especiall thinges which may best serue for this purpose The Scriptures foretolde long before the time that the world should be conuerted to Christian Religion all Nations should beleeue and submit themselues to the obedience of the Faith a thing in mans iudgement not to bee expected For the Prophet saide concerning the Kingdome of Christ I meane his Kingdome of the Gospell or of Grace The Heathens raged the people murmured against the Lord and his Christ but in vaine the Kinges of the earth stood vp banded them selues and the Princes assembled themselues togeather But he that sitteth in heauen shall laugh them to scorne the Lord shall haue them in derision Euen I haue set my King vpon Sion mine holie mountaine I will declare the decree that is the Lorde hath saide to me thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee aske of me and I shall giue thue the Heathen for thine inheritance and the endes of the earth for thy possession There could not be a more vnlikely thing foretolde and yet it was fulfilled long since no Atheist can denie it Tertullian to this purpose saith who was able to gouerne the world but onely Christ of whome it was foretolde that his Kingdome should be extended ouer the whole world The Kingdome of Salomon saith her was confined within the Land of Iudaea from Dan to Beersheba and his territories did reach no farther Darius raigned ouer the Pabylonians and Persians but no farther Pharao ouer the Aegiptians and there his dominion ceased Nabuchodonozer was a great Monarche yet he reigned not ouer the whole worlde but onely from India vnto Aethiopia the like may bee saide of the Greekes the Romās which were called the Lords of the world and yet the whole world was not knowne vnto them much lesse subdued by them But as for the Kingdome of Christ it hath extended it selfe farre and wide the Gospell hath bin preached in al places and receaued of all Nations of the Parthians Medes Elamites the inhabitantes of Mesopotamia Armenia Phnygia Cappadocia Aegipt Pamphilla Asia Africa and the vttermost Indies Of this assertion there bee so many recordes that it cannot bee denyed As for some few things which are foretolde in the Scriptures not yet fulfilled as namely the conuersion of the Iewes and the destruction of Antichrist the time is not yet come to passe that they should be fulfilled for all thinges must be performed in that due time which God in his secret wisdome hath appointed There are other thinges also foretolde which must goe immediately before the ende of the world which are not yet performed because as you see the ende is not yet But it is a sufficient argument to induce Infidelles to beleeue that all these thinges shall come to passe because they see all other things alreadie performed in their time and order For as hee that sometimes lyeth shall not bee beleeued though hee tell the truth so hee which alwaies hath tolde the truth cannot without impietie bee suspected of fallhood God cannot deceaue or bee deceaued And which is not to bee omitted St. Peter did prophecie that at the latter end there should bee such Atheistes which should denie these thinges and the Prophecie is now verified otherwise this my labour might haue bene spared their impiety maketh it good which the Prophet hath foretolde Againe there is in Daniel an auncient Prophecie concerning the death of our Sauiour Christ euen the verie time and computation of yeares is defined when hee should be put to death Seauenty weekes saith hee are determined vpon thy people and vpon the holy Cittie to finish the wickednesse and seale vp the sinnes and reconcile the iniquitie and bring in euerlasting righteousnesse to annoynt the moste holy From the going foorth of the commaundement to bring againe the people and build Ierusalem to Messias the Prince shall bee 69. weekes and after he shall bee slaine but so that for one weeke hee shall teach but in the middle of the weeke hee shall cause the Sacrifice and oblation to cease But these weekes are annuae hebdomadae euery weeke is seauen yeares and so reckoning weekes consisting of yeares not onely of daies as for euery day in the weeke should be reckoned a yeare 70. of Daniels weekes make 490. yeares But the Temple which was the first and cheifest thing reaedified in Ierusalem began in the second yeare of Cyrus the builders were hindred 42. yeares as it appeareth out of the Gospell and in the 46. yeare it was finished because the laste 4. yeares they had quietnes Longimanus in the second yeare of his raigne giuing foorth a newe edict that they should builde without molestation and no man vnder payne of death should hinder the workemen as in times past they had done From the second year therfore of Longimanus the Emperour to Alexander the great were 145. yeares from Alexander to the natiuitye of our Sauiour 310. from his birth to his baptisme 30. these being put together make yeares 485. so the 69. weekes make 482. yeares but at his baptisme the whole 482. yeares that is 69 were fullye complete and ended In the next weeke or 7. yeares our Sauiour taught the people and in the middle thereof that is in the fourth yeare he was put to death What Iewe or Atheist can except against the truth of this Prophecye A second proofe that the bookes of the Bible are the worde of God is the generall consent and agreement of so many writers which writ at diuers times in diuers places remote one from an other in diuers languages and vpon diuers occasions all writing of one and the selfe-same subiect all agreeing in Doctrine none contradicting other that they might not so fitlie bee termed diuers writers as diuers pennes of the same writer The bookes of Moses were written in the wildernesse of Iosua Iudges and the Kinges in the land of Promise of Daniell in Babylon the workes of St. Paule some at Rome some in other places as Athens Ephesus Laodicea Nicapolis St. Iohns reuelation in Pathmos the Booke of Iob no man knoweth by whome when nor where The Bookes of Moses about 2554. yeares after the creation of the worlde the Psalmes some of them 605. yeares after Moses the bookes of Ezra after the returne from Captiuitie about 605. yeares after Dauid by whome manie of the Psalmes were made Betweene Dauid and the Captiuitie Esay and Osee vnder King Ioathan Achaz and Ezechiaz Ieremie vnder Iosias Ioachim Zedechias Ezechiel Abacuc Daniel in Captiuitie and the whole new Testament long after the olde yet all agree as the diuers thunders which haue one voyce foure Beastes which sing one song Vox tamen vna manet qualem decet esse sororum Damascen compareth them to a Garden bedecked with varyetie of hearbes of excellent vertue which are to be gathered one by one and yet to make one Garland or diuers precious stones in one brest-plate
but damned deuils Rome had not bin sacked ouer the sooner because they were taken but they had bin taken sooner had they not bin kept by the Cittie The Kingdome of the Iewes saith St. Augustin was founded by one God and not by a multitude of Gods and was maintained by that one God so long as they serued him That one God multiplyed the people in Aegipt but neither did their women vse the helpe of Lucina in their childe-birth neither did the man vse the helpe of Neptune when they passed ouer the Red Sea neither of the Nimphes when they dranke water out of the Rocke neither of Mars when they conquered Amalac but they obtained more at the handes of their owne God then euer did the Romans at the handes of their multitude of Gods whome they serued Lactantius proposeth this question whether the world is gouerned by one God or manie Not to stand vpon his authoritie because he was a Christian but to wey his reasons because I dispute against neathens and insidels which as I shewed in the first Chapter are also comprehended vnder name of Atheistes although they doe not denie God because they serue as the Apostle saith the thinges which by nature are not Gods What neede saith Lactantius hath the worlde of many Gods Vnlesse they suppose that one of himselfe is not sufficient to vndergoe so great a burden which needes must be graunted if euerie God of himselfe be not able without the assistance and helpe of an other If any of them of himselfe be not omnipotent then he is not a God if he be omnipotent theÌ„he needeth not any partner If God of him selfe bomnipotent there can be but one for if the diuine power be diuided among many Gods theÌ„ no one can be all sufficieÌ„t of himselfe but by how manie more they are in number by so much the weaker they must be in power He concludeth Quid quod summa illa diuina potestas ne semel quidem diuidi potest quicquid enim capit diuisionem interitum necesse est si autem interitus procul est a Deo The diuine power which belongeth vnto God cannot be imparted vnto many for whatsoeuer is capable of diuision is also subiect to corruption theÌ„ the which thing nothing can be more repugnant to the nature of God Therefore there is but one God I say therefore with the Apostle Now to the King euerlasting immortall inuisible vnto God onely wise bee honour and glorie for euer and euer Amen Chapter 7. That the Bookes of the Bible are the word of God I Made mention before of the Booke of nature which might worthily be called Gods booke because as I said it was a letter or Epistle wherein God did make himselfe knowne vnto mankinde and did instruct vs so farre as to knowe and confesse that there was a God But because that knowledge was but bare and naked and no way sufficient to bring vs to saluation onely it serued to make vs search and inquire farther that by inquiring farther we might bee saued there is an other booke which is more especially called Gods booke I meane his holy Bible wherin we are taught not onely to knowe God in his vissible creatures but also in his Sonne Iesus Christ whereby wee are saued And it stood verse much with his Diuine wisdome so prouiding for euerye thing as the seuerall nature and quallitie of each creature doth require to write such a booke for mans instruction in his feare true worship because man coÌ„sisteth of a body as wel a of as soule and conceaueth visible things easier then such things as are onely spirituall and are not seene and by such things as are subiect to his outward sences man is brought to vnderstand It pleased him therefore of his great mercie to instruct vs by these visible Characters and written Letters which dayly we doe reade And as S. Augustin saith De illa ciuitate vnde peregrinamur hae literae nobis venerunt ipsae sunt Scripturae quae nos hortantur vt bene viuaenius These letters sent vnto vs from that Cittie the heauenly Ierusalem from whence yet wee doe wander they are the Scriptures which doe exhorte vs to liue well And I cannot denie but the writers themselues of these holy bookes were so immediately instructed from God himselfe which is the fountaine of all heauenly wisdome that they needed no writings But yet with vs it is otherwise they are the foundation wee are but the walles which are builded vpoÌ„ that foundation we saith the Apostle are builded vpon the foundation of the Prophets and the Apostles Because by their writings we are edified but they by whose meanes we are edified builded doe leane their selues immediately vppon the chiefe corner stone which is Iesus Christ There are great oddes betweene the high mountaines and the little hillocks and lowe valleyes they are lightned immediately vpon the first rising of the Sunne but light heate commeth by degrees from them to the lower partes As also God foresawe in his wisdome and we know by experience of the former ages froÌ„ the beginning of the worlde vnto Moses when there was no written worde that there could not be veritatis et doctrinae puritatis salua custodia sine scripto soundnesse of doctrine could not be preserued but by committing of it to writing And therefore it pleased God that these Volumes of the Bible should bee written And that these are the holy Scriptures giuen by inspiration of God profitable to teach to conuince to correct and to instruct that the man of God may be absolute to all good workes That the man of God which writte them spake inspired by the holy Ghost that they were written for the saluation of mens soules not for the maintenaÌ„ce of ciuil gouernment I proue by these arguments following The first is the truth of all the prophecyes which haue fayled in nothing w c spake of things long before they came to passe so certainely as if they had bin already fulfilled And y t I may make due proofe therof certissimus fidelissimus vaticiniorum interpres est euentus the surest faithfull est interpreter of prophecies is the euent of thinges Now wee see their predictions are alreadie come to passe we are eye witnesses that they are true which truth argueth that they were written by the finger of God which is the holy Ghost which onely could not erre in writing and not by man for asmuch as all men are lyers humanum est errare it is the nature and propertie of a man to eâ—â—e in so much that if hee bee without error hee is not a man And therfore it is impossible but in so manie predictions foretolde so many yeares before the time so coÌ„nary to humane reason but they shold haue bin deceiued if men had bin the authors of these bookes I will instance for breuitie sake in some one or two
the same And it is not vnworthy of obseruatioÌ„ that not the Maniches not Celsus not Porphuâ—y not Iulian in al their cauels against the story of the Gospel did no way so much as in a word take exceptioÌ„ against this storye of the starâ— might eleuate or extenuate the truth thereof And therfore concerning this I may say with Ignatius Hinc euanuir mundi sapientia praestigiae factae sunt nugae magia risus omnes ritus malitiae aboliti ignorantiae caligo fugata quum Deus homo apparuit homo vt Deus operabatur In this the wisdome of the worlde was preued to be but follye the wise in their wisdomeme it proued but a toy their magicke ridiculous all their superstitious rites were abolished the clowdes of ignorance dispersed when God apeared to the worlde as a man and man as if he were God And secondly what naturall cause can they alleage of that great Eclipse of the Sun which contrarye to nature lasted from the sixt houre to the ninth and darkened the face of the whole earth For first of all the Astrologers knew wel that al eclipses of the Sunne which haue beene from the beginning of the worlde that onely excepted haue beene according to the rules of Arte and the nature of an eclipse which Iohannes de sacrobusto desineth in this manner Est interpositio Lunae inter aspectum nostrum solare corpus An interposition of the Moone betweene the body of the Sunne and our sight which as he saith cannot be but quum Luna fuerit in capite vel cauda Draconis vel prope vel infra metas supradictas in coniunctione cum Sole When the Moone is in the head or tayle of the Dragon or there abouts and in coniunction with the Sunne And forasmuch therefore as the Eclipse of the Sunne which was at the time of the passion of our Sauiour Christ was when it was plenilumium a ful Moone not coniunctio siue nouilunium not a coniunction of the Sunne with the Moone or newe Moone he concludeth that it was no naturall Eclipse but cleane contrary to the rules of Astronomye and the course of nature Againe he sheweth that when the Sunne is Eclipsed all the earth is not darkened but onely one Climat because of the difference of the aspectes in diuers Chmats but this Eclipse darkned the whole earth therefore it was supernaturall and to the astonishment of the world insomuch y t Dionysius the Arcepagiâ—e at the very time of the Eclipse beholding of it cryed out on a suddaine Aut Deus naturae paetitur aut mundi machina dissoluitur Either the God of nature doth this day suffer or the frame of the worlde shall be dissolued Againe darkenes continued for the space of three howers which could not be if it had bene a naturall Eclipse therefore it was supernaturall and of it saith St. Chrisostom Non poterat ferre creatura iniuriam creatoris vnde Sol detraxit radios suos ue videret impiorum facinora The creature could not with pacienceindure the wrong done to the Creator and therefore the Sunne withdrewe his beames because he would not beholde so wicked a fact as that the Lord of glorye should so vngraciouslye be put to death But the Atheists will aske me how I can make proofe by any sauing the Euangelist that there was euer such an Eclipse I answerd forasmuch as at that time when the Eclipse was darkenes was not onely in Iudea but throgh al the whole worlde and therefore at that time not onely Dionysius the Arcopagite but also the inhabitants of the whole earth could witnes as St Origen answered But least they should thinke we are vtterly voyde of the testimoney of heathen writers Origen disputing against Celsus the Epicure an enemye to the Christian faith proueth it vnto him not by the the testimony of the Gospel but of Phlegon a famous Chronicler seruantto Adrian the Emperer as Suidas reciteth Phlegons wordes Phlegon his selfe did giue his owne iudgement of this Eclipse that it was prodigious And Tertullian disputing with the Gentiles proueth the same Eclipse out of their owne Writers saying Et eum mundi casum relatum in archiuis vestris habetis Ye haue the verye same occurrent registred in your owne recordes A fifte reason to proue there is a God is the varietye of punishments which haue been inflicted vpon the Atheists from time to time which haue denyed God Holophernes which being so great a warriour beheaded in the middle of his owne Campe by a sillye woman Lucian deuoured with dogges Iulian the Apostata strookeÌ„ dead with a darte froÌ„ heauen Arrius who died with his belly breaking his bowelles gushing out as he sate vpoÌ„ the priuye Olympius washing him selfe in a bathe and blaspheming the Trinitye while manye men looked vpon him was consumed suddenly with three fierye dartes the poyntes of all three meeting in one Let the Atheists shewe how these thinges could otherwise be done but by the extraordinary hand of Almighty God or else if they cannot let them confesse the God which did these thinges A sixt reason to proue there is a God is the confession of the deuils them selues For what one deuill confesseth is the confession of them all for regnum diuisum non potest stare the kingdome of Sathan being diuided within it selfe cannot stand Neither will I for confirmation hereof alleage the authority of St Iames which saith They beleeue and tremble of St. Luke which writeth of the deuils confession saying Christ I knowe and Paul I knowe of St. Marke where the deuill saith to our Sauiour I knowe thee that thou art euen that holy one of God neither how Moses his rodde deuoured the serpents which was made by the sorcerers of Aegipt how they could not make lyce because their power was restrayned by an higher power the finger of God how Dagon fell downe before the Arke of God could not stand in the Chappel where it stood because they snall not say I am partiall But what answer can they make to the generall silence of all Oracles that so many Oracles speaking before the time of our Sauiour Christ all were by him put to silence What answer can they make to that famous storye of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphus which when Augustus the Emperor offered sacrifice vnto him to knowe the reason of that vnwonted silence vnheard of in former times gaue this for the last answer as being neuer to speake againe Me puer Hebraeus diuos deus ipse gubernans Cedere sede iubet tristemque redire sub orcum Aris ergo dehinc tacitus abcedito nostris Which answer being giuen Augustus erected an Altar in the Capitoll of Rome with this inscription ingrauen vppon it ARA PRIMOGENITI DEI. The Altar of the first begotten Sonne of God Seeing therefore the deuils haue confessed God the Father and his Sonne Christ such men as will