that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of IESUS Acts V. 41. Certain then it is that as they prosessed Their exhortation was not of deceit nor of uncleanness nor in guile neither did they at any time use flattering words nor a cloak of covetousness as they call'd God to witness neither of men sought they glory 1 Thess. II. 3 5. No 't is plain they could not propound to themselves any worldly advantage Well then either they did believe what they preach'd and wrote to be true or they did not If not then did they for the sake of a known and unprofitable Lye forsake all that seems good in this World even whilst they hoped for nothing in another and then they must be no longer thought cunning and crafty men but the sillest fools that ever were and very mad-men If they did believe themselves and chearfully endured all these things for persuading others to believe what more can we desire to shew us that they were honest and plain-dealing men Fifthly If it be said That tho they were men of good sense and competent understanding yet as honest well-meaning men are easily deceiv'd so might they be by his cunning whom they follow'd and being seduced by him might in simplicity of mind endeavour to deceive others This will appear a vain Conceit when 't is consider'd that he whom they follow'd was JESUS a Person well known whilst on Earth for his Life and Conversation among men He taught openly and what he taught notwithstanding his Divine Authority to command belief upon his bare word he did not bid them simply believe but try and examine The Iews to whom he preach'd had all along received the Scriptures of the Old Testament as the Word of God and for what he taught of himself he appeals to those Scriptures Search the Scriptures saith he for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me John V. 39. And this is not all but he appeals for the truth of his Doctrine to the Works which he wrought before their eyes The works saith he which my Father hath given me to finish the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me John V. 36. If I do not the works of my Father believe me not but if I do though ye believe not me believe the works that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him John X. 37 38. He was then a man approved of God among them by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of them as they themselves also knew Acts II. 22. And after all he himself suffered death for the confirmation of his Doctrine and therefore could have no worldly end in deceiving his Disciples But what greater evidence could they or the World desire that he did not deceive them than this That as he taught them to understand his Doctrine so he gave them power to do the same kind of works as he had done for the confirmation of it according to his promise Iohn XIV 12. He that believeth in me the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father They saw then what he did and they felt in themselves what he had enabled them to do in his Name Yea many others saw and felt in themselves the power and vertue of those works which they did These works were done in the Streets and Market-places in the Temple and in the Synagogues at their solemn Feasts and in their most full Assemblies So that the people hearing Christ were astonish'd saying Whence hath this man these things And what wisdom is this which is given unto him that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands Mark VI. 2. And the Priests and Rulers of the Iews when they heard Peter and Iohn and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men they marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with IESUS And seeing a Miracle done by them they confessed it saying That indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Ierusalem and we cannot deny it Acts IV. 13 16. Lastly Seeing 't is said these men might be deceived by JESUS and so deceive others let it be farther consider'd What hopes either He or They could have that such a Delusion should prevail Had they such hope or had they not If not would they suffer as they did and as before-hand they knew they must merely to promote and carry on a Delusion which they had no hope would ever succeed Will any one lose all he has endure all pains and miseries and a cruel death too only to have the satisfaction of attempting what he thinks it in vain to attempt Had they such hope And whence had they it Could they hope that the mighty Princes and the great Scholars and Wise-men of the World could be deluded by them Could they hope that all or many would give so much Credit to a few mean and unlearned Men as for their sakes to change their Opinions which they had suck'd in with their Mother's milk wherein their Ancestors had lived and died yea and cast away their Gods too whom they had so long worship'd and by whom they thought themselves protected and made prosperous They could never dream of such a thing and 't is plain that they built not their hope on their own Credit or Reputation If they had done so they would have set themselves out to the eye of the World in their best colours they would have carefully conceal'd and hid their own Infirmities and every thing which might lessen their Reputation among men But they were very free in laying open to publick view their own Blemishes and Failings their Ignorances and their Sins And certainly this is not the custome of Deceivers or of men that would be believed on the stock of their own Reputation It is therefore plain That the hope they had of having their Doctrine received was wholly founded on the Excellence of the Doctrine it self and on the Power of him from whom they had it They doubted not therefore to leave it to shift for it self and to be tried by its own apparent goodness They fear'd not but he who sent them to preach it would own it and give it acceptance where it pleased him it should be embraced and finally recompence them abundantly for all their Sufferings These things all consider'd no man can have reason to doubt of their honesty And they being found both knowing and honest they wanted nothing to qualify them for writing these things And therefore we can have no cause to distrust them telling us that they wrote the word of GOD. 3. And now if after all this we find that these mens writings are such as have all the Characters of Divine Truth what more can we desire 1. The Matters revealed in them are truly worthy of GOD to reveal and necessary for Man to know 2. The Manner of their Revelation is
be known unto men And therefore if he have all these ways manifested himself unto us he is a Fool that doth not own him I. It must be granted very reasonable to expect That if there be a GOD who is our LORD and GOVERNOR he should give us such significations and tokens of his Being and Will as we may know him and how to behave our selves towards him And if it be such an evidence of him that the Atheist would have for his satisfaction I say he hath it in that which we call GOD's WORD in the Holy SCRIPTURE If he say He would believe there is a GOD because of his WORD if he were sure that it is GOD's Word I ask What he means by saying so Is it this That he would believe there is a GOD because of his Word were he first sure that there is a GOD whose Word it may be This is all one as to say That what he calls for as an evidence of a GOD can be no evidence for he cannot be persuaded 't is his Word till he be first sure that He is This is to play the Fool downright He will not believe there is a GOD till GOD hath revealed himself by his Word GOD reveals himself by his Word and he will not believe it to be his Word because he is not sure there is a GOD. If he say he means no more but this That what you shew him for the Word of GOD is not such as may be thought worthy of GOD or has not enough in it to convince one that it is not a Forgery of man If this be his meaning then I ask him What is wanting to it to make it appear worthy of GOD and not to be a Forgery of man If he cannot shew this and yet excepts against it he 's a Fool for either that evidence wherein no defect can be discover'd must be a sufficient evidence or there can be no such thing as a sufficient evidence in the world Well then We say GOD hath revealed Himself and his Will by clear significations of both in his Word And this Word we have now written in a Book which we call the Bible and the Scripture If this Scripture or Writing be true then is it the Word of GOD for so much it affirmeth of it self The Truth of it therefore is the only thing we are to inquire into And to make this Enquiry as short as may be let it be considered That this Book is made up of divers smaller Books whereof some are called The Books of the Old Testament others of them The Books of the New one And we need do no more but inquire into the Truth of the latter of these at present for if what is written in these be true then is that so too which is written in the former For these bear witness to the Truth of those Our Saviour in the New Testament approves of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets and of the Psalms which make up the Old Testament Luke 24. 44. And of the same St. Paul saith All Scripture is given by inspiration of God 2 Tim. 3. 16. And St. Peter That the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost â— Pet. 1. 12. And the Apostle to the Hebrews saith That God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unâ—o the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Heb. 1. 1 2. If then the Writings of the New Testament be true the Books of the Old Testament contain the Word of GOD. And to satisfie our selves that they are true we need but to understand Three Things 1. That there were such men as are said to have written these Books and that these are their Writings 2. That they were sufficiently qualified for writing these Books 3. That what they have written hath all the Characters of Divine Truth 1. There were once such men as are said to have written these Books and these Books were written by them If any one doubts whether there were once such men as St Matthew Mark Luke Iohn Paul Peter Iames and Iude or that the Books which bear their Names were written by them how would he have it proved These men died about Sixteen hundred Years ago and therefore he will not surely be so unreasonable as to say Shew me the Men or I will not believe that ever they were But look what reason he hath to believe any thing that was before he was was born and now he seeth not the same he hath to believe that these men once were and that they wrote these Books Histories make express mention of them one Generation to another from their time to this hath preserved their Memory and the Books we have are their lasting Monuments We have the Testimony of all Christians of all Ages since their time who have own'd these Books as theirs who have commented on them and written in defence of the Doctrine contained in them recorded their Travels and the Churches which they planted And these Witnesses are no inconsiderable Persons but the most learned of their times and such as made the most diligent search into the truth and were so well satisfied as to shed their blood in vindication of it and ventured their Salvation upon it Neither is this all but we have the testimony of their Enemies of those who persecuted them unto death and wrote against the Truth which they deliver'd Now what can any one desire more than this to satisfy him That there were such men and that they wrote these Books We have the Books in our hands and all sorts of Historians Friends and Enemies making mention of them and all Christian Churches being the best most learned and most civilized part of the World acknowledging receiving and even unto death maintaining them Have we not the faith to believe that there were once such men as Cyrus Darius Alexander or Iulius Caesar Do not we believe that Cicero Demosthenes Homer and Virgil once were and that we have their Books Believe we not that we have had Kings of this Realm in former days and that we have now Laws which they enacted Nor yet that we had Grandfathers and Great-Grandfathers and Inheritances derived from them And what better Reasons can we have to believe any of these things than such as we have to believe that these men were and wrote these Books Truly he that will not believe that once a thing was when all the evidence of its having been is given him which can be given of any thing past must needs be a very unreasonable Fool and not to be discours'd withal but laugh'd at For at this rate nothing that ever was and is not now can be believed without better evidence of it than can be given if it was which is impossible 2. These men were sufficiently qualified for writing these
Countrey by Cyrus The Succession of the Four Famous Monarchies in Daniel The Coming of our Lord JESUS and his Sufferings The Final Destruction of the Temple and of the whole Iewish Nation And these things with many more there foretold have been undeniably fulfilled And is not this a demonstration that these mens Prophecies were GOD's own Word Let them bring forth their strong reasons saith GOD by his Prophet and shew us what shall happen Let them shew the former things what they be that we may consider them or declare us things for to come Shew us the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods Isa. XLI 22 23. Tell ye and bring them near let them take counsel together Who hath told it from that time Have not I the LORD And there is no GOD else besides me Isa. XLV 21. I am GOD and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying My Counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure Isa. XLVI 10 11. 3. This Word hath been deliver'd with Miracles to confirm it which are the Works of Divine Power only We know that it is not in the Power of Man or of any thing else but of the Great GOD of Nature and LORD of the World to alter any thing in the Course of Nature to do things which exceed the Power of Natural Causes or to make things act quite contrary to their Natures When therefore we see such things done we must acknowledg a Power above all Natural Power whereby they are done Yet is it as certain as History and Observation can make it that such things have been done and by those very men from whom we have what we call the Word of GOD. Indeed all things in the World from the greatest to the least are truly wonderful to us as being far above not only our Skill to imitate but also our Reason throughly to understand yet we call not all things Miracles Only such things as rarely happen and not according to the ordinary course of Nature are accounted Miracles As when the Fire refuseth to burn those that are cast into it when the Water divides it self and stands up like two walls on each hand to let men pass through it on dry ground when the Sun stands still in Heaven and doubles the length of the day When men without any Medicinal Art or help by a touch or a word only either take away or restore sight hearing health and strength dispossess Devils command Winds and Seas take life from the living and give life to the dead These things above the power and contrary to the course of Nature are Miracles And these with others many have been done Not indeed every day and ordinarily for then would they have been disregarded as common things and cease to be Wonders Not secretly neither nor in some close corners only for then few could have witnessed and fewer would have believed them Neither yet were they done upon any slight or trivial occasion for then would they have been look'd on only as Casualties and odd Chances But they were done rarely to encrease the wonder yet openly to gain belief and upon special and weighty Occasions that the Cause might be more noted They who did them own'd that it was GOD who extraordinarily enabled them and that not for their sakes but for his own Glory and in confirmation of the truth of what he had sent them to teach In a word all was to make GOD known unto men and to persuade men to seek their happiness in him By such Works did GOD bear witness to his own Word And every one but a Fool will say Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel who only doth wondrous things Psal. LXXII 18. Thou art great and dost wondrous things thou art GOD alone Psal. LXXXVI 10. Understand ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise Psal. XCIV 8. Whoso is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD Psal. CVII 43. 3. The Success which the Doctrine contain'd in the holy SCRIPTURE hath had has been such as none but GOD alone could give it If the Men who wrote these Books we speak of had not given great satisfaction to the World that they spake from GOD how came the Doctrine which they taught to gain belief How came it so to take root and grow and spread as it hath undeniably done Why have not its Enemies the Wise-men of this World after so much straining of their Wits and using all their Art and Policy to that end been yet able to convince men of its solly vanity or falshood Why have not all the Mighty Powers on Earth bending their whole force against it been able to suppress and stifle it Whatever Stratagems the Devil or Man could invent have been made use of to this purpose Iews and Gentiles conspired together to crush it in the Egg. The Heathen raged and the people imagined a vain thing The Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers took counsel together against the LORD and against his Anointed saying Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us As David prophesied of them Psal. II. 1 2 3. The Kings of the Earth have persecuted this Religion with Fire and Sword The Lusts of mens hearts rise up in open war against it continually Yet hath it taken root and flourish'd it has conquer'd and made the most wonderful change imaginable in mens hearts and lives This success it has had not among a few simple ones easily deceived but among the most learned and understanding and judicious And what can this be imputed to but to the light and power of Divine Truth Indeed by its own light men may easily see all things in it which can be proper to commend it to all who think fit to be govern'd by Reason as all but Fools do If it be said That Idolatry is yet reigning over the greatest part of the World and the foolish Religion of Mahomet hath had very wonderful Success and hath triumph'd over and quite extinguished Christianity in many places so that the least part of the World is at this day Christian And therefore the Christian Doctrine gains little credit by its success in the World In answer to this we say these things First Whichsoever of these Religions Heathenism Mahometism or Christianity prevail most or be thought truest yet is it true still That all the World is of some Religion and owns a GOD. And therefore this is noObjection against what we at first undertook to prove That there is a GOD Only it may seem to weaken one of our Arguments whereby we would prove this But indeed it doth not weaken it at all For secondly We are now only proving that our Scripture is the Word of GOD and this is but one of the many