the evil things which it threatens to deterr us from Sin are as to the Matter of them the greatest that we are capable of enjoying or suffering and consequently the most probable to raise our Hopes and to excite our Fears to the highest Pitch For the Arguments that do most strongly persuade us to any thing are from Interest from the Profit and Advantage we shall reap by doing it from the Tendency it has to make us happy and Happiness consists in being perfectly free from all Pain and Trouble and Vexation and in the full and free Enjoyment of whatsoever is pleasing and delightful to us But now both these the Gospel gives Assurance of to all those that believe and obey it that is that they shall thereby be freed from that intolerable Pain and Misery which the Wicked and Unbelievers shall be condemned to and also that they shall thereby be instated in the perfectest and compleatest Happiness both of Body and Soul In a Happiness far greater than any they do or can enjoy now nay in a Happiness much greater than any they can now have so much as a Conception or Idea of in their Minds 1 Cor. 2.9 For Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the Heart of Man the Things that God hath prepared for them that love him But there is besides a remarkable Circumstance which does much enhanse the Value of any Good and likewise much aggravate the Evil of any Pain or Misery viz. its Duration For how great soever the Good or Evil proposed to persuade us to any thing are in themselves yet if they be but of short Continuance if they will soon expire and be at an End we reckon it not worth while to be at much Pains to obtain such a short-lived Good or to avoid such a transient Evil But in this Respect also the Motives both of Hope and of Fear which the Gospel proposes to us do far surpass all those Persuasives or Inducements which Sin can offer for the most we can hope to escape by the Commission of any Sin is the Pain and Suffering of a few Weeks or Years or a temporal Death which last yet we cannot be so vain as to hope to escape clearly for we can at most but delay it for a short Season And on the other side the greatest Good we can propose to our selves or so much as hope to obtain by any Sin is the Pleasure of a short Life In which Hope Men are likewise very often most sadly disappointed their sinful Gratifications commonly bringing with them or drawing after them much more Trouble and Vexation even in this World than the little Pleasure they can reap from them is sufficient to compensate for But if it were not so If the Pleasures of Sin were certain and sincere yet they are but for a Moment They can be but short because our Life its self is but short Jam. 4.14 being as St. James says a Vapour which appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away But the Motives of both kinds which the Gospel proposes have in this Respect also that is in Respect of the Duration of the Good or Evil proposed all the Advantage that is possible For the Misery we shall escape and the Blessedness we shall attain by yielding Belief and Obedience to the Gospel are both of them Mark 9.46 48. Matth. 25.46 Mark 3.29 Matth. 18.8 2 Thess 1.9 Jude 13. Rev. 20.10.14.11 of eternal and endless Duration A Worm that never dieth a Fire that never shall be quenched Everlasting Punishment Eternal Damnation Everlasting Fire Everlasting Destruction The Blackness of Darkness for ever A Lake of Fire and Brimstone where they shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever and where the smoke of their Torment ascendeth up for ever and ever These are the Evils which the Gospel threatens to Sin And if these be not sufficient to deterr Men from it what can be sufficient What Evil can that Man be supposed to be afraid of who is not afraid of everlasting Burning A greater Evil cannot be threatned and he who is not scared by this would certainly be less scared by the Threatning of a less Evil. And on the other side Everlasting Life a Crown that fadeth not away a Kingdom that cannot be moved an eternal Weight of Glory Fulness of Joy in the Presence of God and Pleasures for evermore at his right Hand these are the good things promised to Obedience And could greater things be promised than these could we our selves if we were put to desire what we would desire more and if the Promise of unspeakable and everlasting Blessedness be not sufficient to prevail with us to undertake a Godly and Christian Life certainly nothing can be sufficient If God should make never so many Revelations of his Will to Mankind he could not propose greater Encouragement to Obedience than he has done already in the Gospel And if those good things which he has promised do not move us 't is not because they are not great enough to move a wise and considering Man but because we are so bent upon Sin that we will not give way to any Considerations that might serve to restrain us from it In a Word The Gospel Motives to Repentance and Obedience comprehend all that we can fear or hope for so far therefore as Fears or Hopes can work upon us there is plainly nothing wanting in that Standing Revelation that God has made of his Will by Moses and the Prophets and especially by Christ and his Apostles to make it successfull that is to persuade Men to Repentance if they will but hear what they say and give Credit to it But 't is not perhaps the Infidels will say a better Rule that they Want than the Scripture is or better Motives to persuade them to lead their Lives according to it than the Scripture proposes but what they chiefly want is some better Evidence some greater Certainty of the Truth of the Scripture This therefore was what I propounded to do in the next place viz. To shew that we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines which are taught by it But because the handling of this Point would take up too much Time I shall chuse to deferr it and conclude this present Discourse with an earnest Exhortation to all those that do sincerely believe the Gospel to consider often and seriously of those great Motives which it proposes to persuade Men. For tho' we live in an Age of great Infidelity wherein some are bold enough to strike at the very Foundation of all Religion and to dispute at least if not deny the most evident and undeniable Truths of it and others think they pay Respect enough to the common Reason and Judgment of Mankind if they do but grant themselves to be Deists and wherein even among those that
infinite Difference is there between these two States And how well must we needs think it worth all the Pains and Labour that we can take in this World to secure to our selves a Portion in that better Sort of everlasting Life in that Life in which there is no Pain tho' there be but little Pleasure But still our Thoughts are short we have not yet a just Notion of the Difference between these two States For if we believe the Scripture and I speak now to those that do believe it that everlasting Pain which the wicked will be condemned to is not a light or gentle Pain but the sharpest the acutest the most tormenting that can be endured and that eternal Joy which we have a good Hope of by the Gospel is â—ikewise the greatest the fullest the compleatest that we are capable of for in representing the former to us the Scripture all along expresses the Torments of Hell by such Pains as are here most afflicting to us â—s the Biting and Gnawing of a Worm the being â—eaten with Stripes the noysomness of Brimstone and â—he Burning of Fire And on the other side when it would represent to us the Happiness of the Blessed â—t does it by resembling the heavenly Joys to such Pleasures as do here upon Earth most sensibly delight â—s such as are the Pleasures of a spacious rich and â—ommodious Dwelling of the choicest Delicacies to â—lease the Tast of the rarest Melody to delight the Ear of a Crown and a Kingdom and an exceeding Weight of Glory and of whatever else can gratifie or â—lease any of our Senses Now tho' these Representations or Descriptions of Hell and Heaven are not perhaps to be understood liâ—erally the Scripture herein speaking not according â—o the Strictness of Truth but according to our preâ—ent Capacities and Apprehensions who have now very â—ittle Notion of any Pain or Pleasure but what affects â—he Senses of our Body yet thus much may most certainly be concluded from those Descriptions of these two States which we meet with in Scripture that both the Torments of Hell and the Joys of Heaven are as great as they can possibly be far beyond any thing that we now feel or enjoy or can have any Notion of And in a Word that as the Pain of Hell is endless so it is likewise intolerable and that as the Joy of Heaven is perpetual so it is likewise unspeakable and full of Glory And now after this short tho' very imperfect Representation of these two vastly different States of Men in that other and everlasting Life that will begin when this is over I think I may fairly ask again What God could have done more either to deterr us from Sin than to threaten Hell torments to those that live in it or to encourage us to Obedience than to promise to those that continue in well doing the unspeakable Happiness of Heaven Certainly if these Motives will not prevail upon us no other can be proposed that would prevail Nay further Tho' I have hitherto spoken to you as to Christians which believe the Scripture and that there will certainly be another Life after this even such a Life as I have been speaking of an everlasting Life of perfect Happiness or extreme Misery yet if you have at all attended to and are any whit affected by that Representation that I have made to you of the Pains of Hell and of the Joys of Heaven and of the Eternity of both I should now dare to address my self to you even tho' I thought you believed very little of these things and methinks I should not doubt but that I might prevail with you and persuade you to Repentance by these Gospel Motives of Heaven and Hell even altho' the Revelation thereof were not certain and undoubted altho' there were some just Reason to question the Truth of them For put the Case that it is very uncertain whether there will be an eternal Life or no Nay put the Case that it is ten to one that it is much more probable that there will not be any such Life after this Yet when we consider what Eternity is and what a vast Difference there is between living in perfect Joy and in everlasting Burning and when we consider withall the Shortness of this present Life and how little we can lose in it by abstaining from Sin and how little we can suffer in it by the strictest Holiness and Virtue even the bare Possibility that there will be an eternal Life tho' we had no certain Revelation and no other very good Assurance given us of it would be abundantly sufficient to deterr us from Sin and to stir us up to well-doing For if we live well here and there be really an eternal Life it will be happy for us that we have made this Preparation for it but if there should indeed be no other Life after this we shall be then no Losers by what we have done we shall be then in as good a Condition as others will be in who did not believe it nor live in Expectation of it And all that Trouble which the Exercise of Piety and Virtue now costs us is not worth speaking of it is no more than we ought in Reason and Prudence to be at altho' at the same time we believed it to be very uncertain whether there would be any such eternal Life or no. For this is what we call and account Wisdom in all other Cases viz. to provide not only against Certainties or high Probabilities but when it may easily and conveniently be done even against Possibilities too We reckon him an unwise Man for the World who being in a good Way of getting spends all as fast as it comes in when he has no present Need to spend so much and lays up nothing against old Age when if he lives to it he will be past his Labour and not in a Capacity to get enough to support himself And yet of all those that do wisely make some Provision for old Age not one in ten perhaps lives to it But nevertheless the bare Possibility that a Man may live to old Age and the very great Inconveniences that he will suffer if he shall have nothing then to live upon make it very adviseable for every one of the ten to lay up somewhat if he can do it against that time And he of the ten whose only Lot it will be to live to be old is not a wiser Man for making such Provision than the other nine are who yet in the Event will be never the better for their Labour Put case therefore that there is the same or even a much greater Vncertainty whether there will be an eternal Life after this yet when we consider what an eternal Life is when we consider that if there be a Heaven and we can procure our Portion to be there we shall be happy infinitely and unspeakably happy to eternal Ages And that if there be a Hell
no Suspicion of what was done nor any Sense of that great Alteration that had been made in the World by these Books nor any Remembrance afterwards when they awoke and found themselves Christians that they had been of some other Religion before when they were first taken with that Lethargick Fit But if these things may be what is there of this kind that may not be If the World be so much mistaken in this Matter it may be as much mistaken in any other Matter of the like Nature And then It may be that there never was such a Man as Homer or Virgil or Coesar or Cicero or Plutarch or any other of those Persons as whose Writings we now receive the Books that go under their Names but that all the Books pretended to be written by those Authors and likewise all the Books of later Date whereby the Authority of those former Books is attested were in like Manner contrived and made and dispersed by such another Gang of crafty and designing Knaves who took a Pleasure in abusing the rest of the World or hoped to make a Gain to themselves â—hereby Nay then for why should we stop here It may be that not only the Laws of our Religion but the Laws of our Civil State too are all forged and counterfeit It may be that once upon a time The Keeper of the Publick Records having by much and long Observation attained to good Skill â—n the ancient Ways of Writing for many Ages backward and being a compleat Master of his Pen and having also gotten an Art to make a fresh Writing seem just as old as he had a Mind it should be thought to be did compose and deposite in â—heir proper Places those Original Acts of Parliament which are now taken to be the Laws of some of our former Kings and that to confirm and establish his Fraud he procured some other Persons at the same Time to Write or Print and to convey into all Shops and Libraries several Books of Reports and Pleadings wherein these counterfeit Acts were cited and referred to and it may be that while as this was doing none else had their Eyes open to see it nor had ever after the least Suspicion of what was done Or if they had yet that they were so well pleased with the Cheat which they thought would be a good Means of preserving Peace and Justice in the Nation as to be willing it should pass to Posterity undiscovered These May be 's are I am sure every whit as possible and as likely as the other Either therefore let those Men who upon this Account doubt of the Authority of the Books of the New Testament Or who would make others doubt of it only by suggesting that it is a thing possible in Nature that they may be all forged and counterfeit let them I say either entertain and suggest the same Doubt concerning all other ancient Books of the Antiquity and Authority of which there is not greater Evidence than there is of these And then they will render themselves so justly ridiculous to the World that there will be no Need to expose their Folly for then they must call in Question the Authority of all Books and the Truth of all History Or else let them fairly own that the true Reason of their making a Doubt concerning these Books rather than concerning others is because they do not relish the Matter of them because they find it easier to resist that strong Evidence that is given of the Authority of these Books than they do to govern their Lives according to those strict Rules of Holiness and Purity that are therein prescribed and to bring their Wills to the Obedience of Faith And if they will but own this which I believe is the Truth their Prejudice and Partiality will be so evident to all that it may be reasonably hoped their impious Suggestions will do but little Harm in the World and that few Men of any Sense or Reason will be so fool-hardy as to venture their Souls and run the Hazard of a miserable Eternity upon so many and such very improbable I had almost said such impossible may be 's as must be supposed to have been if indeed these Books are forged and counterfeit if indeed they were not written by those Persons whom they are commonly ascribed to But yielding this Point may the Atheist or Infidel farther say viz. that the Gospel called St. Matthew's was written by St. Matthew and that of St. Mark by St. Mark and the Rest of the Books which are ascribed to any other certain Authors by those Persons to whom they are severally ascribed yet the Authority of the whole New Testament will not by this Concession be sufficiently established For of some Books of the New Testament the Authors are not known of others they are doubted Some Parts of this Book that are now received have been rejected in ancient Times and â—thers not universally receiv'd And besides 't is cerâ—ain that in the early Times of Christianity there were several Counterfeit Gospels and Epistles some of which may possibly have slipped into the Canon unawares And lastly If it be granted that all the Books of the New Testament were originally written â—y the Apostles or other Inspired Men yet however the Books that we now have are but Copies in which many Alterations may have been made by designing Men or careless Transcribers These Objections or Cavils rather for such I am sure they would be accounted in any other Case against the Authority of these Sacred Books have been urged by some Men both anciently and lately But they have been also so well and fully answered by those learned Persons that have written in Defence of the Canon that I once thought to have taken no Notice of them and I believe had not done it but that I considered on the other Hand that when an old Objection that has been answered an Hundred times is urged afresh a great many may take it for a new one and if it be not quickly answered may be apt to think it unanswerable so that in this Case it may be better to repeat the same Answer if it be a good one that has been often formerly made to it than to say nothing And besides in this degenerate Age in which any wild or Atheistical Discourse passes for Wit it may be the Hap of some Persons who have not much Mind or Leisure or Opportunity to read Books to hear these things in Conversation and not knowing readily what Answers to make to them to be somewhat staggered in their Belief thereby Especially if they be such whose loose and licentious Way of Living makes them easie to receive without Examination any Notions that may give them Ease or Encouragement in Sin For these Reasons therefore I thought it would not be amiss especially because it is a Matter properly belonging to the Subject I am now upon and because I have some time left for it to
Matters of Fact which they have recorded And 3. That if the Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught And I hope enough was said the last time to shew that we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New Testament were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof What I am next to do is 2. To shew that there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to these Authors in their Relations of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded And I hope none of you that hear me whom I presume to be all Christians will take Offence at it if now while I am arguing this Point I sometimes speak of the Holy Evangelists with the same Freedom that might be used in speaking concerning any other Authors and if I sometimes Plead for no more Credit to be given to them in their Relations than is fit and reasonable to be given to any other Historian that was naturally as well furnished and qualified to write a true History as they were and whose Fidelity and Veracity is as well attested and confirmed other Ways as theirs was For you will consider I hope that my Business is now with Infidels with whom we can argue only upon the Principles of common Reason And tho' we who are Christians already do believe as one of the first Principles of our Religion that these Sacred Writers were divinely and supernaturally assisted in their Work and that upon that Account they deserve much greater Credit in what they have written than other Historians do yet this is what those who are yet Infidels will not allow And in Disputation nothing is to be presumed on one side but what will be readily allowed by the other Party So that the divine Inspiration of the Evangelical Writers and the supernatural Assistance which we believe they had in their Writing cannot as yet be regularly insisted upon as an Argument to gain them Credit But it is what will easily be granted afterwards when the Truth of their History shall be well established upon other Grounds as I hope it will be in the following Discourse and 't is what may then serve to procure a religious Respect and Reverence to these Sacred Writings 1 Thess 2.13 and to ingage us to receive them not as the Word of Men but as they are in Truth as the Word of God But this one thing nevertheless I suppose I may presume viz. that if the Books of the New Testament the Historical Parts of it in particular were written by those Authors to whom they are ascribed which has been already proved the Matters of Fact recorded by the Evangelists in Writing are the same which they and the other Apostles testified by Word of Mouth in their Preaching For it cannot I think with any Reason be suspected that their Preaching and Writings were disagreeable to each other because such Disagreement would most certainly have utterly destroyed the Credit of them both And this being supposed I hope it will clearly appear that there is abundantly sufficient Reason to give full Credit to these Writings if these following things be considered 1. If we consider the Nature Conditions and Circumstances of the Matters that are recorded in the Historical Books of the New Testament and of the History its self 2. If we consider the good Capacity that the Authors thereof were in to know the Truth of the things they have related 3. If we consider the strong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the Truth according to the best of their Knowledge or Information 4. If we consider the good Evidences that we have of their Honesty and Faithfulness And 5. Lastly If we consider the Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their History by God himself 1. I say the Evangelical History will appear to be highly credible if without any Regard as yet had to the Ability and Integrity of its Authors we only consider the Nature Conditions and Circumstances of the Matters therein recorded and of the History its self Concerning which there are two things especially that may be observed 1. That the Matters recorded by the Evangelical Writers are such as might be certainly known And 2. That they are such and in such manner related by the Evangelists that if their History of them had been false it could never have gained Credit in the World 1. First I say the Matters recorded by the Evangelical Writers are such as might be certainly known I mean either by the Historians themselves or by those from whom they had their Information For 1. They are for the most part plain Matters of Sense which those who were present at them could have no doubt of without Distrusting their own Faculties of Hearing or Seeing and which those who testified them might be as certain of the Truth of as we can be of any thing that we hear with our own Ears or see with our own Eyes For thus whether our Saviour gave out himself to be the Messias foretold by the Prophets whether he said that he was the Son of God and whether he uttered those other Speeches which the Evangelists have recorded as spoken by him could not but be certainly known by the People who often heard him and especially by his Apostles who constantly attended him And so likewise whether he did those many wonderful Works which the Evangelists have recorded of him could not but be known by those that were present with him They might be certain either that he did them or that he did not do them Thus for instance it might be certainly known to those that first affirmed that he gave Sight to the Blind whether those Persons had been once blind and whether afterwards they â—aw and to those that witnessed that he gave Strength â—o the Cripples whether the Men whom they said he wrought this Cure upon had been Lame or disabled â—n their Feet Hands or Body before and whether â—fterwards they walked and had Strength like other Men and to those that testified that he raised the Dead whether the Persons said to have been raised by â—im had been truly dead and whether afterwards â—hey lived But above all his own Resurrection which the preâ—ent Season as well as the Wonderfulness and Imporâ—ance of the thing obliges us to have a special â—egard to was a thing that might be most certainly â—nown to those that pretended to be Witnesses of it This Sermon was Preached on the Monday in Easter Week â—hey might be certain whether he had been once dead â—nd whether he shewed himself alive after his Passion â—y many infallible Proofs and was seen of them forty Days Of this they might be rather more certain than â—f any other of his Miracles because it was a thing â—ot to be judged of by one sense only as some of the â—est were
alone presently reject either of them but we enquire which of them was in the best Capacity to know the Truth and which of them is the least liable to the suspicion of falshood and which Story is the most probably related and to the Belief of that we encline If therefore there be any Man that thinks there is any truth in History and who does give Credit to other Histories and I believe there is no Man but does so and yet will not be persuaded to allow that the Gospel History is very credible which contains a Relation only of such Matters of Sense as it was morally impossible there should be any Cheat or Deceit in and in which if there had been any Deceit or Mistake it was morally impossible that it should not be discover'd and disprov'd and which yet neither is now nor ever was contradicted by any History of competent Antiquity and good Credit I think we may very well conclude that 't is not Reason or Judgment but Prejudice or Interest or the Love of some Vice or Lust that makes him an Infidel The End of the Fourth Sermon THE Fifth Sermon St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE Subject I was upon in my last Discourse on these Words and which I left unfinish'd was to shew That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to the Authors of the Historical Books of the New Testament in their Relations of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded For the Proof of which I proposed these following things to be considered 1 The Nature Conditions and Circumstances of the Matters they have recorded and of the History its self 2 The good Capacity they were in to know the Truth of the Things they have related 3 The strong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the Truth according to the best of their Knowledge or Information 4 The good Evidences that we have of their Honesty and Faithfulness And 5 Lastly The Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their History by God himself The last Discourse was spent in the Consideration of the first of these things I proceed now to the Second viz. 2. The good Capacity that the Writers of the Evangelical History were in to know the Truth of those things which they have related Now the Matters of History which are related in the Epistles are but few and those for the most part such as had been done by or had happened to either the Persons that wrote them or the Churches or Persons to whom they were written so that of these we shall not need to say any thing For the Bulk or Body of the Evangelical History is contain'd in the Four Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles And of the Authors of these Books there is no Controversie in the Christian Church And if they were written by the reputed Authors a few Words will suffice to shew that they were in a very good Capacity to know the Truth of the Things they have recorded much better than most other ancient Historians whose Relations nevertheless are generally thought worthy of Credit For St. Matthew and St. John two of the four Evangelists were of the number of those Twelve who were in constant Attendance upon our Lord from the Time that he first began to preach and to make Disciples until he was taken up into Heaven so that they were themselves Eye or Ear-Witnesses of most of the Things which they have recorded Of St. Mark and St. Luke indeed the same cannot be said neither is it certain that they were of the Number of the Seventy Disciples tho' that be affirmed by some of the Ancients But this I think is agreed to by all that St. Mark was for some part of his Life a constant Companion of St. Peter who was not only one of the Twelve but most probably the First that was call'd to be an Apostle and who was also one of the three with whom our Lord was most intimate and familiar for we often read that Peter Matt. 17.4.26 37. Mark 5.37 and James and John were singled from the rest to be Witnesses of some of the most private Transactions of his Life And it was generally believed in the Ancient Church that St. Peter was more truly the Author of the Gospel called St. Mark 's than St. Mark himself He being only the Scribe or Amanuensis and St. Peter the Person that dictated the things written by him whence also this Gospel is by some of the Ancients stiled the Gospel of St. Peter And of this there seem to be some Tokens even in the History its self particularly in that Relation that is therein given of St. Peter's Denial of his Master and of his Repentance for it for his Denial is there told with some more Circumstances than in the other Gospels such as the Person himself chiefly concerned was best able to know and might best remember And the Account that is given of his Repentance is by this Author expressed more modestly as it best became a Person to speak who spake of himself than it is by the other Evangelists for St. Matthew and St. Luke say that he wept bitterly but St. Mark or rather St. Peter himself dictating those Words only says that when he thought thereon he wept It is likewise agreed on all Hands that St. Luke if not one of the Seventy Disciples which 't is most probable he was not was however a very early Convert to Christianity that he conversed frequently with the Apostles and immediate Disciples of our Lord and was a constant Companion of St. Paul for a good while in his Preaching and Travels so that of almost all the Things which he relates in his History of the Acts of the Apostles he might be and of much the greatest part of them 't is most probable and of some 't is certain he was an Eye or Ear-Witness So then There are three of the five Historical Books of the New Testament that were written by those who were present at most of the things which they have related viz. the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John and the Acts of the Apostles and another of them tho' it bears the Name of St. Mark the Person by whom it was penned yet if it was as has been generally believ'd dictated by St. Peter may be added to that number and be likewise reckon'd the Testimony of One who was an Eye Witness of the things he has related In this Respect therefore the Gospel History is manifestly as credible as 't is possible any History should be for no Historian can record any thing upon better Assurance of its Truth than the
Evidence of his own Senses But the Gospel of St. Luke it must be granted is not of this sort He himself does not pretend that the Matters by him recorded were of his own Knowledge he only says Luke 1.2 3. He had perfect understanding of them from the very first from those who from the Beginning were Eye-witnesses and Ministers of the Word And of some few Matters recorded by the other Evangelists the same must likewise be granted particularly of the things that were done before they were called to be Apostles of these things I say it must be granted that 't is most probable they were not Matters of their own Knowledge that they recorded them only upon credible Information from others But when 't is consider'd on the other hand that there are very few things related by St. Luke which are not to be found in some of the other Gospels his Testimony that he had perfect Information of the things he has recorded from several Eye-witnesses adds a Degree of credibility even to the other Gospels and is a good corroborating Evidence of their Truth And all the Matters recorded by him or the other Evangelists only upon Information of others must be granted to be more credible than the Matter of most other ancient Histories of good Credit is if we reflect upon what was said in the former Discourse concerning the Nature and Circumstances of the things recorded particularly that they were such things as might be most certainly known and were capable of the best attestation and that they were things done in the same Age and in the same Countrey in which they lived who have written the History thereof And what hath been said is I hope sufficient to shew the good Capacity the Authors of the Historical Parts of the New Testament were in to know the Truth of the Things they have recorded most of them being such as 't is probable three of the Evangelists as Two of them without all Dispute were Eye witnesses of and the rest such as they might have certain Information of from several Persons then alive and well able to witness the same Of the Ability then of these Authors to write a true History of these Matters I think there can be no reasonable Doubt And that there is as little Reason to doubt of their Honesty and Faithfulness will in part appear if we consider in the third place 3 The strong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the Truth according to the best of their Knowledge or Information Now the Obligations that Men are under to speak or write Truth may be reduc'd to two Heads Honour and Conscience By both which the Evangelical Writers were more strongly obliged to Truth in their Relations than commonly other Historians are 1. One Obligation that lies on all Men to speak or write nothing but what is true is Honour For there is nothing that is generally accounted more base or dishonourable than to tell a Lye there is nothing that by those who stand most upon their Honour is thought more reflecting and disparaging and more necessary to be resented as an high Affront than to have the Lye given them What therefore is generally thought to be a great Reproach it may reasonably be presumed unless the contrary appears a Man will be careful to avoid by not giving any just Occasion to have it cast upon him And this is one Ground of that great Credit that is generally given to ancient Histories 't is presum'd unless there be evident cause to think otherwise that the Authors of them were Men of so much Honour and that they had such a sense of the Reproach and Discredit that it would be to them to be found out in a Lye as made them careful not to record any thing as a certain Truth but what they had good Knowledge or Information of But that this Obligation to Truth was stronger on the Authors of the Evangelical History than on most other Historians is abundantly evident from what was noted the last time concerning the Nature and Conditions of the things by them related and of their History of them For the Matter of most other ancient Histories is such that the Historians might report many things untruly or upon slight Information and yet be pretty well assur'd that they should not be reputed Liars because the Matters recorded by them being things either done in some Places a good way of or in some time long before or in the Presence of but few Persons they might know that none of those into whose Hands their Histories would fall would be in a Capacity to contradict them tho' they were false Or they might reasonably suppose that their Readers would rather acquiesce in their Report than travel so far or take so much Pains as they must have done to disprove it especially if it was a Matter of no great Consequence to their Readers whether their Report was true or false But in the Gospel History the Case was quite otherwise and the Historians themselves could not but know that it was so For there were a great many concern'd to find out some Falsity in it and there were a great many that would have taken any pains to have done it and yet the Matters related by the Evangelists and their Manner of relating them were such that their History if it had been false in any particular might have been disprov'd with the greatest ease without being at any Pains to do it because most of those into whose Hands it first came would either have known it to be false or would readily have been told that it was so by abundance of Persons that could of their own Knowledge have contradicted it So that if it be supposed that the Evangelists had any Regard at all to their own Reputation it can't be imagin'd either that they did record any thing contrary to their Knowledge or that in Matters that were not of their own Knowledge they neglected to get the best Information and Intelligence that could be had because if they had done either of these they could not have been so vain as to hope to escape being Censured as the most notorious and shameless Liars that ever wrote But 2. The strongest Obligation that lies on all Men to speak or write nothing but the Truth is Conscience And the sense that all Men are supposed to have of the natural Turpitude of a Lye is the chief ground of that very great Credit that we give to humane Testimony in Cases of the greatest Concern and Consequence But this Obligation to Truth was likewise stronger on the Authors of the Evangelical History than on most other Historians 't was indeed so very strong that nothing less than an evident Proof of their Falsity can justifie the entertaining so much as a suspicion of it For to speak and write the Truth was what they were obliged to not only by the Law of Nature to which all Men are alike
well be accounted a Martyr for the Testimony of Jesus no less than the other Apostles altho' he did not actually expire under his Sufferings as they did Now if it be supposed that a Man especially one who stands much upon his Credit may be willing after he has told a Lye to suffer a great Deal rather than own himself a Lyar tho' I think it cannot reasonably be supposed either that any Man would suffer so many other great Evils as the Apostles did only upon a Point of Honour or that the Apostles did stand so much upon their Honour yet when it is brought to this that a Man who has told a Lye must either retract it or die for it and that he may in all Probability save his Life by retracting it it is not to be supposed that any Man will be a Martyr for a known Falshood for it is a very true Saying and to which there is hardly any Exception tho' it was spoken by the Father of Lyes Job 2.4 that Skin for Skin yea all that a Man hath he will give for his Life 'T is not credible therefore that so much as one Man should be found so foolish as to sacrifice his Life to a known Lye and that too an unprofitable Lye to himself to his Family and to all The World and this only to save his Reputation It is much less credible that so many Men viz. all the Apostles and Evangelists and most if not all the rest of our Lord 's immediate Disciples should be guilty of such prodigious and unheard of Folly and it is least of all credible that among so many as there were that bore Witness of the Facts recorded in the Evangelical History not so much as one Man should be found that was honester and wiser than the rest not one that could be persuaded to give Glory to God by the Confession of his Fault and satisfaction to the World by a publick owning of the Cheat he had been engaged in not one that wou'd chuse to undergo the Disgrace of a Lyar rather than the shameful Death of a Malefactor These are in short the Evidences we have of the Honesty and Faithfulness of the Evangelical Historians those Evidences I mean which they themselves have given thereof and they are plainly as good as could be desired they are the best that could be given by Men. And putting together all that hath been said on this and the foregoing Heads now and in my last Discourse for the Proof of the Truth of the Evangelical History I think we may truly and confidently affirm that altho' we consider it only as a meer humane History we have much greater Reason to give Credit to it than to any History in the World besides But if we receive the witness of Men and who is there that does not 1 Joh. 5.9 the Witness of God is greater And therefore in Order to shew further that there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to the Evangelical Historians in their Relations of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded I proposed to be considered in the Fifth and last Place 5 The Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their History by God himself For what St. Paul says of his own was likewise true of the Speech and Preaching of all the other Apostles viz. That it was in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power 1 Cor. 2.4 5. that the Faith of their Hearers should not stand in the Wisdom of Men but in the Power of God And so St. Luke says Acts 4.33 With great Power gave the Apostles Witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus For at the same Time that they Witnessed the Miracles of their Master they gave Assurance to Men of the Truth of their Testimony by doing the like Miracles themselves healing the Sick casting out Devils raising the Dead c. just as Jesus himself had done And at the same time that pursuant to their Commission they preached the Gospel to Men of all Nations and Languages they plainly demonstrated both that they had such a Commission from God and that it was the Truth of God which they preached by speaking to every Man of every Nation in his own Tongue Thus as the Author to the Hebrews says Heb. 2.4 God did bear them Witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own Will And he might well say that God did hereby bear them Witness because that Power wherewith they were endued was so evidently from on high that none that saw their Works Luke 24.49 and considered withall the Purity and Excellence of the Doctrine of Christianity that was thereby establish'd could have any reasonable Doubt whether they were done by the Power of God or no. We know Joh. 3.2 said Nicodemus to our Saviour that thou art a Teacher sent from God for no Man can do the Miracles that thou doest except God be with him Joh. 14.12 But the same Works that Jesus did did his Disciples also after he had sent down the Promise of his Father upon them on the Day of Pentecost yea and greater Works than those did they do so that whoever beheld their Works might so far as Miracles are Evidences of a Divine Power be rather more certain that God was with them than Nicodemus could be that he was with our Lord himself For tho' their other Miracles that were of the same sort with those which our Saviour had done were such Proofs of Divine Assistance as could not with any Reason be gainsaid yet I think it may truly be affirm'd that the Gift of Tongues which was peculiar to them and wherein they did as we may say excell even our Lord himself was more convincing than any of them For he that saw one of their other Miracles might possibly entertain some little Doubt whether the Effect that appeared to him to be Miraculous might not yet be done by some secret Power of Natural Causes that was unknown to him But we all know the Power of Nature so well that we are sure the Knowledge of a Language cannot possibly be attained Naturally even by a Person of the quickest Parts and faithfullest Memory but in so much time at the least as it will necessarily take up to be told by Tutors or to learn from Lexicons what every particular word of the Language to be learnt is by the People of that Language designed to signifie because Words have not a Natural Relation to the Notions or Things thereby expressed but are meer arbitrary Signs thereof So that whoever knew the Education of the Apostles and that they were before altogether ignorant and unlearned and yet saw them every one on a sudden on the Day of Pentecost able to speak readily in all the Languages of all the Nations under Heaven from whence had come some of the Jews that were present at Jerusalem at that
Mat. 26.31 He told the rest of the Disciples that they would all forsake him when they every one profess'd themselves resolv'd to suffer with him Joh. 3.14.8.28.12.32 rather than leave him He signified before by what Death he should die and who should be instrumental therein Mat. 16.21.26.32.28.16 He assured his Disciples that after three Days he would rise again and appointed them a Place in Galilee where they should all see him He Prophesied that notwithstanding the Contempt he was had in and the greater Contempt that his ignominious Death would bring upon him his Religion should by their means a Company of poor illiterate Fishermen be preached with good success in all Parts of the World Mat. 24.14.3.19 He foretold likewise the utter Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Mat. 24. Mar. 13. Luk. 21. before that Generation passed away and the Dispersion of the Jews into all Nations And several other things which it would take up too much time now to mention he foretold should be just in that manner in which they afterwards came to pass Concerning which it may be noted that some of his Prophecies were fulfilled soon after they were spoken the punctual Accomplishment whereof was to those that both heard them spoken and saw them fulfilled an evident Proof of his Prophetical Spirit and a just Ground of expecting the Accomplishment of all his other Prophecies in their Season and that others were not to be fulfilled 'till a good while after the Accomplishment whereof at the time foretold and long after the Predictions thereof had been recorded by the Evangelists was a good Evidence to those that lived then and is also to us that live now and either read the Accomplishment thereof in History or see the same with our own Eyes that he was endued with a Divine Spirit and likewise takes away all reasonable Ground of a Suspicion which we might otherwise have had that in those Instances wherein both the Prophecy and the Accomplishment of it are related by the same Authors the Prophecies were forged after the Events were come to pass Now if this be true and it is certainly true if the Gospel-History be so that our Saviour did foretell many things which afterwards happened and those very casual and contingent things depending upon the free will of Men this was an evident token that he had a divine Spirit for none can certainly foretell such things but God only or those whom he enlightens with his Spirit And therefore the Prophet Isaiah made this Challenge to the Idols of the Heathens Isa 41.23 Shew the things that shall be hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods And if to this it should be objected that future Events have been sometimes foretold by such as have not been true Prophets of God nor enlightned by his Spirit as by Diviners Astrologers and South-Sayers and by the Oracles of the Heathens this may be granted without any weakning of the Argument I am now upon for the Proof of our Saviour's divine Mission For there may be some future Events upforeseen by us and yet depending so intirely upon the Course of Natural Causes that unless hindred by a Miracle they will as certainly come to pass as the Sun will rise tomorrow And these the Devil who understands much better than we do the Power and Course of Nature may foresee and consequently foretell and When such a thing is foretold we who understand very little of Nature may think it a Prophecy whereas in truth there is no more of a Prophetical Spirit in the Devil when he foretells such things than there is in a skilful Astronomer when he Calculates and foretells to a Minute for several Ages to come the Motions and Eclipses of the Sun Moon and Planets And even in future Contingencies 't is no wonder that the Events have sometimes verified the Predictions of the Devil and his Prophets for this also may well enough be accounted for without allowing that any Being hath a certain Foreknowledge of future Contingencies but God only if we do but suppose as we may very reasonably do that the Devil hath a perfecter Knowledge than we can have of the Counsels Intrigues and Interests of Men that he understands their Tempers and Inclinations that he hath lived a great while and made very exact observations that he hath had a long Experience of things and hath also a notable sagacity much beyond what is in any Man for so even a wise observing and experienc'd Man may without a Spirit of Prophecy see much further before him than Men commonly do and may foretell by a Guess that shall rarely fail a great many things which a less thinking and experienc'd Man would never have thought of And when the thing happens that was foretold it may be past the Skill of others to judge whether it was foretold by a Sagacious Guess or by a certain Foreknowledge of what would be And that the Predictions of Diviners and the Oracles of the Heathens concerning future Contingencies have been no more than only probable Conjectures unless when they have been borrowed from divine Prophecies as they may have often been is evident by their uncertain Accomplishment Some things indeed have happened as they have been foretold but others have not so happened and because the Devil could not always certainly tell what the Events of those things would be which he was Consulted with about he commonly gave out his Oracles in ambiguous Expressions that so whatever happen'd he might be thought to have foretold it And when the Predictions of any Person pretending to Prophecy have fail'd in some Instances tho' in others they have been accomplish'd this is a certain Argument that he did not Prophesie by a divine Spirit according to what is said Deut. xviii 21 22. If thou say in thine heart How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken When a Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Propheth hath spoken it presumptuously In which words it seems to be implied tho' it be not expresly said that if the thing foretold did come to pass and especially that if of many things which the Prophet had foretold and which could not be fore-known by the greatest Skill in Natural Causes such as are the Actions of a free Agent not one thing fail'd but his words were made good by the Event in every particular they might then depend upon it that he was a true Prophet except only in one Case mentioned in Deut. 13. Deut. 13.1 2 3. viz. When he made use of that Credit which the Accomplishment of his Predictions had gain'd him to draw Men from the Worship of the true and only God to the Worship of Idols And accordingly 't is observ'd in 1 Sam. iii. 19 20. that because the Lord did let none of Samuel's
my Father hath sent me so send I you and again Mat. xxviii 19 20. Go ye and disciple all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And that he had Authority to grant them such a Commission he shews in the words before All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations c. And 2. That they were taught by God and enlightned by his Holy Spirit is what can't be doubted if we believe the power of our Saviour and the Truth of the Gospel for before our Lord went from them Joh 20.22 he breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost And to what Purposes the Holy-Ghost was to be given them he had told them before Joh. 14.26 The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your Remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you And when he the Spirit of Truth is come Joh. 16.13 he will guide you into all Truth being thus therefore taught by the Spirit of Truth our Saviour might well say as he does Luke x. 16. He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me And 3. Lastly We have all the reason in the World to receive them as Messengers from God and to believe that all that they have taught is the Will of God because they had the same Attestation of God to the truth of their Doctrine that our Saviour himself had to his I do not mean that God did bear them Witness all those ways by which he bare witness to our Saviour for that could not be but he bare witness to them all those ways by which it was proper for him to do it and by which he had born witness to any former Prophets For he bare witness to them that they were sent by him Joh. 13.22.20 21. by the Testimony of our Saviour as he had done to our Saviour by the Testimony of John And if the Testimony of a Prophet was credible concerning our Saviour much more is the Testimony of the Son of God highly credible concerning a Messenger sent by him He bare witness to them also by enduing them with the Gift of Prophecy Joh. 16.13 for when the Spirit of Truth is come says our Saviour he will shew you things to come And lastly he bare witness to them by that which is the most plain and sensible proof of a divine Mission Mar. 16.20 viz. By the Power of Miracles and manifold Gifts of the Holy-Ghost The Lord worked with them and confirmed their word with Signs following says St. Mark And with great Power says St. Luke gave Acts 4.33 the Apostles witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus And the greater part of the History of the Acts of the Apostles is spent in relating the wonderful Works that they did by the Name of Jesus and the Power of the Holy-Ghost in confirmation of the Truth of their Doctrine But St. Paul perhaps it will be said of whose Writing are most of the Epistles was not one of them not called by our Saviour to be an Apostle as they were nor so much as an Eye and Ear-witness of our Lord's Miracles and Doctrine what Reason then have we to receive his Writings as Portions of Holy Scripture I answer as good tho' not in every particular just the same that we have to receive the Writings of the other Apostles as such For he was Converted and Ordain'd to be an Apostle in a more wonderful manner than they were as you may see in Acts 9. And as our Lord himself gave witness to their Divine Mission so he did also to his Acts ix 15. He is says our Lord a chosen Vessel unto me to bear my Name before the Gentiles and Kings and the Children of Israel To him also as well as to them Act. 20.22 25.27.10 22. 2 Th. 2.3 c. 1 Tim. 4.1 c. 2 Tim. 3.1 c. the Spirit foreshew'd things to come several Proofs of which we may observe in the History of the Acts and in his Epistles And Lastly His Speech and his Preaching was 1 Cor. 2.4 2 Cor. 12.12 as theirs in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power In him all the Signs of an Apostle were seen no less than in them viz. Signs and Wonders and mighty Deeds And of him with Barnabas in Company Acts 14.3 it is that St. Luke speaks when he says that the Lord gave Testimony to the word of his Grace and granted Signs and Wonders to be done by their Hands And the latter part of the History of the Acts from the 10th Chapter to the End contains little else but an account of St. Paul's Preaching and of the Miracles that were done by the Power of God to confirm the Truth of his Doctrine So that if we believe the Gospel-History we can no more doubt of his divine Mission and Inspiration than we can of theirs we must conclude that if they were Apostles so was he that if they were Ministers of Christ 2 Cor. 11.23 2 Cor. 11.5 2 Cor. 12.11 so was he too forasmuch as in nothing he was behind the very chiefest Apostles so that consequently we have as much Reason to believe his Writings to be Inspired as we have theirs And now by all that hath been said I hope I have fully made good the Point I was to prove viz. That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught whether by Christ himself or by his Apostles For if it be true that they were sent by God to instruct the World and to declare the Will of God to Mankind and that they were is sufficiently prov'd by their Credential Letters which we have now perused and examin'd we can no more doubt the truth of those things which they as the Messengers and Ambassadors of God have deliver'd to us in his Name than if we had heard God himself uttering the same by a Voice from Heaven So that I cannot but perswade my self that the Proofs which have been offer'd in the foregoing Discourse of the Truth of all the Doctrines that are taught in the New Testament are sufficient to convince any Rational and Considering Man of the Truth of any Doctrine the Falsity whereof is not Notorious and Self-evident And therefore this I think is the only thing that can with any shew of Reason be pretended by any Person to justifie his not receiving the Gospel as a divine Revelation viz. That the Matter of it in some Particulars is such as will not admit of any Proof at all because no Arguments can make a