number of learned Men from Age to Age even to the very times these Sacred Authors flourish'd and this is that which we call the Authority of the Church or universal Tradition The other Point respects the Authority of these Writings That they have transmitted to Posterity a true History of Jesus and were Divinely inspir'd appears from the near Relation they had to Christ in being instructed by him so that they could neither deceive or be deceiv'd For the same Arguments which prove the Messiah-ship and Divine Gift of Jesus prove the Testimonies of those to whom he reveal'd his Doctrine to be convincing and infallible Now here comes in a Point about which Papists and Protestants raise a mighty Dispute viz. How the Authority of the Apostles Writings call'd the Word of God can depend upon Tradition which is an Inferiour kind of Authority To understand this point we are carefully to distinguish betwixt the Authority of a Witness and the Authority of a Judge The former is only Ministerial Declaratory and conversant about matter of Fact the other is Magisterial and Legislative and may concern matters of Faith that is such Divine Truths as are many times above our Natural Reason to understand Now that Divine Truths as to their manifestation should depend upon the Authority or Testimony of the Church is not at all absurd but very consonant to Reason which in Scripture Phrase is called an Evidence or Reason of our Belief or Hope But then Evidence once made we are requir'd to yield an implicit kind of assent to the Doctrines of Scripture upon the account of the Divine Authority and veracity of their Author as being an infallible Legislator and upon that score to be believed in whatsoever he saies though never so difficult to our Wills and Understandings and this is called Faith Let us illustrate this Point a little For instance The King sends his Letters Mandatory by his Messenger or some other person of Credit and Reputation Upon the persuasion we have of the Credit and Reputation of the Messenger we receive such Letters as Royal Mandates with a suitable Veneration and then without more adoe we yield or ought to yield Obedience to them in the same manner as if his Royal Majesty were present in Person to enjoin the Contents Here 't is plain we make a difference betwixt the Authority of the Testimony or Messenger and the Authority of the Prince and yet we should not easily submit to these Letters were they not attested by such credible means for should we find such Letters in the Streets or High-ways though never so Patent and Sign'd and Seal'd with all Formalities Imaginable we should not take much Notice of them much less be oblig'd to pay our Obedience to them so that here we see how the Motives of Assent are one thing and the Subject of Assent is another and of a higher Nature though depending on the former Having clear'd the way to the reason of our Belief let us now Consider the Scope and Contents of the New Testament and we shall find them to be either Doctrinal or Historical The Doctrinals are such as are Conversant about matters of Belief or matters of Practise We shall begin with matters of Belief the grand Scope whereof seems to level at this one Fundamental Point that Jesus is the Christ or the promised Messiah This as it hath been already prov'd from the Prophesies of the Old Testament let us now proceed to prove also by the actual Offices of a Messiah or Redeemer A Redeemer is one who pays a Debt for another and sets him at Liberty and properly it has respect to Slaves or Men Imprison'd who are unable of themselves to satisfie their Creditors or those to whom they are in Bondage Now Christ as the Redeemer of Mankind being a Publick Representative was under a twofold Obligation first of fulfilling the Law or Commands of God himself and this is call'd active Obedience secondly of satisfying or suffering for the breach of it and this is call'd Passive Obedience Christ's Active Obedience or his fulfilling the Law appears several ways as touching the Moral Law Christ fulfill'd it in his strict Observance of it but especially in his more perfect Interpretation of it by shewing its true full and genuine Sense which indeed is the Soul of every Law The Jews look'd only to the outward performance or shell of the Law whereas Christ had regard to the inward bent of the Soul and to the Affections The Law said Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God Christ saies Thou shalt love him with all thy heart and with all thy strength The Law saith Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in Vain Christ goes further saying Swear not at all The Law saies Thou shalt not kill thou shalt not commit Adultery Christ saies Whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of Judgment and that whosoever looketh on a Woman with a lustfull thought committeth Adultery in his Heart Christ firbids not onely all false Testimonies but even all idle Works Then for the Judicial Law it was Lex Talionis an Eye for an Eye c. Christ says Whosoever shall smite thee on the right Cheek turn to him the left also The Law said Love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy Christ says Love your Enemies and bless them that curse you Also for Alms Prayer and Fasting he improves these Duties to an higher degree of Perfection than that under the Jewish Ordinances As for the Ceremonial Law 't is known that Christ was in all things conformable thereunto he was circumcis'd and was presented in the Temple and he observ'd their Feasts c. But besides all this he fulfill'd these Laws in another Sense in as much as they were accomplish'd in him for all the Rites and Sacrifices under the Jewish Law with all their Types as hath been already shewed were Figures onely of Christ Now the Figure or Shadow vanishes when the substance comes in place all the Prophets ceas'd upon the appearance of Christ as in the presence of a Prince the Office of an Ambassadour ceases For from the time of John the Baptist who was the last Prophet and by his preaching Repentance usher'd in the Blessed Jesus the Jews never had a Prophet more a clear proof that he was the Messiah of whom they all writ The other Obligation under which Christ lay to the Law was that of his Passive Obedience in suffering the Punishment due to the Transgression of it He poured out his Soul unto Death and bare the sins of many And so under these two Capacities Isaiah 53. he made a full Satisfaction or a Complete Redemption Now that one Man as a Representative should bear the sins of many seems no way strange for under the Jewish Law we read of the Scape Goat on whose head the Priest transferr'd the sins of the People with a kind of an Anathema which Goat was presently
in the Ceremony crown'd with Garlands and with Laurels in their Hands they sang certain Verses in a low and humble Voice by which they implor'd the Mercy of the Gods and so they visited the Capitol and Temples but especially those Sacred Chappels in which were the Lectisternia or Pulvinaria that is Beds of Repose for the Gods which Beds were most richly adorn'd and had for their Pillows little Bundles or Tossels of Vervien a Plant of most Sacred use amongst the Romans which Lectisternia also were raised on high and overlook'd the Altars The chiefest Beds of Majesty were for Jupiter Vulcan and Minerva because these Three were chiefly look'd upon to have the Power of the Thunderbolt The other sort of Supplications were Gratulatory much like our Jubilees where all the Orders both of Men and Women whether Sacred or Civil and cloath'd in their richest Ornaments and Habits made like the Solemn Processions in visiting the Temples and offering up their Thanks by singing of Hymns Perfuming the Altars and making of Feasts with other Marks of Publick Joy which Supplications lasted for many Days and were granted upon the Account of some signal Victory or for the good Success in their Wars or any other publick Undertaking Julius Caesar having fought prosperously in subduing the Gaules obtain'd Supplications or a Jubilee of Sixteen Days Brutus after he had the better of Marcus Antonius in the War of Medena obtain'd a Jubilee which lasted Fifty Days One also of the like continuance was indicted by Cicero in the Senate at such time as the War was prosperous to Octavius These Supplications were always made during the Absence of the General for whose sake they were granted excepting that of Cicero for whom tho present a Supplication was indicted in consideration of the great Service he did in defending the Commonwealth from Catiline's Conspiracy In short These Supplications were usually the Preludes of Triumphs Forasmuch as they for whom Supplications were decreed whilst they were employ'd abroad in the War obtain'd a Triumph at their Return when the War was finish'd The Religion of the Greeks was much the same with that of the Romans for they had the same Deities and almost the same Rites and Sacrifices From whence also we may proceed to take a transient View of the Rites and Ceremonies of the Jews which consisted also in several Orders of Priests Sacrifices Lustrations Jubilees Feasts c. only they differ'd in the Object of Worship adoring the One True and only God to whom they erected one only Temple at Jerusalem where they perform'd their Solemn Functions Tho they had their Synagogues or Sacred Assemblies also every where wherein they taught and preach'd and did some lesser Rites Their observation of the Sabbath as also Circumcision were the more distinguishing marks by which they differ'd from all the World Tho the latter we find to have been observed also by the Ishmaelites or Arabians as descending from Abraham The Priesthood was ever held amongst all Nations in great Esteem which they express'd chiefly by honouring the Persons of those who attended on it with glorious Titles splendid Ornaments plentiful Maintenance large Exemptions and Privileges and with all External Marks of Observance and Veneration If we do not find the same in the Age we live in this in some measure possibly may be the fault of the Persons themselves many of which being of despicable Parts and Extraction of uncultivated Behaviour and of Sordid Covetous and perhaps Scandalous Lives cast a Cloud upon the Function and had they liv'd amongst the Heathens they would have been thought worthy of no other Priestly Employment but that of butchering the Beasts which yet seem to be much more innocent and gentle Tho it be very probable also that as Men decline in their Morals and all Sentiments of Piety so they think to extenuate their Enormities by exposing the Priests to the same Contempt under which they have brought themselves by their degenerate Lives which in all likelihood will let in Atheism For when Men have a true Belief of the Religion they profess they cannot but shew a suitable Respect for those who are the Instruments of conveying to them all the Benefits and Blessings of it However it be a few particular Deviations cannot destroy universal Maxims no more than the Heavens can be said to be impure and corruptible from a few falling Meteors or some smoaky Comets The Body of Men through all Age and Regions of the World have ever held Religion in high Veneration as in some short measure hath been already delivered So that to use the reasonings of Tully the Perswasion Tuscul Quaest lib. 1. Men have of Religion and of the Divine Nature is not founded upon any Conference and Consent of men nor derived from any Laws and Sanctions whatsoever But the general Concurrence of all Nations in the belief of any thing can be nothing else but the Law of Nature And consequently hence it was that many of those Ceremonies in use amongst the Gentiles were in use also amongst the Primitive Christians and may still be retain'd in the Church as being of great signification and such as serve to express mens inward Sense and Veneration of the Divine Majesty Having thus took a transient View of some Religious Practices amongst the Ancients I now return into my old Road where I shall endeavour to make a more strict Enquiry of the Truth and Verity of Religion Which that we may the better understand I shall reduce Religion to these Two Generals Natural and Reveal'd By Natural Religion I understand such Nations as Contemplative and vertuous Persons have arriv'd to by the light of Natural Reason By Reveal'd I understand only such Religions as are at this time in Vogue and were pretended to be authorized by an immediate Voice from Heaven 'T is true all the Ancient Founders of Religion pretended also to Revelation But their Religion being Conversant about false Deities and being extinct long ago I shall now consider such different Religions as at this Day divide the World and have the True God for the Object of their Worship by whom also they believe it was reveal'd and they are these Three the Jewish the Christian and the Mahometan CHAP. XIV Of the Jewish Nation and Religion IN the Jewish Religion there are Two things to be considered its Authority and its Duration First for its Authority To us who are educated in the belief that the Old Testament is the Word of God there is no place left for any Doubt or Question So that in this Point both Jews and Christians agree together But then were we to dispute with the Gentiles such as Porphyrius Jamblicus Celsus and the rest who denied the Divine Authority of the Scriptures we must have recourse to other Medium's and such to which these Dissenters would stand Leaving therefore the Testimonies which the Scriptures themselves give of their own Authority we shall find the validity of their
great Usurper in suppressing the Senate in whom the Government had so long continued yet the Senate themselves having confirm'd this Alteration for so many Ages and through so many Successions by infinite Decrees and Acts testifying their Submission here was a real Abdication or Resignation on their part And although they were at first brought to this by Conquest yet so many subsequent and voluntary Acts by which as it were step by step they divested themselves of their Authority settled an indubitable right of Government in the Heirs and Successors of Caesar Had Cato Cassius and the Bruti with others of the Republican Party prevailed after that bold blow they gave in the Senate they would have had not only Statues but also Altars and Temples erected to them But Octavian and his Party getting the better by many illegal Methods no less violent and sanguinous than those of his Predecessors the Form of the Government I say was chang'd and submitted to by the Senate themselves and those brave Men who endeavour'd to preserve and retrieve their Countries Liberty were stigmatiz'd with the black Character of Conspirators and Parricides So much does Success give Credit and Authority to Tyrannical Attempts Now where there is an Authority or Government of such continuance and so universally submitted to by the former Lords and Masters as the Roman Empire was at the time St. Paul wrote this Epistle then will it be pertinent to cite this Passage but when nothing of this appears an Argument taken from a State so settled and submitted to as the Roman Empire was is little to the purpose The same Answer serves to that place of St. Peter 1. Ep. cap. 2. As also that of our Saviours paying Tribute or giving to Caesar the things that were Caesar's for this was spoken about the Sixteenth Year of Tiberius and Seventy Years after the death of Julius so that in all these Cases there was no visible Right or Title which stood in competition with the Possession of the Empire Hitherto I have spoken to the Testimonies of Scripture in the Explication whereof the Rule is most safe and Orthodox viz. to interpret Scripture by Scripture and to understand it in such a Sense as shall not contradict a greater Evidence and Testimony of Scripture and not to do as some who when they are press'd with the pernicious Consequences of their Interpretation presently shelter themselves under God's unsearchable Wisdom crving out Who art thou O man who prescribest Rules to thy Maker with such Nonsensical Stuff as though God's Omnipotence could not be declared but by obtruding on him horrid Impieties and the most gross Absurdities By the same Capacity or Absurdity rather by which they endeavour'd from Scripture Testimonies to prove National Revolutions procur'd by wicked Means to be the peculiar and proper Work of God's Providence or that such Tyrannical Powers once introduc'd have God's Authority to warrant and defend them upon the Score of his Providential Prerogative I say by the same Logick we may prove from Scripture also that God has no Providential Care over the World at all Forasmuch as we read 2 Cor. chap. 4. That the God of this World viz. Satan hath blinded the Minds of Men so that the Dominion of Satan in his Government of this World is absolute and that of a God Now if the Devil rules in this World as Prince or God what Province to assign to God Almighty's Inspection is hard to imagine 'T is apparent therefore from hence That all such Scriptures are not to be understood literally but analogically and with reference to God's Attributes and to the Articles of our Christian Faith Where by the way we may also observe Calvin's perverse Interpretation of that place of 2 Thes chap. 2. where God is said to send them a strong delusion that they should believe a Lye that they all might be damn'd who believ'd not the Truth when yet from this place of the second to the Corinthians chap. 4. the blinding of the Minds of those who believe not is ascribed to the Devil to the Devil by the way of Counsel and Execution to God by way of Permission For we cannot ascribe this Spiritual Execution to God and Satan too in one and the same Sense without manifest Impiety But to return to the Temporal and greater Transactions of the World what can be more absurd than that all violent acquisitions all the Usurpations and Oppressions all the Blood Sacrilege Rapine and wicked Practices by which many Kingdoms and Empires through all Ages have been raised up propagated and enlarg'd I say that all such Kingdoms thus supported should be God's Ordinances and that they who do not acknowledge this are in a State of Damnation Hence it will follow that all the Christians who have groaned under the Turkish Slavery should they by adhering to Christian Princes endeavour to recover their former Fortunes and Liberties which they were Tyrannically deprived of in doing this they would resist the Ordinances of God and incur Damnation Nay 't will follow also that the power of Supremacy which the Pope is said to usurp is also of God or God's Ordinance And truly if Duration can give a Title this of the Pope's has been of longer continuance than any other Title now in Europe or perhaps in the whole World It has been challeng'd for above a Thousand Years and actually submitted to by a great many Nations But it may be said perhaps that the Popes Usurpations are Spiritual and that in Spiritual Matters we are to obey God rather than Man This Objection does not dissolve but rather knit the Knot faster For the Text saith There is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God so that all Power without exception falls under a Notion of God's Ordinance And truly if God take such a care for Temporal Administration much more for Spiritual if a Sparrow falls not to the Ground without his Will he must needs be morè concern'd for so great a Body of Men the Church being that which he himself with his own Right Hand hath planted in sending his only Son to purchase it by his Incarnation and suffering death upon the Cross The Spiritual Capacity is his Kingdom more peculiarly and tho' the Papal Power were an Usurpation that 's no matter it being once possess'd by the Bishop of Rome and that for so long a time it becomes a settled Government and an Ordinance of God They therefore who in the first Reformation did resist this Power did according to these Mens Doctrine resist the Ordinance of God and are liable for so doing to Damnation And thus have they found out a new Argument to justifie the Pope's Authority such as never any Jesuit nor the Pope himself yet dream'd of Nay the Dominion and Power of Antichrist according to their Doctrine must be an Ordinance of God's also For whether the Pope be Antichrist or whether he be yet to come certain it