an eternal and prae-existent matter then must that matter have been immutable for though the things made out of it be subject to continual vicissitudes and corruptions yet the matter must be still the same as the Stone and Timber of which the House is made is the same still for nature and essence as 't was before Now if that out of which the World was made was Immutable and Eternal then must it have those Perfections of which the Divine Nature chiefly do's consist but if this cannot be granted then must it be mutable and then can it not be Eternal for what 's Eternal must of necessity endure the same for ever But to proceed This Truth of the Existence of a God made such deep Impressions on the minds of Men through all Ages that even the Poets themselves so much abandon'd as they were to their own wanton Fictions were ever and anon forc't to throw off their Masks and to expose the bare-fac'd Truth The places cited out of the Ancient Greeks are known and many As the Passages also of the Sibylls in Lactantius No less remarkable are the Latins Ovid's first Book of his Metamorphoses seems nothing but a Paraphrase upon Genesis As also Virgil in that Passage or Fiction of Aeneas his descent into Hell Lib. 6. Aeneld where his Father Anchises amongst other Mysteries tells him In the beginning 't was the Spirit did form Heaven Earth and Seas Sun Moon and Stars of Morn The Mind diffusing through the bulky Frame Fermented all the Mass and from thence came Trees Flowers Birds Beasts thence also Mankind sprang With whatsoever is in th' Ocean The like he hath also in his fourth Book of his Georgicks What Opinion the Wisest of the Romans had touching the Heathen Gods cannot be better learnt then from Cato in Lucan who being Lucan l. 9. reduc'd to great Extremities in the Deserts of Libya was advised by Labienus to Consult the Oracle of Hamon being then near unto it to which Cato most Christian like reply'd God's Throne 's the Earth the Sea the Air and Heaven And above all a Mind to Vertue given What needs a further search of Gods above What ever we see where ever we be there 's Jove adding further that 't was not the Oracle but Death which could make him certain and without more ado he continued on his march never offering so much as once to salute Jupiter In short whosoever shall consider what the wisest of the Heathen spake concerning a Deity though they sometimes used the word Jupiter as being a Name most known to the Vulgar yielding herein as I have said to the Stile and Customs of the Times in which they liv'd Nevertheless the Descriptions they made could belong to none but to the only True and Immortal God For could that Jupiter be thought by them to be Hominum Sator atque Deorum who was born in Creete and so came into the World being Peopled before his Birth as now it is Could he be the Father of those who were born before himself Or could he give Immortality and Divinity to others who could not preserve himself from Death Could he be the just and upright Governour of the World who in his Life time committed so many Murders Rapes and Incests and after his fictitious Translation ceas'd not to have his Ganymede and to be employ'd about nothing more than to get Fuel for his Lust The grossest Heathen could never believe this much less so many Excellent and Learned Men amongst them of whom we read so much in prophane Story Some are of Opinion that this knowledge which the Heathen had of the True God was not from any instinct of the Light of Nature but from Divine Revelation first to the Patriarchs and from them by way of Tradition deliver'd from Generation to Generation The Ground for their Opinion is this The most Ancient Authors whose Testimonies are cited in this Argument are Zoroastres and Hermes Trismegistus The former is said to have lived about the beginning of the Chaldean Empire and is by some suppos'd to have been the Son or Nephew of Ham. Whoever he was Plutarch makes him Tract de Isid Oser to have liv'd many Ages before the Trojan Wars he is said also to have Instituted the Order of the Magi and in Imitation of these the Persians afterwards had their Sophi These Magi had the Custody of the Emperors Archives Registring the Actions of their Lives and were accounted as Oracles in Matters of Religion As for Mercurius Trismegistus he was an Egyptian and of the greatest Antiquity In the Works which bear his Name he seems to speak as clearly of the Divine Mysteries as Moses himself Now the Egyptians and the Chaldeans were ever accounted by all Prophane as well as Sacred Historians to have been the most Ancient of all Nations and we find in Scripture that 't was with these Nations the Patriarchs had greatest Commerce For Abraham liv'd for some time amongst the Chaldees and in Egypt where the Children of Jacob also with their Posterity sojourn'd for some Ages 'T was no wonder then that these two Nations should have so early a knowledge of Sacred Mysteries as also of all other kind of Learning From Egypt it was that the Greeks took their Light Orpheus the most Ancient Author amongst them visited Egypt and search'd into all their Sacred Records Next after him was Pythagoras who not only travell'd into Egypt but into Chaldea also and 't was from Pythagoras chiefly that Plato took his Notions as the Poets from Orpheus so that the nearer they were to the Original the better always were their Copies But whatsoever knowledge the Ancients had by this way of Tradition certain it is that they could not but receive much Light too from the Book of Nature For Reason tells us that whatsoever has a Beginning must have it either from it self or from some other not from it self for then must it have had an Existence before it had an Existence the thing which produces another being ever before that which is produc'd But if it has its beginning from something else and that from another and so on we must either make an Infinite Progress in Natural Productions which is utterly impossible for no Infinite can actually be made up of Finite Actions or we must at length resolve all into one first Cause which in it self is without beginning which can be no other than God Let a Man turn himself which way soever he pleases he shall find a vast Expanse of Creatures before his Eyes He sees the Earth producing every Living thing and Plants in their Season and yielding all things useful for the Life of Man He sees the Heavens beautified with innumerable Stars of vast Bulk and Purity he sees those Glorious Luminaries the Sun and Moon he sees all these Celestial Bodies how they are most regular and perpetual in their Motion most unchangeable in their Natures and of wonderful Influence
credit demonstrable from such Circumstances and Natural Influences of Reason as the most obstinate Sceptick cannot possibly withstand The Proofs which I shall bring for the Authority of the Jewish Religion are three The first is taken from a Consideration of the Jewish Nation in General The Second from the Authority of the Old Testament The last from the Certainty of its Predictions And first for the Jewish Nation 'T is well known that as they were the least being confin'd to a narrow Tract of Ground not exceeding One hundred and twenty Miles in length and Forty in breadth so were they a People of gross Intellectuals compar'd with the Egyptians Syrians and Babylonians who surrounded them They were not any way addicted to the Philosophy of the Greeks nor to the Ancient Learning of the Chaldeans nor any way curious in Mechanical Inventions They were not dignified or distinguished by Titles but liv'd contentedly and in a state of Equality each within the limits of his own Tribe improving their Patrimony by all Methods of good Husbandry in manuring the Earth and living frugally From whence it appears plainly that a People of this Genius could never invent such a Religion as should have the one only God the Great Creator of Heaven and Earth for the Scope and Object of their Adoration Neither could they receive Notions of this Nature from any of their forementioned Neighbours it being known to all the World that all the Nations round about them were gross Idolaters and held no conformity with the Jews in their Rites and Manners of Life We have a Description of the Perfection and Purity of their Religion in the best of Heathen Authors For Tacitus Tac. lib. 5. histor tells us that the Jews worshipped one only Deity mente sola detesting those as prophane who represented the Gods under the gross Shapes and Images of Men believing the one Supreme God to be Eternal and Immutable But whatsoever their Belief was we find their Practice to be many times very degenerate For our better illustration therefore of this Argument 't will not be amiss to take a short view of their Dispositions and Actions as they are represented to us in their own Acts and Monuments The Jewish Nation were a People separated from the rest of men by many signal Favours and Prerogatives They had lain almost Four hundred Years under the Yoke of Egypt till at length God remembring his Promises does raise them up a Deliverer Moses who by many Wonders rescu'd them from under the Hand of the Oppressor As for Pharaoh and his Host he overthrew them in the Red Sea And 't was but meet they should be overwhelm'd in the Waters who were first drown'd in Security and Impenitence But for Israel to forget God that God who had done so great things for them was as Prodigious as their very Deliverance They left Egypt 't is true but yet they still continu'd in the Land of Darkness and were harder than the Rock which obey'd the Rod and yielded Waters to quench those Heats which their own Lusts had first kindled They resisted the Lord their Deliverer in their Murmurings against Moses and Aaron Nor did they only contend with Moses their Civil Governour but they sought the Priesthood also saying Ye take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation is holy every one of them And strange was their Presumption when they knew no other way to make an Atonement but by committing Sacrilege I mean by offering up of strange Fire such as made them both Priests and Sacrifice And as tho all remembrance of the Judgment had been buried with Korah and his Company they offer'd a fresh Indignity saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord Insomuch that God slew 14700 of them in a Moment To be short whosoever takes a Prospect of their Forty Years Pilgrimage in the Wilderness shall find it to be chequer'd with Provocations and Judgments and altho they melted in the Furnace yet they return'd to their former Temper when the heat was over and became more hard and impenetrable by being wrought in the Fire Nay when they were reduc'd to that state of Government under which they were likeliest to subsist as being at the greatest distance from Divisibility I mean a Monarchy yet then I say when in the most flourishing state and in the most hopeful way to obtain stability we find them at the same time turning Apostates from God and Rebels to their Prince To proceed then when of all the Tribes scarce the tenth part which in all things else was consecrated to God became Followers of the True Religion 't was not long before that began to revolt and to turn away from the Truth For 't is recorded of the days of Rehoboam that Judah did Evil in the sight of the Lord and that they provok'd him to Jealousie with the sins they had committed above all that their Fore-fathers had done For they also built them High-Places Groves and Images on every high Hill and under every green Tree there was not a Mountain but had Altars on it and those Altars almost as many and various as the Stars of Heaven to whose Worship they were erected How often did God send to them by his Prophets by his Judgments and by his Mercies but all in vain neither the one nor the other could perfect their Recovery and what was yet worse instead of turning to their God we find them flying to the Assyrians to that Idolatrous People to be heal'd and cur'd of their Wounds like the dying Hart which went to the Covert for shelter from whence came the mortal Arrow Nor did this Contagion overspread the People only but many times their Kings and sometimes their Priests were infected with the Leprosie all which Disorders at last found an end in the Ruin of their Temple Sanctuary and City together with the loss of their Ark and of all other Sacred Relicks and Monuments whatsoever all their Princes Priests and men of Note being loaded with Irons and carried away like Slaves into dreadful Bondage and Captivity Nay after they were miraculously restor'd in the beginning of Cyrus his Reign we find them exposed to great Difficulties and engag'd with Potent Enemies in their resettlement which indeed was rather a new kind of Combat than a Restauration for it was Fourscore years and better before the Temple and Walls of the City were repair'd and not long after 't was that they were assaulted by dire Persecutions under the Greeks who liv'd in Syria as appears in the Acts and Records of the Machabees After which time they fell into divers Factions and Disorders even to the Birth of Jesus after which shortly follow'd their final Extirpation Now let us put all this together and then let us make a Judgment of the whole The Jews we see were a handful of People separated from all the World by Language Rites and manner of Life They were generally of heavy Capacities obstinate and
proudly sailing when we observe how easily 't is turn'd about and how regular it is in all its Motions and yet of that force as to resist the blustring Winds and the raging Ocean we are easily persuaded that there is some one within who animates this great and curious Machine who though he be no part or Member of the same yet all the Effects he works depend upon the good disposition and frame of the Ship for if it be old leaky or any way disabled in the Hulk Rigging or any of its subservient Instruments the Pilot though never so knowing will appear very defective in all his Endeavours nay though the Pilot knows himself to be of a more durable and excellent Frame than the Vessel which carries him yet he fears a Wreck and labours what he can to save his Ship from the Apprehensions he has of the uncertain State to which he shall be expos'd when the Vessel which now covers him shall fall to pieces how apposite this Emblem is to illustrate our present Argument is obvious to all As to the Operations of Man's Soul I confess much must be allow'd to the force and Methods of Education and to the Temper of the Climate in which Men live and yet we may observe that the grossest Peasants have naturally all these Gifts which the wisest Men by all their Arts and Study can arrive to The laborious Husbandman though he cannot dicourse of the Dimensions Beauty and Motion of the Heavens understands well enough the Criticisms of every Season and knows also the Virtue and Temper of the Earth he cultivates much better than the inquisitive Philosopher and accordingly takes his Prospect and makes his profitable Returns he is cautious and subtle in making his little Bargains as the greatest Statesman can pretend to be in his Contracts and Measures of Government and what is yet more observable as he has a greater dependance upon Providence so naturally he shews a greater submission to the Will of Heaven and bears his Losses and Disappointments with greater patience than those who have been studied in the Schools of Vertue so that much still is to be attributed to the Genius and Fabrick of the Soul the natural Source of all his Actions We may observe also of many Bruits that they are endued with a natural Sagacity great Docility and with a greater quickness of Sense than what any Man can pretend to and yet one who is born Deaf and consequently Dumb though he be thus defective in that Sense of Hearing which is so essentially requisite for the attainment of Understanding and by which all Instruction finds a Passage to the Soul I say such a Man by the help of Art as daily Experience does evince in Mutes may be brought to have an accurate and correct Conception of things to be most apprehensive of what is said or done and by the least Hints and Motions of the Body to understand the Minds of those he does converse with and by an extraordinary quickness in the motion of his Hands and Eyes to communicate his own Thoughts a thing which Bruits though never so subtil and prone to Imitation and though most accute and attentive in all their Senses and though instructed with the greatest diligence can never arrive to in any degree considerable which shews sufficiently that there is a vast difference betwixt the Nature and Capacity of the Animal and those of the Rational Soul That force of Judgment and Reason which we observe frequently in Men under the decays of Nature whether by Age or Sickness is not I confess such a satisfactory Proof of such a perfection of the Soul as is now discours'd of since we find that even habits of Exercise acquir'd in our younger Years as of Dancing or Instrumental performances continue to some considerable degree in Men maugre all the Indispositions and Decays of the Body much more then may those Habits of the Mind which were acquir'd by Discipline and Study continue vigorous in a languishing Constitution though they were admitted to spring from an Elementory mixture But for all this we may frequently observe in dying Men some sudden Sallies and Transports of Joy some extraordinary Efforts of Mind which were not the effects of Education and above all in dying Children whose tender Age never yet arriv'd to any such Inclinations we may oftentimes observe strange Illuminations and quietness of Spirit a little before their departure which I say can never proceed from what they never yet acquir'd but from the innate Propensities and Genius of the Soul But whatsoever that dependence be which the Soul has upon the Body and though it should be granted that it receiv'd all its Improvements from it yet this is no Argument against the future and independent State of the Soul after death An Embryo we see is form'd and nourish'd by the Womb and yet when the just appointed time for its departure happens it is so far from ceasing to be what it was before that it acquires a nobler Degree of Life by being separated from its Matrix and arrives to the perfection of a living Creature endued with Sense which before only was of a vegetative Nature so it is with the Soul which though nourish'd or cherish'd by the Ministry of these Corporeal Organs when once it is deliver'd from them assumes yet a higher degree of Perfection and Life and is capable to subsist and act of it self by Methods far more Noble and Spiritual than those by which it was employ'd when it was in Union with the Body Having thus given a summary Reply to such Observations as seem'd most prejudicial to the Soul's Immortality let us now proceed to prove this Doctrine by such natural Medicines as shall yet give farther satisfaction to the foregoing Doubts as well as establish the truth of our present Assertion Now the general Arguments by which this Truth is demonstrable are taken 1. From the Operations of the Soul 2. From the natural Inclinations of the Soul 3. From the Justice of Divine Providence And lastly from the Testimonies of the wisest Heathens First as to the Operations of the rational Soul though the first Rudiments we have of things be borrowed from the Impressions made upon our outward Senses yet the Reductions and Inferences we make of things which are the Works properly of Reason are of a much sublimer Nature so that the Organs to Sense are but like the Candles to the Soul which discover indeed the Object in some respect whilst the discerning Faculties is of an extraction far more spiritual and pure With what fixt and constant Applications does the Mind of Man bend it self with all its Instruments upon its Object and through how many Labyrinths of Doubts and seeming Contradictions does it wind it self in the pursuit of it whether it be matter of Judgment and Practice or of Speculation only and Knowledg With what order silence and readiness does every Faculty stand prepar'd how quick and diligent
upon the World And although he himself may in some sense be said to be an Abridgment of it yet is he not able of himself to produce the least Insect and whatsoever he does it is done only by application of one thing to another being altogether Ignorant himself of the manner how they perform their Operations from whence he cannot but conclude that there is something infinitely more Powerful and Noble than himself which first gave a Being to so many vast and beautiful Creatures But when he shall consider their subservency to one another and the just Oeconomy of the Universe he must acknowledge an Infinite Wisdom also which does dispose and govern all things in the World which Consideration leads us forwards to Discourse of the Divine Providence CHAP. V. Of God's Providential Power in respect of the Universe FRom hence that God is the Creator and first Cause of all things it follows naturally that he is the Preserver of them also and that he does dispose of all Things according to his own Wisdom and Pleasure For God as it hath been already prov'd being Present to all the Actions of his Creatures so that nothing can be effected without his concurrence and having also from all Eternity a foresight of whatsoever shall be done it cannot be but that God must have some good Ends in whatsoever he concurs to such as is best known to his own Infinite Wisdom though such Ends be for the most part far different from those propos'd by his Creatures where making one and the same Action to be the Instrument of farther Effects is that which is call'd Providence which because it is a Point wherein the Power and Wisdom of God does most discover it self and wherein we are daily concern'd it will require to be more distinctly treated of under these Considerations 1. Of Nature in General and the subservency of things to one another 2. Of human Affairs in Relation to Publick or Civil Government 3. Of human Affairs in particular or the special Concerns of Private Men. And first for the greater World if we look upwards the Heavens declare God's Almighty Power Besides the Sun Moon and the other Planets all which have a known Influence upon the whole Course of Nature we cannot but take notice of those numberless Stars which adorn the upper Firmament of Heaven each of which is far bigger than the Earth how Immense and Capacious then must that Region of Aetherbe in which they move and swim all which together with the Heavens themselves are in perpetual and most regular Motion making their whole Circuit in the space of Twenty four-hours with that prodigious swiftness that every Point of the Aequator in the Primum Mobile or highest Firmament does move above Vide Clau. in Sphaer Joan. de Sacro Bosco Tacquet l. 5. Astron c. 2. Num. 22. a Hunderd thousand Miles every Minute as is sufficiently prov'd by Astronomical Demonstration If we look before us upon the Earth on which we tread we cannot but observe how Fruitful it is in all sorts of Animals and Vegetables what great diversity of Trees what delicate Fruits may we observe to issue from the same Soil together with an infinite variety of Flowers most admirable for Colour Figure and Smell and affecting all our Senses with Wonder and Delight whilst our Reason entertains it self with a curious search after the Causes of each Production and what it is that does distinguish every Species and from whence they are impress'd with such different Vertues and Beauty The divers kinds of Herbs which we see naturally to grow upon the same Spot of Ground is a thing which cannot but ravish the Contemplative considering that some of them are good for Food others of singular use in Medicines others again most refreshing in their Odours which are yet so different that one has no similitude with another and yet all these Herbs are in their smell most Fragrant of a lively and unspotted Vertue and diversified with numberless minute Strings or Fibres by which as by so many little Veins they suck in their Juice and Nutriment from the Earth all which in a little flux of time seem to die when by shedding only a few Grains or Seeds revive and superannuate and so by a perpetual Succession of new Generations they repair their past decays and by dying they endure throughout all Ages and become Immortal And yet this Earth out of which all these Blessings are produc'd by all the discovery we can make is nothing but a cold insipid Mass of Matter in appearance being grateful to no Sense and destitute of warmth and all prolifick Vertue If we pass into the Region of Animals we may observe how some are endu'd with singular Strength and Beauty others with great Sagacity others are most docile and serviceable to Man for Necessity and Pleasure We may observe also how sollicitous and tender they are for the Preservation and Nourishment of their young though they be otherwise most savage in their Natures and how every Creature before it can stand or see does yet know the way to the Teat I cannot think it improper how trivial soever it may seem to relate what I have some times with great Pleasure and Admiration observ'd of a young Whelp not Six Weeks old which having eaten sufficiently of what Meat was given it took the remainder and hid it by scraping up so much Earth with his Nose and Feet as cover'd it and yet take a Child of Two or three years old tho' it be endu'd with a Rational Soul and after it has fill'd it self it will cast the rest away Whence now is it that a poor young dumb Bruit should have the knowledge and foresight of its future wants and lay up what is superfluous to supply after hunger It could not learn this by Imitation or Instruction no certainly we say then it has it by Instinct or that this Provident Inclination is impress'd on it by God the Author of Nature who takes more than ordinary care for the preservation of such poor Creatures which otherwise would perish for want of succour In like manner we may observe that take a young Whelp if it can but see and put it on a Table it will creep or craul about the Edge or Borders of it and there cry not venturing to go further But take a young Child of Two or three years old and put it on a Table in like manner it will certainly run forwards without fear till it fall down headlong and perhaps break its Neck Here then we may justly admire how such a little poor sucking Animal should understand its weakness and danger and by the estimate it makes of the distance of the Ground under it finds it too great and not to be ventur'd on but with certain Peril This can be no other than God's Providential care who also takes the like Providential care for the safeguard of Man under all the Circumstances of his
yet do these enjoy a cooler and more healthy Air the poverty and barrenness of their Soil will never invite their Neighbours to make War upon them and in case they should be attack'd their high Snowy Rocks and Mountains would prove a good security against the Invasion so that the Peace of the one may seem more eligible than the Plenty of the other We may observe how the most barren Rocks and Mountains of the World are generally Rich with Marble Ore and many times with Chrystal and Jewels of an inestimable value We may observe also how the Southern Seas though they are not so well stor'd with Fish as the Northern yet do they abound with Coral and Pearls which can in a manner purchase all other Riches In a word whosoever shall attentively survey the Face of Nature from Pole to Pole and from the rising to the setting Sun may easily discern that whatsoever Inconveniencies any Place or Country is subject to the same also doth enjoy some other Blessings equivalent to or perhaps more beneficial than what they want which cannot but proceed from the all Good and Wise Creator and Governour of the Universe it being impossible that so many and various Effects of Nature as lie before our Eyes so Regular and Beautiful so Curious and Useful should be the results of blind and undiscerning Chance Let Stones Timber Iron with the other Materials of building be shuffled and toss'd together for Millions of Ages they will never fall into the Form and Figure of a House and yet the Works of Art fall exceeding short of those of Nature how then can't be imagin'd that this great Machine of the World which consists of infinite variety of things the least of which surpasses the Productions of the most Industrious and Ingenious Artists and where all the Parts hold that Analogy and Conformity to one another as makes one universal and perpetual harmony I say how is it possible that all these things should have their Original from Chance and should in such an admirable manner be animated by Contingencies CHAP. VI. Of the subserviency of the Creatures or Parts of the World to one another THis subserviency of things to one another is a Point which deserves our further Consideration as being that which does exceedingly illustrate the Wonders and Order of a Divine Providence The Sun as it is in it self the most Glorious of all visible Creatures so is it the most Beneficial too when we shall consider a little the wonderful Influence it has upon the Earth in its Course and Motion For should it keep constantly to one Circle a great part of the Earth would be burnt up whilst the remoter Regions would be desolate and lie covered perpetually with Ice But by the Wisdom of God it is so order'd that all Places in their due Seasons enjoy the benign and comfortable Influence of this glorious Luminary of the Day for by its declination sometimes Northward and sometimes Southward in a just and certain Course it Creates that distinction of Seasons through all the World viz. of Spring Summer Autumn and Winter by which the Earth is render'd Fruitful and furnish'd with all those Blessings and Comforts which every Season does produce Which method as it furnishes every living Creature with all things necessary and delightful to its Nature so is it most recreative to the Spirits both of Man and Beast the withdrawing of the Sun being as necessary for their Refreshment by that rest and sleep which follows on the Night as its bright and warm Appearance is useful to the fruitions of Life and to the several Labours and Duties of the Day How tir'd are we with the length perhaps of one Summers day How unsupportable then would our Condition be were we oblig'd to live but for a Month perhaps in such a Tenour and Course without Interruption so that after the Heats and Parchings of Summer Nature calls for the cool refreshments of Winter and these again prepare our Appetites to taste the Pleasures of the Spring so that by this perpetual Circle and Counterchange of Seasons we are always in a round or progress to be reliev'd by fresh Comforts and deliver'd from the Inconveniencies which would follow by being confin'd to one certain and unchangeable state of Nature The like Observation might be made of the Moon and of the other Planets all which are no less serviceable to the Earth in their several Periods and Revolutions But to proceed if we consider that Tract of space which lies betwixt the Heavens and the Earth the Region of Clouds and Rain of Winds and Thunder we may observe likewise how useful these things are though they seem to be nothing but the Excrementitious Crudities and Evaporations of Nature It is to the Winds we owe that Attemperation and Motion of the Air which is so conducing to Health it is to the Winds we owe all the Blessings which are deriv'd from Navigation These Winds which seem to scatter where they blow do Unite Nations in Alliance and Commerce and convey to us whatsoever rarity is to be found in any part of the Earth The Clouds by their interposition betwixt the Sun and us shelter us from the Injuries of its hotter Beams and by distilling Showers of Rain upon the Ground do render it most verdant and fruitful And even the Thunder which in all Ages has been lookt on as the effect of an offended Deity and to have something in it of Terrour and Prodigy is yet beneficial by dispelling those adust and gloomy Vapours which are incident to the Summer Seasons If we cast our Eyes upon the Ocean at the first aspect it will appear to us to be a bottomless Gulf of an unlimitted extent most hideous in its roaring breaking in upon the Earth with great violence and threatning nothing but Inundation and Ruine And yet this great Abyss and Expanse of Waters besides the infinite plenty and variety of Fish with other things with which it does abound will upon a stricter view be found to be the great Medium by which Traffick and all Civil Correspondence is supported and the surest boundaries and security to Kingdoms so that whilst it threatens to overwhelm it does secure us from the sudden Irruptions of foreign Invasion and besides it is that great and inexhaustible Treasure of Springs and Fountains which supply the Earth and adorn it with Beautiful and Navigable Rivers Some are of an Opinion that Fountains have their Original from Rains which falling from the higher Grounds and meeting at last in some common Receptacle make those little Erruptions which we call Springs This Opinion in some measure may be admitted since we find that Springs dry up in times of great Drought and then swell in times of Rain But this is not the chief Cause of Fountains for then the greatest Springs would rise in the lower Grounds but we may observe generally that they issue from the Sides and sometimes from the Tops of
there was such a General decay of Piety and Christian Vertue in these People who now groan under the Mahometan Yoke at such time as they became its Vassals is notoriously evident in all Monuments of Antiquity nor does Mahomet promise Blessings and Mercies to his Followers but upon such Conditions as are before mention'd viz. Beleif Repentance and Good-Works In the next place that there should be great Apostasies from the Faith and that there should arise great Seducers and false Prophets or Antichrists who should deceive many and introduce New and Damnable Doctrines was what Christ foretold and caution'd those who embrac'd his Doctrine to beware of it so that the event is so far from weakning the Truth of the Christian Religion that it does fortifie the same by the accomplishment of what Jesus fore-told In the third place such a Breach in the Christian Body is no diminution of Christ's Power and Goodness the Church of Christ in this World is in a state Militant expos'd to continual Fatigues and Dangers and sometimes to Defeats and to Captivity this is nothing but what Christ also foretold in his Gospel and what he himself suffer'd Now here indeed is the Power and Goodness of God made manifest that maugre all the Barbarity and Artifice of Turkish Gorvernment the number of Christians throughout their Dominions far exceeds that of those who hold them in Subjection Nor have the Turks introduc'd amongst the Greeks any Doctrines of their own which may poison the Christian Faith so that however their Temporal Estates may suffer by God's wonderfull Providence and Goodness they are not in any subjection as to their Souls all which serves to wean Men from the Love of this World and to settle their thoughts upon a future State which is indeed the grand Scope and Method of the Gospel And as this is the Method with the Church in general so likewise is it with every true Christian in particular and although at first sight it may seem something harsh that Christ who came into the World to destroy the Works of the Devil and to redeem Men from Sin should notwithstanding suffer the same Devil to tempt us to sin and to ravish infinite numbers of Souls daily out of the Arms of the Church yet even in this particular he verifies his own Doctrine for Eternal Happiness is called a Crown Now a Crown or Garland through all Antiquity was ever held a Military Reward such were their Civil Moral and other Crowns so famous amongst the Ancients so that the very Reward does suppose a Victory and Victory a Fight and Fight an Enemy Conformable hereunto the Apostle tells us that we wrastle not with Flesh and Blood that is with our own sensual Appetites and Passions but with Principalities and Powers and spiritual Wickednesses in high Places that is with Devils who yet retain some kind of Government and are in Subordination to one another resembling the Hierarchy of the blessed Angels which are described also by the like Characters of Thrones Dominions Principalities and Powers and are always at hand to relieve and defend the Elect against Temporal Dangers and the Assaults of those black Legions as is every where most abundantly reveal'd in Scripture Now if Men for a corruptible Crown venture so much he certainly does not deserve one which is Eternal and Incorruptible who will not suffer hardship and combate the Enemies who oppose him Nor has Christ left the Members of his Church abandon'd and destitute for besides the assistance of the blessed Angels the assistance of his Sacraments together with his own Example Precepts and Promises he has for our farther Encouragement promiss'd us the assistance of his Holy Spirit to adorn us with many singular Graces and to direct his Church into the way of Truth and Holiness To all which whosoever has a true regard and lives a vertuous Life cannot but have a sollid assurance of being eternally happy In the last place the progress which the Mahometan Superstition has made is not so great as what the Professors of it do pretend they never met with any Philosophers to dispute with them nor Princes to persecute them so that like Weeds in a fruitfull Soil being neglected they soon grow up and over-run the good Ground What Opposition the Christian Religion met with in its Birth and Infancy we have already spoken of as also that the Christians after all their Calamities far exceed the Mahometans in number throughout all the Grand Signior's Dominions To put an end to this Discourse I put it thus to the Mahometan Mahomet in the Alcoran c. of the Table Alcoran brings in God thus speaking to him After many Prophets we have at last sent Jesus the Son of Mary he has confirm'd the Ancient Scriptures We have given him the Gospel full of Light to conduct the People into the right way they who follow the Gospel ought to judg how it is taught in the Gospel they who do not judge conformably to what God hath taught them are disobedient to his Divine Majesty The like he has in many other places of the Alcoran extolling also the Apostles of Jesus as sent and inspired by God moreover Chap. of Wines he calls the Jews Blasphemers of Alcor cap. of Wines Mary when they boasted how they had killed the Messiah even Jesus the Son of Mary the Apostle and Prophet of God They did not kill him nor crucified him but they crucified another Person who resembled him God having taken up Jesus to himself into Heaven Moreover in the forecited Chap. of the Table says he Those who say that the Messiah the Son of Mary is God are impious Now let us see how these Sayings of Mahomet can hang together It is in the Gospel that we read how Christ the Word was God or the Son of the living God also that he was Crucified and Rose again It is in the Gospel where we read that Christ taught and commanded his Disciples to Baptize all Nations in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost as also instituted the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and left it as his last Legacy or Pledge of his Love before his Translation Now if the Gospel as Mahomet tells us be full of Light and left us by God to direct us into the way of Truth then must the forementioned Doctrines also be true for should the Gospel teach us a Falshood it could not be said to be full of Light and to direct us into the way of Truth Now if these Doctrines be true then must that which is taught by Mahomet to the contrary be false and consequently that Mahomet in so teaching is no less contradictory to himself than to the Truth and was therefore no true Prophet but a lying and wicked Imposture But before I take my leave of Mahomet it will not be amiss to advertise my Reader if he be a Christian of the danger both he and all
growing in the Field till the Harvest of the World Whosoever shall endeavour to destroy them will in all likelihood tread down the good Grain also and since they cannot prevent the Enemies malice 't is the duty of the Labourers when they sow good Grain to be watchfull and to nip these spreading weeds at their first appearance for they are of a hungry and devouring Nature robbing all the good Juyce and Nutriment to themselves and by the many windings of their Wyres they pluck the Stalks of good Corn down to the Ground There is nothing certainly more pernicious to the Peace and Tranquillity of Religion than frequent disputations about it for though many at first out of an itch of Ostentation may enter upon a Dispute yet they seldom quit it but with great Animosity and by their endless controversies bring the Mysteries of Religion and the Articles of our Faith under Scepticism and Doubt Happy were the Patriarchs of the first Age without dispute whose Religion consisted in an Adoration of Almighty God their Creator They never troubled their Brains with Metaphysical Quiddities and Distinctions 't was their early business of the morning to make their offerings to the God of Heaven for the expiation of their sins and thereby make him propitious They did celebrate his Praises in some short pious Hymns expressing his Greatness and Goodness and afterwards betaking themselves to the ordinary Duties of their Life which were for the most part pastoral they could not but make infinite improvements of their time by observing the Power and Goodness of their Maker in the bountifull returns from the Earth and by observing dayly the Beauties of Nature with the Vicissitudes of Seasons and the favourable influence of the heavens The Works of God were the subject of their innocent Speculation whose wonders also they transmitted to Posterity by telling what deliverances their Fore-fathers as also they themselves had found at his hands Meditations and Discourses like these did intersere commonly in all the Employments and Occurrences of their Lives and thus by an innocent Labour of Body and by Methods of Sobriety Temperance and Frugality unknown to those of this luxurious and degenerate Age they did arrive to length of days retaining to the last an uninterrupted Health and Vegeteness of Mind and when Nature had spun its course they did wind up their Lives by recommending their Spirits into the hands of their Creator and slept with their Fathers leaving their Children to follow their good Examples Thus far'd it with the happy Patriarchs And truly under the Gospel I cannot see but Men may be as happy nay more happy if they please the Duties which Christ requires of us carry their own reward tending all of them to the perfecting of the Moral Law and to settle the Spirit upon a true Basis of repose The Articles of Faith as they are tender'd to us in the Gospel are few and to an humble and unprejudic'd Mind carry light and life with them although disputations and heterodox Questions may arise in the Church and embroil many with Faction and perplex'd Notions what is this to a modest and humble Christian The practice of whose life consists First in a dutiful Adoration of Almighty God expecting Salvation from him through the Merits of his only Son Jesus Christ our Lord resigning up himself wholly to his Providence and being always thankful under every circumstance of life Secondly in performing works of Justice and Charity towards his Neighbour and lastly in living soberly as to himself and bringing his extravagant Passions and desires under subjection Let not such a one discompose his Rest by endeavouring to fathom the inexhaustible depths of Knowledge with intricate and fruitless Enquiries which indeed are those Thorns and Thistles from whence Men shall never gather Grapes nor Figs they who fall amongst them will be entangled with their prickly Snares No let a Man live so as to have a care of himself and to hope the best of another and thus being freed from superfluous Anxiety he will go through with the Duties of Life and even of Death with great alacrity having attain'd to a true Settlement and Tranquillity of Mind FINIS Books Printed for John Newton at the three Pidgeons in Fleet-street THe History of the most Renowned Don Quixot of Sancha and his trusty Squire Sancha Pancha now made English according to the Humour of our Modern Language and adorned with several Coper Cuts by J. P. The History of the Venetian Conquests from the Year 1684. to the Year 1688. Translated out of French by Sir J. M. A Consolatory Discourse for the support of Widows and Orphans of general use to all Christians who either are or may be left in such Circumstances The Rehearsal as it is now acted at the Theatre Royal the fifth Edition with Amendments and large Additions of the Author The Disorders of Basset a Novel done out of French A Memorial for the Learned Or Miscellany of choice Collections from most Eminent Authors in History Philosophy Physick and Heraldry by J. D. Gent. The Ghost of the Emperor Charles the fifth appearing to Volcart the Porter Or a Dialogue touching the Times Some Odes of Horace imitated with Relation to His Majesty and the Times by John Glauvell of Lincolns-Inn Gent.