is their Knowledge the same there is nothing in their common Nature to determine them that they should be born or die together or that there should be any mutual communication of the Thoughts and Operations of their Minds much less that their Life and Death and Operations should be all the very same So that this Principle of Individuation whatever be assigned to be it cannot belong to the Divine Nature which is Omnipresent Eternal and Omniscient the Existence Knowledge and Local presence of Men are Personal not Essential but Omnipresence Eternity and Omniscience are Essential Attributes of God and not Personal or do not belong to each Person as they are distinguished from one another but as they are united in the same Essence for they are predicated of the Father as God of the Son as God and of the Holy Ghost as God and not of each severally as Father as Son and as Holy Ghost Every of these Essential Attributes therefore cannot be numbred with the Persons in the Deity but can be but One as the Essence itself of the Deity is and tho' the Father be Eternal the Son Eternal and the Holy Ghost Eternal yet they are not Three Eternals or Three Individual Beings of Eternal Existence as Three Humane Persons are Three Men of a Finite Existence It is a Contradiction that there should be Three separate Infinite Persons for their being separate must suppose them to be Finite or to have a limited and confined Subsistence and therefore Three Infinite Persons can be but One God or One Being which has all the perfections of Personal Distinction without the imperfection of the Division of Persons 3. From hence appears the Difference between the Divine Persons and Humane Persons The Persons of Men are distinct Men as well as distinct Persons but this is no ground for us to affirm that the Persons in the Divine Nature are distinct Gods because the Divine Nature is acknowledged to be Infinite and Incomprehensible and when we speak of Three Persons in it we do not mean such Three Persons as Three several Men are But we read of the Person of the Father Hebr. i. 3. and of Three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are One 1 Joh. v. 7. and when we speak of Three Intelligent Beings we can have no Conception of them but under the Notion of Persons We learn from the Scriptures that there are Three Persons in the Deity which bear that Relation to each other which is best express'd by the Terms of Father Son and Holy Spirit but the Terms of Father Son and Spirit are not therefore so to be understood as they are in Humane Relations and the word Person is not to be understood as it is of Humane Persons and therefore whereas we use the word Person the Greeks call them Subsistencies but acknowledge that they mean the same thing under that difference of words And yet this is all the foundation of any pretence of contradiction in the Notion of the Blessed Trinity that Men will needs understand the Terms of Person and of Father Son and Spirit when they are applied to God as they do when we speak of Men and from thence they conclude that Three Persons in the Divine Nature must be Three Gods as Three Persons amongst Men are Three Men and that the Father must be Superiour and Elder than the Son as it is in Humane Generations But this is all Mistake Adam is stiled the Son of God in a sense of the word peculiar to himself Luke iii. 38. God is in one sense the Father of all Mankind and in another sense he is the Father of the Regenerate only and when in either sense we call him our Father we take not the Word Father in the same sense that we take it in when we apply it to Men and when we say he is the Father of his only begotten Son this is another sense of the word Father very different from all the former The Relation between the Father and Son is not the same in the Nature of God that it is amongst Men nor are the Divine Persons such as the Persons of Men are but these are the fittest and the most proper and significant Terms to express the Nature of God to us that Humane Language and Humane Understandings are capable of We must acknowledge that there is a vast disproportion and impropriety in these expressions and that they give us but a very imperfect conception of the Divine Nature but it is the most perfect that we are able to have of it or that it is necessary for us to have of it in this Mortal state and if we will but allow for the incompetency of our own Faculties to have Words and Notions adequate to the Divine Nature and will remember that God is God and that we are but Men there will appear to be no contradiction in the Notion of the Trinity The Divine Nature is such that it has Three distinct Principles of Operation and Subsistency which are so described and represented in the Scriptures by Personal Acts and Properties that we know them to be as really distinct as Humane Persons are which yet being but One God cannot in this respect be like Humane Persons And whoever will oppose this Doctrine of the Holy Trinity must prove that the Three Persons of the Trinity cannot be as really distinct as the Persons of Three Men are tho' they are not such Persons as the Persons of Men. And to prove this he must understand the Nature of God as well as he understands the Nature of Man for otherwise he can never be able to prove that Three Divine Persons may not be One God tho' Three Humane Persons cannot be One Man That they are distinct Persons is revealed and that these Three distinct Persons are but one God is revealed but wherein the Distinction and the Unity of these Three Persons consists is not revealed nor is it possible for us to understand it at least without a Revelation The Distinction of the Persons of Men is founded in a separate and divided Subsistence but this cannot be the foundation of the Distinction of the Divine Persons because Separation and Division cannot belong to an Infinite Nature There is then not Repugnancy in saying that there are Three Subsistencies or Three distinct Principles of Personal Acts and Properties in one undivided Infinite Nature or that the Persons in the Trinity act as distinctly and personally as Persons do amongst Men but are united in one Infinite Nature which is uncapable of existing in separate Subsistencies tho' not of acting and subsisting in Three distinct Persons or as distinctly from each other as the Persons among Men do act and subsist The Summ is that in the most perfect Unity of the Divine Nature do subsist the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost between whom is a real Distinction which tho' not the same yet is
upon any Subject and then they trample with wonderful Scorn and Triumph upon that which they conceive is so miserably overcome but alass the Victory is over themselves nothing is either the more or the less true for their believing or disbelieving it and Religion is always the same how profanely soever it may be spoken of We have no design to impose upon any Man's Faith but if there be Reason in what we say it may well be expected from Reasonable Men that they should hearken to Reason Religion is Reason and Philosophy as the Fathers often speak the best and truest Philosophy And I am persuaded how much soever I may have failed in the performance that the Christian Religion is capable of being proved with such clear and full Evidence even to ordinary Understandings as to make all Pretences of Arguing against it appear to be as ridiculous as they are impious THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. Of Humane Reason THE Divine Authority of the Scriptures being proved in the First Book such Points are cleared in the Second as are thought most liable to exception in the Christian Religion But before Men venture upon Objections against the Scripture it is fit for them to consider the strength and compass of their own Faculties and the manifold Defects of Humane Reason p. 1. In some things each side of a Contradiction seems to be demonstrable p. 4. Every Man believes and has the Experience of several things which in the Theory and Speculative Notion of them would seem as incredible as any thing in the Scriptures can be supposed to be p. 12. Those who disbelieve and reject the Misteries of Religion must believe things much more incredible p. 24. CHAP. II. Of Inspiration ALL motion of Material things is derived from God and it is at least as conceiveable by us that God doth Act upon the Immaterial as that He Acts upon the Material part of the World and that He may act more powerfully upon the Wills and Understandings of some Men than of others p. 28. Wherein the inspiration of the Writers of the Scriptures did consist and how far it extended p. 31. Such Inferences from thence as may afford a sufficient Answer to the Objections alleged upon this Subject p. 41. The Inspiration of the Writers of the Scriptures did not exclude Humane Means as information in Matters of Fact c. p. 42. It did not exclude the use of their own Words and Style ibid. Tho' somethings are set down in the Scripture indefinitely and without any positive Assertion or Determination this is no proof against their being Written by Divine Inspiration p. 43. In things which might fall under Humane Prudence and Observation the Spirit of God seems to have used only a directive Power and Influence p. 46. This infallible Assistance was not permanent and Habitual P. 49. It did not prevent Personal failings p. 50. No Passage or Circumstance in the Scripture Erroneous p. 51. CHAP. III. Of the 〈◊〉 of the Holy Scriptures THE Grammatical Construction and Propriety of Speech p. 53. Those whch are look'd upon as Defects in the Scripture-Style were usual in the most approved Heathen Authors p. ib. Metaphors and Rhetorical Schemes and Figures p. 57. The Style different of different Nations p. 58. The Titles of Kings p. 59. What Arts were used by Orators to raise the Passions p. 60. That they sometimes Read their Speeches p. 62. The Figurative Expressions of the Prophets and their Types and Parables were Suitable to the Customs of the Places and Times wherein they Liv'd ibid. Several things related as Matter of Fact are only Parabolical Descriptions or Representations p. 64. The Prophetick Schemes of Speech usual with the Eastern Nations p. 66. The want of Distinguishing the Persons speaking has been a great cause of misunderstanding the Scriptures p. 68. The Antiquity and various ways of Poetry p. 69. The Metaphorical and Figurative use of Words in Speaking of the Works and attributes of God p. 71. The Decorum or Suitableness of the matter in the Style of Scripture p. 79. The Method p. 86. Some Books of Scripture admirable for their Style p. 89. Why the Style not alike excellent in all the Books of Scripture p. 93. CHAP. IV. Of the Canon of the Holy Scriptures ANy Controversy concerning the Authority of some Books of Holy Scripture no prejudice to the rest p. 96. The uncontroverted Books contain all things necessary to Salvation p. 97. The Dispute concerning the Apochrypha falls not here under consideration p. 99 No Suppression or Alteration of the Books of the Old Testament by Idolatrous Kings c. p. 100. The Book of the Law in the Hand-Writing of Moses found in the Reign of Josiah p. 102. No Books but those which were Written by Inspiration received by the Jews into their Canon p. 103. What opinion the Ten Tribes had of the Books of the Prophets c. p. 105. Neither the Samaritans nor the Sadduces rejected any of the Books of the Old Testament p. 106. Of the Books whereof mention is made in the O. T. p. 106. Why the Books of the Prophets have the Names of the Authors exprest and that there was not the same Reason that the Names of the Authors of the Historical Books should be exprest p. 108. A wonderful Providence manifest in the Preservation of the Books of the O. T. for so many Ages p. 109. The New Testament confirms the Old p. 111. The Caution of the Christian Church in admitting Books into the Canon ib. The Primitive Christians had sufficient means to examine and distinguish the Genuine and inspired Writings from the Apochryphal or Spurious p. 113. The Gospel of St. Matt. in Hebrew how long preserved p. 115. The Greek Version of it p. 116. The Canon of Scripture finished by St. John and the Books of the other Evangelists c. reviewed by him p. 117. The Testimony of the Adversaries of our Religion ib. Copies of great Antiquity still extant p. 118. How it came to pass that the Authority of some Books was at first doubted of p. 119. The Canon had been fix'd and confirmed in Councils in Tertullian's time p. 121. The Canon of Scripture generally received by Christians of all Sects and Parties p. 124. CHAP. V. Of the various Readings in the Old and New Testament AN extraordinary Providence manifest in the preservation of the Scriptures from such Casualties as have befaln other Books p. 126. The Defect in the Hebrew Vowels and the late invention of the Points no prejudice to the Authority of the Bible p. 127. The change of the old Hebrew Characters into that now in use is no prejudice to the Authority of the Hebrew Text p. 130. The Keri and the Ketib no prejudice to it ib. The Difference between the Hebrew Text and the Septuagint and other Versions or between the Versions themselves no way prejudicial to the Authority of the Scriptures p. 132. It is confessed by the greatest Criticks both Protestants and
to the customs of other Nations well known and practised at that time Thus the Slaves were wont to have their Masters Name or Mark upon their Forehead and the Souldiers to have the name of their General upon their Right hand and the like marks were wont to be received by men in token that they had devoted themselves to their Gods from whence we read of the mark of the Beast received by his Worshippers in their right Hand or in their Foreheads * Vid. Grot. ad loc Rev. 13.16 and of his Fathers Name written in the Foreheads of those that stand in Mount Sion with the Lamb Rev. 14.1 St Paul alludes to the Grecian Games in his Epistle to the Corinthians who were much addicted to those sports and had one sort of them the Isthmian perform'd among them 1 Cor. 9.24 25. and he alludes to the distinction among the Romans between Freemen and Slaves For which he gives this reason that it was in condescention to them I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh Rom. 6.19 Melchisedec is said to be without Father without Mother without descent Heb. 7.3 because his Pedigree is unknown which was a most significant way of expression to the Jews who were so careful and exact in their Genealogies But the very same manner of expression is also used †Patre nullo matre serva Liv. lib. 4. c. 3. â—ullis majoribus ortos Horac Serm. lib. 1. sat 6. duos Romanos Reges â—sse quorum alter Patrem non habet alter Matrem Nam de servij Matre dubitatur Anci Pater nullus Numae nepos dicitur Senec. Epist c. 8. by Livy Horace and Seneca upon the like occasions There is much of Nature but very much likewise of Use and Custom in the several Schemes and Forms of Rhetorick We meet with a sudden change of the Person speaking Jer. 16.19 20 21.17.13 and with interlocatory discourse Isa 63. and many places of Scripture are obscure to us for want of distinguishing the Persons who speak Thus for instance Jer. 20.14 the Prophet seems transported abruptly from one extream to another but if they be the words of the wicked mention'd ver 13. under the divine vengeance from the 14th ver to the end of the Chapter the sense will be more easy This abrupt change of the Person is taken notice of by Longinus as an excellency in Homer Hecataeus and Demosthenes and the want of distinguishing the Persons speaking has been a great cause of misunderstanding the Scriptures * Justin Apol. 2. Origen Philocal c. 7. as Justin Martyr and Origen observe Many Instances of the like nature might be given in the best Heathen Poets And the reading the ancient Poets is the best help for the understanding all other Authors of great Antiquity for the ancienter any Author is the nearer his stile comes to Poetry The first design of Writing was to delight so as to be the better able to instruct which made Verse much more ancient than Prose and tho it be natural for Men to speak in Prose and not in Verse yet it seems the humour oâ— Greeks would not bear tho writing Philosophy in Prose till the time of Cyrus for then * Plin. Hist Lib. 5. c. 29.7 c. 56. vid. Harduin ad loc Pliny tells us Pherecydes first wrote in Prose which must be understood of Philosophy for he ascribes the first writing of Prose in History to Cadmus Milesius And the ancient Writers now extant in Prose Herodotus Thucydides and Xenophon have many Expressions which are seldom or never met withal besides but in the Poets H. Stephens made a Collection of the Poetical words used by Xenophon which is prefix'd to his Works And the Orators both among the Greeks and Romans were as exact and curious in the Feet and Measure of their Prose as the Poets could be in Verse Great part of the Scriptures is in Verse and the different way of writing in different Ages and Nations appears in nothing more than in the several sorts of Poetry That way of writing all Verse in Rhime which in these parts of the World is most in use and esteem would have been ridiculous to the Greeks and Romans Tho' the use of Rhime in Verse is so far from being example in Antiquity that it is perhaps the most ancient of all ways of writing Verse Acrosticks tho' of no esteem and little us'd in many Ages and Countries are of great Antiquity Verses composed in the Acrostick and Alphabetical way were found to be a help to the Memory and this benefit and the ornament which it was then supposed to give to Poems is the cause why it is sometimes used in the Scriptures and sometimes the Inspiration was so strong upon the Writers mind as to interrupt the Art and Method which he had proposed to himself as Ps 25. and 145. or perhaps it might be customary upon certain occasions to omit some Letter in the Alphabet in such compositions for reasons which we are ignorant of but which might be very satisfactory and agreeable to the sense of those Times and Countries * Athenae lib. 10. c. 21. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an example of this among the Greeks used by Pindar and other ancient Poets The old †Casanb in Athen. lib. 8. c. 11. Spartan Dorick and Aeolick Dialect changed σ into P the rough sound of this Letter being more agreeable it seems to those People and if any of them had written Acrosticks and Alphabetical Poems σ would have been omitted Rhophalick Verses which begin with a Monosyllable every word encreasing by one syllable more than the former are to be found in Homer and the Leonine or Monkish Verses with a double Rhime one in the middle and the other at the end are not without precedent To say nothing of the Poems composed of divers sorts of Verse and framed into the shape of several things by Simmias Rhodius some of which are ascribed to Theocritus The Repetitions so frequent in Homer were not for want of words for no Author ever wanted them less than he but out of choice though latter Poets have not thought fit to imitate him in this and Martial turn'd it to Ridicule It is certain that nothing is more various than the Wit and Fancy of Man and it is as certain that whoever would write to any purpose must write in some such manner as the temper of the people to whom he writes will bear and as their customs require But before I leave this particular it may be proper to consider the stile of Scripture in the Metaphorical and Figurative use of words in speaking of the Works and Attributes of God There never was any Book written in a strict and literal propriety of words because all Languages abound in Metaphors which by constant use become perhaps better known to the Natives of a Country than the original words themselves and in process
therefore were called Prophets which is an argument that in the common opinion of men inspired Writers might use such forms of Speech as would not be proper nor decent for others to use And this liberty was taken by Orators as well as Poets when the occasion seemed to require it as may be observed in * Panegr Panathen Isocrates For the ancient Orators too by Longinus's observation pretended to something more than humane and would be thought to speak by some kind of impulse upon which account this liberty might be allowed them But it may well be thought needless for me to have used so many words on this subject when there is so little occasion for any objection of this nature in the Holy Scriptures and where-ever there can be any pretence for it it has been considered in its proper place but I thought it might not be labour ill bestowed to shew here besides how had Criticks they are that can object at this rate I will say further that the passage Tob. 5.16 concerning the Dog which followed Tobias which has given occasion to unwary and unskilful men to insult with so much scorn over a Book that is very useful tho not of Divine Inspiration is not only innocent but agreeable to the best patterns of Antiquity * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odiss ii Nec non gemini custodes limine ab alto Procedunt Gressumque canes comitantur herilem Aen. 8. Hoc in Homero lectum est in Historia Romana quae ait Syphax inter duas canes stans scipionem appellavit Serv. Homer and Virgil who thought it a very proper and natural ornament of their Poems to describe Dogs following their Masters Homer speaking of Telemachus and Virgil of Evander And Servius produceth an Example of the same thing out of the Roman History IV. As to the Method used in the Holy Scriptures there is no reason to expect that Prophecies should be written according to the order of time in which they were delivered or that Histories should be digested into Diaries or Annals since there may be Reasons whether known or unknown to us why they should be otherwise placed And thus the Lyrick â—â—â—ts * Vid. Hieron ad Hieremiae cap. 21 25. who pretended to Enthusiasm and an imitation as it were of Prophecy do not confine themselves to observe any order of Time Some things last foretold might be first to be fulfilled or some things were more or less remarkable or concerned the Jews more or less than others but generally in the Prophetical Books of Scripture what concerns the same subject is put together tho fore-told or falling out at different times that the clearer and more distinct view may be had of it This as †Hieren ad Ezech. cap. 29 30. St Jerom observes is the cause of diveâ—â— Transpositions in point of Time in the Prophesies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and †Id. ad Dan. c. 7. he takes notice that Daniel having set down the Prophecies which had relation to the several Reigns of Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar Darius or Cyrus according to the order of Time afterwards declares the Revelations that were made to him that had no dependance upon the times in which they were made but were written for the benefit of Posterity But the several Transpositions in the Scripture are sufficiently accounted for by Commentators And it must be observed that the Sacred Writers mention no more of Civil affairs than was necessary to their purpose and therefore in many things they refer to the Histories then extant for a fuller account of them their design was not to write a compleat History of all events but they confine themselves to such as were most fit for them to take notice of and keep within the compass of their proper business It was expedient that the same Doctrines should be repeated in divers places of Scripture and interspersed with other things according to no certain Art or Method because this prevents their being corrupted or falsified as they might have been if they had been all reduced to several distinct Heads and placed according to the Rules of Art If one Prophet repeats what another Prophet had said this is to give it a new confirmation to revive the remembrance and shew the certainty and importance of it It is ordinary in the best Authors not only to find the same things repeated in divers places of their Works but to meet with them repeated in the very same words thus Isocrates Xenophon and Demosthenes transcribe in one part of their Works what they have written in another but none I think so frequently as Demosthenes tho * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ulp. Enarr Oâ—at Demosthen coâ—t Midiam Vlpian has observed that this was a usual thing with the Ancient Writers It was customary likewise with the Philosophers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or to allude to the Verses of Homer and to apply them with little variation upon all occasions as may be seen frequently in Diogenes Laertius All the cavils therefore that are made against the style of Scripture proceed from ignorance of Antiquity and from rashness in judging of ancient Times and foreign Countreys by our own Whoever would either delight or profit must speak and act in some measure according to the genius of the people with whom he converses and if we will but read the Scriptures with the same candour and respect with which we read the Writings of Human Authors and consider the Times and Persons and the Occasions upon which they were written there is nothing that can seem harsh or improper either in the words or actions of the persons inspired for it was the manner of those Countries to speak by their actions almost as much as in words If we will but observe the circumstances in which the several parts of the Scriptures were written we shall find cause to admire the Simplicity and Plainness and Modesty of the style of the Scriptures In many Books of the Scriptures the style is sublime and elegant beyond any thing to be found in other Writings and yet as natural as if it could not have been otherwise exprest and this is the true excellency of style that it be plain and natural and yet eloquent Longinus gives a high character of Moses's style in a Book the design whereof is to represent the most perfect Idea of Eloquence indeed such is the fitness both in Verse and Prose of the words and style of Moses so admirably suited to the subject upon all occasions as if he had been to prescribe a pattern of true Eloquence as well as to enact Laws H. Stephens has observed that there is a great resemblance in Herodotus to the style of the Scriptures Herodotus had Homer in his view throughout his History and Homer's expressions are the same with those used in the Scriptures in many instances as particularly when he so often mentions the children of the Trojans and the children of
c. 18. lib. v. c. 7. Quadratus had this gift of Prophecy and it continued in the Church to the time of Justin Martyr and of Irenaeus II. The Miracles wrought by the Apostles were according to an express promise of Christ to them that after his Ascension they should do even greater Works than he had done himself John xiv 12. that is they should do works that would be more eminent and observable in the eyes of the World though not more excellent and divine for nothing could be greater in that sense than to raise a man from the dead Which promise was fulfilled to them at the Feast of Pentecost when men from all parts of the world were made witnesses to it For they were commanded by our Saviour not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for this promise and he assured them that they should be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days after his being taken up from them into Heaven and that they should receive power after that the Holy Ghost was come upon them and should be witnesses unto him both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the Earth Acts i. 4 5 8. And this miraculous power was visibly bestowed not only upon the Apostles themselves but upon the (c) Monstrabatur locus ubi super centum viginti credentium animas spiritus sanctus descendisset Hieron Epitaph Paulae vid. Dr. Light exercit on Act. ii 1. p. 643. hundred and twenty mentioned Acts i. 15. I have already shewn that the Apostles were effectually qualified to be witnesses of what they delivered concerning Christ and that they could neither be deceived themselves in it nor could propose any advantage to themselves by deceiving others and that if they had designed any deceit they alledged such circumstances as made it impossible for them to have past undiscovered All which will be exceedingly confirmed by considering the miraculous Gifts which the Apostles received by the descent of the Holy Ghost according to this promise of our Saviour I shall therefore shew how the Apostles were enabled by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them to become witnesses to Christ 1. By the Miracles which they wrought themselves 2. By that power which was conveyed by them to others of working Miracles 3. By their supernatural Resolution Courage and Patience under their sufferings I. The Apostles were enabled to become witnesses to Christ by the Miracles which they wrought themselves This power of Miracles qualified them most effectually to be witnesses of the Resurrection and Ascention and other Articles of our Faith for they could neither deceive nor be deceived in these miraculous Gifts which were bestowed upon them to be an assurance to themselves and an evidence to others that it was the Cause of God in which they were engaged and his truth which they delivered They could not be deceived them selves undoubtedly in a thing of this nature they could not be ignorant whether they were real Miracles which they wrought or not they must needs know whether their own pretences were true or false and whether they could speak the Languages and do the Wonders which the world believed them to do and speak and they could not but know by what power and means they were enabled to perform all their miraculous Works And these works were of that nature and done in that manner that they could impose upon no man by them they could not make men believe that they spoke all kinds of Languages if they did not speak them nor that they cured all sorts of Diseases if they had not cured them nothing is more easy than for a man to know a Language that he understands when he hears it or than for men that were sick to know that they are recovered when they feel themselves well And the manner oâ— their performing these Miracles was the most publick and notorious in respect of the time and place and the persons on whom they were wrought Our Saviour had been crucified at the Feast of the Passover in the sight of the Jews and Proselytes who were met together from all parts of the World at that Solemnity and but fifty days after at the next solemn Festival of the Jews in the very same City where he had been Crucified in the presence of multitudes of people of all Nations and Languages which came to keep the Feast of Pentecost the Apostles declared to them in all their several Tongues that this same Jesus was by the Almighty Power of God raised from the dead and that they were impowered by him to speak all those Languages The Apostles were at the same time taken notice of to be Gallileans men of low Birth and of new Education St. John in particular was known to the High Priest himself and the rest were all known to many that heard them their Parentage and place of Abode and manner of Life might easily be enquired into for they were no strangers nor in a far Country and from all these it appeared that it was impossible that they should be capable of speaking any of these Languages but by inspiration and to speak all Languages is a thing which no man ever could hope to arrive at by study or conversation though he should make it the whole business of his Life and therefore this could least of all be suspected of men of mean Employments and who got their Livelihood by their daily labour and industry The Miracles which the Apostles wrought were likewise in the most publick places of the City and in the most publick manner upon persons who had been most remarkable and generally taken notice of for their Infirmities St. Peter by pronouncing only these words In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk cured a man of above forty years of Age who was known to have been lame from his Birth and was carried and laid daily at one of the Gates of the Temple where there was wont to be the greatest resort of people to ask an Alms of them that entred into the Temple and this man being immediately cured went with St. Peter and St. John into the Temple and all the people saw him walking and praising God and they knew that it was he which sat for Alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple Acts iii. 9 10. And the Rulers of the Jews enquired into the matter and upon examination when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men they marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus and beholding the man which was healed standing with them they could say nothing against it but confessed among themselves that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it Acts iv 13 14 16. By this and other evident and publick Miracles the miraculous Power of the Apostles
own thoughts in a way much more free and unconfin'd than in this Life as they have more knowledge in a separate state so they must have fitter means to communicate it And since the happiness of Heaven consists in the Vision of God that is in the communications of the Divine Wisdom and Goodness God certainly can as well act upon the minds of Men in this mortal state tho we be less capable of receiving or observing the influences of his Spirit Since finite Spirits can act one upon another it is reasonable to believe that the Spirit of God the God of the Spirits of all flesh doth move and work upon the Spirits of Men that he enlightens their understandings and inclines their Wills by a secret Power and Influence in the methods of his ordinary Grace And he can likewise act upon the Wills and the understandings of some men with a clearer and more powerful Light and Force than he is pleased to do upon others in such a manner as to render them infallible in receiving and delivering his Pleasure and Commandments to the World He can so reveal himself to them by the Operations of his Holy Spirit as that they shall be infallibly assur'd of what is revealed to them and as infallibly assure others of it Which kind of Revelation is styl'd Inspiration because God doth not only move and actuate the minds of such men but vouchsafes to 'em the extraordinary Communications of his Spirit the Spirit then more especially may be liken'd to the Winds to which it is compared in Scripture for by strong convictions and forcible but gracious Impressious he breaths upon their Souls and infuses his Divine Truths into them But upon those to whom God did thus reveal himself by inward light and knowledge he did moreover bestow a power of giving external evidence by miraculous works that their pretences were real and that what they spoke was not of them but was reveal'd to them from God This inspiration the Apostles profest to have both in their Preaching and Writings and this evidence they gave of it In speaking of the Inspiration by which the Scriptures were written I. I shall shew wherein the Inspiration of the Writers of the Scriptures did consist or how far it extended II. I shall from thence make such inferences as may afford a sufficient answer to the objections alledged upon this subject I. I shall shew wherein the Inspiration of the Writers of the Scriptures did consist or how far it extended And here we must consider both the Matter and the Words of Scripture The Matter is either concerning things reveal'd and which could not be known but by Revelation or it is something which was the object of Sense and Matter of Fact as when the Apostles testify that our Saviour was crucify'd and rose again or lastly it is matter of Reason as discourses upon Moral subjects and inferences made from things reveal'd or from matter of Fact God who is a Spirit can speak as intelligibly to the spirits and minds of Men as Men can speak to the ear and in things which could not be known but by Revelation the notions were suggested and infused into the minds of the Apostles and Prophets by the Holy Ghost but they might be left to put them into their ow 〈◊〉 * Praeterea scito unumquemque Prophetam pecuâ—iare quid habere ea lingua eaque loquendi ratione quae ipsi est familiaris consueta ipsum impelli à Prophetia sua ad loquendum ei qui intelligit ipsum Maimon More Nevoch Part 2. c. 29. Words being so directed in the use of them as to give infallibly the sense and full importance of the Revelation In matters of Fact their Memories were according to our Saviours promise assisted and confirm'd In matters of Discourse or Reasoning either from their own natural Notions or from things Reveal'd or from matters of Fact their understandings were enlightned and their Judgments strengthned And still in all cases their natural Faculties were so supported and guided both in their Notions and Words as that nothing should come into their Writings but what is infallibly true They had always the use of their Faculties tho under the infallible Direction and Conduct of the Holy Ghost and in things that were the proper objects of their faculties the Holy Ghost might only support and guide them as in matters of sense and natural Reason and Memory and in their Words and Style to express all these But in things of an higher Nature which were above their faculties and which they could have no knowledge of but from Revelation the things themselves were infused tho the words in most cases might be their own but they were preserv'd from error in the use of them by that Spirit who was to guide them into all Truth For tho the several Writers of the Scriptures might be allowed to use their own Words and Style yet it was under the infallible guidance and influence of the Spirit as when a man is left to the use of his own Hand or manner of Writing but is directed in the Sense and Orthography by one who dictates to him or assists him with his help where it is needful Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God 2 Tim. 3.16 The Holy Ghost saith by the Psalmist to day if ye will hear his Voice Hebr. 3.7 David saith of himself the Spirit of the Lord spake by me and his word was in my Tongue 2 Sam. 23.2 And God is said to speak by the hand of Moses his servant and by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Prophet 1 Kings 8.53.14.18 By which it appears that he used the Prophets as his Instruments in revealing his Will For as Miracles were by the immediate power of God though wrought by the hands of men so the Revelations were of God though spoken or written by the Prophets and Apostles But though God used them as his Instruments yet not as mechanical but as rational Instruments and as in working their Miracles they were not always necessarily determined to the place or to the persons on whom they were wrought but in general were guided to work them when they were proper and seasonable and the Actions by which they wrought them were their own though the power that accompanied them was of God so in their Doctrines they might be permitted to use their own Words and Phrases and to be guided by prudential Motives as to time and place and persons with a directive power only over them to speak and write nothing but infallible truth upon such occasions and in such circumstances as might answer the end of their Mission with which they were entrusted God promised Moses when he sent him to Pharaoh that he would be with his mouth and with Aaron's mouth and would
is ordinary with the best Writers to express things uncertainly which they were notwithstaning throughly acquainted withal and to seem ignorant of things which they perfectly understood but past over as not worth the taking notice of or not considerable enough for them to own the knowledge of them It is a known Elegancy to say nescio quid or nescio quem when the Author so speaking was not ignorant of the thing or person there meant but either signified his contempt of the person or thing or intimated that it was not worth his while to trouble himself or his Hearers or Readers with a more particular relation The * Credo haec eadem Indutiomarum in testimonio timuisse aut cogitasse qui primum illud verbum consideratissimum nostrae consuetudinis Arbitror quo nos etiam tunc utimur cum ea dicimus jurati quae comperta habemus quae ipsi vidimus ex toto teslimonio suo sustulit atque omnia se scire dixit Cic. pro M. Fonteio Romans out of that Awe and Reverence which they had for Oaths never spoke positively in giving evidence of things which they were certain of and had seen themselves And uncertain forms of Speech are observed †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Uip. in Demost Olynth 1. by Vlpian to have been usual thy Aneient Greek Authors in their speaking of things whereof they were very well assured It could be of no use or moment in relation to the miraculous draught of Fishes to know whether the Ship were two hundred cubits or half a cubit or a quarter of a cubit over or under from the Land and it is usual with St John to express himself in this manner Jo. 2.6 6.10 19.14 Either then to keep to the same instance St John might know the precise distance and for the reasons mentioned not declare it or it not being of any use or consequence for us to be more particularly informed in a matter of that nature the Holy Ghost might suffer him to be ignorant of it if he had no other means of knowing it but by Inspiration For the Holy Ghost assisted the Apostles and Evangelists to write infallible Truth but not always to write every little circumstance concerning the things which they relate Many Miracles are wholly omitted and many circumstances not considerable or material to be mentioned are omitted of those Miracles which are recorded But if nothing be related which may lead us into error and nothing omitted which is necessary to be known this is sufficient and is all that can be expected in a Book which is to be a Rule of Faith and Manners to us It is necessary that nothing but Truth should be contained in it but not that every Truth should be in it for then the world itself could not contain the Books that should be written Suppose therefore that St John did not know precisely how many cubits the Ship was from shore what doth this prove That he did not know the Miracle which he there relates Doth it prove that he was not inspired in what he doth relate if he were not inspired in what he omits If he had determined the precise distance and had not known it this might have discredited the Authority of his Gospel but when he has not determined it can this be an argument in diminution of its Authority if he did not know what he did not profess to know Is it not 〈◊〉 good Argument in confirmation of its Authority that he would assert nothing but what he certainly knew if in what he was not persectly assured he mentions no further than he knew of it So St Paul acquaints us when he spoke himself and not the Lord which is an argument to us that in all other cases he did not speak of himself but the Lord spoke by him it is a consirmation of his Integrity that he would impose nothing upon us as of Divine Authority which is not really so because he that told us in any one case that he spoke of himself not as from the Lord would have made the same Declaration in other cases whenever he had written any thing without express Revelation 4. In things which might fall under human Prudence and Observation there the Spirit of God seems not to have dictated immediately to the Prophets and Apostles but only to have used a directive or conducting Power and Influence so as to supply such Thoughts and Apprehensions to them as might be most proper and seasonable and to keep them in the use of their own Reason within the bounds of Infallible Truth and of Expediency for the present case and occasion They might be permitted to insert such things as the state of affairs required which tho not immediately dictated by the Holy Ghost yet were agreeable to the end and design of his Inspiration and serviceable to the Ministry to which they were appointed There seems to be no necessity to assert that St Paul sent for his Cloak and Parchments by Inspiration of the Holy Ghost or that he had any immediate command or direction to salute the particular persons named at the end of his Epistles but only that his Doctrine was immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost and as he might be permitted to put that into his own words but so as never to be suffered to express it otherwise than in such a manner as was fully agreeable to the mind and intention of the Holy Spirit and therefore infallibly true So in these lesser and indifferent matters which some present occasion made requisite to be written of he had the guidance and assistance of the Holy Ghost to prevent him from writing any thing but what was expedient in those circumstances and serviceable to his calling and ministry in the propagation of the Gospel But things of an indifferent nature in themselves might become necessary as to time and place and persons and therefore might in some cases be of Divine Inspiration St Paul's journeying into Macedonia rather than into any other Country was in itself a thing indifferent but the salvation of many souls might depend upon it and therefore he was warned by Revelation not to preach the word in Asia nor to go into Bithynia but into Macedonia Acts 16.6 7 9. In like manner the Salutations of particular persons at the end of his Epistles tho they may seem to us to be of no great importance yet might be of mighty consideration and consequence to those who were concerned in them To be saluted by an Apostle in so particular and solemn a manner might revive their spirits and encourage them to perseverance under their Temptations and Asslictions for his Salutations include his Benediction which was the exercise of his Apostolick Office and Authority in one great branch of it And God himself might direct the Apostle to salute such persons for their support and comfort and encouragement in the Faith Besides the Salutation added at the end of the Epistles are
moved to any alteration of Judgment by it His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel Judg. 10.16 or it was shortned as the Hebrew word is literally translated in the Margin that is according to * Maimon More Nevoch Part 1. c. 41 47. Part. 3. c. 24. Maimonides the Lords mind was shortened from afflicting them or he had no longer a mind to punish them When God is said to see the meaning is that he knows what is done when he is said to hear this signifies that he understands what is said †Non enim aliquid ignorat Deus ut examinando cognosâ—â—â— â—ed sciat Deus ita dixit beatus Job ut scire alios faciat secundum illud tentat vos Deus Dominus ut sciat uâ—rum diligatis eum id est ut scire caeteros faciat Hieron in Job c. 31 6. Now I know that thou fearest God Gen. 22.12 that is now I have had the proof of it and have made it evident that I know it To prove thee to know what was in thine heart Deut. 8.2 is the same as to make that appear and become known which I know to be in thine heart Gen. 11.5 the Lord is said to come down to see the City and Tower of Babel and Gen. 18.20 Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grievous I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me and if not I will know which implies that God is not forward or willing to punish but that he proceeds as men do in things about which they use most care and deliberation God is represented as a good Governour who is unwilling to believe ill Reports and will make a full enquiry and inspection into the case before he punish offenders or in short here is an illustration in Fact of that adorable character which God proclaims of himself the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth Exod. 34.6 God says that he could not destroy Sodom till Lot was escaped out of it Gen. 19.22 and to Moses he says Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them Exod. 32.10 But we must not imagin that the Reasons and Motives which Moses there represents to God in his prayer in behalf of the people of Israel could prevail more with him than his own infinite Wisdom and Goodness or that he could not have preserved Lot in the midst of Sodom as well as he delivered Shadrach Meshach and Abednego out of the Fiery Furnace But these things are thus exprest for an encouragement in Righteousness and to teach us dependance upon God for the righteous have power with God as well as with men and shall prevail Gen. 32.28 It was an exercise and trial of the Faith and Charity of Moses and is proposed as an example of Faith and Charity to all who should read that account of him Besides he was a Type of Christ and as such was to make intercession and attonement for the sins of the People Exod. 32.30 For Christ before his coming in the Flesh exercis'd his Mediatory power as to the visible administration of it by those who were appointed to be his Types and Representatives here upon Earth which may give a satisfactory account of that power which Abraham Jacob and Moses and others are said to have had with God The summ of all is that to give the more Force and Life to the Discourses of the Prophets and to render them the more effectual to the ends for which they were designed God who is by the infinite excellency of his Nature uncapable of any Passion is pleas'd to be represented as subject to Love and Anger and Hatred and all the Passions of Humanity and He who knows perfectly all events from Eternity is contented even to seem sometimes to doubt of the effects of his designs and proposals and of the events of humane Actions to shew as * Origen Philocal c. 23. Hieron Theodoret ad Ezek. 11.5 Origen St. Jerom and Theodoret have observ'd the freedom of Men and to declare that their destruction is from themselves He speaks to us in the Language of Men and assumes to himself all the Passions of humane nature that by any means sinners may be perswaded to turn to him he is described as angry and grieved at the sins of Men and as one who rejoyceth at their Repentance not that the Divine Nature can be capable of Anger or Grief or Rejoycing which imply change and imperfection and therefore must be impossible in the most absolutely perfect Being but because Men are wont to be angry when they punish and to be grieved when those do amiss whom they would have do well and are wont to rejoice when they begin to reform therefore to set forth that God will certainly punish unrepenting Sinners and receive the returning Penitent and reward the Righteous both the Goodness and Justice of God are explain'd in such terms as may most move and affect Men to shew that the punishments he inflicts will in the end be as grievous as if he receiv'd some loss and disappointment by the obstinacy of the Wicked and that he will as bountifully reward the Good as if they had done him some great benefit and kindness and had made some addition to his own Joy and Happiness which is infinite and eternal and therefore uncapable of any 3. The Decorum or suitableness of the matter in the stile of Scripture This is to be considered with respect to the Persons the Occasion and Time and Country the Rules of Decency being variable according to Circumstances not fix'd and immutable as the Precepts of Morality are * More Nevoch Par. 3. c. 8. Maimonides has observ'd that the Holy Tongue has no words to express things obscene and 't is very remarkable that in those ruder Ages as they are commonly reckon'd the Hebrews had peculiar forms of Decency in their Expressions upon all occasions which required them And to know in that signification which it hath Gen. 4.1 and in many other places of Scripture was likewise used by the Greeks and is particularly taken notice of by * Hermog de Invent. lib. 4. c. 11. Hermogenes for the modesty of it We find the Heroes of †Vid. Athenae lib. 1. c. 4. cum Casaub Animad De Antiquis illustrissimus quisque Pastor erat ut ostend it Greca Latina Lingua veteres Poetae Varro de Re Rustic lib. 2. c. 1. Homer employ'd in as mean Offices as the Patriarchs and * Herodot 6. c. 137. Herodotus declares that in Ancient Times the Greeks had no Servants but did their own work themselves or had no other help but that of their Children and 't is reasonable that their manner of speech should be suitable to their way of living
unless we were likewise acquainted with the particular time and the Names of the Places and Persons described in it It is as much as our Salvation is worth to be informed of a Future Judgment tho' we are not told when it shall be and that Book which sets Rewards and Punishments Heaven and Hell before us is of the greatest Advantage for the Edification and Salvation of Men tho' the several Circumstances and Particularities described are unknown to us 8. Tho' the Arguments from Types are above all apt to be look'd upon as uncertain and to depend rather upon the Conjectures and Fansies of Men than upon any clear Evidence Yet we shall find the contrary if we do but a little consider the Nature of them A Type is a Likeness a Form or Mould as the word signifies and where the Antitype represented by it and prefigured Answers exactly to it there is no more question to be made but that the one belongs to the other than there is reason to doubt when we see an Impression made upon Wax what kind of Seal it was by which it was made Or when we see a good Picture of one we know to enquire who sat for it A Type is much of the same Nature in Actions or Things and Persons as an Allegory is in Words but Allegories are oftentimes so plain that no man can well mistake what is meant by them And thus it is as to Types in many Cases Indeed where there is but one Type or one Resemblance it is not so easily discern'd but where many concur he must be very wilful that does not acknowledge the Agreement When an Author as it often happens describes the Persons of his own Time under feigned Names a Reader who knows nothing of it may perhaps over-look one or two Characters supposing them to be by chance but when he perceives that they all exactly agree to so many several Persons whom he knows he no longer doubts of the Author's Design And when many Types concur in the same Person with a great number of Particularities any two of which perhaps never concurr'd in any one Man before as in the Person of our Saviour these things concurr'd that he was compell'd to carry his Cross as Isaac had carried the Wood that he was lifted up and fastned to it as the Brazen Serpent had been lifted up in the Wilderness that as the Bones of the Paschal Lamb were not broken so not a Bone of him was broken when the Bones of these were who were Crucified with him and that he was Crucified at the very time when the Paschal Lamb was to be Sacrificed when so many different Circumstances concur which have no dependance one upon another nor upon the Will of Him in whom they concur but proceed from the Will and as in this Case from the Malice of others if these things meet by chance it must be a very extraordinary and unaccountable Chance indeed and much such another as that was which some would perswade us made the World it must be such a Chance as never happened before nor will ever happen again But must not these Men rather speak and think by chance who can argue at this Rate Sometimes the Characters are so lively that the Types are as evident as express Words could have made them as when in the Description of the Kingdom of Christ he is stiled David because as he was prefigured by David so he was to descend from him Jer. xxx 9. Ezek. xxxiv 23. xxxvii 24 25. Hos iii. 5. several Descriptions which were Metaphorical in reference to the Persons immediately concern'd in them were litterally fulfilled in our Saviour Thus the Gall and Vinegar the Casting of Lots upon the Garments and the Piercing of the Hands and Feet are Metaphorical Expressions of great Contempt and Cruelty used towards the Persons to whom they were at first applied but in their ultimate End and Design they were true to the very Letter And where there is thus a Two-fold Signification of any place of Scripture the one improper and Metaphorical the other proper and Litteral the Person described in Metaphorical Terms is as clearly a Type of him from whose real Condition and Circumstances the Metaphor is taken as a Metaphor is a Representation of the plain Sense contained under it The Legal Dispensation was all Typical and so the Jews ever understood it to be which made the Apostles dispute with them from the Types of their Law as they surely would never have done if it had not on all sides been agreed that it was a proper way of Argument Their Prophecies were given out in Actions as well as in Words and as the Mind either of God or Man may be exprest as fully by Actions as by the plainest Words so certainly we must acknowledge this to be the Case when Types so evidently denote the Person and so properly belong to him as to declare and bespeak him to be the Man in such a manner that we should conclude that any Person of our own Times must needs be meant by any Author who should thus describe him in a Book the Design whereof was known to be to make such Descriptions It is not indeed every Resemblance which we may conclude from but where many Types concur in the same Person where the concurrence depends wholly upon the Will of his Adversaries or not in the least upon his own Will when these Types were alledged from a Dispensation which was all along held to be Typical in this case they may be urged and as safely relyed upon as any other Argument III. In the last place I am to shew that the obscurity of the Scriptures is not such as to be any prejudice to their Authority nor to the End and Design of them And the Reason of this is implied by St. Peter when he says that there are but some things hard to be understood in the Scriptures and the rest are plain and obvious All things necessary to Salvation are sufficiently clear in the Scripture and tho' there be other things in them which are obscure yet we see that Reasons may be given and perhaps many more and better than I am able to produce why they are and ought to be so God supplies us in Necessaries with a bountiful and open Hand and what is not necessary he surely may discover more sparingly and more obscurely to us It is so in the things of this Life Our Senses seldom or never fail us in things necessary to our Life and Health tho' in other things we find our selves misled by them every Country and Place affords the Necessaries of Life and that which is most rare is always least necessary it may be useful but yet we may very well be without it Now to complain that all places of Scripture are not intelligible by all is as if we should blame Providence for not making all Men Rich and all Countries like the Land of Canaan it is a
coming of the Messiah But (g) Grot. de Verit. lib. v. S. 14. inter Sarrav Epist Rabbi Nehumias who lived fifty years before Christ declared that the coming of the Messiah according to Daniels Prophecy could not be deferred beyond the space of fifty years longer as Grotius has observed from the Talmud Divers (c) Bishop Pearson on the Creed Art iv of the Jews place the Passion of Christ sixty nine years before our common Account of the Year in which he truly suffered others pretend another different Account without the least Reason for either pretence but this shews how desperate a Cause they are engaged in which forceth them upon such Artifices for we have the express Testimony of Tacitus that he suffered under Pontius Pilate They Interpret Isai vii 14. where it is Prophesied that the Messiah was to be Born of a Virgin contrary to the Sense of their Fore-Fathers and therefore reject the Antient Translation of that Verse by the Septuagint as (d) Just Mart. Dialog Justin Martyr urged against the Jews of his time In Origen's time they expounded Isai liii of the Nation of the Jews not of any particular Person though as (e) Origen contr Cels lib. 1. Origen Argued in a Disputation with them the Tenor of the whole Chapter is a plain confutation of this way of expounding it and especially these words of the 8th Verse for the Transgression of my People was he stricken By the Person stricken cannot be understood the People for whose Transgression he is said to have been stricken (h) Grot. ib. lib. v. S. 19. Bishop Pearson ib. But they have found out another Evasion by pretending that there are to be two Messiahs one the Son of Joseph who is to be a suffering Messiah and the other the Son of David who is to enjoy all manner of Temporal Prosperity and Power So plain is it that the Prophecies which the Jews themselves of old understood of Christ are fulfilled in our Saviour and so unavoidably do they contradict all their own Antient Interpretations of Scripture when they will not allow them to be fulfilled in him For that they are fulfilled it is evident and they can assign no other Person in whom they have been fulfilled II. It was fore-told by the Prophets that the Law should cease upon the coming of the Messiah It is evident from the Prophets that in some years after Christ Jerusalem was to be no longer the seat of the Jewish Power and Government nor the place of Worship And their Prophecies suppose the Cessation of the Jewish Law upon a Two-fold Account 1. From the Destruction of the Temple 2. From the Dispersion of the People of the Jews and the Destruction of their City 1. From the Destruction of the Temple The Prophet Daniel fore-told that after the Messiah was cut off the Sanctuary should be destroyed and the Sacrifice and the Oblation should Cease and that there should be Desolation even until the Consummation Dan. ix 26 27. Since the Sanctuary is laid waste and desolate and by this Prophecy is never to be Rebuilt the Temple being the Place of all their Worship and Solemnities that failing their whole Worship must fail with it And whenever the Jews have attempted to Rebuild their Temple they have been hindred from doing it and particularly as I have several times already observed in the time of Julian the Apostate by Miraculous and dreadful Judgments related by Ammianus Marcellinus an Heathen Historian who lived at that time and by a (x) Wagenseil Annot. ad excerpta Gemarae â—ap 1. p. 236. Jewish Writer And when they have been permitted to Build them Synagogues and Places of Worship in all other Parts of the World that Place alone has been denied them in which by their Law they were indispensably bound to Worship All the Males were obliged to resort to Jerusalem to Worship thrice every year and the Place of their Worship was more strictly enjoyned than the time For if any Man were upon a Journey or Unclean a second Passover was appointed for him but it could be observed at no other Place but Jerusalem upon any occasion whatsoever Num. ix 10. Deutr. xvi 5. And therefore during the Captivity at Babylon they did not Celebrate these Feasts of the Passover of Pentecost and of Tabernacles how could they Sing the Lord's Song in a strange Land Psal Cxxxvii 4. And the Destruction of the City and Temple by the Romans at the time of the Passover was a sign that they were no longer God's Peculiar People nor under the Protection of those Promises which by the Law were made to them and had ever been fulfilled till the time of the Promise was expired St. (i) Chrys adv Judeos lib. 1. Tom. 6. Sav. Edit Chrysostom blames the Jews of his time for observing the Law in the Countries whither they were disperst which he proves to be contrary to God's Commandment and to the Practice of their Ancestors And the Modern Jews confess that their Worship is impracticable in their present Condition they acknowledge that they ought to offer Sacrifice no where else but at the Temple of Jerusalem the Observation of the Passover among them now is without Sacrificing the Paschal Lamb and they observe tâ—e day of Attonement without the Sacrifice of Expiation 2. The Destruction of the City of Jerusalem and the final Dispersion of the People of the whole Nation of the Jews proves that their Law is at an end Jacob plainly foretold both the coming of the Messiah and the end of the Power and Authority of the Nation of the Jews upon His coming The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a Law giver from between His feet until Shiloh come and unto Him shall the gathering of the People be Gen. xlix 10. This Prophecy was by the antient Jews always understood of the Messiah as is evident by the Targums and it appears to be fulfill'd in our Saviour both because the Jewish Government in His time was drawing towards its final Period and because the People of all Nations have been gathered to Him and have been made Proselytes to his Religion The Sceptre and the Law-giver that is the Power of their Arms and the Authority of their Laws was not so to depart as to become extinct till the Messiah came which implies that soon after his coming they were both to cease as we see they have long since actually done The Accomplishment of Jacob's Prophecy was gradual Herod was of another Nation but a Proselyte and upon that account he might be stil'd a Jew as (x) Exerâ—â—itat 1. â—um 5. Is Casaubon has prov'd against Baronius And when he was made King of the Jews this was as a Warning to awaken them to expect the full Accomplishment of this Prophecy which was brought to pass in the final Destruction of their Government The Jewish Government all along under all Changes was still denominated from Judah tho'
17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we the living the remaining that is the faithful which shall then be alive and remain upon the Earth St. Paul speaks of the Faithful here under a twofold denomination viz. of the Dead and the Living and speaking of the Living he uses the first Person Plural as being himself yet in the number of the Living not that he should be of that number at the Day of Judgment Thus frequent (c) Tollit animos Tullus Hostilius quasi ipse mandâ—sset spes inde nostris metus hostibus Flor. lib. 1. c. 3. Stipendiariam nobis Provinciam fecit Scipio Africanus Hispaniam lib. ii c. 17. Creticum Bellum si vera volumus noscere nos secimus lib. iii. c. 7. Examples are to be found where Historians Relating matters of Fact which happened long before their own Times use the expressions of we and our we Fought our Army Conquer'd that is the People of which I am now a Member or the Army of this People We the English Conquer'd France in the Reign of King Henry V. and if this had been Prophesy'd of it might have been said we shall Conquer c. Our Saviour speaking to the Jews says Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven when they had told him before our Fathers did eat Maâ—na in the Desart Joh. vi 31 32. And it might as well have been said to the Patriarchs you shall eat manna in the Wilderness as to the Jews of our Saviour's time you did eat it A Prophet foretelling things to come to pass after his own death might say We shall do so and so that is those of this Nation and People shall do it to which I belong and therefore reckon my self in the Number tho' I can have no share in the Action nor live to see it In the same manner St. Paul says we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed 1 Cor. xv 51. that is we who are not yet in the number of the Dead but are to â—e reckoned amongst the present and future Living As when he writes to the Ephesians among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by Nature the Children of wrath even as others Eph. ii 3. it is Paraphras'd by Dr. Hammond thus among who we of the Gentile Church of Rome from whence I write formerly lived c. It is certain St. Paul expected his own death 2 Tim. iv 6. but it is usual with him to speak in his own person by a Figure and sometimes even when he mentions himself by Name 1 Cor. iv 6. and he expresly declares that he did neither by word nor letter signifie that the Day of Christ was at hand 2 Thes ii 2. V. The Day of Judgment is describ'd with so much Solemnity and so many Particulars that it may seem impossible for them all to be dispatched in the compass not only of one but of many Days But (d) Mede Epist xx the Jews from whom our Saviour and his Apostles took the expression of the Day of Judgment understood by it a Time of many years continuance and sometimes the term even of a thousand years And by Day in the Language of the Scriptures is to be understood Season or any period and distinction of time with respect to some particular thing or occasion as these are the Generations of the Heavens and of the Earth when they were Created in the day that the Lord God made the Earth and the Heavens Gen. ii 4. that is in the Time consisting of six days the day of temptation in the Wilderness was forty years Heb. iii. 8 9. Nay St. Peter uses it to express Eternal Duration to him be Glory says he both now and for ever which in the Original is both now and to the day of Eternity 2 Pet. iii. 18. Day is us'd for Judgment itself 1 Cor. iv 3. and (e) Grot. ad 1 Cor. iv 3. so the Jews understood Days to be meant Job xxiv 1. In our Language Days-man signifies Judge or Umpire Job ix 33. and Diem dicere was the Law-term amongst the Romans for the Summons to a Tryal but it doth not follow from thence that the Cause must needs have been decided upon the same Day which was appointed for the hearing it (f) Itaque cum ego diem in Siciliam inquirendi perexiguam postulâssem invenit â—ste qui sibi in Achaiam biduo breviorem diem postularet non ut is idem conficeret diligemiâ industriâ suâ quod ego meo labore vigiliis consecutus sum Etenim ille Achaicus inquisitor ne Brundisium quidem pervenit Ego Siciliam totam quinquaginta diebus sic obij ut omnium populorum privatorùmque litter as injuriasque cognoscerem Cic. in Ver. Act. i. Tully by Day in his first Oration against Verres means the space of at least Fifty Days There is no Reason then to suppose that the Last Judgment must be confined to one or more Days but it will take up as much time as the Solemnity of the Proceedings require Hunc diem Judicii ultimum diem dicimus id est novissimum Tempus Nam per quot dies hoc judicium tendatur incertum est sed scripturarum more sanctarum diem poni solere pro tempore nemo qui literas illas quamlibet negligenter legerit nescit Aug. de Civit. Dei lib. xx c. 1. CHAP. XXIII Of Sacraments THO' the Jewish Law was very requisite at that time and for that People when it was in force and the wisest and best Institution that could have been yet it was indeed a yoke and such a yoke as was burthensome and not to have been born but in sure hopes and expectation of better things to come And at the approach of the Son of Righteousness these shadows vanished and the Types having attained their end and accomplishment were laid aside and in their room Christ has Instituted as few Rites as it was possible only the two Sacraments one for our Initiation and first Reception and the other for our Re-establishment and Confirmation in that Covenant which he has been pleas'd to make with us And yet even these are thought too many by some who as if they were all Soul and Spirit without Body are only for a Mental and Spiritual Worship To vindicate therefore the Institution and use of Sacraments I shall First Consider the Nature and Design of Sacraments in General Secondly I shall shew how fully the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper answer the End and Design of the Institution of Sacraments I. I will enquire into the Nature and Design of Sacraments in General Sacraments may be consider'd either 1. as outward and visible Signs of our entrance into Covenant with God or of our renewing our Covenant with him Or 2. As Pledges of God's Grace and Favour towards us Or. 3. As the Means
and Instruments whereby he is pleas'd to convey into our Souls the blessed Influences of his Holy Spirit Or lastly they may be consider'd as visible Rites whereby we are admitted into the visible Society of Christ's Church or profess our Communion with it And in all these respects it will appear how beneficial and requisite the Institution of Sacraments is and how fitting it is that God in his Dispensations with Men should appoint something outward and visible to be done or received by them I. Ceremonies and Rites of Initiation and of Worship have been Instituted in all Religions which is Evidence sufficient that the Nature of Man requires them and that our Worship cannot be wholly Mental and Spiritual And God is pleas'd in his Dealings with Mankind to condescend to their Capacities to ascribe to himself their Passions to allude to their Customs and to make use of such Means and Methods as Men are accustomed to in their Dealings with one another He best understands Humane Nature and knows all the dispositions and tendencies of it he knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are dust Ps ciii 14. He considers that we are Flesh as well as Spirit he fully comprehends the strict Union between the Soul and the Body and the cause and manner of it and how great influence the one hath upon the other in their several Operations he planted in us all our Powers and Faculties and sees all their Motions and Inclinations the secret Springs of Action and Passion and has accordingly fitted and proportioned the Institution of his Laws and Ordinances We see among Men that they are not content only to understand one anothers Meaning or to express their Minds in words tho' they be the most solemn and significant but are wont to use some Ceremony and Solemnity of Action and Circumstances in matters of great Importance because this makes greater impression upon the Mind and lays upon it a more forcible and lasting engagement by taking in the Senses and Passions as Parties concerned with it and this is by experience found to have the best effect to all the ends and purposes of Agreement and Obligation between Men. Oaths themselves are not found to be so secure to be rely'd upon when they are only pronounc'd as when they are taken with such Circumstances of words and gesture as may create an awe and reverence in those who take them For the manner and circumstances in which any action is done raise and fix the Attention and express the Mind and Design of the Doer and are better retain'd in the Memory and work more upon the Will and Affections than the Action of itself can do This Orators very well understand for the Art of Rhetorick is almost nothing else but a skilfull management of the circumstances of actions to the advantage of a Cause And Philosophy informs us that the evil or goodness of Actions depends chiefly upon their Circumstances from whence we learn what the intention of the Mind is and to what degree of Resolution it came in the performance of any Action If an Action be performed at a solemn time and place in the presence of Witnesses met together for that very purpose upon great deliberation with such words and gestures as are very significant to express our full Design and Intention all these Circumstances consider'd make it much more our own proper Act and Deed than if it were done without them tho' the Intention were the same For what we declare before others to be our mind and purpose to do or undertake we cannot but think our selves bound to under more obligations than if we barely design'd it or promis'd it only to the Persons concern'd because the design of declaring it is to lay upon our selves a farther obligation to perform it and to call others as Witnesses against us if we neglect the performance of it and since our Resolution may be declar'd as well by Actions as by Words he that expresses his Resolution both these ways shews a farther design to oblige himself than if he should only use words to express it and if the Circumstances of Actions be stated and solemn and significant then all the ways and means concurr by which it is possible for Men to declare and express their Minds in any Case and to oblige themselves to the performance of any Covenant Now Sacraments are the Seals of the Covenant between God and Man and when God is pleas'd to receive Men into Covenant with himself it is requisite that Men should not barely give their assent to the Terms and Conditions of it and declare that they will undertake them but it is farther necessary that this should be done with all the Solemnity of Words and Actions that may engage them to the performance of it and render them inexcusable if they transgress it it is fitting it should be entred into and renewed in the presence of Witnesses that the Words should be Solemn and the Actions Significant and that nothing should be wanting which may testifie the Sincerity and secure the Fidelity of the Undertakers For if Covenants between Man and Man be made with all the formality of Witnesses and Hands and Seals and Delivery in solemn and express words if Men know themselves too well to trust one another without all this Solemnity it may well be expected that when God is pleas'd to permit them to enter into Covenant with himself he should not receive them under less Obligations of Caution and Security for their Integrity than Men are wont to use amongst themselves For every breach of Covenant with him is infinitely more affronting and sinful than any breach of Covenant with Man can be and therefore God who will not be mocked has appointed the most effectual Means to secure his Laws from contempt he knows the deceitfulness of Man's heart how perverse and stubborn it is especially in things of such a Nature as these are of to which Men are obliged by that Promise and Vow that they are required to make to him and that all the Restraints and all the Remembrances which Words or Actions can afford are little enough to keep Men in any tolerable measure to their Duty God was pleas'd to confirm his Promise to Abraham with an Oath and therein shew'd himself willing to give all the assurance that the most Incredulous Man can desire of the fix'd and unalterable stedfastness of his purpose and the Immutability of his Council that we might have a strong Consolation Heb. vi 17 18. And when God himself is pleas'd so far to condescend for our comfort and satisfaction it is most reasonable that he should oblige us to perform our part of the Covenant by all the ways that may put us in remembrance of our Duty and make us faithful and constant in the performance of it And this could be effected by no better Means than by outward Acts and visible Signs to testifie and profess in the most serious and solemn