Punishment God has taken away all the marks of his Alliance with them No distinction of their Tribes remain no observance of their legal Ceremonies no Priests no Altars no Sacrifices no Prophets nor Miracles in short there is no true Worship among them no God but angry and revenging their bloody impieties And which is most worthy of consideration the Romans that conquer'd them have lost their Empire and the Nations which were subdued by their Arms have recovered their Liberty But the Jews after sixteen hundred years are still miserable Now is not this Judgment of God upon them a dreadful proof of the extremity of their Wickedness in crucifying JESUS CHRIST and that consequently he was as he declar'd himself to be the Son of God and that his Office and Doctrine were from Heaven Never before did the Wrath of God break forth in such a fierce manner against a sinful Nation Therefore 't is represented under the Image of the final Doom when Justice arm'd with flames shall devour the Ungodly and the whole World become a Theatre of Terrors And never was any other Nation guilty of such an high provocation for the Son of God descended but once among Men to be personally crucified The singularity of the punishment is a visible instructive sign of their transcendent Crime Immediately upon their pronouncing the capital Sentence against him on Earth their utter Ruine was pronounc'd in Heaven And the execution of the Sentence was deferr'd no longer but till the Elect of that People were brought in and by the Preaching and excellent Miracles of the Apostles the Resurrection of Christ and the truth of the Gospel were confirm'd and thereby a beginning and form given to the new Christian Church Now they have written on their foreheads in very legible characters the Fatal Curse which their Fathers pronounc'd concerning Jesus Christ His Blood be on Us and our Children When with indignation for their Idolatry broke the Tables of the Law God reestablish'd them but when for a greater guilt God himself broke them there is no possible Redintegration If it be said that 't is not necessary to attribute this Ruine of the Jews to the particular Vengeance of God but only to the Instability of humane things wherein such disastrous Revolutions sometimes happen I answer That although Divine Justice was so visible in their astonishing Destruction that Titus himself refus'd a Triumphal-Crown after his compleat Victory declaring that he was but the Instrument of God's Anger who was the Invisible Emperor in that bloody Expedition yet to force an acknowledgment of it from all that are not wilfully blind it was foretold when the Jews were in peace and their killing the Messiah specified as the Meritorious Cause wherein that terrible Effect was included Thus our Saviour in the Parable of the Husbandmen and Vineyard after they had put to death the Master's Son he adds What shall therefore the Lord of the Vineyard do He will come and destroy the Husbandmen and give the Vineyard to others And upon his drawing near to the City of Jerusalem he wept over it saying If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes For the days shall come upon thee that thine Enemies shall cast a Trench about thee and compass thee round and keep thee in on every side and shall lay thee even with the Ground and shall not leave in thee one stone upon another because thou knewest not the time of thy Visitation This was also foretold by Moses in all the terrible Circumstances The Lord shall bring a Nation against thee from far from the end of the Earth as swift as the Eagle flyeth a Nation whose Tongue thou shalt not understand a Nation of fierce countenance which shall not regard the person of the old nor shew favour to the young and he shall eat the fruit of thy Cattel and the fruit of thy Land until thou be destroyed which also shall not leave thee either Corn Wine or Oyl or the encrease of thy Kine or flocks of thy Sheep until he have destroyed thee And he shall besiege thee in all thy Gates throughout all thy Land which the Lord thy God hath given thee in the Siege and in the straitness wherewith thine Enemies shall distress thee Such was the Threatning and the Event was correspondent in all the degrees of misery Which as it demonstrates the truth of the Prophecy so it may instruct us how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God 3. The converting of the Gentile World to the saving Knowledg of God by the Messiah was foretold in the Scriptures The beams of this glorious Truth were gradually dispens'd to the Israelites as their weak understandings could sustain it When the Covenant was made with Abraham God declared in express terms In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the World be blessed That Seed was the Messiah not the people of the Jews descended from Abraham for they were so far from being a universal Blessing to the World that on the contrary they vainly presum'd that God for their sakes despis'd the rest of Mankind And indeed before the coming of Christ they were an inclosed Garden the peculiar People of God and without the compass of Judea Sin reign'd absolutely and universally Now that Promise clearly signifies that the Favour and Blessing of God that he conferr'd upon Abraham in making known to him his Will and promising to be his God and of his Posterity should one day be extended to all Nations by calling them to his Knowledg and Service To this agrees the Prophesie of Jacob The Scepter shall not depart from Juda nor the Law-giver from between his feet till Shilo come and to him shall the gathering of the People be that is the Gentiles shall be converted from their Idols to the true God by the Messiah whom the Jews acknowledg to be signified by that Title And Moses introduces God as complaining of the Idolatry and Ingratitude of the Jews and declaring They have moved me to jealousie with that which is not God they have provoked me to anger with their vanities and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a People and I will provoke them to anger with a foolish Nation The external Covenant between God and his People is represented by the union of Marriage to signifie the Duty they owe to God the highest honour the most ardent affections and the benefits they receive from him Therefore when the Jews gave Divine Adoration the highest respects of Religion to Idols they provok'd God to jealousy and he threatens he would break his Alliance with them and give his Heart and Love to those which were not a People And by the Law of Counter-Passion they should be provok'd to Jealousy 'T is very visible these expressions signify the calling of the Gentiles And
shall we goithou hast the words of Eternal Life CHAP. III. The External proofs of the truth of Christian Religion considered Miracles are only perform'd by God Why Christianity was confirm'd by them The number of Christs Miracles the manner of his performing them and their certainty consider'd The Miracles done by Christ to confirm his Doctrine are an authentick Testimony that God approved it The pretence of Libertines that the Heathen Religion was confirm'd by Miracles clearly disprov'd The rational assurance we have that the Apostles were sincere and certain of the Miraculous things related by them of Jesus Christ. His Resurrection attested by sufficient evidence VVE are next to consider those external proofs of the truth of Christianity the works of God himself that seal our full assurance of it I shall instance in two Miracles and the accomplishment of Prophecies 1. A Miracle is a supernatural work that requires an extraordinary Divine Power to effect it For none can derogate from the Universal Laws of Nature prescribed from the beginning of things and time but the Author of it Indeed we do not exactly know the compass of that Circle wherein the spirits of darkness excercise their power They may by the application of natural means unknown to us produce things that may astonish or by lying Wonders deceive Men but a true Miracle is a work reserv'd to God and possibly to no less than Infinite Power Whether it be a first or second Creation the forming a new Eye or the giving a visive power to that that was naturally blind it can only be done by his hand If we respect Omipotency there is the same facility if the thing done there is the same difficulty in the performance If the Devils had such a power they might create a separate Kingdom and reign there Now Miraculous Testimonies were given to confirm Christianity that there might be a just correspondence between its Doctrines and their Proofs The mysteries of the Gospel in their existence are above all natural power and in their belief above the natural understanding All that Nature can do or know does not make them credible Therefore 't was requisit those things should be confirm'd by the Divine Power that transcend the comprehension of humane Reason Besides as the Mysteries of the Gospel are sublime so the Rewards are future and that the Gentiles might not pretend that the Preachers of the Gospel feign'd another World and a Heaven and a Hell wherein the Souls and Bodies of Men shall be glorified or tormented according to their actions in this life supernatural Evidence of the truth of those Promises and Threatnings was necessary In short herein the Divine Goodness appeared That as the true Religion is necessary to the Salvation of all Men so 't was discernible by such signs as may convince all For upon the sight of those Divine Works the simplest people were led by the outward Sense to an inward firm Faith in Jesus Christ. These things being premised I will take a brief view of the Miracles wrought by our Saviour to give Faith to his Doctrine 'T is recorded of Moses who was a type of Christ that after his familiar converse with God as a Man with his Friend descending from the Mount his Face shone with such an excessive brightness as it were by reflection from the Face of God that coming to the Israelites to deliver to them the Divine Laws he was fain to cover it with a vail yet some rays of that miraculous splendor were visible through that mysterious Vail to assure them it was Moses himself that directed and govern'd them according to God's Will Thus when the Son of God came down from the Heaven of Heavens to instruct the World he shaded the light of the Deity with a vail of Flesh yet he was not so absolutely concealed under his humanity but that from time to time some beams of the Divine Nature appear'd in works so proper to God that the Apostle says We saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten Son of God In the representation of our Saviours Miracles by the Evangelists we may consider their number and variety his manner of performing them and the certainty of them 1. Their number and variety He went about all Galilee healing all manner of sicknesses and diseases even the most incurable the Blind the Deaf the Lame the Paralitic the Hydropic the Leprous the Lunatic were cured He rais'd the Dead and cast out Devils Besides his miraculous feeding so many thousands his commanding the enraged Winds and Seas to be still and a great calm followed His Transfiguration before his Disciples when the Beauty of Heaven descended on his Countenance to be there more beautiful discover'd the sensible Presence of the Deity in him 2. The manner of his performing them is very considerable They were done in an instant by absolute dominion over Nature Thus when he said to the Leper I will be thou clean immediately his Leprosy was cleansed Thus when the faithful Centurion addrest himself to him only speak the word and my Servant shall be healed He answered Be it done unto thee as thou believest and his Servant was healed c. both expressions of Command and Empire And his words to the Blind-Man Receive thy Sight had the same creating efficacy with those Let there be Light and there was Light Thus with Authority he commanded the unclean Spirits even the most furious and obstinate and they were expelled from those Mansions wherein they had revelled a long time Thus by the mere Act of his Will he revers'd the order of Nature When the Widows Son was carrying to the Grave He only said Young Man I say unto thee Arise and he that was dead sate up and began to speak Now in this respect the power of Miracles in Jesus Christ was transcendent above that that either Moses or the Prophets or the Apostles had 'T was derived to them by favour and commission from an extrinsick superiour principle the Omnipotence of God but 't was inherent in his Person the natural proper Attribute of his Deity and prov'd Him to be the Son of God the Lord of Nature visible in humane flesh In all places this blessed Vertue proceeded from Him 3. The certainty of his performing them was so great that no shadow of suspicion could remain about it Vitruvius the Master of Architects gives advice to those who built Temples to Aesculapius or any other of the Heathen Deities that were invocated by the Sick that they should choose such places as were open to the most favourable Aspects and Influences of the Heavens where there was a well-temper'd Soil clear Air pure Springs of Water that Diseased-Persons coming from unhealthyplaces might obtain Recovery and what was the benefit of Nature might be attributed to the Divine Vertue of Aesculapius Thus that Idolater counsel'd for the honour of his false Gods But in this he judged aright that the power of the Deity was believed
errour does not lessen its benign influences still it shines and causes the Spring and Autumn 'T is of little importance that a Philosopher is deceiv'd in his search after the principles of mixt bodies for notwithstanding his mistake Animals still live and move and perform all the Functions sutable to their Nature But in Judgments that respect matters of Fact if the Truth cannot be known by testimonys the civil felicity cannot long subsist For the unjust distribution of Rewards and Punishments is necessarily ruinous to the Being of the State And is it credible the Divine Providence that reaches to the smallest parts of the World in such an admirable manner should leave the conduct of humane affairs even of the greatest moment to a deceitful Light And that after the most diligent search and caution has been used the result should be only wavering Conjectures This imagination is extreamly injurious to his Wisdom and Goodness In particular if we consider the Number and the Quality of the Witnesses of Christ's Resurrection and the Circumstances of their Testimony we shall have so clear conviction of its truth as may induce us most firmly to believe it I do not now speak of a Divine Faith that supernatural Light that makes us acquiesce in things because God has reveal'd them but of a rational humane Faith grounded on just and powerful motives which is preparatory for the Divine 1. The Law admits two Witnesses as a competent number in Causes of greatest moment Of this there were many The approved Integrity of a Witness gives weight to his Testimony as on the contrary a known Lyar forfeits his Credit so entirely that he is not believed when he speaks true When Demades the Orator addrest himself to the Athenians I call all the Gods and Goddesses to witness the truth of what I shall say The Athenians often abused by his impudent Lyes presently interrupted him And we call all the Gods and Goddesses to witness we will not believe you The bare word of an Honest Man in an important matter perswades more than the most exquisite Oaths and far-fetch'd Imprecations by which a Lyar would give credit to his Imposture Now we have strong proof of the Integrity of the Apostles If an inflexible Fidelity and constant Truth were qualities so remarkable in the Community of the Primitive Christians that the Pagan Judges themselves were constrained to acknowledg it certainly they were found more eminently in those by whose Doctrine and Example they form'd themselves And as it is impossible to possess this Vertue so strictly united to Justice in an excellent degree without having all the others so 't is evident they were adorn'd with all moral Vertues For their lives were above the least reproach and charge of their implacable enemies so that they were fain to make express Laws against their Profession to render them guilty in Appearance Besides the circumstances of their Testimony make it very valuable 1. 'T was not built on the report of others Mere hear-say is very deceitful and often like a Contagion passes from Ear to Ear and blasts the Reputation of the Innocent with easy and credulous persons But a Testimony from sight makes impression on the belief of wise considering Men. Now we have undoubted Assurance of Christ's Resurrection from the clear and concurrent deposition of their Senses What we have heard and what we have seen with our eyes and what we have handled of the Word of Life saith the Apostle St. John 2. The uniformity of their Testimony renders it convincing If any material contradiction be between Witnesses 't is an infallible mark of their Forgery But the Apostles agreed not only in the substance but in the particularity of the Fact In vain Porphiry and Julian rack'd their Wits to find some contrariety in their Relations An impartial Inquirer must acknowledge all their Objections to be mere Cavils and effects of Malice 3. There were no motives to corrupt them For the humane will is naturally moved either by attraction of some Good or aversion from some Evil. A Fiction is not maintain'd for pure love of it self but with respect to either of those objects whether real or in appearance The Roman Histories report that Julius Proculus solemnly swore that he saw Romulus ascend to Heaven but the motive of his Imposture is visible for it was to prevent a great disorder among the People But 't is very evident that nothing desirable in the World had the least influence upon the Apostles Nay on the contrary whatever was terrible to Nature discourag'd them They suffer'd all temporal evils even Death it self for this Testimony And this last proof confirms all the others They are called Martyrs by way of excellency who have seal'd the Truth with their Blood Now what can be added to give us full and entire Faith in their Testimony In great and difficult Cases suspected Persons are put to Torture for the discovery of Truth The Apostles were tryed by the sharpest Sufferings yet declar'd the Resurrection of their Divine Master with unfainting perseverance What shadow of doubt can remain after such clear evidence of their sincerity Let sober Reason judge whether the matter is capable of proof more strong and convincing If it be said they were deceived with an Illusion either being distemper'd or in a dream both the pretences are most absur'd and incredible For the operations of the External Senses may be infallibly discern'd by their proper caracters from those of the Imaginations Indeed if the mind be in disorder either from some more fixed and tenacious cause or from sleep the influences of Reason are suspended or only some faint rays appear and are suddenly extingush'd so that it can make no true judgment of things In this state the Imagination draws all the vigour of the Soul to it self and the Phantasms are made so bright by the heat of the Spirits in the brain that those painted Scenes seem to be as real as the substantial objects we see hear and touch But sound Reason can reflect upon it self and extend its veiw to the operations of all the other faculties and observe the just and certain difference between Chimaeras in the imagination and things really existant It comprehends distinctly and with assurance that it is not disturb'd and that the Internal and External Senses are dispos'd for their regular operations It considers that the Pageants of Fancy moving in a dream vanish in a moment upon waking But real effects perceiv'd by the Senses in their full exercise are more constant and durable One may be wounded in a dream yet feel not loss of blood or strength when he is awake But the wounds received in a Combat are sometimes rebellious against the most potent remedies Now to apply this to the present subject Is it in the least degree probable that a vain shadow in a dream should make an indelible impression on the memories of the Apostles and their waking thoughts should
and the Redeemer of the World This I will briefly open There are three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy-Ghost and these three are one And there are three that bear witness in Earth The Spirit and the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one All the Divinity gave testimony of this important Truth The Father not only by the Miracles wrought by his Power to confirm the Mission of Christ but which is here principally intended by a voice from Heaven First at his Baptism This is my well-beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And at his Transfiguration before some of his Disciples a Shining Cloud the sign of the Divine Presence encompast them and a voice came forth of the Cloud This is my well beloved Son hear him Upon this glorious Voice they were struck with such an impression of fear that they fell on their faces And when our Saviour near his Passion prayed Father glorifie thy Name a voice came from Heaven I have glorified it and will glorifie it Now can there remain any doubt after such an high attestation from the most Soveraign Authority The Son also besides the perfect holiness of his life the exquisite Wisdom of his Doctrine the Wonders of his Works his Resurrection from the dead that were authentick proofs of his Celestial Person and Calling after his Ascension gloriously appear'd from Heaven in diverse Visions to the Preachers of his Gospel To Saul in his Journey to Damascus calling to him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me It is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks This is an unexceptionable testimony that he is the Son of God being risen from the dead and returned to Heaven from whence he thus discover'd himself Now that this was real and no fantastick illusion is evident by the marvelous effects of it Those who were companions in the journey were seiz'd with great terror and himself struck blind by the overpowering splendor of the Apparition But especially the effects of it upon his Soul are convincing who it was that spake to him For Saul was by Sect a Pharisee that of all others most passionately adher'd to the Jewish Religion by Temper hot and violent by Profession a persecutor of the Christians One that breathed forth Threatning and Slaughter that excited the Fury of the High-Priests sollicited their Cruelty In short a fierce spirit that envied Nero the title of the first Persecutor of the Church Yet this Man by this Vision and Voice from Heaven of a furious Persecutor in an instant became a zealous Apostle of a Wolf became a Pastor He presently exprest his entire submission Lord what wilt thou have me to do There is nothing so hard to do nothing so dreadful to suffer but I will readily undertake for thine honour and the propagating thy Truth Now from whence came this Change so strange so new in a person confirm'd in the opposite party from whence this resignation of will so entire and perfect so unexpected and sudden What gave him courage to contradict to their faces the High-Priests whose instrument he was and declare that Jesus whom they called a Deceiver was the Son of God and their Judge What animated him to appear before Kings and Emperours to testifie this dangerous Truth What made him with unparallel'd activity with the most ardent affections propagate the Gospel and after a thousand perils by Sea and Land a thousand disgraces and injuries at last to confirm the Faith of Christ with his Blood It is therefore past all contradiction that he had the greatest assurance that the Son of God spake to him Another Vision of the WORD from Heaven was to St. John when he was pleas'd to reveal to him the future state of his Church its Combats and Victories He then appear'd in a form expressive of his Majesty Power and Providence requisite for the ordering all the great Events that should befal it And said I am the first and the last I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I live for ever and have the Keys of Hell and of Death wherein he appropriates to himself the incommunicable titles of the Deity and then declares those two astonishing Miracles that the Prince of Life that had an Eternal Principle of it in himself was dead and that one who had been dead was alive This Riddle the Gospel unfolds The Son of God was made Man and by that admirable union allied Eternity and Time Life and Death together As 't is a common form of speech that a Man dies when the Body is depriv'd of Life though the Soul be immortal So it was true the Son of God died when his Body was crucified though he was uncapable of the least diminution of his Divine life And after three days he rose by the Divine Power to enjoy an Immortal Life And have the Keys of Hell and Death The irresistible force of Death all Men must yield to and from the Grave there 's no redemption by finite power But Jesus Christ has Soveraign Authority and Power to open the Grave and raise the Dead to an happy Immortality This glorious Appearance made St. John to fall as dead at his Feet and could not recover himself till assured by the reviving words of his favour The Spirit also appear'd from Heaven to give Testimony concerning the divine Person and Office of Christ First by descending as a Dove on him when he was baptised This was the completion of the Prophecy The Spirit of the Lord is upon me He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the Poor to publish Deliverance to the Captives And in the second of the Acts the Spirit descended in the form of Fiery Tongues upon the Apostles to qualifie them for preaching the Gospel to the World And 't is worthy of observation that the Apostles were before this very defective in Wisdom and Courage so that their Divine Master though Goodness it self yet tax'd them for their stupidity and in his Sufferings they all forsook him But after the effusion of the Spirit upon them they were endowed with that admirable Wisdom and Resolution that nothing could gainsay and overcome They presently spake in various Languages the things concerning Iesus Christ that the World was astonish'd and many converted by this Testimony from God for the honour of our Saviour and others confounded in their obstinacy Now since this miraculous descent of the Spirit was to ratify the Promise that he made to them If I go away I will send to you another Comforter What more clear and valuable Testimony can we have that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World If Infidelity should reply If we had heard these Voices and seen those glorious Visions we should be convinc'd but what assurance have we there is no deceit in these Relations I answer There never was clearer Grounds of the belief of any thing done without the compass of our own senses than of what
the Apostles testify as hath been evidently proved before And certainly as those who saw and heard those things were by the Divine Characters in the external Objects and by their efficacy on their Spirits fully perswaded they were not deceived so we have as strong proofs that they did not deceive us in their Reports I shall briefly consider the other Testimonies And there are Three that bear witness in Earth the Spirit and the Water and the Blood and these Three agree in one The Spirit is to be considered in two different manners in the Testimonies attributed to him either in respect of those Representations by a Dove and Fiery Tongues or in respect of his Vertues and Influences communicated to the Christian Church The first was his Testimony from Heaven The second his Testimony on Earth And these were his Extraordinary Gifts so liberally dispens'd at the first preaching of the Gospel To one was given by the Spirit the Word of Wisdom to another the Word of Knowledge to another Faith that is extraordinary confidence in the Divine Power for the producing Miraculous Effects to another the Gift of Healing to another the working of Miracles to another Prophecy to another Discerning of Spirits to another divers kinds of Tongues to another the Interpretation of Tongues Now because these Operations more eminently declare the Presence and Power of the Spirit than his ordinary Graces they are called by that name For understanding the second Witness the Water two things are observable 1. That in the Rituals of Moses's frequent Washings were enjoyned for the purifying of the Iews from Legal Pollutions contracted by them And as those Corporal Stains were Resemblances of the vitious habits of the mind so the cleansing by Water was typical of sanctifying Grace that purifies the heart And for this Reason under the New Covenant to represent the sanctification of Christians by an outward sign Baptism in Water was appointed 2. The Apostle John in the Narrative of the Sufferings of Christ tells us that a Souldier pierced his Side with a Spear so that Blood and Water came out This is not recited by S. John merely as a circumstance of the History or as a certain proof of his Death but the following words He that saw this testifies it and his Testimony is worthy of belief and he knows that he says true that you may believe declare it to be of singular consequence And accordingly he says that our Saviour came by Water and Blood with respect to that which was done at his Crucifixion which was so ordered by Divine Wisdom for high ends that is the Water issuing out of his Side was a fit Emblem of that Sanctifying Grace that is given to all that have Communion with him in his Death 3. For the Testimony of the Blood 't is also to be observed that by the Mosaic Institution daily Sacrifices were offered up and a most solemn one by the High-Priest in the day of Atonement to expiate the guilt of Ceremonial Uncleanness and to restore those who for that were excluded from external Communion with God in the Sanctuary Now as that legal guilt arising from those outward pollutions and the separation of those who were so polluted from the Service of God was a representation of the Moral Guilt and Punishment that follows the vitious habits and actions of Men so the shedding the Blood of the Sacrifice and Offering was typical of the true Propitiation that was to be made by the Blood of Christ. And this is peculiarly remark'd by the Apostle that Iesus came not only by Water but by Water and Blood and 't is the Spirit that testifies of it and the Spirit is the Truth By which we must understand something distinct from the former i. e. that the flowing of his Blood signified the reconciling efficacy of his Death by satisfying Divine Justice and consequently the remission of Sins given to those who believe in him Now briefly to shew the force of their conspiring Testimony that Jesus is the Son of God and our Redeemer These things may be considered absolutely in themselves or as the accomplishment of the Prophecies concerning the Messiah In the last respect they affor'd us a great assurance of this Truth For all was expresly foretold And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God I will pour out of my Spirit upon all Flesh and your Sons and your Daughters shall prophesie and your young Men shall see Visions and your old Men shall dream Dreams And on my Servants and Hand-Maidens I will pour out in those dayes of my Spirit and they shall prophesie This promise was universally acknowledged to refer to the coming of the Messiah For that of Water that is Sanctification not only the washing under the Law were figures of it but 't was also clearly prophesied of in many places and most expresly in Ezekiel I will sprinkle clean Water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness will I cleanse you A new Heart also will I give you and a new Spirit will I put within you and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes And for the third Testimony besides that the typical Blood of the Messiah ran down from all the Sacrifices it was also foretold expresly by Esaiah what his Sufferings should be and the Benefits accruing from them Now if we compare the Oracle with the event who can justly doubt that the Messiah is come But if we consider the things themselves they afford an uncontroulable Testimony of Christ's Divine Mission Compare the Primitive Church either with the Jews or the Gentiles and see the difference between them The Spirit that was communicated but as it were in a few drops to the Jews after the Ascension of Christ fell in a main showr upon the Christian Church inriching them with supernatural gifts some favoured with Revelations of Sublime Truths above the discovery of the human Understanding some foretelling things to come that were beyond the discovery of the most sharp sighted Reason some speaking diverse Languages wherein they had never been instructed some having such an extraordinary Faith in the Divine Power and Goodness that innumerable Miracles were done by them in the name of Christ. If we look into the state of the Gentiles how thick and prodigious was the darkness that overspread that Chaos of Impiety In the Roman Empire that compriz'd the flower of Wit and Learning what foolish and extravagant opinions of the Deity were cōmonly received What Idolatries what Impurities what Abominations were freely practised But by the preaching of the Gospel how clearly were the minds of Men instructed in the true Knowledg of God And what a change was made in their Lives ' The World that was as a barren Desart was suddenly chang'd into a Paradise fruitful in all good works Innocence Humility Purity Justice Charity Love to God Resignation to his Will were eminently visible in all
supernatural light could not be dispell'd 2. They were ambitious of superiority every great Spirit was desirous to raise a Sect to act the part of a King in the Scene of Fame Now by propounding a new Object as the blessedness of Man they had the reputation of soveraign Masters 3. They drew a Picture of happiness every one according to their different conceptions and desires Epicurus set up the pleasure of Sense as the chief object And that Reason might be flexible to his inclinations that his Roses might have no Prickles to prevent any melancholly reflections after carnal enjoyments he denied the Divine Providence and the future state 'T is said by some in his favour that he intended a calm and peaceful temper of mind a felicity refin'd from the dregs of sensuality For this they alledge Epicurus himself depreciating carnal pleasures and extolling Vertue as the great composer of the Soul But in vain they wash this voluptuous Swine For 1. Those Sentences of a more noble and generous strain might as flashes of Lightning from a black Cloud break forth of his Conscience in the midst of the darkness that cover'd it yet Sense might be his predominent Principle 2. He was a crafty Spirit and made use of some beautiful expressions to lessen the horror that his Doctrine nakedly proposed would cause in sober Persons Sometimes he speaks with a grave air as a Philosopher That true happiness consists in the pleasures of the mind At other times That there is no solid happiness but what might be tasted and enjoyed by the Senses He was a Polititian and would not scandalise the severe nor alienate the dissolute from him Tully observes that the secrets of his School the pernicious lessons of sensuality were not communicated to all But those who had intimate conversation with him had a free indulgence for their lusts Aristotle places happiness in all the perfections of the Body and Mind with the confluence of all External things as necessary Ingredients of it But this only respects Man in the present state in the World and were his opinion true yet his description would cause despair of obtaining that happiness For how could any single Person expect an entire union of all such perfections in himself as are not to be found in all Men together The Stoicks asserted felicity to consist only in Vertue But this is contrary to Reason Humanity For the union of the Physical good with the Moral is requisite to give satisfaction to the faculties of man ‖ Plato and his followers in whom Natural Reason ascended as high as in any of the Gentiles had a glimpse of the true blessedness of Man as consisting in his likeness to God and the enjoyment of him But their knowledge was shadowed with much ignorance their hopes mixt with doubtful fears They had rather suspicious and wandring desires than solid apprehensions and firm expectations of it Briefly no sparks struck out of humane intellectuals were sufficient to give light or heat to direct in the clear way and to animate against the intervening difficulties that hinder Men in the pursuit of blessedness This was the state of the Pagan World till Light and Immortality were brought to light through the Gospel The quality of this life is therein revealed 't is a pure and holy felicity consisting in the perpetual exercise of the most excellent actions the intelligent Nature is capable of That is in the perfect Knowledge and Love and Praises of God himself The subject of it is the intire Man for this end the Body shall be rais'd from its dead sleep to an eternal Life The place is the highest Heavens fram'd by the Divine power for the seat of his Majesty the Kingdom of his Love wherein he will manifest himself to his Favourits And can there be a stronger attractive a more noble inducement to make us holy Secular rewards as Riches and Honours and the like are extrinsecal to the nature of Goodness and to do our duty with such low aims and expectations is to be defective in the best part of it the love of Vertue for its inherent excellence But the Divine reward is the perfection of Holiness the glory of the Soul and the belief and regard of it has a powerful influence to make us truly good The Faith in this makes us victorious over all the charms and all the cruelties of the World For what can possibly come into competition with a happiness infinite in its greatness and duration I will only add that though Heaven be so rich a Jewel that it needs no foil to set off its lustre to those who are clear sighted to behold it yet in a merciful compassion to Man the Gospel reveals what will be the recompence of wilful continued disobedience an eternal Hell wherein the Justice and Power of God are terribly glorified And what is more powerful to excite the sensual and secure who despise the blessed hope than the fear of an Immortal Death Now after this short delineation of the Christian Religion let Reason judg whether 't is the invention of Men. The Doctrine of it shines with so clear an evidence the Precepts are so pure able to inspire us with true Holiness the Promises are so Divine that every one who does not wilfully shut his eyes or turn them to other things may discern its original to be from above that it comes from the Fountain of Wisdom Holiness and Goodness What are all the productions of the Earth to this sacred Present of Heaven If there be any shadow of Vertue in other Religions here the reality is in the highest perfection and separate from all vicious mixtures Christianity enjoyns universal sincerity and purity of Heart and Life It instructs Man to appear what he is by an humble acknowledgment of his sinful unworthiness and to be what he appears by an inward love and real practice of that Religion of which he makes a publick profession It impresses a more noble Character upon moral Vertues by enjoyning them from a principle of love to God and directing their performance to his Glory than Philosophy did that commanded them only as agreeable to humane reason What are all the most beautiful excitations of Philosophy to the high motives of the Gospel To apply our selves to the Writings of the wisest Heathens in order to our happiness and to neglect the Scriptures is to he guilty of worse folly than the barbarous Indians at Mexico who though their Woods abounded with Wax the labour of the Bees yet only made use of Brands that afforded a little light with a great deal of smoak Upon the most impartial inquiry and exact search Reason will conclude either there is no blessed end for which Man was design'd by his Maker or the Gospel only has reveal'd it and the effectual means to obtain it So that we must say with the zeal and affection of the Apostles to Jesus Christ Lord to whom