us but in all probability it had a good effect upon very many as we find it had in one remarkable Instance of a little Maid who being taken Captive was the occasion of the Cure of Naaman's Leprosie and of his Conversion to the Worship of the True God who before was known to him by his Name Jehovah 2 King v. 11. The Prophet Elisha was well known by the Syrians to be a Prophet and Ben-hadad sent to enquire of the Lord by him chap. viii 8. Rabshakeh speaks in the Jews Language and pretends a Commission from the Lord that is from Jehovah the God of the Jews when he came against Jerusalem Isa xxxvi 10 11. God himself appeals to the knowledge of Sennacherib King of Assyria Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it and of ancient times that I have formed it Isa xxxvii 26. And Rabbi Shemaiah and Rabbi Abtalion are (r) Lightfoot Harm Luke iv 15. p. 612. said to have been Proselytes of Righteousness of the Posterity of Sennacherib Pharaoh Necho King of Aegypt alledges God's Command when he came to fight against Carchemish 2 Chron. xxxv 21 22. But our present Enquiry is not so much what the Effect was as what Means were afforded of Salvation For though it be requisite that the True Revealed Religion should be published to the World yet it is not necessary to prove the Truth of a Religion to shew that obstinate Men have taken notice of it so far as to consider and believe it because it is not necessary that God should force his Laws upon Men but only that he should discover them and afford Men sufficient Means to know them and become the better for them To proceed then The Philistines were in a wonderful Consternation when they understood that the Ark was brought into the Camp 1 Sam. iv 7 8. And when it was taken by them it was more terrible to them than the Enemy if he had conquer'd them could have been they were tormented with Diseases and Plagues wheresoever the Ark was carried and their God was so little able to help them that he fell down before it and was broken in pieces whereof they retained a Memorial in the Worship of him ever after in not treading upon the Threshold of Dagon in Ashdod because he had lost the Palms of his Hands by falling upon it 1 Sam. v. 4 5. The Philistines at last received a miraculous Overthrow by Thunder 1 Sam. vii 10. And these were so remarkable Judgments that they must be left without all excuse who did not forsake their Idolatries and turn to the Living God who had thus manifested himself amongst them The Vrim and Thummim (s) Judg i. 1. xx 18 23 26. 1 Sam. xviii 6. xxiii 9. xxx 7 8. was consulted upon any great Undertaking whereby God returned his Answer and often-times before the Battel gave assurance of Victory which was so well known among the Heathen that they called it the Oracle (t) Joseph Antiq. l. 3. c. 10. Josephus says the Answer was returned by the shining of the Stones in the High-Priest's Breast-plate in such a manner as that it was visible to all the People standing by The miraculous Victories of Saul and Jonathan and David and David's stay with Achish King of the Philistines at Gath and the Favour and Confidence which he gained with that King gave the Canaanites still repeated Opportunities and Motives to Conversion and Repentance and we may observe Achish in discourse with David mentioning the Name of the Lord or Jehovah and swearing by his Name 1 Sam. xxix 6. Which shews the infinite Mercy and Compassion of God towards this People devoted to Destruction in that he would not take them away suddenly but by little and little giving them space for repentance and turning that which might seem to rash Judges a hard fate into a Means of Salvation both to themselves and others David extended his Conquest far and near and was renowned throughout all those Countreys And the fame of David went out into all lands and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations 1 Chron. xiv 17. and when God had delivered him out of the hand of all his Enemies he makes this Resolution Therefore I will give thanks to thee O Lord among the heathen and will sing praises unto thy name 2 Sam. xxii 50. Psal xviii 49. Declare his glory among the heathen his wonders among all people Say among the heathen that the Lord is King Psal xcvi 3 10. He knew this to be the Design of God in the Dispensations of his Providence and accordingly he made this Use of it with so good effect that in the beginning of Solomon's Reign the Strangers or Proselytes in the Land were found to be an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred 2 Chron. ii 17. In Solomon's Reign the Kingdom of Israel became yet more famous and flourishing Hiram King of Tyre held great Correspondence with Him and Kimchi after him Dr. Lightfoot (u) Lightfoot Chorograph Decâ—d on St. Mark c. 6. § 2. p. 311. understands by 2 Chron. viii 2. that Hiram gave Cities to Solomon in his own Land who placed Israclites in them and He in like manner gave Cities to Hiram in Galilee 1 King ix 11. in Confirmation of the League between them The Letters which passed between Solomon and Hiram (x) Theoph. ad Autâ—lyc l. 3. p. 254. were extant in the time of Josephus and from his time down to Theophilus Antiochenus Hiram blesseth the Lord God of Israel that made heaven and â—arth 2 Chron. ii 12. 1 King v. 7. which shews that he had a true Notion and Sense of Religion And Tyre was a place of great Trade and Commerce Ezek. xxvii from whence the Jews were afterwards sold to the Graecians Joel iii. 6. there was no place of greater Traffick nor that sent out more Colonies or greater or into more distant Parts of the World and therefore none could be more proper to establish a Correspondence with from whence Religion might be better propagated The Queen of Sheba came to see the Glory of Solomon's Kingdom 1 King ix 10. and blesseth the Lord his God chap. x. 9. who according to (y) Joseph Antiq. l. â— c. 6. Josephus was Queen both of Aegypt and Aethiopia His Wisdom was every where magnified Ard there câ—me of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom chap. iv 34. All the earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart chap. x. 24. His Dominions were exceeding great He reigned over all the kings from the river Euphrates even unto the land of the Philistines and to the border of Aegypt 2 Chron. ix 26. The Trade and Correspondence of the Israelites with foreign Nations was mightily advanc'd in his time their Trade extended as far as Tarshish and Ophir Tarshish
1 King xiii 2. and this was foretold by a Prophet who came out of Judah purposely to denounce the Judgments of God upon the Priests of the Altar and upon the Altar it self which Jeroboam had newly set up at Bethel when Jeroboam stood by the Altar to burn Incense and his Prediction at the same time was confirmed by Two Miracles one wrought upon Jeroboam himself by drying up his hand which he stretched forth against the Prophet and which by the Prophet's Prayer was restored again whole to him as it was before the other Miracle was wrought upon the Altar by rending it and pouring out the Ashes from it And a Prophecy delivered in the presence and to the face of an enraged Prince against the Religion of his own setting up to secure to himself the Kingdom he so lately became possessed of at the very time when he was offering Incense upon his New Altar And this Prophecy confirmed by an immediate Judgment both upon the King himself and his Altar in the sight of so numerous an Appearance as must be present on so solemn an occasion and these Enemies to the Prophet who came from Judah and to his Religion a Prophecy thus delivered had all the Circumstances to make it remarkable and notorious in all the Tribes both of Israel and Judah then at hostility with each other that can almost be conceived And yet the strange Death of the Prophet of Judah for transgressing by his own confession the Word of the Lord to him and his Sepulchre with its Title or Inscription still remaining at Bethel when Josiah demolished the Altar there gave a further confirmation to it The fulfilling of this Prophecy by Josiah was no less remarkable 2 King xxiii 15. Josiah was the Son of a very wicked King and born at a time when the People were exceedingly corrupted by the Idolatry of his Grandfather Manasses and his Sons likewise proved wicked so that he was so singular in his Piety and so wonderful an Example of it that no Man of his own Age could have imagin'd that of him which had been fo retold so many hundred years ago In all humane appearance this was a very unlikely time to see that Prophecy fulfilled and that which had been wonderful in any Age was much more wonderful in this and in so wicked an Age this good King set about the Work of Reformation very young to shew that it was not of Men but of God The Deliverance of Judah at Jehoshaphat's Prayer was foretold by Jahaziel in the midst of the Congregation and was accomplished accordingly by their Enemies destroying one another 2 Chron. xx Elijah foretold that the Dogs should lick Ahab's Blood in Jezreel where they had licked the Blood of Naboth which as (b) Joseph Antiquit. l. 8. c. 10. Josephus says was objected by Zedekiah one of the False Prophets against Micaiah who foretold that Ahab should be slain at Ramoth-gilead but he was brought home in his Chariot from Ramoth-gilead to Samaria and there the Dogs licked his Blood in Jezreel 1 King xxii 38. so that both the Prophecy of Elijah and Michaiah was fulfilled And when one Prophet seems contrary to another one foretelling the principal thing and another some accidental circumstance which those that were present and most concerned in the Action could not imagine till it happened and False Prophets in the mean time watch the Events to take all Advantages from it against the True Prophets and can find none nothing more can be desired to assure us of the Truth of any Prophecy The same Prophet foretold the like Judgment upon Jezabel and that the House of Ahab should be like the House of Jereboam and like the House of Baasha the Destruction of both which had been foretold by other Prophets and their Prophecies fulfilled as this of Elijah's also was Elijah by a Writing sent to Jehoram King of Judah foretold his Death and the strange manner of it viz. That after the loss of his Children and his Wives and all his Goods he should be afflicted in his Bowels and that his Bowels should fall out by degrees 2 Chron. xxi 12. The same Prophet not only foretold the Death of Ahaziah but caused Fire twice to come down from Heaven upon those who were sent to Apprehend him 2 King i. And at his Prayer Fire descended from Heaven and consumed the Sacrifice in the sight of Baal's Prophets being Four hundred and fifty to whom Elijah who was the only Prophet of the Lord there present had made this Proposal The God that answereth by fire let him be God And when Baal notwithstanding all their hideous Cries and the cutting themselves did not hear them then upon Elijah's Prayer the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench 1 King xviii 38. which was the same Miracle repeated in the midst of Idolaters who were so enraged and provoked against the Prophet Elijah that had been before wrought in the sight of the People of Israel in the time of Moses Lev. ix 24. and of David 1 Chron. xxi 26. and at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple 2 Chron. vii 1. (c) Cyril contra Julian l. 10. And this Miracle of Elijah in bringing down Fire from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice and that of Moses in like manner were both confessed to be true by Julian the Apostate himself The miraculous Cure of Naaman's Leprosie must be notorious throughout the Kingdoms both of Syria and Israel 2 King v. The wonderful Deliverance of the Israelites when the Syrians heard a noise of Horses and Chariots and therefore raised the Siege of Samaria and the Plenty which followed was foretold by Elisha with a Judgment upon that Lord who doubted of the Truth of his Prediction The same Prophet foretold the Death of Benhadad King of Syria and that he should neither recover of his Sickness nor die a Natural Death And the Reign of Hazael who succeeded him is describ'd in such true and dreadful Characters that Hazael thought it impossible for him to be guilty of so much cruelty 2 King vii viii The Leprosie inflicted upon Vzziah for presuming to burn Incense unto the Lord which it was lawful for the Priests only to do was a permanent Miracle for his Leprosie continued till his death and for that reason he lived separately and his Son from that time had the administration of Affairs 2 King xv 5. and this Miracle of the Leprosie was accompanied with a terrible Earthquake mention'd Zech. xiv 5. Amos i. 1. and the (c) Joseph Antiquit. l. 9. c. 11. Ruines which were caused by the Earthquake remained as a perpetual Memorial of the Judgment An Hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians were slain by an Angel of the Lord in one Night 2 King xix 35. and this Deliverance was foretold by Isaiah when the Assyrians were in
THE REASONABLENESS AND CERTAINTY OF THE Christian Religion BY ROBERT JENKIN Chaplain to the Right Honourable the EARL of EXETER and late Fellow of St. John's College in Cambridge The Second Edition Enlarged LONDON Printed for P. B. and R. Wellington at the Dolphin and Crown the West-end of St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. TO The Right Honourable JOHN EARL of EXETER May it please Your Lordship THE general Decay and Contempt of the Christian Religion amongst us has made me think that I could not better employ the Leisure which by Your Lordship's Favour I enjoy than in using my best Endeavours to shew the Excellency and the Certainty of it And what I have done is here humbly presented to your Lordship as of Right and upon many Accounts it ought to be The Honour and the Satisfaction which I have often had to hear Your Lordship speak in the behalf of Religion and Virtue encourage me to hope that a Performance though but such as this upon that Subject may obtain your Acceptance And the Name only of a Person of your Lordship's Honour and Learning and Knowledge of the World may perhaps be of more advantage to the Cause I undertake than any thing I have been able to write Religion may seem by Descent and as it were by Inheritance to belong to Your Lordship's Care The Wisdom and Piety of Your Great Ancestor appear to distant Ages in the Reformation which through the Blessing of God was in so great a measure by His means establish'd in this Kingdom And I have with Joy often thought that I could observe the Spirit and Genius of my Lord Treasurer BVRGHLEY now exerting it self more than ever in your Noble Family From whence methinks we may presage Happiness to the Nation and may yet expect to see a true sense of Religion revive and may hope that even in our days Christianity amongst English-men shall be more than a Name which is every where spoken against An eminent Vertue is a Publick Good There is a powerful and commanding Force in Great Examples to countenance Vertue and discourage Vice and Profaneness to make Irreligion appear as it is base and contemptible in the World to degrade it and thrust it down among the lower and untaught part of Mankind Much is not to be expected from the Schools and from the Gown under such Contempt and Discouragement But the Great and the Honourable have it in their Power to do great things things worthy of Themselves and for the Advancement of God's Glory Persons of High Birth and both by Nature and Education fitted for the Highest Undertakings whose Vertues shall flourish with their Years and add New Lustre to their Hereditary Honours may yet regain a due Esteem to Religion and adorn the Gospel of Christ This is a proper Object for the Ambition of generous aspiring Minds to express their Gratitude to Him who has placed them so much above the rest of the World and when they find themselves happy now to disdain to aim at any thing less than Everlasting Happiness hereafter To be Miserable after Happiness is an Aggravation of Misery But to receive Eternal Blessings as the Fruits and Improvement of such as are Temporal is the Privilege of those whom God has been pleased to distinguish from others by his Mercies and who distinguish themselves by a regard to his Honour and Service All that know Burghley and who is there almost that doth not know it are surprised with Wonder and Delight to observe what Art can do and to behold the Splendor and the Magnificence of Foreign Countries in our own But the Glories and Rewards of Vertue shall continue when Burghley it self and the World shall be no more and will make Death but a Passage and an Advancement from one Palace from one Honour to another and a Removal only from the uncertain Riches and imperfect Felicities of this Life to the Mansions of Eternal Bliss in Heaven That these my Endeavours may prove but in any measure serviceable to the Ends of Religion and Virtue and thereby to the Glory and Happiness of your Honourable Family in this and a better World is My Lord the unfeigned Desire and Prayer of Your Lordship 's Most Humble and most Obedient Servant and Chaplain R. Jenkin THE PREFACE I Am sensible that the Publication of a Treatise of this nature will be liable to Exceptions from those for whose Vse and Benefit it is chiefly design'd who will be ready to lay hold of all Pretences to avoid the being convinc'd of what they have so little mind to believe They will be apt to say That if the Truth of Religion be so certain and so evident as it is maintain'd to be there could be little need of so many Discourses upon this Argument for it is no sign of Certainty when tho' such a number of Books are Publish'd of this kind that so many Men of Learning and Parts have written upon the Subject yet others it seems are not satisfy'd in their Performances but are continually offering something new upon it They will likewise object That many of the Professors and Ministers of Religion do not live as if they believ'd themselves at least not as if they were so very certain of what they teach and that if there were so great Certainty there never could be so many Vnbelievers but all who had heard of it must needs be convinc'd by such Evidence I shall therefore shew here That the Number of Books written on this Subject doth not prove the Vncertainty of Religion but rather the contrary and that the ill Lives of Men is no Argument against the Religion they profess And then I shall enquire how it comes to pass That a Religion which carries so plain and convincing Evidence along with it should yet by too many be disbeliev'd or disregarded 1. To the First Thing it might be sufficient to say That the Number of Writers is a great Confirmation of the Truth of our Religion since as many as have undertaken the Proof of it have always agreed in the main Evidence and differ only in Method or in the Management of particular Arguments And though all have not written with equal Strength and Clearness yet there is not I believe one Author but has brought sufficient Arguments to confute the Adversaries of Religion They are pleas'd indeed to think otherwise But they may at least take notice how obvious it is that if this Objection prove any thing it must prove That there is no such thing as Certainty in the World because there is no Art nor Science concerning which divers Treatises are not daily Publish'd But are therefore the Natures of Vertue and Vice uncertain Is it the less certain whether Justice Temperance and common Honesty be Vertues or whether Murther Adultery and Theft be Crimes because Laws are made and Sermons daily preach'd concerning these Things Or can any Man doubt That these Crimes often meet with severe Punishments even in this
is translated Carthage by the Septuagint Isa xxiii 6. but is supposed to be Tartessus in Spain though St. Jerom (z) 〈◊〉 in â—â— c. 1. 〈◊〉 thought it to be in the Indies And Ophir was as many learned Men think in the Indies beyond the River Ganges in Pegu or at least Solomon's Merchants did traffick with the Indian that came from those Parts others have imagined Ophir to be Zephala or Cephala in Africa towards the Cape of Good-Hope some think it to be Ceylon or Sumatra some are of opinion that it was in America all are agreed that it must be in some very distant part of the World and where-ever it were the Traffick and Dealings which the Israelites had there was a great opportunity to the Heathen to become instructed in the True Religion The Traffick and Voyages by Sea and Expeditions by Land in Solomon's Reign rendred the People of Israel highly renowned and caused their Laws and Customs and Religion to be much observed and enquired into and even the Marriages of Solomon with Pharaoh's Daughter and other Strangers questionless through the Mercy of God might prove an happy occasion of divulging the True Religion and regaining many from Idolatry in Aegypt and other Parts of the World For all his Wives were made Proselytes (a) Maimâ—â—â—d de 〈◊〉 §. 1â— 1â— before he married them as Samson's likewise had been though afterwards they not only fell away to their former Idolatries but seduced Solomon himself into them The Gentiles were so forward to become Proselytes (b) Meimâ—â—d 〈◊〉 in the Reigns of David and Solomon that their Sincerity became suspected and the Jews tell us that the Sanhedrim would admit no Proselytes in the days of David lest they should be induced to it by Fear nor in the days of Solomon lest the Glory of his Kingdom should have been the motive to them to profess the Religion of the Israelites Nevertheless great numbers were received privately by Baptism the Sanhedrim neither rejecting nor admitting them It is the Observation of Theodoret and of St. Jerom upon Exek v. 5. that God placed Jerusalem the Seat of the Jewish Government in the midst of the Nations that it might be a Direction to the Heathen in matters of Religion from whence as from the Centre Light might be communicated to the farther Parts of the Earth But the Divisions and Calamities of the People of Israel the Destruction of their City and Dispersion of their whole Nation contributed as much to the propagation of Religion as their greatest Prosperity could do The Division of the Ten Tribes after the death of Solomon and the erection of the Kingdom of Israel distinct from that of Judah with the many Leagues and Wars which these two mighty Kingdoms had with the Kings of Aegypt and Syria and Babylon and with other Nations could not but exceedingly conduce to the divulging the True Religion in the World and give opportunity to the Prophets to declare their Prophecies and work their Miracles among the Heathen as we find they did in many Instances One of the greatest Cities of the World was converted by Jonah's Preaching Hezekiah being distressed by Sennacherib prayed to God for deliverence out of his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God even thou only and his Prayer was answer'd not only in the Deliverance but in the manner of it which was so wonderful that all must know and be astonished at it for that very night the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand 2 King xix 19. which was the fulfilling of the Prophecy of Isaiah delivered to Hezekiah in a Message to him from God in Answer to his Prayer and afterwards Embassadors came from the King of Babylon to enquire of the Wonder or Miracle that was wrought in his Recovery from his Sickness 2 Chron. xxxii 31. and at last the Captivity of the Jews for Seventy Years in Babylon made their Religion almost as well known there as in Jerusalem it self Jeremiah had foretold the Captivity of the Jews and the Conquest of all the adjacent Countries so long and so plainly before-hand that all the neighbour Nations must be sensible of it as Nebuchadnezzar himself also was for which reason he gave a strict charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the Captain of the Guard who declares the reason of their Captivity to be their sins against the Lord or Jehovah Jer. xl 3. and as the Jews say he became a Proselyte God professes that he had a regard to the Honour of his Name among the Heathen in his Mercies vouchsafed to the Children of Israel or else he had utterly consumed them Ezek. xx 9. and xxxvi 22 23 36. and the Judgments upon the several Nations prophesied against were to this end that they might know him to be the Lord Ezek. xxv 7 17. xxvi 6. xxviii 22 23 24. xxix 6. xxxv 9. xxxvi 23. xxxvii 28. I am a great King saith the Lord of hosts and my name is dreadful among the heathen Mal. i. 14. The Jews in their Captivity are commanded to make an open Declaration against the Heathen Gods and because they understood not the Chaldee Tongue the Prophet Jeremiah supplies them with so much of the Language as might serve them for that purpose Thus shall ye say unto them Jer. x. 11. that is Ye shall speak to them in their own Language and in the words which I now set down to you to bid Defiance to their False Gods Thus did he fulfil his Commission and Character who was sanctified and ordained a Prophet unto the nations Jer. i. 5. And Jeremiah was put to death in Aegypt and Ezekiel in Babylon for appearing against the Idolatry of those Places During the Captivity Jehoiachin was reconciled to the King of Babylon and in great favour with him His throne was set above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon 2 King xxv 28. The Jews were in great Esteem and in Places of great Honour and Trust and their Religion was extolled and recommended by Publick Edicts to all under that vast Empire The Almighty Power of God was manifested with Miracles and by the Interpretation of Dreams and Prophecies and his Majesty and Honour was acknowledged and proclaimed in the most publick and solemn manner throughout all the Babylonian Empire at the Command of Princes who were Idolaters and were forced to it by the meer convictions of their own Consciences wrought in them by the irresistable Power of God Dan. ii iii iv v vi Daniel had acquainted Cyrus as Josephus says with the Prophecy of Isaiah in which he was so long before mention'd by Name However the Lord stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus by this or some other means to accomplish the Prophecy which he had made both by Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning the Restoration of the Jews
the Law and that so many should die rather than depart from it Upon the Revolt of the Ten Tribes Jeroboam would certainly have discover'd it if he had but suspected any such thing as an Imposture or could but have hoped to make the People believe that the Laws of Moses were not of Divine Institution but of Humane Invention and Contrivance but he supposed the Truth of its Divine Original whilst he tempted the People to the transgression of it Behold thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Aegypt 1 King xii 28. he supposes them brought out of the land of Aegypt and brought out by a Divine Power and endeavours to persuade them that the two Calves which he had set up in Dan and Bethel were the Gods who delivered them and by whose Authority the Law was given them and that therefore either of those Places was as proper to sacrifice in as Jerusalem which however absurd it were yet he did not think so absurd as to endeavour to make them believe that their Law it self was no better than an Imposture he had some hopes to succeed in this Project and the Event shews he understood the Temper and Principles of the People he had to deal with but the other was too gross for him to attempt The true Prophets of Israel were ever as zealous for the Law of Moses as the Prophets of Judah and the False Pophets of either Kingdom never durst deny its Authority these False prophets affronted and contradicted the Prophets of the Lord but they ever owned the Law and pretended to speak in the Name of that God who had deliver'd it to Moses And this Division of the Ten Tribes made it impossible afterwards for either the Kingdom of Israel or of Judah to make any Alterations in the Books of Moses because there was so great emulation and enmities betwixt the two Kingdoms that they could never have agreed to insert the same Corruptions and if either of them had attempted such a thing it would soon have been discovered by the other and therefore the agreement of the Samaritan with the Hebrew Pentateuch is a plain argument that they are but different Copies of the same Book and that it is undoubtedly genuine The Children of Israel notwithstanding their great proneness to Idolatry never cast off the Law of Moses as they would certainly have done being so often brought into bondage by their neighbour-Nations if they had not been well assured of the Authority of that Law which they transgress'd but they were reduced to the Obedience of the Law by the Oppressions of Iolatrous Nations they hoped for Deliverance upon their Repentance according to the Promises made in it and could by no Temptations or Torments be persuaded or forced to renounce it But the long Captivity in Babylon wrought a perfect cure in the Jews as to their inclination to idolatry which could never have been unless by their own experience in seeing the Prophecies fulfilled and by other Arguments they had been sully convinced of the Truth of their own Religion beyond all others If it had been of their own invention the People would have made their Law in every respect more favourable to themselves they would not have cloyed it with burthen some Ceremonies to distinguish themselves from the neighbour-Nations whose Idolatries they were so long prone to and which these Câ—remonies were designed to restrain them from They who were for a long time so fond of the Idolatries of the Heathen would never have invented Laws so uneasie to themselves and so contrary and odious to other Nations they would never have framed them themselves and then have pretended a Divine Revelation for those Laws which they were so little pleased with They would never have exposed themselves to the whole World thro' all Ages as a stubborn and rebellious People notwithstanding so many and so convincing Miracles so long wrought amongst them The Miracles which I have mention'd were most of them Judgments upon the Israelites for their Disobedience and they would never have set down these Miracles but would rather have lest them out though they were true as disgraceful to their Nation For thus Josephus has omitted some things to avoid the Scandal which he was a ware would have been given to the Heathen by a full and punctual Relation of the whole History of the Jews as it is described in the Books of Moses And they could be as little ignorant as Josephus what would prove disgraceful to them and what would make for their Honour and Renown and when the design of these supposed Forgeries and Falsifications must have been to advance the Glory of the People of Israel they would never have made such as these No if they had made any Alterations it would have been to strike out those numerous Passages which are so reproachful to their Nation and to have inserted others which might raise the Fame and Glory of Themselves and of their Ancestors and to have changed those Ceremonies that were so burthensome and so singular for those which would have been more easie to themselves and might have recommended them to the good opinion and esteem of the neighbour Nations But when so refractary a People became so zealous for such a Law so uneasie at first and so distastful to them it is an undeniable argument that they had the greatest Assurance of its Divine Original and that they would neither falsifie it themselves nor sufter others to falsifie it The People of Israel must be supposed to be unanimous to a Man in the making these Laws if they were of their own making for if any one had dissented he could not fail of Arguments to draw others after him In making Laws the Interests and Conveniencies of the Law-makers are always the Motives for the enacting them and besides the Publick Honour and Welfare of the Nation which too often are less considered the particular Interest of every single Man would have made him concerned to put a stop to such Laws No People can be supposed to consent to the making Laws by which they are forbidden to sow their Land every Seventh Year and are commanded to leave their Habitations and go up to the capital City from every part of their Country thrice in a Year no People could agree to enact such Laws of their own contrivance because none could subsist in the observation of them without a Miracle How can we conceive it possible for any People to subsist by such Laws if they had been of their own making or that any Nation should agree in the enacting such Laws as must provoke all their neighbour Nations to make War against them nay by which they actually declared an irreconcileable War against seven Nations at once For one Nation to distinguish themselves by their Laws and Constitutions from all other People to lay the very Foundations of their Government in the disgrace and infamy of all their neighbour
the height of their Pride and Blasphemy and the People of Judah in the extremity of Danger and Despair Isai xxxvii At the Prayer of Isaiah the Sun went back ten Degrees for a Sign to King Hezekiah of his Recovery and the Princes of Babylon sent Embassadors to enquire of this Wonder 2 King xx 11. 2 Chron. xxxii 31. It was impossible there should be any mistake in Miracles of this nature which have the same Evidence that those of Moses himself had having the joint Testimony of a whole People to prove the Truth of them Isaiah prophesied of Cyrus by Name (e) Joseph An t quit l. 11 c. 1. Two hundred and ten Years before the accomplishment of his Prophecy and foretold the Re-building of the Temple an Hundred and forty Years before it was demolished The expressions are so plain and full that as St. Jerom (f) â—ieron ad 〈◊〉 c. 44. observes the History of Cyrus by Xenophon is an admirable Comment upon this Prophecy of Isaiah That saith of Cyrus He is my shâ—pherd and shall perform all my pleasure even saying to Jerusalem Thou shalt be built and to the temple Thy foundation shall be laid Thus saith the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him He shall build my City and he shall let go my captives not for price nor reward saith the Lord of hosts Isai xliv 28. xlv 1 13. And this Cyrus himself tho an Heathen Prince was so sensible of that he acknowledge it in his Proclamation which he put forth for the Building the Temple Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia All the Kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord Godâ— of heaven given me and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem which is in Judah 2 Chron. xxxvi 23. Ezra i. 2. And the same Prophet who foretold the Empire of Cyrus the Persian foretold likewise That the Kingdom of the Chaldaeans should be destroyed by the Medes Isai xiii 17. which was prophesied of too by Jeremiah Jer. li. 11 28. And this is the more remarkable (g) See Sir W. Râ— leigh l. 3. c. 2. § 2. because tho' Darius Medus conquer'd Babylon yet he dying soon after and Cyrus succeeding him the Fame of Cyrus who was at the taking of Babylon but General of his Army so obscured the Name and Memory of Darius that Historians have taken no notice of him though he is found mention'd by the Scholiast upon Aristophanes who says that a Darius who was before him who was Father of Xerxes gave Name to the Pieces of Coin call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who must be Darius Medus So much better were Transactions known to the Prophets before-hand than to Historians afterwards The Judgments which were to befall divers other Nations were also foretold by Isaiah and described by particular Circumstances The Destruction of Nineveh (h) Joseph Antiquit l. 9. c. 11. was foretold by the Prophet Nahum an Hundred and fifteen Years before-hand The Prophet Jeremiah foretold the Conquests of Nebuchadnezzar and the Captivity of the Jews by him in so remarkable and solemn a manner that it was notorious to all the neighbouring Nations For according to the Custom of delivering Prophecies by some visible Signs as well as in Words he sent Bonds and Yokes to the king of Edom and to the king of Moab and to the king of the Ammonites and to the king of Tyrus and to the king of Zidon by the hand of the messengers which came to Jerusalem from these several Kings unto Zedekiah king of Judah and foretold That all these nations should serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his sons son Jer. xxvii 3 7. And the Jews put him in Prison for this Prophecy where he was kept when Nebuchadnezzar took the City and set him at liberty And when the Chaldaeans had raised the Siege by reason of Pharaoh's Army which was coming to the Relief of Jerusalem Jeremiah told the Jews that Pharaohs Army should return into Aegypt without effecting any thing and that the Chaldaeans should came again and take the City and burn it with sire Jer. xxxvii 5. He likewise prophesied against Aegypt which the Jews made their Refuge and Sanctuary and pointed out the very Place where Nebuchadnezzar would pitch his Tent by taking great Stones and hiding them in the Clay at the entry of Pharaoh's House Tahpanhes in the sight of the Men of Judah declaring that his throne should be set upon those stones and he should spread his royal pavilion over thim Jer. xliii 9 10. And the accomplishment of his Prophecy concerning Pharaoh chap. xliv 30. is to be seen in (i) Herodot Enterp c. 169. Herodotus The Prophet Jeremiah was opposed and contradicted by several False Prophets who prophesied deceitful and flattering Delusions to the People persuading them that no evil should come upon them of whom Jeremiah foretold That Hananiah should die that same Year in which he vented his false Prophecies chap. xxviii 16 17. and That Ahab the Son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the Son of Maaseiah should be taken Captive by Nebuchadnezzar and slain in the sight of the People of Judah and roasted in the fire chap. xxix 21 22. And thus distinctly foretelling the Time and Manner of the death of those False Prophets he vindicated his own Prophecies which were at first so unwillingly believed beyond all contradiction But that which seemed most strange and was most objected against in the Prophecies of Jeremiah was his Prophecy concerning the Death of Zedeckiah for in this (k) â—â—â—â—ph 〈◊〉 l. 10. 〈…〉 Ezâ—â— 12. He and Ezekiel were thought to contradict each other Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem at the same time when Ezekiel prophesied in Babylon and concerning the same things and Jeremiah's Prophecy was sent to the Captives in Babylon and Ezekiel's to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem But Jeremiah said Thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth and thou shalt go to Babylon Yet hear the word of the Lord O Zedekiah king of Judah Thus saith the Lord of thee Thou shalt not die by the sword but thou shalt die in peace and with the burnings of thy fathers the former kings which were before thee so shall they burn odours for thee and they will lament thee saying Ah Lord for I have pronounced the word saith the Lord Jer. xxxiv 3 4 5. But Ezekiel prophesied in these words I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldaeans yet shall be not see it though he shall die there Ezek. xii 13. Now these two Prophets writing of the Captivity of Zedekiah reckon up all the Circumstances of it betwen them in such a manner as that they were believ'd to contradict each other and thereby the expectation and attention of the People was the more excited to observe the Fulfilling of their Prophecies Jeremiah said That he should see the King
to the computation of the Jews in the eight days which they reckoned for the circumcision of their Children and in their other accounts for they computed inclusively any part of the day in which the Child was born for the whole thus the a Annum ita diviserunt ut nonis modo diâ—bus urbanâ—s re usu parent reliquis vii ut rura colerent Vaâ—de Rust lib. ii Prait 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dionys Halicarn Antiqa Rom. lib. vii Romans computed their Nundinae and their Calends c. And the Olypmiads among the Greeks contained 5 years inclusively and thus we call that Tertian Ague which has but one days intermission But the Resurrection of Christ which was the Accomplishment of these Types and Prophecies being matter of fact must be proved as all other matters of fact are by Witnesses and the Apostles in a body offered themselves as Witnesses to testify this great Article of our Faith This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are Witnesses Act. ii 32. The thing therefore to be considered is whether they were effectually qualified to be Witnesses in this matter and to prove that they had all the qualifications which can be required in any Witness I shall shew 1. That they had certain knowledge of the thing which they were Witnesses of and could not be deceived themselves in it 2. That they would not deceive others having no temptation to it but acting against all the Interests and advantages of this world 3. That they alledge such circumstances as made it impossible for them to deceive those to whom they testified the Truth of Christ's Resurrection though they had had never so much mind to do it And when Men testify things which they have such means and opportunities of knowing as make it impossible for them to be mistaken in them when they can have no advantage but by telling the Truth and can expect nothing but sufferings from it in this Life when they produce such circumstances as put it out of their own power to deceive and such as those before whom they speak may know to be false if they be so this certainly is all that can be desired in any Witness I. The Apostles who were Witnesses of our Saviour's Resurrection could not be deceived themselves in it They were ever far from being credulous and easy of belief as they shewed upon all occasions and particularly they never could be brought to believe the Doctrine concerning the Resurrection of Christ till their own senses had convinced them but before they had wrong notions and apprehensions of it and either misunderstood and misapplied all that had been said to them about it or whatever they knew or believed concerning it before they had no expectations of it when he was once dead Our Saviour had in express terms foretold his Resurrection upon the third day several times Matt. xvi 21. xvii 23. xx 19. But his Disciples did not rightly apprehend or throughly consider what he said to them though he exprest himself in the plainest words For they were wholly taken up with great thoughts and expectations of an earthly Kingdom and of temporal Power and Honour at one time Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying Be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee Matt. xvi 22. and at another time just before his passion our Saviour had no sooner done speaking to them of his Crucifixion and his rising again the third day but the two Sons of Zebedee Petitioned that one might sit on the right hand and the other on the left in his Kingdom and the rest of the Disciples were moved with indignation against them for preferring such a Request and it appears from our Saviour's discourse to them upon it that their minds were all bent upon the thoughts of temporal Glory and Dominion Matt. xx 20. And after our Saviour had told them that he must be put to death and rise again the third day St. Luke adds that they understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things which were spoken Luke xviii 34. and we find the same expression before Luke ix 45. Even after our Saviour had eaten the Passover with them and instituted the Sacrament of his Body which was just then to be given up and to be Crucified and of his Blood which was to be shed for them they were still intent upon Temporal things and had expectations of being advanced to places of Authority and Preheminence And there was a â—iâ—fe amongst them which of them should be accounted the greatest Luke xxii 24. At his passion as one of them denied him thrice so all the rest forseek him and fled The Apostles and Evangelists write without any design or any end to serve but that of telling the truth and therefore they conceal nothing of their own failings and faults though they might prove never so disgraceful to them they acquaint us that they were ambitious and had a vain prospect of Temporal Grandeur that they were timorous and of little Faith till the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them which appears in nothing more than in this point of the Refurrection They were Men of no great natural Capacity or quick apprehension and they had sometimes found themselves mistaken in understanding that literally which was spoken to them in Parables and it is natural for Men to run from one extream to another and usual for ignorant and unlearned Men to imagine difficulties where there are none and this meeting with their wishes and longings after temporal Greatness made them take all that was said to them concerning the Passion and Resurrection of Christ in some such sense as might answer their hopes and desires of temporal Felicity but when his Crucifixion had undeceived them in this conceit they were in such confusion and consternation of mind as not to be able â—o recollect themselves or to promise themselves any thing by his Resurrection which they had no hopes or expectation of The Spirits of Men are commonly as low as their Education and their condition and station in the world is and are easily sunk and depressed much lower by any great and sudden calamity and Men who were born in so mean a condition and had entertained a conceit of great and vain hopes and then as unexpectedly fell from them must be so dejected at it that it is no wonder that they thought of nothing but their sorrows and had little heart to imagine any possibility of relief from the reviving of him whom they had seen in that infamous and cruel manner put to Death They were so possest with an opinion of a temporal Kingdom that when they had been convinced of the truth of his Resurrection and had afterwards conversed a long time with him they could not put it out of their minds Acts i. 6. and thetefore it is no strange thing that when they saw him Dead and in the Grave