these qualifications as we have also seen took away all cause of suspition that the Prophets either were deceived or had a design to deceive others in their Prophecies And besides that either by Predictions or Miracles they gave such evidence of a Prophetick spirit as could possibly come from none but God and therefore in Motives of credibility a Word of Prophecy doth far exceed a Voice from Heaven because for ought we know the Prince of the power of the Air may deceive us with something like it or the pretended hearers of it were it may be themselves deceived or had a design to deceive others Since then Christ and his Apostles as we have largely proved were a sort of Prophets that most eminently had all the qualifications requisite to the spirit of Prophecy and both by Predictions and Miracles gave thâ— clearest evidence that ever the World had of it we have the highest reason whereof a Revelation is capable most firmly to believe the doctrine that they have taught us What though the mystery of Godliness be as without controversie it is very great yet the Theists of our Age have no reason on that account to disbelieve it for though peâ—haps it is reasonable to expect that our Religion should befriend our Reason yet not so far as to make it the Rule and measure of Divine Revelation the reason is because the divine Intellect is infinite and ours finite although therefore without an experiment or other demonsâ—ration there seems to be no obligation on us firmly to assâ—nt to any thing in Philosophy yet are we not permitted to be such Virtuosâ— in Religion The reason is because things in themselves uncapable of a demonstration are revealed with a command to beliâ—ve and we ought not to make them a râ—morâ— to our Belief for as after all our Searches into Nature and greatest Discoveries of things therein we are forced to confess there may be more in her dark bosome than we can discover and we on that account have no reason to deny the Being of Nature so also in things revealed if after all our hardest study we cannot comprehend them we thereupon have no reason to deny the Being of them because God who hath made may also reveal things that pass our Understanding if therefore there be evidence sufficient to convince the Understanding as in the case now before us there is that the Revelation came from God there is no reason on the account of its mysteries to reject it And indeed the mysteries of Christianity are so far from giving just occasion of Unbelief as that they are apt to strengthen our Faith in it for the Gospel teaching us to glorifie God in our Spirits as well as Bodies it is very reasonable and convenient that it should require us to honour Him by the Submission of our Understandings to indemonstrabâ—e Revelations as well as by the Obedience of our Hearts and Lives unto his Laws and therefore as it is fitting for us to obey the divine Law though our Wills reluct never so much against it so also is it for us to believe whatever God hath revealed thoughâ— never so improbable to our Understandings for unless we do so we shall undoubtedly fall short of our Duty which in this Case without dispute is to tread in the steps of our Father Abraham who gave Glory to God by being so strong in Faith as to believe that That was impossible in Nature and therefore incredible unto Reason If we will believe no more than what we can demonstrate to be true our Assent is not Faith but Science for it is not built upon the Foundation of Gods Testimony but on Demonstrations from the Nature of the things testified and so it honours not God at all because it receives not the Truth for His sake but Him for the Truths sake and so it pays no respect to his Word but only to our own Ratiocination But forasmuch as the mind assents to Testimony as well as Reason and the divine Prerogative extends it self to the whole Man that Religion that becomes God and it is suitable to Man must have somthing in it to exercise this his innate Power about and for this Cause the Mysteries of Christianity ought to be looked on as a Motive to believe rather than to reject it for were there no Mysteries in it we should have some Reason to entertain a Temptation to think that it is not of God because whatsoever else we are assured there is hath somthing in it that exceeds the reach of our Reason yea and Conjecture too for if we contemplate the Works of Creation things that we dayly see and handle which â—eem to lye level with our Understandings yet after our most accurate Researches into their nature we shall find that the most piercing Judgment or profoundest Reason is not able to solve all the Phaenomena or attain to a perfect knowledg of them And who is there that observes well the Dispensations of divine Providence but may therein find such Riddles as his Reason cannot unfold Such Mysteries as baffle his Understanding and confound his Curiosity in his enquiring after the cause of them The Ends and Reasons of Gods proceedings with Men although always most Just and Righteous yet very often are so secret and hidden as that they convince us his Judgments are unsearchable and his ways past finding out And from the Works of Creation and Providence results a Natural Religion the chief Principle whereof we know is That there is a Being Infinite in all Perfections this is the Dictate of Reason as well as Conscience yet Reason cannot fâ—thome the depth of it for it hath only a Negative conception of Infinity and whatever there is that it hath no Conception of doth undoubtedly surpass its reach and Comprehension so that Natural Theology as well as revealed hath its Mysteries if therefore Christianity had none how unlike would it be to all things else in the world that have God for their Authour How just a prejudice would this be to the reception of it as divine Truth and Revelation Who would believe it to be of God when he sees nothing that surpasseth Man in it How decent then and useful are the Mysteries of Christianity Since they make it like to all things else of Gods making they beautifie and adorn it with fairer Characters than otherwise it would have of Gods Image on it and the fairer the Characters of His Image are upon it the more Legible is his Truth in it for infiniteness of Truth is inseparable from right Reasons Idea of Deity and where there is infiniteness of Truth there is no possibility of a Lye Mistake or Deceit and where these are excluded there is no room for Hesitance or doubting but the strongest Reason imaginable to believe Since therefore our Chriâ—â—ian Faith hath the impression of Gods Image on it and the Word of Prophecy revealed it it is most highly reasonable to believe it Sect. 5.
And since such is the Reason that we have most firmly to believe the Doctrine that Christ and his Apostles have taught us such also we have most stedfastly to hope in the Promises that they have made us for Hope being the expectation and waiting of Faith ariseth out of it and hath itâ— growth with it although the Object of Hope be some difficultly attainable future good thing yet Faith receiving the promises of it puts us upon expecting and waiting for it if therefore it be reasonable for us to believe the Promises of the Gospel it is also Reasonable for us to hope for the Accomplishment of them The Hope of a Christian is not like our Golden Dreams which vanish when we awake but it is such an expectation of good things not seen as will indure the Test of the severest Reason for it is founded on the Promises of the Gospel and these Promises made by the Spirit of Prophecy in Christ and his Apostles are little or nothing else but Declarations of what God will do for the Good of Men and since they declare his purpose they open to us a part of that external Law which he himself hath set for himself to work by they therefore are and must needs be as immutable as that Law and that Law is as immutable as God himself because it is his external Wisdome and herein there can be no Variableness or Shaddow of turning because his Understanding is infinite On this account I suppose it is that St. Paul insinuates it as possible for God to deny Himself as to fail of performing his Promises in them therefore we may have Hope without despair and Confidence without diffidence But hereunto some perhaps suspend their Assent because as they think their Experience confutes the Christian Faith The Apostle teacheth us that Godliness is profitable unto all things having promise of the life that â—ow is and of that which is to come But we find that all things come alike to all there is no more care taken of the most Pious Christian than of the lewdest among men we cannot therefore believe the Promisâ—s of the Gospel or think it safe to put our trust in them if they deceive our expectation in things that fall within the compass of our Experience what Reason have we to give credit or to take heed unto them in those that do not If our expectations have been deceived it is most rational as well as pious to resolve the dâ—ceit not into Gods Promises but into our own Misunderstanding of them but such usually is the peevish Worldly-mindedness of those that are used to make such as this Objection as that they take the dirt of their own Ignorance and misapprehensions and throw it in the face of Gods Promises for very easy it is to observe that this and all such like Objections are founded upon an Opinion that Gods promises concerning the life that now is do import that those who perform the conditions of them shall enjoy such an uninterrupted Series of Worldly prosperity as that they shall not be afflicted like other Folk But this certainly is a great mistake for Afflictions and troubles are so inseparably Annexed to Christian Piety as that if any Man will come after Christ he must deny himself and take up his Cross and follow Him and unless he do so he cannot be His Disciple it seems therefore that those grim Duties of Self-denial and mature resolution of bearing the Cross are so essentially united to the other parts of Christianity as there 's no being a Good Christian without them impossible therefore it is that the promises of the Gospel should be designed to evacuate the Necessity or frustrate the Use of these Essential parts of Christianity And for this Cause it is most probable if not certain that the importance of its Promises concerning things Temporal is that they who seek those that are Eternal shall have no just cause of such destracting Cares about the things of this World as render them unable acceptably to mind the concerns of the other That this is the Design and Scope of them we have methinks a Demonstration in that grand Promise of our Saviour that all these things shall be added to them that seek first the Kingdome of God and his Righteousness for being a part of his Sermon on the Mount wherein he gives his Disciples an abstract of Christian Philosophy it is to be looked on as a Standard whereby we are to take the measures of other Promises of the like nature in our Interpretations of them and if so then the Design and inâ—endment of them all must needs be not to raise our Hopes to an expectation of Freedom from Affliction but to keep our Souls from sinking into Dispondence and distrust of Gods Providence in providing for us for this manifestly is the Scope of our Saviours Promise now under Consideration and that being as ample as any or all the rest and pronounced by our Lords own Mouth when He was delivering the Sum and substance of his practical Doctrine may most justly be thought to shew us their importance And if it be granted so to do I dare Appeal to the experience of good Christians concerning the Truth of them what though they are sometimes reduced to such Straits and Difficulties as a Natural Man can see no way out of yet even then their Trust in the Promises does buoy up their Hope that they shall find away to escape and I dare I say appeal to their Experience whether or no divine Providence if on an Impartial Scrutiny they cannot find that they themselves have omitted the Conditions of the Promises have not so far fulfilled them as to let them see that God so cares for them as in due time to do it And if they cannot say but that though in this Sea of troubles Gods Promises of Temporal Blessings do not keep them from Storms yet they cast out such an Anchour oâ— Hope unto them as secures them from being overwhelmed with Billows of Sorrow or split upon the Rocks of Desparation it must be confessed that they sufficiently do the Work for which they are intended and if so they do there certainly is no Reason to stagger at the Promises of God through Unbelief but much rather to give Him Glory by being therein strong in Faith Especially considering moreover that the greatest Inducements we have to believe the Gospel viz the Miracles that were wrought to confirm it do also assure us of the Infallible Truth and Certainty of its Promises for Blessedness we know is the Sum and substance of all that they can Import or we can hope ro enjoy and that this we shall have if we be not offended in Christ is his own Inference from his Miracles and that the Premises will very well bear the Conclusion will be evident to any one who Impartially considers that the Miracles of Christ or at least some of them
can admit of no demonstration but that of the Spirit and this indeed is made à posteriori yet not from the constant and ordinary Phaenomena of Nature but from things Novel and Anomalous such as Predictions and Miracles purposely designed for that end and this is the way of proving the Gospel to be Divine far more decent and proper than any other because it becomes the Majesty of God and conciliates Authority to his Word by making our Faith to stand not in the Wisdom of men but on the Power of God Now to shew that this Demonstration was abundantly made by the Spirit in Christ and his Apostles is the great design of this Treatise which being written on an occasion of a Command laid on me by your Lordship was by me humbly offered to the Honour of your Lordships view and having attained thereunto your Lordship it seems was pleased to condescend so far as to read over as much as your Lordships time would give leave and then to return it with many thanks to me for my good pains as your Lordship was pleased to call them wisely placed on so worthy a Theme together with such other expressions of your Lordships Approbation as neither I did expect nor as I fear doth the Treatise Dâ—serve But I submit to your Lordships Judgmâ—nt and had I not so done this Treatise had been buried in obscurity with its Author but having that encouragement I thought my self sufficiently armed against all elation or dejection of mind at the various censures that may possibly be passed upon it if it should come abroad because I neither know nor am like to mâ—et with any more able to judge of such matters or impartial in Judging than your Lordship Hereupon I gave my consent to its being made â—ublick and for its freer passage among men in this declining age of Christianity I am humbly bold to let the World know that your Lordship is thus far concerned therein and forasmuch as it contends for that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints which is at this day God be thanked most excellently established and most mercifully preserved in the Church of England whereof also your Lordship very deservedly is one of the Chief Ministers with all humble confidence I perswade my self that for so doing your Lordship will either not be offended at or will easily pardon Your Lordships very much obliged in all Duty and humble Observance W. H. TO THE READER IN this Treatise you will find Christ and his Apostles put together in one Proposition the meaning whereof is not either that our blessed Lord Jesus was no more nor no other than a Prophet or that the Humane Nature of Christ had no higher a degree than the Apostles had of immediate Illumination for being Hypostatically united to the Divine it is reasonable to believe it had such communications of Knowledge therefrom as are vouchsased to no other man whatever But the meaning is that the Eternal Son of God having graciously been pleased to take our Nature upon him made of a Woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law found it expedient in order to this end for him to execute the Office of a Prophet and to inspire his Apostles with the Spirit of Prophecy That so he did lies we know at the bottom of our Christian Faith whoever believes the Gospel to be of God doth in a sort suppose it and take it for granted for whatever Religion is Divine must needs be either Natural or Revealed if Revealed then the first Preachers of it were Prophets because Prophecy is the only way whereby revealed Truth either is or can be dispensed unto us for very evident it is that the Positive Truths of God besides or above what is Natural can no way be made known unto us but by a free influx of the Divine mind upon ours since therefore as all agree that though Christianity doth most highly befriend Natural Theology yet it self if it be of God is Revealed it must be concluded that Christ the Author of our Faith and his Apostles the first Preachers of it were Prophets Yet among the many good Books that have either heretofore or lately been written to prove the Truth of Christianity I have neither seen nor ever heard of any purposely written and directly designed to make good this Principle I could not but somewhat wonder at it and wish it were well done and this my desire did at length vent it self in a Sermon on the Text you find prefixed to this Treatise and this Sermon I resolved on an occasion given me by a Person of great Learning and Authority in the Church to transcribe and enlarge in that method which is there proposed and you will find here observed from this undertaking the slenderness of mine acquaintance with Oriental Language and Learning did a long time deterr me but considering that besides mine own satisfaction and diversion from less pleasing Imployments I wrote it only for his Lordships perusal who I knew had goodness enough to pardon my Defects as well as Learning to discover them I reassumed my former resolution and in order to the performance of it I looked more narrowly than formerly I had done into those Books which I had that were likely to acquaint me with the customs and methods of the Jews in the tryal of Prophets and by so doing have I hope found and pitched upon the principal Means and Methods observed by that People in that Affair and this way of procedure even before I had that Idea of it which you will find in this Treatise I did conjecture must needs be very rational because it was not only projected but practised and that as far as we find without controul for many Ages among God's peculiar People and that I was not mistaken in this Conjecture the fifth Chapter of this Treatise doth I hope make manifest by shewing the strength and force of the preceding Arguments to prove that Christ and his Apostles were Prophets Now if any man ask what degree of Prophecy it is which I ascribe unto them he may be pleased to know his curiosity exceeds mine yet for an answer I referr him to that Prophecy of Moses wherein he told the Jews that the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Proâ—het from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me unto him shall you hearken This Prophecy I find by St. Peter applyed to our Blessed Saviour in particular and by St. Stephen to the Evangelical state in general and from thence perhaps we may gather not only that this Prediction did more especially pertain to the dayes of the Messias but also that it speaks not of one single Person only but of an Order of Prophets like unto Moses and therefore though it were most eminently fulfilled in Christ yet was it also accomplished in those that he sent as the Father had sent him viz. the Apostles Whether
Moses which Promise Petrus Galatinus proves the ancient Jews themselves understood to speak of the Mâ—ssiah and in the Acts of the Apostles St. Peter affirms that our Jesus is that Prophet And Christ himself gave such evidence of it as that his Disciples thought him a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people i. e. that God did demonstrate and the People did confess that he was a great Prophet and that they did so is manifest for the Jews themselves whose hearts were not subdued to his Doctrine did yet believe that of a truth he was that Prophet that should come into the world The Samaritan woman also perceived that he was a Prophet and the men of Samaria believed and knew as much namely that indeed he was the Christ the Saviour of the World a part of whose Office as they thought was to tell them all things and so to be a Prophet And then for the Apostles we do not only read that God by his Spirit revealed things unto them but moreover we find it recorded that he did it in this manner Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ promised his Disciples to send them a Comforter and that when He the Spirit of Truth should come he would guide them into all Truth which it seems fell out accordingly for when the day of Pentecost was fully come the Aposâ—les were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind and it filled all the House where they were sitting and there appeared to them cloven Tongues like as of Fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance Nor did they then receive only the Gift of Tongues but that also of Prophecy For the promise of God by the Prophet Joel that He would pour out his Spirit upon all Flesh and that their Sons and Daughters should Prophesie c. The Importance of which Promise is that in the days a little before the Destruction of the Jewish Nation there should be so great and unusual an effusion of his Spirit upon Pâ—rsons of all sorts as that those who were not brought up in the Schools of Prophets should yet be indued with the Spirit or Gift of Prophecy This Prediction of Joel was fulfilled in the Apostles by the most auspicious Descent of the Holy Ghost upon them for St. Peter affirms this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel It seems then the Mystery of Christ which in other Ages was not made known unto the Sons of men as now it is was revealed unto his Holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit It is therefore manifest there can be no doubt made of our Assertion if the Holy Scripture be thought sufficient to prove it On this account I suppose it is that among those who believe the Scripture it seems an Hypothesis rather taken for granted than otherwise proved by any But because our Age is inquisitive and somewhat too apt to derogate from the Authority of the sacred Pandects because also since those parts thereof which make mention of Christ and his Apostles did drop from Their Mouths and Pens to alledge Texts from thence is but to produce their own Testimony concerning themselves and therefore whatever Truth there may be there certainly is but little Force in that way of arguing unless it be to those that already are well perswaded of their Authority For these Reasons I shall at present ascribe no more Authority to the Holy Scripture than is usually given to other Writings far inferiour and argue only from Reason and Testimony that cannot be suspected of Partiality by the help thereof together with Gods blessing I doubt not to prove these five Particulars 1. That the Notion of a Prophet is very agreeable to Reason 2. That there were Prophets among the Jews 3. That for the Tryal of Pretenders to the Gift of Prophecy they had certain Rules Notes and Signs whereby to judg of them 4. that if Christ and his Apostles be tryed thereby it will be found that they were Prophets 5. That this way of proving they were so is very sufficient and rational CHAP. II. Of the Notion of a Prophet and that there were Prophets among the Jews THE Notion of a Prophet may certainly best be learned from the Nature of Prophecy before defined from which Definitions of Prophecy we may gather this of a Prophet viz. that He is a person who by the Influence of God upon his Rational Faculty doth attain to such knowledge as by his Natural Abilities would in one respect or other be unattainable In which Description it concerns us at present to observe only that it is not Prediction but Influence from God which constitutes a Prophet at least such an one as we are now speaking of And that this is no new Notion adapted to our present Undertaking is evident enough by the words of a late Author whose Principles are thought most unluckily of any to undermine such Foundations as we are now laying yet he expresseth himself in these words Although there be many significations in Scripture of the word Prophet yet is that the most frequent in which it is taken for him to whom God speaketh immediately that which the Prophet is to say from him to some other man or to the People Gods speaking to men immediately he himself saith is to be interpreted that way whatsoever it be I suppose he means without the Ministry of man by which God makes them to understand his Will Hereby 't is evident that in his Judgment as well as ours a Prophet was a Person on whose Understanding God had immediate Influence how else is it possible he should make him immediately to understand his Will and sure it cannot seem strange to any that there have or might have been such men in the World the Power and Wisdom of God together with the Capacities of Mens Souls are enough to remove all suspition of Its impossibility He that made the Mind shall not He be able to teach men knowledge and he that was made on purpose to know God and give him the Glory of his Handy-work shall not he be thought capable of learning from such a Teacher There is therefore no show of Reason to doubt the Possibility of Prophecy especially considering that all sorts of men how wide soever their differences are in other matters do yet agree in this viz. that there are or have been such Prophets in the World This is so manifest and vulgarly known to be the Belief of Christians Jews and Turks as that among all that have heard of Christ Moses or Mahomet all necessity of proving it is perfectly fore-stalled and that the Heathens also were of the same opinion is evident by what they have reported of some of their Law-givers viz.
Future whether by Dreams or otherwise besides those of Prophecy are like to Chaff for as in that there may be some few grains of Wheat so say they perhaps there is in these some small measure of Truth mix'd with much more Mistake and Falshood but Prophecy is a thing pure having no more mixture than Wheat well winnowed hath with Chaff Hereby then they distinguished the Predictions of Prophets from those of Sooth-sayers Astrologers c. whose Prognostications were very much unlike the Predictions of true Prophets for of necessity saith mine Author they had falshood as well as truth in them this we alwayes see and they themselves that profess these Arts confirm it to us because they make it mattâ—r of glory to themselves that their Lies were not so many as anothers of the same Profession but that any one of them should speak truth in each of his Predictions is impossible nor indeed do the skilful therein arrogate that to themselves for when something comes to pass which looks but like an accomplishment they account thâ— Foreteller excellent and enroll him among men of illustrious Fame whom Histories celebrate and this is the sense of what Isaiah saith to Babylon Let now the Astrologers the Star-gazers the Monthly Prognosticators stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee Let them try if they can foretell these things that thou mayest escape from them The challenge implies that they cannot and R. Albo it seems gives the reason of it viz. because all such Arts or whatsoever else some are pleased to call them are founded in Fancy they are Creatures of Imagination that have a Being in nothing but mens Conceits they are founded on no demonstrable Hypotheses and are therefore vanity as is also abundantly demonstrated by a Learned Writer of our own And truly the things from whence these Foretellers pretend to deduce their Judgments are certainly so remote intricate and various as that it seems impossible for any to arrive at perfect knowledge of them how then is it possible for their Prognostications to be certain Predictions they can be but Conjectures and Conjectures we know especially in such cases are very often wholly false very rarely if ever wholly true but the Promises of the Prophets saith our Author were very much otherwise viz. alwayes true but never false it cannot be found throughout all Ages that ever any thing either much or little of the Word of the Lord by the Prophets unless the Conditions were altered ever yet fell to the ground But the Predictions of Gods Prophets were fully answered by the Event and thereby the Jews knew that they were indued with the Spirit of Prophecy because such certain fore-knowledge of Future Contingences was no way attainable without it and for this cause 't is like it was that among all the ordinary means of trying Prophets this was accounted the most demonstrative Of Miracles Sect. 4. But besides these Ordinary the Jews had some Extraordinary means of discerning the truth of mens Pretensions to the Spirit of Prophecy viz. Miracles Not only the Vulgar but more than a few of the Better sort among the Jews wâ—re of opinion they were not to believe any Pretender to Prophecy till he had done a Miracle equal to some of those of Moses or had disturbed the ordinary course of Nature as Elijah did in raising the Widows Son but this rule saith Maimonides hath nothing of truth in it And indeed we are apt to think it hath not much the reason is because the Order of Prophets was at first founded by Miracles for evident it is that Moses the first of that Order was indued with a power of working Miracles on purpose to convince the Children of Israel that the Lord God of their Fathers had appeared unto him Yet that great R. Maimonides out of design I suppose to derogate from the belief of Chriâ—tianity was not ashamed to say The Israelites did not believe Moses our Master because of the Miracles he wrought And elsewhere he tells us that Elias Elisha and the rest of the Prophets did not their Miracles to confirm thâ—ir Prophecies but to supply their own and others necessity But it seems at another time he was of another mind for he expresly affirms that a Prophet may be sent to the common People or to the Inhabitants of a City or Kingdom to prepare and warn them what shall be done unto them or to dehort them from the wicked works that are in their hands but when God so sends him He gives him a Sign or a Wonder that the People may know God hath truly sent him And in the next Section he saith But we believe not every one that shews a Sign or doth a Miracle to be a Prophet unless from the beginning we have known him to be sit for Prophecy that in his Wisdome and his Works he hath excelled his Contemporaries and hath walked in the wayes of Prophecy in Holiness and separation from others then if such an one should come and do a Sign or a Wondâ—r and should sâ—y that God had sent him then it is commanded that we should hear him as it is said ye shall hear him These his concâ—ssions although they speak him somewhat unconstant to himself yet we have no great reason to thank him for because the evidence of Truth in Holy Scripture did extort them from him Thus the Prophet that was sent to Bethel gave them a Sign that his word was what the Lord had spoken Thus in the Fire-ordeal tryal between Elijah and the Prophets of Baal Elijah obtained Fire to fall upon the Sacrifice and consume it Thus also Elisha to demonstrate his calling to succeed Elijah divides the Waters of Jordan with Elijah's mantle by which Examples we learn that though among the Jews the ordinary Tryal of Prophets was made by Predictions yet in some cases extraordinary they were by Miracles to make proof of their Mission to teach and do what they did CHAP. IV. The Application of the fore-going Discourse to Christ and his Apostles Sect. 1. HAving thus cleared the Ground and laid the Foundation We are next to erect the Superstructure i. e. to shew that by all these means of Probation viz. both by the probable and demonstrative Arguments both Ordinary and Extraordinary it may be proved that Christ and his Apostles were Prophets We are to take them as they lye in order and so to begin with the Conditions whereon among the Jews Pretenders to Prophecy were admitted to a Tryal By what we have already discussed out of Maimonides it appears that Pretenders to Prophecy even in the Name of the Lord were not admitted to a Tryal but upon condition of conformity to the Law of Moses they were in no point allowed to teach a perpetual variation from it unless they gave as great or greater Evidence of Gods intention by them to change
an unreasonable Humour it importunes Almighty Power and Wisdom without any necessity to change the course of Nature or at least to act besides it and what affront more petulant and saucy can we easily offer to Divine Majesty It is also absurd as well as wicked for suppose a man in this Age should really work a Miracle if the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles may not be received on Testimony then neither may that how then shall the knowledge of it be conveyed to all that are concerned in it why they themselves must both see it done and use all means possible to consider whether it be such as no man can do the like by his Natural Power but that it requires the immediate hand of God It seems then if what one saith was confirmed by Miracles be of concern as Christian Religion is to all People in all Ages and places of the World there must be almost as many Miracles wrought to confirm this saying as there are single Persons how else should each Person concerned therein see one done and then Miracles would be no Wonders they would change their Nature and lose their Efficacy and besides that every one must then be a diligent searcher into Nature how else can he use all means possible to consider whether the pretended Miracle be such as no man can do the like by his Natural Power No saith the Author that is needless Herein also they must have recourse to Gods Lieutenant It seems then at last they must be assured by Testimony but why may not the Testimony or Tradition of the Holy Caâ—holick Church strengthened by the concessions and suffrages of its Enemies be believed as well as the word of Gods Lieutenant but I shall say no more hereby it is plain enough that this Author and his Followers seek not for Truth and Certainty but to palliate their Atheism or Infidelity And pity it is that their suggestions should disturb any ones reliance on the Pillar and ground of Truth the House and Church of the Living God by whose Testimony and Tradition we are so very well assured of the truth of our Saviour and his Apostles Miracles as that we have little or no reason to envy either the Jews or Gentiles whose eyes were blessed with the sight of them For to what purpose did their eyes then serve them Was it not to convey those their Credentials to their Understandings Yes doubtless they therein had little other benefit by the use of them And is not this abundantly supplied unto us by the Tradition of the Church Which if well considered will be found as incapable of Deception as our Senses For ought I know mine Eyes may as soon be deceived in an Object of Sight as the whole Church in this its Tradition however if Christ and his Apostles did not do Miracles it certainly is a Miracle that the World should receive their report without them and a lying Wonder much more incredible than what we plead for that the whole Church throughout all Ages should so confidently believe and teach that they did them Although therefore the sight of Miracles might perhaps make deeper Impressions on the Fancy and Affections yet the Tradition of the Church is full out as convincing to our Reason and Judgment that Christ and his Apostles wrought many and great Miracles CHAP. V. The Strength and Force of the Preceding Arguments NOthing now therefore râ—mains of my promise but the last Part which is to show that this way of proving Christ and his Apostles were Prophets is very sufficient and Rational And this it will appear to be on the account both of its Removal of all suspition that they were not and of its positive Evidence that they were All just Suspition that they were no Prophets must be Founded on a Probability either that they pretended not to the Spirit of Prophecy or if they did that they therein were deceived or else that they had a design to deceive others but by the preceding Arguments it is manifest that neither of these is true For 1. It is hardly possible for men to have the Antecedents or Concomitants and Consequents of Prophecy and to use them as they did â—n Order to the Propagation of Doctrine and yet not pretend to the Spirit of it Had their mouths been perfectly silent their Actions would have declared plainly to what they pretended Their Doctrine they Taught to be the Word of God and not of man In the Propagation of it they made Evidence of that Wisdome Fortitude and Vertue which attended the Prophets in the discharge of their Function and for the Demonstration of their Mission to Teach it they Foretold Future Contingences and wrought many and great Miracles And how could all this be without a pretense to the Spirit of Prophecy and the Office of Prophets and if this be Evident by their Actions without their Words much more so is it in conjunction with them for as a mans Actions may either Enervate or strengthen the credibility of his protestations and pretensions so his Words protestations or Declarations may very much Illustrate the purport of his Actions they remove all doubt that otherwise might be made concerning them Since then Christ and his Apostles did not only take upon them to do the Work of the prophetick Office but did also say that they were Prophets it is very Evident that they took themselves or at least pretended to be so 2. And that they were not deceived in taking themselves to be Prophets will hence also be Evident if we consider that this was hardly possible without Enthusiasme the Spirit of Divination or some such other Fantastick delusions but Enthusiasts or Diviners it is Evident they were not because they were wise Men of sound minds and discerning Intellects which were so great preservatives against the delusions of Enthusiasme and Divination as that in the Opinion of Plutarch prudence doth Repell and oftentimes Extinguish them hereof he insinuates a reason viz. Because Prudence doth cherish that modesty and sobriety which are destructive to those Calentures and Inâ—lammations which are requisite to the Being of them And these usually were therein so great and fervent as that during the prevalence of Enthusiasme or Divination Men had not the use of reason nor indeed could they because these things being in themselves such as partake not of reason they could rise no higher than the fancy where dwelling like storms and tempeâ—â—s in the middle Region of the Air they did disturb and disorder the Phantasmes and present them tumultuously to the Understanding and by so doing they did Eclipse its Light and hinder its influence in so much that either as Maimonides saith nothing of the rational Faculty could pass fâ—rth into Art or else at least it could pass no true Judgment on things so represented to it Hence no doubt it is that all sorts of Writers concerning them viz. Heathens and Jews as
their fault if they do not receive benefit by them The Miracles of Christ and his Apostles are so sufficiently attested as that were it not for Prejudice or Laziness Inadvertence or one such Vice or other I verily think there neither is nor ever was any considering Man in the World but either he was or might thereby have been câ—nvinced of the Truth of their Doctrine and so blessed by the excellencies of their Religion as that his mind should no longer be blinded with Superstition or Fluctuate in Uncertainties but should know assuredly where to have the most perfecting Objects of all His faculties How great then I say is the goodness of these Miraclâ—s that confirm such a â—reasure unto us how plainly doth it shew their descent from the Essential and Eternal Goodness viz. God Himself For who but an Almighty Goodness can be Author of such Productions Such unparalleled Instances of Love and Kindness such inimitable Beneficence so Immense and immixt a Goodness from whom can it come but from God who is Love and Goodness it self In mine apprehension therefore the Goodness of these Miracles shew as plainly that they were the Works of God in Testimony to His Word as the Image and Superscription on the Money did that the Coin was Cesars Let 's then Lay all these things together viz That Christ and his Apoâ—â—les did take upon them the Office of Prophets and that having the Antecedents to or Concomitant Attendents on the Prophetick Spirit they therein neither were deceived nor had a design to deceive others and by their Predictions exactly accomplished it appears that they had such certain Fore-knowledge as no Man by any Art or Science whatever could possibly have of Gods Eternal Purpose concerning future Contingences And besides this Supernatural knowledge to confirm their Doctrine or Demonstrate their Mission from God to Teach it they wrought such Miracles as in the Truth and Reallity of their Nature and the incomparableness of their Number greatness and goodness did most Evidâ—ntly and Eminently appear to be the Works of God and consequently Christ and his Apostles who did them being Teachers of such an excellent Wisdom as the World knew not before were therein inspired by God and so Prophets CHAP. VI. Some Use that may be made of this Doctrine THUS have we passed through the several parts of the proposed Mâ—thod and in so doing have I hope found the Truth of our Assertion sufficiently evinced And if so it be then thence surely we may see the Divine Authority of Christian Religion and of the Holy Scripture the insufficiency of Humane Reason and the Reasonableness of Christian Faith Hope and Practice Sect. 1. 1. The Divine Authority of Christian Religion It is not of so base and low an Extraction as to spring from an Opinion of Ghosts or ignorance of second Causes Devotion towards what Men fear or the mistake of things Casual for Prognosticks but it is an Heaven-born thing it descends from the Father of Lights it derives its Pedigree from God Himself and hath the Image not only of his Wisdom and Goodness but likewise of his Dominion and Lordship instampt upon it in so much that it brings its own Obligation along with it and makes it not only convenient but nâ—cessary not only Prudence in us but Duty to receive it for Christ and his Apostles being Prophets did not only Teach it by Gods commandement and direrection but also in so doing they laid the highest Obligation that can be on all to receive it God we know is the Supreme Lord the Fountain of all just Authority is in Him as therefore Watâ—rs drink sweetest out of a Fountain so those Laws that come as the word of prophecy doth immediâ—tly from God have the highest Majestie and Authority Instampt upon them For this Cause the Jews when they were Assured of any mans Calling to the Prophetick Office thought Themselves obliged and bound to obey him in all things except Idolaâ—ry yea though he required the omission of the Affirmative or the doing of the Negative Precepts of their Law Notwithstanding their mighty zeal for their Law and the profound Reverence they had for Moses their Master yet they Judged it their indispensable Duty in all things to obey the Prophets and whosoever would not they held Worthy and Guilty of Death by the immediate hand of Heaven This is the opinion of their Wise men in the Talmud where they say in all things except Idolatry if a Prophet say unto thee transgress the Law thou shalt obey him and good Reason too for a Prophet being Gods spokes-man to the people his Herauld to Proclaim his Laws there is good Reason he should be heard and attended to whosoever else be neglected the Reason is because the word of Prophecy coming immediately from God is cloathed with his Authority and if where the word of a King is there be Power much more methinks is there where the Word of Him is by whom Kings Reign had not this been the dictate of Natural Reason Numa Pompilius and other antient Lawgivers among the Heathens had been very Foolish as well as False in pretending to have received their Laws from the gods but Mens Natural Reason telling them that the Highest Authority of Man is far inferior to that of God this Politick pretense was thought a very effectual Engine to make Men obedient to their Laws and this Engine we see was to stand upon the ground That God above all is to be obeyed Since then Christ and his Apostles were Prophets those are no good subjects unto God yea they are worse than Jews or Heathens that deny the Religion that they have Taught us to have Power of binding us to receive it Yet the Leviathan would have it in and of it self to have none for it faith expresly the Preceâ—ts Repent be Baptized keep the Commandements believe the Gospel come unto Me Sell all that Thou hast give it to the Poor and follow Me are not Commands but Invitations and Callings of Mâ—n to Christianity like that of Esay Ho every man that thirsteth come ye to the waters come and buy Wine and Milk without money The difference between Precepts and Commands especially in point of Obligation I am hardly so subtle as to understand I have Read indeed that the Jews put a difference between Laws Statutes and Judgments but hardly ever that either they oâ— the Gentiles found any between Precepts and Commands but this is a matter too trivial to be debated whether therefore it be a profound piâ—ce of Subtilty or a Contradiction I shall not now take upon Me to determine but letting it pass as a Specimen of that Extraordinary Wit which the Treatise of Humâ—ne Reason observes in that Author we shall enquire why he â—aith so viz. Why he â—aith that the Precepts of the Gospel or its callings of Men to Christianity have not the Obligations of Commands in them his Reasons are
down from its first and proper state to another far inferior Hereby it is evident that the Light of Nature discovers our fallen condition Herein I say where can Reason without Revelation find a promise of eternal happiness made unto us The vast Volumes of the Creation do not afford it the Book of Nature doth not contain it Where then will it look for it or can it possibly find it Here then this supposed Infallible Guide is at a stand it cannot carry us one step farther it is at such a loss as that it cannot tell us what to do or which way to go that we may gâ—t within the compass of a Promise of Salvation without which we walk in darkness and at all adventures and so our wandrings are like to be very tedious and troublesome indeed But what if they be the matter is not much for those who commit themselves to the guidance of their own Vnderstandings if they do commit themselves wholly to it are as safe on the left hand as on the right as secure of happiness in their Errors as others are who are otherwise guided even in the Truth which they happen to fall into Behold hâ—re the power of Reason how broad it makes the way to Heaven and how wide its gate it throwes it open and takes it on every side no matter with what it approachâ—th it Error as well as Truth if it be the dictate of our own understanding will let us into it What scrupulous Coxcombs then are those who ask with the trembling Jaylour Sirs What must we do to be saved Can they not wholly commit themselves to their own Understandings and then they would be saved right or wrong What though we be Turks Jews Heathens or Atheists in our perswasion it is no matter if we therein wholly commit our selves to the guidance of our own Understandings we are as secure of happiness in our Errors as others are who are guided even in the Truths which they happen to fall into For there is no danger of perishing but from Disobedience without which every man may often err the Commandment of God being not to find out truth especially every particular one but to Endeavour the finding it He commands no more but to search and ye shall find sayes be not every particular Truth for experience teaches us that cannot be the interpretation but whether you find or no the Truth which you search for you shall find the Reward of searching which is Happiness So that if your Understanding search and you do commit your selves wholly to the guidance oâ— it there is no danger of perishing from disobedience to the Laws even of God himself much less from Errour Well little did we think what an amulet we carry about with us and little did we know till this Treatise told us that such is the force and virtue of our Understanding as that if it doth what it may the most venomous errour cannot hurt us if it doth but search we shall be sure to find the reward of searching which is Happiness This indeed is a very comfortable Speculation but it falls out somewhat unluckily that He who acquainted us with it as it is to be feared spake without-book for the Promise is not made to searching but to seeking i. e. to Prayer and Devotion not to Study and Enquiry after Truth in Opinion It doth therefore give us no reason to think either that Happiness is the reward of such searching or that we shall ever find it thereby no though we commit our selves wholly to the guidance of our Understanding therein for if on those Terms men may attain to Salvation I cannot understand that St. Paul the Apostle was e're a whit securer of happiness than Saul the Persecutor for he verily thought with himself that he ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus This was the guidance of his Understanding and he wholly committed himself to it for even then he lived in all good Conscience Why then was not he as safe on the left hand as on the right i. e. while a Pesecutor as when an eminent Believer If he were why doth he magnifie the Mercy of God in his Conversion If he were not what reason have we to believe the now controverted and grand Assertion in this Treatise That therefore notwithstanding we conclude That since Christ and his Apostles were Prophets it is unreasonable to think our own Reason a sufficient Guide to Eternal Happiness Sect. 4. Hence also it follows That it is very reasonable for us to believe whatsoever Christ and his Apostles have undoubtedly taught us The reason of the consequence most manifestly is because they were Prophets and being Prophets they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and forasmuch as God cannot lye the truth of their doctrine must needs be beyond all question For such is the certainty of the Word of Prophecy as that St. Peter prefers it before the voice which he himself heard from Heaven when he was with Jesus in the holy Mount But can any thing be more sure than such a Voice No not in it self considered absolutely but unto us God is Truth and in him there is no Possibility of lying or Shadow of falshood all things therefore that come from him must needs be equally sure and certain infallible and true in themselves yet for all that one thing may have greater evidence of its descent and more apparent credentials of its Mission from him than another hath As for example St. John the Baptist and our Blessed Saviour were both sent from God but both did not give equal evidence of their Mission from him St. John did no Miracle but our Saviour wrought many and the Works that he did did bear witness of him that the Father sent him And as it is in Persons so may it be in several wayes of Revelation and so I conceive it is in those that now lye before us a Voice from Heaven and a Word of Prophecie The Question is not which is most true considered as in it self for so there can be no comparison between them but which of the two is most sure as to us i. e. which of them gives us the fairest Credentials of its coming from God St. Peter decides the question the Word of Prophecy And for this his decision he had the authority of the Jewes among whom it seems that in those dayes it was and perhaps still is a received Opinion That the Bath Kol filia vocis such as St. Peter speaks of was inferiour to the very lowest degree of Prophecy not in its truth as in it self considered but in motives of credibility to others hereof Maimonides insinuates this reason viz. because it may happen to such as are not prepared for Prophecy there were as we have shewed divers qualifications antecedently or concomitantly necessary to fit men for the Spirit of Prophecy and
far apart as that not only the Eâ—pressions which dropt from my Pen but sometimes also the very Argument of Discourse was utterly fled my Memory I cannot therefore but suspect there may be some ungrateful but I hope not nauseous repetitions in it and the truth is my design not being auram captare but if not to convince Gainsayers whereof I fear this Age hath more than some former have had yet to make the weak stedfast in Faith and joyful through Hope rooted in Charity and resolute in Obedience I was not very sollicitous to avoid them but my chief care was to speak as clearly and to argue as strongly as I could and if by so doing I have done any thing that may be not injurious but serviceable to the truth of the Gospel as it was received in the Primitive Church and that I have much reason to believe was as it still is in ours if I say I have cast but two mites into this Corban I trust that God and all good men will accept of it and therefore I think I need no Apology at least shall make none for writing this Treatise THE CONTENTS Chap. I. IT is certain the Mind doth assent and that to Testimony the Testimony of Jesus what why so called the Nature of Prophecy what the Spirit of Prophecy what that Christ and his Apostles were Prophets proved by Scripture the method of proving it otherwise proposed Chap. II. Of the Notion of a Prophet and that there were Prophets among the Jews The Notion of a Prophet deduced from the Definition of Prophecy assented to by Mr. Hobbs it is agreeable to Reason and all mâ—n receive it that Moses was a Prophet proved by the Testimony of Heathens He promised in his Law that there should be Prophets among the Jews proved by Deut. 18. 15. the certainty that there were so thence deduced Chap. III. The Tryal of Prophets among the Jews Of the Conditions on which men were admitted to a Tryal Sect. 1 These transcribâ—d out of Maimonides the first of them impertinent to our purpose the second excepted against the original of Oral Tradition the Improbability of it the Falshood of it Concerning Alterations to be made in the written Law of Moses it was not Immutable an Objection out of Maimonides another Objection Moses himself and the Prophets taught that it should be changed an Objection The Antecedents or Concomitants of a Prophetick Spirit Sect. 2 These reduced to six Heads the Jews Maxim That Prophecy resteth on none but the Wise the Strong and the Rich we Christians may well except against it is not Vniversally true by their own Concessions yet may it be admitted on two conditions the Prophets Wisdom consisted not in Humane Learning acquired by Study but in Prudence and Knowledge supernatural their Strength consisted in Courage or Fortitude and their Riches in Contentment and all Probity of Manners Of Prophetick Predictions Sect. 3 The Warrant the Jews had thereby to make tryal of mens Pretences to the Spirit of Prophecy the difficulty thereof from Jer. 18. 7 c. how unfolded the Jews sense of Jer. 23 28. the vanity of Astrology Of Miracles Sect. 4 The Jews were not to expect them from all the Prophets that Moses and other of the Prophets wrought Miracles to confirm their Prophecies is both denied and granted by Maimonides proved by Scripture Chap. IV. The Application of the foregoing Discourse to Christ and his Apostles Sect. 1 That they ought not to have been denied a fair Tryal the Jews only were obliged to observe the Letter of the Law of Moses yet Christ and his Apostles as to the design and meaning of it did most excellently establish it among the Gentiles demonstrated out of Maimonides and Abravanels account of it compared with Christian Doctrine they themselves conformed to the Letter of the Law of Moses and taught the Jews so to do Of their Wisdom Sect. 2 That Christ and his Apostles were men of excellent Intellectuals Supernatural Knowledge was more especially enquired after by the Jews in the Tryal of Prophets that Christ and his Apostles had such Knowledge in respect of the manner of it and also in respect of its degree or measure Christian Theology more excellent than that of the Jews and that in a threefold reference viz. 1 to Faith the object whereof is more clearly revealed by Chriâ—tianity than it was by Judaisme 2 to Hope 3 to Practice the burdensomness of the Jewish Religion the Excellency of the Moral Law which was fulfilled by Christ an Objection from the Impossibility of kâ—eping that Law so filled up proposed the mitigation of the Law by the Gospel in four particulars the motives we have to obey the Gospel the assistance it gives us in well-doing from all which the Excellency of Christianity to Judaisme is concluded much more doth it excell the Philosophy of the Gentiles and that in respect 1 of the General Nature 2 of the Object 3 of ehe End and Scope of Wisdom from all which the transcendent Wisdom of Christ and his Apostles is demonstrated Of their Fortitude Sect. 3 The great degeneracy â—f the Jews their preposterous Zeal for their Religion their Malice against all that observed not their Traditions Christ detected the shortness and vanity thereof the horridness of the Gentiles condition the Fortitude of the Apostles thence deduced Of the Prophetick Riches of Christ and his Apostles Sect. 4 That they were Rich proved by the designed End of their Doctrine by their deportment among men distinctly of our Saviour of the Apostles from the multitude of their Followers and from the silence of their Adversaries Of the Predictions of Christ and his Apostles Sect. 5 The Destruction of Jerusalem the Predictions of its fore-runners and of its approach and consummation all exactly accomplished the calling of the Gentiles foretold accomplished Errors and Divisions among Christians foretold and apparently accomplished yea the Means and manner of their Production viz. the Addiction and Designs the Artifices and Cunning of Seducers together with the nature of their Doctrine and speciousness of their Pretences all foretold and fulfilled proved at large Of the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles Sect. 6 That they really wrought many and great Miracles proved 1 by Reason 2 by Tradition of the Church the great Credibility of this Tradition 3 by the testimony of Adversaries of all sorts an Objection the Answer they were not done by Inchantment proved 1 by Reason 2 by the continuance of Miracles in the Church for several Ages attested by the Fathers the evident certainty both that Christ and his Apostles wrought Miracles and that not by Inchantment thence deduced an Objection out of Hobbs against the Credibility of Miracles Ans 1 that Miracles have been done may be believed upon testimony 2 it is needless to demand the doing of Miracles to prove that there have been some done 3 it is wicked and absurd so to do the Tradition of the Church
that they received their Laws from the Gods as Numa Pompilius from Egeria Minos from Jupiter Lycurgus from Apollo Zaleucus Locrus from Minerva Jupiter also and Lachesis had their distinct Prophets and Prophetesses there were as well as Prophets as appears by the Reputation of Sibyls among them and that their Philosophers had such a Notion as ours is of Prophecy appears by the Opinion of Pla to concerning Divination wherein he agrees with the Stoicks who held it an effect of Divine Instinct and Inflation and long I think it was before them that the Zabians believed Men had this gift of Prophecy From all this it is manifest that the Notiâ—â— of a Prophet was entertain'd by Heathens as well as Jews Turks and Christians and therefore surely since all own it it is very consonant to Reason If any of our Modern Scoffers think otherwise I desire them to know that the Seat of the Scornful is no Infallible Chair there is no reason to think them wiser than all the World besides especially considering our second Assertion That there actually were Prophets among the Jews Which Assertion appears more than probable not by the Jews only but by the opinions of the Heathens concerning Moses whom the Egyptians thought to be A man Wonderful and Divine And good reason they had for so thinking as was manifest by his Conquest of Jannes and Jambres their most renowned Magicians and also by the Plagues which according to His word were brought upon Egypt all which are attested by Eumenius Nor do the Hea thens represent him as the Jews do Michael to have been the Minister of Gods Justice only but they also speak of him as those do of Gabriel that he was the Minister of Gods Mercy to them For they tell us that Moses was author of so many useful Inventions among the Egyptians as that he gained not only the love of the People but also the Worship of the Priests for they named him Mercury and gave him equal honour with their gods Which Testimony is the more credible because Diodorus among many other high Commendations of Moses which he professeth to have had from the Egyptian Priests expresly tells us that he was called God Not that Moses pretended to be so but because saith he men thought his Mind was wholly Admirable and Divine All which methinks can amount to no less than a competent evidence their thoughts are well enough expressed by Chalcidius his words of Moses viz. That He was most wise as being enlivened not with mans Wisdome but as 't is reported with Divine Inspiration And if so then surely Moses was they thought him at least a Prophet and in this their Judgment of him it is very notorious that the Jews Christians and Mahometans do concur with them so that in effect we have all Mankind giving its Suffrage to this Truth insomuch that if any please to deny it they seem to undermine their own Credit as well as Reason for unless they have a Charter of Credibility peculiarly granted to them there is no Reason to believe them wherein they make all men else Fools or Lyars We shall therefore take it for granted that Moses was a Prophet Next then we are to observe that this Moses the Prophet was the Jews Law-giver Hereof I know none that makes a doubt if there be they may easily be satisfied by a multitude of Witnesses from among the Gentiles to prove it All then that remains to be farther observed is that this Moses the Prophet did promise in his Law that there should be Prophets among the Jews The Lord thy God saith he will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me Which promise I confess was most compleatly fulfilled in Christ the supreme Prophet of the Church yet that hinders not its being first to be fulfilled by some other Prophet or rather Order of Prophets who before the coming of Messias was shortly to succeed Moses in the Prophetick part of his Office whoever methinks considers all Circumstances must needs conceive that it was so for it was at first given and afterwards renewed on such occasions as required its speedy accomplishment For Moses having conducted the Israelites almost to the Land of Canaan was commanded to gather the People together in Horeb and they came near and stood under the Mountain and the Mountain burnt with Fire unto the midst of Heaven with Darkness Clouds and thick Darkness and all the People saw the Thunderings and Lightenings and the noise of the Trumpet and the Mountain smoaking and when the People saw it they removed and stood afar off And they said unto Moses speak Thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we dye Whereby it is plain they requested that God would speak no more immediately at least not so terribly unto them but that for the future he would please to use the Ministry of Moses and such like Prophets in revealing his Will unto them this their request the Lord approves of and condescending to their Infirmity he gave this Promise in answer to it viz. That He would raise them up a Prophet from among their Brethren like unto Moses and would put his words in his Mouth and he should speak unto them all that the Lord should command him This was the first occasion of this Promise afterwards Moses admonished them to beware of learning to do after the Abominations of those Nations which were cast out to let them in among which Abominations hearkening to Observers of Times and to Diviners was one this then was forbidden to the Jews By which Prohibition doubtless there was so great a restraint laid upon their Curiosity and Desire of knowing future contingences which is very great almost in all men as that without something in lieu of Divination c. it would have been almost impossible to have kept them within the Bounds of due Obedience to their Law but either they would have thought there was nothing Divine in it or else they would have fallen into some heathenish Abomination or else they would have instituted something else somewhat like it among themselves Now to shew them there was no need of so doing Moses calls to mind the Promise that God had made them to raise them up a Prophet like unto him Unto which Promise he subjoyns the Means of trying the Truth of Pretensions to the Gift of Prophecy Now to me it seems strange that this Promise at first made and afterwards renewed on those solemn and important Occasions and attended with these circumstances should have no reference at all to some Prophet or Order of Prophets that should shortly succeed Moses When the People were afraid they should dye and begged as it were for their Lives that God would speak no more immediately unto them but that he would use the Ministry of Moses is
it as Moses at first did to establish it Whether or no Christ and his Apostles on the account hereof were justly denied the benefit of a fair Tryal we our selves may perceive by these following Observations 1. There are two things considerable in the Law of Moses viz. the External and the Internal parts of of it The former is the Letter or the Words whâ—rein it is expressed the latter is the Sense and Meaning the Scope Design and End of it the one is the Shell the other the Kernel in respect of the one it was Civil or Positive in respect of the other Natural As Positive it could oblige only that People to whom it was given and therefore the literal Observation of it among the Genâ—iles was no way necessary nor was it so esteemed by the Jews ' thâ—mselves as appears by the Proselytes of their Gates who were neither circumcised nor did they conform to the Rites and Ordinances of that Law according to the letter of it the seven Precepts of Noâ—h wâ—re thought sufficient for them they wâ—re obligâ—d to no more If thâ—n Christ and his Apostles in posed no more than these upon the Gentiles and disswaded not the Jews from literal Obedience to the Law of Moses they could not be judged false Prophets on the account of subverting it Next then observe 2. That Christ and his Apostles were so far from dâ—troying the Law as that they did most excellently fulfill and establish it among the Gentiles as to the Sense and Meaning the Scope Design and End of it What was natural in the Law saith Irenaeus the Lord bath extended and fulfilled And again All the Natural Precepts are common to us with them viz. the Jews among them they had their beginning and their rise among us they receive their increase and adimpletion so that the whole Law as to the End and Design of it if that be Moral and purely Natural is not only not Abolish'd but Extended and Improved by the Doctrine of Christ among us Gentiles In order to the demonstration hereof it will not be amiss to observe out of Mâ—imonides That the general intention of the Law is a double 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Well-being viz. of the Body and of tâ—e Soul all and every of the Precepts tends either to the one or to the other to demonstrate the truth whereof he reduceth the Precepts of their whole Law to 14 Classes and then renders the râ—asons of each one distinctly by which account of his we shall find that the designed end of the whole Law was to teach sound Doctrine a to establish Religion both the inward Grace b and the outward Exercise of it c and together herewith a great part of its design was to cohibit Idolatry d to extirpate Vice e to promote Vertue f especially Charity g and Justice both commutative h and distributive i. By the promotion of these things it taught and directed men towards the attainment of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Well-being both of Body and Soul whereunto it was ultimately designed and intended Now whâ—thâ—r or no Christ and his Apostles did not at least pretend by the same means to direct men to the obtainment of the same end I dare leave to any ingenuous Jâ—w to judge I am confidently perswaded that whoever doth impartially consider the nature of their Doctrine and the excellency of their Precepts will think it reasonable to conclude that the Gospel of Christ doth establish the Law of Moses as to the Scope and End of it but now mentioned For the foundations of that Law or the Articles of the Jewish Faith according to Abravanels recension of them are thirteen in number viz. the Existence and Unity the Spirituality Eternity and Omnisciâ—nce of God that He only is to be worshipped the Being of Prophecy and the Excellency of the Prophecy of Moses that his Law was from Heaven and was never to be extirpated Gods future Judgment the dayes of the Messias and the Resurrection of the Dead Now manifest it is that the Being and Attributes of God that He only is to be worshipped his fâ—ture Judgmâ—nt the dayes of the Messiah and the Resurrection of the Dead are more clearly revealed by the Gospel than they were by the Law yea the Being of Prophecy and the Precedence of Moses to all the other Prophets the descent of his Law from Heaven and its non-extirpation as to the End and Scope of it are at least as plainly asserted by Christ and his Apostles as ever they were by Moses or the succeeding Prophets the Jews therefore could not deny but that they taught sound Doctrine And then for the Religion that they have establishâ—d among us it apparently is as one saith An excellent endowment of mind continually flourishing from due Piety towards God with an ardent study of the Eternal Beauty and an imitation of it And this it is not only in the Inward Operations but also in the Outward Exercise of it for the Christian Worship of God tends to nothing so much as his Glory by making us like unto him It consists not in Mystical Oblations Sacrifices and Purifications but in Direct and strenuous Striving after that Holiness and Purity which perhaps was shadowed thereby that pure and Spiritual Devotion which was hardly discernable in the Carnal Ordinances of the Law is openly and clearly proposed unto us by the Institutions of the Gospel insomuch that among Christians there are hardly any so ignorant as not to know they ought to pursue it in all the parts of Divine Worship And together herewith it doth not only as the Law restrain men from Idolatry but it utterly destroyes it And what can be more effectual to extirpate Vice and promote Vertue than such a Religion And besides that the Gospel gives us the severest Precepts and strongest Motives that can be to avoid all Vice and Wickedness of Living and to follow Holiness in all manner of Conversation and above all things it asserts the highest necessity of Charity which will certainly uphold Justice and Equity and indeed the most elevated Vertue of all sorts Apparent therefore it is that the Gospel doth most highly establish the Law as to the general Intention of it viz. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Well-being both of the Souls and Bodies of men in their respective Societies What then though Christ and his Apostles were not so zealous for Obedience to the letter of the Law as to the End and Scope of it Were they therefore transgrâ—ssours of the Law No surely for they therein had the Example of the Prophets to warrant them in so being sor which of them was there that had not more regard to the Sense and Meaning than to the Letter of the Law of Mâ—sâ—s How severely did they reprehend the Moral Vices forbidden and constantly inculcate the Duties of Morality that lay hidden under it yea so contemptuously did they seem to speak of
him but by making thy self fit to receive from him for the Pythagoreans say thou shalt best honour God when thou makest thy mind like unto him If so it is evident there can be no Law so subservient to the Glory of God as the Moral Law is and consequently none so Good and Excellent as that is because none so apt to promote the Supreme End of all Laws whatever viz. the Glory of the Law-giver and the Good of the Subjects Yet so brutishly wicked were the Jewish Rabbies as that they made it void and of none effect not only its Precepts were neglected and slighted in comparison with their Ceremonial Performances but it s very Native Sense and Meaning were almost wholly Clouded and Eclipsed by their false Glosses vain Interpretations and Traditions wherefore one end of Christ his coming into the World it seems was to â—ulsill the Law i. e. not only to do but also to teach and declare what the Law required Whâ—t wâ—s natural in the Law as was before observed out of Irenâ—eus the Lord bath not only destroyed but also extended and â—illed up Those that desire to know wherein this Extension or Adimpletion of the Law doth conâ—ist may learn it from the same Father who tells us 't is in râ—quiring abstinence not only from all evil Works but also from the very Dâ—sire of them It seems then the Moral Law as it is now constituted the Rule of our Obedience is so Pure and Spiritual as that it reacheth the Faculties of our Souls as well as the Works Words and Gestures of our Bâ—dies sâ—rictly forbidding the Thoughts or Assent of our Minds and the very feeblest Inâ—linations of our Wills and Affections to Sin as well as the outward Perpetrations of it And how much this exceeds the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees i. e. of the sâ—rictest Professors among the Jews our Saviour himself hath dâ—monstrated in divers instances The Prohibition of Murder they restrained to Shedding of Blood but Chrisâ—â—xtended even to immoderate Anger that of Adultery they restrained to the External commission of Folly but Christ extended even to the very eructation of Concupiscence the Prohibition of taking Gods Name in vain they restrained to Perjury but Christ extended to all manner of Vain and False Swearing c. There is therefore nothing more evident than that the Moral Law as established by the Gospel is far more Pure and Spiritual more Extended and Comprehensive than it was as expounded by the Jewish Traditions and Rabbies and indeed they did rather Explode the Law than Expound it For if the Being of Sin consists in Consent as it apparently doth in most cases a man might be guilty almost of all Sins and yet according to Them be no Sinner because no Transgressor of the Law according to their Exposition of it But as Christ hath now restored it to its primitive Sense and Meaning it is we see so transcendently Holy and immaculately Pure as that the Wayes of our Hâ—arts as well as Works of our Hands and Words of our Mouths are or may be Unclean and Impure before it This then is the Prime Rule of our Practice hereunto the Gospel requireth most absolutely Perfect Unsinning Obedience insomuch that we ought to be humble for our Imperfections as well as penitent for our more grievous Transgressions and all this must spring from Faith that workâ—th by Love for without Faith it is impossible to please God and without Charity Faith is nothing worth Obj. But here perhaps it may be objected that it is impossible to keep the Law thus expounded it is rather fit for Adam in Innocence than for any of his Fallen Posterity Were there no depravity in our Nature or â—emptations in the World to do wickedly it might perhâ—ps with Justice and equity be imposed on us but since as Chriâ—t and his Apostles themselves teach we all have siâ—ned and cannot live without Sin it is rather apt to increase our Damnation than to promote our Salvation it is therefore very unbecoming that Wisdom and Goodness whereunto they pretended in the Promulgation of the Gospel it speaks more Zeal than Wisdom to râ—quire Impâ—ssibilities Answ This Objection having something of Truth and Reason in it even tempts me to wish it were found in the mouths only of humble and â—ober Enquirers after Truth but Experience hath taught me that our Semi-Atheists think to serve their Lusts by it for since gradually perfect Obedience is impossible and no man is obliged to Impossibilities they say and perhaps will swear it too it is sensless Folly and brutish Inadvertency to trouble our heads about it either by repenting what we have not done according to the Law or by taking care for the future to walk by it But let them not be too haâ—â—y in their Conclusion or too confident in the strength of their Argument for it is but a piece of Sophistry it divideth what ought to be joyned viz. the Law and its Exposition from the Mitigation of it by the Gospel take in this and the Argument will be found very inconclusive on their part but demonstrative on ours For though it be confâ—ssed we find the Law Extended and far more comprehensively Expounded by Christ and his Apostles than for ought we know it ever was by Moses or the Prophâ—ts much more by the Jewish Doctâ—rs and Rabbiâ—s yet withall we find it so qualified and mitigated its Rigor and Severity so allayed as that the Evangelical Constitution of it is far more eligible than the Legal it dâ—monstratâ—s far greatâ—r Wisdom and Goodness than ever it did either in the time of mans Innocence or afterwards under the Mosaical Dispensation For First Evident it is that the Law is not now established as a Covenant of Works as at first it was in the time of mans Innocence nor is it now yoked with a great number of positive Precepts as it was by the Law of Moses For besides Faith in Christ and the due use of his Sacraments it is not easie to think of any thing enjoyned by the Gospel but what is reducible to the moral Law which Law being capable of a twofold use viz. either as a Rule of Life or also as a Covenant of Works is both established and abolished by the Gospel for although as a Rule of Life and Manners the Gospel is so far from making void the Law as that there is no Religion in the World doth so apparently establish it yet as a Covenant of Works whereby to obtain Salvation the Gospel doth abolish it for in that it establisheth a new Covenant it maketh the first old Insomuch that that compleat and gradual perfect Obedience which in the Covenant of Works to Adam in Innocence was absolutely necessary to eternal Life although it be our Duty yet it is not an indispensable Condition of our Salvation For Secondly Though the Gospel requireth Perfect Obâ—dience yet it accepteth Sincere which is such
endanger so great a loss for so small Pleasure or Profit as seem to be had thereby For in the Tract but now mentioned we find that those only of the Israelites who deny the Resurrection or the Descent of their Law from God or the Being of a Deitie or those that read Heretical Books or pretend to cure Diseases by Inchantment or expound the name Jehovah in the vulgar Language these I say and these only of all the Israelites should be excluded from eternal Life And were not the people very much obliged to their Rabbies for removing the Cherubims and flaming Sword which kept the Way of the Tree of Life against all other unhallowed Sinners yes verily that they were especially considering that if any of them were so ill-advised as to hazard this their Right to Heaven yet had they no cause to dispair of its recovery for either by Repentance in this life or by a twelve Months Penance in Purgatory and the Prayers of Survivors the Exemption might be taken â—ff and they recover their Portion in the World to come And what more likely than these Traditions to evacuate the Commandments When a Rewaâ—d is sâ—â—ured to All who will work When Eternal Happiness is entailed upon All who will regard the Necessity of Holiness or take Care to follow it 'T is true indeed Antigonus Socensis forbad his Disciplâ—s to serve God on Condition of receiving Reward and required them to do it without any such Expâ—ctation t is also true that for this he was applauded by divers of their Seraphick Rabbies yet the effect of it was fatal to the Truth in some and of no Force on the Practice of most of the Jews and for that Reason divers of their Wise men that liked his Opinion yet blamed the Publication of it they therefore thought it better to permit the vulgar to enjoy their Opinion that Good was to be done for Hope of a Reward and evil to be eschewed for fear of Punishmâ—nt But since they were assured of a Portion in Heaven they had not much Reason to fear the Torments of Hell For if their Traditions were true it was a very easie Matter for them to keep the Law the Prâ—câ—pts whereof they distinguished into two Sorts whereof they called the one Commands the other Pâ—â—hibitions The Commands they say aâ—e two hundrâ—d forty eight just so many as according to the Anatomy of the Rabbies there are Members in a mans Body but the Prohibitions are three hundred sixty five viz. as many as there are dayes in the Year or as they say there are Veins in the Body of a man and thâ—refore say thâ—y if any one Member of a mans Body doth every day fulfill one of the Commands and omit one of the things prohibited it will thence come to pass that not only the Decalogue but the whole Law of Moses shall be by them most excellently kept every Year throughout all Ages Though perhaps we Christians may laugh at and despise this their Obedience yet it seems they thereby did supererrogate as well as obey for Abravanel assures us it was an approved Opinion of their Wise men that Whosoever of the Israelites did any one Precept of the Law which is in his Power he should thâ—reby merit the chief Reward i. e. The Life of the World to come And what more apt than such a Perswasion to make men partial and languid in the Practice of Moral Vertue And so indeed we find them for the Religion of the most Devout and Strictest Sects among them did either degenerate into Formality or else evaporate in Hypocrisie It was dry and sapless dead and lifeless a meer Contexture of Ceremonies and External Performances a Sceleton or at best but a Carcass without any heat or Life of Divine Love in it a form of Godliness without the Power a shew of Piety a Device to seem religious without being so a meer bodily kind of Drudgery and Servility yet were they as confident of its Goodness and as fondly proud of the Advantages they thought they had thereby as if in very Deed it had bâ—en that which was required by God and confirmed by Miracles supported by Prophets and professed by their Forefathers throughout all preceding Generations and so obstinately did they adhere to it as that the severest calamities of War could not make them cease from it for Josephus reports that when Pompey was got into their City and Aristobulus his Faction had took Sanctuary in the Temple with a Resolution to defend it they would not oppose his raising of Bulwarks or Towers or planting his Engines against it on the Sabbath day because as they thought their Law allowed them not to resist an Enemy upon the Sabbath day unless he were actually â—â—ghting against them the most imminent and thâ—eatening Preparations for War were not in their Judgment sufficient to warrant their Work or Acts of Hostility on that day Yea such was their Zeal for their Tradiâ—ionaâ—y Religion as that when the Romans had taken the Temple and were killing whomsoever they met therein yet it being one of their dayes of Fasting Survivors would not desist from the exercise of it neither the Fear of Death nor the Dreadful fight of dead and dying Multitudes could affright them from Acts of Divine Worship but judging it better to die than to forsake their Altars or omit any thing prescribed by their Laws they were ready to suffer whatever the Conquerours thought fit to inflict And again afterwards when Pontius Pilate had brought the Effigies of Caesar into the City they grew so troublesome with their Importunity to have it removed as that Pilate threatened them with Death if they would not depart and be quiet whereupon casting themselvâ—s down before him and making bare their Throats they sayâ—d unto him they could sooner endure Death with Pleasure than dare to suffer the Wisdom of their Laws to be scâ—ssed at Since then their Zeal for their Religion was thus preposterous and servent it seems to me more than probable that they were apt thereby to be transported into Fury and Madness at Reasons and Dâ—monstrations made by private men of its Shortness and Vanity yea that they could not with Patience bear those that did but so much as gently suggest it as appears yet more probable by the Explication their Gemara givâ—s of Epicures viz. That they are those who contemn the Disciples of their Wise men and for that cause if they are Israelites they shall lose their Portion in the World to come What then think ye thought they of those who had the courage to cast Contempt on the Dogmata and Traditions of the Wise men themselves were they not looked on as Blasphemers oâ— God and Enemies to the Law of Moses Yes doubtless that they were for since the Jews were thorowly instructed not only to attribute a Divine Original and Authority to the Traditions of their Elders but also to believe that
accomplishment of these Predictions for the primitive Seducers were men of so profligate a Conscience and lewd an Addiction as that they served not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own Belly though they professed friendship yet they were enemies to the cross of Christ their God was their Belly their Glory was in their shame and they did mind earthly things Whereby it is plain they were as it was foretold they would be viz. Men of corrupt minds and destitute of the Truth supposing that Gain is Godliness And this their perverse Supposition did doubtless dispose them to make merchandise of other Christians insomuch that they sought not them but theirs not their spiritual Good and Welfare but their worldly Wealth and temporal Interests that so they might make advantage to themselves thereby This was their design In order hereunto they seem wisely to have considered that their Power being only perswasive not coercive it would be their best way to adapt a Religion to the Humours and Vices of men accordingly we find that the contemplative and studious they allured with great swelling Words of Vanity about no man knows what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Ages which they divided into an Ogdoad a Decad and a Dodecad wherein there were as the Apostle saith Fables and endless Genealogies which minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in Faith the Fiction of which Fables and Genealogies they stole out of Antiphanes his Theogony So likewise they did divers of their Precepts out of heathen Philosophy for their practical Divinity consisted in the Rudiments of the World the Commandments and Doctrines of men touch not 〈◊〉 not handle not Tertullian therefore saith of the Hereticks that they had brought forth a Stoical Platoniâ—al and Dialectical Christianity Herewith they entertained the studious but they being but few in number in comparison with the more ignorant and vicious they found it expedient to allow of the Vices as well as the Learning of the Gentiles and accordingly so they did for they held the use of all Lust indifferent and herein their Practice was agreeable to their Opinion for it is a Shame even to speak of those things which were done of them in secret and so infectiously wicked it seems they were as that they perswaded others to be as bad as themselves thence it was that the Ephesians were in some danger of being deceived with vain Words into an Opinion that Fornication and all Uncleanness Avarice and Filthiness obscene and foolish talking and jesting were things lawful or at most but venial Sins Yet for all this to allure the minds of the rigorous and austere they pretended to great Mortification and Severity of living other Christians indulged themselves the use of Marriage and all manner of Meats without distinction but these were more mortifyed than so they did forbid to marry and commanded to abstain from meats The Appetites of the Flesh were so hateful and impure in their Sight as that they thought marriage and the better â—orts of meats too great an Indulgence to them yâ—a such was their zeal against them as that some of them said marriage was of the Devil and many of them abstained from all living Creatures and by this pretence of perfect continence they seduced many And no wonder since they were such mortiâ—ied men who would not take them for Saints with these baits did these cunning Anglers fish for Christians from among the Gentiles almost of all Sorts and all Inclinations The Jewish Christians who were yet Zealous of the Law they enticed by asserting a necessity of Circumcision and keeping their Law For they taught the Brethren and said except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses and keep the Law ye cannot be saved By this part of their Doctrine they did conciliate the obstinate Jews and insinuate themselves into those that believed who partly for fear of Prosecution from their unbelieving Countrymen and partly out of Love to their old Religion were very apt to swallow their Poyson whereunto also they added several Ingredients of most damnable Heresie For even in St. John's time many deceivers were entered into the World who confessed not that Jesus Christ was come in the Flesh But because others thought he was they made an high Profession of him that by the sweetness of his Name they might reach out this their bitter poyson unto them Which Poyson they sweetened with Pretences it was very wholesome and useful to purge the Soul from the dreggs of Ignorance and Error to enlighten the Mind and inform the Understanding for their profane and vain Bablings they had the Confidence to call Science and to make Profession of it and from a pretended excellency of Knowledge they laid peculiar claim to the Title of Gnosticks knowing men as if none no not St. Paul or St. Peter or any other of the Apostles could plead an â—quality to the greatness of their Knowledg for they boasted that they knew more than all men else And Knowledge we know is a thing so inviting as that it hath no Enemies but the Ignorant and scarce any so sottish as not to desire it insomuch that it was a Temptation even to Eve in Innocence when doubtless her Knowledge was compleatly suted to her Innocence yet even then â—he judged the forbidden Fruit desireable because it would make one Wise We 'tis true have lost her Innocence but not the Desire after Knowledge no marvel then if with this pretence they allured many Especially considering that though their Wisdom was Earthly Sensual devilish yet they pretended it was from above it came not of Blood or of the Will of the Flesh or of the Will of Man but of God For as the Devil in tempting our blessed Saviour hid his Lies under Texts of Holy Scripture so saith Irenaeus do all Hereticks what though as Polycarp observed they wrested the Word of God according to their own Lusts yâ—t it appeared thereby they fathered their Lies upon the God of Truth from whom also as they pretended their Fables sometimes descended by Tradition and sometimes by Revelation When they were urged and baffled out of the Holy Scriptures they fell foul upon them and accused them of such depravations insufficiences varieties and obscurities as that the Truth could not therein be found by any that knew not Tradition and by Tradition they understood not as others did that which every where always and by all Christians is believed but a more secret delivery of Truth down from one to another not by Writing but by word of mouth Thus it seems they pretended to have received their Doctrine not from the Apostles but from the mouth of Christ himself and therefore in the Church of Corinth they were neither for Paul nor Apollo no nor yet for Cephas but for Christ as if Christ had transmitted such Doctrine to them as he withheld
from others or at least such Doctrines as were but obscurely revealed to others by Holy Scriptures were plainly made known to them by Tradition But besides the Holy Scriptures and Tradition they or at least some of them pretended Revelation in behalf of their idle Fables as Irenaeus makes evident by the example of one Marcus and other Gnosticks who as they gave out did not only prophesie themselves but had power to communicate the gift thereof to others and accordingly as they boasted and their Disciples believed so they did to divers especially of the weaker Sex and by this pretence they deceived and drew many after them and no wonder if they did so for all men took Prophets to be holy Men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and who so profligate from all Religion as to think that they were such and yet refuse to be led by or partake of their Spirit by this pretence therefore how false and fabulous soever their Doctrine was the foundation of Faith in it and of Obedience to it was laid in the Consciences of men and this Foundation is of all others the most firm and immoveable able to bear whatever superstructure shall be laid upon it yea also and to beat off whatever assaults shall be made against it as appears by the improbability of some Doctrines and severity of some Orders still received and defended because at first founded on the credit of pretended Visions and Revelations all the difficulty was in the choice of the ground wherein to lay this Foundation the minds of men that were of sharp deep and strong Discourse were not apt to receive it but men of shallow apprehensions and weak intellectuals were fittest and most prepared for it this those builders of Babel the primitive Seducers seem wisely to have considered for S. Peter insinuates they were unstable Souls whom they beguiled and S. Paul more expresly saith they were the Simple whose hearts they deceived they crept into houses and led captive silly women laden with sins and led away with divers lusts thus those in the Apostles dayes and Irenaeus tells us of others who a little after them were most busie with women especially those that were of greatest Quality and most famous for worldly Grandieur and Riches these they most frequently sought to impose upon and allure by flatteries But lest their deceiveableness of unrighteousness viz. their Artifices of deceit should not be sufficient to secure the Foundation they came also as it was foretold they would with the working of Satan with all Power and Signes and lying Wonders for we read of Simon the Samaritan the Founder of Heresies and Father of Hereticks that he used Sorcery and bewitched the People of Samaria giving out that he himself was some great one to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest saying this man is the great Power of God Yet as great as he was he at length was in some measure subdued by a greater Power than his for he believed and was baptized yet his heart not being right in the Sight of God but supposing the Apostles to be greater Magicians than himself he greedily contended against them that he might seem more glorious than they to this end he desisted not from the study of Magick but made such farther progress in it as that he provoked many to amazement by it for Claudius Caesar erected a Statue in Honour of him for it After him the Carpocratians were much addicted to Magick and Inchantments that they might entice others to love them yea and they drew Devils to their assistance that by many Delusions it might be in their Power to be Lord and Master of whom they pleased Thus also it is reported of the before mentioned Marcus that he was a very great Proficient in Magical Imposture whereby he deceived many both Men and Women the like might I observe concerning others but this may suffice to shew that in this respect as well as others the primitive Seducers did exactly fulfill the Prophecies that went before of them and from thence it is easie to inferr that they who uttered them viz. Christ and his Apostles were Prophets because the only ordinary and certain Mark of a Prophetick Spirit viz. Predictions exactly accomplish'd is manifestly found in them But forasmuch as the Predictions of Christ and his Apostles concerning Seducers are of use not only to confirm the Faith but also to direct the Judgment in the choice of what Teachers men ought to follow and adhere to it would not be unuseful for us to make Trial of our Modern Teachers thereby which if we should do impartially I doubt not but we should find that the Copy which was set by the false Teachers in the Apostles times is too fairly transcribed by too many especially the Papists in ours and consequently we need not search the Records of Antiquity our own age will afford us too sure and sad accomplishment of these Predictions the demonstration hereof I did once intend but finding I should thereby grasp at matter more sit for a Volume than a Section I shall not so far digress but proceed to speak Sect. 6. Concerning the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles And here my business will be to prove that they really wrought many and great Miracles The Truth and certainty of which Proposition because Miracles were matters of Fact is most properly demonstrable only by Testimony yet Reason methinks proves it probable or somewhat more for granted it is on all sides that our Blessed Saviour himself in regard of his Manhood was but mean in the World his Parents were no Persons of Honour and he himself had but a mean Reception at his Birth nor was he by the Jews much set by in his Life He grew up as a root out of a dry Ground they thought there was no Form Comeliness or Beauty in him that they should desire him They would see no such blossomes in his Youth as promised any extraordinary Fruit in his riper age wherein also he was despised and rejected of men a man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief a Rock of Offence and Stone of Stumbling set at naught by the Master-Builders of Israel rejected by the chief of his own Nation pursued by his Enemies betrayed by one of his pretended Friends denyed by another and suspected by all pursued and apprehended bound and buffetted arraigned and spit on condemned and crucified by his own Country-men as one of the worst of Malefactors was this mans Name like to become great in Israel and famous among the Gentiles yet this was he that sent forth his Apostles and who were They why men as mean as himself persons of obscure Parentage of no Reputation for Wealth or Wisdom Honour or Authority in their own Country yea so far from it as that the chief of them was a Fisherman and others as rude and illiterate as the meanest
detect the Forgery in such a case the silence of Adversaries seems more demonstrative than the Testimony of Friends Especially considering they had not only the advantages of time and place but also provocations to have done it if they could for such was the Confidence and noble Magnanimity of those that first avouched it as that though they were stript of all Succour and Support from other men and exposed to Contempt and Scorn Curses and Execrations Persecutions and Afflictions Stripes and Imprisonments in short to all manner of hardships and Death it self in giving this Testimony yet were they not moved with fear or diverted from it but they did constantly avouch it and often appeal to the Consciences of their implacable Enemies concerning the Truth of it Thus St. Peter as it were in the name of all the Apostles tells the men of Israel That Jesus of Nazareth was a man approved of God among them by Miracles Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of them as saith he you your selves also know The Jews therefore could not and Arnobius tells the Gentiles that they dare not attempt to convince it of Falshood the reason I suppose was because as Origen tells Celsus it was not possible to deny that the Miracles reported of Christ and his Apostles were done In this case wherein the Christians had all imaginable motives to be silent and their Enemies to speak yet that none of them either Jews or Gentiles should be able to contradict their Testimony how strange is it how clearly and plainly doth it speak the truth of their Testimony and vindicate them from all shadow of Suspicion they had a design to cheat the World into belief of Lies how evidently doth it shew the triumphant force of Truth and Energy of Conviction that Christ and his Apostles wrought Miracles Which Energy of Conviction discovered it self by Concessions as well as by forced Silence for so apparently true was the Churches Tradition in this particular as that some of his Enemies have added their suffrages to hers that Christ and his Apostles wrought Miracles The Jews it seems do openly confess it in their Jerusalem-Talmud and their Midras Cohele where they tell us that the Grandson of R. Jehosua the Son of Levi having swallowed Poyson was recovered from danger of death thereby through the Invocation of the Name of Jesus but the Father understanding by what means his son was cured was so maliciously ungrateful as to say it had been better for him to have died than to be so cured whereupon his ingratitude was presently avenged by the Death of his Son To this Story they add another the sum whereof is that R. Elazar the Son of Duma being bit with a Serpent was healed by St. James Among the Gentiles the very bitterest of the Christians Adversaries did acknowledge as much for Celsus protested himself to believe the Stories of Christs miraculous Cures oâ— the Sick and raising the Dead and feeding the Multitudes with a few Loaves and the Fragments that remained all these things and whatever else the Disciples reported as he thought to amplifie the greatness of his Miracles he professeth to believe were true and grants we may believe they were done It seems also that Iulian did acknowledge the Lame and the Blind were healed and those that were possessed with Devils received help in Bethsaida and Bethanie and to enrage others against Christ and his followers Porphyrius undertook to tell them the reason why the City was so long afflicted with sickness and that in his judgement was because neither Aesculapius nor any other of the gods could have access unto it for saith he since the time that Iesus was worshipped no man can get any publick help from the gods And from that Gallimalfry of non-sense and errors viz. the Alcoran we may gather this Truth that Messias Iesus the Son of Mary gave sight to the Blind healed the Leprous raised the Dead and taught the Living and that the Apostles did the same in his absence If then Reason or Tradition the testimony of Friends or the Writings of Enemies will satisfie we have one would think enough of all sorts and that when some were vomiting Lyes and belching Blasphemies against Christ his Person and his Doctrine yet even then they confess that He and his Apostles did those things which we take to be Mirâ—cles Obj. But here perhaps it will be said that we are mistaken it was of old objected they were not real and true Miracles but lying Wonders Delusions of Satan and Effects of Magick thus the Scribes and Pharisees among the Jews and thus also many among the Gentiles and this was thought so apparent as that Celsus himself although he had formerly written many books against Magick was yet in a sort constrained to retract his Opinion and confess that it had a Being in the things that were done by Christ and his Followers for having granted the Truth of the Report that such and such Wonders were indeed done by them he immediately subjoyns a comparison between them and the sleights of Juglers who promise greater matters and more wonderful yet are they but such as they learned from the Aegyptians and for a few Farthings will shew in the midst of Markets boasting that by their Arts they can cast out Devils heal Diseases recall the Souls of the Dead prepare Tables sumptuously furnish'd with all manner of Dainties and raise Ghosts that seem to move though in truth they are void of all motion Ans And so is this odious comparison of all Truth and Probability for what communion hath Substance with Shadows What agreement have substantial Changes with bare Appearances Could Celsus have proved that the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles were meerly Phaenomena of Fancy as he calls these impostures of Juglers which he basely compares therewith he had said something to the Purpose but he had not the impâ—dence to affirm that nor so little wit as to attempt the Prooâ—â—f it this therefore as Origen justly tells him is not the part of a Disputant but of the unlearned Vulgar an effect of Passion unworthy of a Philosopher whom it becomes not impertinently to rail at but candidly to examine a matter that lyes bâ—fore him which if Celsus had done impartially he would without doubt have found that sweâ—t Waâ—â—r and bitter might be sent forth from the same Fountain as well as the Miracles of Christ and the Delusions of Inchanters from the same Cause viz. the Devils Malice For so evident it is to the Reason of all men as that it was almost a Proverb among the Greeks and Romans as well as Jews that every Kingdom divided against it self is brought to Desolation and every City or House divided against it self shall not stand and manifest it is that if Satan cast out Satan he is divided against himself how then shall his Kingdom stand 'T is true
to the Churches Tradition concerning those of Christ himself and his Apostles For 't is not possible that he who granted this Power to his Disciples should want it himself and next to an Impossibility it is that in his Circumstances he should never make use of it nor is it at all probable that he would confer it on his meanest Disciples in private capacities and that when his Gospel was every where planted and deny or withhold it from the chief of his Followers those whom he chose to be his Witnesses and Founders of his Faith throughout all Nations That this should be the oeconomy of his dispensations it 's an astonishment to Reason to imagine but that it was not is most highly agreeable insomuch that with Confidence we may conclude there is no matter of Fact whatever although of a far less distance of whose Truth we have more or indeed so much reason to be perswaded as we have of the Churches Tradition that Christ and his Apostles wrought many and great Miracles Yet if we may believe St. Austin that he who still requires Prodigies that he may believe is himself a great Prodigy it is to be feared there are more than a few such Prodigies in our Age for an admired Author asks the Question How can one that saith those things he saith or teachâ—th were confirmed by Miracles be believed unless that he also himself hath done a Miracle The reason of this Question such as it is he subjoyns in another For if a private man be to be believed without a Miracle why among those that teach diverse things is one to be believed rather than another Because there are other Motives of Credibility besides Miracles why else should this unlucky Author be believed in any thing he saith that 's different from others but whether it be fit he should or no I shall not now enquire but only observe First That Miracles have been done may be believed upon the Credit of Testimony without the doing of any Miracle to confirm it The possibility of Miracles I now take for granted and so also I might this Observation had it not been for this Authors sly insinuation that without the doing of a Miracle it cannot appear credible that ever there were any But why so is there any thing in the Nature of a Miracle that renders the Attestation of it incredible It seems not for the same Author else where defines a Miracle to be a Work of God besides his Operation by the way of Nature ordained in the Creation done for the making manifest to his elect the Mission of an extraordinary Minister for their Salvation Whether a Miracle be a Work of God only besides and not also above his Operation by the way of Nature ordained in the Creation and what precious ones this Authors Elect are it doth not at present concern me to enquire but only to observe that whosoever they are the designed end of a Miracle according to him is to make manifest unto them the Mission of some extraordinary Minister for their Salvation Be it so that this as in Part at least it undoubtedly is the End and Scope of real and true Miraclâ—s I would fain know of this Author how a thing that is incredible can make manifest a thing that is not The Mission of an extraordinary Minister although not hastily to be bâ—lieved yet is not incredible but a Miracle it seems is how then can it make it manifest But if this be impossible or unintelligible whence comes it to pass that God makes choice of such a thing to make manifest another doth this Author think the Wisdom of God so short or his Power so weak as to lay and effect his Designes no better if so he may change apprehensions with Epicurus as wretched as he thinks his and yet be no looser by the bargain But whatever he thinks of God I cannot think him so void of Reason as to deny that that which makes manifest must it self be more manifest than that which it makes so manifest therefore I take it to be that if the end of Miracles be to make manifest they themselves must needs be so and if manifest then credible and if credible why may they not be done before credible Witnesses And why may not those Witnesses report them truly to other credible Persons And why may not this Report be transmitted to Posterity And why may not Posterity bâ—lieve it as well as it doth those concerning Alexander Julius Câ—â—sar c What Impossibility Immorality or Imprudence is there in so doing If there be none then Secondly It is needless to demand the doing of Miracles to prove that there have been some done the Reason is manifest because this Assent may be built upon another foundation viz. Testimony of credible Witnesses transmitted or delivered down throughout all Ages to Posterity the sufficiency of this foundation to bear that Superstructure will be evident by the firm Assent that men build upon less credible Testimony whereof they give evidence in almost all affairs of humane Life The Nobleman claims his Peerage the Gentleman his Estate the Merchant ventures his money and the Traveller takes his Journey the honest Lawyer Pleads and the just Judge pronounceth Sentence upon the credit of Testimony and such is the necessity of Testimony as that the Child cannot learn his Letters nor the Scholar attain his knowledge in the Sciences nor the Mechanick skill in his Trade nor indeed can we our selves know our own Names without assenting to Testimony yet so firm an Assent do we yield unto it as that there is nothing more ridiculous and hardly accomplished than perswasion of us out of our Names Most firm Assent therefore we see is yielded to Testimony and that such as is not more perhaps less credible than that whereby the knowledge of Christs Miracles is conveyed unto us for it hath not Antiquity Universality and Consent of all Parties as this hath to avouch its Credibility most firm Assent therefore may and in reason ought to be given to it for where there is certain Credibility in the matter propounded and also in the Testimony that propounds it there doth arise upon men an obligation to believe as appears by the Law of Nature concerning Converse which would serve to very little or no purpose if the motives of Credibility do not induce an obligation to believe It seems therefore that the Testimony or Tradition whereby we understand that Christ and his Apostles did many and great Miracles we not only may but also we ought to believe because there is a certainty of Credibility both in the Matter propounded and also in the manner of its proposition to our consideration and if this renders it a Duty to believe then Thirdly It is both wicked and absurd to demand a Miracle to induce our Assent unto it It is wicked because it not only hinders the performance of our Duty but also meerly to gratifie
him and presuming that none had they haughtily censure the People who know not or professedly Study not the Law as if these poor Serjeants were a Demonstration that they are Cursâ—d But this their Pride and confidence were mounted upon Ignorance for Nicodemus a man of the Pharâ—sâ—es and a Ruler as well as themselves He though fearful of giving Offence and incurring the Censures of the Sanhedrim yet for his farther satisfaction went to Jesus by Night and said unto him Rabbi we know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles which thou doest except God be with him Although he was not fully perswaded that Jâ—â—us was the Messias or that Prophet whom they expected to come before him yet faith he we know we do not conjecture but 't is evident and certain to us that thou art a Teacher come from God hereof he was câ—nvinced by the Miracles he did they in his esteem were arguments so Demonstrative and necessary as vanquished all objections and made that his conclusion but a just Trophe of their victorie So that not only the common people or the vulgar Rabble that knew not the Law but also the most Wise and Learned among them did account Miracles undeniable arguments of Divine Authority in them that did them On this Score it was that the Man who was born Blind urged his miraculous Cure with great evidence of Truth before the Pharisees to whom he declares that this Miracle had such an Influence upon him as that he thought Him that did it a Prophet but they not willing to think so too would not believe that He had ever been Blind whereupon they call his Parents and ask Them three Questions viz. 1. Whether that were their Son 2. Whether he was born Blind 3. Whether They knew how this pretended Cure was wrought or by Whom To the two First they answered directly We know that this is our Son and that he was born blind But for an answer to the Third they referred them to him Who being again called in was by the Pharisees Instructed to give God the praise and not to look on Him that did it with any Veneration or to think him a Prophet as he had said he did No say they far be that from Thee for we know that this man is a sinner i. e. Surely as they would have it an Impostor for afterwards they Institute a comparison between Him and Moses as for this Latter They say We know that God spake unto him but as for this Fellow we know not from whence he is of any Commission he hath from God as Moses had we know nothing Hereat the man marvails as well he might for it was a common Principle known and allowed among them that if a man had the requisites to a Prophetiâ—k Spirit and did a Miracle to shew that God had sent him then it was the command of God that men should hear and believe him and good Reason too for saith he we know i. e. You and I agree in t his perswâ—sion that God heareth not sinners viz. Such Impesâ—ors asi mâ—ortune Heaven to Seal their Lies with Miracles but He whose prayers of that Nature he heareth is a Worshipper of God and doth his Will he is on ethat is no Idolater but a Faithful Servant of God that comes to do his Will if not then must it be granted that God Works Miracles to assist Impostors but what Wretch so Profligate as not to abhor such a Position since then since the World began it was never heard that any Man opened the Eyes of onethat was born Blind it must be concluded that This Man who hath opened mine is of God Sent and Impowered by Him o herwise hâ— could do nothing of this Nature This conclusion being clearly deduced from their Own approved Principles they had nothing to object against it as appears by their base supplying the defect of their Reason and Impotent opinion by the Scorns of Insolence and Rage of Malice for they answered and said thou wast altogether born in sins and dost Thou teach us and they cast him out A clear sign of a baffled prejudice and a strong though stifled Conviction that Miracles were a Demonstration of Divine Power and Commission And had not the Gentiles been of the same opinion Antiquity had been extreamly Sensless and Sottish in feigning Miracles as I am told it often did in some Mens arrival at Crowns and Scepters that thence they might seem preserved from Danger and advanced to the Royal Dignity not by chance and fortune but by the Majestie and care of the Gods If men among the Gentiles as well as Jews had not then generally looked on Miracles as Demonstrations of Divine Authority the Authors of these Fictions must have been thought Brutes in the shape of Men rather than partakers of a Reasonable Nature Nor could Vespasiâ—n have obtained the accession of Authority and Majestie as Suetonius saith he did by his Miraculous Cures or rather the Fiction of them at Alexandria Thus then we see that all men every where Jews and Egyptians Greeks and Romans and all other Gentiles yea that God himself esteemed Miracles undeniable or Demonstrative Proofs of Divine Authority in them by whom or for whose sake they were done All therefore that now Remains will be to shew 3. The Reasons for which the miracles of Christ and His Apostles deserve as well yea better than any to be accounted and that this they do will be made apparent by a brief Survey of their Nature and their Number their Greatness and their Goodness A Miracle as to its general Nature is defined by a Modâ—rn Author to be a Work of God besides his operation by the way of Nature ordained in the Creation This perhaps may pass without exception but then it must be understood with Aquinas his distinction that to the being of a Miracle it is not sufficient that something be done beside the Order of Nature in some one particular for if so it were then the production of Mules and Monsters yea the very casting of a Stone upwards would be a Miracle because each of these Things in some one particular is besides the Order of Nature yet is it ridiculous to say that it is Miraculous the Schoolman therefore concludes that a Miracle is besides the Order of the whole Created Nature and consequently above it Now that the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles were such Works is so apparent as that there is â—o need of recourse to Gods Lieutenant as the Leviathan directs to know the Truth of it for this was so far from being a doubtful Case as that by their ejection of Devils it was evident to every mans Reason The Power of the Air is by all owned to be as great if not Superior to all other Power in Naâ—ure yet they by their Power of doing Miracles cast
out the Prince of that Power Who then but the obstinate for whose Cure God himself affords no Remedie can doubt whither their Power were the Power of God If the Prince of the Power of the Air be as Aquinas probably conjectures the Supreme of all the Angels that ever God Created it is manifest his Power is inferior to none in the whole Order of the created Nature however for ought I know it ever was and still is so accounted among all Jews and Christians except those if there be any that deny his being and as for the Heathens it is Apparent that they thought it Divine and inferior to none yet as we have already abundantly proved it was over matched and conquered by the Power of Christ and his Apostles what baslled and self condemned Wretches then must those needs be who will not own it to be the Power of God beside the Order of the whole Created Nature and if so then were their Miracles the Seals of Heaven to Ratifie their Mission from thenâ— and so to prove that they were Prophets Their number also as well as their Nature speaks them Worthy to be so accounted for doubtless it did far exceâ—d that of those Wrought by Moses and the Prophets The Jews no doubt for the honour of Moses their Master and of their own approved Prophets were so Zealous as that they would rather enlarge than diminish the Number of their Miracles yet after their utmost diligences they could find but 76. for Moses their Master and but 74 for all the Rest of the Prophets and the Records they find so many in are not only unknown to us but also liable to suspition of Falshood for we cannot think them their Bible because the Number therein contained after the greatest improvement that we can make will fall very short of that Account that they give of it but suppose it doth not what are they to those of Christ and his Apostles could an exact account be taken of All that they did I dare say the Number of those wrought by Christ only would be found greater than that of Moses and all the Prophets put together For they were so many as that the Jews themselves as we have already observed made it a question whether Christ the Messias When he cometh would do more miracles than these which this man hath done Nothing but amazement at their extraordinary Multitude could Raise such a question among them Which Facilitates belief of St. Johns assertion there are also many other things which Jesus did besides those Recorded in the New Testament the which is they should be written every one I suppose that even the World it self could not contain the Books which should be written His supposition is an Hyperbole the plain meaning whereof I take to be that those Works of Christ whose memory the Apostle in this His History had committed to Writing were to be looked on as a small part of what Jesus did as that if a full account of them all should be exactly taken and described in Writing the World would be over-stock't and oppressed with Books on that Subject If then to the Miracles of Christ we add those of His Apostles we shall find Reason to conclude them almost innumerable for since their Sound went into all the Earth and They themselves into almost all the known Parts of the World Converting men by their Miracles to their Doctrine how can it be Imagined that they were but few in Number The Devil being then in possession Ruled without controle in the Children of Disobedience and the World was Then asleep yea dead in Trespasses and sins and think ye that a few Miracles would suffice to Cast out the one and to awake and raise the other it is much more Rational to think that they were many yea so exceeding many as to admit of no Comparison with those of others in point of Number and all these being done in one Generation for Christ and his Apostles were Contemporaries how strongly do they prove and how clearly do they Declare the Divine Authority of Them that did Them If Judaisine were Credible because in the space of above 3000 years Moses and the Prophets wrought 150 Miracles to confirm it how much more Credible is Christianity because fewer Persons in the space of less than an hundred years wrought incomparably more to Demonstrate the Truth of it If the Jews had Reason to believe that They were Prophets much more have we that Christ and his Apostles were so well as they Especially considering That the Greatness of their Miracles doth as justly claim our Assent thereunto as their Number It is true indeed all Miracles being Works of God besides the whole Order of the Created Nature in respect of His Power they are all equal yet in respect of the Power of Nature one may be greater because remoter from it or farther above it than another for as Aquinas well observes these Works of God viz. Miracles may Three ways exceed the Power of Nature either First in respect of the substance of the Fact whâ—n it is above the Power of Nature by any means to do that which is done as that the Sun should go back or that a Mans Body should be Glorified these are Things that Nature cannot do Again secondly other Miracles there are that exceed the Power of Nature not in respect of that which is done but in respect of that wherein it is so as the Raising of the Dead and giving Sight unto the Blind Nature may be the Cause of Life but not in one that is dead and Nature may give Sight but not to one that was born Blind Lastly another sort of Miracles there is which do indeed exceed the Power of Nature but neither in the substance of the Fact nor in that werein 't is done but only in the Manner of doing as when one on a sudden by the Divine Power without the use of Physick or accustomed Process of Nature in such Cases is Cured of a Fever Of these Three sorts of Miracles the First is greater than the Second the Second than the Third because it farther exceeds the Power of Nature yet so as that each Sort have divers Degrees of advance above it so that one Miracle may be greater than another not only of another but also of the same sort However sure we are that among the Miracles of our Blessed Saviour it is no hard matter to find Instances of the First and Second as well as the Third Magnitude witness His feeding the Multitudes in the Wilderness his Casting out of Devils His raising the Dead and giving Sight unto the Blind c. Insomuch that since the World began it was never heard that any Man did the like and this takes away all Colour of Pretence for Unbelief for since the Jews had Reason to believe Moses their Master for his Miracles much more had they to believe Christ for His because the
did as far exceed the power of Nature as the Donation of Blessedness or any thing else contained in the Promises by them therefore it appears that all things requisite thereunto are in the Power of Him by whom or in whose Name they were done and the Goodness of his Miracles declare Him as Willing as Able to bestow them on us and where both Power and Will do concur to make men Blessed it is very evident there is no place left for Diffâ—â—ence or room for Despair Since then the Miracles of Christ do Demonstrate both his Ability and Willingness to make us Blessed and all the Promises of the Gospel do empty themselves into Blessedness it thence follows that on that account we may and in Reason we ought to have stâ—ong confidence in the Promises But here perhaps some will say no because the performance of them in Order to the acquisition of Blessednâ—ss includes a general Resurrection from the Dead whiâ—h is impossible because if some Men have not been nourished by feeding on the Flesh of others yet surely Fish eat Men and Men eat those Fish so that That which formerly was the Flesh of one Man is frequently taken into the substance of anothers body and because it cannot be that the same numerical matter should constitute divers bodies it seems impossible that these men should have a Resurrection Be it so that a general Resurrection seems incredible yet ought not that to prejudice our Hope any more than the Mysteries of Christianity do our Faith because that He who made and revealed things that pass our comprehension may propose the like to our Hope and forasmuch as it is our duty to honour him by the submission of our irascible faculties as well as rational it ought not to seem strange that so he should But why should it be thought impossible for God to raise the dead If the Loadstone can so extract the filings of Steel out of dust as that nothing thereof shall be lost why should it be thought impossible for God to gather together and raise up every the least Particle of each mans body wheresoever hid or intermingled with others and there is no fear of a Contention at thee Rsurrection among the Canibals or others for their respective bodies for it seems to me more than probable that Infinite Wisdom Power and Justice will so order the matter aâ— that humane flesh which men have devoured shall be as St. Austine faith restored unto them in whom it first began to be mans flesh and they from whose Bodies the restitution is made shall have no cause to be troubled at it for as the Imperfâ—ctions or the defects of strength and Nature in the bodies of Infants at their decease shall by the Almighty Power and Wisdom be supplyed at the Resurrection so may and so I believe shall theirs Nâ—r doth this Supply make them cease any more to be the same Bodies than the cure of an old Ulcer in the Leg makâ—s it cease to be the same Leg although in order thereunto the putrefied flesh be removed that sound may be restored In all this there is nothing impossible and since Christianity doth so clearly assert a future Resurrection and we have so much Reason to believe it it is not only possible but probable that so it shall be However since so it may be there is no truth or force in the Objection to make our Christian Hope unreasonable but since it grasps at nothing that is really impossible and withal is so well founded on Promises of whose Truth and certainty we are so abundantly assured it must be concluded to be very rational Sect. 6 Lastly since it is thus reasonable to believe the Doctrine and to hope in the Promises of Christianity it is also very reasonable for us to keep its Commandments Faith and Hope are so great Engines of Action as that in Natural and Civil affairs scarce any man omits doing of any thing whereby he believes and hopes to obtain some good or to avoid some evil and if in those Affairs all the World think it reasonable for Faith and Hope to set us on doing why is it not so also in Religious Since therefore in these affairs we have as we have seen very fair ground to plant these Engines on it is very reasonable to set them on work in keeping the Commandments And not for this cause only but especially because Christ and his Apostles who revealed them to us and imposed them on us being Prophets it is thence manifest that they have no less than divine Authority instampt upon them and so indisputably evident and transcendently great is this Authority as that the whole Earth Heathens and Turks as well as Jews and Christians acknowledge an obligation to obey it and since Gods Commands have so confessed an obligation in them it is certainly a part of the Synteresis or habit of prâ—ctical Principles wherewith Nature hath indued all mens Consciences that God is to be obeyed Since then because Christ and his Apostles were Prophets the Precepts of that Religion that they have taught us must needs be the Commands of God we are self-condemned Wretches perhaps worse than Infidels if we do not obey them But here to demonstrate at once both the nature and the greatness of our obligations to Obedience it will not be amiss though it may seem a Digression to enquire Whence our obligation to obey God doth arise If we consult the Philosophical Rudiments concerning Government and Civil Society for an Answer to this Question we shall there find it affirmed that the obligation of yielding God obâ—dience lyes on men by reason of their weakness If this shall seem hard to any man the Author in his Annotation desires him with a silent thought to consider if there were two Omnipotents whether were bound to obey And well may it seem hard since it admits of no proof without the supposition of an Impossibility viz. that there may be two Omnipotents which cannot be because the one is or it is not able to destroy the other if it be then the other is not Omnipotent because it is not able to resist it if it be not then is it not Omnipotent because there is something which it cannot do so that the Being of two Omnipotents is impossible Let a man therefore consider his arguing with never so silent a thought he shall find but little or no force in it And truly though our Saviour admonishing Paul who at that time was an enemy to the Church that he should not kick against the pricks seems to require obedience from him for this cause because he had not power enough to resist yet doth it not thence follow that his Weakness was the formal reason of his obligation to yield Obedience because there may be many motives to obey besides the basis and radix of our obligation so to do In the advice of a Friend there is no obligation at all
Doctrine of the Antients to which is added a discourse of Physiognomy and Character of Countreys Written in French and now translated into Engliâ—h by J. G. Gent. of the Inner-Temple London the Second Edition Twelves 13. Lux Mathematica excussa Collisionibus Jâ— Wallisii Tho. Hobbes multis sulgentissimis aucta radiis Authore R. R. Quarto 14. Principia Problemaâ—a aliquot Geometrica ante desperata nunc breviter explicata demonstrata Autho. T. Hobbes 15. The American Physitian treating of all the Roots Herbs c. in America by W. Hâ—ghes 16. The Great Law of Nature about Self-preservation vindicated against the abuses in Mr. Hobbes's Leviathan Twelves 17. Calliopâ—s Cabinet opened wherein all Gentlemen may be informed how to order themselves for Feasts Funerals and all Heroick meetings to know all degrees of Honour and how all degrees are to take place with a Dictionary for Herald-Terms Twelves 18. 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The Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire called the Deviâ—s-Arse of Peak in Latin and English Octavo 1678. 38. The Reflections upon Antient and Modern Philosophy Moral and Natural Treating of the Egyptians Arabians Grecians Romans English Germans French Spanish Italian c. Philosophers and their Philosophy with the use to be made of it 1678. 39. Decameron Physiologicum or ten Dialogues of Natural Philosophy by Tho. Hobbes of Malmsbury To which is added the proportion of Straight Line to half the Arc of a Quadrant by the same Author 1678. 40. Melpomene or the Muses Delight being new Poems and Songs Written by the great Wits of our present Age. 1678. 41. Clelia an Excellent new Romance in 5 Parts in Fol. Plays Printed for W. Crook 1. White Devil or Vittoria Corombâ—na 2. The old Troop or Monsieur Raggou 3. Catalines Conspiracy by â— Johnson 4. Amorous Gallant or Love in Fashion 5. Mock Duellist or The French Vallett 6. Wrangling Lovers or The Invisible Mistress 7. Tom Essence or The modish Wife 8. French Conjurer 1678. 9. Witts led by the Nose or The Poets Revenge 1678. 10. Rival King or The Loves of Oroondates 1678. 11. Constant Nymph or Rambling Shepherd 1678. 12. Counterfeit Bridegroom or Defeated Widdow 1678. 13. Tunbridge Wells or A days Courtship 1678. 14. The Man of New-Market 1678. Books Printed for W. Crook this Year 1679. 1. The Confinement A Poem with Annotations upon it Octavo price 1 s. 2. Praxis Curiae Admiralitatis Angliae Author Francisâ— Clark Edit Secunda Twelves price bound 1 s. 3. Justifying of Faith or the Faith by which the Just do live To which is added a Discourse of the Excellency of the Common-Prayer Book Octavo price bound 1 s. 4. The first State of Mahumadisme or an Account of the Author and Doctrines of that Imposture Octavo price bound 2 â— FINIS 1 Cor. 1. 22. Rom. 1. 22. Mark 8. 11. Viâ— Grot de Vâ—rit Relig. lib. 2. §. 21 Col 1. 26. â— Cor. 2. 4 5. Deut. 18. 5. Act. 3. 22. Act. 7. 37. Joh. 20. 21. De fund Lâ—g cap. 7. Numb 7. 89. Numb 12. 8. Exod. 33. 11. Numb 12. 8. Exod. 33. 1 â— Numb 9. 8. Deut. 5. 30 31. Heb. 2. 10 Isa 11. 2. 3 Q. 11. â— 1. Joh. 16. 13. Luk. 21. 14 15. Chap. 1. Rev. 1. 5. Part. 4. §. 9. Vid. Theodoret Ser. dâ— Fide p. 16 Joh. 3. 32 33. Acts 1. 8. R. M. Maimonides de fund Legis c. 2. Sect. 8. cum Vorstii not Idem c. 7. Sect. 2. Mar. 16. 15. Luke 24. 45. Act. 25. 6. More Nâ—voc p. 2. cap. 36. Vid. Smiths Disâ— of Prophecy cap. 2. Vid. Rob. Steph. Job Buxtorf Lex in voce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 1. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to let loose * Nic. Creed 1 Cor. 12. 8 9 10. Apol. 2. Deut. 18. 18. De Arcanis cath verit l. 8. c. 7. Acts 3. 22. Luke 24. 19. Joâ— 6. 14. Jâ—â— 4. 19. v. 42. v. 2â— 1 Cor. 2. 10 Joh. 16. 7 13. Act. 2. 1. c. Joel 2. 28. Act. 2. 16. â—phâ—s 3. 4 5. Hobbâ—s Leviatâ—an p. 3. â— 36. Luc. Flor. Clem. Alex. Stro. lib. 1. idem ibid. Alex. ab Alex. gen dier lib. 4. c. 17. id lib. 3. cap. 16. Plutarch de plac Phil. l. 5. c. 1. Maimon Mor. Novâ—ch p. 3.