Lord of all other Beings That at his Word the Heavens and the Earth and all things in them were made and are upheld That he is Good Wise Just True Benign or Merciful c. Besides this Instruction what God is it teacheth us what we are viz. Sinful wretched Fallen Creatures that can have no Good or Happiness in our selves It informs us how we should behave our selves towards God viz. as Dependent things and that we should love him obey him fear to do any thing contrary to his Will trust him or believe him c. and how we should carry it to one another viz. to do as we would be done by that is every one to confer as he is capable towards another's Happiness Having propos'd things to the Understanding Secondly It addeth the Perswasive Part to the Will moving us to behave our selves suitably in the Actings of our Wills to such Truths known by setting before us Good or Evil Profit or Disprofit Pleasure or Displeasure Seemliness or Unseemliness accompanying or consequent on our orderly or disorderly Behaviour Now these things propos'd and urged in these Books as the main Scope and Design of them appear to be of God as they come with evidence of Truth and Goodness such as are agreeable to the Reason of a considerate Man and are seen proper and convenient for the Creatures Will to comply with things beseeming the all-perfect Being to teach and command convenient and profitable for the Creature to learn and obey Which if we consider with our selves and compare with what has been said in the former part of this Book will appear to be the very same Principles and Practice of that we call Natural or Rational Religion which is knowable by the Light of Nature to all Mankind But that these same things may and how far they may be call'd Revelations will appear by considering the Times and Circumstances and Manners of their Delivery Thus if when Men had given up themselves chiefly to the Consideration of sensual Objects and bent their Wills to the disorderly Satisfaction of their Bodily Appetites neglected the due Consideration of their Author and the End of their Being Began to fancy God too much like themselves Had low mean gross Conceptions of him and too high Conceits of Creatures Confounded the Properties of God with those of his Works Gave Divine Honour to Men or any thing they fancied excellent or useful Made Bodily Representations of God and as some represented him by one thing some by another their various and disagreeing Images could not be reconciled so as to be taken all so different for Images of one and the same Being but they began to fancy as many Gods as their differing Conceits had made Images So that Divine Nature was mistaken even as to number uncertain without end And even those who by long Instructions had been brought again to the Belief and Worship of but One God had so far mistaken his Will as to fancy their good Behaviour to him consisted in external Ceremonies supposing that he would be affected with the Slaying of Beasts and pleas'd with a Custom of little Observances as wearing of odd fashion'd Garments keeping of certain Days using divers Gestures c. when at the same time they neglected Justice Judgment Mercy Truth Goodness c. grew corrupt and unreasonable in their Actions even to one another had brought themselves into divers present Miseries and laid a foundation for future Unhappiness to themselves after this Life and to their Posterity yea lived as if they believed there was no future Life If then in such times of Ignorance and Corruption God sent or particularly instructed and sent some one or more to the rest expresly to teach the Truth and command his Will here was a Revelation and a time for the Goodness of God to shew it self in supplying the necessity of blind miserable Sinners when nothing could be more profitable for Man or becoming God than such gracious Discoveries But if these Men also declar'd some things that could not be otherwise known to them than by Divine Inspiration as certain future Events If there accompanied them a Supernatural Power effecting things could no otherwise at least by them be effected here is enough to be call'd Divine Revelation and Miracles And there can no more Scruple remain if we can but be perswaded to believe that the History of the Bible it self is true which is the Second thing to be consisidered And in order to which I think it not unnecessary to lay down some general Considerations about Faith as following Faith is an Assent to a thing as a Truth on the Word of another which we our selves don 't know or see according to that compleat Diffinition thereof Heb. 11.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the evidence of things not seen or known for Knowledge leaves no room for Faith any more than it does for Hope which is the Desire of what we only believe will be Faith being its only Basis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith is the foundation or ground of things hoped for for where we have no Faith of the real Futurity of a thing there Hope has no ground But Faith if it hath its due Circumstances it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Convictive Argument And tho' Faith and Knowledge are so different that we can no longer properly say we believe a thing when once we can say we know it yet Faith if right is as near to Knowledge as that which is not Knowledge can be and far from that doubtful Supposition call'd Opinion That which is to be believed or assented to as a Truth on anothers Word is either First an Assertion or Affirmation that such or such a thing was is or will be Or Secondly a Promise when the Person on whose Word we rely for the real Futurity of the thing makes us expect it from him as the Cause Now that Faith may be as it ought an Assent indeed to a Truth tho' we don't know it and not the believing a Lye these things we ought to be certain in First that the Person that hath asserted or promised the thing we are to take for a Truth could know it or were not lyable himself to be deceived or can or will be able to do it it being in his power Secondly that he be Trusty or one that will not deceive us As to the Knowledge and Power of the Person that we may be sure he could or might know the thing or can or will be able to do it we must see that the thing is in it self knowable or that it may possibly be a Truth for that which I see absurd contradictory or absolutely impossible to be suppos'd I can never well believe on any one's Word nor could I do so would it be of any use to me Whatever I am to believe must at least seem possible to be a Truth for nothing else can challenge my Faith or be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
THE Atheist turn'd Deist AND THE Deist turn'd Christian OR THE REASONABLENESS and UNION OF Natural and the True Christian Religion BY THO. EMES Chirurgo-Medicus LONDON Printed in the Year 1698. Speak every Man Truth with his Neighbour for we are Members of one another Eph. 4.25 AND So speak ye and so do ye as they that shall be judged by the Law of Liberty Jam. 2.12 ERRATA PAge 3. line 10. for certify read certifie L. 20. for Lier r. Lyar. P. 4. l. 26. for ll read all P. 6. l. last for unbeholding r. un-beholden P. 21. l. 20. for then r. than P. 22. for beholding r. beholden So P. 34. l. 34. P. 43. l. 36. r. Marriage-Constancy P. 45. l. 5. for countervaile r. countervale P. 84. l. 6. for God's r. Gods P. 95. after same add time P. 118. l. 26. blot and after David P. 181. l. 16. for they r. the before Oaths Some of the principal Heads of this Discourse under which divers other things are touched upon Numb 1. WHAT necessary to the End of Man Numb 2. Three Ways whereby we know Truth Numb 3. The nearest Way to prove the Being of God Numb 4. Self what The Necessity of supposing a Divine Being thence proved Numb 5. God knowable by Experience or Sense Numb 6. Self more largely considered and said to be Cogitation or Mind Numb 7. Objections against Cogitation's being the Essence of Self answered Numb 8. God considered more largely and as in himself or essential Attributes Numb 9. The common Notion of Omnipresence false Numb 10. God considered in relation to the Creatures negatively and positively Numb 11. Of the End of God's making things Numb 12. Man's Duty or Religion considered in general Numb 13. The same considered more particularly in Love to God Numb 14. And Love to his Works Numb 15. Love the Foundation of all orderly Behaviour No. 16. The Natural Reason and Sense of the Decâ—logue No. 17. The Goodness and Well-being of the Creaturâ— wherein it consists No. 18. The Ground of Vnhappiness No. 19. The true Notion of Sin and that Sin is a ways an Act and Original Sin as supposâ— distinct from Actual Sin a Mistake the triâ— Notion of it No. 20. The Fall of Man from Innocence naturalâ— known No. 21. The Aggravation or Greatness of Sins Diâ—order No. 22. How the Creature should behave it self on thâ— Conviction of Sin With the Natural Dutâ— of Repentance No. 23. Forgiveness with God apparently discoverabâ—â— by the Light of Nature No. 24. Why God made Creatures capable of Sin No. 25. Free will considered No. 26. What an Arbitrary Command of God and hoâ— reasonable No. 27. All the Commands of God tend to Mans Happiness or Pleasure Disobedience to the contrary neither Obedience nor Disobedience add to or take any thing from God No. 28. That the Creature having once sinn'd is more inclinable to go on sinning than to repent No. 29. Convicted Sinners at first unapt to believe that God will forgive No. 30. The Scope of all God's Dealings with Sinners in order to their Recovery No. 31. Immortality and a future Life discoverable by Reason what Death is and its use since Sin with Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul No. 32. The Resurrection of the Body rationally concluded No. 33. Future Judgment necessary No. 34. Man capable of Repentance and doing his Duty No. 35. The divers Motives and Arguments God has given Men to perswade them to repent and what the compleatest No. 36. Revelation chiefly for enforcing Natural Religion Divers Considerations about Revelation Miracles Faith c. No. 37. Of Christ and his Work No. 38. Of his Person No. 39. All that are saved saved the same way viz. by Christ No. 40. Scripture a Gift of God argued and the need of Revelation No. 41. Some things taught in the World as Doctrines of the Bible not tending to the true End and Scope of Revelation No. 42. As Mistakes about Reconciliation Christ's Death and Sacrifice Propitiation c. No. 43. About Satisfaction No. 44. Mistakes about Punishment God not to be thought the Cause of the Creatures Misery No. 45. Mistakes about Imputation of Sin and Righteousness No. 46. Mistakes about Merit No. 47. About Redemption No. 48. About Intercession No. 49. How the Mediation of Christ becomes â—â—fectual No. 50. Of the Doctrine of Fate or absolute Predestâ—â—nation No. 51. A Reflection on the present State of Christiâ—â—nity 1. THERE are Two Things necessary for Man in order to his attaining the End of his Being To know the Truth And to Will well Or in other words To be Wise and Good As for Knowing the Truth there are two Things wherein this Necessary Wisdom doth chiefly consist The Knowledge of God and the Knowledge of Ones Self And there is one thing wherein Man's Goodness doth consist and that is in the Conformity of his Will to the Will of his Maker to will as God wills The Order of our Knowledge of these two Objects God and Self seems to be this We begin to know our Selves as the Objects of which we are first aware and then we proceed to the Knowledge of God But the Connection of the Knowledg of God and of our Selves is such that we can never know our Selves well tell we arise to the Knowledge of God nor know God as we ought if we know but little of our Selves 2. There are but three Ways I conceive whereby we can have any Knowledge of God our Selves or any thing else 1. By Sense 2. By Reason Or 3. By Revelation By the Knowledge of Sense I do not mean only the Sensation or Perception of Bodies but also and rather the Experience Sense or Conscience we have of our own Thoughts or may have of others All those Notions we have as it were passively received without reasoning and which are as it were the Matter or Ground on which Reason works The second way of Knowledge Reason is the Faculty of arguing or discoursing with our Selves whereby from considering our passive Knowledges or Sensations we arise to get more full Knowledge of things and of what we had no immediate Sensation or Intuition and by getting the Knowledge of some things we proceed by Arguments and get the Knowledge and better Knowledge of others As by considering the Creatures especially our selves we may arise to the knowledge of God and then by considering our Maker we are led back again better to know our selves and from a better knowledge of our selves we get still the clearer knowledge of our Author The third way we may be made acquainted with God our selves or other things viz. Revelation is but as it were a compendious Assistance of the two former An express or particular Instruction from God telling the Creature in short what he would have been either ignorant of or not so soon or easily have known without such an immediate Teaching As for instance What God is and will be found to be what we are ought to
a more particular and express more clear and convincing Manifestation of God's Will a second Witness of the same Truths confirming what is testified by the natural Light of Reason which alone were enough to leave all without excuse who do not hearken to its Dictates and sufficient to lead all to the way of Obedience were it hearkened unto But Revelation being added dictating and enforcing in a manner plain and clear enough for any Capacity whatever is absolutely necessary for Man to believe and do in order to Happiness is enough to inform and convince any of their Duty that do not strongly resist For the clearing of which matter let us take these Considerations As God is the Fountain and Cause of all Truths so he is the Giver or Discoverer of all Truths that come within the reach of Created Understandings But he doth not make known things to his Creatures always the same way He hath given us Sense and Reason by which with his general and common Assistance we most commonly come to know things for some time unknown to us But whensoever it pleaseth God to discover some Truth in an express particular or extraordinary manner then there is that which we call Divine Revelation Now this Revelation may be considered two ways In relation to the thing made known And in relation to the Manner or Measure of the Manifestation But before we come to consider it these ways let it be noted that as we have said Revelation is some Truth discover'd or made known to the Creatures so we at the same must necessarily suppose it a Truth knowable to the created Understanding For to suppose a thing that is above our Understanding to be revealed to us is to suppose a Revelation and yet no Revelation whatever is made known to us we know and what we know is not above our Knowledge The Capacity of Man's Understanding we readily believe may be enlarged so that he may hereafter know what at present he is not capable of but till he is capable of knowing such or such a Truth or at least seeing it knowable it can be no Revelation to him As for instance None can pretend that the Doctrine of Transubstantiation is revealed while it is that which is inconceivable That all the Properties wherein the Nature and Essence of Bread consists should remain and yet the Bread be changed into Flesh is that which is unintelligible and not a Revelation Nor can they well say that tho' the manner how this unseen Change can be is not revealed yet that it is indeed changed into Flesh and yet more strange the Flesh of Christ is revealed For how this Change can be conceived to be made and that it can be conceived to be made is the very same thing or at least as unintelligible Nay such a supposed Change is a Contradiction and a Contradiction can with the least reason of all be suppos'd a Revelation For Man is not only unable to know how it can be but is able to know yea clearly sees it is impossible to be With as good a pretence might a Man say that tho' to any Man's Understanding two and one make three yet God has revealed to him that in God's Understanding two and one is but one or is nine or what you please But as to Divine Revelation it may be as I said considered either as to the Thing revealed or the Manner of the Revelation As to the Thing revealed it may be either that which is or can be known no other way viz. a Truth God has reserved to such his Peculiar Teaching or that which might be known without Revelation but not so clearly easily or soon and in both it may be of a Truth past present or to come As to the Manner of Revelation a Truth may be communicated either immediately to the Understanding supposing only that it is God's special Will that I or he thus immediately know such or such a Truth we knew not before or yet to the Understanding mediately by the Ministry of some superiour Intelligent Creature that God first made know the thing or yet still more mediately a Truth may be made known in way of Revelation even by our very Senses by means of some Bodily Object as a Voice Vision or the like Again as to the Manner of Revelation it may be more general or particular more partial or full or in other words fewer or more Truths may be thus made known at the same time Now that God can and may in a particular and express manner make a Truth known to his Creature or to one and another and yet not to the third or to every one that he may give a Revelation to some immediately and command them to tell it others none but those that disbelieve the Power Goodness and Sovereignty of God can deny It cannot rationally be suppos'd but that the Author of Truths can make a Truth known He who has made Creatures sensible and capable of Reasoning and finding out Truths by way of Induction and Argument may if he please sometimes give Men the Knowledge of some Truths a nearer and easier way or cause them to understand Truths not knowable by Sense and Reason alone and this immediately to whom he pleaseth and to others by them Creatures that can come to the Knowledge of many things by their own Industry or Application of Thought may either know the same things or things they would never have found out so by a special Instruction As a Man unassisted by a Master may find out many things in Arts but by the Instruction of a skilful Artist he may come to know the same and more and in far less time than he could have known without such a Teacher Now it cannot be thought unbecoming the Wisdom and Goodness of God or unsuitable or unnecessary for the present Condition of Mankind if we consider it that God should have had some special Scholars of his own particular instructing and have commanded them to teach other Men in things most profitable and necessary to them or that he should have sent some particular Messengers to the rest of Mankind to teach his Will to those that through their own Negligence or others Hinderance knew it not or to teach it more clearly and fully to those that knew it but in part and to urge it upon all that were negligent to do it That God may do thus I think is now undoubted That he has done so seems to me the only thing needs farther to be proved to any rational Man And that we may rationally be perswaded that God has thus instructed or sent some particular Men either to teach others or urge them to do their known Duty let us take these Considerations It is most evident to all those who have took notice of the Actions of Mankind conveighed by the most unquestionable Tradition from Generation to Generation that now and then in the Ages of this World there have been some
a sufficient Argument So whatever I am perswaded to do must at least seem a Good As Truth alone is the Object of Knowledge so should it be of Faith Nothing can well be believed but what may come to be known Secondly I must see that the thing be not only knowable and possible in it self but also knowable or possible to the Person on whose Word I believe it Which I may do by considering well the Person and his Circumstances As to the Trust of the Person whose Word I assent to I may be satisfied that he would not deceive me if First I see he could propose no at least seeming good end in so doing Or Secondly if I see he could not suppose it possible to attain his end if it were to deceive me For no one proposes to themselves the doing any thing but for some at least seeming good end much less the doing what they see they cannot be able to effect Faith without these Circumstances would be groundless uncertain and as lyable to be the Belief of a Lye as of a Truth and to no good purpose at all But in giving our Assent to the Word even of Man if thus cricumstanced we need fear no Deception Now as the crediting Man's Word may be call'd a Natural Faith so an Assent to the Word of God is that which is properly said to be a Divine Faith But the Word of Man thus differs from the Word of God That tho' divers Men may concur in saying one and the same thing and ought so to do in some cases that Man's Word may rationally demand our Belief and God being but one can be but a single Witness yet God's Word is greater and surer than Man's Because God cannot so much as be suppos'd to be deceived being Omniscient or be thought unable to perform his Promise being Almighty nor can he be suppos'd to will to deceive us who is the self-sufficient Fountain of Good nor therefore can he propose the getting of any Good to himself by deceiving his Creatures Absolute Perfection being uncapable of advantage Man may possibly be deceived knowing but a little or will to deceive wanting Goodness or propose an advantage to himself being needy and that by deceiving as he may want power to get his end another way He may suppose himself able when he is not and so not perform his Promise tho' he would or his Will may change not knowing always what is best and so not will to do at one time what at another he made us expect from him Wherefore we cannot believe or assent to as true what Man saith merely because he saith it but on these divers requisite Considerations There can be but one thing necessary or pre-requisite towards our believing God's Word and that is That we be sure that what we credit as God's Word is indeed his Word or that he does indeed say what he is suppos'd so to do Whether This or That is truely the Word of God we may determine by considering what is before said of Revelation and Miracles with the Matter the Manner the End c. of the thing said But now as to the business under Consideration What has been said may be easily apply'd to the Scripture and here particularly to the Historical Parts thereof without any farther help and as they appear by thus regularly considering them so let them be esteem'd But I shall name for example the chief of them and that briefly in which Books as I have before hinted is observable a Drift or Design all along against Wickedness and Deceit a Recommendation and Encouragement of Goodness Truth and all Vertue which can hardly be thought so to concur in so many Writers writing at such different times could they be thought to agree in a design to deceive Mankind or to propose any seeming Good End in so doing First The Books of Moses containing a Narrative of such things as could not be done without the Knowledge of a considerable part of Mankind cannot be suppos'd to be mere Fictions The things which he writes or whoever writes them as his own Knowledge he could not easily be deceived in nor can he be thought to have seen any possibility of deceiving Mankind so grosly as he must be said to have done if his Writings be no true History it being so easie a matter for the then present or immediately succeeding Ages to detect the Fallacy but they have not so done but concurr'd with him to deliver them down to Posterity A History of famous and publick Actions for so many years if no such things were done could never be suppos'd to gain Belief as a True History and be so generally receiv'd and deliver'd down for Truth from Age to Age as these Books have been Nor could the Design he seems to aim at viz. The instructing the Israelites in the Knowledge and Service of the One True God with the promoting of all Vertue and Duty to Man run so smoothly along with so apparently wicked and unprofitable a Design as the deceiving Posterity with a Fiction instead of a true Story As to the things done before his time which he speaks of but briefly in order to his design they might possibly be made known to him by Revelation tho' I confess I see no ground for such a Belief or of what use it would be much less of any necessity he should so receive them any more than the things he saw done when he might receive them by either Oral or written Tradition But that Moses was sent of God to teach and instruct the Israelites and whosoever would learn of them cannot be discredited if those Miraculous things were done which the whole Nation of the Hebrews and many others could not be deceived in As the Wonders in Egypt the Passage through the Red Sea and especially the giving the Law viz. the Ten Words expresly by a Voice from Mount Sinai which that numerous People could not easily concur to deliver down to Posterity to deceive their Children witnessing those Laws to be in such a manner given of God tho' they were themselves so inclinable to break them if there had been no such Laws so given Nor are the other Prophets less to be credited in their Narratives or whoever writes their Stories or the Books under their Names That such and such Men came in the Name of God delivering Instructions Reproofs Warnings c. to the People could not be a Mistake Nor could they impose upon Men in those Miracles they are sometimes said to do much less in the Predictions of Future Events even of particular Persons by name Telling the Councels of distant Enemies and even what should be the future Actions of some whose Hearts had not yet conceived the Thoughts of them giving also the infallible Test to know a False Prophet by viz. if what he saith comes not to pass Which Predictions were such as could be made by none without particular Divine Revelation which