by some as expiatory I shall not here enquire into the first Ground and Original of those Sacrifices among them only shall leave it to Consideration how far these tho' Wicked and Barbarous in them yet might in the Methods of Divine Providence be suffered among the Gentiles thereby to prepare their minds facilitate their Conceptions and in due time to convince them of the unreasonableness of Christ's Crucifixion for the Expiation of Sin But more particularly It doth not become a Christian whilest he is answering the Scandals cast upon his Religion unjustly to recriminate and load his Adversaries with false Imputations the generous and vertuous Temper of Christianity as it needs not so it scorns to build its Reputation upon the Ruine of other Mens Therefore I do not here go about to charge the Heathens in general with that stupid and grossest sort of Idolatry which some are too apt to do as if they own'd no higherObject of their Adoration then that of the Sun or the Soul of the World and that all their Worship did not suppose the belief of any higher Deity I humbly conceive we have neither Reason nor Scripture in favour of this Assertion but much of both to the contrary But tho'I go not thus far in my Charge against the Gentiles in general yet this I may truly say That their Notions of God and of the Divine Nature come very much short of those which Christianity affords us both in respect of truth and certainty But however true in some respects their Notions of God might be in the Theory yet their Religion as a Doctrine of Worship was very false and Idolatrous and tho' they did know God yet they did not Worship him as God Thus all or most of their Religious Rites of Worship were but so many various Modes of Idolatry and sometimes they became wicked in Imitation even of those Gods whom they worshipp'd and upon this account others sometimes as they thought out of a Principle of Devotion and Religion became Atheists choosing rather to believe there were no Gods at all rather then think them such as some Men had represented them But now Christianity corrects the falseness of these mistakes and teaches us to Worship the true God in a true manner God did not require the Blood of Bulls and Goats in the Jewish Sacrifices for their own sakes nor did he at all require the bloody and wicked Sacrifices of the Gentiles the Gospel teacheth us that a broken and contrite Spirit is the true Christian Sacrifice that we must offer our Souls and Bodies an Holy living Sacrifice acceptable unto God not by any Barbarous Cruelties exercis'd upon either but they are to be offered unto God in a way of Purity and Holyness Secondly Christianity doth not only correct the salse but also improves those better and truer Notions which the Gentiles had to higher Degrees of Perfection and Clearness then they were ever able to do 1. The Greeks had some Notions of the being ofGod and the Immortality of the Soul but then they were very much mistaken in the Nature of the Deity and their belief of a future State was joyn'd with a great deal of doubt and uncertainty it was only the Gospel that perfectly acquainted us with the one and fully assur'd us of the other They had indeed sufficient Grounds to believe both but yet they came as far short of the Strength and Evidence of those Arguments which the Gospel affords us as reason comes short of Revelation Not but that Christians may also make a very good use of those Arguments which Reason and Philosophy afford us for it much strengthens our Faith in the belief of those things declar'd in Scripture when we find the same also confirmed by reason tho' Reason alone had been herein but a weak and insufficient Ground of Faith Socrates who yet died as it were a Martyr to his Natural Religion argued very well when he came to die of a future State yet it was with such a Degree of uncertainty as Christianity would have quite removed in the like Circumstances 2. The Greeks had some Notions of the thing tho' not of the Name and Nature of Original Sin that is they did acknowledg an Universal depravation of Nature but then as to the cause and head of it that was as unknown to them as that of Nilus they thought it rather from the beginning essential to our Natures rather then any ways afterwards contracted they looked upon it indeed as their Misery but not their fault And being thus Ignorant of the Cause they were as far to seek for the Remedy the best and highest means that they ever used in order thereunto being only the imperfect Rules of Art and Philosophy But now Christianity as it shows us the true Cause of it in Adam so doth it provide a sufficient means for the removal of it viz. the blood of Christ and the Grace of the Gospel 3. The Greeks were conscious to themselves of the necessity of a Divine Revelation as may appear from that high esteem and constant recourse they had to the Oracles their pretended Deities But then they were so far from being bettered by these that this seemed the very Master-piece of the Devils malice and subtlety thus to enact Wickedness by a Law and to give it the Stamp of Divine Revelation But now God in these last days hath spoken to us by his Son by whom he hath fully and clearly revealed his Will to Mankind thus have we the true Oracles of God committed to us not with an intent to deceive us but to guide us in the undoubted ways to Happiness 4. The Gentiles had some Notions of the pacability of the Deity this all their Sacrifices did necessarily imply and indeed Mercy and Goodness seems in the first place to offer it self in that Notion of a Deity which is Naturally Imprinted on the Minds of Men. Quamvis Meritis venia est indebita Nostris Magna tamen Spes est in bonitate Dei Ovid. But then Sin and Guilt being naturally full of Fears and Jealousies tho' perhaps we might have some glimmering hopes of Pardon which yet could not be fixt upon any good Ground or firm Foundation yet we could never have arriv'd at that full assurance which the Gospel hath now given us God having thus provided sufficient Answers to all those doubts and fears with either the Malice of the Devil or our own guilty Consciences can possibly suggest So that we have now all the assurance of Gods being reconcil'd with us upon the Terms propounded in the Gospel that either God can give or Man reasonably require But further suppose that it had been knowable by the Light of Nature that God upon our begging Mercy would have pardoned our Sins Yet we could never have any Reason to believe that he would conter on us such high Degrees of Happiness as now we are assur'd of without a particular Revelation And thus much for the
THE REASONABLENESS OF THE Christian Religion A SERMON PREACHED At the Visitation held at Stoakesley in Cleveland in Yorkshire Being the first Visitation of the Reverend Mr. Long B. D. and Arch-Deacon of Cleveland By Ja. Lowde Rector of Esington in Cleveland and Chaplain to the Right Honourable John Earl of Bridgewater c. LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1684. To the Right Honourable JOHN Earl of BRIDGEWATER VISCOUNT BRACKLEY BARON of ELLESMERE Lord Lieutenant of the Counteys of BUCKINGHAM and HERTFORD And one of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council My Lord WHEN I was first desired to make this Sermon publick I was sensible that it wanted and yet was afraid to entitle it to so great a Patronage but the Knowledge and happy Experience I have of your noble and generous Temper together with the many and great Obligations I lie under from your Lordship do not only encourage but oblige me to take all Opportunities of testifying the Sence I have of your Favors and my Gratitude to the World so that I have this to plead in excuse of my Presumption that even Duty and Justice required this Dedication For you have a Right and Title to all the Results of my Studies of this Nature provided they were worthy of your Acceptance seeing it was your Lordships Favor to which I at first ow'd these quiet and happy Opportunities of a Studious Retirement And that which further adds to my Obligations is this that the Remoteness of the Place doth not put me beyond the Reach of that Continued Kindness whose Influence like that of Heaven challenges a kind of an Ubiquity Upon these Accounts my Lord I presume to prefix so great a Name before so mean a Piece Mean I call it not in Respect of the Subject Matter but as to the manner of my handling it The Subject is great and worthy containing the Reasons both of our Religion and Loyalty and whatever Defects I may be otherwise guilty of in treating of them I shall yet make this abundant Compensation to the World in propounding so great an Example of both as your Lordship is to its Imitation The Jews required a Sign and the Greeks looked after Wisdom Those Signs indeed are now ceas'd nor is this an Age of Miracles yet thanks be to God we can yet justly boast of such moral Miracles if I may so speak of Religion and Learning as your Lordship may be justly counted My Lord I shall only add my Prayers to God that the King and Kingdom that both Church and State may be long happy in your able and faithful Councils that Religion and Learning may long enjoy so great a Patron and Allegiance and Loyalty may be long encouraged and promoted by such a great and eminent Example and remain My Lord Your Lordships most dutiful and faithful Servant Ja. Lowde 1 COR. 1. 23 24. But we Preach Christ Crucified to the Jews a stumbling Block and to the Greeks Foolishness but to them that are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the Power of God and the Wisdome of God THere is nothing that affords us more Pious and more Profitable matter of Meditation then the Consideration of the Way and Method by which God first designed and in due time effected mans Salvation For hereby we come to the most excellent and most useful piece of Knowledge that we are capable of that is to the Knowledge of God and of our selves this Method when duly considered and rightly understood being not only the Illustration of all the Divine Attributes of Wisdome Justice Power and Goodness but hereby also we see the shortness of our own meer humane Apprehensions when we consider by what weak and improbable means at least in Mens esteem such God has effected the greatest things that ever Heaven designed or Earth bore Witness to thus giving an undeniable Argument of the Truth and Divinity of that Religion he then instituted But this admirable contrivance of Almighty God met not with an answerable Reception in the World for both Jews and Gentiles either out of weakness or wilfulness either out of ignorance or perverseness were offended at it these two sorts of Men tho' differing much among themselves yet both agreed against Christ and his Religion and thought it a very improbable thing to reconcile the World to the Cross of Christ and indeed a very unreasonable thing to perswade Men to Worship a crucified Saviour As for the Jews they were prepossessed with Apprehensions concerning the Eternity of their Law and the Splendor of their expected Messias so that nothing that was outwardly mean and humble did agree with that pompous Scene of things which they had fancied They expected a great Prince for their Messias who should indeed cause an alteration in the Government but none in their Religion For that they look'd upon as Eternal and never to undergo the least shadow of change And therefore for the Jews who were thus accustomed at least in their own thoughts to Pomp and Ceremony for them who look'd upon themselves as the Children of Abraham and so Heirs of all the Glorious Promises made to them in Scripture for them to embrace an humble persecuted and at last crucifi'd Saviour this they thought inconsistent with their Religion as Jews and with their Reason as Men. And Christ as he was to the Jews a stumbling Block so was he to the Greeks that is as they thought themselves the learneder part of the Gentile World Foolishness Now the Greeks were offended at the plainness and simplicity of the Gospel they looked upon it as an Ignorant and unlearned Institution they expected to have found it full of Philosophy or some kind of nice and curious Learning which was in request and esteem among them and being disappointed heroin they began to entertain low and mean thoughts concerning it as not worthy to enter into their Scholes and upon this account was the Gospel to the Greeks Foolishness These were the two Grand Imputations under which the Gospel then lay both from Jews and Gentiles to both which the Text is a direct Answere that what ever mean thoughts the Jews might entertain concerning the Crucified Jesus and what ever unworthy apprehensions the Greeks might have of his Doctrine yet upon a due Consideration of things to those that are called that is to those that become Christians for that is the plain and proper and usual sence of Calling in Scripture to those who Judge by better Principles and surer Rules it is the Power of God in Opposition to the Jews and the Wisdome of God in Opposition to the Gentiles These two Scandals here cast upon Christ and his Religion together with the respective Answers which the Apostle here gives to them are the general parts of the Text and shall be the Subject of my present discourse First in Answer to the Jews I shall do these two things 1. I shall shew what little reason the Jews
2. Christ thus showed himself to be the power of God because he hath done that which nothing but the Power of God could do As. 1. He hath destroyed the Kingdome of Satan without us 2. He has subdued our wicked Lusts and Corruptions within us 1. He has destroyed the Kingdome of Satan without us this the Pharisyes themselves acknowledge that he cast out Devils but then they say it was by Belzebub the Prince of the Devils But Christ did very solidly and rationally confute the Weakness and Silliness of this surmize A Kingdome says he divided against it self is brought to Desolation and an house or City divided against it self cannot stand and if Satan be divided against himself how shall his Kingdome stand For he that can believe that the Devil should assist him whose great end and design was no other but only to destroy Sin and Wickedness and to encourage and promote Vertue and Piety in the World such an one may by the same Reason believe and assert any thing Christ came into the World to dissolve the Works of the Devil and to restore things to the State wherein they were before for God might have seem'd frustrated in his End and Design in creating Man if that Method of his Providence first instituted for Mans Salvation if it had been so utterly broken beyond the possibility of all recovery but now Christ hath given the Devil and all the Powers of Darkness to understand that he is able to produce Light out of Darkness and Order out of Confusion thus hath God restored man again to a possibility of Salvation notwithstanding all the former attempts and present endeavours of the Devil to the contrary 2. Christ by the Gospel has subdued our wicked Lusts and Affections within us and this was more then either the Jewish Sacrifices of themselves or the imperfect Rules of the Gentile Philosophy was ever able to perform He has not only himself overcome the Devil but also enables every true Christian to do the same this he doth by the assistance of his Holy Spirit whereby we become more then Conquerors over all Temptations Thus Christ doth at once instruct and strengthen us he teaches us what to do and enables us to do what he teaches precepts tho' never so excellent yet if they be unpracticable are altogether void and to no purpose but this is thepeculiar Priviledge of the Gospel that it enables us to perform that Obedience which it requires of us Thus is it the Power of God unto Salvation that is a Method every way sufficient in its own Nature for that purpose but then this is not so to be understood as if there was nothing left to be done by us for Christ has not so effected Mans Salvation that nothing now remains for us to do but idely to expect it the Grace of God indeed has brought Salvation but then it is by teaching us to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts which supposes our willingness and our endeavours too to learn Thus the manner of Christs appearance in the World could give no just Occasion of Offence to the Jews it being the most proper means to effect those great and worthy ends of his coming and to prove himself to be the power of God And as for Christs Death if it was no dishonour for him to be born neither was it any to die for the one seems naturally to follow from the other And supposing the Person suffering to be Innocent as Christ certainly was the manner of his Death cannot reflect any thing of real dishonour upon him so that all that can be gathered from Christs Crucifixion is only this his greater love to us and the Jews their greater malice and cruelty to him And further the Circumstances that attended his Death spoke him to be more then a common and ordinary Person then was the Sun darkened the Graves open'd the Vail of the Temple Rent and such general Convulsions of Nature every where appear'd that it caused a Philosopher thus to argue either that Nature it felf was dissolv'd or that the God of Nature suffer'd 2. The Death of Christ could give no just Occasion of Offence to the Jews if we consider the honorary consequences of it for by this was afforded the greatest matter of Triumph to the Christian cause imaginable for if Christ had not dyed he could not have risen again and it was a greater Argument of his Power to raise himself from Death then it would have been to have kept himself from dying Thus the Resurrection of Christ was the greatest Evidence of the Divinity of his Person and the Truth of his Doctrine And thus much as to the first general part of my Text in Answer to those Offences which the Jews took at Christ and his Religion 2. The second Scandal here cast upon the Gospel by the Greeks was the Imputation of folly And to the Greeks Foolishness HereI shall likewise vindicate theGospel from this Aspersion by speaking to these two particulars 1. I shall show what little Reason the Greeks had to impute Foolishness to the Christian Doctrine seeing this doth infinitely transcend the Religion of the Gentiles in the truth and certainly of its Principles 2. I shall show the Wisdome and Prudence of the Christian Practise The first of these shows the Improperness of the Objection as made by them the other the falseness of it in it self The first shows how unfit it was to be objected by the Greeks the other how impossible it is to be defended by any and both together I hope will sufficiently vindicate the Gospel from the least Imputation of folly 1. I shall show the reasonableness of the Christian Doctrine in Comparison of that of the Gentiles 1. As it is a practical Institution or a Doctrine of Morality so the very Heathens could not but testifie their profound Veneration for it all that their wit and malice could object against it in this particular being only that which was indeed a tacit acknowledgment of its Excellence viz. that it requir'd greater degrees of Holiness then was consistent with Humane nature and that it put its Professors upon endeavours after unattainable Measures of Purity and Piety And as to the Mystical part of our Religion what is there in it that doth not become the solemn and venerable Nature of a divinely reveal'd Religion Indeed if we must reject every thing as false and foolish because inexplicable and incomprehensible as to the modes then must we bid adieu to our Natural as well as our Christian Religion But the great matter of offence to the Greeks was Christ Crucified God and Man joyned in one Person and suffering for the Expiation ofSin God manifested in the Flesh is certainly a great Mystery so also is the Union of the Soul and Body a thing altogether Inexplicable As for his dying as a Sacrifice for Sin 't is certain that Humane Sacrifices were frequently practis'd among the Heathens and look'd upon