reasonable that you should be prejudiced on the side of Religion You will also then see that if in any Case it be Wisdom to be over-credulous that is to believe beyond the strength of the Evidence it is so in the Case of Religion because the greatest Damage you can suffer by Over-credulity in case Religion be all a Cheat is infinitely less than will be the Consequence of unreasonable Infidelity if indeed Religion be true Next I would desire you to examine your selves seriously whether in your Enquiries into the Grounds and Reasons of Religion you have not hitherto had some Byass upon your Minds whether at the same time that you have set your selves to consider of the Proofs of the Christian Religion you have not secretly wished that you might not find them satisfactory to your Reason And if so I desire you to examine further what was the Cause of this whether it was not some worldly Pleasure or Profit which you foresaw you should be debarr'd from in case you should happen to be convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion And if it was I hope that some serious Consideration of the great Importance of Religion which I before advised in order to the removing unreasonable Prejudices will also suffice to satisfie you how unworthy of any Love or Regard any Worldly Pleasure or Profit is in Comparision with that Eternal Happiness which is promised in the Gospel so that consequently when you are enquiring into the Grounds and Reasons of our Hope of that Eternal Life all other Thoughts ought to be laid aside and you ought to have no Eye at all to any thing else because to a Man who must be unspeakably happy or miserable to all Eternity which is the Case of all of us if indeed Reâ—igion be true 't is not a matter worth thinking of whether his Worldly State and Condition will be rendred better or worse by his endeavouring to secure to himself a blessed Portion in the other World And if by these Considerations your Minds shall be â—â—eed from Prejudices and from all Byass of Worldly Inâ—erest I would after this desire you to take a fresh â—nto your Consideration what has been offered in the â—oregoing Discourses for the Proof of the Christian Reâ—â—gion and the much more that has been better said by â—â—thers upon the same Argument for there can be no Hurt in considering these things over and over again altho' after all you should remain as unsatisfied as you are now But I can't but hope I can't but think that if you do consider without Prejudice or Partiality the Reasons that have been offered to prove the Truth of Christianity you must needs be convinced thereby However if the Reasons that are or may be offer'd for the Proof of it should not be sufficient perfectly to cure your Infidelity and to make you become Zealous Christians they may be and they certainly are sufficient to satisfie you that the Christians have some Reason for their Belief even the same at least if not better that you your selves are swayed by in all other Cases and consequently that they are not such very easie and credulous Fools as you perhaps have hitherto taken them to be I 'm confident you must grant that if the Reasons of our Religion are not demonstrative they are at least probable and that if our Religion be not true it has at least a fair shew and Appearance of Truth And if you will but only allow this 't is then a Reasonable Request and what I would next desire of you not to make a Boast of your Unbelief not to ridicule our holy Religion not to make it your Business to proselyte Men to Atheism and Infidelity 1. Not to make a Boast of your Unbelief For if indeed you have no Religion yet what Interest can you have in telling the World so Nay is there any thing that you could do more to your own Prejudice For tho' you are not under the Direction and Influence of any Religious Principles yet so long as you appear to have some Religion you will be employed and trusted as other Men are Men will believe you to be Honest 'till they shall find to the contrary and in the mean time you will have an Opportunity of raising your selves to Wealth and Honour But when once the World shall come to know that you are Men of no Principles that you are under no Restraints of Conscience that you will do whatever you can safely do for your own Advantage that is whatever you can do without danger of a Prison a Pillory or a Gibbet and they will have Reason to think all this of you when you your selves shall tell them that you are of no Religion Who do you think will employ you Who do you think will trust you So that the only way you will then have to make your Fortunes will be by open Force and Violence and in that you will meet with such opposition from all the World as will quickly work your Ruine But you think it may be that 't is a mean and ungenerous thing to disown your Principles or rather your no Principles that it is beneath a Man to seem to be what he is not and to put on a face of Religion when he has none how profitable soever his Hypocrisie might be to him Very well Then you may if you are willing to suffer the Inconvenience of it freely own your selves to be of no Religion but at the same time you should do well to consider that the greatest part of the World is against you that not only the Ignorant and Illiterate but the Wisest the Gravest the most Learned and the most Noble Persons have generally been Men of Religion or at least which is all we can judge by have outwardly professed themselves persuaded of the Truth of it and have expressed the greatest Zeal and Concern for it And therefore 2. Tho' you do believe nothing of it your selves and scorn to conceal your Unbelief you may however be civil to our Religion for 't is but good Manners to treat with some Respect that which those with whom you Converse account Sacred Besides whether Religion be true or false the Subject of it is grave and therefore ought to be handled with a decent Reverence Do not then shew such ill Breeding as to make that the Subject of your Sport and Raillery which all besides your selves account the most serious thing in the World Be not guilty of so much Indecency as to discourse of any Matter in a manner so unsuitable to the Nature of it But if you will needs be attacking our Religion compose your selves first to Gravity and Seriousness and let it be seen by your way of Treating us that your Design is manly and generous only to undeceive and disabuse us not to make Sport with us Isa 41.21 Produce your Cause as the Prophet speaks and bring forth your strong Reasons by them it
gratifie Men in this unreasonable Desire working every Day new Miracles before their Eyes or sending their deceased Friends to them from the dead to assure them of a future State and to warn them to prepare for it 't is highly probable that very few or none of those who do not believe and are not brought to Repentance by the Preaching and standing Revelation of the Gospel would be perswaded by this Means If they hear not Moses and the Prophets nor Christ and his Apostles neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead I. I shall endeavour to shew that the present standing Revelation of God's Will contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament is abundantly sufficient to perswade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate They have Moses and the Prophets Christ and his Apostles let them hear them And I think that if the standing Revelation which God hath made of his Will in the Holy Scriptures can upon any account be thought insufficient to effect this Design it must be upon one of these two Accounts viz. Either 1. Because no standing Revelation can be sufficient for this Purpose Or 2. Because there are some particular Defects in that standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a standing Revelation might be 1. It may be pretended that no standing Revelation can be sufficient for this Purpose I am now therefore to enquire with what Reason this can be pretended And in speaking to this Point it does not lie upon me to prove that God could not reveal his Mind afresh to every Man in every Age of the World if he so pleased for there is no question but that the same God who in divers manners spake in times past to our Fathers by the Prophets could if he pleased speak to every one of us their Children in such Manner as he then spake to the Prophets themselves so that we might be all immediately taught of God as they were But every thing that may be done is not expedient to be done And whether this Method would be expedient or not will be hereafter enquired Neither does it now lie upon me to prove that this Way which God hath thought fit to take to instruct the greatest Part of the World viz. by a standing Revelation is the best Way and the most like to be effectual of any that could be used Of this I shall likewise have Occasion to speak somewhat hereafter But what lies upon me at present to make good is only this That a standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to perswade Men. And if there be any Ground for the contrary Pretence I think it must be either 1. Because all Matters necessary to be known and done by Men at all Times cannot at once be committed to Writing Or 2. Because there cannot be sufficient Evidence given to satisfie a Rational Man that any Writing that is said to be of divine Inspiration and Authority is indeed so 1. It may be said That all Matters necessary to be known and done by Men at all Times cannot be at once committed to Writing Because every Age of the World produces new Opinions which whether they be erroneous or not cannot be judged by a Criterion that was given many Ages before these Opinions were broached And as the World grows older in Years it likewise improves in Wickedness which cannot be restrained and suppressed by an old Law which was made before several Instances of those Wickednesses that are now practised were either known or thought of And if it were not so what need would there be of such a number of Books as are written in every Age to direct Men how to distinguish between Truth and Error and what Opinions to fix upon in that great Variety of Opinions that are offered to them Or what need would there be of so many new Laws as are daily made in every Commonwealth to restrain the growing Extravagances of Mankind and to keep them within due Bounds So that if there be any Necessity at all of divine Revelation to teach Men the Belief of Truth and the Practice of Righteousness it is necessary that there should be a new and fresh Revelation made at least as often as any new Error is broached or any new Piece of Villainy is practised in the World But to this Objection against the Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation I suppose a full Answer will be given in these two particulars 1. That there is no Arguing from the Wisdom and Power of Men to the Wisdom and Power of God It may be granted to be impossible for a Man to write such a Book as shall be sufficient to confute all the Errors that can possibly at any time afterwards spring up Or to compile such a Body of Laws as shall be sufficient to prevent or punish all future Crimes But what is impossible with Men may be possible with God who has a perfect Foresight of all the Errors that will ever be broached and of all the Wickedness that will ever be practised by Men to the End of the World To a Being of infinite Wisdom and Knowledge it may be not only possible but very easie so to contrive a Revelation designed by him for the Direction of future Ages that no Addition shall ever after need to be made to it Nay indeed 2. The Thing it self that is That a standing Revelation should be thus perfect that it should be so contrived at once and at first as to be sufficient to answer all the Ends of a divine Revelation as long as the World shall last is not very hard to be conceived For tho' Error be infinite Truth at least all Truth necessary to be believed is finite and limited And after a divine Revelation is once given no more is necessary to be believed in after Ages than was at first nor will there ever be more things necessary to be believed to the End of the World unless God shall please to add some new Revelation to the former And this Revelation of all necessary Truth once made being given to Men that are endued with Reason nothing more is or ever will be needful for the Discovery and Confutation of all Errors that can possibly spring up in after Ages but only a right Understanding of the Truths already delivered and a right Use of Reason in making Inferences and drawing Consequences therefrom And this is all that is pretended to by the Books of Controversie that are written in every Age The Design of them is not to declare new Truths or to establish new Articles of Faith but only to shew that those Opinions which they represent as false and erroneous are either in themselves or in their true Consequences contrary to some Maxims that are already receiv'd as true And it is no
less easie to conceive that a standing Revelation may be at once so contrived as to be for ever sufficient to direct Men in all Points of Practice Because altho' t is possible that every Age may afford new Instances of Wickedness yet the Law that they are all Transgressions of may be but one And the Rule once given is a perpetual Direction not only what to do but likewise what to avoid and this as well in those Instances of Wickedness which may be invented afterwards as in those which were in Practice before the Rule was made For he that giving Direction to a Traveller in his Way bids him keep strait forward shall not need if he speaks to a Man of Reason to tell him over and above that he must be careful to avoid all Turnings to the right hand or to the left and much less shall he need to give him a particular Account of every Turning that he is to avoid And tho' in Time to come there would be many more By-ways and Turnings out of the Road than there are at present yet the same one Direction to keep strait forward will be as full and as sufficient a Direction then as it is now And the Necessity that Humane Law-givers find themselves under to be every Day repealing former Laws and adding new Ones is not caused by an absolute Impossibility of making at once such a Body of Laws as might be sufficient for all after Times but arises as I suppose Partly from the Nature of Humane Laws which are for the most part Negative and Prohibitive only and by such a Law nothing is rendred unlawful but what is named and to name at once every thing that is then or may be in all after Ages needful to be prohibited would indeed be a Work of very great Difficulty Partly from the Nature of that Obedience that is due to a meer Humane Law which is only an external Obedience and to the Letter of the Law and that indeed must needs be a Law or a Body of Laws of a prodigious Bulk and very difficult to be contrived at once which in the Letter thereof shall comprehend and give Direction concerning every Action and every Mode of Action that are necessary to be done or forbore in order to the preserving Justice and Peace among Men Partly from the little Regard that Men generally have to the good of Posterity which makes them only careful to contrive such Orders and Constitutions as they hope will suffice to preserve Peace in their own time leaving it to those that come after to take the like Care for themselves in their Times Partly from the Weakness and Ignorance of the wisest of Men who not understanding exactly the Tempers of all their Subjects cannot know certainly what Effect their Laws will have till after they have been for some time experienced And partly from the unexpected Difficulty that is sometimes met with in the Execution of a Law which may make it necessary afterwards to enforce it with a greater Penalty or to take some further Care than at first was thought needful to see it executed But none of these Reasons of the Necessity of new Laws among Men are of any force to shew that it is also necessary that God should be every Day making new Declarations of his Will and that no Standing Revelation can be sufficient for all Times For the Laws of God are positive and commanding enjoining the truest and heartiest Love both to God and Men and every natural and proper Expression thereof and by consequence prohibiting every Affection of Mind and every outward Act that is contrary thereto whether it be expressly named or not And the Obedience that we owe to a divine Law is the Obedience of the Heart and of the whole inner Man such as looks beyond the Letter to the Design and Intention of the Law and avoids as carefully whatsoever is contrary to the Reason of the Law as if it had been forbidden in the most express Words And God being King for ever and ever has the same Relation to all Men in all Ages and cannot but be supposed to design the good Government of his Subjects in after as well as in former Times And he also understanding fully the Tempers of all his Subjects knows beforehand what Effect the Laws he gives them will have and can never be disappointed in his Expectation and so can never be obliged to repeal or alter any of his Laws by an unforeseen Experience that they are not so convenient or so effectual as he thought they would be And lastly He having all Power in his Hands and a soveraign and uncontroulable Dominion over all can appoint what Penalty he pleases to the Transgression of his Laws can at any time convict Transgressors by his own unerring Knowledge only and the Testimony of their guilty Consciences without other Witnesses and has it in his own single Power without any Help of others to execute when-ever he will whatever Penalty he threatens Thus I think it appears that a standing Revelation may be so well contrived as to be sufficient for all Times that all Matters necessary to be known and done by Men at all Times may be at once committed to Writing 2. But Secondly Tho' this be granted it may be still further objected against the Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation that it can hardly be sufficiently attested that there cannot be sufficient Evidence given to satisfie a Rational Man that any such Writing which is said to be of divine Inspiration and Authority is indeed so And that 1. Because there is no Way but Eye-witness to be sufficiently assured that any Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it 2. Because there is no Way to be sufficiently assured that the Author of such a Book did not design to impose upon his Readers And 3. Because no Man can be sure that he himself was not deceived in his Opinion of his own Inspiration or of a Revelation made to him or in the Truth of any other Matter which he has related as of his own Knowledge 1. It may be said that there is no Way but Eye-witness to be sufficiently assured that any Book was written by the Person that is said to be the Author of it But that is very strange that there should be no other Way to be sufficiently assured of the Author of any Book and yet that there are a great many Books in the World ancient as well as modern the Authors whereof were never in the least doubted of who yet I suppose did not use to call together a Company of Men to stand by and see them write those Books which they intended to Publish It seems then that either there may be besides Eye-witness sufficient Reason to believe that a Book was written by the Person under whose Name it goes or else that all the World has been extremely credulous in receiving an infinite Number
of Books as written by such and such Authors without sufficient Assurance thereof But I believe the Truth is There are some Men who for Reasons best known to themselves but which may some of them be easily enough guessed at will not allow that to be sufficient Evidence that a Book was written by a Prophet or an Apostle which they must and do allow to be sufficient Evidence in any other Case of the like Nature For in other Cases we make no Doubt to receive a Book as written by such an Author if he owns himself to be the Author of it or if it be shewn written with his own Hand or if they that are the Publishers of it declare that they had it from him as his own or that they transcribed or printed it from a Copy which they knew to be of his Hand-writing or if it passes current in common Fame and Report to be his and his most intimate friends believe it so and he himself does not disown it and there be none else that pretend any Claim or Title to it Where these or most of these Circumstances do concurr we never doubt but that the Person said to be the Author of such a Book is so indeed unless there be some very clear Reason grounded upon the known Incapacity of the Person to write in such a Language in such a Stile concerning such a Subject or the like whereby it may be demonstrated that whoever was he could not be the Author of it The truth is Now adays and I suppose the Case was much the same formerly whoever is the true Author of any Book finds very little Difficulty to make Men believe that the Book is his the greatest Difficulty is for a Man to conceal himself in case he be not willing to be known to be the Author of it And when once a Book is generally receiv'd as written by such a Person when I say 't is thus receiv'd in that Age in which it was first publish'd and by those that were in the best Capacity to inquire and to judge who was the true Author of it they that live in after times never think it reasonable to question the Authority thereof unless there be evidently something either in the Language Dialect or Stile or else in the Matter of the Book as in the Relation of some Piece of History the References to some ancient Customs the Citations out of other Authors or the like by which it may be clearly made out that the Book cannot be of such Antiquity as it pretends to or could not be the Writing of that Person who is reported and has been commonly taken to be the Author of it Upon such Reasons as these a great many Books are every Day received as written by such and such Authors and tho' we cannot be so sure of a thing that we believe upon these Inducements as we are of what we see with our own Eyes yet such Reasons as these are by the general Consent of Mankind judged to be sufficient in a Matter of this Nature which is hardly capable of better Proof And for a Man to disallow in one Case that same Evidence of the Truth of a Matter of Fact which in other Cases of the like kind he allows to be sufficient for a Man to receive a Book as written by another Person and not to receive a Book as written by a Prophet or an Apostle when he has as much Reason to receive one as the other and no more Reason to reject one than the other is not Judgment or Discretion or reasonable Caution but manifest Prejudice and Partiality But 2. It was further said That tho' we might be well enough assured that a Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it there is no Way to be sufficiently assured that who he was the Author of it did not design to impose upon his Readers It seems then there is no Way to be sufficiently satisfied that any Man is an honest Man and fit to be credited that he does not lye in every thing he says and intend a Cheat in every thing he does For if a Man may be believed in what he says he may as well be believed in what he writes And if he may be trusted in one Concern he may be as safely trusted in another unless good Reason can be shewed to the contrary But in judging of humane Nature in general Men commonly judge of others by themselves What they are inclined to they think is the Inclination of Mankind what they allow themselves in they think others whatever they may pretend make as little scruple of as they do what they freely practice they make no Doubt other Men would practise as freely on the same Occasions and upon the same Inducements So that when any Man is so very suspectful of the Honesty and Veracity of other Men it gives but too just Ground to think that the Reason of his Aptness to distrust all others is his Consciousness of his own evil Designs and of the little Regard that he himself has to Truth in his own Assertions And if those he has to deal with should refuse to give any Credit to any thing that he affirms because according to his own declared Opinion very little Credit can reasonably be given to the Report and Affirmation of others I do not see with what Reason he can blame them for so doing Not but that after all 't is possible that a Man may 't is doubtless what has been done by some give out a Report or write Book on purpose to deceive Mankind But nevertheless I say that it ought not without very good Reason to be suspected that this is any Man's Design and that we may have Assurance enough that a thing is not which yet we must grant was possible to have been Particularly as to the Matter we are now speaking of First In case the Author of any Book or of any Report relates a Matter of Fact of which there are not nor well could be any other Witnesses but himself as if he says that he has received from God such a Revelation with order to publish it to the World or that he himself was an Eye or Ear-witness that such a thing was privately done or spoken by another the Credibility of such a Report whether written or spoken depends Partly upon the Nature of the Report its self Partly upon the Credit of its Author And partly upon the Proofs that he gives of his Honesty and Veracity in that particular And where there is a full Concurrence of all these that is When the Matter of the Report is credible in its self when its Author is a Person of Credit and when he gives the best Proofs that can be of his Veracity in that particular there is no Reason to reject his Testimony there is sufficient Reason to give Credit to it 1. If the Matter of his Report be credible in its
other Matter that he has related as of his own Knowledge that 't is possible there might be Mistake in the Sign and Proof of the divine Revelation as well as in the Revelation its self that 't is possible that the Author of the Report whether it was the Prophet himself or any other Man who has reported the Miracles done by the Prophet as Matters of his own Knowledge did imagine he saw things which he did not see and that he heard things which he did not hear But if this be supposed possible that any Man and much more that several Men agreeing in the same Report the Organs of whose Senses were rightly disposed and who by all their other Actions and Discourses appeared to be sober and considerate and judicious should yet in the Day time and in a clear Light and when they were sure they were broad awake be mistaken in the plainest Matters of Sense then there is no such thing as Certainty in the World Then they that make the Objection can be no more sure of what they themselves see and hear than other Men can be And 't is to no Purpose to hold an Argument with such as dare not believe their own Eyes and Ears The only sense whereby I think such Men can be convinced must be Feeling And it will be well for them if they can carry the same Scepticism with them into the other World and when they are compassed about with the Flames of Hell can be able to doubt whether it be a real or a painted fire whether they are tormented in that Flame or not Leaving these therefore to be convinced in the other World as being I think not capable of Conviction here I shall content my self with having said what I suppose is enough to satisfie others That the Witness of a plain Matter of Fact may be sure of the Truth of what he witnesses and that 't is possible for God to speak so plainly to Men that they may be certain they have had a divine Revelation and that such Evidence may be given of the Veracity of an Author and of the Authority of a Book as is sufficient to satisfie a reasonable Man And by this and what was said before I hope I have made it appear that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to effect its Design viz. to bring Men to Repentance Whether the Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture be sufficient for this Purpose will be Matter of Enquiry in the next Discourses In the mean time what has been already said may serve to dispose us to hear without Prejudice the Arguments that may be offered to prove the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture For 1. If it be possible that there may be such a Standing Revelation it is very probable that there is one for from that natural Notion that we have of the Goodness of God it may be fairly argued that he is not wanting to Men in the necessary Means of Salvation and therefore it being evident that there are not new Revelations made every Day it may be reasonably concluded that the Reason is because there is already some Standing Revelation of God's Will extant that is sufficient to direct us in the Way to Happiness And 2. If there be already any such Standing Revelation extant it may be strongly presumed that it is that which we have in the Holy Scripture because there is no other Book that we know of which has such good Evidences of divine Authority and Inspiration as that has Let us then be prepared to inquire into the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Faith and Religion with unprejudiced Minds with a sincere Love and Desire of Truth and with a Resolution to hear Reason and to be convinced by it And above all which indeed is the best Preparation for Truth and the best Security against Error let us in the Sincerity of our Hearts apply our selves to God for his Help and Direction And that our Prayer may be effectual let us be careful to approve our selves to him by a conscientious Discharge of all those Duties of Piety Justice Temperance and Charity which are clearly taught even by natural Reason and be readily disposed to practise whatever else we shall learn to be our Duty by any farther Illumination Joh. 7.17 for if any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God FINIS ERRATA IN Epist Ded. l. 3. r. Arch-Bishop p. 8. l. 31. r. forborn p. 13. l. 19. r. he who p. 14. l. 16. r. a Book THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Matter of it A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul February the 5 th 1699 700. BEING The Second for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE first thing which I propounded to do in Discoursing on these Words was to endeavour to shew that the present Standing Revelation of God's Will contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament is abundantly sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate They have Moses and the Prophets they have also Christ and his Apostles let them hear them And if that Standing Revelation which God hath made to us of his Will in the Holy Scriptures can upon any Account be thought insufficient to effect this Design it must be I think either 1. Because no Standing Revelation can be sufficient for this Purpose Or 2. Because there are some particular Defects in that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be I have therefore in a former Discourse upon these Words endeavoured to shew in general that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient for this Purpose I proceed now in the second place 2. To Consider whether that Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures be such a Revelation whether it be sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance and fully to direct them in the Way to Happiness Or whether there be not some particular Defects in this Revelation which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be And if there be any such Defect
no Suspicion of what was done nor any Sense of that great Alteration that had been made in the World by these Books nor any Remembrance afterwards when they awoke and found themselves Christians that they had been of some other Religion before when they were first taken with that Lethargick Fit But if these things may be what is there of this kind that may not be If the World be so much mistaken in this Matter it may be as much mistaken in any other Matter of the like Nature And then It may be that there never was such a Man as Homer or Virgil or Coesar or Cicero or Plutarch or any other of those Persons as whose Writings we now receive the Books that go under their Names but that all the Books pretended to be written by those Authors and likewise all the Books of later Date whereby the Authority of those former Books is attested were in like Manner contrived and made and dispersed by such another Gang of crafty and designing Knaves who took a Pleasure in abusing the rest of the World or hoped to make a Gain to themselves â—hereby Nay then for why should we stop here It may be that not only the Laws of our Religion but the Laws of our Civil State too are all forged and counterfeit It may be that once upon a time The Keeper of the Publick Records having by much and long Observation attained to good Skill â—n the ancient Ways of Writing for many Ages backward and being a compleat Master of his Pen and having also gotten an Art to make a fresh Writing seem just as old as he had a Mind it should be thought to be did compose and deposite in â—heir proper Places those Original Acts of Parliament which are now taken to be the Laws of some of our former Kings and that to confirm and establish his Fraud he procured some other Persons at the same Time to Write or Print and to convey into all Shops and Libraries several Books of Reports and Pleadings wherein these counterfeit Acts were cited and referred to and it may be that while as this was doing none else had their Eyes open to see it nor had ever after the least Suspicion of what was done Or if they had yet that they were so well pleased with the Cheat which they thought would be a good Means of preserving Peace and Justice in the Nation as to be willing it should pass to Posterity undiscovered These May be 's are I am sure every whit as possible and as likely as the other Either therefore let those Men who upon this Account doubt of the Authority of the Books of the New Testament Or who would make others doubt of it only by suggesting that it is a thing possible in Nature that they may be all forged and counterfeit let them I say either entertain and suggest the same Doubt concerning all other ancient Books of the Antiquity and Authority of which there is not greater Evidence than there is of these And then they will render themselves so justly ridiculous to the World that there will be no Need to expose their Folly for then they must call in Question the Authority of all Books and the Truth of all History Or else let them fairly own that the true Reason of their making a Doubt concerning these Books rather than concerning others is because they do not relish the Matter of them because they find it easier to resist that strong Evidence that is given of the Authority of these Books than they do to govern their Lives according to those strict Rules of Holiness and Purity that are therein prescribed and to bring their Wills to the Obedience of Faith And if they will but own this which I believe is the Truth their Prejudice and Partiality will be so evident to all that it may be reasonably hoped their impious Suggestions will do but little Harm in the World and that few Men of any Sense or Reason will be so fool-hardy as to venture their Souls and run the Hazard of a miserable Eternity upon so many and such very improbable I had almost said such impossible may be 's as must be supposed to have been if indeed these Books are forged and counterfeit if indeed they were not written by those Persons whom they are commonly ascribed to But yielding this Point may the Atheist or Infidel farther say viz. that the Gospel called St. Matthew's was written by St. Matthew and that of St. Mark by St. Mark and the Rest of the Books which are ascribed to any other certain Authors by those Persons to whom they are severally ascribed yet the Authority of the whole New Testament will not by this Concession be sufficiently established For of some Books of the New Testament the Authors are not known of others they are doubted Some Parts of this Book that are now received have been rejected in ancient Times and â—thers not universally receiv'd And besides 't is cerâ—ain that in the early Times of Christianity there were several Counterfeit Gospels and Epistles some of which may possibly have slipped into the Canon unawares And lastly If it be granted that all the Books of the New Testament were originally written â—y the Apostles or other Inspired Men yet however the Books that we now have are but Copies in which many Alterations may have been made by designing Men or careless Transcribers These Objections or Cavils rather for such I am sure they would be accounted in any other Case against the Authority of these Sacred Books have been urged by some Men both anciently and lately But they have been also so well and fully answered by those learned Persons that have written in Defence of the Canon that I once thought to have taken no Notice of them and I believe had not done it but that I considered on the other Hand that when an old Objection that has been answered an Hundred times is urged afresh a great many may take it for a new one and if it be not quickly answered may be apt to think it unanswerable so that in this Case it may be better to repeat the same Answer if it be a good one that has been often formerly made to it than to say nothing And besides in this degenerate Age in which any wild or Atheistical Discourse passes for Wit it may be the Hap of some Persons who have not much Mind or Leisure or Opportunity to read Books to hear these things in Conversation and not knowing readily what Answers to make to them to be somewhat staggered in their Belief thereby Especially if they be such whose loose and licentious Way of Living makes them easie to receive without Examination any Notions that may give them Ease or Encouragement in Sin For these Reasons therefore I thought it would not be amiss especially because it is a Matter properly belonging to the Subject I am now upon and because I have some time left for it to
recorded could be worn out nay if we further suppose as I think we may do very reasonably that the Things recorded by the Evangelists are the same which they and the other Apostles and Disciples of our Lord testified by word of Mouth in their Preaching we may truly enough say that the History of the Gospel was begun to be published on that same Day on which the Apostles began to preach viz. on the Day of Pentecost ten Days after our Lords Ascension and that it was fully published in a very short time after So that most of the things recorded in the Gospels are things that had been done or haâ— happened in the compass of less than four Years before the History thereof was first published for it was noâ— so long from our Lord's Baptism to his Ascension and the earliest things of all that are therein recordeâ— which are but few and make but a small part of the History viz. the Birth of St. John Baptist and oâ— our Lord and the things that happened about thâ—â— Time were things done not above thirty five Yearâ— before at the most And the History of the Acts of the Apostles whicâ— because it ends with St. Paul's Imprisonment at Rome we may reasonably think was published about thaâ— Time comprehends a History of some very remarkable things the very first and earliest whereof had noâ— been done thirty Years before And this Consideration affords another very probable Argument of the Truth of the Evangelical History because by this it still further appears how very easie it would have been to have disproved it if it had been false for it being an History of things done so very lately it must needs be that several of those into whose Hands it first came must have certain Knowledge whether some of the things therein related had been so or not And they who had not this Knowledge might easily have had certain Information from others I mean besides the Apostles and Disciples of our Lord whether the Relations therein contained were true or falfe Especially if it be considered further in the 4th Place 4. That the Facts related in the Evangelical History are commonly related with all the Circumstances that were needful or proper to be noted in order to the rendring an Enquiry into the truth of them exceeding easie to such as had any distrust thereof For in the Account which the Evangelists give us of our Saviour's Speeches they commonly tell us not only his Words but likewise when where to whom â—nd upon what Occasion they were spoken and in the Account that they give of his Miracles they usually note the Places where they were done and very often â—he Names or Characters at least of the Persons they were wrought upon and sometimes they mention â—lso who were by and Witnesses thereof and what Discourse concerning him was thereby occasioned And in relating the things that were done or happened before our Saviour's Baptism about the Time of his Birth they carefully note the Time the Place and other Circumstances whereby their Readers were as it were challenged to make Enquiry and desired not to â—ake things only upon their Credit and were also directed readily whither to go and to whom to apply themselves to obtain the fullest satisfaction whether the things they reported were so or not The same may be observed in the Acts of the Apostles And if all the Circumstances of every particular Story which they relate are not always so punctually set down the Omission thereof sometimes is not of much Consideration because it was so very easie by enquiring into the Truth of those many other Stories which are related with all Circumstances for any Person to be satisfied whether their History in general deserv'd Credit or not And whoever had found any one Story falsly reported by them would hardly have troubled himself at least not for his own satisfaction to have examined further into the Truth of the rest 5. It may be further consider'd that most of the things recorded by the Evangelists are related by them as things that were done very publickly as things that were well known to a great many For very few in Comparison of those Discourses of our Lord that are recorded by the Evangelists were address'd in private to his Apostles only but most of them were spoken in publick his set Sermons commonly to great multitudes gathered together on a Mountain on the Sea-shore or in a Synagogue and the rest more commonly in Places of Resort in populous Towns or Cities in Jerusalem or the Temple when many were by to hear what he said And his Miracles were done for the most part in the best Inhabited Cities of Judea and Galilee or if in other Places yet in the open Day-light and commonly when there was a great croud of People about him Or if at any time the Miracle its self was done privately in an House or a Chamber the Effect of the Miracle was usually very visible and such as could not but be taken notice of by a great many And even of those few things which were spoken or done by him most privately there was no want of Witnesses there being except very rarely no fewer than twelve in constant Attendance upon him and several others besides that Companied with them all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them Acts 1.21 And this Circumstance of the Facts recorded by the Evangelists as it made them capable of better and more certain Attestation being true so it contributed no less towards the rendring it easie to disprove that Relation which they had given of them if it had been false For when a Man witnesses a thing of his own private Knowledge there may be no way to invalidate his Testimony but either by shewing that the thing which he testifies was not possible or by offering some just Exception to the Credit of the Witness But when neither of these can be done and they cannot always be done altho' the thing testified be false yet in case the Matter was done publickly it is the easiest thing in the World to convict a false Witness by the contrary Testimony of several others that were present and as capable of knowing the Truth of the thing as himself or by the Clashing of the Witnesses among themselves Nothing therefore could have been more easie than to have disproved the Evangelical History in almost every particular of it if it had not been true For most of our Saviour's Speeches and Miracles are related as spoken and done in the Presence not of his Disciples only but of a great many others that happened to be by by Chance or that followed him not for any Liking that they had to his Person or Doctrine but only out of Curiosity or for the Sake of the Loaves and very often they were done before such as came on purpose to watch what he said and did with a Design to lay hold on any
the false Evidence they had given concerning it if it had been false might easily have been shewn other ways for what they testified was that that same Jesus whom the Jews had Crucified and whom they had seen laid into the Sepulchre was risen again and had been seen alive three Days after his Passion by several of his Disciples Had this therefore been false how very easie would it have been for the Jews to have disproved their Evidence of it by only going to the Sepulchre and taking out thence his dead Body and exposing it for some time to publick view And thither doubtless they did go and with this Design but the Body they could not find and yet they had taken all the Caution that was possible to prevent its being conveyed away Mat. 27.62 having obtain'd from Pilate a Guard of Soldiers on purpose to keep watch over it for three Days This therefore is a strong Confirmation of the Truth of the Apostle's Testimony concerning our Lord's Resurrection that it being such as might with the greatest Ease in the World have been disproved if it had been false the Jews had nothing to say against it nothing to oppose to it but only that very ill contrived that self-contradicting Evidence of the Watchmen Mat. 29.13 who said that while they were asleep that is when all their senses were bound up and when they were not in a Capacity of knowing any thing that was done the Disciples came and stole the Body away But if they saw the Body remov'd in which Case only they could be good Witnesses of it they were not as they said they were asleep when the thing was done Or if indeed they were asleep when it was removed they could not be positive how it was removed they could not say he was not risen from the Dead 6. Another thing that may be consider'd in order to shew how very improbable or rather how impossible it was that the Gospel History should ever have gained Credit in the World if it had been false is this that as it was a History of such Matters and was so contrived that it might with the greatest Ease have been disproved so the Matters therein related were in themselves and especially in their Consequences such as must needs have engaged a great many to make the strictest Examination that was possible into the Truth of them and if they had discovered any thing of Falshood therein to make known their Discovery to the World For the whole Doctrine of Christianity was grounded upon the Truth of the Evangelical History This disprov'd would have destroy'd that and this being admitted there was no way to put a stop to the spreading of that And the certain Consequence of receiving the Christian Religion in the World was the Abolishing of all the other Forms of Religion that were then any where receiv'd or establish'd even of that which had been introduc'd by Moses amongst the Jews by the Appointment of God himself as well as of the several sorts of Paganism and Idolatry that were receiv'd in other Countries Now when any Religion be it true or false is the establish'd Religion of a Country there must needs be a great many ingaged by the strongest Worldly Interest to support and maintain it For it was not only at Ephesus that a great number of Craftsmen got their Wealth by making Silver Shrines for Diana Acts 19.24 c. but in every other Country the Living of a considerable Number depended upon the Religion that was therein receiv'd which being destroy'd and their Trade or Profession thereby at an End they must of necessity be hard put to it to get Bread by taking up some new Employment And besides there is nothing that all Men of what Trade or Profession soever they are are generally so zealous and concern'd about nothing that they are so afraid of any Change or Innovation in as Religion This be it well or weakly grounded yet if it be that Form of Religion that they have receiv'd from their Fathers and been bred up in from their Childhood they will not easily let go So that I said too little when I said before that a great many must needs have been engaged to set themselves to discover the Falsity of the Evangelical History for this was in truth the common Concern of all Mankind except only of those few Persons who had been Instructed by our Saviour and believed him to be the Christ All others whether Jews or Gentiles Rich or Poor Learned or â—gnorant Priests or People were engaged either by Interest or Prejudice or Conscience or upon some other Account to convict the Apostles of Falshood in their Relation of the Matters contain'd in the Evangelical History and if any Falshood had been therâ—in it is impossible considering how obvious it must needs lie to Discovery and how many were at Work to find it out that they could have failed of their Aim And if any one had made the Discovery it can't be imagin'd he would have been long before he had imparted to others a Piece of News so very welcome as that would have been to the Generality of Mankind or that such a Discovery of the Falsity of the Gospel History in any one particular once made and publish'd should ever after have been stifled or suppress'd because the same Reasons that put them at first upon making the Discovery were of the same Force afterwards to engage them to preserve the Memory of any Discovery of that kind that had been made And therefore I add in the last Place And 't is that which gives Weight and Strength to all that has been said before upon this Subject and fully compleats that Argument which I am now upon for the Proof of the Truth of the Gospel History 7. That notwithstanding the Easiness of the Disproof of this History if it had been false and the incessant Endeavours of the Adversaries of Christianity to find out some Falshood therein to do which â—hey were not only prompted by their own Interest â—nd Inclination but also frequently and boldly chalâ—enged by the Christians themselves as may be seen in â—he ancient Apologies for the Christian Faith it is nevertheless a History of very good Credit now cavilled â—t perhaps but not denied not pretended to be disproved either by Jews or Mahometans or any other â—ort of Infidels and that it has been of the like good Credit for many Hundred Years past even ever since â—he first Publication of it and that 't is not so much â—s contradicted in any Point by any other Historian â—hat living in or near the Time of its Writing was in a Capacity to contradict it upon good Grounds viz. upon either certain Knowledge of his own or very credible Information from others that any Matter therein had been falsly related True perhaps the Infidels will say There is indeed no History of competent Antiquity now extant by which the Gospel History can be
subject but also by the Rules of that Religion which they had been bred up in by which they had been expresly forbidden to lye one to another and by which they had been taught that a False Witness that speaketh Lyes is an Abomination to the Lord. Lev. 19.11 Pro. 6.16 19. and especially by the strict Command of him whom they had lately taken for their Master and whose Laws and Religion they were to preach and propagate in the World by which they were obliged and under the severest Penalty no less than Eternal Damnation to put away all Lying Eph. 4.25 Rev. 21.8 and to speak every Man the Truth to his Neighbour The Subject Matter of their Relation did also lay upon them the strongest Obligation to have a strict Regard to Truth in every thing that they wrote For if it be a Sin to speak an Untruth in any common Matter it is manifestly a greater Sin to do it in grave and serious Things when Truth is most expected and especially in Matters of Religion wherein a Lye is most unbecoming And if it be a Sin to utter a Slander or to tell a Lye of a Man it is evidently a Sin of a more heinous Nature to report an Untruth concerning God and to utter a Falshood in the Name of God And if to lead Men into any Mistake by a false Relation be a Practice not to be justified altho' the Mistake they are led into be of no hurtful Consequence either to themselves or to the World it is evidently a great Aggravation of the Lye if Men are thereby deceived in a Case of the nearest and dearest Concern to them if they are led thereby into an Error that may prove fatal to them to all Eternity And lastly If it be a very great Sin only once to speak an Untruth that may be prejudicial to one Man it is plainly the greatest and the most unpardonable Sin of this kind to record an Untruth with a Design thereby to deceive to their Everlasting Destruction all the Men that shall ever be born into the World in all future Ages If therefore the Gospel History be false there was manifestly such a Complication of most horrid Wickedness in the Publishers and Compilers of it as it is not fair to suppose even one single Man would be guilty of and much less can it be reasonably supposed that several Men viz. not only the Four Evangelists but all the other Apostles who preached the same things that they wrote did consent to the reporting of so many and such notorious and hurtful Untruths But this it may be it will be said is not a direct proof that the Evangelists were true and faithful in their Relations but only a probable ground of presuming that they were so And I grant it is no more But nevertheless I think if nothing more could be offered this alone wou'd be sufficient to render their Testimony highly credible so long as nothing is alledged on the other side to disprove it And in all other Cases we allow it to be so For by the Testimony of Persons of whose Truth we have no other Assurance but such a probable Presumption all Questions and Controversies of the greatest Concern relating to the Lives and Estates of Men are in this World finally decided every Man that bears Witness in any such Case being by the common Judgment of Mankind taken and accepted as a good Witness unless the contrary appears And by the Testimony of two or three such Witnesses we all consent that every Matter should be established But then I add further that besides this reasonable Presumption of the Truth of the Witnesses of the Gospel History which is all that we ordinarily have or do desire in other Cases there is as good positive Proof of their Truth as can be required And this was the next Thing propos'd to be consider'd viz. 4 The good Evidences that we have of their Honesty and Faithfulness And here it may be noted for tho' it be a thing that we lay no great stress upon in this Case yet I think 't is not to be omitted because 't is one of the best Evidences that we can have of the Faithfulness of any Historian whose personal Character is unknown to us that the Authors of the Evangelical History seem to have related all Matters with the greatest Impartiality that they seem as free in telling the things that were or might be accounted disgraceful to their Master or themselves as in telling those things that were most glorious and reputable For thus in their History of the Life of Christ as they tell us the wonderfulness of his Birth the many Miracles that he wrought the Testimony that was given him by the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon him and by the Voice of God his Glorious Resurrection from the Dead and Ascension into Heaven so they stick not to tell us also the Meanness of his Parentage the Obscurity of his Birth his poor and low Condition in the World the Affronts that were given him the Contempt he was had in and the shameful Death he was put to And of themselves They have left it upon Record to all Posterity that they were of the meanest Extraction and bred up to very poor or scandalous Employments that they were Fisher-Men Tent-Makers Publicans They own that they were ignorant and unlearned Men they tell their own Childish Mistakes about the Nature of the Kingdom of the Messiah they mention their own foolish and ambitious Contentions with one another about worldly Greatness they confess their own Baseness and Cowardice in forsaking their Master when in Danger after the most solemn Profession of Friendship and repeated Assurances of Stedfastness and Fidelity St. Peter's Denial of Christ is a thing noted by all the Evangelists and by St. Peter himself if the Gospel of St. Mark be accounted his is told with its worst Circumstances and St. Paul freely owns that before his Conversion to Christianity he was a Blasphemer a Persecutor and injurious and the chief of Sinners Now their Recording such things as these concerning their Master and themselves as it is an Evidence of their Impartiality is consequently a good Argument of the Truth of their History for had they allowed themselves a Liberty of varying from the Truth in any particular it cannot be imagin'd but that they would at least have concealed their own Frailties and Infirmities it can't be suppos'd they would have furnished their Adversaries with Matter wherewith to reproach them But 't is possible that an Historian who means to deceive his Readers in some Matter of greater Moment may purposely insert some few such Passages as these thereby to gain himself an easier Belief in other Things and to cover his wicked Design 'T is therefore another and a better Evidence of the Truth of the Gospel History that the Evangelists and other Witnesses of the Facts recorded in the Gospels were Persons not liable to any just
suspicion of Unfaithfulness in their Relations because whatever they had been before they were then in all other Respects Persons of a very good Character 1 Thes 2.10 Ye are Witnesses says the Apostle and God also how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you They that could not be charged with any other Crimes were not justly to be suspected guilty of Forgery and Lying And we have abundant Reason to believe that they were in all other Respects unblameable because there is no Evidence that they were ever charged at all either truly or falsly even by their greatest Enemies with any other Fault but only too great Zeal and Industry in propagating their Religion And 't is no Wonder that this should be thought a Fault by those who were of another Religion or that by the Powers that then were who endeavoured with all their might to suppress the Growth of Christianity the Apostles who were so zealous to spread it should be looked upon as disaffected to their Government and Movers of Sedition But however this if it had been a Fault was not such a Crime as could justly have render'd their Honesty suspected but on the contrary it was rather a very good Argument that however they might possibly be mistaken yet they did believe themselves 't is a fair Proof that they thought they had good Evidence of the things they testified and that they reckoned themselves under a strict Obligation to testifie the same For 't is plain and that 's another good Argument of their Veracity that they could have no Worldly End or Design either in the Framing or Publishing of those Stories which they related so that if they were Fables which they told they were far from being cunningly devised Fables because as the World then was they could not be so vain as to hope to raise themselves either to Honour or Wealth by preaching a Crucified Messiah to the Jews a Stumbling Block and to the Greeks Foolishness Now 't is not to be supposed that any Man will frame or report a Lye for nothing Whoever knowingly deceives another must be supposed to intend some Advantage to himself thereby And therefore if there be no Untruth appearing in the Relation and no Gain or other Advantage that the Reporter can be supposed to make to himself by it it may very reasonably be presumed that the Report is true But so far was this if it was a Lye from being a profitable and advantageous Lye to the Forgers and Reporters of it that on the contrary it was and they could not but readily foresee that it would be very prejudicial to their Worldly Interests exposing them to all sorts of Persecutions from all sorts of Men For both Jews and Gentiles and every Sect and Party of every other Religion however hating one another with a mortal Hatred readily joyned together to persecute the Christians and those above all others who were the Witnesses of Christianity the Ringleaders as they called them of the Sect of the Nazareens This therefore may be reckon'd another Evidence of their Truth and as 't is a stronger Evidence of Truth than any that has been yet mentioned so 't is such an one as I believe no History in the World has but that of the Gospel viz. That no Threats or Punishments could move the Witnesses of those things that are recorded in the Evangelical History so much as to desist from giving fresh Testimony to the Truth of the Things which they had once related For this seems to have been all that was ever required or expected from them not that they should retract the Testimony they had given but only that they should not speak or teach any more in the Name of Jesus Acts 4.18.5.46 And upon this Condition alone any of them might have expected both a Pardon for what they had done before and likewise all fitting Favour and Encouragement But this was what they all refused to do giving no other Reason of their Refusal but this that they were very sure of the Truth of the things they had spoken and that there was a necessity laid upon them to preach the Gospel Whether say they Acts 4.19 20. it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard And the more they were threatned to hold their Peace so much the more boldly did they speak not only filling Jerusalem with their Doctrine but likewise spreading the same in all the World And tho' they knew that in every City where they came Bonds and Afflictions did abide there None of these things moved them Acts 20.23 24. neither did they count their Lives dear unto themselves so that they might finish their Course with Joy and the Ministery which they had receiv'd of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the Grace of God And if these Proofs and Evidences already mentioned of The Truth and faithfulness of the Apostles and Evangelists are not thought sufficient to gain them Credit what is there that would be sufficient for more Evidence or better Proof cannot reasonably be desired so good is very rarely to be met with or expected And indeed I think there is but only one stronger Proof thereof that can ever possibly be given by Men And that is when a Witness lays down his Life to confirm the Testimony he has given for if when a Man has witnessed any thing and is questioned for it and threatned with Death if he persists in it he still continues boldly to testifie the same thing and especially if when upon the Rack or on the Cross in the midst of the sharpest Torments and even at the Hour of his Death he Justifies the Truth of his former Testimony he certainly gives the best Assurance that 't is possible for any Man to give of his Honesty and Truth And if any humane Testimony be credible this is certainly so in the highest Degree That therefore our Belief of the Gospel might be built upon the surest grounds it pleased the Divine Wisdom so to Order it that all those who were the first Witnesses thereof to the World should give likewise this best possible Proof of their Veracity For of all the Apostles and Evangelists of the manner of whose Death there is any Memory preserved either by History or Tradition St. John is the only Person that did not seal the Testimony he had given with his Blood And that he did not suffer Martyrdom as well as the Rest was not occasioned by his forbearing to repeat the Testimony he had before given and much less by his Retracting it but was meerly an Act of Divine and Miraculous Providence whereby tho' he was put into a Cauldron of Boyling Oyl his Life was preserv'd so that in Truth considering the Hazard he ran of his Life which could not have been saved but by a Miracle he may very
And this he himself urges as a Reason why his Testimony ought to be credited Joh. viii 46. Which of you convinceth me of Sin and if I say the Truth why do ye not believe me And a very good Reason it was for it could not justly be suspected that a Person of whom no other ill thing could be said was yet indeed in the whole Course of his Life guilty of a Crime of the greatest Magnitude viz. of Lying in the Name of God of saying that the Lord had sent him when indeed the Lord had not sent him nor spoken by him 2. It may be also consider'd that this Testimony of our Lord tho' it was concerning himself yet was not for himself I mean it was not for his own worldly Advantage And this Consideration he himself likewise offers to the Jews as an Argument of the Truth of his Testimony Joh. vii 18. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own Glory but he that seeketh his Glory that sent him the same is true and no unrighteousness is in him Had the Doctrine of our Lord which he pretended was what God had commanded him to teach been contriv'd to advance the Worldly Honour and Greatness of himself or his Followers this would have been a just Prejudice against it and a reasonable Ground of suspecting that he spake of himself but when it was evident to all that heard his Discourses and is no less so to us that read them that he sought not his own Glory in any thing but the Glory of him that sent him and that his whole Doctrine tended to advance the Honour of God and to promote the Practice of Piety and Virtue in the World this rendred his Testimony very credible when he said he was sent by God to teach it to the World for when a Doctrine is plainly worthy of God and according to Godliness 1 Tim. 6.3 it may reasonably be presumed that God is the Author of it 3. It may be further considered that this Testimony of our Lord concerning himself was so far from being to his own Benefit that it was as much as any thing could possibly be to his Worldly Disadvantage exposing him to the Envy and Malice of the Jews and to the Jealousie of the Romans and to all the cruel Sufferings which he endured from both of them And certainly a Man's Testimony concerning himself may be allow'd to be credible if it be against his own Interest if he himself be a great Loser or Sufferer by what he Testifies for it can't be imagined what else but only the Evidence of Truth and an Obligation to declare it should ever induce a Man to say such things concerning himself as will procure his own mischief And I know not what can be said to avoid the Force of this Argument for the Truth of our Saviour's Testimony that he was sent from God and that he was the Messiah unless it be that he was disappointed in his Expectation and that he hoped to make himself Rich and Great in the World by these Glorious Pretences tho' in the Event it prov'd otherwise But the Gospel-History furnishes us with a very clear and full Answer to this Objection in those many Predictions of our Lord therein recorded concerning his own Sufferings Mat. 16.31.20.17 whereby it clearly appears that the Sufferings which befel him for giving this Testimony concerning himself did not happen to him unexpectedly but that he knew long before all that afterwards came to pass And therefore I say again that no Reason can be imagin'd why he should say that he was sent from God but only because he knew it was true and had receiv'd a Command from his Father to declare this Truth to the World Especially if it be consider'd further 4. Lastly That he continu'd to testifie the same at his Death which he had done before in his Life giving thereby the best Assurance that a Man can give of the Truth of his Testimony For the main Matter of his Accusation to Pilate was that he had given out himself to be the Messiah and the Messiah was according to the Expectation of the Jews to be a great Temporal King had our Lord therefore but denied this Charge had he but granted that he was not the Messiah he might have saved his Life But this he would not do he disowned indeed the false Notion that the Jews had of the Messiah my Kingdom John 18.26 Mat. 27.11 Joh. 18.37 Mat. 26.63 64. Mar. 14.61 62. says he is not of this World But that he was a King and that he was the Messiah he boldly owned as well when the Question was put to him by the Roman Governor who had Power of Life and Death as when it had been put to him before by the High-Priest This therefore is a strong Confirmation of the Truth of this Testimony of our Lord and is alone sufficient to make it credible that he witnessed the same good Confession before Pontius Pilate 1 Tim. 6.13 which he had done before his own Nation and Sealed his Witness with his Blood For 't is not to be supposed that any Man tells a known Lye for nothing and it was plainly then too late for him to hope for any good to himself in this World by persisting in this Testimony his only Hope had been in retracting it and 't is not credible that any Man should be so foolish as to expect to better himself in the other World by dying with a Lye in his mouth Thus I hope it appears that the Testimony of our Lord concerning his own divine Mission was credible in it self so that we might rationally believe that he came from God and that he was Christ the Son of God altho' we had only his own Word for it But we have more than his own Word for it I am not alone says he Joh. viii 16 c. but I and the Father that sent me It is also written in your Law that the Testimony of two Men is true I am one that bear Witness of my self and the Father that sent me beareth Witness of me And this was the other thing I proposed to consider in order to shew the good Reason that we have to believe that our Saviour was sent from God and that he was the Messiah viz. Secondly The Confirmation that was given to this Testimony of our Lord by God himself And this was given several ways 1. God bare him Witness by the Testimony of ancient Prophets And to this our Saviour frequently appeals Joh. v. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life and they are they which testifie of me And again v. 46. Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of me And this St. Peter comparing it with that Voice from Heaven testifying him to be the Son of God 2 Pet. 1.18 19. of which he himself had been an Ear-witness calls a more sure word of
Prophecy And indeed it was as certain an Evidence of his divine Mission as could be desir'd For it was a Matter of the greatest Concern to the World to discern the promis'd Messiah that so they might know in whom to Believe and from whom to expect Salvation And to this End God was pleased by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the World began to give several Marks and Characters of the Messiah by which he might be certainly known and readily distinguish'd from all Impostors for they foretold exactly the Time of his Coming his Pedigree and the Place of his Birth the manner of his Life the Things he was to do the Sufferings he was to undergo and all the remarkable Accidents that were to befall him in this World all which Predictions were punctually fulfill'd in the Person of our blessed Saviour as must be granted by every one that allows the truth of the Gospel-History And this is an undeniable Proof that he was the Messiah for it is manifestly inconsistent with the Wisdom of God when he meant to give Marks and Characters by which the Messiah might be certainly known to give only such as might belong to another Person no less than to him and it is no less inconsistent with his Goodness that his Providence should ever permit that all the Marks and Characters of the true Messiah should meet together in an Impostor because by this Mankind must have lain under an inevitable Necessity of being cheated in a Matter of the greatest Consequence to their Eternal Salvation But the ancient Prophecies of Christ were many of them in Types or Figurative Expressions not readily to be understood 'till they were accomplish'd nor then very easie to be applied by every one to the Person of the true Messiah without the Help of a Teacher How can I understand what I read said the Eunuch Acts 8.31 even when he was reading one of the plainest Prophecies of Christ that is in the Old Testament except some man should guide me And therefore God was pleased to give a yet more certain and distinct Knowledge of him to the Men of that Generation in which he appear'd And this he did 2. By the Testimony of John the Baptist who was a burning and a shining Light and did not as the former Prophets had done only lay down Marks and Characters by the wise Application whereof Men might discern the Messiah when they saw him but pointed to him as it were with his Finger as he stood before their Eyes so that the simplest among them could not but know whom he meant Behold says he the Lamb of God Joh. 1.29 30. which taketh away the Sin of the World This is he of whom I said after me cometh a Man which is preferred before me And to this Testimony of John our Saviour himself frequently appealed as to a Testimony that was full to the purpose and could not be denied Ye sent unto John says he and he bare witness unto the Truth Joh. v. 32. Mat. 21.23 c And when the Chief Priests and Elders question'd him about his Authority he perfectly confounded them by only asking them whether the Baptism of John was from Heaven or of Men for that John was a Prophet altho' he did no Miracles was so evident to all by the wonderful manner of his Birth and the miraculous Circumstances that attended it that they could not and he was also so generally receiv'd and accepted among the People as a Prophet that they dared not deny it If they say we shall say of Men all the People will stone us for they be persuaded that John was a Prophet and yet had they granted this which they could not deny they had answer'd their own Question and seen clearly by what Authority our Saviour acted and taught for no Testimony of his divine Mission could be plainer and clearer than that of John was and it was a thing granted by the Jews that he is a Prophet without all doubt and needs no farther Trial unto whom another Prophet bears Witness 3. Another way by which God gave Witness to our Saviour that he was sent by him and that he was the Messiah was by a Voice from Heaven which Testimony was given him three times Mat. 3.16 17. Mar. 1.10 11. Luke 3.22 First at his Baptism when being come up out of the water the Heavens opened and the Spirit like a Dove descended upon him and there came a Voice from Heaven saying Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And of this Voice 't is highly probable St. John Baptist was an Ear-witness for 't is said expresly that he saw the Spirit descending like a Dove from Heaven and abiding on him John 1.32 and that was at the same time that the Voice was utter'd A Second time was at his Transfiguration on the Mount when the Glory of God appearing in a Cloud Ex. 24.15 c. Mat. 17.5 Mar. 9.7 Luke 9.35 as it had anciently us'd to do there came a Voice out of the Cloud which said This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him And at the uttering of this Voice three of his Apostles were present 2 Pet. 1.17 John 1 14. 1 John 5.7 two of which have witnessed the same to us under their own Hands A Third time was after the raising of Lazarus when were present not only his Apostles who constantly accompanied him Joh. 12.20 28. but several others both Jews and Greeks And this Voice was so loud as to be heard by all that were present tho' not by all so distinctly and articulately as it was by some who as 't is probable were nearer than the rest which was the occasion of that Difference that was among the People concerning it some saying that it Thundered and others that an Angel spake to him Ver. 29. To doubt therefore of his divine Mission whom God thus testified to by Voices from Heaven is to make God himself a Lyar as the Apostle speaks 1 Joh. 5.10 because we receive not the Record that he gave of his Son 4. Another way by which God gave Witness to the divine Mission of our Saviour was by enduing him with the Gift of Prophecy or foretelling things to come Mat. 16.21.20.17 c. Mar. 9.31.10.33 Several Instances of which we meet with in the Gospel-History for he foretold very often his own Sufferings and Death with all the remarkable Circumstances thereof He said that he should be betray'd by one of his own Disciples Mat. 26.21 John 6.70 when none of them suspected that there was a false Brother among them and the Traytor himself knew not yet the falseness of his own Heart Mat. 26.34 He told Peter but a few Hours before that he should deny him thrice when He at the same time was very confident of his own strength and declar'd himself resolv'd to die rather than deny him once
Witness of the Holy-Ghost which I now chiefly design was that which was given to him after his Ascension into Heaven and was an evident Token that all power in Heaven and Earth was then committed to him I mean those Gifts of the Holy-Ghost which he showred down on his Apostles on the Day of Pentecost when being met together Acts 2.1 c. there came suddenly a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind which filled all the House where they were sitting and there appeared unto them Cloven Tongues like as of Fire which sat upon each of them whereupon they wre all filled with the Holy-Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance And this Testimony of the Holy Ghost our Saviour promis'd before should be given to him Joh. xv 26. When the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testifie of me And the Testimony indeed was very plain and full for by this it clearly appear'd that all his former Miracles had been true and had been wrought by a divine Power when even after he had left this World he was still able to make good this Promise to his Disciples and to empower them to do greater Works in his Name than he himself had done while he was living upon Earth This was a clear Demonstration that he was the beloved Son of the Father and was as St. Peter says Act. 2.33 exalted at God's right hand when he did shed forth that wonderful power upon his Apostles of which all that then dwelt in Jerusalem or had come thither from all parts of the World to Worship were Eye and Ear-Witnesses And this Testimony of the Holy-Ghost was given to our Saviour not at that time only not one Day and no more but was continu'd to be given to him all the time of the Apostle's Preaching who were also enabled to communicate to others by laying on of Hands Act. 2.38.8.17.10.44.19.6 the same Miraculous Gifts of the Holy-Ghost which they themselves had receiv'd until they had finish'd their Ministery and planted Christian Churches in all the Countries of the then known World Thus I have briefly mention'd the great Evidence that the Gospel History affords of the Truth of our Saviour's Testimony of himself the Matters of Fact I have taken for granted as being parts of the Gospel-History the Truth of which has been I hope already sufficiently prov'd and the Evidence it self is so clear and full that I thought it needless to open it in more Words than I have done for that the Testimony which God did by all these ways give to our Saviour is a rational Inducement to believe the Truth of what he said concerning himself is what I think can't be doubted by those that allow themselves any time to consider things This I 'm sure I may say that if this strong Evidence that the Gospel-History affords of our Saviour's divine Mission be not sufficient to prove it there never yet has been sufficient Evidence of the Truth of any divine Revelation I had almost said nor ever can be but that I know it is not for us to say what Infinite Power and Wisdom can do But as some Jews in our Saviour's time said Joh. 7.31 when Christ cometh will he do more Miracles than these which this Man hath done So I may ask and I believe it will be very difficult to make answer to it when Christ cometh if indeed he be not already come if indeed that Jesus on whom we believe be not he how shall we do to know him What greater Assurance can he give us that he is the Christ than Jesus hath given What better Reason can we ever have to believe any Messenger that shall be sent from God than we have to believe our Saviour For we have as much Reason supposing the Gospel-History to be true to believe him to be sent from God as we have to believe any thing we are as secure that we are not deceiv'd in him as we are that we are not deceiv'd in the plainest Matters of sense For the best the only security that we have that our senses do not deceive us and that every thing in the World is not quite otherwise than it appears to us to be is the Goodness of God and this same security we have that we are not deceiv'd in our Saviour's divine Mission Nay we are more secure of this than we are of that because it is more plainly inconsistent with the Goodness of God to deceive us in a Matter on which our everlasting Welfare depends than in Matters only of this Life which are the chief things for which our bodily Senses are of use to us And if indeed we are deceiv'd in our Saviour it must be said that God himself has deceiv'd us having given us all the Reason imaginable to believe him to be as he said he was the Son of God And now having been so large in shewing the Evidence that there is from the Matters of Fact recorded in the History of the New Testament that our Saviour himself was a Teacher sent from God I shall not need to spend much time in shewing that his Apostles were likewise Commission'd by God to instruct the World and consequently that we ought also to receive all the Doctrines taught by them whether in their Epistles or in their Discourses interwoven by St. Luke with his History of their Acts as true and divine for 1. There is plainly no Reason why we should not receive them as such because they are the very same that our Saviour taught and no other Some Points of Christian Doctrine are indeed more largely explain'd and handled by the Apostles in their Epistles than they are in those Discourses of our Saviour that are recorded by the Evangelists but between the Doctrines taught by our Lord himself and those taught by the Apostles there is such a perfect Harmony and Agreement that if we had only their own Word for it that they spake and wrote by the Inspiration of the Spirit we might securely believe them for tho' one Man may without Inspiration say the same thing which another before him has spoken by Inspiration yet if the second says that he also is inspir'd there can be no Hurt tho' there may be a Mistake in believing him seeing whether the Man was Inspir'd or no 't is certain that the Doctrine was But 2. If there be any Doctrines taught by the Apostles which we do not see were taught before by our Saviour I say there is however from the History of the Gospel Evidence enough of their divine Mission also so that we may very securely take upon their Credit as true and divine any Doctrine which they have instructed us in For 1. That they were sent by our Saviour is past all Dispute if the Gospel-History be true Joh. xx 21. As
my Father hath sent me so send I you and again Mat. xxviii 19 20. Go ye and disciple all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And that he had Authority to grant them such a Commission he shews in the words before All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations c. And 2. That they were taught by God and enlightned by his Holy Spirit is what can't be doubted if we believe the power of our Saviour and the Truth of the Gospel for before our Lord went from them Joh 20.22 he breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost And to what Purposes the Holy-Ghost was to be given them he had told them before Joh. 14.26 The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your Remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you And when he the Spirit of Truth is come Joh. 16.13 he will guide you into all Truth being thus therefore taught by the Spirit of Truth our Saviour might well say as he does Luke x. 16. He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me And 3. Lastly We have all the reason in the World to receive them as Messengers from God and to believe that all that they have taught is the Will of God because they had the same Attestation of God to the truth of their Doctrine that our Saviour himself had to his I do not mean that God did bear them Witness all those ways by which he bare witness to our Saviour for that could not be but he bare witness to them all those ways by which it was proper for him to do it and by which he had born witness to any former Prophets For he bare witness to them that they were sent by him Joh. 13.22.20 21. by the Testimony of our Saviour as he had done to our Saviour by the Testimony of John And if the Testimony of a Prophet was credible concerning our Saviour much more is the Testimony of the Son of God highly credible concerning a Messenger sent by him He bare witness to them also by enduing them with the Gift of Prophecy Joh. 16.13 for when the Spirit of Truth is come says our Saviour he will shew you things to come And lastly he bare witness to them by that which is the most plain and sensible proof of a divine Mission Mar. 16.20 viz. By the Power of Miracles and manifold Gifts of the Holy-Ghost The Lord worked with them and confirmed their word with Signs following says St. Mark And with great Power says St. Luke gave Acts 4.33 the Apostles witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus And the greater part of the History of the Acts of the Apostles is spent in relating the wonderful Works that they did by the Name of Jesus and the Power of the Holy-Ghost in confirmation of the Truth of their Doctrine But St. Paul perhaps it will be said of whose Writing are most of the Epistles was not one of them not called by our Saviour to be an Apostle as they were nor so much as an Eye and Ear-witness of our Lord's Miracles and Doctrine what Reason then have we to receive his Writings as Portions of Holy Scripture I answer as good tho' not in every particular just the same that we have to receive the Writings of the other Apostles as such For he was Converted and Ordain'd to be an Apostle in a more wonderful manner than they were as you may see in Acts 9. And as our Lord himself gave witness to their Divine Mission so he did also to his Acts ix 15. He is says our Lord a chosen Vessel unto me to bear my Name before the Gentiles and Kings and the Children of Israel To him also as well as to them Act. 20.22 25.27.10 22. 2 Th. 2.3 c. 1 Tim. 4.1 c. 2 Tim. 3.1 c. the Spirit foreshew'd things to come several Proofs of which we may observe in the History of the Acts and in his Epistles And Lastly His Speech and his Preaching was 1 Cor. 2.4 2 Cor. 12.12 as theirs in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power In him all the Signs of an Apostle were seen no less than in them viz. Signs and Wonders and mighty Deeds And of him with Barnabas in Company Acts 14.3 it is that St. Luke speaks when he says that the Lord gave Testimony to the word of his Grace and granted Signs and Wonders to be done by their Hands And the latter part of the History of the Acts from the 10th Chapter to the End contains little else but an account of St. Paul's Preaching and of the Miracles that were done by the Power of God to confirm the Truth of his Doctrine So that if we believe the Gospel-History we can no more doubt of his divine Mission and Inspiration than we can of theirs we must conclude that if they were Apostles so was he that if they were Ministers of Christ 2 Cor. 11.23 2 Cor. 11.5 2 Cor. 12.11 so was he too forasmuch as in nothing he was behind the very chiefest Apostles so that consequently we have as much Reason to believe his Writings to be Inspired as we have theirs And now by all that hath been said I hope I have fully made good the Point I was to prove viz. That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught whether by Christ himself or by his Apostles For if it be true that they were sent by God to instruct the World and to declare the Will of God to Mankind and that they were is sufficiently prov'd by their Credential Letters which we have now perused and examin'd we can no more doubt the truth of those things which they as the Messengers and Ambassadors of God have deliver'd to us in his Name than if we had heard God himself uttering the same by a Voice from Heaven So that I cannot but perswade my self that the Proofs which have been offer'd in the foregoing Discourse of the Truth of all the Doctrines that are taught in the New Testament are sufficient to convince any Rational and Considering Man of the Truth of any Doctrine the Falsity whereof is not Notorious and Self-evident And therefore this I think is the only thing that can with any shew of Reason be pretended by any Person to justifie his not receiving the Gospel as a divine Revelation viz. That the Matter of it in some Particulars is such as will not admit of any Proof at all because no Arguments can make a
thing credible which in it self is incredible And such it may be pretended some of the Christian Doctrines are which are taught in the New Testament and especially the Doctrine of the Trinity And that this Doctrine is clearly taught in the New Testament we freely grant But why should it be deem'd incredible Does it imply a Contradiction Can they that except against it or against the Gospel-Revelation upon the Account of it shew that it is impossible it should be true Can they demonstrate that 't is impossible for an Infinite and Eternal Being to beget a Son in his own Likeness Heb. 1.3 the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person Or can they shew it to be impossible that there should be a third Person proceeding from both these No perhaps they 'll say But that these three should be one as the Scripture teaches that they think exceeds all the Measures of Belief that they can't but think a manifest Contradiction But why so Do the Christians hold or does the Scripture say that they are three and one in the same respect does it say that the one God is three Gods or that those three whom it speaks of as three distinct Persons ascribing personal Acts to each of them are nevertheless but one single Person No it only tells us in general that these three are One But how they are Three or how they are One wherein consists their Distinction and wherein their Unity it says not at least not very plainly And I think it the safest Course in such high Matters Psal 131.1 in Matters so much too high for us not to exercise our selves nor to pretend to be Wise above what is written If therefore there be no Contradiction in the Doctrine of a Trinity in Unity as there is not unless we say that God is One and Three in the same Respect that 's enough that 's all that needs to be said upon this Occasion For tho' we may as indeed we must allow it to be an incomprehensible Mystery there is no Reason to Cavil at the Gospel-Revelation or to deny it to be a true divine Revelation upon this Account For we live in a World of Mysteries we must believe Mysteries in abundance whether we will or no I mean there are some Truths so very plain even to our Reason that we can't doubt of them and yet so very high and Mysterious that we can no more fathom them than we can the Doctrine of the Trinity For thus that Matter is not Eternal we are as sure almost as we are of any thing for Matter could not exist of it self and yet how Matter should be made out of nothing is as incomprehensible by us as 't is how the One undivided Godhead does personally subsist in the Father Son and Holy-Ghost And thus again that God is Eternal we are certain by Reason for by God we mean the first Cause of all and he who was first could have none before him and yet that any thing should exist without a Cause of its Existence is unaccountable and if we were not sure that it must be so we should be ready to say that it was impossible and a manifest Contradiction that it should be so Thus I say we are led by the Light of Reason only to a firm belief of some Truths which yet we can give no Account of by our Reason and I think 't is very hard that we will not receive an incomprehensible Doctrine upon the Credit of a very plain and well attested Divine Revelation as well as we do and must do the same upon the Evidence of Natural Reason Especially considering the Subject of this incomprehensible Doctrine which is the Essence or Substance of God who is an Infinite Being and so must needs be incomprehensible by our finite Understandings by our Understandings I say which are so very shallow that I believe I may truly say we understand not the Essence or Substance of any thing For we understand not what is the Essence or Substance of Matter or Body tho' it be a thing that all our Senses are continually exercised about all that we know of it is some Properties or Accidents thereof that it is something but what we know not that has Figure and Dimensions that is hard soft fix'd fluid or the like And we understand no more but rather less what the Essence or Substance of our Soul is all that we know of it is that 't is something that thinks and because it thinks we know it must be something and because none of those Properties which we observe in Matter have any Relation at all to Thought we conclude that the thinking Soul is an immaterial Something tho' what is immaterial cannot be explain'd by us unless we could say what is material Seeing therefore as the Wise Hebrew speaks we do hardly guess aright at things that are upon Earth Wisd 9.16 and with Labour do find out the things that are before us is it any wonder that we cannot search out and fully know and comprehend the things that are in Heaven If we are not able to understand even our own Essence and how by an ineffable Union of Spirit with Matter the whole together becomes one Man is it any Wonder Job 11.7 that by all our Searching we cannot find out God that we cannot find out the Almighty unto Perfection And what hath been thus briefly said is I hope sufficient to shew that a Divine Revelation cannot reasonably be excepted against or refused only upon the Account of some Mysterious and Incomprehensible Doctrines that are therein contain'd And if not then I hope what was said before is enough to satisfie any considering Man that the Gospel is a true Divine Revelation To Conclude all therefore having Christ and his Apostles continually Preaching to us in the Books of the New Testament Jam. 1.21 22. Let us as the Text says hear them Let us Reverence these Sacred Writings as the Oracles of God and receive with Meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save our Souls But let us be Doers of the Word and not Hearers only deceiving our own selves For as the Apostle argues Heb. 11.3 c. If the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and every Transgression and Disobedience receiv'd a just Recompence of Reward How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him God also bearing them witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy-Ghost according to his own Will FINIS ERRATA IN Sermon IV. and V. page 14. line 23. for more read most p. 47. l. 12. for they r. be l. 27. for there r. them In Sermon VI. p. 5. l. 3. for him r. ber No Reason to desire NEW REVELATIONS A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul October 7th
Power of working Miracles should cease too at least till such time as God should think fit to make some Alteration in or Addition to his former Revelations which we have good Reason to think he will never do or 'till he should please to undertake the Conversion of those Nations to the Christian Faith to whom the Knowledge of the former Miracles that had been wrought for its Confirmation could not be so well communicated by credible History as it is to us For as was hinted before Credible History is all the Proof and Evidence that we ever think reasonable to require in other Cases of the like Nature As for instance When a new Law is made concerning any Matter it is requisite according to the Custom of our Country that it should pass both Houses of Parliament and that the King should ratifie and confirm it and that afterwards it should be some way so published and promulged that all the Subjects that are then alive should have sufficient Assurance given them that such a Law is made But after this Law has been once so passed and ratified and promulged it is passed and ratified and promulged for ever and no Man is so unreasonable as to expect that every Parliament that is called afterwards should read and pass over again all the Laws that have been made before their Time or that every King that succeeds to the Throne should afresh ratifie and publish all the Laws that were made by all his Predecessors But all the Proof that we ever require of the Authority of any ancient Law is a true Copy of it and a good History or Record of its being made at such a time by such a King confirmed by the Tradition of all the intermediate Ages to our Time which have allowed of its Authority by citing it as a Law of the Land by Pleading from it and by giving Judgment according to it And he who will not allow of the same Proof and Evidence of the Authority of the Christian Institution so many hundred years ago established but would needs have new Miracles and new Revelations to confirm the former is every whit as unreasonable as that Criminal would be who being Indicted upon some Ancient Statute should refuse to plead to his Indictment upon Pretence that he knew not whether there was any such Law or not it being made if ever it was made long before his Time and there being none now alive that were present at the making of it Shew him the Law in the Statute Book why how does he know he 'd say but that the Printers had a mind to put a Cheat upon the Nation by Printing a Law of their own making as a Law made by some of our ancient Kings nay shew him the Original Record still he 'd say There have been abundance of Forgeries in the World and how does he know but that this is one The Record he 'd own perhaps looks like an Ancient Deed and has all the Marks of such Antiquity as it pretends to but after all 't is possible it may be and therefore he cannot be sure it is not a Forgery and 'till he is assured of this he will not plead to an Indictment that is grounded upon it But if the King and Parliament that now are will be pleased to declare that this is a good Law and if he himself may be allowed to be by when they shall declare it or if at least two or three Witnesses that he can trust shall testifie upon Oath that they were present when it was passed into a Law then he will allow it to be a good Law and after that will be content to suffer the Punishment of it if he shall ever again be a Transgressor Now what Man is there that would think this a reasonable Demand Or what Judge or Court would ever allow of such a Plea And yet as unreasonable as it is it is just the same with theirs who pretending to be more wise and cautious than their Neighbours will not allow of the same sort of Proof tho' indeed much better in its kind of the Truth of the Christian Religion but tho' we have as Authentick Histories as any are in the World such Histories as the greatest Adversaries of Christianity have not been able to say any thing to invalidate the Truth of which declare that Christ and his Apostles taught such and such Doctrines and wrought such and such Miracles to confirm the Truth of their Doctrine yet will not believe that the Doctrine of Christianity is true and Divine unless they may have special Messengers sent to them to declare a-fresh all the same things which the Apostles once did and those endued with a Power of working in their sight and presence the same Miracles over again that are said to have been formerly done by Christ and his Apostles to confirm the Testimony that they gave 2. The Unreasonableness of that Request which the Rich Man here makes in the Behalf of his Brethren viz. That God would make a new Revelation for their particular Conversion or in general The Unreasonableness of our now desiring fresh Revelations new Miracles or Apparitions of Men from the dead to confirm the Truth of those things which are already sufficiently proved to us by the Standing Revelation of the Gospel will further appear if we consider That to us who live now in Christian Countries other Grounds of Faith or stronger Motives to Repentance than we have already in the standing Revelation of the Gospel might be inconsistent with the Excellency of Faith might destroy the Virtue of Believing and might be too great a Force and Constraint upon us such as would in a manner take away our Liberty of Choice For there is no Virtue at all in Believing what we see there is no Praise or Thanks at all due for doing what we are driven or forced to do and for us who have already abundantly sufficient Grounds to believe and embrace Christianity to have fresh Miracles wrought every day before our own eyes such Miracles as we could not possibly doubt the Truth of to confirm those Doctrines which are already sufficiently confirmed would not be to persuade us but to force us to be Chistians so that then the State we are now in would not be as God designed it should be a State of Trial for the Trial of Wisdom is when there are some Reasons on both sides and he is the Wise Man who in that Case gives Judgment on that side on which the Reasons are strongest But against what I have now said perhaps it may be objected That the Evidence which we desire of the Truth of Religion is no more than we are told has been already given to some Men particularly to those who lived in our Saviour's and his Apostle's times and we can't see why it would be more inconsistent with the Nature of Faith and Religion now than it was then or how it would more destroy our Freedom
happy Number they are sure they should not only have believed but also willingly have suffered as much as the Apostles themselves did for Bearing their Testimony to the Truth of those things which they had seen and heard And what now must be done for the Satisfaction of these Men For these have as much Right to a full Satisfaction as any others and by the same Reason that others do expect to be gratified in what they desire these may do so too And therefore in order to their Satisfaction it is necessary that our Saviour should be Born into the World in every Age of it or indeed much oftner and that in every Country at least if not in every Town and Village he should live and Preach and do Miracles and be Crucified and Rise again for that these things have been once done they can't they say believe only upon the Testimony of other Men who say they did see them And therefore by the same Reason if they themselves should see them other Men that should come after or live in other Countries would have as little Cause to believe their Testimony So that for the full satisfaction of all such Doubting Men as these our Saviour must have suffered often since the Beginning of the World and must continue to do so very frequently as long as the World shall last because with some Men nothing but seeing is Believing But that this should be is what I presume none besides themselves can think it reasonable either for Men to ask or for God to grant 4. Lastly The Unreasonableness of desiring any further or additional Proof of the Truth of Religion besides what is already afforded us in the Standing Revelation of the Holy Scripture will farther appear by considering our own Interest in being convinced and persuaded of the Truth of Religion by such Arguments and Motives as are in themselves sufficient for that purpose altho' they be not so very strong and forcible as we could wish they were And this Argument I shall handle in the way of Reproof and a just and seasonable Reproof I think it to such bold and presuming Persons as I have been now speaking of who will needs stand upon their Terms with Almighty God and will not be persuaded to Believe and Repent but just by such Reasons and such Motives as they themselves shall be pleased to require Tell not us say they of Moses and the Prophets and of things that were done a great while ago we know not when We 'll have fresh Revelations and new Miracles or Messengers from the Dead or else we will not Believe and Repent that we are resolv'd on Very well Then I say you may if you will continue still in your Unbelief and Impenitence Nevertheless I would advise you before you fully determine to persist in this Resolution to take a little time to consider seriously whose Interest and Concern it is either that you should Believe or that you should not Believe consider who it is that will be a Gainer or a Sufferer either by the One or by the Other For let me tell you if there be really a Heaven and a Hell and a Judgment and a Life to come 't is not your not believing them that will make them not to be and if these things are true 't is your own Life and Soul that is at Stake and if you are resolv'd to lose both unless you may be Saved your own way you your selves will be the greatest nay you your â—elves will be the only Sufferers And this is a Consideration that affects the Case very much and makes it very unreasonable to insist â—pon having such satisfaction in this Case as in some other Cases might not so very unreasonably be desired For if any Man tells me a Story which it is for his Interest I should believe it is his Concern to give me such Assurance of it as I shall require even altho' less than I require would be in all Reason sufficient And therefore if I will not believe one or two Witnesses tho' it may be unreasonable in me not to believe them yet it is his Business and what it behoves him to do to produce if it be possible ten or twenty Witnesses or as many more as I shall ask for And if one sort of Proof tho' in it self it be never so good will not satisfie me it is his part and what he ought in Reason to do if he be able to bring other Proofs of it and so to go on multiplying his Witnesses and his Proofs 'till such time as I shall declare my self fully satisfied And the Reason is because the Loss or Inconvenience will be his and only his in Case he cannot convince me of the Truth of his Relation But now on the other side if the Story which he tells me be true and it be for my Interest and Advantage only not at all for his that I should believe it to be true If I say he will be neither a Gainer nor a Loser whether I believe his Report or whether I do not believe it then if he gives me such Evidence of the Truth of it as is sufficient to convince a Man of Reason he has done enough he has done all that belonged to him as a Friend to do And if after this I make it my Business to cavil at and to except against his Evidence and go about to prescribe to him what sort of Proof he should give me of the Truth of what he relates declaring withal that less or other Proof than just that which I require shall never satisfie me he may justly reject my Suit as unreasonable and condemn me for a Fool that will not see my own Interest nor know when a Friend has done enough And this is exactly our Case God has sent his Son to us with the Promise of Eternal Life and has given us sufficient Assurance of his Divine Mission and thereby of the Truth of that Revelation which he made Now if we will believe this well and good the Profit will be all our own we shall save our own Souls alive But God will receive no Advantage to himself by our Believing his perfect Happiness being not capable of any Increase But if we will not Believe this Testimony that God has given of his Son if we except against his Witnesses and cavil at his Evidence and will not Believe but just upon that very sort of Proof which we our selves are pleas'd to pitch upon why then we may e'en take our own Course we may be Unbelievers still but 't is we only that shall suffer by our Unbelief the Infinite and Essential Happiness of God being as little capable of Diminution as of Advancement And as if we Believe and Repent God will be Glorified in our Salvation so if we will not Believe and Repent he will be no less glorified in our Destruction Seeing therefore whether you Believe or whether you do not Believe God
his Grave and appear to them which was the very thing that the Rich Man here desires in the behalf of his Brethren as being in his Judgment the most powerful and so like to be the most effectual method to reclaim them when I say this was done by our Saviour in the presence of a great number so that the Truth of the Miracle could not be doubted and was not denied by any of them all the Effect that it had upon those obstinate and incredulous Men was only that it made them enter presently sooner perhaps than otherwise they would have done into a close Consultation to put to death both Jesus and Lazarus too Some Examples indeed it must be granted there are on the other side For we are told in Acts xi 41. of a great number about three thousand that believed upon the first Preaching of St. Peter and sight of that great Miracle the Gift of Tongues wherewith the Apostles were endued But then it may be considered that it was not the Miracle that convinced them I mean not that alone for many that were then present Verse 13. and heard the Apostles speaking with Tongues were so far from being persuaded thereby that they most falsly blasphemed that as they had done all our Saviour's Miracles before attributing the fruit of that most evident Power of the Holy Ghost to new Wine And it may be further noted that those who were persuaded by it were such as before they saw the Miracle were in a good Disposition to embrace that pure Religion that is taught in the Gospel or else that Miracle would not have persuaded them for the Persons convinced thereby were not of the Pharisees or unbelieving Jews that had rejected our Saviour before Verse 5. but they were Devout Persons Jews or Proselytes who had come at that Feast of Pentecost from other Parts of the World to Jerusalem to Worship and who had probably never heard of our Saviour before more than by uncertain Report but being well read in Moses and the Prophets and giving good heed to them were Converted more by the manifest Accomplishment of all the ancient Prophecies concerning the Messias in the Person of our Saviour than by the sight of that great Miracle This therefore being Matter of Fact and Experience what has been done and come to pass already that new Miracles have been generally unsuccessful upon such as have not regarded a Standing Revelation of God's Will we may reasonably infer that 't is highly probable if not certain that the same Experiment tried over again would have no better success The Summ of all therefore is this such as are as St. Luke says they were who were Converted by the Preaching and Miracles of the Apostles * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Predisposed or fitted for Eternal Life Acts 13.46 that is such as are modest and teachable who hear without prejudice and judge without Partiality and have no Interest of Sin or the World that stands in competition with their Desire to obtain everlasting Happiness such as enquire out the Truth with the same Indifference that a Traveller does his Way who has no Inclination to one Way more than to another but only desires to be directed right and is resolved to take that way which he is persuaded is the right tho' it should not prove so very clean and smooth and pleasant as he hoped it would such I say as are of this honest and docible mind will be persuaded by a good Reason especially if it be as good as the Matter is capable of tho' it falls short of Demonstration and if there be Reason or appearance of Reason on both sides they will judge on that side on which the Reasons seem most weighty and for the Conviction of such as these the Standing Revelation of the Gospel being so well proved as it is is abundantly sufficient so that such shall not need new Miracles or new Revelations And on the other side such as only do need them that is such as being of perverse Minds and stubborn Wills and devoted to Sin will not hearken to Moses and the Prophets nor to Christ and his Apostles speaking in the Scripture would very probably receive no Benefit from new Miracles or new Revelations For nothing will serve to convince those who will not be convinced at all no Arguments can be sufficient to persuade a Man to that which he is strongly prejudiced and fully resolved against And this being the Case of all those who do not hear Moses and the Prophets and Christ and his Apostles preaching to them in the Holy Scripture or are not persuaded by them we may well conclude with Abraham in the Text that any other means that might be used to reclaim them would most probably prove as ineffectual as this has been and that they would not be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead And now having shewn that the present Standing Revelation of God's Will in the Holy Scripture is sufficient to convince and persuade Men having also shewn that more Proof and Evidence than we have of the Truth of our Religion cannot reasonably be desired And having likewise shewn that any other Proof or Evidence thereof would probably be ineffectual upon those who will not hear Moses and the Prophets and Christ and his Apostles preaching to them in the Holy Scripture I have finished all that I proposed to do in discoursing on these Words I shall conclude all with an useful Exhortation first to Infidels who will not by all that has been said be persuaded to admit this divine Revelation and secondly to Christians who do receive it 1. To you who are yet Infidels if there are any such here as I hope there are not or if these Discourses shall happen to fall into the Hands of any such I beg leave to address my self in a few words And I would desire you in the first Place to prepare and dispose your Minds to hear gravely and without prejudice the Reasons that are offered to prove the Truth of Christianity by considering seriously the great Importance of Religion if it be true And if you do but consider this you will quickly see that it is well worth your while to be at some pains to satisfie your selves fully whether Religion be true or not For if Religion be true and you can't be sure it is not till you have well examined the Grounds and Proofs of it you have a great Concern at stake and in a Matter of such Moment it becomes not a Wise Man to be determined by a Jest or a Quibble And if you seriously consider the great Importance of Religion you will likewise readily see that of the two you had much better be mistaken in believing the Truth of Religion tho' it be false than in disbelieving it if indeed it be true so that consequently if it can ever be reasonable for a Wise Man to be under a Prejudice it would be most
may be if you propound them seriously you may convince us that we are in a mistake but we are now in too grave an Humour to be wrought upon by a Jest and how strong soever your Objections against Religion are by a light and trifling way of expressing them you will make them lose all their Force But indeed 3. To what purpose is it for you to make it your Business any ways or by any Arguments to endeavour to proselyte Men to Atheism and Infidelity For whether our Religion be true or false it is better for you as well as for all the World besides that it should be generally believed and that Men should think themselves obliged to live according to the Rules and Precepts of it You can't surely be so unacquainted with the World if you have lived any time in it or read any thing of History but that you must needs know that before the Principles of Atheism and Deism prevail'd so much as they have done of late Years there was a great deal more Truth and Justice and Honesty and fair Dealing in the World than there is now So that if you should succeed in your Endeavour if you should be able either to reason or to laugh Religion quite out of the World the most probable nay the most certain Consequence of it would be that when the Godly Man ceased Ps 12.1 2. the faithful would also fail from among the Children of Men that then they would speak Vanity every one with his Neighbour with flattering Lips and with a double Heart would they speak That then Strength would be the Law of Justice Wisd 2.11 and that which is feeble would be found nothing worth If therefore you have as you think perhaps you have found out the Cheat of Religion 't is your best Prudence however to keep your Discovery to your selves Delight your selves as much as you will with the Contemplation of your own Happiness above other Men in that you are now freed from the Terrors of Conscience and the Fears of another World by means of that notable Discovery which you have made of the Vanity of Religion please your selves as much as you will with thinking that are not now as others are tied to speak truth when 't is to your disadvantage to suffer any thing in this World for Conscience sake or to be just and honest in your Dealings when you can get considerably by Fraud and Oppression and can order the Matter so secretly as to safe from Discovery and consequently from all Shame and Punishment from Men But be the Advantage which you have gained to your selves by discovering the Cheat of Religion never so great yet the greater it is and the greater you think it so much the more cautious you ought to be not to make known to others what you have so happily discovered for when once others shall come to know as much as you think you do viz. That all Religion is a Cheat all your Advantage above them will cease they will then be all upon the same Terms with you they will then be all as much at Liberty to defraud oppress or otherwise injure you as you are now to defraud oppress or injure them You ought not therefore in Prudence to try to convince them of their Mistake tho' you were sure it was a Mistake for why should you make it your Business to cut in sunder those Cords of Religion by which they are now tied up from doing you mischief In a word either Religion is true and well grounded or it is not and which soever it be it is better both for them that do believe the Truth of it and for you also that they should continue in the Belief of it why then should you be at Pains only to do mischief For put Case first that Religion is vain and groundless it must be confessed however that it is of some present Advantage to them that do believe it because it serves to bear them up under the unavoidable Pains and Troubles and Misery of this Mortal Life with the comfortable Hope of a blessed Immortality and it will be no Disadvantage to them hereafter for when they are dead if indeed there be no Life after this they will be as if they had never been they will not be then in a Capacity of grieving for their Disappointment And it is also for your present Advantage that they that are mistaken in believing the Truth of Religion should continue in their Mistake because it makes them better to you in every Relation than they would otherwise be more Just and Merciful Governours more Loyal and Obedient Subjects more Loving Parents more Dutiful Children more Gentle Masters more Faithful Servants and more Just Honest and Loving Neighbours why then should you be at any Pains to Cure that Mistake if it be a Mistake which does them no harm but rather good and which is likewise so profitable for you Especially when you can't be so vain as to expect to merit Heaven if indeed there be no Heaven by your Zeal for the Truth of Atheism But if indeed Religion be true and you can't be sure it is not how deficient soever you may think our Proofs of it are as I shall not need to say that it will be better for them that believe it that they should persist in their Belief of it so I shall not need to say much to shew that it will in the Event be better for you that you should not endeavour to pervert them for certainly if there be a Hell they will be condemned to the hottest place in it who not only withdrew themselves from their Subjection to Almighty God and would not suffer him to reign over them but made it also their Business to corrupt others to form a Party against Heaven and to raise an Universal Rebellion against God These things and more to the like Purpose I would say to the Atheists if I thought they were here to hear me And I should not be without Hope that altho' what was said before in the foregoing Discourses was not sufficient to cure their Infidelity what has been now said might serve to convince them that it is the wisest Course to keep their Infidelity to themselves that how little soever they believe of the the Truth of Religion it is not Prudence to tell the World that they are Men of no Principles and consequently not fit to be employed or trusted that 't is not good Manners to make a Jest of Serious and Sacred things and to affront the common Reason and Judgment of Mankind and that 't is not for their Interest to endeavour to bring other Men over to their side because if none had more Religion than themselves they could not be near so safe and secure in their Rights and Possessions and in their Lives the only things they value as they now are But I do not think there are any here present concern'd in this