the Heavens Brass and the Earth Iron or bring other severe judgements every considering man may clearly discern that the abounding Wickednesse of the Sons of Men have provoked the Giver of all Goodness to take his Mercy away and may well read in all his stroaks a loud call to repentance But further if men do but humble themselves under his hand and return from their evil wayes how graciously doth he return to his ordinary way of shewing Mercy Also if we do consider his governing the World it most wonderfully declares his infinite and eternal Being Take these instances first the Sun Moon and Stats keeping so constant a course ordinarily from Age to Age as also Day and Night Summer and Winter Seed-time and Harvest following each other in a setled course And if the Lord at any time alter the course of any of his Creatures as when the Sun and Moon stood still in Joshua's dayes and came back in Hezekiah's dayes ten degrees the Red-sea divided in Moses's dayes and the River of Jordan driven back or any like act done it alwayes was brought to pass at such times and for some such noble ends as that it did alway more abundantly preach forth the Power Grace Wisdom Justice and unspeakable Goodness of an Eternal God Quest But how know you that these wonderful Works were done Answ Manifest it is that in no age no not in this we now live in can any of the great Works of God get any credit in the world till they are manifest beyond all possibility of dispute therefore there can be no ground for a doubt Secondly Consider his Strength Wisdom and Goodness in governing the World so as that his poor People live in it It is most manifest to all that do consider it that of them that love and fear God and are the most conscionable in minding and observing his Word Works and Worship that they are very few few few in comparison of the multitudes numberless multitudes of blasphemous-Atheists Idolaters prophane unjust deceitful Covenant-breakers with other like workers of Iniquity all setting themselves with open mouth to devour this little Remnant and diging to Hell for deep Counsels to destroy them and yet for all their unjust and cunning policies and oft-times open violence exercised against them through the rich Goodness divine Wisdom and Providence of God they have never yet been rooted out of the Earth but although they have been almost blotted out with the rage and persecution of the World yet hath the Most High still preserved a little Flock of Lambs amidst a world of wolves who fain would but never yet could wholly devour them which plainly proves that there is a God that hath more Power Wisdom Goodness than all their Enemies have strength or malice who ever lives to take care of them Again the Signs that God often sheweth in the sudden and unexpected overturning of their Enemies from time to time is of a very convincing nature to prove that certainly there is a God that judgeth the Earth Quest Seeing you have proved the undoubted and certain Being of a God what is the next weighty Truth that stands in need of proof Answ The next Truth most needful to be cleared is the holy Scriptures to be the Words and Counsels of God Quest Is there any with us do deny them Answ Yes there is some do deny them and more would if fear or shame did not stop their mouths as appears by their works Quest What Books do you mean by holy Scriptures Answ The Writings of Moses and the Prophets till Malachies dayes committed to the antient Church of the Jews and received by them as also the Books of the New Testament from Matthew to the Revelation Quest And wherefore do you reject those Books commonly called Apocrypha do you think the Spirit of God had no hand in the writing of them Answ It seems too hard to conclude that those that wrote those stories had no Light or aid from the Spirit of God in the writing of them they might be good men and hand forth some truths and useful things as many doubtless have done both in former and latter Ages who although we may make good use of their Books yet may we not receive them as infallible Prophets writings but receive or reject or suspend our judgements as we see they agree or disagree with the Word of Truth and clear Reason or appear doubtful Quest But is there reason to take this liberty with those Books what are your grounds to doubt of their infallability Answ Clear it is that however there are good Counsels in some of those Writings yet they seem to be written by some Jews in or after the captivity when their light in all probability was much dimmed and not by the Prophets Also how far from the language and stile of the infallible Spirit of God those Writings are some of them is evident the Spirit of God useth not to acknowledge infirmity and a doing as well as he can for he is perfect and therefore doth nothing meanly Again as there be absurdities not fit to be put upon the holy Spirit as this for one to go about to make us believe the Devil will be frighted away with smoak so also there is one stark lie so rank that a fool may discern it the same person that saith in one place he is the Son of Ananias saith in another he is an holy Angel There be other exceptions I will not now spend time about these may suffice to let you see some ground wherefore I cannot own them to be of divine Authority Quest But how will you prove that those books known by the names of the Old and New Testaments are the infallible Words of God and so the safe Rule to lead men in the true Path of believing and obedience to Life everlasting Answ First They may be known by their noble stile as for example When you hear any persons express themselves judiciously acutely in excellent Language although you never saw them before yet may you safely conclude that they are persons of excellent breeding and quality although they should appear in never so mean a dress So may it much more be concluded concerning the Scriptures their dialect hath that Majesty Holiness Grace and high Wisdom in them most elegantly manifesting the perfections of a divine Being in them and declaring the judiciousness faithfulness and perfection of all his Intentions and Proceedings with the sons of men that it is not likely possible for any gracious considering man to call there Authority into question Secondly The blessed Intention and scope of them discover them to proceed from the holy Spirit all the Commandments Threatnings Promises Warnings Counsels Declarations contained in them unanimously tending to advance Godliness in the hearts and lives of men Thirdly The several Doctrines and points of Truth contained in them are so wisely and holily compacted standing in so sweet an Union together and so
nessecarily depending one upon another like the parts and members of a natural body most comely and beautiful so that the highest commendations Christ gives his Church in that book of the Canticles doth much more belong to that Body of Divinity held forth in the Scriptures by which she is begotten and conformed to his Image Add to this the consideration of the Pen-men thereof who being the Prophets and Apostles and living in several Ages yet without jarr have brought forth this noble work so that you may plainly see they were all guided by one and the same holy Spirit in the writing of them Fourthly The Effects and lively Power of them in the hearts of men declare from whence they are descended that which is spoken of their soul-searching and powerful piercing nature Heb. 4.12 every soul that seriously converseth with them findeth true He that in his old blind estate took his heart to be good when he comes to try it by the Scriptures finds it so notoriously filthy that he abhors himself and as it discovereth sin so it purgeth it out and makes the carnal heart spiritual and brings it unto the Love of God and Holiness which before he hated and works it up to the hatred of sin which before he loved so that its transforming nature plainly sheweth it to be the Words of God Quest But may not other Books perswade men as well as that how many are led by other books into error Answ Yea other books may over-come mens judgements but not transform their natures from carnal to be spiritual from earthlymindedness to be heavenly minded and to bring from the love of sin to the love of holiness as this blessed Book of the holy Scriptures doth Fifthly The constant fulfilling of the Prophecies of them preach to all men their â—nfallibility God made good his Promise to Abraham Gen. 15. as also that to David 2 Sam. 7.12 to the 17. Also his Threatnings to Jeroboam 1 Kings 13.2 As also the Promises made in the 2d of Haggai and 3d of Malachi concerning Christ's coming to the second Temple which is now fallen Also Christ's Prophecy of the fall of this Temple and of Jerusalem Mat. 23.37 38. 24.2 19 20 21 22. Luke 21.20 21 22 23 24. is also come to pass As also the Prophecy of Paul 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. is you see fulfilled to a tittle with many more instances if need were all proving their heavenly birth Sixthly The unsupportable burthen of a Conscience which God woundeth for sin The sealing Testimony of his Love by the Spirit to the soul of the true believer The gracious Answers to prayers made to God in the name of Christ with other like experiences give to all gracious hearts most full assurance that the Scriptures were endited by the Spirit of God Seventhly Jehovah himself hath born witness of them that they are his words beyond all contradiction 1. By declaring the ten Commandments with his own Voice with that terrour as is exprest Exod. 19. and writing them twice with his own hand these being the grand Law on which the whole Scriptures depend and being the foundation of all Religion as by and by will appear 2. The wonderful Signs and Miracles wrought to confirm them as the bringing Israel out of Egypt through the Red-Sea and the Wilderness and Jordan by a piller of a Cloud by day and a piller of Fire by night into Canaan to the terrour of all the Nations round about Also the Sun standing still and coming back The Resurrection of Christ which will be proved anon and the Resurrection of others by Christ with other numberless Miracles all preaching to the world that the Scriptures are the Counsel and Will of God Quest But how shall we know that these wonders have been wrought but by the Scriptures own Testimony or by the Church Answ It may be known if this be considered that the Scriptures have alwayes had and to this day have so many feigned friends open enemies either flatly opposing them or to their uttermost secretly undermining and disgracing them or exalting humane inventions above them in so much that no sober Christian can doubt but that if there had beene possibility to have denied the report of those Miracles in that day in which they are said to be done the World could not have wanted Volumes enough to have shaken the Faith of the Christian World so called long before this day but although they be carpt at and undermined yet may all that love them challenge all their enemies to produce one known and approved Author that hath undertaken to reprove the report of those glorious Miracles and if none can be found then have we the greatest assurance that can be desired that they are certainly true Eightly And lastly They have a Testimony in the consciences and mouths of those that like not to be ruled by them and therefore make as little use of them as possible they can in setting up Religion You have a clear instance of the Papists to go no further Evident it is that as many Decrees Canons Articles Traditions and Ceremonies as the Church of Rome hath yet with all these and her Mass-book Pope and Councils to boot with all their pretended infalliability yet they cannot have a Religion without the holy Scriptures although it be a well-known truth that they love them not For all those that honour and obey them and dare not transgress those blessed Precepts are the only grand Hereticks with them And as for such as conform to their abominable Idolatries and superstitious Inventions pass for Catholick people with them although they be notorious transgressors of the Law of God and yet if these men did wholly cast off the Scriptures as ill as they love them their Religion could not have a Being I am neither insensible nor forgetful that there are both foolish subtile indeavours by several sorts of men besides these some of them I may meet with at another turn others a reasonable understanding will answer and therefore I will go no further in this Quest Have you not some other consideration about the Scriptures meet to be opened you spake a little before of the Dignity of the ten Commandments will you prove those sayings Answ I did so and before I go further I think it meet to do that work for now having proved the Scriptures to be of divine Authority we may with all boldness apply our selves unto them as a safe guide in Religion And first for the Dignity of the ten Commandments it is most evident that they are a superior Law on which all other Laws in the Scriptures depend For this see Christ's own Testimony Mat. 22.35 where giving us the sum of that divine Law consisting in Love to God and to our Neighbour he tells us in express words that the whole Law and the Prophets hang upon it and that this is not my own exposition of the Text but the Apostle Pauls see
14.12 Rom. 3.31 Ephes 6.1 2 3. with many other Again in particular to the Sabbath it self If our Lord did not intend it should continue after his Death but he nailed to the Cross with the other Ceremonies what reason could there be for him to advise his Disciples to pray that their flight might not fall out on the Sabbath or at the fall of Jerusalens seeing it fell out sorty years after his Death and wherefore should be tell us it was made for man and that He is the Lord of it if it have no being in his Dominions amongst the Children of men Mark 2.27 28. And besides all this doth not the holy Spirit call it Sabbath and how dare mortal worms call it working day For which way can it deserve the name of a Sabbath if it retain not the nature of a Sabbath But this is an Age in which men are bent to walk in their own wayes and neither believe nor do any thing that crosseth the flesh otherwise how were it possible for men to find so many evasions to keep off from so plain a Duty which was the constant practice of the Saints in the Primitive time as may be seen Acts 13.14 42 44. and 16.13 17.2 18.4 And it is observable that in the former of these Texts Acts 13. Paul keeps Sabbath with Gentiles and speaks not the least word against their Practice nor intimates nothing of a meeting any other day an evil that Paul would never have been guilty of had he known any thing of the abolishing or changing of the Sabbath-day for how earnestly Paul contended against the Gentiles observation of Ceremonies cannot be unknown Quest But is it not possible for the whole ten Commands to be observed although the Sabbath be transmitted from the seventh to the first day of the week Answ If the Lord or any other by his Authority had so done I would not have questioned his power or wisdom herein but seeing he did it not but it is meerly an invention of man I must condemn it for a wicked and ungodly Practice of which the old Serpent was the principal Author to cause the poor Jews to stumble at the Redeemer of the World to this day Quest Since Christ and his Apostles and Primitive Saints observed it what is the reason that the Jews do not believe in Jesus Christ seeing Sabbath-Prophanation is one of their greatest Arguments they commonly urge against Christ and the Christian Religion Answ There is no cause to wonder at their unbelief nor at the reason of it for how can we expect they should search the New Testament diligently to inform themselves what the mind and practice of Christ and his Primitive Saints was when they who profess it to be their Rule are so extream careless in this matter that they suffer themselves to be couzened some with another day and some with no day instead of the Sabbath now the poor Jews judging of the Religion of Christ by the lives of the generality of those that profess his Name cannot but stumble at him and abominate that Religion that alloweth such plain and notorious Wickedness committed against the express letter of God's most holy Law and it cannot be expected in reason that they should repent and believe till a more general Reformation be found in the lives of the Gentiles that profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Quest Well if such prejudices as they take at the Lord Jesus should be removed how can it be clearly proved that Christ Jesus the Son of Mary who was crucified by Pilate is the true Messiah Answ There are many infallible proofs of it As first The certain Time of his coming being so fairly pointed at by the Scriptuies if Jesus be not he this will follow not only that we must with the Jews look for another but be constrained also to cast off the holy Scriptures received both by them and us and so shall be wholly at a loss to know what to believe or receive for truth in order to our eternal peace Quest Name some of those Texts and a little open them for the sakes of the poor Jews and the blind World who it is to be feared neither know Him nor in truth believe in Him but ignorantly confess him because it is the Religion of the Times and tradition and custom hath taught them so to do Answ The first Text is Gen. 49.10 The Scepter shall not depart from Judah and the Law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come and unto him shal the obedience of the Peoples 〈◊〉 â—hiloh here is Christ or the Messiah and so understood by the Hebrew Doctors as well as by Christians See learned Ainsworth upon the place And that he was to come according to Jacobs Prophesie at or near the time that the Kings and Governours of Judah ceased to rule is the manifest scope and intent of the Text And although Judah had no King after the Captivity yet her Princes were still known and by Permission some of them bore Rule as appears Ezra 3.8 9. Hag. 1.12 And evident it is the Heirs of the Crown of Judah were well known to the coming of Christ and Christ known to be Heir apparent to the Crown of Judah so well that when he wrought that Miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fishes John 6.14 15. the people would by force have made him King if he had not by hiding himself avoided it and that was a charge against him at his death that he was King of the Jews but neither Pilate nor the Jews could deny but that so He was his right to the Crown may well be perceived by what his enemies on both parts say in that 18 19 chapters of John but since Christ the World nor the Jews themselves cannot find any Law-giver or Prince that so much as pretended a right to the Kingdom but are so dispersed and broken that they are like to find none till that Prophecy be fulfilled Zech. 12.10 that they look upon him whom they pierced to whom the Peoples that is the Gentiles do gather acknowledge or obey according to this Text and impossible it is that this Text can be fulfilled in any that is yet to come for the House of Judah hath been without a Governour or Law-giver this 1600 years at least and so long ago or longer the Messiah must be come or else this Text must be blotted out of the Book of God and if once Moses's writings come into question then farewel all Religion both among Jews and Gentiles Now as for our Lord Jesus we know that all Prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in him He is a Prophet like to Moses most graciously opening and confirming all the moral Laws and in his own obedience unto the Death fulfilled all the ceremonial Laws and the Laws he hath added in the New Testament are so fully confirmed by many glorious Miracles and are so holy just
of Twenty Cubites long where it was by the Ministers of the Temple Christ's deadly enemies kept safe enough from any hand of earthly man none but a Messenger from Heaven could rent it again the Earth did quake and the Rocks rent which could not be but by an omnipotent Power all which made the Centurion and his Company though in all probability they were Heathens being Souldiers in Caesars Army cry out and say Truly this was the Son of God and if Souldiers who are commonly rude persons especially when they have such Masters as they had if they could not chuse but see this how much more should all men consider and take notice of God's Testimony so gloriously born on his behalf Thirdly The Resurrection of Christ proves it beyond exception Quest Yea but how shall that be proved clearly Answ There be three evident proofs of it 1. The witnesses of it are a considerable number not less than Five hundred at once 1 Cor. 15.6 7 8. and some of these died for this Testimony and what their holy Doctrine and Life was is to be seen in the New Testament and neither credit nor profit was to be gained by this Testimony besides two of these witnesses were such as had they not been extraordinarily convinced of the truth of it would not have believed it themselves Thomas proclaiming his unbelief till he felt and saw the print of the nailes and thrust his hand into his side which the Spear had made John 20.24 25. And as for Paul he persecuted this Testimony unto the death and had his hand in the blood of Stephen for it not altering his bloody purpose till by a Voice and a Light from Heaven he was smitten blind and unto the earth and he made to know that that Jesus whom he persecuted in his People was risien and ascended 2. The miserable excuse that was made to blind the Peoples understandings that they might not believe he was risen proves it evidently for he was laid in a Tomb which had a stone so great on the top of it that the good women were in care to get it removed when they came to anoint him Also there was a strong guard of Souldiers set to watch lest his Disciples should steal him who were so afraid of their own lives that they durst not meet but in the night an unlikely company to steal their Masters dead body from a band of Souldiers But now to make the world believe that these poor frighted men stole him away while they slept is most impossible for who can believe that the whole Guard should be asleep all at once or who can believe his Disciples durst venture to roul off that Stone in the midst of those Armed men to steal his Corps from them they being set there on purpose to prevent them from this act muchless was it possible for them to be able to give a just account whether he were stollen away or risen again if they had been all asleep indeed and it is not at all likely that those armed Souldiers ran from the Sepulchre to the High Priest in such a fear because the Disciples had stole him but indeed because the Angel of the Lord terrified them away from that fruitless work Neither yet can it enter into any mans heart to believe that ever the Priests and Elders of the Jews would ever go about to perswade the Governour to peace and reconciliation with those Souldiers that had so much neglected their duty to suffer him to be stole if indeed he had been stole but they would much rather have perswaded him to take them and hang them up every man of them for their negligence if it had not manifestly appeared that Jesus whom they caused to be crucified was indeed risen again from the dead Thirdly and lastly Besides the wonderful Miracles his Apostles did work in his Name the Gifts bestowed upon them so suddenly after his Ascention according to the Promise made to them the which we read of Acts 2.1 to the 11. proves it clearly for from whence could poor Fisher-men ignorant and unlearned at an instance attain such Gifts of Knowledge Courage Utterance as is there exprest but that it must needs be by the Power of the holy Spirit To all which I only ask this question I desire that the most unbelieving Jews will tell me what they expect from the Messiah they look for or what they can think he should be that Jesus Christ is not When this is soberly answered I will set Pen to Paper again if the Lord please that I live to see it in the mean time as one desiring the Salvation both of Jews and Gentiles I intreat all men to consider the main grounds of Religion and to get such sound Principles for the Foundation thereof as will substantially bear up the whole body of it A brief Answer to William Russel in a Book of his entituled No Seventh-Day-Sabbath in Christ's New Testament ALthough that which I have written already is enough to stop the mouths of all Opposers of God's most holy Law yet because the ignorance and folly of men is so great in this day I shall add a few words to what I have written already upon the occasion of a late Book I have seen intituled The Seventh-Day-Sabbath not Commanded by Jesus Christ in the New Testament but I desire thee good Reader not to expect that I should waste my time or be at the cost to follow William Russel with a Reply to that green-headed Piece of his that consisteth for the most part of it of Debates and Reasonings of other men but I shall apply my self to touch briefly some few passages asserted by William himself And first to that learned Assertion in the 12th page of his Book where he concludeth since his eyes were opened that the Ten Words being abolished as the first Covenant to do for Life they cannot continue as a Rule of Life the distinction is so nice that it is groundless To which I answer It is well you confess them to be the first Covenant and once given for Life the good Lord give thee and others Wisdom to take notice of the time when it was so given for it could never give Life therefore it must be in that day when it would have continued Life to eternity if it had been kept and therefore be not so witless as to think that when God gave his Law at Sinai as a Rule of Life for thy self confessest that so he did to Jews and Proselytes that then he intended it as a Covenant to do for Life for if he did he must intend to condemn them all for nothing is more evident than that they were all sinners and impossible it is that thou canst deny it to be against this Law they sinned For thou affirmest in the 37 page of thy Book That the New Covenant was not in force till after the Death of Christ therefore they could not according to thy judgement