particular Object 1. It may here be said If the Gospel i. e. Christian Religion be so plain and fitted to the meanest Capacity why is it then called a Mystery Now a Mystery is a sacred and hidden Piece of Wisdom containing under it some great and excellent Truth and such is the Gospel which the Apostle calls Eph. 3.4 5. The Mystery of Christ which in other Ages was not made known to the Sons of Men as it is now revealed unto his Holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit And again Coloss 1.26 It is called the Mystery which was hid from Ages and Generations but now is made manifest to the Saints Now if as we see the Apostle tells us the Gospel be such a Mysterious thing how comes it to be so plain and obvious as we have said to every vulgar Capacity In answer to this we must consider that Christian Religion is indeed a Mystery and it is deservedly called so by the Apostle but yet notwithstanding this does not hinder but that it is plain and open in all things necessary to Salvation We shall therefore first shew the Reasons why it is called a Mystery and that it is very requisite it should be so i. e. that there should be something hidden and reserved in it that should not presently be discerned by every oscitant and careless Person and then make it appear further that it is not difficult to be understood in those things that are absolutely necessary to every Christian's Salvation Now besides that the Apostle expresly affirms Christianity to be a Mystery there are many Instances which prove it to be so There are many Doctrines which are very obscure and difficult to be understood such as the Divinity of our Saviour the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity nay the very Resurrection of our Bodies is termed a Mystery as containing something above common and vulgar conceits and apprehensions And when we reflect upon the different Sentiments and Perswasions of Men about these things it will fully evince some obscurity in Religion and that it is not every where of the same make but has some unfathomable Depths as well as shallows that are easie and obvious to be Forded and understood by a mean and ordinary Capacity For it is impossible that ever so many Divisions about the Doctrines of Religion so many Sects of different Perswasions should have arisen and so long troubled and vexed the Christian Church if all things had been at first sight plain and intelligible to every one Not to mention the many Prophecies uttered in the Holy Scriptures which are no otherwise known but by their events and fulfilling and till then Men make but uncertain Guesses and Conjectures about them And that this obscurity in some things of Religion is very becoming the All-comprehensive Wisdom of GOD appears to be very reasonable 1. To conciliate reverence and esteem to Religion Should GOD at once have laid open all the Pearls of the Gospel to every Carnal Eye they would have been apt to have contemned and despised them since it is the common guise and fashion of the World to esteem that of little worth and value that costs no Labour and Pains to come at Whereas they apprehend something more than ordinary some great matter to be contained in that which is wrapt up and kept secret and reserved from common sight Therefore that this great gift of GOD might not prove despicable and contemptible he is pleased to Veil it in a good measure that Men might not know the worth of it at once but that the more they look into it the more they should admire the unvaluableness and richness of it It is recorded of some of the Kings of Persia that they shewed themselves to their Subjects but once a Year that they might be more reverenced and adored when they offered themselves to the People's View And GOD that he might gain more Reverence and Estimation to this infinite Treasure wherewith he hath enriched the World he keeps a great part of it hidden and is not won without many Prayers and earnest Importunities accompanied with great diligence to shew unto Men the glorious Beauty of it 2. It is very becoming that some things in Religion should be obscure and that there should be some high and raised Truths above the level of common Understandings that so all Holy Persons might find matter of Delight and Satisfaction according to their several statures and growth in Grace Hence St. John 1 Ep. 1.13 speaks of Little Children and Young Men and Fathers in Religion and according to this their several growth and stature in Christ Jesus there must likewise be a difference in the Meat or Food they are nourished withal A Man is not contented with that which will nourish an Infant but requires stronger Meat Therefore St. Paul rightly distinguisheth of this Heb. 5.12 13 14. For when for the time ye ought to be Teachers ye have need that one Teach you again which be the first Principles of the Oracles of God and are become such as have need of Milk and not of strong Meat For every one that useth Milk is unskilful in the word of Righteousness for he is a Babe But strong Meat belongs to them that are of full Age Now that the Gospel may be fitted for all these sorts of Persons it is necessary that it should be furnished with such things as are plain and which may be delivered in a Catechetical way as things absolutely necessary to the Salvation of every one and then that it should be stored with higher and more raised Doctrines for the gratification of them that are of full Age in Christ who by reason of their growth in the Divine Life have their Senses exercised to discern both Good and Evil. And accordingly the Apostle when he lays down the Characters of a Bishop says 1 Tim. 3.6 that he must not be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Novice i. e. one that only knows the first Rudiments of Religion but is not able to pierce into the depths of it 3. That there should be some difficulty in Religion is but reasonable to exercise Mens diligence in searching after these hidden Treasures of Wisdom For 't is not to the Careless Oscitant Person but to the Diligent and Inquisitive that GOD has promised an increase of Wisdom He that would attain to Divine Knowledge must seek her as Silver and search after her as for hid Treasures as Solomon long since advised Prov. 2.4 And our blessed Saviour in a Parable Mat. 13.45 46. Likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a Merchant-Man seeking goodly Pearls who when he had found one Pearl of great Price he went and Sold all that he had and bought it All these things denote our diligent search and careful enquiry after Wisdom Now GOD that he might gratifie the innocent desires of Men after Knowledge and likewise reward their Pains and Labour in searching after it he opens and discovers to them such Treasures
a Happiness By what means then comes it to pass that the World is no fuller of true and sincere Christians Answ It is true indeed and must be confess'd with all sadness of Heart that notwithstanding our Duty is so clear and manifest and that the Summ of Religion like the Prophet's Vision Hab. 2.2 is written in such legible Characters that he that runs may read it yet it hath not had that due effect upon the Hearts and Lives of Men as it ought to have And although the unsuccessfulness of Religion may be resolved into many and different Causes yet I shall only instance in some which are most obvious and frequent As 1. Because Men place their Religion in Opinions and Sects in Words and Notions more than in the everlasting Rules of Righteousness Charity Goodness and Truth It cannot but be matter of Sorrow to every sober and serious Christian to see the Catholick Church rent into so many Pieces and Divisions one crying as of old I am of Paul and another I am of Apollos and a third of Cephas as if a Christian were not Baptized into Christ Jesus but into some particular Person whose Dictates and Perswasions he most of all affected to follow Every one almost locking up the Gates of Heaven with the Key of his own private Opinion and excluding all them that cannot compromise with his Judgment and Perswasion And thus they build up again that Partition-Wall between Jew and Gentile which at the Death of Christ was rent asunder to intimate to us That in the Christian Religion as the Apostle shows Col. 3.11 there should be neither Greek nor Jew Circumcision nor Uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian Bond nor Free but Christ should be all and in all That is there should be no more distinction of Parties but all should be of the same Mind professing the same Christian Faith and owning the same common Saviour and should be so united and incorporated together as to become as it were one Mystical Christ Religion lies not in the Brain neither is it this or that Opinion that will bring a Man to the Haven of his desired Happiness without the constant Practice of all Christian Vertues and the indispensible Duties of the Gospel of Christ Great Knowledge without the inward Life and Power of Religion is but like the fruitless Fig-Tree that sent forth nothing but broad Leaves and renders a Man so much the more miserable by how much the more he knew his Masters Will and did it not Happy were it for the World if every Mans Knowledge would blossom into Practice and bring forth Fruits answerable to that Holy and Pure Religion he lives under There is no knowledge in Christianity that will do a Man any good unless it be in order to Practice and he only is truly Wise who makes this use of his Knowledge that he may become the better Christian Though I speak with the Tongue of Men and Angels and have not Charity says St. Paul 1 Cor. 13.1 I am become but as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cymbal And if a Man had all the Wisdom of the World epitomiz'd and contain'd within his own Breast yet if he made use of this for Ostentation or to gain a Party and not for the purifying his Heart and enlarging the Kingdom of GOD in his Soul his Religion would be but an empty noise and he would find this building which he has raised upon the Sands too weak to hold out against the Storms of Troubles and Afflictions The Wisdom which is from above as St. James informs us Chap. 3.17 is first Pure then Peaceable gentle and easie to be Intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits without Partiality and without Hypocrisie And again Chap. 1.27 Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the World Now when Men shall neglect these plain and indispensible Duties of Christianity and take up with some self-chosen Opinions that contribute nothing to the true honouring of GOD or the edifying of our Fellow Christians it is no wonder that Religion does not gain ground and thrive in the World 2. Another Reason why Religion prevails so little upon Mens Hearts is because they live too much upon Sence We are more affected with the present Objects of our Senses than with the things that are invisible and at a distance from us and are only Objects of our Faith Whereas Christianity when firmly seated in us and the Power of it displayed upon our Souls would teach us to Walk by Faith and not by Sight 2 Cor. 5.7 And Accordingly if we did make the infinite Rewards of Immortality but present to our Minds and did as firmly believe them as we do what we see and hear and handle it is impossible but that we should be equally affected with them and they would have as strong a Faith upon us The sure Promise of Immortal Glory would as strongly move and put us upon Action as any worldly and sensible Good if the Belief were equal And if we acted agreeably to the Constitution of our own Natures the Reasons and Arguments suggested to us by our Rational Faculties ought as forcibly and powerfully to perswade us as those which are urged upon us by our Senses But while we speak doubtfully and believe waveringly and uncertainly the Felicities and Joys of the other World make little or no Impression upon us And this doubtless is one great Reason that Religion has so little effect upon our Minds Suppose we saw our Lord and Saviour coming in the Clouds attended with Thousands of mighty Angels to judge the World which with the Glory and Brightness of their Heavenly Bodies should cause a Light surpassing that of the Sun How strangely would such a sight as this affect us Surely it is nothing but our Earthliness and the dwelling of our Minds so much upon Sense that we are so little affected with the thoughts of it now since that which will certainly come to pass ought to be looked upon as just now present 3. Lastly to the foregoing Particulars we may add as one no mean Cause why the Gospel prevails so little upon Men viz. the want of that which the Apostle St. Jude speaks of ver 20. The building up one another in our most Holy Faith As GOD renews and regenerates our Natures by his Holy Spirit so it is the Duty of all Christians to be workers together with him and to edifie and strengthen one another and help to carry on to perfection that work which GOD has begun in their Souls In Rom. 15.2 3. the Apostle charges this Duty upon every Christian Let every one of you please his Neighbour for his good to Edification i. e. Let every Man subject his own ends and desires to the spiritual Good of other Men viz. to the confirming and building them up in the Christian Faith And to bind this Exhortation yet
that if they would Recant what they had said to Jesus and leave off speaking any more in his Name they might enjoy their Ease and Quiet and perhaps have some Rewards into the Bargain But if they would persist and go on they must look for the sharpest Trials and Persecutions which indeed these Holy Men met withal almost in all Places where they came Now had the Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead been only a feigned Story of the Apostles and the rest that had combined to spread it abroad it is possible that while they met with no hazard nor danger they might carry on the Cheat yet when Life lay at Stake it is very hard to think that any one would die for that which he knew to be an Untruth But here we find in this case that the Apostles freely and joyfully ventured their Lives for the Truth of this and the most of them actually lost their Lives for it Now he must be of a very easie and credulous Nature and fit for nothing but to be imposed upon that can believe so many Men of good Sence and sound Understanding would die for a Story of their own Invention and which their own Consciences would tell them was a notorious Falshood By what hath been said it is apparent that there was as high and full a Testimony given to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as is possible to be given to any matter of Fact And this being put out of doubt there can be no scruple left for any of the other Parts of the History of the Gospel since the same Persons that attested the one did likewise assure to the World the other That is the same Arguments which convince us of the Truth of Christ's Resurrection do likewise establish us in the Faith of the whole Christian Religion Neither do I know what can with any colour be objected against this unless Men out of an obstinate Humour will rather adhere to that poor Subterfuge of the Jews and for the spreading abroad of which they gave large Money to the Soldiers viz. That his Disciples came by Night and stole him away while the Watch Slept Which because by it they intended to discredit our Saviour and his Doctrine I shall shew how vain it is 1. It is not likely the Disciples who fled from him when he was taken and the stoutest of them denied him should now that he was dead venture to steal his Body from a Guard of Soldiers 2. How improbable is it that all the Watch should be asleep at one time 3. If they were all asleep how could they tell that the Disciples took him away and not that he arose from the dead by the mighty Power of God as the Apostles affirmed 4. How could it be that the Disciples should come just at that very time when they were all asleep 5. How could they go so silently to work as to roll away the Stone and to take out the Body all which would have made some noise and took up some time and yet none of the Watch hear them Besides there is another Circumstance which cannot well agree with the hast and fear these poor Disciples must needs be in in such an Attempt and that is That care which was taken to lay the Linnen Cloaths by themselves in the Sepulchre Luke 24.12 And yet the Napkin that was about his Head did not lie with the rest of the Linnen Cloaths but was wrapped together in a place by it self Joh. 20.7 which is the most unlikely thing in the World that the Disciples should be so curious in sorting the Linnen which they would either have taken away with the Body or at least not have spent time to wrap it so carefully together 6. Lastly Suppose they had taken away the Body Quid ex cadavere emolumenti What benefit could they hope from a dead Carkass Would that be enough to make them forsake their dearest Relations to lay aside the Sentiments and Opinions in which they had for a long time been Educated and Instructed to expose themselves to a thousand vexatious Reproaches and at last to a vile and ignominious Death and all to maintain the Credit of a Person that had so grosly frustrated their Expectations Surely he that can believe such things of the Apostles must offer the greatest Violence in the World not only to his own but to the Understanding of all Mankind And now we cannot but see the unreasonableness of Infidelity that it must be either a very crooked and untoward Education or an obstinate base and perverse Spirit that carries Men with so much contempt and scorn against the belief of the Holy Scriptures For if these Persons were asked upon what account they give credit to Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War or Plutarch's Lives or any other ancient Historian they must say that the constant and universal consent of the most Learned and Judicious hath all along determined those Persons to be the Authors of those Books and that they were Persons of Credit and Veracity And is it not meer Frowardness Humour and Fantastickness to reject the Testimony of the Catholick Church handed down successively for Sixteen hundred Years and upwards concerning the Books of the New-Testament Let them but have the same Temper and Disposition of Mind in respect of the History of the Gospels that they retain in behalf of the forementioned Historians and they must of necessity confess that there are at least as many and as weighty Motives of credibility for that as possibly can be excogitated for these Moreover according to the different Natures of things there are different ways of Probation and no Man will expect a Mathematical Demonstration to prove a Moral Proposition It is sufficient to every Ingenuous Nature that there be as full and clear Evidence as the matter can bear Hence our Lord and Saviour though it might seem more satisfactory to have seen him as the Apostles did with a Man 's own Eyes yet pronounces them Blessed that have not seen and yet have believed intimating that it is a more generous Faith to believe unsuspected Witnesses upon the full and clear Evidence of the matter of Fact than if this Faith were constrained and as it were necessitated by ocular Demonstration Hence we may understand the meaning of those words of our Saviour Mat. 12.32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this World neither in the World to come that is though it were a great Sin not to believe our Saviour to be sent from God after he had given such manifest proof of it by his numerous and stupendious Miracles yet the Sin was not come to its height because there wanted yet further Evidence Our Lord was not yet risen from the Dead But after his Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven and as a Confirmation of this the