But thus much in this place shall suffice all particulars having been largely insisted upon in their proper places And since as sure as there is a God there must be a Revealed Religion if any Man will dispute the Truth of the Christian Religion let him instance in any other Religion that can make a better Plea and has more certainty that it came from God let him produce any other Religion that has more visible Characters of Divinity in it and we will not scruple to be of it but if it be impossible for him to shew any such as has been proved then he ought to be of this since there must be some Revealed Religion and if that Religion which has more evidence for it than any other Religion can be pretended to have and all that it could be requisite for it to have supposing it true and which it is therefore impossible to discover to be false if it were so If this Religion be not true God must be wanting to Mankind in what concerns their eternal Interest and Happiness he must be wanting to himself and to his own Attributes of Goodness Justice and Truth And therefore he that upon a due examination of all the Reasons and Motives to it will not be a Christian can be no better than an Atheist if he discern the consequence of things and will hold to his own Principles for there can be no Medium if we rightly consider the Nature of God and of the Christian Religion but as sure as there is a God and nothing can be more certain the Gospel was revealed by him CHAP. II. The Resolution of Faith HAving proved the Truth and Certainty of our Religion I shall in the last place upon these Principles give a Resolution of our Faith which is a subject that has caused such unnecessary and unhappy Disputes amongst Christians in these latter Ages for in the Primitive Times this was no matter of Controversie as indeed it could not then and ought not now to be 1. Considering the Scriptures only as an History containing the Actions and Doctrines of Moses and the Prophets and of our Saviour and his Apostles we have the greatest humane Testimony that can be of men who had all the opportunities of knowing the truth of those Miracles c. which gave Evidence and Authority to the Doctrines as Revealed from God and who could have no Interest to deceive others but exposed themselves to all manner of dangers and infamy and torments by bearing Testimony to the Truth of what is contained in the Scriptures whereas Impostures are wont to be invented not to incur such sufferings but to avoid them or to obtain the advantages and pleasures of this world And so this Testimony amounts to a moral certainty or as it is properly enough called by some to a moral infallibility because it implies a moral impossibility of our being deceived by it such a certainty it is as that nothing with any reason can be objected against it We can have as little reason to doubt that Christ and his Apostles did and suffered and taught what the Scriptures relate of them in Jerusalem Antioch c. as that there ever were such places in the world nay we have that much better attested than this for many men have died in Testimony of the Truth of it II. This Testimony being considered with respect to the nature of the thing testified as it concerns eternal Salvation which is of the greatest concernment to all mankind it appears that Gods Veracity and Goodness are engaged that we should not be deceived inevitably in a matter of this consequence So that this Moral Infallibility becomes hereby Absolute Infallibility and that which was before but Humane Faith becomes Divine being grounded not upon Humane Testimony but upon the Divine Attributes which do attest and confirm that Humane Testimony and so Divine Testimony is the ultimate ground why I believe the will of God to be delivered in the Scriptures it is no particular revealed Testimony indeed but that which is equivalent to it viz. the constant Attestation of God by his Providence For it is repugnant to the very notion of a God to let men be deceived without any possible help or remedy in a matter of such importance And so we have the ground of our Faith absolutely Infallible because it is evident from the Divine Attributes that God doth confirm this Humane Testimony by his own III. The Argument then proceeds thus If the Scriptures were false it would be impossible to discover them to be so and it is inconsistent with the Truth and Goodness of Almighty God to suffer a deceit of this nature to pass upon mankind without any possibility of a discovery therefore it follows that they are not false Here is 1. The object or thing to be believed viz. that the Revelation delivered to us in the Scripture is from God 2. The Motive or Evidence to induce our Belief viz. Humane Testimony 3. A confirmation of that Testimony or the Formal Principle and Reason of our Belief viz. the Divine Goodness and Truth The object therefore or thing believed is the same to us that it was to those who saw the miracles by which the Scriptures stand confirmed viz. the revealed Will of God and the Ground and Foundation of our Belief is the same that theirs was viz. the Divine Goodness and Truth whereby we are assured that God would not suffer Miracles to be wrought in his own Name according to Prophecies formerly delivered and with all other circumstances of credibility only to confirm a Lye The only difference then between the resolution of Faith in us and in the Christians who were Converted by the Apostles themselves is this that tho we believe the same things and upon the same grounds and reasons with them yet we have not the same immediate motives or evidence to induce our Belief or to satisfie us in these reasons and convince us that the Revealed Will of God contained in the Scriptures is to be believed upon these grounds that is to satisfie and convince us that the belief of the Scriptures being the Word of God is finally resolved into the Authority of God himself and is as well certified to us as his Divine Attributes can render it For they were assured of this from what their own senses received but we have our assurance of it from the Testimony of others The Question therefore will be whether the motives and arguments for this Belief in us or the means whereby we become assured that the Revealed Will of God is contained in the Scriptures be not as sufficient to produce a Divine Faith in us and to establish our Faith upon the Divine Authority as the motives and arguments which those had who lived with the Apostles and saw their Miracles could be to produce that Faith in them which resolved it self into the Divine Authority And this enquiry will depend upon these two things 1. Whether
he had of those who were Eye-witnesses and Ministers of the word Luke i. 2. And he was the Companion and Disciple of St. Paul who was such an enemy to Christianity before his Conversion that nothing less than a miraculous Power could have made that sudden change in him he probably must have seen our Saviour before his Passion and then saw him again at his Conversion and heard him speaking to him from Heaven So that St. Paul as well as the other twelve Apostles had seen and heard our Saviour and they were all convinced by their own senses of what they delivered to others and besides these he was seen after his Resurrection by many others both Men and Women and at one time was seen by above five hundred together 1 Cor. xv 6. Of all the writers of the Books of the New Testament there are but two who were not Eye-witnesses to what they relate and these two had their Relations from the Apostles and others who were eye-witnesses III. The Apostles were Men of integrity and without any Artifice or Design truly declared what they knew 1. They had no worldly Interest to advance by their Testimony but suffered by it and had a certain prospect of suffering 2. There are peculiar marks of sincerity in all their writings I. They had no worldly interest to serve by their Testimony but suffered by it and had a certain prospect of sufferings They could propose no advantage to themselves of Gain or Honours or Pleasures but on the contrary underwent a voluntrary Poverty and Infamy and Torments which was all that they met with in this world for their Pains and all that they could expect to meet with They forsook all which they had St. Matthew a gainful Employment and St. Paul who wrote the most of any of the Penmen of the New Testament lost the favour of the Chief Priests and the preferments which a person of his Learning and Zeal might promise himself from them St. Luke a Physician by his profession left an employment both of Honour and Advantage and the rest lost all they had and can any Man lose more All of them left an honest and secure livelihood and exposed themselves to the hatred and contempt of all their nearest Friends and Relations whose love and esteem both by nature and education they must be enclined most to desire and they became obnoxious to all the affronts and outrage and torments which a furious zeal could inflict upon them All which was no new or unexpected thing to them they saw what their Master had suffered and could hope to fare no better than he had done They were often forewarned by Christ long before hand what must befal them they were told that they must take up their Cross and follow him and could be his Disciples upon no easier terms He had set forth the reception which they must expect to meet with in the world just in the same manuer as they found it under the most frightful appearance that words could represent And this they soon found as punctually true as all the rest that he had foretold to them but though they found it so and sometimes were dismissed with a severe charge to desist from Preaching the Gospel and at other times escaped and had an opportunity given them to avoid any further danger by Preaching it they ever perservered in it with the greatest zeal and constancy despising all dangers and all sorts of torments and deaths and glorying still and rejoicing that they suffered in so good a Cause and at last they sealed their Doctrine with their Blood St. Paul was in great reputation with the Chief Priests and Scribes and Pharisees before his conversion and was employed by them in persecuting the Church and as often as he appeared before them they had nothing to accuse him of but his profession of a Religion which obliges all Men to the strictest justice and holiness If the Apostles had not been the best they must have been the worst of Men for imposing upon the world under the pretence of a Divine Mission and Authority and yet this they must do with no other design but to promote virtue and holiness which no ill Man could design to his own certain loss and destruction in this world and the next and the less Men believe of the next world the more fond they are to make sure of this Ambition and a desire of Fame and a Name after Death rarely happens to Men of obscure Birth and mean Education and it was naturally impossible that it should now befal so many of them without any ground or reason to expect it when in all humane consideration they had a certain prospect of nothing but infamy after death as well as of disgrace and want and torment during their lives And no Man could resolve upon attesting any thing on such terms unless he had been absolutely certain of the Truth of it much less could so many set upon such a design together for as they could have no arguments to perswade one another to enter upon such an Attempt so if they had once conspir'd in it they would soon have deserted and discovered each other when they lay under all the disadvantages and difficulties imaginable and had nothing to support and unite them but the truth and reality of what they delivered And it is further observable that in the first Ages of the Church and the nearer Christians were to the Apostles the more zealous they were to live according to the Gospel of Christ and to die in defence of it for they had then greater opportunities of informing themselves of the Imposture if there had been any and had therefore the greater means of being certified that there was none And Men of great parts and Accomplishments such as Sergius Paulus Governour of Cyprus Dionysius the Areopagite Justin Martyr Tertullian and others who were inquisitive Men and able to make a true judgment of things upon a full examination of all particulars became early Converts to the Christian Religion II. There are peculiar marks of sincerity in all the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists They were not ambitious of being known to the world by their writings but wrote only as they were (a) Euseb Eccle. hist lib. iii. 23. by necessity drawn to it for the further propagation of the Gospel And upon all occasions they declare their own frailties and faults and many times such as could never have been known but from themselves St. Matthew had spent the former part of his Life in no very creditable employment but among Publicans and Sinners as he says himself for he leaves recorded to all Posterity the censure of his own Life saying that he sat at the receit of custom Matt. ix 9 10. and stiling himself Matthew the Publican Mat. x. 3. Eusebius observes that none of the other Evangelists have mentioned a thing so reproachful of him as his having been a Publican but St.
that their most ancient Books were in Hieroglyphicks which are not expounded by any who lived nearer than MDCC years to the first Author of them that the numbers in computation are sometimes mistaken or that Months are put for Years But of what Antiquity or Authority soever their first Writers were there is little or no credit to be given to the books now remaining since that general destruction of all ancient Books by the Emperor Xi Hoam ti who lived but about two hundred years before Christ he commanded upon pain of death all the Monuments of Antiquity to be destroyed relating either to History or Philosophy especially the Books of Confucius and killed many of their Learned men so that from his time they have only some fragments of old Authors left The Chinese are a people vain enough and love to magnify themselves to the Europeans which makes them endeavour to have it believed that their Antiquities are sufficiently entire notwithstanding this destruction of their Books and for the same reason they described the Emperor's Observatory as the most compleat and the best fitted for the uses of Astronomy that could be imagined but upon the view it appeared very inconsiderable and the Instruments were found useless and new ones were placed in their room made by the direction of Father Verbiest This people after all their boasts of skill in Astronomy were not able to make an exact Calendar and their Table of Eclipses were so uncorrect that they could scarce foretel about what time that of the Sun should happen And in a Petition which the Emperor of China in favour it seems to the Missionaries had privately drawn up to be presented by them to himself in publick it is said that Father Adam Schaal made it known to all the Court that the Rules of the Coelestial Motions established by the ancient Astronomers of China were all false And not only the common people of China but the chief Mandarines are so ignorant and superstitious that when they see the Sun or Moon under an Eclipse with Sacrifices and other Rites and with great noise and clamor they apply themselves to rescue them from the Dog or Dragon which they imagine is like to devour them So little credit is to be given to the pretences which the several Nations among the Heathens have made to Antiquity without any ground from History but upon wandring discourses of observations in Astronomy which they had little or no skill in And it has been made evident by divers learned men that the most ancient and the very best of the Heathen Gods were but Men whom the Scriptures mention as worshippers of the True God such as Noâ—h Joseph Moses c. CHAP. II. Of the Defect in the Promulgation of the Heathen Religions THe Propagation of the several Religions profest among the Heathens has been very inconsiderable For they were never extant in Books to be publickly read and examined but their Mysteries were kept secret and concealed from the world and all the knowledge the people had of them was from the Priests Every Country had its peculiar Deities and ways of Worship which were seldom received or known but in those places where they were first set up The (a) Valer-Max de Peregrina Relig. rejecta lib. 1. c. 3. Romans rejected many foreign Religions as abominable and none of their Religions ever prevailed but where they had the temporal Power to uphold them And they lost ground daily by the propagation of the Gospel whilst the greatest part of the Empire made it their business to oppress it and to maintain the Heathen Religions against it It is to be observed that the Christian Religion is at this day Preached in all parts of the Heathen world and has been ever since its first propagation as the Jewish Religion was before but where Christianity has prevailed Heathenism has been never able to maintain its ground and there are hardly any but Christians excepting some few Jews to be found in Christian Countries which makes a great abatement in the disproportion that Heathenism in general may seem to have in its numbers above Christianity But if we examine the particular Religions of the Heathens there is no comparison and the only thing here to be enquired into is whether any particular Religion of the Heathens exceed or equal the Christian Religion in point of Promulgation for who ever can imagine that all or any great number of the Heathen Religions are of Divine Revelation must suppose God to reveal contradictions The Question before us is not whether Heathens are more numerous than Christians but whether any of their Religions has been as fully promulged as the Christian One Herald is enough to promulge a Law to many thousands the City of Nineve was converted by one Prophet and there is perhaps no Nation in the world but has more Christians in it than the first Preachers of the Gospel were CHAP. III. The Defect of the Prophecies and Miracles of the Heathen Religions IT cannot be denied by any man who is not resolved to reject the Authority of all History but that many wonders have been done by Magicians and that many things have been foreshown and foretold among Heathens by Dreams and Prodigies and Oracles which did actually come to pass but then all that can be gathered from hence is that there are invisible Powers and that Devils and wicked Spirits are able to do more than men can do and to know more than men can know for which reason in former Ages there was no more doubt made whether there be Spirits than whether there be men in the world for they were continually sensible of the Operations and Effects of invisible Beings which made them exceedingly prone to Idolatry but not enclined to Atheism And the case is the same now in Heathen Countries where Apparitions and Delusions of evil Spirits are affirmed by all Writers to be very frequent But if at any time evil Spirits by their subtilty and experience and knowledge of affairs in the World did foretel things which accordingly came to pass they were things that happened not long after and commonly such as themselves did excite and prompt Men to Thus when the conspiracy against Caesar was come just to be put in Execution and the Devil had his Agents concerned in it he could foretel the time and place of his Death But it had been foretold to Pompey Crassus and Caesar himself before as (a) Tull. de Divin lib. ii Tully informs us from his own knowledge that they should all die in their Beds and in an honourable old Age. Some Oracles might possibly take their Answers from the Scriptures as that of Jupiter Hammon concerning Alexander's Victories if it were not meerly a piece of flattery which proved true by chance Evil Spirits might likewise be able to inform Men at a great distance of Victories the same day they were won as it is related (b) Ib. of several and in
and such Prophecies delivered as give to the Scriptures the full evidence and authority of a Divine Revelation If therefore it be enquired why we believe the Scriptures to be the word of God the Answer is upon the account of the Miracles and Prophecies which concurring with all other circumstance requisite in a Revelation confirm the Truth of them If it be asked how we know that these Prophecies and Miracles are true and effectual and not feigned or insufficient I answer because we have them so related and attested that considered barely as matter of Fact they have all the credibility that any matter of Fact is capable of and therefore may as safely be relied upon as any thing which we do our selves see or hear If it be further urged that for all this I may be deceived since all men are fallible and no man is infallibly assured that there is such a place as Rome who never saw it though no man neither can any more doubt of it than he can doubt whether there be such a place as London who lives in it I acknowledge that there is a bare possibility of being deceived in all humane evidence but yet I deny that we can possibly be deceived in this case because though the evidence it self be humane yet the things which it concerns are of that Nature that God would never suffer the World to be thus long imposed upon in them without all possibility of finding out the Truth So that here we resolve our Faith into the Divine Authority by reason of the same Miracles by reason whereof the Eye witnesses of them did resolve theirs into it but they believed these Miracles as seen by themselves and we believed them as seen and witnessed by others but both they and we believe them as the works of God himself It might have been alledged if we had seen those Miracles that we might possibly be decived and so indeed we might if we could not have securely relyed upon Gods Truth and Goodness that they were designed by him to confirm the Doctrine for the sake of which they were wrought and we may with equal security rely upon the same Truth and Goodness for the certainty of the History of them as we could have done for the sufficiency of them to the purpose for which they were wrought tho they had been performed in our sight since it is as impossible to find out any deceit in the account given of them as it would have been for us to find any in the Miracles themselves at the time of their performance Humane Testimony is the conveyance and the means of delivering the Truths contained in the Holy Scriptures down to us and we who could neither see the Miracles nor hear the Doctrines at the first hand have at this distance of time the truth of them ascertained by a continued successive Testimony till we arrive at such as were immediate witnesses of them Now those that saw and heard all things which are delivered to us in the Scriptures could not esteem their sences infallible but they notwithstanding believed our Saviour and his Disciples to be so of whom yet their senses only could give them means of assurance that they were infallible They knew their senses might deceive them or that they might be mistaken concerning the objects of sence but nevertheless they believed that our Saviour and the Apostles could not deceive them upon this only ground that their sences or their reason by deduction from sence told them so There was not one man of them perhaps but had often observed his senses misrepresent objects to him and yet in this case upon the sole Testimony of their senses they grounded an infallible Faith because though their sences had misrepresented objects yet it was in a wrong medium at an undue distance or by reason of some indisposition of the sense it self and still their sences or rather their reason by the help of their sences discovered that their sences had led them into mistakes But in the present case when the Object was placed in open and frequent view to the greatest advantage when it was publick and exposed to multitudes when all agreed in the same opinion concerning it and when the matter was of infinite importance here they had reason to conclude that the God who framed their Sences would not suffer them to be so hurtful to them as they must needs have been if they had been deceived by them In like manner in the Testimony which descends to us from former Ages we see with other mens eyes and hear with other mens ears and though the Testimony of others may often fail us and is subject to a double inconveniency through the incapacity and unfaithfulness of witnesses yet as in the former case so here when all circumstances are weighed and considered and after the utmost tryal no reason can be found to with-hold our assent but all things stand undisproved and no just scruple appears but only a bare possibility of being deceived and this arising not from any defect but that of humane nature it self here Gods Goodness and his Truth must needs interpose to take away that only impediment which otherwise must unavoidably hinder any thing from ever being known to be infallible The only certainty which we can have that our sences are true is this That God will not suffer them to be deceived where the disposition of the medium and distance of the Object and all other circumstances are rightly qualified because that would be inconsistent with his Attributes of Justice Goodness and Truth but it would be inconsistant with these Attributes not upon the account of our Bodies for they would be provided for as well though our sences were deluded we should see and hear and taste just as we do now though we were never so much deceived in these sensations therefore the Truth and Goodness and Justice of God are engaged not to suffer us to be deceived in respect to our Souls not in regard to our Bodies and if we have no certainty that our sences do not deceive us but because God would not suffer such a cheat to be put upon us as we are intelligent and rational Beings we have the same and much greater reason to conclude that he would not suffer us to lye under such a delusion in reference to our eternal Interest If God would not suffer our minds unavoidably to lye under a temporal delusion of no great consequence have we not much more reason to conclude that he would not suffer us unavoidably to be deceived by any means whatsoever in reference to our eternal Interest For in this case to be deceived is to be destroyed and to suffer it is a thousand times worse than if he should suffer all Mankind at once not only to be deceived by their sences but to be poisoned by that deceit and therefore the special Providence and particular care of God must be concerned to prevent it
If we have nothing to object but the imperfection of human nature we may rely upon God that this shall never mislead us in a matter of such consequence whether the imperfection be in our own sences or in the Testimony of others In short the Miracles related in the Scriptures will as effectually prove a Divine Revelation to us as they could to those that saw them but the difference is that they believed their sences and we believe them and all things considered we have as much reason to believe upon their evidence as they could have to believe upon the evidence of their sences Let us consider History as a medium by which these Miracles become known to us and compare this medium with that of Sight If a man would be sceptical he might doubt whether any medium of Sight be so fitly disposed as to represent objects in their due proportion and proper shape he might suspect that any Miracles which he could see were false or wrought only to amuse and deceive him and there would be no way to satisfy such an one but by telling him that this is inconsistent with the Truth and Goodness of God So in this other medium of History which to us supplies the want of that of Sight a man may doubt of any matter of Fact if he Pleases notwithstanding the most credible evidence but in a matter of this nature where our Eternal Salvation is concerned we may be sure God will not suffer Mankind to be deceived without all possibility of discovering the deceit The circumstances have all the marks of credibility in them and therefore if they be duely attended to cannot but be believed and the Doctrine which they are brought in evidence of being propounded to be believed under pain of Damnation require that they should be attended to and considered and that which is in its circumstances most credible and in its matter is supposed necessary to Salvation must be certainly true unless God could oblige us to believe a Lye For not to believe things credible when attended to and known to be such is to humane nature impossible and not to attend to things proposed as from God of necessity to Salvation is a very heinous Crime against God and to think that God will suffer me to be deceived in what I am obliged in Honour and obedience to him to believe upon his Authority is to think he can oblige me to believe a Lye But it may be objected if this be so how comes it to pass that they are prâ—nounced blessed who have not seen and yet have believed John xx 29. Which seems to denote that a peculiar Blessing belongs to them because they believe upon less evidence I answer that they are there pronounced Blessed who had so well considered the nature and circumstances of things the Prophecies concerning the Messias and what our Saviour had delivered of himself as to believe his Resurrection upon the report of others not because others might not have as sufficient Grounds for their Belief as those who saw him after his Resurrection but the evidence of sense is more plain and convincing to the generality of men though Reason proceeds at least upon as sure and as undeniable Principles A demonstration when it is rightly performed is as certain as the self evident Principles upon which it proceeds though it be so far removed from them that every one cannot discern the connexion Demonstrations may be far from being easie and obvious but are oftentimes we know very difficult and intricate which yet when they are once made out are as certain as sense it self The Blessing is pronounced to him who believes not upon less evidence But upon that which at first seems to be less which is less observable and less obvious to our consideration but not less certain when it is duly considered For which reason our Saviour after he had wrought many Miracles that were effectually attested by sufficient witnesses required Faith in those who came to be healed of him because the Testimony of others was the means which in Ages to come was to be the motive of Faith in Christians and he thereby signified to us that there may be as good Grounds for Faith upon the report of others as we could have from our own sences and generally those who came in unbelief went away no better satisfied Wherefore it is said that in his own Country because of their unbelief he could do no mighty work save that he laid his hands upon a few sick Folk and healed them Mark vi 5. He could not do his mighty works because they would be ineffectual and would be lost upon them and he could do nothing Insignificant or in vain if they would reject what had been so fully witnessed to them they would not believe whatever Miracles they should see him do It is very remarkable that amidst all his Miracles our Saviour directs his Followers to Moses and the Prophets and appeals to the Scriptures for the Authority of his very Miracles and that even after his Resurrection he instructs his Disciples who saw and discoursed with him out of the Scriptures to confirm them in the truth of it Luke xxiv 26 27. He requires the Jews to give no greater credit to his own Miracles than that which he implies they already gave to the wrirings of Moses so as firmly and stedfastly to believe that he came from God And we having all the helps and advantages which the Jews had to create in them a Belief of the Scriptures of the Old Testament and many more and greater Motives if it be possible to believe these of the New must therefore have sufficient means to excite in us that Faith which our Saviour required of those who saw his Works and heard his Doctrine which certainly was a Divine Faith and all the Faith which if it be accompanied with sincere and impartial obedience is required in order to Salvation Upon the whole matter I conclude that the Truth of the Christian Religion is evident even to a Demonstration for it is as Demonstrable that there is a God as it is that I my self am or that there is any thing else in the World because nothing could be made without a Maker or created without a Creator and it is as Demonstrable that this God being the Author of all the perfections in men must himself be infinitely perfect that he is infinitely Wise and Just and Holy and Good and that according to these Attributes he could not suffer a false Religion to be imposed upon the world in his own Name with such manifest Tokens of credibility that no man can possibly disprove it but every one is obliged to believe it FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by R. Wellington at the Dolphin and Crown in St. Paul 's Church-Yard Newly Published A Treatise of Medicines containing an Account of their Chymical Principles the Experiments made upon them their Various Preparations and Vertues and the
the Adversaries of our Religion concerning the Unreasonableness of their Proceedings before I come to give a short Account of my present Undertaking I. Whatever knowledge almost we have now left of the Antiquities of other Heathen Nations it comes conveyed down to us by the Greek Authors and yet there is perhaps no Nation which generally had a worse Reputation in matters of History not only by common Fame and the Invectives of Satyristâ— but from the Censures of the best Writers and the Accusations which the Historians madâ— one of another as †Vid. 〈◊〉 sâ—ph contrâ— Apion lib 〈◊〉 Josephus shews of many whose Works are now lost (a) Thuâ—â—â— lib. 1. c. 20.21 Thucydides him self could not escape free from Censure who complains of the negligence and unfaithfulness of the other Greek Historians and he is thought to point particularly at Herodotus whom Plutarch Exposed in a set Discourse tho' much indeed has been said in Vindication of Herodotus by H. Stephens and Joac Camerarius and the Discoveries of Modern Travellers confirm many things in this History which were formerly thought incredible (b) Strab. Geogr. lib. xv Straho has observ'd that the Greeks knew little of the most Famous Nations of Asia except the Persians and that Homer knew nothing of the Empire of the Assvrians or Medes but that he has omitted the mention of the Magnisicence of Babylon Nineveh and Echatane tho' he took notice of the Aegyptian Thebes and of the Wealth both of that Place and of Phaemcia (c) Sallust Bell. Catilin Sallust suspected that the Athentans too highly Magnifyed their own Actions And there is in (d) Neminem Scripâ—orum quâ—nâ—â—n ad Hâ—storiâ—â— pertinâ—t non aliquid esse men iâ—â—m Vâ—â—â—â—sc in Aâ—reliano Vopiscus a severe Charge against the Historians in general that there is none of them who has not falsifyed in some thing or other particularly that as to Livy Sallust Tacitus and Trogus Pompetus it might be clearly proved upon them And (e) In faedere quod expulâ—is Regibas Populo Romano dedit Porsâ—na nominatim comprehâ—â—sum inve â—mus ne ferro nisi in Agriculturâ uterentur Plin. Nat. Hist lib. xxxiv c. 14. Pliny has furnished us with an instance of great Partiality in the Roman Histories which conceal that Porsena in his League with the People of Rome obliged them to make no use of Iron but for the Tilling of the Grounds This Pliny confesses was an express Article of that League And how unlike is the Roman to the Jewish History in this very Instance For in the Scriptures we find it twice mentioned that the Israelites were reduced to that Condition that they were permitted to have no Weapons of War Judâ— v. 8. 1 Sam. xiii 19. But the Roman (f) Tacent id Historici ut pudeâ—â—tumâ—ictori posted Gentium Populiâ—at Plinius ingegenue satetur Grot. ad 1 Sam. xiii 19. Historians had more regard to the Honour of the Roman Name than to Truth And it is no Commendation of the same Historians that they take so little notice of the Jews and say so little to their Advantage when they do speak of them since Josephus has proved the Leagues between the Jews and the Romans and the Privileges granted them by the Romans beyond all Denial from the Tables then extant wherein they were contained * Liv. lib. 6. â— 1. Livy declares that most of the Monuments of Antiquity whether Publick or Private were destroyed when the City was Burnt by the Gauls and that for this Reason his History to the rebuilding of the City near four hundred years after it was first Built is but uncertain The most Antient Writings which had any Relation to History among the Romans were their Funeral Orations These were preserved in their several Families which as (g) Lic Brut. Tully confesseth caused their History to be faulty many things being inserted in this sort of Works which were never done false Triumphs false Consulships and false Genealogies The Annales (h) Id. de Orat. lib. 2. Maximi were of good use but they contained only the first Lines and rough Draughts of History which appeared quite another thing when it was filled up and Represented entire with the Reasons and Circumstances of Affairs according to the Pleasure or Skill of the Writer But the Praises (i) Id. brut of their Ancestors were sung in Verse at their Banquets where strict Truth could rarely be heard The Generals of Armies sometimes had (k) Id. Pro Aâ—câ—ia Poeta their Historians or Poets along with them whom they liberally rewarded we may be sure not for telling when they were beaten Atticus (l) Quoniam quidem concessum est Rhetoribus ementiri in Historiis ut ut aâ—iquid dicere possim arguâ—ius Id. Brut. in Tully says it was a thing of course to relate Matters of History not according to Truth but in such a manner as might best shew the Wit and Eloquence of the Writers Tully lays * De Orat. lib. 2. it down as a known and fundamental Rule of History that an Historian should dare to say any Truth but nothing that is false Yet in an Epistle to Luceius whom he entreats to Write the History of his own Ministration of Affairs he earnestly beseeches †Epist Famil lib. â— Epist 12. Ad Attic. lib. 4. Epist 6. Luceius in plain Terms to neglect the Laws of History in his Favour and to disregard Truth And as if this had been a thing not unusual or at least warrantable enough he commends this Epistle in another to Atticus and desires him to promote the Design It has been remarked by some as a Fate upon Cicero that this Testimony of his Vanity should remain when the History of which he was so desirous is lost if it was ever Written But who knows how many such Epistles are lost when the Histories are preserved This is in common with the Greek and Latin Historians that they put such Speeches as they think fit into the Mouths of the several Persons concerned in the Actions they relate which gives another View and Appearance to the Scene of Affairs and acquaints us not what such Persons said or thought but what the Historian would have spoke and what Advice he would have given if he had been in their Place Herodotus has much of the Simplicity of Antient times his Speeches are Natural containing for the most part but a bare Narrative of what was said or done only the Perâ—ons tell their own Story But of all the Speeches which are to be met withal in any History there are none so Natural or which have such plain Characters of Truth in them as those in the Scriptures The Antiquities of China were destroyed about two hundred years before Christ and from the several Relations given of that Matter by different Authors it appears that the Chineses are rather willing to have it believ'd that their old Books were in some strange manner
well as themselves * Apocalypâ—is Joannis tot habeat sacramenta quot verba Parum dixi pramerito volumiâ—â—s laus omnis inferiour est in verbis â—â—â—gulis Multiplicis tatent intellgentâ—e Hieton ad Paulin. Epâ—st And this seems not only to have been the temper of those Ages in which the Scriptures were written when Learning consisted in Types and Parables and in dark and intricate discourses but it has been the study and delight of learned men in most Ages since and of many men in all Ages to search into hidden and difficult truths St Jerom extols the Revelation of St John for the obscurity and hidden sense of it In that Age it seems it was no objection but the highest character that could be given of the Revelation to say that it was difficult to be understood The wisdom of God therefore in condescention to all sorts of men and to fit the Scriptures for the use and benefit of all capacities and disâ—ositions has caused some of the Prophecies to be plain and obvious to all Readers and others to be delivered as to employ the pious and humble labours of the most Learned and Inquisitive to keep them in perpetual dependance upon God for his Grace and Assistance in the explication of the Scriptures and at the same time to take down the vain curiosity and pride of such as little concern themselves about the plain things of the Law but are wholly busied in unfolding hidden things and in pretending to understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge The curse denounced against man upon his fall was that with labour and sweat he should eat the fruits of the ground as his punishment for having eaten the forbidden Fruit and it was but just with God to punish the curiosity of men after forbidden knowledge which occasioned his fall with making the attainment of knowledge more difficult If the Scriptures were all obscure they would be of little use if they were all obvious they would be despised For if obscurity be made an objection by some their plainness and simplicity is objected by others but God has so ordered and proportioned the several parts of them that no man may have just cause to complain that he doth not understand enough for his Salvation nor any man cast them aside or read them with little Care and Diligence since there are so many things in them which may require the utmost Study and Pains of the most judicious and Learned men 7. There is no Prophet so obscure but some Prophecies are very plainly delivered by him which we know to have been fulfilled and this is a Warrant and Assurance to us of his Mission and that we ought to rely upon it that whatever he has delivered concerning other things will as certainly come to pass and in the mean time before they come to pass or are throughly understood they are exceeding useful in the Church The Revelation of St John is hard to be applyed to particularevents because it comprehends so vast a series of time in which long course of years many events may be exactly alike at different times and in different places and there may be a gradual and repeated Accomplishment of some of his Prophecies But the time was at hand for the fulfilling of other of these Prophecies Rev. i. 3. xxii 6 7 10 12. and we know they have been fulfilled in the seven Churches Rev. ii 5 16 22 23. iii. 3 16. which are proposed for examples to all others He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches Rev. ii 7. The seven Churches are spoken to by Name and what is said to them having been fulfilled is a certain argument that the rest which concerns all other Churches shall be fulfilled in its due time tho it be not perhaps yet understood But the obscurest Prophefies even before their Accomplishment are of perpetual and inestimable use to us It is acknowledged by all that Parables are very proper and fit for Instruction and therefore in ancient times their Doctrines were wont to be delivered in that way because it is a more familiar and easie method of teaching than by Rules and Precepts and Rational Discourse without that Illustration which is given to them by supposing a particular case For then every one is apt to make the case his own when he sees the Precepts reduced to Example and cloathed with Circumstances and brought home as it were to his very senses which before lay more out of sight in abstract Notions and Speculative Discourse And if feigned cases be so much more effectual than bare precepts or exhortations an infallible account of the state of the Church in all Ages tho we cannot point out the particular times and places when and where every thing shall come to pass must needs be of inestimable value and benefit To hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches to observe what errors and faults are reproved and what vertues and graces are commended and encouraged in the seven Churches of Asia the Praises and Adorations ch iv and the Bliss of the Righteous the joys of Heaven and the rewards of Martyrs ch vii the Terrors of the Great and Dreadful day ch vi the great Apostacy that was to be upon the Earth ch xiii the Patience and Faith of the Saints and the Resurrection surrection of the Dead ch.xx. the description of the new Jerusalem and the glory and happiness of the City of God ch xxi xxii these are the subject of St John's Revelation and are things of the greatest use and importance We have the state and condition of the Church in all Ages presented to our view tho we are not able to mark out the particular times and seasons meant in the several parts of the Prophecy And this is at least of the same use to us that all History is and besides may be of as much more benefit as it more nearly concerns us for we do not know but that we may be faln into the worst times there prophesy'd of Here is the patience and the faith of the Saints We see the care and providence of God over his Church the wonderful deliverances which he is pleased to work for it the supports which he affords his faithful Servants under persecutions and the rewards prepared for them and the final destruction of the Enemies of God and Religion these things are visible in the Revelation and it cannot be denied but these are of excellent use to yield us comfort in the worst of troubles and to excite Faith and Hope and Patience and all Christian Graces in the minds of men The Revelation of St John may be look'd upon as an History of the Church without any Chronology annext to it but will any man say that the exactest and truest History that can be penned of the most important Affairs and such as concern all Mankind is of little value or consequence to the Conduct and Management of our Lives
in the Manner or 2. in the Consequences of it 1. If we consider the Manner of the Fall of our First Parents 1. Eve was beguiled by the Serpent and Adam was enticed by Her to eat the Forbidden Fruit. 2. They both eating of it thereby fell from their State of Happiness 1. Eve was beguiled by the Serpent and Adam was enticed by her It is not to be supposed but that the Devil would use all the Means that the subtilty of his Malice could invent to procure the Ruine of Mankind and that therefore he would not only make use of inward Suggestions but of outward Allurements also by a visible shape and Appearance And if he had assumed the shape of a Man or Woman Eve knew that there was none of Human Kind but Adam and her self in the World and therefore that Shape was least of all proper for him to make use of But if he had assumed any other shape or made use of any other Creature as his Instrument the same or the like Objections might lie against it that can be supposed against his beguiling Eve by a Serpent The Serpent's subtilty made him the fitter Instrument for the Devil's Purpose for all finite Agents can act no otherwise than as the matter they have to work withal will permit It is supposed by a (a) A. Bp Tenison of Idolatry Chap. 14. Person of great Learning that Eve was tempted by a siery flying Serpent such as are still seen in some Parts of the World of great brightness and Splendor being stiled Seraphims Num. xxi 6 8. Isai xiv 29. which is a Name that denotes likewise one of the highest Orders of Angels and he concludes that this fiery Serpent appeared to Eve in such a Shining and Beautiful Lustre as she had seen Angels appear in before and that it was mistaken by her for an Angel This Account has great probability in it but if it should not be admitted yet we may observe that ordinary Serpents were generally esteemed sacred by the Heathens as it is evident from the Caduceus of Mercury and many other instances the sight of them was accounted a (b) Valer. Max. lib. 1. c. 6. Dio. lib. xivii inâ—tio Vopise in Aureliano Juâ— capit in Maxim in jun. good Omen and the (c) Pers Stat. 1. Propert. lib. iv Eleg 8. Genij were painted under the form of Serpents It was (d) Liv. lib. xxvi c. 19. reported both of Alexander and Scipio that they were begotten of Jupiter under the shape of a Serpent and (e) Valer. Max lib. 1. c 8. Aesculapius is said to have assumed that form when he was transported in the time of a great Plague from Epidaurus to Rome (e) Clem. Alex. Admonit ad Gentes Max. Tyr. Dissert xxxviii Serpents were had in the greatest Honour and had Sacrifices made to them in the Worship of Bacchus and a (f) Apud Euseb Constant Orat. c. 18. Snake was portrayed round the Tripos of Sibylla Erythrea The Story of (g) Origcoutr Ceislib 6. â— Spenceri â— not ad lce Ophioneus among the Hea thens was taken from the Devils assuming the Form or Body of a Serpent in his tempting of Eve and the Hereticks called (h) Tertul. Praescript 37. Ophitae worshiped a Serpent and to name no more instances Serpents have commonly had Religious Worship paid them both by Antient and (k) Jos Acost lib. 5. c. 5.12.13 Martin Hist Sin lib. 1. 4. Modern Heathens And if the Devil has been so generally Worshiped in the Form of a Serpent since the Fall it can seem no incredible thing that he should by a Serpent deceive Eve He seems to have prided himself in this manner of Worship to insult and trample upon fall'n Mankind by causing himself to be adored under that very form by which he first wrought our Ruine to which purpose Clemens Alexandrinus (l) Admogit ad Gent. observes that in the Feasts of Bacchus they were wont to cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meaning as he supposes Eve (m) Lib. 5 Lucretius makes Evan a Denomination of Bacchus However it can be no impossible thing that Eve should be deceived once by a Creature by which her Posterity has been deceived even to the Worship of it in so many Ages and Countries since The Speech of a Serpent could be no frightful thing to Eve who knew not what Fear was before her Fall and if it be thought absurd tho' it was so soon after her own Creation that she should not know but that other Creatures might have the use of Speech as well as Man Yet why might not she attribute his faculty of Speech to the Vertue of that Fruit which â—e might be supposed to have tasted and from his own Experience to recommend to her So far is it from any Inconsistency or Improbability that Eve should be beguiled by a Serpent and when she was once deceived it will not be denyed but that Adam might be enticed by her 2. The Sin committed by our First Parents was in eating the forbidden Fruit and they both eating of it fell thereby from their Primitive State of Happiness The time when our First Parents sinned is uncertain and therefore there is no ground for the Objection which some have framed by crowding a long series of things into the Business of one day Many Circumstances are omitted in the Scriptures concerning the State of our First Parents in Paradise and relating to their Fall For no more is mentioned than was needful to Moses's Design which was to give a very brief Account of the most remarkable things that had past from the Creation to his own Times It appears that our First Parents were no strangers to the Presence and Voice of God and there is no reason to doubt but that they were fully instructed in the Terms proposed to them with â—he Reasonableness of God's Commandments how much depended upon their Obedience what danger they were in and how easily they might escape it and become enstated in Everlasting Innocence and Happiness God had determined to make Tryal of them by purposing an easy instance of their Obedience and by forbidding them the use of but one Tree in Paradise It was but a small restraint and they had Ability enough to have overcome the greatest Temptation and Life and Death were set before them as the Reward or Punishment of their Obedience or Disobedience upon eating the forbidden Fruit they must surely die but if they had but refrained from it another Tree was provided the eating of which should as certainly have made them Immortal as this made them subject to Death For then without ever undergoing Death they should have been translated to a State of more perfect Bliss and Happiness It cannot be deny'd but that it was very fitting and reasonable that God should lay some Restraint upon our First parents whereby he might be obeyed and his Soveraignty acknowledg'd And as no Law could
unbelief the evil Spirit was cast out of his Son Mark ix 23.24 The End and Design of Christ's Miracles required that those who were Cured by him should believe in him For they were wrought with a design to convince Men that he was the Son of God and that he was come not so much to Cure their Bodies as to save their Souls and he forgave their Sins at the same time that he healed them of their Diseases Mark ii 5. And since Faith is so necessary a Doctrine of the Gospel it was as requisite that Christ should teach this as any other Doctrine But how could he do it more properly and more effectually than by requiring Faith in those who came to be healed If they would partake of his Mercy they must qualifie themselves for it by believing that he was the great Prophet and Messias who was then so much expected and of whom it was foretold that he should make the Blind to see and the Lame to walk and the Deaf to hear c. Luke vii 22. Isa xxxv 5. And unless their Bodily Cure did conduce to the Cure of their Souls by Faith and Repentance it would be but ill bestowed upon them and therefore with great Reason might be denied them And upon this Account we find our Blessed Saviour both requiring Faith in some and rewarding it in others to whom his miraculous Power was extended Luke viii 48. xviii 42. And St. Paul perceiving that the Cripple at Lystra had Faith to be healed immediately healed him without being ask'd to do it Acts xiv 9. 2. Faith in the Miracles of Christ is required of Men in all Ages of the World though Miracles are ceased and if this be Reasonable now it could not but be fitting then that those who came to Christ should believe in him for the sake of the Miracles which they had been certified that he had done upon others For Miracles when they are fully attested are as sufficient a Ground of Faith as if we had seen them done and to manifest that they are so our Saviour might require Belief in his former Miracles of those who expected any Advantage from such as they desired him to do If they would give no Credit to the Miracles which were so notorious and so abundantly testified by Multitudes who saw them done how should others believe in Times to come when no more Miracles should be wrought for the Conviction of Unbelievers Might no Man be required to believe unless he saw the Miracles himself Then how should the the Church subsist in future Ages when Miracles would be no longer wrought but were for great Reasons to be with-held We must now believe upon the Account of the Miracles which were then done and why therefore should they not be required to believe upon the Account of them who lived at the very Time and in the same Country where they were wrought though they had never seen them Our Saviour in these Instances might introduce that Method and establish the Evidence and Certainty of those Means and Motives whereby Faith was to be produced in Men of all succeeding Ages and might hereby signifie and declare that he requires the same Faith of us from the Testimony of others that he would do if we had seen and experienced his miraculous Power our selves CHAP. XXIX Of the Ceasing of Prophecies and Miracles PRophecies are generally of more Concernment and afford greater Evidence and Conviction in future Ages than when they were first delivered For it is not the Delivery but the Accomplishment of Prophecies which gives Evidence to the Truth of any Doctrin The Events of Things in the Accomplishment of Prophecies are a standing Argument to all Ages and the length of Time adds to its Force and Efficacy and therefore when all that God saw requisite to be foretold is deliver'd to us in the Scriptures there can no longer be any need of New Prophecies which would be of less Authority than the ancient ones inasmuch as their Antiquity is the thing chiefly to be regarded in Prophecies For if to foretel Things to come be an Argument of a Divine Prescience the longer Things are foretold before they come to pass the better must the Argument needs be He therefore that requires New Prophecies to confirm the Old little considers the Nature of Prophecies and wherein the Evidence and Use of them lies but in great Wisdom and Caution will give no Credit to the best Evidence unless there were something less evident to prove it by The chief Enquiry then seems to be concerning the Cessation of Miracles but from what has been elsewhere said the Reason may appear why the miraculous Power which the Apostles received by the descent of the Holy Ghost was not to be of perpetual continuance in the Church but was to cease in future Ages For the Cause and End of the Gift of Miracles bestowed upon the Apostles was to make them capable of being Witnesses to Christ and when the Gospel of Christ was sufficiently testified there could be no longer need of such a Power which was given to enable Men to bear Testimony to it For what is once effectually proved by sufficient Witnesses is for ever proved and needs no after Evidence if this Proof be preserved and transmitted down to Posterity The Power of Miracles continued till the Gospel had been Preached not only in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria but unto the utmost Parts of the Earth which was the declared Intention of our Saviour in bestowing it Acts i. 8. And when the Gospel had stood at the Tryals and conquered all the Opposition that could be made against it by Jews and Heathens and Apostates themselves when Miracles had been wrought for several Ages before all sorts of Men upon all Occasions and had extorted a Confession from the Devils themselves of the Divine Power by which they were wrought when the Books of the Apostles and Evangelists in which these Miracles are Recorded had been dispersed in all Nations and Languages so that it was impossible that the Memory of them should be lost whence once the Gospel was thus divulged and attested to the World it could not be necessary that this miraculous Power should be any longer continued Because this is the only Reason and Design why Miracles should be wrought to awaken Mens Attention and prepare them for the Reception of the Doctrin which is revealed and convince them of the Truth of it If then it be enquired Why the miraculous Gifts which were at first bestow'd upon the Church were not continued to it in all succeeding Ages The plain Answer is Because this Power was bestowed for the Establishment of the Christian Religion in the World by convincing Men of its Truth and Authority and therefore when a sufficient Evidence had been given in all Parts of the World of the Divine Authority of that Religion upon the Account whereof these Gifts were bestowed the Reason for the bestowing
who was not as singular in other things and in his Notions of Religion but he has firmly believed the Divine Authority of the Scriptures It concerns all who have any Doubts about these things to weigh the Objections with the Answers that have been given to them by divers Authors and withal to observe the importance of the Objections and how far they affect the main Cause and still to remember that it is at every Man 's own Peril if he make a rash and partial Judgment If our Faith could be of no Benefit or Advantage to us nor Infidelity any Prejudice we might take the same Liberty to give Credit or no Credit to what we read in the Bible that we use in the Reading all other Books and to receive or reject it as we think fit or to believe only just so much as lies even with our own Understandings and Notions of Things and at the worst this would be but Folly in us But it is madness to reject our own Happiness and make our selves miserable because we do not perceive the Reasons of all the Means and Methods which God has been pleased to use to make us happy or are not able to understand every Word of that Book which contains the Terms of our Salvation This is as if a Son should chuse to live miserably rather than to enjoy a large Estate left him by his Father because he doth not perceive the design and full meaning of every particular in his Will he searches out for all Ways and Arts for cavilling at it and is fond of any pretence to cast it aside as Counterfeit being resolved never to believe it to be his Father's For his Father was a wise Man and if it were his such and such Clauses would not be in it since there is no reason that he can see why they should be inserted several things mentioned in it he believes are mis-timed the Bounds of the Lands are not described by fit Names besides it is interlined and he never will accept of such an Estate conveyed to him by such a Will but chuses rather to be miserable all the Days of his Life This would be such peevishness and perversness as is not to be met withal where our Temporal Interest is concerned But too many are too forward to reject the Tenders and despise the Terms of an everlasting Inheritance in Heaven tho' at the same time they become obnoxious to all the Curses threatned to Unbelievers because the Old and New Testament contain some things which may afford matter of Exception and Cavil to captious Men. God has sent his Prophets to call and admonish us and his Son to reconcile us to himself by his Death and to offer us Eternal Peace and Happiness and he has given us all the Evidence of it that the nature of the things would admit The Jews have asserted the Authority of the Old Testament from the times of Moses and the Prophets and the Christians asserted the Truth of the Gospel when it was impossible for them not to know whether it were true or not without any prospect of Advantage by it in this World but with a certain expectation of all manner of Torments and Deaths and the greatest part of the Known World was converted to the Belief of it and became Christians when in this World Christians were of all Men the most miserable and were supported only by the stedfast hope and expectation of that Happiness which is promised to us in the Scriptures after this Life And all things considered we have as sufficient Grounds for the Authority of the Scriptures as we have not only that any other Book was composed by the Author whose Name it bears but as we have to believe any thing else in the World Now what do these Men How do they receive so great a Blessing Why they overlook all the Evidence that can be brought to prove the Divine Authority of the Scriptures and search up and down for doubtful and obscure Passages to disprove it by not considering in the mean time that nothing can overthrow their Authority but that which can invalidate the Evidence by which it is establish'd It would be the highest Folly and Ingratitude thus to despise God's Mercy and Care over us if there were no danger in it but it being a thing of infinite Danger it is no less than Madness For what milder Term can be found to express the desperate Folly of them who reject a Book which sets before us the means of Salvation but at the same time forewarns us upon pain of the severest effects of God's Displeasure not to neglect them It is madness I say if we rightly consider it to reject such a Book and at once both to affront the Mercy and despise the Threatnings of the infinitely Merciful and the infinitely Great and Powerful God It is a good Caution to the Atheist to forbear his Blasphemies and Contempt of the Divine Majesty for fear it should prove true that there is a God at last and then it will be a dismal thing after all his profane Talking and Arguing to be called before that God whom he has so often denied And it is as good Advice to those who make it their business to find Fault with the Scriptures to consider seriously whether they are sure that these are not God's Word after all that can be said against them and if they be not absolutely certain of this the Name and Title which they bear and which Men as wise and as Judicious as themselves thought to belong to them should methinks keep Men within some bounds of Modesty and Discretion For if they be indeed the Word of God and nothing is capable of being made more evident than how dearly must they pay for a little cavilling Wit and Subtilty The best and most Divine things may be despised and affronted by a bold and Scurrilous Wit but can Men think it a safe or a prudent thing to ridicule and Scoff at those Books which for ought they know may be of Divine Revelation when all the Reason of which they fansie themselves so great Masters can never be able to confute the Arguments brought in Vindication of them Can they value the contemptible Reputation of a little Satyr and Drollery at that mighty Rate as to run the hazard of being damned for it If Men have any real Doubts or Scruples they must needs grant that it is too serious a thing to jest and trifle withal when no less than the Terms of our everlasting Happiness or everlasting Misery is the thing in Controversy And what Wit there may be in it I cannot tell but I am sure it is no sign of a very Wise Man to speak contemptibly of a Book by which he can never prove but that he must be judged at the last Day As a Mad-Man says Solomon who casteth Fire-brands Arrows and Death so is the Man that deceiveth his Neighbour and saith Am not I
demure Pretenders to Humane Reason and Moral Vertue and the Enemies of Revealed Religion We are fallen into an Age in which there are a sort of Men who have shewn so great a forwardness to be no longer Christians that they have catch'd at all the little Cavils and Pretences against Religion and indeed if it were not more out of charity to their own Souls than for any credit Religion can have of them it were great pity but they should have their Wish for they both think and live so ill that it is an argument for the goodness of any Cause that they are against it It was urged as a confirmation of the Christian Riligion by Tertullian that it was haved and persecuted by Nero the worst of Men And I am confident it would be but small Reputation to it in any Age if such Men should be found of it They speak evil of the things they understand not and are wont to talk with as much confidence against any point of Religion as if they had all the Learning in the World in their keeping when commonly they know little or nothing of what has been said for that against which they dispute They seem to imagine that there is nothing in the World besides Religion that has any difficulty in it but this shews how little they have considered the Nature of Things in which multitudes of Objections and Difficulties meet an observing Man in every Thought And after all Religion has but one fault as they account it which they have been able to discover in it and that is that it is too good and vertuous for them for when they have said all they can this is their great quarrel against it and as it has been truly observed no charity less than that of the Religion which they despise would have much care or consideration for them Thus have some Men dishonoured Religion by their Lives some by an affectation of Novelty some by invalidating the Authority of Books relating true Miracles and Prophecies and others by forging false ones some again by their too eager and imprudent Disputes and Contentions about Religion whilst from hence others have taken the liberty to ridicule it and to dispute against it but so as to expose themselves whilst they would expose Religion And thus has the clearest and most necessary Truth been obscured and despised whilst it has been betrayed by the vanity and quarrels of its Friends to the scorn and weakness of its Enemies However in all their opposition and contradiction to Revealed Religion I find it asserted by these Men that Atheism is so absurd a thing that they question whether there ever were or can be an Atheist in the World I have therefore here proved from the Attributes of God and the Grounds of Natural Religion that the Christian Religion must be of Divine Revelation and that this Religion is as certainly true as it is that God Himself exists which is the plainest Truth and the most universally acknowledged of any thing whatsoever And because there is nothing so true or certain but something may be alledged against it I shall besides discourse upon such Heads as have been most excepted against In which I shall endeavour to prove the Truth in such a manner as to vindicate it against all Cavils though I shall not take notice of particular Objections which is both a needless and indeed an endless labour for there is no end of Cavils but if the Truth be well and fully explained any Objection may receive a sufficient Answer from the consideration of the Doctrine against which it is urged by applying it to particular Difficulties as one Right Line is enough to demonstrate all the variations from it to be Crooked It is very easie to cavil and find fault with any thing and to start Objections and ask Questions is even to a Proverb esteemed the worst sign that can be of a great Wit or a sound Judgment Men are unwilling to believe any thing to be true which contradicts their Vices and the weakest Arguments with strong Inclinations to a Cause will prove or disprove whatever they have a mind it should But let Men first practise the Vertues the Moral Vertues which our Religion enjoins and then let them disprove it if they can nay let them disprove it now if they can for it stands in no need of their favour but for their own sakes let them have a care of mistaking Vices for Arguments and every profane Jest for a Demonstration I wish they would consider whether the Concern they have to set up Natural against Revealed Religion proceed not from hence that by Natural Religion they mean no more than just what they please themselves or what they judge convenient in every case or occasion whereas Revealed Religion is a fix'd and determined thing and prescribes certain Rules and Laws for the Government of our Lives The plain truth of the matter is that they are for a Religion of their own contrivance which they may alter as they see sit but not for one of Divine Revelation which will admit of no change but must always continue the same whatever they can do Vnless that were the case there would be little occasion to trouble them with Books of this kind for the Arguments brought against the Christian Religion are indeed so weak and insignificant that they rather make for it and it might well be said as M. Paschal relates by one of this sort of Men to his Companions If you continue to dispute at this rate you will certainly make me a Christian I shall venture at least to say of this Treatise in the like manner as he doth of his That if these Men would be pleased to spend but a little of that time which is so often worse employed in the perusal of what is here offered I hope that something they may meet withal which may satisfie their Doubts and convince them of their Errors But though they should despise whatever can be said to them yet there are others besides the profess'd Adversaries of Revealed Religion to whom a Treatise of this nature may be serviceable The truth is notwistanding the great Plainness of the Christian Religion I cannot but think that Ignorance is one chief cause why it is so little valued and esteemed and its Doctrines so little obeyed A great part of Christians content themselves with a very slight and imperfect Knowledge of the Religion they profess and are able to give but very little Reason for that which is the most Reasonable thing in the World but they profess it rather as the Religion of their Country than of their own choice and because they find it contradicts their sensual Desires they are willing to believe as little of it as may be and when they hear others cavil and trifle with it partly out of Ignorance and partly from Inclination they take every idle Objection if it be but bold enough for an unanswerable
Argument Whereas if Chistians were but throughly acquainted with the Grounds of their Religion and sincerely disposed to believe and practise according to them they would be no more moved with these Cavils than they would be persuaded to think the worse of the Sun if some Men should take a fansie to make that the Subject of their Railery To have the more doubtful and wavering thoughts of Religion because it is exposed to the scorn and contempt of ill Men is as if we should despise the Sun for being under a Cloud or suffering an Eclipse not knowing that he retains his Light and Religion its Excellency still though we be in darkness the Light may be hid from us but can lose nothing of its own Brightness though we suffer for want of it and lie under the shadow of Death The Consideration of the Grounds and Reasons of our Religion is useful to all sorts of Men for if ever we will be seriously and truly Religious we must lay the foundation of it in our Vnderstandings that by the rational conviction of our Minds we may through the Grace of God assisting us bring our Wills to a submission and our Affections to the obedience of the Gospel of Christ and the more we think of and consider these things the more we shall be convinced of them and they will have the greater power and influence in the course of our Lives For tho' the Truth of the Christian Religion cannot without great sin and ignorance be doubted of by Christians yet it is a confirmation to our Faith and adds a new Life and Vigour to our Devotions when we recollect upon what good Reasons we are Christians and are not such by Custom and Education only but upon Principles which we have throughly considered and must abide by unless we will renounce our Reason with our Religion And what Subject can be more useful or more worthy of a rational and considering Man's Thoughts These things which are now made matter of Cavil and Dispute will be the Subject of our Contemplation and of our Joy and Happiness to all Eternity in the other World We shall then have clear and distinct apprehension of the Means and Methods of our Salvation and shall for ever admire and adore the Divine Wisdom in the Conduct and Disposal of those very Things about which we now are most perplex'd THE CONTENTS PART I. CHAP. I. That from the Notion of a God it necessarily follows That there must be some Divine Revelation THE Being of a God evident to Natural Reason p. 3. That there are wicked Spirits Enemies to Mankind p. 6. The miserable Condition of Man without the Divine Direction and Assistance and that God would not leave him without all Remedy in this Condition p. 8. The Judgment of St. Athanasius in the Case p. 15. CHAP. II. The Way and Manner by which Divine Revelations may be suppos'd to be deliver'd and preserv'd in the World The Manifestations of God's ordinary Providence insufficient and therefore some extraordinary Way of Revelation necessary p. 19. The ways of extraordinary Revelation either immediate Revelation to every particular Person or to some only with a Power of Miracles and Prophecies to enable them to communicate the Divine Will to others p. 20. I. It could not be requisite that God should communicate himself by immediate Revelation to every one in particular ibid. II. Prophecies and Miracles are the most fitting and proper Means for God to discover and reveal himself to the World by p. 29. 1. Concerning Prophecies ibid. 2. Concerning Miracles p. 33. III. Divine Revelations must be suppos'd to be preserv'd in the World by Writings p. 43. IV. They must be of great Antiquity p. 44. V. They must be fully publish'd and promulg'd p. 45. PART II. CHAP. I. The Antiquity of the Scriptures THE Antiquity of the Scriptures a Circumstance very considerable to prove them to be of Divine Revelation p. 48. They give an Account of Divine Revelations made from the beginning of the World ibid. What Moses relates of things before his own time is certainly true and must have been discover'd to be false if it had been so p. 50. CHAP. II. The Promulgation of the Scriptures 1. In the first Ages of the World the Revealed Will of God was known to all Mankind p. 58. II. In succeeding Ages there has still been sufficient Means and frequent Opportunities for all Nations to come to the knowledge of it p. 76. 1. The Law of Moses did particularly provide for the instruction of other Nations in the Reveal'd Religion p. 77. 2. The Providence of God did so order and dispose of the Jews that other Nations had frequent Opportunities of becoming instructed in the True Religion p. 90. Testimonies of the Heathen concerning the Jews and their Religion p. 115. There have ever been divers Memorials and Remembrances of the true Religion among the Heathen p. 117. Of the Sibylline Oracles p. 121. The Gospel had been preach'd in China and America before the late Discoveries p. 129. The Confessions both of Protestants and Papists as to this Matter p. 132. Christians in all Parts of the World p. 135. A Sect call'd the Good Followers of the Messiah at Constantinople p. 136. Though great Part of the World are still Vnbelievers yet there is no Nation but has great Opportunities of being converted p. 141. The Case of particular Persons consider'd p. 142. CHAP. III. Of Moses and Aaron The Sincerity of Moses in his Writings p. 146. He was void of Ambition p. 149. Aaron and he had no Contrivance between themselves to impose upon the People p. 151. CHAP. IV. Of the Pentateuch The Pentateuch written by Moses p. 152. The great Impartiality visible in these Books p. 153. The Book of Genesis an Introduction to all the rest p. 154. The principal Points of the History of the Jews confess'd by the Heathen p. 155. CHAP. V. Of the Predictions or Prophecies contain'd in the Books of Moses The Promise of the Messias p. 158. The Predictions of Noah ibid. The Promises made to Abraham p. 159. The Prophecies of Isaac c. p. 160. of Jacob p. 161. of Balaam p. 162. of Moses p. 163. CHAP. VI. Of the Miracles wrought by Moses I. The Miracles and Matters of Fact contain'd in the Books of Moses as they are there related to have been done were at first sufficiently attested p. 170. II. The Relations there set down are a true Account of the Miracles wrought by Moses and such as we may depend upon p. 188. For 1. These things could not be feign'd by Moses and Aaron and others concern'd with them in carrying on such a Design p. 189. 2. The Miracles could not be feign'd nor the Books of Moses invented or falsify'd by any particular Man nor by any Confederacy or Combination of Men after the Death of Moses p. 191. 3. The Pentateuch could not be invented nor falsify'd by the joynt Consent of the whole Nation either in
well assured of that in which they agree that is of the Truth of Religion in General and of the Christian Religion in Particular as to the Fundamental Points of it The Differences among Christians may serve to prove to us Divine Authority of our Religion and of the Scriptures which contain it since Christians agree in asserting their Divine Authority and have never been so much at unity among themselves as to be able to agree to corrupt them but have certainly delivered them down entire to us 2. It is not Religion only which Men Dispute about but there is nothing besides in which they have not disagreed It is observed that want of Experience and Knowledge of the World leads Men into more inconveniencies than want of Parts and Abilities And it is as certain that a thorough Knowledge of the Debates and Contentions in Philosophy would sooner cure most Men of their Infidelity than any Arguments could do Those who raise Objections against Religion if they would but consider that almost every thing else has as great Difficulties would be ashamed to reject Religion upon Pretences which if they hold must force them to reject all other things with it and to believe just nothing at all There have been Disputes in all Ages concerning Light and Motion the Wind and Seas and other Wonders of Nature but it would be absurd for this Reason to question whether there be any such thing as Light and Motion and whatever besides Men have disputed And yet it is more absurd if it be possible to allow that is a good Argument against Religion but against nothing else If the Sun yield his Light and Nature go on in her constant Course tho' Men differ never so much in their Philosophy about it what can Religion be the worse for their Disputes no body thinks that he sees ever the less for any Difficulties which have been urged concernning Vision and why should we be ever the less inclined to believe the Truth of Religion by reason of any Controversies in it Men may dispute any thing and there is hardly any thing but it has been disputed but nothing is the less credible for being disputed unless it can be disproved but is rather confirmed and advanced by it Truth is nevertheless Truth for meeting with opposition but is the more tried and the more approved as Strength and Courage is by the sharpest Conflicts Since then there will be Vices as long as there are Men in this World and Differences and Dissentions in Religion as long as there are Vices since they cannot be hindered but by the Omnipotent Power of God and there are great Reasons why he should not interpose to prevent them since Differences in Religion are so far from implying any uncertainty in Religion that they rather prove a Confirmation of it and are in divers respects made useful and expedient to the Edification of Christians it must be great inconsideration and weakness to produce them as an Objection against Religion There must be Heresies and the Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter Times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to Seducing Spirits and Doctrins of Devils speaking Lies in Hypocrisy having their Conscience seared with an hot Iron 1 Tim. iv 12. The Scripture could not be true unless these things should happen which are foretold in several Places of Scripture Behold says our Saviour I have told you before Matt. xxiv 25. it ought to be no new nor surprising thing to Christians to see Heresies arise tho' they be never so wicked and abominable because we are forewarned to expect them and they serve to give a kind of Testimony to the True Religion in fulfilling the Predictions of it They help to prove the Religion which they would destroy For if there had been no Heresies that Religion could not be True which has foretold them but since there are Heresies our Religion is at least so far true as to contain express Prophecies concerning them which we see daily fulfilled and as they evidently prove our Religion true in this particular so they invalidate it in no other Which is the (b) Just Mart. Dial. Answer that the Christians anciently returned to the Enemies of Religion when they made this Objection against it Let us follow the plain the known and and confessed Duties of Religion Humility Temperance Righteousness and Charity and when once we have no Temptations to wish Religion untrue upon the account of the plain Precepts and Directions of it we shall never suspect it to be so by reason of any Controversies in it For if Men will impartially consider things that Religion which has now For so many Ages stood out all the Assaults and Attempts with Enemies from without and Parties within could make against it and has approved it much better and more gloriously than it could have done if there never had been either Heresies or Schisms Let us therefore hold fast the Profession of our Faith without Wavering being assured that the Gates of Hell that is all the Power and Stratagems of Satan shall never be able to prevail against the Church of Christ but shall only serve to add to its Victories and adorn its Triumphs The Malice O Lord and fierceness of Man shall turn to thy Praise And the fierceness of them shalt thou refrain Ps Lxxvi 10. CHAP. XXXIII Though all Objections could not be answerred yet this would be no just Cause to reject the Authority of the Scriptures ALL Objections which can with any Colour or Pretence be alleged have been considered and answered by divers Men of Great Learning and Judgment and several Objections which have made most noise in the World as that about the Capacity of the Ark and others have been Demonstrated to be groundless and frivolous But tho' all Difficulties could not be accounted for yet this would be no just or sufficient cause why we should reject the Scriptures because Objections for the most part are impertinent to the Purpose for which they were designed and do not at all effect the Evidence which is brought in proof of the Scriptures and if they were pertinent yet unless they could confute that Evidence they ought not to determine us against them He that with an honest and sincere Desire to find out the Truth or Falshood of a Revelation enquires into it should first consider impartially what can be alleged for it and afterwards consider the Objections raised against it that so he may compare the Arguments in proof of it and the Objections together and determine himself on that side which appears to have most Reason for it But to insist upon particular Objections collected out of Difficult Places of Scripture tho' they would likewise observe the Answers that have been given which few of our Objectors have patience to do but run away with the Objection without staying for an Answer I say to allege particular Objections without attending to the main Grounds and Motives
which induce a belief of the Truth of the Scriptures is a very deceitful way of Arguing Because it is not in the least improbable that there may be a true Revelation which may have great Difficulties in it But if sufficient Evidence be produced to convince us that the Scriptures are indeed God's Word and there be no proof on the contrary to invalidate that Evidence then all the Objections besides that can be raised are but Objections and no more For if those Arguments by which our Religion appears to be True remain still in their full Force notwithstanding the Objections and no positive and direct Proof be brought that they are insufficient we ought not to reject those Arguments and the Conclusions deduced from them upon the Account of the Objections but to reject the Objections for the sake of those Arguments because if those cannot be disproved all the which can be thought of must proceed from some Mistake For when I am once assured of the Truth of a thing by direct and positive Proof I have the same assurance that all Objections against it must be vain and false which I have that that thing is true because every thing must be false which is opposite to Truth and nothing but that which takes off the Arguments by which any thing is proved to be True can ever prove it false But all Objections must be false themselves or insignificant to the Purpose for which they are alleged if the Evidence for the Truth of that against which they are brought cannot be disproved that is if the Thing against which they are brought be True To shew this in Particulars If a Man muster up never so many Inconsistencies as he thinks in the Scriptures yet unless he be as well assured at least that these which he calls Inconsistencies cannot be in any Book of Divine Revelation as he may be that the Scriptures are of Divine Revelation he cannot in Reason reject their Authority And to be assured of this it must be considered what is inconsistent with the Evidence whereby the Authority of the Scriptures is proved to us For whatever is not inconsistent with this Evidence cannot be inconsistent with their Authority In like manner as if a Man should frame never so many Objections against the Opinion commonly received that Caesar himself wrote the Commentaries which go under his Name and not Julius Celsus or any other Author unless he can overthrow the Evidence by which Caesar appears to be the Author of them all his Objections will never amount to a Proof that he was not the Author It is very possible for God to reveal things which we may not be able to comprehend and to enact Laws especially concerning the Rights and Ceremonies enjoined a People so many Ages past the Reasons whereof we may not be fully to understand and it is very possible likewise that there may be great Difficulties in Chronology and that the Text may in divers places have a different Reading And though all these things have been cleared to the satisfaction of reasonable Men by several Expositors yet let us suppose at present to gratifie these Objectors and this will gratifie them if any thing can do it that the Laws are utterly unaccountable that the Difficulties in Chronology are no way adjusted that the divers Readings are by no means to be reconciled yet what doth all this prove That Moses wrought no Miracles That the Children of Israel and the Aegyptians were not Witnesses to them That what the Prophets foretold did not come to pass That our Saviour never rose from the Dead and that the Holy Ghost did not descend upon the Apostles Or that any thing is contained in the Scriptures repugnant to the Divine Attributes or to the natural Notion of Good and Evil Doth it prove any thing of all this or can it be pretended to prove it If it cannot and nothing is more plain than that it cannot then all the Evidence produced in Proof of the Authority of the Scriptures stands firm notwithstanding all this mighty noise of the Obscurity and the Inconsistency and the Uncertainty of the Text of the Scriptures And the next enquiry naturally will be not how the Scriptures can be from God if these things be to be found in them for it is already proved that they are from God and therefore this must from henceforth be taken for granted till it can be disproved but the only Enquiry will be how these Passages are to be explained or reconciled with other Places For let us consider this way of Reasoning which is made use of to disprove the Truth and Authority of the Scriptures in other things and try whether we are wont to reason thus in any case but that of Religion and whether we should not be ashamed of this way of arguing in any other Case How little is it that we throughly unstand in natural Things and yet how seldom do we doubt of the Truth and Reality of them because we may puzzle and perplex our selves in the Explication of them For instance we discern the Light and feel the Warmth and Heat of the Sun and have the Experience of the constant returns of Day and Night and of the several Seasons of the Year and no Man doubts but that all this is effected by the approach or withdrawing of the Sun's influence But whoever will go about to explain all this and to give a particular Account of it will find it a very hard Task and such Objections have been urged against every Hypothesis in some Point or other as perhaps no Man is able fully to answer But doth any Man doubt whether there be such a thing as Light and Heat as Day and Night though he cannot be satisfied whether the Sun or the Earth move Or do Men doubt whether they can see or not till they can demonstrate how Vision is made And must none be allowed to see but Mathematicians Or do Men refuse to eat till they are satisfied how and after what manner they are nourish'd Yet if we must be swayed by Objections which do not come up to the main Point nor affect the Truth and Reality of Things but only fill our Minds with Scruples and Difficulties about them we must believe nothing which we do not fully comprehend in every part and circumstance of it For whatever we are ignorant of concerning it that may it seems be objected against the thing it self and may be a just Reason why we should doubt of it We must have a care of being too confident that we move before we can give an exact account of the Cause and Laws of Motion which the greatest Philosophers have not been able to do we must not presume to eat till we can tell how Digestion and Nourishment are made In short this would run us into all the Extravagancies of Scepticism For upon these Principles it was that some doubted whether Snow be white or Honey sweet or any