by Passion yet still there will appear evident Tokens of a Divine Assistance accompanying him if we take an entire View of the whole history of his Sufferings at Jerusalem With what an Undaunted Resolution he went thither when he knew beforehand That Bonds and Afflictions did abide him and did not value his Life so he might finish his Course with joy o Acc. 20.23 24. How he persisted in the same Resolution notwithstanding all the Importunities and Tears of his Friends being ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but also to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus p Act. 21.14 with what Courage he sets forth the Grounds of his Conversion before the enrag'd Multitude q Act. 22. with what Authority he Preach'd concerning the Faith in Christ and the Fundamentals of Christianity to Felix and laid his Sins so home to him that he made him tremble Act. 24.25 How powerfully he pleaded for himself and his Religion before Agrippa r Act. 26. so as to make Impression upon the King himself and almost perswade him to be a Christian He that shall lay all these things together will see Reason to admire the Power of God's Grace in St. Paul's Behaviour at Jerusalem and will not think that that one Slip if it were one is able to obscure the Glory of all the other parts of it And as for that Prudential Act of St. Paul which our Author sayes ſ Fr. p. 242. Eng. p. 46. hath nothing of Inspiration in it viz. his dividing the Council t Act. 23.6 and thereby making one half of them his Friends 't was exactly agreeable to our Savior's Advice to the Apostles u Matth. 10.16 To use all Prudence that was consistent with Innocency as this certainly was But besides it implied an excellent Argument ad homines viz. to Jews in behalf of Christianity namely that it was unreasonable for them to reject that Religion or persecute the Abetters of it whose great Design 't is to establish the Doctrine of the Resurrection the Belief of which Point the chiefest of their own Sects for Reputation look'd upon as one of the principal Articles of their Faith And therefore we find St. Paul knowing what force there was in it insist again and again upon the very same Apology for himself x Act. 24.15 c. 26.6 7. c. 28.20 Nay God himself approved of it as appears by the Vision which St. Paul had to incourage him the very next night after his Appearance before the Council by which our Lord himself gave Testimony to him that he had witness'd a good Confession y Act. 23.11 But 't is a wonder to me that our z Fr. p. 243. Eng. p. 48.49 Author should think St. Stephen's Behaviour and Harangue b Act. 7 a proper Instance to shew that the Apostles and primitive Confessors had no immediate Assistance of the Holy Ghost when they appear'd before secular Magistrates For if Courage to speak the Truth and to back it with unanswerable Arguments be a sign of an Extraordinary Assistance certainly no person ever gave greater Evidence of it than St. Stephen To declare publickly that the Temple and its Worship should shortly be destroy'd c Act. 6.14 was such an Invidious Truth that the Apostles themselves did not think fit at first to speak it openly but shew'd a great respect to the establish'd Worship by constantly attending upon it d Act. 3 1.-18.21.-20 16 -21 26. The Dissolution of the Mosaical Oeconomy being a Truth that the new Converts from Judaism were not yet able to bear But even this Truth St. Stephen had the Boldness to profess and maintain'd it too by a continued series of Argument from Abraham whom the Jews boasted to be their Father down to the building of the Temple Wherein he shews that the Patriarchs and Founders of the Jewish Nation were accepted by God before the Temple or its Service had a Beginning nay that Moses himself the Institutor of this Worship prophecied of Christ e Acts 7.37 and design'd the Tabernacle only for a Pattern of Heavenly things f Ibid ver 44. Besides this St. Stephen all along made Reflections upon the stubborn and refractory Temper of the Jews from the beginning and told them that their Rejecting and Murdering of Christ when he came was but agreeable to their usage of the Prophets who foretold him g Ib. ver 52. I think he that said these things had the Gift of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Apostles pray'd for h Acts 4.29 in a great measure And tho our Author is pleas'd to say i Ubi supr that St. Stephen mentions divers Circumstances of History which were nothing to the purpose yet for my part I must declare I see none but what are necessary to make it a full and Complete Narrative or else serve to set forth the ill manners of the Jews under the several Dispensations of Providence And I am apt to think St. Luke was of the same mind for abstracting from his Divine Character he was too Judicious a man to trouble himself or his Reader with a Rehearsal of impertinent Circumstances I am sure there are several particulars which are of great use to explain the Writings of Moses k Acts 7.20 26. which we could never have known if this Discourse had not been preserv'd This Gentleman may call these Impertinencies if he pleases but I believe few will follow him in this bold and Unscholar-like Censure and 't is well St Luke was of another mind for we should have had a great Loss if he had not preserved them And as for those particulars which he says l Ubi supr cannot be reconciled with the History of the Old Testament m Acts 7.16 if S. Luke made these Mistakes they have been accounted for above n Supr p. 45 46. if St. Stephen himself did I suppose the same Defence that is made for a Writer will hold more strongly for a Speaker And tho we suppose St. Stephen to have been full of the Holy Ghost when he spake o Acts 6 10.-7.55 yet there 's no reason the Spirit should dictate a History to him which he was before so well acquainted with And why may we not say that although the Holy Spirit were so remarkably present with him at this time that the Glories which were shed forth upon his Soul shin'd thro his Body and made his face look like the face of an Angel p Acts 6.15 yet the Holy Ghost thought fit not to supply the Defect of his Memory in one or two particulars to shew that Inspir'd persons even in their Brightest Minutes are still but men and that the Excellency might appear to be of God and not of themselves What has been said is sufficient to shew what little ground there is for this Author 's unworthy Reflections upon the Behaviour of the First Christians before
the Heathen Tribunals wherein he seems not only to attack two or three Passages of Scripture but to endeavour to overthrow one of the principal Arguments for the Truth of Christianity for certainly never was there greater Evidence of a Divine Power present with its Professors than when they were summon'd before the Magistrates to give a reason of the Hope that was in them I proceed in the Vth place to Answer the Objections which he has advanc'd against the Inspiration of the Apostles 1. The first which I shall take notice of is The Apostles Disputing and Conferring with each other before they came to a Resolution at the Synod of Jerusalem q Fr. p. 248 249. Eng. p. 57. which he thinks was needless among persons Inspir'd As likewise that Prophets should submit what they say to the Judgment of other Prophets according to St. Paul's order r 1 Cor. 14.29 But the force of this Objection will be taken away if we consider that God distributed his Gifts to each person severally as he thought fit a 1 Cor. 12 11. so that even the greatest Apostles might think it necessary to advise with their Brethren in matters of Consequence where the Edification and Peace of the whole Church was nearly concern'd And indeed one reason why God gave his Spirit by Measure to them seems to be this that he design'd to engage all the Members of the Church into a strict Union and Alliance with each other by this means because they stood in need of one another's help and direction and the eye could not say to the hand I have no need of thee nor the head to the feet I have no need of you b Ibid. v. 21. i. e. the more Eminent Members of the Church very often stood in need of the Assistance and Direction of the Inferior and less considerable ones And accordingly we find the Apostles and Heads of the Church were inform'd by the Inferior and more ordinary Members of it of several particulars they were ignorant of before so Agabus inform'd St. Paul of his sufferings at Jerusalem c Act. 21.11 and the Holy Ghost witness'd the same in every City d Act. 20.23 no doubt by persons of a much Inferior station in the Church than St. Paul himself Thus the distribution of Spiritual Gifts in different Measures and Degrees was very effectual to prevent Schism in the Body e 1 Cor. 12.25 of the Church and to oblige the Members to have the same care one for another And we may observe to this purpose that our Saviour made an especial promise of his presence among his Disciples where two or three are gather'd together f Matth. 18 2â— to engage them thereby to preserve the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and not to forsake the Assembling themselves together And as by their exercising their gifts in the publick Assemblies each Man 's private gifts were produced in Common and made serviceable to the Church in general so this prevented False Prophets creeping in among them because they would presently be detected Whereas if private Prophecying had been in use an Impostor might have took his opportunity and by imposing upon the weaker sort have got such a reputation before the Cheat could have been discovered that it would have been difficult afterward to have convinc'd Men of the Imposture But by making every one that pretended to Inspiration undergo a publick Tryal a false Prophet could not hope to escape long without being convinc'd by all and Judg'd by all And this shews the reasonableness of that Command of St. Pauls that the Prophets should submit what they say to the judgement of their Brethren g 1 Cor. 14.29 for since from the very beginning there were False Prophets and deceitful Workers who indeavour'd to transform themselves into the true Apostles and Messengers of Christ h 2 Cor. 11.13 the Apostles thought fit to lay down Rules for the Trying of spirits i 1 Cor. 12.3 1 Joh. 4 1 c. and the discerning of spirits was a particular Gift design'd for this purpose k 1 Cor. 12 10. Now the fittest way of doing this was by the joynt advice of the Governors of the Church assembled together as we find the Bishops of Asia meeting together discovered the falseness of Montanus and his Followers pretences to Prophecy l v. Euseb II. E. l. 5. c 16.19 To all which we may add that besides the usefulness of this method to secure the Church against Impostures it has this further advantage in it that what several Inspir'd persons did agree in brought along with it greater evidence of its coming from God than if it had been deliver'd only by one For tho every thing which comes from God deserves equal Credit in It self yet there may be greater evidence to Vs of the Divine Original of one Doctrine than of another m v. Cl. Dodwell Prolegom in Dissert Iren. n. 6-9 Dissert 2. in Iren. n. 26. And as there were greater and more evident proofs of the Divine Mission of the Apostles than of the Prophets in the Christian Church and therefore the Apostles had the Precedence of the Prophets n 1 Cor 12.28 and the Prophets were to submit to their Orders and Regulate their Gifts by their Injunctions o 1 Cor. 14 3â— tho what a true Prophet spoke was as much the word of God as what an Apostle did so in like manner that which was confirm'd by the concurring Testimony of Two or Three Inspir'd Witnesses brought greater evidence of its Divine Authority than that which relyed wholly upon the Credit and Integrity of One because two or three were less lyable to mistake than one And therefore we find our Saviour himself argues from the common Sentiments of Men and appeals to the concurring Testimony of John p Joh. 5.33 as a Corroborating Evidence tho his Miracles sufficiently proved the truth of his Mission nay he reckons that the joint Testimony of his Father and himself is more credible Humanely speaking than either of them singly q Joh 8 17 18. And what has been said concerning Inspir'd persons of an Inferior Rank holds true of the Apostles themselves for tho I make no question but the Holy Ghost was always so far present with them as to guide and direct them in all matters that were of Consequence such as that was which gave occasion to the Synod at Jerusalem yet to make them capable of this Assistance we must suppose that they observed those Rules of our Saviour which were necessary Conditions in order to the procuring this Assistance one of which as I have observ'd already was their Assembling together when they had opportunity and where the Case concern'd the whole Church in general And since the Apostles themselves did but know in part and prophesie in part r 1 Cor. 13.9 and consequently might receive further Light from others what
the whole College of Apostles agreed in came with greater Authority and Evidence of it's being God's Will than what was deliver'd by one Apostle only Just as we are more assur'd of the Truth of those Doctrines which are often repeated by different Writers in the Holy Scripture than of those which are only mention'd by one because the Authority of several Writers adds weight to the matter it self and the comparing them together prevents our mistaking the sense of the Scripture concerning it whereas what is but once mention'd is more liable to Ambiguities and the Sense of it more easily mistaken From what has been said I hope it appears that there is sufficient reason why Inspir'd persons should consult each other and that this is no prejudice to their Inspiration 2. The second Objection is ſ Fr p. 249. Eng p 58. That the Holy Ghost which the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost had not taught them all they ought to know so far was it from rendring them at first dash Infallibe so that St. Peter needed a Vision to learn that he ought not to scruple Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles I do not know any body that ever yet maintain'd that the Spirit once for all instructed the Apostles in all things that were needful for the Discharge of their Office 'T is certain several things were reveal'd to them by Degrees and in proportion to the Exigences of the Church and this Author himself owns as much when he tells us t Fr. p. 252. Eng. p. 62. That the Apostles had MANY Immediate Revelations and DIVERS Heavenly Visions And as for the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon them in a visible manner on the day of Pentecost the chief Design of that was publickly to Authorize them to preach the Gospel and to Initiate them into the Body of Christ's Church which was then founded and to do this by more solemn Tokens of the Divine Presence among the first Professors than any other Institution could ever pretend to according to what the Baptist foretold u Matth. 3.11 and our Savior promis'd x Act. 1.5 that John indeed baptized or admitted Proselytes with the bare Ceremony of Water which had been a Rite made use of by the Jews long before upon such occasions but the Apostles should be Baptized or admitted into the Church with the Holy Ghost and with fire 3. The third Objection is that a Fr. p. 248. Eng. p. 57. When the Dispute arose whether the Gentiles that were Converted were to be Circumcised or not tho St. Paul and St. Barnabas were against this yet their Authority was not sufficient to put to silence the Judaizing Christians which was a sign they did not look upon them as Infallible To the same purpose he urges b Fr. p. 249. Eng. p. 58. The Believers that were of the Circumcision contending with St. Peter for going to men uncircumcised and conversing with them c Act. 11 2 3. To begin with the latter part of the Objection to the instance of St. Peter I answer that the Converts of the Circumcision were throughly perswaded that the Laws and Institutions of Moses were of perpetual Obligation and therefore 't is no wonder if at first they were surpriz'd to see any of them laid aside and a door open'd to let in the Gentiles to the same Privileges with the Jews and to take away that Discrimination which the Law makes between the Jews and the rest of the world d Exod. 19.5 6. Deut. 7.6 And since this Action of St. Peter's touch'd them so nearly in their Privileges and Prerogative or at least was contrary to the Traditions they had received from their Teachers and held as sacred as the Law it self * Matt. 15.2 Mat. 7.3 Joh. 18.28 't is no wonder they were not easily satisfied about it till they examin'd the reasons upon which St. Peter acted in this matter And the Apostles never laid so much stress upon their Infallibility as to require their Disciples to believe them upon their own word as Mr. N. himself e Fr. p. 283. Eng. p. 112. observes or without demanding a reason why they did so But if we should grant all this Objection contends for certainly 't is but a weak Argument that the Apostles were not Infallible because some new Converts f See Mr. Dodwel of Schism ch 19. sect 18 19. did not think so who 't is plain did not well understand the Principles of their own Religion and had not as yet intirely submitted to the Authority of the Apostles And by the same reason we may argue that our Saviour was not Infallible which yet Mr. N. himself looks upon g Fr. p. 257 260 281. Eng. p. 70 75 109. as a certain Truth because his Disciples seem not to be satisfied sometimes of the Truth of what he sayes h Matth. 16.22 and demand of him a reason i Matth 15.15 of those Doctrines of his that look'd like Paradoxes to them A great deal of what has been said will hold much stronger in the case of St. Paul and Barnabas k Act 15. for the admitting the Gentiles into the Church without Circumcision must needs be thought a great Violation of the Law of Moses by those that look'd upon it to be of perpetual Obligation in the Church of God To which may be added that St. Paul and Barnabas had not so clear and indisputable an Authority as the rest of the Apostles not being of the number of the Twelve whose Commission was so solemnly seal'd and ratified on the day of Pentecost And they who were of a different Perswasion from them would in all likelyhood lay hold of this Objection against their Authority as Men are willing to take advantage of any Exception to an Authority that is against them And accordingly we find in after times when the Judaizing Christians found St. Paul zealous in asserting the Liberties of the Gentile Converts and teaching men every where to Apostatize from Moses as they term'd it l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 21.21 that they did what they could to lessen his Authority and represented him as far Inferiour to the rest of the Apostles and therefore that no great stress was to be laid upon his Doctrine which forc'd him to vindicate himself and his Apostleship at large Galat. 1. and 2. Chapters 4. The fourth Objection is m Fr. p. 250. Eng. p. 60. St. Peter's Dissimulation at Antioch for which St. Paul reproved him as he tells us n Gal. 2.11 And here I agree with our Author that St. Peter acted contrary to his Judgment and dissembled his Opinion for he that had been warned by a Vision o Act. 10.28 that he should not call any man common or unclean and but just before had a great hand in making the Decree at the Synod of Jerusalem p Act. 15 7. whereby the Gentiles were made Members of the Church upon
be Mr. Le Clerc publish'd those Letters which I have undertaken to answer the Two First of them in his Sentimens de Theologiens de Hollande sur l' Histoire Critique c. the Rest in the Defence of the Sentiments Who is the Author of these Letters whether Mr. Le Clerc himself or as he pretends a Friend of his whom he calls Mr. N. signifies little to the Controversie it self and therefore I do not think it worth while to enquire And as to the Author's Design in writing these Tracts whether they were writ by way of Enquiry only or out of a Design to undermine the Authority of the Scriptures I shall not take upon me to Determine but shall leave that to the Searcher of Hearts Charity that believes all things prompts me to believe the Author's solemn Protestation which he makes b Eng. Ed. p. 38. French p. 229. that he disowns the ill Consequences which some have drawn from his Principles and his Arguments for the Christian Religion which are contain'd in the Last Letter incourage me to persist in that Christian Perswasion However when I found the Author earnestly desirous c Fr. p. 245. Eng. p. 51. that some body would fairly answer him and indeavour to give further Light to this Matter and withall was sensible that he has laid down several Assertions which tend to lessen the Authority and Credit of the Sacred Writers and that Ill men have made use of them to this purpose as 't is their constant Method to run away with any thing that seems to favour their side but to overlook what makes against them all these Considerations perswaded me to Vndertake a particular Examination of all those Passages in these Letters that reflect upon the Holy Pen-men or their Writings I know Mr. Simon has made a brief Answer to all the Material Objections of this Author the Substance of which is inserted in the Fourth Letter together with Mr. N's Reply But I must freely profess I am not at all satisfied with Mr. Simon 's Performance and his Answers seem to have been drawn up in Hast without a thorow Examination of the Force of the Objections Perhaps Mr. Simon is not so well vers'd in the Subtilties of Reasoning as he is in the Nicities of Criticism And indeed Both his Answers to Mr. Le Clerc discover as much where he spends most of his time in Railing against the Protestants which might much better have been imployed in Vindicacating his own Principles from his Adversaries Objections or Defending those Common Truths in which the Generality both of Protestants and Papists agree tho neither he nor his Adversaries seem to have any great regard for them But this is the usual Fault of such Zealots as Mr. Simon hath of late discover'd himself to be that they are more concern'd for the particular Opinions of their own Party than for the Fundamental Articles of our Common Christianity and therefore they very often advance such Arguments in Defence of their own particular Doctrines which if they are pursued further undermine the Foundation of Christianity it self or it may be of Religion in General Of which Mr. Simon himself is an Instance who has taken a great deal of Pains to weaken the Authority of the Scripture Text on purpose to set up the Certainty of Tradition in its place But I believe another Reason may be assign'd of Mr. Simon 's Fierceness against the Protestants and that is because he lives in a Country where Heresy now-adays is reckon'd a greater Crime than Infidelity and 't is less dangerous to be thought no Christian than no Catholick And consequently it more nearly concern'd Mr. Simon to clear himself from the Suspicion of Heresy than to prove himself a good Christian tho perhaps in the Judgment of the World he stands in need of an Apology in that respect as much as in the other And perhaps he could not take a better Method to atone for his Disrespect towards the Scriptures and to regain the Favour of his Superiours whose Displeasure he has felt upon that Account than by crying up in Opposition to them the Infallibility of Tradition and the Authority of the Church and Inveighing against the Protestants with a great deal of Bitterness and Virulency And since Mr. Simon 's Answer gives so little satisfaction to the Difficulties which this Author has started concerning the Inspiration of the Scriptures I thought it might be an useful thing to examine the Substance of these Letters over again and Vindicate the holy Writings from this Author's Objections I must leave it to the Reader to judge of the Performance All I shall say for my self is That I have manag'd the Dispute with all the Calmness and Freedom from Passion which becomes an Impartial Searcher after Truth and in that respect I hope I have fully satisfied the Desire of my Antagonist d Fr. p. 245. Eng. p. 51. I have kept my self close to his main Design which is not to question the Veracity of the Holy Writers or the Truth of the Doctrine or Matters of Fact which they deliver but only to propose some Doubts and Questions How far they were Inspir'd either with the Matter or Words which they writ So that in this Discourse men must not expect I should handle all the Arguments for the Truth of the Scriptures and the Christian Religion which are proper to be alledg'd a-against Atheists and Infidels This as 't is forreign to the present Design so it has been done so Often and so Fully by several Learned men and amongst others by this very Author in his Fifth Letter that nothing more need or can be said upon this Subject And if men will still shut their eyes against all Conviction we must e'en despair of doing any good upon them and can only say to them in the words of the Apostle He that is ignorant let him be ignorant and If our Gospel be hid 't is hid to them that are lost whose minds the God of this world hath blinded However to do what Service I am able to the Cause of Religion and to make this Discourse as useful as I can I have ventur'd to go a little beyond the Bounds which my Adversary hath set me and have indeavour'd briefly to explain the Nature and Design of the Prophetical Writings where I have discours'd upon some things not commonly treated of the Explaining of which I hope may tend to Illustrate that noble part of the Scripture and remove some Prejudices against the Authority of the Prophets which have been greedily entertain'd by such persons as are apt to be unreasonably Suspicious and Jealous of being Impos'd upon and because there have been False Prophets think 't is impossible there should be True ones If I have been guilty of any Mistakes I hope the Reader will the more easily pardon them when he considers the Niceness of the Subject and that it has never yet been purposely treated of by any
and from thence proceed to explain what is more Doubtful and Obscure And if the Divine Authority of the Writings of the New Testament be once proved that of the Old must follow as a necessary Consequence because the former gives Testimony to the latter and most of the Arguments which prove the one may be easily applied to the other Mr. N. allowes the Histories of the N. Testament to be exact and true Relations of the matter of Fact but supposes that there 's no need of Inspiration to Write a true History b Fr. p. 231 c. Engl. p. 28. c. He grants likewise that the Apostolical Epistles contain nothing but what is conformable to the Doctrine of Christ but yet that the Apostles had no need of an extraordinary Inspiration for Writing their Epistles c Fr. p. 282 283. Eng. p. 112 113. But all this while he takes no notice that these Writings were design'd by God for the Perpetual Use and Instruction of the Church and to be a Rule of Christian Faith to all Ages Which one thing if it be made out will prove their Divine Original and sufficiently distinguish them from all other Writings purely Humane where Providence cannot be supposed to have had such an extraordinary Hand in the Composure since it neither can be pretended that the Authors were the Immediate Instruments of God in publishing his Will nor that their Works were design'd for so general a Use as the Instruction of the Universal Church I shall therefore in the first place give a definition of an Inspir'd Writing and then prove that the Writings of the New Testament are truly such An Inspired Writing I take to be a Book that is writ by the Incitation Direction and Assistance of God and design'd by him for the Perpetual use of the Church The Proof of the Inspiration of the New-Testament-Writings I shall comprise in these following Propositions I. God design'd to provide a means for the preserving the Doctrine of Christ to the end of the World II. This could not be done so well in any Ordinary way or Humane means as by committing this Doctrine to Writing III. 'T is more reasonable to suppose that God would make use of this way than any other because he made use of the same means before for the Instruction of the Jewish Church IV. He has actually made use of no other way for the conveying down the Christian Doctrine that can be assign'd V. The Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual use of the Church and lookt upon them of equal Authority in the Christian Church as the Writings of the Old Testament were in the Jewish VI. The Age immediately after the Apostles lookt upon the Writings of the New Testament as the standing Rule of Faith to the Christian Church I think the making out these Propositions some of which need very little proof will fully prove the Divine Authority of the Books contain'd in the Canon of the New Testament and when they are made out such Consequences may be drawn from them as will silence most of the Cavils and Objections which the Author of these Letters and some others have raised against the Inspiration of the Scripture I. The first Proposition to be proved is this God design'd to provide a means for the preserving the Doctrine of Christ to the end of the World This Proposition I think any Christian will take for granted and my design at present is not to dispute with Infidels but to lay down those Principles upon which the Divine Authority of the Scriptures is built the truth of Christianity being presupposed because the Author I am to deal with professes the Belief of Christianity and yet has raised Objections against a great many of those Writings which Christians have all along lookt upon to be of Divine Authority I say therefore that no Christian can doubt of the truth of this Proposition for every Christian believes the Gospel to be the last and most perfect Revelation of the Will of God which he intends to afford to the World he believes that Christ will be with his Church to the end of the World Mat. 28.20 16.18 and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it i. e. it shall never be so far weakned as that the Profession of Christianity should cease or the Church be perfectly deprived of the Knowledge of saving Truth Nothing further being needful for the illustrating this Proposition I proceed to the II. Proposition God could not preserve the Knowledge of Christianity in an Ordinary way or by any Humane means so well as by conveying the Doctrine of it to after Ages by Writing I do not pretend to prescribe to God Almighty what method he shall use to discover his Will to the World or confine him to any one way of doing it but thus much I think I may safely say that a standing Rule of Faith committed to Writing is liable to less inconveniencies and difficulties than any other way of conveying down Divine Truth Whereas all other ways that can be assign'd of transmitting Divine Revelation are incumbred with so many difficulties that without a constant series of Miracles they can never attain their end And therefore we can't reasonably suppose that God will make choice of any such methods to Reveal his Will by For this is to be laid down for a certain truth that God never works more Miracles than needs must nor ever suspends or overbears the force of natural Agents without evident necessity but allways uses second Causes and Humane means as far as they will go And therefore that method which offers least violence to Nature is more likely to be made choice of by God Some Men indeed are apt to think that the Hand of God can't shew it self without a constant series of Miracles but they that consider things more exactly rather judge that a continued succession of Miracles would really be a reproach to God's Ordinary Providence for often to interrupt the course of Nature must needs be a reflection upon the Wisdom that first contrived it We can imagine but two ways of God's Communicating his Will to several successive Ages without the help of Writing either Oral Tradition or making a Particular Revelation to every single Person or at least to all those whose business 't is to teach and instruct others in their Duty Now both these ways are liable to such difficulties and do suppose so many immediate interpositions of God's Power to prevent those errors which must of necessity attend them considering the present state of Humane Nature as are not suitable to the methods which God uses in Governing the World I shall not pursue this matter any further nor give a particular account of the inconveniencies to which both these Methods are obnoxious and to correct which a constant Interposition of Miracles will be necessary The Absurdity of the former has bin abundantly demonstrated by the e Dr. Tillotson's
their Vertues so extraordinary that none of the Whifling Pretenders to Prophecy can in the least compare with them With what undaunted Courage and Constancy did they reprove the Popular Vices of the times they lived in Not sparing the Greatest Persons either out of fear or flattery And if we suppose them to have acted like Men in their Wits and ther'e 's no tolerable reason to suspect the contrary we must conclude that nothing but a Sense of their Duty could prompt them to do this for they could propose no advantage to themselves by it but on the contrary were to expect all the scorn and misery which the Angry and Revengeful Temper of wicked Men in Power whom they had offended could bring upon them And it could certainly be no pleasure to be continually reproving Men when there was little or no hopes of reclaiming them nay when they had not so much Civility as to thank them for their good Intentions and take the good Advice which they offer'd kindly at their hands If it had not been purely out of a principle of Conscience and that they were perswaded of the truth and great Concern of these things and therefore spoke they might with much more advantage to themselves have let Men be quiet and go on securely in their sins Many of their Troubles and Sufferings we find Recorded in their own Books p Jer. 15.10 c. c. 18 18 -20 1. c. -26.8 c. -36 26 -37 15 -38 6. Dan. 6. Amos 7.10 but several other Scripture-Writers q Matt. 5 12.-2â—.37 Acts 7.52 Heb. 11.36 37 38. vâ— etiam 1 Kings 19.10 Nehem. 9.26 assure us that they were generally Martyrs for the truth's sake and yet none of these Sufferings could prevail with them to retract any thing they had said or to confess that they had been deluded themselves or impos'd upon others and said The Lord saith tho he had not spoken Origen hath an excellent passage to our present purpose which I shall here set down at length r c. Celsum l. 7. p. 336. Ed. Cant. He was speaking just before concerning the Heathen Prophets and Priests that utter'd the Oracles and then he adds these remarkable words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Å¿ deest vox f. supplend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel legend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. ex Hebr. 11.37 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But as for the Jewish Prophets some of them were honour'd with Divine Inspiration as being eminent for Wisdom before and some of them having their minds inlightned by the very Gift of Prophecy became Wise being made choice of by Providence as persons fit to be intrusted with the Divine Spirit and the Dictates of it by reason of the Inimitable perfections of their Lives their Boldness Impartiality and Courage that could not be daunted by Death or Danger For reason tells us that 't was fit the Prophets of God should be such Men for Courage and Constancy of mind that if we should compare the Fortitude of Antisthenes Crates or Diogenes with theirs this would look but like Childrens-play to that And therefore because they spoke the truth and rebuked Sinners with a great deal of freedom t Heb. 11.37 38. they were ston'd sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the Sword they wander'd about in sheep-skins and goats-skins being destitute afflicted tormented they wander'd in deserts in mountains in dens and caves of the earth of whom the world was not worthy Having their minds always fixed upon God and upon the invisible things which are with him which cannot be discern'd by Sense and therefore are Eternal A little after the same Author has these words to the same purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We saith he do not value the Pythian or any other of the fam'd Heathen Oracles yet we reverence the Prophets that were amongst the Jews because we see that the unshaken Courage and Constancy of their Lives made them worthy to receive the Spirit of God that prophecied quite another way and had nothing in it like the Oracles which the Devils utter'd From what has been said we may conclude That if we consider the Prophets with relation to their personal Qualifications only they will appear to be persons of unquestionable Credit since their Intellectual Accomplishments were such that they could not probably be deceived themselves and the Integrity of their Lives was so great that we cannot suppose they had any Design to impose upon others I proceed in the II. Place to consider the chief Aim and Design of God's sending Prophets to the Jews and what was the principal End of their Office I confess I am apt to believe that the occasion of Gods promising to send a succession of Prophets to the Jews as many Learned men understand that place u Deut. 18.15 of Deuteronomy was That they might have no Temptation to have recourse to the Heathen Oracles and Soothsayers to know what should come to pass for want of Prophets of their own Thus much the words of Moses seem to imply x Ibid. à v. 10 ad v. 15. There shall not be any among you that useth Divination or an Observer of times or an Enchanter for these nations whom thou shalt possess hearkened to Observers of times and to Diviners but as for thee the Lord thy God hath not suffer'd thee so to do The Lord thy God shall raise thee up a Prophet of thy Brethren like unto me unto him shall ye hearken The promise of a Prophet which tho it eminently relate to the Messias yet the Context shews it was primarily and immediately meant of an order of Prophets that should succeed Moses this promise I say was given to the Jews as appears from this place to prevent their applying themselves to the Heathen pretenders to Prophecy This is Origen's Observation upon this place y L. 1. c. Celsum p. 28. Ed. Cant. and he adds this judicious remark Therefore saith he when the nations round about the Jews had their Oracles and several ways of Divination all which were strictly prohibited among the Jews if they had not had the satisfaction of foreknowing things to come some way or other it had been almost impossible considering the great Curiosity of humane nature to have kept them from despising the Law of Moses as having no mark of Divinity upon it or rejecting the Prophets who succeeded him and taking no care to preserve their Discourses or else apostatizing to the Heathen Oracles or setting up something like them among themselves Therefore 't is no wonder that the Prophets now and then gave answers to those that enquir'd of them about ordinary Accidents as Samuel z 1 Sam. 10.2 told Saul that his asses were found and Ahijah the Prophet a 1 King 14.12 foretold the death of Jeroboam's son Or else how could they that stood up for the Law of Moses reprove them that went to consult
Idols as we find Elias b 2 King 1.3 reprov'd Ahaziah saying Is it because there is not a God in Israel that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the God of Ekron Thus far that excellent Writer Which words of his as they give us a very good account of the original Institution of Prophets among the Jews and likewise furnish us with a very satisfactory Reason why the Prophets condescended now and then to satisfy people's demands about private and trivial Concerns which seem to be below the Dignity of God's Prophets to meddle with so I don't question but God had some further design in Instituting a Succession of Prophets and charging the people to have a regard to what they should deliver than meerly to satisfy the Jews Curiosity or prevent their seeking to Idols for the Knowledge of Futurities And I suppose that the Institution of Prophets was design'd chiefly for these Three ends 1. To admonish the people of their Duty and press them to practise it by proposing God's Mercies and Judgements according as they have behaved themselves 2. To keep up a Sense of God's Providence in their minds 3. To foretell the times of the Messias and prepare Men's minds for the Reception of Him 1. The first part of the Prophetical Office was to admonish the people of their Duty and perswade them to practise it by setting before them God's Mercies or Judgements which they would suddenly feel according as they behaved themselves The Prophets were principally intended to be Preachers of Righteousness and generally speaking foretold future events only in order to make their Exhortations successful And with respect to this part of the Prophetical Office we find the words Prophet and Prophecy used in the New Testament for instructing Men in their Duty c Acts 15.31 Rom. 12. 1 Cor. 6.14.1 c. Without question 't was properly the Priests business to instruct the people in their Duty and they were to seek the Law at their mouths d Malac. 2.7 but the refractory temper of the Jews made them despise the ordinary Methods of Reproof and Correction and their dulness withal made it necessary for God to awaken them out of their sins sometimes by an Extraordinary Call from Heaven by sending persons upon a particular Message to them and giving Testimony to their Divine Mission by some Sign or Wonder which I suppose was generally the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Trial of a true Prophet of which more hereafter and all this to reinforce the Promises and Threatnings contain'd in the Law of Moses and assure the Jews he would be as good as his word and they should quickly find that as if they would amend their ways there should not fail one word of all his good Promises so if they persisted in their ill courses all the Evils that were written in the Law of Moses should suddenly come upon them and overtake them And in this respect the Prophecies of the Old Testament differ very much from all the False Pretences to Prophecy that in the Former future Events are not foretold meerly to please Men's Curiosity but only in order to the making them better whereas the Latter do not make it any part of their concern to awaken Men to a sense of God's Overruling Providence and Justice or of the ill Consequences that attend Vice when it grows Predominant and have no other design but meerly to gratifie that Itching desire Men have to be prying into the secrets of Futurity which is a piece of Knowledge that of it self will do Men more harm than good and which God upon that account Conceals for the most part from Men or if he Reveals it yet he does it by dark and Imperfect Hints on purpose the reasons of which we shall discourse of more at large in the next Chapter Now as God made the promoting of Vertue and Holiness the principal design of his sending the Prophets with respect to those particular persons to whom he sent them so we find accordingly that they bestowed their pains and labour chiefly upon this Subject to perswade Men to break off their sins by Repentance and to cease to do evil and learn to do well Witness those Pathetick Disswasives from Sin and Exhortations to Vertue which make up far the greater part of their Writings in which they discover such a Spirit of Piety and Holiness as is far above the Rudiments of the Law and approaches very near to the perfection of the Gospel But of this more by and by 2. The second design of God's Instituting the Prophetical Office was to keep up a sense of God's Providence in Men's minds The Jews were none of the Acutest or best Temper'd people in the World and perhaps the greatest Wisdom and Integrity would have been little enough to make them keep firm to the belief of the True God the sole Creator and Governour of all things when the whole World beside was given up to Idolatry For as strong and prevalent as Truth is yet 't is in danger of being overpower'd by Multitude nay Singularity makes Truth it self look Suspicious and Men are apt to think 't is more likely a Few should be mistaken than a great Many Upon this account 't was necessary that God should sometimes Reinforce the Doctrine of his Universal Providence and Government upon the minds of the Jews by an Extraordinary Method and by laying open the secrets of his Providence and shewing them first what should befall themselves if they did not repent and then their Neighbours convince them that he was the Supreme Lord and Governour of the World and the Kingdoms of it were at his disposal 'T is further to be consider'd that when the Jews saw how much greater and more flourishing the Neighbouring Kingdoms of Assyria and Egypt were than their own this was a likely Argument to make an Impression upon them that judg'd of God's Love or Hatred by what they saw before them this might make them imagine that some other Being had a great share in managing Affairs below beside their God and tempt them to conclude that since the God whom they Worshipped was not so kind to his servants as the Heathen God's were to their Votaries either he was not so able or not so willing to reward his Worshippers as the Deities of their Neighbouring Countries were And 't is probable that in the Latter times of the Jewish Kingdom when their Enemies made frequent Incursions into their Country and threatned intirely to subdue it and at length did so 't was a temptation to many of the Jews to forsake the True God and turn to Idols because they saw 't was better with their Worshippers than with those of True God e see Jer. 44.17 18. For these reasons 't was fit that God should often give this Dull and Unthinking people fresh Assurances that all things were at his disposal that 't was in his power to make them Happy or Miserable and that they must
expect to be one or t'other according as they observ'd or neglected his Commands And tho it might be sufficient for this design to have given them the Predictions of such things only as were to come to pass in their own times yet God was pleas'd to discover to his Prophets what should come to pass in the Latter days both to honour them with the prospect of that glorious Scene of things which he had reserv'd till the Fulness of time should come and give them a foretaste of the Joys they were to expect in the Messias's Heavenly kingdom by discovering to them some part of the Happiness of his Earthly one and likewise to give a convincing Proof to all Ages that he was the First and the Last the sole Orderer and Disposer of all things that when the things themselves should come to pass men might say This hath God done and might perceive that 't is his work And this leads me to consider the 3. The third thing which God intended in the Institution of the Prophetical Office which was to foretell the times of the Messias and to prepare men's minds for the Reception of him And indeed to give men notice of these things was God's principal design in sending the Prophets and the coming of the Messias was what God spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets ever since the world began And since God seems to have made this the principal part of the Prophetical Office I shall consider it as carefully as I can and shall inquire 1. First For what Reasons God thought fit to reveal this so often and so particularly 2. I shall consider the manner how the Prophets delivered this Prophecy 1. As to the first we may assign two reasons why God reveal'd this so often and so particularly 1. To shew that this was the Master-piece of his Providence if I may so speak what he had an eye upon in all his particular dispensations toward the Jews and what he design'd as the ultimate End and Completion of them all 2. To wean the Jews by degrees from the Carnal Institutions of the Law and by discovering to them a Better State than that they were under to raise their minds to Spiritual and Heavenly things and thereby prepare them for the reception of the Messias 1. As for the first of these Reasons it seems as if God design'd to raise mens Expectations and make them look upon this as the great Master-piece of his Power and Wisdom when he made the coming of the Messias the common Theme of all the Prophets Mystically impli'd it in all the Promises and Typically represented it not only in the Ceremonies of the Law but also in the Lives and Actions of the Eminent Persons among the Jews in all Ages What God himself lays so much Stress upon men ought to regard as something more than an ordinary work of Providence and surely the Prophets had Great and Noble Ideas of it since they seem to Vye with each other who shall excel the rest in setting forth its Glories to the best Advantage and by the most Emphatical and Lively Representations with respect to the Capacity of the People to whom they were to publish those glad Tidings If the Messias had come into the World without any Notice given of it before hand the Unexpectedness of it would indeed have caus'd Surprize and Wonder but it would not have been look'd upon as an effect of the determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge of God and of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which foreordain'd this before the Foundation of the world Eph. 3.10 v. Grot. in locum and made all the lesser Dispensations of Providence subservient to this great End and by Various methods and Different measures pursu'd the same Uniform Design 2. The second Reason I assign'd why the coming of the Messias did bear so great a part in the Prophetical Predictions was to wean the Jews by degrees from the Legal Ceremonies and Institutions and by discovering to them a Better Covenant than that they were under to raise their Minds to Spiritual and Heavenly things and thereby prepare them for the Reception of the Messias I look upon it as a certain Truth that God instituted a great part of the Ceremonial Law with respect to the Opinions that were generally receiv'd at the time when it was enacted and in complyance with the Rites that the Nations of the World used in the Worship of their Gods g v. Maimonid More Nevoch Par. 3. c. 32. p. 432. that so by this Condescension he might check that hankering after the Religious Rites of the Nations round about them which the Jews upon all occasions discover'd to be in their Temper 'T is upon this account that St. Paul calls the Ceremonial Law the Elements of the world h Gal. 4.3 and weak and beggerly Elements i Ib. v. 9. But 't is true withal that God in his Wisdom so contrived it that these Rudiments which were taken from the Rites and Usages of the Heathen world were to the Jews the Rudiments or first Beginnings of Christianity according to what the same Apostle says that the Law was our Schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ k Gal. 3.24 It was indeed like the first Rudiments of Learning which young Beginners at first do not know the use of but when they are gone on a pretty way then they find those Beginnings made the way easier for that which comes after And in like manner tho the Jews understood not at first God's Design in prescribing so many several kinds of Expiation for sin yet when the way to the Holiest by the Blood of Christ was laid open then they might easily discover that all those different Rites were design'd to represent that one Sacrifice of the Lamb of God which was offer'd for the Sins of the World And as God thus complied with the Ignorance of the Jews in that state of Non-age and fed them like Children with milk and not with meat with such Instructions as were suitable to their Capacities so he reveal'd this Great and Ultimate End of the Law by gentle and easie degrees as they were able to Bear it He first discovered it faintly under the shadows of the Law which seem'd by their own Weakness and Imperfection to aim at something more perfect than themselves But then by the Prophets God manifested this grand Intention of his more clearly by them he gave large and distinct Predictions of a New and Better State of things to come of a New Covenant establish'd upon Better Promises and consisting of more Excellent Precepts l Jer. 31.31 that God's Kingdom should be inlarg'd and all Nations should flow unto it m Is 2.2 than he would take Priests and Levites out of other Nations n 66.21 and in o Mal. 1.11 every place Incense should be offer'd to him and a pure Offering And in order to prepare men's minds for this New State the
as plainly foretelling who are to be Actors in Wickedness would without supposing manifest Violence offer'd to Men's Inclinations in many Cases hinder some of them from being Instrumental in bringing about God's Designs so perhaps it would be a new Temptation to others and make them more furiously bent upon Evil just as the mentioning wickedness stirs up some Men's Ill Inclinations and makes them eager to commit it Especially since the foretelling it as certainly to come to pass affords a Plea for Men's Wickedness for Men that are bent upon Evil and are glad of any Colour to justify their Sin will conclude from thence that it can be no Sin to be subservient to God's Providence and Assisting in the Accomplishment of his Will and Purpose or if it be a Sin it must lie at his door So that if Prophecies were too plainly deliver'd this would often be the consequence that the bringing the Event to pass would be wholly imputed to the Clearness of the Prediction just as Publick Commotions do often take their Rise from the spreading about of Prophecies concerning the Death of the Prince or the Change of the Government Now this is contrary to God's method of dealing with Men for tho we cannot comprehend after what manner he foresees how Free Agents will Determine themselves yet we have all the Reason in the World to believe that Gods Prescience does not Interfere with mens Free-will And therefore as we believe that things do not come to pass meerly because God Foresees them but rather that he Foresees them because their own proper Causes will bring them to pass so 't is agreeable to the methods of Providence that Prophecies should be so worded as not to have any Influence upon the parties concern'd in bringing them about that it might not be said The thing came to pass because it was Foretold but it was foretold because it would come to pass as an Ordinary effect of a Natural Cause 'T is true indeed we may observe that some Scripture Prophecies by being too plainly deliver'd have made the Hearts of Wicked Men wholly set in them to bring to pass the Evil foretold b See 1 King 11.31 32. 2 King 8.12 13 15 10.10 But perhaps God might do this on purpose to take off the minds of the Jews from that greedy desire they had to search into Futurity when they saw what Ill Consequences did sometimes attend that Knowledge The Sum of the Argument is this that the Evil which if Foretold Darkly and Obscurely needed nothing to bring it to pass but only God's suffering Men's Wickedness to break out and permitting them to act according as their Ill Inclinations prompt them if it were foretold Plainly and Clearly could not be effected without supposing him to offer Violence to Humane Nature and making him a Party concern'd and a Tempter of men to Wickedness From all that has been said upon this head it appears that whether the thing foretold be Good or Evil the foretelling it too Punctually and Distinctly would make Prophecy a Felo de se and be an effectual way to defeat its Accomplishment for then it could not be brought to pass in a way that is suitable to the Divine Purity and Wisdom For this is one of the Master-pieces of the Divine Wisdom to bring about its Designs in such a manner as never to put any Force upon the Freedom of man's Will so that the Events may rather seem the Natural Effects of Free Agents than the Works of an Overruling Providence To this purpose speaks the Author of the Book of Wisdom c Wisd 8.1 Thy Wisdom O Lord reacheth from one end to another Mightily and Sweetly doth she order all things God sees every Link of that Vast Chain of Causes and knows how they depend upon each other what Force each Circumstance has in determining mens Resolutions and what it is that turns the Balance of the Mind one way or t'other and therefore tho he brings to pass all his Purposes in an Irresistable manner yet he does it withall in so Easie and Gentle a one that the Events look like the Result of mens own Free Determinations and one would think that the Natural Agents let alone to themselves would have produc'd the same Effect These two Reasons fully justifie the Obscurity of Prophecies and shew us the Use of them that we are not to look upon them as deliver'd meerly to gratifie the Curiosity men have to pry into what is Future but to be an Argument to us of Gods Overruling Providence which extends it self to the most Minute Actions and very often makes such Accidents as seem to us to be Trivial and Insignificant Instrumental in bringing to pass the Greatest and most Surprizing Events and especially to shew us That nothing befalls his Church but by his determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge I will conclude this Head with a Brief Caution to those who do not think the Prophecies concerning Christ and the Gospel Clear enough to be an Argument for our Belief and that is this That they ought not to expect that the Prophecies should give as distinct an Account of Christ as the Gospels do nor because they do not should they slight them as Insignificant but they should first of all consider the Evidence of Truth which the Gospel brings along with it and then Compare it with the Prophecies And thus tho the Prophecies be Obscure in themselves yet when they are compar'd with the Event as they will receive Light from it so they will add Light to it Just as that Obscure Saying of our Saviour's d Joh. 2.19 Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up was not understood by his Disciples when he spoke it but afterward when they Compar'd it with the Event which it foretold it was a new Argument to them that he came forth from God e Ver. 22. II. Another Difficulty concerning Prophecy the Resolving of which will tend to Establish the Authority of the Prophets is Concerning the Signs whereby True Prophets were distinguish'd from False ones 'T is plain by the Prophetick Writings that there were False Prophets that oppos'd themselves to the True ones and utter'd quite contrary Prophecies to theirs But tho the True Prophets warn the People often not to be seduc'd by these False pretenders yet we can discover but little out of their Writings concerning the Marks whereby the True Prophets were to be distinguish'd from the False ones Those which I can gather from the Holy Writings are these following 1. If a Prophet indeavour'd to perswade the people to Idolatry this was a certain Mark that he was a False Prophet tho he should confirm what he said by a Sign This Rule is laid down by Moses e Deut. 13.1 and is grounded upon very good reason For since God had manifested his Power to the Israelites by so many Undeniable Miracles and Proofs 't was not reasonable that working a single