mysteries our faith stands upon this twofold bottom First that the being understanding and power of God doth infinitely transcend ours and therefore he may reveal to us matters above our reach and capacity Secondly that whatever God doth reveal is undoubtedly true though we may not fully understand it for this is a most undoubted principle that God cannot and will not deceive any in those things which he reveals to men Thus our first supposition is cleared that it is not repugnant to reason that a doctrine may be true which depends not on the evidence of the thing it self The second is That in matters whose truth depends not on the evidence of the things themselves infallible testimony is the fullest demonstration of them For these things not being of Mathematical evidence there must be some other way found out for demonstrating the truth of them And in all those things whose truth depends on Testimony the more creditable the Testimony is the higher evidence is given to them but that testimony which may deceive cannot give so pregnant an evidence as that which cannot for then all imaginable objections are taken off This is so clear that it needs no further proof and therefore the third follows That there are certain ways whereby to know that a Testimony delivered is infallible and that is fully proved by these two Arguments 1. That it is the duty of all those to whom it is propounded to believe it now how could that be a duty in them to believe which they had no ways to know whether it were a Testimony to be believed or no. 2. Because God will condemn the world for unbelief In which the Justice of Gods proceedings doth necessarily suppose that there were sufficient arguments to induce them to believe which could not be unless there were some certain way supposed whereby a Testimony may be known to be infallible These three things now being supposed viz. that a doctrine may be true which depends not on evidonce of reason that the greatest demonstration of the truth of such a doctrine is its being delivered by infallible Testimony and that there are certain ways whereby a Testimony may be known to be infallible Our first principle is fully confirmed which was that where the truth of a doctrine depends not on evidence of reason but on the authority of him that reveals it the only way to prove the doctrine to be true is to prove the Testimony of him that reveals it to be infallible The next principle or Hypothesis which I lay down is That there can be no greater evidence that a Testimony is infallible then that it is the Testimony of God himself The truth of this depends upon a common notion of humane nature which is the veracity of God in whatever way he discovers himself to men and therefore the ultimate resolution of our faith as to its formal object must be alone into the veracity of God revealing things unto us for the principium certitudinis or foundation of all certain assent can be fetched no higher neither will it stand any lower then the infallible verity of God himself and the principium patefactionis or the ground of discovery of spiritual truth to our minds must be resolved into Divine Testimony or revelation These two then not taken asunder but joyntly God who cannot lye hath revealed these things is the only certain foundation for a divine faith to rest its self upon But now the particular exercise of a Divine faith lies in a firm assent to such a particular thing as Divinely revealed and herein lyes not so much the Testimony as the peculiar energy of the Spirit of God in inclining the soul to believe peculiar objects of faith as of Divine revelation But the general ground of faith which they call the formal object or the ratio propter quam credimus is the general infallibility of a Divine Testimony For in a matter concerning divine revelation there are two great questions to be resolved The first is Why I believe a Divine Testimony with a firm assent The answer to that is because I am assured that what ever God speaks is true the other is upon what grounds do I believe this to be a Divine Testimony the resolution of which as far as I can understand must be fetched from those rational evidences whereby a Divine Testimony must be distinguished from one meerly humane and fallible For the Spirit of God in its workings upon the mind doth not carry it on by a brutish impulse but draws it by a spiritual discovery of such strong and perswasive grounds to assent to what is revealed that the mind doth readily give a firm assent to that which it sees such convincing reason to believe Now the strongest reason to believe is the manifestation of a divine Testimony which the Spirit of God so clearly discovers to a true believer that he not only firmly assents to the general foundation of faith the veracity of God but to the particular object propounded as a matter of Divine Revelation But this latter question is not here the matter of our discourse our proposition only concerns the general foundation of faith which appears to be so rational and evident as no principle in nature can be more For if the Testimony on which I am to rely be only Gods and I be assured from natural reason that his Testimony can be no other then infallible wherein doth the certainty of the foundation of faith fall short of that in any Mathematical demonstration Upon which account a Divine Testimony hath been regarded with so much veneration among all who have owned a Deity although they have been unacquainted with any certain way of Divine revelation And the reason why any rejected such a Testimony among the Heathens was either because they believed not a Deity or else that the particular Testimonies produced were meer frauds and impostures and therefore no Divine Testimony as it was given out to be But the principle still remained indisputable that on supposition the Testimony were what it pretended to be there was the greatest reason to believe it although it came not in such a way of probation as their sciences proceeded in From which principle arose that speech of Tully which he hath translated out of Plato's Timaeus Ac difficillimum factu à Diis ortis sidem non haber◠quanquam nec argumentis nec rationibus certis eorum oratio confirmetur By which we see what a presumption there was of Truth where there was any evidence of a Divine Testimony And no doubt upon the advantage of this principle it was the Devil gained so great credit to his oracles for therein he did the most imitate Divine revelation From hence then we see what a firm bottom faith in the general stands upon which is nothing short of an Infallible Divine Testimony other things may conduce by way of subserviency for the discovery of this but nothing
eorum qui eam non putamus in manibus esse plumbatis The accusation for treason lay in their refusing to supplicate the Idols for the Emperors welfare 2. Because they would not swear by the Emperors Genius Thence Saturnius said to the Martyr Tantum jura per genium Caesaris nostri if he would but swear by the Genius of Caesar he should be saved Yet though they refused to swear by the Emperours genius they did not refuse to testifie their Allegiance and to swear by the Emperors safety Sed juramus saith Tertullian Sicut non per genios Caesarum it ae per salutem corum quae est augustior omnibus geniis 3. Because they would not worship the Emperours as Gods which was then grown a common custom Non enim Deum Imperatorem dicam vel quia mentirinescio vel quia illum deridere non audeo vel quia necipse se Deum volet dici si homo sit as the same Author speaks Nay the primitive Christians were very scrupulous of calling the Emperours Dominus hoc enim Dei est cognomen because the name Lord was an attribute of Gods and applied as his name to him in Scripture The reason of this Scrupulosity was not from any question they made of the Soveraignty of Princes or their obligation to obedience to them which they are very free in the acknowledgement of but from a jealousie and just suspicion that something of Divine honour might be implyed in it when the adoration of Princes was grown a custom Therefore Tertullian to prevent misunderstandings saith Dicam plane Imperatorem Dominum sed more Communi sed quando non cogor ut Dominum Dei vice dicam They refused not the name in a common sense but as it implyed Divine honour 4. Because they would not observe the publick festivals of the Emperors in the way that others did which it seems were observed with abundance of looseness and debauchery by all sorts of persons and as Tertullian smartly sayes malorum morum licentia piet as erit occasio luxuriae religio deputabitur Debauchery is accounted a piece of loyalty and intemperance a part of religion Which made the Christians rather hazard the reputation of their loyalty then bear a part in so much rudeness as was then used and thence they abhorred all the solemn spectacles of the Romans nihil est nobis saith the same author dictu visu auditu cum insania Circi cum impudicitia Theatri cum atrocitate arenae cum Xysti vanitate They had nothing to do either with the madness of the Cirque or the immodesty of the Theatre or the cruelty of the Amphitheatre or the vanity of the publick wrestlings We see then what a hard Province the Christians had when so many Laws were laid as birdlime in their way to catch them that it was impossible for them to profess themselves Christians and not run into a Praemunire by their Laws And therefore it cannot be conceived that many out of affectation of novelty should then declare themselves Christians when so great hazards were run upon the professing of it Few soft-spirited men and lovers of their own ease but would have found some fine distinctions and nice evasions to have reconciled themselves to the publick Laws by such things which the Primitive Christians so unaenimously refused when tending to prophaness or Idolatry And from this discourse we cannot but conclude with the Apostle Paul that the weapons whereby the Apâ—stles and Primitive Christians encountered the Heathen world were not fleshly or weak but exceeding strong and powerfull in that they obtained so great a conquest over the imaginations and carnal reasonings of men which were their strong holds they secured themselves in as to make them readily to forsake their Heathen worship and become chearful servants to Christ. Thus we see the power of the doctrine of Christ which prevailed over the principles of education though backt with pretended antiquity universality and establishment by civil Laws But this will further appear if we consider that not only the matters of faith were contrary to the principles of education but because many of them seemed incredible to mens natural reason that we cannot think persons would be over forward to believe such things Every one being so ready to take any advantage against a religion which did so little flatter corrupt nature either as to its power or capacity in so much that those who preached this doctrine declared openly to the world that such persons who would judge of the Christian doctrine by such principles which meer natural reason did proceed upon such one I suppose it is whom the Apostle calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that owned nothing but natural reason whereby to judge of Divine truths could not entertain matters of faith or of Divine revelation because such things would seem but folly to him that owned no higher principle then Philosophy or that did not believe any Divine inspiration neither can such a one know them because a Divine revelation is the only way to come to a through understanding of them and a person who doth not believe such a Divine revelation it is impossible he should be a competent judge of the truth of the doctrine of Christ. So that the only ground of receiving the doctrine of the Gospel is upon a Divine revelation that God himself by his Son and his Apostles hath revealed these deep mysteries to the world on which account it is we are bound to receive them although they go beyond our reach and comprehension But we see generally in the Heathen world how few of those did believe the doctrine of Christ in comparison who were the great admirers of the Philosophy and way of learning which was then cryed up the reason was because Christianity not only contained far deeper mysteries then any they were acquainted with but delivered them in such a way of authority commanding them to believe the doctrine they preached on the account of the Divine authority of the revealers of it Such a way of proposal of doctrines to the world the Philosophy of the Greeks was unacquainted with which on that account they derided as not being suited to the exact method which their sciences proceeded in No doubt had the Apostles come among the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a great deal of pomp and ostentation and had fed mens curiositiâ—s with vain and unnecessary speculations they might have had as many followers among the Greeks for their sakes as Christ had among the Iews for the sake of the loaves But the matters of the Gospel being more of inward worth and moment then of outward pomp and shew the vain and empty Greeks presently finde a quarrel with the manner of proposing them that they came not in a way of clear demonstrâ—tion but stood so much upon faith as soon as it were delivered Thence Celsus and Galen think they have
Christ and his Apostles were sufficient evidences of a divine spirit in them and that the Scriptures were recorded by them to be an infallible rule of faith here we have more clear reason as to the primary motives and grounds of faith and withall the infallible veracity of God in the Scriptures as the last resolution of faith And while we assert such an infallible rule of faith delivered to us by such an unanimous consent from the first delivery of it and then so fully attested by such uncontroulable miracles we cannot in the least understand to what end a power of miracles should now serve in the Church especially among those who all believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God Indeed before the great harvest of Converts in the primitive times were brought in both of Iews and Gentiles and the Church sully setled in receiving the Canon of the Scriptures universally we find God did continue this power among them but after the books of the New Testament were generally imbraced as the rule of faith among Christians we find them so far from pretending to any such power that they reject the pretenders to it such as the Donatists were and plead upon the same accounts as we do now against the necessity of it We see then no reason in the world for miracles to be continued where the doctrine of faith is setled as being confirmed by miracles in the first preachers of it There are only these two cases then wherein miracles may justly and with reason be expected First when any person comes as by an extraordinary commission from God to the world either to deliver some peculiar message or to do some more then ordinary service Secondly When something that hath been before established by Divine Law is to be repealed and some other way of worship established in stead of it First When any comes upon an extraordinary message to the world in the name of and by commission from God then it is but reason to require some more then ordinary evidence of such authority Because of the main importance of the duty of giving credit to such a person and the great sin of being guilty of rejecting that divine authority which appears in him And in this case we cannot think that God would require it as a duty to believe where he doth not give sufficient arguments for faith nor that he will punish persons for such a fault which an invincible ignorance was the cause of Indeed God doth not use to necessitate faith as to the act of it but he doth so clearly propound the object of it with all arguments inducing to it as may sufficiently justifie a Believers choice in point of reason and prudence and may leave all unbelievers without excuse I cannot see what account a man can give to himself of his faith much less what Apology he can make to others for it unless he be sufficiently convinced in point of the highest reason that it was his duty to believe and in order to that conviction there must be some clear evidence given that what is spoken hath the impress of Divine authority upon it Now what convictions there can be to any sober mind concerning Divine authority in any person without such a power of miracles going along with him when he is to deliver some new doctrine to the world to be believed I confess I cannot understand For although I doubt not but where ever God doth reveal any thing to any person immediately he gives demonstrable evidence to the inward senses of the soul that it comes from himself yet this inward sense can be no ground to another person to believe his doctrine divine because no man can be a competent judge of the actings of anothers senses and it is impossible to another person to distinguish the actings of the divine Spirit from strong impressions of fancy by the force and energy of them If it be said that we are bound to believe those who say they are fully satisfied of their Divine Commission I answer First this will expose us to all delusions imaginable for if we are bound to believe them because they say so we are bound to believe all which say so and none are more confident pretenders to this then the greatest deceivers as the experience of our age will sufficiently witness Secondly Men must necessarly be bound to believe contradictions for nothing more ordinary then for such confident pretenders to a Divine Spirit to contradict one another and it may be the same person in a little time contradict himself and must we still be bound to believe all they say If so no Philosophers would be so much in request as those Aristotle disputes against in his Metaphysicks who thought a thing might be and not be at the same time Thirdly The ground of faith at last will be but a meer humane testimony as far as the person who is to believe is capable of judging of it For the Question being Whether the person I am to believe hath divine authority for what he saith What ground can I have to believe that he hath so Must I take his bare affirmation for it If so then a meer humane testimony must be the ground of divine faith and that which it is last resolved into if it be said that I am to believe the divine authority by which he speaks when he speaks in the name of God I answer the question will again return how I shall know he speaks this from divine authority and so there must be a progress in infinitum or founding divine faith on a meer humane testimony if I am to believe divine revelation meerly on the account of the persons affirmation who pretends unto it For in this case it holds good non apparentis non existentis eadem est ratio if he be divinely inspired and there be no ground inducing me to believe that he is so I shall be excused if I believe him not if my wilfulness and laziness be not the cause of my unbelief If it be said that God will satisfie the minds of good men concerning the truth of divine revelation I grant it to be wonderfully true but all the question is de modo how God will satisfie them whether meerly by inspiration of his own spirit in them assuring them that it is God that speaks in such persons or by giving them rational evidence convincing them of sufficient grounds to believe it If we assert the former way we run into these inconveniences First we make as immediate a revelation in all those who believe as in those who are to reveal divine truths to us for there is a new revelation of an object immediately to the mind viz. that such a person is inspired of God and so is not after the common way of the Spirits illumination in Believers which is by inlightning the faculty without the proposition of any new object as it
is in the work of Grace So that according to this opinion there must be immediate inspiration as to that act of faith whereby we believe any one to have been divinely inspired and consequently to that whereby we believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God Secondly Doth not this make the fairest plea for mens unbelief For I demand Is it the duty of those who want that immediate illumination to believe or no If it be not their duty unbelief can be no sin to them if it be a duty it must be made known to be a duty and how can that be made known to them to be a duty when they want the only and necessary means of instruction in order to it Will God condemn them for that which it was impossible they should have unless God gave it them And how can they be left inexcuseable who want so much as rational inducements to faith for of these I now speak and not of efficacious perswasions of the mind when there are rational arguments for faith propounded But lastly I suppose the case will be cleared when we take notice what course God hath alwayes taken to give all rational satisfaction to the minds of men concerning the persons whom he hath imployed in either of the fore-mentioned cases First for those who have been imployed upon some special message and service for God he hath sent them forth sufficiently provided with manifestations of the Divine power whereby they acted As is most clear and evident in the present case of Moses Exodus 4. 1 2 3 4 5. where Moses puts the case to God which we are now debating of Supposing saith he that I should go to the Israelites and tell them God had appeared to me and sent me to deliver them and they should say God had not appeared unto me how should I satisfie them God doth not reject this objection of Moses as favouring of unbelief but presently shews him how he should satisfie them by causing a miracle before his face turning his rod into a Serpent and God gives this as the reason of it vers 5. That they may believe that the Lord God of their Fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee It seems God himself thought this would be the most pregnant evidence of Gods appearing to him if he wrought miracles before their faces Nay lest they should think one single miracle was not sufficient God in the immediate following verses adjoyns two more which he should do in order to their satisfaction and further verse 21. God gave him a charge to do all those wonders before Pharoah which he had put into his hand And accordingly we find Pharoah presently demanding a miracle of Moses Exodus 7. 9. which accordingly Moses did in his presence though he might suppose Pharoahs demand not to proceed from desire of satisfaction but from some hopes that for want of it he might have rendred his credit suspected among the Israelites Indeed after God had delivered his people and had setled them in a way of serving him according to the Laws delivered by Moses which he had confirmed by unquestionable miracles among them we find a caution laid in by Moses himself against those which should pretend signs and wonders to draw them off from the Religion established by the Law of Moses And so likewise under the Gospel after that was established by the unparallel'd miracles of our Saviour and his Apostles we find frequent cautions against being deceived by those who came with pretences of doing great miracles But this is so far from infringing the credibility of such a Testimony which is confirmed by miracles that it yields a strong confirmation to the truth of what I now assert For the doctrine is supposed to be already established by miracles according to which we are to judge of the spirits of such pretenders Now it stands to the greatest reason that when a Religion is once established by uncontrouled miracles we should not hearken to every whiffling Conjurer that will pretend to do great feats to draw us off from the truth established In which case the surest way to discover the imposture is to compare his pretended miracles with those true and real ones which were done by Moses and Christ and the ground of it is because every person is no competent judge of the truth of a miracle for the Devil by his power and subtilty may easily deceive all such as will be led by the nose by him in expectation of some wonders to be done by him And therefore as long as we have no ground to question the oertainty of those miracles which were wrought by Christ or Moses I am bound to adhere to the doctrine established by those miracles and to make them my rule of judging all persons who shall pretend to work miracles Because 1. I do not know how far God may give men over to be deceived by lying wonders who will not receive the truth in the love of it i. e. those that think not the Christian Religion sufficiently confirmed by the miracles wrought at the first promulgation of it God in justice may permit the Devil to go further then otherwise he could and leave such persons to their own credulity to believe every imposture and illusion of their senses for true miracles 2. That doctrine which was confirmed by undoubted miracles hath assured us of the coming of lying wonders whereby many should be deceived Now this part of the doctrine of the Gospel is as certainly true as any of the rest for it was confirmed by the same miracles that the other was and besides that the very coming of such miracles is an evidence of the truth of it it falling out so exactly according to what was foretold so many hundred years since Now if this doctrine be true then am I certain the intent of these miracles is to deceive and that those are deceived who hearken to them and what reason then have I to believe them 3. To what end do these miracles serve Are they to confirm the truths contained in Scripture But what need they any confirmation now when we are assured by the miracles wrought by Christ and his Apostles that the doctrine by them preached came from God and so hath been received upon the credit of those miracles ever since Were these truths sufficiently proved to be from God before or no If not then all former ages have believed without sufficient ground for faith if they were then what ground can there be to confirm us in them now certainly God who never doth anything but for very great purposes will never alter the course of nature meerly for satisfaction of mens vain curiosities But it may be it will be said It was something not fully revealed in Scripture which is thus confirmed by miracles but where hath the Scripture told us that anything not fully revealed
therein should be afterwards confirmed Was the Scripture an infallible rule of faith while this was wanting in it Did Christ and his Apostles discharge their places when they left something unrâ—vealed to us Was this a duty before these miracles or no if it was what need miracles to confirm it if not Christ hath not told us all necâ—ssary conditions of salvation For whatever is required as a duty is such as the neglect of it runs men upon damnation Lastly mens faith will be left at continual uncertainties for we know not according to this principle when we have all that is necessary to be beliâ—ved or do all that is necessary to be practised in order to salvation For if God may still make new articles of saith or constitute new duties by fresh miracles I must go and enquire what miracles are wrought in every place to see that I miss nothing that may be necessary for me in order to my happiness in another world If men pretend to deliver any doctrine contrary to the Scripture then it is not only necessary that they confirm it by miracles but they must manifest the falsity of those miracles on which that doctrine is believed or else they must use another miracle to prove that God will set his seal to confirm both parts of a contradiction to be true Which being the hardest task of all had need be proved by very sufficient and undoubted miracles such as may be able to make us believe those are miracles and are not at the same time and so the strength of the argument is utterly destroyed by the mâ—dium produced to prove it by By this discourâ—e these two things are clear First that no pretences of miracles are to be hearkened to when the doctrine we are to believe is already established by them if those miracles tend in the least to the derogation of the truth of what was established by those former miracles Secondly that when the full doctrine we are to believe is established by miracles there is no necessity at all of new miracles for confirmation of any of the truths therein delivered And therefore it is a most unreasonable thing to demand miracles of those to prove the truth of the doctrine they deliver who do first solemnly profess to deliver nothing but what was confirmed by miracles in the first delivery of it and is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament and secondly do not pretend to any immediate Commission from heaven but do nothing but what in their consciences they think every true Christian is bound to do much more all Magistrates and Ministers who believe the truth of what they profess which is in their places to reform all errours and abuses which are crept into the doctrine or practice of Christianity through the corruption of men or times And therefore it is a most unjust and unreasonable demand of the Papists when they require miracles from our first reformers to prove the truth of their doctrine with Had they pretended to have come with an immediate commission from heaven to have added to the Doctrine of the Gospel there had been some plea for such a demand but it was quite otherwise with them Their only design was to whip the buyers and sellers out of the Temple to purge the Church from its abuses And although that by Ierome was thought to be one of our Saviours greatest miracles yet this by us is conceived to be no other then the duty of all Magistrates Ministers and private Christians these by their prayers Ministers by their doctrine and Magistrates by their just authority CHAP. IV. The fidelity of the Prophets succeeding Moses In order of Prophets to succeed Moses by Gods own appointment in the Law of Moses The Schools of the Prophets the original and institution of them The Cities of the Levites The occasion of their first institution The places of the Schools of the Prophets and the tendency of the institution there to a prophetical office Of the Musick used in the Schools of the Prophets The Roman Assamenta and the Greek Hymns in their solemn worship The two sorts of Prophets among the Jews Lieger and extraordinary Ordinary Prophets taken out of the Schools proved by Amos and Saul BUt although now under the Gospel the revelation of Gods will being compleated by Christ and his Apostles we have no reason either to expect new Revelations or new miracles for confirming the old yet under the Law God training up his people by degrees till the comming of Christ there was a necessity of a new supply of Divine Messengers called Prophets to prepare the people and make way for the comming of Christ. As to whom these two things are considerable First Those Prophets whose work was to inform the people of their duties or to reprove them for their sins or to prepare them for the comming of the Messias which were their chief tasks had no need to confirm the truth of their doctrine or commission from heaven by the working of miracles among them And that on these two accounts First Because God did not consummate the revelation of his mind and will to the Jews by the Ministry of Moses but appointed a succession of Prophets to be among them to make known his mind unto them Now in this case when the prophetical â—ffice was established among them what necessity was there thaâ— every one that came to them upon an errand from God should prove his testimony to be true by miracles when in the discharge of his office he delivered nothing dissonant from the Law of Moses It is one argument God intended a succession of Prophets when he laid down such rules in his Law for tâ—e judging of them and to know whether they were truly inspired or no Deut. 15. 21 22. And in that same place God doth promise a succession of Prophets Deut. 18. 15 18. A Prophet will the Lord God raise up unto thee like unto me to him shall ye hearken Which words though in their full and compleat sense they do relate to Christ who is the great Prophet of the Church yet whoever attends to the full scope of the words will easily perceive that the immediate sense of them doth relate to an order of Prophets which should succeed Moses among the Iewes between whom and Moses there would be a great similitude as to their Birth Calling and Doctrine though not a just equality which is excluded Deut. 34. 10 11. and the chief reason why it is said there that the other Prophets fell so much short of Moses is in regard of the signs and wonders which he wrought as is there largely expressed Nor may it seem strange that by a Prophet should be understood an order or succession of Prophets when it is acknowledged by most Protestants that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Antichrist is understood a rank and succession of several persons in the same name function And that it is
as a certain Truth and therefore they hope the danger is not so great in neglecting the salvation promised by the Gospel I cannot conceive that men otherwise learned and sober should with so much confidence assert that the rational evidences of a Divine Testimony are insufficient to prove a doctrine true unless it be from hence that they find that notwithstanding the strongest evidences many persons continue in unbelief For say they if these arguments were scientifical and demonstrative as they speak of the truth of the doctrine attested by them then all persons to whom they are propounded must certainly believe But this is very easily answered for we speak not of internal but outward evidence not of that in the subject but of the object or more fully of the reason of the thing and not the event in us for doubtless there may be undoubted truth and evidence in many things which some persons either cannot or will not understand If Epicurus should contend still that the Sun and stars are no bigger then they seem to be will it hence follow that there can be no rational demonstration of the contrary Nay if the way of demonstration be offered him and Telescopes put into his hands yet if he be resolved to maintain his credit and therefore his opinion and will not use the Telescopes or suspect still they are intended only to deceive his sight what possible way will there be of convincing such a person though the thing be in its self demonstrable Now if the strength of prejudice or maintaining of credit can prevail so much in matters of Mathematical evidence to withhold assent what power may we think a corrupt interest may have upon the understanding as to the arguments which tend to prove the truth of that doctrine which is so repugnant to that carnal interest which the heart is already devoted to Our Blessed Saviour hath himself given us so full an account of the original and causes of unbelief in the persons he conversed with that that may yield us a sufficient answer to this objection He tels us the ground of it was not want of light nay there was light sufficient to convince any but that those to whom the light came loved darkness rather then it because their deeds were evil That they could not believe while they received honour one of another and sought not the honour which was of God only i. e. That they were so greedy of applause from each other that they would not impartially search into the truth of that doctrine which did touch their sores so to the quick that they had rather have them fester upon them then go to the trouble of so sharp a cure That the reason so few followed him was because the way was narrow and the gate straight which men must go in at and therefore no wonder so few of the rich and proud pharisees could get in at it they were partly so sweld with a high opinion of themselves and partly so loaden with their riches that they thought it was to no purpose for them to think of going in at so straight a gate while they were resolved to part with neither That the final ground of the rejection of any was not want of evidence to bring them to believe nor want of readiness in Christ to receive them if they did but it was a peevish wilful obstinate malicious spirit that they would not come to Christ nor believe his Doctrine for those import the same but when the most convincing miracles were used they would rather attribute them to the Prince of Devils then to the power of God And though our Saviour presently by rational and demonstrative arguments did prove the contrary to their faces yet we see thereby it was a resolution not to be convinced or yield to the Truth which was the cause why they did not believe Now from this very instance of our Saviours proceedings with the Pharisees by rational arguments I demand whether these arguments of our Saviour were sufficient foundations for a divine assent to that truth that our Saviour did not his miracles by any Diabolical but by Divine power or no If they were then it is evident that rational evidence may be a foundation for Divine faith or that some motives to believe may be so strong as to be sufficient evidence of the truth and certainty of the Doctrine If these arguments were not sufficient proofs of what our Saviour spake then well fare the Pharisees it seems they said nothing but what might be thus far justified that the contrary to it could not be demonstrated And if the evidence of our Sâ—viours miracles were so great as some suppose that the Pharisees could not but be convinced that they were divine but out of their malice and envy they uttered this blasphemy against the Holy Ghost to keep the people from following Christ then we hence infer two things First how strong an evidence there was in the miracles of Christ when it convinced his most resolute enemies that they were divine Secondly what power a corrupt will may have over a convinced understanding For although the will may not hinder conviction yet it may soon stifle it by suggesting those things to the mind which may divert it from those convictions of Truth and seek to find out any ways to disgrace it It would be no difficult task to discover in all those instances wherein the unbelief of men is discovered in the New Tâ—stament that the persons guilty of it did not proceed like rational men or such as desired Truth but were wholly carried away through passion interest prejudice disaffection or some other cause of that nature which may give us a sufficient account why those persons did not believe although there might be clear and undoubted evidence to perswâ—de them to it But although I assert that these rational evidences are sufficient arguments of the truth of the doctrine they come to manifest yet I would not be so understood that I thereby resolve all Religion into a meer act of reason and knowledge and that no more power is required in the understanding to believe the Gospel then to believe a Mathematical demonstration which is another objection some lay in the way of this opinion but it isâ— ot difficult getting over it For the sufficiency which I attribute to rational evidence is not absolute and simple but in suo genere as an objective evidence Notwithstanding this the whole work of the Spirit of God in its peculiar energy and way of operation upon the soul is left entire to its self But then when the spirit works as to the planting of a truly divine faith I do not think that it only perswades the soul of the Truth of a Divine Testimony but withall represents the Truths revealed by that Testimony with all that excellency and suitableness that there is in them that by the most agreeable yet effectual influence
of the spirit upon the soul it cheerfully embraceth that Truth which is revealed and cordially yields up its self in obedience to it This is the Divine faith which the Scripture acquaints us with and not such a one as meerly believes the truth of a Divine Testimony and as to the production of this faith I acknowledge meer rational evidence to be insufficient because they proceed in 2â— very different ways the one is to satisfie mens minds of the truth of the doctrine the other is to bring them effectually to adhere unto it The asserting of the one therefore doth no more tend to destroy the other then the saying that a Telescope will help us to discover very much of the heavenly bodies doth imply that a blind man may see them if he makes but use of them Although therefore the natural man cannot savingly apprehend the things of God yet there may be so much rational evidence going along with Divine revelation that supposing reason to be pure and not corrupted and steeped in sense as now it is it would discover spiritual evidence to be the most real and convincing evidence Thus far we have proved that where there is any infallible Testimony there is sufficient rational evidence going along with it to make it appear that it is from God CHAP. IX The rational evidence of the truth of Christian Religion from Miracles The possibility of miracles appears from God and providence the evidence of a Divine Testimony by them God alone can really alter the course of nature The Devils power of working miracles considered Of Simon Magus Apollonius The cures in the Temple of Aesculapius at Rome c. God never works miracles but for some particular end The particular reasons of the miracles of Christ. The repealing the Law of Moses which had been setled by miracles Why Christ checked the Pharisees for demanding a sign when himself appeals to his miracles The power of Christs miracles on many who did not throughly believe Christs miracles made it evident that he was the Messias because the predictions were fulfilled in him Why John Baptist wrought no miracles Christs miracles necessary for the overthrow of the Devils Kingdom Of the Daemoniacks and Lunaticks in the Gospel and in the Primitivâ— Church The power of the name of Christ over them largely proved by several Testimonies The evidence thence of a Divine power in Christ. Of counterfeit dispossessions Of miracles wrought among Infidels Of the future state of the Church The necessity of the miracles of Christ as to the propagation of Christian Religion that proved from the condition of the publishers and the success of the Doctrine The Apostles knew the hazard of their imployment before they entred on it The boldness and resolution of the Apostles notwithstanding this compared with heathen Philosophers No motive could carry the Apostles through their imployment but the truth of their Doctrine not seeking the honour profit or pleasure of the world The Apostles evidence of the truth of their doctrine lay in being eye-witnesses of our Saviours miracles and resurrection That attested by themselves their sufficiency thence for preaching the Gospel Of the nature of the doctrine of the Gospel contrariety of it to natural inclinations Strange success of it notwithstanding it came not with humane power No Christian Emperour till the Gospel universally preached The weakness and simplicity of the instruments which preached the Gospel From all which the great evidence of the power of miracles is proved OF all rational evidences which tend to confirm the truth of a Divine Testimony there can be none greater then a power of working miracles for confirmation that the Testimony which is revealed is infallible The possibility of a power of miracles cannot be questiond by any who assert a Deity and a Providence for by the same power that things were either at first produced or are still conserved which is equivalent to the other the course of nature may be altered and things caused which are beyond the power of inferiour causes For though that be an immutable Law of nature as to Physical beings that every thing remains in the course and order wherein it was set at the Creation yet that only holds till the same power which set it in that order shall otherwise dispose of it granting then the possibility of miracles the subject of this Hypothesis is that a power of miracles is the clearest evidence of a Divine Testimony which will appear from these following considerations God alone can really alter the course of nature I speak not of such things which are apt only to raise admiration in us because of our unacquaintedness with the causes of them or manner of their production which are thence called wonders much less of meer juggles and impostures whereby the eyes of men are deceived but I speak of such things as are in themselves either contrary to or above the course of nature i. e. that order which is established in the universe The Devil no question may and doth often deceive the world and may by the subtilty and agility of his nature perform such things as may amuse the minds of men and sometimes put them to it to find a difference between them and real miracles if they only make their sâ—nses judges of them And such kind of wonders though they are but spaâ—ingly done and with a kind of secrecy as though they were consulting with Catiline about the burning Rome yet the Devil would have some especially when Ignorance and Superstition are Ascendents to keep up his interest in the world Or else when he is like to be dispossessed and thrown out of all he then tryes his utmost to keep as many to him as may be thus when the Spirit of God appeared in the miracles of our Saviour and his Apostles and the Primitive Church he then conjured up all the infernal powers to do something parallel to keep possession of his Idolatrous Temples as long as he could Thus we find Simon Magus dogging the Apostles as it were at the heels that by his Magick he might stagger the faith of people concerning the miracles wrought by the Apostles after him Apollonius appeared upon the Stage but his wonders are such pittifull things compared with those wrought by Christ or his Apostles that it could be nothing but malice in Hierocles to mention him in competition with Christ. But those things which seem a great deal more considerable then either of these were the cure of a blind man by Vespasian in Egypt mentioned by Tacitus and Suetonius wherein there was a palpable imitation of our Saviours curing the blind man in the Gospel for the man told Vespasian restituturum oculos si inspuisset that he should receive his sight by his spittle so Spartianus tells us of a woman that was cured of her blindness by kissing the knees of the Emperour Adrian and Boxhornius hath produced an old Fable in the Temple of
it to attest the truth of such things by any real miracles For so it would invalidate the great force of the evidences of the truth of Christianity if the same argument should be used for the proving of that which in the judgement of any impartial person was not delivered when the truth of the doctriâ—e of Christ was confirmed by so many and uncontrouled miracles But hereby we see what unconceivable prejudice hath been done to the true primitive doctrine of the Gospel and what stumbling-blocks have been laid in the way of considerative persons to keep them from embracing the truly Christian faith by those who would be thought the infallible directors of men in it by making use of the broad-seal of Heaven set only to the truth of the Scriptures to confirm their unwritten and superstitious ways of worship For if I once see that which I looked on as an undoubted evidence of divine power brought to attest any thing directly contrary to divine revelation I must either conclude that God may contradict himself by sealing both parts of a contradiction which is both blasphemous and impossible or that that society of men which own such things is not at all tender of the honour of Christain doctrine but seeks to set up an interest contrary to it and matters not what disadvantage is done to the grounds of Râ—ligion by such unworthy pretences and which of these two is more rational and true let every ones conscience judge And therefore it is much the interest of the Christian world to have all such frauds and impostures discovered which do so much disservice to the Christian faith and are such secret fomenters of Atheism and Infidelity But how far that promise of our Saviour that they which believe in his name shall cast out Devils and do many miracles may extend even in these last ages of the world to such generous and primitive-spirited Christians who out of a great and deep sense of the truth of Christianity and tenderness to the souls of men should go among Heathens and Infidels to convert them only to Christ and not to a secular interest under pretence of an infallible head is not here a place fully to enquire I confess I cannot see any reason why God may not yet for the conviction of Infidels employ such a power of miracles although there be not such necessity of it as there was in the first propagation of the Gospel there being some evidences of the power of Christianity now which were not so clear then as the overthrowing the Kingdom of Satan in the world the prevailing of Christianity notwithstanding force used against it the recovâ—ry of it from amidst all the corruptions which were mixed with it the consent of those parties in the common foundations of Christianity which yet disagreâ— froâ— each other with great bitternâ—ss of spirit though I say it be not of that necessity now when the Scriptures are convâ—yed to us in a certain uninterrupted manner yet God may please out of his abundant provision for the satisfaction of the minds of men concerning the truth of Christian doctrine to employ good men to do something which may manifest the power of Christ to be above the Dâ—vils whom they worship And therefore I should far sooner believe the relation of the miracles of Xaverius and his Brethren employed in the conversion of Infidels then Lipsius his Virgo Hallensis and Asprecollis could it but be made evident to me that the design of those persons had more of Christianity then Popery in it that is that they went more upon a design to bring the souls of the Infidels to heaven then to enlarge the authority and jurisdiction of the Roman Church But whatever the truth of those miracles or the design of those persons were we have certain and undoubted evidence of the truth of those miracles whereby Christianity was first propagated and the Kingdom of Satan overthrown in the world Christ thereby making it appear that his power was greater then the Devils who had possession because he overcame him took from him all his armour wherein he trusted and divided his spoils i. e. dispossâ—ssed him of mens bodies and his Idolatrous Temples silenced his Oracles nonplust his Magicians and at last when Christianity had overcome by suffering wrested the worldly power and Empire out of the Devils hands and employed it against himself Neither may we think because since that time the Devil hath got some ground in the world again by the large spread of Mahometism the general corruptions in the Christian world that therefore the other was no argument of divine power because the truth of Christianity is not tyed to any particular places because such a falling away hath been foretold in Scripture and therefore the truth of them is proved by it and because God himself hath threatned that those who will not receive the truth in the love of it shall be given up to strong de'usions Doth not this then in stead of abating the strength of the argument confirm it more and that nothing is fallen out in the Christian world but what was foretold by those whom God employed in the converting of it But we are neither without some fair hopes even from that divine revelation which was sealed by uncontrouled evidence that there may be yet a time to come when Christ will recover his Churches to their pristine purity and simplicity but withall I think we are not to measure the future felicity of the Church by outward splendor and greatness which too many so strongly fancy but by a recovery of that true spirit of Christianity which breathed in the first ages of the Church whatever the outward condition of the Church may be For if worldly greatness and ease and riches were the first impairers of the purity of Christian Religion it is hard to conceive how the restoring of the Church of Christ to its true glory can be by the advancing of that which gives so great an occasion to pride and sensuality which are so contrary to the design of Christian Religion unless we suppose men free from those corruptions which continual experience still tells the world the Rulers as well as members of the Christian society are subject to Neither may that be wonderd at when such uneveness of parts is now discovered in the great Luminaries of the world and the Sun himself is found to have his maculae as though the Sun had a purple feaver or as Kiroher expresseth it Ipse Phoebus qui rerum omnium in universo naturae Theatro aspectabilium longè pulcherrimus omnium opinione est habitus hoc seculo tandem fumosa facie ac infecto vultu maculis prodiit diceres eum variolis laborare senescentem I speak not this as though an outward flourishing condition of the Church were inconsistent with its purity for then the way to refine it were to throw it into the flames of persecution but that
this God may do for the tryal of means faith whether they will forsake the true doctrine confirmed by greater miracles for the sake of such doctrines which are contrary thereto and are confirmed by false Prophets by signs and wonders Now in this case our rule of tryal must not be so much the wonders considered in themselves whether real or no as the comparing them with the miracles which were wrought in confirmation of that doctrine which is contrary to this which these wonders tend to the proving of Therefore Gods people under the Law were to examine the scope and drift of the miracles if they were intended to bring them to Idolatry whatever they were they were not to hearken to those who did them So now under the Gospel as the worship of the true God was then the standard whereby to judge of miracles by the Law of Moses so the worship of the true God through Iesus Christ and by the doctrine revealed by him is the standard whereby we ought to judge of all pretenders to work miracles So that let the miracles be what they will if they contradict that doctrine which Christ revealed to the world we are to look upon them as only tryals of our faith in Christ to see whether we Love him with our whole hearts or no. And therefore I think it needless to examine all the particulars of Lipsius his relations of miracles wrought by his Diva Virgo Hallensis and Asprecollis for if I see that their intention and scope is to set up the worship of Daemons or a middle sort of Deities between God and us which the Scripture is ignorant of on that very account I am bound to reject them all Although I think it very possible to find out the difference between true miracles and them in the manner and circumstances of their operation but this as it is of more curiosity so of less necessity for if the doctrine of the Scriptures was confirmed by miracles infinitely above these I am bound to adhere to that and not to believe any other doctrine though an Angel from heaven should preach it much less although some Popish Priests may boast much of miracles to confirm a doctrine opposite to the Gospel which I know not how far God may in judgement give those images power to work or others faith to believe because they would not receive the truth in the love of it and these are now those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lying wonders which the Scripture forewarns us that we should not believe viz. such as lead men to the belief of lyes or of doctrines contrary to that of the Gospel of Iesus Christ. Where miracles are true and Divine there the effects which follow them upon the minds of those who believe them are true and Divine i. e. the effect of believing of them is the drawing of men from sin unto God This the Primitive Christians insisted much upon as an undoubted evidence that the miracles of Christ were wrought by a Divine power because the effect which followed them was the work of conversion of souls from sin and Idols to God and Christ and all true piety and vertue As the effect of the miracles of Moses was the drawing a people off from Superstition and Idolatry to the worship of the true God so the effect which followed the belief of the miracles of Christ in the world was the purging mens souls from all sin and wickedness to make them new creatures and to live in all exactness and holiness of conversation And thereby Origen discovers the great difference between the miracles of Christ and Antichrist that the intent of all Antichrists wonders was to bring men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the deceivableness of unrighteousness whereby to destroy them but the intent of the miracles of Christ was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the deceiving but the saving of the souls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who can with any probability say that reformation of life and dayly progress from evil to good should be the effect of meer deceit And therefore he saith Christ told his Disciples that they should do greater works then he had done because by their Preaching and miracles the eyes of blind souls are opened and the ears of such as were deaf to all goodness are opened so far as to hearken to the Precepts and Promises of the Gospel and the feet of those who were lame in their inward man are so healed as to delight to run in the way of Gods Commandments Now is it possible that these should be the effects of any evil spirit But on the contrary we see the effects of all impostures and pretended miracles wrought by Diabolical power was to bring men off from God to sin and to dissolve that strict obligation to duty which was laid upon men by the Gospel of Christ. Thus it was in that early ape of the Apostles Simon Magus who far out-went Apollonius Tyaneus or any other Heathen in his pretended miracles according to the report which is given of him by the Primitive Christians but we see the intent of his miracles was to raise an admiration of himself and to bring men off from all holiness of conversation by afferting among other damnable heresies that God did not at all regard what men did but only what they believed wherein the Gnosticks were his followers Now when miracles are wrought to be Patrons of sin we may easily know from whom they come Those miracles are wrought by a Divine power which tend to the overthrow of the Kingdom of Satan in the world This is evident from hence because all such things as are out of mans power to effect must either be done by a power Divine or Diabolical For as our Saviour argues Every Kingdom divided against its self is brought to desolation and every City or house divided against its self cannot stand and if Satan cast out Satan he is divided against himself how shall then his Kingdom stand Now Christ by his miracles did not only dispossess Satan out of mens bodyes but out of his Temples too as hath been shewn already And besides the doctrine of Christ which was confirmed by those miracles was in every thing directly contrary to the Devils design in the world For 1. The Devils design was to conceal himself among those who worshipped him the design of the Gospel was to discover him whom the Gentiles worshipped to be an evil and malignant spirit that designed nothing but their ruine Now it appears in the whole history of Gentilism the grand mystery of State which the Devil used among the Heathens was to make himself to be â—â—en and worshippâ—d for God and to make them believ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—ns were very good and benigne spirits 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—â—onists and other Philosopherâ—â—o â—o much 〈◊〉 against the Primitiâ—â— Christians when thâ—◠〈◊〉 their Daemons to be nothing â—he but inâ—â—â—al and wicked spirits which sought the
subjects they treated of and some fragments 3. Those that are extant either confess their Ignorance of eldest times or plainly discover it Of the first sort are Thucydides and Plutarch several evidences of the Graecians Ignorance of the true original of Nations Of Herodotus and his mistakes the Greeks ignorance in Geography discovered and thence their insufficiency as to an account of ancient history page 56 CHAP. V. The general uncertainty of Heathen Chronology The want of credibility in Heathen History further proved from the uncertainty and confusion in their accounts of ancient times that discovered by the uncertain form of their years An enquiry into the different forms of the Aegyptian years the first of thirty dayes the second of four Months of both instances given in the Aegyptian history Of the Chaldaean accounts and the first Dynastyes mentioned by Berosus how they may be reduced to probability Of the Aegyptian Dynastyes Of Manetho Reasons of accounting them fabulous because not attested by any credible authority and rejected by the best Historians The opinion of Scaliger and Vossius concerning their being cotemporary propounded and rejected with reasons against it Of the ancient division of Aegypt into Nomi or Provinces and the number of them against Vossius and Kircher Page 73 CHAP. VI. The uncertain Epocha's of Heathen Chronology An account given of the defect of Chronology in the â—ldest times Of the Solar year among the Aegyptians the original of the Epacts the antiquity of Intercalation among them Of the several Canicular years the difference between Scaliger and Petavius considered The certain Epocha's of the Aegyptian history no elder then Nabonasser Of the Graecian accounts The fabulousness of the Heroical age of Greece Of the ancient Graecian Kingdoms The beginning of the Olympiads The uncertain Origines of the Western Nations Of the Latine Dynastyes The different Palilia of Rome The uncertain reckoning Ab. V. C. Of impostures as to ancient histories Of Annius Inghiramius and others Of the characters used by Heathen Priests No sacred characters among the fews The partiality and inconsistency of Heathen bistories with each other From all which the want of credibility in them as to an account of ancient times is clearly demonstrated page 89 BOOK II. CHAP. I. The certainty of the Writings of Moses In order to the proving the truth of Scripture-history several Hypotheses laid down The first concerns the reasonableness of preserving the ancient History of the world in some certain Records from the importance of the things and the inconveniencies of meer tradition or constant Revelationâ— The second concerns the certainty that the Records under Moses his name were undoubtedly his The certainty of a matter of fact enquired into in general and proved as to this particular by universal consent and settling a Common-wealth upon his Laws The impossibility of an Imposture as to the writings of Moses demonstrated The plea's to the contrary largely answered page 107 CHAP. II. Moses his certain knowledge of what he writ The third Hypothesis concerns the certainty of the matter of Moses his history that gradually proved First Moses his knowledge cleared by his education and experience and certain information His education in the wisdom of Aegypt what that was The old Aegyptian learning enquired into the conveniences for it of the Aegyptian Priests Moses reckoned among them for his knowledge The Mathematical Natural Divine and Moral learning of Aegypt their Political wisdom most considerable The advantage of Moses above the Greek Philosophers as to wisdom and reason Moses himself an eye witness of most of his history the certain uninterrupted tradition of the other part among the fews manifested by rational evidence p. 119 CHAP. III. Moses his fidelity and integrity proved Moses considered as an Historian and as a Lawgiver his fidelity in both proved clear evidences that he had no intent to deceive in his History freedom from private interest impartiality in his relations plainness and â—erspicuity of stile As a Lawgiver be came armed with Divine authority which being the main thing is fixed on to be fully proved from his actions and writings The power of miracles the great evidence of Divine revelation Two grand questions propounded In what cases miracles may be expected and how known to be true No necessity of a constant power of miracles in a Church Two Cases alone wherein they may be expected When any thing comes as a Law from God and when a Divine Law is to be repealed The necessity of miracles in those cases as an evidence of Divine revelation asserted Objections answered No use of miracles when the doctrine is setled and owned by miracles in the first revelation No need of miracles in reformation of a Church pag. 134 CHAP. IV. The fidelity of the Prophets succeeding Moses In order of Prophets to succeed Moses by Gods own appointment in the Law of Moses The Schools of the Prophets the original and institution of them The Cities of the Levites The occasion of their first institution The places of the Schools of the Prophets and the tendency of the institution there to a Prophetical office Of the Musick used in the Schools of the Prophets The Roman Assamâ—nta and the Greek Hymns in their solemn worship The two sorts of Prophets among the jews Lieger and extraordinary Ordinary Prophets taken out of the Schools proved by Amos and Saul pag. 149 CHAP. V. The tryal of Prophetical Doctrine Rules of trying Prophets established in the Law of Moses The punishment of pretenders The several sorts of false Prophets The case of the Prophet at Bethel discussed The tryal of false Prophets belonging to the great Sanhedrin The particular rules whereby the Doctrine of Prophets was judged The proper notion of a Prophet not foretelling future contingencies but having immediate Divine revelation Several principles laid down for clearing the doctrine of the Prophets 1. That immediate dictates of natural light are not to be the measure of Divine revelation Several grounds for Divine revelation from natural light 2. What ever is directly repugnant to the dictates of nature cannot be of Divine revelation 3. No Divine revelation doth contradict a Divine positive Law without sufficient evidence of Gods intention to repeal that Law 4. Divine revelation in the Prophets was not to be measured by the words of the Law but by the intention and reason of it The Prophetical office a kind of Chancery to the Law of Moses pag. 165 CHAP. VI. The tryal of Prophetical Predictions and Miracles The great difficulty of the trying the truth of Prophetical predictions from Jerem. 18. 7 8 c. Some general Hypotheâ—es premised for the clearing of it The first concerns the grounds why predictions are accounted an evidence of divine revelation Three Consectaries drawn thence The second the manner of Gods revelation of his will to the minds of the Prophets Of the several degrees of Prophecy The third is that God did not alwayes reveal the internal purposes of his
truths but contrary to their pre-conceptions or interests have been forbidden entrance Prejudice is the wrong bias of the soul that effectually keeps it from coming near the mark of truth nay sets it at the greatest distance from it There are few in the world that look after truth with their own eyes most make use of spectacles of others making which makes them so seldom behold the proper lineaments in the face of Truth which the several tinctures from education authority custom and predisposition do exceedingly hinder men from discerning of Another reason why there are so few who find truth when so many pretend to seek it is that near resemblance which Error often bears to Truth It hath been well observed that Error seldom walks abroad the world in her own raiments she always borrows something of truth to make her more acceptable to the world It hath been always the subtilty of grand deceivers to graft their greatest errors on some material truths to make them pass more undiscernable to all such who look more at the root on which they stand then on the fruits which they bring forth It will hereafter appear how most of the grossest of the heathen errors have as Plutarch saith of the Egyptian Fables 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some faint and obscure resemblances of truth nay more then so as most pernicious weeds are bred in the fattest soyls their most destructive principles have been founded on some necessary and important truths Thus Idolatry doth suppose the belief of the existence of a Deity and superstition the Immortality of the souls of men The Devil could never have built his Chappels but on the same ground whereon Gods Temples stood which makes me far less wonder then many do at the meeting with many expressions concerning these two grand truths in the writings of ancient Heathens knowing how willing the devil might be to have such principles still owned in the world which by his depraving of them might be the nourishers of Idolatry and Superstition For the general knowledge of a Divine nature supposing men Ignorant of the true God did only lay a foundation to erect his Idolatrous Temples upon and the belief of the souls surviving the body after death without knowledge of the true way of attaining happiness did make men more eager of imbracing those Rites and Ceremonies which canie with a pretence of shewing the way to a blessed immortality Which may be a most probable reason why Philosophy and Idolatry did increase so much together as they did for though right reason fully improved would have overthrown all those cursed and Idolatrous practises among the Heathens yet reason only discerning some general notions without their particular application and improvement did only dispose the most ordinary sort of people to a more ready entertainment of the most gross Idolatry For hereby they discerned the necessity of some kind of worship but could not find out the right way of it and therefore they greedily followed that which was commended to them by such who did withall agree with them in the common sentiments of humane nature Nay and those persons themselves who were the great maintainers of these sublimer notions concerning God and the soul of man were either the great instruments of advancing that horrid superstition among them as Orpheus Apollonius or very forward Complyers with it as many of the Philosophers were Although withall it cannot be denied to have been a wonderful discovery of Divine providence by these general notions to keep waking the inward senses of mens souls that thereby it might appear when Divine Revelation should be manifested to them that it brought nothing contrary to the common principles of humane nature but did only rectifie the depravations of it and clearly shew men that way which they had long been ignorantly seeking after Which was the excellent advantage the Apostle made of the Inscription on the Altar at Athens to the unknown God Whom saith he ye ignorantly serve him I declare unto you And which was the happy use the Primitive learned Christians made of all those passages concerning the divine nature and the Immortality of the souls of men which they found in the Heathen Writers thereby to evidence to the world that the main postulata or suppositions of Christian Religion were granted by their own most admired men and that Christianity did not race out but only build upon those common foundations which were entertained by all who had any name for reason Though this I say were the happy effect of this building errors on common truths to all that had the advantage of Divine revelation to discern the one from the other yet as to others who were destitute of it they were lyable to this twofold great inconvenience by it First for the sake of the apparent rottenness of the Superstructures to question the soundness of the foundations on which they stood And this I doubt not was the case of many considerative heathens who observing that monstrous and unreasonable way of worship obtaining among the heathen and not being able by the strength of their own reason through the want of divine revelation to deduce any certain instituted worship they were shrewdly tempted to renounce those principles when they could not but abhor the conclusions drawn from them for there is nothing more usual then for men who exceedingly detest some absurd consequence they see may be drawn from a principle supposed to reject the principle its self for the sake of that consequence which it may be doth not necessarily follow from it but through the shortness of their own reason doth appear to them to do so Thus when the Intelligent heathen did apparently see that from the principles of the Being of God and the Immortality of souls did flow all those unnatural and inhumane Sacrifices all those absurd and ridiculous Rites all those execrable and profane mysteries out of a loathing the Immoralities and impieties which attended these they were brought to question the very truth and certainty of those principles which were capable of being thus abused And therefore I am very prone to suspect the Apology usually made for Protagoras Diagoras and such others of them who were accounted Atheists to be more favourable then true viz. that they only rejected those heathen Deities and not the belief of the Divine nature I should think this account of their reputed Atheism rational were it any wayes evident that they did build their belief of a Divine nature upon any other grounds then such as were common to them with those whose worship they so much derided And therefore when the Heathens accused the Christians of Atheism I have full and clear evidence that no more could be meant thereby then the rejection of their way of worship because I have sufficient Assurance from them that they did believe in a Divine nature and an instituted Religion most suitable to the most common received notions
so great uncertainty and confusion so much partiality and inconsistency with each other It remains now that I proceed to demonstrate the credibility of that account of ancient times which is reported in the Sacred Scriptures which will be the second part of our Task BOOK II. CHAP. I. The certainty of the Writings of Moses In order to the proving the truth of Scripture-history several Hypotheses laid down The first concerns the reasonableness of preserving the ancient History of the world in some certain Records from the importance of the things and the inconveniences of meer tradition or constant Revelation The second concerns the certainty that the Records under Moses his name were undoubtedly his The certainty of a matter of fact enquired into in general and proved as to this particular by universal consent and settling a Common-wealth upon his Laws The impossibility of an Imposture as to the writings of Moses demonstrated The plea's to the contrary largely answered HAving sufficiently demonstrated the want of credibility in the account of ancient times given by those Nations who have made the greatest pretence to Learning and Antiquity in the world we now proceed to evince the credibility and certainty of that account which is given us in sacred Screptures In order to which I shall premise these following Hypotheses It stands to the greatest reason that an account of things so concerning and remarkable should not be always left to the uncertainty of an oral tradition but should be timely entred into certain Records to be preserved to the memory of posterity For it being of concernment to the world in order to the establishment of belief as to future things to be fully setled in the belief that all things past were managed by Divine providence there must be some certain Records of former ages or else the mind of man will be perpetually hovering in the greatest uncertainties Especially where there is such a mutual dependence and concatenation of one thing with another as there is in all the Scripture-history For take away but any one of the main foundations of the Mosaical history all the superstructure will be exceedingly weakened if it doth not fall quite to the ground For mans obligation to obedience unto God doth necessarily suppose his original to be from him his hearkening to any proposals of favour from God doth suppose his Apostacy and fall Gods designing to shew mercy and favour to fallen man doth suppose that there must be some way whereby the Great Creator must reveal himself as to the conditions on which fallen man may expect a recovery the revealing of these conditions in such a way whereon a suspicious because guilty creature may firmly rely doth suppose so certain a recording of them as may be least liable to any suspicion of imposture or deceit For although nothing else be in its self necessary from God to man in order to his salvation but the bare revealing in a certain way the terms on which he must expect it yet considering the unbounded nature of Divine goodness respecting not only the good of some particular persons but of the whole society of mankind it stands to the greatest reason that such a revelation should be so propounded as might be with equal certainty conveyed to the community of mankind Which could not with any such evidence of credibility be done by private and particular revelations which give satisfaction only to the inward senses of the partakers of them as by a publick recording of the matters of Divine revelation by such a person who is enabled to give the world all reasonable satisfaction that what he did was not of any private design of his own head but that he was deputed to it by no less then Divine authority And therefore it stands to the highest reason that where Divine revelation is necessary for the certain requiring of assent the matter to be believed should have a certain uniform conveyance to mens minds rather then that perpetually New revelations should be required for the making known of those things which being once recorded are not lyable to so many impostures as the other way might have been under pretended Revelations For then men are not put to a continual tryal of every person pretending Divine revelation as to the evidences which he brings of Divine authority but the great matters of concernment being already recorded and attested by all rational evidence as to the truth of the things their minds therein rest satisfied without being under a continual hesitancy lest the Revelation of one should contradict another For supposing that God had left the matters of Divine revelation unrecorded at all but left them to be discovered in every age by a spirit of prophecy by such a multitude as might be sufficient to inform the world of the truth of the things We cannot but conceive that an innumerable company of croaking Enthusiasts would be continually pretending commissions from heaven by which the minds of men would be left in continual distraction because they would have no certain infallible rules given them whereby to difference the good and evil spirit from each other But now supposing God to inspire some particular persons not only to reveal but to record Divine truths then what ever evidences can be brought attesting a Divine revelation in them will likewise prove the undoubted certainty and infallibility of those writings it being impossible that persons employed by a God of truth should make it their design to impose upon the world which gives us a rational account why the wise God did not suffer the History of the world to lye still unrecorded but made choice of such a person to record it who gave abundant evidence to the world that he acted no private design but was peculiarly employed by God himself for the doing of it as will appear afterwards Besides we finde by our former discourse how lyable the most certain tradition is to be corrupted in progress of time where there are no standing records though it were at first delivered by persons of undoubted credit For we have no reason to doubt but that the tradition of the old world the flood and the consequences of it with the nature and worship of the true God were at first spread over the greatest part of the world in its first plantations yet we see how soon for want of certain conveyance all the antient tradition was corrupted and abused into the greatest Idolatry Which might be less wondered at had it been only in those parts which were furthest remote from the seat of those grand transactions but thus we finde it was even among those families who had the nearest residence to the place of them and among those persons who were not far off in a lineal descent from the persons mainly concerned in them as is most evident in the family out of which Abraham came who was himself the tenth from Noah yet of them it is said that they
served other Gods How unlikely then was it that this tradition should be afterwards preserved entire when the people God had peculiarly chosen to himself were so mixed among the Aegyptians and so prone to the Idolatries of the Nations round about them and that even after God had given them a written Law attested with the greatest miracles what would they have done then had they never been brought forth of Aegypt by such signs and wonders and had no certain records left to preserve the memory of former ages Thus we see how much it stands to the greatest reason that so memorable things should be digested into sacred records We have as great certainty that Moses was the author of the records going under his name as we can have of any matter of fact done at so great a distance of time from us We are to consider that there are two very distinct questions to be thought of concerning a Divine revelation to any person at a considerable distance of time from us and those are what evidences can be given that the matters recorded are of a true divine revelation and what evidence we have of the truth of the matter of fact that such things were recorded by such persons They who do not carefully distinguish between these two questions will soon run themselves into an inextricable labyrinth when they either seek to understand themselves or explain to others the grounds on which they believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God The first step in order to which must be the proving the undoubted certainty of the matter of fact or the truth of the History that such persons were really existent and did either do or record the things we speak of After this succeeds the other to prove not only the real existence of the things but that the persons who recorded the things were assisted by an infallible spirit then there can be no reason at all to doubt but those records are the Word of God The first of these is that which at present we enquire after the certainty of the matter of fact that the records under the name of Moses were undoubtedly his And here it will be most unreasonable for any to seek for further evidence and demonstration of it then the matter to be proved is capable of But if they should I suppose we have sufficient reason to demonstrate the folly of such a demand and that on these accounts 1. Whoever yet undertook to bring matters of fact into Mathematical demonstrations or thought he had ground to question the certainty of any thing that was not proved in a Mathematical way to him Who would ever undertake to prove that Archimedes was kild at Syracuse by any of the demonstrations he was then about or that Euclide was the undoubted Author of the Geometry under his name or do men question these things for want of such demonstrations Yet this is all we at present desire but the same liberty here which is used in any thing of a like nature 2. I demand of the person who denyes this moral certainty to be sufficient for an assent whether he doth question every thing in the world which he was not present at the doing of himself If he be peremptorily resolved to believe nothing but what he sees he is fit for nothing but a voyage to Anticyrae or to be soundly purged with Hellebore to free him from those cloudy humours that make him suspect the whole world to be an imposture But we cannot suppose any man so destitute of reason as â—o question the truth of every matter of fact which he doth not see himself if he doth then firmly believe any thing there must be supposed sufficient grounds to induce him to such a belief And then what ground can there be to question the certainty of such things which have as great evidence as any of those things have which he most firmly believes and this is all we desire from him 3. Do we not see that the most concerning and weighty actions of mens lives are built on no other foundation then this moral certainty yet men do not in the least question the truth of the thing they rely upon As is most evident in all titles to estates derived from Ancestors either by donation or purchase In all trading which goes upon the moral certainty that there are such places as the Indyes or France or Spain c. In all journyings that there is such a place as that I am going to and this is the way thither for these we have but this moral certainty for the contrary to both these are possible and the affirmatives are indemonstrable In eating and drinking there is a possibility of being poisoned by every bit of meat or drop of drink do we therefore continually doubt whether we shall be so or no Chiefly this is seen in all natural affection and piety in Children towards Parents which undoubtedly suppose the truth of that which it was impossible they could be witnesses of themselves viz. their coming out of their Mothers wombs And doth any one think this sufficient ground to question his mother because the contrary is impossible to be demonstrated to him In short then either we must destroy all Historical faith out of the world and believe nothing though never so much attested but what we see our selves or else we must acknowledge that a moral certainty is a sufficient foundation for an undoubted assent not such a one cui non potest subesse falsum but such a one cui non subest dubium i. e. an assent undoubted though not infallible By which we see what little reason the Aâ—heist on one side can have to question the truth of the Scriptures to the History of it and what little ground the Papists on the other side have to make a pretence of the necessity of infallibility as to the proposal of such things where moral certainty is sufficient that is to the matter of fâ—ct Which I now come to prove as to the subject in hand viz. that the writings of Moses are undoubtedly his which I prove by a twofold argument 1. An universal consent of persons who were best able to know the truth of the things in question 2. The setling of a Commonwealth upon the Laws delivered by Moses 1. The universal Consent of persons most capable of judging in the Case in hand I know nothing the most scrupulous and inquisitive mind can possibly desire in order to satisfaction concerning any matter of fact beyond an universal Consent of such persons who have a greater capacity of knowing the truth of it then we can have And those are all such persons who have lived nearest those times when the things were done and have best understood the affairs of the times when the things were pretended to be done Can we possibly conceive that among the people of the Iews who were so exceedingly prone to transgress the Law
a Crocodile for impudence and all to express this venerable Apothegm O ye that come into the world and that go out of it God hates impudence And therefore certainly this kind of Learning deserves the highest form among the difficiles Nugae and all these Hieroglyphicks put together will make but one good one and that should be for Labour lost There is yet one part of Learning more among them which the Aegyptians are esteemed for which is the Political and civil part of it which may better be called wisdom then most of the fore-going two things speak much the wisdom of a Nation good Laws and a prudent management of them their Laws are highly commended by Strabo and Diodorus and it is none of the least commendations of them that Solon and Lycurgus borrowed so many of their constitutions from them and for the prudent management of their government as the continuance of their state so long in peace and quietness is an invincible demonstration of it so the report given of them in Scripture adds a further testimony to it for therein the King of Aegypt is called the Son of the wise as well as the son of ancient Kings and his counsellors are called wise counsellors of Pharaoh and the wise men whereby a more then ordinary prudence and policy must be understood Can we now imagine such a person as Moses was bred up in all the ingenucus literature of Aegypt conversant among their wisest persons in Pharaohs Court having thereby all advantages to improve himself and to understand the utmost of all that they knew should not be able to pass a judgement between a meer prâ—tence and imposture and real and important Tâ—uths Can we think that one who had interest in so great a Court all advantages of raising himself therein should willingly forsake all the pleasures and delights at present all his hopes and advantages for the future were he not fully perswaded of the certain and undoubted truth of all those things which are recorded in his books Is it possible a man of ordinary wisdom should venture himself upon so hazardous unlikely and dangerous employment â—s that was Moses undertook which could have no probability of success but only upon the belief that that God who appeared unto him was greater then all the Gods of Aegypt and could carry on his own design by his own power maugre all the opposition which the Princes of the world could make against it And what possible ground can we have to think that such a person who did verily believe the truth of what God revealed unto him should dare to write any otherwise then as it was revealed unto him If there had been any thing repugnant to common reason in the history of the Creation the fall of man the universal deluge the propagation of the world by the sons of Noah the history of the Patriarchs had not Moses rational faculties as well as we nay had he them not far better improved then any of ours are and was not he then able to judge what was suitable to reason and what not and can we think he would then deliver any thing inconsistent with reason or undoubted tradition then when the Aegyptian Priests might so readily and plainly have triumphed over him by discovering the falshood of what he wrote Thus we see that Moses was as highly qualified as any of the acutest Heathen Philosophers could be for discerning truth from falshood nay in all probability he far excelled the most renowned of the Graecian Philosophers in that very kind of learning wherewith they made so great noise in the world which was originally Aegyptian as is evident in the whole series of the Graecian Philosphers who went age after age to Aegypt to get some scraps of that learning there which Moses could not have but full meals of because of his high place great interest and power in Aegypt And must those hungry Philosophers then become the only Masters of our reason and their dictates be received as the sâ—nse and voice of nature which they either received from uncertain tradition or else delivered in opposition to it that they might be more taken notice of in the world Must an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be confronted with Thus saith the Lord and a few pitiful symbols vye authority with divine commands and Ex nihilo nihil fit be sooner believed then In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth What irrefragable evidence of reason is that so confident a presumption built upon when it can signifie nothing without this hypothesis that there is nothing but matter in the world and let this first be proved and we will never stick to grant the other I may confidently say the great gullery of the world hath been taking philosophical dictates for the standard of reason and unproved hypotheses for certain foundations for our discourse to rely upon And the seeking to reconcile the mysteries of our faith to these hath been that whith hath almost destroyed it and turned our Religion into a meer philosophical speculation But of this elsewhere We see then that insisting meerly on the accomplishments and rational perfections of the persons who speak we have more reason to yield credit to Moses in his history then to any Philosophers in their speculations And that which in the next place speaks Moses to be a person of wisdom and judgement and ability to finde out truth was his age and experience when he delivered these things to the world He vented no crude and indigested conceptions no sudden and temerarious fancies the usual issues of teeming and juvenile wits he lived long enough to have experience to try and judgement to distinguish a meer outside and varnish from what was solid and substantial We cannot then have the least ground of suspition that Moses was any wayes unfit to discern truth from falshood and therefore was capable of judging the one from the other But though persons be never so highly accomplisht for parts learning and experience yet if they want due information of the certainty of the things they deliver they may be still decâ—iving themselves and if they preserve it for posterity be guilty of deceiving others Let us now therefore see whether Moses had not as great advantages for understanding the truth of his History as he had judgement to discern it And concerning all those things contained in the four last books of his to his own death it was impossible any should have greater then himself writing nothing but what he was pars magna himself of what he saw and heard and did and can any testimony be desired greater then his whose actions they were or who was present at the doing of them and that not in any private way but in the most publick capacity For although private persons may be present at great actions yet they may be guilty of misrepresenting them for want of understanding all circumstances precedent and
subsequent or for want of understanding the designs of the chief instruments of action but when the person himself who was the chief in all shall undertake to write an exact History of it what evidence can be desired more certain then that is that there could be no defect as to information concerning what was done The only seruple then that can be made must be concerning the passages of former times which Moses relates And here I doubt not but to make it appear that insisting only on all that can be desired in a bare Historian setting aside Divine revelation he had as true and certain information of the History of those former ages as any one can have of things at that distance from themselves and that is by a certain â—â—interrupted tradition of them which will appear more clear and evident in that Nation of which Moses was then in any other Nation in the world And that on these two accounts first the undoubted linâ—al deseent from Father to Son in the Iâ—wish Nation Secondly Their intâ—rest lying so much in the preserving this tradition entire First That there was a certain unmixed linâ—al descent from Father to Son in the Iewish Nation the great â—ause of most of the confusion in the tradition of other Nations was the frequent mixing of several families one with another now that God might as it were on purpose satisfie the world of the Israelites capacity to preserve the tradition entire he prohibited their mixture by marriages with the people of other Nations and families So that in Moses his time it was a very easie matter to run up their lineal descent as far as the flood nay up to Adam for Adam conversed sometime with Noah Sem his Son was probably living in some part of Iacobs time or Isaac's at least and how easily and uninterruptedly might the general tradition of the ancient History be continued thence to the time of Moses when the number of families agreeing in this tradition was increased and withall incorporated by a common ligament of Religion I demand then where can we suppose any ignorance or cutting off this general tradition in so continued a succession as here was Can we imagine that the Grand-children of Iacob could be ignorant of their own pedigree and whence they came into Egypt can we think a thing so late and so remarkable as the account of their coming thither should be forgotten which was attended with so many memorable circumstances especially the selling and advancement of Ioseph whose memory it was impossible should be obliterated in so short a time Could Iacob be ignorant of the Country whence his Grand-father Abraham came especially when he lived so long in it himself and married into that branch of the family that was remaining there when he had served his Uncle Laban Could Abraham when he was cotemporary with Sem be ignorant of the truth of the flood when Sem from whom he derived himself was one of the persons who escaped it in the Ark Could Sem be ignorant of the actions before the flood when Adam the first man lived some part of his time with Noah and could Noah then be ignorant of the Creation and the fall of man Thus we see it almost impossible that any age among them then could be ignorant of the passages of the precedent which they were so few Generations removed from that they could with ease derive themselves from the first man What then can we say that any of these had a design of deceiving their posterity and so corrupted the tradition but besides that it could be hardly possible at that time when there were so many remaining testimonies of former times what end can we imagine that any Parents should have in thus deceiving their Children or what advantage should come to them by such a deceit Nay I shall now manifest in the sicond place that the whole interest of their children lay in preserving this tradition certain and entire For their hopes of possessing Canaan and title to it depended upon the promise made to Abraham 400 years before which would not only keep awake their sense of Divine Providence but would make them careful during their bondage to preserve their Genealogies because all the right they could plead to their pâ—ssessions in Canaan was from their being of Abrahams seed And besides this on purpose to be a memorial to them of passâ—ges between God and Abraham they had in their flesh a badge of circumcision which would serve to call to mind those transactions which had been between God and their forâ—-fathers These things then do fully demonstrate that insisting only on rational evidence the Israelites were the most certain conservatours of the ancient History of the world and can we then think that Moses who was the Ruler among them should not fully understand those things which every Israelite could scarce be ignorant of and might correct the mistakes of Moses in his History if he had been guilty of any such These things I suppose have made the first proposition evident that it was morally impossible Moses should be deceived himself or be ignorant of the things which he reports to others both because he had abilities sufficient to discover truth from falshood and sufficient information of the passages of former times CHAP. III. Moses his fidelity and integrity proved Moses considered as an Historian and as a Lawgiver his fidelity in both proved clear evidences that he had no intent to deceive in his History freedom from private interest impartiality in his relations plainness and perspicuity of stile As a Lawgiver he came armed with Divine authority which being the main thing is fixed on to be fully proved from his actions and writings The power of miracles the great evidence of Divine revelation Two grand questions propounded In what cases miracles may be expected and how known to be true No necessity of a constant power of miracles in a Church Two Cases alone wherein they may be expected When any thing comes as a Law from God and when a Divine Law is to be repealed The necessity of miracles in those cases as an evidence of Divine revelation asserted Objections answered No use of miracles when the doctrine is setled and owned by miracles in the first revelation No need of miracles in reformation of a Church THE second proposition contains the proof of Moses his fidelity that he was as far from having any intent to deceive others as he was being deceived himself Two wayes Moses must be considered as an Historian and as a Law-giver the only inducement for him to deceive as an Historian must be some particular interest which must draw him aside from an impartial delivery of the truth as a Law-giver he might deceive if he pretended Divine revelation for those Laws which were only the issues of his own brain that they might be received with a greater veneration among the people as Numa Pompilius and others did
Now if we prove that Moses had no interest to deceive in his History and had all rational evidence of Divine revelation in his Laws we shall abundantly evince the undoubted fidelity of Moses in every thing recorded by him We begin then with his fidelity as an Historian and it being contrary to the common interest of the world to deceive and be deceived we have no reason to entertain any suspitions of the veracity of any person where we cannot discern some pecâ—liar interest that might have a stronger biass upon him then the common interest of the world For it is otherwise in morals then in naturals for in naturals we see that every thing will leave its proper interest to preserve the common interest of nature but in morals there is nothing more common then deserting the common interest of mankind to set up a peculiar interest against it It being the truest description of a Politician that he is one who makes himself the centre and the whole world his circumference that he regards not how much the whole world is abused if any advantage doth accrue to himself by it Where we see it then the design of any person to advance himself or his posterity or to set up the credit of the Nation whose History he writes we may have just cause to suspect his partiality because we then finde a sufficient inducement for such a one to leave the common road of truth and to fall into the paths of deceit But we have not the least ground to suspect any such partiality in the History of Moses for nothing is more clear then that he was free from the ambitious design of advancing himself and his posterity who notwithstanding the great honour he enjoyed himself was content to leave his posterity in the meanest sort of attendance upon the Tabernacle And as little have we ground to think he intended to flatter that Nation which he so lively describes that one would think he had rather an interest to set forth the frowardness unbelief unthankfulness and disobedience of a Nation towards a Gracious God then any wayes to inhance their reputation in the world or to ingratiate himself with them by writing this History of them Nay and he sets forth so exactly the lesser failings and grosser enormities of all the Ancestours of this Nation whose acts he records that any impartial reader will soon acquit him of a design of flattery when after he hath recorded those faults he seeks not to extenuate them or bring any excuse or pretence to palliate them So that any observing reader may easily take notice that he was carried on by a higher design then the common people of Historians are and that his drift and scope was to exalt the goodness and favour of God towards a rebellious and obstinate people Of which there can be no greater nor more lively demonstration then the History of all the transactions of the Iewish Nation from their coming forth of Aegypt to their utter ruine and desolation And Moses tells them as from God himself it was neither for their number nor their goodness that God set his Love upon them but he loved them because he loved them i. e. no other account was to be given of his gracious dealing with them but the freeness of his own bonnty and the exuberancy of his goodness towards them Nay have we not cause to admire the ingenuity as well as veracity of this excellent personage who not only layes so notorious a blot upon the stock of his own family Levi recording so punctually the inhumanity and cruelty of him and Simeon in their dealings with the Shechemites but likewise inserts that curse which was left upon their memory for it by their own Father at his decease And that he might not leave the least suspition of partiality behind him he hath not done as the statuary did who engraved his own name so artificially in the statue of Iupiter that one should continue as long as the other but what the other intended for the praise of his skill Moses hath done for his ingenuity that he hath so interwoven the History of his own failings and disobedience with those of the Nation that his spots are like to continue as long as the whole web of his History is like to do Had it been the least part of his design to have his memory preserved with a superstitious veneration among the Iews how easie had it been for him to have left out any thing that might in the least entrench upon his reputation but we finde him very secure and careless in that particular nay on the other side very studious and industrious in depressing the honour and deserts of men and advancing the power and goodness of God And all this he doth not in an affected strain of Rhetorick whose proper work is impetrare fidem mendacio and as Tully somewhere confesseth to make things seem otherwise then they are but with that innate simplicity and plainness and yet withall with that Imperatoria brevit as that Majesty and authority that it is thereby evident he sought not to court acceptance but to demand belief Nor had any such pittiful design of pleasing his Readers with some affected phrases but thought that Truth it self had presence enough with it to command the submission of our understandings to it Especially when all these were delivered by such a one who came sufficiently armed with all motives of credibility and inducements to assent by that evidence which he gave that he was no pretender to divine revelation but was really imployed as a peculiar instrument of State under the God and Ruler of the whole world Which if it be made clear then all our further doubts must presently cease and all impertinent disputes be silenced when the supream Majesty appears impowring any person to dictate to the world the Laws they must be governed by For if any thing be repugnant to our rational faculties that is that God should dictate any thing but what is most certainly true or that the Governor of the world should prescribe any Laws but such as were most just and reasonable If we suppose a God we cannot question veracity to be one of his chiefest Attributes and that it is impossible the God of truth should imploy any to reveal any thing as from him but what was undoubtedly true So that it were an argument of the most gross and unreasonable incredulity to distrust the certainty of any thing which comes to us with sufficient evidence of divine revelation because thereby we shew our distrust of the veracity of God himself All that we can desire then is only reasonable satisfactisn concerning the evidence of Divine revelation in the person whose words we are to credit and this our Gracious God hath been so far from denying men that he hath given all rational evidence of the truth of it For it implying no incongruity at all to any notions of
them but Astronomers by the help of their Optick tubes and Telescopes do easily discern the just magnitude of them so the Iews ordinarily thought there was no more in those types and shadows then was visibly represented to them but such as had the help of the Divine Spirit the best Telescope to discern the day-star from on high with could easily look through those prospectives into the most glorious mysteries of the Gospel of Iesus Christ. These types being like triangâ—lar Prismes that must be set in a due light and posture before they can represent that great variety of spiritual mysteries which was contained in them Now the great office of the Prophets was to administer this light to the people and to direct them in those excellent pieces of Perspective wherein by the help of a Prophetick glass they might see the Son of God fully represented to their view Besides this the Prophetical office was a kind of Chancery to the Mosaick Law wherein the Prophets did interpret the Pandects of the Law ex aequo bono and frequently shewed in what cases God did dispence with the outward letter of it to exalt the more the inward sense and reason of it Hence the Prophets seem many times to speak contemptibly of the outward prescribed Cerâ—monies when their intent is not to condemn the observation of them but to tell the people there were greater things which God looked at then the outward observation of some Ceremonial precepts and that God would never accept of that by way of commutation for real and internal goodness Hence the Prophets by their own practice did frequently shew that the Law of Moses did not so indispensably oblige men but that God would accept of those actions which were performed without the regularity required by the Law of Moses and thus he did of sacrificing upon high places not only before the building of the Temple but sometimes after as he accepted of the sacrifice of Elijah on Mount Carmel even when high places were for bidden Which the Iews are become so sensible of that they grant that a true Prophet may sometimes command something to be done in violation of the Law of Moses so he doth not draw people to Idolatry nor destroy the obligation of Moses his Law But this they restrain to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 something done in case of necessity and that it should not pass into a precedent or a perpetual Law and therefore their rule is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prophet was to be hearkened to in every thing he commanded in a case of necessity But by this it is clear that the Prophets were not to be tryed by the letter of the Law of Moses but by the end and the reason of it Thus much I suppose will make it clear what rules the people had to try the Prophets doctrine by without miracles CHAP. VI. The tryal of Prophetical Predictions and Miracles The great difficulty of the trying the truth of Prophetical predictions from Jerem. 18. 7 8 c. Some general Hypoâ—heses premised for the clearing of it The first concerns the grounds why predictions are accounted an evidence of divine revelation Three Consectaries drawn thence The second the manner of Gods revelation of his will to the minds of the Prophets Of the several degrees of prophecy The third is that God did not alwayes reveal the internal purposes of his will unto the true Prophets The grand question propounded â—ow it may be known when predictions express Gods decrees and when only the series of causes For the first several rules laid down 1. When the prediction is confirmed by â— present miracle 2. When the things foretold exceed the probability of second causes 3. When confirmed by Gods oath 4. When the blessings fore-told are purely spiritual Three rules for interpreting the prophecyes which respect the state of things under the Gospel 5. When all circumstances are foretold 6. When many Prophets in several ages agree in the same predictions Predictions do not express Gods unalterable purposes when they only contain comminations of judgements or are predictions of temporal blessings The case of the Ninivites Hezekiah and others opened Of repentance in God what it implyes The Iewish objections about predictions of temporal blessings answered In what cases miracles were expected from the Prophets when they were to confirm the truth of their religion Instanced in the Prophet at Bethel Elijah Elishah and of Moses himself Whose divine authority that it was proved by miracles is demonstrated against the modern Iews and their pretences answered THe next thing which the rules of tryal concerned was the predictions of the Prophets Concerning which God himself hath laid down this general rule Deut. 18. 22. When a Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Prophet hath spoken it presumptuously thou shalt not be afraid of him Grotius understands this place of the Prophets telling the people he would do some miracles to confirm his doctrine but saith he if those miracles were not done as he said it was an evident demonstration of a false Prophet It is certain it was so for then his own mouth told him he was a lying Prophet but these words seem to referr rather to something future then present and are therefore generally understood concerning the truth of predictions which was a matter of very difficult tryal in regard of the goodness or the justice of God so frequently interposing between the prediction and the event That place which makes it so difficult to discern the truth of a prediction by the event is Ierem. 18. 7 8 9 10. At what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation and concerning a Kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and destroy it If that Nation against whom I have pronounced turn from evil I will repent of the evil I had thought to do unto them And at what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation and concerning a Kingdom to build and to plant it if it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice then will I repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them By which place it seems clear that even after the predictions of Prophets God doth reserve a liberty to himself either to repent of the evil or the good that was foretold concerning any people how then can the fidelity of a Prophet be discovered by the event when God may alter the event and yet the Prophet be a true Prophet This being a case very intricate and obscure will call for the more diligence in the unfolding of it In order to which we shall first premise some general Hypotheses and then come to the particular resolution of it The general Hypotheses will be concerning the way and method of Gods revealing future contingencies to the Prophets without which it will be impossible to
resolve the particular emergent cases concerning predictions The prediction of future events is no further an argument of Prophetick spirit then as the fore-knowledge of those things is supposed to be out of the reach of any created understanding And therefore God challengeth this to himself in Scripture as a peculiar prerogative of his own to declare the things that are to come and thereby manifests the Idols of the Gentiles to be no Gods because they could not shew to their worshippers the things to come Isaiah 44. 6 7. From this hypothesis these two Consectaries follow 1. That the events which are foretold must be such as do exceed the reach of any created intellect for otherwise it could be no evidence of a Spirit of true Prophecy so that the foretelling of such events as depend upon a series of natural causes or such as though they are out of the reach of humane understanding yet are not of the Diabolical or such things as fall out casually true but by no certain grounds of prediction can none of them be any argument of a Spirit of Prophecy 2. That where there were any other evidences that the Prophet spake by Divine Revelation there was no reason to wait the fulfilling of every particular Prophecy before he was believed as a Prophet If so then many of Gods chiefest Prophets could not have been believed in their own Generations because their Prophecies did reach so far beyond them as Isaiahs concerning Cyrus the Prophet at Bethel concerning Iosias and all the Prophecies concerning the captivity and deliverance from it must not have been believed till fulfilled that is not believed at all for when Prophecies are accomplished they are no longer the objects of faith but of sense Where then God gives other evidences of Divine inspiration the credit of the Prophet is not suspended upon the minute accomplishment of every event foretold by him Now it is evident there may be particular Divine revelation of other things besides future contingencies so that if a reason may be given why events once foretold may not come to pass there can be no reason why the credit of any Prophecy should be invalidated on that account because every event is not exactly correspondent to the prediction It is most certain that what ever comes under Divine knowledge may be Divinely revealed for the manifestation which is caused by any light may extend its self to all things to which that light is extended but that light which the Prophets saw by was a Divine light and therefore might equally extend it self to all kind of objects but because future contingencies are the most remote from humane knowledge therefore the foretelling of these hath been accounted the great evidence of a true Prophet but yet there may be a knowledge of other things in a lower degree then future contingencies which may immediately depend upon Divine revelation and these are 1. Such things which cannot be known by one particular man but yet is certainly known by other men as the present knowledge of things done by persons at a remote distance from them thus Elisha knew what Gehezi did when he followed Nâ—aman and thus the knowledge of the thoughts of anothers heart depends upon immediate Divine revelation whereas every one may certainly know the thoughts of his own heart and therefore to some those things may be matters of sense or evident demenstration which to another may be a matter of immediate revelation 2. Such things as relate not to future contingencies but are matters of faith exceeding the reach of humane apprehension such things as may be known when revealed but could never have been found out without immediate revelation such all the mysteries of our religion are the mystery of the Trinity Incarnation Hypostatical union the death of the Son of God for the pardon of the sins of mankind Now the immediate revelation of either of these two sorts of objects speaks as much a truly Prophetical spirit as the prediction of future contingencies So that this must not be looked on as the just and adequate rule to measure a spirit of Prophecy by because the ground of judging a Prophetical spirit by that is common with other things without that seeing other objects are out of the reach of humane understanding as well as future events and therefore the discovery of them must immediately flow from Divine revelation 3. The revelation of future events to the understanding of a Prophet is never the less immediate although the event may not be correspondent to the prediction So that if it be manifest that God immediately reveal such future contingencies to a Prophet he would be nevertheless a true Prophet whether those predictions took effect or no. For a true Prophet is known by the truth of Divine revelation to the person of the Prophet and not by the success of the thing which as is laid down in the hypothesis is no further an evidence of a true Prophet then as it is an argument a posteriori to prove Divine revelation by If then the alteration of events after predictions be reconcileable with the truth and faithfulness of God there is no question but it is with the truth of a Prophetical spirit the formality of which lies in immediate revelation The Prophets could not declare any thing more to the people then was immediately revealed unto themselves What was presently revealed so much they knew and no more because the spirit of Prophecy came upon them per modum impressionis transeuntis as the Schools speak and not per modum habitus the lumen propheticum was in them not as lumen in corpore lucido but as lumen in aëre and therefore the light of revelation in their spirits depended upon the immediate irradiations of the Divine Spirit The Prophets had not alwayes a power to Prophecy when they would themselves and thence it is said when they Prophesied that the Word of the Lord came unto them And therefore the Schools determine that a Prophet upon an immediate revelation did not know omnia prophetabilia as they speak in their barbarous language all things which God might reveal the reason whereof Aquinas thus gives the ground saith he of the connexion of diverse objects together is some common tie or principle which joynes them together as charity or prudence is in moral vertues and the right understanding of the principles of a science is the ground why all things belonging to that science are understood but now in Divine revelation that which connects the objects of Divine revelation is God himself now because he cannot be fully apprehended by any humane intellect therefore the understanding of a Prophet cannot comprehend all matters capable of being revealed but only such as it pleaseth God himself freely to communicate to the Prophets understanding by immediate revelation This is further evident by all those different degrees of illumination and Prophecy which the Iews and other
not executed upon him So Ahabs humiliation Hezekiah his earnest prayer the Ninivites repentance all interposed between sentence and execution whereby we may be fully satisfied of the reason why these denunciations did not take effect But where the persons continue the same after threatnings that they were before there is no reason why the sentence should be suspended unless we should suppose it to be a meer effect of the patience and long-suffering of God leading men to repentance and amendment of life Which is the ground the Iews give why the not fulfilling of denunciations of judgement was never accounted sufficient to prove a man a false Prophet to which purpose these words of Maimonides are observable in his Iesude Thâ—rah where he treats particularly on the subject of prophecies If a Prophet foretel sad things as the death of any one or famine or War or the like if these things come not to pass he shall not be accounted a false Prophet neither let them say hehold he hath foretold and it comes not to pass for eurblessed God is slow to anger and rich in mercy and repenteth of the evil and it may be that they repent and God may spare them as he did the Ninivites or defer the punishment as he did Hezekiah's Thus we see that Prophetical comminations do not express Gods internal purposes and therefore the event may not come to pass and yet the Prophet be a true Prophet 2. Predictions concerning temporal blessings do not always absolutely speak the certainty of the event but what God is ready to do if they to whom they are made continue faithful to him For which we have sufficient ground from that place of Ieremiah 18. 9 10. At what instant I shall speak concerning a Kingdom to build and to plant it if it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice then will I repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them So Isaiah 1. 19 20. If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the Land but if ye refuse and rebel ye shall be devoured with the sword for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Whereby we see it evident that all promises of temporal blessings are not to be taken absolutely but with the condition of obedience But this the Iews can by no means digest whose rule is that all prophecies of good things to come must necessarily come to pass or he was no true Prophet who spake them For saith Maimon Whatever good thing God hath promised although it be promised under a condition he never revokes it and we never find that God repented him of any good thing promised but in the destruction of the first Temple when God had promised to the rightâ—ous they should not die with the wicked but it repented him of his words But it is very plain to any one that considers the Iewish Interpretations of Scripture that in them they have always an eye to themselves and will be sure not to understand those Scriptures which seem to thwart their own interest as is most apparent in the present case for the grand reason why the Iews insist so much on the punctual accomplishment of all promises of good to be the sign of a true Prophet is to uphold their own interest in those temporal blessings which are prophecyed of concerning them in the old Testament although one would think the want of correspondency in the event in reference to themselves might make them a little more tender of the honour of those Prophecies which they acknowledge to be divine and have appeared to be so in nothing more then the full accompllshmenâ— of all those threatnings which are denounced against them for their disobedience even by the mouth of Moses himself Deut. 28. from the 15. to the end Can any thing be more plain and evident then that the enjoyment of all the priviledges conferred upon them did depend upon the condition of their continuing faithful to Gods Covenant The only place of Scripture produced by them with any plausibility is that Ierem. 28. 9. The Prophet which prophecieth of peace when the word of the Prophet shall come to pass then shall the Prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent him For reconciling of which place with those already mentioned we are to understand that here was a particular contest between two Prophets Hananiah and Ieremiah Ieremiah he foretold evil to come though unwillingly v 6. Hananiah he prophecied peace Now Ieremiah according to Gods peculiar directions and inspiration appeals to the event to determine whose Prophecie was the truest Now saith Jeremiah if the Prophecy of Hananiah concerning peace be fulfilled then he is the true Prophet and I the false And in this case when two Prophets Prophecy contrary things it stands to reason that God will not reveal any thing by the mouth of his own Prophet which shall not infallibly come to pass that thereby the truth of his own Prophet may be fully manifested Besides Ieremiah refers not meerly to the event foretold but gives a sudden specimon of his own truth in another Prophecy concerning the death of Hananiah which was punctually accomplished the same year ver 17. And which is most considerable to our purpose both these Prophets considered the same people under the same circumstances and with the same conditions and so Ieremiah because of their incorrigibleness foretells desolation certainly to come notwithstanding this Hananiah foretells peace and safety which was contrary directly to Gods method of proceeding and so the falsity of his Prophecy would infallibly be discovered by the event So that notwithstanding this instance it appears evident that predictions of temporal blessings do suppose conditions and so have not alwayes the event fulfilled when the people do not perform their condition of obedience And thus we have now laid down the rules whereby the truth of Prophecyes was to be judged by which it appears what little need the constant Prophets had to appeal to miracles to manifest the certainty of Divine revelation in them So we have finished our first proposition concerning the manner of trying Divine revelation in the Prophets God sent among his people We now come to the second general proposition concerning the Prophets Those Prophets whom God did imploy upon some extraordinary message for confirming the truth of the religion established by him had a power of miracles conferd upon them in order to that end So that we must distinguish the ordinary imployment of Prophets which was either instruction or prediction of future events among Gods own people from their peculiar messages when they were sent to give evidence to the truth of that way of religion which was then setled by Gods own appointment Now the Prophets generally did suppose the truth of their religion as owned by those they were sent to and therefore it had been very needless imploying a power of miracles among them to
convince them of that which they believed already For we never read among all the revolts of the people of the Iews that they were lapsed so far as totally to reject the Law of Moses which had been to alter the constitution of their Commonwealth although they did enormously offend against the Precepts of it and that in those things wherein the honour of God was mainly concernd as is most plain in their frequent and gross Idolatry Which we are not so to understand as though they wholly cast off the worship of the true God but they superinduced as the Samaritans did the worship of Heathen Idols with that of the God of Israel But when the revolt grew so great and dangerous that it was ready to swallow up the true worship of God unless some apparent evidence were given of the falsity of those Heathen mixtures and further confirmation of the truth of the established religion it pleased God sometimes to send his Prophets on this peculiar message to the main instruments of this revolt As is most conspicuous in that dangerous design of Ieroboam when he out of a Politick end set up his two calves in opposition to the Temple at Ierusalem and therein it was the more dangerous in that in all probability he designed not the alteration of the worship it self but the establishment of it in Dan and Bethel For his interest lay not in drawing of the people from the worship of God but from his worship at Ierusalem which was contrary to his design of Cantonizing the Kingdom and taking the greatest share to himself Now that God might confirm his peoples faith in this dangerous juncture of time he sends a Prophet to Bethel who by the working of present miracles there viz. the renting the Altar and withering of Jeroboams hand did manifest to them that these Altars were displeasing to God and that the true place of worship was at Ierusalem So in that famous fire-Ordeal for trying the truth of religion between God and Baal upon mount Carmel by Elijah God was pleased in a miraculous way to give the most prâ—gnant testimony to the truth of his own worship by causing a fire to come down from heaven and consume the sacrifice by which the Priests of Baal were confounded and the people confirmed in the belief of the only true God for presently upon the sight of this miracle the people fall on their faces and say the Lord he is God the Lord he is God Whereby we plainly see what clear evidence is given to the truth of that religion which is attested with a power of miracles Thus the widdow of Sarepta which was in the Country of Zidon was brought to believe Elijah to be a true Prophet by his raising up her son to life And the woman said to Elijah Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the Word of the Lord by thy mouth is truth So we see how Naaman was convinced of the true God by his miraculous cure in Iordan by the appointment of Elisha Behold now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel by which instances it is demonstrable that either the faith of all these persons was built upon weak and insufficient grounds or that a power of miracles is an evident confirmation of the truth of that religion which is established by them For this we see was the great end for which God did improve any of his Prophets to work miracles viz. to be as an evident demonstration of the truth of what was revealed by him So that this power of miracles is not meerly a motive of credibility or a probable inducement to remove prejudice from the person as many of our Divines speak but it doth contain an evident demonstration to common sense of the truth of that religion which is confirmed by them And thus we assert it to have been in the case of Moses the truth of whose message was attested both among the Aegyptians and the Israelites by that power of miracles which he had But herein we have the great Patrons of Moses our greatest enemies viz the present Iews who by reason of their emnity to the doctrine of Christ which was attested by unparalleld miracles are grown very shy of the argument drawn from thence In so much that their great Dr. Maimonides layes down this for a confident maxime 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Israelites did not believe in Moses our Master for the sake of the miracles which he wrought Did they not the more shame for them and if they did the more shame for this great Rabbi thus to bely them But the reason he gives for it is because there may remain some suspition in ones mind that all miracles may be wrought by a power of Magick or Incantation Say you so what when Moses confounded all the Magicians in Aegypt and made themselves who were the most cunning in these things confess it was the finger of God and at last give out as not able to stand before Moses might one still suspect all this to be done by a Magical power Credat Iudaeus Apella non ego This is much like what another of their Doctors sayes whom they call the Divine Philosopher that Elisha his raising the child to life and curing Naamans leprosie and Daniels escaping the Lions and Ionas out of the Whales belly might all come to pass by the influence of the stars or by Pythonisme Very probable but it is most true which Vortius there observes of the Iews nibil non nugacissimi mortalium fingunt ne cogantur agnoscere virtute ac digito quasi ipsius Dei Iesum nostrum effecisse miracula sua All their design in this is only to elevate the miracles of our blessed Saviour and to derogate all they can from the belief of them Hence they tell us that nothing is so easie to be done as miracles the meer recital of the tetragrammaton will work wonders that by this Ieremiah and our Saviour did all their miracles It is well yet that he did more then one of their own Prophets had done before him but where I wonder do we read that ever the pronouncing of four letters raised one from the dead who had lain four dayes in the grave or by what power did Christ raise himself from the dead which was the greatest miracle of all could his dead body pronounce the tetragrammaton to awaken its self with But Maimonides further tells us that the miracles which Moses wrought among the Israelites were meerly for necessity and not to prove the truth of his Divine commission for which he instanceth in dividing the red sea the raining of Manna and the destruction of Corah and his complices But setting aside that these two latter were the immediate hand of God and not miracles done by Moses yet it is evidence that the intent of them was to manifest a Divine
there may be clear perception where the object its self is above our capacity Now whatever foundation there is in nature for such a perception without comprehension that and much more is there in such things as are revealed by God though above our apprehension For the Idea of God upon the soul of man cannot be so strong an evidence of the existence of a being above our apprehension as the revelation of matters of faith is that we should believe the things so revealed though our understandings lose themselves in striving to reach the natures of them and the manner of their existence Secondly that which is the only foundation of a scruple in this case is a principle most unreasonable in its self that we are to imbrace nothing for truth though divinely revealed but what our reason is able to comprehend as to the nature of the thing and the manner of its existence on which account the doctrine of the Trinity Incarnation Satisfaction and consequently the whole mysterie of the Gospel of Christ must be rejected as incredible and that on this bare pretence because although many expressions in Scripture seem to import all these things yet we are bound to interpret them to another sense because this is incongruous to our reason But although Christianity be a Religion which comes in the highest way of credibility to the minds of men although we are not bound to believe any thing but what we have sufficient reason to make it appear that it is revealed by God yet that any thing should be questioned whether it be of divine revelation meerly because our reason is to seek as to the full and adaequate conception of it is a most absurd and unreasonable pretence And the Assertors of it must run themselves on these unavoidable absurdities First of believing nothing either in nature or Religion to be true but what they can give a full and satisfactory account of as to every mode and circumstance of it Therefore let such persons first try themselves in all the appearances of nature and then we may suppose they will not believe that the Sun shines till they have by demonstrative arguments proved the undoubted truth of the Ptolomaick or Copernican hypothesis that they will never give credit to the flux and reflux of the Sea till they clearly resolve the doubts which attend the several opinions of it That there is no such thing as matter in the world till they can satisfactorily tell us how the parts of it are united nor that there are any material beings till they have resolved all the perplexing difficulties about the several affections of them and that themselves have not so much as a rational soul till they are bound to satisfie us of the manner of the union of the soul and body together And if they can expedite all these and many more difficulties about the most obvious things about which it is another thing to frame handsome and consistent hypotheses then to give a certain account of them then let them be let loose to the matters of divine revelation as to which yet if they could perform the other were there no reason for such an undertaking for that were Secondly to commensurate the perfections of God with the narrow capacity of the humane intellect which is contrary to the natural Idea of God and to the manner whereby we take up our conceptions of God for the Idea of God doth suppose incomprehensibility to belong to his nature and the manner whereby we form our conceptions of God is by taking away all the imperfections we find in our selves from the conception we form of a being absolutely perfect and by adding infinity to all the perfections we find in our own natures Now this method of proceeding doth necessarily imply a vast distance and disproportion between a finite and infinite understanding And if the understanding of God be infinite why may not he discover such things to us which our shallow apprehensions cannot reach unto what ground or evidence of reason can we have that an infinite wisdom and understanding when it undertakes to discover matters of the highest nature and concernment to the world should be able to deliver nothing but what comes within the compass of our imperfect and narrow intellects And that it should not be sufficient that the matters revealed do none of them contradict the prime results or common notions of mankind which none of them do but that every particular mode and circumstance as to the manner of existence in God or the extent of his omnipotent power must pass the scrutiny of our faculties before it obtains a Placet for a Divine revelation Thirdly it must follow from this principle that the pretenders to it must affirm the rules or maxims which they go by in the judgment of things are the infallible standard of reason Else they are as far to seek in the judgement of the truth of things as any others are They must then to be consistent with their principle affirm themselves to be the absolute Masters of reason Now reason consisting of observations made concerning the natures of all beings for so it must be considered as it is a rule of judging viz. as a Systeme of infallible rules collected from the natures of things they who pretend to it must demonstrate these general maxims according to which they judge to be â—ollected from an universal undoubted history of nature which lies yet too dark and obscure for any to pretend to the full knowledge of and would be only a demonstration of the highest arrogance after so many succesless endeavours of the most searching wits in any society of persons to usurp it to themselves especially if such persons are so far from searching into the depths of nature that they suffer themselves very fairly to be led by the nose by the most dogmatical of all Philosophers and that in such principles which the more inquisitive world hath now found to be very short uncertain and fallacious And upon severe enquiry we shall find the grand principles which have been taken by these adorers of reason for almost the standard of it have been some Theories which have been taken up meerly from observation of the course of nature by such persons who scarce owned any hand of providence in the world Now it cannot otherwise be conceived but that these Theories or principles formed from such a narrow inspection into the natures of things must make strange work when we come to apply those things to them which were never looked at in the forming of them Whence came those two received principles that nothing can be produced out of nothing that there is no possible return from a privation to a habit but from those Philosophers who believed there was nothing but matter in the world or if they did assert the existence of a God yet supposed him unconcerned in the Government of the world Whence come our Masters
people in a condition to be fed by Manna as they were in the wilderness God graciously suiting the discoveries of his power to the peculiar advantages of the people which they were made to and the dispensation they ushered in Those terrible signs at Mount Sinai being very suitable to the severity and rigour of the Law and the gracious miracles of our Saviour to the sweetness and grace of the Gospel And on this account our Saviour charged the Iews with hypocrisie in requiring a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as something above 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a prodigy rather then a miracle An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given it but that of the prophet Ionas i. e. this people which are so far from the faith of Abraham and therefore are supposititious Children that no miracles which I do will convince them but they seek only to have their humours gratified more then their faith confirmed by some prodigy from heaven shall not by me be thus gratified but having done enough already to perswade them if they had any heart to believe instead of a sign from heaven they shall have only one from the earth and that not so much intended for the conversion of such wilfull unbelievers as for the testifying my Innocency to the world viz. his resurrection from the dead And so elsewhere when the Iews demand a sign it was upon the doing of that which if they had attended to had been a sufficient sign to them viz. his driving the buyers and sellers out of the Temple Which being a thing permitted by the Sanbedrim and the Priests how could they think so mean a person in appearance as our Saviour was could ever have effected it had it not been for a Divine Majesty and power which appeared in him It was not then the expectation of miracles which our Saviour rebuked in the Iews but being unsatisfied with the kind and nature of our Saviours miracles It was their hypocrisie and unbelief which Christ condemned notwithstanding the frequent miracles which he wrought among them For we plainly find our Saviour very often appealing to his miracles as the evidences of his Divine Commission If I had not done the works among them which no man else did they had not sin i. e. in not believing me Whereby Christ both sets forth the necessity of his working miracles in order to the câ—nviction of the woâ—ld and the greatness of the miracles which he wrought he did those no man else had done no not Moses and Elias in curing all manner of diseases by the word of his mouth and those miracles which they had done he exceeded them in the manner of doing them Moses fed them with bread from heaven but Christ multiplied on earth some few loaves and fishes to the feeding of many thousands Elias indeed raised one from the dead but Christ raised more and one after he had been four days in the grave And upon this very evidence of our Saviours miracles we find many believing on him And even of those who were not so far wrought upon as to become followers of Christ as the only Messias yet we find them so far perswaded by the power of his miracles that they looked upon him as a great Prophet or one that was sent from God So Nicodemus who came first to Christ more as a rational enquirer then a believer yet we see he was perswaded that he was a teacher come from God because no man could do the miracles which Christ did unless God were with him And before him many of the Iews at Ierusalem believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did yet these persons Christ would not trust himself with because he knew their hearts were not subdued to his doctrine though their understandings were convinced by his miracles And after this others of the Iews that looked not on him as the Messias yet it is said they believed on him on the account of his miracles And many of the people believed on him and said When Christ cometh will he do more miracles then these which this man hath done Although herein they were most unreasonable in believing the evidence and not the truth attested by it in believing Christ to be one sent from God by his miracles and yet not believing him to be the Messias which was the thing attested by them Not that meer miracles would prove the person to be the Messias who did them but the miracles proved the testimony to be Divine now that which Christ delivered to them as a Divine Testimony was his being the Messias and therefore by the same reason they believed him to be one sent from God they ought to have believed him to be the Messias for one sent from God could never falsifie in the main of his message as this was of our Saviours preaching And thence it is observable our Saviour did not shew forth his Divine power till he entred upon his office of preaching thereby making it appear he intended this as the great evidence of the truth of the doctrine which he preached to them And herein the blind man in the Gospel saw more truth and reason then the whole Court of Sanhedrin before which in probability he was convented about his cure by Christ for when they sought to get something out of him in disparagement of our Saviours person and miracle he sharply and roundly tells them when they said they knew God spake to Moses but for this fellow we know not from whence he is Why herein saith he is a marvellous thing that ye know not from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine eyes If this man were not of God he could do nothing as though he had said is it not plain that this man is imployed by God in the world by the miracles which he doth for otherwise God would not so readily assist him in doing such great works for we know that God heareth not sinners but if any man be a worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth i. e. If this man pretended a Commission from heaven falsly whereby he would be the greatest of sinners can we think God would so miraculously assist him but we know by our Law if one comes with a Commission from God and draw men not to Idolatry which is meant by a worshipper of God such a one God is present with and we are bound to believe him And for this very miracle of curing one born blind was the like ever heard of before did ever Moses or the Prophets do it Thus we see what strong rational evidence there was in this miracle of Christ in the judgement of this blind man which he uttered with so much reason before the Court of Sanhedrin when he knew how like he was to be excommunicated for it and yet this very person was as yet ignorant that Christ was the
them that believe In my name shall they cast out Devils c. This power then in the Primitive Church had a twofold argument in it both as it was a manifestation of the truth of the predictions of our Saviour and as it was an evidence of the Divine power of Christ when his name so long after his ascension had so great a command over all the infernal spirits and that so evidently that at that time when the Christians did as it were Tyrannize over Satan so in his own territories yet then the greatest of his Magicians had no power to hurt the bodyes of the Christians which is a thing Origen takes much notice of For when Celsus saith from Diogenes Aegyptius that Magick could only hurt ignorant and wicked men and had no power over Philosophers Origen replies first that Philosophy was no such charm against the power of Magick as appears by Maeragenes who writ the story of Apollonius Tyaneus the famous Magician and Philosopher who therein mentions how Euphrates and an Epicurean 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no vulgar Philosophers were catched by the Magick of Apollonius and although Philostratus disowns this History of Maeragenes as fabulous yet he that thinks Philostratus for that to be of any greater credit is much deceived of whom Lud. Vives gives this true character that he doth magna Homeri mendacia majoribus mendaciis corrigere mend one hole and make three but saith Origen as to the Christians this is undoubtedly true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This saith he we are most certain of and have found it by experience true that those who according to the principles of Christianity do worship God over all through Iesus and do live according to the Gospel being constant in their solemn prayers night and day are not obnoxious to the power of any Magick or Devils whatsoever Now then if the Devil who had then so much power over others had none upon the true followers of Christ and if in stead of that they had so great a commanding power over the Devil even in things which tended most to his disadvantage not only dislodging him out of bodies â—â—t out of his Idolatrous Temples what can be more evident then that this power which was so efficacious for the overthrowing the Kingdom of Satan must needs be far greater then the power of Satan is For it is an undoubted Maxime in natural reason that whatever is put out of its former place by force and violence is extruded by something stronger then its self for if the force on either side were equal there could be no disposses sing of either if any thing then be cast out of its former possession unwillingly it is an undenyable proof there was some power greater then his who was dispossessed Now we cannot conceive if there be such malignant spirits as by many undeniable proofs it is evident there are that they should willingly quit their possessions to such a doctrine which tends to the unavoydable ruine of their interest in the world if then the power of this doctrine hath overthrown the Devils Kingdom in the world whereever it hath been truly entertained it must necessarily follow that this power is far above the power of any damned spirits Now what folly and madness was it in the Heathens to worship those for Gods which they could not but see if they would open their eyes were under so great slavery to a power above them which could make them confess what was most to their disadvantage in the presence of their great adorers Neither ought the many counterfeits and impostures which have been in the world in this kind since the establishment of Christian Religion among the advancers of particular interests and designs make us suspect the truth of those things which were done in the first Ages of the Church of Christ. For first it stands to the greatest reason that the strongest arguments for the truth of a Religion ought to be fetched from the ages of its first appearance in the world if then the evidence be undoubted as to those first times we ought to embrace our Religion as true whatever the impostures have been among those who have apparently gone aside from that purity and simplicity of the Gospel which had so great power Then secondly if all that hath been done in this kind of ejecting Devils where Christianity is owned be acknowledged for impostures one of these two things must be supposed as the ground of it either that there was no such thing as a real possession by the Devil or else there was no such thing as a dispossessing him If the first then hereby will be seen a confirmation of our former argument that where Christianity is owned by the power of that the Devil is more curbed and restrained then where it is not or else is much over-run with ignorance and superstition Of the latter the ages of the Christian Church from the 10. Century to the beginning of the 16. current are a clear evidence Of the first all those who have been conversant in the places where Paganism or gross Idolatry do yet reign will bring in their creditable testimonies how tyrannical the power of the Devil is yet among them If it be not so then where careful endeavours have been used for retriving the ancient pâ—rity of Christian doctrine and worship we ought to impute it to the power of him who is stronger then Satan who whereever he comes to dwell doth dispossess him of his former habitations If the second then be entertained as the ground of concluding all things as impostures which are accounted dispossessions of Satan viz. that he never is really dispossessed then it must either be said that where he is once seized there is no possibility of ejecting him which is to say that the Devil hath an absolute and infinite power and that there is no power greater then his which is to own him for God or else that God suffers him to tyrannize where and how he will which is contrary to divine providence and the care God takes of the world and of the good of mankind or else lastly that those persons who pretend to do it are not such persons who are armed so much with the power of Christ nor possessed with such a due spirit of the Gospel which hath command over these infernal spirits And this in the cases pretended by the great Iuglers and Impostors of the Christian world the Popish Priests have been so notorious that none of their own party of any great faith or credit would stand to vouch them And we have this impregnable argument against all such Impostures that the matters which they by such actions would give an evidence to being so vastly different from if not in some things diametrically opposite to the first delivery and design of the Christian faith it is inconsistent with the way used for the confirmation of Christian Religion in the first publishing of
the advancement of the flourishing condition of the Church is not meerly by outward pomp and grandeur and that the purity of the Church is not inconsistent with a state of outward difficulties which the experience oâ— the Primitive Church gives an irrefragable demonstration of Thus much may serve to shew the necessity of a power of miracles conjoyned with the Christian Doctrine to manifest the truth of it by overthrowing the Kingdom of that great Antichrist the Devil who had usurped so much Tyranny over the world The last reason why a power of miracles was so necessary for confirming the truth of the Gospel is because the Gospel was to be propagated over the world without any other rational evidence then was contained in the miracles wrought for the confirmation of it Now the admirable success which this doctrine found in the world considering all the circumstances of it doth make it clear what certainty there was that the miracles which were wrought were true and they were certain evidences that the doctrine attested by them was from God Now this will appear from these two things That no rational account can be given why the Apostles should undertake to publish such a doctrine unless they had been undoubtedly certain that the Doctrine was true and they had sufficient evidence to perswade others to beleeve it That no satisfactory account can be given considering the nature of the doctrine of Christ and the manner of its propagation why it should meet with so great acceptance in the world had there not been such convincing evidence as might fully perswade men of the truth of it I begin with the first from the publishers of this doctrine in the world All that I here require by way of a Postulatum or supposition are onlythese two things which no man right in his wits I suppose will deny 1. That men are so far rational agents that they will not set upon any work of moment and difficulty without sufficient grounds inducing them to it and by so much the greater the work is the more sure and stedfast had the grounds need to be which they proceed upon 2. That the Apostles or first Publishers of the Christian doctrine were not men distracted or bereft of their wits but acted by principles of common sense reason and understanding as other men in the world do Which if any one should be so far beside his wits as to question if he have but patience and understanding enough to read and consider those admirable writings of theirs which are conveyed to us by as certain uninterrupted a Tradition as any thing in the world hath been and by that time he will see cause to alter his judgement and to say that they are not mad but speak the words of the greatest truth and soberness These things supposed I now proceed to the proving of the thing in hand which will be done by these three things First That the Apostles could not but know how hâ—zardous an employment the preaching of the Gospel would be to them Secondly that no motive can be conceived sufficient for them to undertake such an employment but the infallible truth of the doctrine which they preached Thirdly that the greatest assurance they had themselves of the truth of their Doctrine was by being eye-witnesses of the miracles of Christ. First That the Apostles could not but understand the hazard of their employment notwithstanding which they cheerfully undertook it That men armed with no external power nor cried up for their wit and learning and carrying a doctrine with them so contraâ—y to the general inclinations of the world having nothing in it to recommend it to mankind but the Truth of it should go about to perswade the world to part with the Religion they owned and was setled by their laws and to embrace such a religion as called them off from all the things they loved in this world and to prepare themselves by mortification self-denial for another world is a thing to humane reason incredible unless we suppose them acted by a higher spirit then mankind is ordinarily acted by For what is there so desirable in continual reproaches contumelies what delight is there in racks and prisons what agreeableness in flames and martyrdoms to make men undergo some nay all of these rather then disown that doctrine which they came to publish Yet these did the Apostles cheerfully undergo in order to the conversion of the world to the truth of that doctrine which they delivered to it And not only so but though they did foresee them they were not discouraged from this undertaking by it I confess when men are upon hopes of profit and interest in the world engaged upon a design which they promise themselves impunity in having power on their side though afterwards things should fall out contrary to their expectation such persons may die in such a cause because they must and some may carry it out with more resolution partly through an innate fortitude of spirit heightened with the advantages of Religion or an Enthusiastick temper But it is hard to conceive that such persons would have undertaken so hazardous an employment if beforehand they had foreseen what they must have undergone for it But now the Apostles did foreknow that bonds and imprisonment nay death its self must be undergone in a violent manner for the sake of the doctrine which they preached yet not withstanding all this they go boldly and with resolution on with their work and give not over because of any hardships and persecutions they met withall One of the chiesest of them S. Peter and as forward as any in Preaching the Gospel had the very manner of his death foretold him by Christ himself before his Ascension yet soon after we find him preaching Christ in the midst of those who had crucified him and telling them to their faces the greatness of their sin in it and appealing to the miracles which Christ had done among them and bidding them repent and believe in him whom they had crucified if ever they would be saved And this he did not only among the people who gave their consent to the crucifying of Christ but soon after being conventedâ—ogether â—ogether with Iohn before the Court of Sanbedrin probably the very same which not long before had sentenced Christ to death for a miracle wrought by them with what incredible boldness doth he to their faces tell them of their murdering Christ and withall that there was no other way to salvation but by him whom they had crucified Be it known unto you all saith Peter to the Sanhedrin and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Iesus Christ whom ye have crucified whom God raised from the dead even by him doth this man stand here before you whole Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved What
an heroickfreedom of spirit appears in these words what magnanimity and courage was there now in that person who durst in the face of this Court tell them of their murder and that there was no salvation but by him whom they had crucified Well might they wonder at the boldness of the men who feared not the same death which they had so lately brought their Lord and Master to Neither was this singly the case of Peter and Iohn but all the rest of the Apostles undertook their work with the same resolution and preparation of Spirit to under go the greatest hardship in the world sor the sake of the truths they Preached And accordingly as far as Ecclesiastical history can ascertain us of it they did all but Iohn and that to make good the prediction of Christ suffer violent deaths by the hands of those who persecuted them meerly for their doctrine And which is most observable when Christ designed them first of all for this work he told them before hand of reproaches persecutions all manner of hardships nay of death its self which they must undergo for his sake All that he gave them by way of encouragement was that they could only kill the body and not the soul and therefore that they should fear him only who could destroy both body and soul in hell all the support they had was an expectation in another world and that animated them to go through all the hardships of this Where do we ever read of any such boldness and courage in the most knowing Philosâ—phers of the Heathens with what saintness and misgiving of mind doth Socrates speak in his famous discourse suppoâ—ed to be made by him before his death how uncertainly doth he speak of a state of immortality and yet in all probability Plato set it forth with all advantages imaginable Where do we finde that ever any of the great friends of Socrates who were present at his death as Phaedo Cebes Crito and Simmias durst enter the Areopagus and condemn them there for the murther of Socrates though this would be far short of what the Apostles did why were they not so charitable as to inform the world better of those grand truths of the being of God and immortality of souls if at least they were fully convinced of them themselves Why did not Plato at least speak out and tell the world the truth and not disguise his â—iscourses under feigned names the better to avoid accusation and the fate of Socrates how doth he mince his excellent matter and playes as it were at Bo-peep with his readers sometimes appearing and then pulling in his horns again It may not be an improbable conjecture that the death of Socrates was the foundation of the Academy I mean of that cautelous doctrine of withholding assent and being both pro and con sometimes of this side and sometimes of that for Socrates his death had made all his friends very fearful of being too dogmatical And Plato himself had too much riches and withall too much of a Courtier in him to hazard the dear prison of his soul viz. his body meerly for an aethereall vehicle He had rather let his soul flutter up and down in a terrestrial matter or the cage it was pâ—nt up in then hazard too violent an opening of it by the hands of the Areopagus And the great Roman Orator among the rest of Plato's sentiments had learnt this too for although in his discourses he hath many times sufficiently laid open the folly of the Heathen worship and Theology yet he knows how to bring himself off safe enough with the people and will be sure to be dogmatical only in this that nothing is to be innovated in the religion of a Common-wealth and that the customs of our Ancestors are inviolably to be observed Which principles had they been true as they were safe for the persons who spake them the Christian religion had never gained any entertainment in the world for where ever it came it met with this potent prejudice that it was looked on as an innovation and therefore was shrewdly suspected by the Governours of Common-wealths and the Preachers of it punished as factious and seditious persons which was all the pretext the wise Politicians of the world had for their cruel and inhumane persecutions of such multitudes of peaceable and innocent Christians Now when these things were foretold by the Apostles themselves before their going abroad so plainly that with the same saith they did believe the doctrine they Preached to be true they must believe that all these things should come to pass what courage and magnanimity of spirit was it in them thus to encounter dangers and as it were court the slames Nay and before the time was come that they must dye to seal the truth of their doctrine their whole life was a continual peregrination wherein they were as so many Iobs in pilgrimage encounterd with perills and dangers on every side of which one of the most painful and succesful S. Paul hath given in such a large inventory of his perils that the very reading of them were enough to undo a poor Epicurean Philosopher and at once to spoil him of the two pillars of his happiness the quietness of his mind and ease of his body Thus we see what a hazardous imployment that was which the Apostles went upon and that it was such as they very well understood the diâ—â—iculty of before they set upon it Secondly We cannot find out any rational motive which could carry them through so hazardous an employment but the full convictions of their minds of the undoubted truth and certainty of the doctrine which they delivered We find before that no vulgar motives in the world could carry them upon that design which they went upon Could they be led by ambition and vain glory who met with such reproaches where ever they went and not only persecutions of the tongue but the sharper ones of the hands too we never read of any but the Primitive Christians who were ambitious of being Martyrs and thought long till they were in the flames which made Arrius Antoninus being Proconsul of Asia when Christians in multitudes beset his tribunal and thronged in to be condemned say to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O miserable people had not ye wayes enough to end your lives at hâ—me but ye must croud for an execution This was a higher ambition by far then any of those mancipia gloriae those Chamaeleons that lived on the breath of applause the Heathen Philosophers ever reached to who were as Tertullian expresseth it homines gloriae eloquentiae solius libidinosi unsatiable thirsters after the honour and eloquence of the world but the Spirit of a Christian did soare too high to quarry on so mean a prâ—y When the more sober heathens had taken a stricter notice of the carriages and lives of the Preachers of the Gospel and all
more blind and wilfull Heathens derided them as such but who were the more infatuated let any sober person judge they who slighted and rejected a doctrine of so great concernment which came attested with so much resolution and courage in the professors of it or they who were so far perswaded of the truth of it that they would rather die than deny it dicimus palam dicimus et vobis torquentibus lacerati et cruenti vociferamur Deum colimus per Christum They were not ashamed to believe in the blood of Christ even when their own blood ran down besore their eyes and confess Christ with their mouths when their bodies were upon the rack Certainly then there were some very powerfull and convincing arguments which buoyed up the spirits of true Christians in that deluge of sufferings which they were to swim through it must be a strong and well grounded faith which would hold out under so great tryals and they could not be to seek for the most perswasive motives to faith who were so ready to give an account to others of the hope that was in them and to perswade all other persons to the embracing of it With what face and confidence otherwise could they perswade men to embrace a doctrine so dangerous as that was had there not been motives sufficient to bear up against the weight of susferings and arguments perswasive to convince them of the undoubted certainty of that doctrine which they encouraged them to believe Now that which appears to have been the main ground of satisfaction to the Primitive Christians as to the truth and certainty of the doctrine of Christ was this that the doctrine of the Gospel was at first delivered to the world by those persons who were themselves eye-witnesses of all the miracles which our Saviour wrought in confirmation of the truth of what he spake They were such persons who had been themselves present not only to hear most of our Saviours admirable discourses when he was in the world but to see all those glorious things which were done by him to make it appear that he was immediately sent from God Let us now appeal to our own faculties and examine a little what rational evidence could possibly be desired that the doctrine of the Gospel was true which God did not afford to the world What could the persons who were the auditors of our Saviour desire more as an evidence that he came from God then his doing such things which were certainly above any created power either humane or Diabolical and therefore must needs be Divine What could other persons desire more who were not present at the doing of these miracles but that the report of them should be conveyed to them in an undoubted manner by those persons who were eye-witnesses of them and made it appear to the world they were far from any intention of deceiving it Now this makes the Apostles themselves in their own writings though they were divinely inspired appeal to the rational evidence of the truth of the things in that they were delivered by them who were eye-witnesses of them There St. Peter speaks thus to the dispersed Iews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty The power and coming of Christ which the Apostle speaks of was not as some improbably conceive either his general coming to judgement upon the world or his particular coming upon the Nation of the Iews but by an Hendyades by his power and coming is meant his powerful appearance in the world whereby he mightily discovered himself to be the Son of God Now this saith the Apostle was no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not like the Heathen Mythology concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of their Gods among them which were so frequently believed among them that Dionysins Halycarnassaeus condemns the Epicureans because they did deride 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the appearances of their Gods in the world now saith the Apostle assure your selves this is no such appearance of a God on earth as that among the Heathens was for saith he we our selves who declare these things were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we fully understood this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this great mystery of godliness God manifest in the flesh for we saw his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that great majesty which attended him in all which he spake or did we saw all those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great things of God which were manifest in him all those mirâ—culous operations which were wrought by him Therefore as this was a great confirmation of the faith of the Apostles themselves that they saw all these things so we see it was of great concernment to the world in order to their belief that the Gospel was no cunningly devised fable in that it was delivered by such who were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 eye-witnesses of what they declared To the same purpose St. Iohn speaks ad conciliandam fidem to make it appear how true what they delivered was in the entrance of his Epistle That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you We see what great force and weight the Apostle layes upon this that they delivered nothing but what they had seen and heard as they heard the doctrine of Christ so they saw the miracles which he wrought in confirmation of it St. Luke likewise in the beginning of his Gospel declares that he intended to write nothing but what he had perfect understanding of from such persons who had been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 eye-witnesses and instruments themselves in part of what was written for that is meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and those things which were written he saith were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things which are abundantly proved to be true for being matters of â—act there could be no stronger proof of them then by such who were eye-witnesses of what they spake And this we find the Apostles themselves very cautious about in the choice of a new Apostle in the room of Iudas Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Iesus went in and out among us beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that he was taken from us must one be ordained to be a witness of his resurrection For because Christ was mightily declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead as that which
venture their lives upon the truth of what they writ concerning him as the Apostles did to attest the truth of what they preached concerning our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ 2. The fidelity of the Apostles is evident in their manner of reporting the things which they deliver For if ever there may be any thing gathered from the manner of expression or the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concerning the particular temper and disposition of the person from whom it comes we may certainly read the greatest fidelity in the Apostles from the peculiar manner of their expressing themselves to the world Which they do 1. With the greatest impartiality not declaring only what was glorious and admirable to the world but what they knew would be accounted foolishness by it They who had sought only to have been admired for the rare discoveries which they brought to the world would be sure to conceal any thing which might be accounted ridiculous but the Apostles fixed themselves most on what was most contemptible in the eyes of the world and what they were most mocked and derided for that they delighted most in the preaching of which was the Cross of Christ. Paul was so much in Love with this which was a stumbling block to the Iews and foolishness to the Greeks that he valued the knowledge of nothing else in comparison of the knowledge of Christ and him crucified Nay he elsewhere saith God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of Christ. What now should be the reason that they should rejoyce in that most which was most despicable to the world had not they seen far â—reater truth and excellency in it then in the most sublime speculations concerning God or the souls of men in the School of Plato or any other heathen Philosophers That all men should be bound in order to their salvation to believe in one who was crucified at Hierusalem was a strange doctrine to the unbelieving world but if the Apostles had but endeavoured to have suited their doctrine to the School of Plato what rare persons might they have been accounted among the Heathen Philosophers Had they only in general terms discoursed of the Benignity of the Divine nature and the manifestations of Divine goodness in the world and that in order to the bringing of the souls of men to a nearer participation of the Divine nature the perfect Idea of true goodness and the express image of the person of God and the resplendency of his glory had vailed himself in humane nature and had everywhere scattered such beams of light and goodness as warmed and invigorated the frozen spirits of men with higher sentiments of God and themselves and raised them up above the faeculency of this terrestrial matter to breath in a freer air and converse with more noble objects and by degrees to fit the souls of men for those more pure illapses of real goodness which might alwayes satisfie the souls desires and yet alwayes keep them up till the soul should be sunning its self to all eternity under the immediate beams of Light and Love And that after this Incarnate Deity had spread abroad the wings of his Love for a while upon this lower world till by his gentle heat and incubation he had quickned the more plyable world to some degree of a Divine life he then retreated himself back again into the superiour world and put off that vail by which he made himself known to those who are here confined to the prisons of their bodies Thus I say had the Apostles minded applause among the admired Philosophers of the Heathens how easie had it been for them to have made some considerable additions to their highest speculations and have left out any thing which might seem so mean and contemptible as the death of the Son of God! But this they were so far from that the main thing which they preached to the world was the vanity of humane wisdom without Christ and the necessity of all mens believing in that Iesus who was crucified at Hierusalem The Apostles indeed discover very much infinitely more then ever the most lofty Pl tonist could do concerning the goodness and Love of God to mankind but that wherein they manifested the Love of God to the world was that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And that herein was the Love of God manifested that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us And that this was the greatest truth and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners They never dreamt of any divine goodness which should make men happy without Christ No it was their design to perswade the world that all the communications of Gods goodness to the world were wholly in and through Iesus Christ and it is impossible that any should think otherwise unless Plato knew more of the mind of God then our blessed Saviour and Plotinus then Saint Paul Can we think now that the Apostles should hazard the reputation of their own wits so much as they did to the world and be accounted bablers and fools and madmen for preaching the way of salvation to be only by a person crucified between two thieves at Hierusalem had they not been convinced not only of the truth but importance of it and that it concerned men as much to believe it as it did to avoid eternal misery Did Saint Paul preach ever the less the words of truth and soberness because he was told to his face that his Learning had made him mad But if he was besides himself it was for Christ and what wonder was it if the Love of Christ in the Apostle should make him willing to lose his reputation for him seeing Christ made himself of no reputation that he might be in a capacity to do us good We see the Apostles were not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because they knew it was the power of God to salvation and therefore neither in their preaching or their writings would they omit any of those passages concerning our Saviours death which might be accounted the most dishonourable to his person Which is certainly as great an evidence of their sidelity as can be expected which makes Origen say that the Disciples of Christ writ all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a great deal of candour and love of truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not concealing from the world those passages of the life of Christ which would be accounted most foolish and ridiculous 2. With the greatest plainness and simplicity of speech Such whose design is to impose upon the minds of men with some cunningly devised fables love as much ambiguity as ever Apollo did in his most winding oracles of whom it is said Ambage nexâ Delphico mos est Dco Arcana tegere Servius tells us that Iupiter Ammon was therefore pictured with Rams-horns because his answers
had as many turnings and windings as they had But the horns which Moses was wont to be pictured with did only note light and perspicuity from the ambiguity of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which notes the sending forth of rayes of light like a horn and yet Moses himself was vailed in comparison of the openness and plainness of speech which was in the Apostles Impostors cast a mist of many dark and cloudy words before them but when they are once brought into the open light their vizard falls off and their deformity appears Such persons delight in soaring quite out of the apprehensions of those who follow them and never think themselves better recompenced for their pains then when they are most admired and least understood But never was Christianity more dishonoured then when men brought it from its native simplicity and plainness into a company of cloudy and insignificant expressions which are so far from making men better understand the truth of it that it was certainly the Devils design by such obscure terms to make way for a mysterie to be advanced but it was of iniquity and soon after we see the effect of it in another oracle set up at Rome instead of Delphos and all the pretence of it was the obscurity supposed in Scripture What! darkness come by the rising of the Sun Or is the Sun at last grown so beggarly that he is fain to borrow light of the earth Must the Sâ—ripture be beholding to the Church for its clearness and Christ himselâ— not speak intelligibly unless the Popâ— be his Interpreter Did Christ reveal to the world the Way to salvation and yet leave men to seâ—k which was it till a Guide never heard of in the Scripture come to direct them in the Way to it What strange witnesses were the Apostles if they did noâ— speak the truth with plainness How had men been to sâ—â—k as â—o the truth of Christianity if the Apostles had not declared the dâ—ctrine of the Gospel with all evidence and perspicuity Whom must we believe in this case the Apostles or the Roman oracle The Apostles they tell us they speak with all plainness of speech and for that end purposely lay aside all excâ—llency of words and humane wisdom that men might not be to seek for their mâ—aning in a matter of so great moment that the Gospel was hid to none but such as are lost and whose eyes are blinded by the god of this world that the doctrinâ— revealed by them is a light to direct us in our way to heaven and a rule to walk by and it is a strange property of light to be obscure and of a rule to be crooked But it is not only evident from the Apostles own affirmations that they laid aside all affected obscurity ambiguous expressions and Philosophical terms whereby the world might have been to seek for what they were to believe but it is likewise clear from the very nature of the doctrine they preached and the design of their preaching of it What need Rhetorick in plain truths or affected phrases in giving evidence How incongruous would obscure expressions have been to the design of saving souls by the foolishness of preaching For if they had industriously spoken in their preaching above the capacities of those they spake to they could never have converted a soul without a miracle for the ordinary way of conversion must be by the understanding and how could that work upon the understanding which was so much above it But saith the Apostle we preach not our selves but Christ Iesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Iesus sake If they had sought themselves or their own credit and reputation there might have been some reason that they should have used the way of the Sophists among the Greeks and by declamatory speeches to have inhanceed their esteem among the vâ—lgar But the Apostles disowned and rejected all these vulgar artifices of mean and low-spirited men they laid aside all those enticing words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the way of the Heathen Sophists and declared the Tâ—stimony of God with spiritual evidence they handled not the word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commended themselves to every mans consâ—ience in the sight of God Now what could be so suiteable to such a design as the greatest plainness and faithfulness in what they spake We find in the testimony of the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Origen speaks nothing that is spurious or counterfeit nothing savouring of the cunning craftiness of such as lie in wait to deceive and saith he it is impossible to think that men never bred up in the Sophistry of the Greâ—ks nor experienced in the Rhetorical insinuations used among them could ever be able so suddenly to perswade the world to embrace that which had been a figment of their own brains The truth is the Apostles speak like men very confident of the truth of what they speak and not like such who were fain to fetch in the help of all their Topicks to find out some probable arguments to make men believe that which it is probable they did not believe themselves which was most commonly the case of the great Orators among the Heathens We find no pedantick flourishes no slattering insinuations no affected cadencyes no such great care of the rising and falling of words in the several sentences which make up so great a part of that which was accounted eloquence in the Apostles times These things were too mean a prey for the spirits of the Apostles to quarry upon every thing in them was grave and serious every word had its due weight every sentence brim-full of spiritual matter their whole discourse most becoming the Majesty and Authority of that spirit which they spake by And therein was seen a great part of the infinite wisdom of God in the choice he made of the persons who were to propagate the Doctrine of Christ in the world that they were not such who by reason of their great repute and fame in the world might easily draw whole multitudes to imbrace their dictates but that there might not be the least foundation for an implicit faith they were of so mean rank and condition in the world that in all probability their names had never been hard of had not their doctrine made them famous To this purpose Origen excellently speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am of opinion saith he that Iesus did purposely make use of such preachers of his doctrine that there might be no place for suspicion that they came instructed with the arts of Sophistry but that it be clearly manifest to all that would consider it that there was nothing of design in those who discovered so much simplicity in their writings and that they had a more divine power which was more efficacious then the greatest volubility of expressions or ornaments of speech or the artifices which were used in the
then these were Had there been any ground of suspicion concerning the design of Christ why could not the Iews prevail with Iudas to discover it as well as to betray his person Iudas had done but a good work if Christ had been such an impostor as the Iews blasphemously said he was what made Iudas then so little satisfied with his work that he grew weary of his life upon it and threw himself away in the most horrid despair No person certainly had been so fit to have been produced as a witness against Christ as Iudas who had been so long with him and had heard his speeches and observed his miracles but he had not patience enough to stay after that horrid fact to be a witness against him nay he was the greatest witness at that time for him when he who had betrayed him came to the Sanhedrim when consulting about his death and told them that he had sinned in betraying innocent blood What possible evidence could have been given more in behalf of our Saviour then that was when a person so covetous as to betray his Master for thirty pieces of silver was so weary of his bargain that he comes and throws back the money and declares the person innocent whom he had betrayed And this person too was such a one as knew our Saviour far better then any of the witnesses whom afterwards they suborned against him who yet contradicted each other and at last could produce nothing which in the judgement of the Heathen Governour could make him judge Christ worthy of death 3. The Apostles were freer from design then any counter-witness at that time could be we have already proved the Apostles could not possibly have any other motive to affirm what they did but full conviction of the truth of what they spake but now if any among the Iews at that time had asserted any thing contrary to the Apostles we have a clear account of it and what motive might induce them to it viz. the preserving of their honour and reputation with the people the upholding their traditions besides their open and declared enmity against Christ without any sufficient reason at all for it now who would believe the testimony of the Scribes and Pharisees who had so great authority among the people which they were like to lose if Christs doctrine were true before that of the Apostles who parted with all for the sake of Christ and ventured themselves wholly upon the truth of our Saviours doctrine 4. None ever did so much to attest the negative as the Apostles did to prove their fidelity as to the affirmative Had sufficient counter-witness been timely produced we cannot think the Apostles would have run so many continual hazards in Preaching the things which related to the person and actions of Christ. Did ever any lay down their lives to undeceive the world if the Apostles were guilty of abusing it 5. The number of such persons had been inconsiderable in comparison of those who were so fully perswaded of the truth of those things which concern our Saviour who were all ready as most of them did to seal the truth of them with their lives Whence should so many men grow so suddenly confident of the truth of such things which were contrary to their former perswasions interest education had they not been delivered in such a way that they were assured of the undoubted truth of them which brings me to the last proposition which is Matters of fact being first believed on the account of eye-witnesses and received with an universal and uncontrouled assent by all such persons who have thought themselves concerned in knowing the truth of them do yeild a sufficient foundation for a firm assent to be built upon I take it for granted that there is sufficient foundation for a firm assent where there can be no reason given to question the evidence which that there is not in this present case will appear from these following considerations 1. That the multitudes of those persons who did believe these things had liberty and opportunity to be satisfied of the truth of them before they believed them Therefore no reason or motive can be assigned on which they should be induced to believe these things but the undoubted evidence of truth which went along with them I confess in Mahumetisme a very great number of persons have for some centuries of years continued in the belief of the doctrine of Mahomet but then withall there is a sufficient account to be given of that viz. the power of the sword which keeps them in aw and strictly forbids all the followers of Mahomet to dispute their religion at all or compare it with any other Therefore I can no more wonder at this then I do to see so great a part of the world under the Tyranny of the greâ—t Turk Neither on the other side do I wonder that such a multitude of those professing Christianity should together with it believe a great number of erroneous doctrines and live in the practice of many gross superstitions because I consider what a strange prevalency education hath upon softer spirits and more easie intellectuals and what an aw an Inquisition bears upon timerous and irresolved persons But now when a great multitude of persons sober and inquisitive shall contrary to the principles of their education and without fear of any humane force which they beforehand see will persecute them and after diligent enquiry made into the grounds on which they believe for sake all their former perswasions and resolvedly adhere to the truth of the doctrine propounded to them though it cost them their lives if this give us not reason to think this doctrine true we must believe mankind to be the most miserable unhappy creatures in the world that will with so much resolution part with all advantages of this life for the sake of one to come if that be not undoubtedly certain and the doctrine proposing it infallibly true It is an observable circumstance in the propagation of Christian Religion that though God made choice at first of persons generally of mean rank and condition in the world to be Preachers of the Gospel God thereby making it appear that our faith did not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God and therefore chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong yet soon afâ—er the Gospel was preached abroad in the world we finde persons of great place and reputation of great parts and abilities engaged in the profession of the Christian faith In the History of the Acts we read of Sergius a Proconsul of Dionysius the Areopagite converted to the faith and in the following ages of the Church many persons of great esteem for their excellent learning and abilities such was Iustin Martyr one who before he became a Christian was conversant with all sects of Philosophers Stoicks Peripateticks Pythagoreans and at last was a professed Platonist till he
have believed the doctrine of Christ to be the only way to salvation have been deceived either we must deny altogether a Divine Providence or say the Devil hath more power to deceive men then God to direct them which is worse then the former or else assert that there are no such things at all as either God or Devils but that all things come to pass by chance and fortune and if so it is still more inexplicable why such multitudes of rational and serious men and the most inquisitive part of the world as to such things should all be so possessed with the truth and certainty of these things and the more profane wicked and ignorant any persons are the more prone they are to mock and deride them If such men then see more into truth and reason then the sober and judicious part of mankind let us bid adieu to humanity and adore the brutes since we admire their judgement most who come the nearest to them 3. The multitude of these persons thus consenting in this Testimony could have no other engagement to this consent but only their firm perswasion of the truth of the doctrine conveyed by it because those who unanimously agree in this thing are such persons whose other designs and interests in this world differ as much as any mens do If it had been only a consent of Iews there might have been some probable pretence to have suspected a matter of interest in it but as to this thing we find the Iews divided among themselves about it and the stiffest denyers of the truth of it do yet inviolably preserve those sacred records among them from which the truth of the doctrine of Christ may be undoubtedly proved Had the Christian Religion been enforced upon the world by the Roman Emperours at the time of its first promulgation there would have been some suspicion of particular design in it but it came with no other strength but the evidence of its own truth yet it found sudden and strange entertainment among persons of all Nations and degrees of men In a short time it had eaten into the heart of the Roman Empire and made so large a spread therein that it made Tertullian say Hesterni sumus vestra omnia implevimus urbes insulas castella municipia conciliabula castraipsa tribus decurias palatium senatum forum sola vobis relinquimus Templa We have but newly appeared saith he yet we have filled all places with our company but only your Temples and before speaking of the Heathens Obsessam vociferantur civitatem in agris in castellis in insulis Christianos omnem sexum aetatem conditionem etiam dignitatem transgredi ad hoc nomen quasi detrimento moerent All sorts and conditions of men in all places were suddenly become Christians What common tye could there be now to unite all these persons together if we set aside the undoubted truth and certainty of the doctrine of Christ which was first preached to them by such who were eye-witnesses of Christs actions and had left sacred records behind them containing the substance of the doctrine of Christ and those admirable instructions which were their only certain guides in the way to heaven 4. Because many persons do joyn in this consent with true Christians who yet could heartily with that the doctrine of Christianity were not true Such are all those persons who are sensual in their lives and walk not according to the rules of the Gospel yet dare not question or deny the truth of it Such who could heartily wish there were no future state nor judgement to come that they might indulge themselves in this world without fear of another yet their consciences are so far convinced of and awed by the truth of these things that they raise many perplexities and anxieties in their minds which they would most willingly be rid of which they can never throughly be till instead of having the name of Christians they come to live the life of Christians and become experimentally acquainted with the truth and power of Religion And withall we find that the more men have been acquainted with the practice of Christianity the greater evidence they have had of the truth of it and been more fully and rationally perswaded of it To such I grant there are such powerful evidences of the truth of the doctrine of Christ by the effectual workings of the Spirit of God upon their souls that all other arguments as to their own satisfaction may fall short of these As to which those verses of the Poet Dante 's rendred into Latine by F. S. are very pertinent and significant for when he had introduced the Apostle Peter asking him what it was which his faith was founded on he answers Deinde exivit ex luce profundâ Quae illic splendebat pretiosa gemma Super quam omnis virtus fundatur i. e. That God was pleased by immediate revelation of himself to discover that divine truth to the world whereon our faith doth stand as on its sure foundation but when the Apostle goes on to enquire how he knew this came at first from God his answer to that is larga pluvia Spiritûs Sancti quae est diffusa Super veteres super novas membranas Est syllogismus ille qui eam mihi conclusit Adâ—ò acutè ut prae illâ demonstratione Omnis demonstratio alia mihi videatur obtusa i. e. That the Spirit of God doth so fully discover its self both in the Old and New Testament that all other arguments are but dull and heavy if compared with this It is true they are so to a truly inlightened conscience which discovers so much beauty and glory in the Scriptures that they ravish the soul although it be unable to give so full an account of this unto others who want the eyes to see that beauty with which a heart truly gracious hath We see ordinarily in the world that the attraction of beauty is an unaccountable thing and one may discern that which ravisheth him which another looks on as mean and ordinary and why may it not be much more thus in divine objects which want spiritual eyes to discover them Therefore I grant that good men enjoy that satisfaction to their own Consciences as to the truth of the Doctrine of Christ which others cannot attain to but yet I say that such do likewise see the most strong rational and convincing evidence which doth induce them to believe which evidence is then most convincing when it is seconded by the peculiar energy of the Spirit of God upon the souls of true Believers But yet we see that the power and force of the truth of these things may be so great even upon such minds which are not yet moulded into the fashion of true goodness that it may awe with its light and clearness where it doth not soften and alter by its heat and influence Now whence can it be that such
convictions should stick so fast in the minds of those who would fain pull out those pierâ—ing arrows but that there is a greater power in them then they are mnsters of and they cannot stand against the force whereby they come upon them nor find any salve to cure the wounds which are made within them but by those weapons which were the causes of them And therefore when wicked persons under conflicts of conscience cannot ease themselves by direct Atheism or finding reasons to cast off such convictions by discerning any invalidity in the Testimony whereon the truth of these things depends it is a certain argument that there is abundant truth in that Testimony when men would fain perswade themselves to believe the contrary and yet cannot 5. The truth of this consent appears from the unanimity of it among those persons who have yet strangely differed from each other in many controversies in Religion We see thereby this unanimity is no forced or designed thing because we see the persons agreeing in this do very much disagree from each other in other things And the same grounds and reasons whereon they disagree as to other things would have held as to these too were there not greater evidence of the certainty of these things then of those they fall out about It hath not yet become a question among those who differ so much about the sense of Scripture whether the Scripture its self be the Word of God although the very accounts on which we are to believe it to be so hath been the subject of no mean Controversies All the divided parts of the Christian world do yet fully agree in the matters of fact viz. that there was such a person as Iesus Christ and that he did many great miracles that he dyed on the Cross at Jerusalem and rose again from the dead now these contain the great foundations of Christian faith and therefore the multitude of other controversies in the world ought to be so far from weakning our faith as to the truth of the doctrine of Christ which men of weak judgements and Atheistical spirits preâ—end that it ought to be a strong confirmation of it when we see persons which so peevishly quarrel with each other about some inferiour and less weighty parts of Religion do yet unanimously consent in the principal foundations of Christian faith and such whereon the necessity of faith and obedience as the way to salvation doth more immediately depend And this may be one great reason why the infinitely wise God may suffer such lamentable contentions and divisions to be in the Christian world that thereby inquisitive persons may see that if Religion had been a meer design of some few politick persons the quarrelsom world where it is not held in by force would never have consented so long in the owning such common principles which all the other controversies are built upon And although it be continually seen that in divided parties one is apt to run from any thing which is received by the other and men generally think they can never run far enough from them whose errours they have discovered that yet this principle hath not carryed any considerable party of the Christian world out of their indignation against those great corruptions which have crept into the world under a pretence of Religion to the disowning the foundation of Christian Faith must be â—artly imputed to the signal hand of divine providence and partly to those strong â—vidences which there are of the truth of that Testimony which conveyes to uâ— the foundations of Christian Faith Thus we see now how great and uncontrouled this consent is as to the matters of fact delivered down from the eye-witnesses of them concerning the actions and miracles of our blessed Saviour which are contained in the Scriptures as authentical records of them and what a sure foundation there is for a firm assent to the truth of the things from so universal and uninterrupted a tradition Thus far we have now manifested the necessity of the miracles of Christ in order to the propagation of Christianity in the world from the consideration of the persons who were to propagate it in the world the next thing we are to considâ—r is the admirable success which the Gospel met with in the world upon its being preached to it Of whâ—ch no rational account can be given unless the actions and miracles of our Saviour were most undoubtedly true That the Gospel of Christ had very strange and wonderful success upon its first preaching hath been partly discovered already and is withall so plain from the long continuance of it in these European parts that none any wayes conversant in the history of former ages can have any ground to question it But that this strange and admirable success of the doctrine of Christ should be an evidence of the Truth of it and the miracles wrought in confirmation of it will appear from these two considerations 1. That the doctrine its self was so directly contrary to the general inclinations of the world 2. That the propagation of it was so much opposed by all worldly power 1. That the doctrine its self was so opposite to the general inclinations of the world The doctrine may be considered either as to its credenda or matters of faith or as to its agenda or matters of life and practice both these were contrary to the inclinations of the world the former seemed hard and incredible the latter harsh and impossible 1. The matters of faith which were to be believed by the world were not such things which we may imagine the vulgar sort of men would be very forward to run after nor very greedy to imbrace 1. Because contrary to the principles of their education and the Religion they were brought up in the generality of mankind is very tenacious of those principles and prejudices which are sucked in in the time of Infancy There are some Religions one would think it were impossible that any rational men should believe them but only on this account because they are bred up under them It is a very great advantage any Religion hath against another that it comes to speak first and thereby insinuates such an apprehension of its self to the mind that it is very hard removing it afterwards The understanding seems to be of the nature of those things which are communis juris and therefore primi sunt possidentis when an opinion hath once got possession of the mind it usually keeps out whatever comes to disturb it Now we cannot otherwise conceive but all those persons who had been bred up under Paganism and the most gross Idolatry must needs have a very potent prejudice against such a doctrine which was wholly irreconcileable with that Religion which they had been devoted to Now the stronger the prejudice is which is conveyed into mens minds by the force of education the greater strength and power must there needs be in
the Gospel of Christ which did so easily demolish these strong holds and captivate the understandings of men to the obedience of Christ. To which purpose Arnobius excellently speaks in these words to the Heathens Sed non creditis gesta haec Sed qui ea conspicati sunt fieri sub oculis suis viderunt agi testes optimi certissimique auctores crediderunt haec ipsi credenda posteris nobis haud exilibus cum approbationibus tradiderunt Quinam isti fortasse quaeritis gentes populi nationes incredulum illud genus humanum Quod nisi aperta res esset luce ipsa quemadmodum dicitur clarior nunquam rebus hujusmodi credulitatis suae commodarent assensum An nunquid dicemus illius temporis homines usque adeò fuisse vanos mendaces stolidos brutos ut quae nunquam viderant vidisse se fingerent quae facta omninò non erant falsis proderent testimoniis aut puerili assertione sirmarent Cumque possent vobiscum unanimiter vivere inoffensas ducere conjunctiones gratuita susciperent odia execrabili haberentur in nomine Quod si falsa ut dicit is historia illa rerum est unde tam brevi tempore totus mundus ista religione complet us est Aut in unam coire qui potuërunt mentem gentes regionibus dissiâ—â—ae ventis coelique convexionibus dimotae Asseverationibus illectae sunt nudis inductae in spes cassas in pericula capitis immittere se sponte temeraria desperatione voluërunt cum nihil tale vidissent quod eas in hos cult us novitatis suae possit excitare miraculo Imo quia haec omnia ab ipso cernebant geri ab ejus praeconibus qui per orbem totum missi beneficia patris munera sanandis animis hominibusque portabant veritatis ipsius vi victae dedërunt se Deo nec in magnis posuëre despendiis membra vobis projicere viscera sua lanianda praebere The substance of whose discourse is that it is impossible to suppose so many persons of so many Nations to be so far besotted and infatuated as not only to believe a Religion to be true which was contrary to that they were educated in but to venture their lives as well as estates upon it had it not been discovered to them in a most certain and infallible way by such who had been eye-witnesses of the actions and miracles of Christ and his Apostles And as he elsewhere speaks Vel haec saltem fidem vobis faciant argumenta credendi quod jam peromnes terras in tam brevi tempore parvo immensi nominis hujus sacramenta diffusa sunt quod nulla jam natio est tam barbari moris mansuetudinem nesciens quae non ejus amore versa molliverit asperitatem suam in placidos sensus assumpt â tranquillitate migraverit quod tam magnis ingeniis praediti Oratores Grammatici Rhetores Consulti juris ac Medici Philosophiae etiam secreta rimantes magisteria haec expetunt spretis quibus paulò ante sidebant c. Will not this perswade the world what firm foundations the faith of Christans stands on when in so short a time it is spread over all parts of the world that by it the most inhumane and barbarous Nations are softned into more then civility That men of the greatest wits and parts Orators Grammarians Rhetoricians Lawyers Physitians Philosophers who not have for saken then former sentiments and adhered to the doctrine of Christ. Now I say if the power of education be so strong upon the minds of men to perswade them of the truth of the Religion they are bred up under which Atheistically disposed persons make so much advantage of this is so far from weakning the truth of Christianity that it proves a great confirmation of it because it obtained so much upon its first Preaching in the world notwithstanding the highest prejudices from education were against it If then men be so prone to believe that to be most true which they have been educated under it must argue a more then ordinary evidence and power in that religion which unsettles so much the principles of education as to make men not only question the truth of them but to renounce them and embrace a religion contrary to them Especially when we withall consider what strong-holds these principles of education were backed with among the Heathens when the doctrine of Christ was first divulged among them i. e. what plausible pretences they had of continuing in the religion which they were brought up in and why they should not exchange it for Christianity and those were 1. The pretended antiquity of their religion above the Christian the main thing pleaded against the Christians was divortium ab institutis majorum that they thought themselves wiser then their fore-fathers and Symmachus Libanius and others plead this most in behalf of Paganisme servanda est tot seculis fides sequendi sunt nobis parentes qui secuti sunt feliciter suos their religion pleaded prescription against any other and they were resolved to sollow the steps of their ancestors wherein they thought themselves happy and secure Caecilius in Minutius Felix first argues much against dogmatizing in religion but withall sayes it most becomes a lover of truth majorum excipere disciplinam religiones tradit as colere Deos quos à parentibus ante imbutus es timere nec de numinibus ferre sententiam sed prioribus credere So Arnobius tells us the main thing objected against the Christians was novellam esse religionem nostram ante dies natam propemodum paucos nâ—que vos potuisse antiquam patriam linquere in barbaros ritus peregrinosque traduci And Cotta in Tully long before laid this down as the main principle of Pagan religion majoribus nostris etiam nulla ratione reddita credere to believe the tradition of our Fathers although there be no evidence in reason for it And after he hath discovered the vanity of the Stoical arguments about religion concludes with this as the only thing he resolved his religion into mihi unum satis erit majores nostros it a tradidisse It is enough for me that it comes by tradition from our fore-fathers Lactantius fully sets forth the manner of pleading used by the Heathens against the Christians in the point of antiquity Hae sunt religiones quas sibi à majoribus suis traditas pertinacissime tueri ac defendere persiverant nec considerant quales sint sed ex hoc probat as atque veras esse confidunt quod eas veteres tradiderâ—nt tantaque est auctoritas vetustatis ut inquircre in eam scelus esse dicatur The English is they accounted tradition infallible and knew no other way whereby to find the truth of religion but by its conveyance from their fore-fathers How like herein do they speak to those
seek for satisfaction as ever for granting that a Divine power is seen in one and not in the other he must needs be still dissatisfied unless it can be made evident to him that such things are from Divine power and others cannot be Now the main distinction being placed here in the natures of the things abstractly considered and not as they bear any evidence to our understandings in stead of resolving doubts it increaseth more for as for instance in the case of the Magicians rods turning into scrpents as well as Moses his what satisfaction could this yeild to any spectator to tell him that in the one there was a Divine power and not in the other unless it were made appear by some evidence from the thing that the one was a meer imposture and the other a real alteration in the thing it self I take it then for granted that no general discourses concerning the formal difference of miracles and wonders considered in themselves can afford any rational satisfaction to an inquisitive mind that which alone is able to give it must be something which may be discerned by any judicious and considerative person And that God never gives to any a power of miracles but he gives some such ground of satisfaction concerning them will appear upon these two considerations 1. From Gods intention in giving to any this power of doing miracles We have largely made it manifest that the end of true miracles is to be a confirmation to the world of the Divine commission of the persons who have it and that the testimony is Divine which is confirmed by it Now if there be no way to know when miracles are true or false this power is to no purpose at all for men are as much to seek for satisfaction as if there had been no such things at all Therefore if men are bound to believe a Divine testimony and to rely on the miracles wrought by the persons bringing it as an evidence of it they must have some assurance that these miracles could not come from any but a Divine power 2. From the providence of God in the world which if we own we cannot imagine that God should permit the Devil whose only design is to ruine mankind to abuse the credulity of the world so far as to have his lying wonders pass uncontrouled which they must do if nothing can be found out as a certain difference between such things as are only of Diabolical and such as are of Divine power If then it may be discovered that there is a malignant spirit which acts in the world and doth produce strange things either we must impute all strange things to him which must be to attribute to him an infinite power or else that there is a being infinitely perfect which crosseth this malignant spirit in his designs and if so we cannot imagine he should suffer him to usurpe so much tyranny over the minds of men as to make those things pass in the more sober and inquisitive part of the world for Divine miracles which were only counterfeits and impostures If then the providence of God be so deeply engaged in the discovering the designs of Satan there must be some means of this discovery and that means can be supposed to be no other in this case but some rational and satisfactory evidence whereby we may know when strange and miraculous things are done by Satan to deceive men and when by a Divine power to confirm a Divine testimony But how is it possible say some that miracles should be any ground on which to believe a testimony Divine when Christ himself hath told us that there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect and the Apostle tells us that the coming of Antichrist will be with all power and signs and lying wonders How then can we fix on miracles as an evidence of Divine testimony when we see they are common to good and bad men and may seal indifferently either truth or falshood To this I reply 1. Men are guilty of doing no small disservice to the doctrine of Christ when upon such weak and frivolous pretences they give so great an advantage to infidelity as to call in question the validity of that which yeilded so ample a testimony to the truth of Christian religion For if once the rational grounds on which we believe the doctrine of Christ to be true and Divine be taken away and the whole evidence of the truth of it be laid on things not only derided by men of Atheistical spirits but in themselves such as cannot be discerned or judged of by any but themselves upon what grounds can we proceed to convince an unbeliever that the doctrine which we believe is true If they tell him that as light and fire manifest themselves so doth the doctrine of the Scriâ—ture to those who believe it It will be soon replyed that self-evidence in a matter of faith can imply nothing but either a firm perswasion of the mind concerning the thing propounded or else that there are such clear evidences in the thing it self that none who freely use their reason can deny it the first can be no argument to any other person any further then the authority of the person who declares it to have such self-evidence to him doth extend its self over the mind of the other and to ones self it seems a strange way of arguing I believe the Scriptures because they are true and they are true because I believe them for self-evidence implyes so much if by it be meant the perswasion of the mind that the thing is true but if by self-evidence be further meant such clear evidence in the matter propounded that all who do consider it must believe it I then further enquire whether this evidence doth lie in the nâ—ked proposal of the things to the understanding and if so then every one who assents to this proposition that the whole is greater then the part must likewise assent to this that the Scripture is the Word of God or whether doth the evidence lie not in the naked proposal but in the efficacy of the Spirit of God on the minds of those to whom it is propounded Then 1. The self-evidence is taken off from the written Word which was the object and removed to a quite different thing which is the efficient cause 2. Whether then any persons who want this efficacious operation of the Spirit of God are or can be bound to believe the Scripture to be Gods Word If they are bound the duty must be propounded in such a way as may be sufficient to convince them that it is their duty but if all the evidence of the truth of the Scripture lie on this testimony of the Spirit then such as want this can have none at all But if â—astly by this self-evidence be meant
whom it was very frequent who worshipped the devils instead of Gods 2. Because of the general dispersion of Copies in the world upon the first publishing of them We cannot otherwise coâ—ceive but that records containing so weighty and important things would be transcribed by all those Churches which believed the truth of the things contained in them We see how far curiosity will carry men as to the care of transcribing antient MSS. of old Authors which contain only some history of things past that are of no great concernment to us Can we then imagine those who ventured estates and lives upon the truth of the things revealed in Scripture would not be very careful to preserve the authentick instrument whereby they are revealed in a certain way to the whole world And besides this for a long time the originals themselves of the Apostolical writings were preserved in the Church which makes Tertullian in his time appeal to them Age jam qui voles curiositatem melius exercere in negotio salutis tuae percurre Ecclesias Apostolicas apud quasipsae adhuc cathedrae Apostolorum suis locis praesidentur apud quas ipsae authenticae corum literae recitantur sonantes vocem representantes faciem uniuscujusque Now how was it possible that in that time the Scriptures could be corrupted when in some of the Churches the original writings of the Apostles were preserved in a continual succession of persons from the Apostles themselves and from these originals so many Copies were transcribed as were conveyed almost all the world over through the large spread of the Christian Churches at that time and therefore it is impossible to conceive that a Copy should be corrupted in one Church when it would so speedily be discovered by another especially considering these three circumstances 1. The innumerable multitude of Copies wh ch would speedily be taken both considering the moment of the thing and the easiness of doing it God probably for that very end not loading the world with Pandâ—cts and Codes of his Laws but contriving the whole instrument of mans salvation in so narrow a compass that it might be easily preserved and transcribed by such who were passionate admirers of the Scriptures 2. The great number of learned and inquisitive men who soon sprung up in the Christian Church whose great care was to explain and vindicate the sacred Scriptures can we then think that all these Watch-men should be asleep together when the â—vil one came to sow his Tares which it is most unreasonable to imagine when in the writings of all these learned men which were very many and voluminous so much of the Scripture was inserted that had there been corruption in the Copies themselves yet comparing them with those writings the corruptions would be soon discovered 3. The great venâ—ration which all Christians had of the Scripture that they placed the hopes of their eternal happiness upon the truth of the things contained in the Scriptures Can we then think these would suffer any material alteration to creep into these records without their observing and discovering it Can we now think when all persons are so exceeding careful of their Deeds and the Records whereon their estates depend that the Christians who valued not this world in comparison of that to come should suffer the Magna Charta of that to be lost corrupted or imbezzeled away Especially considering what care and industry was used by many primitive Christians to compare Copies together as is evident in Pantaenus who brought the Hebrew Copy of Matthew out of the Indies to Alexandria as Eusebius tells us in Pamphilus and the Library he errected at Caesarâ—a but especially in Origens admirable Hexapla which were mainly intended for this end 3. It is impossible to conceive a corruption of the copy of the Scriptures because of the great differences which were all along the several ages of the Church between those who acknowledged the Scriptures to be Divine So that if one party of them had foisted in or taken out any thing another party was ready to take notice of it and would be sure to tell the world of it And this might be one great reason why God in his wise providence might permit such an increase of heresies in the Infancy of the Church viz. that thereby Christians might be forced to stand upon their guard and to have a special eye to the Scriptures which were alwayes the great eye-sores of hereticks And from this great wariness of the Church it was that some of the Epistles were so long abroad before they found general entertainment in all the Churches of Christ because in those Epistles which were doubted for some tâ—me there were some passages which seemed to favour some of the heresies then abroad but when upon severe enquiry they are found to be what they pretended they were received in all the Christian Churches 4. Because of the agreement between the Old Tâ—stament and the New the Prophesies of the Old Testament appear with their full accomplishment in the New which we have so that it is impossible to think the New should be corrupted unless the old were too which is most unreasonable to imagine when the Iews who have been the great conservators of the Old Testament have been all along the most inveterate enemies of the Christians So that we cannot at all conceive it possible that any material corruptions or alterations should creep into the Scriptures much less that the true copy should be lost and a new one forged Supposing then that we have the same authentick records preserved and handed down to us by the care of all Christian Churches which were written in the first ages of the Church of Christ what necessity can we imagine that God should work new miracles to confirm that dâ—ctrine which is conveyed down in a certain uninterrupted way to us as being seâ—led by miracles undoubtedly Divine in the first promulgation and penning of it And this is the first reason why the truth of the Scriptures need not now be sealed by new miracles 2. Another may be because God in the Scripture hath appointed other things to continue in his Church to be as seals to his people of the truth of the things contained in Scriptures Such are outwardly the Sacraments of the Gospel baptism and the Lords Supper which are set apart to be as seals to confirm the truth of the Covenant on Gods part towards us in reference to the great promises contained in it in reference to pardon of sin and the ground of our acceptance with God by Iesus Christ and inwardly God hath promised his Spirit to be as a witness within them that by its working and strengthning grace in the hearts of believers it may confirm to them the truth of the records of Scripture when they finde the counter part of them written in their hearts by the singer of the Spirit of God It cannot then be with any reason at all supposed
that when a Divine testimony is already confirmed by miracles undoubtedly Divine that new miracles should be wrought in the Church to assure us of the truth of it So Chrysostome fully expresseth himself concerning miracles speaking of the first ages of the Christian Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Miracles were very useful then and not at all useful now for now we manifest the truth of what we speak from the Sacred Scriptures and the miracles wrought in confirmation of them Which that excellent author there fully manifests in a discourse on this subject why miracles were necessary in the beginning of the Christian Church and are not now To the same purpose St. Austin speaks where he discourseth of the truth of religion Accepimus majores nostros visibilia miracula secutos esse per quos id actum est ut necessaria non essent posteris because the world believed by the miracles which were wrought at the first preaching of the Gospel therefore miracles are no longer necessary For we cannot conceive how the world should be at first induced to believe without manifest and uncontrouled miracles For as Chrysostome speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was the greatest miracle of all if the world should believe without miracles Which the Poet Dante 's hath well expressed in the twenty fourth Canto of Paradise For when the Apostle is there brought in asking the Poet upon what account he took the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God his answer is Probatio quae verum hoc mihi recludit Sunt opera quae secuta sunt ad quae Natura Non candefecit ferrum unquam aut percussit incudem i. e. the evidence of that is the Divine power of miracles which was in those who delivered these things to the world And when the Apostle catechiseth him further how he knew those miracles were such as they pretend to be viz. that they were true and Divine his answer is Si orbis terrae sese convertit ad Christianismum Inquiebam ego sine miraculis hoc unum Est tale ut reliqua non sint ejus cente sima pars i. e. If the world should be converted to the Christian faith without miracles this would be so great a miracle that others were not to be compared with it I conclude this then with that known saying of St. Austin Quisquis adhuc prodigia ut credat inquirit magnum est ipse prodigium qui mundo credente non credit He that seeks for miracles still to induce him to faith when the world is converted to the Christian faith he needs not seek for prodigies abroad he wants only a looking glass to discover one For as he goes on unde temporibus erudit is omne quod fieri non potest respuentibus sine ullis miraculis nimium mirabiliter incredibiliter credidit mundus whence came it to pass that in so learned and wary an age as that was which the Apostles preached in the world without miracles should be brought to believe things so strangely incredible as those were which Christ and his Apostles preached So that by this it appears that the intention of miracles was to confirm a Divine testimony to the world and to make that appear credible which otherwise would have seemed incredible but to what end now when this Divine testimony is believed in the world should miracles be continued among those who believe the doctrine to be Divine the miracles wrought for the confirmation of it to have been true and the Scriptures which contain both to be the undoubted Word of God To what purpose then the huge outery of miracles in the Roman Church is hard to conceive unless it be to make it appear how ambitions that Church is of being called by the name of him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved For had they received the Love of the Truth of the Gospel they would have believed it on the account of those miracles and signs and wonders which were wrought for the confirmation of it by Christ and his Apostles and not have gone about by their juglings and impostures in stead of bringing men to believe the Gospel to make them question the truth of the first miracles when they see so many counterfeits had we not great assurance the Apostles were men of other designs and interests then Popish Priests are and that there is not now any such necessity of miracles as there was then when a Divine testimony revealing the truth of Christian religion was confirmed by them Those miracles cannot be Divine which are done now for the confirmation of any thing contrary to that Divine testimony which is confirmed by uncontrouled Divine miracles The case is not the same now which was before the coming of Christ for then though the Law of Moses was confirmed by miracles yet though the doctrine of Christ did null the obligation of that Law the miracles of Christ were to be looked on as Divine because God did not intend the Ceremonial Law to be perpetual and there were many Prophesies which could not have their accomplishment but under a new state But now under the Gospel God hath declared this to be the last revelation of his mind and will to the world by his Son that now the Prophesies of the old Testament are accomplished and the Prophesies of the New respect only the various conditions of the Christian Church without any the least intimation of any further revelation of Gods mind and will to the world So that now the Scriptures are our adaequate rule of faith and that according to which we are to judge all pretenders to inspiration or miracles And according to this rule we are to proceed in any thing which is propounded to us to believe by any persons upon any pretences whatsoever Under the Law after the establishment of the Law its self by the miracles of Moses the rule of judging all pretenders to miracles was by the worship of the true God If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreams and giveth thee a sign or a wonder and the sign or the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake to thee saying Let us go after other Gods which thou hast not known and let us serve them thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Whereby it is plain that after the true doctrine is confirmed by Divine miracles God may give the Devil or false Prophets power to work if not real miracles yet such as men cannot judge by the things themselves whether they be real or no and
pimple any the most trivial thing with a word speaking or the touch of the hand Upon this Arnobius challengeth the most famous of all the Heathen Magicians Zoroastres Armenius Pamphilus Apollonius Damigero Dardanus Velus Iulianus and Baebulus or any other renowned Magician to give power to any one to make the dumb to speak the deaf to hear the blind to see or bring life into a dead body Or if this be too hard with all their Magical rites and incantations but to do that quod à rusticis Christianis jussienibus factitatum est nudis which ordinary Christians do by their meer words So great a difference was there between the highest that could be done by Magick and the least that was done by the Name and Power of Christ. Where miracles are truly Divine God makes it evident to all impartial judgements that the things do exceed all created power For which purpose we are to observe that though impostures and delusions may go far the power of Magicians further when God permits them yet when God works miracles to confirm a Divine Testimony he makes it evident that his power doth infinitely exceed them all This is most conspicuous in the case of Moses and our blessed Saviour First Moses he began to do some miracles in the presence of Pharaoh and the Aegyptians turning his rod into a Serpent but we do not finde Pharaoh at all amazed at it but sends presently for the Magicians to do the same who did it whether really or only in appearance is not material to our purpose but Aarons rod swallowed up theirs The next time the waters are turned into blood by Moses the Magicians they do so too After this Moses brings up Frogs upon the Land so do the Magicians So that here now is a plain and open contest in the presence of Pharaoh and his people between Moses and the Magicians and they try for victory over each other so that if Moses do no more then they they would look upon him but as a Magician but if Moses do that which by the acknowledgement of these Magicians themselves could be only by Divine Power then it is demonstrably evident that his power was as far above the power of Magick as God is above the Devil Accordingly we finde it in the very next miracle in turning the dust into Ciniphes which we render lice the Magicians are non-plust and give out saying in plain terms This is the finger of God And what greater acknowledgement can there be of Divine Power then the confession of those who seemed to contest with it and to imitate it as much as possible After this we finde not the Magicians offering to contest with Moses and in the plague of boyles we particularly read that they could not stand before Moses Thus we see in the case of Moses how evident it was that there was a power above all power of Magick which did appear in Moses And so likewise in the case of our blessed Saviour for although Simon Magus Apollonius or others might do some small things or make some great shew and noise by what they did yet none of them ever came near the doing things of the same kind which our Saviour did curing the born blind restoring the dead to life after four dayes and so as to live a considerable time after or in the manner he did them with a word a touch with that frequency and openness before his greatest enemies as well as followers and in such an uncontrouled manner that neither Iews or Heathens ever questioned the truth of them And after all these when he was laid in the grave after his crucifixion exactly according to his own prediction he rose again the third day appeared frequently among his Disciples for forty dayes together After which in their presence he ascended up to heaven and soon after made good his promise to them by sending his holy Spirit upon them by which they spake with tongues wrought miracles went up and down Preaching the Gospel of Christ with great boldness chearfulness and constancy and after undergoing a great deal of hardship in it they sealed the truth of all they spake with their blood laying down their lives to give witness to it Thus abundantly to the satisfaction of the minds of all good men hath God given the highest rational evidence of the truth of the doctrine which he hath revealed to the world And thus I have finished the second part of my task which concerned the rational evidence of the truth of Divine Revelation from the persons who were imployed to deliver Gods mind to the world And therein have I hope made it evident that both Moses and the Prophets our Saviour and his Apostles did come with sufficient rational evidence to convince the world that they were persons immediately sent from God BOOK III. CHAP. I. Of the Being of God The Principles of all Religion lie in the Being of God and immortality of the soul from them the necessity of a particular Divine revelation rationally deduced the method laid down for proving the Divine authority of the Scriptures Why Moses doth not prove the Being of God but suppose it The notion of a Deity very consonant to reason Of the nature of Idea's and particularly of the Idea of God How we can form an Idea of an infinite Being How far such an Idea argues existence The great unreasonableness of Atheism demonstrated Of the Hypotheses of the Aristotelian and Epicurean Atheists The Atheists pretences examined and refuted Of the nature of the arguments whereby we prove there is a God Of universal consent and the evidence of that to prove a Deity and immortality of souls Of necessity of existence implyed in the notion of God and how far that proves the Being of God The order of the world and usefulness of the parts of it and especially of mans body an argument of a Deity Some higher principle proved to be in the world then matter and motion The nature of the soul and possibility of its subsisting after death Strange appearances in nature not solvable by the power of imagination HAving in the precedent book largely given a rational account of the grounds of our faith as to the persons whom God imployes to reveal his mind to the world if we can now make it appear that those sacred records which we embrace as Divinely inspired contain in them nothing unworthy of so great a name or unbecoming persons sent from God to deliver there will be nothing wanting to justifie our Religion in point of reason to be true and of revelation to be Divine For the Scriptures themselves coming to us in the name of God we are bound to believe them to be such as they pretend to be unless we have ground to question the general foundations of all religion as uncertain or this particular way of religion as not suitable to those general foundations The foundations of all
is to say he is no God Which was the reason that Tully said Epicurus did only nomine poncre re tollere Deos because such a notion of God is repugnant to natural light So that if this Idea doth wholly abstract from corporeal phantasms it thereby appears that there is a higher faculty in mans soul then meer imagination and it is hardly conceivable whence a faculty which thus extends its self to an infinite object should come but from an infinite Being especially if we consider 2. That the understanding in forming this Idea of God doth not by distinct acts first collect one perfection and then another and at last unite these together but the simplicity and unity of all these perfections is as necessarily conceived as any of them Granting then that the understanding by the observing of several perfections in the world might be able to abstract these severally from each being wherein they were yet whence should the Idea of the unity and inseparability of all these perfections come The mind may it is true knit some things together in fictitious Idea's but then those are so far from unity with each other that in themselves they speak mutual repugnancy to one another which makes them proper entia rationis but these several perfections are so far from speaking repugnancy to each other that the unity and inseparability of them is as necessary to the forming of this Idea as any other perfection whatsoever So that from hence it appears that the consideration of the perfections which are in the creatures is only an occasion given to the mind to help it in its Idea of God and not that the Idea its self depends upon those perfections as the causes of it as in the clearest Mathematical truths the manner of demonstration may be necessary to help the understanding to its clearer assent though the things in themselves be undoubtedly true For all minds are not equally capable of the same truths some are of quicker apprehension then others are now although to slower apprehensions a more particular way of demonstrating things be necessary yet the truths in themselves are equal though they have not equal evidence to several persons 3. It appears that this is no meer fictitious Idea from the uniformity of it in all persons who have freed themselves from the entanglements of corporeal phantasms Those we call entia rationis we find by experienee in our minds that they are formed ad placitum we may imagine them as many wayes as we please but we see it is quite otherwise in this Idea of God for in those attributes or perfections which by the light of nature we attribute to God there is an uniform consent in all those who have devested their minds of corporeal phantasms in their conceptions of God For while men have agreed that the object of their Idea is a being absolutely perfect there hath been no dissent in the perfections which have been attributed to it none have questioned but infinite wisdom goodness and power joyned with necessity of existence have been all implyed in this Idea So that it is scarce pâ—ssible to instance in any one Idea no not of those things which are most obvious to our senses wherein there hath been so great an uniformity of mens conceptions as in this Idea of God And the most gross corporeal Idea of the most sensible matter hath been more lyable to heats and disputes among Philosophers then this Idea of a being Infinite and purely spiritual Which strongly proves my present proposition that this Idea of God is very consonant to natural light for it is hardly conceivable that there should be so universal a consent of minds in this Idea were it not a natural result from the free use of our reason and faculties And that which adds further weight tâ— this argument is that although Infinity be so necessarily implyed in this Idea of God yet men do not attribute all kind of Infinite things to God for there being conceivable Infinite number Infinite longitude as well as infinite power and knowledge our minds readily attribute the latter to God and as readily abstract the other from his nature which is an argument this Idea is not fictitious but argues reality in the thing correspondent to our conception of it So much may suffice to clear the first proposition viz. that the notion of a God is very suitable to the faculties of mens souls and to that light of nature which they proceed by in forming the conceptions of things Those who deny that there is a God do assert other things on far less evidence of reason and must by their own principles deny some things which are apparently true One would expect that such persons who are apt to condemn the whole world of folly in believing the truth of Religion and would fain be admired as men of a deeper reach and greater wit and sagacity then others would when they have exploded a Deity at least give us some more rational and consistent account of things then we can give that there is a God But on the contrary we find the reasons on which they reject a Deity so lamentably weak and so easily retorted upon themselves and the hypotheses they substitute instead of a Deity so precarious obscure and uncertain that we need no other argument to evince the reasonableness of Religion then from the manifest folly as well as impiety of those who oppose it Which we shall make evident by these two things 1. That while they deny a Deity they assert other things on far less reason 2. That by those principles on which they deny a Deity they must deny some things which are apparently true 1. That they assert some things on far less reason then we do that there is a God For if there be not an infinitely powerful God who produced the world out of nothing it must necessarily follow according to the different principles of the Aristotelian and Epicurean Atheists that either the world was as it is from all eternity or else that it was at first made by the fortuitous concourse of Atoms Now I appeal to the reason of any person who hath the free use of it Whether either of these two Hypotheses urged with the same or greater difficulties c. be not far more weakly proved then the existence of a Deity is or the production of the world by him 1. They run themselves into the same difficulties which they would avoid in the belief of a Deity and nothing can be a greater evidence of an intangled mind then this is To deny a thing because of some difficulty in it and instead of it to assert another thing which is chargeable with the very same difficulty in a higher degree Thus when they reject a Deity because they cannot understand what infinity means both these Hypotheses are lyable to the same intricacy in apprehending the nature of something Infinite For according to the Epicureans
sense of the truth of this Hypothesis and let him extend his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as long as he please which was his great help for correcting the errors of sense viz. as it was in the Roman court when the case was not clear ampliandum est So Epicurus would have the object represented every way it could be before he past his judgement yet this prudent caution would do him no good for this Hypothesis unless he were so wise as to stay till this world were crumbled into Atoms again that by that he might judge of the Origine of it There is but one way left to finde out the truth of things inevident to sense as by Epicurus his own confession all these Atoms are which are now the component particles of bodyes much more those which by their fortuitous concourse gave Being to the world and that is if something evident to sense doth apparently prove it which is his way of proving a Vacuity in nature from motion but though that be easily answered by principles different from those of Epicurus and more rational yet that very way of probation fails him in his present Hypothesis For what is there evident to sense which proves a fortuitous concourse of Atoms for the production of things nay if we grant him that the composition of bodyes is nothing else but the contexture of these insensible particles yet this is far from being an evidence to sense that these particles without any wise and directing providence should make up such bodyes as we see in the world And here when we speak of the evidence of sense we may well ask as the Stoick in Tully doth whether ever Epicurus found a Poeme made by the casual throwing of letters together and if a concourse of Atoms did produce the world cur porticum cur templum cur domum cur urbem non potest why did it never produce a cloyster a temple a house a city which are far easier things then the world I know Epicurus will soon reply that things are otherwise in the world now then when it was first produced I grant it and from thence prove that because no such thing ever happens in the world now as a meerly casual concourse of Atoms to produce any thing Epicurus could have no evidence from sense at all to finde out the truth of his Hypothesis by And as little relief can he finde from his second Criterium viz. Anticipation for by his own acknowledgement all Anticipation depends on the senses and men have it only one of these four wayes 1. By incursion as the species of a man is preserved by the sight of him 2. By proportion as we can inlarge or contract that species of a man either into a Gyant or Pygmy 3. By similitude as we may fancy the image of a City by resemblance to one which we have seen 4. By composition whereby we may joyn different images together as of a horse and man to make a Centaure Now though it be very questionable how some of these wayes belong to a Criterium of truth yet none of them reach our case for there can be no incursion of insensible particles as such upon our senses we may indeed by proportion imagine the parvitude of them but what is this to the proving the truth of the Hypothesis Similitude can do no good unless Epicurus had ever seen a world made so the only relief must be from composition and that will prove the Origine of the world by Atoms to be as true as that there are Centaures in the world which we verily believe These are the only Criteria by which Epicurus would judge of the truth of natural things by for the third Passion relates wholly to things Moral and not Physical and now let any one judge whether the Hypothesis of the Origine of the Universe by Atoms can ever be proved true either by the judgement of sense or by Anticipation The way they had to prove this Hypothesis was insufficient and that was by proving that the bodyes of the world are compounded of such insensible particles Now granting the thing I deny the consequence for what though the composition of bodyes be from the contexture of Atoms doth it therefore follow that these particles did casually produce these bodyes nay doth it at all follow that because bodyes upon their resolution do fall into insensible particles of different size figure and motion therefore these particles must be praeexistent to all bodyes in the world For it is plain that there is now an Universal lump of matter out of which these insensible particles arise and whether they return on the dissolution of bodyes and all these various corpuscles may be of the same uniform substance only with the alteration of size shape and motion but what then doth this prove that because particular bodyes do now emerge out of the various configuration and motion of insensible paerticles of that matter which exists in the world that therefore this whole matter was produced by the casual occursions of these Atoms It will ask more time and pains then is usually taken by the Philosophers either ancient or modern to prove that those things whatsoever they are whether elements or particles out of which bodyes are supposed to be compounded do exist separately from such compounded bodyes and antecedently to them We finde no Aristotelian elements pure in the world nor any particles of matter destitute of such a size figure and motion as doth make some body or other From whence then can we infer either the existence of Aristotles materia prima without quiddity quantity or quality or the Epicurean Atoms without such a contexture as make up some bodyes in the world Our profound Naturalist Dr. Harvey after his most accurate search into the natures and Generation of things delivers this as his experience and judgement concerning the commonly reputed elements or principles of bodyes For speaking of the different opinions of Empedocles and Hippocrates and Democritus and Epicurus concerning the composition of bodyes he adds Ego vero neque in animalium productione nec omnino in ulla corporum similarium generatione sive ea partium animalium sive plantarum lapidum mineralium c. fuerit vel congregationem ejusmodi vel miscibilia diversa in generation is opere unienda praeexistere observare unquam potui And after explaining the way which he conceived most rational and consonant to experience in the Generation of things he concludes his discourse with these words Idemque in omni generatione furi crediderim adeo ut corpora similaria mista elementa sua tempore priora non habeant sed illa potius element is suis prius existant nempe Empedoclis atque Aristotel is igne aqua aëre terra vel Chymicorum sale sulphure Mercurio aut Democriti Atomis utpote natura quoque ipsis perfectiora Sunt inquam mista composita etiam tempore priora element is
possibility of existence what is it then which gives actual existence to it that cannot be its self for it would be necessarily existent if another then give existence this existence must wholly depend upon him who gave it for nothing can continue existence to its self but what may give it to its self for it gives it for the moment it continues it and what gives existence to its self must necessarily exist which is repugnant to the very notion of a created Being So that either we must deny a possibility of non-existence or annihilation in a creature which follows upon necessity of existence or else we must assert that the duration or continuance of a creature in its Being doth immediatly depend on Divine providence and Conservation which is with as much reason as frequency said to be a continued Creation But yet further was an Infinite Wisdom and power necessary to put things into that order they are in and is not the same necessary for the Governing of them I cannot see any reason to think that the power of matter when set in motion should either bring things into that exquisite order and dependence which the parts of the world have upon each other much less that by the meer force of that first motion all things should continue in the state they are in Perpetual motion is yet one of the desiderata of the world the most exquisite Mechanism cannot put an engine beyond the necessity of being looked after can we then think this dull unactive matter meerly by the force of its first motion should be able still to produce the effects which are seen in the world and to keep it from tumbling at least by degrees into its pristine Chaos It was an Infinite Power I grant which gave that first moâ—ion but that it gave power to continue that motion till the Constagration of the world remains yet to be proved Some therefore finding that in the present state of the world matter will not serve for all the noted and common Phoenomena of the world have called in the help of a Spirit of Nature which may serve instead of a Man-midwife to Matter to help her in her productions of things Or as though God had a Plurality of worlds to look after they have taken care to substitute him a Vicar in this which is this Spirit of Nature But we had rather believe God himself to be perpetually Resident in the world and that the power which gives life and being and motion to every thing in the world is nothing else but his own providence especially since we have learnt from himself that it is in him we live and move and have our being Thus then we see a necessity of asserting Divine Providence whether we consider the Divine nature or the Phaenomena of the world but yet the case is not so clear but there are two grand objections behind which have been the continual exercise of the wits of inquisitive men almost in all Ages of the world The one concerns the first Origine of evil the other concerns the dispensations of providence whence it comes to pass that good men fare so hard in the world when the bad triumph and flourish if these two can be cleared with any satisfaction to reason it will be the highest vindication of Divine Providence and a great evidence of the Divinity of the Scriptures which gives us such clear light and direction in these profound speculations which the dim reason of man was so much to seek in I begin with the Origine of evil for if there be a hand of providence which orders all things in the world how comes evil then into it without Gods being the Author of it Which is a speculation of as great depth as necessity it highly concerning us to entertain the highest apprehensions of Gods holiness and how far he is from being the author of sin and it is likewise a matter of some difficulty so to explain the Origine of evil as to make it appear that God is not the author of it I easily then assent to what Origen saith on this subject when Celsus upon some mistaken places of Scripture had charged the Scripture with laying the Origine of evil upon God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If any thing which calls for our enquiry be of difficult investigation that which concerns the Origine of evils is such a thing and as Simplicius well begins his discourse on this subject 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Dispute concerning the nature and origine of evil not being well stated is the cause of great impiety towards God and perverts the principles of good life anâ— involves them in innumerable perplexities who are not able to give a rational account of it So much then is it our great concernment to fix on sure grounds in the resolution of this important question in which I intend not to lanch out into the depth and intricacyes of it as it relates to any internal purposes of Gods will which is beyond our present scope but I shall only take that account of it which the Scripture plainly gives in relating the fall of the first man For the clearing of which I shall proceed in this method 1. That if the Scriptures be true God cannot be the author of sin 2. That the account which the Scripture gives of the Origine of evil doth not charge it upon God 3. That no account given by Philosophers of the Origine of evil is so clear and rational as this is 4. That the most material circumstances of this account are attested by the Heathens themselves 1. That if the Scriptures be true God cannot be the author of sin For if the Scriptures be true we are bound without hesitation to yeild our assent to them in their plain and direct affirmations and there can be no ground of suspending assent as to any thing which pretends to be a Divine Truth but the want of certain evidence whether it be of Divine Revelation or no. No doubt it would be one of the most effectual wayes to put an end to the numerous controversies of the Christian world especially to those bold disputes concerning the method and order of Gods decrees if the plain and undoubted assertions of Scripture were made the Rule and Standard whereby we ought to judge of such things as are more obscure and ambiguous And could men but rest contented with those things which concern their eternal happiness and the means in order to it which on that account are written with all imaginable perspicuity in Scripture and the moment of all other controversies be judged by their reference to these there would be fewer controversies and more Christians in the world Now there are two grand principles which concern mens eternal condition of which we have the greatest certainty from Scripture and on which we may with safety rely without perplexing our minds about those more nice and subtile speculations
after the flood Of the Chronology of the LXX Of the time between the flood and Abraham and the advantages of it Of the pretence of such Nations who called themselves Aborigines A discourse concerning the first plantation of Greece the common opinion propounded and rejected The Hellens not the first inhabitants of Greece but the Pelasgi The large spread of them over the parts of Greece Of their language different from the Greeks Whence these Pelasgi came that Phaleg was the Pelasgus of Greece and the leader of that Colony proved from Epiphanius the language of the Pelasgi in Greece Oriental thence an account given of the many Hebrew words in the Greek language and the remainders of the Eastern languages in the Islands of Greece both which not from the Phaenicians as Bochartus thinks but from the old Pelasgi Of the ground of the affinity between the Jews and Lacedaemonians Of the peopling of Amercia THE next thing we proceed to give a rational account of in the history of the fiâ—â—t ages of the world contained in Scripture is the peopling of the world from Adam Which is of great consequence for us to understand not only for the satisfaction of our curiosity as to the true Origine of Nations but also in order to our believing the truth of the Scriptures and the universal effects of the fall of man Neither of which can be sufficiently cleared without this For as it is hard to conceive how the effects of mans fall should extend to all mankinde unless all mankind were propagated from Adam so it is unconceivable how the account of things given in Scripture should be true if there were persons existent in the world long before Adam was Since the Scripture doth so plainly affirm that God hath made of one blood all Nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth Some Greek copyes read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leaving out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the vulgar Latin follows the Arabick version to explain both reads it ex homine or as De Dieu renders it ex Adamo uno there being but the difference of one letter in the Eastern languages between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one denoting blood and the other man But if we take it as our more ordinary copyes read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet thereby it is plain that the meaning is not that all mankind was made of the same uniform matter as the author of the Prae-Adamites weakly imagined for by that reason not only mankind but the whole world might be said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the same blood since all things in the world were at first formed out of the same matter but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken there in the sense in which it occurs in the best Greek authors for the stock out of which men come So Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thence those who are near relations are called in Sophocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thence the name of Consanguinity for nearness of relation and Virgil useth sanguis in the same sense Trojano à sanguine duci So that the Apostles meaning is that however men now are so dispersed in their habitations and differ so much in language and customs from each other yet they all were originally of the same stock and did derive their succession from that first man whom God created Neither can it be conceived on what account Adam in the Scripture is called the first man and that he was made a living soul and of the earth earthy unless it were to denote that he was absolutely the first of his kind and so was to be the standard and measure of all that follows And when our Saviour would reduce all things to the beginning he instanceth in those words which were pronounced after Eve was formed But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave Father and Mother and cleave unto his Wife Now nothing can be more plain and easie then from hence to argue thus those of whom those words were spoken were the first male and female which were made in the beginning of the Creation but it is evident these words were spoken of Adam and Eve And Adam said this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh therefore shall a man leave his Father and his Mother and shall cleave unto his Wife If the Scriptures then of the New Testament be true it is most plain and evident that all mankind is descended from Adam and no less conspicuous is it from the history of the Creation as delivered by Moses For how necessary had it been for Moses when he was giving an account of the Origine of things to have discovered by whom the world was first planted if there had been any such plantation before Adam but to say that all the design of Moses was only to give an account of the Origine and history of the Iewish Nation and that Adam was only the first of that stock is manifestly ridiculous it being so clear that not only from Adam and Noah but from Sem Abraham and Isaac came other Nations besides that of Iews And by the same reason that it is said that Moses only speaks of the Origine of the Iewish Nation in the history of Adam it may as well be said that Moses speaks only of the making of Canaan and that part of the heavens which was over it when he describes the Creation of the world in the six dayes work For why may not the earth in the second ver of Genesis be as well understood of the Land of Iudea and the light and production of animals and vegetables refer only to that as to understand it so in reference to the flood and in many other passages relating to those eldest times But the Author of that Hypothesis answers That the first Chapter of Genesis may relate to the true Origine of the world and the first peopling of it but in the second Moses begins to give an account of the first man and woman of the Iewish Nation Very probable but if this be not a putting asunder those which God hath joyned together nothing is For doth not Moses plainly at first give an account of the formation of things in the first six dayes and of his rest on the seventh but how could he be said to have rested then from the works of Creation if after this followed the formation of Adam and Eve in the second Chapter Besides if the forming of man mentioned Gen. 2. 7. be distinct from that mentioned Gen. 1. 27. then by all parity of reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Generations of Heaven and earth mentioned Gen. 2. 4. must be distinct from the Creation of the heaven and earth mentioned Gen. 1. 1. And so if there were another Creation of heaven and earth belonging to
the Indians were in darkness while the Bacchae enjoyed light which circumstances considered will make every one that hath judgement say as Bochartus doth ex mirabili illâ— concentu vel coecis apparebit priscos fabularum architectos e scriptoribus sacris multa â—sse mutuatos From this wonderful agreement of Heathen Mythology with the Scriptures it cannot but appear that one is a corruption of the other That the memory of Iâ—shua and Sampson was preserved under Hercules Tyrius is made likewise very probable from several circumstances of the stories Others have deduced the many rites of Heathen worship from those used in the Tabernacle among the Iews Several others might be insisted on as the Parallel between Og and Typho and between the old Silenus and Balaam both noted for their skill in divination both taken by the water Num. 22. 5. both noted for riding on an ass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Lucian of the old Silenus and that which makes it yet more probable is that of Pausanias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some learned men have been much puzled to find out the truth of and this conjecture which I here propound may pass at least for a probable account of it but I shall no longer insist on these things having I suppose done what is sufficient to our purpose which is to make it appear what footsteps there are of the truth of Scripture-history amidst all the corruptions of Heathen Mythology CHAP. VI. Of the Excellency of the Scriptures Concerning matters of pure divine revelation in Scripture the terms of Salvation only contained therein The ground of the disesteem of the Scriptures is tacite unbelief The Excellency of the Scriptures manifested as to the matters which God hath revealed therein The excellency of the discoveryes of Gods nature which are in Scripture Of the goodness and love of God in Christ. The suitableness of those discoveries of God to our natural notions of a Deity The necessity of Gods making known himself to us in order to the regulating our conceptions of him The Scriptures give the fullest account of the state of mens souls and the corruptions which are in them The only way of pleasing God discovered in Scriptures The Scriptures contain matters of greatest mysteriousness and mest universal satisfaction to mens minds The excellency of the manner wherein things are revealed in Scriptures in regard of clearness authority purity uniformity and perswasiveness The excellency of the Scriptures as a rule of life The nature of the duties of Religion and the reasonableness of them The greatness of the encouragements to Religion contained in the Scriptures The great excellency of the Scriptures as containing in them the Coveâ—ant of Grace in order to mans Salvation HAving thus largely proved the Truth of all those passages of sacred Scripture which concern the history of the first ages of the world by all those arguments which a subject of that nature is capable of the only thing leâ—t in order to our full proving the Divinity of the Scriptures is the consideration of â—hose matters contained in it which are in an especâ—al maâ—neâ— said to be of Divine Revelation For those historical pâ—ssages though we believe them as contained in the Scripture to have been Divinely inspired as well as others yet they are such things as supposing no Divine Revelatiâ—n might have been known sufficiently to the world had not men bâ—en wanting to themselves as to the care and means of preserving them but those matters which I now come to discourse of are of a more sublime and transcendent nature such as it had been impâ—ssible for the minds of men to reach had they not been immediately discovered by God himself And those are the terms and conditions on which the soul of man may upon good grounds expect an eternal happiness which we assert the book of Scriptures to be the only authentick and infallible records of Men might by the improvements of reason and the sagacity of their minds discover much not only of the lapsed condition of their souls and the necessity of a purgation of them in order to their felicity but might in the general know what things are pleasing and acceptable to the Divine nature from those differences of good and evil which are unalterably fixed in the things themselves but which way to obtain any certainty of the remission of sins to recover the Grace and Favour of God to enjoy perfect tranquillity and peace of conscience to be able to please God in things agreeable to his will and by these to be assured of eternal bliss had been impossible for men to have ever found had not God himself been graciously pleased to reveal them to us Men might still have bewildred themselvs in following the ignes fatui of their own imaginations and hunting up and down the world for a path which leads to heaven but could have found none unless God himself taking pitty of the wandrings of men had been pleased to hang out a light from heaven to direct them in their way thither and by this Pharos of Divine Revelation to direct them so to stear their course as to escape splitting themselves on the rocks of open impieties or being swallowed up in the quicksands of terrene delights Neither doth he shew them only what shâ—lves and rocks they must escape but what particular course they must steâ—re what star they must have in their eye what compass they must observe what winds and gales they must expect and pray for if they would at last arrive at eternal bliss Eternal bliss What more could a God of infinite goodness promise or the soul of man ever wish â—or A Reward to such who are so â—ar from deserving that they are still provâ—king Glory to such who are more apt to be ashamed of their duties then of their offences but that it should not only be a glorious reward but eternal too is that which though it infinitely transcend the deserts of the receivers yet it highly discovers the infinite goodness of the Giver But when we not only know that there is so rich a mine of inestimable treasures but if the owner of it undertakes to shew us the way to it and gives us certain and infallible directions how to come to the full pâ—ssession of it how much are we in love with misery and do we court our own ruine if we neglect to hearken to his directions and observe his commands This is that we are now undertaking to make good concerning the Scriptures that these alone contain those sacred discoveries by which the souls of men may come at last to enjoy a compleat and eternal happiness One would think there could be nothing more needless in the world then to bid men regard their own welfare and to seek to be happy yet whoever casts his eye into the world will find no counsel so little hearkned to as this nor any thing which is more generally looked on
sarcastically answer the argument from the common consent of men quasi verò quidquam sit tam valdè quam nihil sapere vulgare as though nothing men did more generally agree in then in being fools yet as it is evident that the ground of that scoffe was from the several manners of Divination then in use so it cannot be thought to be a general impeachment of humane nature in a thing so consequent upon the being of a God which as himself elsewhere proves is as clear from reason as from that Testimonium gentium in hac una re non dissidentium as the Christian Cicero Lactantius speaks the consent of Nations which scarce agree in any thing else but that there is a God That which we now infer from hence is that God may make known his mind in a way infallible though not immediate for in case of Inspiration of meer men it is not they so much which speak as God by them and in case that God himself should speak through the vail of humane nature the Testimony must needs be infallible though the appearance of the Divinity be not visible Those evidences whereby a Divine Testimony may be known must be such as may not leave mens minds in suspense but are of their own nature convincing proofs of it For although as to the event some may doubt and others disbelieve the Testimony so proved yet it is sufficient for our purpose that in the nature of the things supposing them to be such as we speak of they are sufficient for the eviction that the testimony attested by them is divine and infallible I know it is a great dispute among many whether those things which are usually called the common motives of faith do of their own nature only induce a probable perswasion of the truth of the doctrine as probable which they are joyned with or else are they sufficient for the producing a firm assent to the doctrine as True I grant they are not demonstrative so as to inforce assent for we see the contrary by the experience of all ages but that they are not sufficient foundation for an unprejudiced mind to establish a firm assent upon is a thing not easie to be granted chiefly upon this account that an obligation to believe doth lie upon every one to whom these evidences of a Divine Testimony are sufficiently discovered And otherwise of all sins the sin of unbelief as to God revealing his mind were the most excusable and pardonable sin nay it would be little less then a part of prudence because what can it be accounted but temerity and imprudence in any to believe a doctrine as true only upon probable inducements and what can it be but wisdom to withhold assent upon a meer verisimilitude considering what the Lyrick Poet hath long since truly told us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That a falshood may frequently seem truer to common understandings then truth its self and as Menander speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that a meer verisimilitude may have more force on vulgar minds then truth hath If therefore there be no evidences given sufficient to carry the minds of men beyond meer probability what sin can it be in those to disbelieve who cannot be obliged to believe as true what is only discovered as probable I cannot therefore see how an obligation to believe a Divine Testimony is consistent with their opinion who make the utmost which any outward evidences can extend to to be only the bare credibility of the doctrine attested by them I can very well satisfie my self with the ground and reason why the more subtle wits of the Church of Rome do essert this for if nothing else can be produced by all motives of faith but only a probable perswasion of the truth of Christian doctrine then here comes in the fairest pretence for the Infallibility of their Church for otherwise they tell us we can have no foundation for a Divine faith for how can that be a foundation for Divine faith which can reach no higher then a moral inducement and beget only a probable perswasion of the credibility of the doctrine of Christ But on what account those who disown the Infallibility of the Church of Rome in the proposal of matters of faith should yet consent with those of it in an hypothesis taken up in probability meerly out of subserviency to that most advantagious piece of the mysterie of iniquity is not easie to resolve Unless the over-fondness of some upon the doctrine of the Schools more then of the Gospel hath been the occasion of it For how agreeable can that opinion be to the Gospel which so evidently puts the most defensive weapons into the hands of unbelief For doubtless in the judgement of any rational person a meer probable perswasion of the credibility of the doctrine of Christ where an assent to it as true is required can never be looked on as an act of faith for if my assent to the truth of the thing be according to the strength of the arguments inducing me to believe and these arguments do only prove a probability of Divine Testimony my assent can be no stronger then to a thing meerly probable which is that it may be or not be true which is not properly assent but a suspending our judgements till some convincing argument be produced on either side And therefore according to this opinion those who saw all the miracles which Christ did could not be bound to believe in Christ but only to have a favourable opinion of his person and doctrine as a thing which though not evidenced to be true by what he did yet it was very piously credible but they must have a care withall of venturing their belief too far only on such moral inducements as miracels were for fear they should go farther then the force of the arguments would carry them Had not this opinion now think we been a very probable way to have converted the world upon the Preaching of Christ and his Apostles when Christ saith though ye believe not me believe the works that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him Nay saith this opinion that is more then we are bound to do though we see thy works we are not bound to believe thy Testimony to be Divine and certainly true but we will do all we are bound to do we will entertain a favourable opinion of thy person and doctrine and wait for somewhat else but we do not well know what to perswade us to believe When the Apostles Preach the danger of unbelief because the doctrine of the Gospel was confirmed by signs and wonders and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost what a fair answer doth this opinion put into the mouths of Infidels that notwithstanding all these signs and wonders they were never bound to believe the Gospel