the Church may but be owned as credible Histories and the matters of fact related in them as worthy our belief as those which are recorded by other Historians This is an equal and a very modest demand considering the sar greater respect that is due to the sacred Writings than any other Records whatsoever can possibly pretend to For besides their divine Authority which I am not now to insist upon they have several other very considerable advantages for their Credibility above any other History that ever was in the World Christianity has no greater Enemies than the Jews have been and still are and yet they have all along been and at this day continue as zealous as ever for the Books of the Old Testament They have constantly owned them for Authentick their Historian Josephus bears witness to them and they yet adhere to them as undoubtedly true And as for the greatest part of the New Testament and indeed all that I have need to recurr to in the case before us there not only was never any doubt amongst the regular and orthodox Christians concerning its being genuine but it was never questioned by Celsus or Julian or any of its most avowed Adversaries who we are sure would never have spared the Christians if they could have found any pretence for an objection in this respect And besides that the Authors of these holy Writings were Men of untainted reputation upon whom no instance of imposture could be fixed they were moreover so different for quality some of them Kings and great Men some of them mean and illiterate no better than Shepherds or Fishers or Publicans some of a middle condition between both so many for number and who wrote in such distant times that they could never possibly be thought to have all combined together to deceive the World nor like to have escaped a discovery if they could have attempted it The Authours and Publishers of the New Testament were such who had nothing to expect in this World but tribulations and afflictions and death the portion that our Saviour had foretold would be allotted to his Disciples and in the World to come they could have no good to hope for if they had only conspired to delude Mankind in transmitting to all generations what they knew to be false And hence they could have no other Design to serve in what they published but that of propagating the Truth And since the writing and divulging of the Scriptures they have been translated into abundantly more Languages have had incomparably more Copies and Impressions and been the subject of vastly more Commentaries Annotations Paraphrases and given occasion for multitudes more of Disquisitions and Discourses and upon all these accounts were apparently far less liable to be corrupted than any other Authours whatsoever They have had the testimony of a whole cloud of Christian Martyrs who stuck not readily to resign their lives in pursuance of the Truth contained therein And notwithstanding all the opposition that has been made against them they have prevailed to that degree as plainly to shew a divine Blessing going along with them to give them success in spight of all the malice of Jews or Gentiles or the Devil himself and his utmost contrivances for their suppression So that after all this he must be monstrously unreasonable that will not yet be induced to place them in the rank of the most credible Historians or indeed that sees not of what unspeakably greater Authority they are than all other the most celebrated Histories The least that can possibly be inferred from these Premises is that either Men must utterly renounce all History and all pretence to the knowledge of what is past before their own days or they must be brought to confess the Scriptures a just foundation for their belief of the Matters related in them And this being once granted there can be no difficulty in the proof of multitudes both of Prophesies and of Miracles to evince the certainty of an over-ruling Providence 1. Prophecies And here if I should begin with that of Noah concerning the Deluge of Waters that was to be brought upon the World of the ungodly it would easily be shewn that he was certainly a true Prophet though he had Cassandra's fate not to be attended to by an incredulous generation till their own sad experience too late convinced them of the reality of his Predictions He not only informed them of their approaching destruction as may justly be collected from his History in the sixth and seventh Chapters of Genesis and St. Peter's affirmation 1 Ep. 3.20 that God waited in the days of Noah while the Ark was preparing which it is not conceivable he would do without giving notice of it to the people whose repentance he waited for Noah I say not only informed the old World of their approaching destruction but gave them moreover a daily evidence of his own belief and expectation of what he warned them to provide against by building a capacious Ark wherein to preserve himself and his houshold and some of all living creatures when the rest should be washed away with the Flood that was shortly to come upon them Nor was he disappointed Gen. 6. for at the end of an hundred and twenty years the time prefixed for the execution of this intended vengeance the waters came upon them and destroyed them all except those Jew Souls who were with him in the Ark. Than which one would not desire a clearer instance of a divine Prescience and an uncontroulable Power that can when it pleases open the windows of heaven and break up the fountains of the great deep or make whatsoever like alterations in the course of Nature that is of an over-ruling Providence If I should mention in the next place the notice that was given to the Patriarch Abraham when as yet he had no child and had little hopes of any that he should however Gen. 12.2 be blessed and his Name made great which is C. 13 14 15 16. c. 15.5 afterward explained to import not to touch here upon what related to our blessed Saviour that his seed should be exceeding numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of heaven which cannot be reckoned up and that all the land he could see whether northward or southward or eastward or westward should be given them to inherit and C. 17. 4 5 6 7 8. again that he should be the Father of many Nations and Kings should come out of him and to him and his seed after him should be given all the land wherein he sojourned the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession but withall that they should not enter upon the inheritance of this promised land C. 15.13 till the fourth generation when the iniquity of the Amorites would be full and would by this means occasion their utter extirpation this Prediction also must be granted to have been accordingly fulfilled when besides the Edomites and Moabites descended from Ismael the
act like Christians nor shew themselves wise for this or for the other World CHAP. III. The Reasonableness of Casting our Care upon God THE third thing I propounded was to enforce the Practice of this so necessary a Duty from the Assurance we have of God's continual Care of us that observing what Regard he has for us what a good Providence he exercises over us and how willing he is to multiply his Benefits upon us we may hence also be invited to cast all our Care upon him And this I shall endeavour to do from these three following Considerations 1. Of the Providence of God in general and the Care he takes of all his Creatures 2. Of the peculiar Offers of Protection that are made in Scripture to the Righteous 3. Of the Experience we have had of his Goodness hitherto and the Reason we therefore have still to depend upon him SECT I. First OF the Providence of God in general and the Care he takes of all his Creatures Concerning which the Holy Scriptures teach us that God * Ps 119.68 is good and delights in doing good that †147.5 great is our Lord and great is his Power and his Wisdom is infinite ‖ Isa 40.28 neither is there any searching of his understanding and consequently that he knows how to maintain and to govern the World and all things therein that as He at first * Jer. 10.12 made the Earth by his Power established the World by his Wisdom and stretched out the Heavens by his Discretion so he still †Heb. 1.3 upholds all things by the word of his Power and ‖ Job 12.10 hath in his hand the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind so that nothing can ever happen to any of us without his Order or at least his Permission All Creatures of whatever sort are his he made them and he is their true Proprietor and what then can be more natural than for his kindness to be extended to them He is the Author of all things as Minutius Felix * Octav. p. 317 318. speaks and he observes all things nor can ought be concealed from him for he is in the darkness and in our thoughts as in a second darkness insomuch that we not only live under him but may in a manner be said to live together with him Whatever good things any partake of they are wholly owing to the Bounty of this †S Ja. 1.17 Father of Lights from whom cometh every good and every perfect gift and ‖ Omne enim bonum nostrum aut ipse est aut ab ipso B. August de Doctrina Christianâ l. 1. c. 31. without whose benign Influence there is no subsisting one Moment He is every where present in the Heavens the Earth the Seas the Air or whatsoever part of the World sees all things whether animate or inanimate takes notice of what relation and dependance one of them has upon another beholds the whole Order of second Causes and wisely over-rules them all that they may serve to the best purposes * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. sâ—r l. 4. p 489. His goodness diffuses it self through all the Corrers of the Universe and by his unwearied Providence and Protection all kinds of Beings are sustained there being nothing in all the World too great to need his Care nor any thing so little that he doth not think fit to take care of it Particularly the excellent Beauty admirable Order and singular Usefulness of the Heavenly Bodies loudly proclaim a stupendous Hand of Providence preserving that Harmony amongst them and those regular Motions and Vicissitudes wherein we see them The contemplation whereof deeply affected the Holy Psalmist and made him break forth into that Divine Goodness * Ps 19.1 2 3. The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy Work Day unto day uttereth Speech and Night unto night sheweth knowledge There is no speech nor language where their Voice is not heard There is no place even in the remotest parts of the World where these glorious Tokens of his incessant Care do not abundantly manifest themselves †Job 9.9 10. He maketh Arcturus Orion and the Pleiades and the Chambers of the South and doth great things past finding out yea and wonders without Number Or if we change the Scene and look down upon this lower World this Terraqueous Globe the Scriptures abound with instances of his Care over it in divers Respects They tell us that (a) Ps 104.24 the Earth is full of his Riches (b) 1 Sam. 2.8 that the Pillars of it are the Lords and he at first set the World upon them and that he yet continues (c) Ps 75.3 to bear them up least it together with all its Inhabitants should be dissolved that (d) Ps 104.9 he prescribes the Waters of the Sea their bounds and (e) Psal 65.9 10 11. sends refreshing showers upon the Earth making it very fruitful that it is by his Order (f) Job 28 25. the winds blow and (g) Ps 107 25. the storms arise (h) Ps 77.18 the lightnings break forth and the thunders roar so terribly that (i) Psal 18.7 the Earth trembles at any time and the Foundations of the Hills are moved and shaken and again that he takes care of (k) Ps 104.11 the wild Asses (l) v. 18. the wild Goats and the Coneys (m) v. 21. the young Lions (n) 1 Cor. 9.9 the Oxen (o) Ps 29.9 the Hinds (p) Ps 50.11 and every Beast of the Field (q) Ps 104.20 and of the Forest (r) S. Matt. 6.28 most curiously adorns the Flowers (Å¿) v. 26. feeds (t) Ps 104.12 17. and provides Nets for the Birds (u) Ps 104 16. replenishes the Trees with Sap (w) v. 25 27. sustains the Fishes (x) Ps 145.16 opens his Hands and satisfies the Desire of every living thing and (y) S. Matt. 10.29 suffers not a Sparrow to fall to the Ground without his observation and to conclude (z) Ps 145.9 the Lord is good unto all and his tender mercies are over not this or that sort of Creature or in this or that part of the Earth or at one time and not at another but absolutely and indesinitely over all his Works But then as Mankind are more nearly related to himself being made after his likeness and designed for the perpetual enjoyment of his Divine Presence it is very reasonable to suppose that they should have a particular Interest in his Care And thus much therefore our Blessed Saviour as I have already hinted in part teaches in his Sermon upon the Mount dissuading from an eager solicitude for the things of this Life as from the Experience we have had of God's Goodness to our selves in giving us our Beings so likewise from the regard he has for the Birds and other meaner
hast also given me the shield of thy salvation and thy right hand hath holden me up and thy gentleness hath made me great Thou hast enlarged my steps under me that my feet did not slip I have pursued mine Enemies and overtaken them neither did I turn again till they were consumed I have wounded them that they were not able to rise they are fallen under my feet For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battel thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me c. Where the devout Psalmist at large ascribes all his Strength and the Success of it all his Advantages over his Enemies together with his ability for obtaining it solely to the defence and assistance of the Almighty He knew very well that it was not his own Sword nor his own Arm that brought him this Salvation but God's right hand and his arm and the light of his countenance because he had an Interest in his Favour And therefore saith he at another time * Ps 20.7 8. Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God They are brought down and fallen but we are risen and stand upright And again at another †44.6 7 8. I will not trust in my bow neither shall my sword save me But thou hast saved us from our enemies and hast put them to shame that hated us In God we boast all the day long and praise thy name for ever He was too sensible of his own Infirmities to expect Deliverance out of Trouble by his own means notwithstanding the many peculiar Advantages for it which his high station afforded him above those of a meaner rank And therefore when he found himself delivered his way was presently to break forth into Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving to the God of his salvation He had put his Trust in God before-hand as his best his only Safeguard and when he had obtained his End he ascribed the Praise of it not to himself but to God who enabled him to obtain it And that this would be a very proper course and highly becoming the greatest and best of Men to take still upon all occasions cannot be questioned by any who consider their miserable Insufficiency of themselves and the undoubted hazard whereto they expose their Affairs whensoever they venture to trust to any Humane Power for Safety whether it be to their own Authority and Command or to the Force of powerfull Confederates As I shall endeavour more particularly to prove 1. Wherefore to begin with the former of these Their own Authority and Command over others who are bound to be at their beck and venture the utmost in their service whensoever they are called to it This qualifies them for bold attempts and too frequently renders them the Pests of the World and Disturbers of Mankind but is very far from securing them against the very same mischiefs they design for others When once a confidence of their Strength makes them regardless of Almighty God the Lord of Hosts and the uncontroulable Sovereign of themselves and all their Forces upon what variety of disadvantages do they hereby cast themselves How many of them miscarry in their undertakings and never arrive at the Benefit the Glory or Gain the Honour or Profit they aspire after And of those that do how many are there who when advanced to the height of worldly Greatness yet find but little Satisfaction and perhaps less Security in it The Satyrist observed long agoe of the Romans That * Ad generum Gereris sine caede sanguine pauci Descendunt reges siccâ morte tyranni Juv. Sat. 10. to ascend the Throne amongst them was but to make way ordinarily for a more deadly fall and possibly before they were well warm in it And the Histories of all Ages and Countries contain too many Instances of this kind of persons who have hazarded their Souls Bodies Estates Honours Friends all that was dear to him to advance themselves and yet have not succeeded in their Attempts and of others who have succeeded for a while and yet have fallen far short of the Happiness they had vainly promised themselves and at length have died much more miserably and left their Posterity in a worse condition than if they had continued in their former obscurer Post And in truth how should it be otherwise when poor mortal Creatures take upon them to carve out their own Fortunes as if there were none above them to controul their Pride This may justly provoke God to put forth his Hand and humble them for their Insolence letting them see to their cost That * Ps 99.1 2. the Lord is King be the people never so impatient that he sitteth between the Cherubims be the earth never so unquiet and is great in Sion and high above all people And the Prophet Habakkuk denounces a woe against such that might well affright all who have any regard to it from ever daring thus to set their faces against Heaven †Hab. 29 10. Wo to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house that he may set his nest on high that he may be delivered from the power of evil Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people and hast sinned against thy soul Where the Prophet taxes the Babylonians with having used all means to raise themselves without sticking at the injustice of any of them that they had coveted what they had no right to and to obtain it had committed a great deal of Rapine and Bloodshed and made miserable Desolation in many places to the end that they might get above their Neighbours and might use them as barbarously as they pleased and not be afraid of them but might securely look down upon them as a Bird from her high-built Nest looks down without fear upon those Vermin whom she knows unable to reach her at that distance but he tells them withall that this care would not answer their Expectation for it should not tend to their Safety but their Ruine for all their Cruelty and Injustice should return upon themselves and as high as they had advanced themselves and as secure as they thought themselves in their usurped Power they should be brought down and subjected to the Dominion of the Medes Which came to pass not very long after but about 71 years if * Vet. Test Annal. An. Mundi 3466. Archbishop Vsher's Calculation be right when Darius came upon King Nabonidus otherwise called Belshazar at his impious Feast and took away the Kingdom from him together with his Life Which he did saith †Dan. 5.30 31. Daniel being about threescore and two years old Whence it may not be amiss to observe with the ‖ Chron. of the O. Test p. 134. learned Dr. Lightfoot That he was born in the year of Jehoiakim 's death and Jehoiakin 's Captivity and consequently that it pleased God to provide that
are wont to have a care of the things which have been produced by them Whence he observes the great vanity of conceiting God to have created so noble and well-composed a World and then to concern himself no farther about it This were to leave not Mankind only but all things else exposed to innumerable mischiefs and disorders and certain confusion and destruction and hence would represent Almighty God as acting with less consistence I say not then Mankind but then the meanest of his Creatures that are capable of acting at all Wherefore the gross absurdity of this supposal is a sufficient evidence of its falsity and consequently is a very good Argument to evince the certainty of a super-intending Providence III. As is also the Continuance of things in the state and order we see them in Nihil est quod possit sine ullo moderatore consistere Sic domus ab habitatore deserta dilabitur Navis sine gubernatore abit pessum Et corpus relictum ab animâ defluit Nedum putemus tantam illam molem aut construi sine artifice aut stare sine rectore tamdiu potuisse Lact. Instit l. 3. c. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just M. Arist dogm evers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salust Phil. de Diis mundo c. 7. A Man cannot build a House but it will be thenceforward decaying and if neglected it soon becomes ruinous and useless and though no unexpected Accident happen to destroy it in a little time it perishes of it self except due care be taken to repair it Have a Ship into the Ocean and leave it there without any to direct or steer it and what else can be looked for than that it be lost especially if it be in a place of danger and the season prove tempestuous Our own Bodies in like manner frail and feeble as we are if not constantly supplied with food for their nourishment and sometimes with Physick for their relief against the frequent Distempers to which they are liable quickly moulder into dust And after all our care for their Preservation it is not long we can hope to prop them up before according to the course of Nature we shall be gathered to our Fathers Whereto if the many unforeseen Mischiefs be added to which our selves and all things else are every day obnoxious there is no appearance of security in whatsoever condition Whence then are we all preserved in being but from the good Omnia quae naturaliter propterea rectè feruntur Providentiae custodiâ gubernantur Apul de Habit. Doct Plat. l 1. Providence of God continually watching over us for our support Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. Jud. de legat ad Caium what else could possibly keep us as we are but that Almighty Hand of his from whence we at first proceeded And what clearer proof therefore would any one desire of a Divine Providence than that this being the case the face of things should however after so many thousand years remain much the same that was at first that the same Heavens the same Earth the same Species of Animals c. that were created at the beginning should thus continue from generation to generation He that can conceive this to be the effect of any thing else but an infinitely wise and uncontroulable Power need not fear to set up for the defence of any the grossest paradox in the World IV. The excellent Harmony of the several parts of the World that they are not only preserved in being Aequabilitatem motus conversionem coeli solis lunae siderumque omnium distinctionem utilitatem pulchritudinem ordinem quarum rerum aspectus ipse satis indicaret non esse fortuita Cic. de nat Deor. l. 2. c. 5. Nec enim tanta rerum magnitudo tanta dispositio tanta in servandis ordinibus temporibusque constantia aut olim potuit sine provido artifice oriri aut constare tot saeculis sine incola potenti aut in perpetuum gubernari sine perito rectore quod ratio ipsa declarat Lact. de irâ Dei c. 10. At cur dispositis vicibus consurgere signa Et velut imperio praescriptos reddere cursus Cernimus c. Manil. Astron l. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Salust phil de Diis Mundo c. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Arr. Epictet l. 1. c. 6. but act by constant Laws and Methods plainly declares an invisible Hand of Providence over-ruling them If infinite Wisdom were to direct the different seasons of the year or appoint the course of the Planets or limit the returns of day and night how could they be expected to be otherwise than they are now all proceeding in due order and serving their proper end the glory of God and the benefit of Mankind If infinite Power were to display it self in the Government of the World what other effects of it could be hoped for than that it should prescribe the Sea its proper limits lest it should otherwise overwhelm the Earth should give us rain from heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness should allow Man the dominion over the beasts of the Earth that they prevail not against him nor destroy him should cause those amazing productions which are constantly seen in Trees and Plants and Minerals should keep all the Elements in aequilibrio that neither of them may prevail over the other should dispose all second Causes to the best advantage and in fine should oblige them all to operate after the same manner that we daily see they do And if infinite Goodness were to unite with both these what more could be desired from such a blessed Conjunction than that all due Care be taken of particular Persons and of whole Societies both to preserve them in being and to supply them with all needfull blessings And why then whilst these effects appear should we any more doubt as Nunquid hi qui sub Romanorum imperio sunt quamvis nunquam viderint Imperatorem sed valdè per mare per terram separati ab eo cognoscent propter Dominum eum qui maximam Potestatem habet Principatus c. Iren. l. 2. c. 5. Irenaeus argues of their true Cause than they who lived in the remoter Territories of the Roman Empire doubted whether there were an Emperour at Rome when they were governed by him though by reason of their distance from his Imperial City they had never seen him That we have variety of weather suitable to our necessities that the Earth produces plenty of usefull fruits store of beautifull and fragrant Flowers Grass and Wood and Minerals of divers sorts that it furnishes us with food to live upon with cloaths to wear with materials for Houses to dwell in with medicinal Herbs and Waters and with ornamental Rarities that the Sea serves for maintaining Commerce through the several parts of the Globe that this also affords food and other considerable advantages that we have a healthfull Air
the forementioned Paraphrast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the King the Messiah say both Jonathan's and the Jerusalem Targum but then this implies according to all common construction that at his coming or at least not long after it they might reasonably expect to be reduced to this desolate condition Nor were they only to lose their Government and be subjected to a foreign Power but to be cast out of their own Land and scattered over the several parts of the Earth They had been threatned upon their rebellion against Almighty God of which they could not possibly give a greater instance than in crucifying his only-begotten and well-beloved Son they had been threatned I say to Deut. 28.25 be removed into all the Kingdoms of the Earth to be Ver. 64. scattered among all people from the one end of the Earth even unto the other and S. Luk. 21.24 to be led away captive into all nations They were Hos 9.15 to be driven out of God's house to be no longer owned by him as his People his Segullah his chosen and beloved Nation for he would Ibid. love them no more he would not always continue that peculiar favour to them which they had so long enjoyed but had most grosly abused He had decreed to Ver. 17. cast them away because they did not hearken unto him that they should be wanderers among the nations The summ is that the Jewish Church and Polity were but temporary and were therefore to have an end when the measure of their iniquities should be filled up That obdurate People were then to remain no longer in their own Land but to have their Worship as well as their City and Temple abolished and were to become thenceforward a sort of vagabonds in the Earth having no Nation or Government of their own nor being permitted to live in any one Country but dispersed by parcels over the several Kingdoms and other Territories of the Earth And whether this remarkable Prophecy has been since as remarkably fulfilled is no manner of Question For as for the ten Tribes it seems generally believed that they never returned into Palaestine after their Captivity by 1 Chron. 5.26 2 King 15.19 Pul the King of Assyria and 2 King 15.29 Tiglath-Pileser his Successour and 2 King 17.6 Shalmaneser after him Spes Israelis Sect. 16 c. Manasseh Ben Israel thinks he has sufficiently proved it and Naphtali l. 1. c. 1. Calvert owns it to be the received opinion of both Jews and Christians at least as to the greatest part of them Though withall he reckons himself L. 2. c. 1 c. to have confuted it by the divers Arguments he brings against it Whether of these is in the right I shall not now stand to enquire but only shall observe that if the former then what if this Prediction related to the ten Tribes was undoubtedly executed upon them long before our Saviour's Incarnation and not for his Death but for their Idolatries and all their other Crimes whereby they had provoked God to cast them off if the latter they were then united to and included in the Kingdom of Judah and so must be supposed to have ever since undergone the same fate with the two Tribes And Josephus De bello Jud. l. 6. c. 45. alibi tells us what miserable slaughter was made of these at the sacking of Jerusalem what vast numbers of them were destroyed and others carried into captivity by the Romans And under the Emperor Adrian D. Chrysost adv Jud. l. 2. Euseb Eccl. hist l. 4. c. 2. other Writers inform us that their calamities encreased upon them when being engaged in an insurrection against him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. an incredible multitude of them were put to death and their Leader Barchochab being taken and made to suffer for his rebellion the remainder of them were forbid to come near Jerusalem and Sulpic. Sever. sacr hist l. 2. a Guard set to keep them off if they should attempt it And Dispersi palabundi coeli soli sui extorres vagantur per orbem sine nomine sine Deo Rege quibus nec advenarum jure terram patriam saltem vestigio salutare conceditur Tert. Apol. c. 21. Tertullian and Dispersi palabundi vagantur soli coeli sui profugi per hospitia aliena jactantur D. Cypr. de Idololat S. Cyprian testifie for their times that they were dispersed and wandred about banished from their native air and soil and seeking entertainment amongst other nations being without a Name and without God for their King and not permitted to set a foot upon their own land a privilege that no strangers are denied And under Constantine the Great Adv. Judaeos l. 2. their Ears were cut off and a mark impressed upon their Body betokening their Rebellion and so they were carried about as a spectacle for the terrour of others that might have been inclinable to the like attempts as S. Chrysostome relates in the place before referred to and Annal. Eccl. To. 3.315.9 Baronius from him who places it in the 315th year of our Saviour And the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adv. Jud. l. 1. p. 318. S. Chrysostome affirms concerning them and wonders at the Providence of God so ordering it that whilst all the World where they might not offer Sacrifice was open to them and they had liberty to betake themselves to the several parts of it Jerusalem the only place appointed pointed for this sort of Worship was inaccessible to them And it is visible to this day that they still remain as he speaks of them in another place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. D. Chrysost in Ps 8. To. 1. p. 577. Vagabonds and fugitives and wanderers travellers both by Sea and Land without any fix'd and certain habitations deprived of their Freedom Country and Priesthood and all that they were wont to value themselves upon scattered amonost barbarous and innumerable people hated of all Men abominated and apt to be hardly dealth with by all What Nation is there under Heaven that bears not testimony to this truth where is it that some of them are not to be met with and yet what place is there that has any considerable number of them They have no-where any Prince or Governour of their own but live under some other Power no-where any settled Polity distinct from that of the Country where they sojourn no Priesthood no convenience of offering up any Sacrifice as heretofore during their abode in Canaan no-where the freedom of their own Laws are no-where beloved or much regarded And yet they remain Jews still distinguished from all other people and as zealous as ever for their own Law and as profess'd Enemies as ever to that most holy Religion the contempt whereof has cost them so dear for many Generations God in his just judgment upon them having so ordered it that they continue a perpetual Monument of his heavy Displeasure against them and a sure Evidence of
the Truth and Certainty of the Predictions both of our blessed Saviour and of the Prophets who had been before him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. Whilst they only abused affronted and slew the Servants of God the Messengers that he had commissioned to warn them of their sins and the punishments due to them killing the Prophets and stoneing those that were sent to them he was ready to be reconciled and to pass by their iniquities but since they had dared to crucifie his Son his dearly-beloved Son the case has been altered with them and their wound has been incurable they have not been in a capacity to regain their former station nor to make any figure in the World As of old he most wonderfully manifested his Providence over them in conducting them into and settling them in the good Land of Canaan in vouchsafing them his especial Presence in magnifying them above their Enemies round about and in all the Miracles he wrought for them so doth he it now also in a very eminent manner in thus signalizing them from amongst the rest of the World to Deut. 28.37 become an astonishment a proverb and a by-word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead them as he had threatned by Moses to deal with them upon their disobedience Which I have the rather chosen to insist upon because being plain matter of fact at this time it leaves no room to doubt whether God has been mindfull to make good his Predictions in this respect and by consequence the consideration hereof administers an irrefragable Argument for the proof of an over-ruling Providence Thus much of Prophecies and their suitable accomplishments 2. Miracles are another extraordinary and very convincing and satisfactory evidence of the interposition of Providence and which may well silence all its most audacious Adversaries These are what no natural Power can possibly effect And therefore when we either see them or are otherwise well assured that they have been wrought it is intolerably unreasonable not to believe them to have proceeded from a supernatural Operation Whatsoever evasions may be found out in divers other cases for avoiding the force of whatever Arguments are brought for a Providence there is no pretence for it here For Miracles are an ocular Demonstration that there is some supream uncontroulable Power that can upon occasion invert the usual course of things bringing its ends about in an unwonted manner But no-where is this sort of evidence set forth with that advantage as in the holy Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament each of which abound with very surprizing instances of this nature Such in the first place was the universal Deluge which washed away the old World but whereof Gen. 6.17 Noah had been fore-warned and from which Gen. 7.23 2 S. Pet. 2.5 himself and his family were wonderfully preserved to re-people the Earth Such was the destruction Gen. 19.24 c. of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from Heaven And such also though in yet a less degree were the divers Exod. 7 c. sorts of Plagues that were brought upon Egypt by the Ministry of Moses and most of them removed again at his request and his Ch. 14.21 22. dividing the Sea and making it stand up as a Wall on each side while the Israelites passed through and then causing it to return to its wonted course and so to Ver. 27 28. overwhelm Pharaoh and all his Host Such was God's immediate Presence with his people Ch. 13.21 22. in a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night to direct them in their journey to the promised Land Such likewise were Numb 20.11 Moses's bringing forth water out of the hard Rock meerly by the stroke of a Rod Josh 10.13 Joshua's stopping the Sun in the midst of its career 1 King 17.16 Elijah's multiplying the Widow's cruise of oyl and barrel of meal Ch. 18 38 39. and his confuting Baal's Prophets by a fire from Heaven that both consumed the Sacrifice and dried up the water upon the Altar and in the trenches that were about it Jud. 5.20 the Stars fighting in their courses against Sisera and his Army when as Antiq. l. 5. c. 6. Josephus relates the Heavens poured down a prodigious storm of water and hail which beating in their faces discomposed them to that degree as to render their bows and slings and swords useless for their defence the falling of the Walls of Jericho Josh 6.20 upon the People's shouting and the Priests blowing with Trumpets Exod. 16.14 15. the raining of Manna from Heaven for six days in the week Ver. 27. and not the seventh Ver. 13. Numb 11.31 the Quails that came up from the Sea and covered the Camp and many other instances of God's Almighty Power together with 1 King 17.22 2 King 4.35 13.21 some few raised from death to life amongst the Jews And if we descend to the time of our blessed Saviour's incarnation and the following Ages it would be almost an endless task to recount what sick were restored to health only with a word speaking what lunaticks were recovered to a soundness of understanding what lames what leprous what paralyticks what deafs what dumbs what blinds were cured what Demoniacks were dispossessed how the dead were raised to life the graves were opened the rocks were split the vail of the Temple was rent the Earth quaked the prison-doors unlocked and the chains fell off from the prisoners of their own accord how Act. 9.3 c. S. Paul was converted by a voice and a light from Heaven as he was travelling to Damascus how our blessed Lord appeared to Ch. 7.55 S. Stephen at his Martyrdom in what a wonderfull manner Ch. 2.1 c. the Holy-Ghost descended upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost and what were the stupendous effects of this descent such as speaking with tongues the interpretation of tongues discerning of spirits healing the sick and infirm of divers diseases casting out Devils and the like Some of which continued afterwards in the Church for some Ages untill our Religion was sufficiently propagated and confirmed As the generality of the Writers of those times inform us and amongst others Apol. 1 2. Justin Martyr L. 2. c. 57. Irenaeus Apol. c. 5 c. 32. ad Scap. c. 2. Tertullian P. 89 90. Minucius Felix C. Cels l. 7. p. 334. Origen Adv. Gentes l. 2. Arnobius Retract l. 1. c. 13. de civ Dei l. 22. c. 8. alibi S. Augustine De viro perfecto To. 9. S. Jerome and L. 5. c. 7. Eusebius Whereto if we add that a great part at least of these Miracles were wrought in the sight as well of Heathens as of Christians and many times for their advantage and upon their persons and again that they were not done privately or in a corner but openly and before the Sun in the high-ways and the streets at feasts and marriage-entertainments in the fullest assemblies and before the greatest numbers
Atheism but depth in Philosophy bringeth Mens Minds about to Religion so here though a superficial view of the Hardships and Tortures these Saints endured may represent their case as very deplorable a more perfect insight into it will soon confute this notion by manifesting them to have had a singular interest in God's favour and been his peculiar care because it could not otherwise have been that they should so courageously bear up against those multitudes of heavy pressures under which Flesh and Blood must of it self have inevitably sunk The summe is That God is always mindful of them that cast their Care upon him and always ready to assist them though not always the same way He suits his Kindness to Mens Trust in him and by how much the stronger and better settled this is so much the more they may expect of his Relief So that the less we depend upon our selves and the more heartily we apply to him for Succour in the better case we are at present and are like besides to be continually improving in his Favour and hence to enjoy yet greater measures of strength and the more lasting safety Which being the natural effect of a steady dependance upon God the more our Confidence in him increases the more will his Concern for us increase and the more his Concern for us increases the more still will our Confidence in him increase till by degrees we find to our unspeakable comfort that there is no Security like trusting in him no Life like living upon his Providence no Support in evil times no Ease no Satisfaction no Happiness on this side Heaven like casting all our Care upon him SECT II. II. THIS Duty of Trusting in God is farther useful for quieting our Minds in all Conditions This World being a place of continual Troubles and Disappointments where * Luctus ultrices posuere cubilia curae Pallentesque habitant morbi tristisque senectus Et metus malesuada fames turpis egestas Aeneid 6. Sorrows and Cares and Sicknesses and the decays and infirmities of Age and Fear and Hunger and Want have taken up their abode whatsoever tends to lessen these seldom fails of being esteemed worthy of a regard suitable to the benefit expected from it The Error is generally on the other hand that Men spend too much time and take too much pains for this Life to the hazard of their eternal state Like Martha their diligence about many things occasions the neglect of the one thing needful all their study being too often only how they may make themselves happy here To which end no labour is thought too hard so there appear any probability of an advantage by it as if all our business in this World had been only to make provision for our short continuance in it And yet when all is done the uncertainty of success in our wisest undertakings shews beyond contradiction that there is no surer way to a perfect enjoyment of one's self than a serious preparation of Mind for all Events Hereby a Man's Thoughts are composed that before were in continual agitation fluctuating and tossed a-about with every blast of Fortune always in fear and always busied with vain Contrivances for the future never at ease and hardly hoping to be so Experience convinces him of his own inability to determine his own portion either of Joy or Grief Happiness or Misery or to prevent a thousand chances which may happen to cross his Designs in spight of his utmost power and foresight When he has employed all his Skill and Dexterity all his ingenuity Wisdom and Prudence in laying a long train for compassing his Ends he knows not what diversity of unexpected accidents may make it miscarry at least preventing its intended operation perhaps giving it a quite contrary issue And whilst he remains in this wavering uncertain state it is impossible he should have any true enjoyment of himself or whatsoever he most delights in It is only a sure Trust in God that can free him from the burden of his wild roving Fancies his fruitless Projects and tormenting Cares And this it doth by rendring him 1. Less afraid of any appearance of Danger 2. Less affected with any Evils that befal him 3. Less solicitous for the future 1. First I say a sure Trust in God renders persons less afraid of any appearance of danger whether real or imaginary only It must be acknowledged that a great part of many Men's fears are perfectly chimerical the meer product of their own idle or melancholick Fancies filling their Heads with needless Jealousies of what is never like to come to pass but yet the dread whereof breeds no less uneasiness in their Minds than if they certainly foreknew that thus it must be Quire contrary to him at * Athenae Deipnosoph l. 12. p. ult Athens who viewing the Port there and observing the Ships coming in to unlade their Burdens conceited them all to be his own and pleased himself as much with the conceit as if it had been true They expect e're long to groan under all the Evils they observe to befall others though in very different circumstances and whence there is no pretence to conclude that themselves shall become their Fellow-sufferers And * Quis enim potest mortem aut dolorem metuens quorum alterum saepe adest alterum semper impendet esse non miser Cic. Tusc Quaest l. 5. this Expectation is almost as bad to them as if they really felt the Pains and Aches in their Bodies the Wants or Losses in their outward Estates the Contempt and Reproaches or whatsoever sort of grievances they apprehend themselves most liable to Now it is some commendation of a steady Reliance upon God that it effectually removes whatever disturbances arise from this source and teaches persons rather to employ their Thoughts in meditating upon the manifold inestimable Blessings they may reasonably hope for at the hand of a most gracious Father who is infinitely good in himself and whose delight it is to be incessantly doing good to his poor Creatures It furnishes their Minds with a more agreeable sort of Contemplations and so at once diverts their wonted Suspicions and administers a supply of substantial Comforts instead thereof By directing them patiently to wait for the completion of all God's Promises it sets them above the power of many anxious surmises whereto they were before in bondage But it is much more considerable that a hearty exercise of this Duty is an admirable Preparation for those more real Dangers which encompass us at every turn There is no living without frequent crosses and frequenter just grounds of fear especially in times of any publick Disturbances or other common Calamities And these will sadly imbitter the utmost happiness a Man can hope to attain to at present and must inevitably overthrow it unless prevented by a chearful expectation of safety from above * Equidem sapientem illum conscientiâ suâ fretum fecurum