represents the Disciples continually fasting and praying could not devise that matter of fact supposing it to be false He would be very extravagant that should believe that the Apostles led an ill course of Life and plunged themselves in all sorts of lewd Debaucheries Their Words their Actions convince us of the contrary Yet it may be said that they were Villains indeed if what they preached was false But if they were downright plain honest Men as their speech necessarily evinces to us then was their preaching also necessarily true Vers 12. Then the Deputy when he saw what was done believed being astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord. 'T would argue but little Judgment in any one that designs to impose a Fiction upon Men's belief to pitch upon Circumstances as are contrary to publick knowledge The Conversion of a Deputy was certainly an Event very remarkable Chap. XV. 39. And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus This Historian is very exact in relating the least occurrences He is sincere too since he scruples not to relate the Contentions which arose among the Apostles themselves Chap. XX. 12. And they brought the young Man alive and were not a little comforted Can any thing be more surprising or convincing than the Resurrection of the Dead Chap. XXIV 25. And as he reasoned of Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come Felix trembled and answered go thy way for this time when I have a convenient season I will call for thee Great indeed was the Divine efficacy of his words which made a Judge tremble sitting on his Tribunal of Justice and before the Chains of his Prisoner Chap. XXVIII 30 31. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired House and received all that came unto him preaching the Kingdom of God c. Here endeth the History of the Acts of the holy Apostles written by St. Luke 'T is manifest he compiled it before the Destruction of Jerusalem because he mentions nothing of that Event Neither do the Gospels or Epistles of the Apostles speak of it But they often speak of the sudden coming of the Lord or of the Judgments he had resolved to execute upon the Jewish Nation CAHP. IX Wherein we shall yet farther produce from the Epistles of St. Paul St. Peter and St John several Texts very proper to make us truly sensible of the Divinity of the Christian Religion Epistle to the Romans CHap. I. 1 2 3 4. Paul the Servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle separated unto the Gospel of God c. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David according to the Flesh and declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the Dead Men generally insert all their Titles in the Epistles they write but St. Paul inserts the whole Gospel in his And what was the reason of it Because his Mind and Heart were so full of it that he could not speak of any thing else Jesus Christ was his Alpha and his Omega his Beginning and his End Vers 7. To all that â—e in Rome beloved of God called to be saints Grace be unto you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Did ever Man before him write in this stile He directs his Discourse to those only that were called to be Saints He does not vainly complement them after the usual way of the World but wishes them the Peace and Grace of God Certainly he would not have wrote thus had he been an Impostor or an Enemy to his Country Men who endeavoured to render them odious throughout the World by accusing them of an imaginary Crime Vers 16. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth c. How strongly perswaded must that Man be of what he says who expresses himself after so pathetical a manner And how well does the fulness of his mind appear by all these manifold and multiplied expressions Chap. VIII 37 38 39. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerours through him that loved us For I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels c. An immoveable Constancy indeed and a Divine confidence which he so naturally set down and which could not possibly arise from the Soul of an Impostor Chap. XI 28 29. As concerning the Gospel they are Enemies for your sake but as touching the Election they are beloved for the Father's sake For the Gifts and calling of God c. Why did St. Paul here speak so movingly and tenderly of the Jews And why did he earnestly endeavour to soften and mitigate the Minds of the Gentiles towards them Whence comes that inclination both of his Heart and Affections to favour those implacable Enemies who sought nothing but his Destruction and Ruin Certainly a Man that had forsaken his own Nation out of spight or a desire of revenge could not be of such a Temper Chap. XII 2. And be not conformed to this World but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind c. We have here a Man who having been wholly changed having acquired new Knowledge new Habits and new Affections speaks of nothing but of being transformed renewed and becoming a New Creature c. A Man who having been enlightned in his way to Damascus speaks of nothing but of illumination of a Light that shone from Heaven of a Kingdom of Light A Man in fine who having had mercy shewn him in the midst of the fury of his persecutions speaks of nothing but Pardon and Grace T is an easy matter to collect his History from his very expressions Vers 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love in Honour preferring one another not slothful in business fervent in Spirit serving the Lord Rejoycing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer distributing to the necessity of Saints given to hospitality Bless them which persecute you bless and curse not rejoyce with them that do rejoyce c. Can we suppose these to be the words or thoughts of an Impostor Chap. XIII 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake Religion as it were Cements the good and welfare of a State and Piety seems inseparable from the publick good of a Society because God by whose appointment Kings reign is the prime Author of Religion Vers 12 14 The night is far spent the day is at hand c. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof This Author's words continually follow and express his thoughts He considered the Gospel as a Light that dissipated all the erroneous Darkness and Ignorance of his Mind he considered
were we not assured of them from the Writings of the Heathens and had we not a clearer proof in the complaints of the Fathers who certainly were not so extravagant as publickly to complain of an imaginary persecution when it was so dangerous to complain of one that was real And therefore I would fain know what this Christian Faith and Doctrine is which made men so patiently suffer and abandon all things But to my great amazement I find that they believed that a certain crucified man was the Son of God that a man hang'd and nailed on a Cross was the sovereign judg of the World and the object of our Adoration I confess I can't but acknowledg some supernatural power in all this For tho' men of as mean appearance as those who first preached the Gospel might without any Miracles have weigh'd down the Authority of Emperours and Prelates and all the Magnificence and glory of Paganism objects very suitable to the worldly and ambitious heart of a man yet how can we conceive that they could without the help of Miracles perswade men to believe a Paradox so offensive to Reason and which appears at first view so horrible as this that the Son of God was nailed on a Cross We can never perswade our selves without offering violence to our Reason that those who from their youth represented their Deities to themselves as the greatest and most glorious Beings they could imagin and gave the name of Divine to whatever they thought in the highest degree beautiful and magnificent should yet substitute to all these great Ideas the notion of a God who died an infamous Death upon the Cross That not one alone but an infinite number of persons embraced an Opinion that immediately overthrew all their first Ideas of a God that this great change was not gradually and insensibly brought to pass or in the compass of several ages but in a very few years and with an incredible swiftness by the Mystery of vile and contemptible persons of no power or authority in the World and that the passion they had for a Doctrine which seemed at first so monstrous to Men induced them to suffer Death in defence of the same after having renounced their Fortune Reputation and Pleasures But does not prejudice over-rule in all this and make me Fancy I see that distinctly which I perceive but confusedly in truth I ought yet further to distrust my self and tho' I honour Errour too much in suspecting it may be so coherent so united to the Principles of Common sense and involved in so many appearances of Truth yet I will not pass by any scruple for all that has been hitherto said I find then that the Christian Religion was established in the World an hundred years ago I know that the Christians believe in a certain Jesus Christ crucified I know also that this Opinion of theirs was not innate I am fully perswaded that neither the Heathenish Priests nor their ordinary Guides taught them this Doctrin because they were the profess'd Enemies of it I am compelled therefore in despite of my self to credit at least in some respect the Relation the ancient Doctors of the Church unanimously gave of it viz that some persons called Apostles and Disciples of Jesus Christ went about the World preaching that this same Jesus Christ was the Son of God and the Messias whom God had promised to the Jews But these fundamental Truths require a more particular Examination and therefore we must shew more distinctly whether there were ever such men as the Apostles in the World what their Original was what Doctrine they preached and how they were qualified This we shall presently see by laying down for a certain Principle that the Christians had the books of the New-Testament in their possession at that very time we have chose for our fixed point I shall not at present enquire whether those Books are forged or not my design being to argue some time without entring upon that Enquiry For whether they are forged or not at least we learn from them certain undeniable matters of fact which will wonderfully illustrate all our following Enquiries CHAP. V. Which demonstrates that all the matters of fact contained in the Books of the New Testament can never be forg'd IF the New Testament be forged It may well be presumed that the Contrivers of that forgery who certainly could have no other design but to make it pass for truth endeavour'd to ground it upon some foundation either good or bad So that we have reason to believe that tho' they should have invented all that they relate at least they invented not the Names Country and Persons of Jesus Christ and his Apostles under whose Names they speak and to whom they ascribe the Establishment of the Christian Religion For is it probable they should endeavour to perswade men to worship a certain Jew called Jesus the Son of Mary a Galilean too who was crucified at Jerusalem and had several Disciples whose names â—re exactly related if the Jews could have immediâ—tely convinced them of the falsehood of all those matters by producing the Testimony of their own Nation who would have thronged in to tell them â—hat Jesus and his Disciples were only fictitious â—ames and that there was no more to do but conâ—ult all the Registers and Decrees wherein Augustus commanded all the Jews should be taxed in the days of Cyrenius and where it must have appeared that Jesus Christ himself if there was any such Person was also taxed 'T is all one as if a man should publish in this age a book full of excellent precepts of Morality intermixt with several fictitious actions which book he would have the World receive as the Doctrine of some divine and extraordinary man who in the beginning of this age raised up several men from the Dead healed all sorts of Diseases calm'd the Winds and Tempests of the Sea gave Authority to several of his Disciples to work many strange Miracles was at length seiz'd and put to Death in Germany and whose Disciples who bore such and such names and were born in such and such a Countrey came afterwards into France dispersed themselves throughout the other parts of Europe preach'd his Doctrine and at length died all unanimously in defence of it What think you of this Tale And how would it be received in the World but as a System only of many evident and palpable falsities What think you those persons would say of it who should be thus accused of so dreadful a parricide They would certainly reply that that fictitious book was purposely design'd to blast their Reputation But it appears the Jews never attempted to clear themselves after that manner They confess there was such a person as Jesus Christ and that their Fathers put him to Death neither do they deny the least Circumstance of his Life Ministry or Death excepting those which might probably make him pass for the Son of God But we
down from the Cross and we will believe in him Nay it is all one as if a Man should say If there be a God why does he not shew and manifest himself after a sensible manner by speaking to men immediately from the highest Heavens and then they would all be forced in spite of themselves to acknowledge him But God does not desire us to acknowledge him against our own Inclinations and consequently he is not obliged to manifest himself as we in our extravagant Desires would have him but as it seemeth best to his infinite Wisdom Had Christ or his Apostles raised all the Dead they found to Life again we should then contrary to the Design of the Almighty have had no other Faith but what depended entirely upon our Senses It is enongh that they healed almost an infinite number of Sick People and raised not only one but several Dead Men to Life So much indeed was absolutely necessary to confirm the Truth of their Calling Because they were not only to make Men believe in a crucified Saviour and adore him as the Son of God but also to oblige them for the Confirmation of their Faith to undergo Martyrdom More than this would have been but superfluous because they were not obliged to alter the Oeconomy of Faith but only to perfect it not to make Men believe against their own Inclinations but conformably to the Lights of their own Understanding But tho' I should grant all these Difficulties to be greater than they really are yet we ought to regulate our speculative Opinions by some Arguments drawn from matters of fact and not on the contrary regulate the Arguments drawn from matters of fact by any speculative Opinions And this is such a general Maxim that it holds good in all respects Many Difficulties arose at first about the Belief of the Antipodes Some pretended that such an Opinion was contrary to Reason others affirmed it could never be reconciled to the Principles of Religion And both Parties raised several notable Objections against it But as soon as the thing was evidently proved from undeniable matter of fact all their Objections and Difficulties were turned into Ridicule Some Philosophers have pretended to prove by Arguments that Motion is impossible But since we have daily Experience that there is such a thing as Motion we let these Philosophers talk on and chuse rather to believe our own Senses And I dare affirm without begging any Excuse for the Boldness of my Assertion that there never were nor never will be any matters of fact against which we might not raise several plausible Objections and considerable Difficulties that are meerly speculative Some are daily raised against the Flux and Reflux of the Sea against the Attraction of the Loadstone with Iron the Source or Head of the River Nile against Comets and Meteors nay even against the peopling of the World and the Propagation of Mankind We readily grant the Incredulous that several considerable Difficulties may be raised against the Mysteries of Religion as we see there are no less considerable ones daily raised even against the Mysteries and secret Operations of Nature But I still affirm that we must renounce the Evidence of Sense if we prefer any Difficulties of meer Speculation before those Arguments which are taken from undeniable matters of fact Tho' we should argue only upon the Nature of Things and the Principles of Natural Religion it would appear if we compare the Obscurities which cause those Difficulties with the Evidences which clear them that the latter would gain more upon our Belief than the former and this Truth we think we have sufficiently proved in our first Part of this Work But tho' we should meet with nothing else but Difficulties in those natural Principles without any Lights at all to clear them yet ought we to banish all Scruples and Doubts that arise meerly from Speculation the better to embrace the Opinion which proceeds from the Arguments drawn from undeniable matters of fact unless we have a mind to be guilty of an Absurdity not to be met with which is wholly contrary to common sense and Reason But having thus evinced the Truth of the Essentials of our Religion namely those matters of fact contained in the Writings of the Apostles it remains only that we make Men further sensible of them by laying down a few short Remarks which we shall make on several places of the New Testament whose whole Purport shall be either to perswade us that the Apostles did really teach all these matters of fact or assure us that they sincerely believed the things which they declared or else to make it appear that they could not have been imposed upon in those matters of fact For from those three principles is formed the Demonstration of the Truth of the Christian Religion SOME REFLEXIONS ON THE Gospel according to S. Matthew CHapt II. 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea behold there came Wisemen c. Those Wise-men were of all Nations the first that came to pay their Homage to Jesus Christ The Priests and Elders amongst the Jews being consulted concerning the Birth of the Messias freely owned he was to be born in Bethlehem and were quite of another Opinion than the Modern Jews who pervert the Meaning of the Prophecy of Micah Chap. 5. As to what concerns us we affirm that the History of the coming of the Wise-men could not be falsely invented I. Because it agrees admirably with the Prophecy of Balaam Numb 24. 17. where he Cries out I shall sâ—e him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh There shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel A Star of the Wise-men indeed and a Scepter of Jesus Christ II. The Evangelist could not have made the whole City of Jerusalem believe that they were troubled and astonisht at the Coming of those Wise-men and much less perswaded the Inhabitants against their own publick Knowledge that Herod had so barbaroufly shed so much Innocent Blood III. Herod must necessarily have been told that the Christ or Messias was to be born in Bethlehem because thither he sent directly the Ministers of his execrable fury IV. And lastly Joseph fled into Egypt and was afraid to return again into Judea when he heard that Archelaus Reigned in the room of his Father Herod A Circumstance that wonderfully agrees with all the rest Chapt. III. 1. In those days came John the Baptist In this Chapter John foretells the Destruction of the Jews in these Words O generation of Vipers who has warned you to fly from the wrath to come and now also the ax is laid to the root of the Tree therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire c. He foretells also the Effusion of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles in these words I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he that
it easier to say thy Sins are forgiven thee or to say arise and walk There is no suspecting a Man's proceedings that proves by several sensible and healing Miracles the Authority he assumes and ascribes to himself Vers 13. But go and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice A Spiritual worship is the only worship that God delights in The ceremonies of Moses's Law were only agreeable to him as they were founded upon the Obedience that is due to God This Obedience derives its whole perfection from a willing compliance out of love and Charity For a forced and constrained obedience can never be acceptable to God That which is most excellent in Charity is Mercy which consists in forgiving injuries and doing good to others without expecting any return from them For a man may do good to another through a principle of vain Glory But the works of mercy proceed from another motive and are a product of a noble disinteressed nature Mercy then is the only thing that is acceptable to God in Religion and both Scripture and Reason tell us so But the World was so ignorant of this truth when Jesus Christ first took it for a fundamental maxim of his Religion that nothing could be more surprizing to Men than his expressing himself after this manner Vers 13. For I am not come to call the righteous but Sinners to repentance An expression that thunders out against Hypocrisie roots out of our Hearts that false Pride and vain Confidence we have of our selves humbles mankind glorifies the mercy of God and makes us sensible of the use and necessity of repentance and in a more especial manner evidently shews the self-denial of our Lord. Chap. X. 1. And when he had called unto him his twelve Disciples he gave them Power c. The Evangelist was not afraid of being contradicted by the twelve Disciples of our Lord whose names he sets down when he said that Jesus Christ had given them power to heal all sorts of Diseases among the People Vers 5. These Twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying go not into the Cities of the Gentiles c. but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel These words remove all suspicions which our incredulous Adversaries may entertain that the Author of this Gospel was willing to favour the Gentiles in prejudice to the Jews Vers 7. And as ye go preach saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Was Jesus Christ in a fit condition to make himself known for that Monarch who was to come unless he had first been endowed with an infinite Power Vers 8. Heal the Sick cleanse the Lepers raise the Dead cast out Devils freely ye have received freely give Is it possible that Jesus Christ could have made his Disciples believe they had freely received that which they had not in the least received How bold then must that command have been to work so many Miracles Vers 9. Provide neither Gold nor Silver nor Brass in your purses nor scrip for your journey c. Christ waâ— not content to chuse poor Men for his Disciples he sâ—rther obliged them to become poorer than they were He forbid them to provide themselves any thing designing to nourish them wonderfully by his Providence He resolved so to dispose the Hearts of those that should believe in their words that they should feed and cloath them This indeed was spoke like the Master and God of Nature Vers 22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name sake Christ flattered not his Disciples but foretold them from the very beginning of their ministry all the evils that were to befall them Now what can be suspected in all this Vers 23. But when they persecute you in this City flee into another for verily I say unto you ye shall not have gone over the Cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come This Text is somewhat difficult because it does not plainly appear that the Prophecy it contains was exactly fulfilled But this very Difficulty serves to confirm our Faith For why should the Evangelist write this he who lived to see the success of that matter He knew well enough that in his time the Gospel had been preached not only in all the Cities of Israel but almost in every Country in the World though Jesus Christ had not yet come in all his Glory Doubtless it was because he intended to relate things as they really were in themselves and ascribed no more to his Divine Master but just the very words he uttered And altho' Holy Writers by the coming of Jesus Christ commonly understand his last coming in his Glory yet that same expression does also sometimes signifie the Judgments which God executed upon the Jews when he sent the Romans to destroy their City which explanation plainly solves the whole Difficulty Vers 34. Think not that I am come to send Peace on earth I came not to send Peace but a Sword A Terrible declaration indeed for those Men who according to the vulgar errour of the Jews imagined that the Messias should have raised them up to the height of Happiness and temporal prosperity But who is he that was bold enough to foretel that his Gospel should disturb the Peace of the Universe How comes it he did not rather foresee that that Gospel would unavoidably be involved in the darkness of Silence and Oblivion having such weak Defenders to maintain and such formidable Adversaries to oppose it Does it seem natural that a Man who dwelt on the Borders of the Lake of Gennesareth should have pretended to make other Men rise up one against another by the bare efficacy of his word without any Arms Riches or Authority being only got at the head of ten or twelve miserable Wretches who knew nothing beyond the mending their nets Vers 28. And he that taketh not his Cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me Did ever Man get himself any followers by such declarations as these Chap. XI 4 5. Jesus answered and said unto them go and shew John those things which ye do hear and see The Blind receive their fight and the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed and the Deaf hear the Dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them Jesus Christ convinced not his Disciples by meer speculations but by evident Objects of Sense Vers 12. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force Did ever Man in so mean and miserable a Condition as he was in speak thus Whence had he this Confidence And what sort of Language is this Vers 21. Woe unto the Chorazin c. What probability is there that Christ should thus reproach the Jews who dwelt in all those Countrys unless he had really wrought several Miracles amongst them Vers 28. Come unto me all ye that Labour c. There have been many
God but then being willing also to flatter Men's Inclinations to draw them to his side he confusedly mixed with that Idea the carnal and gross Notions the Heathens had of Paradise borrowing from Christianity such Objects as must necessarily mortify our Passions and assuming those from Paganism which serve to flatter our bad Inclinations But the Christian Religion keeps no such Measures either with Policy or Corruption Policy complains that the Doctrine of Christ necessarily softens Men's Courage and that instead of encouraging them to list themselves Soldiers for the welfare and preservation of the State it rather makes them Lambs who can hardly be exasperated against their Enemies whom they must continually pray for and are obliged to love as themselves And as for human Frailty and Corruption it murmurs to see itself impugned by the Christian Religion even in the Dispositions and most secret Recesses of the Soul and that the Veil of Hypocrisy and the pious Pretences and Dissimulations of the Soul under which it thought to lye secure are ineffectual against it VVho then but God can be the Author of a Religion so equally contrary both to the covetous Desires of the mean and the Ambition of the great and so equally averse both to Policy and Corruption X. Other Religions would have God should bear the Image of Man and so necessarily represent the Deity as weak miserable and infected with all manner of Vices as Men are Whereas the Christian Religion teaches us that Man ought to bear the Image of God which is a Motive to induce us to become perfect as we conceive God himself to be holy and perfect That Religion then which restores God his Glory and the Image of God to Man must necessarily be of Divine Authority XI Lastly Other false Religions were the irregular confus'd Productions of the politest and ablest Men of those Times whereas the Christian Religion is a wonderful Composition which seems wholly to proceed from the most Simple and Ignorant sort of People The Heathens have often condemned the extravagant Notions the vulgar People had framed to themselves of the Deity they have blamed the barbarous Cruelty of those Sacrifices which were offered to their Gods in so many places and the impurity of their Mysteries the Falshood of their Oracles and the Vanity and Childishness of their Ceremonies Cicero says in some part of his Works that two Augurs could not look one another in the Face without Laughter And nothing can be more extravagant than the Divinity of the Gnosticks who held that there are Invisible Eternal Spirits who mixing one with the other produc'd others We all know that when Philosophers took upon them to treat of Religion they always exceeded one another in Extravagancies and no one I dare say is still to learn what are those Visions and fabulous Stories with which the Rabbins filled their Traditions the Catalogue of which would be very curious indeed were it not so extreamly long And tho we cannot disown but that the Heathens the Philosophers c. made several wonderful Discoveries in Arts and Sciences Yet it will appear that a long succession of very understanding Men among them were guilty of many repeated Extravagancies in this respect and that by a Prodigy not to be parallelled did not the Christian Religion offer such another by shewing us a Company of Wise and Learned Men in such Ignorant Persons as the Disciples of Jesus Christ Certainly 't is a strange thing to see the most understanding Men become the most stupid and the most ignorant prove the most understanding in matters of Religion 'T is a true sign that God design'd to confound the understanding of the VVise and a proof that their Religion was form'd rather according to the corrupt desires of their Hearts than the dictates of their Understanding For had it been according to their Understanding it would have been more reasonable in proportion to the VVisdom and Knowledge of the Authors of it But because it was made to sooth their corrupt Desires and flatter their Passions it is as extravagant and irregular as those Passions And now let us put together all these Characters and ask the Incredulous whether they can be so extravagant as to ascribe to an Impostor a Religion so perfect in it's Original that nothing could ever since be superadded to it but what necessarily lessens the Perfection of it a Religion that proposes it's Mysteries with such Authority and Boldness that brings Men from Sensual Objects to Spiritual ones that extirpates Corruption restores the Principles of Righteousness and Vprightness that were imprinted on our Souls that teaches us to glorify God without any regard had to Self-love or Pleasure to exalt God and humble our selves to submit our selves to his VVill who is above us all and to raise our selves above those Beings that he has put in subjection under us a Religion that is contrary to Policy and yet more averse to Corruption that astonishes our Reason and yet gives us the peace of a good Conscience and in a word is as delightful to the one as it is comfortable to the other If the Christian Religion then has all these Qualifications as it certainly has we cannot doubt but that it is directly as to these Qualifications opposite to all other Religions And if it be thus opposite to all other Religions it must necessarily have a Principle opposite to them So that as all other Religions peculiarly belong to the Flesh the Christian wholly appertains to the Spirit and as the former are the Products of the corrupt Desires and Imaginations of Men so the latter must have for it's Principle the God of Holiness and Purity III Portraiture of the Christian Religion as it is considered in it's Effects WE may distinguish Four several kinds of Societies in which the Efficacy of Religion may be acknowledg'd viz. a Natural a Political a Vicious and a Religious Society And first the Society of Nature is innocent and equitable in it self but it cannot stand out a Trial with Men's irregular and disorder'd Passions Men will indeed be united among themselves as long as they are concern'd only in indifferent matters but Covetousness soon disunites them And therefore there is something wanting to establish and confirm it As for the Society of Corruption and Vice it is essentially sinful and therefore Self-interest and Men's Desires and Passions that form it are either to be remov'd or regulated A Political Society is soon violated by Law-suits Wars and Dissentions all which are occasion'd too by the Passions To support therefore and maintain it such Principles of Fidelity are to be establish'd as shall remain inviolable All which is best done in a Society of Religion the most perfect of them all and as it were a Prop to the rest This Society must be firmly oppos'd to all accidental Revolutions must unite those Persons together whom the distance of Time and Place and the disparity of Interest would otherwise
say that Imposture and Deceit never had such a design or the like success For tho' self-love may have hitherto made use of Deceit and Falshood to effect its own Desires without any regard had to Justice and Charity so indispensably due to our Neighbour it was yet never known nor ever will be that Charity made use of Imposture and Deceit to bring about its Designs for the good of others without the least consideration of its own Interest and Desires And to insist further upon it would be to endeavour to add Light to the Sun and prove a thing that is already as clear as Noon-day V. Portraiture of the Christian Religion as it is Considered in it's Suitableness to the Necessities of Mankind WE cannot seriously reflect upon our selves without immediately discovering our own Weakness Misery and Corruption Neither can we look upon the Christian Religion without acknowledging that it was peculiarly designed to free us from those three Imperfections inherent in our Nature As to the Corruption of Man it may be said that it was the only thing in the World that Men most knew and yet at the same time were most ignorant of For the effects of it were palpable and evident to the Senses It was easily believed that Men were very wicked and corrupt when it was so manifestly seen that they committed so many enormous Crimes But Men were still ignorant that there was a general Depravation from Nature in the Heart of every Man that dispos'd him to the strangest Irregularities and it has so happened that Men have made no great Reflexion upon the Nature of that Original Depravation so incident to Mankind that it continually attends them from the Cradle to the Grave They only concern'd themselves about what was external without searching into the bottom of their Hearts and Consciences But the Christian Religion gives us in that respect all necessary light It teaches us that we are corrupt and that that Corruption proceeds from our selves It shews us the extent of it and confirms what the Old Testament taught us That all flesh had corrupted his way Gen. 6. 12. It shews us that that Corruption makes us subject to the Curse of God and that we are by nature the children of wrath Eph. 2. 3. It assures us that that Original Corruption has such power over Man's Heart that it moves all the Faculties of his Soul so that every imagination of the heart of man is only evil continually Gen. 6. 5. Lastly It shews us how impossible it is for Man ever to recover himself of that Malady so inveterate and deeply rooted within him and that by representing him to us as one that is lame that has a Lethargy that is dead in respect of Life Holyness and Justice all which Truths we know too well by Reason and Experience How comes it then that the Christian Religion teacheth us such things as were so generally unknown to Mankind Above all how comes it to shew us so distinctly the true Principle of our own Corruption Who taught the Son of Mary that Self-love is the true Source and Original of all our Irregularities And why does he make Man to become an Enemy to himself Yet the Christian Religion not only teaches us to know Man and thoroughly to search into all his Frailties but also that alone furnishes us with such Remedies as can cure all his Weaknesses and Imperfections For we can't see that any thing else can do it Not Education which is as often evil as good not the Civil Laws whose business is only to regulate outward actions Nor the Law in general which instead of removing rather increases this Original Corruption being in that respect like a Bank which causes the Flood to swell Not the Decorum observed among Men which usually varies according to the diversity of Countries Nor the Respect we commonly have for our selves a thing too thin and metaphysical not to submit to the Sense of Pleasure Not Reason it self which the Passions so easily corrupt Nor the Example of Men who commonly lead a very irregular life Not worldly Honour which regards only external Pomp and Grandeur nor Lastly Philosophy which wants motives sufficient to effect it or if it has any it derives them all from our own Pride Must we then have recourse to the Virtues in fashion in the World we may easily perceive that they are only Pride and Interest differently manag'd according to the various Turns and Affairs since they have no other Motives but what they have from the World The Falshood of Human Virtues is a thing not to be disputed We all know that Self-denial is only a piece of nice delicate Interest Liberality a meer Trade of Pride which values no Gifts provided it have the Glory of being liberal Modesty the Art of concealing our Vanity Civility but an affected Preference of other Men before our selves to conceal how much we really value our selves above all the world Bashfulness but an affected Silence in those things which our Lusts make us think of with pleasure the desire of obliging other Men but a secret desire of obliging our selves by getting them to befriend us another time just as Impatience to acquit our selves of an Obligation is but a Shamefacedness for having been too long beholding to others for some Favour received So that all these Virtues in general are so many Guards Self-love makes use of to prevent our darling and secret Vices from appearing outwardly What Remedy then can be brought for the Irregularities of our corrupt Nature the pernicious Poyson of which secretly insinuates it self ev'n into our Virtuousactions And who can cure such a Distemper when the Remedies applied to it are rather a Disease than a Cure Experience shews us that by effectually resisting one Vice we often confirm and establish another Would you destroy Avarice you must attack it by such Arguments as necessarily flatter Pride And is Pride to be overcome it must be impugn'd by such Motives as encourage Avarice In vain shall you strip Self-love of all it's pleasing Objects and Allurements still it will endeavour to secure it self either by contemning the Goods of Fortune or by shewing it's Moderation in patiently enduring Disgraces Self-love when seated on the Throne makes Tyrants when reduc'd to Want and Poverty it makes Philosophers who despise every thing they can't enjoy It oft indeed changes it's Object but not it's Disposition It 's Pride as I may say out-lives its own Death and not being able to prevent it's perishing it would seem to look pleasantly upon its Downfal and as it were triumph in it's own Ruin Who then can give this Hydra it's Deaths wound when the lopping off one Head serves only to give rise to another It is certain therefore that nothing can remedy this Corruption unless it be more constant than the Principles of Education more infallible than the Rules of Decency and Civility more holy than the Civil Laws which require only an
Phenomenon it would be also contrary to Sense since all unanimously testify there is such a thing But Sense certifies the Existence of that Phenomenon and Reason is truly perswaded that it is so Reason thinks it a very hard matter to understand and Sense affirms not the contrary Reason therefore and Sense perfectly well agree together and such is likewise the joint Agreement of Faith and Reason in the greatest Mysteries of Religion Those are Difficulties indeed worthy to be admired which Philosophy so confidently starts up in matters of Divinity There are many things in Nature whose Existence we readily own but nothing tho inconsiderable in it self the manner of which we can comprehend and yet it never came into any Man's Mind that had but common Sense to call them in question If then we shew our selves so very reasonable in Natural things why should we prove so senseless in matters of Religion In common things our Understanding acts naturally but in Religion 't is deluded by the Passions which continually seek how to suggest to it new occasions of Doubting We may pass the same Judgment upon matters of Grace Do but distinguish Philosophy from Divinity and you will avoid thereby an infinite number of Difficulties it being certain that for the most part they proceed either from the eager desire we have to understand what is altogether incomprehensible or from the Speculations we have already made upon that we could not comprehend Now to know the Injustice of Men in this we need but observe that most of them being fully perswaded that God preserves us nourishes and supports us by his perpetual Concurrence without which the Meat we eat and the Care we have of our Preservation would stand us in no stead and by which we immediately Subsist yet we never heard that any one did seriously conclude from thence that we ought wholly to lay aside the Care of our own Preservation and solely rely on the Concurrence of God We never saw any one so sensless as to perplex himself with these sorts of needless Questions If it can be said that I nourish my self by taking those Aliments as are absolutely requisite for my Preservation how can it be reasonably affirmed that God nourishes or preserves me Or if it be God as nourishes me how do I lie under an Obligation of doing it my self I say we never heard any of those Difficulties objected against Natural things whereas it appears they are continually started in matters of Religion However there are as good Grounds for them in the one as the other because they consist in the Dependence we have upon the Deity either in our being Creatures already or being born again or becoming new Creatures In Nature we all know we subsist only by the Concurrence of God without inquiring into the manner of it But in Religion we are not content to know that we are Regenerated by Grace we further desire to search into the manner of that Operation and our principal care is how to find it out so that those very Difficulties which could not perplex Men in matters of Eating and Drinking seem terrible and frightful to them when 't is requisite they should lead a good Life If you would know the reason of it you must consult the Heart of Man 'T will be sufficient for us if we Act with as much reason in Religion as we do in civil Life If we consult the purest Lights of Reason it will inform us that 't is as necessary the New Creature should have its Dependence upon God as that the Creature should depend upon him because God himself is as well the Author of the one as of the other and as our Bodies have neither Life Motion nor Being but from him so our Souls have no Faculties Knowledge or Affections but what they derive from thence Every Being comes from him and nothing but what is defective can have any other Principle The thing it self then is very certain I mean that there is such a Grace to which we must necessarily refer all the good that is within us and that belongs to Divinity But the manner of its operation that is the degree of virtue it displays over us the manner in which it determines our Free-will its minutest Conjunctures c. may be hidden Mysteries belonging to the consideration of Philosophy but not in the least prejudicial to our Faith which consists in an humble Submission as well as in Knowledg and can as readily profess its utter Ignorance of a hidden Mystery as it gladly perceives it when revealed I question whether Divines have observed that when the Apostles are pleased to point out to us what is most eminent in Mysteries they neither examine the Order of the Decrees of God nor the inconceivable Transmission of Original Sin whereby the Wickedness of the First Man was conveyed down to us nor why Grace seems incompatible with Free-will Whence proceeds this if not from their Ignorance of Philosophy and want of vain Curiosity which by their own Example they designed to teach us to avoid What is then according to them the great Mystery of Godliness This is it God was manifest in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels believed on in the World preached unto the Gentiles received up into Glory Tim. 3. 16. The Incarnation which is expressed in these Words God was manifest in the Flesh is a great and sublime Mystery but if we lay aside our Prejudices we shall find it conformable to our Reason 1. For it must be first of all granted that in this Covenant the Almighty debases not himself in favour of those with whom he makes it as we see in dishonourable Treaties where a King is upon equal terms with his Subjects This is a Covenant wherein God unites himself to the Creature without diminishing his Greatness and Glory and where the Creature unites it self to God without losing its due sense of Humility The Sun unites himself with the Cloud where it imprints its Brightness without an Eclipse and why should not God unite himself with an innocent Nature without lessening his real Worth and Dignity 2. We have an excellent Representation of this Truth in the Union of our Soul and Body where two Substances distinct in the highest degree are united together without having any natural proportion betwixt them What has the Soul to do with the Body And how can there be any Affinity betwixt things of so different a Nature It may perhaps be answered that there is a greater Disparity betwixt the Humane and Divine Nature than the Soul and the Body I agree that the Disparity is infinitely greater but the Diversity is still the same and there is a great deal of difference betwixt an Union which carries a mutual dependence along with it such as that of our Soul and Body and an Union which contains the dependence only on the one part such as that which is betwixt the Divine and Humane
Consequence only Divine Wisdom was also pleased that Jesus Christ should be born in Obscurity and Humiliation that those mean outward Appearances being offensive to the prejudice of carnal and worldly minded Jews they might as it were by chance give occasion to the execution of those things which the Council of God had determined And this is one of the principal causes of his Poverty and Humiliation of the Meanness of his Birth and the Vnworthiness of his first Profession the choice of his Disciples c. The Justice of God acting in concert with his Wisdom obliges him to speak to all prophane Contemners of his Mysteries in an obscure Language and so as it were to conceal those Pearls from them lest like unclean Beasts they should trample them under their Feet And this may very well serve for a Reason of the denial which Christ formerly made to the Unbelievers of those Times of signalizing his Power among them and of the great care he often took to conceal his Miracles from them For this cause therefore spoke he sometimes in Parables to Strangers but he always very clearly exprest himself to his Disciples giving them to understand the meaning of those Parables and telling them that as for them they had the Priviledge of seeing all things openly Neither does his Majesty suffer him to reveal himself as familiarly to the sinful Man as he would to the innocent This we ought not to wonder at since Men themselves are wont so to deal with one another There is nothing more common than for Great Men to banish their Presence those who have incurr'd their Displeasure To think it then strange if God conceals himself from a Sinner would be to entertain a more unworthy Idea of his Majesty than that of an Earthly Monarch This was the Reason why God took such care to conceal himself even when he design'd to manifest his Glory And for this Cause he shewed himself only in Visions and Dreams or when hidden in the Cloud and Ark or covered with some other Veil On this account also he was wont to banish from his Presence all those as were defiled in their Bodies and order the Priests of the Sanctuary to purifie themselves He commanded too the People to wash their Garments when he gave them notice that within three Days he would come down to them nothing but an external and corporeal Purity being sufficient to qualify those that were to approach the Deity manifested under corporeal Symbols But Christ fulfilling in the Spirit every thing hidden in the Letter of the Law teaches us that those only shall see God who shall be found pure in Heart so that we have no reason to wonder if when Man by reason of his Guilt hides himself from God the Almighty withdraws the Influence of his Glorious Majesty from Man Lastly The Goodness and Mercy of God overshadows Revelation with some sort of Darkness to exercise our Faith and keep up our Minds in Vigour which also would grow sluggish if not stirred up by such Difficulties as are proper to Mysteries as also to humble our proud and haughty Reason which is immediately puffed up with its own Knowledge to make us submit our Understandings to him since we ought to believe any Truths tho incredible if he reveals them as also to sway our Hearts and Affections which ought readily to embrace any sorrowful and mortifying Objects that he is pleased to offer them to strip our Pride of all its Pretences and to dispose our Minds that we must necessarily acknowledge every Benefit we enjoy springs from him and that too so much the more because we thereby attain to life Eternal by such means and objects as are above our Capacity to comprehend So necessary is it that it should appear that our Sufficiency is of God and that the Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth Rom. 1. 16. To this Principle we owe the choice of those persons which God has made use of to preach the Gospel the nature of those seeming Paradoxes he commanded them to publish so contrary to the Light of Nature and Reason the Silence of the Holy Ghost in those things which a few Words from him would have rendred plain and easy to our Understandings But God is not content to exercise our Faith by those Obscurities we find dispersed throughout the Divine Revelations he further permits Heresies Schisms and Errours nay Superstition it self to reign among us that those who are approved may be made manifest Thus we may say he suffers all Egypt to be covered with Darkness the more eminently to discover his wonderful Protection in blessing at the same time the Land of Goshen with the Light of his Truth that is by giving us a Religion accompanied with so bright an Evidence as carnal and worldly minded Men can never comprehend because their Reason is eclipsed by Sensuality and the Corruption of their Hearts produces those thick Clouds that hide the Truth from their sight God 't is true enlightens the Minds of Men but Men wilfully blind themselves He permits it should be so to confound their Ignorance and demonstrate to us that he is the Father of Light But let us now enquire into the Principles of that Obscurity which solely springs from Men. And I. So gross are all the Prejudices of the Senses that there is no body so void of shame as to follow them openly Yet 't is certain they are very prevalent in the Hearts of most Men who stick not to say I never saw the like I could willingly believe it if I should but see it Who ever saw dead Men rise again from their graves And who ever ascended into Heaven or went down into the Pit All which Reasonings are manifestly absurd For can there be any greater Folly in a Man than to refuse to believe that which he does not see when these Objects of his Faith could have no Existence were they not invisible Did any one ever see the Time past long before he liv'd or the future long after his Death Did he ever see his own Soul the Deity c. For 't is nothing else but the Time past and the future the Objects and Interests of the Soul together with the Benefits of God which Faith offers to our Consideration II. We are accustomed by Education not to believe any thing that happens not in the ordinary course of Nature We confine our selves as it were to a Circle of Objects which we willingly admit of because they contain nothing that is repugnant to Experience or Probability So that the Custom we have of refusing to give our Assent to all other things reaching even unto matters of Religion inevitably casts us into Scepticism and Incredulity Yet should we but throughly consider those Objects which fall under common Experience they would certainly appear as surprising and incomprehensible as those of Religion If you think it strange that the Soul should outlive
the Ruins of the Body you must be much more surprised to see it so closely united to a subject so different from its Perfection 'T is the Union of the Soul with the Body and not its Dissolution we ought to admire Endeavour to comprehend if you can the strict Alliance there is between a thing that is extended that takes up Space that is confined to certain Limits that acts upon Subjects present only and nearest to it and a thing that has neither figure nor extension colour fluidity or solidity which in some sense is every where and yet has no Parts to take up any Space which reflects upon the Time past and the future upon it self and its manner of acting in such a wonderful way as must necessarily perswade us maugre all our Reluctancies and Doubts that we have a Spiritual and Immaterial Substance within us If you are amazed when you are taught that there is a Maker and Preserver of all things you ought rather to be surprised to think you have lived so long in the World without putting these Questions to your self To what End was I made Whence have I my Being What will at last become of me And who was thâ— Authour of all that I behold The Thoughts of a future Judgment whatsoever notion you may have of its Accomplishment ought not in the least to startle you who ought rather to wonder at the long Forbearance of God who permits all things that he may one day judge all things That Confusion and Disorder that appears in publick Society might raise Scruples in you were it not bounded by such an Event as will clearly justify the Justice and Wisdom of God To follow the Opinion of Incredulous Men one would say that there is nothing extraordinary oâ— surprising in the World whereas we cannot behold any thing that is not so III. But all our Incredulity arises principally from our Passions and it is their greatest Interest to create in us an Aversion for Religion and in order to that make us inclinable to receive those Doubts which favour their Pretences And this is that which gives rise to all sorts of Difficulties Men are incredulous meerly because they will be so and they will be so because it concerns their Passions to have it so Hence it is that every thing concurrs by accident towards the producing so miserable an End so Sciences Eloquence Policy c. create Doubts and Difficulties in us not of themselves but through our ill management of them IV. Pride of all the Passions the most dangerous and most inveterate suffers us not to remain in such a due disposition of Mind as God requires we should have in order to receive his Revelation Now this Disposition is twofold 1 st It consists in our readily receiving all revealed Truths and 2 ly in receiving them altho they are far above our Capacity to comprehend without endeavouring to dive too far into the Depth of the Council of God To have then a right Belief we must not only be perswaded of the Certainty of all revealed Truths we must also learn how to be satisfied with the Ignorance of those things it has pleased God to conceal from us We must be always ready to acknowledge our Ignorance and that we do not clearly understand what yet we sincerely believe We must humbly close our Eyes before the dark side of Mysteries as well as gladly open them to behold the bright one 'T is our Incredulity which makes us reject those Truths we ought to acknowledge at first sight and the irregular Curiosity of the Mind prevents our paying our profound Reverence to those sacred Obscurities wherein they are involved Now from this Principle we may very reasonably conclude 1 st That nothing could argue more Extravagance and Impiety than the project of several Doctors who tho famous upon other Accounts for their Learning and great Insight into things yet have endeavoured to make as it were a New System of Religion by removing all the Difficulties of it and oftentimes cutting those Knots asunder which they were not able to untie And this shews that they were ignorant how that the dark Mysteries of Religion either follow the Nature of things or else proceed from the external Wisdom and Council of God in designing to give us such a Religion as should not be free from such dark Mysteries as the Apostles themselves give us to understand when they tell us that the Will of God was to bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent and when they cry out O the Depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out Rom. 11. 33. Secondly We may infer from thence That humane Curiosity that has so much increased the number of Theological Questions is one of the greatest Obstacles which Faith is with much strugling to overcome For we are not content to have a bare Knowledge of things we yet endeavour to search into the Manner how things are done whereas 't is the Manner how they are done which God is pleased to conceal from us and 't is the dark side we ought to look upon with profound Reverence It was sufficient for us to know that we were very corrupt from our Cradles and that nothing but the Grace of God is capable to deliver us from that wretched State we are in But we were not wife enough to fix our Enquiries there We further had a mind to know how Sin entred into the World what Springs of our Soul were first of all put out of order by it and how it was transmitted to Posterity The Holy Ghost is as the Wind the Sound whereof we hear but cannot tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth Nevertheless so impertinent is the Curiosity of Men as to attempt diving into his manner of acting They pretend by such and such Decisions to limit the Degrees of his operation and retrench whatsoever they please They continually use such Distinctions as are altogether obscure and barbarous in comparison of the Scripture as Antecedent Grace Consequent Sufficient Efficacious Vniversal Particular mediate and immediate Grace all which Distinctions they seem indeed to have contrived as so many deviations and shifts on purpose to be exempted from owning that notwithstanding all our Endeavours it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good Pleasure Phil. 2. 13. And tho 't is certain we are altogether ignorant of the manner of his Operation yet can any thing be more just and reasonable than such a free and ingenuous Confession And does it not very far exceed all the Speculations of School-men who are themselves confounded and fall from one Depth into another whilst they pretend to search into those Mysteries God has concealed from them But the Misfortune which results from all this is that the Christians having prodigiously swell'd up their System of Divinity by these and other