sabbath or Seventh Day It is prov'd that Adam and Eve kept this Day 4. Abstaining from the Fruit of a certain Tree in the Garden of Eden An
follow'd with the perfect enjoyment of Good and the violating of it with the experience of all Evil of Sin and Punishment It was to signify what they should know by eating viz. the difference between the Evil of Disobedience and the God of the contrary Or thus it was the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil i. e. of the Good they had before and of the Evil which was to ensue upon eating They should experimentally find what Good they lost and what Evil they fell into So that it is probable this Tree had its name from the Event and Effect of it It taught them by experience what Good and Evil was for after Man had sinn'd in eating that forbidden Fruit he saw and felt what Happiness he had lost and what Misery he had procured Some have been so curious as to enquire and so bold as to determine what particular Tree and Fruit this was It was and Apple-tree say some and they would make it probable from Cant. 8. 5. It was the Vine saith Vossius It was the Indian Fig-tree saith Goropius Becanus Most say it was a Fig-tree with the Leaves of which Adam and Eve covered their nakedness as soon as they had eaten of the Fruit. Theodoret stiffly maintains this Opinion and saith This was the reason why Christ cursed the Fig-tree Athanasius with others incline to this belief but there is no ground for it it must only pass as a Conjecture And so that Father grants in his Answer to that Demand What Tree was it of which Adam eat the Fruit No Man saith he is able exactly to discover that which the Scripture hath wilfully conceal'd The grand thing which we are to mind and which is the principal thing in this first Oeconomy is this that it was God's pleasure that the Fruit of that Tree whatever it was should not be meddled with and therefore straitly charged Adam and his Consort that they should not dare to touch it God might reasonably act after this manner For first as an antient Writer saith on this Subject God dispenseth all things sutably to the particular Time and measureth his Institutions by the Abilities and Powers of Men. Therefore he gave that Command of not eating of this Tree to Adam as it were to a new-born Babe He dealt with our first Parents as with Infants and Children he tried them by mean and low things as most agreeable to their nature But secondly tho he was thus pleased to prohibit them the Fruit of one single Tree yet this was highly accountable if you consider that God gave them the use of all the rest of the Trees in Paradise Of every Tree in the Garden thou mayest freely eat Gen. 2. 16. there was only this one Tree excepted and reserved Here was Liberty and Indulgence sufficient And they might well have contented themselves in the injoyment of it Besides the Creator can lay what Restraints he pleaseth on his Creatures He that made both them and the Garden could justly bar them of any thing which that place afforded Therefore God gave them this Precept to shew his Dominion over them as he was their Maker and Lord. He would let them see by this little Command his absolute Soverainty over them as a pious Father speaks Again God having made them reasonable and indowed them with a power or freedom of choice he might justly exercise that Faculty and put them to an actual trial of it which could not be done but by proposing something to their choice As they had a rational Nature and free Will given them by God they were able to keep that Law of Abstinence and therefore it was not unjust in God yea it was just and fit to impose this upon them as they were free and reasonable Beings This shews the reason of this positive Law which was given them to try their Obedience Likewise it was very reasonable and equitable Command that seeing God had conâ—err'd on them so many Benefits and Blessings they should be limited as to a single one that thereby they might shew their Thankfulness to God for all the rest In the next place consider also that God particularly told them what he expected from them when he gave them a Prohibition about the Tree He assured them that if they ventured to eat of it it should cost them their Lives or more emphatically in the Original they should die the death Here was fair warning and they had time to consider of it and they were sensible how greatly they were obliged to God and how just and reasonable a thing it was to observe his first and original Law that which was matrix omnium praeceptorum as Tertullian calls it yea to obey God in whatsoever he commanded Fifthly To the revealed Laws under the State of Integrity we must refer the Covenant of Works For we may gather from the Sacred Writings that there was a mutual Agreement or federal Compact between God and our first Parents wherein he promis'd to them Eternal Life and Happiness on condition of their perfect Obedience to his Laws and on the contrary Death was threatned if they disobey'd as we have heard already It is true it is not expresly call'd a Covenant in Genesis but it was one for God gave Man a Law and back'd it with Threatnings and Promises and Man agreed and consented to it which is the formal nature of a Covenant Not are we to think that those two Persons and no more were under this Dispensation Altho only Adam and Eve were in actual being at that time yet all Mankind were included in them and represented by them and therefore are to be reckon'd as under that Dispensation For God having created our first Parents without Sin and with knowledg of their Duty and strength to do it he made a Covenant or Agreement with them not only in behalf of themselves but of all their Posterity It was covenanted that if they and their Race continued in Obedience they should never die but be always blessed and happy but if they disobey'd the Divine Command they should be subject to Death and be every way wretched and miserable It is certain they consented and agreed to this for in that State of Integrity what God propounded to them could not but be acceptable God would offer that which was just and equitable as he was God Our first Parents would not disagree to it as they were induâ—d with a perfect understanding and knew that what their Maker propounded was most reasonable They could not but approve of the Condition on their part viz. Obedience and they could not but accept of the Reward promis'd on God's part viz. endless Happiness That they fully consented to the Contract in the name of themselves and their Posterity is demonstrable from many passages in Holy Writ as that Hos. 6. 7. They like Adam for so it is the Hebrew have transgress'd the Covenant which refers to God's Covenant
The rectified Mind said they is the Man but the sensitive Appetite is the Beast This latter they declared to be the Principle which predominateth in all vicious Men and because they wholly â—ollow their Sense and are led merely by a corporeal Appetite they resemble Brutes Accordingly Epimenides calls the Crâ—tians evil Beasts as the Apostle takes notice and for the same reason all Persons that are given to Vice deserve that Denomination For their Portion like Nebuchadnezzar's is with the Beasts You cannot reckon them in the number of Men for tho they retain the human Shape yet they are really degenerated into the nature of Brutes Nay Man is become more irrational by far than the whole Herd of Brutes who by a natural Instinct or by some certain Laws of Motion following the Apprehensions of their Senses discern what is good or hurtful to them and not only so but imbrace the one and avoid the other Man alone once the excellentest Creature in the World but now depraved knows not his Happiness or despises it which in the sacred Stile is expressed after this manner The Ox knows his Owner and the Asâ— his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my people do not consider Isa. 1. 3. These are the inword and spiritual Evils which are the effects of Adam's Degeneracy and they are usually called by Divines by the name of Spiritual Death for these also were part of that dreadful Threatning In the day thou â—atest thereof thou shalt surely die But there are not only temporal but eternal Evils which are the fruit of Man's Apostatizing Man by his Guilt and Pollution contracted by the Fall and since delighted in is liable to be excluded from Happiness in another Life and is obnoxious to eternal Punishment and Misery in the World to come for Sin of it self can never be expiated and therefore the Guilt of it must necessarily continue without any Period Accordingly we read that the Wages of Sin is Death Rom. 6. 23. i. e. eternal Death for it being oppos'd in that place to eternal Life it cannot signify less It appears then that the Sinner deserves to be â—ormented both in Body and Soul with endless and eternal pains which makes his Condition far worse than that of the Beasts who Perish and so are made uncapable of all future Sufferings This is that worst of Deaths which is another part of that direâ—ul Threatning denounced against Adam and which is the most grievous and terrible effect of his Disobedience and falling from God and from this as from the other Evils procured by Man's Apostacy there is no redemption on 〈◊〉 the merciful and meritorious Undertakings of the blessed Messias who was afterwards promised After all it might be observ'd that not only Adam and Eve were threatned to be punish'd for this Transgression but even the Serpent which the Devil made use of in order to it he was rendred the most cursed of all Creatures and condemn'd to grovel on his Belly and to feed on the Dust of the Earth Gen. 3. 14. Which was design'd to be a lasting as well as a visible Memorial of God's Displeasure against the first Sin in the World So we read afterwards that God spared not the brutâ— Beasts whom the Sinners of the old world had abused but destin'd them no less than the Offenders themselves to Destruction Gen. 6. 7. which gives us some account of the implacable Opposition of the Divine Nature to all Sin and even to all that are but instrumental and serviceable to it He that is of purer eyes than to behold Iniquity will not suffer it to go unpunish'd wherever he observes it And this might be added here that the foresaid Cursâ— on the Serpent hath reference also to the malicious Dâ—mon who actuated that Animal The doom of this impure Spirit is here included his being not able to raise up himself against the Servants of the most High so as to hurt them and his being 〈◊〉 to Hell and his being made for ever a cursâ—d Creature lâ—ath'd and abhor'd of God and Man are comprehended in this Execration Thus I have finish'd the second State of Man This I call a State as it respects Us but I call it a Dispensation as it hath respect unto God because it was his Will and Pleasure to suffer this to be Out of infinite Wisdom he permitted Man's Fall designing to make it subservient at last to the Good of Mankind and to his own Glory by inhansing his Mercy and Goodness in the 〈◊〉 and unexpected rescuing of Mankind from the Miseries which they had incur'd by this general Lapse I say general for as I asserted before concerning the first State that of Innocâ—ncy that it included all Men in it as well as our first Progenitors so I must declare the same concerning this second State and Dispensation It takes in not only Adam and Evâ— who indeed were the most conspâ—cuous Persons but all the succeeding Generations of Men and Women For by reason of our first Parents wilful sinning and transgressing the Divine Law all Persons are under the Displeasure of God the Penalty of his Law and the Power of Satan for they are all conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity they are naturally averse to all Good and prone to all Evil and therefore a Condemnation is justly pass'd on them all Here I might copâ—ously treat of Original Sin and the fatal Influence of it but I intend not at present to enlarge on any main Article or Point of Divinity this Treatise being design'd only as an 〈◊〉 to so great a Performance This only in brief is to be remembred that Adam as a common Person sinn'd for himself and his whole Posterity In him all Mankind were created and in him they all â—ell and were corrupted Adam being the Father and Root of all Successions by his sinning involv'd himself and his Progâ—ny into a State of Guilt and Enmity against God This great Banker broke and with him all his Race were beggar'd and ruin'd His particular Fault became the Catholick Crime of all Persons descended from him even before they knew what was Good and Evil i. e. before they were born They were all accurs'd in him and rendred obnoxious to the Divine Wrath and no Creature was able to deliver them from it But God the merciful Creator and indulgent Father of Mankind was pleased to contrive their Deliverance Accordingly he made an early Discovery of his Grace and Love to our first Parents and to their Posterity which leads me to the next Dispensation CHAP. III. The Nature of the Third General Dispensation The first part of which is the Adamick State The early Promise concerning the Messias Gen. 3. 15. explain'd He was expected betimes The New Testament witnesses that he was to bruise the Serpent's Head Several positive Laws were under this Oeconomy That of Oblations and Sacrifices is especially consider'd Eucharistical Sacrifices were part of the Law of Nature Expiatory
Precept in as much as Labour and Diligence in â— lawful Calling are useful and necessary in this present State and are indeed of the Law of Nature and Reason tho they are here made Positive as I have heretofore shew'd that these two are not inconsistent Moreover under this Dispensation the Marriagâ— of Parents and Children which was also against the Law of Nature was forbid by God Gen. 2. 24. And it is not improbable that there was a particular prohibition from God that none who were near by Nature and Blood should be joined together in Marriage for altho at first it was absolutely necessary in order to Propagation that the Brother should marry the Sister yet when this Necessity was removed we read that they observed the Laws of Consanguinity and Propinquity The next thing I take notice of must be more largely insisted upon viz. That Oblations and Sacrifices were the Religion of the People of this Adamick Dispensation Sacrificing and Offering are sometimes â—aken as synonymous When they offered up the Fruits of the Earth and other things they might be said to sacrifice Therefore Pâ—rphyriâ—â— distinguisheth between bloody and unbloody Sacrifices the former were of the Fruits of the Ground the latter were of living Creatures Of both these we read in Gen. 4. 3 4. where it is said that Cain â—ffer'd of the Fruit of the Ground Abel of the Firstlings of his Flock Both these viz. the Oblations of first Fruits and the Sacrifices of Beasts were constantly observ'd by the Antediluvian Patriarchs The question is Whether this kind of Worship was natural or by divine Command As for the offering the First-fruits of the Earth unto God St. Chrysostom gives his Judgment thus Cain had no Law concerning these but merely of himself and by the incitâ—ment of his own Conscience offer'd this â—ort of Oblation And so others afterwards offer'd their First-fruits unto God as an acknowledgment that they receiv'd those and all other good things from him They were grateful Recognitions of the Almighty's Soveraignâ—y and of their dependance upon him These Annual Oblations were owning the year's Income and the Mercies of all their Life to be from God By these first Fruits they acknowledg'd him the Author of all that particularly he was the Owner of the Soil whence those Fruits came and that a Blessing and Increase were to be expected only from him The best and most precious things that God bestoweth on us â—aith Porphyriuâ— are the Fruits of the Earth therefore with these we ought to worship God and these he calls the Natural Worship of a Deity There needed not a Command of God for these for the Law of Nature dictated this kind of Oblations tho it may be there was a Divine Command added to inforce the Natural Dictate As for the other sort of Offerings and which Porphyry calls Bloody Sacrifices the killing of Beasts and offering them up to God there is some Controversy and that not undeservedly about these It is disputed whether Abel and those before Noah offer'd this kind of Sacrifice by any natural Reason moving them to it or by God's Institution and Command whether it was done by the mere Light of Nature or by Revelation â— There are Learned Writerâ— on both sides Iustin Martyr or whoever was the Aâ—thor of the Questions and Answers to the Orthodox is very peremptory None of those saith he who offer'd Brutes as a Sacrifice to God before â—he Law did it by Divine Order Then according to him all of them did it by some Natural Instinct and Dictate of Reason And so say other 〈◊〉 and several of the Rabbins So say Beâ—â—armine Suarez Aquinas and most of the Papists So say Sociâ—us and his Followers and for this Reason that those Sacrifices may not be thought to be the Representations of the Sacrifice of Christ which without doubt was the chief end of the instituting of Sacrifices Some of other Perswasions likewise agree in this Tenent that Sacrifices i. e. the killing and offering of Beasts were by the Law of Nature But these are contradicted by others both Papists and Protestants who confidently aver that these Sacrifices were by the special Injunction of God and did not proceed from any natural Notions and Principles which they had Now it is my desire here as 't is in all other Cases to reconcile dissenting and disputing Men which may effectually be done by leading them off from their Extremes which they adhere to In my judgment neither to these Parties are in the right not those who say all Sacrifices are by the Law of Nature nor those who assert that all of them must needs be by Divine Revelation There is a middle way between these which I take to be the true one viz. that both Natural Reason and Supernatural Revelation concur'd here Reason taught them to offer some Sacrifices and a positive Word from God tho not express'd by Mosâ—s taught them to offer others I must remind you then that Sacrifices were either Eucharistical or Expiatory that is they were either offer'd to God in way of thankful acknowledgment or to atone and expiate for their Sins The former of these I conceive were dictated by the Light of Nature but the latter were wholly or partly from God First I say the offering of Eucharistical Sacrifices was part of the Law of Nature for Reason would teach them to offer their Flocks as well as their Fruits to God These no less than the other were Acknowledgments they were owning of God's Dominion and Soveraignty As Cain a Husbandman offer'd by the mere instinct of Nature the Fruits of the Ground as an Acknowledgment that God was his Benefactor so the same Principle moved Abel a Shepherd to offer the first of his Flock in way of Recognition that God bestow'd those good things upon him Yea Abel by the only instinct of right Reason judged that God was to be worshipped with the best things and that the Sacrifices ought to be of the fattest of the Flock I do not think Minutius Felix discourseth and argueth closely when to the Gentiles who objected against the Christians that they had no Altars and Sacrifices he replieth thus Shall we offer Sacrifices and Oblations to God which he gave us on purpose for our use and service It is Ingratitude to return him Gifts again And Arnobius saith the same in answer to the same Objection but with as little reason It is madness saith he to measure God by our Needs and to give the things that are useful to us to God who is the giver of them But this was a great mistake there was no madness in doing this but a great deal of reason and sobriety For natural Gratitude directed them to give something to God therefore Sacrifices are called Gifts in the Holy Scripture particularly Abel's Offering is stiled a Gift Heb. 11. 4. and so the Mosaick Sacrifices are call'd Corban i. e. a Gift Mat. 5. 23 24. The Law
and add what he thought was left out saith not one word concerning these Fourthly These Precepts are all of them the Laws of Nature or most easily reducible to them They are Prohibitions against Injustice Blasphemy Idolatry Uncleanness Bloodshed Rapine All which are general Dictates of Nature and Reason and written in man's Mind originally Therefore it may be remembâ—red that these Precepts obtain'd not only among the Hebrews but among all Nations whatsoever It is not likely then that God did orally deliver these to the Patriarchs before the Flood for in that early time of the World it was not requisite Tho afterwards some of thesâ— Precepts were given to Noah viz. after the corruption and gross degeneracy of the People of the Old World and when a New World of Men was to be set up And tho these and the like Precepts were made up afterward into Ten Commandments and given to the Iews i. e. when the World was more corrupted and the Dictates of Reason and Morality were almost lost and when it was as necessary to rouse mens Minds and to keep Religion from decaying and when God was erecting a New Oâ—conomy and chusing a peculiar People to himself tho in these Circumstances the giving of such Precepts was necessary yet now in the Patriarchs days there was no need of delivering them they having them fresh on their minds There is no ground then for us to credit the Hebrew Doctors when they tell us that those six Precepts were deliver'd solemnly to the Sons of Adam It is only a Tradition of the Iews and of what truth and reality their Traditions generally are is known to those who are sober and unprejudiced Persons they are usually mere Fancies and Conceits Dreams and Dotages Lies and Forgeries Thus you see how it went with the World from Adam to the Flood which is reckon'd to be about sixteen hundred Years You see how the State of Religion stood what Communications the World had from God And here by the way I cannot but take notice of the groundless assertion of that Socinian Writer who declares That before the Flood there was no General Precept given to Men by God they had only some Injunctions which appertain'd to certain particular Persons and particular Affairs Nor had they any general Promise made to them he saith Episcopius is more large telling us That they lived almost 2000 Years without any Law without any Promises without any Precepts from God And he further adds That the Religion from Adam to Abraham was merely Natural and had nothing but Right Reason for its Rule and Measure All which are mistaken Notions for from what hath been deliver'd concerning this Oeconomy before the Flood it is evident that there was a Divine Prâ—cept which was general concerning Sacrifices and there was a Promise and that a general one concerning the Blessed Seed and there were other Laws and Prescriptions besides those that were founded on mere Reason for it appears that this Antediluvian Dispensation was mixt partly guided by the Light and Law of Nature partly by Revelation Religion consisted both of Natural Principles and Positive Commands These were all along interwoven with one another Thus the Old World was govern'd In which Period there were these ten Patriarchs who were all long-liv'd but one Adam was the first who when Abel was dead begat Seth whose Son was Enosh who begat Cainan and he Mahalalel and this Iared whose Son was Enoch who was translated Then Methusalaâ— the longest liver of them all Adam and he took up all the time between the Creation and the Flood then Lamech not he of that Name who was of Cain's Race and Noah was the last of the ten Antediluvian Fathers CHAP. IV. The Noachical Oeconomy The first Positive Law under it was about eating of Flesh. It is proved that this prevail'd not till after the Flood Objections against it answer'd The Testimony of Pagans to confirm it The Reason of the Prohibition The second Positive Law was concerning not eating Flesh with the Blood The Reason of it The third Positive Law was concerning not shedding of Man's Blood With the Penalty of it And the Sanction of Magistracy Servitude not introduced under this Dispensation The Longevity of the Patriarchs was common to all in those Times The Months and Years were of the same length then that they are now They were Solar not Lunar Years The Causes of the long Lives of those that lived before the Flood The Abrahamick Oeconomy With its several Steps and Advances The Nature of the Covenant made with Abraham Now the Faithful were separated and distinguish'd from the rest of the World Why they are called Hebrews The Nature and Design of Circumcision Vnder this Dispensation Altars were erected Tithes paid c. Of Polygamy and Concubines and other Vsages THE Second Patriarchal Dispensation or the Noachical Oâ—conomy began in Noah's days and lasted till Abraham Immediately after the Flood the Covenant which was made with our first Parents was renewed to Noah the Law of Grace which had been given to them was now confirmed to this eminent Person and to the â—est of Mankind in him and the â—ow in the Cloud was made a Sign of the Covenant Gen. 9. 9. It is to be believ'd that a farther discovery of the Mâ—ssias was made to Noah tho the Sacred History saith nothing of it But this is expresly recorded that this renewing and confirming of the Dispensation of Grace were accompanied with some positive Institutions and Laws which were an addition to those that were before given to Adam These are the things which make the difference between this and the former Oâ—conomy The first Positive Law was concerning â—ating of Flesh. Evâ—ry moving thing that liveth shall bâ— Meat for you Gen. 9. 3. The discrimination of Meats is taken away and Flesh is granted to be eaten and indeed there was a necessity of it at that time because the Fruits of the Earth were destroy'd by the Flood Before the Delugâ— there was not a liberty given to eat Flesh for they were limited by that Injunction in Gen. 1. 29. which appoints Herbs and Fruits to be their Meat God said Bâ—hâ—ld I have given you every Hâ—rb bearing Sâ—â—d which is upon the Face of all the Earth and every Tree in thâ— which is the Fruit of a Tree yielding Seed to you iâ— shall bâ— for Meat Here is the Lex Cibaria Man is confined as to his Diet Herbs and Fruits are appointed his Food and no other But now this Restraint is taken off by the same hand that laid it on and God permitâ— Noah and his Posterity to eat Flesh as well as Herbs But yet it is a Controversy among Writers whether eating of Flesh was granted just after the Flood and was altogether prohibited before The Hebrews generally say that the People before the Deluge fed only upon what the Earth produced and abstain'd from all living Creatures Most of the Christian Fathers hold
permitted to eat the Flesh before it was quite dead or they were not to eat any Limb or Member torn off from an Animal alive The Reason given in another place why they must not â—at Blood is because it is the Soul or Life of all Flesh that is it is the chief Instrument of Life and therefore is properly and significantly used in making Atonement for Souls Therefore it was designed wholly for Expiation it was appointed and appropriated to that sacred Use on the Altar And for this reason it ought not to be used in a common way Again God forbad eating of Blood and that even before the Law to teach abstaining from Man's Blood They must eat no Beast's Blood that they might not thereby learn to delight in Human Blood as we see saith an Expositor upon the place Butchers who kill Beasts are generally cruel and bloody to Men and for that reason the Law suffers them not to be on the Jury of Life and Death The Athâ—nians order'd one to be flead alive because he had serv'd a Ram so The Areopagite Judges condemn'd a Boy to death because he put out the eyes of Quails and this is given as the reason because it shew'd that the Boy was of a cruel disposition and would prove very hurtful if he lived So here it was thought that Blood-eating was a sign of and preparative to inhuman Actions and accordingly was not allow'd of Therefore this Precept of not eating the Flesh of Beasts with the Blood running about it was to restrain this Cruelty The old Giants of the World before the Flood generally liv'd on the Blood of Beasts and so learn'd to be cruel and savage to Men and thence as Maimonides and Mr. Selden from him conjecture this Law had its rise God therefore commanded those of Noah's Posterity to reâ—rain wholly from Blood that they might not proceed from cruelty to Beasts to killing of Men. Besides this may seem partly to be a natural Law Blood being a gross Meat and not fit for nourishment A Third Law given to Noah was that in Gen. 9. 5 6. Surely the blood of your lives will I require at the hand of every beast will I require it and at the hand of man at the hand of every mans brother will I require thâ— lifâ— of man Whoso â—â—eddeth mans blood by man shall his blood be shed for in the Image of God made 〈◊〉 maâ— There is indeed a Treble Law comprised in these words 1. They are forbid to shed mans blood Noaâ— and his sons are commanded not to be guilty of Homicidâ— Taking away a mans life was unlawful before as in C ain but here it is solemnly denounced to be such and moreover the Punishment of it is set down If shedding of mans blood were not here forbidden as unlawful it would not be followed with a Pâ—nalty as you see it is Which is the second Sanction here the blood of your lives I will require at the hand of every beast and at the hand of every man Whether man or beast procure the death of a man their blood shall be required for it Death is here made the Penalty of Murder Yea the very Beasts that kill'd a man should themselves be kill'd There was no Law before this for the punishing of Bloodshed And thirdly here is also signified the Autâ—ority of thâ— Magistrate whose particular and peculiar work it is to require the life of man at the hand of every mans brâ—thâ—r Whoso sheddeth mans blood by man shall his blood be shed Here the manner of punishing bloodshed is set down and appointed it must be done by the Magistrate A publick Minister of Justice is here ordered and appointed to punish the guilty Here is the first Institution of that Political Order Here is the first injunction for erecting Courts of Judicature Some of the Socinian party will allow this to be a Commination but not a Precept given to Magistrates But herein they separate what they ought to have united for these words are both a threatning of Punishment and also an Order or Warrant given to the Magistrate to execute that Punishment It is to be done by Man Adam which word sometimes is appropriated to one of Eminency and Power and therefore here not unfitly denotes the Magistrate the Ruler him that hath Authority and Power above others This is the person that is commission'd here not to suffer Bloodshed to go unpunish'd but to return blood for blood which is a practice grounded on the Law of Reason and Equity which in such a case as this requires a just and equal Retribution But this and other places those of the Racâ—vian way distort to serve their own end viz. to patronize their opinions concerning Magistrates who according to them are not to use any Capital Punishment not to 〈◊〉 War c. But any unprejudic'd and considerate person cannot but see that the power of the Sword is here given to the Civil Magistrate Upon this one Charter depends the Execution of Justice against all Crimes upon this is founded the power of executing judgment upon Offenders and of cutting off of Malefactors So that you see in this forecited place are contain'd two of those Precepts which were said to be given to Adam the Titles whereof were of Iudgments and of not Shedding of Blood which both were Laws of Nature imprinted in mens breasts but when after the flood the World began anew God thought fit to revive the remembrance of these Laws and made them Positivâ— and not before that we know of Some think that under this Dispensation was introduced Slavery that men were all free before the Flood and that not long after Servitudâ— began viz. in Canaan the Son of Cham for which they alledg that Text Gen. 9. 25. A servant of servantâ— shall he bâ— Here is the first servant mention'd and because we read of none before they conclude that Bondage which is a great Curse began in this Cursed Person the Offspring of cursed Câ—am But I cannot so easily assert that Servitudâ— had its first rise here for though Canaan be the first servant mention'd yet it doth not follow thence that Thraldom had its beginning in him for silence is no Argument that there was none before But the main thing which I have to say is this that if Bondage commenc'd in Canaan it is to be understood not of himself but of his posterity So that we may truly say it did not begin in this Dispâ—nsatiâ—n but afterwards And this is plain from the place it self and the following verses where 't is said Canaan shall be the servant of Shâ—m and he was so when his posterity the Canaanitâ—s were overcome and subdued by those of the race of Shâ—m viz. the Israâ—lites Then it was that this Curse on Canaan was fulfill'd and not before But as to common Servitude we read of it long before that time Aâ—raâ—am had mâ—n-servants and maid-sâ—rvants who 〈◊〉 boâ—ght with
according to that of the Apostle That which may be known of God was manifest in them for God shew'd it unto them Rom. 1. 19. But as the Apostle there adds they held the Truth in unrighteousness and when they knew God they glorified him not as God but changed the Glory of the incorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible Man and to Birds and fourfooted Beasts and creeping things and were filled with all unrighteousness fornication wickedness covetousness maliciousness full of envy murder and all manner of Vice and Villany But tho it was thus with the Gentiles generally yet it was not so with them All there were many that abandon'd Idolatry and profess'd the only True God There were excellent Persons even among the Heathens who were eminent for Grace and Holiness as the Examples before mention'd testifie There was a kind of a Church out of the Church Many of the Gentiles had the knowledg of 〈◊〉 and of his Covenant with Mankind for a great part of the Covenant consisted in the Moral Law which was solemnly proclaim'd on Mount Sinai and was the principal part of the Mosaick Religion but appertain'd to all Men for being the Law of Nature it had respect to the whole Race of 〈◊〉 it concern'd every Person of what Nation or Countrey soever And it might be remark'd to this purpose that at the promulgation of this Law there were present not only Israelites but Strangers and Gentiles Exod. 12. 38. Num. 11. 4. Deut. 29. 11. This intimated that the Church was not shut up within the Iewish Nation the Covenant of Grace extended farther than Iudea And thus we see this Dispensation is a Dispensation of Grace Not only as the whole Gentile World was a sharer in the common Favours and Blessings of Heaven but as some of them were actual partakers of the peculiar and saving Grace of God upon their owning the God of Israel and turning unto him Thus God excluded no sort of People from the participation of his Favour But that of St. Peter was verified God is no respector of Persons but in every Nation he that seareth God and 〈◊〉 Righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 34 35. And what I have said is not inconsistent with those places of Holy scripture which speak of the Iews as of a peculiar People and which exast them above all other Nations in the World What Nation saith Moses is there so great who hath God so nigh to them as the Lord our God in all things that we call upon him for As if he had said Other Nations indeed are great yea greater as to 〈◊〉 than the Iews in this they out do us but the Nation of the Iews is to be preferred to them all because God Himself dwelleth with us he is always nigh at hand and we converse familiarly with him daily whenever we inquire of him he answereth us whenever we stand in need of Direction and Assistance he goes before us as our Guide He protects and defends us He helps and delivers us Again What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Iudgments so righteous Where he sheweth on another account the Iews Preeminence viz. their having so exact a Law given them by God It appears not that the Gentiles had any Special Rules and Positive Laws prescribed them as the Iews had The Laws of the Old Testament were revealed only to this People and to no other Nations They were peculiar Laws and therefore the Gentiles were not under the particular Obligation of them Moses his Law never bound any but the Iews and Proselytes who made themselves Inhabitants of that Land it obliged no other Nations under Heaven For it was designed for the Jews only and not for others that is Christ being to be born amongst them God granted to them Particular and Special Favours to distinguish them from other people to Sanctifie and Consecrate them especially Therefore God separated the Israelites from the rest of the World and gave them particular Constitutions and Injunctions he shew'd his Word unto Jacob his Statutes and Iudgments unto Israel he hath not deale so with any Nation and as for his Iudgments they have not known them Psal. 147. 19 20. i. e. the Nations of the World were not govern'd by particular Laws as the Iews they were not so highly honour'd and blessed God was not pleas'd to manifest himself to them in a like degree In this regard the Psalmist saith Psal. 139. 4. The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure And in this respect God saith to Israel You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth Amos 3. 2. God knew that People in a manner different from all others he convers'd with them in a more intimate way than with the rest of the World he reveal'd himself to them in a particular and special manner he govern'd and ruled that People by peculiar Laws and Sanctions and he wrought extraordinary Wonders to support and deliver them so that in comparison of the Iews God may be said not to have known the Gentiles The Apostle likewise declareth the Preference and Prerogative of the Iew above other People in answer to that question What advantage hath the Jew or what profit is there of Circumcision much every way saith he chiefly because unto them were committed the Oracles of God They had singular Discoveries and Revelations of God's Will above others which was a Sign and Assurance of the greatest Favour imaginable They had Holy Laws to make them holier than others and they carried the Sign and Mark of the Holy Covenant even on their flesh For this reason God may be said to have been the God of their Nation But whilst he shew'd more especial kindness to them he did not neglect the rest for besides that all of them lived under the Law of general Grace many of them were specially favoured and experienced the distinguishing Grace of God The Blessings of God's Church reached even to some of those that were not within the Pale of it A Divine Light was reflected from the Church to those that were not thought Members of it Some enlightning and refreshing Rays were sent out to them tho the Sun was not risen on their Horizon The Sum of all is that when God made a Covenant with Abraham and his Posterity the Israelites he did not debar other People from Saving Grace and all Spiritual Benefits There were besides Abraham's Family and the Body of the Israelites who came from Abraham other Persons in the World who knew and worship'd God in a true and right manner Some that were at a great distance from the Holy Land and were Aliens to the Commonwealth of Israel were Heirs of Eternal life Some of all Nations were virtually included in the Covenant altho not mantioned Tho they were not to enter into Canaan and Canaan could not hold them which was part of the Covenant to the
It is not necessary that there should be a Formal Abrogation of the Ceremonial Law because when the Reason of a Law ceases the Law it self ceaseth But yet it is shew'd from sundry Places in the New Testament that the Ceremonial Law is formally and expresly abrogated We are assured of the Truth of the Christian Religion from Humane Testimony The Testimony of the Outward and Bodily Senses is made use of and appealed to in the New Testament as an Argument of the truth of Christianity St. John's Words 1 Ep. 1 Chap. 1 2 3. ver commented upon There is no Certainty in Religion espâ—cially in the Christian if the Testimony of Sense be not allow'd of The Apostles and those who heard and saw the things done by our Saviour were Credible Persons The four Evangelists and other Writers of the New Testament were Competent Witnesses of what they relate Their Personal Qualities which are particularly reckon'd up render their Testimony worthy of all acceptation The Christians that succeeded them faithfully deliver'd things to us Their Lives are a proof of their Integrity Their Sufferings and Death are an undeniable Argument of their testifying the Truth to us An Heap of Evidences that we are not imposed upon by them The very Jews bear witness to the Truth of Christianity The manner of their Congratulating our Saviour at his riding into Jerusalem particularly consider'd Heathens attest the Truth of the Christian Religion So do Infernal Spirits 111. I Am to shew the Truth and Certainty of the Christian Oeconomy and therein of the Christian Religion And here first we must grapple with the tenacious and stubborn Iew for his Dispensation being so Antient and Authentick he is loth to quit it I must prove therefore before I go any further that it is nulled abrogated and superannuated We need not say much of the Iudicial Law It is the Ceremonial one which makes Iudaism properly and is the most opposite to the Christian Administration The Iudicial Laws so far as they make for Peace and good Order in the Government and so far as they are sutable to the present State of Affairs may be observed still but then they oblige not as part of the Mosaick Law but as they are good Rules of Government in themselves But the main Part of the Iudicial Law is not at this Day practicable amongst the Iews themselves they being dispersed and no longer in a Body that Law cannot be made use of and consequently doth not oblige them And any one may see plainly that that Polity and Government was not to last for ever as they foolishly dream For it was not fitted for the Tempers of all People not proper for all Countries but was in most things calculated for the Iewish Meridian only and for the present Circumstances that People were in at that time and therefore it is evident that it was to be changed afterwards I do not lay any stress on what may be observed of the different Manner of delivering the three Laws Moral Ceremonial and Iudicial but only let it be an occasion to suggest to us a right Notion concerning the different Nature of them The Ten Commandments or Moral Law was delivered on the top of the Mount in the face of the World as it were to signify that it was of universal Influence and obliged all Mankind But the Ceremonial Lâ—w was received by Moses in private in the Tabernacle which may hint to us that it was of a peculiar Concern it belong'd to the Iews only it was to cease when the Tabernacle was down when the Veil of the Temple was rent And as for the Iudicial Law it was neither so publickly and audibly given as the Moral Law nor so privately as the Ceremonial which may intimate to us the Nature of that sort of Law it is of an indifferent kind and may be kept up or not according as its Rules sute with the Place and Government It is then the Ceremonial Law wherein the Religion of the Iews as distinct from other People chiefly consisted which I am ingaged more especially to speak of at present The first thing that I will undertake is this to shew that the Mosaick Oeconomy was not designed to be perpetuated but that it was to be changed and to give way to the Evangelical one If this be proved it is a good step towards the main Point viz. the Truth of the Evangelical Oeconomy 1. That the Mosaick Dispensation was not to last always is clear from the many Promises in the Old Testament of inlarging Religion and of extending the Church to the uttermost parts of the World Which is no ways consistent with the Mosaick Oeconomy for according to the Law all the Males were to assemble at Ierusalem and to worship there thrice a Year But when upon the Messias's coming all Nations were to imbrace the true Religion how was it possible for the remotest Nations of the World to come and sacrifice at Ierusalem and constantly to meet there at solemn Feasts Ierusalem could not hold them the Temple would be too little for the Worshippers This is a Sign that God intended not to confine his Church to Iudea but that he designed a Religion which should be Universal and oblige the whole World According to the Law Sacrifices were to be no where but at Ierusalem But it is said in Isa. 19. 19 23. There shall be Altars and Sacrifices to the Lord in Egypt and Assyria and in Mal. 1. 11. From the rising of the Sun even unto the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offer'd unto my Name and a pure Offering Therefore the City of Ierusalem was not to be the only Seat of solemn Worship and Sacrifice but upon the coming of the Messias Oblations were to be all the World over God saith of his Church which is his House that it shall be called a House of Prayer to all Nations Isa. 56. 7. Mark 11. 17. That is the Church shall be open to all without respect of Persons or Countries which must needs be and was always acknowledged a Prophesy concerning the spreading of Christianity and its being imbraced by some of all Nations under Heaven Therefore it is said by the same Evangelical Prophet in the last Days all Nations shall flow unto it Isa. 2. 2. So in Isa. 56. 3 4 5. we find that Strangers and Eunuchs Persons uncapable by the Mosaick Law of being of the Communion of the Iewish Church shall be admitted into it And that is yet more remarkable which you read in the same Prophet Chap. 66. where after it was plainly foretold that the Gentiles should have a Holy Church and that there should be an Offering to the Lord out of all Nations ver 20. this is added in the next Verse I will also take of them for Priests and for Levites saith the Lord. Observe it there shall be Priests and Levites taken from the
shall be objected that it is improbable Paradise was washed with all these four Rivers viz. Euphrates Tigris Ganges and Nile for then it must needs be almost as large as a third part of half the Globe Especially as to Pison and Gihon how can we hold that the former is Ganges and the latter Nile for then we must take in almost all Asia and a great part of Africa into Paradise Therefore this Notion concerning the Rivers of Paradise is very extravagant and consequently must not look for any reception I answer 1. It is not so extravagant to make a quarter of half the Earth Paradisiacal as to hold that it was all of it so at first which yet we find vouched of late But 2. it is a gross mistake in the Objectors to think that what I have said enlarges Paradise to that wideness which they mention for when we speak of the Rivers belonging to this place this must be remembred that the Heads and Springs of them are meant not the whole body and current of them For you read but of a River Gen. 2. 10. i. e. one River but this one River was parted as you read in the same Verse into four Branches or if you will into four Rivers viz. without Paradise not within it The one River was in Paradise and was serviceable to water it whilst these Arms and Branches of it spread themselves to a vast distance even on one hand to some Regions of Africa and further yet on the other hand to some remote parts of India Here is nothing extravagant in this Assertion and consequently Nile and Ganges might and certainly did descend from the capital River of Eden The River Pison is said to compass the whole Land of Havilah and Gihon is said to compass the whole Land of Ethiopia that is the Waters of these Springs or Fountain-heads which had their rise in Paradise flow'd as far as Havilah in India and Ethiopia in Africk and encompass'd these places with their various turnings and windings Moses tells us what Regions of the World these derivative Streams and Branches which in broad Channels made very considerable Rivers reach'd to But we cannot conclude thence that Paradise it self was extended so far This I think is very plain and intelligible and no Man of sense can oppose it and therefore there is no cause for that outcry which is made against Ganges and Nile's being two of the Rivers mention'd in Gen. 2. Notwithstanding what some late Writers have ingeniously offer'd I think the old Opinion is the most probable or at least I take it to have as much probability in it as any of the Modern ones And so any unprejudic'd Person will be inclin'd to think if he considers how likely a thing it is that the Fountains and Springs of Rivers are much alter'd since the Creation of the World and consequently what these learned Men alledg concerning the rise and spring of Euphrates c. which they have met with in some Authors is to little purpose 3. I will add this that Euphrates and Tigris were the only Rivers that were proper to Eden or Paradise but the other two are mention'd because they wash'd those Regions which appertain'd to and border'd upon that blessed Ground called Paradise Paradise strictly taken was not so wide and spacious but all the whole Country lying about that particular Ground is in a large sense termed Paradise We may observe it is said God planted a Garden in Eden Gen. 2. 8. not that the Garden was as large as Eden but rather it is evident from these words that Eden was that Region of the Earth in part of which God planted a Garden which was not and indeed could not be so large as the place he planted it in Yet without doubt it was of a very considerable length and breadth the circumference of it was large and specious and therefore Rivers or Arms of Rivers at a great distance might belong to it In short the Soil thereabouts was in some measure Paradisiacal but this one part of it was more eminently so and in a peculiar sense might be call'd Paradise and the Garden of Eden Thus I hope I have given a full Answer to what was objected and thereby made it very clear and perspicuous that Paradise was planted in that Region which was afterward call'd Eden and that Babylon even that which was cursed Babylon afterwards was the Seat of that blessed Ground And tho what Tertullian and Augustin and several of the Moderns as Aquina◠Gregory de Valentiâ Bellarmine Del Rio and others have held viz. that this happy place is not known to Mortals may be thus far true that we are not acquainted with the individual Spot of Ground where Adam and Eve were placed in their Innocence yet if these Persons aforemention'd meant what they said in a more general sense their Opinion is false and groundless for it is evident from the premises that Paradise was in the eastern part of the Continent of Asia that it was that part of Mesopotamia which was wash'd with Tigris and Euphrates that it was a kind of an Island made so by these and other Rivers that encompass it and particularly that Babylon now a known place in Turky was afterward the name of the Country that pleasant and delightful Country where the Garden of Paradise was situated Here it was that our first Parents were seated by the particular appointment of God In this happy Region of the World in this blessed Island they were to spend their days But what were they to do here What manner of Life were they to lead What Laws were they govern'd by This we are next to consider and it is necessary to do so in order to our being acquainted with the nature of this first Dispensation God who had given Adam the whole Earth and all that was in it to possess and enjoy yet assign'd him this lesser portion of Ground to inhabit in and to cultivate and he would not suffer him to be idle and unimploy'd in that happy state of Innocence but set him to dress and keep that choice piece of Earth Gen. 2. 15. which would want his care because it was so luxuriant Here he was to employ his Mind as well as exercise his Body here he was to enjoy God Himself and the whole World Here he was to contemplate and study God's Works to submit himself wholly to the Divine Conduct to conform◠all his Actions to the Will of his Maker and to live in a constant dependence upon him Here he was to spend his days in the continual exercises of Prayers and Praises and it may be the very natural dictates of Gratitude would prompt him to offer up some of the Fruits of the Ground and some living Creatures in way of Sacrifice unto God There were thousands of Objects to exercise his Wit and Understanding to call forth his Reason and to employ it But the ultimate perfection of his
than other Creatures were that he came to him often and was pleas'd with his Society that he did not creep on the ground but went on his feet But the same Author goes too far when he intimates that he was of an erect Figure for that is proper only to Man It is very probable that the Serpent did not then grovel and creep on the Earth as he now doth for this was the Curse pronounced against him after the Fall but he was somewhat lifted up from the ground by feet tho perhaps they were very short for you find in the forenamed place that he is sorted with the Beasts of the Field which are distinguish'd in kind from creeping things Gen. 1. 25. Another Ecclesiastical Writer agrees with the former Author that the Serpent was more sociable and conversant with our first Parents than all the other Creatures were that he often approach'd to them and insinuated himself into them with the gentle motions of his Body I do not think with Iosephus that the Serpent and all other Beasts naturally spoke in Paradise a Dream which Basil also assents to but this I am ascertain'd of from the inspired Records of Moses that the Devil spoke by the Serpent or which is all one that the Serpent possessed by the Devil spoke to Eve So we read afterwards that an Ass by an extraordinary impulse spake to Balaam And since that time several Histories mention the speaking of irrational Animals yea of inanimate Creatures Thus a River spoke to Pythagoras and saluted him as he passed by it if we may believe Porphyrius in his Life A Tree spoke to Apollonius Tyanaeus saith Philostratus This was the effect of Magick both those Persons being skill'd in that Art It will be granted then that the Devil is able to do what his Agents and Ministers can effect thus here the Serpent spake to Eve by the motion of Satan actuating his Body The Devil moved his Tongue and inabled him to hold a Discourse with the Woman And now if you consider that he was by his Nature and Make of a graceful Hew and Figure and that he was made by God a subtil and insinuating Creature you will not deny that he was fit to be made use of by Satan to intice and inveigle the Woman Wherefore the bold Man that laughs at this part of the Mosaick History concerning the Serpent and Eve talking together and in effect represents it as a mere Fiction hath as little Reason as Religion on his side It is certainly agreeable to Reason that the Devil would tempt and seduce her by making use of some familiar and domestick Creature if he used any at all The Fox was cunning and crafty but the Serpent was the most gentle and tractable of all this was his proper subtilty It is probable that this Creature was beloved both by Adam and Eve She especially was delighted with it and used to play and sport with it she laid it perhaps in her Bosom or adorned her Neck with its twistings and windings or she made it a Bracelet for her Arms. This is certain that the enmity between the Serpent and Mankind was not till after Man's Fall as appears from Gen. 3. 15. I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed There could not be an Enmity put between them unless there had been a Friendship before Or if the Serpent used before to ensnare or hurt Mankind and to shew himself an Enemy why is it denounced by God as a Threatning and Curse that he will put Enmity between them It is evident then that the Serpent was some goodly lovely Creature and would needs make himself acceptable to the Woman And in this Masquerade the Devil soon got the better of her perswading her that if she did eat of the prohibited Fruit she should be so far from receiving any harm and damage that she should thereby mend her condition and be some Goddess rather than a Woman She was caught with these fond and flattering Suggestions and slighted the Divine Injunction and boldly ventured on the forbidden Dainties The subtil Ingineer planted his Artillery against the weakest part of the Fort he began his Batteries against the feeble Sex first Alas a silly Woman and a subtil Serpent acted by the Devil were not Matches And as this latter tempted Eve by a Serpent so he tempted Man by Eve who was gentle and alluring familiar and insinuating and not easily to be repulsed The weak Woman must needs fall being sollicited both by Satan and the Serpent The poor Man could not but fall who had a triple temptation that of the Devil the Serpent and the Woman Thus both Man and Woman fell and that in a short time after they were created Man being in honour abideth not He stood not one night say some in integrity but apostatized in the close of the same day in which he was made and in the very same day he was cast out of Paradise So the Iews generally and many of the Christian Fathers assert Luther is very punctual Our first Parents entred saith he into the Garden at Noon-day and the Woman having an Appetite and taking delight in the Food eat of it about two a clock But these two things may incline us to think that they did not 1. What the Sacred History concerning that matter affordeth us 2. What Reason and the thing it self will suggest to us about it 1. The History of the Acts of that Day on which Adam was made is a sufficient confutation of this Opinion For Moses in the Book of Genesis acquaints us that on that Day wherein he was created which was the sixth day all these things were done 1. Being created without Paradise he was that day brought into it 2. The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil were proposed to him 3. A Law concerning abstaining from one of them was given him 4. All the four-footed Creatures one of a sort at least were brought to him and set before him and he view'd and observ'd them and according to the nature and differences of every Species gave peculiar Names to them The same he did to all the Fowls of the Air. This would take up a considerable time 5. After this Adam fell into a deep sleep and a Rib is taken out of his side and of it the Woman was made 6. God as the Paranymph brings this Spouse to Adam who acknowledgeth her to be a part of him and takes her into intimate familiarity and made her his Wife All this was done on the sixth Day but we do not read that any more was done But you will say If it admitted of so much work we may as well add the eating of the forbidden Fruit which did not take up much time But I answer we learn not from the History that this was done on that day Yea we are sure it
and bloody ones were not so Thence these latter were disapproved of by the wisest Heathens They are â—ounded upon Divine Institution The practice of Sacrificing among the Pagans was derived to them by Tradition from the Jews or the foregoing Patriarchs Whether Sacrifices were prescribed before or after the Fall of our First Parents Concerning the Primitive Priesthood The Distinction of clean and unclean Animals was in respect of Sacrificing not Eating Gen. 4. 26. explain'd and a settled Church founded upon it Marrying with Infidels seems to bâ— prohibited under this Dispensation The Rise of Polygamy The seven Precepts said to be given to the Sons of Adam and Noah The Improbability of this Jewish Tradition evinced from several Considerations The Mistakes of Volkelius and Episcopius concerning the Antediluvian Oâ—conomy THE Third General Dispensation is that of 〈◊〉 and Recovery through the Mâ—ssiaâ— This is the most considerable State of all and the most lasting for it extends from Adam's Restauration to the end of the World Now begins the Law of grace and the Law of Faith which makes this a new Oâ—conomy Now God's Will concerning Man's Redemption and the free Pardon of Sins was discover'd Now upon the Fall of Adam and the Corruption of Mankind and the forfeiture of all Happiness Life and Immortality are bestowed anew To him that overcomâ—th it is given to eat of the Tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God Deliverance here and Eternal Life hereafter are freely offerâ—d Now God treateth with Man de novo viz. by a Mediator Now there was a New Covenant made between God and Adam or rather between God and Mankind in him The sum of the Covenant was this that God on his part would shew Mercy unto Adam and his Prosterity for the sake of the Messias who was to die for their Sins and that by virtue of his Satisfaction and Merit Man should be accepted And on Man's part it was covenanted and promised by Adam that they should believe in this Messias and rely upon his Undertakings and Merits and faithfully perform all the other Conditions requir'd of them in those Laws which God publish'd to the World This Covenant of Grace succeeded in the room of the Covenant of Works made with Man in his State of Integrity for he by his Fall breaking that Covenant there was another enter'd into and it is call'd the Covenant of Grace because it is the result of the Divine Favor and Goodness for on the violation of the first Covenant Man became obnoxious to the Devine Displeasure and might justly have been left to perish in his Sin but the Divine Mercy and Philanthropy exerted themselves in favor of Mankind and graciously submitted to a nâ—w Covâ—nant through the Mediator and Sponsor Christ Iesus the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World This is the Covâ—nant of Grace made with Mankind of which I shall speak But let me remark this by the by that tho this grand Revelation and Covenant constitute a new Oeconomy yet the Administration of the Law of Nature still remained As natural Religion was of use before in the two other Oeconomies for they were under the Law of Nature mix'd with some Revelutions so now it câ—aseth not Tho Nature is corrupted yet this Light is not extinguish'd The Law of Nature written in Man's Heart at his Creation is still necessary and useful This was imprinted on Men as they were created with rational Minds and therefore this must last always and it was made to do so for it must conduct them as they are Mâ—n i. e. as they are indued with Principles of Reason This goes through all the Particular Dispensations which I shall mention afterwards Having premised this I come to speak of the 〈◊〉 Oâ—conomy of Grace which contains in it all those Periods of Time which were from the discovery of the blessed Seed to Adam until the end of the World This one great Dispâ—nsation of Grace comprehends under it these four particular and pâ—culiar ones 1. The Patriarchal 2. The Mâ—sâ—ical or Lâ—gal 3. The Gâ—ntilâ— 4. The Christian or Evangâ—lical Dispensation 〈◊〉 I begin first with the Patriarchal Oâ—conomy which is call'd so because it prevail'd in the Time when the old Patriarchs lived Adam Nâ—ah and Abraham were the principal of them and fâ—om them this Oâ—conomy may be distinguished into three Periods viz. the Aâ—amical for though the two former Dispensations may be â—ruly call'd Adamickâ— as respecting both the innocent and â—allen State of Adam yet here I restrain the term to that particular part of God's Dispensation which was in this first Patriarch's time from his blessed Recovery till his leaving the World and it comprehends whatever things the Holy Scripture hath mention'd as proper to him and his immediate Posterity till the Flood the Noachical and the Abrahamick The first commenceth with the discovery of the Messias made to Adam and lasteth till Noah the second begins with Noah and the Confirmation of the Covenant of Grace made to him the third takes place from the renewing of it to Abraham The first Patriarchal Dispensation call'd Adamical and Antediluvian began with that signal Promise concerning the Mâ—ssias in Gen. 3. 15. I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed It shall bruise thy Head and thou shalt bruise his Heel It is true this may be meant of the natural Brood of Serpents and of all the Woman's Offspring namely there shall be a great Antipathy between those and these Who seeth not that there is a natural Enmity between the Serpent and Man The former is ready with his venomous Sting to hurt Mankind he may be said to bruise their Heel for this Creature being on the ground can more easily come at that part and iâ—jure it Therefore Man is afraid of him and fâ—eeth from him but if he hath an opportunity he crusheth him he bruiseth his Head he destroyeth him Thus the Iews generally interpret this Text viz. of the iâ—bred Antipathy between the naturâ—l Serpent and all Mankind But tho this be the literal and most obviouâ— Sense of the words yet it is not the primary one For there is another and higher meaning of them and that is this by the Serpent is meant the Devil because he enter'd into the Serpent and appeaâ—'d in that Shape when he tempted Eve and by the Seed of the Woman is meanâ— Christ who is signally said to be made of a Woman Gal. 4. 4. in contradistinction to others who are made of Man and are the Seed of Man There is an irreconcileable Enmity and Hostility between thesâ— two Christ and Satan This latter shews his Enmity in bruising the Heel of the other in persecuting him and his Followers but the former shall shew his Antipathy in bruising the others Head i. â— in utterly destroying his Power and Dominion Here then is the Promise of Christ's coming in the Flesh of the Son of God
assuming our Nature and thereby redressing the Evils which came by the Fall and by his meritorious Death making Atonement for the Sins of Men and reconciling them to the incens'd Majesty of Heaven And it is here included that even before he was incarnate the Merit of his future Suffeâ—ings and Death should in all Ages be imputed to those who believe in him and look for his Coming For he is the Lamb slain from the beginning of the World he was appointed from Eternity to redeem and save lost Mankind by the effusion of his precious Blood This is the purport of this gracious Promisâ— made to Adam in Paradise this was the fiâ—st dawning of the Gospel-Light here were the first Tidings of a Mâ—ssiaâ— Some of the Church of Româ— understand this Promise concerning the Virgin Mary the Vulgar Latin have render'd it ipsâ— she shall bruisâ— thy Head and hence it is inferr'd by Tiriâ—us and others on the place that that Pronoun refers to a Woman and that Woman is the Virgin Mary who bringing forth Christ bruised the Serpent's Head But these Men must be reminded that the Hâ—brâ—w word which we translate It is not hi but 〈◊〉 not she but 〈◊〉 However being of the Masculine Gender it must needs reâ—er to the word before which is of the same Genderâ— and that is Zâ—rang the Sâ—â—d viz. the Seed of the Woman which is Christ. The Lawâ— of Grammar forbid us to render it she and the Laws of the Christian Religion forbid us to apply it to the Virgin Mary seeing it is the proper Work of the Mâ—ssiaâ— to bruise and break the Serpent's Head i. e. to destroy Satan This Interpretation then we quit not only as it is ungrammatical but as it is profane and blasphemously derogates from the Office and Undertakings of Christ. Of him alone we ought to understand these words to him only we can with good reason apply them Thus without doubt they were understood by our First Parents and administred unspeakable Solace and Comfort to them Hence the Messiaâ— was daily expected by them and when Eve was deliver'd of her first-born Son she thought verily she had brought forth the Mâ—ssiaâ— who should bruise the Serpent's Head I have gotten â—aith she a Man from the Lord or according to the Hebrew the Man the Lord. Not only the Iewish especially the Cabalistick Doctors but some worthy Persons of the Christian Perswasion read the words thus and interpret them concerning the Blessed Seed Helvicus hath shew'd that Eth is an Article of the Accusative Casâ— and he doth it in so many Instances in Scripture that it seems to be the Hebrâ—w Idiom And besides it is a demonstrative or â—mphatick Particle and points at some Thing or Person in a signal manner So here it emphatically refers to the Mâ—ssiaâ— who was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both Man and God Our Grandmother Evâ— was in hopes that she had born this God-man that Person who was to bruise Saâ—an's Head according to the Promise made to them It is not wholly improbable that 〈◊〉 also perswaded himself that his Son Noah should be the Messias and take away the Curse of the Fall and bring a Blessing with him and comfort the distressed World and give it Rest and Ease and therefore he named him Noah which signifies both Rest and Consolation There was without question a continual expectation of the Coming of this Person and of the fulâ—illing of that Promise concerning his destroying of Satan The seventy Interpreters understood that Text of the Messias which occasion'd their making the masculine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to answer to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Neuâ—er Gender as the Apostle also doth Gal. 3. 16. And all the antiâ—nt Iews understood this Promise of the blessed Seed Christ tho the Moderns do not You will find it thus applied by both the Targums And the New Testament approves of this by bearing witness that Christ is the Person who â—ruisâ—s the Serpent's Head He took Flesh and Blood that through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Dâ—vil Heb. 2. 14. To this purpose the Son of God was manifestâ—d that he might destroy the Works of the Devil 1 John 3. 8. and Luke 10. 18. Iohn 12. 31. and 14. 30. with many other places declare that this was he who was to bruise Satan under our feet This is the Scope of the whole Gospel and this is that Gospel which was preached by God in Paradisâ— When Adam and in him all Mankind apostaâ—ized from God and could expect nothing but the Reward of their Rebellion and therefore might have abandon'd themselves to utter Despair God reviv'd them with this Promise of the Mâ—ssias The Seed of the Woman shall bruisâ— the Sâ—rpâ—nt's Head God the Father so loved the World that he resolved to give to his Only Son to be their Redeemer who being the Eternal Wisdom and Word of God and so truly God and one in Essence with the Father was in due time to assume our Nature and become Man thereby to transact the Redemption of lost Mankind and accomplish the Designs of Grace and Mercy to undone Sinners Which tho it be not expresly on this occasion set down in the Mâ—saick History yet other passages of Sacred Scripture assure us that it was so and that the Second Persâ—n in the Sâ—cred Triniâ—y undertook to pacify the Wrath of the Deiâ—y and to reconcile Man unto God and to accomplish the New Covenant made with Adam and his Posterity even a Covenant of Grace and Mercy through his Blood Having thus shew'd the main thing in this Dispensation I must in the next place acquaint you what other considerable things made up this particular Oeconomy and Administration of the Almighty Aâ—ter this grand Revelation and Discovery made to Adam and Eve concerning the Messias to come there were several positive Precepts and Laws given to them and their Children Some reckon that as one that the Woman should be subject to the Man He shall rule over thee Gen. 3. 16. For these words they say may contain not only a Threatning but a Command Here is not only signified the Punishment consequent on the Fall that the Husband should imperiously rule over the Woman which we mention'd before but here is enjoyn'd the subjection of the latter to the former this being now become requisite in the state that Men and Women are in And tho it was a Curse to be tyrannically ruled tho a servile subjection was the Consequent of the Fall yet now it is a Duty to be freely submissive and with it goes a Blessing That also may be look'd upon as another positivâ— Law that Men should labour For tho those words In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat Bread Gen. 3. 19. carry the nature of a Commination and Curse so far as Man's Labour is with uneasiness trouble and pain yet they may likewise be understood in the way of a
of Thankfulness which is a Law of Nature taught the Antient Patriarchs to offer these Gifts as Tokens and Testimonies of their Gratitude By these they openly proclaim'd that God was the supreme Giver of all things Natural Light inform'd them that it was fitting to make some Returns to God to give something to him from whom they receiv'd all They needed not a particular Command from God for this These were spontaneous free and uncommanded Offerings these were dictated by Reason and the voluntary Motions of their Hearts which told them that they ought to acknowledg God's Goodness to them by such gratulatory Sacrifices These were but so many Acts of Thanksgiving to God for Benefits and Favours receiv'd of him and were but natural Signs of Worship due to him But Secondly Besides the Eucharistical Sacrifices there were Expiatory ones But these were not the Dictates of Natural Reason for tho the Patriarchs might perswade themselves that those Sacrifices being thankful Acknowledgments and Gifts would be acceptable to God that he would receive them kindly and be pleas'd not to shew himself angry and offended for their former Miscarriages yet this they might as well have thought to have been done by the unbloody Sacrifices the offering of the Fruits of the Earth for they being Gifts as well as these those that offer'd them might expect that God would be pleas'd with them and that thereby they should conciliate the Divine Favor and Acceptance and so that there should be an Expiation made for their Sine Thus the unbloody sort of Sacrifices would have been sufficient and there is no reason why the bloody ones should be added No truly Nature could afford them no substantial Reason why the Blood of Beasts should be shed Reason doth not tell us that God is delighted in the Blood and Pain of the innocent Brutes Reason doth not acquaint us that the offering of these is a satisfaction to his Justice and a means to avert the Judgments of God there is no Law of Nature that dictates any such thing Hence the sacrificing of the Beasts was condemned by the wisest Men among the Heathens What saith Porphyrius and by him you may know what the Pythagoreans thought and held for he was a principal Man of that Sect As for sacrificing of Beasts and Blood saith he that was not from the beginning but introduced lately by superstitious and wicked Persons Bloody Sacrifices commenced from Famine and War when People were forced to tast Blood When they had tasted of the Blood of Animals they sacrificed them to the Gods Again saith he in the same place As they sacrificed so they eat Flesh was at first not eaten afterwards that being sacrificed they eat it for they reckon'd what was good for their Gods was good for themselves so from â—â—ating they proceeded to offer Thus this Philosopher was mistaken about the first Original of bloody Sacrifices and it could not be expected that he should attain to the true Reason of it which as I shall shew you is the grand bottom of revealed Religion But this Testimony of Porphyrius confirmeth what I am asserting viz. that bloody Sacrificing was not the Dictate or Precept of Nature Had it been so this Person who was so well versed in the Law of Nature and Reason would not have inveighed against this kind of Sacrificing as not becoming God nor Men as having no Reason nor Religion to justify it He would not have told us in plain terms that God is by no means delighted in the Blood of Beasts and that this manner of Sacrificing was discountenanced and disapproved by the Oracles as he relateth Let us hear what other Heathens thought of the bloody Sacrifices It is impious to pollute Altars with Blood saith Plato Who concurreth with Pythagorâ—s in this as well as in many other things Varro quoted by Arnobius declareth That the true Gods neither desire nor expect these Sacrifices and the false Gods made of Brass and Wood do less care for them From Tertullian we learn that the Philosophers had no good opinion of Sacrifices and never were urgent with the People to offer them The best Heathen Moralists profess'd that the only acceptable Offerings were a pious Heart and an upright Will Some of the Poets have slighted and disparaged the offering of slain Beasts in Sacrifice Ovid is of this number and moreover tells us that bloody Sacrifices were not in the more Innocent and Primitive Ages of the World Which tho it be false yet it shews the Sentiment of this and other wise Men who had no good opinion of this kind of Sacrifices Among the Egyptians who were the wisest of the Antient Nations no Animals were kill'd for Sacrifice to the Gods saith Macrobius Do you think now that the gravest and wisest Heathens would have disapproved of and condemned Sacrifices if they had been a Dictate of Nature and Morality if they had been the Natural Worship of God Would they not rather have defended and maintain'd them for natural Religion and the main Offices of it are extoll'd by none more than them But as they were bloody Sacrifices there was no Principle in Nature and Reason to commend them and thence it is that the wisest Pagans never spoke seriously for them but generally against them and they were of the opinion that God was not honour'd by the Blood of Brutes and the killing of harmless Beasts and that he took no pleasure in the Smoke that ascended from their slain Bodies It is evident then that bloody Sacrificing as it denoteth Atonement and Propitiating was not the result of Natural Light but was by positive and Divine Institution And from what was known hence there came to be even among the Pagans a Notion of Expiation by sacrificing which we find in several of their Writings but they had not of themselves any such apprehension This I prove from the Reason which Moses or rather the Lord by Moses giveth of bloody Sacrifices Levit 17. 11. The Life of the Flesh is in the Blood and I have given it to you on the Altar to make an Atonement for your Souls for it is the Blood that makes Atonement for the Soul Tho this Reason of offering the Blood of slain Beasts was divulged to the Israelites at this particular time yet this reason was good at first and was the true account of the Service of Bloody Sacrifices among the Patriarchs Now the Reason here given why these Sacrifices are to be used is because it is the Blood that makes Atonement for the Soul And if you ask the Reason of this it is implied in the beginning of the Verse before recited the Life of the Flesh is in the Blood So then when the Blood of the Beast is offer'd in Sacrifice the Life of it is offer'd and the Life of the Beast is supposed to be given instead of the Life of the Offender for whom the Sacrifice is offered and so the Beast
History informs us that they were Persons that were under the moâ—e immediate guidance of Heaven 3. It is not unlikely that the â—oresaid Women moved their Husbands to this and that they consented to it on the account of the Promise which God had made concerning the Blessed Seed which should be of their Family they were impatient of having it fulfill'd some way or other And particularly as to Abraham God having only told him that he should have a Child but had not yet said by Sarah this good Patriarch thought it might be this way fulfill'd as an' excellent Person suggests We read that Whoredom and Adultery were now punish'd with death thus Iudah sentenc'd Thamar to be burnt Gen. 38. 24. Unless with some we shall say that this was no capital Infliction but a stigmatizing or branding with a hot Iron Incest was in those times unlawful for Reâ—ben is reprehended by his Father for defiling his Bed Gen. 49. 4. and his Birth-right was taken from him 1 Chron. 5. 1. The Law of Primogeniture now prevail'd as appears in the Instances of Esaâ— and Reuben tho by their own fault they divested themselves of that Privilege These were the several kinds of Positive Laws relating either to Religion or to Civil Affairs which were in use among the Patriarchs where by the by we may take notice how unskilful Mr. Hobbs was in the Sacred History when he saith Abraham had no other Law except that of Circumcision whereunto he was obliged but the Laws of Nature This must be added and remembred by us in the last place that the Precepts and Injunctions which were given in the foregoing Dispensation are suppos'd to be retain'd here So much concerning the Primitive State of things before the Law of Moses which was the Patriarchal Dispensation or the first Dispensation of Grace CHAP. V. The Mosaick or Jewish Dispensation seems to be Preposterous The Law of Grace was veiled for a season The Triple Law which this Oeconomy was famous for briefly display'd Four Reasons assigned why the World was so long without a Written Law The Ceremonial Law is part of this Dispensation The several things which are comprehended in it Oblations viz. of Inanimate things Sacrifices which were of Living Creatures An enumeration of those Sacrifices which were Set and Determined Others were Occasional viz. 1. Sin Offerings 2. Trespass-Offerings 3. Peace-Offerings Some Remarks about Sacrifices The several Ends and Designs of this way of Worship How the Mosaick Sacrifices are said to Expiate It is largely proved that the guilt of all kinds of Sins whatsoever was Atoned by them The Objections to the contrary are answered The Principal End of the Judaick Sacrifices was to typifie and represent the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. THe Second Dispensation of Grace is that which is known by the name of Iewish Mosaick or Legal Concerning which we may observe this before we go any further that though this Oeconomy in some respects was not so perfect as the Abrahamick yet it was introduced after it The Promise made to Abraham was of Justification by Faith in Christ Jesus as the Apostle who best understood it expounds it in Gal. 3. where he calls it the Covenant confirmed before of God in Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Covenant whereby the Faithful were engaged to believe in Christ for Salvation But then comes Moses's Law and seems to establish Justification by the Works of it So God was pleas'd to go back as it were You will find the Apostle taking special notice of this in Gal. 3. 17 19. The Covenant that was confirm'd before of God in Christ the Law which was four hundred and thirty years after cannot disannul Wherefore then serveth the Law It was added because of Transgressions till the Seed should come c. He acquaints them here with the Reason of this strange and preposterous Transaction viz. Why Moses succeeded Abraham why the Mosaick Law came after the Covenant made and confirm'd of God in Christ. There was a necessity of it as things then were The Law was added i. e. it followed the Promise made to Abraham because of transgressions as much as to say though Iustification was then and ever to be had by that Promise to the Father of the Faithful yet the Mosaick Oâ—câ—nâ—my took place four hundred and thirty years afterwards to restrain men from Sin to shew them their Guilt and to cause them to look for a Remedy The Law was given so long after the Covenant of Grace renewed to Abraham because the infinitely Wise Disposer of all things knew that it would be serviceable in discovering Sin and Transgression and so in preparing men for the Gospel Thus it was found requisite to go back a little for the Law of Faith could not have its free course and progress till the Law of Works was as it were brought upon the stage again There seem'd to be a Representation of this when Abrahams posterity the holy Patriarch Iacob's childrâ—n went out of Canaan into Egypt out of the Promis'd Land to the house of Bondage and then return'd back to Canaan This shadowed out this Retrâ—gradâ— Dispensation The World was not fit for an higher Oeconoâ—y the Law was to do the Office of a Sâ—hoolmaster and to prepare and discipline them against Christ's Coming So it was necessary till the Sâ—â—d should come to whom the Promise was made i. e. till Christ himself should appear and till the spiritual Sâ—â—d of Abraham the Church of Christ made up of Iews and Gentilâ—s should be in the World Yet this is not so to be understood as if the Law of Grace were Null'd all the time of the Mosaick Oeconomy No it was only in some respects obscured and veil'd for a certain season Or it may be said One was superinduced upon the Other and they did in a manner take place together but in different Degrees and among different Persons Whilst the Iâ—wish Oeconomy was in being the Former One yet continued For when a New Oeconomy is introduced the preceding one is not always abolish'd but remains partly in force So here the Law of Faith or the Covenant of Grace which was made with Abraham is still on foot under the Mosaick Administration Therefore it is obâ—ervablâ— that the Law published in the Desâ—rt of Sinai and receiv'd therâ— by the people is call'd a Covenant â—xod 19. 5. And with reference to this Mâ—ses tells the Israâ—lites that the Lord their God made a Covenant with them in Horâ—â— Deut. 5. 2. which was no other than the Covenant of Grace made with Adam and confirm'd to 〈◊〉 and Abraham as hath been before shew'd but now in a more illustrious manner ratified and also enlarged and augmented and transfer'd from a Family to a Nation And this Covenant is actually and personally made good to the Iews by their being Sâ—parated â—n a more signal manner than before from the rest of the World and by their being made a
three Patriarchs who could give an Account of all that time wherein they lived which was above 2000 years were able to keep their Families and all other People that were near them in the knowledg of the true Religion and where they err'd and offended to correct them Thus Religion and Divine Worship might be faithfully transmitted from the beginning of the World to above twenty Centuries by three persons only The Church was then sufficiently taught by Tradition from Father to Son vivâ— vâ—câ— because of the Longevity of the Patriarchs some of whom lived 700 years others 800 or 900. For this reason the Church was without Scripturâ— almost five and twenty hundred years But afterwards when the years of mans Life were shortned God used another Method he taught men by a Written Law 2. The Degeneracy of the World was another Reason why the Law was committed to Writing The World at first had many Pious as well as Antient Patriarchs who were as Philo notes Living and Rational Laws and so stood in need of no Written ones for these are but Commentaries on those Old Fathers Lives But the Vices of men grew proportionable to their Numbers and when Mankind was spread wide up and down the Earth Immorality and Sin were dispersed likewise and the World became notoriously wicked The Deluge did not wash away the Contagion but in a considerable time after men were as bad as ever and the very Dictates of their Reasonable nature were discarded by them When they had thus obliterated the Law written on their minds God thence ingraved it on Tables of Stone If men had not been wonderfully corrupted there had been no need of this So faith the Apostle speaking of this Law It was not made for the Righteous but for the lawless and disobedient for the ungodly and for sinners I Tim. 1. 9. The same he had intimated before in Gal. 3. 19. The Law was added because of transgression it was given to be a Check to their notorious Sins and that they might not offend uncontroul'd And this may be the meaning of the Apostle's words in Rom. 5. 20. The Law entred that the Offence might abound i. e. that men might see how their Sins abounded God gave his Law in Writing to shew them their Guilt to convince them of their gross Miscarriages and to reduce them to the way of Virtue and Obedience that when God himself had writ down their Duty with his own hand they might be inexcusable 3. The Law was committed to Writing that it might not be forgot One reputed to be a Judicious Writer is of opinion that the Patriarchs were happier without the Written Law than with it it was a mark of God's love and favour that they had no books and writings I suppose he means because they did not need them But afterwards there was occasion for them for the Impressions of the Law of Nature were almost defaced and obliterated the Instructions and Traditions of their Fathers were neglected and the knowledg of God and their Duty could not be kept pure by Oral Tradition when not only their Lives were short but corrupted and miserably depraved Therefore an exact Written Law was wanting to set before their eyes and to remind them of what they were to do to put them constantly in remembrance of what God required of them Hereupon the Moral Precepts were written by God himself and delivered to Mâ—sâ—s that the might communicate them to the People and they to the rest of the World This was out of kindness to them it was design'd to be a Remedy against their forgetfulness and negligence Lastly which comprehends all the Law was written that it might not be corrupted Tradition was unsafe when the numbers of men were increased and the World was dispersed and arrived to a great height of Impiety Therefore God thought it necessary to preserve and perpetuate the Law by Ingraving it on Tables of Stone which are Solid and Duâ—able and by lodging it in the Aâ—k as in a safe Treasury by ordering it to be Transcribed and to be Read to all the People and that they themselves should read it continually This was the best way to prevent all Error and Imposture all Fraud and Corruption about the Law This made it a thing impossible to deprave and pervert the Letter and plain Sense of it For these Reasons that Word which for near 25 Centuries of Years was delivered and promulged by Tradition was committed to Writing in Moses's time and not before For these Reasons the Common Law of Nature was turn'd into this Statutâ— Law of the Commandments I will not here speak particularly of the Ten Commandments because in the Body of the Work which I intend I am obliged to insist upon every one of them distinctly and largely and also because it is the Writing of the Moral Law of which I have given you an Account not the Law it self that is part of this Mosaick Dispensation as it is different from those which went before The Ten Commandâ—ents were given now not that they were of no force before this time but now they were Written on Tables and more Solemnly Promulg'd This was it which we were to take notice of as New and proper to this Iudaical Period If any man thinketh that these Ten Commandments because they were deliver'â— to the Iews were drawn up for that Body of People only and are not of universal Concernment I could silence that surmise by shewing that these Commandments were in force before the Law given by Moses to the Iews and that every one of them was a Law before the Mosaick Oeconomy and that those who lived in all the former Dispensations observed these Commandments Nay they are all of them excepting only the Determination of the Sabbath day the very Law of Nature written on the heart of man at his Creation They are Dictates of Natural Reason and therefore they ought to be done though they were not commanded For this Reason likewise it is not proper to insist upon them in this place for they are no special part of this Oeconomy But the Ceremâ—nial and Iudicial Laws are the grand things which make this a distinct and peculiar Administration Of those therefore I will hasten to speak The Ceremonial or Ecclesiastical Law is no other than the Precepts given by God to the Iews concerning External Rites belonging to Religion and the Worship of God Of these Ceremonial Usages several were in use before Moses's time viz. Priests Altars Sacrifices Oblations Tithes Distinction of Clean and Unclean Animals Not Eating Blood Circumcision But now all the former Rites and Ceremonies are digested into One Body and are become more Fixed and Certain The Ceremonial Service of the Iâ—ws was now precisely determin'd and there was no varying from it Agaiâ— whereas in some Agâ—s one Ceremony was used in another another Now they are all together and are observed at the same Time and by the same Persons
Vessel whilst the Israelites were in the Wilderness and so was continued till Solomon's Temple was finished and then Fire came down again from Heaven and consumed the Sacrifices 2 Chron. 7. 1. This was preserv'd till the Babylonian Captivity and afterwards renewed 2 Macc. 1. 22. Here the Difference between the Patriarchal Sacrifices and the Mosaick ones might be taken notice of The Patriarchs had no other Expiatory Sacrifices but Holocausts or Burnt-Offerings as is clear from several places Besides there were Anniversary Monthly and Weekly Sacrifices among the Iews but we know not that there was any such thing before the Law And some other Differences the Reader may gather from the particulars aforesaid But the End and Design of these Sacrifices are chiefly to be inquired into where we shall also see a further Difference in some things between the Mosaical and Patriarchal Sacrifices Let us see to What Purpose all those Bloody Offerings were appointed let us acquaint our selves with the Design of Heaven in it First They were as the Fruits of the Earth intended as Acknowledgments that God was their Benefactor He gave these Animals as well as those Fruits and therefore it was fit to offer these as well as the others 2. If we speak concerning the Continual Morning and Evening Sacrifices it is certain they were Symbolical they were a Token of God's Presence among them They were instituted as a Testimony of This as you read in Exod. 29. 38 to the end They were a Sign that the Lord would be continually with them and be their God 3. The Mosaical Sacrifices were to testifie what the Iews deserved for their Sins viz. Death By these Bloody Oblations it was signified that the Life of Beasts should expiate for the Life of Men who had sinned and were become worse than Beasts Sheep and Oxen were substituted in the room of Offenders these sinned and those were slain Though this could not be evidently discover'd by Natural Light as hath been said yet now upon God's declaring in the Law the nature of these Sacrifices it appears that this was one design of them Those Legal Sacrifices were a kind of Confession of their Guilt By killing their Beasts they did as 't were acknowledg that themselves deserved to be used so 4. The Mosaical Sacrifices were Federal Rites and design'd to signify the Correspondence and Agreement between God and Man To which purpose you may observe that as part of the Shelamim the Peace-Offerings was burnt on the Altar so the remainder and greater part were eaten by the People that brought it to shew that it was truly a Sacrifice of Peace a Ceremony of Communion and Friendship with God a Token of Fellowship and Amity between God and Man As for the Holocaust that indeed was all of it burnt but there was a Meat-Offering and Drink-Offering annexed to it to denote Familiarity and Friendship to shew that they were Guests in God's House or rather that they were of his Family and were fed at his Table and eat of his Meat as the Sacrifices are call'd in Mal. 3. 10. and Houshold Provision Again the great Design of the Mosaick Sacrifices was to Expiate and Atone Not only Burnt-Offerings or Helocausts but all Free-will-Offerings were Expiatory notwithstanding what Crellius affirms viz. that they were Eucharistical and therefore were not Expiatory But we must know that That Epithet doth not respect the End which those Sacrifices were design'd for but the occasion of their Offering them As for the name of Peace-Offerings that was given to this sort of Sacrifices not only because they were offer'd in way of Return for their Peace i. e. as the Hebrew word denotes their Safety and Welfare which were vouchsafed to them but because the offering of them did also procure Peace with God and did assure them of the like Blessing for the future from the same Propitious Hand And therefore tho in another Dispensation I distinguish'd between Eucharistical and Expiatory Sacrifices yet there is no reason to do so here when I am speaking of the Mosaick Sacrifices all or most of which have on them the evident marks and tokens of Expiation They were appointed to propitiate and appeaâ—e God's Wrath and therefore might all of them be call'd Pacifick as well as some That these Peace-Offerings were Expiatory is proved from this that here was putting the Beast to Death here was Sprinkling the Blood here was the Consumption of some part of the Beast on the Altar as an Oblation to God which are the three Ingredients of an Expiatory Sacrifice But what was this Expiation which was made by the Mosaick Sacrifices I answer It was threesold 1. In respect of Corporal Punishment The Sanction of the whole Mosaick Law is express'd in Deut. 27. 26. Gal. 3. 10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them Which Curse imports no less then Death it self besides all the miseries of this life But God was pleas'd to mitigate the rigour of this Sanction and whereas according to the strictness of the Law those who were found guilty of violating it were to Die this was not put in Execution but Beasts were appointed to suffer death for the Offenders and their death was accepted for the death of Sinners 2. These Sacrifices Expiated as to Legal and Bodily Impurities which separated them from publick Converse and Worship Such were Leprosy Touching the Dead c. Hence the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrâ—ws saith that they Sanctified to the purifying of the Flesh Heb. 9. 13. 3. These Sacrifices which is the most considerable thing of all Expiated for Moral Impurities viz. all sorts of Sins I know it is asserted by some Men of great Learning when they discourse of Sacrifices that the Mosaick Law gave no pardon to heâ—â—ous Sinners that great Offences were not expiated by Scarifices This is more especially held by 〈◊〉 who urges that the Sacrifices under the Law were available only for lesser Sins not for great ones And Volkelius and other profes'd Socinians insist upon the same thing and labour to prove that Sacrifices were offer'd only for expiating of Sins of Lgnorance Weakness and Error and that Death was the Penalty of all great and enormous Offences The same is defended by Smalcius as the Reader may find it in his Writing And we are told by one of our own Divines that the Jewish Religion allow'd of no Expiation but for legal Impurities and involuntary Transgressions such as proceeded from Ignorance and Inadvertency but not for Sins of Presumption and such as were committed with an high hand If Men sinned wilfully there was no Sacrifice appointed by the Law for such Sins And another of great repute in our Church agrees with him saying The greater Crimes under the Law were no otherwise to be expiated but by the Blood of the Offender himself whereas for lesser ones the Blood of Beast
the most Solemn Offices of Christianity to be in pure Imitation of a Pagan Usage for he saith Christ in Celebrating the Holy Sacrament of his Supper refer'd to the Custom of the Barbarous Scythians and other Savage Nations who used to drink Blood at their making of Covenants and Bargains thence it is said This Cup is my Blood of the New Testament drink ye all of this This was the highest and most daring result of his â—ormer Notion But I hope the Learned Doctor before he left the World corrected his Error and entertain'd other thoughts of these things and therefore I will not press them any further especially because I discours'd of this matter somewhat freely when I made it my business to prove that many of the Pagan Rites and Customs in Religion as well as in Secular Affairs were borrow'd from the Iews and their Sacred Usages which is directly contrary to what this Author asserts viz. that the Rites and Ceremonies injoyn'd by God himself to the Iews were of Pagan Extraction I might here mention that some others have fallen into the same or the like Notion and have made use of it to ill purpose Our English Socinians approve of this Doctrine that God complied with the Idolatrous Nations in the Sacrifices and other Rites which he instituted And some of the Antienter Racovians run up higher and refer the method of Man's Redemption and Salvation to the Usages of the Pagan World Thus a noted Man among them tells us that God sent Christ into the World in compliance with a Custom that was very prevailing viz. that those who were eminent and celebrated for their Virtue and their serviceableness to Mankind were after their death Canonized as 't were and placed in Heaven as an inferiour kind of Deities and those that wanted their help used to implore it and make them their Mediators Even so God exalted Christ who had been an Excelleâ—t and Useful Person and made him a kind of God And as noted a person of our own seems to have imbibed the same Doctrine for he asserts that a greâ—â— part of the Iewish Religion which was instituted by God himself seems to have been a plain condescension to the general apprehension of Mankind i. e. the Heathen world as he explains himself afterwards concerning the way of appeasing the offended Deity by Sacrifices Nay he makes the Incarnation of Christ and his Suffering of death to be a condescension to the Pagans who he saith loved a visible Deity and had a great esteem of Sacrifices especially of human Sacrifices and used to Deiâ—y their Benefactors aâ—d Heroes That is very strange which he gives as Reason why Christ was incarnate that Men viz. the Gentiles who were much given to admire Mystâ—riâ—s in Religion might have one that is a Mystery indeed So that all was direct compliance with the Gentiles and according to this Writer the way of Salvation of Mankind is derived from the impious Customs of the Heathens But his more Particular words which are almost too harsh to be mention'd I shall have occasion shortly to represent to the Reader in a more proper place 4. The Ceremonial Law and other Mosaick Usages were prescribed the Iewish people because these were fit and proper for them at that time because they were most suitable to their present Geniuâ— and Disposition Thus the Apostle in Gal. 3. 24 c. very handsomely illustrates the nature of this part of the Legal Dispensation The Law was our Schoolmaster saith he Here is Moses with a Rod in his hand We were instituted and educated saith the Apostle under the Pedagâ—giâ— of the Law for being but in our minority we were not capable then of a higher Institution and Instruction But this fitted and prepared us by degrees for the reception of that other and this Schoolmaster of the Law serv'd as an usher to the Gospel But saith the Apostle in the next verse After that Faith i. e. the time of the Gospel is come wâ— are no longer under a Schoolmaster we are then no longer under the lash of the Law our state and condition do not require it And God is pleas'd to administer things wisely according to the condition and circumstances we are under And this Apostle by another fit Allusion in Gal. 4. 1 c. sets forth the nature of this Oeconomy which he had spoken of before The Heir as long as he is a child differeth nothing from a servant though he be Lord of all buâ— is under Tutâ—rs and Governors until the time appointed of the Father Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world but when the fulness of the time was come God sent forth his Son c. In which words St. Paul compareth the Iudaical Law to a Tutor or Guardian under whom the Heir doth not enjoy that freedom of a Son which afterwards he is to come to This saith he was the case of the Iewish people they were but Minors and Pupils and so stood in need of a Tutor i. e. one that is appointed to take care and have the charge of those who by reason of their insufficient age and understanding cannot look to themselves The Ceremonial Law was the Iews Guardian whilst they were under age this sowr Governour and Overseer kept them in and curb'd them and on that account was very useful to them at that time But the Apostle seems here to recur to his former comparison of the Law to a Schoolmaster when he adds that the Iews as long as they were Children were in bondage under the Elements of the world The Iews were then got no further than their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their First Elements they were but conning their Alphabet Their Sacrifices and Circumcision were as it were so many plain Letters in Blood and there were other Fair and Legible Characters but there were few of the common Iews so good Proficients as to Spell out of them any thing of a future and higher Concernment These and their other Rudiments were sutable to the mean Capacity and Non-age of the Iewish Church when they were in this State such a low and mean Dispensation as this was good enough for them Diversity of Ages calls â—or diversity of Actions and Behaviour and consequently for diversity of Laws Parents rule Children after another manner than when they arrive to any ripeness of Years and are capable of Discourse So God ordereth his Church that is fit for it at one time which is not at another Israel was a Child Hos. 11. 1. that was the state of the Iews when they were call'd out of Egypt And the Apostle uses the same Expression as you have heard Now when the Iewish Church was in this lower Form the First Rudiments were most agreeable to that condition these Beginners were to be used to their Letters God dealt with that People according to their Weakness and Shallowness Wherefore we may
Christian Church to inâ—â—oduce Excommunication which is a Cutting off or Separating from the Communion of the Faithful A very useful Ordinance in the Church And there seem to be among Christians several footsteps of other Consâ—itutions and those merely Secular which were among the Iews as Apprentices generally serving six or seven Years which may be borrow'd from the Iewiâ—â— Servants being â—et free every seventh Year So from the Law of dividing the Lands to the Israelites by Lâ—t the Custom is reâ—eiv'd in many Christian Countreys of assigning portions of Land in that manner and in case of Coâ—teâ—tion especially to have recourse to Lâ—ts And in other Instances it might be shew'd how the Mosaick Laws are imitable by Christians in the times of the Gospel And it is certain that this may lawfully be done so far as those Laws are of common Use and Equity and advance the welfare of the Publick and promote Charity good Will Justice Innocence Peace and Tranquâ—llity in the Commonwealth It is needless to sally forth to any more particulars here for my design was to present you with a competent Draught of this part of the Iudâ—ical Oâ—conomy which I hope I have done Thus much of this Mosaick Oâ—conomy CHAP. IX The several ways and kinds of Divine Revelation under the different Oeconomies Ordinary External Revelation was by hearing or by seeing Inward Revelation was by Dreams or Prophetick Inspiration What Prophecy was How they knew to distinguish between True Prophets and False ones The extraordinary ways of Revelation were 1. That which was vouchsafed to Moses alone The Nature of it It differ'd from other Revelations as to Degree only 2. That from between the Cherubims 3. The Urim and Thummim These are not the same with the Teraphim They were not borrowed from Pagan Idolaters This would be a countenancing of Image-Worship The absurdity and impiety of their opinion who hold that the Urim and Thummim were of Heathen Extraction These were no other than those bare words written or engraven on the High Priest's Breastplate An Objection answer'd BEâ—ore I proceed to the next Dispensation I look upon this as a proper place wherein to speak of the Several Kinds of Revelations the various ways of God's Communicating himself to Mankind in the different Dispenâ—ations which we have discoursed of Here I will recount them all together God under all his Administrations made known his Will by the Law of Nature and Reason which he implanted in Men but I speak not of this here but of Divinâ— and Supernatural Revelâ—tion as distinct from the Discoveries of natural Light and Reason There were several ways of this Revelation for God not only spake at sundry times as the Apostle saith i. e. in the days of Adam Noah Abraham Moses Ioshua the Iudges David and of the following Kings and Prophets or as the Greek word signifieth likewise He spake by degrees by several parts not all at once but now one thing and then another But He also spake in divers manners i. e. there was a great variety of Revelations there were several distinct ways of God's discovering his Will to the World and as the World was more and more corrupted the discoveries of God's Will were multiply'd and increas'd These supernatural Revelations are divided by Writers into Immediate and Mediate but they can't well agree in determining which are of the former sort and which of the latter Some rank Revelations by Dreams and Visions under those that are Immediate others again hold that they belong to mediate Discoveries and in several other instances I could shew how they disagree To avoid controversy here I will take another course and I offer this as the exactest Division of Divine Revelations viz. that they are either Ordinary and Frequent or Extraordinary and Rare The Ordinary are either Outward or Inward The Outward are made to the Bodily Sense viz. Hearing and Seeing The Inward are made to the Soul viz. either to the Fancy when persons are asleep or to the Rational mind of Man when he is awake God spake i. e communicated his Will 1. In an Outward manner viz. to the Bodily Senses and first to the Hearing This was done first by an Immediate Voice so God spake to Adam and Eve when he commanded them not to eat of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil Gen. 2. 16 17. which was the first Revelation we read of and thus He communicated his Pleasure to them at other times mention'd in the third Chapter for 't is call'd the Voice of the Lord ver 8. Thus he reveal'd his Will several times to Abraham Isaac and Iacob as we read By such a Voice â—ramed by the air God spake to Moses in the Tabernacle and in the Bush and to Samuel in the Temple 1 Sam. 3. 3. And it is probable that at other times in those first ages God convers'd with his Servants by speaking audibly to them Secondly God spake by the Voice of an Angel very frequently as to Adam it is likely presently after his Fall for that Angel who guarded Paradise spoke to him without doubt and told him roundly of the dire effects of his Apostacy and warn'd him not to approach the flaming Sword lest he perish immediately We read that God spake by Angels to Moses Lot Abraham Isaac Iacob Daniel and several others Or when God spake by a Wind or Thunder or some strange Sound and terrible Concuâ—â—ion of the Air it was thought to be by the ministry of Angels This was call'd by the Iews Bath Kol the Daughter of a Voice It was any Voice heard as descending from Heaven and directing them in any matter or concern whatsoever The Iews say that by this Voice the Six Preceptâ— were given to the Sons of Adam and the additional one to Noah and his Sons and by this the Law of Circumcision and the Ten Commandments which were not written at first were given to Moses Many of the Hebrew Doctors assert This Bath Kol to have been the lowest degree of Revelation and they say this supplied the room of Prophecy and was frequent after that ceased among the Iews Thirdly God spake to his People by the Voice of Prâ—pheâ—s Naâ—ijim Messengers dispatched on purpose to declare his Will Of these we often read in the Old Testament but especially about King David's time and afterwards For tho Abraham be the first that is call'd by the name of Prophet Gen. 20. 7. because he was one that was acquainted with God's Will and was prevalent in Prayer yet now we are speaking of that particular sort of Prophets who foretold things to come and denounced the Judgments which were to be executed on Offenders and were sent forth by God to that purpose very usually but especially when the Nation of the Iews grew very wicked and Idolatrous Then these Persons were rais'd up by God to admonish that People to tell them freely of their Miscarriages and to declare the displeasure of God against
Israelites yet they were as good as taken in as to other Clauses of it and as to the Effence and Substance of it viz. the Spiritual Mercies couched in it Thus they were comprehended in the Covenant of Life and Salvation for all of what Nation soever were Partakers of the Benefits of it upon their believing and repenting Not only Iews but Gentiles were interested in it In the full Meal and Provision which God made for his own People the Israelites some Portions some Fragments fell besides the Table which others gather'd up This is God's Administration to the Gentiles and I make it a particular and distinct Dispensation tho I see those who reckon up the different Dispensations of Religion omit this The Reason I suppose is because this Gentile Dispensation is mixed with the rest of the Dispensations Because it was concurrent with the Patriachal and Mosaical Oeconomies and was not a thing by it self they took no notice of it But notwithstanding this it is a peculiar Dispensation and a very remarkable one too as the Premises may convince us And at last our Blessed Saviour perfected this Dispensation for a little before he left the World he enjoyn'd the Apostles to go and teach all Nations Mat. 28. 19. to Evangelize the Goyim the Nations for so the Iews call'd all People besides themselves to propagate Christianity throughout the whole World And accordingly we read that when the Apostles had continued some time at Ierusalem after Christ's Ascention only some of them now and then slepping abroad to confirm the neighbouring Churches that were lately planted they issued out with one consent into several Countries where by their Travels they spread the Gospel as effectually as David and Solomon did the Hebrew Tongue the one by his numerous Conquests the other by his prosperous Fleets and Commerces so that even in St. Paul's time the Gospel was Preached to every Creature under Heaven Col. 1. 23. Thus at length the Gentile Dispensation was swallow'd up of the Evangelical one which now I will particularly speak of CHAP. XI The Christian or Evangelical Oeconomy It agrees with the former Dispensations of Grace as to the Designation of the Messias As to the way of Salvation As to the Conditions and Qualifications of it This corroborated by the suffrage of the Antient Fathers It differs from the Mosaick Oeconomy or Law as to the Author in some respect As to the Actual Discovery of it As to the Clearness of it As to its Spirituality As to its Extent As to several Circumstances that relate to the Conditions of Salvation which are largely enumerated As to the Motives of Obedience The Doctrine of the Socinians viz. that there were no Promises of Eternal Life under the Old Testament confuted As to the Perfection of its Pattern As to its Helps and Assistances This Query Whether Christ added any new Laws to those which were before under the Old Testament resolved in several Particulars It is proved against the Socinians that Prayer was commanded under the Law How Love is call'd a New Commandment THe Christian or Evangelical Dispensation is next to be treated of God having at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in times past hath now in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Heb. l. 1 2. He was pleased to reserve the utmost Completion of all the Promisâ—s made to the Patriarchs and the Iews till this time Now by Christ's coming we have the perfect Accomplishment of them all Christianity comprehends all the other Dispensations and is the Upshot of them all This is called the Revelation of the Mystery which was kepe secret since the World began but now is made manifest Rom. 16. 26 27. and the Mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the Sons of Men but is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit Eph. 3. 4 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly he that brings forth and distributes that which was before laid up This is agreeable to the Oeconomy which we are now to discourse of the great Things which were hidden and treasured up before are now brought forth and discovered and communicated to the World This is that Dispensation which brings Everlasting Righteousness with it this is the Highest and Noblest Exertment of the Covenant of Grace and all the Mercy and Pardon which former Generations found were on the sole account of this Period This Dispensation of the Messias is represented by Iohn Baptist and by Christ himself to be the most Glorious State that hath yet appeared in the World or that ever shall appear for Christianity as most perfect includes all the Laws before named and all the ways of Discovery that can be made 1. I will shew the particular Nature of this Dispensation and how it differs from the others 2. I will shew why this Evangelical Dispensation took not place in the World before 3. I must particularly and directly prove the Truth and Certainty of this Oeconomy and of the Christian Religion 4. I will discover to you the several Degrees of this Dispensation All which Particulars are of great use for the right understanding of this last Administration of Religion 1. I will display the particular Nature and Quality of this Oeconomy this new Oeconomy of the Gospel Here I will let you see 1. That as to the main it agrees with all the other Oeconomies of Grace viz. from the Restoration of Adam 2. That tho as to the main it agrees with all the foregoing Dispensations yet as to sundry particulars it differs from them First all the Dispensations agree in the main i. e. 1. The Divine Designation or Appointment of the Messias reach'd to them all This Lamb was slain from the foundation of the World Rev. 13. 8. His Sufferings and Death were decreed from all Ages Christ was crucified from the beginning even from Eternity For tho some interpret this place as if it alluded to the Murder of Abel the first holy Person that was slain and as if it took in the rest of the Martyrs in after Ages the Lamb here signifying the whole Succession of Saints who were innocent and spotless in their Lives and invincible in their Deaths and so Christ as well as others may be said to be slain from the foâ—ndation of the World because there was at First even at the Beginning of the World this Example of the Wicked's murdering the Just yet this must be look'd upon as a forced Interpretation of the words for in the stile of Scripture excepting those places where the Sense must needs be restrained and limited because of the subject matter from the foundation of the World is as much as from Eternity as is plain from Mat. 25. 34. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World and from Ioh. 17. 24. Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the World for from the foundation or before the foundation are here
Scribes and Doctors of the Law whom the Phariâ—ees at that day followed These wilfully mistook and depraved the Moral Law and our Saviour sets himself against these and their Doctrine He doth not oppose one Law to another but all that he doth is this he corrects and amends the Law as it was corrupted by the Scribes and Pharisees or rather he doth not correct and amend Moses's Law but the Phariâ—ees Expositions In this Chapter Christ is not a Legiflator but an Interpreter He expounds the Law aâ—ight and takes off their false Expositions and gives the true and genuine sense of the Law He acquaints them that there is a farther meaning of it than they imagined more is commanded in the Prâ—cepts of the Law and more is forbidden than they think And to convince them throughly of this he proceeds to particulars instancing in some Duties which seem to be New and Proper only to Christianity but he acquaints them that they are not New but Old Commandments and so likewise he instances in some Actions which are unlawful under the Gospel and seem to have been made so first of all by the Christian Laws but the design of this Discourse is to let them know that they were forbidden by Moses and were sins long before the Coming of Christ alâ—ho by them of Old the Antient Depravers of the Law they were not thought to be so 1. Anger is Murder by the Christian Law and so it was by the Law of the Ten Commandments Ye have heard that it was said by the Antients Thou shalt not kill restraining this to the External Act only and whosoever shall kill shall be in dâ—nger of the judgment But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment he is interpretatively a Man-â—layer Ver. 21 22. You are to know that tho Immâ—derate Anger be not in express terms forbidden in the Law yet it is inclusively and by just Consequence forbidden Of Cain it is recorded that he was very wroth Gen. 4. 5. and wer read the Result of it ver 8. Cain rose up against Abel his Brother and slew him Wrath is the Parent of Murder He that is excessively incens'd against another is disposed to kill him and iâ— this inordinate Passion be not check'd or some obstacle interpose it will proceed to that height Therefore if Bloodshed be a sin Anger is so too and ought to be suppress'd with the ordinary concomitant of it viz. using of reviling Language as Raca Fool and the like 2. An Vnchast Heart and a Lustful Eye are Adultery and Fornication by the Law of Christ and they were no less by the Mosaick Law And therefore when Christ faith ver 28. Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery already with her in his heart he doth not declare this as a thing contrary to what the Precepts of Morality require of us but to what had been dictated by the corrupt Glosses of the Jewish Doctors of old and of the Pharisees at that time viz. that there is no such thing as the Adultery of the Eye or of the Heart and that these are not forbidden in the Seventh Commandment But our Saviour lets them know that this is a great mistake and that he had not introduced a New Law but only revived an old One. To look on a woman to lust after her was always sinful and unlawful I made a Covenant with mine Eyes saith Job why then should I think upon a maid Chap. 31. ver 1. which argues that it was a sin in those times even before there was any written Law to indulge either lustful Thoughts or Looks And this I take to be the Reason of the Law of Fringes given to the Jews Num. 15. 38 39. viz. that these being constantly in their view might be a means to divert their thoughts as well as sight for so 't is expresly said that they were to entertain their Eyes with looking on them that they might not seek after their own Heart and their own Eyes after wâ—ich they used to go a whoring We read afterwards that it was the Pious King's Prayer Turn away mine eyes from beholding vaâ—ity Psal. 119. 37. And that there is a Restraint to be laid upon this outward Sense and upon the inward Imagination which is wrought upon by it is the acknowledgment of the Wisest Heâ—rew Doctors among whom it is proverbially said the Eye is the Inlet to sin and R. Ben. Maiâ—on saith expresly that evil Thoughts were forbid by the Lâ—w. 3. Swearing rashly is forbidden here by Christ and so it was by the Third Commandment But this as well as the other was misinterpreted by the Scribes and Doctors and not understood in its full Extent Whereupon our Saviour corrects their mistakes saying Swear not at all neither by Heaven c. ver 34. As much as if he had said you make nothing of Swearing by Heaven and by the Earth and by Ierusalem and by your Heads and this is a very common and frequent thing with you and you are perswaded that you act not amiss in doing thus for you think that the Commandment forbids only False Swearing and Perjury you have been told that these are the only breach of that part of the Law But I tell you another thing that Law forbids not only False but Rash Swearing you violate that Commandment as often as you use any vain and unnecessary Oaths as often as you prophanely swear by God's Name as often as you make use of other Names besides God's to swear by as often as you swear by Heaven or by the Earth c. This is the true meaning of our Saviour here Some have thought that all Swearing is forbid in this place by Christ as unlawful under the Gospel altho it was lawful to Swear under the Law but if you consider that it is a Religious Act and is innocent and harmless in its own nature and sometimes becomes necessary as in matters of Controversie which can't otherwise be decided and is an Act of Charity and Righteousness when it is for the real advantage of the Community or any of our particular Brethren and sometimes it is and is approved of by the Example of St. Paul in the New Testament you will be induced to believe that Religious Swearing is lawful even under the Gospel and that there is no New Law given by Christ to forbid it now That which he forbids is Unnecessary and Prophane Swearing yea moreover he commands you to avoid all Swearing in common intercourse and converse one with another and as much as lies in them to abstain wholly from an Oath He would have them to be Persons of so holy and strict lives of such integtity and faithfulness that no one should have occasion to require an Oath of them but that they might be credited upon their bare Words and Promises He would have them shew such Truth
the House of Judah not according to the Covenant I made with their Fathers the old Mosaick Dispensation but this shall be the Covenant that I will make I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their heart and I will be their God and they shall be my People They shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their Iâ—iquity and I will remember their sin no more by which is meant the Evangelical Dispensation or the Covenant of the Gospel which is expresly called here the New Covenant and the Covenant made with their Fathers is to be understood of the giving the Law to the Iews and consequently of the Iewish Oeconomy But this will be morefully made good from the other place the 8 th to the Hebrews from the 6 th Verse to the end where is set forth the true Nature of the Old and New Covenant as I have represented it Christ our Eternal High Priest saith the Apostle hath â—bâ—ained a more excellent Ministry by how much also â—e is the Mediator of a better Coveâ—ant which was established on better Promises ver 6. Here the Covenant of Grace under the Gospel is call'd a Better Covenant because on some accounts it is better thâ—n it was under the Law and particularly by reason of more evident and certain Promises which Christ hath added On this Consideration it is called a better Covenant tho it be the very same as to substance The Apostle proceeds Vers. 7 8. If the first Covenant had been faultless i. e. if the Legal Dispensation had not been imperfect then should no place â—ave been sought for the second i. e. there would have been no need of introducing the Evangelical Administration but finding fault with that he saith Behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a New Covenant c. The former being found insufficient was taken away and another brought into its room tho to speak properly it was not another but the same in other Circumstances For the Covenant of Grace was under the Law but because it varied as to some respects when Christ came it is represented as a Double Covenant and accordingly the Scripture calls the former the Old Covenant and the latter the Nâ—w onâ— This Reason likewise may be given why the Covenant of Grace which was in the time of the Law is call'd the Old Covenant and the same under the Gospel is call'd the Nâ—w Covâ—nant viz. because they are so comparatively i. e. the Legal Oeconomy in respect of the Christian one is Old and this in respect of that is Nâ—w According to the different Administrations of the Covenant of Grace this Covenant is said to be Old or Nâ—w In the Old Testament the Covenant of Grace was administred by Sacrifices Puriâ—yings and many other Typical Ceremonies and Mystical Observances and this antient way of God's dealing with his People is stiled the Old Covâ—nant but in the New Testament these things were done away and so the Covenant of Grace appeared New and on that account had its denomination Thus tho the Old and New Covenant differ in the manner and way and external Administration in so much that the latter is eminently call'd the Covenant of Grace and the former in comparison of that is not the Covenant of Grace yet really they are the samâ— in substancâ— and there is no opposition between them for in both of them Free Grace and Remission of Sins through Jesus Christ are held forth to all the Faithful thereâ—ore they are but One Covenant This is the truest Notion of the Covenants tho some of the Antient Writers but more of the Moderns have mistaken this Point confounding the Covenant of Works and the Old Covenant and making them to be the same which hath been attended with very gross Errors For tho it is true the Covenant of Works may be call'd the Old Covenant because it was first yet we now confine our selves to the stile of the Holy Scriptures and are declaring what is call'd the Old Covenant in the Language of those Inspired Writers and there you will never find it is applied to the Covenant of Works but always to the Covenant of Grace under the Old Dispensations and the New Covenant always refers to that Covenant as it was renewed and made better by the Evangelical Institution And because the Covenant of Grace under Moses was dark and imperfect but when Christ came was clear and entire therefore the Apostle represents them as two distinct Covenant a First and a Second a worse and a better Thus you have the true Reason why the former Dispensation is call'd the Old Covenant and why the latter is call'd the Nâ—w and on this is grounded the vast Diffâ—râ—ncâ— between the Dâ—spâ—nsations of the Law and the Gospel But this doth not argue that there are any new Duties introduced by this means and that there is a real Addition to the former Precepts and Commands No such thing can rationally be inferred from the Distinction of the Old and New Covenant So much concerning the Particular Nature of this Evangâ—lical Dispâ—nsation and how it differs from the others which was the first thing I undertook CHAP. XIII Tho we could assign no Reason why the Christian Oeconomy was so late and why our Saviour arrived no sooner in the World this is sufficient to satisfie us that it was God's Pleasure it should be so But for the sake of the Inquisitive such Reasons and Considerations as these are offer'd 1. It must be remembred that Christ appear'd in the World even in the early times of the Patriarchs 2. The Benefits of Christ's Redemption were imparted to the Faithful before he actually appear'd in the flesh 3. The World was not fit to receive him sooner 4. He delay'd his Coming to make the World sensible of their Misery 5. That the Advantages of his Coming might be prized 6. It was congruous that so great a Prince should not arrive without solemn Harbingers and Heralds of his Coming 7. The necessities of Mankind call'd for him at that particular time and juncture when he came The Jewish Church grew worse and worse An enumeration of the several Sects and Factions which they were divided into viz. Essenes Pharisees Sadduees Herodians Samaritans Galilaeans 8. God proceedeth in a gradual Order and Method The most perfect things are reserved till the last II. I Am to acquaint you with the Reasons why the Christian Dispensation as to the actual exerting of it took not place in the World before and which is the foundation of this why Christ Iesus the Messias and Saviour blessed not Mankind with his Coming till that precise time wherein we are certified by the Evangelical Records and other Testimonies that he was born and why he came neither sooner nor later Indeed I might say here as before that we are to rest satisfied with God's managing this matter altho
Persons and Times he hath to do with Thus our Saviour was pleas'd to fulfil all Rightâ—ousness to comport with the present State and Oeconomy to allow of any thing or Dispensation which God will have to be in the World tho it may seem to some not to be so fitting and decorous This is sufficient that God acteth congruously to the nature of things and that all along he administers every thing for the greatest Good of Mankind altho in various Ways and Manners This is one Reason why the Evangâ—lical Dispensation was not introduced till other Dispensations were past The Indisposition of the former and first Times made Christ delay his Coming he knew they were not prepared to receive his Doctrine and Miracles This Reason is given by St. Augustin and Eusâ—bius agrees with him for treating of this very Question why Christ came so late he renders this Account of it The generality of the World was become like Beasts and so were not fit to receive Christ and his Doctrine It was necessary therefore that the Way should be prepared by Moses's Law by the Doctrine and Example of Prophets and good Men. Before this the World was uncapable of Christ and the Gospel 4. Christ came not till four thousand Years were expired that Mankind might see their Misery and be â—ensible of it and desire a Remedy and in the mean time more strenuously exercise their Faith and Hope Especially with respect to the Iewish People so many Ages had pass'd before the Messiâ—â— came because hereby God would let them see their want of a Messias that they might heartily breathe after and long for a Redâ—â—mâ—r and Saviour that they might earnesâ—ly expect and pray for a Delivâ—râ—r to rescue them from that intolerable Yoke which they were under This seems to be one Reason why God deferred the sending of his Son Which is implied in those words of the Apostle Rom. 5. 20. The Law entred i. e. the Mosaick Dispensation interposed between Abraham and Christ's time and thereby the Evangelical State was deâ—er'd a long time that the Offence might abound that the heinous Transgression of the Law might be the better discern'd to be Sin and that Men might be throughly apprehensive of it Then the Apostle adds where Sin abounded Grace did mucâ— more abound i. e. by this means the Grace of God in â—ending his Son and his pardoning of Sinners through his Blood are the more fully display'd and taken notice of Which leads me to another Account of this matter 5. So far as we can apprehend the wise Designs and Purposes of God we may render this Reason why this Benefit was so long delay'd viz. that it might thereby be Commâ—ndâ—d to us and that we might set the greatâ—r Value on it God suffer'd the Darkness for so many hundred years that he might bring forth a more Glorious Light at last From the opposition of these two the Divine Wisdom is more manifest and the Victory of the one over the other is more eminent Hence Mankind is more eager in embracing the Light of the Gospel and all the Advantages of it become more welcome and grateful 6. It was not fit so Great a Prince and Saviour as the Messias should arrive without Harbingers and Forerunners of his Coming So that Pious Doctor of the Church speaks Christ was to be foretold many Ages before he came because it was no little and mean thing that was to come The greater this Judg was it was fitting the greater should be his Equipage and a longer Train of Messengers and Heralds should go before him Observe therefore after the Types and Shadows were vanished after the Legal Services were expired after all the Predictions of the Patriarchs and Aposâ—les were accomplished after the so often repeated Promises concerning Christ were fulfilled after the appearances of Angels and Visions and Revelations and extraordinary Declarations from Heaven had made way for the arrival of the Messias after he was generally expected by the Iewish Nation after all these Preparatives and Forerunners of his Coming were fully past then he actually enâ—â—ed on the stage of the World and manifested himself in the Flesh. The Time appointed by the Father for the sending his only begotten Son or as the Apostle calls it â—â—e Fulness of Time happily brought along with it the Fulness of Christ as the same Apostle speaks It was Reasonable Decorous and Congruous that so great a Person and so great a Blessing should not come on a sudden but that the World should be a long time prepared for so Glorious a Dispensation 7. The necessities of Mankind seem'd to call for him at that very Time when he came This is the Reason which Gregory Nazianzen gives why Christ came not before but then because the World was more than â—ver corrupted and the Degeneracy was greater the Disease was at its heighth and then the Remedy was most proper So Theodoret compares Christ to those Physicians who reserve their strongest Medicines till the last for having used Lenitives first they choose to administer more powerful Medicines afterwards The corruption by Adam having miserably infected the World God used fit means to stop the growth of it and to curb Sin and Wickedness Besides the Law of Nature implanted in Mens minds which was a constant check to immoral and vicious Actions the Works of the Creation which were continually before their eyes wâ—re servicâ—able to instruct them in the Wisdom and Power of God and to bring them to reverential Thoughts of him and to induce them to serve and obey the 〈◊〉 and Preserver of all things God swept away the Old World with an universal Dâ—luge to make the poor remainder better by reflecting on his Severity againâ—â— Sinners And when the World increas'd again and â—ultitudes of People were spread on the face of the Earth the Almighty God shew'd his Displeasure against Sin in confounding the Language of the Babel-Builders in consuming Sodom and Gomorrâ—â— with Flames from Hâ—â—ven and in several other Instances he let Men understand that he was highly incens'd against Sinners which should have been a Warning to them and was so designed by God that they might tremble at his Judgments and abandon their evil ways When God beheld the obstinacy of Mankind he was pleased to make â—uller Discoveries of himself than before he chose out a peculiar People to impart his Will to that they whatever others did might serve and worship him in a more solemn and pure manner and that their exemplary Lives might have influence on the rest of the World He writ Laws with his own hand to deliver to them he rais'd up Seers and Prophets among them who daily admonish'd them of their Duty and by frequent dispensing of Mercies and Judgments he strove to make them sensible of it and to keep them firm to it When for their crying Sins they were sent into Captivity God restored them again and placed
Gentiles which is absolutely against Iudaism for the Priesthood amongst the Iews was tied to that certain Nation yea to a certain House and Family amongst them Therefore it is evident that the Iewish Religion was Temporary and was to cease This is obscurely intimated in Ezekiel's Model of the Temple Chap. 40. c. There never was any such thing no such Dimensions and Platforms it is a vast unwieldy thing his Temple is as big as all Ierusalem and the Ground allotted the Priests and Levites equals all Canaan It is likely therefore that this prefigureth the Christian Temple or the Church under the Gospel which was to be capacious and large But I need not make use of these obscure and mystical Places after I have produced so plain and evident ones as those before mention'd It is undeniable that those several Prophesies could not be accomplished if the Old State of the Iews was to be perpetual Ierusalem was too little the Land of Iudea could not serve for those purposes which are there spoken of Here also it might be observ'd that the Passover their great and most famous Ordinance was a Memorial of a particular Deliverance vouchsafed to the Iewish People and therefore was proper to them and appertained not to other Nations Hence it was that the Iews themselves did not require of the Proselites a Conformity to this Law nor indeed to any other of the like peculiar Nature Yea themselves were not obliged to observe some of the Mosaick Laws if they were in other Countries as those of First-fruits Tithes and the Sabbatick-year the Iubilee In Canaan only these and other Constitutions were to be kept as is confess'd by their own Writers Their Laws concerning Sacrifices and Incense and Feasts are ceas'd at this day amongst them because they were confin'd to that place and were not to be observ'd any where else Thus a considerable part of the Iewish Laws are now abolish'd by their own Confession they being dispersed into other Countries This might convince them that Iudaism was to give place to Christianity which is large and fitted for all the World which hath God the Church Religion and Salvation all in common This is a great Prerogative of Christianity that it is Universal and excludeth no People or Nations whereas the Religion and Worship of the Iews was narrow and scant and confined to themselves which is a Demonstration that it was Temporary and that there was to be a change of the Mosaick Law and Administration 2. This appears if you consider likewise that God dispensed with the Mosaick Rites and Ceremonies and did not always exact the observance of them which he would have done if they had been perpetual Laws and were designed to continue to all Ages Thus God dispensed with Circumcision not only as to the Time which was punctually assigned by the Law viz. the eighth Day for when the Infants were sick Circumcision was put off till they were well but he dispensed with the very Act and Performance it self All the time the Israelites were in the Wilderness which was forty Years they neglected to circumcise their Children and indeed there was no occasion for it because they then needed not to be distinguished from the Nations being not mingled with them and besides it was inconvenient in their Marches and Removals as may be gather'd from Ios. 5. 2. Circumcise again c. and more plainly from what follows v. 5. The People that were born in the Wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt them they had not circumcised All that time the Celebration of the Passover was omitted in the Wilderness or it was celebrated but once in those forty Years Num. 9. 1 2. Ios. 5. 10. All the Sacrifices and Oblations tho commanded and appointed them the first Year they came into the Desert were omitted all the time they were there excepting some Peace-offerings and Sin-offerings which you read of in Exod. 40. 29. But the daily Sacrifice was not offered and the constant use of all sorts of Sacrifices prevailed not And afterwards when they came into Canaan God dispensed with the Law concerning Sacrificing only in the Tabernacle for Elias sacrificed at Carmel and Samuel at Mishphat unless we shall say that the Law had not reference to these Extraordinary Sacrifices and more Instances might be produced of that kind As to the Resting on the Sabbath-day which was a direct Injunction of the Law it was not observed when they besieged Iericho on that day And other punctual and peremptory Commands of the Mosaick Law were not observed And I could add that many things commanded in the Iudicial Law were dispensed with by God for he who enjoyned them had Power to do it A Bastard was not to come into the Congregation Deut. 23. 2. Yet Iephtâ—ah who was of that Character was preferâ—d and that by Gods own Order to be Judge of Israel So the Judicial Law was violated by letting Saul's Sons who were hang'd up remain so long a time on the Gibbets Hence it appears that the Obligation of the Mosaick Laws is not perpetual for this relaxing and dispensing made way for annulling them and were a certain vindication that the Iewish Laws were to be laid aside 3. You may take notice that as God himself dispensed with these Laws so the best Men were oftentimes very neglectful of them Thus Gideon Manoah and David sacrificed not according to the strict direction of the Law And the last of these eat the Shew-bread when he was press'd with extream hunger and Hezekiah ordered the Passover to be celebrated otherwise than it was written in the Law 2 Chron. 30. 18. So careless were they of precisely observing the Cermonial Injunctions And here it might be observed how the holy Men and Prophets despised the service of Sacrifices and all the other Duties of the Law in comparison of inward Goodness Vertue and Holiness and spiritual Exercises and Performances of Religion The Psalmist speaks to God after this manner Psal. 51. 16 17. Thou desirest not Sacrifice else would I give it thee thou delightest not in Burnt-offering The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite Heart O Lord thou wilt not despise The Son of this Royal Prophet is plain and downright in this matter to do Iustice and Iudgment is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice Prov. 21. 3. Whom Philo that worthy Jew follows saying God is not delighted with the Flesh and Fat of Animals but with the harmless Disposition and pious Intention of the Worshipper And not only this Writer but several other professed Iews acknowledg that Sacrifices were but a secondary sort of Service they were not in their own nature good nor required for their own sake but the primary and main part of divine Service and Worship are Prayer Repentance and Obedience As for Circumcision it was not esteem'd to be of absolute necessity and accordingly was not always perform'd
and imperfect Delineations of that compleat Frame of Religion which the Messias was to introduce This was the thing designed all along the Ritual and Ceremonial Law with all its external Rites tended to this pure and uncorrupted Model of Religion It was appointed that the Law should adumbrate the Gospel that that Oeconomy should prefigure this Therefore the Apostle saith the Law was our School-master to bring us to Christ which shews the inferiour Nature of the Law and that it was to indure but for a time for the Authority of a School-master over those whom he teacheth is but Temporary The legal Pedagogy was to cease and Christ was to be the end of the Law to every one that believeth Rom. 10. 4. It is then evident from the Premises that the Iewish Law is disannul'd for when the Reason of a Law ceases that is sufficient to change the Law because as it commenced upon Reason so when that is taken away the Law it self is abolish'd also This is the present Case the Ceremonial Rites and Types were designed to represent and foresignify Christ and the Evangelical Benefits Wherefore Christ being come and having brought with him those Benefits the former mystical Representations and Figures ought to have a Period So that the Reason and Occasion of these Ceremonious Observances being removed this is sufficient to repeal and reverse those Laws especially when you consider that Christ's Miracles of which I shall speak afterwards were plain Evidences of God's Intention to repeal the Law But to close this Point we are not destitute of a Formal Abrogation of the Jewish Laws for such we may justly reckon our Saviour's Words to be in Iohn 4. 21 23. The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father The hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth Where first he acquaints us that the publick Worship of God shall not be restrain'd to one particular place which very thing is a cancelling of the Mosaick Law which gave Directions chiefly concerning the Temple-Worship They shall not saith he be confined to Mount Gerizim where the Samaritans had fix'd the Seat of their worshipping or to Mount Ephraim in Samaria where Shiloh was the place where the Tabernacle and Ark rested from the beginning of Ioshua's time till Samuel nor shall they be confined to Ierusalem whither the Tabernacle was afterwards brought and at length converted into a Temple nor in any other place exclusively shall Men worship God but every Place and Country shall be alike and God shall have Worshippers in every part of the World This utterly makes void the Iewish Ceremonial Service which was tied to a certain place And our Saviour adds this which doth yet further evacuate it that the Worship under the Gospel must be in Spirit and Truth in contradistinction to the legal Worship which was made up of carnal Ordinances and mere Shadows and Types which were but Representations of that which is true and real Thus he plainly erases and abolishes the Mosaick Service and calls those that worship God in the Evangelical Manner the true Worshippers Again the greatest part of the Epistle to the Hebrews is a direct and downright repealing of it Nay we want not the formal Words of Abrogation as in Heb. 7. 18 19. There is verily a disannulling of the Commandment going before i. e. the Legal and Iudaical Oeconomy which he calls a carnal Commandment ver 16. for the Weakness and Unprofitableness thereof for the Law made nothing perfect Here is an express disannulling of the Mosaick Law And moreover the Reason of it is rendred viz. because it was weak and imperfect and had little Power to amend and reform Mens Lives You will find it also formally repeal'd in Heb. 8. 7 8 13. where the Apostle treating of the Old and New Covenant by which he means the Law and the Gospel as I have before shew'd he thus concludes If the first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have ben sought for the second For finding fault with them he saith Behold the Days come saith the Lord when I will make a New Covenant c. In that he saith a New Covenant he hath made the first Old Now that which decayeth and waxeth Old is ready to vanish away or according to the Greek it is near to vanishing Certainly this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speaks as much if not more than Abrogating And in another plâ—ce where he speaketh of the legal Worship which consisteth chiefly in Sacrifices and Offerings for Sin and not in inward Holiness and sincere doings of God's Will which is the Evangelical Service he applieth the Psalmist's or rather our Saviour's words Sacrifice and Offering thou wouldest not Then said I Lo I come to do thy Will this is infer'd that he taketh away the first that he may establish the second i. e. the Messias abolisheth the Iudaical Service that the may set up and perpetuate the Evangelical one It can then be no longer questioned whether the Iewish Law was abrogated and that in formal and express Terms Those carnal Ordinances as the Apostle speaks Heb. 9. 10. were imposed upon them only until the time of Reformation i. e. of the Gospel When that came they were made void null and dead And this Epistle to the Hebrews seems to be the Sermon which St. Paul preached at their Funeral or the Office of Burial on that occasion Here is Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust a fatal Period put to the Iudaical Rites the Law interred and intombed never to rise again but the Gospel springs out of those Ashes a new and a more noble Dispensation succeeds in its room And thus I have abundantly proved what I undertook that the Law of Moses consisting in Ceremonies was not to continue but was in time to be nulled and dissolved and that by the coming of Christ they are accordingly nulled dissolved and abrogated Hitherto I have in a more remote manner proved the Certainty and Authority of the Evangelical Oeconomy and consequently of Christianity it self But now I will approach nearer and proceed to a more positive and particular Proof of the Authority of the Gospel-Dispensation Christ succeeds Moses the Gospel follows the Law but quo jure There must be as great Testimony for the one as there was for the other or else it cannot be received on good Grounds Let us see then how this Dispensation will acquit it self There are two kinds of Evidence Humane and Divine the Testimony of Man and the Testimony of God The first creates a humane Faith the second a divine one in us Both of these we have in the present Matter First we are furnished with Humane Testimony i. e. we are assured of the Truth of the Christian Religion by a sufficient number of credible Persons who have been either Ear or Eye-witnesses or both of all the Transactions relating to
such an Act as is above natural Force and Abiliâ—y and is done wholly by virtue of an omnipotent Power There is a Physical Virtue and Agency given to all Creatures at their first Creation Their natural Properties and Affections are settled in them by God at first and according to these they constantly act except he who created them changes their course immediately influencing on them When the Creator thus alters their natural Course and Agency and when the Effects are contrary to their natural Power there is a Miracle wrought for Miracles are Actions that are against natural Efficiency This is opposed by Mr. Hobbs who holds that there are no real Miracles because all is by natural Causes only they seem to the Vulgar to proceed from extraordinary and supernatural Causes On this ground he endeavours to vilify the Miracles wrought by Christ. And Spinosa would fain thrust upon us this Proposition that whatsoever the Scripture affirms to have been done did necessarily come to pass according to the Laws of Nature and no otherwise and consequently that those things which go under the Name of Miracles have only natural Causes tho unknown to us And he conceits this to be a sufficient Reason of what he saith viz. that God and his Decrees are unchangeable and therefore the Laws of Nature can't be alter'd and so there are no Miracles because these are said to be Interruptions or Viâ—lations of the course of Nature But if the altering the course of Nature be contain'd in the divine Decrees as most sure it is then what will become of his Argument It is a mere Fallacy and contradicts several Discoveries which God hath made of himself and his doings in the sacred Writ where we find that there are such Actions as cannot be done by the mere Power and Energy of Men or Angels either good or bad or of any created Beings It is of the Essence of a Miracle to exceed all natural Power A Miracle always supposes the Virtue by which it is produced to be Divine 2. This is another property of a Miracle which follows necessarily on the former that it is Vnaccountable We cannot solve it we cannot shew any reason why it is so It is above our apprehension for it being a thing above natural Power it is impossible that natural Reason should tell how it is done A Miracle is such a work of which no Physical Cause can be assigned therefore it is no wonder that it is beyond our Conceptions and that we cannot apprehend how it is performed 3. It is also something done rarely and unusually It is a saying of the Rabbins and a true one A Miracle doth not happen every hour It is an uncommon thing and Rarity is of the nature of it For the design of a Miracle was to beget Faith by its being rare and therefore if you could suppose it to be perpetual the end of it would be lost which is to stir up Men to believe by the uncommonness of what is done Divine works that are done daily and ordinarily are not Miracles thus to justify Sinners to convert them to save them c. are not call'd Miracles So Gods preserving and upholding the World is the work of Divine Power only but it is not call'd a Miracle because it is every moment Pliny declares that it exceeds all Miracles that any one Day passes and all the World is not set on Fire because of the innumerable subterraneous fires and by reason of the infinite number of Stars and the vast heat in the Sun and the inbred fires in Clouds c. But this is no rarâ— and strange thing and therefore is no Miracle The gravity of bodies the strange Operation of the Loadstone the reciprocal motion of the Sea are Phaenomenâ— that depend as I apprehend on the particular and immediate influence of a supernatural cause and yet because they are common are not Miracles God the All-wise Governor of the World hath his usual and ordinary ways but these oftentimes are neglected and despised because they are common wherefore he thinks good to use another method he exertâ— other acts and these are unusual and extraordinary and excite a greater regard and reverence in Men and have the name of Miracles 4. It is the qualification of a Miraclâ— not only to be supernatural unaccountable and rare but also to be something visible at least very evident and discernible The Egyptians saw Moses's Miracles the Priests of Baal saw what Elijah did And whatever Miracles are really done are done in the sight of People or the effects of them are to be plainly seen The reason is because they are exhibited to the World on purpose that they may be observed and taken notice of Wherefore a Miracle is such a Divine Work as is evident and apparent and thence this kind of Operations are frequently call'd Signs i. e. outward and open representations of the Almighty Power of God 5. And lastly they deserve the name of Miracles because they stir up Mens minds to admire them they cause amazement and wonder they are such works of God as create astonishment in all that seriously consider them And this proves what I said before viz. that it is against the nature of a Miracle to be constant and lasting and always continuing for if it were so it would not be wondred at and then it would cease to be a Miracle These are the inseparable properties and qualification of true and real Miraclâ—s but the first is the main and the only essential one for some other things are unaccountable we being ignorant of the extent of Nature's Sphere and unusual and wonderful but they are not against and above the power of natural causes therefore they are not properly Miracles for a Miracle is a thing that cannot be done but by Supernatural and Divine strength Consequently a Miracle cannot be done by the Devil or any of his Ministers and Agents These indeed can do strange and wonderful things that is either such as are really so but then they rise only from occult natural causes and means or such that seem to be so they appear only and are not and then they are mere Jugglings and Tricks of Art Thus far evil Spirits and their Agents are able to go and no further they can counterfeit Miracles but they cannot work one true Miracle Thus the Egyptian Magicians did wonderful things they did not only make their Rods to appear like that of Mercury with Serpents twining about them but which is greater they by their Inchantments turned their Rods into Serpents or seem'd to do so That the worst Men may have power to work such signs and wonders is plain from Deut. 13. 1 2. And the reason why God suffers false Prophâ—ts to work those seeming Miracles is suggested in v. 3. The Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your Heart and with all your Soul It is to try Men
proved that several great Professors of the Imperial Law were well-willers to the Christian Institution and some of those Iuris sacerdotes as the Râ—man Law stiles them became Christian Priests I have already mentioned an early instance of a Convert of this rank I mean Zenas to whom we may now add Minutius Fâ—lix an eminent Roman Lawyer who afterwards turned Christian. And to him may be joyned Arnobius and Laâ—tantius his Scholar notable Rhetoricians all three witty and solid Defenders of Christianity against Paganism in which they had been bred up To whom may be added Iulius Firmicus a Pagan first and then gave his name to Christ and writ a Book of the Error of Prophane Religions Afterwards in the fourth Century we may reckon Gregory Bishop of Neocaesarea commonly call'd Thaumaturgus in the Catalogue of learned Pagans converted to the Christian Faith as also Nemesius a Philosopher in Gregory Nazianzen's time Hilary Bishop of Poictiers was a Heathen at first so was Victorinus a learned Rhetorician of Rome though an Africâ—â— by Birth but in his old Age he renounced the Pagan Religion and became a zealous Christian the manner of whose Conversion is set down by St. Augustin And in the fifth Century there was Synesius originally of Cyrene in Egypt first a Heathen Philosopher and afterwards a Christian and Bishop of Ptolemais in Africa known by his excellent Writings Sulpitius Severus a learned Frenchman of a noble Extraction and famous at the Bar forsook his Pagan Principles and Practices and betook himself to Christianity and was a zealous Defender of it and in part vindicated it with his eloquent Pen. All these great Scholars these Masters of Arts and Reason with many more besides in those first Ages of the Christian Church fell down before the Simplicity of the Gospel and were captivated by it These Persons of great Endowments and Acquirements and the most zealous admirers and followers of Paganism became greedy Proselytes to the Christian Faith which certainly is no small Demonstration of its wondrous Power and Energy Questionless it was one great and notable Miracle that Christianity was received in the World and was entertain'd by the Persons we have been speaking of who had by their Principles and Education the highest prejudices against it Râ—finus and Sozomen report that Alexander Archbishop of Constantinople being present at the Council of Nice with a word struck Philosophers dumb But that is a more notable Instance which we meet with in the foresaid Sozomen and in Socrates viz. that one Spyridion an old Disciple of Christ who had suffer'd under Dioclesian for his constant maintaining the Christian Faith and was grown lame and blind with his Sufferings and with his Age this weather-beaten Champion lived so long I cannot say as to see the great Convention at Nice but as to be present at it and particularly interested in the Debates of it More especially it was taken notice of how this tatter'd Confessor this almost Emerit and disabled Soldier of Christ rallied his Forces afresh and with a new and as it were a divinely inspired vigour ingaged the Enemies and Opposers of the Christian Faith that is some Captious Philosophers who came on purpose to shew their Parts and Wit at that great Assembly But this antient Worthy grappled with them with a marvellous and almost incredible Vivacity he beat back their Cavils he baffled their Sophistries he defended the Christian Cause and gain'd upon some of its very Adversaries to own the same And particularly when a famous Philosopher disturb'd the whole Council with his Disputes he only standing up and barely propounding the main Christian Truths to him and bidding him in the Name of Iesus attend to them made him become mute and leave off his Logick and wrangling and confess before them that he believ'd those things to be true and that there came Force and Virtue out of the Mouth of this aged Saint and Confessor which he was not able to resist Here was seen the Virtue and Power of the Christian Truth By its own native strength and efficacy it gain'd these mighty Conquests It pretended not to Mathematical Demonstration it boasted not of skill in Arts and Sciences and yet it baffled all these and confounded the wisest Philosophers and prevail'd upon the Men who were cried up for the most excellent Attainments This is wonderful indeed and therefore you read that when the Jewish Sanhedrim perceived that the Apostles were unlearned and ignorant Men they marvelled and well they might when they saw what was done by these silly illiterate folks void of all Arts and Imbellishments These sorry Creatures as they were then deemed by the wise Men prevail'd upon the World when it was most Learned and Improved as all History assures us it was at that time Not only some of the Rabbies of Ierusalem but the Philosophers of Rome and Athens sat at the feet of the despised Apostles who were Persons of mean education The most knowing and cultivated Spirits submitted to the Sermons of the Ignorant and Artless Which undoubtedly is a proof of the eminency of Christianity above all Philosophy Which made the Apostle not only start this Interrogatory Where is the Scribe i. e. the Man vers'd in the Iewish Law but demand likewise Where is the Wise i. e. where are the Professors of Arts and Sciences especially the Moral Philosophers the Dictators of Ethicks who were signally stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wise Men. Where is the Disputer of this World the natural Philosopher the Man of Physicks that acquaints himself with the Fabrick of this World Where is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Questionist the busie Diver into the profound Mysteries of Nature Or where is the Politician that great Searcher into the Intrigues of the World where are all these What have they done by all their Lectures Have they reformed Mens Lives as the Christians have done Do their Principles make such a Change in Mens Manners as the others have done Hath not the Gospel effected far greater things than all the Dictates of Philosophy ever did Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this World Yea it pleased God by the foolishness of Preaching i. e. by that Ordinance of Preaching which by so many of the Learned and Wise Philosophers is reckon'd as Foolishness by this Method and Means it pleas'd the Divine Providence to save them that believe It is true the Greeks seek after Wisdom as the Apostle adds i. e. the Philosophers will have all proved by natural Causes they judg all by the Verdict of Reason and run all things up to the strict Laws of Nature therefore it is no wonder that the Doctrine of Christ was to these Greeks Foolishness But we saith the Apostle in behalf of himself and his fellow-Labourers in the Gospel preach Christ crucified to the Iews indeed a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness but unto them that are call'd both Iews and
a brighter Day and the Industry of a farther Age shall bring to light those things that now lie hid in darkness The time will come when our Posterity shall wonder that we were ignorant of things which were so plain and intelligible This Prediction is now fulfill'd we have a clear Discovery of many Secrets which were kept from former Ages we have fresh Experiments by which the Stock of Notions is greatly improved and advanced Diligent Researches at home and Travels into remote Countries have produced new Observations and Remarks unheard-of Discoveries and Inventions Thus we surpass all the times that have been before us and it is highly probable that those that succeed will far surpass these in all manner of human Literature And why a proportionable Improvement in Divine Knowledg and in Moral and Christian Endowments may not be expected I confess I don't understand Can there be any Reason given why God should not prosper Religion as well as Arts Why we may not look for increase of knowledge in the Church as well as in matteâ—s that relate only to Nature Why there may not be a Perfection of Understanding in the one as well as in the other I am sensible that it will be said here and that with Truth that the daily decay of the World as to intellectual and moral qualities is believ'd and held by some very great Men yea they tell us that the natural Frame and Constitution of it wax old It is certain that the Iews had this apprehension The World hath lost its Youth and the times begin to wax old And again The World shall be weaker through Age. The Hebrew Doctors and Rabbins cry out that the Generations grow worse every Day and Knowledg is more and more decreased And what a vast difference they make between the Antients and Moderns may be seen in another Proverbial Saying One mail of our Forefather's Fingers is better than the main Body of them that come after them And we may learn from another Adage of theirs how exceedingly they prefer the former days before the latter The Heart of our Predecessors say they was like the Gate of the Outward Court in amplitude but the Heart of their Successors is like the Gate of the Temple which was far less but ours is like the eye of a Needle least of all And several other Sayings they have to this purpose that the World is impair'd and grows worse and worse and that the further we are removed from the beginning the more we decline But who knows not that hath convers'd with these Gentlemen that they are very fanciful and capricious and that they either out of prejudice or discontent pronounce what they please of any thing so that their approbation or dislike is not to be a Standard to any Man's thoughts and sentiments And as to the Texts before cited they refer to the Iweish State which is foretold to be mean and low and running to decay and therefore no general Judgment can be made thence Among some of the Pagans likewise there was this Notion that the World was decaying as to Men and Manners Damnosa quid non imminuit dies AEtas parentum pejor avis tulit Nos nequiores mox daturos Progeniem vitiosiorem And they particularly alledg the Stature of Men to confirm their Opinion thus Lucretius Iamque adeâ— fracta est â—tas effâ—tque tellus Vix animalia parvacreat quâ— cuncta creavâ—t Sâ—cla deditque fâ—r arum ingentia corpora partu According to him all Animals as well as Man himself were at first formed out of their Mother Earth but since that time the procreative Virtue of the Earth is worn out and the kindly heat and moisture are gone and Nature is grown feeble and therefore Men and other Creatures have not that bulk and size which they were famed for in the days of yore So Pliny the Naturalist had a Conceit of the Senescency of the World and the declension of Nature and he instances in the Stature of Men. The same doth Aulus Gellius and complains of the Decrescency and Wearing away of Things and Men. This was founded on what they had heard or read concerning Giants heretofore the notice of whom might be derived to them not only from their own Authors but from the Sacred Writings which mention Og King of Bashan and Goliah of Gath and the Zummim Zanzummim Anakim Emim who were of a vast Procerity Whence they gather that the World is decay'd because we see no such People now adays But such consequences are easily silenc'd if we consider first that some of their own Authors are of little Credit or Repute and many reports of Giants are Poetical Inventions So if you will believe Geoffery of Monmouth and some other fabulous Writers Albion now call'd Britain the Isle which we inhabit was kept only by a Remnant of Giants Secondly those Writers that we can depend upon especially the Sacred Penmen tho they assure us that there were such big and tall Men yet they represent it as a very rare and uncommon thing they give us to understand that the number of those huge Persons was very small whence we gather that tho there were none such now in being it doth not alter the case of the World considerably But thirdly it appears that since those times spoken of by antient Historians there have been and even at this time are some of that large â—ize Modern Travellers of good esteem and credit ascertain us that there are Giants in some particular Countries which overthrows the vain Conceit of those that found the Decay of the World on a supposal that none but the former Ages afforded Gigantick Folks But the truth of the matter is this that tho Countries differ as to their size of Men nay tho some are in the same Country of a large others of a lesser Proportion yet the Stature of Men was not generally higher and bigger heretofore than it is now All People are for the most part of the same heighth and breadth that they were three thousand Years ago and upwards as is demonstrated by Doctor Hackwill and others from the Vrns and Rings and several other Antiquities which have been derived to after-Ages There is no Decay then as to this I might observe further that some of the Christian Perswasion as well as Iews and Pagans have asserted and defended Nature's universal Decay Some of the Antient Writers of the Church have inclin'd this way but Cyprian is very positive You must know this in the first place saith he that the World is now arrived to its old Age it hath not that force and virtue that strength and vigour which it was endued with heretofore And he goes on to instance both in natuâ—â—â— aâ—d moral things wherein he thinks this Defâ—ction and Failure may be seen Among some of the Moderns this Sentiment hath prevail'd and I will mention only two of them and they are of