also satisfie mens Minds in some measure about the Strange and Wonderful Dispensations of it which not being commonly handled we have the more largely insisted on In the Third and last Part shall be considered that Faith which is founded upon Revelation which also we shall indeavour to set in its true Light Both these Parts shall follow very soon if it please God to assist us and I heartily wish that all of them may prove Useful to the design proposed by helping to clear those Truths which are of the greatest Importance ESSAY I. Faith is and hath been the Perpetual Standard of Righteousness from the beginning of the World 1. AS all Authors whether Historians or Philosophers have their peculiar Phrases and way of Speaking so Faith is a word and term proper to Sacred Scripture It never occurs to us in the reading of any of the Heathen Moralists in that sense in which we meet with it almost in every leaf of the Holy Bible St. Paul as agreeable to the other Apostles he discourses often and very much of Faith so in three several Epistles he asserts that the Iust shall live by Faith and in one of them he Prefaces it with an as it is written testifying by this that it was no New Doctrine of the Gospel but what was taught by the Law and the Prophets And accordingly we find the same very words in the Prophet Habakkuk Chap. 2. 4. whence we may conclude that this is a Scripture Maxim of certain and perpetual Verity under every Dispensation as well the former as the present 2. By the Iust is to be understood the Good Holy and Righteous in opposition to the Wicked and Ungodly And to live comprehends and must be extended to the whole tract and course of their Life and Conversation for to restrain it to any single or individual act which hath not an Universal Influence upon the whole Man and all its Motions is to make the Scripture and Inspirer of it speak very improperly He is not said to Live in a place who Lodgeth there a Night or two but who has his constant Residence and Abode in it Nor can he be said properly to live by any Art or Science who now and then perhaps diverteth himself with it but only he who makes it his profession aim and study who constantly exerciseth it and subsisteth by it So when it is said that the Iust live by Faith the meaning is and must be that they always walk by Faith they order and frame their whole Life and Conversation according to it It is the Principle by which they are actuated and which produceth all that they do As the Soul and Spirit give Life to the Body excite direct and determine the Actions of the whole Man so Faith is the Soul Life and Spirit of a Just or Righteous Man the first and great Principles of his Motions the chief Rule and Director of his Actions that which quickens his Hopes awakens his Fears excites and curbs his Passion and which pusheth him forward to all that is suitable to his Rank Quality and other Circumstances in which he stands In a word to live by Faith must be to think speak and act by it for Life comprehends all this And he who doth thus live by Faith is truly Just Good Holy and Righteous For if it be true that the Iust do live by Faith it is also true that they who live by Faith are Iust. As Knowledge and Wisdom render a Man learned and wise so Faith makes one Iust and Righteous and this Righteousness encreaseth according to the proportion of our Faith for there are degrees of Faith as of Life there are weaker and stronger imperfect and perfect in both 3. Now that it is not peculiar to the state of the Gospel for the Iust to live by Faith but that they did so under the Law and before it doth further appear from what the Apostle writes in the Eleventh Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews where by a long enumeration of particular instances he proves that all the Righteous even up to Abel that is ever since the Fall did walk by Faith and that Faith was the source and spring of both their Common and Extraordinary Actions And he might have ascended higher and shewed that even in the state of Innocence Faith was appointed the Life and Soul of Righteousness for that Command which was given to our first Parents about the Tree of Knowledge in the midst of the Garden was to exercise their Faith as their Transgression was a failure of Faith as well as of Obedience St. Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians and in the first Part of that to the Romans pursues the same Truth against the Bigotted Jews and Judaizing Christians For to convince them of their Error in expecting to be Iustified by the Law of Moses He shews clearly that before the Law was in being Men were accounted Iust and Righteous before God by reason of their Faith and therefore that Faith was the permanent and perpetual Standard or Rule both for measuring Mens Righteousness and for obtaining their Iustification Because Abraham was an eminent Example of Faith therefore he was not only reputed Righteous but had the peculiar honour to be called the Friend of God and the Father of the Faithful in all succeeding Generations And all who believe and live by Faith are stiled the Children of Abraham and Heirs of his Honour and Privileges Upon which account they are also named the Children of God the holy Seed the righteous Generation in opposition to the Sons of Belial the Wicked and Reprobate who are branded with the Character of Vnbelievers Children of Vnbelief Persons without Faith as the Original bears which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Much more might be said on this Head but it sufficiently appears from what hath been said that according to the peculiar Dialect both of the Old and New Testament Faith and Holiness Believing and to be Iust or to live righteously are used indifferently as reciprocal Phrases which import or inferr one another And the reason of this Dialect is because according to the Philosophy of the Scripture that which goes under the Name of Faith is the first Principle which actuates a a good or just Man and that the Goodness or Righteousness which is acceptable to God is only the Effects or Expressions of that Faith which naturally and inseparably follow it as the Light doth the Sun Now before I proceed further it is fit to make a little Pause and it may be convenient to represent here the Obligation which lieth upon all who own the Authority of Scripture to entertain those Phrases and Expressions with respect and reverence 4. They ought to esteem them not only Sacred but Exact and Just and the fittest to convey true Notions into our Minds A Wise Man can express his own Thoughts best And sure none can be supposed more qualified to know the most apposite words
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE Nature Necessity and Evidence OF Christian Faith In Several ESSAYS PART I. Of Faith in General and of the Belief of a Deity By I. C. D. D. Vigilo Credo Clamo Loquor LONDON Printed for William Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDC XCVI The CONTENTS of this First Part. INtroduction shewing the Occasion and Design of the following Essays p. 1. Essay I. Faith is and hath been the perpetual Standard of Righteousness from the Beginning of the World p. 6. 1. Faith proper to Scripture and required under the Dispensation of both Testaments ibid. 2. What to live by Faith p. 7. 3. All the righteous upwards to Adam lived by Faith p. 8. 4. It is great Insolence to find Fault with the Terms and Phrases by which the Principles of Scripture are set forth p. 9. Essay II. Of Faith as opposed to Doubting p. 11. 1. The Meaning of Faith ought to be enquired after ibid. 2. Common Definitions and Distinctions of Faith not considered nor any new Definition offered ibid. 3. Faith first opposed to Doubting implies a firm Perswasion of Good and Evil which is essential to a just Man p. 13. 4. Of the Influence which this Faith has upon Actions as to the rendring them Good or Evil p. 14. 5. This Faith no light Perswasion but the Effect of serious Enquiry and Deliberation ib. 6. It is the first Principle of a good Life p. 16. Essay III. Of Faith as opposed to Atheism and how a Belief of the Existence of God is necessary to determine the certain Rule of Moral Actions p. 17. 1. Faith is a Belief of God and his Attributes ibid. 2. The Necessity of this Belief for knowing the first and great Rule of Moral Actions ibid. 3. Righteousness according to Scripture is to act with a continual regard to God p. 18. 4. These Divines are very censurable who recommend Morality upon other Principles more and oftner than this p. 19. Essay IV. The Existence of God is most evident p. 21. 1. It doth not require Learning or great Travel to know that there is a God p. 22. 2. Some Truths more obvious than Mathematical Demonstrations and it may be said That the Existence of a Deity is more evident than the Propositions of Euclid p. 23. 3. Whether there be real Atheists The Causes of Atheism considered p. 24. First Cause of Atheism Vitiousness p. 25. A Second Cause of Atheism the being rebuted by Difficulties ibid. A Third Cause of Atheism want of Consideration p. 26. Essay V. Evidences of a Deity in Man p. 27. 1. The Outward Figure of Man's Body considered ibid. 2. The Inward Frame p. 28. 3. Life and Sense with the Organs of them ibid. 4. The Internal and Intellectual Faculties p. 32. 5. The Method of nourishing the Body p. 33. 6. The Manner of its Generation p. 34. 7. Of the useful Dependance of some outward Members upon our Will and how readily they answer our thoughts p. 38. Essay VI. Evidences of a Deity in other Parts of the World p. 37. 1. All other things as well as Man prove that there is a God It is evident That Man and all other things had one Author or Cause ibid. 2. Contrivance and Design in in every thing in the Celestial Orbs p. 38. 3. In Vegetables and Animals p. 39. 4. Locusts and Caterpillars considered p. 40. 5. The Disorders and Irregularities occasioned by Man no Reproach to the Wisdom of God p. 41. 6. It is unreasonable to ask more Evidence for the Existence of God than what we have p. 43. 7. God's Eternity obvious His Omnipotency appears in the Immensity of the World p. 44. 8. His Wisdom and Power in the very Disposal of meer Matter or the several kinds of Earth p. 45. 9. In the Variety and Virtue of Plants p. 46. 10. In the Diversity of Animals p. 50. 11. It is impossible to convince them who resist these Evidences p. 52. Essay VII Of the Absurdity of Atheism p. 53. 1. Two sorts of Demonstration A Deity demonstrable by both of them ibid. 2. The Existence of God proved by the First ibid. 3. The Objections of Atheists do strengthen the Belief of a God The First Objection stated p. 54. 4. The Answer to it p. 55. 5. A Second Objection p. 59. 6. The Answer p. 60. 7 A Third Objection p. 62. 8. The Answer p. 63. 9. A Fourth Objection with the Answer p. 64. 10. A Deity proved by the other kind of Demonstration ex absurdo p. 65. The Conclusion p. 68. AN ENQUIRY INTO THE Nature Necessity and Evidence OF Christian Faith INTRODUCTION Shewing the Occasion and Design of the following Essays AS certainly the Christian Religion has the fairest appearance of any and comes to us with all the marks of Truth being stampt with Characters truly Divine and carrying along with it Authentick Testimonies both from Heaven and Earth so they who had the keeping of it have for near these 1700 Years taught that Faith was a very considerable part of it and absolutely Necessary to the obtaining all those Advantages which are promised by it But now there are a Set of Men who pretend new Discoveries They decry Faith as much as it was formerly magnified and turn the things proposed to be believed into ridicule Some of them run down Faith by exposing the Clergy who require it as ignorant and Foolish a sort of Men who are easily imposed upon or who to keep up their Trade study to impose on others amusing them with mysterious Nonsense Others essay to prove That Faith is impossible where Reason rules and is used and therefore that Believing proceeds from a Defect of Reason and consequently unworthy of those who own themselves to be Men that is reasonable Creatures A Third sort examine the several Points of Faith as they are set forth in Systems and Confessions and do either dwindle them away into nothing or render them very absurd that is impossible or no ways worthy to be believed This Controversie is of the highest Importance all ought to be inquisitive into it and earnest to know on what Side Truth lies not to satisfie an idle Curiosity but to discover the certain and solid foundation if there be any such thing on which they may build their Peace and Comfort with respect to the present life and joyful hopes in reference to that which may be hereafter Upon this account I resolved on this Enquiry and to proceed in it with all the care that becomes a Lover of Truth in matters of so very great moment who ought not to suffer himself to be byass'd by his former Sentiments nor to be carried off by the Censures of the World nor to be possessed with a fondness for Opinions meerly because they are New or Old Singular or Common My first aim was to satisfie my self and now I propose the giving true information to others and for that end shall lay all things candidly before them
things a clear Conviction of Truth and a hearty full Perswasion of Good and Evil Lawful and Unlawful which every one should endeavour after as much as possible And also every one ought to live answerably to the measure which he hath attained of it Who doth thus so far he is to be reckoned Good and Just for he hath no Perverseness in his temper no crooked Byass in his Constitution but sheweth an Integrity of Mind without guile or hypocrisie and a regular Will which offers no Prejudice but which renders to every person and thing what is due 6. Righteousness begins here A tendency towards this Faith is the first Symptom and Appearance as well as Motion of a Just and Good Life which like the Natural upon its first Production may be weak and languid but which like it too groweth if it be not stifled and as it groweth so it acquireth strength and vigour until it arrive at Perfection The first moments of the Morning are hardly distinguished from black Night but it creepeth on insensibly until the whole Hemisphere be enlightened So the Paths of the just saith Solomon are as the shining light which shineth more and more until the perfect day Prov. 4. 18. ESSAY III. Of Faith as opposed to Atheism and how a belief of the Existence of God is necessary to Determine the certain Rule of Moral Actions 1. TO go on with Faith which in the Second place is opposed to Atheism and so it is a firm Belief of the existence of a Deity a certain full and clear Perswasion that God is and a sense of those Attributes which are necessarily included in the true Idea of God He saith the Apostle who cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a Rewarder of them who diligently seek him Heb. 4. 6. 2. The Faith spoken of in the former Essay obligeth to enquire after this and this we are now upon enforceth the reasonableness and necessity of that such is the relation betwixt them and so mutually do they support one another Not to Criticize Grammatically upon the words Lawful and Vnlawful which suppose a Superiour even Good and Evil depend much if not altogether upon the Knowledge of God and are to be measured by a Relation to him the Nature of these will be found to vary very much according as the Existence or Non-existence of a Deity is established If Man have no Superiour none to reward or punish his Actions then I suppose the Government of himself is Arbitrary as the chusing Employments is now thought to be his chief business is to please himself and consequently Good and Evil are only to be considered with relation to one's self and his present Interest which shall make as many different notions of Good and Evil as there are different Humours Inclinations and Interests among Men. Good and Evil shall in that case have no certain Standard by which to be measured but shall be of as mutable a Nature as Honesty and Dishonesty in a divided Common-wealth where the same thing is both Honesty and Knavery in the Judgment of the different Parties and where the same Person shall be both reputed a Hero and a Villain Then no act can leave a guilt and better or worse well or ill done is to be measured by the Event and Success And tho' Moral Laws can be shewed to have a Foundation in Nature yet the transgression of them for a particular Pleasure or Conveniency will be thought no more culpable than to level a Mountain to cut the course of a River to force Water to ascend and such like which seem to be equal Violences to Nature so that he who has a Liberty to do the one may also do the other But the case is quite altered if there be a God for then we are no more at our own disposal than Servants He who made us has an absolute dominion over us and all our care ought to be to please him His Will is a Law and the perpetual Standard of Good and Evil. 3. However it is certain that according to Scripture none are reckoned Just or Righteous but such as act with a continued regard to God which sometimes is expressed by the fear of God sometimes by walking with him or before him and having the heart perfect or upright with God When Hezekiah pleaded his Integrity it was in these words Remember Lord how I have walked before thee with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight Upon this account Enoch Noah Abraham Lot Ioseph Ioshua Iob and all the other Worthies in Scripture are put into the Catalogue of the Just. And granting that there is a God it will necessarily follow that he only is a Just Man who sets God before him who makes him the end and measure of his Actions and the very design of whose Life is to please God Nor can there be a more proper Character of an Unjust Man than that by which the Wicked and Ungodly are described in Scripture Viz. They have not the fear of God before their Eyes God is not in all their thoughts they are without God that is they have no consideration of him nor regard unto him He is not Just who doth not render to every Man what is due If one keep squares with others never so well if he deal never so fairly with them yet if he at the same time be untowardly or undutiful to his Parents he cannot properly be called Just. So let one possess all that is called Vertue towards Men yet if God have not due Acknowledgment from him that Man is neither Just nor Righteous Nay as he is not a good and faithful Servant who does not sincerely intend his Master's Honour and Interest in all he doth so according to the Scripture none can claim the titles of Just or Righteous or have them bestowed upon them who do not all for God's sake whose chief Motive to do Good and forbear Evil is because the one is acceptable to God and the other offensive to him 4. Wherefore those Divines are much to be censured who recommend Morality and a good Life chiefly by other Topicks than these for they are either ignorant of the Principles and Philosophy of the Scripture or they discard the same to establish a better and more plausible Scheme of things They who profess to believe the Divine Authority of the Scripture ought also to think that they are incapable to correct its Principles or to establish what is more Just or Wise and that they cannot better shew their Learning and Judgment than by making it appear that they fully understand the Scope and Doctrine of the Scripture But whatever Opinion they have of the Scripture seeing their Profession obligeth them to teach it they ought to do it candidly that is without mixing their own Fansies and Opinions If one was appointed to read a Lecture of either Aristotelian or Cartesian Philosophy he could not be