CHRISTES MIRACLES Deliuered in a Sermon By ARTHVR DENT Preacher of the word of GOD at South-Shoobery in Essex AT LONDON Printed by G E. for Iohn Wright and are to be sould at his shop at Christ-church Gate 1608. CHRISTES Miracles Iohn 9. 16. Then said some of the Pharisees This man is not of God because he keepeth not the Sabboth others sayd How can a man that is a sinner doe such miracles And there was a dissension among them IN this verse is set downe a double opinion which the Pharisees held concerning Christ and especially concerning the workes which hee had wrought among them Some of them haue peremptorilie and flatly condenmed him saying that hee was a man that was not of GOD and they render a reason or rather a shadow of a reason namely because he kéepeth not the Sabboth but their opinion was rashe and their iudgement false and erronious procéeding from the malice and hatred of the person of Christ Also that which they haue vsed for a reason we haue shewed that it is likewise false for Christ was so farre from breaking the Sabaoth or any part of the law that he did in full perfection fulfill the whole law of God Now followeth the opinion of the second sort of Pharisees which sayd How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles as if the holy Ghost should say If our Sauiour Christ were such a prophaner and breaker of the Saboth as you surmise him to be then it were impossible for him to doe such strange and wonderfull miracles as we sée he hath wrought of this wee haue spoken before shal speake more hereafter when we haue spoken generally of Miracles of the workes of them therefore of the power of God in working them also of the power of Angels of Satan of men therein Whereas it is said How can a man that is a sinner doe such miracles these men doe insinuate that sinners can do some wonderfull miracles in the sight of men but to doe such a miracle as to cure a man being blinde from his birthe was impossible for them It is impossible that any sinner should doe this or any such miracles which Christ did wee are therefore to shew first what a miracle is that euery one vnderstanding the nature thereof may make such proper and peculiar vse of the same as he ought A miracle is nothing else but a rare worke apparently wrought by the sole omnipotent power of God cleane contrary to the order and instinct of nature farre aboue nature or naturall causes I vse so many words that I may speake to the capacity of all the people wheras otherwise I might vse fewer we are therefore first to know y ◠it is a worke for indéed it must be in it selfe a true worke déed or fact otherwise it cannot in it selfe and of it selfe make men to muse and maruell at it at least it cannot make wise men to maruell at it If therefore it be a miracle it must be a sensible worke not a worke in shew illusion or deceit but a worke in nature indéed and in trueth If it be but an apparance of a worke it is no miracle If it be onely in illusion of the senses it is no miracle It is then true that the illusions of Satan are no miracles for he doth nothing but delude the senses of men neither is it the celeritie or agilitie of mens hands which are miracles as of Juglers which deceiue the people by an actiuitie in continuing the thing which they doe For they doe not any true worke but by their dexterity deceiue mens senses These therefore are no miracles for euery miracle must be a true worke and fact indéed I therefore first call a miracle a worke to separate it from those that séeme to be miracles and yet are not as be the workes of Satan and his members and also those that are done by agility of man which are workes in shew but not indéed This kind of miracle which is a true worke hath béene wrought by diuers of Gods children as Moses when he was sent to deliuer the people of Israell out of Egipt did worke many miracles to testifie that he was sent of the Lord. He made Frogs not in appearance but indéed he turned the water of the riuer into bloud not in appearance but in déed So also Elias wrought myracles not in shew but in déed So Christ wrought miracles not in shew but in déed For Lazarus being dead indéed he raised him vp againe in déed when the wine wanted at the mariage he turned water in déed into wine in déed as pure wine as any issued out of the Uine and so were all the miracles which he did workes in déed and not only in appearance When therefore wee sée any wonderfull thing come to passe wee must examine it whether it be a worke in déed or onely in appearance If it be not a worke in déed as be the illusions of Satan and of men which deceiue the senses and do not bring any worke to passe then is it not a true miracle For euery true miracle which the Lord hath wrought himselfe or any of the Prophets or our Sauiour Christ haue béene true workes Secondly I call it a rare worke of God for of the workes of God there be some which are vsuall common ordinary as the preseruation of mankind is an ordinary and vsuall worke of God and it is truly said of the holy Ghost that we liue mooue and haue our being in the Lord yet because this is vsuall ordinary and common yea dayly and hourely for the Lord doth ordinarily euery day and houre preserue men otherwise they could not liue I say because it is ordinary dayly and hourely we cannot properlye call it a miracle for it doth make men to maruell to muse to be amased and astonied at it séeing it is so vsuall and ordinary among them For it is the nature of miracles to make men muse and maruell at them and therefore when as in the Euangelists any miracle which our Sauiour Christ wrought is set downe there also immediatly followeth that the people were astonied therefore that which is vsuall and common cannot properly be called a miracle A miracle therefore must be a rare worke of God sildome brought to passe and for this cause we cannot say that repentance or regeneration is a miracle for although repentance be wrought in few yet is it not properly a miracle because it is ordinarily vsually at one time or another wrought in the hearts of all Gods children There be also many strange and wonderfull workes of nature yet because they are not rare but vsuall and ordinarie they be no miracles An Adamant stone wee know not by what force will drawe Iron to it selfe Iron is heauy of it selfe and of it selfe cannot possibly mooue from place to place yet an Adamant if it be aboue it will draw it to it selfe which is
very strange and admirable yet because it is vsuall and common it cannot be called a miracle So we may sée the nature and power of some water to turne that which in nature is gold into stone that is knowne to be true by experience yet no man can shew any reason why that water should rather doe it then any other Although this be strange wonderfull yet because it is vsuall and ordinary yet in those waters it is no miracle for euery miracle is a rare worke that commeth to passe not ordinarily but very sildome This worke is called rare either in regard of the thing wrought or in regard of the manner of working it First in respect of the thing wrought as when the Lord sent downe Manna from heauen to féed such a great number of people as the Israelites were this was very rare in regarde of the thing wrought So when the Lord made the Sunne to stay in the element so likewise as we may read when the Lord made the shadow of the Diall to go back Secondly a miracle is rare in regarde of the maner of working it as when the water was turned into bloud it was not a rare thing to sée blond but the manner of working it as namely with a Rod was most rare and was neuer seene before So we do sée that Christs manner of healing the blind man was very rare Therefore a miracle if it be a miracle indéed first it must be a true worke Secondly a rare worke either in regarde of the thing it selfe or in regard of the manner of dooing it Apparantly wrought c. Thirdly a miracle must haue this annexed vnto it for it must not be obscure but apparent I meane not to the reason and iudgement of man but to mans sense that is to some of his senses or to all of them without controuersie or doubting This we shall sée in all true miracles wrought by god to be of this nature namely cleare and euident to mans senses for either men did féele them as the darknesse in Egipt or else they might touch them taste them or smell them When the Lord brought his people of Israel from Egipt all the miracles which hee by his power had wrought among them were most apparent vnto mans sense As namely when they went through the redde Sea there he made the waters to deuide themselues and to stand like mighty mountaines on each side of them in such sort that they did most mauifestly sée and behold the same So likewise they saw when Moses stroke the stony Rock so that thereout gushed water So they saw most euidently the walls of Iericho fall downe and therefore if there be any miracle which is not apparent of itselfe it is no miracle Likewise what workes so euer be done by Satan or any of his Angels if it be not euident and to bee discerned by mans sense hence wee know that it is no miracle Let vs by this property of a-true miracle examine the miracle of the Altar of the Church of Rome for in the Sacrament of the Altar after the Priest hath said a few words as these Hoc est corpus meum they teach that there a strange worke is brought to passe for the substance of the bread which was on the Altar is gone and is changed into the body of Christ if it were so then indéede it were a miracle but if it be a miracle then men may discerne it by one sense or other For let them shew me an instance where the lord wrought any miracle which he did not subiect to the senses of man but in this there is no miracle which may be discerned by the senses for the bread in the iudgment of al the senses seemeth the same that it was before to y e sight it séemeth to be the very same in substance of the same quality and colour that it was of before it hath the same taste it had before to the handling it appeareth the same that it was before and hath the same smelling that it had before there is not any sense that iudgeth now otherwise of it then it did before therfore it can be no true miracle Indéed if before I séeing it to be bread tasting smelling and touching it do iudge it to be bread should now séeing smelling tasting and féeling it perceiue it to be the body of Christ it were a true miracle But séeing to all the senses it appeareth one the same that it was before it cannot be a miracle but they say the outward forme external accident of y e bread yet remaineth but the substance of it is turned into y ◠body of Christ which though we cānot perceiue by our senses yet we are to beléeue by faith But how did Christ himselfe deale with Thomas when he doubted of his resurrection he sayd Thrust thy finger into my side and feele whether I haue not flesh bones for a spirit hath not as thou feelest me to haue he taketh away his doubt by the sence of féeling and if this true naturall body of Christ were there in the bread then might we feele it as Thomas did for Christ still retaineth that his true and naturall body although he be now glorified In-so-much therefore that in the bread there is no miracle apparent to the senses there is no miracle at all But this is the difference in Gods Church that before it was common bread ordained and sanctified by the Lord for the nourishment of our bodies but now it is the holy bread appointed and set apart and sanctified by the Lord not so much for the nourishment of our bodies but especially for the confirmation of our faith and the foode of our soules The same also is to be said of the Wine Fourthly I adde Wrought by the sole omnipotent power of God Wherin I note the workers of miracles The Lord himselfe worketh miracles but peculiarlie and properly by his power and not by his wisdom though both be infinite and that a miracle is wrought by the power of GOD I prooue by these reasons First a miracle is a worke of great power farre passing the power of all creatures therefore it must néeds be wrought by the power of the Creator Secondly it is apparent by diuers places of the word of God as Ioel. 2. 21. 30. there the holy Ghost ascribeth the working of miracles to the Lord himselfe I will shew wonders in heauen and earth saith the Lord feare not O land for I will do great things Thirdly the holy Ghost vseth this as an argument to prooue that Iehouah is the Lord and is onely to bee serued Leuit. 26. Deut. 28. Albeit the Magitians of Egipt could worke many admirable wonders by their owne Arte and by the instruction of the Diuill yet they confessed that the workes of Moses were not done by Moses power nor by any actor skill that was in Moses nor yet by naturall causes but by the finger
desired the Lord not to speake to them himselfe any more but that they might haue Moses to speake vnto them and they would heare him Thirdly the Lord vseth meanes for the tryall of our faith of our religion and conscience whether wee will ascribe the worke that is wrought to the worker thereof or to the meanes or partly to the worker and partly to the meanes or as some doe all to the meanes and none to the worker The Lord tryeth whether we will be constant to ascribe the power that is in miracles vnto his Maiestie for in the miracles of Christ we sée how diuersly they were expounded albeit they were effected by the finger of God yet the Pharisees would not ascribe them to the worker but sayd that hee wrought miracles by Belzebub the Prince of Deuils This is the corruption of man and want of faith they are ready to ascribe though not all yet at the least some part of the miracle to creatures which are but the meanes and not wholy to the Lord who is the onely worker of miracles for these causes the Lord vseth meanes in working miracles to teach vs these things thereby for all miracles are wrought not for him but for our cause The meanes which the Lord vseth are of diuers sorts but especially thrée First some meanes which the Lord vseth in working of miracles are such as may séeme to men to haue some power in them for the working of the miracle As when Moses came to the red Sea he lift vp his Rod and stretched out his hand ouer the waters So when he came to the Rocke to get water for the people he strooke the Rocke with his staffe which séemed to haue some power in it to make the water gush out of the Rock as afterward it did The second sort of meanes which the Lord vseth are such as haue not so much as an appearance of any force or power or vse in the working of the miracle Such was the hem of Christs garment the hem of a garment hath not so much as an appearance that it should heale any that are diseased Such was the handkercher of Paule to cure diseases what are handkerchers or swadling cloutes as we may aswell say for the curing of diseases such was the shadow of Peter where vnto some comming were healed of their diseases These were wrought when the Apostles were ignorant thereof and when they were occupied about other matters But yet it pleaseth the Lord to vse such means although they haue not any appearance of any power in the working of a miracle Thirdly the Lord vseth such meanes as are not auaileable for the worke but séeme to hinder it as in curing of the blinde man the claye which was made and layde vpon his eyes this CHRIST who was God and man vsed though it séemed to containe in it a naturall hinderance to the Miracle These thrée sorts of meanes the Lord vseth to teach vs thrée notable points First he vseth the first meanes to trie the trueth of our faith to sée whether we be so firme in faith and whether we will so wholy relie vpon him as that hée will giue all glory to him for the working of the miracle though the meanes vsed doe séeme to haue some power of bringing it to passe wee must therefore learne to giue all glory to the Lord whatsoeuer Secondly the second sort of meanes that the Lord vseth is to teache vs that it is he alone that worketh miracles and not the creature which is vsed his sole omnipotent power doth worke it Let the meanes doe or bee what it will whether it be any creature what-so-euer or no creature as was the shadowe of Peter which was nothing but the absence of light Let vs acknowledge the LORD to bee the onely cause and worker of the miracle Thirdly the third sort of meanes teacheth vs to giue nothing to the creature it selfe which is vsed which is contrary to the opinion of many superstitious people and contrarie to all Coniurers Sorcerers or casters of Figures Sathan maketh them to thinke that the miracle is brought to passe by him or the meanes which hee appointeth and not by the power of GOD. But wee must acknowlegde that all Creatures what-so-euer that albeit the power of Angels be great yet if all these were ioyned together yet they were not able to worke the least miracle that could be This doctrine hath singular vse First it teacheth vs what a miracle is Secondly what a miracle is not as all manner of appearances are no miracles whether they bee illusions of Sathan or procéed from the deceipt subtilty and agilitie of man none of them are miracles So the preseruation of mankind albeit it bee a true worke wrought by God onely yet because it is a true vsuall and ordinary worke it is no miracle for euery miracle is a rare worke of God Thirdly it teacheth vs that no worke is a miracle which cannot bee felt smelled or perceiued by some of the senses when men therefore hold vs in hand that there is a myracle yet if wee cannot sée any thing feele smell or taste any thing contrary to the ordinary manner there is no miracle wrought Therefore let the malignant Church of Rome teach write and decrée in their counsels that there is a miracle wrought in the Sacrifice of their Altar yet because I can neyther sée touch smell nor taste any thing but the same that was before it cannot bee any Miracle Fourthly euery miracle is wrought by the sole omnipotent power of GOD. If any worke bee done by the power of Sathan or of any man or any thing bee done wonderfully by the power of Nature it is no miracle If Sathan hath power to doe any strange thing it is a naturall worke and therefore no miracle So also of the good Angels So likewise if we sée strange things come to passe in the Heauens by Naturall causes wee are not to thinke they are any miracles Last of all if any thing fall out according to the rare strength and power of some Waters or other creatures if it fall out by Nature or if partlye by Arte and partlye by Nature it is no miracle Whatsoeuer therefore is not brought to passe by the sole omnipotent power of God and that is not contrary to Nature it is no miracle It followeth now to sée how many sorts and kinds of miracles there be I meane not how many sorts there be in Nature for so there is but onely one true miracle but in name and as they are called for so there may be diuerse and this I gather out of the words of these Pharisees How can a man that is a sinner doe such miracles insinuating thereby that there bee some miracles which sinners may doe yet not such as CHRIST had done Out of this place then wee gather that in name there bee two sorts of miracles One is a true and diuine miracle which is that whereof