a more particular and express more clear and convincing Manifestation of God's Will a second Witness of the same Truths confirming what is testified by the natural Light of Reason which alone were enough to leave all without excuse who do not hearken to its Dictates and sufficient to lead all to the way of Obedience were it hearkened unto But Revelation being added dictating and enforcing in a manner plain and clear enough for any Capacity whatever is absolutely necessary for Man to believe and do in order to Happiness is enough to inform and convince any of their Duty that do not strongly resist For the clearing of which matter let us take these Considerations As God is the Fountain and Cause of all Truths so he is the Giver or Discoverer of all Truths that come within the reach of Created Understandings But he doth not make known things to his Creatures always the same way He hath given us Sense and Reason by which with his general and common Assistance we most commonly come to know things for some time unknown to us But whensoever it pleaseth God to discover some Truth in an express particular or extraordinary manner then there is that which we call Divine Revelation Now this Revelation may be considered two ways In relation to the thing made known And in relation to the Manner or Measure of the Manifestation But before we come to consider it these ways let it be noted that as we have said Revelation is some Truth discover'd or made known to the Creatures so we at the same must necessarily suppose it a Truth knowable to the created Understanding For to suppose a thing that is above our Understanding to be revealed to us is to suppose a Revelation and yet no Revelation whatever is made known to us we know and what we know is not above our Knowledge The Capacity of Man's Understanding we readily believe may be enlarged so that he may hereafter know what at present he is not capable of but till he is capable of knowing such or such a Truth or at least seeing it knowable it can be no Revelation to him As for instance None can pretend that the Doctrine of Transubstantiation is revealed while it is that which is inconceivable That all the Properties wherein the Nature and Essence of Bread consists should remain and yet the Bread be changed into Flesh is that which is unintelligible and not a Revelation Nor can they well say that tho' the manner how this unseen Change can be is not revealed yet that it is indeed changed into Flesh and yet more strange the Flesh of Christ is revealed For how this Change can be conceived to be made and that it can be conceived to be made is the very same thing or at least as unintelligible Nay such a supposed Change is a Contradiction and a Contradiction can with the least reason of all be suppos'd a Revelation For Man is not only unable to know how it can be but is able to know yea clearly sees it is impossible to be With as good a pretence might a Man say that tho' to any Man's Understanding two and one make three yet God has revealed to him that in God's Understanding two and one is but one or is nine or what you please But as to Divine Revelation it may be as I said considered either as to the Thing revealed or the Manner of the Revelation As to the Thing revealed it may be either that which is or can be known no other way viz. a Truth God has reserved to such his Peculiar Teaching or that which might be known without Revelation but not so clearly easily or soon and in both it may be of a Truth past present or to come As to the Manner of Revelation a Truth may be communicated either immediately to the Understanding supposing only that it is God's special Will that I or he thus immediately know such or such a Truth we knew not before or yet to the Understanding mediately by the Ministry of some superiour Intelligent Creature that God first made know the thing or yet still more mediately a Truth may be made known in way of Revelation even by our very Senses by means of some Bodily Object as a Voice Vision or the like Again as to the Manner of Revelation it may be more general or particular more partial or full or in other words fewer or more Truths may be thus made known at the same time Now that God can and may in a particular and express manner make a Truth known to his Creature or to one and another and yet not to the third or to every one that he may give a Revelation to some immediately and command them to tell it others none but those that disbelieve the Power Goodness and Sovereignty of God can deny It cannot rationally be suppos'd but that the Author of Truths can make a Truth known He who has made Creatures sensible and capable of Reasoning and finding out Truths by way of Induction and Argument may if he please sometimes give Men the Knowledge of some Truths a nearer and easier way or cause them to understand Truths not knowable by Sense and Reason alone and this immediately to whom he pleaseth and to others by them Creatures that can come to the Knowledge of many things by their own Industry or Application of Thought may either know the same things or things they would never have found out so by a special Instruction As a Man unassisted by a Master may find out many things in Arts but by the Instruction of a skilful Artist he may come to know the same and more and in far less time than he could have known without such a Teacher Now it cannot be thought unbecoming the Wisdom and Goodness of God or unsuitable or unnecessary for the present Condition of Mankind if we consider it that God should have had some special Scholars of his own particular instructing and have commanded them to teach other Men in things most profitable and necessary to them or that he should have sent some particular Messengers to the rest of Mankind to teach his Will to those that through their own Negligence or others Hinderance knew it not or to teach it more clearly and fully to those that knew it but in part and to urge it upon all that were negligent to do it That God may do thus I think is now undoubted That he has done so seems to me the only thing needs farther to be proved to any rational Man And that we may rationally be perswaded that God has thus instructed or sent some particular Men either to teach others or urge them to do their known Duty let us take these Considerations It is most evident to all those who have took notice of the Actions of Mankind conveighed by the most unquestionable Tradition from Generation to Generation that now and then in the Ages of this World there have been some
Men teaching and perswading others things which when duly considered will be found Truths tending to their Good and some of these have declar'd themselves sent of God and commanded to teach and perswade the things they have taught and perswaded Now suppose some of them have not had the things they taught in this Special Manner immediately from God yet they are Revelations to those to whom they were before unknown tho' not properly Divine Ones as to the manner of their Discovery But yet if the Persons were really sent by God's express and special Command to teach Men even what they might have found out themselves nevertheless that such a Person was thus sent of God is a Divine Revelation and a high Argument to perswade Compliance with the things taught But if they have received the Truths from God in this extraordinary special and particular Manner and been expresly sent and commanded to teach and enforce them there is all that can be desired to a Divine Revelation We have two things here principally to be satisfied in First Whether the Person teaching Men was thus particularly taught of God Secondly Whether he was expresly commanded of God to teach either this his expresly received Divine Doctrine or what he otherwise knew That the things are of God we cannot doubt if they appear when declar'd with Evidence and Demonstration God being the Author and Fountain of all Truths That the things are Revelations we cannot doubt if they are such as were not knowable or could not then be known any other way As for instance If the Person tells us or brings to remembrance some things past and forgotten that were never committed either to written or unwritten Tradition or if he gives us the Knowledge of things present done at a distance which he could not know any ordinary way or such things to come which can be fore-known to none but God who is incomprehensible in Knowledge and to whom he is pleas'd to reveal them That the Person was sent of God we may be perswaded partly by the things he declares appearing thus to be Revelations partly by their being such as were good very necessary and beneficial to be known or done by the Persons to whom he declares himself sent But fully and sufficiently if some extraordinary Effect is also produced by means of the Person such as never is done or at least could be done by him without the special and uncommon Operation of the Divine Power or the Finger of God such as we call a Miracle When such Effects accompany Persons asserting themselves sent of God to teach and exhort Men things in themselves shewing no Repugnancy to Truth there can be no more rational Doubt of them or of the Authority and Divine Mission of the Persons God cannot be suppos'd to alter the common order of things in his Creatures in Concurrence to perswade a Lye or to give his Special Testimony to any Deceiver But yet here we had need use our Reason and have some skill to judge of and distinguish a True Miracle from a False one that we may be certain of the Matter of Fact For there have perhaps been more Pretences to Miracles or False and Lying Wonders than True ones Now that I may a little help those who have not so well consider'd this Matter I shall lay down a few more Considerations of the nature of a Miracle before I come to consider how these things may be apply'd particularly to the Book commonly call'd the Holy Scripture A Miracle negatively is not a Contradiction in nature or any thing that implyeth a Contradiction Absurdity or absolute Impossibility as that a thing should be made to be and not to be so and so and not so and so at the same time That which the Understanding of Man can no ways apprehend but as absurd or impossible can neither be pretended as a Miracle nor could it so be would it ever have the end of a Miracle As for instance That a certain Saint beheaded should afterwards carry his Head in his Mouth for some miles or that the Body of Christ should be in divers places at the same time Nor can the Almighty Power of God be any pretence for the Belief of such Absurdies for Things or Truths are the Products and Subjects of Divine Power and not Contradictions Again A Miracle is not a Fallacy or Deception of Mens Senses or Understanding for a Deceit hath the nature of a Lye and is not likely to come from the God of Truth Nor is a Miracle a thing done by the Power or Art of the Man howsoever great or strange any Man's Power or Art may be to others that are weak or ignorant Nor is a Miracle any more in the Will of Man than in his Power or Skill the Time or Subject for a Miracle is not determin'd by Man's vain Will to satisfie Curiosity or unnecessary Desires but is generally wrought upon serious and weighty Occasions nor is God's Will so properly said to concur with Man's Will when Man would work a Miracle as Man's Will to concur with God's Will when God pleases and sees fit to work one But a Miracle is an extraordinary Effect or Alteration in Nature wrought by the Will of God above the Power and Art of Man at least of him who is the Instrument of effecting it in the way it was effected A thing done by the Special and Uncommon Operation of the Divine Power The end of a Miracle is the Confirmation of some Revelation or Truth as from God to promote some considerable Good no less than to perswade Sinners to repent or will as God wills or to confirm them that so do in their well-willing And where-ever there is said to be a Miracle that tends not to this end it ought to be suspected and will be found upon serious Examination to be but a Pretence and no real Miracle But now to come a little nearer to Matters of Fact that we may be perswaded that there have indeed been Divine Revelations and some Persons sent to declare the Will of God to others and the Truth of their Mission and of the things declared confirm'd by Miracles we need no more but seriously read and consider the Books of Moses and the Prophets and especially the Writings of the Apostles and Disciples of Jesus Christ In the Reading and Consideration of which Books if these two things appear I think there is enough to satisfie any rational Man in this matter First That the things related as taught perswaded and done agree with the most rational and crittical Account of Divine Revelations and Miracles Secondly That the History it self be undoubtedly true Let us consider both these as briefly as we can In the first place there is to be considered in the Scripture the Doctrinal or Instructive Part which teacheth for a foundation That there is one Most high Sufficient Being or God And that he is the Author and Continuer and consequently Sovereign
Lord of all other Beings That at his Word the Heavens and the Earth and all things in them were made and are upheld That he is Good Wise Just True Benign or Merciful c. Besides this Instruction what God is it teacheth us what we are viz. Sinful wretched Fallen Creatures that can have no Good or Happiness in our selves It informs us how we should behave our selves towards God viz. as Dependent things and that we should love him obey him fear to do any thing contrary to his Will trust him or believe him c. and how we should carry it to one another viz. to do as we would be done by that is every one to confer as he is capable towards another's Happiness Having propos'd things to the Understanding Secondly It addeth the Perswasive Part to the Will moving us to behave our selves suitably in the Actings of our Wills to such Truths known by setting before us Good or Evil Profit or Disprofit Pleasure or Displeasure Seemliness or Unseemliness accompanying or consequent on our orderly or disorderly Behaviour Now these things propos'd and urged in these Books as the main Scope and Design of them appear to be of God as they come with evidence of Truth and Goodness such as are agreeable to the Reason of a considerate Man and are seen proper and convenient for the Creatures Will to comply with things beseeming the all-perfect Being to teach and command convenient and profitable for the Creature to learn and obey Which if we consider with our selves and compare with what has been said in the former part of this Book will appear to be the very same Principles and Practice of that we call Natural or Rational Religion which is knowable by the Light of Nature to all Mankind But that these same things may and how far they may be call'd Revelations will appear by considering the Times and Circumstances and Manners of their Delivery Thus if when Men had given up themselves chiefly to the Consideration of sensual Objects and bent their Wills to the disorderly Satisfaction of their Bodily Appetites neglected the due Consideration of their Author and the End of their Being Began to fancy God too much like themselves Had low mean gross Conceptions of him and too high Conceits of Creatures Confounded the Properties of God with those of his Works Gave Divine Honour to Men or any thing they fancied excellent or useful Made Bodily Representations of God and as some represented him by one thing some by another their various and disagreeing Images could not be reconciled so as to be taken all so different for Images of one and the same Being but they began to fancy as many Gods as their differing Conceits had made Images So that Divine Nature was mistaken even as to number uncertain without end And even those who by long Instructions had been brought again to the Belief and Worship of but One God had so far mistaken his Will as to fancy their good Behaviour to him consisted in external Ceremonies supposing that he would be affected with the Slaying of Beasts and pleas'd with a Custom of little Observances as wearing of odd fashion'd Garments keeping of certain Days using divers Gestures c. when at the same time they neglected Justice Judgment Mercy Truth Goodness c. grew corrupt and unreasonable in their Actions even to one another had brought themselves into divers present Miseries and laid a foundation for future Unhappiness to themselves after this Life and to their Posterity yea lived as if they believed there was no future Life If then in such times of Ignorance and Corruption God sent or particularly instructed and sent some one or more to the rest expresly to teach the Truth and command his Will here was a Revelation and a time for the Goodness of God to shew it self in supplying the necessity of blind miserable Sinners when nothing could be more profitable for Man or becoming God than such gracious Discoveries But if these Men also declar'd some things that could not be otherwise known to them than by Divine Inspiration as certain future Events If there accompanied them a Supernatural Power effecting things could no otherwise at least by them be effected here is enough to be call'd Divine Revelation and Miracles And there can no more Scruple remain if we can but be perswaded to believe that the History of the Bible it self is true which is the Second thing to be consisidered And in order to which I think it not unnecessary to lay down some general Considerations about Faith as following Faith is an Assent to a thing as a Truth on the Word of another which we our selves don 't know or see according to that compleat Diffinition thereof Heb. 11.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the evidence of things not seen or known for Knowledge leaves no room for Faith any more than it does for Hope which is the Desire of what we only believe will be Faith being its only Basis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith is the foundation or ground of things hoped for for where we have no Faith of the real Futurity of a thing there Hope has no ground But Faith if it hath its due Circumstances it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Convictive Argument And tho' Faith and Knowledge are so different that we can no longer properly say we believe a thing when once we can say we know it yet Faith if right is as near to Knowledge as that which is not Knowledge can be and far from that doubtful Supposition call'd Opinion That which is to be believed or assented to as a Truth on anothers Word is either First an Assertion or Affirmation that such or such a thing was is or will be Or Secondly a Promise when the Person on whose Word we rely for the real Futurity of the thing makes us expect it from him as the Cause Now that Faith may be as it ought an Assent indeed to a Truth tho' we don't know it and not the believing a Lye these things we ought to be certain in First that the Person that hath asserted or promised the thing we are to take for a Truth could know it or were not lyable himself to be deceived or can or will be able to do it it being in his power Secondly that he be Trusty or one that will not deceive us As to the Knowledge and Power of the Person that we may be sure he could or might know the thing or can or will be able to do it we must see that the thing is in it self knowable or that it may possibly be a Truth for that which I see absurd contradictory or absolutely impossible to be suppos'd I can never well believe on any one's Word nor could I do so would it be of any use to me Whatever I am to believe must at least seem possible to be a Truth for nothing else can challenge my Faith or be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉