THE DIVINITY OF THE Christian Religion PROVED By the Evidence of Reason AND Divine Revelation By WILLIAM BATES D. D. LONDON Printed by J. D. for Brabazon Aylmer at the three Pigeons in Cornhil over against the Royal Exchange 1677. The Divinity of the Christian Religion Proved by the Evidence of Reason and Divine Revelation CHAP. I. Religion is necessary for the honour of God and happiness of Man Among the variety of Religions in the world 't is the highest point of Wisdom to consider which is pleasing to God God alone is to prescribe the way of his Worship He has revealed it The truth of Christian Religion is made evident by comparing it with all other Religions Gentilism convinc'd of falsity by its contradicting Natural Light in mistaking the object of Worship and in the manner of it The Idolatry the impure and frivolous Rites the cruel Sacrifices of the Heathens considered Philosophy was ineffectual to redress those evils Judaism consider'd The ceremonial part of that Religion contains nothing morally good 'T was of impossible performance to all Nations 'T was enjoyn'd the Jews for special reasons The carnal Law was to expire at the coming of the Messiah and give place to the Christian Religion that is all life and spirit The falsness and absurdity of Mahometism discovered by the quality of the Author and its nature by the fraudulent and violent means whereby 't was propagated by the quality of those who received it ignorant barbarous Nations by the quality of the Reward it propounds neither becoming God to bestow nor Man to desire HAving in some former Discourses establish't and clear'd the Foundations of Religion I shall proceed to raise the Superstructure That God is the Maker of the World that he observes our moral Actions and will require an Account of them in the future state and distribute eternal Recompences accordingly has been proved by such invincible Evidence that Reason cannot resist It follows therefore that Religion is necessary both for the honour of God and in order to the happiness of Man For we cannot conceive but that the wise Creator in making all things design'd his own Glory both in the manifestation of his own Perfections and that they should be acknowledg'd and reverenc'd loved and prais'd by intelligent Creatures This is a natural duty to which Mankind with an unforc'd consent agrees For as Honour in the general is the homage paid to conspicuous Excellencies and specially to beneficent Vertues so Religion that is the highest Honour is justly due to God the most Sovereign Being in all Perfections and our Sovereign Benefactor And 't is equally clear that the happiness of Man depends on Religion For if God regards the Actions of Men not to have a naked speculative knowledg of them but with an Eye of Providence and Judgment if He will accept and reward our services not as profitable to Him but as the just expressions of our love thankfulness and obedience to Him 't is requisite our prime care should be to serve Him In this the greatest Duty and supream Interest of Men are inviolably united for what obligation can possibly be equal to that of pleasing our Maker and Preserver and what is comparable to the Interest of Eternity From hence there is a general inclination in Men to worship the Deity imprest from the Author of Nature but the ways are diverse Religion changes its shape in several Countries and the Rites that are observed by some Nations as sacred are rejected by others as impious or vain Now in this variety of Religions and every one contrary to the other 't is necessary to consider which is that special Way of serving God that is only pleasing to Him If a Traveller be distracted between several Wayes he will enquire which leads to his Journeys end and not go on with uncertainty And is it not infinitely reasonable to do that in the most important Affair which any person will do in the most ordinary To be indifferent in a matter so deeply concerning us is prodigious above all wonder For if the means we use to obtain the Favour of God provoke his Anger our misery is remediless But alas no rashness is so common as that of Men's preferring one Religion before another How many false Religions are defended by whole Nations with that Zeal as if they were the most assured Persons when the Foundations of their Belief and Adherence are so weak that did they call Reason to Counsel they must be convinc'd of their Errors They are led by vain respects to their Progenitors from whom their Religion is deriv'd and what they receive at first without discerning they never distrust As if the first Instructions were alwayes true They resign up their Judgments to their Princes And if humane Authority were a sufficient motive in this case then every Religion will be saving in the Country where 't is establish'd by Law Nay the Christian Religion though shining with an extraordinary luster which justifies it to every one that will but open his eyes to consider it yet is as injudiciously and carelesly received as the vainest Religion in the World Innumerable are Christians in title without any solid conviction in their minds or divine change in their hearts the effects of its truth and goodness They are Disciples of Christ as the Turks are of Mahomet by the sole impression of Example In the discussing this matter I shall proceed upon such Principles as are evident to the humane understanding 'T is a common Principle acknowledged by all Men That God alone is to prescribe that Way and Order of Service wherein He will be honoured For this Reason those who in any Nation introduc'd a Form of Religion always pretended to have Divine-Direction for it Now that God has signified his Will to Men in this most important Matter 't is most reasonable to believe The Philosopher observes that such is the providence of Nature that the most necessary Arts for the support of life are easily learnt of all In the rudest Ages men were skilfull to cultivate the Earth to govern their Flocks to dress their Provisions for food But those Arts that were onely for delight not absolutely useful as Musick Painting Perfuming Embriodery c. required more study and skill and therefore were more modern And if the Divine Providence has such a tender care of Man as to make the knowledge of such things easy as are requisite for the Temporal life 't is reason to believe he has not left him destitute of those means that are necessary for the obtaining Eternal Life Now that the Christian Religion alone is true will fully appear 1. By comparing it with other Religions that upon trial are convinc'd of open falsity or that they are infinitely excelled by the Christian in those things wherein they have any resemblance or degrees of Truth and Goodness 2. By considering it directly as to its intrinsick excellencies and those External Supernatural
Operations that are the express Characters of Gods hand which afford an infallible testimony of his approving it Before the coming of Christ into the World there were two sorts of Religions Gentilisme and Judaisme The first is utterly excluded upon the account of its gross and palpable contrariety to the Principles of sound Reason 1. By a fundamental error in the Object of Worship Idolatry then spread through all the Regions under both the Hemispheres Now 't is evident by Reason there is but one true God an Infinite Being the Maker and Governour of all things that has alone Divine excellencies in himself and a Divine Empire over us and consequently is alone worthy of Supreme Honour And what greater indignity can be offered to Him than the placing of Idols in His Throne He is a jealous God sensible and severe and will not suffer any partner in his Worship His Honour is eminently concern'd to vindicate His despised Deity 'T is a pittiful shift to alledg that they honoured their inferiour Gods with a lower and imperfect worship for all divine Worship is supreme and to be given only to the supreme God Besides what more debases Man than to consecrate the flower of his esteem and affections to unworthy Objects and many times to things wherein were no signs of Life much less any Ray of Divinity 'T is evident therefore that the numerous Sects of Superstition were involv'd in the most wretched ignorance of God and themselves And 't is observable that no quarrels were rais'd amongst the Heathens about the several Gods they worship'd For the Devil the irreconcileable Enemy to God's Glory and Man's Happiness was pleas'd with their deadly Errours Let them adore the Host of Heaven or of the Earth it was alike to him for they all diverted the minds of Men from the sole Object of Divine Worship the true God 2. Gentilism was equally culpable in the manner of Worship Those who made Gods to themselves ordained their service according to their fancies But the true God that made Man will be worshipped according to his own appointment Now if we consider that unintelligible variety of Religions amongst the Heathens we shall have reason to conclude that there is no instance wherein the excess of Man's native blindness and depravation is more astonishing than in the ways he has devised for the serving of God This will appear by taking a short general view of the ways of Worship in practice among the most learned and polite Heathens The Grecians and Romans had more Art and Improvement than the rest yet how frivolous and extravagant nay how impious were their solemn Mysteries The Eleusinia sacra the rites of Cybele the Floralia c. were mixtures of Folly and Filthiness Their Auguries by the flight of Birds their Presages by inspecting the Intrals of Beasts and the Smoak of the Incense were so fantastick that if one had design'd to invent things ridiculous without the least shew of Reason it had not been possible to exceed them They were very curious about Trifles and careless of real Vertue And what is more unworthy of God than to imagine that He is pleased with little sensless observances solemnly performed They were afraid to soil themselves with imaginary pollutions and insensible of the deepest defilements Their most sacred Mysteries were a covert for Uncleanness and under the mask of Religion the basest Villanies were disguised But I will not rake in those sinks of filthiness Now what is more impious than to imagine that God is pleased with the most sordid Lusts that cannot be nam'd without violating Modesty nor thought of without defiling the Mind with their infamous Ideas But 't is no wonder that such pollutions were esteemed Religious Rites for they attributed to their Gods such actions as were most unworthy a vertuous Man The Poets were the chief Doctors in their Church Their tales of the Rapes and Incests and secret Amours of their reputed Deities were the rule of their Faith And what a pernitious influence this kind of belief had upon them and how dishonourable it was to their Gods the wiser sort then discover'd It was Cicero's just censure of Homer that whereas he should have raised up Earth to Heaven instructed Men to live according to the purity of the Gods he forc'd down Heaven to Earth and made the Gods to live like Men in this Region of impurity 'T is the highest Glory of Man to be made the Image of God in moral excellencies and 't is the vilest contumely to God to fashion him to be the Image of Mans vicious affections Add further that Man was a sinner and under the righteous displeasure of Heaven all were compell'd to acknowledge by the Stings of Conscience But what miserable work has been made from the ignorance and guilty fears of the Heathens to render the Deity propitious is manifest in several instances and especially in their cruel sacrifices of Men. This was their practise in extream dangers to purge their Cities and avert Divine Judgments As if some eminent acts of Sin had the vertue of expiation In short the design of Religion is to procure the favour of God and to sanctifie Man both which are necessary in order to his Blessedness but how in sufficient Gentilism was for these great effects is manifest Nay on the contrary such a prodigious mixture of folly and wickedness makes it sadly evident that the variety of Religions among the Heathens were but several ways of dishonouring God and perishing for ever It is further to be observed that the Philosophers of greatest reputation admir'd as Oracles of more than humane Wisdom did not cure these destructive evils They should have exprest an Heroic Magnaminity to which they vainly pretended in resisting the dreadful torrent of Idolatry that everflowed the World But they basely temporiz'd with the vulgar Heathen 'T was their declared Principle that a wise Man should follow the Religion of his Country and conform in his external practice with establisht customs if he reserv'd his mind free for Philosophy Thus they extinguish'd the most radiant beam of the Deity and rob'd him of his most glorious Attribute the Unity of his Essence And by this we may judge how unfit they were to instruct and correct the degenerate World and make it truly better when they suffer'd Religion the fountain of all Vertues to be corrupted and the Worship of the only true God the prime and chief part of Piety to be given not only to inferiour objects but to evil Spirits Miserable Physicians whose care was applied to redress some lesser evils that concern'd Societies and neglected this mortal wound in the Heart 'T is a killing aggravation of their connivance and compliance with ignorant Idolaters that they held the truth in unrighteousness and when they knew God they glorified Him not as God but chang'd the Glory of his Incorruptible Nature into an Image made like to corruptible Man and Birds and four-footed
Beasts and creeping things This was the state of the Pagan World till the Gospel appear'd and directed the natural religious inclination of mankind into its proper channel to the only true God 2. The Religion of the Jews is to be considered This the Christians acknowledg with them was Divine in its Authority Doctrine Moral part Worship and Promises God himself was the Author and confirm'd it by many illustrious Miracles 'T is deliver'd in the most antient authentick and venerable Writings in the World It instructs us concerning the Nature of God his Works of Creation and Providence and the Judgment to come It commands the love of God and to serve him only and the love of our Neighbour as our selves The ceremonial part was a full conviction of the guilt of Sin a visible discovery of the rights of eternal Justice and a powerful means to humble Men before the Infinite and offended Majesty of the Creator It propounds temporal rewards as the marks of Gods favour sutable to the Church then in its minority but under that Vaile the most excellent and eternal rewards This Religion in its Ceremonial external part was to continue till the coming of the Messiah and then to be abolish'd To make this evident I shall thus proceed 1. That the ceremonial part contain'd nothing that was morally and unchangeably good for then it had been obligatory to all Nations and from the beginning whereas it was prescribed only to the Jews and after a long space of time wherein many holy Men though ignorant of that part of the Law yet received a Divine testimony that they pleased God 2. 'T was of impossible performance to all other Nations as appears by the Precepts concerning Sacrifices that were to be offered only in Jerusalem and by the Levitical Priests and their solemn Festivals so many times in the Year Now the Worship of God being an essential Duty of the reasonable Creature 't is absurd to imagine that it necessarily consists in such things that cannot be done by all Men. 3. God himself often declar'd that the Rituals of the Law were of no price with him absolutely consider'd 4. They were enjoynd the Jews for peculiar reasons principally that by those imperfect rudiments they might be prepar'd for the times of Reformation God had drawn in the Legal Ministration numberless Images of the Messiah their Temple and High-Priest their Ark and Offerings with all their Ceremonial Service did signally point at him And this is a ninfallible evidence that a mind superiour to Moses's design'd all that Work with a final respect to Christ that the Jewish Nation having the Idea of him always present might not mistake him when he should appear And that heavy yoke of Ceremonies with the spirit of servile fear that attended it was to excite in them earnest longings after the Messiah the Desire of all Nations that with unspeakable joy they might receive him at his coming Now that the Legal Institution should expire for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof and a Divine Sacrifice be offer'd up of infinite value and vertue to reconcile God and purifie the Consciences of Men was declared whilst the service of the Temple was perform'd with the greatest Pomp. Thus the Messiah spake by the mouth of David Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire my heart hast thou open'd Burnt-offering and Sin-offering hast thou not required then said I lo I come in the volume of the Book 't is written of me I delight to do thy will O my God And the same inspired Prophet declar'd when the Levitical Priesthood was in the greatest splendour that there was another order of Priesthood than that of Aaron established in a more solemn manner and of everlasting efficacy The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec That this Prophecy respected the Messiah even the Pharisees could not deny For when Jesus Christ askt them whose Son Christ was to be they answered Davids And demanding again why David call'd him Lord in those words of the Psalms The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand till I have made thine enemies thy foot-stool they could answer nothing Their silence was a clear acknowledgment that the Messiah was the Person there intended The Apostle also who wrote to the Jews takes it for granted by the universal consent of that Nation that that Psalm respected the Messiah and proves it was accomplish'd in Jesus Christ. Besides 't was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah that another Covenant should be made wherein the real benefits of the pardon of Sin and true Holiness that were tipified by the Legal purifications and observances should be conferred on God's People Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel different from that made with their Fathers when they came out of the Land of Aegypt I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my People And they shall no more teach every Man his Neighbour and every Man his Brother saying Know the Lord for they shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sin no more In short there are abundant Declarations in the Prophets that the carnal Religion of the Jews should expire and a Religion all Spirit and Life should succeed in its place and be diffused among all Nations This was to be introduc'd by the Messiah Thus Moses foretold The Lord thy God shall raise up a Prophet from among thy Brethren like unto me Him ye shall hear 'T was the singular prerogative of Moses above the rest of the Prophets that he was a Lawgiver and Mediatour of the Covenant between God and Israel and accordingly the Messiah was to be a Lawgiver and Mediatour of a new Covenant Now if the Mosaic Institutions were to remain after his coming the Parallel would not hold between them in those principal respects Besides 't was prophesied that the Messiah should be a King sitting on the Throne of David and commanding the Kings of the Earth By which 't is evident that his Laws must be of another nature than those of Moses that were proper only to the Church whilst confin'd to the Jewish pale but not for the government of the World And whereas the Jews object that some of their Rites were ordain'd to continue for ever The answer is clear That was only to distinguish them from some temporary injunctions that were of force only while they were in the Wilderness or when they were inhabitants of Canaan but were to be practis'd in all places till by a new signification of the Divine Will they were forbidden And 't is observable that in the Jewish Law the term for ever when applied either to a Mans right or
to servitude imports only a continuance to the Jubile so that those Rituals were to continue in their vigour during that intire period and to be determin'd after the coming of the Messiah the great Jubile of the World And that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah is most evident in that his coming was exactly as he was designed and was to be expected that he had the power of working Miracles to authorise him to change the externals of their Worship and Service Briefly Judaism now is but the Carcass of a dead Religion and the obstinate adherers to it are become so sottishly blind as to believe the most prodigious fables as divine Revelations Their Talmud so reverenc'd by them contains intolerable follies nay Blasphemies against God It regulates his hours in the day It relates that he spends three in studying the Law and three more in the instructing Children that dyed in their minority and that he employs three in taking the accounts of the World and in the three last diverts himself with Leviathans and that the night being come for they imagine that the Sun sets in Paradise he ascends a Chariot drawn by the swiftest Spirits the Cherubims and visits the eighteen thousand Worlds he created I shall not instance in any more of their extravagant tales not to be defended by the pretence of solemn Mysteries and by strained Allegories This is sufficient to shew that by the Righteous Judgment of God for their rejecting the Truth of the Gospel they are given up to believe Lies Since the comeing of Jesus Christ Mahumetanism has overspread a great part of the Barbarous World But this carries in it such apparent and certain marks of falsity that it can be no temptation to any person in whom there is but a spark of good Hence whether we consider 1. The Authour from whom it was derived a robber one drencht in sensuality and therefore utterly unqualified to be the revealer of the Will of the Holy God to Men. 2. The quality of its doctrines some are ridiculous and extravagant above the vanity of a feaverish dream some are pernicious flattering both the lower Appetites the concupiscible by loosing its natural restraints from exorbitant fleshly pleasures the irascible by commending the violent oppression of others for the advancement of Religion 3. The means by which it had its rise and was propagated It sprang from imposture Mahomet erected an Oracle in his own Fancy and pretended that the Holy Ghost descended there to give his inspirations Thus he seduc'd at first but having got a strong party Force succeeded Deceit The Sword cut its way through many Countries And is it strange that the People so fiercely taught should follow the Religion of the cruel Conquerour Thus it was planted thus it increas'd and is still maintain'd by the same causes 4. The quality of those who received it They were Barbarous Nations and absolutely forbid to make an inquiry into the matters of Religion And how easie is it to make an impression on the rude lump of the multitude what wonder is it that pleasant follies should usurp the belief of the ignorant vulgar 5. It promises in the future life a Paradise fit for Swine most unworthy the glorious Rewarder God and the excellence of Man This is so evident that Avicen a Saracen Philosopher and Mahumetan in profession speaks with abhorence of those dreggy low delights and on the contrary asserts that the heighth of happiness is in the perfections of the Soul united to God and thus vertually condemns their Faith as repugnant to the dictates of clear Reason CHAP. II. The Christian Religion directly considered Previous Considerations That there was such a person as Jesus Christ who converst in the World and instituted that Religion is most credible from the uniform testimony of Christians in all Ages 'T is equally certain the Books containing the Doctrine of Christ are transmitted without material alteration The proofs of Christian Religion though not equal in clearness to sence or science yet are sufficient to convince unprejudiced minds of its truth The intrinsick Excellencies of the Christian Religion considered The Doctrines of the Gospel illustrate Natural Truths concerning God and reveal what is further necessary for his Glory and Man's Happiness The intire Agreement between them The Gospel discovers the misery of Man in its causes and degrees and the means of his recovery It represents a full and glorious Image of God's Perfections in the manner of our Restoration Therefore 't is worthy of all acceptation The Christian Religion sets before us a Rule pure and perspicuous in nothing superfluous or defective The Promises of the Gospel are worthy of God and suitable to the wants and desires of Men. They offer the pardon of Sin upon the condition of Repentance and Faith The supernatural Assistance of the holy Spirit The supply of our temporal wants and support under Afflictions The reward of Eternal Life I Will now consider the Christian Religion directly in it self It has this noble prerogative above the rest the more one searches into it the more its Divinity appears Whereas other Religions may please a sudden Eye but cannot endure a serious tryal Some things are to be premised 1. I shall suppose it as a Principle above all doubt there was such a Person as Jesus Christ who conversed in the World consign'd the Christian Doctrine to the Apostles and by them 't is conveyed to us in the New-Testament For in asserting it we have the uniform deposition of all that profess this Religion from its rise till the present Age and in all parts of the World Though in other things of different opinions yet they agree in this that Jesus Christ was their Founder Now who can better know the Author of an Institution Ecclesiastical or Sâ—cular than those who were admitted into its beginning and those who have succeeded in that order from age to age without interruption Besides we have the consenting and constant testimony of Jews and Heathens the obstinate opposers of the Christian Religion that its name as well as original was derived from Christ. We may with more Reason suspect there were never such Philosophers as Plato and Aristotle or that the Books which from their times by universal persevering fame have been attributed to them were made by others and put forth under false titles than to question what is so generally receiv'd concerning the Author of the Gospel 'T is the perfection of folly and madness to oppose such evidence 2. 'T is equally certain that the Books of the New-Testament are transmitted to us in their original purity without any material alteration For it is incredible that the societies of Christians should neglect the preserving incorrupt and intire those Writings which they esteemed a most sacred treasure on which they built their hopes of eternal blessedness It cannot be suppos'd they would transmit them to their Children whose Salvation must have been dearer to them than the
shall we goithou hast the words of Eternal Life CHAP. III. The External proofs of the truth of Christian Religion considered Miracles are only perform'd by God Why Christianity was confirm'd by them The number of Christs Miracles the manner of his performing them and their certainty consider'd The Miracles done by Christ to confirm his Doctrine are an authentick Testimony that God approved it The pretence of Libertines that the Heathen Religion was confirm'd by Miracles clearly disprov'd The rational assurance we have that the Apostles were sincere and certain of the Miraculous things related by them of Jesus Christ. His Resurrection attested by sufficient evidence VVE are next to consider those external proofs of the truth of Christianity the works of God himself that seal our full assurance of it I shall instance in two Miracles and the accomplishment of Prophecies 1. A Miracle is a supernatural work that requires an extraordinary Divine Power to effect it For none can derogate from the Universal Laws of Nature prescribed from the beginning of things and time but the Author of it Indeed we do not exactly know the compass of that Circle wherein the spirits of darkness excercise their power They may by the application of natural means unknown to us produce things that may astonish or by lying Wonders deceive Men but a true Miracle is a work reserv'd to God and possibly to no less than Infinite Power Whether it be a first or second Creation the forming a new Eye or the giving a visive power to that that was naturally blind it can only be done by his hand If we respect Omipotency there is the same facility if the thing done there is the same difficulty in the performance If the Devils had such a power they might create a separate Kingdom and reign there Now Miraculous Testimonies were given to confirm Christianity that there might be a just correspondence between its Doctrines and their Proofs The mysteries of the Gospel in their existence are above all natural power and in their belief above the natural understanding All that Nature can do or know does not make them credible Therefore 't was requisit those things should be confirm'd by the Divine Power that transcend the comprehension of humane Reason Besides as the Mysteries of the Gospel are sublime so the Rewards are future and that the Gentiles might not pretend that the Preachers of the Gospel feign'd another World and a Heaven and a Hell wherein the Souls and Bodies of Men shall be glorified or tormented according to their actions in this life supernatural Evidence of the truth of those Promises and Threatnings was necessary In short herein the Divine Goodness appeared That as the true Religion is necessary to the Salvation of all Men so 't was discernible by such signs as may convince all For upon the sight of those Divine Works the simplest people were led by the outward Sense to an inward firm Faith in Jesus Christ. These things being premised I will take a brief view of the Miracles wrought by our Saviour to give Faith to his Doctrine 'T is recorded of Moses who was a type of Christ that after his familiar converse with God as a Man with his Friend descending from the Mount his Face shone with such an excessive brightness as it were by reflection from the Face of God that coming to the Israelites to deliver to them the Divine Laws he was fain to cover it with a vail yet some rays of that miraculous splendor were visible through that mysterious Vail to assure them it was Moses himself that directed and govern'd them according to God's Will Thus when the Son of God came down from the Heaven of Heavens to instruct the World he shaded the light of the Deity with a vail of Flesh yet he was not so absolutely concealed under his humanity but that from time to time some beams of the Divine Nature appear'd in works so proper to God that the Apostle says We saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten Son of God In the representation of our Saviours Miracles by the Evangelists we may consider their number and variety his manner of performing them and the certainty of them 1. Their number and variety He went about all Galilee healing all manner of sicknesses and diseases even the most incurable the Blind the Deaf the Lame the Paralitic the Hydropic the Leprous the Lunatic were cured He rais'd the Dead and cast out Devils Besides his miraculous feeding so many thousands his commanding the enraged Winds and Seas to be still and a great calm followed His Transfiguration before his Disciples when the Beauty of Heaven descended on his Countenance to be there more beautiful discover'd the sensible Presence of the Deity in him 2. The manner of his performing them is very considerable They were done in an instant by absolute dominion over Nature Thus when he said to the Leper I will be thou clean immediately his Leprosy was cleansed Thus when the faithful Centurion addrest himself to him only speak the word and my Servant shall be healed He answered Be it done unto thee as thou believest and his Servant was healed c. both expressions of Command and Empire And his words to the Blind-Man Receive thy Sight had the same creating efficacy with those Let there be Light and there was Light Thus with Authority he commanded the unclean Spirits even the most furious and obstinate and they were expelled from those Mansions wherein they had revelled a long time Thus by the mere Act of his Will he revers'd the order of Nature When the Widows Son was carrying to the Grave He only said Young Man I say unto thee Arise and he that was dead sate up and began to speak Now in this respect the power of Miracles in Jesus Christ was transcendent above that that either Moses or the Prophets or the Apostles had 'T was derived to them by favour and commission from an extrinsick superiour principle the Omnipotence of God but 't was inherent in his Person the natural proper Attribute of his Deity and prov'd Him to be the Son of God the Lord of Nature visible in humane flesh In all places this blessed Vertue proceeded from Him 3. The certainty of his performing them was so great that no shadow of suspicion could remain about it Vitruvius the Master of Architects gives advice to those who built Temples to Aesculapius or any other of the Heathen Deities that were invocated by the Sick that they should choose such places as were open to the most favourable Aspects and Influences of the Heavens where there was a well-temper'd Soil clear Air pure Springs of Water that Diseased-Persons coming from unhealthyplaces might obtain Recovery and what was the benefit of Nature might be attributed to the Divine Vertue of Aesculapius Thus that Idolater counsel'd for the honour of his false Gods But in this he judged aright that the power of the Deity was believed
and honoured by Men proportionably to the Cures that were received from him How much more when done by an undoubted Miracle Of this the People the numerous spectators were so convinc'd that they said When Christ cometh the expected Deliverer will he do more Miracles than these which this Man has done The Pharisees themselves could not deny the Effects but would not acknowledg the true Cause Envy was more powerful in their breasts than the clearest Evidence Therefore to invalidate his Authority they ascrib'd some of his wonderful works to the Prince of Devils But this pretence was so void of all Reason and full of impiety that nothing but inveterate malice could suggest it For would the Devil destroy his own Kingdom is he such a lover of Holiness as to authorise the most perfect Master of it by a compliance with his Will Those proud Spirits are servile only in appearance and when they suffer themselves to be commanded by Men 't is always with design to establish and increase their own Dominion Therefore the most famous Sorcerers observe some Rites by the Devil's prescription and in the using of them acknowledg his power But our Saviour had a soveraign Empire over them and ejected them not only from the Bodies but from the Souls of Men subduing by his holy Doctrine the power of Sin wherein the Kingdom of Satan consists From hence he argues If I by the finger of God cast out Devils then is the Kingdom of God come unto you And hence it was that he charges them with self-condemning obstinancy For if the Gentiles were inexcusable for not acknowledging and honouring God so clearly manifested in the Works of Nature The Jews were as inexcusable for rejecting Jesus Christ so powerfully declared to be the Son of God by supernatural Operations Add further that in his lowest state when he seemd to be utterly forsaken of God yet then his Innocency and the Divinity of his Person were miraculously testified For at his Death even insensible Nature as if it had been capable of Knowledg and Affection was in the most astonishing disorder as resenting the Passion of its Lord. The Sun was eclips'd in a time and place against all possibility of Nature For the Moon was then in opposition to it and in its Full and in an instant past a half Circle of the Heavens to interpose between the body of the Sun and the Earth that the Air at noon day was darkn'd as at midnight This compell'd the Roman Centurion to acknowledg that he that suffer'd was the Son of God And his Resurrection from the Grave was a visible Argument to confirm his Doctrine for that God would not exert his extraordinary power to confirm a false Doctrine in a matter of infinite moment that so nearly concerns his own Glory and the Salvation of Men there is sufficient assurance from his Wisdom Truth Goodness Was there ever any Prince that would permit an Usurper in his own Presence to make use of his Royal Seal to authorise by Commission his Subjects to rebel against him And would God have suffered a Deceiver to work Miracles and thereby obtain Divine Honour from Men the incommunicable Right of the Deity Nay it had not been a bare permission but a positive Act of God himself it being impossible that any other should do them Or would God who is the prime Verity work Miracles to give credit to a Lye and violate the Honour of his Eternal most perfect Veracity Or is it consistent with his Infinite Goodness to make a Delusion so strong that the most sincere would be in great danger to be overcome by it Therefore the Apostle urges it as an uncontroulable Argument of our Saviour's Divine Mission Ye Men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a Man approved of God among you by Miracles and Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of you as you your selves also know These were proofs of the greatest vigour to induce the World to believe that he came from God to make known his Counsel for the recovery of lost undone Mankind 'T is said by Libertines that the Heathens tell miraculous stories to confirm their Religion that their Hero's descended in a right line from some Deity and not to instance in many particulars they boasted of Apollonius Tyanaeus as one that vied with Christ himself in wonderful works But this Objection is easily refuted for if Paganism had a miraculous Power attending it why did it not make use of it to discredit that Power that authoris'd Christianity in the time it made fierce War against it If equal to it in Divine Power and incomparably superiour in humane aids how came it to pass that the weaker prov'd victorious and the stronger was put to flight 'T is evident therefore the pretended Miracles of Paganism were works of the Devil not to be compar'd with what was done by an Almighty Hand If it be again objected That the relation of the Miracles as perform'd by Jesus Christ is from his Disciples who favoured his Person and Cause and therefore may be justly suspected I answer The vanity of the Pretence is apparent for if they had artificially fram'd a Narrative of extraordinary things as done by him in that time wherein they wrote and in the view of many how easy had it been to expose them to the just scorn and hatred of all for their notorious falshood and infatuated Impudence but they were never accus'd of this Nay such was the number clearness and greatness of his Miracles that the uncontrouled fame of them forc'd his Enemies in after-Ages to acknowledg their truth The Jews in their Talmud confess he did Wonders but give such a ridiculous Account of the Means by which they were done as betrays the weakness of their Reason and the strength of their Malice against him And his Apostles with their Successors in preaching the Gospel wrought Miracles so frequently in the face of many Nations that those who were most obstinately averse from submitting to it could not deny what was visible to thousands and that Miraculous Power they always ascribed to the Name of CHRIST So that there is no colour for jealousy as if his Miracles recorded in the Gospel were not true But because the Resurrection of Christ is the great Principle upon which all Christian hopes depend I will shew that we have all the rational assurance of it that it is capable of This being a matter of fact done many Ages past is to be proved by Testimony And first 't is worthy of Observation that the Providence of God is concern'd to authorize this manner of proof that is absolutely necessary for the preserving humane Societies 'T is of little importance whether the truth of things be discovered in speculative Sciences or the appearance of it deceive the Inquirer 'T is no wrong to the Commonwealth that an Astronomer mistakes in his dimensions of the magnitude of the Sun for his
Nations and all sorts of persons that were converted to the Faith of Christ. Now who caused such a marvellous and holy Revolution in the World but God What less than a Divine Power could raise Men above Sense and make them victorious over the Lusts of corrupt Nature fortified by Custom a second Nature Is it conceivable supposing the Doctrine of Christ were not from Heaven that it should produce such admirable Effects And is it conceivable that God would adorn with all his Graces the Image of his own Excellency his most precious Benefits those who did not honour him according to his Will Can there be found such astonishing Contrarieties joyn'd together as the most impious Errour and Depravation of the Mind with the greatest Purity and Rectitude of the Will and Affections For if Jesus Christ were not the Son of God those who worship'd him were in a mortal Delusion The third Testimony the Apostle produces is the Blood that is Peace with God and Conscience the blessed Fruit of Justification by Faith in Christ. The Heathen World was in a dark State of fears or slept securely in the shadow of Death Some were in a Hectic Trembling continually haunted with the Apparition of their Sins as so many Infernal Furies Others though guilty of most fearful crimes were secure from stupid Atheisme Others were quiet from a presumption cherish'd by Opinions unworthy of God as if he would neglect his own Glory to shew Mercy to them Now the Gospel to conquer the fears of sensible afflicted Sinners and to establish a lively hope in God's Mercy propounds a Means of Universal Sovereign Efficacy to reconcile him to us The most precious Blood of the Son of God offer'd up as a Sacrifice to expiate Sin This sprinkles all Nations and in all Ages to the end of the World will be of undecaying Vertue This appeas'd all the unquiet Agitations of the Spirits of Believers and produc'd the Peace that passes understanding a Joy unspeakable and glorious This delivered them from the fear of Death under which the World was so long in bondage And it is worthy the observing that no Principles of Nature ever produc'd such a generous Contempt of Death as the Christian Religion did in the Professors of it The Alexanders Scipio's and Caesars had trembled at the sight of these Savage Beasts that were let loose upon the Martyrs at the preparations of Cruelty to torment them Whereas they regarded them with tranquillity nay with Joy as the matter of their Triumph This was true Valour indeed for the Confession of the most important Truth and superiour to the Courage of those who were called Fulmina Belli the most Renowned Souldiers For in a Battel by Martial Sounds by Violent Motions the Spirits are fired and Men scarce feel their Wounds and are inconsiderate of their danger But the Martyrs had nothing to heighten their Courage but in cool blood deliberately and without alteration encounter'd that terrible Enemy Besides Souldiers in the sharpest Conflicts have some hopes of Victory or else of a sudden and honourable Death Aut cita Mors aut Victoria laeta And he that rusheth into perils with a seeming bravery when there is hopes of escaping has not resolution to look Death in the face when 't is inevitable There is an eminent instance of this in a famous Captain of late memory the Duke Biron none was more bold in fight but when he was to receive the Sentence of Death for his Crimes none more disorder'd by fear sometimes he was in a rage against his Judges and after his passion was evaporated fell into the other extremity unmanly crys complaints and low submissions to obtain favour But the more than Heroick Constancy of the Martyrs contemned Death in its nearest approaches and most fearful pomp Christian Religion has often transform'd the most tender Women and Children into Men or rather into Angels making them suffer with joy that which our Nature cannot see without horrour It changed as it were Flesh and Blood into a Celestial substance insensible of Fire and Sword and the most cruel Violences Now this unshaken Resolution in Christians encountring the last Enemy was from the lively sense of God's favour reconciled by the most pure and precious Blood of his Son and the hopes of everlasting happiness in his presence To conclude this Argument 't is to be observed there is no proof more proper that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the World than the joynt testimony of the Spirit Water and Blood For whereas Sin was the only cause of our Ruine the Office of our Saviour is to repair that Ruine and consequently he that effectually does it is to be acknowledged believed and imbraced as our Saviour Now the worst effects of Sin are the ignorance of the Mind the depravation of the Affections and the terrors of Conscience from the apprehensions of Vengeance Therefore since the Gospel of Christ has brought Celestial Light Purity and Peace into the World it is an infallible proof that He is the Redeemer of it The Sun that visits the World with its refreshing beams has no clearer marks of the Divine Wisdom in making it and ordering its motions than the Spiritual Light of the Gospel that irradiates the minds of Men before in deep darkness The riches of the Earth in variety of Fruits is not a more convincing Argument of the Divine Goodness than to see the Souls of Men that before were as dead earth under the curse of Heaven to abound in all the fruits of Righteousness The separating the Sea from the Land and setting bounds to its impetuous Waves is not a greater effect of God's Power than the calming the tempests of an unquiet Conscience and establishing Tranquillity in it And these Blessings we entirely owe to Jesus Christ in whose Name they are obtain'd by whose Spirit they are conferr'd and for whose Glory they are design'd Now what more is requisite to afford us satisfaction that JESUS CHRIST came from God and revealed his Will in order to our happiness Can it be reasonably expected that new Miracles should be wrought to satisfy every Sceptick that is still unsatisfied Indeed the fountain of them is not dried up the Power of God is not weaken'd nor his Mercy lessened but in extraordinary Cases when the Gospel is first preach'd to a Nation it may be expected that to convert them from Gentilism to the Christian Faith he will make himself known not only by Word but Power in Supernatural Operations But the vein of Miracles is not still current in the Church there being sufficient motives of Belief for the conviction of all that are not obstinate without the performing new Must the Son of God present himself to all Men in a visible Glory Or must his Divine Father give another Majestick Testimony from Heaven concerning him If we have not such sensible Evidence we have as sure The accomplishment of Scripture-Prophecies is a permanent Miracle a more certain
perfect Humility to the World 'T is the special Character of his Religion that distinguishes it from all other Institutions that it preserves the Divine Glory entire that it makes the profoundest impressions in the hearts of Men of their meanness and vanity and inspires them with an humble sense of their infinit distance from God And for the holiness of his Life I shall produce a Testimony that can be liable to no exception 't is of Porphiry a Platonic Philosopher who excelled as in Learning and Eloquence so in Malignity the most furious Enemies of Christianity yet he was by irresistible evidence compell'd to acknowledge That Jesus Christ was a most pious and Excellent Person and that after his Death he ascended into Heaven And is it credible that the same Person whose Life was a glorious Example of Holiness and Righteousness should be guilty of the most transcendent Wickedness 'T is not possible for an unprejudic'd mind to entertain such a suspicion 4. That the Son of God was here below in a mean state that he was expos'd to the most cruel and ignominious death if we consider the great end of his condescending goodness it will appear to be most worthy of him and that there is no contradiction in the things themselves but in the perverse minds of Infidels For First He was to redeem the World not in the way of Majesty but by humble Obedience and Sufferings Thus it was ordered by Divine Wisdom for the honour of God's Attributes and Government Now if he had appear'd in sensible Glory the design of his coming had been frustrated who would have dared to condemn him to the infamous death of the Cross who would have shed his Blood the price of our Redemption And 't is very observable that our Saviour made no use of his Supernatural Power when the doing a Miracle before Herod would have struck him with the reverence of him as a Divine Man and might have preserved him from Death Nay when the glittering Host of Heaven all the Orders of Angels were in Arms ready upon his least Call to have come swifter than Lightning for his rescue yet he meekly yeelded himself up a bloody Sacrifice to God and an ignominious Spectacle to Men. For thus it became him to fulfil all Righteousness Secondly Another great End of his Coming was to found a Spiritual Eternal Kingdom He was constituted a new Adam to regenerate Men to an holy blessed Life that were condemned in the first Adam to Death and Misery Therefore his Life was a continual exercise of Self-denyal a pattern of Innocence and Patience of doing good and suffering evil Thus he convinces us that nothing is valuable in God's account but Holiness Thus by his own Example he instructs us in the divine Philosophy to despise the good and evil things here in order to our everlasting happiness He ascended to Heaven by the way of sufferings and calls us to follow him The fruit of Blessedness is ingrafted on the thorns of Poverty and Persecution for his Name-sake The Laws of his Kingdom are inscribed on the Body of his Cross and must be copyed in the Hearts of his Subjects And for this Reason when the Apostles who after his Resurrection had some reliques of their carnal conceit that the Kingdom of GOD should come with observation for its external splendor ask'd him Lord wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel to raise their Thoughts and Affections above Earthly things he answered The Holy-Ghost shall come upon you and ye shall be Witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and unto the utmost ends of the Earth Their preaching his Life and Death should be attended with the power of the Spirit to dispense a vigorous Influence into the hearts of Men for his Imitation And certainly his Example is of admirable use and profit For thus he sweetens and makes honourable those Vertues the exercise of which were very difficult and unpleasing either in respect of their quality being contrary to fleshly lusts or as they expose to Contempt in the opinion of the World For who can refuse or be asham'd to practise the most severe Self-denyal when in that he is made a Copy of so Divine an Original as the Son of God Now considering what an influence his Afflicted state has to procure Eternal Happiness for fallen Man and to prepare Man for it was it unbecoming him to descend thus low Is it unbecoming that God loves as God that as infinite Wisdom and Power appear'd in the Creation so Infinite Mercy appears in our Redemption What is more Divine than infinitely to exceed all the Ideas we can frame of Perfect Love To do greater things for his Enemies than Men are willing to do for their dearest Friends and where Sin abounds that Grace superabounds Thus the Eye of Reason clear'd by Revelation sees that the voluntary Humiliation of the Son of God for a time is so far from diminishing that it exalts his Majesty This is the great Argument and Motive of the Adoration and solemn Praise that Reasonable Creatures shall for ever pay unto him wherein his derivative Glory consists From what has been discours'd we may see the just grounds of our firm Assent and perfect Adherence to the Doctrine of the Gospel There are not only sufficient but abundant Motives to induce our belief so that it is an extreme Wonder that any to whom it is revealed should not see the Truth so illustriously visible The only account of such Infidelity is given by the Apostle The God of this World hath blinded the eyes of them which believe not lest the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine upon them The love of some Lust fleshly or spiritual render Men averse from receiving it The Mysteries of Godliness are not confin'd to the speculative mind but are for moral ends to regulate our lives From hence it is that the cordial belief of them very much depends on the temper and disposition of the Soul The sincere humble Enquirer has an eminent advantage in the discovery of the truth and spiritual excellencies of the Gospel above those who are over-rul'd by corrupt habits For the carnal heart either wholly turns the mind from thinking on those most sacred and concerning objects or weakens its intention that it does not seriously and duly consider them Men will studiously apply themselves to secular Arts and can discern the truth of abstruse Mathematical Theorems that are not distastful to their evil affections yet though the Principles of Christian Faith are as unquestionable as the clearest Propositions in Geometry they will not ponder those things that may convince and perswade them to believe what is directly opposite to their Lusts. Besides as corrupt humours vitiate the palate and make what is pleasant bitter to the taste so vicious desires darken and deprave the mind and incline it to judge of Doctrines to