especiall thinges which may best serue for this purpose The Scriptures foretolde long before the time that the world should be conuerted to Christian Religion all Nations should beleeue and submit themselues to the obedience of the Faith a thing in mans iudgement not to bee expected For the Prophet saide concerning the Kingdome of Christ I meane his Kingdome of the Gospell or of Grace The Heathens raged the people murmured against the Lord and his Christ but in vaine the Kinges of the earth stood vp banded them selues and the Princes assembled themselues togeather But he that sitteth in heauen shall laugh them to scorne the Lord shall haue them in derision Euen I haue set my King vpon Sion mine holie mountaine I will declare the decree that is the Lorde hath saide to me thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee aske of me and I shall giue thue the Heathen for thine inheritance and the endes of the earth for thy possession There could not be a more vnlikely thing foretolde and yet it was fulfilled long since no Atheist can denie it Tertullian to this purpose saith who was able to gouerne the world but onely Christ of whome it was foretolde that his Kingdome should be extended ouer the whole world The Kingdome of Salomon saith her was confined within the Land of Iudaea from Dan to Beersheba and his territories did reach no farther Darius raigned ouer the Pabylonians and Persians but no farther Pharao ouer the Aegiptians and there his dominion ceased Nabuchodonozer was a great Monarche yet he reigned not ouer the whole worlde but onely from India vnto Aethiopia the like may bee saide of the Greekes the Romās which were called the Lords of the world and yet the whole world was not knowne vnto them much lesse subdued by them But as for the Kingdome of Christ it hath extended it selfe farre and wide the Gospell hath bin preached in al places and receaued of all Nations of the Parthians Medes Elamites the inhabitantes of Mesopotamia Armenia Phnygia Cappadocia Aegipt Pamphilla Asia Africa and the vttermost Indies Of this assertion there bee so many recordes that it cannot bee denyed As for some few things which are foretolde in the Scriptures not yet fulfilled as namely the conuersion of the Iewes and the destruction of Antichrist the time is not yet come to passe that they should be fulfilled for all thinges must be performed in that due time which God in his secret wisdome hath appointed There are other thinges also foretolde which must goe immediately before the ende of the world which are not yet performed because as you see the ende is not yet But it is a sufficient argument to induce Infidelles to beleeue that all these thinges shall come to passe because they see all other things alreadie performed in their time and order For as hee that sometimes lyeth shall not bee beleeued though hee tell the truth so hee which alwaies hath tolde the truth cannot without impietie bee suspected of fallhood God cannot deceaue or bee deceaued And which is not to bee omitted St. Peter did prophecie that at the latter end there should bee such Atheistes which should denie these thinges and the Prophecie is now verified otherwise this my labour might haue bene spared their impiety maketh it good which the Prophet hath foretolde Againe there is in Daniel an auncient Prophecie concerning the death of our Sauiour Christ euen the verie time and computation of yeares is defined when hee should be put to death Seauenty weekes saith hee are determined vpon thy people and vpon the holy Cittie to finish the wickednesse and seale vp the sinnes and reconcile the iniquitie and bring in euerlasting righteousnesse to annoynt the moste holy From the going foorth of the commaundement to bring againe the people and build Ierusalem to Messias the Prince shall bee 69. weekes and after he shall bee slaine but so that for one weeke hee shall teach but in the middle of the weeke hee shall cause the Sacrifice and oblation to cease But these weekes are annuae hebdomadae euery weeke is seauen yeares and so reckoning weekes consisting of yeares not onely of daies as for euery day in the weeke should be reckoned a yeare 70. of Daniels weekes make 490. yeares But the Temple which was the first and cheifest thing reaedified in Ierusalem began in the second yeare of Cyrus the builders were hindred 42. yeares as it appeareth out of the Gospell and in the 46. yeare it was finished because the laste 4. yeares they had quietnes Longimanus in the second yeare of his raigne giuing foorth a newe edict that they should builde without molestation and no man vnder payne of death should hinder the workemen as in times past they had done From the second year therfore of Longimanus the Emperour to Alexander the great were 145. yeares from Alexander to the natiuitye of our Sauiour 310. from his birth to his baptisme 30. these being put together make yeares 485. so the 69. weekes make 482. yeares but at his baptisme the whole 482. yeares that is 69 were fullye complete and ended In the next weeke or 7. yeares our Sauiour taught the people and in the middle thereof that is in the fourth yeare he was put to death What Iewe or Atheist can except against the truth of this Prophecye A second proofe that the bookes of the Bible are the worde of God is the generall consent and agreement of so many writers which writ at diuers times in diuers places remote one from an other in diuers languages and vpon diuers occasions all writing of one and the selfe-same subiect all agreeing in Doctrine none contradicting other that they might not so fitlie bee termed diuers writers as diuers pennes of the same writer The bookes of Moses were written in the wildernesse of Iosua Iudges and the Kinges in the land of Promise of Daniell in Babylon the workes of St. Paule some at Rome some in other places as Athens Ephesus Laodicea Nicapolis St. Iohns reuelation in Pathmos the Booke of Iob no man knoweth by whome when nor where The Bookes of Moses about 2554. yeares after the creation of the worlde the Psalmes some of them 605. yeares after Moses the bookes of Ezra after the returne from Captiuitie about 605. yeares after Dauid by whome manie of the Psalmes were made Betweene Dauid and the Captiuitie Esay and Osee vnder King Ioathan Achaz and Ezechiaz Ieremie vnder Iosias Ioachim Zedechias Ezechiel Abacuc Daniel in Captiuitie and the whole new Testament long after the olde yet all agree as the diuers thunders which haue one voyce foure Beastes which sing one song Vox tamen vna manet qualem decet esse sororum Damascen compareth them to a Garden bedecked with varyetie of hearbes of excellent vertue which are to be gathered one by one and yet to make one Garland or diuers precious stones in one brest-plate
but damned deuils Rome had not bin sacked ouer the sooner because they were taken but they had bin taken sooner had they not bin kept by the Cittie The Kingdome of the Iewes saith St. Augustin was founded by one God and not by a multitude of Gods and was maintained by that one God so long as they serued him That one God multiplyed the people in Aegipt but neither did their women vse the helpe of Lucina in their childe-birth neither did the man vse the helpe of Neptune when they passed ouer the Red Sea neither of the Nimphes when they dranke water out of the Rocke neither of Mars when they conquered Amalac but they obtained more at the handes of their owne God then euer did the Romans at the handes of their multitude of Gods whome they serued Lactantius proposeth this question whether the world is gouerned by one God or manie Not to stand vpon his authoritie because he was a Christian but to wey his reasons because I dispute against neathens and insidels which as I shewed in the first Chapter are also comprehended vnder name of Atheistes although they doe not denie God because they serue as the Apostle saith the thinges which by nature are not Gods What neede saith Lactantius hath the worlde of many Gods Vnlesse they suppose that one of himselfe is not sufficient to vndergoe so great a burden which needes must be graunted if euerie God of himselfe be not able without the assistance and helpe of an other If any of them of himselfe be not omnipotent then he is not a God if he be omnipotent theÌ„he needeth not any partner If God of him selfe bomnipotent there can be but one for if the diuine power be diuided among many Gods theÌ„ no one can be all sufficieÌ„t of himselfe but by how manie more they are in number by so much the weaker they must be in power He concludeth Quid quod summa illa diuina potestas ne semel quidem diuidi potest quicquid enim capit diuisionem interitum necesse est si autem interitus procul est a Deo The diuine power which belongeth vnto God cannot be imparted vnto many for whatsoeuer is capable of diuision is also subiect to corruption theÌ„ the which thing nothing can be more repugnant to the nature of God Therefore there is but one God I say therefore with the Apostle Now to the King euerlasting immortall inuisible vnto God onely wise bee honour and glorie for euer and euer Amen Chapter 7. That the Bookes of the Bible are the word of God I Made mention before of the Booke of nature which might worthily be called Gods booke because as I said it was a letter or Epistle wherein God did make himselfe knowne vnto mankinde and did instruct vs so farre as to knowe and confesse that there was a God But because that knowledge was but bare and naked and no way sufficient to bring vs to saluation onely it serued to make vs search and inquire farther that by inquiring farther we might bee saued there is an other booke which is more especially called Gods booke I meane his holy Bible wherin we are taught not onely to knowe God in his vissible creatures but also in his Sonne Iesus Christ whereby wee are saued And it stood verse much with his Diuine wisdome so prouiding for euerye thing as the seuerall nature and quallitie of each creature doth require to write such a booke for mans instruction in his feare true worship because man coÌ„sisteth of a body as wel a of as soule and conceaueth visible things easier then such things as are onely spirituall and are not seene and by such things as are subiect to his outward sences man is brought to vnderstand It pleased him therefore of his great mercie to instruct vs by these visible Characters and written Letters which dayly we doe reade And as S. Augustin saith De illa ciuitate vnde peregrinamur hae literae nobis venerunt ipsae sunt Scripturae quae nos hortantur vt bene viuaenius These letters sent vnto vs from that Cittie the heauenly Ierusalem from whence yet wee doe wander they are the Scriptures which doe exhorte vs to liue well And I cannot denie but the writers themselues of these holy bookes were so immediately instructed from God himselfe which is the fountaine of all heauenly wisdome that they needed no writings But yet with vs it is otherwise they are the foundation wee are but the walles which are builded vpoÌ„ that foundation we saith the Apostle are builded vpon the foundation of the Prophets and the Apostles Because by their writings we are edified but they by whose meanes we are edified builded doe leane their selues immediately vppon the chiefe corner stone which is Iesus Christ There are great oddes betweene the high mountaines and the little hillocks and lowe valleyes they are lightned immediately vpon the first rising of the Sunne but light heate commeth by degrees from them to the lower partes As also God foresawe in his wisdome and we know by experience of the former ages froÌ„ the beginning of the worlde vnto Moses when there was no written worde that there could not be veritatis et doctrinae puritatis salua custodia sine scripto soundnesse of doctrine could not be preserued but by committing of it to writing And therefore it pleased God that these Volumes of the Bible should bee written And that these are the holy Scriptures giuen by inspiration of God profitable to teach to conuince to correct and to instruct that the man of God may be absolute to all good workes That the man of God which writte them spake inspired by the holy Ghost that they were written for the saluation of mens soules not for the maintenaÌ„ce of ciuil gouernment I proue by these arguments following The first is the truth of all the prophecyes which haue fayled in nothing w c spake of things long before they came to passe so certainely as if they had bin already fulfilled And y t I may make due proofe therof certissimus fidelissimus vaticiniorum interpres est euentus the surest faithfull est interpreter of prophecies is the euent of thinges Now wee see their predictions are alreadie come to passe we are eye witnesses that they are true which truth argueth that they were written by the finger of God which is the holy Ghost which onely could not erre in writing and not by man for asmuch as all men are lyers humanum est errare it is the nature and propertie of a man to eâ—â—e in so much that if hee bee without error hee is not a man And therfore it is impossible but in so manie predictions foretolde so many yeares before the time so coÌ„nary to humane reason but they shold haue bin deceiued if men had bin the authors of these bookes I will instance for breuitie sake in some one or two
in the wrong But yet all nations besides had their Priests their Altars their Gods their rules and principles of the religion which they professed which is an argument that by nature they knewe there was a GOD. And that I may descend vnto the work-manship of man to shewe that there is a God It is truely said that hominis fabricatio est innumeris Dei testimonijs ornata the verye work-manship of man him selfe doth aboundantly witnes that there is a God Let vs therefore first of all looke into the soule of man and afterward into the state of his bodye There is in it not onely an infinite capacitye in so much that the more it knoweth the more it is able to learne It is able to conceiue not onely the whole worlde but also two worldes yea infinite worldes It is of infinite desire which is neuer satisfied I will not speak of Daniel which was called vir multorum disideriorum a man of manye desires nor of Moses which in this transitorye life desired to see the very face of God but of Alexander the great which when he thought he had subdued the whole worlde yet was not therewith contented but affected more worldes and hearing a Philosopher say there were infinite worldes wept for greife to thinke how great a labour it should be for him to subdue them all as if he had hoped to conquer all Mans appetite is neuer satisfied giue him a Citye he desireth a Kingdome giue him a kingdome he affecteth an Empire giue him an Empire he desireth a worlde If he could be made Lord of the whole world and knew that besides that there were no more yet would he not rest there but desire somwhat which is greater then the worlde And what can that be but only God So then forasmuch as man is not satisfied with knowledge and contemplation but laboureth to knowe more that still Aristotles proposition shall be veryfied in him Omnes homines naturaliter scire desiderant all men naturallye are desirous of knowledge neither yet with possession but desireth to haue more what can that be but Dei maiestas in mente voluntate tanquam in speculis reflexa et vnita euen the Maiestie of God in mans minde and in his will as it were in two glasses seene and reflected backe againe Againe forasmuch as the proper obiect of the minde is truth as Tully writeth but the minde of man is infinite as I haue declared the obiect must be correspondent vnto the minde therefore truth must be infinite and there must be no end of the knowledge and apprehension of truth And forasmuch as that truth which is in creatures dependeth vpon vncertaintyes therefore there is some other truth which is immutable and most certayne and that is God Also the substance of mans soule hath not his originall or beginning from any materiall thing because it is not of seed as in due course I will proue vnto you neither yet is it mortall as I will shewe when I come to speake of the soule Therfore it is not of any naturall cause but is the effect of such a cause as is supernaturall and metaphisicall and that is God But to leaue the soule of man and come to his bodye Mercurius Trismegistus writeth of it in this sorte Si vis opisicem etiam per mortalia intueri cogita ô fili hominis in vtero fabricam opificis exacte artificium expende disce quisuam artifex pulchram hanc diuinam hominis imaginem cordat quisnam sit qui oculos circumscribat nares aures perforauerit os aperuerit nertias extenderit colligauerit venas in canales efformauerit ossa indurauerit carni cutam circum diderit digitos articulos distiuxerit pedibus basim dilatauerit splenem extenderit poros cauauerit heper latum fecerit pulmonem perforauerit ventrem capacâ—â—… fecerit honorabilia palam figurauerit turpia absconderit vide quot artes in vna materia quis haec omnia fecit qua mater quis pates nisi solus immanifestus Deus If thou ô man wilt see the inuisible workeman doe but thinke vpon man how he is framed in the wombe who made his eyes round his eares and nostrels holowe his mouth open who stretched out his sinewes hardned his bones skinned his flesh parted his fingers who made the passage from his veynes who widened the bottomes of his feet dilated his splene who opened his pores his lunges dilated his liuer made his belly of such capacitye his honest partes to be open and his secret partes to be hidden who did all these thinges but onely the inuisible God A third reason to proue there is a God is the generall consent not onelye of the learned men of the worlde but also of the worlde it selfe And why should any fewe wicked men thinke them selues wiser then the worlde The denyers of the God head haue beene these men of name Diagoras Theodotus Cyrenaeus Euemarus Tegeates Callimachus Podicus Caeus Plinius Lucianus Lucretius Doletus Epicurus some of them denying that there was a God others that he tooke the care of gouerning and guiding the worlde and besides these verye fewe But as for the famous and learned Philosophers of the worlde they confessed there was a God Empedooles said Deus est cuius centrum est vbique circumferentia autem nusquam God his center is euerye where his circumference no where Socrates called him magnum Iudicem the great Iudge as Tully witnesseth Plato acknowledged him in all his workes Aristotle the greatest of all which in deed was equiualent to all the Philosophers I may iustlye say there is almost no leafe in his workes but in it he inserteth the name of God euen as almost no page of the Bible but in it is vnderstood the name of Christ who is called by him prima causa causa causarum ens entium primus mortor author omnium lux aterna simplicissimus actus conditor mundi infinitus immensus inaffabilis Deus The first cause the cause of causes the essence of all thinges of whome all things haue their being the first mouer the author of all thinges the eternall light most pure act maker of the world infinite vnmeasurable vnspeakable God Aristotle when he liued was accused by Hiero the Priest because Contra patrios mores ritus multitudine deorum vnum solum â—erum Deum agnouit Contrary to the religion of his countrye where many Gods were worshipped he acknowledged but one onely true God And when he dyed the last wordes which he spake were these Ens entium miserere mei God haue mercy vpon me The like was acknowledged by Mercurius Trismegistus Quid Deus immutabile bonum Mundus factus est propter hominem homo propter Deum What is God an immutable goodnes the worlde was made for man and man for God Ego fi lt et humanitatis gratia et erga Deum pictatis haec scribo I write